Falling Out Of Love With The Army
Prof Kumar David
How quickly a besotted Sinhala public turned from adoration to angst of the country’s military and police has taken me by surprise. Perhaps this is but a passing lover’s quarrel which will blow over and adulation of the “brave heroes who vanquished the most ferocious terrorists on the globe” will soon return. Or perhaps a paradigm has shifted. I am referring to the change in public mood evident after the shooting of civilian protesters at Weliweriya village on 1 August 2013. The ingredients for a wakeup call have been long present; but an introductory paragraph is necessary to put things in perspective.
In all cultures, and Lanka is no exception, the heroes of a tribe, race or nation are the conquerors of a historical enemy. The first great hero of the Sinhalese race is Dutugemunu who vanquished the Tamil king Ellalan in 160 BC; the Sinhalese mass sees the victors of May 2009 in a similar light. One might add, en passant, that another lesson of these two events is that the 15% cannot militarily defeat the 75% without substantial overseas aid. Conversely, the occasions on which catastrophic defeats were inflicted on the Sinhalese were when powerful South Indian kingdoms undertook invasions, or when colonial powers brought to bear their superior technology. The two best known examples of the former are the sack of Anuradhapura by Raja Raja Chola in 993 AD, and the seizure of Polonnoruwa by Kalinga Magha in 1215 AD using Chola and Pandyan mercenaries. (Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa are the oldest seats of Sinhalese civilisation though two thousand years more recent than counterparts in China and India).
Waliveriya
It started as a localised problem; drinking water was being poisoned by the discharge from a factory owned by a subsidiary of one of Lanka’s largest companies, Hayleys. It could have been settled at the local level but government party cronies in the local administrations were on the take. A not very large demonstration led by youth was organised, and it still remained a minor local affair. Then came the fireworks, first the police and then the army rolled in, assaulted the villagers mercilessly, made the youth kneel down and continued to beat them with blunt weapons, and finally for reasons that absolutely no one can understand, opened fire. It is beyond comprehension why firearms were used against a small protest rally by unarmed villagers – civilians. Three of the injured have died so far. The anger that has poured out all over the country, not just in that locality, but nationally in the electronic and print media, in statements and petitions, and in Lanka oriented international websites, has been prolific. As a fried of mine said: It’s stunning, it’s as if a dam has burst and all the pent up anger is pouring out. Read More
