The Fall Of The Tiger, The Rise Of The Sinhala Roar, And Geneva Anxieties
Rajan Philips
It is as though the fall of the tiger has directly led to the rise of Sinhala Roar, or Ravaya, literally speaking. Looked at it another way, just as there is talk aboutLTTE remnants floating around the globe, it is possible to talk about Sinhala Ravaya and other organizations of its ilk as being the remnants of the wave of triumphalism that the Rajapaksa government unleashed in the south after crushing the LTTE in the north. The Sinhala Ravaya seems to have earned special notoriety after trying to storm the Prime Minister’s office on Flower Road. Not long after came the attacks on Christian churches in Hikkaduwa, this time by an outfit called the Hela Bodu Pawra, adding to the negative reactions in the media. But for quite a while these remnants of triumphalism have been on a free roll with open blessings from higher echelons of the regime. Their free ride may not be over yet, but their senseless and hateful antics are making them more a liability than an asset to the regime. Their liability is all the more magnified now, with the onset of Geneva anxieties in government circles.
A responsible and, in these senseless political times, a path-breaking response appears to be coming from former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. She recently confirmed to the Venerable Mahanayake Theros that she has no intention of reentering politics and that her only intention is to stop “Buddhist extremist organizations attacking Christian and Muslim places of worship” and destroying Sri Lanka’s religious harmony. To that end, the former President has invited leaders of all faiths/religions for a meeting in Colombo, at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, on Tuesday, January 28. Hopefully, the meeting will go ahead without running into nutty protestors, and something worthwhile would come out of her initiative. This is also an opportunity to uplift her rather lopsided legacy; running for President would only drag it down.
Let us take our eye from the former to the current President. Could we ever hear such a commitment from President Rajapaksa – to castigate the extremist organizations in order to protect religious harmony? And he, in case anybody forgot, has no intention whatsoever to leave the presidency or politics any time soon. I cannot recall President Rajapaksa ever taking to task the “Buddhist extremist organizations” like the way his favourite predecessor is starting to be doing. But other voices are belatedly emanating within government ranks not so much as questioning the legitimacy, purpose and the method of these organizations, but expressing concern over the damage these organizations are causing to the Rajapaksa government internationally. All are symptoms of Geneva anxieties.
