Prioritising Truth in Post-War Sri Lanka

“How do we keep the past alive without becoming its prisoner? How do we forget it without risking its repetition in the future?”

• by Bhavani Fonseka 
• - on 08/12/2014
• • 
    

Ariel Dorfman, ‘Death and the Maiden’ -

The Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman poses these questions in his play Death and the Maiden after witnessing massive human rights violations in his home country and alludes to a delicate balance needed in terms of the past, present and future. The Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation documented violations and published a report which recognised past events. Subsequent action in Chile held to account perpetrators and introduced much needed reform. The delicate balance was achieved in Chile through several state and non-state initiatives. Truth telling was a critical part of it.

Prioritising Truth in Post-War Sri Lanka by Thavam