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| Sunday, 6 October 2002 |
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Read Dedunna to know the truth of the war War mongers and anti-peace lobbyists need very badly to read Dedunna the tabloid published in Sinhala by the LTTE, if they want to know how foolish they are and adjust their warped mind-set to see things 'real' i.e. in their true perspective. Thank God the cat is out of the bag and ex-strongman Anuruddha Ratwatte's CDs running into millions, bares the truth about these war mongers and the real reason why they want the war to go on and on. If peace is brought about and consequently the war ends, these anti-peace brigades will lose their filthy avenues of making ill-gotten wealth, thanks to the arms bought which bring them extra bucks. So for them the war is a matter of statistics, i.e., the more dead or maimed, the more money they accumulate. Now coming back to Dedunna's inaugural issue (August) open any page in it and read through, of course with an open mind, not with a jaundiced one, and presto you will see the havoc the war the south has forced on the innocent north and the truth, the whole truth, that the war has brought about, notwithstanding whatever mediamen in the south may have painted it to be. Just to quote two examples we have the incident that occurred in the Iranathivu sea, and the Muhamalai tragedy, the truth of which we in the south were not told. The oft repeated phrase that 'there are two sides to a story' is very true and the truth only dawns when we hear the unheard or untold side of it. As a peace loving person and one respecting the rights of others, be they the minority or whatever, I would urge every Sinhalese, be he Buddhist or Christian, to read with an open mind the Dedunna of August 2002, and arrive at his or her conclusion of the horror of war and decide whether it needs to be perpetuated, and the calamities the war entails if it be allowed to go on. Among the vast reading matter, the letter from 'Appa' writing 'from Vanni' to Gamini putha is heart rending to say the least. The appeal by the displaced folk to allow them access to their homes, just to make a 'glimpse' which has hitherto being undemocratically denied to them, the call to come and see and report the true scenario in page 2, (the call is for the Editors' guild of Colombo), or the query as to when (pg 4) the south will cease to dream, ... is interesting reading. Every page and every article is a portrayal of the reality that is war, so far denied to us in the south with sugar coated versions, vis a vis the real, most of which warp our mind-set and make us to pooh pooh any idea of a just settlement let alone peace. Today for a full nine month period since the UNF came to power on the 8th of December we have not had the misfortune of hearing about bombs or deaths, on either side. One fact that these chauvinists and extremists need to realize is that we now live in peace and none is denied the liberty to go about sans fear or doubt. What a joy to see our people enjoying their day to day life some even holidaying in far off east. One thing is certain. Those crying for blood are those not affected by the war in the least or rather those benefitting from it as detailed earlier. But the majority of the sensible men and women of this isle are for peace and lasting peace. The government is duty bound therefore to explore all possibilities to restore peace and then start developing our country, (which is now at a standstill) which the war criers are not bothered with. While the war mongers insist that the Sinhala army be not withdrawn from the North, school children in Thennamarachchi staged a protest march on July 26th, demanding that the army leave their schools to make them available to continue their studies, (pg 2). Of course those crying for the retention of the soldiers have no care for those unfortunate schooless children simply because their own children here enjoy that facility without hindrance. How contrasting it is, that when the Colombo undergrads threaten to demonstrate if police is allowed inside their territory, (they want the freedom to rape foreign students) the anti-peace brigade demands that the army remain in northern educational institutions? The first instalment of K. V. Balakumar's book serialized on page 3, commences with a greeting to the south travellers now enjoying a ride on A-9 highway that just as before, they are prepared to welcome the Sinhala brethren, in their midst. How come the blood thirsty southerner still frown on the man in the north and brand him as his sworn enemy? Its contents make the true Sinhala patrion's heart ache,. driving him to sympathise with the Tamils who are not half as bad as the media paint them to be. The letter by Pon Vairavipillai of Mallavi (pg 4) hoping that the 'Deafening silence" (during which the southern politician hid all his under-cover activities, by talking tall about Tamils) must end and that the genuine demands of the north be made known, makes sensible reading. On the last page there is the 'open invitation' to students in the south from the LTTE's student section to "come & see" their plight before making erratic conclusions. It says that a large area of 45 sq. miles extending from Tennamarachchi north and Valikamam south has been declared as a high security zone. This area includes 95% of KKS electorate alone, while as many as 27 G>S divisions are out of bounds to civilians. The question is asked as to why the JVP objects to the removal of soldiers from 71 schools and whether the southern students would like if the schools are occupied by the army. Legion is the number of questions raised by the Tamils in the north to the Sinhalese in the south, which the true Sinhala patriot would not dare to answer. Will the JVPers, and the rest of the blood thirsty Sinhala extremists answer them for us? The other side effects are as bad. In Vasavilan area which is the most fruitful for vegetation, the army has a high security zone and it seem there are plans to settle 12,000 families of troups there, while the rest of the peninsula is full of military camps. In the vanni some 100 schools have been destroyed. After the riot of 1983 some 120,000 Tamil refugees fled to India and now they are confined to 125 refuge camps. It is with such a situation that we Sinhalese go about unconcerned all the time listening to the ill informed reports in our media and arriving at our own conclusions on the basis of party affiliations life PA, JVP, Sinhala Urumaya et al. Sri Lanka is the land not only of Sinhala Buddhists, but other racial and religious minorities living here. For us Christians Vanni is of special interest, due to the National edifice dedicated to Mother Mary in far away Madhu. Gone are the days when the Sinhala & Tamil Christians sat side by side under the hallowed Marian grounds, praying together as children of a single Mother, throwing racial differences to the winds. A glimpse of this was witnessed (over TV too) when after two long decades of separation, due to the war, devotees of Mary were seen praying and singing in unison at the recently concluded feast last month. Isn't there anything in the so called 'pure' (Nirmala Budhu Dahama) Buddhism to keep different races and cultures together, rather than forcing them (as is apparent today) to go their own ways which after all is not in keeping with a religion worthy of its name? Let the Sinhala Buddhists take a cue from Sinhala and Tamil Christians and learn to live in unity even in the given diversity. Moratuwe Lenadh R.M. |
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