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| Sunday, 14 September 2003 |
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Features |  |
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Four hundred books to be launched at Book Fair By Jayanthi Liyanage "Inside an Elusive Mind - Prabhakaran" a biography of the LTTE leader authored by M. R. Narayan Swamy, an Indian national, will be among the nearly 400 new books scheduled to be launched at Colombo International Book Fair 2003, to be held from September 15-21, at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre of the BMICH Exhibition and Convention City. Admission is free. Indian authoress Shoba De, Prof. J. B. Disanayake and author K. Jayatilaka will preside as Chief Guests at this fair which would have about 200 stalls of Sinhala, Tamil and English books, run by 150 exhibitors from which around 40 will come from India, Malaysia, Singapore, the USA and the UK. The Book Fair concurs with several other events conducted to observe the State Literary Month which customarily falls in September. One of these is the State Literary Festival 2003 scheduled for 4.30 p.m. on September 18 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall under the patronage of Minister of Power and Energy Karu Jayasuriya and the participation of Minister of Human Resources Development Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku. This festival is organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council of Sri Lanka. Narayan Swamy, who wrote the LTTE leader Prabhakaran's life story consequent to a three year research in Canada, India, UK and Sri Lanka, is attached to the international press agency, AFP, and also the author of the best seller, "Tigers of Sri Lanka", published eight years ago. The book is published by Vijitha Yapa Publications and will be released simultaneously in New Delhi by its co-publisher Conarc Publications. Vijitha Yapa will also release five more books at the Book Fair, with "The Legacy" by Hema Ramakrishna, wife of CEO of Ambuja Cement, Sri Lanka, and the first Indian authoress to publish locally. The other four books are The Thirteenth Labour of Hercules and Other Stories by John Weerasinghe, The Road from Elephant Pass by Nihal de Silva, Why should I give a damn for the Global Economy by Gerard Muthukumaru and Exodus 2003 by Carl Muller. The following are some of the events lined-up from September 15-21 at the BMICH: September 15 5 p.m. - Launching of the "Punchi Sindu Geetha Potha" book and audio cassette by singer Nanda Malini. September 16 4 p.m. - Seminar on "Media and Language". September 15 -21 Selected drama from the State Drama Festival. From 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. at the open air stage near the flags. Introductory talk and Screening of Films at 4 p.m. 15th - Talk by Tissa Abeysekera and "Karumakkarayo". 17th - Talk by Prof. Chandrasena Palliyaguru and "Kaliyugaya". 18th - Talk by Ajith Galappaththi and "Yuganthaya." 19th - Talk by Gamini Weragama and "Palama Yata". 20th - Talk by Chandana Silva and "Nidhanaya". 21st - Talk by Aruna Gunaratne and "Ganga Addara".
"Peradiga Gayana Ha Vadana Vrundana", an Eastern orchestral and singing performance by Isipatana College, Colombo, at the open air stage near the flags. 15th, 20th and 21st - from 10.30 a.m. onwards. 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th - at 3.30 p.m. ############ Spiritual journey in search of truth A Personal Journey to Human Supremacy Author : Wijeratne Weerakkody Reviewed by Gamini Jayawickrema No one knows exactly when and where human life began. Also, no one will ever know for sure when and where human life will be ceasing to exist. The only thing that all know without doubt, yet none need to believe until self-life comes to an end, is that death is the only obvious and inevitable reality associated with life. All living creatures, inclusive of humans instinctively fear death. If there were no death in built into the life of human beings, other than the death of other beings, there would not have been any necessity for people to seek refuge in religions. The fear of death and the mystery of life after death had been the factors that had kept human beings attached to religious faith in the infinite past. And, it will continue to be the factor to bind people to faith and belief to keep them in hope to the infinite future. It is the fear of death and the mystery of life after death the author of the book 'A personal journey to Human Supremacy' argues, that has created a lucrative spiritual market for self-appointed representatives of external supernatural powers. And, based on solid reasoning and logic he explains the spurious ways used by diverse religious sects in abusing the human beings' inherent fear of death and ignorance of realities of the nature for the survival of religious as well as political cultures. In a self-styled manner in presentation of controversial, abstract, and metaphysical ideas, he convincingly and comprehensively explains, in simple but meaning fraught language, how diverse religious sects worshipping different Gods created by the same scriptures continue to claim the authenticity for the True God while being sharply divided into vivid traditional rites and rituals based upon the mental images of their own Gods. In his quest to understand the way to identify the True God from among many True Gods, he questions: "Who is the True God? What are the qualities of a True God? What does he look like ? Does he acquire a human figure ? Or is he having the figure of an alien ? What is the substance he is made of ? Is he the actual Creator ? Who created the Creator, because, there has to be a Creator for everything since nothing can exist without a Creator according to the concept of Creation ? Is the God mortal or immortal ? Is he made of spirit, or of void, or of both ? Above all, what is his actual proven influence in the life of human being, or any other life of a sentient being ? And, most importantly how to distinguish the True God, if there is any, out of many Gods ?" While providing answers to all these questions through some fascinating and piercing insight in search of a sensible explanation to the existence of life and mysteries associated with it, the author gradually and systematically prepares the mind of the reader to understand the fundamental principle of causation, or the reality of dependent origination taught in Buddhism, which is totally opposing to the concept of Creation. Involving a great variety of historical, archaeological, philosophical, and logical sources leading to understanding the hidden secrets of life, the author discovers a new term to alternate the consciousness, the soul-less presence in life, taught in Buddhism. The individual mind-flux of personality continuing to exist through birth, death, and reemergence within the cycle of life in psychophysical and nonphysical detours in succession taking different shapes and forms depending upon their individual experiences gained through their own actions and reactions. As rightly mentioned in the back cover review of this enlightening book, A personal journey to Human Supremacy could be described as an analytical treatise on objective and subjective aspects of life, and is quite worthy of being read studiously, since it ushers the reader into an altogether new realm of wonderment and untold relief and happiness. ############ Survival and simple things A collection of poems by Ayathurai Santhan Published by the Institute of Language and Literature, Suthumalai,
Maanippaay, Reviewed by K.S. Sivakumaran in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA If brevity is the soul of wisdom and if one may add wonderment, delight, and subtle observation of social and individual human behaviour, then the creative writer from the north of Sri Lanka, Ayathurai Santhan is a practitioner of that art. His short stories and poems in both Tamil and English are evidently that. As a writer of considerable poetic sensitivity, Santhan has composed condensed capsules of contemporary poetic images both in personal and public terms. Seeing anew sights that what one may dismiss as mundane and ordinary, the poet evokes indelible and thin layers of poetic images which touch one's emotions. Take for example his invisible commentary of the intolerable sufferings of the people in the north on account of a never ending war situation, as well as his own remembrance of a nostalgic past as a boy and later as a youth. And his poems in transference of objective scenes carry with them a fresh usage of indigenous idioms and images. Here below are some samples I picked up at random. But to appreciate the poems in full, one has to read them in context. The ironical situations faced by the people in war-torn areas are implicitly stated by the writer. As Chelva Kanaganayagam says, Santhan theorizes pain. The former has written an introduction to the book with an understanding. Santhan has dedicated his book to A.J. Canagaratna, a critic, translator and mentor . The Rains: The rains turn our village into tunnels of greenery; the rains that pour like an ocean upturned. Our mother, shuts rooms tight, spreads gunny bags to fight cold creeping up from the cement floor. The rains make me shiver; not by cold, but, by thoughts of the past decade, which made us flee from home every year in times of rain and seek refuge elsewhere safe shells and 'rounds'. Saving a flower: Road gliding under tyres with a hum. The Meaning: Carrots chased give meaning to asses themselves. Crossing the Bridge: Uncertainty, like a chasm, awaited in front of each household... allowing the dark of despair to swallow them. labyrinths of lanes were unrolling in front of them, as huge question marks. Boasting: Can you tell a shell from a thunder clap? The Palmyrahs: Villages vanished from face of maps, instead camps came into existence ... kith turned as nomads and kin roamed as refugees. How ?: How did the moth with the golden wings come to know that I was writing a poem ? It flew and sat directly on my finger holding the pen. A Single Slipper: The head lamp was casting a long cone of gold dust against the asphalt dark endlessly reeling in front The Traces: An imprint like an inscription. Addressing an Unearthed Skeleton: is it ever possible to unearth truth from its deep dug grave ? Bathing at Night: Quick silver from the bucket will flow on the body. Adaptation: One bomber got up again without dropping a bomb; Why was that Amma ? Living : Peacefully sleeps a new born infant, like a rose flower. Find : A screw driver like a baby. Upside Down : People tied and cattle walking freely. I am so glad that the actualities of living in Tamil-speaking areas are now being written in English as well, as pieces of creative writing. I wish that someone from Tamil or Islamic communities write in Sinhala the same task for closer understanding among our people. Similarly, writers from such communities should write in Tamil the sufferings and anguish of their brethren in the Sinhala community. It could be possible in the near future. I hope. ########### Collection on the war and economy in Sri Lanka Working Paper 1 - An Introduction to the Conflict Time Economy of the North and East Province of Sri Lanka. Price: LKR 100 by Muttukrishna Sarvananthan Published by International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2003 Reviewed by N. Balakrishnan, (former Dean - Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna) The myriad aspects of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict and post-MOU economic recovery are addressed in a recent commendable study by a young and competent economist Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvananthan. He has had his professional training in the Universities of Delhi, Salford, Bristol and Swansea, Wales - where he earned his Doctorate in Development Economics. The study consists of three working papers, published by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Colombo. The three working papers on the North East economy covering pre-MOU and post-MOU phases are each captioned as follows: (i) 'An Introduction to the Conflict Time Economy of the North and East Province of Sri Lanka' (ii) 'What Impede Economic Revival in the North and East Province of Sri Lanka'? and (iii) 'Economic Imperative for Peace in Sri Lanka'. Although they are put out as separate working papers, each one of them not unrelated to one another concentrating on a set of themes and activities on the economic situation relating to post-conflict transition, taken together provide an overall picture of the depressed North East economy and highlight the issues that mostly reflect the predicaments of war affected economy and its transition problems ? The working papers, individually and collectively provide a comprehensive review of the pre-war and post-MOU economic trends, which may be placed in the context of the peace process, initiated in 2002. The author has made use of hitherto unpublished data with the Dept of Census and Statistics and other official sources about the North East, had access to most published data and information about the regional situation and has drawn from studies already made about the North East conflict. What is more is that the working papers also have been enriched by the author's first hand experience gained from his visits to the North East, particularly the North and the discussions he had with government officials, University academics, LTTE functionaries and cadres and interaction with well informed members of the public. Working Paper 1 gives a detailed descriptive analysis of the depressed state of the major production sectors, backed up by sufficient district wise statistical information mainly for the 1990s and highlights: (i) The substantial drop in agricultural production including fisheries in absolute terms as well as in relation to national production; (ii) Decreasing share of the North East provincial economy's contribution to national economy in the 1990s even though the Eastern province share in the GDP increased marginally and that of Northern province declined steadily during the same period; (iii) Marked deterioration in the availability of basic infrastructure services in the North East such as safe-water, sanitation, electricity, transport and communications; (iv) Decline in the health standards of the population in general and fall in educational levels. The available statistics and analysis presented by the writer points to a major conclusion, "the combined North East Province has been economically the most deprived province in Sri Lanka throughout the 1990s (Working Paper 1, p4). Working Paper 2 by the author focuses on a number of inter-related issues, about conflict affected North East, drawing particular attention to factors that act as impediments to the region's speedy economic revival particularly after the signing of the MOU - what the author prefers to call as a 'pause in-conflict' situation, rather than 'post-conflict' situation. He has identified a number of institutional impediments largely 'non-market' institutional impediments, to economic recovery and transition. The important institutional impediments identified are: (i) High security zones still occupied by the security forces, (ii) 'Arbitrary and illegal' taxation by the LTTE, (iii) Prevailing political uncertainties in the post-MOU period, (iv) Restrictions that still operate on fishing, and (v) Constraints on access to bank finance. Other important institutional constraints highlighted are related to a wide range of infrastructure, economic and social-services, which had not been rehabilitated and reconstructed. All these impediments to different degrees have had a debilitating effect on new business initiatives, new productive activities and economic revival. In the author's discussion of institutional impediments, much attention is devoted to a critique of the LTTE 'tax regime' which operated in the controlled areas before the MOU and, ironically, continued and expanded with much vigour in both the LTTE dominated areas and government controlled areas of the North and East in the post-MOU period in the context of the on-going peace process. In the 'command economy' model, as the author refers, of the LTTE both before and after the MOU, taxation has been one of the important instruments of LTTE control and influence. It is well-known that ever since the time it developed into a clandestine guerrilla organization, the LTTE's 'fund-raising' work, both locally and overseas (where Tamil Diaspora in the West became a significant component) have been based on an elaborate network of activities and organizations. In the local context of the North East, taxation and other compulsory levies lay a significant role. The author's contention is that both direct and indirect taxes and other compulsory levies pushup prices of goods and services in the region, and can have a crippling effect on entrepreneurial or business activities, going contrary to the idea of creation of an 'enabling environment' for promoting new business or reviving old ones. It is further argued that with no accountability and transparency and no visible quid pro quo services to the people, other than 'protection', it has no justification during peacetime. Working Paper 3 looks further on the economic implications of the prolonged ethnic conflict drawing attention to two important issues, namely cost in terms foregone aggregate economic growth on account of the protracted conflict, and the steadily escalating defense expenditures (the former exceeding the latter). The major thrust of the argument presented is that high economic and financial cost of the war became intolerable and unsustainable by the early 1990s and therefore, made peace an urgent imperative sought by the government. It is not feasible to deal adequately in a short presentation such as that of the author and, with no reliable data, on such a complex issue as the cost of foregone economic growth to society on account of the conflict. The author's objective is a more modest one and what be highlights is certainly an interesting proposition. In contrasting the nineteen years of conflict time average annual GDP of 4.35% per cent (1983-2001, official figures) with the pre-conflict period GDP growth of 4.55 percent (1964-1982), it would seem that the economy has fared better than expected with a respectable growth rate of 4.34 per cent notwithstanding the effect of the conflict. What the writer contends is that in the conflict period the North East would leave recorded negative growth because of the direct impact of the conflict. If this is assumed to be so and negative growth element is added to the GDP the overall growth of GDP would have been much lower in the conflict period than what was recorded (4.35 percent). The official estimates of the conflict time GDP may be an overestimation, perhaps understanding the cost to economic growth arising from the conflict. In the words of the author the conflict time economic growth rates may be considerably lower than the pre-conflict rates in spite of economic liberalization; and the notion that the Sri Lankan economy has been resilient in spite of a deadly conflict could be a myth" (WP 3, p2). The other important theme highlighted in WP 3 is the rapidly escalating defence expenditure in the 1980s and 1990s, which was relatively insignificant in the earlier period. With its rapid increase, both in relation to the GDP and total public expenditure, defence expenditure in proportionate terms exceeded social expenditure (education, health, anti-poverty programme and rehabilitation) in the late 1990s. As the conflict became intensified and defense spending rose substantially, Sri Lanka, other than Pakistan, showed the largest spending relative to GDP in South Asia. That defense spending imposed a serious burden on the public finances is a relatively recent phenomenon imposed by the war. It is further argued that the rapidly escalating defense spending in the 1990s was caused by what the writer calls, the 'labour intensive military' strategy that was pursued and which substantially increased the recruitment of personnel to the armed services. In the circumstances in which the Sri Lankan government and the military were confronted with a fierce and protracted guerrilla as well as a conventional warfare, the military probably had no alterative other than to rely on a large number of soldiers to be deployed in different theatres of war in the North East. This study provides a comprehensive review covering a wide range of interrelated activities, economic issues and problems of the North East during the period before the MOU and afterwards Author's professional competence and familiarity with ground situation and clearly reflected in his work. Most activities and policy actions whether it be on the side of the government or the LTTE (and other players) came within the purview of his critical evaluation, scrutiny, forthright comments and strictures. For those who wish to familiarize themselves with the economic aspects of the North East situation, the study provides a ready and easy reference and this enhances the value of the contribution made. The study undoubtedly is a welcome addition to the relatively limited literature available on the economic dimension of North East conflict, seen in the context of the challenges facing the peace process. The search for durable peace and post-conflict economic transition in the region are, needles to say, inextricably linked. ICES deserves praise for sponsoring such a worthwhile set of publications that has considerable relevance in the contemporary setting. |
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