The previous Government headed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa thrived mostly on cultivating an endless fear psychosis on the so-called “revival of the LTTE” even after the LTTE’s comprehensive defeat at the hands of the Security Forces. The implication was that only the Rajapaksas could stop the resurrection of the LTTE and that they should be voted into power as long as LTTE existed in one form or the other.
This was the essence of their campaign during the last Presidential Elections in 2015 and also the General Election held in the same year. However, the majority of voters understood and flatly rejected the racist overtones of this message, thus ensuring the victory of President Maithripala Sirisena.
But judging by his utterances so far, it is clear that the former President has not learned a lesson from that defeat. Rajapaksa and his key followers of the “Joint Opposition” (JO) are still chanting the mantra of LTTE revival at every opportunity. Yesterday’s May Day rally at Kirulapone was no exception. They still see LTTEers behind every bush in the North – ironically the very LTTE that Rajapaksa himself claimed to have obliterated exactly seven years ago. Their intention is to rouse communal feelings in the majority community, which they hope will translate into votes at a future election.
Rajapaksa and his coterie are not the only ones promoting communalism and hindering reconciliation. There are such politicians in the North as well, who still harbour extremist attitudes akin to those of the LTTE that do not help the reconciliation process at all. This unfortunately adds grist to the mill of the extremists in the South, paving the way for a vicious circle of hatred.
We cannot solely blame the politicians on both sides of the ethnic equation for this sorry state of affairs. The media or at least some sections of the media must take part of the blame. Both in the South and the North, there are newspapers that carry provocative headlines and stories aimed at creating communal tensions and hatred against the other communities. This is a clear case of exploiting new-found media freedom for a course of action that could have dangerous consequences.
North or South, the people are tired of war and conflict. They do not want to be dragged into another conflict, even though certain politicians can thrive only in such an environment. But they must realize the enormous damage caused to the goal of long-term peace and reconciliation in our island.
It is in this context that we laud Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent assurance that the Government would not provide any room to the LTTE remnants to revive terrorism. The JO and some sections of the media are citing a number of incidents which they allege indicate the resurgence of the LTTE and separatism– the discovery of weapons at two locations in the North, the Opposition Leader’s entry to an Army camp, the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) resolution on a federal mechanism and the arrest of two former LTTE operatives.
Contrary to the JO’s claim that the discovery of weapons shows a lapse in security measures, it is indeed an example of the heightened surveillance of the Intelligence and Security services. The same goes for the arrests. The Government is now investigating these cases further. It also intends to bring in fresh legislation that will further strengthen national security measures.
The NPC resolution has no legal binding and is only a proposal that has already been rejected by all the major parties. There is also no need to get emotional about the incident concerning the Opposition Leader – the Government will make the appropriate responses.
After 30 years of rancor and discord, the people of this country have entered a new era of peace and reconciliation. It is still nascent and fragile and needs to be carefully nurtured. It is not easy to efface the decades of mistrust overnight – in fact, some countries which experienced similar problems decades ago have still not reached a satisfactory solution. Sri Lanka, however, has a golden opportunity to tell a different story, because President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe do not have even an iota of communal feelings in their hearts. To them, we are all Sri Lankans.
The people must not eschew this opportunity, regardless of what communal-minded politicians say. For years, they have exploited racism to come to power but the people in the North and the South have resolutely said “enough is enough” as seen by the results of the Presidential and General Elections. The people want their leaders to solve life’s pressing problems instead of fighting over race and religion. Thus the Prime Minister’s appeal to politicians and the media to refrain from sowing the seeds of communalism will no doubt resonate widely in society. As the Premier stressed, we have to work from now onwards to build a truly Sri Lankan identity, shedding all petty differences.
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