Human Security, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Vavuniya

Aiyo!

Isn’t it horrible to watch people being killed like this? Pictures of dead bodies strewn all over the place flood my mind. What a damned war this is! What a curse on our poor little country full of such nice people. With thousands of innocent civilians, brave soldiers and valiant cadres already killed in this bloody war, now this huge group of people caught in the middle, struggling with every breath, for their lives and for their loved ones.

Can’t the LTTE, who keep making so much noise about people dying, let them go, so they won’t have to die or get maimed and suffer like this? Fight bravely or surrender… but don’t be a party to the death of thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians.

Can’t GOSL, who say they want to liberate the land, go about this slowly, in a way that these people are rescued rather than killed? How can a State afford to victimise its own citizens?

Are these options, which could save thousands of innocent, trapped people, just naïve rhetoric for the power-blocks in our country?

I think of the famous story in which two women came to a wise king, both of them claiming to be the actual mother of a baby. The wise king had to judge who the real mother was. The king asked for a sword and said he would cut the baby in two so that each woman can have a half. One woman agreed and the other said, in that case she doesn’t want the baby… but please don’t kill it. Of course this was all a part of the king’s plan. He didn’t kill the baby, but gave it to the woman who loved it the most.

I wonder who loves the people caught in the fighting. Who cares for them? I know there are people all over the world who have relatives there, even their wives, husbands, sons and daughters. I know there are many Sinhalese who can’t bear the thought of people being killed. But in terms of our political power-blocks… who really cares for them? Is it the LTTE? Is it GOSL? Is it the IC?

In fact, we are killing the baby.