Colombo, Jaffna, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

What are we celebrating? Questions to ponder

On the 19th of May 2009, the Sri Lankan president announced that the 27 year old civil war was finally over, that the LTTE as a military entity ceases to exist. This sparked feverish celebrations all over Sri Lanka last seen when Arjuna Ranatunage scored the winning run against Australia to win the World Cup in 96. The defeat of LTTE, the world’s 2nd most dangerous terrorist organisation, (which is well funded by the Tamil Diasporas) is by no means a simple task and should make any Sri Lankan extremely proud.

However, what are we celebrating? Defeating an entity we forced into existence? Are the reasons that forced a young Prabhakaran to assassinate the Mayor of Jaffna resolved? Is Sri Lanka truly united towards peace and coexistence? Or have we ended up polarising the moderates? But most importantly, is to right to celebrate when hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians are held in internment camps living on less than the bare minimum? Aren’t we in the end celebrating Death? The Death of all those who have sacrificed or have had their right to life taken away from them, during this bloody war?

What we honestly need is a month of mourning to put everything into perspective, so we can really begin rebuilding Sri Lanka! Defeating the LTTE was only a fraction of the efforts that are required to build a United Nation. Being sensitive enough to hold out celebrations would have sent the message worldwide that we are genuinely interested in a permanent political solution.

Sadly, as buses and trucks full of flags and racist chants drive by, I feel my message being drowned out.