Not to have another ‘black july…. WEDNESDAY, 17 JULY 2013 12:05 E-MAIL| PRINT |PDF The month of July, despite contributing immensely to felicitous occurrences that are a joy to the human society locally as well as internationally, has not only become a ‘black july’ after 1983, but has also added a black mark to the history of this country. On 23rd July, 1983 thirteen soldiers were killed by the LTTE when they ambushed a group of Army soldiers who were patrolling Jaffna’s streets. The attempt by the then UNP government to secretly bury their bodies at Kanaththa in Colombo attracted a large crowd. The mass indignation that commenced attacking state institutions as a protest against the idiotic decision of the government was manipulated by the government against Tamil masses. This was the beginning of a catastrophe that had never been witnessed in this country in recent history. The Government’s ‘slackening’ curfew that had tied the hands of the police allowed communalist thugs of the government to murder thousands of innocent Tamils and plunder their property. The UNP government never acted with foresight but ventured into barbaric violence to fulfil its hunger for power. It is this ‘black july’, created by the idiocy of the then ruling UNP, that pushed the international community towards an amicable attitude towards Tamil separatism as the incidents contributed to the notion that Tamils were unjustly treated in Sri Lanka. However, the communalists interpreted it as a patriotic leap forward. This is why property belonging to Tamil masses was sold at certain places as ‘patriotic apples, grapes, TVs and cassette players’. However, when the armed separatism that was made to resurrect itself battered Sri Lanka for more than two decades, the ‘proud fathers’ of ‘black july’ took measure to hide their birth certificates. On the other hand the UNP took advantage of ‘black july’ to remove the political challenges it had by proscribing the JVP. The Leader of the JVP Comrade Rohana Wijeweera had filed a petition in court against the fraudulent referendum held in December, 1982 to extend the term of Parliament and the proceedings were disadvantageous to the government. The UNP government had room only for its hunger for power. Despite subjecting the country to destruction and debacles through hunger for power, the idiotic regimes have never learned any lessons from history. Now, communalism and religious extremism is being sown again in a bid to acquire more power. It is done when the masses are already confronted with a thousand and one serious issues. The government may be under the impression that communalism and religious extremism could be used as chewing gum to suppress such issues. However, the government should remember it is playing with daggers. It is healthier to remember that the consequences of such idiotic decisions affect not only the government and the Cabinet presided by the President but the whole country and future generations. This is why ‘black july’ that was created as a result of seeking short term gains for power hunger exists as a black mark even after thirty years. The Rajapaksa government has become a stooge of imperialism and gratifies India and western imperialism to defend its power while adorning patriotic garbs to win elections. While Champika and Wimal cry out they joined the government to get provincial councils abolished, individuals such as Rajitha, DEW and Tissa hold media conferences and declare they joined the government as the President promised to implement the 13th Amendment fully after the war and hold elections to the Northern Provincial Council. On the other hand when the government says it would consider slashing powers for Provincial Councils, India reminds the government that it had been promised Thirteen Plus! All this is connected with the ruling process of the government. It is to deceive everybody and while away the time. It is this ‘while away the time’ politics of the government that has resulted in it being presented with a double-edged sword. Abraham Lincoln had said you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. The government is confronted with this reality. The promises given to various groups at various instances to be in power have come to a head. As such, what has been left for the government is to shed the garments of deception and reveal itself to the masses. The government first said that elections to the Northern Provincial Council will be held in September not to the country or its people. The promise that was a secret known only by the government of India was revealed to the people in this country only when India’s ‘The Hindu’ published it. When the government made this promise to India there was plenty of time for September, 2013. The government, in its usual manner of not envisaging consequences when taking decisions, did not foresee what was in store when making such a promise. It never considered its seriousness. For, the government had its own calculation. It would have thought the North, which is being repressed by military rule, could be won the way Provincial Councils in the South were won by displaying war victory. However, a majority of the Tamil masses still have faith in or have been pushed towards separatist politics due to the failure of the government to do anything to win over the Tamil masses in the North and due to the continuation of a semi-military administration there. The government not only refrained from doing politics in the North but also sabotaged the attempts by political parties of national level that are against separatism such as the JVP in engaging in politics in the North. The government couldn’t understand that the Tamil masses would be pushed towards the communal politics of the TNA as a result of its tactless attitude. Only in mid 2013 did the government realize that its political calculations were wrong and it would not be able to win the Northern Provincial Council. However, as promised, the government has been forced to hold elections for the Northern Provincial Council. Now, it became necessary for the government to get the elections postponed or hold it in a manner that would not harm its ‘patriotic’ appearance, which is why a rumpus was created regarding the removal of land and police powers from Provincial Councils. A group is necessary to mimic the ‘master’s voice’. This is what the Champikas and Wimals are doing. (On the other hand the Rajithas too are performing another part of this act.) However, the rumpus in the government created an unexpected crisis. India has got excited now. The government had to dispatch Minister Basil Rajapaksa to sober up India. Despite sending a member of the Rajapaksa family instead of the Minister of External Affairs, the exercise failed. India has made a diplomatic threat warning the government not to ‘dilute’ the 13th Amendment. India’s Defense Advisor visited Sri Lanka last week. Surely, he did not come here to inquire about Rajapaksa’s health. A special brain is not necessary to know this would strengthen the separatist faction anew. The government that called itself patriotic has given a new injection to Provincial Councils that were tottering towards a natural death. The government that boasted it had a 2/3rd majority in Parliament is now unable to get this majority to cut the wings of Provincial Councils or even to remove a single feather. It had even failed to get two simple amendments passed within the cabinet. The triumphant stance of the government when it intimidated the judiciary and got the Divi Neguma bill passed in Parliament is now faltering. The government has proposed a Parliamentary Select Committee, a medicine for all its ills. It is to avoid the responsibility of the sins of its actions. However, this is a futile exercise. It is not only the political parties of the Opposition which state that the PSC on the 13th Amendment is a fraud; the partners of the UPFA too consider it a fraud. The LSSP issuing a statement asked whether Minister Tissa Vitharana, a member of the LSSP, was not nominated to the committee intentionally or by mistake. The SLMC is not participating in the committee. It is very doubtful that political parties in the Opposition would take part in a row that existed in the Cabinet and has been shifted to the PSC at present. Already, the JVP and the TNA have stated they will not participate. The UNP too has stated it will not participate. The SLMC, a partner in the government, states it will not participate. There would not be much that could happen in the PSC other than continuing the row that cropped up in the Cabinet recently. Meanwhile, the government will have to hold elections to the Northern Provincial Council. The government cannot antagonize India as it needs India’s support for holding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in November. As such, the government does not have the courage or ability to carry out any amendments to the powers of the Provincial Councils. Therefore, there is a possibility of the TNA winning the Northern Provincial Council which could drag the national question in Sri Lanka towards a very critical stage. However, individuals like Champika and Wimal would not want to leave the government. They would use the same arguments, a little tinkered here and there, to be glued to the government that brings them wealth and positions. However, amidst their rollicking separatism would raise its ugly head again. What is being proved again and again is that the Rajapaksa regime, leave alone solving the national question, cannot even take a step towards it. What it does is, like what all capitalist rulers have been doing throughout history in this country, nurturing Sinhalese or Tamil communalism so that it could be in power forever and dragging the country towards disaster. The communalists and religious extremists are arousing communalism and chauvinism for their political existence. In this environment the biggest gains are for imperialist forces and India. They have been given an opportunity to realize constitutionally, through a power hungry regime, separatist objectives that they could not win through a 30 year long war. The Provincial Council system India forced on Sri Lanka two decades ago by dropping dhal will never solve issues confronted by the Tamil masses. However, getting the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime that consolidated its power through victory pageants to implement it in the North is a victory for separatist forces and India. However, politically it is a tragedy. For, it would result in dragging the Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and Malay communities which desire to live in a Sri Lanka where everyone can live in harmony, into a communalist pit again. If these incidents are allowed to go on it would be written in history that it is the political blunders of an idiotic government – wasted the last four years for its power hunger and cast away the golden opportunity of building national unity – that is responsible for the debacle. Society has already learnt such bitter lessons. There is no need for such a repetition. For, the lives that have been lost and the blood sweat and tears that have been shed are too heavy a load for this land to bear. The responsibility of all people is to defeat the communal hubbub that is being used to conceal genuine socio-economic issues of the masses, that would strengthen the existence of the regime and drag the country towards darkness, and raise their voices against separatism and for the rights of the masses and bring victory for the masses in this country.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 13:57:06 +0000
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