The resurrection and the life

Illustration courtesy Aysha Maryam Cassim

It’s been just a year since the Easter Sunday attacks shocked the nation and took the lives of over 300 Sri Lankans. It was a rude awakening for a nation that truly believed that terrorism was a thing of the past. It reminded everyone that the demise of one kind of terrorism does not mean the end of all terrorisms.

So we got to know about the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) which literally means ‘National Monotheism Organization.’ The name itself indicates intent and obviously absolute intolerance of religious others.

The dominant narratives are also informative. There are those who quickly jumped on post-attack attacks on Muslims and their properties. Nothing as violent and destructive as the Easter Sunday attacks of course (which seriously impacted tourism and therefore the national economy), but we had people talking about these incidents almost to the exclusion of the ‘antics’ of the NTJ. We were told ‘all Muslims are not terrorists.’ Absolutely. Does not mean that the terrorists weren’t Muslims. Indeed we saw a quick slip from ‘attacks orchestrated by terrorists adhering to the Islamist faith’ to ‘Easter Sunday attacks.’ That’s neat sidestepping. That’s sweeping things under the carpet. That’s dangerous.

The very same boys and girls padding the above narrative also interjected a subplot of victimhood. Muslims were a besieged community, we were asked to believe. In other words, if the  extremism of the NTJ had ‘roots’ they were to be found in other communities, religious or otherwise. Some pundits even urged people to ‘look for the funders,’ either directly or indirectly suggesting ‘Western Conspiracy.’

We do know the the West, the USA in particular, play the game of founding/funding terrorist organizations, creating and sustaining wars for political and business reasons. That said, it is laughable to think that the NTJ members who carried out the attacks were ‘in the know’ about such things, if indeed they were true. It is laughable to think that they blew themselves up by way of saying ‘thanks’ to the funders or were simply ‘doing the bidding of the master(s)’. No, it is abundantly clear that they were affirming their faith (the way they understood it). It was an act of faith, nothing more and nothing less. 

The above preamble is necessary because it is missing in the dominant narrative. So, let’s say ‘done!’ For now. Done with the preamble or, if you prefer, a framing of the issue that takes into consideration important elements of the story. 

Now we can and must talk of things within our control. For example, prevention. The then government failed miserably in this regard. Key individuals knew. They did nothing. The former Chief of National Intelligence, Sisira Mendis has revealed that the National Security Council hadn’t met for weeks despite early warnings about such an attack. This he mentioned to Parliamentary Selection Committee on the subject the first time they met. He was removed from his post a few days later. We saw the callousness of senior ministers who had the gumption to laugh about the attacks. 

There are lessons here. First, we can never let our guard down: national security is a priority. Secondly, it is better to be prepared because preparation helps prevention. The then government in word, policy and action not just let the national guard down, they essentially issued invitations to one and all terrorists. ‘Come attack….the paths have been cleared,’ is essentially the message that was given. And the ‘guests’ duly arrived.

My friend, Dr Udaya Liyanage, a surgeon now domiciled in the USA, made an interesting observation in a different context.

‘I, in my simple mind, have made a list of “bottom feeders” of the world. One simple criterion qualify admittance to the list. Does the person or organization monetize misery? If so, then you are a bottom feeder. BBC. Red Cross, Amnesty International, International Crisis Group, most NGOs, most religious organizations qualify easily to the bottom feeder list.’

That’s the third element. The bottom feeders moved in after the attacks. Well, it’s not that the misery was ‘monetized,’ but capital (political and otherwise) was made of the misery unleashed by the attacks.

So did Sri Lanka roll over and die? We got hit, that’s obvious. It was not the first hit we’ve suffered and it won’t be the last. We stood up. In this, we need to salute a few people.

First of all the Catholic Church and several organization of other christian denomination. They showed tremendous patience and restraint in the main, apart from a few incidents in Catholic-majority areas which, thankfully, did not spread. The Catholic Church has officially forgiven the perpetrators. The other cheek has been offered. And the distance for slapping, as the Very Reverend Fr James Amerasekara observed when he was Chaplain at St Thomas’ College, is also the distance that enables embrace.

Secondly, the Muslim community in general has demonstrated overwhelming remorse on behalf of those who perpetrated these horrific acts of terrorism in the name of the faith they share or, to be more precise, who worship the same god (but affirm faith in very different ways, obviously). It must be noted that the first victims of NTJ violence were Muslims of a different denomination, the Sufis. They were the first to suffer. They were the first to alert relevant authorities including politicians. They were the first, tragically, to be ignored.

I firmly believe that the Muslim community has demonstrated in no uncertain terms that they do not subscribe to the extremist interpretations dished out by the NTJ, even though they show a marked reluctance to voice objection to the brands of Wahhabism which affirm and spread the doctrine of intolerance embedded in the notion of monotheism, perhaps for defensible reasons. They are peace-loving, I have no doubt, even though I have reservations about the demands that some of them make for a secular state given the thumb-twiddling approach to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA). It is archaic and violates the principle of equality on multiple counts. That’s another story, however. Clinging to such things is not the preserve of the Muslim community.

It is patently unfair to blame an entire community for the violence unleashed by a few in that community. The NTJ’s terrorism made the entire Muslim community vulnerable. They are obviously uneasy. They’ve done everything possible to distance themselves from the NTJ. Alleviating their fears is something all other communities must do. Actively. The Catholic Church has led the way in this regard. Various Buddhist prelates have articulated the same sentiments. A lot more needs to be done, obviously.

In other words, we have a considerable reservoir of elements that make for reconciliation, moving forward. It takes just a few extremists to ruin things of course, but then again, all that is required to combat extremism is a few, determined men and women who will see beyond identity. We have such people in abundance. In all communities and as far as this issue is concerned, among Christians and Muslims. This is very important. It’s a fertile ground. A solid foundation. Call it whatever you will, we are blessed. Resurrection is not ‘out of the question.’

There are reservations of course. There is uncertainty. There is fear. All these are natural after-effects. Memories don’t die easily. We forgive and that’s a good thing. We should not forget for that could lead to us having to pay even stiffer prices if things go wrong. And they can.  There’s no substitute for caution. Alertness at all levels helps and unfortunately is a non-negotiable given contexts.  

In the end people, of all communities, have a role to play. They make resurrection possible. They must embody ‘the life.’



RELATED ARTICLES:
Naming the enemy is a game now
Kandy, forums and 'exclusionary-intergrationists'
The problem has to be unveiled

Read more

And here comes the Equivalency Circus

M.S. Fouzul Ameen should have been alive today. The furniture shop owner from Kottaramulla, Nattandiya was killed by a mob on May 13, 2019. Many shops owned by Muslims should still be standing. They are not. No one should have or should show any apprehension of any Muslim, regardless of attire or appearance. Non-Muslims are wary and Muslims are apprehensive of one another. Should not be that way, but that’s what things have come to. 

After Fouzul Ameen was killed, a Facebook post with a picture of his ID card tagged to it, raised a question.  "මේ මනුස්සයා ගේ දරුවන් අන්තවාදීන් නොවී සිටීමට අපට කළ හැකි දේ මොකක්ද? -ඔව් අර ලේ ඉල්ලපු අයගෙන් තමයි අහන්නේ?-“ (what can we do to stop the children of this man from becoming extremists — yes, the questions is for those who were demanding blood).  

Legit. As legit as this response to the post: ‘තව්වො මරපු මිනිස්සුන්ගෙ ID හොයාගන්න බැරිවෙන්න ඇති නේද? බී කොන්සිස්ටන්ට් ඕ බී සයිලෙන්ට් කිව්වලු.’ (Perhaps you couldn’t find IDs of those who the NTJ killed? Be consistent or be silent, they say). 

Perhaps as response to the observation, a clarification followed: බෝම්බ ප්‍රහාර වලින් මිය ගිය ජනයා ගැන මෙසේ ලීවෙමි "මම ආරක්ෂාවෙන් පසු නොවෙමි, මියගියේ මගේ මිනිසුන් ය. මා සයිලන්ට් නොවෙන අතර කන්සිස්ටන්ට් බව සහතිකය’ (This is what I wrote about those who died in the bomb attacks, ‘I am not safe, those who died are my people.’ I am not silent and I am convinced of my consistency.’ And here’s the response: ‘හරිම ලයාන්විතයි බෝම්බකරුව්න් විශයෙහි. ඔබ කොන්සිස්ටන්ට් නැත.’ (Very tender are you with respect to the suicide bombers; consistent you are not.’

The violence in the North Western Province is unlike what we saw on Easter Sunday in that the latter was a product of long-term strategizing including the setting up of terrorist training camps, stockpiling arms and ammunition, and systematic indoctrination. But we can and should talk about the equivalencies.

The law enforcement authorities were clearly complicit in the case of the Easter Sunday attacks and in the mob violence led by people outside the particular areas that erupted three weeks later that took the life of Fouzul Ameen. Politicians offered support, direct or indirect, or were silently complicit. Theoretically, both could have been prevented provided warning signs noted, warnings heeded and relevant measures put in place.

Issues of identity marked both. In the one, terrorism for the purpose of faith-affirmation. In the other, the targeting of a community. In the one, some argue, the rise of a movement as response to existentialist angst. In the other, although the same people will not acknowledge, a similar angst, at least in the outward expression, never mind the clear hand of bankrupt politicians.    

The equivalency has been given credence by many commentators, mostly from Colombo’s Twitterati (aka Kolombians and Colombots) made up of Born Again Democrats and Funded Voices. The Easter Sunday bombs shocked them, naturally. So did the violence in the North Western Province. In the first case, they were quick to say ‘Terrorism has no religion’ (never mind that the terrorists were affirming a faith and not forgetting, following that logic, the fact that we have many religion-less mosques and Islamic educational institutes! In the latter case, the perpetrators were labeled: ‘Sinhala Buddhists’ (with or without the ‘extremist’ tag).

Some, correctly, pointed out the long history of patriotism affirmed by Muslims. The names of officers who laid down their lives in the war against terror were mentioned. And yet, interestingly, the very same people who make this point also claim that ‘Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism’ caused the war which, again they say, was fought by Sinhala Buddhists against Tamils! Strange. 

Dr Harsha De Silva went an extra mile, claiming that the Kuliyapitiya violence cost the economy more than the Easter Sunday attacks. Yes, ‘Doctor’ Harsha De Silva. Economist. Someone called Taylor Dibbert was more specific. He penned a piece for www.foreignpolicy.com titled ‘Buddhist anger could tear Sri Lanka apart’. At least he’s said out loud what the aforementioned twitterati only whispers in private. Yep. Buddhists are the villains of the piece. They are who could tear Sri Lanka apart. What that to-be-torn country is, of course, is up for debate.

For a long time, we have had this anti-Buddhist sentiment finding expression in various ways. It takes the form of advocating a secular state without mentioning history, without talking about all the privileges enjoyed by non-Buddhist religious fraternities (compared, for example, to what religious minorities enjoy in Muslim or Christian nations). Mangala Samaraweera and his ilk say ‘We are Sri Lankans’. Correct. But then again, why don’t this One Sri Lanka folk work tirelessly to advocate and constitutionally concretize the ‘One Nation, One Law’ thesis? Why not scream for the abrogation of customary laws? 

But we are in a season of equivalency here and that calls for a vilification of Buddhists and of course Sinhala Buddhists. In the long history, we have had villainy. Magha of Kalinga: was he a Buddhist? The Portuguese who destroyed temples: were they Buddhists? The British who perpetrated genocide (a word oft mis-used by its users), ethnic cleansing and whose rule was marked by religious persecution and, again, the vandalizing of temples and kovils: Buddhists? Then there is the recent history. Velupillai Prabhakaran, goaded by Tamil racists: a Buddhist? The NTJ/ISIS: products of Buddhist extremism? 

Back to equivalency. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). They were quiet for three whole weeks and were quite shy about explaining off the fact that they entered the name of a top rung NTJ operative in their national list. Then, Kuliyapitiya happened. Then came the poster, condemning all extremisms. Correct. But late. And selective, strangely. 

And now we have both the United National Party (UNP) and the JVP in navel-gazing mode regarding the vote of no confidence on Rishard Bathiudeen. We know the charges. We know that the near and dear, blood-wise, faith-wise and political loyalty wise, were right up there among the bigwigs of the NTJ terrorists. Sure, we can and should ask why a similar vote is not taken on Dayasiri Jayasekera for some actions that were similar to the lesser charges against Bathiudeen. That aside, it is nothing less than scandalous for Navin Dissanayake to say that the move on Bathiudeen is racist. That’s almost saying ‘if you are not a Sinhalese or a Buddhist and you engage in any kind of hanky panky, you get a wide berth because, well, you belong to a minority and therefore any action against you has to be racist.’

There’s equivalency of other kinds. Recent history. Tamil racists persuaded  hotheaded Tamil youth to take up arms. They introduced a kind of vulnerability that the Tamil community had not hitherto experienced. Look what the NTJ did. The same. And yet, behind the shield called ‘religious freedom’ we saw the rise of a doctrine among whose key tenets are elements that are in contravention of basic democratic norms and seek to bend the penal code. Yep. Wahhabism. That’s a religion. It fathered the NTJ. But we are not allowed to say it, are we? Oops, I just did! So sue me!  

Equivalency is the word here. I think I might have got it wrong. It might be better to talk about wild extrapolation. As another social media commentator observed, ‘Those very same losers who were silent when 250 plus people were killed by some nutters, are now so vociferous about some politically staged crap about the majority of the country being racists; if that were so, this place should be worse than Syria.’

Last weekend we saw Muslims and Christians in their thousands celebrating Vesak. That’s not going to deliver reconciliation, but it will not hurt it either. Indeed, even though the gesture was warm and warmly received, I don’t think anyone should feel compelled to celebrate some other faith on account of penitence (on behalf of ‘nutters’ professing the same faith) or fear. I say this knowing well that many among them did it for reasons more wholesome than fear and which went beyond ‘penitence’.  What is more important, and I believe it is happening in the Muslim community in a big way, is determined objection to all forms of teaching that buttress extremism of the kind we saw on Easter Sunday. 

At a recent media conference, some Muslim leaders were outspoken about the need for the Muslim community to indulge in introspection. Ali Saby observed that a historic opportunity has arisen to reform Muslim Law and customs in Sri Lanka. I offer that this opportunity can be squandered by the equivalency hordes referred to above.  

There are two ways to trip. One is to sweep the truth under the carpet. The other is to spin a web of lies or half-truths. Such things are not the preserve of any single community, religious or otherwise, of course, but the Equivalency Clowns are certainly doing it full time. Doesn’t help. If indeed we get to reconciliation and civilization it will not be because of them but in spite of them. We owe it to every single victim of the Easter Sunday attack and to the good furniture shop owner, the late M.S. Fouzul Ameen.

malindasenevi@gmail.com

Read more

The prerogatives of humanity and citizenship

It will take more than a pretty picture, sure. But let us not arrogate upon ourselves the tasks of the Police and security forces. Let us be vigilant but resist all urges to become vigilantes. Let not fear, anxiety and suspicion immobilize us into doing nothing to alleviate the fear, anxiety and suspicion of our fellow citizens. 

This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the historic defeat of the LTTE. It coincides with Vesak. It comes just four weeks after a deadly attack by the National Thawfeek Jamaath (NTJ), an attack for which the ISIS has also claimed responsibility. 

There are many things to talk about at this moment. We can talk about the utter incompetence of the Government in terms of the subversion of national security. We can talk of the government’s complicity, first on account criminal negligence, but also in casting a blind eye for reasons of political expedience and an insane fixation on the principle of religious freedom that allowed for worry-free growth of extremism. We can talk about the complicity of previous regimes in similar terms. These are articles for another day. 

We can talk about the popular idea being floated by the Colombo Twitterati, aka Kolombians aka  Colombots that terrorism has no religion. We can discuss whether or not the Easter Sunday attacks were carried out by people affirming a particular faith, namely Islam. We can ask, ‘if that is the case, should we not conclude that there are “religion-free” mosques?’ We can ask, ‘If terrorism has no religion, does it mean that the ISIS and NTJ do not exist?’ We can ask, ‘can they be wished away?’ We can ask, ‘if we cannot use the words “Islam” and “Muslim” when we talk about the Easter Sunday attacks, how is it that those who hold these position talk about “Buddhist” extremists?’ Articles for another day.  

We can talk about customary law. We can question the logic of a legal system where sex with a minor is considered statutory rape but where such things are sanctioned by other laws. We can ask how it is that certain citizens could be punished for having more than one wife but others are not. We can ask how reconciliation is served by dress codes that essentially say ‘I can see you, but you cannot see me; do not communicate with me, I do not trust you but you better trust me, for this is my way and if you don’t like it, take the highway!’ We can talk about such walls. In other articles. Another day.

We can talk about many other things, but I will not. I will talk about and to the citizens of this country. 

There are things beyond our control, and things we can and should do. We can read the signs, read the movement of signs and draw conclusions. We can thereafter design plans of action and execute them to secure our preferred outcomes. Do that. I have no problem with it.  

Today, I want to talk about fear. About anxiety. Suspicion. 

There are crimes of omission and commission that all communities, religious and ethnic, are guilty of. This is not to say that we should disregard history and the magnitude of error and crime of course, but that’s also for another day.

Today the entire country is in confusion. We cannot trust either the Government or the Opposition. Leaders of all communities are suspect. There’s a gap between word and deed. The problem and the uncomfortable truth is that we have been forced to be hesitant even about things that are within our control. For there’s suspicion among us. There’s fear of each other. There is anxiety. 

I remember a similar time of anxiety, fear and suspicion. July 1983. We lived at the time down a lane where there were families of all communities, ethnic and religious. Indian Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamils, Sinhala Buddhists, Sinhala Christians, Tamil Hindus, Tamil Christians, families of mixed faiths and ethnic identities, Muslims. The mobs looted the Tamil houses and set fire to one. The fire was put out by three teenagers and an old man, all Sinhalese. Our neighbors and other family friends and friends of friends took refuge in our house.  

That evening, I overheard my mother telling my father, ‘They say that houses where Tamils have taken refuge will be attacked.’  My father responded, ‘They are our neighbors and friends, such questions do not arise.’ 

I’ve heard people talk about July 1983, not wanting another such tragedy, partly for the monstrous affront to humanity and partly out of fear that it would push Muslims into the arms of extremists and thereby produce another protracted armed confrontation, partly for the ‘economic fallout’ and partly for the ire of the ‘international community’.  Be that as it may, what is crucial about all of it is that such an incident would mean that we have compromised everything that is good and wholesome embedded in the notions of ‘neighbor’ and ‘citizen’.  That is the first and foremost concern, for now. And that alone should spur us to do what needs to be done.  

Rev Mawarale Baddiya Thero, speaking at an event titled ‘Jathika Maga’ (‘National Path’) recently referred to all this, after speaking of the political factors that produced the Easter Sunday attacks. Let me paraphrase and transliterate.

‘This is the month of Vesak. It should be fragranced by incense sticks and flowers. Let not this month be polluted by the stench of blood. There are karmic consequences to what we do.’ 

Of course it is not something that should be limited to Vesak, but the reverend was obviously obtaining from the religious significance of the month to make the point. 

Who are we if we cannot take care of each other, especially in a time of anxiety, fear and suspicion? Isn’t this the moment when we can best affirm our humanity, neighborliness, friendship and citizenship?  The call is not for a dropping of the guard of course. Be circumspect by all means, but let not fear, suspicion and anxiety move us to displacing frustrations and picking easy targets as proxies for ‘The Enemy’. Let us not presume. Let us not judge. Above us, let us not arrogate upon ourselves the tasks of the Police and security forces. Let us be vigilant but resist all urges to become vigilantes. Let not fear, anxiety and suspicion immobilize us into doing nothing to alleviate the fear, anxiety and suspicion of our fellow citizens. 

Let me repeat. Let us not retire our sensitivity, our humanity and the basic responsibilities of citizenship when we are called upon to affirm these things in the service of one another. 

Shihara Farook, a doctor currently resident in the United Kingdom, wants to send a message calling all mosques to ask Muslims to step out and light a Vesak lantern outside their homes. It would be a sign and a positive sign.  There can be other things that the Muslim community can do, but let me not be presumptuous enough to prescribe.  The same goes for other religious communities. Rev Baddiya Thero spoke to Buddhists. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith speaks to the Catholics. Members of the clergy belonging to other faiths no doubt will speak to their respective flocks.  

My schoolmate and friend Mujib Alavi, when concerns were raised about issues of safety, thanked his friends but insisted that he will take care of his family to the best of his ability. My response was this: ‘Muji, we are part of your family.’  He would take care of me and I would take care of him, I didn’t have to elaborate.  I can speak only for myself, but each one of us can and perhaps should consider speaking for themselves and hopefully in ways that heal and bring people together rather than drive them apart, even as we fight in all ways necessary, the threat at hand: terrorism. It would be a fitting tribute to those who laid down their lives to rid this country of the terrorist menace one decade ago.  

tenderness will not hurt

malindasenevi@gmail.com. www.malindawords.blogspot.com

Read more

Ostriches cannot fight terrorists

Immediately after the LTTE was militarily defeated, the peace-brigade that had for years fought tooth and nail for ‘parity of status’ (i.e. for the LTTE vis-a-vis the Government of Sri Lanka) and insisted, inter alia, that the LTTE was the sole representatives of the Tamils, said ‘the government can now dismantle all military camps in the North and East.’

At first glance, this seemed to be a logical suggestion. After all, there was no military threat now. On the other hand, that logic could be applied to all military camps, which ought to be dismantled. One could go further and argue that the entire military establishment should be done away with. Silly. 

Silliness, however, seems to go hand in hand with such people. If, as they have argued, the LTTE was a product of a history (a tale told selectively and with appropriate twists to justify a narrative that is poor on substantiation, by the way), then what is done or not done in the here and now can have consequences. 

In a terrorist-infested world order, dominated by powers that are not adverse to unleashing terrorism, national security is not a suspendible subject. If there were doubts on this, the Easter Sunday attacks would have laid them to rest.  

And yet, we have seen the Colombo Twitterati (Kolumbians, if you will) and of course those who think they’ll get membership in that exclusive and snooty club by parroting their prejudices repeatedly skirting the issue of terrorism. 

We had Phil Miller of the website ‘Morning Star’ (which is ‘for peace and socialism’ no less!) pointing the finger at Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, following the now tired tokenism of flagging the terrorist. Here’s what he says: ‘There are certainly some Muslims in Sri Lanka who may exhibit extremist tendencies.’ Some? May? Talk about downplaying the most terrible single-day execution of terrorist attacks! 

Let’s forgive Phil. He obviously doesn’t know much. The New York Times and the BBC ought to know better than to conjure the now tired ‘billa’ of Sinhala Buddhist extremism, but then again going by the political persuasions of those who provides information at this end, one need not be surprised.  

There are others less forgivable. Prof Jayadeva Uyangoda, in an interview with the Sunday Observer offers two proposals. The first is to defend democracy and human rights. He explains, ‘Slightly similar to the 9/11 attacks on American and global democracy, the Easter Sunday tragedy could be used by certain sections in Sri Lanka to curtail democracy and bring in an authoritarian form of governance.’ He is correct. 

Here’s the second: ‘Restoration of the institutional balance between the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet is vital for Sri Lanka to resolve the political crisis which paved the way for the Easter Sunday tragedy.’ Well, some form of clarity is of course useful, and to that extent this is a sensible suggestion.

Is that it, though? It seems that’s it as far as Uyangoda is concerned. In terms of dealing with the threat, all he has to say is ‘[t]he so-called radicalization of Islam has a unique feature, has associated itself with a global armed insurgency, or a global war,’ and ‘what is necessary now is a global conversation about all religions’ secular role.’  So-called? He’s not sure? Well, a conversation is important and that is taking place in various forms, but Uyan talking to Jehan and sharing insights thus obtained with Victor Ivan and Victor briefing Sumanthiran so that Civil Society can take a cue is hardly a conversation and certainly not something that those who plot attacks such as the one on Easter Sunday will lose sleep over. 

Victor Ivan, writing a guest column for the Daily FT titled ‘Sri Lanka: our of the frying pan into the fire,’ talks about the history of Muslims in Sri Lanka, the political conundrum of a president and premier at loggerheads, throws in the bogey of Sinhala Buddhists (as the villains of the piece, obviously) and glosses over the terrorists and the ideas, ideals, identities and faith they profess and affirmed. All he has to say is that it has ‘caused shock and shame among the Muslim community.’ That’s in all of 2,698 words! At least Jehan Perera, in his initial responses to the attacks (published in international media) was not so verbose in the usual vilification of Sinhala Buddhists. Jehan, though, demonstrated once again that he was all at sea when it comes to identifying threats. Still, one would have expected him to advocate a negotiated settlement with the perpetrators. He did not. Is it because churches were attacked, one wonders!

Sumanthiran, TNA Member of Parliament, speaking at an event organized by people who could be described as Wannabe Kolombians, offers that the Easter Sunday attack is a result of Sri Lanka’s failure to address minority grievances. Yeah right! Is he saying that removing the tokenist privileging of Buddhism from and scripting Eelamist devolution into the constitution would have stopped the terrorists who claim to be doing the work of Allah (and not necessarily delivering the aspirations of all Muslims)? 

‘Civil Society’ had to issue a statement (see ‘We cannot afford a second breach’ in The Island,  May 1, 2019). They were ‘appalled by the carnage.  They are, like Uyan, upset about the President and Prime Minister not being united. Naturally, for most of the signatories were gung-ho about the yahapalana lie. They don’t want another ‘carnage’ but apart from a cursory and dismayed allusion to the need for emergency regulations, they’ve focused primarily on possible vigilante violence.  

We don’t need vigilante violence. That would be a tragedy and would play into the hands of the terrorists. Agreed. But is that what everything boils down to?  

Many such people were and are horrified about elephants being used in peraheras. They were quite vocal about elephants being kept in Buddhist temples. They’ve not been upset about swords being found in mosques. They are not questioning the Minister of Muslim Affairs explaining swords as garden tools. They don’t see the truth. They don’t see the threat.  

They are ostriches. And they want the rest of us to play ostrich too. Such an eventuality would be the closest thing to heaven as far as the ISIS, the NTJ and other Jihadists can experience. 

They were like this with the LTTE too.  Indeed, the LTTE may have been defeated much earlier and much carnage avoided had these people not diverted attention from the matter at hand (defeating the LTTE). Red herrings is what they are all about (when they are not being ostriches, that is). It’s not too hard to figure out that the terrorists will have to be defeated, with or without the ostriches. 

Read more