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Ten thousand school children and one doctor prime for battle
Road through Udawattakelle rouses a hornet's nest
By Carl Muller
- The whole peace and calm of the forest will naturally be lost. A public thoroughfare will open the forest to any and everyone to pass through. The place will no longer be a sanctuary. There will come the inevitable roadside boutiques, the drug addicts and the touts and prostitutes. There will be cutting of firewood and who knows, even a couple of kasippu dens. 'Even today, the authorities are unable to prevent some of the nefarious activities that go on on the Lake round,' Nihal says, 'how can they prevent such activities in a forest?'
Can I give you a new song for Kandy?
Oh give me a home
Where the adigars roam
And the cops and the Nilames play;
Where seldom is heard
An encouraging word
And the people are dismal and gray.As one lady told me, there is no need to visit Disneyland. Come to Kandy instead!
But honestly, how much more of Kandy's natural grandeur is to be laid low because of the concerns of security? As it is, the people of this city are smarting under the many urban indignities heaped upon them. What is impossible to condone, as many say, are the barriers, the road blocks, the incredible traffic jams, the utter confusion of one-ways and no-ways and the disgusting spectacle of steel barricades, hulks of buses laid across streets, the guns, the sand-bagged emplacements. And now, as Minister Lakshman Kiriella has promised, a new road is to be cut through Kandy's most beautiful forest reserve. 'There is no option,' Kiriella is reported to have said.
No option? I can think of many. Smash, once for all, this Tiger menace...enclose the sacred area of the Maligawa as Dr. Nihal Karunaratne has suggested return Kandy to the people of Kandy! Return to Maligawa to the people of Kandy! It is theirs.... the temple and the city. It is for all of Sri Lanka, indeed, for the world. It is not - and I repeat not - a refuge behind police guns and gal thoppis and automatic pistols and all the threatening paraphernalia that makes a mockery of a place that is so charged with sanctity.
What do we have today? Sanctity...or the throttling grip of the sanctimonious? Who, among all the gods, is keeping Kandy as though it is in a permanent state of siege? And now, as though to rub salt in the city's wounds, Udawattakalle, a once royal reserve, is to be violated.
One man is determined to fight. He is not prepared to take this lying down but he promises, 'I will lie down! I will lie on the ground. I will not allow any road machine to proceed with this work!' Yes, Dr. Nihal Karunaratne is readying to do battle. '`This is the worst news of all,' he said. 'Nobody has given a thought to the destruction and havoc this project will cause.'
Come to think of it, even the Maligawa is part of this forest reserve; and it is not just a forest, is it? It is, in truth, a sacred sanctuary. In it we have the King's Palace, the President's Pavilion, the Tabovana Temple, the Forest Hermitage, the Senanayake Aramaya and the ancient Gangarama Vihara.
Roland Silva, Director-General of the Central Cultural Fund, in his foreword to Professor Nimal de Silva's book, 'Landscape Tradition of Sri Lanka', wrote: '... humans were first seen to live within the enclosures of nature, which man himself subsequently groomed as a habitat with such elegance... The religion that grew out of that green-shade of the Wisdom Tree or the Bodhi, provided the vision and the light of man to widen its intellectual richness...'
It is hard, very hard to understand how, in this Buddhist country, the very teachings of the Buddha seem to be in question by the unfeeling plans of people who pretend to do what they do in the furtherance of the faith. The Buddha promoted respect towards trees and nature. He was born under a tree, as Professor Nimal tells us, attained enlightenment under a tree and passed away under a tree. In Buddhist literature, we see how 24 early Buddhas also attained enlightenment under different trees. Whatever we may say about the rape of our forests, the illicit felling, the monstrous crimes against Nature, we find to this day among the simpler, more traditional people everywhere a respect, indeed a love of the trees that make our country so lovely. Religio-cultural practices - and I could tell of the cult of the Ruksha Devata - influence respect for trees and nature.
But why go on? The government, as Dr. Nihal reminds, 'has through the Forest Department and with foreign aid, prepared for the implementation of the Forestry Master Plan for planting and saving our forests. But now it wants to destroy trees in this forest reserve to cut a road. Does nobody understand Udawattakelle is a sanctuary and a Thahanam Kelle where nothing can be taken in or taken out? Are all the principles of forest conservation to be sacrificed to suit some pompous people who want the Maligawa to remain a barricaded enclave?'
Dr. Nihal is hopping mad. 'My God,' he exclaimed. 'can you imagine it? They are saying that the people of Kandy will benefit by this road. How?'
The good doctor is a lover of Udawattakelle. His book on this forest is a gem. His voice softens when he talks of this eternal place which he says is an emerald, a green gem rising against the bald tops of mountains. He knows that the forest will be destroyed by the cutting of the road. All natural life will suffer. Even the water supply to the Kandy Lake will be reduced and there will be more soil erosion. Such a foolhardy project will eventually cause climatic change as well.
'What I cannot understand is the claim that the Lake round will be a safer place when the new road is built. Safer for whom? If the Maligawa will be safe with the building of the new road, will the barricades and gun emplacements be removed? Will people be able to go about their city as they have always done? Will those hideous sandbagged posts within the very walls of the Maligawa be removed?'
The whole peace and calm of the forest will naturally be lost. A public thoroughfare will open the forest to any and everyone to pass through. The place will no longer be a sanctuary. There will come the inevitable roadside boutiques, the drug addicts and the touts and prostitutes. There will be cutting of firewood and who knows, even a couple of kasippu dens. 'Even today, the authorities are unable to prevent some of the nefarious activities that go on on the Lake round,' Nihal says, 'how can they prevent such activities in a forest?'
What Dr. Nihal is particularly steamed up about is that Udawattakelle is now on the world tourism map for its conservation principles. Also. As he points out, thousands of students from schools and universities come to this forest for environmental studies. 'The forest is a research centre,' he said, 'and it attracts thousands of visitors, both local and foreign. It has over 400 species of plants, 80 varieties of birds, 32 varieties of butterflies and is home of the huge bird-wing butterfly. There are also several mammals and snakes. And, he added, `'what will happen when the monkeys find their habitat overturned? As it is they cause no small havoc to neighbouring houses and even the President's Pavilion. With their habitat destroyed, they will range out to cause further havoc.'
Many centuries ago, Udawattakelle was a forest for the use of the kings of Kandy. Dr. Nihal is the most respected authority on this timeless, beautiful place. He actually laid a perimeter fence - around all 252 acres - with the willing help of the school children of Kandy. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Hector Kobbekaduwa contributed Rs. 150,000 for the fence posts and wire. The idea then - and a sound one too - was to hold this preserve for future generations that they enjoy its wealth, its serenity, its tranquillity. All this is now earmarked for wanton destruction!
But, as I said, Dr. Nihal is not backing down. And neither are many concerned citizens of Kandy. One thousand students of Trinity College are writing to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. They are imploring that the project be stopped forthwith. Thousands of other school children, too, are priming to protest. Right now over ten thousand students are ready to voice their concern. At a leading girls college I was told that every child is ready to make a postcard protest. 'If we cannot find enough postcards in Kandy we will go to Gampola and Peradeniya,' one senior prefect said. Mahamayar, Hillwood, St. Sylvester's... every school is stirring! The people are ready to take this issue before Lakshman Kadirgama, Anuruddha Ratwatte, Lakshman Jayakody, Lakshman Kiriella, Nandamithra Ekanayake, even the Conservator of Forests Mr. Bandaratilake. They will confront the Mayor, Sarath Amunugama, K. Rambukwella, Lal Wijewardena, Vijaya Wickramaratne...
'We will be heard!' is the war cry and maybe the Kandy Post Office will find more post card mail that it has ever handled! Even as I write, I have more news that several other organisations have entered the fray especially those concerned with forest conservation and the sanctity of trees.
So, my friend Lakshman Kiriella, what will it be? Yes, we are friends and have shared many good moments together. I think you should place yourself on the side of the angels and on the side of history and tradition and that love of nature. It is good to remind yourself that the early Sinhala landscape setting for monasteries were peaceful shady forest settings with trees. That is a tradition dating more than 2000 years.
Remember the lines:
Rukka mula gathova,
Idha bikkawe bhikku aramma gathova,
Sunnaghara gathova.Udawattakelle is as much a part of Buddhistic tradition as the Maligawa is... and both must be! You cannot destroy one to safeguard the other!
Hunting for Tiger planes: Don't make it a whale of a story
By our Defence Correspondent
The year was 1992. A Surveillance Command Ship of the Sri Lanka Navy was cruising in the Gulf of Mannar, its sophisticated radars scanning the surface of the sea for LTTE craft making a dash to or from India with supplies.In the past few days, there had been several disturbing reports in the newspapers that the LTTE had acquired a submarine. Although there had been no official confirmation of this, the armed forces were abuzz with rumors, and the ship’s sailors were also scanning the surface with binoculars.
The Command Ship was the 'mother ship' at the center of a powerful group of gunboats, which would be dispatched towards any suspicious craft.
Suddenly, in the distance, sailors saw a shape rising out of the water, perhaps a foot or so, and then disappear again beneath the surface.
Immediately, the crew went to full battle readiness. If it was a submarine, it was too close for comfort, and the Command Ship could expect a spread of torpedoes coming at it within seconds.
The ship's guns swung towards the threat, and terse radio messages went out to the gunboats. No foreign submarine would be operating in the restricted waters of the Palk Strait or the Gulf of Mannar, and this one could clearly be labeled as hostile. Indian subs kept out of the area, and there was no reason for the few other countries which have submarines, like Russia, Britain, France and the United States, to send their vessels in here.
The gunboats drew close to the spot where the shape was seen, ready to fire.
Moments later, the shape was spotted again, near the surface, yet not clearly enough to identify.
But the warships were taking no chances. A sharp order was barked out, and the most powerful guns in the navy spat death at the mysterious intruder.
For several seconds, the big guns boomed out, firing hundreds of explosive shells into the water.
When they stopped firing, no sign could be seen of the object. The navy craft searched for several hours, but found nothing more.
Meanwhile, the excited captain of the Command Ship flashed an urgent message to Navy Headquarters in Colombo, that they had sighted and attacked an unidentified submarine believed to belong to the LTTE.
In Colombo, the news spread like wildfire, and also in the north and east. The air force was warned to keep an eye on the area.
The next morning, the body of a whale washed ashore on a lonely beach a little distance from Mannar. Fishermen who found it, reported to area officials that it was riddled with gunfire.
There were many red faces on the Command Ship for several weeks.
Surprisingly, the news didn’t make it to the newspapers. Perhaps fortunately so, or environmentalists might have taken a hand in the country’s war. One could just imagine activists from Greenpeace buzzing around navy gunboats in protest!
We relate this episode, which now seems very funny, because of certain actions taken by the armed forces last week, in the hunt for the LTTE aircraft, which are believed to exist.
People in some parts of Colombo saw several posters on walls warning that the LTTE may have a plane or helicopter, and to please report any sightings of suspicious aircraft immediately.
The poster showed pictures of the various types of aircraft belonging to the Sri Lanka Air Force.
This column was the first to report, as far back as September of 1997, the fact that the LTTE had acquired planes and helicopters. We have repeatedly called for proper measures to be taken against them. In fact, we have sharply criticized the forces for not taking action before.
But now, we must urge caution, in the interests of public safety.
What is the point putting up posters in Colombo? If the Tigers launch an air attack on this city, their aircraft will have to fly all the way from the Wanni, a distance of about 240 kilometers.
We must bear in mind that they would have to be intercepted by SLAF Kfir jets, Pucara attack planes, or MI-24, Bell 212 or Bell 412 gunships, which would be in air bases ranging from Vavuniya, to Anuradhapura, to Hingurakgoda, to Katunayake. This is no secret, since the locations of all these airfields are common knowledge.
But of them, only Katunayake lies between the Wanni and Colombo. SLAF aircraft from the other bases would be chasing after the intruders, and may be too late to catch them.
Thus, it is of the utmost urgency that the LTTE aircraft be spotted close to the Wanni, so that SLAF machines can find them, identify who they are, and destroy them. Posters should be put up in towns in districts between Colombo and the Wanni.
But imagine if someone in Colombo, or close to the city, raises the alarm. Panic would ensure.
With the air force then being obviously too late to protect the capital, it would be up to the various anti-aircraft guns positioned in Colombo to shoot down the intruder.
This is where things could get messy.
The general public are not the most reliable identifiers of aircraft. To most civilians, a plane is a plane, and a helicopter is a helicopter. Oh, they can tell if it’s a jet plane or a propeller driven one. But that’s all.
Many aircraft fly over Colombo, and even land in it. There are SLAF planes en route to Ratmalana from Palali. There are helicopters landing at air force grounds and at the Defense Ministry to ferry the president or Deputy Defense Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte, sometimes around dusk, when it would be difficult to identify that they are SLAF aircraft. There are commercial airliners droning their way to or from some foreign country.
Imagine if army gunners excited by reports from panicky civilians who saw a plane flying over Mattakkuliya only minutes before, were to shoot down one of these.
It’s easy to misidentify a plane. Two months ago, we reported how the navy reported a suspicious plane flying over the north. It turned out to be an airliner on its way to Katunayake from Madras.
The navy has already fired on some type of aircraft in the north, a few weeks ago.
The forces have since taken other precautions to shoot down intruders. We won’t speak of these, for obvious reasons.
In all this excitement, let’s make sure that no-one shoots down the wrong thing and causes an air disaster. After all, whales don’t fly.
Turning a blind eye to Jaffna (II)
Big Words and Fancy Theories
H. L. D. Mahindapala
reviews a review written
by Prof. Alfred Jeyaratnam Wilson
- According to Uyangoda's confessions in his article, he seems to have fallen in love with state violence in 1958 when he was a boy. The 'romantic appeal of state violence transformed his sense of self', says Stirrat. Was it the same 'romantic appeal' of violence that led him in his next stage of his life to go for the brutalities of the JVP?
Any kind of anti-Sinhala-Buddhist bashing publications put out by the ICES receives the enthusiastic approval of Prof. Alfred Jeyaratnam Wilson. He is elated with the Sinhala-Buddhist bashing themes in the latest publication,'Culture and Politics of Identity in Sri Lanka'. He is most ecstatic about Jayadeva Uyangoda's contribution to this publication. This is not surprising because Uyangoda has used the space allotted to him by Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam's ICES to reiterate the theme of dividing Sri Lankan into two states. This, of course, is the Tamil agenda now and Prof. Wilson showers praise on both Uyangoda and Dr. Tiruchelvam for the public display of the Jaffna-centric emperor's new clothes. Those who see through Uyangoda's political agenda hidden behind the new clothes will recognise a well-trained, domesticated and obedient parrot who has shown a remarkable talent for repeating fancy phrases and stale theories.
Praise flows from Prof. Wilson because he is performing according to the expectations of the Tamil political lobby. Prof. Wilson is most pleased that Uyangoda has found new words to hawk the hacked theories that denigrate Sinhala-Buddhist society. Uyangoda, for his part, has gone overboard to exhaust the thesaurus with his attack on Sinhala-Buddhism as 'totemism, majoritarianism and exceptionalism'. Like all academics who are pleased when the undergraduates repeat their pet theories, Prof. Wilson is pleased that Uyangoda has come up with verbal cosmetics to tart up the wrinkled Franskenstein monster of separatism left behind by his father-in-law. No wonder, Prof. Wilson is rather peeved that Uyangoda's unoriginal thinking on 'decentring of state sovereignty and democratisation of state borders' was not placed as the first chapter in the book.
From the excerpts in Prof. Wilson's review, it appears that Uyangoda is making a desperate bid to substitute jargon for original thinking. This is confirmed by Prof. Wilson who does not give Uyangoda any credit for originality, as he does in the case of some other writers. So Uyangoda is left to dry in the wind waving borrowed jargon like 'totemism, exceptionalism…' and mark you, 'democratisation of state borders'. Sounds big, doesn't it? This reminds me of how the average man in the street calls his common cold 'hembirissawa' while the pompous pundits calls it 'semp-prath-tis-yawa'. It means the same thing but the tongue-twister pretends to be more important than the plain 'hembirissawa'! Uyangoda too goes down that track. Instead of saying that he is for dividing Sri Lanka into two separate states he disguises it as the 'democratisation of borders' which has been prevented by 'majoritarianism', 'totemism' and 'exceptionalism' (translation: the Sinhala-Buddhists).
But how do you 'democratise borders'? Since democracy is rule by consent, do you consult only those on the northern side? Or, since borders affect both sides, do you consult the south as well? And when you consult both sides where do you draw the line? Then again, if borders are drawn on communal lines does that uphold democratic principles (meaning the interests of all communities) or racist 'totemism' (meaning the expansion of only one community at the expense of the others)? If the borders are 'democratised' does that mean that all the Tamils in the south (including Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam Jr) will migrate to live in the borders 'democratised' for them or will they continue to enjoy the benefits of democracy, prosperity and liberalism in the south? Or, going on his fancy phrase of 'democratising borders', will Uyangoda insist on creating more separate borders for Wellawattam, Kandypuram, and Matalaipallai? Does that also mean that Prabhakaran's one-man republic will be permitted to run as a mono-ethnic state (which is easy considering what was done to the 75,000 Muslims of Jaffna) while the Uyangodas will continue to campaign for pluralism in the south?
If Uyangoda's ambition is to replace the existing nation states in South Asia with a 'multiplicity of republics' into how many more republics will he break up India and Pakistan to satisfy the multifarious linguistic, religious and ethnic groups? Does his definition of 'democratisation of state borders' correspond to that of Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran? And if the Muslims and the Sinhalese in Prabhakaran's republic demand a 'democratization' of their respective borders will Uyangoda be able to persuade Mr. Prabhakaran to accept what is implied in his pompous phrase? Well, he should know that. After all, he went on a holy pilgrimage with Bishop Kenneth Fernando and Charlie Abeysekera to meet Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran who, true to form, sent the Three (political) Magi from the south empty handed.
The last time Uyangoda tried to be the Lenin of political theory in Sri Lanka was when he pompously paraded his borrowed the concept of 'consociotionalism'. He was shot down in flames in an academic journal by a foreign reviewer who told him bluntly that his theory was neither original nor relevant to Sri Lankan circumstances. (Here I am quoting from memory as I do not have the references). At the base of the theory of 'consociotionalism' is the concept of power-sharing by different groups, particularly those who are antagonistic to each other. After that fiasco, he has abandoned the earlier theory of power-sharing and switched over to out-and-out separatism. Obviously, Uyangoda can't make up his mind as to which one of his borrowed theories is good for Sri Lanka. There is an instability in his fickle mind which makes him an unreliable proponent of any theory. Yesterday's 'consociotionalism' has been replaced by today's 'majoritarianism', 'totemism', 'exceptionalism' – all of which are big words borrowed to make separatism look respectable. Uyangoda has this peculiar tendency prevalent among some academics to obfuscate issues by cloaking the reality with high-sounding jargon. Perhaps, Uyangoda goes for bombastic words because it makes him feel big. This may satisfy his ego, which seems to be as big as his words, but not the crisis facing the nation nor the national debate which is in search of new perspectives and down-to-earth thinkers who can make a substantial contribution to get the intellectuals out of the rut into which they have fallen.
Uyangoda should realise that vacuous verbosity which has no substance in reality may get some applause from his claque. It may also help to add another line or two to his c.v. when he applies for his next promotion. But what does that prove? If Uyangoda is to be rescued from the rubbish heap of academia he must lift his game above the level of pop 'lectures' delivered to the misguided youth who followed his fascist JVP in ‘70s. It all ended in a disaster of monstrous proportions for the youth, for the fascist activists in the JVP and, of course, the nation. Uyangoda was rounded up along with the other fascist terrorists and hauled up before courts. At the trial he was known as ……. Perhaps, it caused an identity crisis in him because he quickly changed his name into James Uyangoda. Presumably, because the identity crisis was not resolved even with that change, he changed it again into Jayadeva Uyangoda. Since the ICES is obsessed with the identities they should consider, just for a change, the identity crisis of Uyangoda who had come a long way and crossed over to the side that he was bent on destroying under his underground code name of 'Ooo Mahattaya'. Ooo! That may be too painful for the ICES, eh?
The title chosen by Uyangoda for his latest chapter in the ICES publication of identities is 'Biography of the Decaying Nation.'. Since he has such an intriguing political past, linked to the first fascist and violent movement in post-independent Sri Lanka, one wonders when he would write a 'Biography of the First Depraved Political Criminals in Sri Lanka'. With his knowledge of political science, he is the best expert to handle that theme. Better than even Victor Ivan who has written, more or less, a running commentary which lacks analytical depth. For instance, he could give the public a first hand account of how the fascist Rohana Wijeweera, his revered leader, led the nation into the dreadful abyss of political violence with 'totemistic', 'majoritarian', 'exceptionalist' fascism. The JVP cruelties knew no limits. In one instance, I was told, that the 'liberators'of 'Ooo Mahattaya' tied a suspected political opponent of the JVP to a table and ran a hot iron over his skin to remove the victims political wrinkles. 'Ooo Mahattaya's' conscience nor his sleep seemed to have been disturbed by the suffering caused by weird theories pursued by him.
I do not know whether he has apologised or expiated his political sins in some form or other, if that is possible. But that seems to be a mere detail in today's topsy-turvy world. Even the Nazi SS officers found lucrative posts in the UN after World War II. So why shouldn't our local fascist criminals find substantial financial support from the goody-goody NGOs to pose as champions of human rights! Where else but in a topsy-turvy world do you find yesterday's political criminals preaching human rights today! Not that they do not have a right to a genuine change of heart. But Uyangoda has demonstrated that he has not had a change of hearts but merely a change of his loyalty from one fascist leader to another.
He is, after all, one of three pilgrims who went north, following Bishop Kenneth Fernando, (the third being Charlie Abeysekera) to pay homage to the counterpart of Wijeweera in the north. All three returned with a joyous smirk on their faces. The smug silence of Abeysekera and Uyangoda indicate that they would have rejoiced when they heard the leader of the delegation, Bishop Fernando, declare that Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran is 'humane'. For the pro-Prabhakaran Churchmen – and some of them hold key positions in various denominations Ñ this must have sounded like the next biggest revelation in Christianity since Saul became Paul. Bishop Fernando was certainly acting like a person who had been struck by a new vision on the day I interviewed him, shortly after his return from meeting Mr. Prabhakaran. To this day, Uyangoda has not dissociated from that public pandering to the northern fascist leader. Instead, Uyangoda has continued to lend his support to northern fascism in the form of his published articles which urged the government to stop the war against his latest political hero, Mr. Prabhakaran.
According to Uyangoda's confessions in his article, he seems to have fallen in love with state violence in 1958 when he was a boy. The 'romantic appeal of state violence transformed his sense of self', says Stirrat. Was it the same 'romantic appeal' of violence that led him in his next stage of his life to go for the brutalities of the JVP? Whether that 'romantic appeal' indicates a natural tendency for political criminality is not clear from the brief review. But Uyangoda's career seems to be one long, unending romance with violence, fascism, and personality cults – all of which go together From the violence of 1958 in his boyhood he takes a hop, step and a jump into the violence of the JVP. And from there he has taken a great leap into the lap of Mr. Prabhakaran. His mind seems to tick and tock between southern and northern fascist leaders.
This leaves big question marks hanging over his name : has Uyangoda grown up at all since his romance with violence when he was a young boy? Can he ever break away from violence, fascism and personality cults? Is he now trying hard to make up for his past stained with fascist criminal violence?
Or is his anti-Sinhala-Buddhist stance another form of romance with the fascist violence of the north? Where is the independence of his mind that Prof. Wilson speaks of when he is merely recycling borrowed theories from the west which, like his earlier vulgar Marxism, only convulsed the nation and never served the people?
Uyangoda's inability to formulate a coherent, consistent conceptual framework, however weak it may be, demonstrates that he is a desperate man thrashing wildly in the stormy intellectual seas to grab something which would keep him afloat and, more importantly, make him visible as something important for others to take note. At the moment he is clinging on to the biggest words he can find. Prof. Wilson, in fact, has a better grasp of what Uyangoda is trying to say. Uyangoda is quoted as saying: 'I begin to wonder why there is such a faithful commitment to this belief in Sri Lankan exceptionalism'. In his comments Prof. Wilson explains what Uyangoda means : 'Totemism, majoritarianism, and exceptionalism with its sense of manifest destiny along with being the custodian of a unique religion and an ancient civilization are the by-words of the political Sinhalese today.' In other words, Uyangoda is using those jaw-breakers in a pejorative sense to demonise the Sinhala-Buddhists for not giving into the extremist demands of Jaffna Tamil racists.
If, as Prof. Wilson claims, this 'totemistic concept' of Uyangoda became in 1958 'a veritable watershed when totemism took over'and stood in the way of the Tamils finding a solution to their 'grievances' how do these two academics (Wilson and Uyangoda) explain the incremental gains of the post-1956 years, some of which have been hailed by Prof. Wilson as the 'golden years' of the Tamils? At the end of one such phase, the President of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchu (ITAK), S.M. Rasamanaicka,, announced that 'the Tamils had gained all what they expected' from the UNP government. If Uyangoada's 'totemism, majoritarianism and exceptionalism' are correct then there could not have been any 'golden years' for the Tamils. Clearly, if by his bombastic mumbo-jumbo he means that the Sinhala-Buddhists had not considered and conceded the rightful and reasonable demands of the Tamils, even from Bandaranaike's time, then he is guilty of gross and monumental ignorance which makes him unfit to hold even the post of a peon in a university.
Prof. Wilson confirms the gains made by the Tamils in his biography of his father-in-law. He lauds the courageous attempts of Dudley Senanayake to build inter-ethnic relationship in his National Government (1965-70) as the 'golden years of the Sinhala-Tamil reconciliation'. (p.111 – 'S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947 –1977'). S. M. Rasamanickam, the then President of ITAK, was more specific : 'During the last four years we were able to gain some rights, if not all what we expected, through the method of cooperation.' (p.111 –ibid). This was in 1970. Now, in 1998, the Tamils have advanced way beyond that, gaining ground in practically every sphere. Malini Parasarathy of 'The Hindu' has identified 'the pardigm shift' which provides ample space for a reasonable settlement. Besides, Tamil intellectuals like Radhika Coomarsawamy (she has shown a capacity, from time to time, to defy the racist gravity that sucks most at the ICES into its political centre) has argued that since 1956 the Tamils have made great advances and that the Sinhala-Buddhist society has not capitalised on it. To add to all this, the latest report of the University Teachers For Human Rights (Jaffna) (September 15, 1998) states: 'None of the healthy changes in Sinhalese society are acclaimed or acknowledged. The Tamils are hung in confusion in the dichotomy between propaganda and what they feel and experience…' (p.15) Here we see Tamil scholars, Tamil human rights activists, Tamil leaders and even pro-Tamil academics acclaiming the sea-change in the Sinhala-Buddhist constituency which, incidentally, has been blamed for everything that happened since 1956 Ñ and even before. What evidence has Uyangoda to contradict this reality and substantiate his turgid terminology of 'totemism', ‘majoritarianism' and exceptionalism'? Doesn't his verbosity display a mind that is as bombastic and empty as his expressions?
Mark you, the Tamils made their initial gains at a time when Uyangoda's Marxist gurus, along with some of his current SLFP cohorts, unashamedly rampaged through the streets whipping up 'totemism, majoritarianism and exceptionalism' which were encapsulated in their racist slogan : 'Dudleygey badey / Masala Wadai'. After Dudley Senanayake came the deluge. Uyangoda (hiding behind the secret identity of 'Ooo Mahattaya) was in the front ranks of his band of fascist political criminals who justified violence and the violation of every known human right for the sake of a bogus liberation movement, which, if it ever came into power, would have been the most inhuman instrument of oppression in Sri Lanka next to his current hero, Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran. He and his JVP fascists misled the naïve and idealistic youth promising a bogus ideal which they could never have delivered. They introduced the gun-culture that gave a foretaste of the terror of the fascist regime that was to come but, mercifully, never did except in the north. The south escaped the horrors of a fascist regime by the skin of their teeth. Their quick-fix solutions, like the current theories of Uyangoda, misled the gullible youth into a precipice. All in all, it was a perverted experiment that was doomed to float in rivers of blood.
After that, one would think that Uyangoda would have learnt his lesson. But, no! He is at it again now. He is spouting theories which may serve his career, but not the people. His latest is to urge nation-states to give up their territorial borders and establish new ethnic republics which would put an end to state violence. To quote his own words : 'I have begun to believe that some of our energies should be devoted to imagine fresh forms of political association which would enable – for example, in the present period of globalisation – free movement of capital and all forms of labour. I, for one, would love to see a South Asia which will not no longer be a prison house of nations.' And he adds: :'In my thinking, decentring of state sovereignty and democratization of state borders would lay the basis for a multiplicty of South Asian republics which should ideally replace the existing system of majoritarian nation-states'. Restating this position in 'The Lanka Guardian', Stirrat draws attention to Uyangoda's bizarre recipe for peace. He says that 'Uyangoda looks forward to a time when South Asia will no longer be in a ‘prison house of nations' and where, almost by definition, violence or at least state violence becomes a things of the past'..
To begin with, Uyangoda's theories are as old as the hills. For instance, soon after World War II Emery Reeves, a distinguished jurist, wrote a book called, 'Anatomy of Peace', in which he traced the evolution of nation-states from the early tribal units that expanded into dynasties, or drifted into religious fiefdoms and, sometimes, even into supranational empires. He envisaged that after the nation-states, the next stage of this snaking historical route should be to move into a supra-national organisation where individual states participate as equal partners who need not resort to war to settle their differences.
The nation-states emerged in its present format during the Reformation when the Holy Roman Empire collapsed in one big heap. The next wave came with the pre-French Revolution philosophers (e.g. Jean-Jacques Rousseau) who laid the ideological foundation for the new nation-states. Their message was carried under the Napoleonic flag which resulted in the rise of new European nation. The third wave came in post-World War II phase of decolonisation. Despite these, the ideal of humanity advancing into the next higher stage of a supranational brotherhood has never left the imagination. Rabindranath Tagore in his 'Gitanjali' dreamed of a world not 'broken up into narrow domestic walls'. The higher political aspirations should be to break down cadjan curtains and step out into the world and not to retreat into a feudal past. Uyangoda, on the contrary, has moved into reverse gear and is bent on driving the world back into the stone age. His idea of breaking up nation-states into micro-ethnic units is to reinforce tribal instincts inside racist republics.
Double standards in use of satellite technology
- Using satellites to spy violates international law. Yet, many military satellites are used to spy on Southern countries
By Daya Thussu
In the uproar caused by India and Pakistan's recent nuclear tests one aspect has been largely ignored: the role of Western, mainly US, spy satellites in monitoring nuclear proliferation. Although the 11 nuclear tests conducted in May 1998 (five by India and six by its traditional naval and neighbour, Pakistan) seemed to come as a surprise to the Western media, even an average newspaper reader could have deduced that India and Pakistan have had a nuclear capacity for at least a decade. The real surprise would have been if the West, despite all its 'eyes in the sky', hadn't detected the existence of nuclear weapons programmes in South Asia.Instead, the Western response underscored the hypocrisy of the nuclear debate. Although the morality of squandering limited resources on a nuclear arms race is questionable at best, neither India nor Pakistan violated any international treaties. Thus far both have refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), despite strong arm-twisting by the US.
They argue that the treaty is discriminatory, set up to prevent them from acquiring a nuclear capability, while the five recognised nuclear powers - the US, Russia, Britain, France and China - amass new and advanced nuclear weapons. It's the nuclear powers themselves, argue critics in South Asia, that have violated the NPT; for instance, by continuing nuclear testing banned under the treaty.
Similarly, neither of the South Asian neighbours has signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), on the grounds that it isn't sufficiently comprehensive. Deman-ding substantial changes, they argue that it fails to commit the major nuclear powers to a timetable for total disarmament and wouldn't stop them from making qualitative improvements in their nuclear arsenals through computer simulation.
Keen to impose control regimes on the rest of the world, they jealously guard their current advantage and the privileges that apparently come along; with being a nuclear power, including a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Thus, since the end of the Cold War, and especially since the 1991 Gulf War, nuclear proliferation in the South has been portrayed as the world's top security threat.
International control regimes such as the NPT and CTBT rely on information supplied by surveillance. As a result, satellites are now being used by Northern governments to collect detailed military and economic information on states without their cooperation. This espionage is sanctioned by the open use of the information in the media and by the UN.
With the most advanced satellite monitoring technology, the US has become the enforcer of an international nuclear regime. Out of more than 100 military satellites that the US currently operates, five are specifically deployed to provide low-altitude, close-up reconnaissance pictures of defence-related activities across the globe. Three of these, known as KH (Keyhole) 12, use daylight or infra-red light; the other two, code-named Lacrosse and launched in 1988, scan the ground using radar that can 'see' through clouds and darkness.
Few analysts seem concerned that using satellites to spy violates international law. Imagine the outrage we would hear from the defence and intellectual establishments in the West if, for example, Iran operated a satellite that monitored US troop movements. Yet, it isn't considered at all abnormal that so many military satellites are used to spy on Southern countries.
The technological capability for satellite surveillance is concentrated in a few hands, mostly the US, Russia and France. The proposal for a neutral multinational UN satellite to monitor compliance with the CTBT has been dismissed by Northern- experts as an unjustified cost since so much is available from government and commercial satellites.
The UN's dependence on US technology has been reinforced by the donation of an intelligence-processing system that enables the UN to receive, process and disseminate information provided by member states. Of course, the UN avoids the term 'intelligence' in favour of 'information', giving the impression of neutrality. But developing countries are still concerned that this US-originated intelligence could be used on them to their detriment.
Under pressure from the West, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is tightening up its inspection system. To do this, the IAEA will require unlimited - access to 'suspect' facilities in a country, as well as intelligence from states with observation satellites and back-up by the UN Security Council. Countries with nuclear ambitions are opposed, on the grounds that this violates their sovereignty. They argue that the creation of an 'intelligence unit' within the IAEA is tantamount to handing over the UN organisation to the CIA [the US Central Intelligence Agency].
Their fears were reinforced in 1993 when the IAEA acknowledged that it received US satellite intelligence on North Korea's alleged nuclear weapons programme. The IAEA then demanded a special inspection of its nuclear facilities, which Pyongyang refused. As it turned out, North Korea didn't prove to have even one nuclear device - unlike South Korea, home to thousands of US nuclear warheads. But the US needed a pretext to create a precedent, and North Korea filled the as a 'rogue' nation in the shrinking list of US adversaries.
This is typical of the double standards in the nuclear debate, where different rules apply for friends and foes. Sanctions are zealously upheld against Iraq for alleged infringements of the NPT, yet the US' closest ally, Israel, escapes comment, even though it's acknowledged to be a nuclear power with a programme designed for avowedly military purposes. Israel hasn't signed the NPT, but isn't under the same pressure to join.
Like Iraq and North Korea, Iran is portrayed in Western media as a potential nuclear threat, contributing to an 'Islamic bomb'. (ls there some such thing as a Hindu, Christian or Jewish bomb?) Nevertheless, the IAEA has twice given Iran a clean bill of nuclear health. India is a different kettle of fish. It has a higher international profile and covets a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. Besides, the US remains a key foreign-investor in the country, although it's imposed economic sanctions; on both India and Pakistan as a 'punishment' for their nuclear ambitions.
One obvious form of fallout from the recent tests has been an increase in defence budgets in both India and Pakistan. But this will eventually benefit the 'arms-exporting nations. And it's the West, led by the US, that dominates the global trade in arms. More than 90% of the world's arms exports are made by the five permanent (nuclear) members of the UN Security Council, the supposed guardians of world peace.
Despite South Asia's grotesque poverty - it remains poorest in the world in terms of health, education and gender equality - the region is one of the most eager arms purchasers. So while the 'nationalist' elates there celebrate recent nuclear achievements, the poor are likely to face more hardships as resources are further diverted from health and education to the coffers of the merchants of death.
- Third World Network Features
