I thought a long time about whether or not I was going to comment on any of this.. In the end I decided that I should speak my mind..I should speak about what’s really happening around me in my country..
The Srilankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared yesterday,in the parliment, Victory in the country’s 30year civil war against LTTE.. Today has been declared as a public holiday over the nation to celebrate the victory.
Following are a few quotes from the president’s speech-
"We have won and restored democracy in the country."
"a new country ... a new nation,"
"the defeat of Tamil terrorism ... a victory for the Tamil people."
Also the Sri Lankan military has released pictures of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran which it says prove conclusively that he is dead. There were too many contradictory announcements by the Army, which aroused many doubts over the reliability of the news. The BBC says- “ The government argues that there are perfectly innocent explanations for the differing accounts of Prabhakaran's death - that in war time what is happening on the battlefront can sometimes get confused.”
Now..Is this really the END? has the war really come to an END? Is the suffering of Tamils over yet? Does this mean an end to the conflict in SL?
My answer is “NO”.
The Srilankans are dancing in the streets, firing fire crackers, playing bands and songs, burning models of prabhakaran, and so on..They are celebrating. Not all the Srilankans are celebrating though. I mean, what is there to celebrate really? This wa
r has brought nothing but loss and death on both sides. So many innocent Singhalese and Tamils have lost their lives. Suicide bombings and Artillery attacks!! The nation is floating in a river of blood and violence. This war turned out nothing but a terrible genocide.
Recently I had the opportunity to interact with the Tamil casualties brought by ship from the war zone to Trinco. They said that they had been held back by the tigers in the war zone as human shields…They blame tigers for many deaths. Anyway, were they relieved to have escaped from there? No they were still worried..if possible, more than before..They were worried about the Army ..They were all considered by the army as LTTE..Even a small baby with amputated limbs..!! They don’t feel safe anywhere. Why they are condemned to feel insecure in their own mother nation?
What is the future of these people? They have suffered severely in this devastating war..They suffered loss because of both the tigers and the SL army. Nobody cared for their lives. Now they are left with nothing but despair. They have no hope about their future. It worries me to think what’s next?
Although the nation is celebrating the Victory, the suffering of the Tamils is far from over.
Here are some incidents which show how the future is going to be -
**As soon as the news of victory reached the nation, the Singhalese people started to threaten the innocent Tamils who live among them. I was in Colombo when this news reached the public. Me and my brother were walking out from KFC, and there was a group of Tamil boys walking before us with handful of chocolates. Then there came a group of boys, apparently Singhalese, in a van, playing loud Singhalese song. One of the boys in the van opened the van door and kicked the boys walking before us & laughed as they fell down. Then they screamed some very rude words at us and drove away. I was SHOCKED! I never expected this. That was just an example of what’s happening here now.
**All over the nation, those who don’t have a National Flag flying out in their houses or workplaces are being brutally attacked. I’m now back in Batticaloa and here they are handing out National flags in the streets and ordering people to hoist them at their houses. I ask you, Is this what you call ‘democracy’? Is this what you call as the ‘Victory’?
Now there are more than 300000 internally displaced people in the Vavuniya camps. No international media or international help workers are allowed in there. Nobody knows what’s going to happen to those people..What's their future?
War cannot bring peace. No way. Even though the so called civil war may seem to have come to an end, it really is not. As long as the Tamils and Singh
alese don't learn to live together, as long as they consider each other as a threat, as long as the Tamils are deprived of their right to live in this nation, this war will never come to an end.
Unless the Tamils and Singhalese learn to share and live together, so many Prabhakaran’s will rise..&.the war will continue…Unless the Tamils & Singhalese understand that they are children of same land and therefore siblings, they will continue to hurt and kill each other…more innocent lives will be lost..
Why are the Tamils considered as invaders in their own mother land? Why do we need to separate the land? Why can’t we all live together in a united SriLanka? Why can’t we love each other and live in harmony? Why is it so hard to LOVE??? Why is it so hard to bring PEACE??
The nation which worships Buddha and his teachings is covered in blood now..His teachings lay forgotten..Only the God knows the answers..He only know whether this nation will ever get rid of its blood stains and enmity.
