The Sri Lankan government says there are now "no minorities" in the country. What does this statement mean for the Tamil people, asks Keerthisiri Fernando, acting principal of the Theological College of Lanka
The Sri Lankan Government claims that they have wiped out the LTTEers from Sri Lanka. According to government sources all the geographical areas are now under the control of the Sri Lankan government.
Announcing this “victory” the President of Sri Lanka said that now in Sri Lanka there are no “minorities” but only two sections of society. They are the people “who love the Motherland” and those “who don’t love the Motherland”.
In this whole dilemma it is important to look into the future of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
Although the President declared that hereafter there are no minorities in Sri Lanka, the Tamil people will continue to speak Tamil and maintain their unique cultures in Sri Lanka.
As we consider this issue it should be taken into consideration that in this postmodern era where different cultures and languages meet in the same marketplace, people have been strengthening their identities to become meaningful entities in society.
Sociologists are gradually realising that the Western expectation of the ‘Melting Pot’ theory of the past century, where people are expected to integrate into the main culture, is not happening.
After this “humanitarian” war many Tamil people from the former LTTE-controlled areas are now in the IDP (internally displaced people’s) camps. According to government sources they now trust the government and they have given up their allegiances to the LTTE regime.
When we met these people we could notice the confusion in these people. For instance one elderly lady told us that she was not an LTTEer but two of her sons are ‘Mahaweerans’ (literary meaning ‘great heroes’). The Sri Lankan Tamil term Mahaweeran is very much similar to ‘Ranaviruwo’ (literally ‘war hero’) in Sinhala.
The term in Tamil, Mahaweeran, is pregnant with meaning and it gives strength and courage to Tamil people in the same way that the Ranaviruwo functions among many Sinhala people.
As the realities of this nature among Tamil people are going to remain for a very long time, there will be repercussions from this in time to come. At the moment it is too early to predict these repercussions as these people are in a desperate situation as IDPs.
The fact that the LTTE was well established in many countries such as Canada and England is going to affect the future endeavours of Sri Lanka regarding Tamil people in particular.
Although the militant group who were called terrorists because of their actions are defeated, the concerns that they presented are still lingering all over the world. The huge number of IDPs from so-called former LTTE controlled areas will contribute to keeping alive and strengthening these concerns in the global scene.
In all the celebrations, especially in the South of Sri Lanka, after the defeat of the LTTE, the impression is given that all the ‘minorities’ have to live at the mercy of the majority. For instance a 10-year-old girl asked me why is that people are using the Buddhist flag to celebrate victory over the LTTE. Then she said it may be to show that they are against Hindus because Hindus are generally Tamils.
In this postmodern era if we are to have lasting peace we have to respect the self determination and the boundary maintenance of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
Everything possible should be done to fashion positive and constructive leadership to fill up the huge gap created by the downfall of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. To have positive results this should be done by the Tamil people for Tamil people. Others may act as facilitators without disturbing the natural course of acting in this regard.
As the Church of Ceylon plans its long-term contribution to healing the wounds of a brutally divided country, CMS wants to be an active partner. We are grateful for any donations which will go to supporting the church’s response in the aftermath of the war.