The ‘Peace’ cacophony increased in crescendo last week and hit the high notes. It was the International Day for Peace and this was commemorated in this country perhaps as no other country did.
The state media had little news other than ‘Peace’ and President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s visit to the New York UN headquarters where she too made a clarion call for peace in the world over as well as in her country. The peace drums were being beaten in gusto in the newspapers, over radio and TV. Peace demonstrations were organised in many parts of the country such as mini marathons. The Centrepiece was Sarvodaya Chief’s demonstration termed, Ahimsa, on the lawns of the BMICH where some thousands who had been transported from far away places gathered. Mr Ariyarartne’s demonstration was held to ‘meditate on Peace’.
Transcendental and metaphysical thoughts and prayers to gods may help in bringing about the wishes of the devotees but to whom were they appealing to on terra firma? What is the ‘Peace’ that they wanted and whom did they think was disturbing the tranquillity or in more materialistic terms, making war?
Was it the government of Sri Lanka? Are our armed forces at war right now and killing people or is it the LTTE itself in their fratricidal between its two factions? Who is killing so called government intelligence agents and cadres of the EPDP? Who is abducting children for war? The answer is all too obvious.
All are well aware that there is one organisation under one fascist megalomaniac making war and killing people but none of these ‘peace’ demonstrators dared even to name him or the organisation. Why oh why is this deadly silence? The favourite excuse from NGO workers to diplomats is that it is not the way of conflict resolution. And all negotiators have been scared of calling a spade a spade. This has been an ideal situation for Prabakaran right right along—- using the peace fa`E7ade to further his military and political objectives.
Could not that messiah for peace, A.T.Ariyaratne ,from the foot steps of the BMICH on the day of his ‘Ahimsa’ cried out aloud for the world to hear : ‘Vellupillai Prabakaran, in the name of humanity, in the name of your brothers and sisters of Sri Lanka, stop the killings?’ Mr. Ariyaratne who once threatened a ‘Peace March’ to Jaffna from Dondra but which failed to proceed even a short distance, made no such direct appeal to the killers. Meditation with his demonstrators dressed in white, 190,000 of them, as he claimed, was his contribution.
But the message he sent out gave a totally wrong picture to what is happening in this country. Such mass demonstrations for ‘Peace’ in a country where only a terroist organisation continues its killings, coveys a totally different picture to the outside world. It conveys the impression that a massive bloody conflict is on in this country and the minorities are being massacred. The crimes committed by the killers are covered by this fa`E7ade of peace.
It is doing no good to the country and its people. It only amounts to preaching to the convinced and taking away attention from the killers.
It will be recalled that peace has been the objective of every Sri Lankan government since the guerrilla war with the terroist groups commenced. President J.R.Jayewardene went over to India to bring about a settlement because India at this stage was building up the guerrilla groups. Since then, every government has sued for peace. But the ‘Peace Mongers’ particuarly those backed by foreign NGOs consistently portrayed the government as the war mongers and the LTTE as representatives of a suppressed minority.
It happened last week, this time the objective being to compel the government to sit down for negotiations on terms demanded by the LTTE. Even foreign governments that conceded that the LTTE proposals were a blue print for a separate state now want the government to start negotiations—- come hell or high-water—- for the government and the people of this country.
People like Mr. Ariyaratne must realise that preaching to the convinced like his faithful Sarvodaya organisation in the full glare of the media will not contribute to peace. It is counterproductive to peace. Go forth Mr. Ariyaratne, to the north and east and preach your ‘ahimsa’there. The people of Colombo are not killers and don’t need your loving kindness.
(http://www.island.lk/2004/09/27/editorial.html)
