The CRM’s publication also reproduces an extract from a 2nd Century BC Pali text ‘Milinda Prasna’ a conversation between King Milinda and the Buddhist monk Nagasena:

The King said, "Bhante Nagasena, will you converse with me?"

"Sire, if you will converse with me under the fashion of the wise, I will. But if you converse with me as Kings converse, I will not."

"And how, Bhante Nagasena, do the wise converse?"

"Sire, when the wise converse, whether they become entangled in their opponent’s arguments or extricate themselves, or whether they or their opponents are shown to be in error, and whether their own superiority or that of their opponents is proved, none of these things can make them angry."

"And how, Bhante, do kings converse?"

"Sire, when Kings converse they put forward a proposition, and if any should oppose it they order his punishment, saying, ‘Punish this fellow!’"

"Bhante, you are right. I will converse as the wise do, not as kings do. Let your reverence converse with me in all confidence. Let your reverence converse as unrestrainedly as if with a Bhikku, a novice, a lay disciple or a keeper of the monastery grounds. Have no fear!"

In an introduction to this series, the CRM stated that the publication originated in the context of the appalling violence that had disfigured Sri Lanka, accompanied by a terrifying rise of intolerance. The CRM identified as a priority the need to promote understanding of not only the right to dissent but also the intrinsic value of dissent. ‘Threats to the free exchange of ideas certainly do not come from government alone. They can and do come from other sources too; from various social and political groups, from communal and individual attitudes, even from majority public opinion. Indeed, the suppression of opposing views by the state is often with the support of society at large; governments in many ways reflect society’s prejudices. However, intolerance from whatever source is dangerous to society, and must be identified and opposed.’

The CRM’s warnings are even truer today with growing threats, intimidation and even killing of dissidents. Despite President Rajapakse’s attempts at damage control, these petty ‘potentates’ continue to act with impudence and impunity. These ‘fascist tendencies’, to borrow Michael Roberts’ phrase, must be exposed and opposed, for the sake of the future of democratic rule in our country. As fellow Island columnist Tisaranee Gunasekera has stated, the rule of law must not be allowed to be replaced by the law of the rulers.

The helplessness of the civilians

The current conventional phase of the war rumbles along nearing its inevitable end. Tens of thousands of non-combatants however continue to lie trapped in the conflict zone. Apologists for the two sides, not caring a damn for the helplessness of these civilians, engage in shameless rhetoric. One set of apologists deny the brutality of the LTTE and deny that these trapped people are being used as human shields. The other set of apologists seek to justify the harsh and uncaring attitude towards these civilians. When they argue that those remaining in the LTTE controlled territory are LTTE sympathisers and deserve what they are being subjected to, they are in effect denying the claim that LTTE is using them as human shields.

The situation is compounded by the de facto censorship imposed on the media in the country. The ordinary people are deprived of independent information about the actual ground situation for the civilians. All this is sadly polarising our people as never before. The Tamil diaspora is fed an exaggerated story of the otherwise genuine suffering of the civilians and also a pro-LTTE slant to the real ground situation in the Vanni. This in turn is relayed via the internet to the middle class Tamils in the country and which then filters down to the ordinary Tamil people. Sinhala supremacist propaganda is readily made available to middle classes and the masses via both the electronic and print media. Naturally the result is a major polarisation between the Sinhala people and the minorities on how they perceive the current political position. This polarisation was more than evident in the way the people voted at the two Provincial Council elections held recently. Radhakrishnan of the Upcountry People’s Front stated that his Party which enjoyed substantial support in Nuwara Eliya-Maskeliya and which contested with the UPFA failed to win a single seat because the plantation workers, subject to harassment under the guise of security measures, voted against the Government. That was the ground situation for the minorities. War rhetoric and controlled war news however worked to the advantage of the Government among the Sinhala voters. The intimidation and de facto censorship may prove effective in the short term but in the longer term, history has repeatedly shown that it is counter-productive.

The Final War?

One vocal Sri Lankan diplomat has claimed that the current is the final war – the war to end all wars against LTTE terrorism in our country. He dismisses the fear expressed by many that once the present conventional phase of the war lends and LTTE loses all territory it controls, LTTE will revert to their former guerrilla war strategy. Another diplomat in Vinayagamoorthy Muraltharan, alias Colonel Karuna, now an Honourable Member of Parliament, disagrees. (We refer to this gentleman as a diplomat because he was officially issued a diplomatic passport by the government and allowed to travel under his incarnation as Kokila Gunawardena.) This gentleman predicts that the war will continue for twelve to eighteen months even after the LTTE loses all its territory.

Who is right will probably depend on whether the LTTE supremo is captured, killed or goes underground. Being a largely monolithic outfit, the LTTE will probably disintegrate if he is no longer there to provide leadership. But as Karuna predicts, the second tier of leadership may carry on an underground guerrilla war for some months. But if Pirapaharan himself goes underground, then we will have to brace ourselves for a prolonged and uncertain guerrilla war.

The success or otherwise of such a guerrilla war will depend largely on how the Government of Sri Lanka handles the aspirations of the minorities. If it comes up with political package that ensures that the Tamils, Muslims and other minorities feel that they are equal partners with the Sinhala people and are being treated with justice and dignity, then there is no potential for the LTTE or any other militant group to exist and enjoy popular support, a sine qua non for the success of a militant underground movement.