Sri Lanka: Not A Society At Peace But A Society Of Plunderers
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa
05 July, 2014
Countercurrents.org
Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Abbott, appears to be a handsome gentleman with a healthy smile. He described the situation in Sri Lanka is a society at peace in his recent prejudicial compliment while revealing the true colours of his ignorant view point on those who came to his feet for lamenting help. This is a rather absurd political argument or judgment on a country which has further deteriorated under the present ruling alliance even after the elimination of the insurrection and the five years that marks the conclusion of the so called bloody civil war.
The prime minister has visited Sri Lanka at least twice recently, on one occasion he had a lengthy discussion with the leaders of the country. His second visit was a very short but he spent one hour at the international airport in Colombo to hold “bilateral” discussions with the country’s key players.
The Abbott administration maintain greater degree of cohabitation with the ruling party which is completely different from how the ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard took up the issues in the country when it comes to genuine bilateral relations between the two nations. In fact in his term, “a society at peace”, he has no problems and those who came to his soil seeking refuge which he decided to kick back to their origins.
My main question is that what will happen if Mr. Tony Abbott, continues to ignore the fact that a family outside the elite clan which grabbed the power and resources in last few decades maintains impunity while de-establishing the very idea of the state, in Sri Lanka?
Will the Honourable Prime Minister have an answer to this question?
Can he address the reality of the nation while turning a blind eye to the thousands that are trying to escape it?
However I have no idea about political ambitions or diplomatic strategies behind the distorted comments made by those politicians. But I merely want to highlight here the real situation in Sri Lanka, is still absolutely grim.
Sri Lanka is not a society at peace in its true means but a society of plunderers or absolutists in a real sense. The very structure of the state is being destroy while power centralised into the one family. In the same time militarisation has prevent even enjoy basic rights of a citizen in each country must be deserved.
True, there is no ongoing battle between the tax paid state forces and rebels, which was concluded as a result of collective efforts by all communities including Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims and so on. It has been reduced to selling arms to both parties by those who have market. But the conclusion of the matter was an attempt to eliminate the symptoms of rooted disease in the country. Root causes of the crisis in this country are laying on the collapse of the criminal justice system. Therefore achieving a society at peace is long procedure and many people are suffering from social disorder.
What Mr. Prime Minister should enlighten everyone is that, Sri Lanka is not capable of becoming another Pax Romana nor its leader is Pax Augusta as they are looters of state resources while degenerating fundamental rights of people and abusing power.
People who came to you while sneaking on the boats, because they believed at least the time they left to enjoy their breath must spend in a country where political pluralism, multiculturalism and other basic qualities of mankind are existing. No one need to leave the country which they belong if there have opportunities to freedom. But in Sri Lanka what has happened, nepotistic personal desires of ruling clan has been evaporated the very idea of freedom in this beautiful country. So, nothing left to those who become victims, but to bow down at you for life with dignity and respect.
Will you kick out them while ensuring a “society at peace”?
Nilantha Ilangamuwa edits the Sri Lanka Guardian, an online daily newspaper, and he also an editor of the Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives, bi-monthly print magazine. He is the author of the just released non-fictions, “Nagna Balaya” (The Naked Power), in Sinhalese and “The Conflation”, in English. He can be reached at [email protected]
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