As Sri Lanka negotiates the detritus of a long and tragic ethnic conflict, huge challenges loom over the tentative reconciliation process. TSI’s Saurabh Kumar Shahi reports from Vavuniya
Ponnambalam Ramanathan was part of Sri Lanka’s tragic war. That was a long time ago. He is part of the wobbly peace now.
Four years ago, when he was merely 27 yet a LTTE veteran of ten years, he accompanied a small assault team that detonated a bomb inside the office of a political entity off Colombo. That particular political party was a constituent of the government alliance then. Ramanathan does not remember exactly how many were killed – maybe six, maybe eight. He just remembers that no one was left. Those who survived the attack were shot point blank. He says he killed two.
Sitting inside a rehabilitation camp in a suburb of Colombo, he does not want to recall those days. He surrendered in late 2006 outside Vavuniya district and promptly threw away the cyanide capsule that he, and for that matter any LTTE cadre, was supposed to swallow to evade arrest. He is now learning carpentry and is almost impervious to any emotions. But he regrets the violence. “It added up to nothing,” he says philosophically. “I hope there will be harmony.”
Such optimism seems misplaced in today’s Sri Lanka. To overwhelm the LTTE, the regime had augmented the war machine to match the callousness of its opponent. It is now tackling the fallout of that war. As it confronts accusations of human rights abuses, the regime tries to alleviate the uncertainty and mistrust among ethnic Tamils after the disastrous conflict that lasted close to 30 years.
The president, therefore, has an uphill task of reconciliation before him. And these are pressing matters. In the refugee camps in the North many Tamils are still struggling to survive. Depending on who you believe, between 150,000 to 300,000 refugees still there. They somehow managed to survive the last stages of the battle. However, the end of the conflict has triggered questions regarding their future and the odds of co-existence between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
Ponnambalam Ramanathan was part of Sri Lanka’s tragic war. That was a long time ago. He is part of the wobbly peace now.
Four years ago, when he was merely 27 yet a LTTE veteran of ten years, he accompanied a small assault team that detonated a bomb inside the office of a political entity off Colombo. That particular political party was a constituent of the government alliance then. Ramanathan does not remember exactly how many were killed – maybe six, maybe eight. He just remembers that no one was left. Those who survived the attack were shot point blank. He says he killed two.
Sitting inside a rehabilitation camp in a suburb of Colombo, he does not want to recall those days. He surrendered in late 2006 outside Vavuniya district and promptly threw away the cyanide capsule that he, and for that matter any LTTE cadre, was supposed to swallow to evade arrest. He is now learning carpentry and is almost impervious to any emotions. But he regrets the violence. “It added up to nothing,” he says philosophically. “I hope there will be harmony.”
Such optimism seems misplaced in today’s Sri Lanka. To overwhelm the LTTE, the regime had augmented the war machine to match the callousness of its opponent. It is now tackling the fallout of that war. As it confronts accusations of human rights abuses, the regime tries to alleviate the uncertainty and mistrust among ethnic Tamils after the disastrous conflict that lasted close to 30 years.
The president, therefore, has an uphill task of reconciliation before him. And these are pressing matters. In the refugee camps in the North many Tamils are still struggling to survive. Depending on who you believe, between 150,000 to 300,000 refugees still there. They somehow managed to survive the last stages of the battle. However, the end of the conflict has triggered questions regarding their future and the odds of co-existence between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
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