This land is our land

Editorial

2013-02-15

In 92 days, Sri Lanka will mark the 4th anniversary of a famous victory that ended a destructive three-decade war. Given the prevailing sense of triumphalism, which seems to have a lifespan longer than the famed Duracell Bunny, it is not difficult to understand why four years on, the victor-vanquished divide seems to be expanding, with post-war developments stuck at the starter point. The defeat of terrorism promised much for a country that had suffered too much pain and devastation. But to enjoy the peace dividend, it was important that steps be taken to ensure the situation that paved the way for a 30-year war never arose. A popular term for this is reconciliation. A more understandable aspect of this is 'those who suffered the traumas of the war are not victimized.' This, from the perspective of the Northern citizen, means, among other things, the right to return to their ancestral lands, claim ownership to these lands and also restart their livelihood. Yet, although nearly four years have lapsed since the North was liberated, thousands who were forced to flee their homes and spent months in makeshift camps, are yet to be given these rights. Significantly, these lands have either been demarcated as coming under High Security Zones or are occupied by the military. This is why more than 20,000 civilians who have no access to their lands have been compelled to stage a mass hunger strike at the Tellipalali Durga Devi Temple premises today (15) and demand the withdrawal of the Security Forces from their lands. The political significance of this action is reflected in the fact that along with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has not only conveyed its support, but also garnered the support of the recently formed joint opposition, of which it is a coalition partner. According to the TNA spokespersons, civilians who were affected when they were evicted from their original places of traditional residence, consequent to the intensification of the war, still live in a pitiful state as their ancestral homes and productive lands have been encroached upon by the Security Forces. Most of the charges articulated by the protesters, most of who are still living in IDP camps, are very serious and if prosecuted in any other democracy, would have drawn very pointed reprimands on the perpetrators of these land-grabbings and resulted in the reiteration of the fundamental right of every citizen of the country to own property and the restoration to the eventual owners of such properties. Materialization of military townships might appear as imposing monuments to the might of the victorious military of the government, but it is no spectacle for celebration for the inhabitants of the region. Yet, the odds against the protesters are far too great. The might of the Security Forces is too daunting a force for an unarmed civilian population to fight against. A hunger strike would certainly generate a different yet strong sense of solidarity among the rest of Tamils in the area. But most significantly what we need to understand is that hunger strikes such as what is happening today and protests that are more or less a daily routine, are not taking place in a vacuum. They are all happening in a living dynamic of political instability in the country. The USA is threatening to embarrass the government yet again in Geneva in the forthcoming UNHRC meeting; Navi Pillay has already issued a couched warning of sorts about Sri Lanka's failure with fresh calls for intervention and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is posing even more ominous problems. To add to this and the growing sense of polarization, the President is reported to have attended an official working meeting in the North and the leading political entity in the North, the TNA, had not been invited. When a hunger strike is being planned in the context of this murky political and social backdrop and when the central issue of that strike is 'land,' which in effect for some, is 'Eelam' for all what one means by Eelam is land, the seeds of another protracted struggle, whether aided and abetted by the TNA or not, are being sown. Let us hope, for the sake of the country and all its inhabitants, the government acts sensibly and not provide nourishment to these seeds by ignoring the concerns of the Tamils that are both relevant and significant.