Wigneswaran’s ‘Two Nations’ & The State’s Two Blunders

By Dayan Jayatilleka - April 1, 2014

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

Chief Minister Wigneswaran has just made, or made explicit, a basic political claim which escalates the political conflict and places or retains Sri Lankan Tamil politics on a road to a dead end. Meanwhile, the state authorities have made two wrong moves in recent weeks, both of which stem from a single error, and will have negative repercussions for some years to come.

The Sri Lankan authorities have cracked down on what it claims is a plot to revive LTTE activity. If the story is true, then a crackdown is certainly warranted if it is conducted in a manner that does not alienate the Tamil people further and thereby help the LTTE in its planned activities. In short, an intelligence-led covert surgical operation is the instrument to use rather than an overt and heavy security blanket which disrupts the progress made by the state in providing a relatively normal life for the people of the area.

One must be pardoned though for wondering whether the overt and widespread nature of the crackdown is inspired by the Israeli doctrine in the Occupied Territories, namely that of periodic roundups to stay on top of the populace, keeping it off balance.

A related problem is the arrest of Jeyakumari, followed by Ruki Fernando and Fr Praveen. The LTTE operative Gobi is a strange fellow, seeking shelter in the house of a prominent activist who is almost certain to be under surveillance.  Even assuming this to be true, the Prevention of Terrorism Act is intended for hard targets, not for the likes of Ruki and Fr Praveen, not to mention Azath Sallay, Kumar Gunaratnam, Lalith and Kugan, and very probably Prageeth Eknaligoda.

It is the inability to distinguish adequately between hard and soft targets that has placed the Sri Lankan state in the crosshairs of an international probe.                                     Read More