Lessons From Black July And The Recommendations Of The LLRC

By Jayantha Dhanapala and Rev. Jayasiri T. Peiris On behalf of Friday Forum -July 29, 2013 

Jayantha Dhanapala

Lessons From Black July For Law And Order And Tolerance 

This week we remember with deep regret, shame and sadness, the Black July of 1983, now chosen to be forgotten in history. Many factors paved the way for the incidents that took place during the 1983 Black July. We remember the intensifying hate campaigns, the terrorism and the ever increasing tensions between the ethnic groups that preceded black July and the thirty year war this led to.  During this long period of hate and war citizens of this country were subject to terror and unimaginable destruction was caused to life and property. It is consequently important that we should be of one mind and collectively learn from the lessons of this evil and traumatic experience so that similar mistakes will not be repeated now or in the future. It is regrettable that in spite of the destructive war, many seem to have failed to learn lessons from this sad period in our history and continue to promote hatred among different ethnic and religious groups.

During the last few months, we have come to learn through the media that certain groups in our country have embarked on another hate campaign that could cause harm to our country. This hate campaign is based on religious grounds. Hate and violence are advocated, suspicion is brewing and citizens of this country are being estranged from one another. A few individuals and groups have taken the law into their own hands, in a manner detrimental to the welfare of this country and its citizens. It is our view that some of the speeches made by certain individuals are not only against the tenets of true religion  but also against  Article 10 of the Sri Lankan Constitution. This article guarantees the freedom of religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion of choice for every citizen. We firmly believe that no person is above the law.

According to our understanding the threats and attacks that have been launched against places of worship of Muslims and Christians are incompatible with the core teachings of all religions -and are detrimental to the peaceful co-existence among our communities. This hate campaign should stop immediately if we are to move forward as a nation that has overcome selective violence. If not the chances are that we may end up a failed state. All four major religions in our country have spiritual values that promote peaceful co-existence and respect for all. True followers of these religions should be guided by their respective teachings.

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