By Dr. Chandana Jayalath

Irrespective of the South or the North, everyone experienced the brutality of war. It is hard to find a single person not affected by the war. How many innocent, unarmed people lost their lives? At the end of the day, one life cannot be superior to another.

May 19 is considered as the day that the thirty years of war categorically ended. It is the date that gazetted and declared ‘National War Heroes day’. It is also the day remembering civilians irrespective of race, who died while walking on the road. Despite of what it may be; these celebrations should not promote ethnic ideologies that are further escalating unease among the races. Celebrating as a victory of one side should not become a day of defeat to the other. The tragedy was covered up by the word ‘Victory’ which had no clear message given to all. Victory means victory for all that started saving lives.

It is always good to remember the dark days of history, as it then places greater value on the brighter days. Remembrance Day is a day to recall what we have lost and what we can do to eliminate a similar occurrence in the future. This is possible only if we learn lessons from history. However, this forethought must accompany with the sole determination not to bring about abhorrence in whatsoever circumstances. This is because war can never be anyone’s victory other than a defeat for humanity.

Of all in avail, I think it’s important on this day to remember the colossal commitment made by the war heroes. When I say ‘we’ it is all Sri Lankans who should definitely celebrate May 19, not just as the day that the traitor was killed or to be jubilant over a single death but also to remember the innocent lives of all those dauntless soldiers, next of kins and innocent civilians who lost their lives.

The conclusion of the war was, and still is, an opportunity for peace. Peace is about equity, freedom, wellbeing and inclusivity. It has no sides; thus, there can’t be winners or losers. It is counterproductive and ridiculously short-sighted to celebrate a win for one side and hope for another side. We need to get on with building peace, equity and well-being by fighting against inebriated forces driven by ulterior motives be it power, money, nationalism, religious extremism or anything else. Therefore, victory celebrations that became just political tamashas were not at all acceptable as they never promoted national integrity. I think it is high time to stop this exhibitionism and strive towards sanity and action for a better tomorrow.

With the cry for relocating military set ups in the North, I must say, the role of the military in the North and the East is to maintain state security and ensure that no terrifying elements remain. The history is full of important events. The establishment of military camps in locations such as Mannar, Palaly, Elephant Pass, Pooneryn, Thalladi, Karainagar and Mullaitivu began in the 1950s with a view to enhancing internal security and minimise the smuggling of persons, drugs and materials in and out of the country. These concerns remain to this day. Similarly, the Navy has an immense responsibility to ensure the security of the seas around the island and prevent the trafficking of persons, smuggling of drugs and the incursion of terrorists and their weapons into Sri Lanka. At the same time, the Navy also has to protect the international sea lines of communication that pass close to Sri Lanka from piracy, and provide a safe Indian Ocean not only for Sri Lanka but for the entire World. The posture of the military has been defensive due to the nature of the strategic threats to Sri Lanka.

It is no harm people gather remembering their loves ones. While remembering the fallen, it is bad to see that two extreme ends unfold where one party believing in brotherhood while the other in federalism or separatism. The classic incident is what had in Mullative on the 19th May. Both ends surrounding lot of arguments for and against are, I believe, of less significance, when law and order of the country is concerned. This is premised on the basis that law and order is what brings social justice and equity which primarily depends on how the law is observed by the masses. Justice should not only be done but it must also be meticulously seen to be done. I therefore argue that those who acted against the court order must be brought to justice at the outset.

In elaborating, let me quote few lines of the previous article by Senali Waduge. LTTE is a banned terrorist entity not just in Sri Lanka but in 32 nations as well. It remains banned despite its leader and key commanders eliminated. Since 2009 attempts have been made to commemorate dead terrorists in an obvious bid to keep the money-generating Eelam project alive. Mourning the dead – for Tamils is to gain refugee status to foreign climes, to LTTE diaspora it is a means to elevate luxury living styles by pocketing some of the funds collected, for NGOs/INGOs it is sustenance of their jobs, for the Church it has provided opportunities to harvest souls, for foreign governments it has enabled political and economic influence over Sri Lanka. None of them even know who they are mourning but a mother does and a mother whose child is her child irrespective of being a terrorist does not need a public display to mourn her child. Let’s us all be clear about this and stop the theatrics once and for all. It must be noted without hesitation that Sri Lanka has every right to celebrate the Victory over the world’s most brutal terrorist outfit.