No Ceasefire for Christmas
Please
Dilrook Kannangara
There should be no let up in the ongoing military operations. The recent
attacks on the LTTE have been very successful and any let-up at this
stage would mean a sure reversal of these hard fought gains. It is very
interesting to note that it is the Mannar Bishop who is demanding a
‘ceasefire’ for unstated reasons. His reasons do not make
any sense. As a practicing Catholic, I see no valid reason why there
should be yet another sham ceasefire for Christmas. If such a shoddy
ceasefire is declared by the government that is a disgrace for all Christians
living in this country. It will also give a completely faulty meaning
to the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ and his parents had all the
hallmarks of obedience to their political leaders. The reason for his
humble birth in a stable was due to a census conducted by the Romans
who controlled their country and all residents were required to go.
Jesus Christ in a sermon declared in no uncertain terms to ‘give
God what is due to him and give Cesar what is due to him (tax)’.
This shows his humble compliance to the law of the land.
Unfortunately for the Lankan church, not many intelligent individuals
have joined it for the past few decades. I do not intend to put down
my Church, but any churchgoer, student of a Catholic school, a former
student of a seminary, etc. would completely agree with me. This is
in stalk contrast to how Buddhist monks are chosen among bright students.
As a result, many modern day Christian priests display weird allegiances.
It is pathetic to note that a large number of young Catholic priests
carried Parabakaran’s portraits in a rally held in Northern Sri
Lanka a few years ago. It is even more pathetic how one Anglican priest
laboriously went checking the ethnicity of each cricketer in the Sri
Lankan team when nobody gave a damn about such petty issues as race/community/religion/etc.
of their favorite cricketers. It is even more unfortunate of the Church
that no remedial action was taken to correct this pathetic situation.
These may be Lankan Catholics’ share of staggering sex offenses
committed by Catholic priests in the West!
However, the present demand of a ceasefire is much more sinister. It
comes just days after the gallant Sri Lankan forces captured a key LTTE
bunker along Mannar-Vavuniya road. Did I say Mannar? Yes; it is indeed
the Mannar Bishop who is demanding this ceasefire! There is another
strange coincidence about him. He is a regular visitor to LTTE hideouts
and LTTE leaders in Vanni. According to Tamil sources, he has visited
the injured terrorist leader to ‘pray for him’. This shoddy
ceasefire demand is also a shameful attempt to smuggle the terrorist
leader for medical treatment.
Those who are for a ‘ceasefire’ argue that in April this year
there was a ceasefire for Easter! They think that everyone has two-week
memories to forget what happened just eight months back. Then the terrorists
fully exploited the ‘ceasefire’ to assemble their ‘Tiger
Air Force’ and bombed military and civilian targets. Remember the
cricket World Cup Final night? Are we inviting such nonsense again,
for the second time in 2007?
Besides, was there a ceasefire for Wesak which is the most celebrated
religious festival? Were there ceasefires for Deepavali, Ramazan, Dalada
Perahera, etc.? No. In fact a couple of bombs were found in Kandy during
the 2007 Dalada Perahera! This is the regard terrorists have for religious
events. But there is a difference in calling a ‘ceasefire’
for Christmas. This is part of the LTTE’s propaganda war. It knows
very well that all the countries where LTTE’s main front organizations
function are Christian nations and all interferers in Sri Lanka are
also Christian nations. This is an ideal opportunity to exploit their
sympathy and support for the terrorist cause.
There is another reason for calling a ceasefire. The LTTE is anyway
badly in need of a breather. They do not care whether it is Christmas
or Halloween, they want a breather to regroup and rearm. On the other
hand irregular ceasefires make the conflict look like a big joke to
the international community. This gives them enough courage to interfere
in Sri Lanka for a ‘peaceful resolution’ of the conflict.
The LTTE propaganda machine is also thinking of the ‘Good Friday
Agreement’ where Sinn Fen (the political wing of the IRA) and the
British government came to a power sharing deal. The LTTE terrorists
and Sinn Fen are poles apart and there can be no sharing of power with
brutal terrorists who have nothing else to offer other than blood, bombs,
bodies, suicides and havoc.
On behalf of Catholic Patriotic Sri Lankans I earnestly ask the authorities
not to go for any form of halt to the aggressive military campaign which
is ongoing. If Christmas is to be remembered as the day when the LTTE
planted massive bombs that killed scores in just a few days later, it
is surely not Christmas. The spirit of Christmas lies not in surrender
but in triumph. That is the reason why Three Wise Kings traveled to
Bethlehem to see the new born King 2007 Christmases ago. This event
powerfully symbolizes the rule of law. The Sri Lankan conflict is not
a movie to be stopped for an intermission!
On the other hand, if all LTTE terrorists can be annihilated within
2008, we can really celebrate a true Christmas in a year’s time
in Vanni!
If the Sri Lankan authorities fall prey to this clumsy request for a
ceasefire for Christmas, they must be sent to a seminary to be with
likeminded ‘last-in-the-class’ individuals!
CC - Rev. Fr. Sunil De Silva - E-mail : sunilde@sltnet.lk
ARCHDIOCESE OF COLOMBO - SRI LANKA
CC - Ministry of Defence
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