Senaka Weeraratna

An accountability process for the colonial crimes committed by the three colonial powers namely Portugal, Netherlands and Britain, is warranted through an apology, catharsis, reparations and repatriation of stolen artifacts. Sri Lanka must also demand a part of the total revenue earned by these countries in exhibiting Sri Lankan artifacts in Museums such as the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam and other reputed Museums in other parts of Europe. This is a just and fair demand. An Apology must be particularly directed to the descendants of the Sinhala Buddhist Kandyan people who were singled out as victims of colonial brutalities. These are the descendants of a highly oppressed group of people who were also deprived of their inheritance by the colonial rulers planting thousands of indentured Indian labour of Malabar descent in their traditional homelands without their consent. 19th-century British official documents reveal how the freedom struggles against British colonial rule were suppressed in a most brutal, genocidal manner in one of the darkest pages of European colonial history.

1)     The Government of Sri Lanka must demand from all three colonial powers i.e., Portugal, Netherlands, and Britain:

a) Accountability for crimes committed against both humans and non – humans e.g., the holocaust of elephants in the upcountry, including seeking

a)    Apology and Repentance

b)    Atonement and Remorse

c)     Catharsis

d)     Reparation

e)     Restitutio in Integrum (in Latin this means ‘Restoration’)  

b) Inquire into Colonial Crimes committed by the three Colonial Rulers including Genocidal crimes and wholesale destruction of Buddhist Temples and illegal seizure and occupation of Buddhist Temple lands, and the building of Christian Churches on top of destroyed Temple sites (see the ‘Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon’ by Father Fernao de Queyroz), and the prohibition of the practice of Buddhism.

c) Establish an International Museum dedicated to remembering the freedom struggles of the people of Sri Lanka against Colonial Rule (1505 – 1948). Take a cue from the various Museums found in the African Countries and even closer home in India where the freedom fighters are respectfully remembered and the horror of the colonial crimes are highlighted. 

d) Research and rewrite the narrative surrounding gaining independence taking into consideration both the internal and external factors. The role of the people of Asia who fought against occupation of their lands by Western powers especially during the Second World War and the impact that resistance had on the eventual independence gained by Ceylon in 1948 must be truthfully admitted. The blood shed by the Japanese soldiers plus the soldiers of the Indian National Army (INA) far outweighed any blood sacrifices in Sri Lanka during the Second World War. The last gun fired by the Sinhalese against the British Colonial occupation was in Matale in 1848. Not even a stone was thrown thereafter by any one in this country. Freedom came on a platter to Ceylon in 1948. No Blood Sacrifices to gain independence for Ceylon after 1848. This is the stark truth. Only one freedom fighter of Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) origin stands out alongside world renowned freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Aung San, U Nu, Sukarno, Mohammed Hatta (Indonesia), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam). His name is Anagarika Dharmapala. 

e) Plan a celebration that gives due place to all those who fought against all three Euro – Christian powers that ruled Ceylon in an unjust way

f) Convene an International Conference on Reparations jointly with former European colonies in Africa, Middle East,  the Caribbean  and Asia.

g) Consider changing the format of Independence Day celebration to exhibit more the historical, cultural, scientific, and Ayurvedic medicines and medical achievements in improving the quality of life, and the creative abilities and contributions of our people in our 2, 500-year history including the names of our freedom fighters i.e., the brave Kings and Queens who fought and protected this land from foreign invasions, and help build the pre-colonial and admirable Buddhist Civilization of Sri Lanka.

h) Form a Reparations Committee and establish an Office of Reparations to negotiate the Historical Demand of the downtrodden people of Ceylon from the former colonial masters during the colonial era (1505 – 1948). 

Senaka Weeraratna