dbsjeyaraj.com

Hello Friends,

A harsh fact of life is the hiatus between rhetoric and reality.

One is starkly reminded of the chasm between promise and performance as we see current developments unfolding.

On the one hand there is the very discernible yearning of ordinary people from all ethnicities to put the past behind us and move forward to reconciliation, justice,amity and unity.

But there are other forces obstructing this natural process by obstinately sticking to obscurantist ideology.

The ruling Rajapakse regime for reasons of its own is actively fostering and promoting triumphalist fervour amidst the majority community continuously.

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

A noteworthy feature of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been the special manner in which it glorifies death and pays homage to dead tiger fighters.

Fallen LTTE members were eulogized as martyrs and referred to as “Maaveerar” or Great heroes.

The departed tigers were buried in cemeteries known as “Maaveerar Mayaanangal” (great hero cemeteries) and memorials called “Maaveerar Thuyilum Illangal” (sleeping abodes of great heroes) were constructed.

[a Heroes day cut out in Elephant Pass, 2005]

November 27th of each year was declared the “Maaveerar thinam” or great heroes day. This was the date on which Sathiyanathan alias Shankar died of gunshot injuries in 1982. He was the first LTTE cadre to be killed in combat.

Hello Friends,

A Christian clergyman who inspired many of us during our student days was the Anglican Bishop of Kurunegala Rt. Rev Lakshman Wickremasinghe.

This eminent theologian known popularly as Bishop Lakshman was a practical man of action when it came to the question of human rights violations and inter-ethnic justice and unity.

Hello Friends,

Opening up this Blog for people to express their views on national reconciliation, ethnic amity and inter-racial justice seems to have created a vibrant forum.

I am particularly heartened by the positive responses of so many people from different walks in life.

Hello Friends,

The thoughtful letter on the rise of triumphalism in Sri Lanka written by “podi seeya” Upali Cooray to his grand nephew was posted on this blog under the heading “Chauvinist fever following military defeat of LTTE”.

The piece was well-received and evoked a wide range of responses.

Most of them if not all appreciated the analytical advice proffered by Upali Cooray a veteran leftist with a Trotskyite background.

Hello Friends

Ajith Ratnarajah is one of the enthusiastic readers of this blog. Apart from posting some pertinent comments under pseudonyms Ajith also sends me e–mails frequently

I discovered to my delight that he and I had similar thoughts on matters concerning the long term future of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

I have gone on record that the destiny of Sri Lankan Tamils is inextractably inter-twined with that of the Sinhalese.

U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki moon has warned of the risk of rising triumphalism in Sri Lanka following the military defeat inflicted upon the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the Sri Lankan armed forces..

It is quite understandable that people suffering from what they perceived as terrorism would be relieved at the prospect of such acts ceasing and would celebrate what they think is an “end to terrorism”.

At the same time the Rajapakse regime is deriving maximum political mileage out of this victory and is therefore whipping up thinly guised triumphalist fervour to enhance its popularity.

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The witch hunt against journalists depicted as enemies of the State continues unabated in Sri Lanka.

The latest victim in this “officially sanctioned unofficial campaign” is Poddala Jayantha, a senior Journalist and prominent media rights activist.

Jayantha, a senior journalist at “Dinamina” the Sinhala daily run by Lake House , is also the General Secretary of Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) and a key activist of the Free media movement (FMM) in Sri Lanka.

Hello friends,

When I posted Mohan Sekaram’s mail with his permission on this blog little did I realize it would have such impact.

My original intention was simply that of presenting a different refreshing point of view. Needless to say I shared his opinion to a great extent too.

What I thought would be a mere ripple has made quite a splash and acquired a momentum of its own at least on this site.