{"id":45189,"date":"2016-02-19T00:06:09","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T04:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=45189"},"modified":"2016-02-19T00:06:09","modified_gmt":"2016-02-19T04:06:09","slug":"despite-democratic-gains-problems-continue-to-plague-sri-lankas-tamil-dominated-northern-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=45189","title":{"rendered":"Despite Democratic Gains, Problems Continue to Plague Sri Lanka\u2019s Tamil Dominated Northern Province"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy Taylor Dibbert<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been over a year since Maithripala Sirisena assumed the presidency, although much about daily life in Sri Lanka\u2019s war-torn Northern Province remains the same. \u201cThere\u2019s a reduced number of troops on the road,\u201d says Shalin Uthayarasa, a journalist. \u201cWe\u2019re experiencing a temporary respite in repression.\u201d <\/p>\n

Uthayarasa goes on to mention that his two previous points apply to ordinary people, but aren\u2019t relevant for journalists or human rights activists, who continue to face threats (or worse) from state security personnel. \u201cI\u2019m sure they [the Sri Lanka Army] haven\u2019t reduced troop numbers,\u201d he tells me.<\/p>\n

Uthayarasa provides an important and unique perspective. From 2011-2013, he was attacked four times by the Sri Lanka Army as a result of his work as a journalist. Years later, he\u2019s still undergoing physical therapy for the injuries that he\u2019s suffered. As he tells me this I look more closely at the scar on his forehead, a lasting reminder of government repression.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the Northern Province, community members have been speaking up more, as there is more space to publicly criticize the government. There\u2019s also been modest progress regarding freedom of movement and the military\u2019s intervention into civilian life. \u201cThe repression that was there under Mahinda [Rajapaksa] has ended, but the basic issues are all the same,\u201d Uthayarasa says. He tells me that he\u2019s referring to land issues (including the military\u2019s continued occupation of civilian land), the government\u2019s refusal to release Tamil political prisoners and ongoing militarization. \u201cThe military may be less visible, but they\u2019re still there.\u201d Relatedly, the surveillance of civilians remains an issue too.<\/p>\n

In spite of modest progress, a degree of fear still lingers in the north. In late January, I spent a week in Jaffna District. One day I was eating dinner at a well-known hotel in Jaffna town and came across a young man who I had met on a previous visit to the country. The young man\u2019s English is good and he seemed like he\u2019d be an interesting person to speak with. I asked if he\u2019d be up for a brief conversation sometime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could meet maybe for thirty minutes or an hour. I was hoping to get your thoughts on the latest political developments,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n

He seemed ambivalent, but reluctantly agreed to meet me. We set a time for the following day. Almost immediately after leaving me to my plate of chicken curry, the young man returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I meet with you, will there be a picture of me and you?\u201d, he asked me.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Just meeting. There will be no pictures,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he said. \u201cTomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

We were set to meet at my hotel, which was located on Manipay Road. I waited for over an hour, yet he didn\u2019t show. Two days later I ran into the young man again at the hotel where he works.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you show up to the meeting?,\u201d I asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, please don\u2019t misunderstand me. I want to meet with you, but can\u2019t. If I met you then definitely two, three people from TID [the Terrorism Investigation Division] will visit me. I want to be in Jaffna for a long time.\u201d <\/p>\n

He also mentioned that some of his father\u2019s land had been used as a training camp for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the ruthless insurgency that fought for a separate Tamil state in the northern and eastern parts of the country. (The Sri Lankan military defeated the LTTE in 2009, ending a civil war that lasted nearly three decades.)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re being watched?,\u201d I asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. That\u2019s the reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

The TID is officially part of the Sri Lanka Police and falls under the penumbra of the country\u2019s extensive surveillance apparatus.<\/p>\n

On one afternoon, I conducted a focus group discussion with eleven people in a small village outside of Jaffna town. Arranged by a member of the Northern Provincial Council, the discussion was wide-ranging and some people spoke passionately.<\/p>\n

Broadly speaking, the people who participated don\u2019t feel like the new government has done enough to help Tamils. One person told me about how peoples\u2019 expectations increased after the August parliamentary vote, but \u201cup to now nothing has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur suffering continues,\u201d one of the participants told me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we be compensated for the intangibles? What about missing persons?,\u201d asked another.<\/p>\n

After we finished I was getting ready to go. Several of the participants were standing in front of the house where we met; they were all laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone made a joke,\u201d I was told.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, what was the joke about?\u201d, I inquired.<\/p>\n

An elderly woman immediately wiped the smile off her face and spoke directly to me in her native Tamil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d, I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cForeigners keep coming, but nothing really changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Sri Lanka\u2019s new government continues to garner the plaudits of the international community, let\u2019s not forget about the panoply of problems that still plague the country\u2019s Tamil-dominated north. <\/p>\n

Based on Sirisena\u2019s performance this far, one could reasonably conclude that he\u2019s isn\u2019t Rajapaksa. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, when it comes to a range of core Tamil issues, Sri Lanka\u2019s current president doesn\u2019t appear to be that much better than the previous one.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Diplomat<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Taylor Dibbert It\u2019s been over a year since Maithripala Sirisena assumed the presidency, although much about daily life in Sri Lanka\u2019s war-torn Northern Province remains the same. \u201cThere\u2019s a reduced number of troops on the road,\u201d says Shalin Uthayarasa, a journalist. \u201cWe\u2019re experiencing a temporary respite in repression.\u201d Uthayarasa goes on to mention that …<\/p>\n

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