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Wednesday 27 November 2013

England and Sri Lanka’s problem – II


Many commentators have written on Cameron and Channel 4 and it is not necessary to repeat them in this column. However, we have to “learn” a few things from the English way of managing events. The press conference given by the English Prime Minister was clearly state and stage managed allowing mainly the English media to ask questions. However, the managers allowed one Sri Lankan to ask a question and Cameron’s managers could always say that the Sri Lankans were also given an opportunity to ask questions.

The Sri Lankan media went to town with the freedom of expression or freedom to ask questions but who would have known what happened at the press conference outside Sri Lanka? I doubt even India or Pakistan reported on the “democracy” displayed at this particular press conference, and certainly the English people would have been kept in the dark by the English press. As far as the English people are concerned their Prime Minister has had a successful press conference. Now that is management the English way. They pretend to be upholders of democracy, freedom of expression etc., while not practicing them but giving the impression that English establishment practices all the virtues that we are taught in schools and universities. The English press would criticize the establishment here and there giving the impression that they are critical of the establishment, but when it comes to events crucial to the maintenance of the system they are with the establishment. It is said that justice should not only be done but seen to be done. This is again an English euphemism that is used to manage things but in practice justice is only shown to be done without doing any justice. It is the impression created that matters and not what is done. It is seen everywhere in the Judaic Christian culture and western science is the worst culprit pretending to be objective while being subjective all the way commencing with Galileo.

The English have the advantage in these matters as they control not only the “international” press but education as well. The Americans are only poor cousins of the English in these spheres though they have more political power. It is still the English ways that rule the world with Obama given the reins but not the rules. The rules are still the prerogative of No. 10, Downing Street. The Social Sciences are controlled by the English, and when western Physics is not objective what can be said of History, Sociology, Economics, Political Science etc. The so called Mahavansa phobia is a creation of the English with the University of Ceylon and its imitators gladly following their English masters. I can do nothing but laugh when the Social Scientists of Sri Lankan origin claim that they are impartial with respect to the Tamil problem, democracy, freedom of expression etc. Either these academics publish following the Mahavansa phobia created by the English or perish. In  publish or perish in the jargon of the academia publish amounts to publish following the English in general with the qualification being swept under the English carpet. I myself have my criticism of Mahavansa or even Asoka (Third Sangayana) Buddhism but I will defend them against western Judaic Christian attacks. I reject the English criticism of Mahavansa with the contempt it deserves. I am not impartial, and unlike the “academics” I am prepared to admit that I am based on Sinhala Buddhist Chinthanaya. My criticisms on Mahavansa and Asoka Buddhism stem from my partiality towards (Sri) Lanka and not towards India.      

Sri Lankans, especially the Sinhalas cannot hold a candle to the English on management. The only plus point they earned was in giving a back row seat to Cameron at the inaugural ceremony of the CHOGM at Nelum Pokuna. Of course the ceremony was grand but the “international press” was not interested in the efforts by the Sri Lankan artistes.  The Channel 4 team was given visas to enter Sri Lanka to cover the CHOGM. The Sri Lankans were very democratic in giving them Visas but the English press tried to create the impression that the visas were issued after the English establishment applied pressure. However, they failed in their attempt and kept quiet after an initial murmur. The Chanel 4 exhibited their arrogance, and anti Sinhala, pro Tamil racist and pro LTTE (we are not fooled by pretentions to the contrary) colonial attitude while they were in Sri Lanka. Of course as said earlier these are not reported in the “objective impartial international” press but the Sri Lankan government was able to convince the vast majority of Sinhalas where channel 4 and English media in general stand with respect to Tamil racism. Breaking all the protocol Miller probably thinking that we still live in the Cargills - Millers era wanted to question the President who was going back after a meeting. Then the team wanted to gate crash to have a meeting with the President without making a prior appointment. Would they dare to go to Downing Street without an appointment?

An added bonus was supplied by Mangala Samaraweera who is good at cutting cloths to suit the English, by inviting the Channel 4 team to Siri Kotha, the UNP head quarters. Mangala could not have invited channel 4 without the approval of Ranil Wickremesinghe who has no chance of becoming the President of the country even with the assistance of the English and Vickramabahu the Marxist. Of course, there were other journalists as well at the press conference at Siri Kotha but except for the political naiveté it was clear that the UNP and its associates wanted to speak to Channel 4 against not only the government but the country and the Sinhalas as well. Giving visas to the channel 4 team when India refused to issue a visa to Macrae brought its results for the government as far as the Sinhala people are concerned. The votes at Sri Lankan elections are in the villages and not in English suburbs.

The Channel 4 team tried to make a hue and cry over the demonstrators at Anuradhapura claiming that it was state managed. I do not know who managed it but if there were government supporters among the demonstrators I am not surprised. Almost all demonstrations are managed by somebody and very rarely any spontaneous demonstrations take place. Whether it is the Rathupaswela demonstration or the demonstration by the twenty odd people organized by Anandi for Cameron were sponsored by interested parties, but in the case of Channel 4 team my understanding is that if they wanted they could have gone where they wanted with the help of the security forces had they wished. Instead they had decided to come back to Colombo and tried to scrounge a free trip via Dambulla. Now I have a question to ask the English. Who staged the demonstrations against Sri Lanka and the Sinhala people blocking the roads around Westminster Parliamentary building? Would the LTTE supporters demonstrate in Westminster without the tacit approval of the English security authorities? Instead of sending the road blockers to London tower the London metropolitan police gave them protection. When the President was to speak at Oxford who stopped him speaking saying that there were potential threats to “sabotage”   the meeting? The difference between the English and the Sri Lankans whether Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim is that the former knows how to stage demonstrations giving the impression that they are not involved. We know the English for more than two hundred years but the Sri Lankans have not been able to master their management techniques. The President had to return to Colombo without going to Oxford, but the Channel 4 team if wanted would have gone to Kilinochchi or wherever they wanted to go if they had asked assistance from the police. In any even they went to Jaffna with Cameron to make the next video to be telecast and had the tears of the twenty odd mothers organized by Anandi, on their celluloid.

I have just one word on the war crimes before we conclude for this week. It is said the armed forces were involved in deliberately killing innocent Tamils. However, what is forgotten is not only that the innocent Tamils were used a man shield by Prabhakaran, but that the LTTE killed anybody who wanted to escape. If the armed forces were the killers of the innocent people what bothers me is the willingness of the latter to run towards the killers without waiting with the saviours of the Tamils assisted by the English. The innocent Tamils must have gone insane  those days to run towards the killers in the killing fields. However, they may be back with their normal minds thanks to Anandi and the rest, to come out with horror stories against the armed forces. If Anandi had acted in a similar way in England she would have ended up in the London tower. It is good for her that the Sinhalas have not been able to learn from the English.
 (To be continued)   


Nalin De Silva

27-11-2013