The Geneva circus has begun. Some people
would like it to be the Geneva spring after many a springs, including the
academic spring and the Aluthkade spring have failed for two reasons. The UPFA
led by the SLFP and by the President is nationalistic in the sense that it is
anti colonialist, and it has stood up to all the pressure applied by the anti
national forces in the country instigated by the west led by England. Secondly
none of the leaders of the parties in the opposition is nationalistic and the
majority of the Sinhala people have realised that Tamil racism survives even
after the defeat at the Nandikadal lagoon for the simple reason that it is
being used by the western forces. However, the Tamil racist leaders cannot lead
a spring in Sri Lanka the way some forces have done and are doing in some other
countries, and it has fallen on Cameron and his friends to give leadership to
the expected Geneva spring. The Geneva circus has become the anticipated Geneva
spring as well but even if some of the western countries impose indirect
economic sanctions after Geneva it would not be effective as far as the
majority of people are concerned, and all the reports by Darusman on behalf of
the Secretary General of the UN, and Pillai and others would not produce any
results for the west and the anti nationalistic forces.
The fact that the west is prepared to
withdraw the so called violation of human rights during and after the last two
weeks of the humanitarian operations if the demands of Tamil racism are met,
has exposed the anti nationalistic forces operating here and abroad. It is in
this context that one has to consider the letter written by Bishop Rayappu
Joseph and the other Tamil Christian priests in the Northern and Eastern
Provinces. It was Bishop Rayappu Joseph that allowed the LTTE to take the
statue of Mother Mary outside the Madhu Church premises thus depriving the
Sinhala Catholics to worship Mother Mary in that particular Church. Most
recently the Bishop together with the Bishop of Jaffna claimed that splinter
bombs and chemical weapons had been used against the civilians by the Sri
Lankan armed forces, without producing an iota of evidence.
It is clear that Bishop Rayappu Joseph
is helping Tamil racism, with the connivance of the west. He is against any
“reconciliation” in a nationalistic way, and the reconciliation he is after is
one worse than that of South African style
where the minority rules over the majority except in theory. The so called reconciliation
that people such as Bishop Rayappu Joseph wants is one that leads to an Eelam
in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and ultimately a greater Eelam with Tamil
Nadu being the major partner.
It is clear that Tamil racism functions
even after the defeat at Nandikadal due to the fact that the west is behind the
entire problem that has its beginnings in the seventeenth century when the
Dutch imported Vellalas from present South India to Jaffna for their tobacco
cultivation. People such as Bishop Rayappu Joseph work hand in hand with the
west, I am afraid, against Sinhala Buddhist culture being considered as the
significant culture of the country. They
want to maintain the dominance of the western Judaic Christian culture, and it
is clear from the letter written by the Tamil Christian priests in the Northern
and Eastern provinces to the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHRC).
Though the priests and others who
support Tamil racism write on behalf of the Eastern Province as well, the
Tamils are not even in a majority in that province, and even among the Tamils
in the province there are some who would oppose an amalgamation with the
Northern Province. Would the Muslims in the province agree with the contents of
the letter written by the Tamil Christian/Catholic priests to the members of
the UNHRC?
Sinhala Buddhist culture is presented to
the world as a “pariah” culture intolerant of the other cultures by the
Christian west and their associates in Sri Lanka ignoring the fact that there
have been no intolerance of Muslims in the country for more than six centuries.
The Veddas until recently were not disturbed by the Sinhala Buddhists and the
Vedda culture began to deteriorate only after the English came to the country.
It is the western Judaic Christian culture that does not tolerate the other
cultures but through the hegemony of the knowledge created in that culture they
are able to pretend that the western culture is the most tolerant culture that
has seen the lght of the day.
I will cite two examples how the western
culture dominates in this country, without the people realizing it. The free
education and the free health service that prevail in the country, using the
money of the taxpayer cater only for western education and western medicine.
There are no schools or universities teaching indigenous knowledge free to the
students. In any event the students and the parents have been brainwashed and
conditioned to think that the knowledge created by the people in the past is
myth.
The same is true in the health sector.
Though there may be one or two centers where Ayurveda medicine is provided free
of charge there is hardly any institute created to treat patients free of
charge according to Sinhala traditional
medicine (Sinhala paramparika vedakama). It is because through the western
education provided free of charge the people have been mystified by the
“ashcharya” of the western medicine with the imposing gadgets of western
technology. In China western medicine is practiced side by side with
traditional Chinese medicine in the same hospitals and I am told that there are
instances where the western medical practitioners refer patients officially to
those of traditional Chinese medicines.
Bishop Rayappu Joseph and others can
write letters and letters to their Godfathers in the west accusing the Sri
Lankan government (very often referred to as the Sinhala government) and the so
called Sinhala army of violation of human rights. Bishop Joseph knows very well
that he is protected by the western forces, and if the government takes any
action against him that would be considered as another violation of human
rights and adverse publicity would be given to the steps taken by the government.
However, the country is reaching a point
where it would become difficult to ignore the anti nationalistic behavior of
the Bishop and some other priests. In this respect we have to question the
silence of the Catholic Church. The Church cannot merely state that the views
are those expressed by particular Bishops and turn a Nelsonian eye to them.
Does the Church agree with the statements made by the Bishops? If not what
action is envisaged?
The Bishops come out with charges
against the government (the state) and the armed forces without an iota of
evidence. All that they say is that they know eyewitnesses to the events but
not prepared to name the witnesses. Do they think the witnesses are not
protected? If that is the case under the assumption that the witnesses are not
protected the Bishops can come out with unsubstantiated wild charges against .
The reports by the Bishops fall into the same category as those of Darusman,
Navi Pillai and Calum Macrae of Channel Four. While the latter are not citizens
of the country the Bishops are citizens who are not acting in the interests of
the country to say the least. Irrespective of what the human rights vendors
have to say the government should investigate the role played by Bishop Rayappu
Joseph and other Bishops.
Nalin De Silva
07-03-2014