5th Column

My dear citizens of Paradise,

I thought I must write to you again after a few weeks because this week will mark the first anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday last year that left hundreds of people dead and many others wondering what had become of our land after a decade of relative peace and stability.

One year later, even our commemoration of that event is forced to be on a low key because we – and indeed, the rest of the world – are in the midst of another deadly event, a pandemic of catastrophic proportions that has left hundreds of thousands dead in some countries, though fortunately not in ours.

Even though there won’t be any major events to remember what happened on Easter Sunday because we are under ‘lockdown’ and a strict curfew, it might still be worthwhile revisiting those incidents and asking ourselves whether anything has changed in the way citizens of Paradise think and act.

There have, of course, been some major changes since last April. The most important of them was Aiyo Sirisena becoming Cheerio Sirisena and the Green Man and his team being replaced by Mahinda maama. One could argue that the events of last Easter Sunday paved the way for those changes.

Gota maama, who was until then quite shy of declaring his candidacy came forward and offered himself as the candidate for the ‘pohottuwa’ party soon after last year’s Easter attacks. ‘I won one war, I can win another; I am the man the country needs to fight this new form of terrorism,’ he said.

There is nothing wrong with that, of course, and not only does he have the right to say that, he has done well so far. Nevertheless, the campaign carried out by the ‘pohottuwa’ chaps to get him elected portrayed him as the leader of only one community – which is why he lost in the North and East.

Despite that, in the current environment where a virus is threatening to overrun the world, many agree that the changes that occurred in Paradise were for the better. One shudders to think what would have happened if Cheerio Sirisena and the Green Man were in charge, as they were during last Easter.

We would have been in a situation where the Green Man’s Law and Order Minister declares a curfew and Aiyo Sirisena cancels it. Or, we would have been treated to the spectacle where Aiyo Sirisena implements the death penalty on curfew violators and those who publish comments on social media!

Even if the change which brought Gota maama to the top job was beneficial, we must however ask whether our attitude to some issues have changed since that dark day on Easter Sunday last year when hundreds died and thousands lost their loved ones. Honestly, I don’t think so, citizens of Paradise.

If you recall what happened last year, the attacks were followed by a campaign against one community with calls to boycott business establishments owned by that community. Keyboard warriors on social media had a field day, with patriotism oozing from their every pore.

It can be argued with some merit that radical elements of this community did little to integrate with the rest of Paradise. However, long before last Easter there was a hate campaign against this community by some saffron robed persons. It is no secret that some politicians supported that effort.

One of those saffron robed persons who incited riots against this community some years ago but went unpunished because of his political connections was finally put behind bars for contempt of court but that too came to naught because he was given a parting gift by the departing Cheerio Sirisena!

Though the events of last Easter may have had a lasting impact, we haven’t learnt any lesson from it. Now, every man and his dog want an inquiry into those incidents – and they want to blame someone else. Cheerio Sirisena had his inquiry. The last Parliament had its inquiry. Now there is to be another.

All these inquiries seem hell bent on blaming political opponents and trying to gain votes from the electorate. The fact that we are suddenly hearing about more arrests – one year after the event and on the eve of yet another election – means that this story is, as they say, getting ‘curiouser and curiouser’!

Even the current campaign against the coronavirus has its communal undertones. Sadly, people like Rauff – who are supposed to provide leadership to their brethren – haven’t helped by insisting on burial for those who succumbed to the virus, when the long-term effects of the virus are not known yet.

One year after the Easter attacks, we have learnt nothing. We remain divided on communal lines. Those who conduct inquiries do so only to gain political advantage. So, dear citizens of Paradise, the sad truth is that the 259 people who died that day, may have died in vain.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: When the Cardinal, who is widely respected, requested a transparent probe into the Easter attacks, Gota maama readily agreed and quickly appointed a team to expedite inquiries. Now that His Eminence has said that this is not the time for elections, will Gota maama agree as readily, I wonder?