6th February 2000

A new age of terror

If those who broke into Rukantha's house were genuine thieves, it is puzzling that they were more interested in questioning the victims on political matters than in robbing their house.

It is also puzzling why these robbers wanted to cut the hair of the two singers and had even brought a pair of scissors for the purpose.

In a similar incident, when Sri Lal Priyantha of 'Lakbima' was kidnapped, his kidnapper in addition to assaulting him did not fail to cut some of his hair. The pair of scissors that was used was brought by the kidnapper as well. It is possible that the same people were behind both incidents.

The government repeatedly said that a proper inquiry would be held into the kidnapping of Sri Lal Priyantha but who kidnapped Sri Lal remains a mystery to-date. It was Sri Lal who was eventually arrested in connection with several incidents that had occurred during the second JVP rebellion.

The group that forced themselves into Rukantha's house did not fail to take away his cellular phone. Similarly, on July 15, 1999, when cameramen who had gone to report on the UNP protest demonstration were attacked, the camera and cellular phone of Lakbima cameraman Buddhika Weerasinghe were seized. After the police arrested the man who had the phone, their inquiries revealed that the person had got the phone from a Presidential Security Division (PSD) official. However, the PSD official was never arrested, but had he been, it may have been possible to find out the whereabouts of the missing cameras of the cameramen.

Although there have been a number of politically motivated assaults, some of the assaults still remain mysteries. One such mystery occurred in February 1997, when an armed gang forced themselves into a cafe owned by Sarath Kongahage, a UNP MP who was a political colleague of the President. The gang got all those in the cafe to kneel down and then proceeded to shoot at the walls before fleeing with the money that was there.

On another occasion, the vehicle of Lasantha Wickr-ematunga, the Editor of the 'Sunday Leader', was forced to stop and Mr. Wickrematunga was taken out and attacked. On another occasion his house was shot at. Although Mr.Wick-rematunga gave the names of his alleged assailants to the police, no inquiries were made for some reason.

The assassination of Rohana Kumara, Editor 'Satana' and the assassination of Kumar Ponnambalam remain unsolved mysteries as well.

At the 1994 presidential campaign, Mrs. Chandrika Kum-aratunga published an interesting newspaper advertisement in her own name about the roots of violence.

The message in that advertisement read as follows:

— "Political violence is the greatest challenge before our country. State terrorism and anti-state terrorism have deprived the country of the lives of tens of thousands of useful citizens;

— Tens of thousands more have been deprived of their lives, their places of residence, their parents or their children, and have been made destitute;

— Under the old system, the government appeared to be an institution of repression, which did not listen to social grievances, and violently repressed those who spoke of such grievances;

— The emergence of anti-state terrorist movements which replied government terrorism with terrorism, was a direct result;

— It was as a result of the clash between these two tendencies that the culture of assassination took root in the country;

— This is the main problem before us now.

* Must the government follow a policy of tit-for-tat and permit assassinations and bloodshed to exist as the norm?

* Or, should the government avoid the path of state terrorism and follow a policy of giving solutions to social grievances and permit those who are interested in protesting to do so peacefully, and thereby do away with the basis for the existence of anti-state terrorism?

The former regime took the first path.

We are taking the second path.

Our intention is to proceed along the correct path, which we have taken, without wavering before the challenges that have emerged and to do away with political violence entirely."

How fine was the political message contained in that advertisement?

However, it now appears thing are going in the opposite direction which easily could breed other forms of social unrest.

The pledge given that those who want to oppose the government would be permitted to do so without fear of attack or intimidation has become entirely meaningless.

Not only the leading figures in opposition parties or media persons who hold different views, but even artistes who are like butterflies have to live in fear of death. The ghosts of terrorism which pursued Ediriweera Sarac-hchandra, are now pursuing artists like Anoja Weerasinghe, Ruka-ntha Gunatilaka, Chandralekha Perera and Dharmasiri Band-aranayake.

How will all this end? President J.R. Jayewardene also followed a similar policy and its final outcome was that the whole country became a pool of blood. Is it not the same thing that the government seems to be doing now?

Inside the glass house

Editorial/ Opinion Contents