IN THE Sunday 24th English newspapers, there were many commentators preaching to the readers that we should restrain our celebrations of the victory over the evil forces unleashed on us by a megalomaniac. I like to tell these emotionally castrated writers that they should take a dip in the Beira Lake so that its bacteria filled waters at least will help them to clean their minds, if not their bodies.
The people have put up with untold misery imposed on them by Velu. They have borne with Bodhisathwa patience the atrocities committed on them by Velu over the last 30 years. They, (I mean all communities) have lost their fathers, sons, daughters to the monstrosities of Velu. Many have lost their jobs, properties and all their savings. The future prospects for the people of this country were bleak until this ‘ogre from the mountain’ was completely destroyed together with his goons. This is what the President and his Security Forces have achieved. The sense of liberation and gratitude in the people was so overwhelming that it needed the outlet of spontaneous celebration. A Sinhala/Tamil New Year together, with Dansals thrown in at street parties, was completely in order. It was also an instinctive expression of gratitude for the epic victory of the Security Forces. Why should one restrain such joy? Why cannot the people give vent to their emotions in a positive way? Velu, with the connivance of Ranil and the West, had reduced us all to the status of three-fourth Sri Lankans and was, (going by the quantity and quality of captured arms), probably poised to recruit a mercenary army to completely delete our citizenship and march on to Colombo itself. We were saved from this ignominious fate by our Security Forces. Why should we not rejoice at this monumental achievement? We have and we should rejoice to our hearts’ content. The commentators have missed completely the heartbeats of the common Sri Lankans by leagues.
It is true that many Tamils failed to join in the celebrations but probably chose to silently mourn the death of a monster. This is their democratic right. An enlighten few at Wellawatha, Jaffna, Trinco and Batticaloa did take to the streets to celebrate the passing away of the same monster. This is the future way to go. There cannot be any mental ghettoes of narrow racism in any of us anymore. The Tamils have got to take their due places in all national celebrations and as they were the most affected by Velu’s oppression, they had all the reason to take to the streets as their brethren in Jaffna did. One can only hope that at least in the future the Tamils will start thinking that they are Sri Lankan first and Tamils after and be wary of pushing themselves into exclusive racist cul-de-sac. This is the lonely road to nowhere and ruin. If in doubt, ask the IDPs in Kadirigamapura.
The message to the newspaper killjoys and spoilsports is that expressing one’s joy in street parties is not triumphalism aimed at further flogging the vanquished. It is Milton’s message that ‘the brazen throat of war had ceased to roar/ All now was turned into jollity and game/ to luxury and riot, feast and dance’ (Paradise Lost, X1), Pedestalled in triumph I am of course quite happy to sing out loud together with the Group ABBA ‘without a song and a dance what are we?’ And, ‘thanks for the music’ dance and Kiribath. (Courtesy: The Island)
