Published on - 2/15/2008
VELUPILLAI PRABHAKARAN has a dream. Eelam by any means and nothing more. For how long has he terrorized this tiny tear drop in the Indian Ocean? For more than a quarter of a century. Those kids wielding guns for their so called leader never had the chance or opportunity to realize why or whom they are fighting against. All they know is that their 'thalaivar' has entrusted them an errand of sorts. Fight the government forces or they will kill, rape or torture you. That seems to be the explicit instructions. So these kids, the young ones, most of them who have not even seen the world outside of Jaffna or Batticaloa, fight on. Only to be killed one by one. What a waste of valuable life? Yes, Prabhakaran has a dream and he can wait, plan, cause mayhem for as long as it takes him to win Eelam – or be killed in the never ending journey of terrorism. He has waited for more than a quarter of a century.
The way things have turned out, he may have to wait another similar period for his dream to be fulfilled, if at all. He has existed and has been able to continue to sustain the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for so long not because of anything else, but because he has been willing to sacrifice others and wait for his dream to be realized. Towards that end, he has been able to steer almost all the capabilities of the terror outfit towards one direction, towards Eelam. He still can wait.
As opposed to this scenario, what or how long can an elected government in Sri Lanka wait for? Does any government that has been elected to office think on the long term? Politicians, from the lowest rung to the topmost will be willing to wait for not more than four or five years. Thereafter they will worry and prepare for another election. At the most our politicians will wait for only five years maximum. What they or most of them do in the process is everybody's secret.
If the regime falls after the next polls, there go all the plans, programmes, not to mention the numerous foundation stones and projects, down the pallang, as they say colloquially. Let's not continue this. Let everyone, politicians, the common man, clergy, laity and all who have made this our home, act cohesively towards one single goal. Let us carry with us our petty differences of party politics, language, culture, history et al – but let's move as one without letting these hiccups destroy our lives and that of our future generations.
Think on the long term that will pay dividends if we persist. Let us circumvent and surmount the little hillocks, the stumbling blocks, hold the others' hand firmly to prevent him or her from stumbling while steadying ourselves in the process. Let all State institutions speak in one voice, steer towards one goal – the prosperity of the country. Those appointed by the government to various institutions should speak for the government in one voice, without shooting their mouths and thereafter saying that it was not the government's position but their own or something else. The sooner they stop this the better it will be.
Building a team and steering it towards a goal is the most difficult task. Prabhakaran nearly succeeded. Nearly. He is trying yet. Let us become a cohesive team to guide our island home towards a better future. Let us do it now and preempt Velupillai Prabhakaran from realizing his dream.
