Ceylon Today Editorial

Remembrance Day

19 May 2017

Today marks the eighth anniversary of Sri Lanka's victory over LTTE terrorism, 'now' known as Remembrance Day.

Post 19 May 2009, much has been done towards eliminating racial discrimination, the chief cause for LTTE terrorism, and in the wider context Tamil terrorism.

The 'effects of the cause' had its origins on the first day of independence itself, when on 4 February, 1948 black flags were hoisted in Jaffna, indicating that independence to Sri Lanka meant death to the Tamils.

Fuel was added on to the fire by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike's 'Sinhala Only' policy, which pivoted him to power at the 1956 Parliamentary Elections, on the back of support from the then 77% Sinhala majority population of this country.

Then, 13 years later, came standardization in 1969, which restricted university entrance to the minorities led by the Tamils by the introduction of the ethnic quota system for varsity entrance which favoured the Sinhalese who comprised 77% of the population.
The first visible show of arms by the Tamils was in 1975, when they shot dead the then SLFP led ruling government's Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah in Jaffna. He was shot by no less a person than Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE Leader, who met his own waterloo 34 years later on 18 May 2009 at Nandikadal, Mullaitivu, thus signifying the death of LTTE terrorism in the country.

A year after Duraiappah's assassination, the then Federal Party and the All Ceylon Tamil Congress which led a coalition of Tamil parties called, the Tamil United Front, joined together and formed the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and passed 'the resolution' in Vaddukoddai, calling for a separate State for the Tamils styled Tamil Eelam, encompassing the Northern and Eastern Provinces. This was in 1976.

Whereas in the North, the Tamils were the predominant population, the Muslim and Sinhala populations together far outnumbered the Tamils in the East. Nonetheless, by winning all 14 seats in the North and only four of the nine seats in the East at the 1977 Parliamentary Poll, the TULF, became the country's major Opposition Party.

This was the first time that a minority party became the main Opposition Party in Parliament. This gave the TULF a larger platform to espouse terrorism. Whilst the TULF was the democratic face of the Tamils, the various armed Tamil terrorist groups that spawned after 1977, became its military wing.

Murders and robberies in the North and the East committed by these Tamil terrorist groups became the order of the day. The TULF, the founding father of the current day Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Tamil terrorist groups found an unexpected godmother when Indira Gandhi's Congress Party, then known as Congress (I), was elected to power in January 1980.

Gandhi was known to detest J.R. Jayewardene, the then President of the country. And the feelings were mutual. The Tamil terrorist groups, after committing their various acts of murder and robberies, generally, State banks, used to flee to Tamil Nadu (TN), where they were provided with safe refuge, aided and abetted by the then TN Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, a lackey of Gandhi's.

Things came to ahead on 23 July, 1983 when 13 soldiers were ambushed and killed by the LTTE.

That was the spark that was needed to light the powder keg comprising the majority Sinhala population. Suffering in silence for six years since 1977 due to the duplicity of the TULF and Indira's India which overtly and covertly encouraged Tamil terrorism resulted in the infamous July 1983 Sinhala-Tamil riots. That plunged the island to a 26-year-old Tamil terrorist war, the end of which is celebrated today.

In a too little, too late action, the then Government proscribed secessionism by passing the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution soon after the July '83 riots, but by then the horse had already bolted.

In the interim, to redress Tamil issues, soon after the then Government was elected to power in July 1977, standardization was abolished and after the controversial Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed, giving parity to the Tamil language together with Sinhala, while at the same time granting greater autonomy to the Tamils by the establishment of Provincial Councils.

Therefore, the roadblocks have been cleared to meet the 'perennial' grievances of the Tamils, burdened since 1956 by the Government elected to power in 1977 by revoking standardization and passing the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, paving the way for the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, with the support of India, to finally eliminate Tamil terrorism 'in all its forms', officially, eight years ago on 19 May, 2009.

The future therefore holds hope for the country.

Daily News Editorial

Eight years on

19 May 2017

Today marks 8 years since the official declaration of the end to the 30 year Eelam war, with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe attending the main commemorative event opposite the War Heroes’ monument at the parliament grounds. Significantly, the day, while giving pride of place to the war heroes, has also been declared as one commemorating all those who died as a result of the war, removing from the event the vestiges of triumphalism of the earlier years. However, the day, no doubt, would be fittingly dedicated to the members of the armed forces, both living and dead, who valiantly fought to preserve unity and territorial integrity of the country. To them will go the tribute of a grateful nation.

Over 100,000 persons, both combatants and civilians, died in the brutal civil war that not only ravaged the country physically but also destroyed its vital economic resources and infrastructure. As a result, the country's development and progress was pushed back several decades, forcing it to start again from the ashes of war. Had the war continued with the same intensity there is no knowing what the future of the country would have been or if there would have been a country at all left for us Sri Lankans. In that context the credit for presiding over the defeat of terrorism should ungrudgingly go to Mahinda Rajapaksa, a sentiment that was expressed by even Prime Minister Wickremesinghe upon being sworn into office in January 2015.

There is no doubt that MR gave the political leadership that brought the war to successful conclusion, but this is not to detract from the role played by the military leadership which successfully marshaled the forces on the battlefield that eventually annihilated the enemy. In that context the contribution made by Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, the wartime commander of the military, cannot be overemphasized, nor that of the other service commanders. This is not to ignore the contribution made by all past service chiefs and men on the battlefield, during the height of the war years, leading to the eventual victory. A standout among them no doubt is the gallant warrior Denzil Kobbekaduwa who paid the supreme price in harness. It was the cumulative contribution of military leaders of his ilk in the early war years that paved the way for the gradual decimation of the LTTE, leaving the rest to add the finishing touches.

There was also the political leadership that made a not inconsiderable contribution towards the final victory, such as the roles played by Ranjan Wijeratne and General Anurudhdha Ratwatte. Many would agree, though, that it was Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's masterstroke of indirectly engineering the defection of Karuna Amman, the LTTE leader of the eastern theatre of war, when he was Premier from 2001- 2004, that made the war victory that much easier for the leaders that followed.

For all that, the golden opportunity for forging lasting peace that presented itself soon after the end to the war was squandered by the Rajapaksa regime which went on a frenzy of triumphalism. The Tamil community were made to feel a conquered race by the utterances of the former President and his cohorts. This rather than uniting the communities led to further estrangement.

Be that as it may, eight years down the road there is still a lot to be done to erase the scars of war. The fallout of the conflict has been as difficult to handle as it was during the war years, with trenchant positions adopted by both sides of the divide. The formulation of a new constitution to address the impasse too is proving difficult with radical elements on both sides putting the spoke in the wheel. The causes that gave rise to the conflict is still very much there and although satisfactory advances have been made in the reconciliation process things appear deadlocked. The appointment of a northern political leader as the Leader of the Opposition too has not brought the desired results. There is no doubt that the Yahapalanaya regime is under pressure to reach a compromise leading towards a durable peace. It has taken several positive steps in this direction such as the setting up of a Missing Persons Commission and other reparation mechanisms. The government is also launched on a gradual demilitarization of the North, with the army vacating from civilians land enabling the original owners to resettle in their habitats. The President himself has undertaken several visits to the North and closely interacted with the people.

The war had taken a heavy toll of lives and resources, but with the dawn of peace, new opportunities have presented themselves to heal the wounds and for co-existence in a spirit of compromise. The leaders of the Tamil political parties should act with circumspection giving a thought to the sentiments of the majority community and desist from making unreasonable demands that would place the government in an awkward position. They should not play into the hands of the extremist elements, in the South.

The Island Editorial

WannaCry

19 May 2017

 

One may have thought the erratic behaviour of US President Donald Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong Un was the biggest problem the global community was faced with. True, if the two leaders translate their rhetoric into action the world might witness a nuclear winter sooner than feared. But, besides the scares they give the world from time to time, there has emerged another threat of global scale––WannaCry. It may not cause death and devastation as such, but it certainly has the potential to cripple the entire world.

Cyber attacks are not of recent origin. People have learnt to live with various computer viruses for many years; fighting such malware has become a lucrative, global industry like the Big Pharma. However, the latest ransomeware, WannaCry, has made the much-cherished global connectivity a nightmare of sorts. Spreading at an alarming rate through networks, it has affected more than 100 countries so far. All signs are that no country will be spared though international cyber crime agencies have swung into action in a bid to neutralise the threat. Some computers infected with the ransomware have reportedly been found in this country as well.

WannaCry, like any other ransomware, encrypts various files containing vital user data and rename the encrypted files, rendering them inaccessible to all others. Users are asked to pay as much as USD 600 for having the infected files decrypted, but there is no guarantee that the malefactors will honour their word even if the ransom is paid. Cyber security experts are of the view that no payment should be made because such action only encourages the criminal elements concerned to do more of what they are already doing. What makes WannaCry different from other ransomeware is the sheer scale of the damage it caused the world over within hours.

The ruthlessness of the creators of WannaCry is evident from the manner in which their ransomware crippled about 40 National Health Service institutions in the UK, causing the affected hospitals to be closed and operations cancelled. Perhaps, they did not target those computers and the ransomeware found its way into them on its own. However, they need to be brought to justice for letting the genie out of the bottle. (A wag says similar situations often occur in this country without cyber attacks due to frequent strikes the health sector trade unions resort to at the drop of a hat, making the sick cry.)

The rapid spread of WannaCry and the failure on the part of cyber security experts to trace it to the creators, have demonstrated the growing vulnerability of a digitally driven world moving towards a global village. In times of yore when the clickety-clack of typewriters was the order of the day people had some peace of mind where data storage was concerned. Threats to their records came only from disasters like floods and fires or insects. Today, most people are dependent on digital archiving of information and only a few of them care to make backups of their data. Cyber criminals take advantage of this situation.

Perhaps, WannaCry attack is only a dummy run. Its creators may have wanted to test the preparedness of cyber experts to meet such a global threat. They have exploited a particular cyber vulnerability to gain access to computers the world over and what other devious means they will employ to carry out their sordid operations next time are anybody’s guess. Given the severity of the recent attack one can only hope and pray that WannaCry is not a feint to be followed by a killer hook, though efforts to contain it have reached fruition to some extent.

Cyber security experts tell us the only way we can think of warding off WannaCry without having to cry over lost data is to update our computers and ensure they are protected by reliable virus guards. So, let’s batten down the hatches and keep our fingers crossed.