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Northeast S. VÍng: o southern

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Northeaster
ETO
亨器效
Northeastern
Afonthly
313, Jampattah Street, Colombo 13 Telephone 2389848
August 2005
Editorial %'x:: Government action in Trincomalee leaves Tamils with no way out
Politics Page 4 Why Chandrika will not disarm Karuna స్టే
Issues s Page 6 Religious anger exacerbate tensions in ethnically divided Sri Lanka
Development Page 8
Capturing Northeast's savings for
Southern investment
Page 11
3:
Theatre as social therapy: the beginnings
Review Page 13 A good read for Tamils, Sri Lankans, those occupying the space in between
Society Page 14 Lack of guidance leads Jaffnayouth to spray {{{
Religion Page 19 Rituals refashion politics, power relations between social groups in Batticaloa శ్లే
Conflict Page 22 Aceh deal may give regional parties a chance
Children Page 24 Sightless victims of blind bombing
Cover picture Civil society groups protesting against racism. w8,& Pic by S. Somitharan
August 2005
Governn leaves
determi
V V Suprem
constitutionality of P. order, though it m features favouring th seen in the context rulings that have unhelpful to the Tam NORREN In the case of t massacre committe army in 1992, whi activists fought toot to trial by jury ratl commission of inqui executive, the accuse were acquitted, desp pleas to conside impartially. It w government through (AG) to file a rev: verdict, but the A exercise it, citing a fl was no precedent for the jury acquitted th At Bindunuwewa, the area murdered correction facility in C the police refused to acquitted all the of including the policen evidence. In a stat Human Rights Comm is clearly also a fail the prosecutors in Si that lies with the A department itself. should not have filedi persons if they did n evidence to prove a before a court.'
Though repeated ac by the state, includin the Tamils to take u willing to enterace (CFA) in 2002. In th followed, the LTTES possibilities ofsettin; of government on th self-determination.
Despite its expr exploring the possi federal arrangemen
hile we
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A.
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hent action in TrincOmalee Tamils with no way out
await the final nation of the e Court on the TOMS, the interim ght have certain e Tamils, has to be of different court peen thoroughly ils inthe past. Two suffice. he Mailanthanai i by the Sri Lanka ch human rights n and nail to bring her than before a y appointed by the 'd military officers ite the trial judge's r the evidence as open to the its attorney general ision against the G chose not to imsy excuse there such a thing when e accused. where villagers of 27 inmates of a )ctober 2000 while intervene, the SC icers concerned, hen, for the lack of 2ment the Asian ission said, "There ure on the part of i Lanka; a failure torney General's The department indictments against ot have sufficient ase successfully
sofdiscrimination the judiciary, led arms, they were sefire agreement negotiations that ttled to explore the up a federal form : basis on internal
'ss intention of ility of working within the state
system and agreeing to suspend the use arms by honouring the CFA, the acts of discrimination against the Tamils have continued apace. It was this impasse that led to the Tamils reviving aform of protest that had long ceased to be put into practice due to its lack of efficacy-mass protests by mobilising civilians.
In May a situationarose in Trincomalee that compelled the people to come out in protest. An act of blatant discrimination was committed when a statue of the Buddha was erected at a public place, in a town where, in the past, such sensitivities resulted in bloodshed. As tensions and violence grew, the only way out was recourse to legal action. In consequence, the government instituted action in the District Court of Trincomalee that the installation of the statue was illegal. But on 18 July, in the wake of a fundamental rights petition filed a Buddhist monk in the Supreme Court, the AG agreed to withdraw the action in the District Court if the petitioner withdrew the FR application.
Seeking justice from courts was the only way a serious breach of the law caused by civil violence was thwarted in Trincomalee. However, once this expedient to prevent the brake down of law and order was no longer necessary, the government's chief legal officer withdrew the action, thereby encouraging miscreants, as long they belong to the 'correct ethnic group, to violate the law. To recapitulate:Tamils, disgusted by discrimination resort to armed warfare. After 20 years they agree to negotiations to give peace a chance. Negotiations are stalled, though acts of discrimination continue to abound. To fight
discrimination, while honouring the CFA,
mass protests are mounted. The government promises legal steps to rectify the discrimination and violation of the law. But once the threat of civil unrest passes, the AG withdraws action in the District Court.
This series of actions and counteractions leave only one possible solution for the Tamils. The question is will the government take steps to persuade them not to take it.

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Why Chanc disarm
By T.
ix words of late President J. R. Jayewardene stand the test of time. They were uttered in reference to President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the PA government of 1994. It was when Kumaratunga, who in the first flush of office had declared she would abolish the presidency, but was having second thoughts about it as time went on. Jayewardene, was to say on that occasion, "They speak foolishly, but act wisely.”
Nothing has changed 10 years later. Though Colombo is on record stating it would be unbowed by ultimatums set by the LTTE, better counsel has obviously prevailed. Urged by sections of civil Society and the international community, the government peace Secretariat has initiated discussion with the LTTE on defusing the crisis that has arisen abo the CFA.
As far as the LTTE is concerned, problems most urgentl inned of addressing are twofold: (1) providing escortt LTTE personnel crossing government-controlled territory an (2) bringing to a halt the assassination of LTTE personneli the east and elsewhere. This is not to say lapses on the pa of the government on implementing other provisions in th CFA are unimportant to the Tigers, but the above two al obviously priority.
There has been a flurry of activity at the president's offic too, to make the effort of implementing the CFA visibl. Kumaratunga's hand is no doubt strengthened by the interi order issued by the Supreme Court on the joint mechanis that acknowledges the validity of the CFA. The text of th joint mechanism too, specifically refers to the CFA, thereb stating the government's commitment to abide by it.
The ultimatum by the Tigers resulted in the four co-chai of the Tokyo Conference representing the internation community - the United States, Norway, Japan and th European Union - to call on the president to express the concern and urge her to take steps in the direction implementing the CFA strictly.
According to the communiqué issued by the president office at the end of the meeting with the co-chairs, quot by the Daily Mirror of 26 July 2005, "The government do not condone nor support the activities of the former LTT
President Chand
 

Northeastern
rika Will not Karuna
Sittampalam
rika Kumaratunga
is cadres of the "Karuna group or any others who are engaged It in clashes with the LTTE in the Northern and Eastern
Province.'
While Kumaratunga is no doubt responding to pressure put on her by the LTTE, the co-chairs and sections of Sri Lanka's civil society, the question remains whether the Karuna group could be effectively and comprehensively disarmed by the president, and even if it could be, whether e she would wish to do so. The answer to both is “nọ.”
The first consideration is political. It is undeniable that the Karuna defection has been the most significant split that e has occurred within the LTTE. Whether we like it or not, it e. has led to the LTTE having been placedon the back footm at least in the east- and having to take Steps to rethink its m security. What is more, unlike in the case of Mahaththaya's e dispute with the Tiger leadership, the rebel in this instancey Karuna-is in a position to be handled and used by the Sri Lanka government. Except for diplomatic pressure and Tiger is ultimatums there is nothing to suggest that anybody else is al interested in dislodging Karuna. e Can a leader who placed such importance on talking to ir the LTTE on her terms, afford the political fallout of dropping of Karuna? The SLFP is, after all, a party that will go to the presidential elections within a year. Even if Kumaratunga 's might not support the candidate nominated by her party d entirely, the SLFP traditionally draws strongly on the es nationalist, Sinhala-Buddhist vote. And it is this vote, which E her party is handing over on a platter to the JVP.
August 2005
е

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సీ , Northeastern POL
If the SLFP wants to win elections in the future, it needs the JVP's support. Even if it fails to get it, the SLFP cannot afford to lose any more support from the core of its vote base-nationalist-minded Sinhalese. There is no alternate group Kumaratunga or her party can draw from because the minorities, the liberal Sinhalese and big business will not vote for them. They would vote UNP.
Second, it is an open secret that the security forces, especially military intelligence, are harbouring Karuna. To them it is the biggest break in years after defeats began intensifying, culminating in the debacle at Elephant Pass and reinforced by losses for the air force at Katunayake. This led to the military balance tilting favour of the LTTE, which was the basis for the Tigers to initiate talks.
To the government that spent the last couple of years arming and retraining despite the ceasefire, Karuna has come as agodsend. The unrivalled knowledge What is m of insiders of conditions within the
enemy ranks is always invaluable for in the deploying efficiently whatever military assets an army has. This is true both Mahath
while the ceasefire is in operation, and if war breaks out.
When ceasefires are in operation, and disp llte 1 there is no open confrontation between p rival forces, it is well known that opposing Tiger leade militaries maintainstrategic balance by outwitting each other's security rebel in thi intelligence. It is this contest, which has brought about a spate of killings and ammy counter-killings in eastern Sri Lanka. And Karuna Karuna's information about his former
friends would obviously be heavily in pOS litiO demand by the army to penetrate and neutralise LTTE intelligence. handled an
In the event war resumes, Karuna's knowledge of the terrain, armaments, the gove
deployment and tactics would make him vital. There is a school of thought within the Sri Lankan establishment that believes the LTTE has bided by the CFA despite many provocations because it fears Karuna has divulged its inner operations to the enemy. This might be wrong analysis of the LTTE's motives, but what is important to note is that as long as people think in this fashion they will not abandon Karuna.
Finally, even if the military wants to dump Karunait will not be able to do so, because it will give all the wrong signals to future quislings, who would think twice before trusting the Sri Lanka military.
The security apparatus has, today, achieved a great degree of autonomy from the civilian establishment and come to play a very important role in national decisionmaking. The military's wishes cannot be disregarded. There is communication between the Security and political establishments through the chief of defence staff (now Rear Admiral Daya Sandagiri), but though he might be mindful of political considerations, he cannot sacrifice the military's interests for political advantage (if any).
August 2005,
 

CS Page5 Third, what tends to be forgotten about Karuna is that the political party allegedly involved in making contact with him first, was the UNP. An embarrassing revelation compelled Alizaheer Moulana, a former UNP member of parliament for Batticaloa, to be made a Scapegoat and asked to quit. But he was only a go-between - the channel is supposed to lead to the very core of the party. Therefore, there is an interest in the South to keep Karuna going, whichever party is in power.
Fourth, Karuna's differing political involvements are well known. The ENDLF and Minister Douglas Devananda's EPDP allegedly back him. Devananda is the only ally the SLFP can boast of in northeast who can deliver (unlike V. Anandasangaree who cannot). The presence of Karuna helps not only Devananda's security concerns - it is known he has been targeted by the LTTE many times-but
re, unlike also his political ambitions.
Karuna would be invaluable for any
'ase of individual orparty fighting elections in the east on an anti-LITTE/TNA ticket. Anda thaya S Karuna without arms and without military muscle will not be as appealing to the with the people in the east as Karuna armed and
seen as a potent rival of the LTTE, and eroshi h an equal partner of the southern forces 2S 1թy the backing him, rather than amere client. . . . Fifth, what would be Indian reaction S instance if Karuna were disarmed? Indeed not
only India but other regional and
- is in a international intelligence networks would gain a lot in keeping Karuna a to be militarily well-provided. Also, while anti
LTTE groups and individuals backed by ld used b regional forces such as Devananda and used by A. Varatharajaperumalhave come and gone, the fact that Karuna is primarily rnment a soldier and not a politician does not - escape anybody's notice.
Therefore, a number of factors militate against the president and the UPFA government from actually disarming Karuna. It might be that a show of disarming might take place, but doing it to the point of making him inoperative appears unlikely in the near future. Or he might be required to keep a low profile until the stormclouds roll over, before he begins again.
Let us not forget that pressure imposed by the international community, including the co-chairs, forced Kumaratunga to sign the joint mechanism. But today, the joint mechanism is lifeless and inoperable, while the president has a good excuse: he Supreme Court has pronounced sections of it are unconstitutional. Similarly, the president is quite capable of iodging neutralising the Karuna group after promising the co-chairs she would do so. After all, Karuna is, in certain ways, more important for the survival of the state than the oint mechanism.
If she succeeds in outwitting the co-chairs Kumaratunga might say to herself, "I appear to speak foolishly, but I :ertainly act wisely.'

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Buddhist monks protesting: Mixing religion with politics
Religious angere
in ethnically
By Professor
ri Lanka's religious controversies have, over the ears, been a thorny, problematicissue innationa
and political life, as well as in society.
The island of Sri Lanka, more popularly known til independence from British colonial rule in February 1948 as Ceylon, lost its maritime regions to Portuguest adventurers, and later, in 1505, to the over-lordship o Portugal. But according to indigenous chronicles such a the Mahavansa and the Culavansa, forces under strong rulers from South India had assailed Sri Lanka's territoria
integrity from even earlier times.
Owing to Sri Lanka's proximity to India the intrusion o South Indian rulers, most notably, Elara, and Sena and Guttika facilitated the spread of Hinduism in the island. There remail archaeological and architectural evidence of Hindu influenc from this period, as well as hallowed places of worship clos to Mannar and Trincomalee, and at Kataragama in the south The most substantial incursion and intrusion into Sri Lank was the 70-year rule of the island from Polonnaruwa Thereafter, insecurity bedeviled Sinhalese rulers so greatl that they shifted capitals away from proximity to Indiaendin
finally at Kotte in the southwest.
The Portuguese introduced Christianity by using force, O material benefits such as administrative and fiscal positions and colorful rituals and ceremonials, to lure the Buddhist and Hindus to Christianity. The men who formed th Portuguese cohorts came merely to serve on conquere territory and were not cultured, educated or trained. The were mostly from the ranks of society's undesirables. Th
 

※、 SES fortheaster:
xacerbates tensionS
divided Lanka
Bertram Bastiampillai
Y مح
priests accompanying the Portuguese invadershowever were benton securing "spices and Christians' and it was they who evangelised the heathen with the intention of recruiting them into the fold of the faithful.
The Portuguese left behindaresidue of Christians, some of them even surviving persecution and disfavour demonstrated by the Dutch who replaced the Portuguese in 1658 as governors of Sri Lanka's Maritime Provinces. The Dutch preached their faith (Protestantism) and convertedlocal people by giving material rewards.
By the ninth century, followers of Islam too had ventured into Sri Lanka as seafaring merchants who, during early colonial times, engaged in trade with the natives. As the Portuguese-Islam rivalry grew with time, some of the foreign followers of Islam settled on the southern coast and coastline, and thereafter moved into the island's interior. Thus Islam was, in addition to Buddhism and Hinduism, another religion vying with Roman Catholicism to claim adherents and followers in the maritime districts of Sri Lanka.
To this cocktail of religions, additions followed when other Christian sects - Protestant denominations such as Anglicanism and Methodism-joined, with the coming of the British who took over the island in 1796. Today we have Pentecosts, the Assembly of God and othersects too, all which fall within the broad, inclusive category of Christianity.
Importantly, all religions came to Sri Lanka from overseas. Buddhism was introduced through emissaries sent by Emperor Asoka the Mauryan ruler, after he fought the last war of his reign in Kalinga. Sickened by the images of death and destruction brought about by war, Asokachose to be passive,
August 2005

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Ñortheastern SS
compassionate and tolerant. But, ironically, as it spread in Sri Lanka and furthereast, this peaceful, non-violent philosophy, grew to foster aggressive and in fact violent tendencies. Similarly, even Hinduism, whose scriptures preach righteousness and justice, did not communicate these qualities successfully to believers in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, at least to the extent prescribed in its texts.
Over the years, Buddhist monks have wielded considerable influence by ascribing to themselves special and higher status, thereby leading the way for Buddhism and its followers to assume aposition of dominance over the adherents of other religions. This has translated into members of this religious group having very considerable cloutin national as well as political life.
Ethnic divisions that are plaguing Sri Lanka and the protracted hostility between the Sinhalese and Tamils could have been peacefully resolved in 1957 if the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam agreement had not been scuttled, or laterin the 1960s when the Dudley Senanayake-Chelvanayakamagreement was disallowed Theroleplayed by the Buddhist monksinoverturning thesemoves towards anamicable settlement, and the obstacles they placed to prevent the resolution of the Sinhala-Tamil differences have led to a tragic end.
In contemporary Sri Lanka, Buddhist monks have formed a political party of their own - the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU)-entered parliament and are taking a direct and active part in politics, which is a new feature in our national life. The roles played by some of these religious personalities in an overwhelmingly Sinhala-majority Sri Lankan polity have fortified the lack of confidence and trust the minority communities, more pointedly the Tamils, have in the Sinhalese. Buddhism gains special mention in Sri Lanka's constitution and an assurance of governmental assistance to sustain and foster it. The constitution of the Republic accords Buddhism “the foremostplace” and that it shall be "the duty of the state to protect and foster the Buddhasasana.” Then the chiefs or leaders of the different sects of Buddhism especially the mahanyakes of the Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters are accorded special, singular respect and honor.
Other religions are merely lumped together and are no more than doctrines the state would permit its respective adherents to follow. The constitution assures to all faiths rights granted by articles 10 and 14(1)(e), which is "the freedom either by himselforin association with others, and eitherin public orin private tomanifesthis religion orbeliefin worship, observance, practice and teaching.” Therefore, equality in respect of religion is not assured in the constitution because primacy is ensured to Buddhism.
After the tsunami, certain dignitaries from Sri Lanka's most popularreligion, some of them monks, have provoked problems that could deter an equitable distribution of relief and rehabilitation to the northeast, which is mostly inhabited by the minorities, who suffered terribly from the ruthless tidal wave that damaged and destroyed property and took away lives.
That Buddhism enjoys a status of primus inter pares was demonstrated in relation to the president's plan to disburse aid as relief in the tsunami-affected areas. Buddhist monks and prelates became so agitated that they spared no effort to use the courts to scuttle the idea.
August 2005

UES Page 7
Coupled with the aggressive stance of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the monks have been an obstacle to the reconciliatory moves made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to act in an equitable, humanitarian manner towards all citizens, even if they be from the minority communities, in particular the Tamils and Muslims. Thepresident has been pushing foreign donor assistance for rehabilitating tsunamidevastated areas to be distributed fairly, rather than deploying such funds only in places where there are Sinhala majorities.
These acts of religious extremism were preceded in the last Several years by allegations that Christian evangelists were forcibly converting Buddhists to Christianity. In May, a JHU member of parliament who is also a Buddhist monk presented in the House a draft anti-conversion bill to prevent forced religious conversions. In June, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, minister of Buddhist Affairs in the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), submitted the government's draft anti-conversion bill to cabinet. s
Considerable public discussion on these bills has been generated and many, including government officials, have expressed concern about such legislation. The anticonversion bills come on top of regular acts of arson on churches-by suspected Buddhistextremists - on the pretext that these religious institutions have been indulging inforcible conversions.
According to a statement by the U.S Department of State in Washington D.C titled “US releases 2004 International Religious Freedom reportin Sri Lanka there was an overall decline of religious freedom due to the actions of extremists. "In late 2003 and early 2004 Buddhist extremists destroyed Christian churches and harassed and abused pastors and congregants.” There were "over 100 accounts of attacks on Christian church buildings and members, several dozens of which were confirmed by diplomatic observers.” According to non-governmental bodies, in a majority of instances, the police failed to protect citizens and churches from attack. To the extent outlined above, Sri Lankais nota totally or truly secular state.
Religious discord could be severely dangerous and disruptive. As stated by the English writer Nevil Figgis, "Political liberty is the residuary legatee of ecclesiastical animosities.” Even today, religious differences and hostility account for polarisation as demonstrated in places as farflung as Ireland, Iraq and Israel.
In SriLanka since 1956, Sinhala-Tamillinguistic and ethnic differences provoked violence and the country had to pay a very heavy price for it. Now religion of the majority is becoming another divisive factor between communities causing irreparable division between the Buddhist majority and other religions groups. Can this small island put up with this hazard? Only governments of a secular state equidistant from all religions can avert such a peril.
Professor Bertram Bastiampillai, former dean of the Faculty of Arts, and professor of history at the University of Colombo was also the parliamentary commissioner for administration (Ombudsman) after retiring from the university.

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Čapturing NOr for Souther
By Professor
This the first part of an article on how successive Sri Lankan governments have devised infrastructure to channel household savings in Raj the northeast for investment and ܬܠ development of southern Sri Y Lanka
Savings and investments are key ingredients to long-run economic 7 growth. When a country saves a large portion of its current gross domestic product → (GDP), more resources become available for investment in the form of capital in the future. Be c a use capital is a produced factor of حمن production, if the е с o n o m y produces a large quantity of new capital goods, the stock of capital increases enabling the economy to produce in the long run more of all ... types of goods and
* services.
However, for the a b o v e macroeconomic expectation to material is e, savings need to be actually mobilisedat the microeconomic le vel. Unless households withhold current consumption and save a part of their income, a country's saving levels cannot either be sustained or increased. A m a ji o r prerequisite to initiate savings is, therefore, sufficient
productionin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

theast's Savings h investment
V. Nithiyanandam
the form of GDP so that people could first satisfy their basic consumption needs. But once essential requirements are fulfilled, then, the surplus income left needs to be channelled into Savings, arresting the propensity for further consumption. The most effective manner in which the latter could be accomplished depends on the efficient organisation of a country's financial system. The financial system consists of institutions, which accept, in the first instance, the household savings generating an additional income for them and, then, disburse the accumulated savings to people who want to borrow at a cost for financing their investments.
Thus, institutions within the financial system coordinate savers and borrowers, creating respectively an income and a cost. Such financial institutions could be divided into two categories: financial markets and financial intermediaries. Financial markets are institutions through which savers directly supply funds to borrowers. The stock market and the treasurybill market are the two most common examples.
Financial intermediaries are, on the other hand, institutions through which savers indirectly provide funds to borrowers. The term intermediary reflects the role of these institutions instanding between savers and borrowers. Commercial banks form the most widely used financial intermediary. Concurrently, the government too performs its own saving and investment functions utilising mainly the tax revenue it collects from households and firms. In the end, the entire savings inacountry (national Savings) should be equivalent to the total investments within that country. Inmathematical symbols, the relationship is expressed as S = I, where S denotes savings and I, the investments.
While discussing savings and investments in the NorthEast (NE), such atheoretical prelude is ratheressential to bring out the unique nature of the link between the two variables, which actually leads to the problems concerning the NE. The implied logic behind the above explanation is that the same set of people, confined within a giveneconomy, are engaged in both saving and investmentactivities, giving rise to mutual benefits to the parties involved: Savers translate their surplus earnings into additional income and borrowers satisfy their required capital needs for investment purposes. The process, in the meantime, results in further growth of the said economy. When a breakdown in some form occurs, however, between people who save and those investing, it could, lead to certain distortions in terms of growth and development.
While it is true that savers would continue to receive their rewards for saving in the form of interestor dividend payments, the actual transformation of the accumulated savings into investments can take place in an entirely different location
August 2005

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Ñorthe Aster: OEWEL
Fisheries: no use of technology or value addition
helping a different set of people. But it is the latter, which forms the real key towards development; whereas, benefits derived from the former constitute only an additional source of income to individuals who were engaged in the saving function. The amount of income the Source yields depends, on the otherhand, Very much on the existing business conditions or the prevailing interestrates. But investments, at the other end of the scale, would bring in potentially much larger macroeconomic benefits, which would eventually trickle down as micro level advantages: more jobs, additional income, and higher standard of living with better health, education, recreation etc.
When the above scenario of a functional or behavioural breakdown between savings and investments is applied to the NE vis-a-vis the rest of Sri Lanka (SL), the Socioeconomic implications, even in the absence of concrete statistical evidence, are not very difficult to understand. At the outset, it is necessary to be convinced that, even though the NE is, in de jure terms, still part of Sri Lanka, there exists a de facto element separating it from the rest of the island.
It is, therefore, quite rational to consider, among various other macroeconomic indicators for the region, the Saving and investment performance including the linkage between the two. But, unfortunately, Sri Lankan statistics on these two variables are not available on a district or provincial basis. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which has, for example, assembled data on loans and advances made by commercial banks for investing functions, presented them only by purpose (Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2004, p.106). It did not expand the statistics to August 2005
 

MENT Page 8
cover the regional distribution of the investments. If data on the financial system operating in the NE do exist, then, it would really be easier to gauge the relationship between Savings and investmentand highlight any prevailinganomalies. However, in the absence of any Such particulars, one has to rely on empirical observations and a factual analysis of available evidence to deduce any relevant conclusions.
The de-link between saving and investment in the NE has, in fact, been an outcome of the political economy experience the region encountered from colonial times. Opportunities for large-scale private investment had, from the beginning, remained highly curtailed mainly because ruling governments (whether colonial or national) failed to extend the necessary supportive role. Despite the relatively harsh nature of the bulk of the natural resources, the State never came forward to study its potential and provide the required infra-structural as well as technological facilities for such resources to be usefully harnessed.
In fact, governments did not incorporate any of the resources (both fertile and infertile) of the NE into their macroeconomic policy framework and guide the private sector into suitable action (see author's article in The Northeastern Monthly, Vol.2, No.2, May 2005). Consequently, there were, within the region, only two major industries, which somewhat utilised the natural resources with an industrial potential and both, the cement factory at Kankesanturai and the chemical factory at Paranthan, were located in the North. Moreover, both were state-owned enterprises, but now defunct. The only other major industry of the NE is the paper manufacturing at Valaichenai in the East, partially operative at present. But even these could not create aspin-offeffect leading to further investments either with private or state initiative. The inherent political elementensconced in setting-up these ventures, made them, perhaps, lone efforts rather than continuous investments flowing from any concrete industrial policy. It is, therefore, not very surprising that there was a complete freeze of any further growth.
Agricultural investments, on the other hand, though widespread in the NE covering a large number of areas, including fishing and livestock, cannot in any way be termed as large-scale or 'far-reaching with increased use of modern technology or value-addition. This is also true of the variety of activities in the services sector. All of these could be described as "micro' or 'small or, at best, as medium level efforts and entirely belonged to private individuals and households. Nevertheless, they never attempted to cross this benchmark and involve in a process integration leading to a floating offirms or jointstock companies. This would have elevated the stature of the investments and contributed compatibly towards the development of a more organised private sector. The birth of agro-based industries would have been within easy reach. But, there had been a total blank in this direction and the highest point they achieved in this context had been the producer cooperatives with a welfare connotation.
Yet, it cannot be denied that even Small-scale enterprises could form the basis for the gradual build-up of household savings, awaiting investment outlets as capital. Reinvestment in the same activities had always been an option. But, the

Page 10
Papa 0 DEV state lethargy in providing the supportive extension service coupled with, perhaps, a lack of innovation on the part ofth entrepreneurs themselves, it quickly reached its optimun People were, thus, compelled to search for alternate mear of, if not investment, at least, protecting their accumulate savings. Empirical observation shows that they indulgedi three methods using them either singularly or jointly.
First, people turned towardsestate investment and enlarge their property ownership of especially land and housing, b also extending into other buildings like shopping complexe and temples. The tendency had also beenlargely exacerbate by the non-economic elements present in the sociocultur system of the Sri Lankan Tamils. A major contributorinth respect had been the dowry system. The dowry paymen consumed a large part or frequently the entire amount c family savings among the Tamils. It would incorporate lan house, jewellery, and even ready cash. Nevertheless, it my contention that insufficientinvestment outlets have bee a prime reason encouraging enhanced dowry disbursements. If profitable investments could attract capital, even though the dowry system could not have An a been altogether eliminated, savings available for it would have, perhaps, been (3(litSt dissipated and its harmful effects too could have relatively been reduced. ᏚᎾᎨᏤyᏓCᎾ* , Development-oriented modernisation ۔ گے؟ accompanying large-scale investment that it J
too would have created a cushioning impact. the savi Another cultural absorbent of capital and
had been religion, especially Hinduism. Once Hinduism too, very much like the resource endowment of the NE, lost the investm state patronage with the dawn of colonialism, it had to rely on private away fra household contribution for its the rest Sustenance and growth. Tamils have - always been very liberal in their patronage mainly because religious activities served in only as an easy, but also as a spiritual promotion outletf their excess savings. Such individualism has, in fact, bec the major reason for Hinduism losing its social focus ar becoming one subject to excessive private (famil dominance.
Secondly, in their search for rewarding investme: opportunities, people began to transfer funds outside the N towards the South. A notable example here is the manner which professionals, who earned huge amounts investir them in the purchase of plantations. Others opened business of various sizes in different parts of the island or chose buy fixed assets in Colombo either for dwelling or rent purposes. Thus, the apparent loss of saving, capital inhere within it, and investment leading to production and grow had already begun, in fact, long before the current dimensi of this phenomenon. Although the transfer process had be voluntary, it cannot be denied that the non-availability profitable investmentavenues within NE had been the maj causative factor.

EIEI Ñortheastern
But, more interestingly, the hunt for outside openings had also led to a twistin the form of overseas trade in contraband items. It had occurred, presumably, after an exhaustive exploration of all possibilities towards utilising their savings in pursuits falling within the accepted legal norms. It would not be an exaggeration to say that contraband trade flourished along the northern coast-belt, incorporating Valvettiturai in particular and other towns like Thondamanar, Myliddy, and Point Pedro, grew out of surplus savings awaiting better investment substitutes. Notwithstanding the unique saving function, such investments render another lesson in macroeconomic resource management. When governments fail to provide the essential infrastructure compatible to existing natural resources for people to engage in profitable productive activities, they would choose to use the resources in their own distortedways within their capabilities, which would naturally result in a distorted production of goods and services.
The third method involves directly protecting the savings.
Here, the capital content of savings is ignored, which makes income
象 generation from savings to be a
llegation secondary objective. A traditional way
of savings protection had been to
the banking convert them into precious metals,
primarily gold. The main form of gold
in the NE is storage had always been jewellery,
which is also closely linked to the cultural
fulfills only norms of the Tamils. It is also a truism
that its value has always been on an
ng jiшпction, ascendant path and the savers rarely
faced the risk of losing on the deal.
noves the Another manner is to indulge in り informal credit transactions. This too has ent function, traditional leanings and has been
om the NE to operating in the NE for a very longtime.
Apart from personal loans, engaging in
of the island various forms of cheetu has been a
common means of effectively
protecting and utilising one's savings. Nevertheless, formal saving methods using the banking service have, with times, become increasingly popular in the NE. Bank deposits, while providing savers with reliable protection, also assured a reasonable income. But the commercial banks performed, as mentioned at the beginning, a dual role within the financial system and functioned as financial intermediaries. A major allegation against the banking service in the NE is that it fulfills only the first obligation, the saving function, and moves the other, the investment function, away from the NE to the rest of the island. Thus, the NE is denied the production benefits leading to growth. The second part of this article will probe this
allegation and attempt a factual examination.
(To be continued)
V. Nithiyanandam is Professor of Economics at the University of Jaffna and formerly of the Massey University in New Zealand. His research interests include development economics and economic history.
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Theatre as SC the beg
By Professor Karthi
Culture has a flexible way of adapting itself to the changing needs of social groups. This is very interesting in that while there is a reified concept of culture, especially in times of social change to enable the group to be conscious of its specificities/identities, there is also, at the same time, an adaptability, which permits substantial change in cultural behaviour and expression.
In this arena of continuity and change, art plays a very important role. It is art that gives the sense of identity, while at the same time it interacts with internal and external changes that take place in a Society. A brief look at the history of the visual and performing arts will demonstrate the validity of this statement.
Art has a specificity of almost contrastive dimensions. It is local/native/national, and at the same time, international/ universal. Not only is this true when expression one feels has only local appeal transcends it to evoke a universal response, but it is also the case when global experiences
A kooththu performance in progress
August 2005
 

Ts Pagai
Icial therapy: innings
gesu Sivathamby
are telescoped into national and locally relevant expressions, enabling people to specifically identify themselves with the work. -
A close look at music in modern Indian film demonstrates this truth. Ilayarajah has succeeded in marrying Symphony with the highly personal experience of Tamil devotional poetry. His compact disc (CD) on the Thiruvasagam illustrates this point. I would argue that all serious students of culture and art make a close study of this CD to understand how such a collectivist expression like symphony could be blended with the personalised/individualistic expression of Tamil bhakthi poetry.
Under these circumstances, one is tempted to review the facets of cultural expression in northeast Sri Lanka, to understand the changes that have taken place in the field of dramatic art.
The story is best begun with the late Professor S. Vithiananthan who brought to the notice of the emerging

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post-colonial Sri Lankan Tamils intelligentsia, the potential that lay in their folk theatre. Let us not go into the context in which this was done. Nor should we at this stage question the manner in which Vithiananthan staged performances on the proScenium arch stage. Suffice it say that it lit a spark in the Tamil youth and gave them the confidence to fallback on traditional theatrical forms to express individual artistic impulses.
As the Vithiananthan revolution was taking place, there came along a group of young Tamil theatre enthusiasts, Colombo-based at that time, to be trained by the British Council and the German Cultural Institute. They interacted freely with the Sinhala dramatists of the post-Maname era.N. Suntharalingam, A. Tarcissius, R. Sivananthanare some of the names that spring to mind. The late sixties was a time of intense social reform among the Tamils, especially on temple entry etc. These Th e b movements were essentially leftbased. To be precise, in terms of the 28C then existing political nomenclature, 蟒,, they were spearheaded by the Chinese Physical i wing of the Communist Party. S. Mounaguru, perhaps the best-known S udde nly artist of the Vithiananthan revivalist movement, and youngsters like the star Ilayapathmanathan, handled traditional themes to discuss contemporary issues deep do such as social inequality among the Tamils. Tam
The course for a post-graduate diploma in education fortheatre run by ndergo the University of Colombo in the mid1970s brought together virtually all and Stre these Tamil dramatists. Dhamma Jagoda, the chief coordinator of this th 6Se 6 programme, helped them become acquainted with State of the art developments in drama and theatre. helped t
M. Shanmugalingam, a dramatist of the Sornalingam tradition, was a student in that group. But by the end of the seventies he had founded in Jaffna the Nadaga Aranga Kalloori (College of Dramatic Art) to which he brought all the important theatre activists of the day. The most interesting feature of this new institution was that it included in this new theatrical endeavour dramatists like Arasu Ponnuthurai who were specialists in the Sabha tradition of theatre. The main contribution of this academy was to make young men and women interested in theatre to realise that theatrical activity was not merely entertainment or a hobby, but something to be very thoroughly practiced as it is for instance in the case of bhartha natiyam.
Through this institution Shanmugalingamamalgamated the Vithiananthan and the post-Vithiananthan developments in Tamil theatre. That is: he tried to use all those dramatic trends and techniques to create a new theatrical symphony. By this time it was the early eighties, when began the
ando

ARTS Northeastern
movements
ravages that shook the Tamils, binding together the hitherto pacifistintellectual with the militant peasant and fisherman. Furthermore, there was no other performance or artistic expression possible during this period. Temple festivals did not take place, music recitals could not be held, and allnight theatre was simply out of the question.
An early response of theatrical art to this new social crisis was seen in the play Mun Sumanda Meniyar (With bodies soaked in earth and Soil) written by Shanmugalingam and produced by K. Sithamparanathan, a student of Shanmugalingam. As time went on, the University of Jaffna began playing an important role in fostering socially and politically relevant theatre movements as it had done in politically mobilising the Tamilyouth of that period. Looked at retrospectively, the Tirunelvely campus was the nursing ground of this
reath i79. ಸ್ಥಿತಿ:A. theatre in the fullest sense of ses and Shanmugalingam’s Mun Sumanda
Meniyar became an instant success and almost all the leading Tamil militant groups Wanted to use it for their
mobilisation and awareness building. In brought Ollt fact, an epilogue written for Mun Sumanda Men iyar titled Mun kfiact that Sumanda Meniyar-II could not be staged so intense was the rivalry
wn, young between the militant groups. These
groups guided by the exponents of
ils had theatre of that time, channelled their
energies to street theatre. Street plays
he lТdИта were staged unannounced in temple
卷 courtyards where people congregated. PSS, which The sound of a distant jeep would disperse the crowd as silently as it
2xercises gathered.
Theatre had now become an
to address importantform of artistic expression
and more than that, of social expression. Ve/CO2e Members of the public, who do not want to become performers, were keen on witnessing performances. The skill of the artist was to unobtrusively evoke a catharsis in a repressed group of spectators, most of who were ordinary village folk.
In the meantime, watching performances led to training for the theatre. Institutions of tertiary education such as teachers' training colleges and theatre associations began to hold workshops where rigorous training was given to actors. These theatre workshops began to reveal a completely unsuspected phenomenon. The breathing exercises and physical movements suddenly brought out the stark fact that deep down, young Tamils had undergone trauma and stress, which these exercises helped to address and overcome.
This was followed by new developments in anti-colonial theatre that Sithamparanathan had access to when he joined the Cry Asia movement. The lessons were to eventually seep into Tamil theatrical productions in Jaffna. To comprehend these
August 2005

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ARTS
developments one has to understand changes that have been taking place in the mechanics of producing a play.
Post-Brechtian theatre, especially, in the formit took in the Latin American context under the able guidance of Augusta Boal began to develop nonAristotalian if not actively antiAristotalian characteristics. There was no more the Supremacy of the script and the actors, charged as they were with pressing social and political problems, tried to express their grievances and terrors as they worked and rehearsed together. Therefore, the play was constructed through the joint effort of the performers.
In Boals theatre the ending could change from performance to performance. In fact, the audience were called upon to suggest how the play should end. This was because the play was not an end in itself but an expression of a social problem that directly concerned both the performers and the spectators. Thus the manner in which play ended was vital.
The impetus given by wide popularity and more than that active participation by the public led to changes in theatrical form and expression. No more was theatre a place where one sat comfortably within the three walls of the hall and watched the events taking place as the fourth wall.
Traditionally this type of theatre was absent in the local tradition, because plays were staged in the open air. People sat or stood, observing the Social hierarchy of the place, while myths and legends, which had relevance to their own lives, pain and trauma, were enacted on stage. It provided the spectator an outlet to cry or laugh at his own problems. Or else theatre was ritualistic having a direct relevance to one's beliefs-perhaps the vindication of truth, or the victory of the passing of Suffering.
(To be continued)
Professor Karthigesu Sivathamby is emeritus professor with a specialist interest in the social and literary history of the Tamils and their culture and communication. He is also involved in theatre studies and literary criticism.
August 2005
A gOO Lank
th
Being a Tamil Professor Karth 2005 pp. 325; pub distributors: Vijit Sometimes it is investigate why at certain momentinh the book contains. hastento say that iti with Being a Tan which provides ins subjects of contemp Lanka, the timing nevertheless of imp But before launch be of interest to spe; the author. Prot Sivathamby (1932-) of the University of J Tamil between 197 taught at the U Jayewardenepura ( Eastern University i endofadistinguishe (1997-1998). He fellowshipsin India, the United Kingdom What is less know involvementin the C Jaffna in the 1980s with the added riskt reliefforrefugees, re vulnerable by the Lanka’s security foi The combination those of the practical in his writings. Th Writes on a regular as Sivathamby did HeraldshoWsamin from Sterile academi ofcurrentand conte while retaining the erudition gives their But to return toth a Tamil and Sri 1 published at this poin reason is that Sivatha

Pagal 3
Tamil and Sri Lankan
dread for Tamils, Sri ans, thOSe Occupying e Space in between
und Sri Lankan by igesu Sivathamby lished by Aivakam, na Yapa Bookshop more interesting to ook is published at a story rather than what Though one should scertainly not the case il and Sri Lankan, ights into a variety of orary relevance to Sri of this volume is DrtanCe. ing into that, it might aka few words about essor Karthigesu ) is professoremeritus affna, wherehetaught 8 and 1996. He also University of Sri 1965-78) and at the nBatticaloa at the tail dcareerinacademics was also awarded the United States and
in about him was his itizens' Committee of and the labour (often life) of coordinating dereddependentand brutal actions of Sri
CCS. fthe intellectual with manofaffairs is Seen very fact a scholar basis to a newspaper to the Northeastern | that can detachitself 'sand focus on issues mporary importance, nalytical rigour that ellect. question why Being ankan came to be in ourhistory... One nby contributed these
pieces to the Northeasternn Herald between July 2002 and November 2003. Second, it appears this endeavour was prompted by words of encouragement from admirers of Sivathamby's writing. But while these articles did indeed appearin the aforementionedjournal in that period, and the words of admirers have away of helping to realise what might have been only in the realm of intention before, the very labour of extracting the essays and publishing theminaformofananthology has strong Socio-political reasons for it.
Being a Tamil and Sri Lankan is published at a time when there is an absence of war. While this may not be peace, the climate that has descended on Sri Lanka after the Ceasefire Agreement was signed in February 2002 has given the space for ideas to be expressed, and even for new ideas to be explored.
It could be said without too much exaggeration that the atmosphere of armed conflict that prevailed during the 20yearperiod beforeceasefire would nothave permitted ideas on military, political and social questions-not only those presented in this book but others current during the time-to be exchanged freely.
But while there was a modicum of liberality on the part of the state and society to allow the free circulation of ideas, what perturbedTamils was that the fundamental problems that had caused them to take up arms 20 years ago remained. In other words, the state and the political class were unwilling to translate ideas on how these problems could be peacefully resolved into realisable objectives.
Afterall, what was the point of debating federalism when practical reality did not allow even a comprehensive implementation of devolution within the scope of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution; where was the rule of law when the PTA still remained on the statute books; was it worthwhile talking about

Page 14
Papa 4
accommodating the demands of ethnic groups other than the Sinhalese so that history writing in School texts should represent all communities fairly, when appointments of Tamil schoolteachers were wilfully prevented by the government?
To the Tamils who supported the candidature of President Chandrika Kumaratungain 1994, hertransformation into a warmonger, though she was clever enough to conceal it as 'war for peace. created great heartburn and misgiving. A somewhat similar dilemma assailed them now almost a decade later. Sure enough there was no war, but the institutional and ideological structures that underpinned a violent, racist state were not being removed.
I believe this bookhas been put together and published against Such a backdrop. Its title Being a Tamil and Sri Lankan delineates the moral dilemma of the author of these essays. As a former Tamil in the Sri Lanka Communist Party (CPSL) he was influenced by his southern comrades to believe (as he himself says) that class took primacy over other socio-political divisions. But developments in Sri Lanka and globally went against these trends, leading Marxists too to accept the importance of other categories, such as ethnicity, in their analyses.
But there has been tremendous resistance to implement the outcome of such analyses. It was the reluctance of the state to transform itself, which led to soul searching on the part of scholars like , Sivathamby as to whether one could be, in the opening years of the 21 century, a Tamil first and Sri Lankan next. In other words, whether the state and polity would allow the political space for multiple identities for its citizens, or whether they would have to continue to live within the stifling confines of a unitary constitution. The essays in this anthology examine a gamutofpolitical, socialandculturalissues under seven categories — The peace process; Theethnic divide itsimplications; Writers artistes and intellectuals; Education; Media; Tamil theatre, music and cinema; Political culture-from the standpoint of someone wrestling with this dilemma.
It is a good read and a persuasive one for Tamils and Sri Lankans, butmostofall, to those who occupy the space in between.
(J.S.T)
Lacl Jaf
usk had" sister of briskly t
I were seated ta me to geta few g with me'?' She
"How can I c am talking to af Some asperity.
"Then I am going. I'm afra ride alone,
a O U C petulantly.
I was surprise was hardly sev the evening. " are justa Scared who is going to c you?' I teased "Just shows you know Do think anybody al young girls to c alone after dau Jaffna?ʼ she Sn derisively, and li search of a r amenable esco Girls who ste of their homes dark in Jaffna, c well aware o' risk they run. the direst nece would compel to go unacco monster that lu the hours of da Tigers? Armed
What serves lasses from ven of these. The what appears to but whose m pervasive tha concern to the simply-boys Jaffna that strict, self-disc

W/SOCIETY
赛熟受 Northeastern
K of guidance leads fna youth to Stray
By S. Somitharan
allen when the teenage a friend of mine came O where her brother and lking. "Ammah wants roceries, will you come sked her brother.
ome? Can't you see I riend?" he replied with
facing herds of young men and boys who apparently have nothing to do but hang about and castlewd remarks and even physically accost women - especially young girls. What is worse, this antisocial behaviour seems to be linked to the stoicism and rigid code of conduct that characterised Jaffna
Society in the past,
InOt and an inability to cope id to w with the tensions and she “Children who spend demands of the ed contemporary world. their evenings in De spite :d. It standardisation in an in education cruell S. tuition class have E. |liဖုံ y Cat, 4. upwardly mobile, :atch very little freedom. middle class youth in her. the 1970s of their what And when the dream tO ente you university and that too lows for the prestigious ycle natural urges of the professional courses k in such as medicine and iffed adolescent are engineering, these eftin expectations are yet Oe to be banished from
.." suppressed it leads to
Jaffna society. The
p out very people that after aggressive and suffered because of OSO, standardisation are the antisocial behaviour' forcing their children Dnly down the same Ssity straight and narrow hem path of university npanied. What is the education. The ambition of most Jaffna ks in the streets during students, even today, is to enter the kness? The army? The University of Jaffna to read for a bandits? professional degree offered by that o dissuade these young university, or go to universities uring out alone are none elsewhere in Sri Lanka.
threat emanates from
be an innocuous Source, nace has become so t it is causing grave
public. The threat is
vas once famous as a plined society is today
Although there are a number of private institutions offering courses in accountancy, information technology and marketing, including the Open University, Jaffna's youth remain narrowly focused on studying in traditional residential campuses. Entering such universities however
August 2005

Page 15
** Northeastern SOC
remains a highly competitive exercise for the simple reason that there is insufficient number of such institutions of higher learning to cater to the demand.
"The dream of Jaffna's youth remains studying engineering and medicine even today. When they are unable to find a place at a university they do not seem to know what to do.” said V. P. Sivanathan, associate professor, Department of Economics at the University of Jaffna.
One reason for institutions of higher learning, other than universities, for failing to attract youth is no doubt the English factor. The introduction of 'swabasha' as the medium of education, and Sinhala as the sole official language (though Tamil was also made anofficial language with the 1987 IndoLanka Accord) led to an alarming dearth of English teachers all over Sri Lanka. In the northeast, including Jaffna, the situation was exacerbated by the brain drain caused by years of conflict.
While finding teachers who are conversant in the English is a problem, even those who are at home in the language are uncomfortable to teach in that medium because while fluency is one thing, using it for pedagogy is another. "But even if teachers are able to instruct students in English, today's youthcome from monolingual Tamil-speaking homes. Acquiring fluency in English under such circumstances is
inawaad
Students who cannot enter the University of Jaffna feel lost
August 2005
 

ETY Page 5
No complaints, say Jaffna police
Office of the Jaffna Head Quarter's Inspector (HQI) was not too cooperative when asked whether any complaints were received by the police from Jaffna residents regarding sexual harassment and teasing. The telephone operator refused to transfer the call to a responsible officer, but consented to make the inquiries himself. He returned to the phone and said briefly, “No complaints.' Pressed on who had provided him such information, he simply said, "S.I Rajapakse.”
almost impossible,” said a principal from a prestigious girl's School in Jaffna, who did not wish to be named.
But while a want of fluency in language debars students from institutions that instruct in English, the bigger impediment is the inability of Jaffna Society to transform with the times and overcome conservative thinking that engineering and medicine are the be all and end all of education.
Speaking to this writer in a different context, A. J. Canagaratna, member of the editorial board of the Saturday Review and editor of the first volume of The Selected Writings of Regi Siriwardena said, “People are interested

Page 16
Pagai SO
in education only as a vehicle propelling them to become an engineer, doctor or an accountant. They go on to use the prestige of the profession to marry with a fat dowry." Whetherit is a quest for dowry or innate conservatism, it has resulted in parents driving their children to go through hell or high water to enter university. And in a bid to bolster students' performances at the GCE A/LS and O/LS, Jaffna parents rely on that modern day mantra-private tuition.
While private tuition might propel children into the hallowed portals of a university and thereby help to secure a profession, or ensure a steady rise up the social ladder, the negative fallout of such a system is the stunting of emotional growth, which results in enormous psychological damage.
According to specialists working with children, hour afte hour of 'cramming at private tutories becomes a huge obstacle to freedom and leisure that adolescents need to enjoy for healthy growth. A child's school day usually begins with classes in the morning, which continue till early afternoon. It is followed by a short break just enough to grab a quick lunch. Then the more vigorous part of the day's learning programme starts, with wearying tuition going on, at times, till 10 o'clock at night, depending on the number of subjects in which the student wishes to be coached.
"Children who spend their evenings intuition class have very little freedom. And when the natural urges of the adolescent are suppressed and thwarted it leads to aggressive and antisocial behaviour, said Dr. R. Surendrakumaran, lecturer in community medicine, University of Jaffna and co-chairperson of the District Child Protection Committee (DCPC).
He says the daily grind of the tutory suppresses initiative and the ability to handle freedom with responsibility whether it is in thinking, sports or entertainment. It is only exacerbated by the tensions children experience when they are also driven to compete fiercely to enter university.
While psychological pressures are an important reason for antisocial behaviour among the Jaffna youth, Surendrakumaran is also quick to note certain environmental and infrastructure defects affecting the health of the community. He says that urban planning in Jaffna has not taken into account the vital need for public space to relax and 'chill out.
“Old Park remains mined and '' unusable. Subramaniyam Park is an open space with hardly any trees, the only Substantial vegetation being beds Pollution and barb
 
 
 

CETY Ñortheastern
Not in our time - Thamilini
“There were no instances of teasing, harassment or sexual abuse during the time Jaffna was under the Tiger administration,” said Thamilini, head of the women's wing of the LTTE. She said the LTTE had been vigilant in maintaining law and order. This, she said, was a Source of confidence to women. "There was an instance where a group of girls had been teased by some boys. The next day the girls went armed with a few sticks. When the boys had passed remarks, the girls turned on them and beat them up,” she continued.
"There is nothing we can d about the abuse and harassment taking place in Jaffna today. The area is not under the LTTE's control, Thamilini said.
of flowers. Without protection overhead people do not feel like relaxing, nor do the children want to play,” said Surendrakumaran.
With Jaffna's urban architecture not providing an environment conducive for the youth to gather and enjoy
2d wire on the beach restricts recreation for youth
August 2005

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fiortheaster SOC
themselves, and society, in general, too conservative to entertain males and females in each other's homes unless they are betrothed, tuition classes are about the only place where young people meet.
Therefore, tutories perform a dual role of killing the freedom of adolescents through their oppressive and disciplining function, while at the same time being the place for young people to meet each other. No wonder they have become venues for young girls to be physically and emotionally tormented.
To young males deprived of entertainmentor fun, gathering in droves in front of tuition classes preying A lack of on defenceless young females has 参见 become a popular pastime and leading to entertainment. Though teasing and harassment takes place within the sexual acti classroom too, it is more deadly outside. What is more, perpetrators are both yoипg per fellow-students as well as outsiders who hang about before and after classes, have created morning, noon and night.
"Female students are not only problems harassed by fellow-students and outsiders, but also by young lecturers. communiti Knowing the hierarchical relationship between teacher and student, teachers these is t exploit young girls and take advantage of them,” says a university lecturer who marriage to was earlier a teacher at a private tutory. He wishes to remain anonymous.
Though teasing, harassment and abuse of young females has never been totally absent in Jaffna society even in pregn the past, its heightening in recent times has led people to question the factors behind it. Thoughfalling standards of law and order due to indifference by the police is an obvious reason, the explanation is not good enough, say Social commentators. Curiously, most of the young bucks frequenting the entrances of tutories have with them distinctive paraphernalia, which could be an indication of the root of the malaise. The paraphernalia, almost always, includes a motorbike (which is usually the latest model in town) and the mobile phone, and sometimes sunshades.
The youth are also variously engaged. Some have passed A/Levels and are waiting to go overseas; others are awaiting examination results, while yet others are plain unemployed. But they have a single factor that binds them -time hanging on their hands.
“The deadly combination of unlimited leisure as well as foreign money coming into the average middle-class Jaffna household is one of the primary causes for this type of anti-social behaviour,” says P. Akilan, a well-known writer and critic.
Large amounts of liquid cash-mostly modest amounts of foreign currency converted into Sri Lankan rupees - for which they do not have to work appears to have turned the heads of Jaffna youth. It has increased spending power,
August 2005
andlegalise

тү Pagal which they use to purchase the latest trinket-mobile phone, fast motorbike or camera. (Otherwise these come as gifts from relatives visiting home from abroad.)
Trinkets themselves seldom cause problems - it is how they are used. Young men familiarise themselves on how to look macho and flashy through instruction by peers visiting Jaffna from Colombo or overseas. And, understandably, such instruction comes adorned with tales about life overseas and the pleasures of more permissive Societies.
Television channels broadcasting round the clock, and the plethora of * 毒性 cinemas that the ceasefire agreement privacy is has so helpfully spawned, buttress the tales that reach the ears of Jaffna youth eightened through their friends. The daily diet of O Tamil and Hindi movies on various local ity among and Indian channels are fast becoming the primary source of education of sons that young people about the ways of the world. The print media and pulpfiction епотоик. do the rest.
It would be wrong to say that stories in these about life inforeign countries and social mores in other communities are only of es. One of interest to young males. Even the girls - quite naturally - are influenced by eenage stories their friends tell them and the entertainment that comes to their living 4 zala Ay roomsdailly via television. legitim ፱86 Whether illusory or otherwise, media unwanted and personal accounts have tended to heighten expectations of young females from their own societies. Andone such expectation is to be free of the narrow confines of a traditional, conservative society and the restrictions the 20-year conflict has imposed on its youth. But girls are in a worse quandary than the males because women are seen as repositories and transmitters of culture, making it more difficult for them to fulfil their aspirations and dreams.
"The mismatch between their aspirations and the narrow hinking in their community has impacted on girls osychologically,” said Akilan.
Whatever might be popular perception on how youth, both male and female, behave, responsible social critics that raise such concerns do not view the younger generation through puritanical glasses. They agree that contact with life overseas and the media naturally enhances the awareness today's south have of the world. th But while this is essential and welcome, what worries social :ommentators is that the community, dislocated by lisplacement and death caused by war, has deprived foungsters of guidance and wisdom traditionally imparted by parents, teachers and even peers and siblings, in wellintegrated and functional communities.
"Dislocation caused by the war has led to older people, be hey parents or teachers, not being in a position to guide 'oungsters. While this is a tremendous setback in any ommunity, Jaffna suffers more acutely because,
ancy

Page 18
Old Park, Jaffna and its environs are mined
traditionally, Jaffna society was very closely knit and such guidance was freely available,” said Sivanathan.
While urban Jaffna tries to cope with the antics of the swashbuckling young buck, the less fortunate in that community are relegated to the shadows because war has forced people to live in Cramped, inhuman conditions as IDPs in Welfare camps. The shortage of space compels families to literally live cheek byjowl. This has resulted in a lack of privacy leading to heightened sexual activity among young persons that have created enormous problems in these communities. One of these is teenage marriage to legitimise and legalise unwanted pregnancy.
"People who are affected by this sort problems need counselling, clinics and social care. At the same time Society at large needs to be taught about sexuality. But the system in Jaffnadoes not permit this, lamented Surendrakumaran. The dire need for this is most starkly seen in the alarming increase of AIDS in Jaffna. It is officially estimated that Jaffna has the third highest number of people affected by AIDS in the country. “There has to be awareness of how AIDS is transmitted and its prevention among wide sections of Jaffna Society. We cannot hide behind slogans and live in denial, Surendrakumaran said.
The consequences of a lack of awareness in a conservative Society become more alarming due to reported increase in the incidence of prostitution in Jaffna. Increasing trends in prostitution began with the takeover of Jaffna in 1995 by the army. Though poverty caused by conflict could be a reason for women to take to prostitution, no concrete
 

ETY fiorth Saste r
evidence or comment is possible because people are unwilling to speak about it openly.
However it is common knowledge that there has been a marked decline in prostitution from what was prevalent before the CFA was signed. It is said that a group calling itself Group for the Preservation of Culture purified Jaffna by disciplining sex workers and procurers. But questions are raised as to whether moral policing is the answer to such problems.
The war has also given rise to women being widowed at comparatively early ages, as well as making others, whose husbands have gone overseas, single. Though there are no doubt instances of sexual liaisons between consenting adults, there are also numerous instances where women have been subject to violence and abuse by unwanted paramours seeking favours from them. At the same time, when details of such liaisons have become known, it has led to social stigma for the woman and violence within families, neighbourhoods and communities.
Whether it is harassment and abuse of girls by young males who have grown to hate the narrow, restrictive circumstances in which they live, or the young widow whose indiscreet liaison causes Social Stigma and Ostracism, Jaffna's rigidcodes of conduct and inflexible social values are finding it difficult to cope with new mores the war and globalisation have sprung. And unless society is willing to slough off the cloak of denial that is the coping mechanism of most conservative communities, there will be no opening for therapy either.
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Rituals refashion po between socialgi
By J. S. Tis
In the article titled "Batticaloa's ancient rituals celebrate community values both in war and peace, (The Northeastern Monthly, July 2005) this writer drew attention to the worship of local deities such as Mariyamman, Vairavar, Kaathavarayan and others, which are not part of the Agamic Hindu tradition. These rituals are traditionally meant to invoke local deities to protect the community from disease as well as from intruders and enemies.
The rituals also focus on mediums, who are people said to be possessed by the spirit of the deity whom they serve. The mediums go into a trance and perform various socially important functions, which are both protective such invoking the deity's blessings to cure diseases and foretell the future, as well as propitiatory, where the medium channels the devotion and worship of the community through Rituals ritual. The rituals are very socialoriented because they make the local residents stakeholders in the community by involving them in the چه ceremonies rather than excluding them CO7I12 Ll, to a position of mere bystanders. ●,,惨
The significance of these rituals intimatel however is much more than that. They touch the lives of the community very the sar intimately, while at the same time refashioning politics and power relations in very interesting ways. Though the political significance of such rituals tends to be subtle and is often and роиve submerged by other political discourses, T their persistence over the centuries and the vitality of their presence even today, is something that merits a second look. -
The Sri Maha Narasinha Vairavar Swami aalayam on Boundary Road, Batticaloa, is devoted to the worship of Vairavar. The temple is known to be very powerful - especially in the casting out of demonic spirits. What is also interesting is that the foundational myth of the temple is yet preserved and chanted by its poosaris (priests). As legend would have it, the idol of Vairavar that is in the temple had come from Jaffna and the stories talk about its journey through eight villages to Batticaloa through the Wanni.
Oral narratives have various functions in local communities. For instance, traditionally, Vairavar was a powerful local deity giving protection to the household. In today's context, the community that worships at the Vairavar temple assumes a distinct local identity, which has a powerful way of binding its members. These oral traditions
August 2005
lives
refashion

GON Papa litics, power relations Oups in Batticaloa
ainayagam
also do not necessarily reflect the master narrative, which, even in Batticaloa, has tended to revolve around more powerful temples of Hindu orthodoxy dominated by the Agamic Hindu tradition.
"Temples worshipping Murugan, Pillaiyar or Sivan are within the Agamic tradition. Their rituals do not include those we have at Sri Muttumariyamman or temples worshipping Kali, Kathavarayan and others,” said Sakthi K. Kumaradasan, chief priest of the Sri Maha Muttumariyamman temple, Batticaloa.
The powerful temples that conform to the Agamic tradition, are under the control of Batticaloa's landowning classes, and reflect the splendour associated with affluence. They are also bastions of privilege for Batticaloa's upper castes. On the other hand, the smaller temples are owned and run by other, nontouch the hegemonic, caste groups preserving their
own rituals.
Historically, various communities have of the felta sense of empowerment due to the
power of local deities. "The fact that nity very Lord Siva himself was unable to resist the test Mariyamman put to him, shows V, while at how powerful Mariyamman is and that gives her worshippers too a sense of me time prestige,” said Jothirajah Karunenthira, Sri Maha Muttumariyamman temple’s 4 is assistant priest. ng p olitics Karunenthira was referring to the Mariyamman ritual celebrated at the temple in June, where tradition has it that Mariyamman's penance earned her a gift of 16 pearls from Lord Siva, to test mankind for their wickedness. However, according to the legend, Sivahimself could notendure the test Mariyamman put to him before she returned to earth to banishevil from the world.
Similarly, Lord Sivais not portrayed in a very favourable light in the Kathavarayan kooththu that is popular in Batticaloa. Let alone the description of certain debasing aspects of his character, Siva is shown to be fearful of Mariyamman. The portrayal gives the community worshiping Mariyamman, a local deity, a sense of well being vis-a-vis the community worshipping Siva, which is popularly seen as occupying a more elevated position in the caste hierarchy. Such legends are part of the collective memory of local communities that have withstood decades of discrimination and conflict. "...Especially in oppressed, silenced or discriminated groups, references to a shared past often facilitates the building offeelings of self-respect and greater resilience in oneself and in the group, says Elizabeth Jelin
r relations

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Rituals in a Batticaloa temple: celebrating the lesser tradition
in her book State Repression and the Labors of Memory (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2003).
Mariyamman, as much as Veerapath thiran, Kaathavarayan, Aiyappar and a host of other local deities worshipped in Batticaloa, are believed to be human beings who, due to their self-sacrifice to defend the community or village in times of war and suffering, came to be revered in posterity for their Supernatural powers to protect the local public from adversity. .
Some believers are of the opinion that mortals who attained deity-hood did so because of their singular piety, penance and good deeds. "The idea that human beings were elevated to the status of deities because of their spiritual powers reinforces the Hindu belief that God is within and not something out there.' These deities also have the power to protect the village and the local community,” Karunenthira said.
The deification of mortals because of their self-sacrifice bares resemblance to the cult of hero worship that was present even in ancient Tamil society, which is echoed in contemporary times by the centrality of self-sacrifice in the martial traditions of the LTTE. Though the LTTE is secular and there is no official elevation of its fallen to the status of a deity, commemorative events Surrounding Great Heroes' Day (mahvirer thinam) represent dying for the cause as an act done for the welfare and protection of the community. 4.
The local, communal nature of deity worship manifests itself in various ways that puts these rituals at odds with the tradition of Agamic Hinduism. For instance, unlike in
 

GON Fiortheastern
Agamic Hinduism, the organic form in religious worship associated with the rituals are chanted entirely in Tamil, the language the people understand, and not Sanskrit, which is seen as a vehicle transmitting hierarchical, caste-ridden values associated with Brahminism.
“The devotees understand what is going on around them - they can see and hear. There is no attempt to cloak the events in esotericism, which naturally happens when the priest chants in Sanskrit,' said Kumaradasan.
The other distinct aspect of the ritualistic tradition is the rejection of the priestly caste-the Brahmins - as the only people who can officiate in temple ceremonies, unlike in Agamic Hinduism where it is imperative that the officiating priest is a Brahmin. In the ritual tradition the priests are not Brahmin-they are members of the local community, which runs the temple, who almost inevitably, belong to aparticular Caste group.
"Unlike in the Brahmin tradition, here, people do not become priests because they are born into a priestly caste. Whoeverexpresses an interest in learning the mantras and demonstrates an expertise in doing the job could do so,” said Karunenthira.
According to Sociologists, in the non-Agamic tradition it is important that the community should acceptandacknowledge the person who is aspiring to become a priest. And that acceptance is only through the aspirant's demonstration of his skills as being a genuine conduit of the power of the deity. In that sense, the process is more democratic.
While the ritual tradition has fought to preserve its individuality, Brahminism has been making inroads by using August 2005

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筠 Nortkies ästär Fi R
Šškyx%XX
a variety of methods. This war of attrition is centuries old It basically uses three approaches: to destroy the rituals by imposing itself as the high tradition and coercing the followers of the so-called lesser tradition to abandon that form of worship; by assimilating within itself certain aspects of the rituals and subsuming them within its own form; by subverting the rituals through giving them an Agamic twist. A telling example of how the distinctive identity of the local deities is being Subsumed by the Agamic tradition could be seen in what was repeated by Kumaradasan,: "You can equate the local deities to the gods of the Agamic tradition: Kali is Durga, Pechchi (she who speaks powerfully) is Saraswathi and Mariyammal, the most powerful, is Lakshmi.” Sociologists believe that this exercise inequating the gods of the two traditions is a way whereby the Agamic tradition gives a universal colouration and name to local deities. Over time, they feel, the localness of Mariyamman could be lost, which would make it easier for Agamic Hinduism to assimilate the local rituals completely. Already, there are strands of Brahminism that have crept into the ceremonies associated with the rituals. Even Vairavar, originally a local household deity, is identified with Narasingar and with both Saivite and Vaishnavite worship, thereby losing his distinct local identity.
One of the telling signs of Agamic Hinduism capturing organic ritual-based worship is the way the annual ritual of the deity Periya Thambiraan is advertised in Batticaloa. The nomenclature usually used in the posters and leaflets was 'Annual Periya Thambiraan ritual (Varudaanda Periyathambiraan chadangu). Today however, the advertisement reads: Annual Shri Thakkayaageswara festival” (Varudaanda Thakkayaageswara utsavam). The Sanskrit influence is plain.
“The transformation of the Tamil title into a Sanskrit one could be unconscious, but one cannot discount the influence Brahminism is having on these rituals.” said Karunenthira. “With the spread of formal education there has grown a notion that what is local, Tamil, and community-based, are barbaric or low culture. Thus the local is despised and replaced by worshipping the universal gods of Brahminbased Hinduism.'
The inroads Brahminism is making into ritual worship can also be seen in the architecture of the temples in Batticaloa. Originally, temples where the ritual tradition was celebrated were modest, crude structures built of daub, wattle and thatch, hardly larger than shrines. Even today, the shrines for the deities such as Kali, Veerappathiran and others at the Boundary Road Vairavar temple are a few square feet in area, only large enough to hold an idol of the deity. However, the temple proper, dedicated to Vairavar, is fashioned with a moolesthanam (santum sanctorum), which is an integral part of the architecture of a Hindu temple of the Agamic tradition.
Those who believe that ritual worship should not be allowed to die through asphyxiation by Brahminism are perturbed by how perceptions about religion change with modernisation, where education has not only led to Brahminism invading temples, but local poosaris becoming Brahmins, by changing their titles to Sanskrit-sounding ones
August 2005

Thaanthontriswara temple at Kokkaddicholai represents Brahmin influence in Batticaloa
and even officiating wearing a poonool (the mark of identification of Brahmins). In other words, due to pressure from the higher tradition that a non-Brahmin poosari officiating in a temple ceremony is somehow uncivilised the poosari is transformed into a Brahminaiyer.
Another source for the Brahminisation of local priesthood is the well-meaning but ignorant moves by the Ministry of Hindu Affairs to anointpoosaris officiating in the local rituals as priests of the high tradition, by using Brahminaiyers from India. "This is done to give recognition and status to priests officiating in the temples of local deities, but people often do not know the serious consequences of such actions.” said a sociologist who wished to remain anonymous.
The gradual moves towards embracing an orthodox, Agamic worship, complete with Brahmin priests has resulted incommunities cutting themselves loose from the moorings that traditionally empowered them, which is caste-based. These groups derived their livelihood, as well as theiridentity, social and political power, complete with the temple and its deities, from their caste.
The worship of Vaelan, and the happenings at the Vallipuram temple at Kondavil in Jaffna become instructive in this regard. By identifying Vaelan, a local deity with Lord Skanda, there was an infusion of the high tradition with the low and the eventual assimilation of one tradition by the other. ,
Similarly, a depressed community in Kondavil was worshipping Valliyappar, alocal deity. Overtime, Valliyappar worship was seen as uncivilised and he was reinvented as Vallipura Aazhvaar. A Brahmin aiyer was brought to officiate displacing the local priesthood, and the local community lost its hold on the temple and its sense of identity by being reduced from the status of participants in the rituals, to mere bystanders.
Agamic Hinduism has made inroads into ritual-based worship by colonising the minds of local believers. As colonisation has done in other Societies, it makes people despise themselves and their indigenous forms of worship as barbaric, and forces them import traditions from outside to find recognition and status. Eventually, the external element disempowers and debilitates the local community and destroys its identity.

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Aceh deal regional par
By Andre
Devastating though it was, the Asian Tsunami brought the proverbial winds of change to Indonesia by focusing international attention on the festering conflict in Aceh province and creating conditions for a political settlement that may yet instruct other ethnic groups.
Many would call the deal between the Indonesian governmentand the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), signed in Helsinki on Sunday a 'sell-out but it is hard not to spot in it a model that could be replicated as Jakarta moves to deal with other regional movements in this far-flung archipelago. Just about a week after the 26 December 2004 tsunami. struck the coasts of Aceh the first round of talks began to take place in Helsinki under the auspices of former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, government negotiators were surprised by GAM leaders saying they were ready to contest elections, rather than push for independence.
"It is only through the establishment of an open, democratic and plural process that we can guarantee a peaceful political future, facilitate post-tsunami reconstruction and enhance social and economic developmentin Aceh,” said GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah.
Suddenly, for the first time in 30 years there was an end in sight to one of Southeast Asia's bloodiest conflicts, that
Clinching the peace deal at Helsinki, Finland
 

CT Northeia stట్టిrn
may give ties a chance
Is Harsono
had already consumed 15,000 lives, and the possibility of removing the paranoia of Javanese political leaders and Intellectuals that Indonesia was about to disintegrate.
The idea itself is not new. About three or four years ago, academics and intellectuals began suggesting that the way forward to end the armed conflict lay in tapping on the interest shown by GAM to form a regional political party based in Aceh at the northern tip of Sumatra island.
Donald K. Emmerson, a political scientist at Stanford University is among those who have suggested that the Indonesian government consider changing its Java-centric political system to accommodate regionalism as an option. "It (allowing space for regional parties) has a tendency to moderate formerly radical positions. What if, in Algeria, the elections had been honoured? In Iran, the revolution is over. There is a movement toward the centre, said Emmerson.
Examples to support the view abound across Asia. It was refusal to honour the results of an election which would have seen Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the Dhaka-based Awami League party as prime minister of a united Pakistan that led to civil war and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. In Indonesia, the idea was not seen kindly by the Jakartabased media, in spite of the press freedom gained from the overthrow of the authoritarian Suharto regime.
Worse than that, well-known editors openly favoured an Aceh that is integral to the Unitarian State of the Republic of Indonesia (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia or NKRI).
"We journalists should be red-and-white first and defend the NKRI,” declared Derek Manangka, the news director of RCTI, Indonesia's largest private channel, while talking at a seminar on coverage of the war in Aceh. (The Indonesian flag is often referred to as red-and-white). Suryopratomo, the chief editor of Kompas, the largest daily newspaper, said it was
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better that Indonesia's 'stubborn territories remained within the republic even if human rights abuses and injustice takes place in Aceh, Papua and others. "Still it is better to be united in this age of global competition, he said.
The idea, however, trickled into Stockholm, where most GAM leaders live in exile. GAM is the Malay acronym of the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Acheh Merdeka). They claimed that Indonesia had become a vehicle fora"Javanese nation.'
Javanese form the ethnic majority in Indonesia and are based on the island of Java where the national capital is located.
When Hasan di Tiro, the head of GAM, declared an independent ‘Acheh’ in 1976, he started out by using a different spelling “Acheh rather than “Aceh” as a mark of distinct identity. Later, many Achenese, however that is spelt, realised that their land was resource rich and that much of its income was being siphoned away to Java and Jakarta.
Before long the Indonesian army cracked down hard on the rebels. Since the 1980s, human rights groups have been C accusing the Indonesian army of executions, disappearances, torture, rape and collective punishment of civilians.
But the tsunamichanged all that with Suryoprat thousands of foreigners pouring into flooded Banda Aceh as well as Aceh chief ed province's urbanised areas like Meulaboh,
Sigliand Lhokseumawe. ΚΟ mpas, Sa
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Murizal Hamzah, an Acehnese journalist of the “Sinar Harapan” newspaper, described the tsunami as "a better blessing in disguise, for it gave a chance for the Achenese cause to become Indone internationalised.
As with the Tamil Eelam (Tamil 9 Homeland) cause in Sri Lanka, the stubborn international community wanted 争 reconstruction efforts to go hand in hand isemained W with the peace process.
Sunday's Helsinki pact could not have KD been an easy bargain for President Susilo rep ublic Bambang Yudhoyono.
Under Indonesian law, parties must be human rug headquartered in Jakarta and have branches in more than half of Indonesia's and in USl 33 provinces. Yudhoyono was reluctant to change the law to accommodate GAM, fearing similardemands from other place in Act ethnic or religious groups.
He offered instead to let GAM stand and o1 under the umbrella of existing political - parties but nationalist legislators objected to even that as too big a concession. And they wanted the army to continue with repression. C
Indonesian Information Minister Sofyan Djalil, although himself an Acehnese and a negotiator in Helsinki, rejected t the GAM proposalifora'national Aceh party.” Djalilargued C that Indonesianeverhadaplace forethnic or regional political a parties.
August 2005

anks of the Indonesian army Djalil was wrong. In Indonesia's firstelection in 1955, ethnicased parties were accepted and contestants included the Daya 'arty which represented the Dayak tribes people on Kalimantan island.
"Such restrictions mean that Indonesia's political parties are ontrolled from Jakarta." Bakhtiar Abdullah said. "We reject such centralised control which does not and cannot reflect the wishes of the people of Acheh.”
ото, the "If the government of Indonesiareally wants to preserve the unity of the state, itor of it must meet the legitimate, democratic
aspirations of its citizens said Abdullah. ,By the fifth round of talks in July ٹی۔ یہ ٹیم aid it was Ailili and Vice President Jusuf Kalla,
that persuaded his chief negotiator Hamid Awaluddin to push for an 18-month
com o period during which preparations could
2S(lS
be made for provincial elections and GAM agreed.
ferritories Liem Sioe Liong of the London-based Tapol’ human rights group, which 'ithin the focuses its work on Indonesia, believes that a key factor in the settlement is the fact that the two politicians involved were ethnic Bugis and understood better the aspiration of groups outside Java its abuses Island.
Both Kala and Awaluddin are Bugis ce takes from Southern Sulawesi Island at the eastern end of the archipelago. Yudhoyono, just like most Indonesian h, P(P0ll0l presidents, is Javanese.
“Maybe those Bugis politicians also hers thought that they might set up their own Bugis political parties if the Achenese are allowed to have one,' said Liem. But it is still along way from peace as the Helsinki deal is to 2mand rigorous socialisation and implementation measures. Will the Java-based political parties support the deal? Will e Jakarta media put aside its bias? How will Yudhoyono vercome his stubborn army? Only time can provide the nswers to these questions.
even if
(IPS)

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July 9 was the 10" anniversary of the aerial bombardment of the Navaly Church, Jaffna, where 157 people, including 38 children, died on the spot. More than 300 people sustained permanent injury. We reproduce here an article written in the Northeastern Monthly in 2003 by S. Somitharan with photos by Buddhika Weerasinghe.
One morning in 1995, five-year-old Selvanayagam Sasiraj was playing Outside his house. His father, amason, had gone to work, but Sasiraj's mother, Pathmawathi, was home; so was Sasiraj's elder brother, Chandrasekaran. Their home was adjacent to the Navaly Roman Catholic Church.
Military operations were in progress and armed aircraft were circling. Realising perhaps they were circling a Zone almost over the house and growing anxious of what it portended, Pathmawathi had asked the boy to get into abunker.
"Before I could I could run bombs began falling. Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion. That is all Iremembertill I woke upinhospital,” said Sasiraj, now 12 years old. He has lost his sightcompletely.
It was this bomb the ICRC reported had been dropped on
civilians who were herded together in the church taking refuge from military operations. And in the wake of the negative fallout alleging the air force had engaged in an act that could be
Children at Valvagam doing askit
 
 

EN Ñortheastern
nterpreted awarcrime, Lakshman Kadirgamar, the then minister f foreign affairs, went on to chastise the ICRC, stating the omb was not targeted on refugees in the church, but on an TTE facility nearby. He said the bomb had inadvertently Xploded in the church's compound. Others, however, dismiss he argumentas preposterous.
Pathmawathi died, but Chandrasekaran escaped virtually nscathed. Today Sasiraj's father supports Chandrasekaran hrough his meagreearnings, while little Sasirajis at Valvagham ome for the visually handicapped
The history of Valvagham, now situated atMaruthanamdam, affna, and the trials the organisation and its administrators had ) put up with are as heartrending as the tragedy, but also as ncouraging in their persistence and fortitude, as the personal tory of Sasiraj and the 30 other visually handicapped inmates fthat institution. Valvagham has led a peripatetic existence. It as had to move out whenever military operations threatened he security of the institution and the lives of the children: The ast of these relocations was in 1995 when the home was in Jduvil, but had to be vacated due to the shelling and fighting at lose quarters.
“We were so handicapped we had to take these children who cannot see, walking to Tellipalai to safety,” said one who
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Victims of the military's wanton attacks
had been there and experienced it all. Interestingly, the permanent building the home occupied at Uduvil has now become part of the military complex of 513 Brigade, which took it over after Valvagham's vacation. It has been acts such as these, done with scant regard to human suffering that has prompted the LTTE and the Tamil public to demand the army vacate private property it has acquired in high security zones and Outside. -
Around 1997 persons working with Valvagahm visited what had been their home at Uduvil, now turned into 513 Brigade's military complex. There were only a few benches that belonged to the home remaining, which the visitors had requested be returned to them since they were in the process of building a new home at Maruthanamadam. But the army refused.
Despite such cussedness there were sections of the government that was prepared to help. Relief and Rehabilitation Authority of the North (RRAN) put up the new building for the home at Maruthanamadam; UNICEF constructed the water tank and Hindu Culture Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran donated a trishaw. Official' assistance for building up movable and immovable property is largely confined to these.
The bulk of the donations even today come from individuals. And this, mind you, in a Jaffna that had been wracked by war, displacement and terror till the ceasefire agreement was signed in February 2002. If funding from these sources were to dry up, the institution might have to close. “The people who were displaced with usandbore the brunt of our privation
August 2005
:
 
 

now our problems and continue to support and make ontributions towards the home's welfare,' said Annaluckshmy Sinnathamby, who runs the home and whose rainchild Valvaghamis.
The sacrifice and personal commitment that has gone into etting up and running Valvagham borders on the fantastic. It egan in 1971 as a school that taught children with visual impedimenta. By 1988 with the war for Eelam having indergone various phases and military engagements and conomic deprivation causing tremendous distress, it was ecided Valvagham be transformed into a home, where hildren did not study but were resident.
A private house was acquired at Tellipalai for the home. alvagham was there till 1990. The first round of displacement ame that year due to military engagements as the army began xpanding the perimeter of its Palaly camp, which has now ecome the high security zone. Expecting the worst, the hildren were sent home. The home was resurrected in 1993 at Uduvil, where a ermanent building was constructed. When displaced in 1995 1 the wake of Operation Riviresa the home was in transitin sanipay briefly, before being relocated at its present premises
Maruthanamadam. Though Valvagham has evolved into a home from a school, lucation forms the core of the institution's focus. The inmates o not attend special schools for the visually handicapped. hey go to regular schools in the area such as the laruthanamadum Ramanathan College for girls and Union ollege, Telipalai for boys.

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The schools, besides allowing these children with special needs to use Braille, offers them much the same facilities (or the lack of them) as it does other children; in other words they are shown no distinction, but encouraged to be part of the school as everyone else. However, education is one of the most important reasons why the children are encouraged to stay at Valvagham.
“We are displaced because of the war. I amat Valvagham because my parents want metostudyandcomeupinlife,"saidSelvam Jeyaparathi (11), who waspartoftheexodus to the Vanniin 1995.Jeyaparathiwhoisan epileptic gotanattack due to expOSure and fatigue. There wasnomedical aidavailable and her optic nerve was affected. She is visually handicapped too.
The success of Valvagham in encouraging learning and instilling discipline that is required for academic excellence is seen by four youths, both boys and girls, from the institution following undergraduate courses at the University of Jaffna. But academic excellence is but apart of the enormous talent the resident's at Valvagham display. Some of them are musically inclined, while others are gifted in the other arts.
Though Superficially the lot of these children might appear better than the orphans who have no one to parents to turn to, the fact is it is not really so. Many of the inmates' families have lost breadwinners that make them desperately poor so that a child at Valvagham means one mouth less to feed. In the case of others like Sujith, whose mother was killed, it leaves the home with an acute lack of the emotional support that is vital for viable family life.
Similarly, atavistic and almost barbarous social beliefs in Jaffna, render the visually handicapped inauspicious and/or their families as objects of ridicule and exclusion. This forces parents to use the first available opportunity to palm off their children to a home or some other facility, which will relieve parents and families the anxieties of bringing up special needs' children.
The allocation of eachchild in Valvagham's budgetis Rs.300 per day, which goes for food, clothes, School requirements and extra-curricular activities such as music lessons. This works out approximately Rs.90,000 per month for the 30 inmates. The single biggest block sum of money comes from the government that is Rs.300, perchild, permonth. In other words, the state looks after just three days of a child's requirement in amonth. The balance is from private generosity and goodwill. The tragedy of the children's lives will however need much more Rs.90,000 amonth. Some cases involve more than one in a family who is handicapped for life due to the war and its indescribable horrors.
Way back in 1994, Ravindrapalan, a fisherman from Gurnagar, brought home one day with his haul from the sea, a shiny rounded object. It was a present to his six children including Gnanaseelan, Lambert Ravindran and Marie Stella. Their mother who was reluctant to give the children what
Children at Valvaga
 

REN Northeastern 8ém&ጵ8፩
m recounting their stories
had lain so long in the sea, washed the object with soap and water to disinfect it before allowing the children play. The childrenrolled the spherically shaped article during their play. One afternoon coming home from School, they wanted to break the seashells they had collected. The shells had to be broken by dashing aheavy object on them. There was nothing else around, so Ravindran Lambert took the round heavy object they had played within his little hand and brought it down with all his mighton the shells. It exploded.
Lambert lost his hand and his sight partially, so did his elder brother Gnanaseelan due to the exploding mine. Marie Stella, hovering closest over the plaything, lost sight of both hereyes completely. All had three had shrapneland burninjuries all over their bodies. Incidentally, one of the other siblings, a one-yearold, was nearby too but escaped because she was crouching under a chair and the force of the blast moves upwards.
Marie Stella and Lambert were admitted into Valvagham in 1997, but Gnanaseelan came only in 2000. Though the two boys can still see, it is limited to recognising vague shapes and doctors say their sight continues to deteriorate. Marie Stella's world is completely dark. I do not mind my own condition, but I am worried about my sister - she has lost both her eyes,” said Gnanaseelan (15).
Marie Stella (12) is an active girl who when told about our photojournalist Buddhika Weerasinghe's camera, held it to her eye and clicked. But all of a sudden she fell very, very silent. "She is grieving about our eldest brother-he has gone to join the LTTE. She is very attached to him and took his departure badly," confided Gnanaseelan. N
The eldest boy had runaway to join the LTTE in May 2002. Due to the entreaties of his parents he had returned to the family fold. But in September he went back - this time no entreaty could coax him away.
Marie Stella wants to become a teacher. She said, "Only the eldest of my brothers could see. He was studying; he could have helped us to study too. But now he is also not there for us...'
(Northeastern Herald 9-15 May 2003)
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Any kind of Print
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Cartoons I L'ables :
Printed at . E-kw'ality Graphics No. 35,
 
 
 
 
 

L'inters, Piiblishers. Ek Gra Fılı ile Jesigilers
315, Jarmpetuah Strict, Columbo 1.3, Sri Lamki. Tel 0.094 0112389848 Fax: 0.094 0112389848 E-maill: elkwalitysticga, Ik
Warri pertal. Street, Color bo 13. of I-2389848