News Update - 20051108 - The First Post
I believe that the following month will be a critical month in the future of the island of Ceylon (also, "Ilankai", "Sri Lanka"). When you crack open an encyclopedia to read the history, it's full of years like 1977, 1958, and letters like FP, TULF, UNP, SLFP, etc. These seem like blips on a long timeline, until you realize the significance of them all when it is put together.
We find ourselves in a critical month. Although this is a time of peace in the 3.5 year old ceasefire, it is anything but peaceful. The low-intensity warfare that is continuing is reminiscent of the kind of killings that led up to the July 1983 porgrom that "officially" started the war. As the random killings increase in scale, the current ceasefire is looking less and less important, and it points to the prospect of the island slipping back into war. It's less a question of "if" than "when".
In this month, there is the Presidential elections on Nov. 17th, 2005. The president of Sri Lanka is one of the most powerful positions in a democracy in the world. He/she is the commander-in-chief, but also has the power to take over / reassign whichever ministry whenever he/she pleases. Most importantly, the executive president has ultimate control over the legislative branch -- Parliament -- in that the president can dissolve the parliament any time after the first year of Parliament's 5 year terms, as well as introducing 2 month suspensions as often as desired. Needless to say, whoever wins will have a profound impact on the future of the island for at least the next 6 years -- peace process included.
Also in this month is Maaveerar Naal, Nov. 27, 2005. This day is one of the most reverent days for the LTTE, in that they remember their fallen soldiers. The ethos of remembrance and self-sacrifice (death being the ultimate self-sacrifice) for the greater good explain why this is not your typical American Memorial Day. Also important to the friends and foes of the LTTE alike is the speech given on Maaveerar Naal, which comprehensively spells out the LTTE's position and policies on the major issues affecting their struggle at that point.
As election day creeps closer and closer, the campaign rhetoric is beginning to reach the cliched "fever-pitch". This will be spelled out better next time. All the while, others tentatively watch the LTTE, trying to predict what they might or might not do. The irony is that the Sinhalaese politicians' antics are the real circus show. The problem is that they are juggling Sinhala nationalistic promises with anti-Tamil war mongering. And the LTTE claims that it's armed to the hilt to not only defend itself, but wipe out the SL armed forces if they so dare. This will also be explained better next later. Keep reading, because the current events of today will be the pivotal events in the history books of tomorrow.