Keeping perspective

Friday, 29 April 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Politicians, as we well know, are not perfect creatures. This is perhaps why the recent incident of Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan visiting land under the control of the military in Kilinochchi has been whipped out of all proportion by self-seeking, agenda-driven politicians to receive an unwarranted amount of attention.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader, by his own explanation, was attending a meeting in the area where the issue of land held by the military had cropped up among his constituents. He was then taken to the site where he had seen some land and houses before returning to Colombo.

By all records the military and other officials have publicly acknowledged that no laws were broken and the Army had simply informed the Opposition Leader that had he provided prior information of his visit, relevant officials could have been at hand to escort him around. The military has also not lodged a complaint, nor, by their own admittance, have they been instructed not to by a higher power, thereby making the whole situation a non-incident.

What could have been a simple misunderstanding has been whipped into frenzy by the Joint Opposition, who has picked the most disastrous path possible of whipping up nationalism to try and wiggle themselves into power. Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senaratne put the whole matter in perspective when he made the astute statement that “so much fuss would not be made if a Sinhala man stepped into a military zone. This whole issue is because a Tamil man visited a military camp. Do not act as it Prabhakaran went there.”

The statement sums up the issue at the core of the camp visitation. Government ministers and members of Parliament visit military camps on numerous occasions and even stay in them, sometimes without prior notice. Such incidents are normal and do not evoke even a single social media post. But the moment it is done by a Tamil politician, all hell breaks loose.

While protecting national security is of paramount importance, it is also important not to create insecurity among the masses by spreading fear and misinformation. The public, long used to the horrors of war, are understandably concerned about it returning. But the best way to prevent ethnic tensions is to ensure that all communities are given their rights and see that their concerns are addressed.

Without such duality, if all focus is only on repression, little attention will be paid to building genuine peace. This was at the core of the disappointment expressed over the policies of the previous Government and the Joint Opposition, despite being well aware of this, remains committed to sticking to its one-sided nationalist agenda.

The Government is in the process of evaluating land held as high security zones and gradually releasing them to their original owners. This process should be encouraged so that misunderstandings of this nature are not repeated. A dialogue on other key issues such as disappearances and investigations into allegations of war crimes is ongoing with the participation of the international community and these deeper efforts to foster reconciliation should not be derailed by the racism of a few individual politicians.