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SLA Roundups and searches striking fear among people

Signs that the peace environment is taking its last breadth are clearly visible in Jaffna peninsula. This “peace environment without real peace” has not only begun to slowly disappear, the environment is returning to the frightful invasive military situation that prevailed four years ago.

It is sad to see people walking around with fear in their faces having lost the minimal degree of normalcy. The region has taken on the appearance of a land occupied by a foreign force.

The presence of military in every nooks and corner with their fingers firmly on the trigger, military in patrol in all the main roads, military carrying out roundups and checking, and military in various military fatigues with tight faces are all announcing the end of the peace environment.

The new President and his policies have started to have the expected outcome. The tragedy is that every Sinhala government has thought that maintaining this militaristic stance is the only way to keep the majority community and the Buddhist Sangam satisfied.

The evolving situation in Jaffna peninsula conveys one essential message. New President prefers the same approach of “war for peace” of the last President.

The frightening environment in Jaffna is proof to that stance of the new President. People are waking up every morning wondering in fear about being trapped in a search operation and getting humiliated.

Peace will not come to this island at any stage by searching people with suspicion, arresting innocent people for interrogation, and invading people’s privacy to search every corner of their homes.

The truth is that such actions by the government and its military, by disturbing people’s normal life, will lead to heightened tension between the two sides.

Presently the G.C.E OL examinations are taking place. The students in Northeast have been denied their education rights over the last two decades through State terrorism. These same students are now subjected to arrests, searches and roundups. What psychological effect is this going to have on the students in the long term effect?

There are ample evidence to show how education of children was targeted and destroyed by state policies and state oppression. Burning of the Jaffna library, turning schools into military camps, bombing schools and killing students, stopping schools from functioning through declaring high security zones, discrimination shown in distributing educational resources, the list is long.

One cannot completely over rule the possibility that the present activities of the military are also aimed at disturbing the students.

Whatever it is, the present political and military moves of the new President show that his aim is to push the people of Northeast into another dark and tragic period.

15 December 2005

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