After the so-called invincible LTTE was defeated in the present Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, which was part of pre colonial Ruhuna, there are people who again cry with bleeding hearts for "peace". Whether or not one agrees with the tamashas organized by the government over the victory in the eastern province, one cannot afford to be unhappy over it, unless one is a supporter of the LTTE. We were waiting for the Catholic Church and the other Christian Churches to issue statements at least congratulating the armed forces on their historic victory. After all, these Churches in the "good" old days blessed the armies that went to war and congratulated them on their victories. Even in Sri Lanka the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British governors and their armies had the fullest support of the Churches, even when those armies were massacring civilians. However, to my knowledge none of the Churches issued a statement on the victory of the armed forces. Perhaps the Bishops know the reasons for not issuing such statements.
Now Bishop Chikera in a statement among other things states the following: "In a war there are no winners and losers. All lose, including the ones who think they win… An escalation of war correspondingly demands an escalation of destruction to the economy and environment, an escalation of the war budget, an escalation of budgetary cuts apportioned for essential welfare services, an escalation of Government borrowing, an escalation of indebtedness of future generations and indeed escalation of human revenge, pride and hatred… The responsibility of democratic leadership then, is to work earnestly and urgently to end war and achieve a just and stable socio-economic order through non violent, negotiated means. If we can initiate negotiations on our own, then we must do so immediately. If we cannot we must ask for help clearly and purposefully." The good Bishop then preaches on child welfare and blames both the government and the LTTE on indoctrination of trapped school communities etc.
The Bishop says there are no losers and winners in war. This is a good statement to be made in a public school debate in the hypocritical tradition the British have left with us. Though there are no losers and winners according to the Bishop there would not have been a Bishop in Colombo if not for the fact that the English won so many wars in Europe defeating France and other countries and also not for the fact that the English massacred the Sinhalas when they rose against the British in 1817-18 and in 1848. Did the British win those wars or not? One outcome of the British winning those "wars" was the continuation of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka.
The Bishop does not have to tell us that an escalation of war leads to all that he has mentioned. However, the question is if the LTTE was allowed to carry on with their so called struggle without the government reciprocating where would have we gone? The LTTE has to be defeated, even if it means some hardships for the public.
It is clear that the Bishop wants to resume so-called peace talks with the LTTE. What has Sri Lankan government gained through negotiations with the LTTE so far? Absolutely nothing is the answer to that question. Though the Sri Lankan government did not gain anything the LTTE on the other hand gained a lot through negotiations including the so called ceasefire agreement that Ranil Wickremesinghe signed with Prabhakaran. The Bishop is of the opinion that if we cannot initiate talks with the LTTE then we should get assistance of the others. We all know how these others have acted and in whose favour they have worked and the Bishop wants their help to continue with their treacherous acts.
It is only through counter operations that the Sri Lanka government has been able to gain anything over the LTTE and it is not surprising as the successor of the Bishop of the Anglican Church Bishop Chikera is advising the government against war under this or that pretext. War is not good in the abstract but there are instances when one cannot evade war. It is not surprising either that the British High Commissioner wants the Sri Lankan government to stop the "war".
The problem at hand was created by the British by not giving the due place for the majority community in the country. The Anglican Bishops supported the policy of degrading the Sinhalas and the Sinhala Buddhist culture. The situation has not changed even after so-called Independence. If the predecessors of the Bishop in the late eighties had wanted the UNP government to have talks with the JVP leaders with or without the help of the outsiders there would not have been any "war" then!
Now Bishop Chikera in a statement among other things states the following: "In a war there are no winners and losers. All lose, including the ones who think they win… An escalation of war correspondingly demands an escalation of destruction to the economy and environment, an escalation of the war budget, an escalation of budgetary cuts apportioned for essential welfare services, an escalation of Government borrowing, an escalation of indebtedness of future generations and indeed escalation of human revenge, pride and hatred… The responsibility of democratic leadership then, is to work earnestly and urgently to end war and achieve a just and stable socio-economic order through non violent, negotiated means. If we can initiate negotiations on our own, then we must do so immediately. If we cannot we must ask for help clearly and purposefully." The good Bishop then preaches on child welfare and blames both the government and the LTTE on indoctrination of trapped school communities etc.
The Bishop says there are no losers and winners in war. This is a good statement to be made in a public school debate in the hypocritical tradition the British have left with us. Though there are no losers and winners according to the Bishop there would not have been a Bishop in Colombo if not for the fact that the English won so many wars in Europe defeating France and other countries and also not for the fact that the English massacred the Sinhalas when they rose against the British in 1817-18 and in 1848. Did the British win those wars or not? One outcome of the British winning those "wars" was the continuation of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka.
The Bishop does not have to tell us that an escalation of war leads to all that he has mentioned. However, the question is if the LTTE was allowed to carry on with their so called struggle without the government reciprocating where would have we gone? The LTTE has to be defeated, even if it means some hardships for the public.
It is clear that the Bishop wants to resume so-called peace talks with the LTTE. What has Sri Lankan government gained through negotiations with the LTTE so far? Absolutely nothing is the answer to that question. Though the Sri Lankan government did not gain anything the LTTE on the other hand gained a lot through negotiations including the so called ceasefire agreement that Ranil Wickremesinghe signed with Prabhakaran. The Bishop is of the opinion that if we cannot initiate talks with the LTTE then we should get assistance of the others. We all know how these others have acted and in whose favour they have worked and the Bishop wants their help to continue with their treacherous acts.
It is only through counter operations that the Sri Lanka government has been able to gain anything over the LTTE and it is not surprising as the successor of the Bishop of the Anglican Church Bishop Chikera is advising the government against war under this or that pretext. War is not good in the abstract but there are instances when one cannot evade war. It is not surprising either that the British High Commissioner wants the Sri Lankan government to stop the "war".
The problem at hand was created by the British by not giving the due place for the majority community in the country. The Anglican Bishops supported the policy of degrading the Sinhalas and the Sinhala Buddhist culture. The situation has not changed even after so-called Independence. If the predecessors of the Bishop in the late eighties had wanted the UNP government to have talks with the JVP leaders with or without the help of the outsiders there would not have been any "war" then!
