war, peace and the manufacturing of rajapaksa myths

8/12/2019 War, Peace and the Manufacturing of Rajapaksa Myths

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War, Peace and the Manufacturing

of Rajapaksa Myths

Ph

oto courtesy theDaily Beast

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

- on 05/28/2014

Twenty-five years ago, I said there would be a hero-king from Ruhunanow hes the one we believe,President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sumandasa Abeygunawardane, Astrologer; Executive Director, National Savings Bank; Director,Employees Trust Fund; Advisor, Independent Television Network[i]

Lankans in general are distressingly indifferent to the plight of the countrys most majestic mammal, theelephant. But an unaccustomed wave of public outrage ensued when a plan to send two elephant-calves to

a private zoo in South Korea leaked out. One of the claves marked for exportation was five year oldDinuda. And Dinuda, it was claimed and believed, was born on the day the Tigers were defeated. Thus thename, Dinu-da: Victory Day.

Omens, both propitious and unpropitious, occupy a decisive place in the politico-psychological landscapeof Sinhala-Buddhists. According to Mahawamsa, the appearance of an elephant-calf was one of the manyauspicious omens which attended the birth of the baby-prince who was destined to become Lankasultimate hero-king, Dutugemunu[ii]. The birth of an elephant-calf on the day the Long Eelam War was wonwould have been regarded by the Sinhala-South as an equally convincing sign of divine approbation.As the Dinuda-controversy mounted, President Mahinda Rajapaksa intervened to cancel the exportation.An investigation was launched to discover the identity of those who tried to deprive the nation of this
http://groundviews.org/2014/05/28/war-peace-and-the-manufacturing-of-rajapaksa-myths/http://groundviews.org/2014/05/28/war-peace-and-the-manufacturing-of-rajapaksa-myths/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/15/mahinda-rajapaksa-and-sri-lanka-s-reign-of-terror.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/15/mahinda-rajapaksa-and-sri-lanka-s-reign-of-terror.htmlhttp://groundviews.org/author/tisaranee-gunasekara/http://groundviews.org/images/groundviewslogo.pnghttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/15/mahinda-rajapaksa-and-sri-lanka-s-reign-of-terror.htmlhttp://groundviews.org/author/tisaranee-gunasekara/http://groundviews.org/2014/05/28/war-peace-and-the-manufacturing-of-rajapaksa-myths/http://groundviews.org/2014/05/28/war-peace-and-the-manufacturing-of-rajapaksa-myths/


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Post-war, there is a constant attempt to reinforce the belief that Lanka, the only home of Sinhala-Buddhistcivilisation, remains under constant threat from a host of inimical Others. Only a mystical union ofreligion, race and the armed forces, under a leader rooted in people (Janamula Nayakaya), can saveLanka and Sinhala-Buddhists from inundation/subjugation/extinction.

The myth of eternal insecurity is indispensable in providing a patriotic aura to a host of post-war measuresactually aimed at protecting familial rule maintenance of a mammoth defence establishment, militarization

of the economy and society, absent political solution, changing North-Eastern demographics, violation ofbasic rights, media censorship, extra-judicial murders.

The Rajapaksa refusal to accept the existence of an ethnic problem dovetails perfectly with this clash ofcivilisations outlook. If there is no ethnic problem, if the war was an outcome of a regional/internationalconspiracy by enemies of Sinhala-Buddhism, ranging from Tamilnadu Tamils to the White House and theVatican, then the military defeat of the LTTE does not end the existential threat. A key purpose oforganisations such as the Bodu Bala Sena is to stoke these phobias and to keep the pot of suspicion-cum-hatred boiling.

How can permanent heroes and permanent saviours be, without permanent threats and permanentenemies?

The Myth of Miraculous DevelopmentIf keeping fear alive is the main ingredient of the myth of eternal national insecurity, keeping hope alive is atthe core of the myth of miraculous development. Irrational hope can become as delusive as irrational fear.And dazzle is the way to create/sustain the myth that under Rajapaksa rule, Sri Lanka is reaching FirstWorld Status, by leaps and bounds. Keeping this prosperity-mirage alive is one of the most salientfunctions of the often economically dysfunctional projects prioritised by the regime.

Imposing the superstructure of a developed nation on a cash-strapped and indebted base is notsustainable, but it has a perverse logic seen from the perspective of familial rule. Hungry people cannot beassured that they have full stomachs. But they can be assured that soon, their hunger will be over. That isthe expected psychological effect of these projects. They are not just megalomanic projects; they are alsorazzle-dazzle projects. Their beneficial effects on surrounding communities might be miniscule to non-existent. But for the majority of people who live away from this reality, these mega-structures indicate thatthe Rajapaksas are busy winning the development war, just as they won the war against the LTTE.Only Tigers died in the Humanitarian Operation. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa claimed that most victims of whitevan abductions were rapists, murderers.underworld people[vii]. In his May Day speech MahindaRajapaksa dismissed Rathupaswala protestors as dupes of economic conspirators. In his Al Jazeerainterview, he stated that the only Muslims attacked by Sinhala-Buddhist mobs were child rapists.The hapless victims of the development miracle, from Colombos poor to Ragamwela peasants are beingrepackaged. There are no victims. There are only happy beneficiaries or economic traitors impedingLankas rapid march to glory.

The Myth of the Infallible Hero-King

The hailing of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the High King of Sri Lanka began soon after the war was won.

Since then, state propaganda has made a persistent effort to depict Mahinda Rajapaksa as a divinelyblessed and infallible hero-king. Creating a mythical pedigree for the Rajapaksas, which connects them notjust to King Dutugemunu but also to the Buddha, marks the nadir (or apogee, depending on ones politicalposition) of this endeavour.

Democracies have citizens. Kings need subjects. Absolutist monarchs need absolutely servile subjects.Mahinda Rajapaksa is hailed as the Lion in the Lion Flag, Father of the Nation, Wonder of the World andthe Universe, Golden Sword which defends the nation, Golden Thread which unites sundered hearts,Leader who conquered the World and The Sun and the Moon to a country which defeated Terror. He hasbeen proclaimed by the Sangha as the Universally Renowned Lord of the Three Sinhala Lands.


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In the five years since the war ended, the Rajapaksas have caused more harm to Sri Lanka than VellupillaiPirapaharan did, in thirty years. There is no reconciliation, forgetting or forgiving; instead there is morehatred now, more suspicion, more fanaticism and more violence, less common-ground, less kindness, lesshumanity and less ordinary decency. Bunker mentality is becoming normal, and ethics and morality arenot prized qualities in bunkers.

Perhaps it is unsurprising that Sri Lanka is one of the saddest places on earth, according to the latest (UN-sponsored) World Happiness Report. Of the 156 countries rated, Sri Lanka ranks 137[xiii].***The well known Mahawamsa story about Dutugemunus conscience can be read as the contestation of twoantithetical worldviews. The king is saddened by the human costs of his victory. How shall there be anycomfort for me.since by me was caused the slaughter of a great host numbering millions? helaments[xiv]. And the deaths he is mourning are of enemy combatants.

The monks response is to dehumanise the mostly non-Buddhist enemy-dead: Unbelievers and men of evillife.not more to be esteemed than beasts[xv], they assure the king. Killing such sub-humans is of noconsequence.

The war against the LTTE was a necessary war, given the nature of the LTTE. Had the Rajapaksas

responded to the victory in the spirit of Dutugemunu, with humanity and humility, many of the problems thecountry is encountering nationally and internationally could have been avoided. Instead the Rajapaksasopted for the path advocated by the monks; they succumbed to Sinhala-Buddhism and wallowed inmerciless triumphalism. They dehumanised their victim, and in doing so, they dehumanised themselves,made reconciliation impossible and created conditions for new conflicts.

The electoral playing-field today is far more unbalanced than it was in 2010. The Rajapaksas havemanaged to turn almost every arm of the state into a tool of familial rule. In such an inimical terrain,opposing the Rajapaksas, during and in-between elections, will be truly a labour of Sisyphus. But it is aneffort which must be made, given what is at stake. Like Sisyphus, we are powerless; but like Sisyphus, wemust be rebellious[xvi].###[i] http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2001/pix/PrintPage.asp?REF=/2009/09/06/spe03.asp[ii].by the power of his merit an elephant of the six-tusked race brought his young one thihter and left himhere and went his way. When a fisherman named Kanduala saw it standing in the jungle on the shoreopposite the watering place, he straight-way told the king He was named Kandula Mahawamsa.[iii]http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/dinuda-stayhttp://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/special-committee-probe-dinuda-issue[iv] http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/46884-dinuda-not-born-on-victory-day.html; according to other accountsDinuda was born a few weeks after the war was won, and happens to be a she.

[v] According to Sinhala Buddhist beliefs any living being can be born a god/goddess in the six heavens ifhe/she/it accumulates enough merit. But gods/goddesses themselves cannot accumulate merit. Therefore,to continue their heavenly existence, they need pious humans to transfer merit to them. In return theyprotect these pious humans from harm and promote their wellbeing. This quid-pro-quo relationship also

explains the occurrence of miracles, because gods are expected to upend nature in favour of the pious.

[vi]The Power of Myth

[vii]The Sunday Leader 27.5.2012

[viii]The Language of the Third Reich

[ix] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8120859.stm

[x] Silumina 7.6.2009
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2001/pix/PrintPage.asp?REF=/2009/09/06/spe03.asphttp://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/dinuda-stayhttp://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/dinuda-stayhttp://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/special-committee-probe-dinuda-issuehttp://www.dailymirror.lk/news/46884-dinuda-not-born-on-victory-day.htmlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8120859.stmhttp://www.sundayobserver.lk/2001/pix/PrintPage.asp?REF=/2009/09/06/spe03.asphttp://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/dinuda-stayhttp://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/special-committee-probe-dinuda-issuehttp://www.dailymirror.lk/news/46884-dinuda-not-born-on-victory-day.htmlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8120859.stm


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[xi] http://sri-lanka.theglobalmail.org/brothers-grip

[xii]http://lankamission.org/index.php/front-news/929-let-us-work-collectively-to-create-a-peaceful-and-stable-new-asia-president-rajapaksa-calls-on-cica-leaders

[xiii]http://issuu.com/earthinstitute/docs/worldhappinessreport2013_online

[xiv]Mahawamsa

[xv]Ibid

[xvi] Sisyphus, proletarian of the gods, powerless and rebellious. Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus)
http://sri-lanka.theglobalmail.org/brothers-griphttp://lankamission.org/index.php/front-news/929-let-us-work-collectively-to-create-a-peaceful-and-stable-new-asia-president-rajapaksa-calls-on-cica-leadershttp://lankamission.org/index.php/front-news/929-let-us-work-collectively-to-create-a-peaceful-and-stable-new-asia-president-rajapaksa-calls-on-cica-leadershttp://lankamission.org/index.php/front-news/929-let-us-work-collectively-to-create-a-peaceful-and-stable-new-asia-president-rajapaksa-calls-on-cica-leadershttp://issuu.com/earthinstitute/docs/worldhappinessreport2013_onlinehttp://sri-lanka.theglobalmail.org/brothers-griphttp://lankamission.org/index.php/front-news/929-let-us-work-collectively-to-create-a-peaceful-and-stable-new-asia-president-rajapaksa-calls-on-cica-leadershttp://lankamission.org/index.php/front-news/929-let-us-work-collectively-to-create-a-peaceful-and-stable-new-asia-president-rajapaksa-calls-on-cica-leadershttp://issuu.com/earthinstitute/docs/worldhappinessreport2013_online

war, peace and the manufacturing of rajapaksa myths

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