by Nalin de Silva
Though I should have commented on " Agni Kheela" this week, I postpone it to a later date and continue with the reply to Dr. Schalk. Dr. Schalk, who disturbed that my articles are published in "The Island", claims that "media has no authoritative ideal models to follow in Lanka that allegedly is sri". Probably he wants "The Island" to publish only those articles that support Tamil racism following some "ideal model" that he has acquired from the communication system of the Vikings or the western journalists like Ms. Marie Colvin, who flouts the regulations of countries such as Sri Lanka, as Dr. Schalk himself did many years ago. Perhaps Dr. Schalk does not know that in Sri Lanka most of the news media, the journalists (local as well foreign), and the artists including producers and directors of films and drama, novelits, poets, singers take a very anti-Sinhala line and that they are "following an ideal model" to his liking. The anti-Sinhala articles published in the media very easily outnumber those articles that present the picture without distorting "facts". If Dr. Schalk is interested he should be able to get an academic in one of the social sciences departments to carry out a survey in the Sinhala and English press and work out the percentages of articles that are anti-Sinhala. In fact he should be able to get the same academic to find out the percentages of non Sinhala Buddhist journalists both in electronic and print media. The Sinhala Buddhists know how difficult is to get their articles published in the print media though they constitute about 70% of the population, in spite of a recent wave of unethical conversions. If Dr. Schalk is in a hurry I can provide the above information myself and he would be surprised to find that not only the non Sinhala journalists but most of the so-called Sinhala Buddhists journalists, being ex, retired or neo Marxists follow some "ideal model" he would be proud of.

Journalists

It is true that the west has taught the others that facts are sacred implying that the journalists only report news, leaving interpretation to the others. However the west could have deceived some of us for a short period but we now know that there are no sacred facts. The journalists create news and in that respect they are no better or worse than the creative artists and the creative scientists who construct theories. There are no pure facts devoid of interpretation and this idea of sacred or objective facts belongs to the good old Newtonian or Cartesian way of looking at the world. If Dr. Schalk is aware of a man called Dr. Niels Bohr from a neighboring country, who was instrumental in formulating what is known as the Copenhagen interpretation in quantum physics, he would know the importance of the observer in observing "facts" at least in quantum physics. Dr. Schalk should not go away with the idea that it was Dr. Bohr who taught us the observer dependence of "facts" in general. Dr. Bohr confined himself to quantum measurements and some two thousand five hundred years ago the Buddha went much more deeply into this problem and the Sinhala Buddhists have now worked out a philosophy called constructive relativism (nirmanathmaka sapekshthavadaya) based on these ideas. I am sure that Ms. Colvin is not a Sinhala Buddhist Chauvinist and was not employed by "The Island". Nor was she contributing to the same even as free lance journalist. I do not know what "ideal model" she followed but she is bound to win many more awards in the future for her "brave journalism". According to the "ideal model" she followed she had overstayed in Sri Lanka flouting visa regulations, come to Colombo under the pretext of an intended interview with the minister of foreign affairs, gone to Mallavi, supposedly head quarters of the terrorist tiger organisation in Wanniya without scaling fences but in a motor vehicle in broad day light, come back to the forward defense lines in the dark in the company of some terrorists after spending abut two weeks with the terrorist leaders, shouted for help in Tamil and in English claiming that she is a journalist and an American, when troops opened fire at her and the terrorists who abandoned her and ran away. The so-called Sinhala Buddhist army having recognised her to be a foreigner, had treated her and admitted to a hospital without any delay. The government of Sri Lanka a "country where even cabinet ministers are afraid of foreigners' verbal criticism and protect themselves by refusing them visas", according to Dr. Schalk, has then allowed this lady journalist who has won "international awards" to go back to her country without even an inquiry. It shows that the Sri Lankan government rather than refusing visas to foreigners, being afraid of their verbal criticism, is allowing foreigners to flout visa regulations. It is clear that the Sri Lankan government is being manipulated by the west and the agents of Judaic Christian civilisation. Ms. Colvin, who belongs to the same civilisation, has the double advantage of serving the "Sunday Times" in UK, the former colonial masters and being a citizen of USA the village headman of the so-called global village. It also establishes that Dr. Schalk is not important for either Sweden or the west in general as none of the western governments has applied pressure on the Sri Lankan government to issue him a visa if he has being denied visa facilities as he claims. It is a pity that unlike Ms. Colvin, Dr. Schalk is not an award winner from any of the western organisations.

Colvin

What would have happened if Ms. Colvin had been killed in the crossfire? Dr. Schalk would have written another article to his favourite website criticising the Sinhala Buddhist army and the Sri Lankan government. It looks as if the terrorist tigers wanted that to happen so that they could gain some political mileage from the incident. The terrorists who took Ms. Colvin in broad daylight in a motor vehicle from Vavuniya, brought back her to the fences in the dark knowing very well that the Sri Lankan army, or any other army for that matter, would open fire under such circumstances. It is clear that the terrorists were trying to kill more than one bird with one stone. Even as it is there is criticism of the Sri Lankan government policy of not allowing the journalists to go beyond Vavuniya without permission. Why should the Sri Lankan government allow the journalists, who create news according to their worldview, free travel beyond Vavuniya?

Now whatever the government has to say on allowing Ms. Colvin to go back to the USA without even an inquiry, number of questions come to mind. Let us assume that the Sri Lankan government allowed this "brave not so young journalist" from the west to go back to her country on humanitarian grounds. I have a habit of asking questions reversing the situation as I am interested in (anti) symmetries. What would have happened if a Sinhala journalist did something like this in Iraq when the USA government had very strict regulations for the journalists. The journalists then had to be satisfied with the version of the spokesperson for the USA government. The foreign journalists were happy with the situation and the USA government was not asked to relax the regulations. It is a pity that we do not send some of the journalist heroes from the Free Media Movement and similar organisations in Sri Lanka, abroad to "report" on "international situations". They would have won many an "international award" bringing fame to country. Secondly how did Ms. Colvin pass through various check points on her way to Mallavi from Vavuniyava. Was she assisted by the NGO's or some international organisations masquerading as humanitarian organisations interested only in the health care and welfare of the people? Would the Sri Lankan government hold an inquiry into this matter though the most important person in this drama has been allowed to go back to the USA. Thirdly what did Ms. Colvin report eventually? What was her story? Apart from she herself becoming the story was there anything that she could add. That the people in the north do not get a few items is old hat and it is mainly due to the presence of the LTTE in the north that the government had been compelled to impose certain restrictions on the supply of few items. Other than that Sri Lanka is one of the few countries that send supplies on a regular basis to areas affected by fighting. I am sure that the moment the LTTE is defeated the government would take steps to send even those supplies that are being withheld, to the north. So if the west is full of humanitarian instincts then they should help the Sri Lankan government to defeat the LTTE without further delay. In this regard we have to remind Ms. Colvin and the others that during the American civil war Mr. Abraham Lincoln took steps to see that supplies were not sent to the southern states. It is surprising that, Ms. Colvin and the humanitarians fail to mention that in the north schools, universities, hospitals, kachcheries etc. are maintained by the government.

Western endeavour

In any event these stories on supplies are published in the Sinhala press as well and the people are aware of them. So are the points raised by the Tamil racists and their supporters that the Tamils in Colombo are being "harassed" by the forces at the barricades. Even in this case people have now forgotten that during the 1987-89 period it was the Sinhalas who were "harassed" by the armed forces and nobody shouted about the fundamental rights of the Sinhalas then. Once the JVP was defeated all these "harassing" were stopped and the same would happen once the LTTE is defeated. The terrorists tigers did not take up arms against the state because the army checked the Tamils in Colombo but such checks were introduced only after the terrorists took up arms. I am sure that the Tamil language newspapers and the various websites publish these stories without the likes of Ms. Colvin. It is said that even the recent case of rape was reported after the visit of the Bishop Rayappu Joseph to the prison to see the relevant ladies and that they had not complained to the police prior to the visit of the Bishop who cannot be considered as a neutral person when it comes to matters connected with terrorist tigers. The Bishops are always at hand and there was no need for Ms. Colvin to come all the way from London to Wanniya. The Bishops who are more innovative than some of these journalists have no problem at all of meeting the terrorist leaders. Only recently they organised thanks giving prayers to "Our Lady at Madhu" and made it a point to meet Thamilchelvam as well. Thamilchelvam has also told Ms. Colvin that they do not want a lifestyle decided by the Buddhist monks in Colombo. This is also good news to the western mind, though being repeated for the umpteenth time. Drs. Thambiah and Seneviratne more or less say the same thing couched in western Judaic Christian academic style. What is not said is that most of these people with the connivance of the hierarchy of the Churches want the people in Sri Lanka to live lifestyles as decided by the Bishops. This has been going on for the last five hundred years unsuccessfully, but with Tamil racism and terrorism it has acquired an aggression not seen after the massacre of the leaders, including Buddhist Bhikkus, of the 1848 freedom struggle. The so-called peace movement, sponsored by the western Christian countries, the Bishops, and the peace vendors of the NGO's financed by the same countries is nothing but a continuation of this five hundred year old western endeavour in a different form.

The only new story that Ms. Colvin has been able to file is the statement by Thamilchelvam to the effect that the LTTE is prepared to accept anything whether it is a confederation, a federation, or autonomous region for the Northern and the Eastern provinces. Knowing the LTTE nobody other than the western journalists, the Bishops and the peace vendors would take it seriously. All it means is that one could call it a confederation, a federation or anything else as long as the government is prepared to abdicate legislative powers, to a political unit consisting of the northern and the eastern provinces, in excess of what was given by the so called package. When Ms. Colvin wins an award for her Wanni courage and coverage, she could come back to Madhu for a thanks giving ceremony, which I am sure that Bishops Rayappu Joseph and Malcolm Ranjith would be more than willing to officiate.

Ideal model

I presume that Ms. Colvin, an award winning USA born journalist from the London Sunday Times is one who follows "authoritative ideal models" in journalism. In fact most of the foreign journalists from the west must be following these "ideal models" as otherwise they would not have been sent here by their editors.

I have only one suggestion to make to the foreign journalists who follow "authoritative ideal models" in journalism as defined by Dr. Schalk. The Chinthana Parshadaya of which I am a member is prepared to organise a workshop in a temple, sorry we cannot afford five star hotels, for them to show that there are no Tamil grievances as such in this country. They could come with people like Messrs. Naganathan and Vinayagamoorthy MP and the other Tamil racist "arithmeticians" and we would show them that it is not a majority-minority problem and that the Tamil racist problem started way back in 1833 with the establishment of the legislative assembly by the British. Dr. Schalk may not like the term Sinhalathva but the British in 1833 refused to accept the significance of the Sinhalathva in this country.

That was the beginning of the Tamil racist problem that has been worsened by distortions of history and by the introduction of concepts like Tamil nation and the right of self determination of nations. The western governments, the western "intellectuals", and the western journalists are all bound by the same chinthanaya and they all see the Tamil racist problem the way the western politicians want to see it. Ms. Colvin and the others who follow "authoritative ideal models" in journalism are not different from Schalks and Solheims who promote Tamil racism. They have no love for the Tamils and they love only themselves and the hegemony of their civilisation. When in trouble they would shout "we are Americans, Swedish, Norwegians, Academics, Diplomats, Journalists" as the case may be, forgetting that they are "humanitarians" with unlimited love for the "grieved" Tamils.
(To be continued)