Accountability Is A Dog Whistle
After the war ended, the LTTE-supporting site TamilNet began using the word accountability more and more.
A political dog whistle is a code word that sounds reasonable, but which the faithful can hear. In the US it would have been something like ‘states-rights’ for slavery and segregation. In the Sri Lankan context, many people are using ‘accountability’ to perpetuate the Eelam war by other means. This blogger Anapayan puts it well:
Previously LTTE used to attract resources and moral support from the diaspora by their spectacular military victories against the security forces. Now in the post-Mullivaaikkaal context, newly mushroomed various advocacy and campaign groups have been approaching the diaspora Tamils with the same strategy, “we managed to give a bloody nose to the Sri Lankan government diplomatically therefore please support us to do similar work in future”. And not surprisingly many wealthy Tamils are supporting these campaign and advocacy groups. Same applies in Sri Lankan politics as well, alleged ‘international conspiracy’ against Sri Lanka is being played out cleverly to deflect the domestic pressure which is caused by a catastrophic failure in governance.
The politics has not changed since the end of war, therefore it is the same ‘us and them’ paradigm. Tamil nationalists’ demand for accountability is not meant for reconciliation or justice rather a political maneuver to suit their incompatible political agenda. (The Tragedy of Sri Lankan Political Discourse)
He offers a balanced and realistic argument, and I think it’s worth reading. It’s not that accountability in the abstract is bad, neither is states rights. It’s that Eelamists have hijacked the word for their usual mischief, namely destabilizing and attacking the government and trying squeeze the people of Sri Lanka until a separate state snaps off. It’s not going to happen and it’s not intellectually honest. They’re wrapping themselves in the guise of liberal democracy to try and get what they couldn’t through terrorism and illiberal means. They’ve turned a reasonable word into a political dog whistle, a hunting call for zealots.
And, just as the LTTE did, by their furious over-reach, they end up strengthening Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mahinda has enough problems domestically (I think there’s a trade union strike coming up) and is offered more domestic cover than discomfort by this petulant posturing.
It’s honestly silly and people get distracted into academic debates without looking at who’s making the debates, and why. To that end, anayapayan’s post is worth a read. It truly is a bad discourse, which would be more disconcerting were it not smoke and mirrors on a distant field. There is actual reconciliation happening, both economic and social, and it’s happening among neighbors, among young people, and on the ground. It’s just more doing than whistling, and thus sometimes harder to hear.
Posted on Monday, March 5th, 2012 in GoSL, LTTE, Sri Lanka, war.
Mohsin Hamid, author of How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia, has a nice 
I’m happy to be featured in Echelon magazine’s 40 Under 40 feature, profiling young people who contribute to the economy in some way, mainly in business but also in terms of innovation and thought leadership. It’s an interesting article not just in that I’m in it (mainly for work on indi.ca and 
I won’t add too much commentary, but just read I guess. The youngest Rajapaksa, Rohitha (Chi Chi) has given an amazing interview to the 
In 2009 this strange character appeared on the Sri Lankan Internet scene, getting angry, flaming, trolling whatever. Then he started naming anonymous bloggers, posting comments as people’s kids, nasty stuff, for which I removed him from 
You raise an interesting point. Does the validity of the question, depend on the motive of the person asking the question?
Thanks to endless abuse, the term accountability has become a dirty word. It generally found in the similarly abused lexicon that includes sovereignty, patriotism and nationality.
We need to move the debate to a different plane, that of personal liberties, rights and freedoms.
There also needs to be clear distinction between society and government. As Paine put it: “SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. ”
What is good for the Government is not necessarily good for its citizens.
Self determination is neither good nor bad. When we called for ‘independence’ British rule or when the American settlers called for independence they are calling for self-determination.
Self determination however is not a synonym for liberty. Liberty comes from rule of law and justice. Unjust rule, an excessive state and intervention will create conditions for people to demand either self determination or a change in the system even through armed rule.
Sri Lanka has seen three armed uprisings.
The diaspora is no longer armed. What Victor Ivan said on the 25th anniversary of Ravaya is the same as what TNA is saying.
Sri Lanka’s self-determination has not given liberty, either to Tamils or Sinhalese. Our ‘law’ does not protect us either from the rich and powerful or the state or the white van or dr silva or other arbitrary actions of state actors.
Liberty and justice can be achieved through self-determination or a confederation. In Europe literally dozens of city states voluntarily became confederates and free states.
You cannot blame Tamils for fighting. Very few Sinhalese still understand where their suffering is coming from because they have been deceived by nationalism. There was no accountability for the JVPers killed and burnt on the roadside. Of course they and LTTE were stupid to take arms.
But they are taking arms because people who are ‘better educated’ did not solve the problem through other means.
Good points Liberty.
We have ‘independence’ today but have more circumscribed liberty than in 1948.
This article ought to be posted to the Sri Lankans Without Borders facebook page, so that the blood thirsty members of the Tamil diaspora can have a read of it.