Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole once had to flee Sri Lanka because he spoke out against the LTTE. Now he’s left again, this time because he spoke out against Douglas Devananda and the EPDP. What does that tell you about the EPDP, and the government’s support for them? “This time he had to leave, he said, because of his differences with the lone Tamil Minister in Sri Lankan Cabinet, Douglas Devananda.”

The solution to the ethnic conflict is undoubtedly solidarity, not the impossible division of the country along ethnic lines. However, the government isn’t really working towards this goal and many liberals are reluctant to even call themselves Sri Lankan. So who is working towards non-racial solidarity? The socialists.

90% of resistance is showing up. Some diasporals are angry with the Sri Lankan government. They’re applying pressure through the UN, the US Congress and Britain’s Channel 4. It makes a big noise, but not a big difference. Why? Because they’re calling for radical change without making a radical sacrifice. If they want a separate homeland or a new government, it’s really quite simple. They just need to show up.

People have said that war should have no civilian casualties. Rather than change the frame, the Sri Lanka government responded and said ‘there were no civilian casualties’. This was dumb. They’re only now starting to admit that civilians did die. That’s a start. I was watching the government’s response to Channel 4′s Killing Fields, Lies Agreed Upon. It sucks just as much, only in the opposite direction.

The Tamil National Alliance is sorta Tamil nationalist, as the name would suggest. Even they, however, seem willing to accept a united Sri Lanka, and to work towards resolution of Tamil issues within a Sri Lankan context. After the election Niran Ankatelle said that the TNA campaigned on the war crimes issue, on bringing foreign intervention against the central government. I read the statement Mr. R. Sampanthan made before and heard reports about after, and I don’t think that’s what he said. As far as I can tell, he’s speaking in unifying language like me and, I think, the Sri Lankan mainstream.

Guru’s written a post on Sri Lankan identity on Groundviews. This is the comment I posted below. Let’s agree that Indi Samarajiva is a racist with equal disdain for elephants, Tamils and cars. Really? I think you get the broader point. My point is that Sri Lankan unity (from the people) is the way out of our problems. I think this message of unity is echoed by Kumar Sangakkara and the like.

The north of Sri Lanka is having local elections this Saturday. The elections have already seen a candidate’s dog being killed and basically all the opposition parties complaining about intimidation and political use of state funds. So, basically another election.

Amantha Perera has a great report from Vavuniya, in the north. “After two-and-a-half decades of bloodshed that tore Sri Lanka apart, children like Tendulkar who dream of becoming teachers, or whatever else they want to be, can now chase those dreams without fear of death” (IPS).

I’m 28 and I grew up with the war. Now the war is over and I’d like to live. I think this is possible within a multi-ethnic Sri Lanka with equal rights for all. And I don’t think we need to wait for the government, we can simply define what Sri Lankan is ourselves. That’s what I said on the Jazeera, echoing what Kumar Sangakkara said in his speech. You know, I’m Sri Lankan. That there we can find some common ground. I think that this simple idea has some legs. People are changing, compromising and – in a word – beginning to reconcile.

People ask about the Tamil diaspora as if they’re a monolithic unit. They’re not. The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora has its share of crazies, its share of sanies and a much broader share of normal people just living their lives. It’s the same of people within Sri Lanka. Recently, I was reading the blog of a young diasporal who came back to Sri Lanka to visit (Serenstupidity). Her perspective is worth a read: