Tamils have been hearing similar promises dating back to the time of the Banda-Chelva Pact in 1957. However, every promise was broken and in turn, the anti-Tamil massacres rampaged the country in 1956, 1958, and 1977 which led to the civil war in the first place. Those of us who despise the tigers today have conveniently forgotten the causes that led to their formation.
If anyone assumes that peace won on the battlefield is permanent, they have a very naive understanding of world history. For the long-term peace and stability of Sri Lanka, the ethnic issue needs to be solved via proper dissolution of power. I dream of a united secular liberal democratic Sri Lanka where diversity is not merely tolerated but celebrated.
As I was writing this, a Tamil couplet written two millennia ago kept echoing in my ears "அல்லற்பட்டு ஆற்றாது அழுத கண்ணீரன்றே செல்வத்தைத் தேய்க்கும் படை" which translates to "It is the tears of those groaning under oppression that will be the weapon that wears out the prosperity of a nation".
I wish the political parties could put aside their differences and short-term political goals to solve the national question once and for all. I wish the people of Sri Lanka are smart enough to see beyond the Sinhala and Tamil nationalistic rhetoric that divides us.
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