Civil War. All these
show how artistes gave expression to the human struggle for freedom
against reaction. Neither fascism nor any despotism could rally the
support of artistes except those mediocre prepared to lick boots for
selfish gains.Civil War. All these
show how artistes gave expression to the human struggle for freedom
against reaction. Neither fascism nor any despotism could rally the
support of artistes except those mediocre prepared to lick boots for
selfish gains.In this context the response by a critical mass of the Sinhala artiste community to the protests by South Indian artistes to the fighting in the north of Lanka will be noted down as a shameful moment by future generations of creative Lankans. We were sad to see Ravindra and Malini seated in front like prisoners, and we were happy that we did not encounter the faces of Prasanna or Jackson. While war lobbies have often recruited artistes to manipulate and revise the impact of war, it is sad that the Sinhala artiste community unites only to reinforce military engagement. There have been many peace vigils and public demonstrations during recent years. Where were the artistes, dressed in white, defending peace and human rights?
Starved of information
Geetha has
said, “We want to send a message to these Indian artistes this evening
and that message is that their allegations are simply not true. And
furthermore, all Sri Lankans, regardless of race or religion, will
stand as one united force, against inequality, and support our troops.”
Obviously, all Lankans including Tamils do not support the Sinhala
troops. Secondly, how does Geetha know that the Indian martistes’
allegations are not accurate? Clearly, the whole world is starved of
information from the battle zone. We simply have no idea what is going
on there. The war mongering government has successfully censored and
created an environment of self-censorship in our media, and now, they
seem to have successfully seduced Geetha and her fellow artistes to
believe in their version of the war and their fanciful tale that they
can win the war. They may win the land, but they 
won’t win the war.
To truly win the war that will unite us, it will take creative people
to imagine a better world for all of us. But we suspect that they were
simply imagining a better world for themselves.
The radicals
As artistes, creative people such as Ravindra Randeniya and Malini Fonseka should not be so easily manipulated. Perhaps it was all an act towards short-term career benefits. We don’t know. But in our book, artistes are the radicals - they are the people who push the boundaries and challenge the authorities through their creative abilities. They don’t bow down to a president and an army commander (and that’s what they are doing) and say “Yes, sir.” Artistes are at the forefront of change - they are the vanguard. There’s nothing radical about supporting the military chauvinist government and claiming to unite for war, which was the message of their expression.
Let the world know each and all of their names. And let the world know that they support oppressive war. If they really support the troops, they would be gathering together, pooling their talents, in order to save the troops - not to send, especially young men, some of whom have no idea that they are going to the front, to their deaths. And where were they, when their fellow artistes had their works banned by the military chauvinist government? Vimukthi Jayasundara’s Sulanga Enu Pinisa (Foresaken Land) and Asoka Handagama’s Aksharaya (Letter of Fire) come to mind.
How many soldiers are being killed on a daily basis? How many are injured everyday? Of course, the LTTE is a dictatorial nationalist organisation and they do need to be corrected. But this war is being carried out by a military chauvinist government that is killing the country. It is being carried out by people who are not fit to defend the idea of a united Lanka. Artistes must know that this wonderful island is being destroyed by ignorant politicians and a brotherhood that may have charisma but lacks wise leadership. We must say aloud “Some of your faces look familiar. We know you, but we have lost our respect for you. We may still watch and listen to you - but we will no longer consider you to be an artiste. We know deep in our hearts that you are disposable also to the military chauvinist government that you seem to unquestioningly serve. The sparkle in your eyes faded a long time ago.”