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VIOLENT REMINDER

THE DEADLY ATTACK on a musical show by Indian film stars in the Sri Lankan capital has come as a violent reminder of the deep divisions that plague the island and contribute to keeping its ethnic conflict alive and far from a settlement. Investigators have not yet identified those behind the senseless grenade attack at the show, which killed two members of the audience and left several others injured. The Hela Urumaya, a political party that subscribes to the chauvinist ideology of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism, had earlier objected to the holding of the event as it coincided with the first death anniversary of a senior monk. Members of the party, all of whom are monks, wanted Sri Lanka to mark the anniversary with religious observances and threatened to disrupt the entertainment programme. They later said they had withdrawn the threat following an apology from the Indian actors participating in it. Nonetheless, the disagreement over the holding of the extravaganza led to a climate of intolerance. Those who organised and carried out the attack were no doubt emboldened by this environment, irrespective of their identity or motives.

The entire controversy has highlighted the disquieting rise of majoritarian religious fundamentalism in Sri Lanka over the last few years, which in turn has given a fresh lease of life to Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism. A mirror-image of extremist Tamil nationalism as espoused by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), this led to a hardening of positions along ethnic lines. It has also contributed to reviving century-old tensions within the majority Sinhala community between Buddhists and Christians, which manifested itself in an alarming wave of attacks on churches earlier this year. The success of the Hela Urumaya in its debut parliamentary election in April 2004 — nine of its candidates were elected — was the direct result of an aggressive campaign by the Buddhist clergy both against political concessions to the Tamils of Sri Lanka and against Christianity, the religion of about seven per cent of the population. While the system has succeeded in large measure in confining Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism to the margins of political debate, these developments are disturbing indications that it retains at least some of its influence. In their own interests as much as in the interests of the country, the two major political groupings, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party-Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna alliance and the opposition United National Party, must do everything to combat Sinhala-Buddhist communalism and ensure it does not aggravate the existing divisions, particularly at this point of impasse in the peace process with the LTTE.

The Sri Lankan Government has described last Saturday's attack as an attempt to "tarnish the good relations" between India and Sri Lanka. The bilateral relationship now is so strong and cordial that an incident of this nature cannot harm it. But it is definitely a setback to growing people-to-people interactions. Sri Lanka and India have cultural ties dating back several centuries. Over the last 50 years, Sri Lankans have accorded Indian music, dance, and cinema a near cult status. But only recently have the two Governments started to build constructively on these ties. Thanks to the ceasefire in Sri Lanka, and also the rapid development of air links, tourist traffic between the two countries has never been better. By once again raising the spectre of Sri Lanka as an unsafe place, the attack has hurt this aspect of the relationship. India was right in condemning the murderous grenade attack unequivocally. But Indians must not condemn the whole country for it.

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