From Tiananmen to Jaffna: Banning

community commemoration
Left, a man stands before tanks in Tiananmen Square in June 1989, while right, Tamils
mourn their dead in early May, 2009. Pics: AP.
By JS Tissainayagam May 15, 2014
The parallels are stark. As the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre
approaches, Chinese police have egun !etaining activists "ho might e planning to
stage protests against the government for the loo!y killings that left hun!re!s !ea!
an! unleashe! a "ave of repression #$ years ago. %ean"hile, last "eek, Bei&ing's
!e!icate! acolyte, the Sri (anka government, announce! that anyone pulicly
mourning the !ea! in the country's Tamil)!ominate! *orth, on the fifth anniversary of
a slaughter "hich en!e! the military campaign, coul! e arreste! for terrorism.
+n %ay ,, the BBC reporte! that -u .hiqiang, an activist "ho ha! participate! in the
/010 protests an! trie! to commemorate the tragic occasion every year "as 2likely to
spen! June 3 4!ate of the anniversary5 in a police !etention centre,6 ecause he "as
arreste! after atten!ing a private meeting to !iscuss the event. The BBC sai! he 2face!
vague charges of 7causing a !isturance.'6 Si8 others, inclu!ing a scholar an! an
9nternet activist, are also in police !etention, "hile five "ere arreste! an! release!.
:e can !efinitely see the suspension of -u .hiqiang as a "arning to civil society an!
to other la"yers ahea! of June 3,6 the BBC quote! :illiam *ee, a researcher for
Amnesty 9nternational, as saying.
+n %ay 1, the BBC sai! that ;<)year)ol! =ao >u, a prominent !issi!ent &ournalist ha!
een !etaine!, "hich her la"yer interprete! "as to 2set e8amples to "hoever "ants to
hol! events relate! to June 36.
9n Sri (anka mean"hile, the government "arne! that no pulic events "oul! e
permitte! in the *orthern -rovince to mourn the !ea! on or aroun! %ay /1. The !ay
marks the official en! of the country's civil "ar in #<<0 "ith the military !efeat of the
reel (ieration Tigers of Tamil ?elam @(TT?A. The final five months of fighting left
et"een 3<,<<< an! ;<,<<< !ea! B other estimates place the figure much higher B the
ma&ority of them Tamil civilians.
Sri (anka's Sun!ay Times ne"spaper sai! that the government issue! a stern "arning
that "hile memorials coul! e hel! insi!e homes, no pulic events "oul! e
permitte!. 9t reporte! Senior Superinten!ent of -olice :. -. :imalasena saying, 2Any
persons trying to hoist lack flags, !istriute leaflets, or put up posters, "ill e
consi!ere! as supporting terrorism an! such persons "ill e taken into custo!y un!er
the -revention of Terrorism Act.6
But that "as not all. The story also quote! military spokesman Briga!ier Cu"an
:anigasooria saying 24t5hat even t"o families "oul! not e allo"e! to get together to
have rememrances as these coul! turn into a large group an! make it a
commemoration.6
%ay /1 has come to symolise !ifferent things in !ifferent parts of Sri (anka. This
precisely is the reason "hy the restrictions on mourning apply only to the *orthern
-rovince B the only Tamil)!ominate! province in the country. 9n areas outsi!e the
*orth, the government hol!s huge victory !ay celerations, replete "ith militaristic
symols B marching columns, para!ing of military har!"are an! speeches reinforcing
national unity an! victory over terrorism an! !ivision of the country. These events
have strong overtones of racism: the triumph of Sinhala nationalism, emo!ie! y the
government of -resi!ent %ahin!a Ca&apakse an! his family, over the Tamils y
crushing their aspiration for !ignity, rights an! equality. This year's event "ill e in
%atara, on the southern coast.
The controversy over Tamils !e!icating %ay /1 as a memorial for the !ea! is not ne"
B it has gone on for five years. But "hat is of significance this year is that the
government has not e8presse! its opposition to in!ivi!ual families mourning in
private. 9t has anne! families mourning collectively ho"ever B not only in pulic ut
in private too.
The !istinction is all important. The government is not only "orrie! aout a pulic
event ecoming a sho" of protest an! therey un!ermining the 7victory' it "ants to
celerate "ith the trappings of triumphalism. 9t is also an8ious that it shoul! not
ecome an opportunity for collective, communal mourning.
The reason ehin! this is simple. Follo"ing a military victory, the victor imposes rules
to ensure that the victim community remains "ith little social cohesion B roken,
!ispirite! an! at o!!s "ith itself. But acts of mourning, "hether in private or pulic,
help to restore communities fracture! an! atomise! y the past @an! ongoingA trauma.
9t is "ith this o&ective in vie" that let alone pulic memorialising, even group
counselling an! psychosocial pro&ects for "ar)relate! trauma are !iscourage! y the
Sri (anka government in northern Sri (anka.
=roup therapy B even in a clinic B allo"s survivors to e8plore together their !eepest
feelings of suffering, trauma an! guilt. 9t allo"s groups to un!erstan! common loss
an! !evise inclusive strategies for overcoming them. But to Ca&apakse an! the military
a!ministration in northern Sri (anka, any en!eavour y Tamils to master their
in!ivi!ual grief an! recover as a community is unacceptale. Because that means "hat
Colomo sees as the 7enemy' "hich "as hitherto preoccupie! y private an! in!ivi!ual
sorro" coul! use its collective po"er to effect other changes too, such as oppose
oppressive political con!itions.
The Ca&apakse government fin!s anathematic any political action y the people other
than "hat it is "illing to champion or con!one. But even in Sri (anka "here political
free!om is minimal, a government foun! it !ifficult prevent people coming together
for a pulic ceremony. Therefore it has a!opte! a ne" "ay B criminalising the reason
for "hich people "oul! come together.
By criminalising northern Tamils mourning their !ea! as an act of terrorism, "hich
can e punishe! y arrest an! !etention un!er the -revention of Terrorism Act @-TAA,
Ca&apakse hopes he can contain the Tamils' moves to cohere as a community once
again. An! to olster his strategy B an! therey &ustify a crack!o"n B the government
has floate! the story of the (TT? regrouping an! the possiility of another arme!
uprising. ?8cept for the government an! its camp follo"ers, nearly everyone else vie"s
the claims of a possile arme! uprising "ith !eep scepticism.
Ca&apakse is "ell a"are that the political con!itions he has impose! on Sri (anka y
preventing accountaility for "ar crimes an! continuing human rights auses have not
create! a 7post)"ar' environment at all. De realises that if people have any opportunity
of coming together, the natural consequence "oul! e to reak out of the oppressive
circumstances in "hich they fin! themselves.
9n the final analysis, an autocratic government, "hether run y the Communist -arty
in Bei&ing or y the Ca&apakse family in Colomo, fears people "ith a political "ill that
oppose its o"n. 9t is secon!ary "hether the people use the allot o8, civil
!isoe!ience or arme! comat to achieve their aim. :hat nee! to e nippe! in the u!
are people coming together as a community: therefore it is ma!e a criminal act. As
long as mourning facilitates the restoration of community, it "ill e oppose! y
oppressive governments. An! as long as it is oppose! B e it five years or #$ B the
people "ill not give up trying to restore community either.