Selected Writings by Sachi Sri Kantha

22 November 2000

In an article he wrote to the American Magazine of November 1918, entitled, 'What People Laugh At', Charlie Chaplin presented his techniques of how he created comedy. One of his weapons was contrasts. He constantly strived to create contrasts. He wrote, 'To the average person, contrast spells interest and because it does, I am constantly making use of it in my pictures.'

Contrasts illuminate; contrasts educate; contrasts also entertain. As a student of science, I also earnestly look for contrasts in experiments, set up under identical conditions. In this aspect, the contrast between the presentations of two Sinhalese ambassadors on the current ethnic conflict is an illuminating one.

Dr. Warnasena Rasaputram is one of the highest Poo-Bahs of current Sri Lankan regime. He holds the official title of Sri Lankan Ambassador for USA. According to a recent news item [Times of India online, Nov. 17], Dr. Rasaputram has claimed that

 "according to estimates taken from the dead cadres of the LTTE, nearly 40 percent of their fighters consists of children between nine and 19 years of age". He had made this revelation at a international seminar held at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, in Arlington, Virginia, USA. He also has accused the LTTE of "destroying an entire generation of Tamil children".

Now, I shift the frame to Mr. Prasanna Vithanage (born 1962), a young filmmaker, who has made the controversial Sinhalese movie, Pura Handa Kaluwara [Death on a Full Moon Day]. He can only be labeled as an unofficial cultural ambassador. Let me present the contrasts between Dr. Rasaputram and Mr. Vithanage.

One lives in Washington DC, while the other one lives in Sri Lanka.

One supports the Sri Lankan army and the ruling establishment, while the other one criticises the Sri Lankan army and the ruling establishment.

One supports the Sri Lankan government's war against the LTTE, while the other one opposes this war.

One cites the document produced by the euphemistically tagged 'Jaffna University Teachers on Human Rights', while the other one quotes the now-defunct Saturday Review newspaper, which was produced from Jaffna.

One uses the 'Sri Lankan army and the security people' as his prop, while the other one uses Joe Abeywickrama [one of the respected Sinhalese veteran actors] as his prop.

One is a representative of the Sinhalese past, while the other one presents a new face of Sinhalese future.

We, Eelam Tamils, should feel encouraged that there are decent individuals like Prasanna Vithanage who see reason for the actions of LTTE. So, I wish to present excerpts of the views expressed by Mr. Vithanage early this year in an interview with Richard Philipps to the World Socialist Web Site (March 1, 2000). His views on the Sri Lankan army and ruling establishment strike a contrast to that propagated by Sri Lanka's Poo-Bah, residing in Washington DC.

To the question, "When did you begin opposing the war against the Tamils?", Vithanage has answered,

"I went to school with Tamils, Sinhalese and members of the Burgher community. Of course there were also many chauvinists at the school but from childhood I was politically aware and felt that Tamil culture had been suppressed. I also read the Saturday Review from Jaffna. This newspaper exposed what was happening under the J.R.Jayewardene regime. I also saw the 1978 [sic; 1977] riots and the 1983 riots. The Tamils are oppressed culturally and economically and so my feelings go with them."

On the compensation money paid to dead Sri Lankan soldiers, and his development of lead character Wannihamy in the movie, Vithanage has stated,

"The bodies of those [Sinhalese soldiers] killed in the war would be brought to the villages in sealed coffins and after all the crying and the rituals, people were given this compensation. I realised that this was a tragic and vicious circle, so I created a character that would expose this....If someone opens a coffin they lose the compensation money. These are the rules. The coffin is sealed and two soldiers stay with it until it is buried. In my film the old man has the coffin broken up so that no one will get any compensation.

"After the film was screened yesterday, one young man came up to me and said it would be better if the coffin contained an army uniform otherwise youth would be discouraged from joining the army. I explained that the film had to show what was really happening - that the army and government don't even bother to keep the soldier's uniform - they just put tree trunks and stones to give some weight to the coffin. This is the harsh reality of the situation."

To the question, "[in the movie] The father's opposition to the war is naive and passive. Is this typical or are villagers and small farmers beginning to consciously oppose the war?", Vithanage's answer was,

"I wanted the film to express my opposition to the war, but I have to be truthful when I create such a character. The father doesn't know what he has exposed. The reality of the war in some ways is beyond him. This is what the film shows. Opposition to the war, however, is now starting to build up throughout the country. People are getting tired of the argument that the war can be solved militarily by massacring Tamils, especially when their sons and next of kin come back home in sealed coffins. I hope my film will assist in this process."

Prasanna Vithanage's 1997 film, Pura Handa Kaluwara [Death on a Full Moon Day] has been described by reviewers as a powerful artistic representation of the impact on Sinhalese villagers of the country's 17-year civil war. It featured the respected Sinhalese matinee idol Joe Abeywickrama in the lead role as a blind, elderly farmer Vannihamy, whose only son had joined the Sri Lankan army fighting in the Eelam. This short movie (74 minutes) was produced on a measly budget of US$ 80,000 financed by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), a public institution in Japan.

Let us hope that the 21st century will bring to light more ambassadors like Prasanna Vithanages than Warnasena Rasaputrams among the Sinhalese.