Confronting the Complexity of Loss

‘dangerous’, as some former LTTE leaders were permitted to engage in politics. He
observed:
Today some of them are engaged in politics. As I see it, rehabilitating [cadres]
doesn’t matter. But they cannot be allowed to do politics. What a lot of damage
they caused! They killed a large number of our children…It is really dangerous
that they are doing politics.
These views on punishment and rehabilitation appear to be complementary, as they both
distinguish between decision-makers and subordinates. Hence the participants who
valued some form of accountability generally fell into two categories. Many who
preferred the punishment of perpetrators, opted for the punishment of decision-makers
rather than subordinates. Those who preferred rehabilitation recommended the
rehabilitation of subordinates, while suggesting that former leaders ought not to be
permitted to engage in politics. In both cases, there appears to be a strong association of
accountability with decision-making power.
3.6 Future prevention
The final set of questions put to the participants related to the prevention of similar
atrocities in the future. Participants were asked to comment on what they suggest a
society should do to prevent the recurrence of violence and conflict. Two types of
responses emerged. One type of response associated conflict with the absence of mutual
understanding between communities and the denial of rights. The second type of
response identified conflict as a political construct that displaces law and order and the
general ability of communities to live in harmony. The distinction, though subtle, was
clearly evident in the responses of participants.
Some participants contended that conflict emerged from a combination of rights denial
and a lack of mutual understanding. Hence the war was seen very much as symptomatic
of deeper problems. One participant from Jaffna observed that ‘hatred’ was the root of
conflict and recommended that greater efforts be undertaken to reduce hatred in society.
Another participant added that two specific measures needed to be adopted in this regard.
First, there should be greater awareness amongst people about other ethnic groups and
religions. Second, basic rights should be provided to all people regardless of ethnicity or
religion. The participant, who had lost a son during the final stages of the war, explained
that the failure to provide basic rights often led to a lack of awareness. She observed:
When their only worry is their daily life, where do they have time to think about
other people? Their worries must be answered first and their rights must be
properly provided for them. If not, there will always be conflict among the
people.
Another participant who lost her family due to shelling during the final stages of the war
made a similar remark. She stated:
53