Browsing by Author "Waradas, T."

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Cinema as a tool of reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka
(University of Kelaniya, 2011) Waradas, T.; Karunanayake, D.
In the wake of the end of the conflict between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the country is confronted with the challenge of cultivating reconciliation between the Sinhala and Tamil communities which were hitherto separated and denied a chance for unison. The Government has acknowledged that reconciliation is effective when it occurs through economic and social mechanisms rather than political intervention. In creating a space where communities in conflict can come together in a common dialogue that is essential for post-war reconciliation, the role of cinema is of significant relevance. As a most effective audio-visual form of art, cinema has been utilized in reconciliation endeavours in many post-war environments around the world. However, as examined in this paper, the mainstream Sri Lankan cinema does not seem to play its much expected social role of reconciliation in the current post-war milieu. In considering the films produced following the end of the war in May 2010, both commercial and classical cinema seem to fail to bring the Sinhala and Tamil communities to a common platform. Instead, majority of the films show a tendency to romanticize the war, and its trauma and agony. Conversely, stories seem to be narrated from the point of view of the Sinhala Buddhist community characterized by an overwhelming notion of nationalism, while much of the duress experienced by Tamils is sidelined. It is crucial to examine why and how mainstream Sri Lankan cinema is so reluctant to play a prominent role in post-war reconciliation. This paper focuses on the four films: Ira Handa Yata by Bennet Rathnayake, Sinhawalokanaya by Suneth Malinga Lokuhewa, Mahindagamanaya by Sanath Abeysekara, and Gamani by Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara. This paper intends to examine the reasons behind the films‟ failure to contribute to reconciliation attempts in a post-war environment. It will also illustrate the potential of Sri Lanka cinema to act as a powerful tool of reconciliation, and show how it should redefine its stance and transform itself, moving away from Sinhala Buddhist nationalism.
Rwandan conflict: The role of agency and structure
(University of Kelaniya, 2011) Waradas, T.
This paper examines why and how the structural violence of pre- independent Rwanda, turned in to direct violence after its independence. There were various levels of structural violence which existed throughout Rwandan history. But it was only the post-colonial Rwanda that experienced unprecedented level of direct violence. It is important to study why is it the case that only in post- colonial Rwanda that structural violence transformed into direct violence? Scholarly debates surrounding this issue are divided over the difference between the significance of structural factors and agential role. Both of these approaches do not fairly pay attention to the interrelationship between structure and agency in a historical process. The outcome of a historical process cannot be solely determined either by the structure or agency; rather, it is a product of dialectical relationship between structure and agency. Therefore, this paper explores how structural violence turned into direct violence, through a critical analysis of structure-agency relationship. This paper argues that, despite the existence of structural violence in pre-colonial Rwanda, there were some flexible mechanisms which prevented structural violence turning into direct violence. For instance, there was no binary identification of individuals in the pre-colonial era. But, the intrusive colonial rule changed the pre-colonial political-economic setting into a rigid and centralized structure. It was extremely exclusive in terms of ethnic identification and racial superiority policies. This structure has been maintained and strengthened, in a more rigid and exclusive manner, by post-colonial regimes. Transformation of structural violence into direct violence in postcolonial Rwanda is a product failure and ruptures the relationship between structure and agency. Ideology had also played a major role in leading Rwanda into direct violence such as genocide. This paper leads us to think about transformative peace building, which encapsulates the progressive change in relations between Structure, Agency and Ideology.