| Out of Ruin
March 6, 2005
The December 26 tsunami hit many countries but perhaps none more fragile than Sri Lanka. And it did hit Sri Lanka hard: a death toll of 31,000, second only to Indonesia. In Out of Ruin, Brian Stewart, co-host of CBC News: Correspondent, reports from Sri Lanka on the effects of the tsunami and how that is intertwined with the efforts to end a decades-old ethnic conflict.
Aid agencies and western governments were quickly reminded of how intertwined they are. Do they deal with the government or the Tamil Tigers - "The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam" - to provide humanitarian assistance in the regions the Tigers control?
| S. P. Tamilchelvan
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For S. P. Tamilchelvan, political leader of the LTTE, the tsunami showed the need for Tamil control. "We could have protected our people more effectively if we had had the necessary resources and, mainly, the sovereignty in our own hands. This natural disaster has made all of us even more committed to our goal," he told Stewart. After decades of mistrust, the LTTE would not allow government relief flights even as they accused it of withholding aid.
The tsunami alone was not enough to turn a flimsy ceasefire into peace. But ordinary Sri Lankans did ignore ethnic divisions as they helped out those who were hit hardest by the tsunami. "People in Sri Lanka are probably desperate to do good and this opportunity presented itself," says novelist Shyam Selvadurai. The government and the LTTE have yet to seize that opportunity.
| Sunila Abeysekera
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Human rights activist Sunila Abeysekera explains: "There are lots of issues of control and power that are going on at the cost of people who are really needing immediate relief and also long term assistance." As she sees it, "The key political players actually approached the post-tsunami situation from a point of view of trying to score political points and gain political advantage. If there is no space in which there can be some attempt to harmonize the needs of the people with the concerns of their political leadership then I think people are going to lose out."
Accompanying the documentary is a profile of Chandrika Kumaratunga, the President of Sri Lanka. She is the daughter of two prime ministers. Her father, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, held that office from 1956 until 1959, when he was assassinated by a Buddhist monk. After an election in 1960 her mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, became Prime Minister, making her the world's first female prime minister.
Assassination and attempted assassination are a big part of Kumaratunga's family history. In 1988 her husband was shot dead by Sinhalese nationalists. While campaigning in the 2000 election Kumaratunga herself survived a bomb attack but lost her sight in one eye.
| Pres. Chandrika Kumaratunga
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Kumaratunga was also Prime Minister, for a few months in 1994. She then moved to the President's office and appointed her mother as Prime Minister.
"I never wanted political power for myself," she tells Brian Stewart. "I was pushed into it because I happened to be part of the dynasty."
CREDITS:
Reporter: Brian Stewart
Producer: Carmen Merrifield
Editor: Gary Akenhead
Camera: Brian Kelly
Sound: Ed MacDonald
Research: Leslie Stojsic
LINKS:
Sri Lanka: A profile - CBC News Online | January 19, 2005
A flicker of hope - January 21, 2005 (An earlier report from Sri Lanka by Brian Stewart)
TamilTigers.net/ - the web site of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Shyam Selvadurai's Personal Website
Sunila Abeysekera: Peace Campaigner on a War-Torn Island - 1999 Interview by Ethirajan Anbarasan, UNESCO Courier.
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga - official biography of the
President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka . There is also an offical web page for
The President of Sri Lanka.
Ceylon elects world's first woman PM - text of a BBC story from 1960
Former Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka
Women leaders - Sri Lanka (Includes Abeysekara, Bandaranaike and Kumaratunga)
NEWSWORLD BROADCAST TIMES:
Sunday, May 29, 2005 at 8:00 PM ET
Monday, May 30 at 3:00 AM ET
Sunday, March 6, 8:00 PM ET
Monday, March 7, 3:00 AM ET
Saturday, March 12, 8:00 PM ET
Sunday, March 13, 4:00 AM ET
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