The terrorists have won...

Terrorism. Now THAT is a well known word. And yet, an interesting one.

If you want a definition, the fine search engine gives a page of definitions to the query define: terrorism. If you want an etymology, try Dictionary.com's page on it, about halfway down. The prase "..then the terrorists have won" itself started as a marketing ploy (in order to justify the Oscars, the worlds largest, most expensive, most publicised mutual masturbation session).

But the terrorists have won. In dotyuouess, in dotyoukay, and here in dotelkay, the terrorists have already won.

So, lets get a definition to work with here, there are so many. From Princeton's WordNet we get "terrorism, act of terrorism, terrorist act (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)", which is as succinct a definition as you can get.

So who are the terrorists? According to the definition above, its anyone who engages in a terrorist act. So the LTTE and Al Qaida are probably terrorist organisations. But what of the other terrorist organisations that exist, that we deal with every day? The biggest one in dotelkay is the Sri Lankan Government. There are lots of groups that are willing to scream "state terrorism!" at the drop of a hat. And I, for one, don't deny that state terrorism has happened in a major way in Sri Lanka. 1971, 1983, 1988/89 all come to mind. 1983 being the worst of them all.

But does anyone realise that the LKGov engages in terrorism every day? And not against a segment, but the entire population as a whole. And yet we have taken it not only for granted, but completely accepted as a necessity of the way we live.

All states depend on terror for survival. The idea of showcasing an external threat and then using it to gain power from the populace is not new. At the risk of Godwinising myself, I would like to hold out that shining example of manipulation, Herr Adolph Hitler. After all, Hitler took Germany, which had been beaten in WWI, from the depths of depression to the heights of global-spanning belligerence. He capitalised on the fear and despondence felt by the German people, convinced them that their problems were the fault of outside forces within the country and built up their confidence to a level that they were willing to take on the world.

So how does all this tie in with LKGov? Simple. Have you noticed that we weem to be constantly under attack? Every where we go there are check points. We are told to be careful, that there are threats to our well being everywhere. Its a risk coming into the city, because you could get caught in one of those massive checkpoints where you spend four hours waiting to be checked. Or maybe getting caught in a traffic jam as you wait for a politician to pass by. We are told to watch out for strange parcels, strange people, and now, strange airplanes (like we can take a look and say "that plane, I haven't seen that one before, maybe its a terrorist plane!!"). We are constantly told that "the protection of the government is our protection", and yet there is really nothing for us to be protected from (well except maybe the government).

After all, look at the statistics. In the past we have had, maybe, 1,000 civillians killed in LTTE bombings. I'm not counting direct attacks in force like the ones that happen in the border villages. And yet we have had almost 30,000 people die in traffic accidents between 1983 and 2003 (reference). This number is almost half the quoted 65,000 people who have died in the entire conflict. This means that the odds of someone dying in an LTTE bomb is is probably about one thirtieth the odds of them dying in a car crash. Even when the LTTE bombed the outskirts of Colombo by air (that needed to be clarified), the injuries were not from the LTTE bombs, but from the indiscriminate firing by the LKGov forces many kilometers away. So what are we being careful of?

So we're back to terror again. LKGov seems to have learned a lot from the USGov about manipulation of the people and the media. We are constantly harassed and bombarded with images. We are scared to go out at night, we are told that the criticism of the government is a traitorous act, that the demands for transparency in billion-rupee arms deals and the exposure of the corruption that occurs in them are "demoralising the forces". We're told that we have to stand by the president, no matter what happens. That the disappearence of many tamil people is a normal thing. The subtext is that if we don't do as they say we could ourselves be "disappeared".

Look back at the definition of terrorism. "The calculated use of violence or the threat of violence." For the sake of argument let's disregard the disappearences and such. Let us look at the most insidious, and therefore most effective use of terrorism: the use of checkpoints and propaganda and other media devices to scare the general populace into a state of fear so that the government can do what they want without fear of reprisal or demand for transparency. We are all being terrorised. Being told to be afraid, be very afraid, and please let the nice friendly government do whatever the hell they want.

The LTTE may be doing the acts. They may be killing people (though the paranoid part of me says that there are acts being blamed on the LTTE that were done by them), they may be bombing civillian targets (though that hasn't happened recently), but it is the LKGov that is making the most of it. The violence they threaten us with is that they would allow the LTTE a free hand. How many people have the slightest doubt that if the LTTE wanted to, they could attack Colombo at their leisure despite all the checkpoints we have? The recent bombing at the harbour and in Ratmalana proved they could. And yet the checkpoints are there (there is a big one at Ratmalana that occasionally stops all traffic coming into Colombo for about 4 hours as they check everyone). People get harrassed on buses and in their vehicles. People have died because the roadblocks so some politician can go about in safety have meant that ambulances can't get to the people who need them. If we ask why, we are told it is for the safety of the country. And yet, the safety, as well as the threat, is only an illusion. This is called security theater. It not only has the effect of creating the illusion of security where none exists, but also of increasing anxiety levels. And increased anxiety means that more people are willing to accept the government increasing "security measures".

The terror we are faced with is imposed on us by a government who wants us quiet and pliable. We let them take away our freedoms and spend our money so that they'll keep us safe from the big bad Tigers. The LTTE threat, though a palpable one, is truly a paper tiger. The risks that we face from them is minor compared to the other risks that we face every day. While the events themselves are horrific, they are not nearly as horrific as the things we take for granted every day, like 40 people getting burnt to death in a bus wreck.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the students are taught the "Ridikkulos charm" in their Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Facing their fears and making them funny the students take away the power those fears have over them. The power that the LTTE and others have over us is fear. If we were to accept that there are risks to living and yet carry on living. If we could do that, then the LTTE would lose whatever power they have over us. There is no way we can live in a perfectly safe world. We should stop trying to.

Yet the government doesn't want us to think like this. They want to maintain the terrorist threat in our heads as often as possible. And that truly is terrorism, and in that the government is working hand in hand with the LTTE.