Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole, a respected Sri Lankan Tamil academician and a prominent returnee after the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, said on Thursday that he was forced to leave the country.
“Yes, I left through Colombo airport for London before [sic] I am arrested. I will work in the U.S. till lawyers can sort this out for me,” he told The Hindu via e-mail, when asked if he had fled Sri Lanka. “I will return because Sri Lanka [Jaffna in particular] is my home,” he asserted.
Prof. Hoole, one of the few Tamils who was vocal in his criticism of the Tamil Tigers when the outfit ruled the Northern Province had had to flee Sri Lanka then. This time he had to leave because of his differences with the lone Tamil Minister in Sri Lankan Cabinet, Douglas Devananda. Mr. Devananda had filed a defamation case against Prof. Hoole in the Kayts court over articles that the academician had written in the media, which were highly critical of Mr. Devananda's role in the North, and the ruling UPFA in general.
“My story is in the last three [editions of] the Sunday Leader. In the first of three articles, I saw what was going on during the Local Government elections [July 23] and reported it. That has upset Douglas [Devananda] in whose hands the government has… placed the full govt. apparatus, especially in Kayts [island],” he said in an e-mail communication. “The next Court date is the [August] 15th [fortunately for me, because this week is court vacation]. I was advised to be out of the island by then — not only by my lawyers but by all my friends in Jaffna,” he added.
Prof. Hoole had come back to Sri Lanka to help rebuild systems in the island after the conclusion of the war. “When he [The President] invited displaced expatriates to return, Prof. Carlo Fonseka approached him and he promised to have me and my wife reinstated as a professor if I was here. Although he issued the order when I came, it has not been implemented. My wife has been unemployed for a year. I was on an appointment until further notice,” he said when asked to clarify on him coming back to Sri Lanka.
Earlier, in 2006, Prof. Hoole, an engineering professor, was the Jaffna University Vice Chancellor. Because of his outspoken ways, the LTTE did not allow him to function and he went back to the United States.
VC panel
After he came back following the defeat of the LTTE, he was in the panel of three candidates for the Vice Chancellor post, but medical faculty Professor Vasanthi Arasaratnam, was appointed to the post. “I applied for VC [post] by the appointed process. At that time when I was elected by the Council to the list of 3 from which the President selects one, various people have recommended me for appointment. That is the only time I have had to deal with him or communicate with him. In December at the only one-to-one meeting during the VC appointment process, he promised to appoint me at a personal meeting,” Prof. Hoole said.
Ever since he returned, Prof. Hoole has also been critical of the government's approach to the ethnic issue and has spoke in many fora. “True nation building is about celebrating our differences without suppressing them and addressing grievances. I am afraid that the government is missing the point in its ever effervescent and exuberant pronouncements about unity,” he told an audience at the Naro Udeshi Lecture at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre recently, his last lecture in Colombo.
A Man who has such opposing and critical views of the government and expresses them publicly and damagingly however true it may be, is unlikely to be appointed as a Vice Chancellor anywhere in the world. That is common sense. A man who does not have such common sense cannot be a Vice Chancellor either. Let us see how he expresses such critical views about the American government now that he is in USA.
It is a very interesting narrative of things that Prof. Hoole has been through. With all the due respect to his academic background, it seems Prof. Hoole has missed the point in being on the wrong side of all concerned – Denadand, the President and the like. Summing up of occurrences, any intelligent reader would suspect the conduct of this learned person. I think there is a very important link missing in him in order to have not been able to manage affairs politically and otherwise. I suppose, it is better that he lives away from Sri Lanka for the benefit of all parties concerned. In my opinion, Prof. Hoole is not a team player especially when it comes down to politics. So, he may say bye, bye to SL and live someplace else.
This article does not make it clear to the reader many points. Such as what the the reason for Prof Hoole leaving Sri Lanka (other than some unexplained 'difference of opinion' with a minister). Why is it significant for the reader to know this - why is this a news item in the first place. It spends valuable space on apparantly trivial details like a three person panel etc which are procedurals. Reporting Needs much to be desired.
Total lack of vision on the part of Sri Lanka Singala majority leadership is yet again a case of nothing learn nothing forgotten. The tragic ethnic strife was mainly due to myopic chauvinism of the political leadership who lacked vision to carry with them moderate Tamil leaders like Amirthalingam and laid foundation for the creation of LTTE monster. The world hoped that the devastation of the civil war would have driven some lessons home. But alas it is not be. It seems that the seeds of bitterness now being sown now will continue to haunt the nation. The future of peaceful Island is very bleak indeed unless there is realization that Tamil issue is settled satisfactorily.
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