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Representation of Trauma and Justice in Sri Lankan Civil War Literature; and Judgement, a Novel

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Representation of Trauma and Justice in Sri Lankan Civil War Literature; and Judgement, a Novel Pain at midnight: Representation of trauma and justice in Sri Lankan civil war literature; and judgement, a novel Luther Uthayakumaran A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Arts and Media Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences September 2014 Acknowledgements I thank the following Associate Professor Anne Brewster for the supervision, her guidance and patience. I especially acknowledge Anne for her caring nature and her unyielding confidence in the project even during its most difficult moments. If it had not been for her encouragement the project would not have reached its conclusion. Professor Bill Ashcroft for his thoughtful input and support, especially to the dissertation. Dr Andy Kissane for his valuable input into the novel during its early stages. Dr Dorottya Fabian, for her patient support during the project. Henryk Kowalik and Lyn Vellins for proof reading My family for their support and the many hours of neglect that they had to endure. Finally, I would like to remember all those who lost their lives and suffered as a result of the long civil war in Sri Lanka and wish that they find justice and closure soon. 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Uthayakumaran First name: Luther Other name/s: Perceival Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: Ph.D School: Arts and Media Faculty: Humanities and Social Sciences Title: Pain at midnight: Representation of trauma and justice in Sri Lankan civil war literature; and judgement, a novel Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) The dissertation, Pain at midnight, explores the depiction of trauma and justice in Sri Lankan civil war literature. It argues that in conflicts such as civil wars, institutional mechanisms that protect civilians from the unjustified use of force during peace times get progressively dismantled, as the condition of the civilian is reduced to that of the homo sacer (Agamben), the person stripped of all access to justice. On the other hand, the dissertation canvasses recent developments in trauma theory that have explored the relationship between trauma and justice, arguing that trauma is often the underlying reality that defines pursuits of justice. Therefore, it could be argued, that recognizing the trauma of the homo sacer could be the starting point for restoring justice to disenfranchised people. Thus literature which successfully represents the trauma of the unprotected civilian - the homo sacer - can contribute to the restoration of justice to the civilian. The novel, judgement, explores the complex impact of war on the individual and the injustices that it imposes. The narrative opens with a group of children befriending each other before civil war breaks out in Sri Lanka and follows them through the conflict. It explores the effect of violence on their selves, their relationship with each other, and the world. The story focuses on experiences of individuals and on particular situations, describes events, backgrounds and landscapes. It differs from other contemporary Anglophone depictions of the war by seeking to depict the trauma of war through the subjective experience of its characters as seen from inside rather than outside the conflict. The narrative ends without strong closure. The characters come to terms with the futility oftrying to totally undo the effects of war, while nonetheless recognising the possibility of fmding meaning, justice and ultimately redemption. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I e_J...... u..:,._,.r't-... ~.,..,.__ ~ .............. .'.. ... .... ..,.. ....... :-: .....................0...- .......... ............................. ··············· ······ ...... :. ~/.~.f. ..14? . .? ~I .... ... .. Signature Witness Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and reauire the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS ORIGINALITY STATEMENT 'I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.' ~ L.A- Ua.'iA t~"-oj"Q~ Signed ··················· ···········CJ································ ts-JCJ~ ;~(j{J Date ................ ·················································· ii COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 'I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' ~ ~f~~ Signed ·······························u··············-~·-·················· Date ....... 1~./.~s../.~.qJ~ ...................................... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT 'I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.' GJrt,__ LJL~L~o~ Signed ·······························Q············································ Date .............................................................................l.r/os/'!J.;otr iii Table of contents judgement (novel) - 5 Pain at midnight: Representation of trauma and justice in - 7 Sri Lankan civil war literature Introduction - 8 1. Nature of violence – state and non-state force and the - 14 unarmed civilian 1.1 The state of exception and the homo sacer - 15 1.2 Criticisms of Agamben - 22 1.3 Two incidents from the Sri Lankan civil war and the - 24 relevance of Agamben 2. Contemporary literary trauma theory - 31 2.1 Literature and the law - 39 2.2 Felman, the Eichmann trial and post-conflict justice - 41 2.3 Recognising the trauma of the homo sacer - 46 2.4 Trauma and justice in literature - 50 3. Pain and language, how pain is shaped through literary genre - 52 3.1 Pain. language and silence - 55 4. Depiction of pain and silence in Sri Lankan civil-war writing: - 67 Nihal Silva’s The Road from Elephant Pass and Basil Fernando’s, Just another Incident in July 1983. 260 4.1 Trauma of the homo sacer and justice in Basil Fernando’s - 77 ‘Yet another incident in July 1983’ and Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost, and Michellle De Kretser’s Questions of Travel 271 5.0 Conclusion - 89 3 judgement The novel is removed from this globally accessible version of the thesis to avoid copyright issues. It is available for reference in the University of New South Wales library collection. 6 Pain at midnight: Representation of trauma and justice in Sri Lankan civil war literature 7 Introduction In July 1983, a few miles north of the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka, an army convoy on a reportedly antiterrorist patrol ran into an ambush set up by the Tamil insurgent group called the Tamil New Tigers – an urban guerrilla group in its very early stages of growth at that time. Thirteen Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in the attack. Ethnic tensions have been growing in Sri Lanka between the Tamils and the Singhalese, the country’s largest two linguistically defined ethnic groups, ever since the country became independent from Britain. Jaffna is an ancient city broadly seen as the cultural capital of the Tamils. The ambush took place a few miles north of the city centre, within walking distance of the University of Jaffna. On the night after the attack Sri Lankan soldiers went from house to house in the villages surrounding the place where the attack took place, killing dozens of young Tamil males. A few weeks later anti-Tamil mob violence broke out in the south of Sri Lanka and in what later came to be known as ‘Black July’ more than the 2,000 Tamil civilians were killed. The exact sequence of events that led to the breaking out of mob attacks is somewhat clouded – as different commentators have given different accounts – and critical differences of opinion exist on the extent to which the violence was spontaneous.
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