• How can a creative piece insult Buddhism, asks Shakthika Sathkumara

  Arbitrary arrests and arrests where due legal process has not been followed are heard about in Sri Lanka all too often. Shakthika Sathkumara, who wrote the short story “Ardha” (“Half”), was arrested under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act in 2019 based on a complaint that alleged he had derogated and defamed Buddhism. He was discharged on Tuesday (9) following his release on bail in August last year. In his first media interview since his release, Sathkumara speaks to The Morning about his detention, the effect this experience had on his freedom of expression, and the changes he expects in law enforcement. The following are excerpts from the interview.   Can you tell us about your time in prison?   I was at the Kegalle Prison. It is on a 40 or 45-perch land. The facilities at the prison are only suitable for around 200 people. There are two sira maduru (achchu wattu) and four saka wattu. When I went in on 1 April (2019), it was not very crowded. But after the Easter Sunday incident, a huge amount of Muslims were brought in on suspicion. The total number of prisoners rose to 1,200 or so. The facilities which were meant for 200 people eventually had to be shared with more than 1,000 people. As such, I endured huge discomfort while in prison. The morning breakfast is at 6 (a.m.), lunch is at 11.30 (a.m.), and dinner is at 3 (p.m.) We are sent at 4 (p.m.) to our jail rooms and we can't come out till six in the morning. There are only six or seven toilets and 700 or 800 people have got to use those.   [caption id="attachment_119208" align="alignright" width="442"] "I never heard of someone who had been jailed due to a creative writing piece. And so, I did not expect to go to jail either. At most, I expected a civil court case. What happened was something else entirely. In one way, that was a violation of my freedom of expression" Shakthika Sathkumara[/caption] Do you think the changing political climate and social narrative at the time (2019) led to your quick arrest?   This could have been a result of it. Before my incident happened, there were a few similar ones that occurred. “Bhikshu Parikshediya” faced a few problems. K.K. Srinath’s “Budunge Rasthiyaduwa” faced criticism as well. The “Kane Para” radio drama also received opposition. Maybe since there was no punishment given to all three of them, they may have given one to me. I was a victim of that.   How were the prison officials?   The prison officers were very kind. They understood my situation and gave me the chance to read books. I am appreciative of that.   When did you write the story, and was the backlash immediate? Why do you think they targeted your story?   On 3 February 2019, I wrote Ardha and published it on Facebook. This is something I usually do with the pieces I write. There are some I keep and some I remove after a while. I removed this one within a few days because the comments I received for it were negative. At the time, I was working at the Polgahawela Pradeshiya Lekam Karyalaya (Divisional Secretariat) as a Development Officer. Then on 6 March 2019, 25 monks came to my office saying that they had read the story. They told me that the Ardha short story is harming the religion, so I must publicly apologise for it and not publish it. I told them that it is a creative piece. I also added that my workplace is not related to the short stories that I write. Finally, I told them that I would not be apologising, but that I would express my regret if needed and that I had already removed it from my Facebook. But the main request from the monks was that I must apologise in public – which I refused to do.   What specific problem did they have with Ardha? Did they perceive it as an insult to Buddhism, the monks, or the Buddha?   They said that it insulted Buddhist monks and the Buddha. My story was about Prince Siddhartha. After he gained enlightenment only he became Lord Buddha. But this story was about Siddhartha and about the dark side of religious institutions, including Buddhist ones.   How did your arrest come to be?   They had made a complaint at the Polgahawela Police Station. The complaint said that the Ardha short story insults Buddhism and the Sri Lankan clergy. I was asked to come on 1 April 2019 to hear the complaint against me. I went with my lawyer but they arrested me on that day. After presenting me to the Polgahawela Magistrate’s Court, they put me to jail, under the ICCPR Act. I was in jail for 130 days and released on Tuesday (9).   How did your immediate circle of friends and acquaintances react to the story and to the arrest?   Well-read people with an understanding of the nuances of writing have empathy with this issue. I didn't get a lot of pressure from normal civil society. Although the Sangha Society pressured us a lot, other parts of society did not. I have a six-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. They did not face any physical harm. But for the two years from the day I went to jail till the day that the case ended, there was a lot of pressure on my entire family. They found it especially hard during the four months I was in prison and the five months that I did not have a job and could not support them. Even after being released on bail, I had to go to the police station every two weeks, and all of that definitely took a toll on us.   Did the experience make you fearful in any way, be it as a parent or as a writer?   It was a tragedy, but I was never scared. If I was scared, I would have apologised or withdrawn my fundamental rights (FR) petition. But I wasn't scared; I fought and I faced what came my way. We had submitted a FR petition to the Supreme Court already and it will be taken up again on the 24th of this month. I hope to ask for compensation with regard to this case and also ask for compensation from the Polgahawela Police Station in a new case as well. There were 20 or 25 lawyers who helped me with this incident – nobody charged anything from me on any day of the case. As a parent, it has made me understand that I must ensure that my child becomes a free-thinking citizen who can think based on reason instead of belief. Just because something was a belief for 3,000 or 4,000 years, that doesn't mean it is right. That is what we must teach our children – how to approach anything from politics to religion to news; with reason.   What sort of local and international support did you receive in the last two years? Was there a difference? Has this experience made you want to seek a life out of Sri Lanka?   Some countries did write to me regarding this, but I turn 35 this year. We won't be living for long now. During that time period, I hope to do what I can, write what I can, and just live. However, many international organisations did support me in this struggle. Leftist political organisations, along with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Peratugami Samajawadi Pakshaya and Samajawadi Samanatha Pakshaya helped extensively. Newspapers such as Ravaya and Anidhdh and also other writers supported me immensely. Anyone else would have told me to apologise, but without doing that, I was able to fight for my truth because these people supported me. My wife is also a writer and she stood strong on this as well; she also faced much pressure to apologise, but she refused to.   Have you started your job again? Did the arrest and this case affect your work life?   I was released on bail on 8 August. I joined the service again on 2 December. I am continuing my job as usual now.   How did the arrest affect your future writing work?   When I went to the police station on 1 April (2019), I never heard of someone who had been jailed due to a creative writing piece. And so, I did not expect to go to jail either. At most, I expected a civil court case. What happened was something else entirely. In one way, that was a violation of my freedom of expression. With the time in jail came a lot of experiences. I wrote a few short stories as well regarding that. I wrote a few stories about it while I was in prison and afterwards as well. After I was released on bail, I published the short story “Sirigatha Kara”. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are rights which are detailed in the Constitution. This is a creative piece. The monks who put the complaint itself said that it is a creative piece which insults Buddhism. A creative piece is a fantasy – it is not the truth. How can a lie challenge the truth? If it was a statement I had made, that is different. But this is a short story, a creative piece.   Do you follow a religion? Did your personal religious beliefs influence you when writing this story? Have you faced any prior opposition to your writing before the Ardha case?   I was born a Buddhist and my parents are Buddhist. There are about 4,300 religions in the world. If you ask any follower of any religion, they would say that the other 4,299 are wrong and only theirs is correct. I am not of that position. At this point, I would say that I am an atheist. I followed the arts stream for my Advanced Levels (A/Ls). I was at Kelaniya University from 2007 to 2011 in the Sinhala medium. I joined the government service after that. I have always done creative writing since my A/L days. I did a few books, along with short stories. Some of them have been awarded and accredited as well. The “Wali” short story entered the final round of the Rajya Sahithya Sammana. Prior to Ardha, I received a certain amount of opposition for two other short stories that were on the theme of religion as well. But that opposition was not prolonged.   Is religion a recurring theme in your writing?   I don't only write about religion. I have written about eight short stories so far. However, it is a theme in my writing. How do we demarcate religion? There is Buddhist literature and Buddhist philosophy. We may not always write from the side of Buddhist philosophy; we may write Buddhist literature. So where does religion begin? Generally, it (Ardha) was an imaginative piece out of everyday experiences that we see. I do not consider it as a strong or weak short story. I don't even think that it is a story that needed this much attention – it did not have a huge message behind the writing. I didn't write it with the intention of insulting a religion or a monk or an idea. It was always just a piece of fiction.   Do you think Sinhala literature has always been influenced by religion?   Sinhala literature began in the Anuradhapura Era. From that point onwards, there has been forceful religious influences on creativity. During the Kandy Era it reduced slightly because de-robed monks became writers of literature. When modern writers try to reflect that in their work, groups who think traditionally may express their disappointment of it and make up for it by doing these things.   Has the practice of religion changed in recent times?   There are many paths of Buddhism. Here, we practice Theravada and there are many divisions of that too. It has changed significantly in recent times. In other countries, religion is a private practice. But here it has gone beyond that up to the State. I feel that people here are unhappy to practice Buddhism as a practical ideology. We see fundamentalism in other religions as well. Easter Sunday was also done in the name of religion. In secular countries, where 70% of the population do not follow a religion, we see less of these problems. I am not angry at Buddhism, monks, or temples because of this incident. I see this objectively and understand that they are also victims of this society. From my experience, the only thing I want changed is the law. When I was arrested, the Polgahawala Police didn't even do an initial hearing. They didn't even have my short story to present to the court. Upon a complaint, they made a B Report and arrested me. If we could change that, that would be good I think. If local police are more sensitive and better, I think that would make things better.