Needed: national reconciliation


Written by Fahmida Ashraf • Region • September 2010

8-1 The civil war has ended in Sri Lanka but there is still a lack of trust between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. President Rajapakse needs to work hard to prevent a new conflict that may be brewing.

Since the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, as part of its efforts to secure territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka, the Rajapakse government is working to establish national harmony and reconciliation in the country. After being re-elected as President for the second time in January 2010, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse in his message to commemorate the 62nd independence day of Sri Lanka on February 4, 2010, stressed that his government will work for reconciliation. He said, "It is necessary that we give equal priority to the tasks of national reconciliation and the building of trust among all sections of our people, as well as development that will take us to our rightful place in the community of nations." Later, after winning the parliamentary elections, in a statement issued on April 10, 2010, President Rajapakse again stressed that his government would work to strengthen peace and reconciliation.

Despite the above claims the Rajapakse government came under international pressure to ensure steps for promoting national reconciliation in the country. The UN Secretary General, Ban ki-moon has appointed a panel of experts to examine the alleged human rights abuses during the civil war in Sri Lanka. The Rajapakse government has, however, rejected the appointment of the expert panel. President Rajapakse has appointed the Sri Lankan Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation in May 2010 to asses the causes that led to the failure of the Ceasefire agreement of February 2002 and the events thereafter up to May 19, 2009; to identify any person or institution responsible for the failure of the agreement; to suggest methodology for compensating the person affected by the following events till May 2009; and to suggest recommendations for promoting national unity and reconciliation among all communities in the country.

The eight member Commission is headed by former Attorney General C. R. de Silva. The Commission held its first meeting in June. It met for the second time from August 11 till August 25 in Colombo and Vavuniya. The Commission is to submit its report to the government after examining evidence presented by various top government officials, politicians, former diplomats, academics, and intellectuals. Moreover, in June President Rajapakse held his first meeting with Rajavarothayam Sambanthan the leader of Tamil National Alliance, which has won 14 seats in the recent parliamentary elections, and discussed options for a political solution to the ethnic divide between the Tamil and Sinhala community.

National reconciliation, in case of Sri Lanka, is a difficult task, though not impossible as is being observed by some circles in international media. At the end of the 26-year civil war involving Tamil minority and Sinhala majority, Sri Lanka is a highly polarized country. The long bloody civil war has resulted in a wide gap of distrust between Tamil and Sinhala community in the country. The voting pattern during the recently held presidential and parliamentary elections has clearly projected the divide between the Tamil dominated North-East and Sinhala dominated south. Though during the parliamentary election campaign President Rajapakse visited the Northern Province and promised to work for the solution of the ethnic problem and for giving political concessions, yet he was not able to win the support of the Tamil population in the North. 8-2

Though the civil war has ended, yet the feeling among the Tamils of being subjugated and among the Sinhalese of dominance and rule cannot be changed overnight. The lack of trust between the two communities is still there. Some Sri Lankan analysts have expressed the fear that President Rajapakse and hardliners in his government are working for projecting Sinhala majoritarianism and Sinhala triumphasim after the end of the war. Mr. Surendra, Secretary Ceylon Communist Party (M), observed in his article in TransCurrents of July 19, 2010, ‘The military defeat of the LTTE has resulted in the hegemonic enthronement of Sinhala supremacy and the subjugation of Tamil nation as never before." Moreover, some analysts are of the view that President Rajapakse, after being re-elected, is working for constitutional change for ‘extreme power' rather than for strengthening democratic institutions. It is argued that this may increase discontent and politically destabilize the country.

For promoting national harmony and reconciliation the main challenge is that of bridging ethnic and political divide between the Tamil and Sinhalese community. Political will and a rational approach is required for building an atmosphere of trust and harmony in the country. Now that the war is over, the Tamils should be officially declared as Sri Lankan Tamils and not discriminated against the Sinhalese. The discrimination against the Tamil language should be reversed and Tamil along with Sinhala should be declared as the official languages of Sri Lanka.

With major seats in the parliament, Rajapakse government is in a strong position to introduce legislations for national reconciliation, economic development and strengthening of democratic institutions in the country. Some political concessions have to be made by the Sinhala dominated government to establish trust with the Tamil community and also to remove the feeling of isolation and discrimination among the Tamils developed during the prolonged civil war. The Rajapakse government should initiate a dialogue process with Tamil representatives for assessing their political, economic and social demands and arriving at a consensus. This will help the Rajapakse government in evolving a power-sharing formula to bridge the divide between the two important communities in Sri Lanka.

Another aspect that cannot be ignored is the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora. They have been supporting and financing the Tamil guerrilla groups including LTTE. After the defeat of the LTTE the network abroad has been weakened, however, LTTE ideology still has its influence among the Tamil Diaspora and if left alone may regroup and propagate LTTE's ideology. In order to pacify the distrust and resentment among the Tamils abroad the Rajapakse government should establish with them and involve them in the rehabilitation process in the Tamil dominated Northern and Eastern provinces.

For national reconciliation in Sri Lanka, a country which is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious, the basic requirement is political will and a rational approach for building and maintaining peace and harmony in the country.