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WAKE UP CALL!
by
Gomin Dayasri
(Gomin Dayasri is a leading Sri Lankan lawyer who was a delegate to
the peace talks in Geneva with the Tamil Tigers.)
Need for a wake up call is imminent before the alarm bell sounds.
While the military machine marches forward regaining lost Sri Lanka,
heart and mind operation must commence to satisfy the Tamil speaking
people by attending to their prime grievances. It's a shame this has
been neglected for so long when such aspirations can be assuaged; instead
of permitting it to remain unattended due to the apathetic attitude
of the political leaders of the majority community while the leaders
of the minority communities have concentrated in making political demands
that are of a fissiparous nature.
Nobody seems to be concerned of the core problematic issues of the
Tamil speaking people which are of a more immediate concern to them,
instead of being permanently cocooned disputing on an idealist framework
of a future constitution -which ultimately matters only to the political
elite to walk to office on the corridors of power. Meteorologically,
they are chasing a rainbow without focusing on the eye of the swirling
cyclone and permitting tropical depressions grow into category five
hurricanes.
It is a forgotten chapter that Muslims have been comprehensively cleansed
ethnically from the North and parts of the East by the LTTE. Did we
hear any reverberations from the human rights tourists and their local
vocal teachers and students of human rights-except for a few curt and
crappy statements? A terrorist group engaged in an arms struggle alleging
minority discrimination, terrorised a still smaller helpless minority
community and drove them away from their homes to take shelter in refugee
camps. Why did the human rights angels not take LTTE to task on an issue
on which chapters have been written in their text books and allowed
it to be conveniently forgotten? Possibly in their curriculum, LTTE
is placed in an exempted schedule! Are Muslim grievances distinct and
different that neither Sinhalese nor Tamils have taken issue, while
there are Muslim parties prepared to eulogize the perpetrators of the
crime in death and pay homage to those alive for effective ethnic laundering
of their tribe.
The All Party Representatives Committee (ARPC) report is permanently
round the corner like the permanent revolution of the past with a champagne
socialist of that era at the helm acting as a tsar. In fairness, expectations
placed on it were too high, when it is a mere reflecting silhouette
of Parliament -converting an aimless talk shop into a useless work shop.
It dented its credibility when UNP decided to stay away and the JVP
left it in disgust- in the absence of the TNA- with three major parties
constituting nearly 100 parliamentarians out of the reckoning it lost
the required momentum; the remainder are the virtual government representatives
sitting away from Parliament in a smaller chamber lost in its own confused
maze. Whatever it does, for sure, it cannot cross the threshold of a
referendum. It will always be a closed chapter with a report indexed
in the shelves of the archives.
Meanwhile international pressure is being exerted to pronounce that
minorities are being discriminated and subject to human rights violations
and treated unfairly by the governing Sinhala majority. It is on this
basis foreign interference and intervention is being mounted. Irrespective
of the short comings of these human rights expeditions, they cannot
be ignored, as Sri Lanka is answerable in international forums; though
most of the strictures have been made not on a balanced equilibrium
considering the limitations within the confines of a democratic framework
and the rule of law that a State has to function meeting the onslaught
of a terrorist
outfit. Our record is respectable if compared with the slate of those
offenders who are petted and patted by western powers and handled gently
by human rights interventionists. This is not to whitewash our few infirmities,
which with proper guidance and management can be eliminated. Today the
determination of 'who is a terrorist' or 'what is terrorism' is the
province of the powerful western agencies who define it according to
a flexible agenda that suits their interest.
A telling answer is within our grasp. There is one area of a common
denominator reached by the so called Experts Committee as both the Majority
and Minority Reports arrived at a consensus on the identification of
the prime areas of minority grievances. So the public has the grievances
identified and tabulated before them which can be listed -
1. Failure to implement the language provisions enshrined in the law
meaningfully.
2. Security concerns including abductions
3. Acquisition of lands for security concerns
4. Rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced Persons
5.Child recruitment
6.Lack of development in the North and East
7 Multi ethnic defense forces/Police
8 Discrimination in recruitment for employment
9.Inadequete infrastructural benefits
10 Irregular manner of land alienation especially Mahaweli lands
The majority report revealed a framework which requires an overhaul
of the constitution with a federal complexion with the merger of the
North and East while the minority report suggested curative treatment
within the present constitution with ordinary legislation and by administrative
regulations in addition to a decommissioning of arms exercise. Let the
alleged grievances be tested independently and relief granted expeditiously
and equitably without permitting it to fester, not necessarily based
on the recommendations of the Reports.
Importance is not on the formulation of the suggested rectifications
but the common identification of legitimate minority grievances which
can be attended to forthright within the present constitutional framework.
It can be fulfilled with simple majorities, setting of genuinely independent
permanent commissions with powers of speedy implementation, departmental
efficiency and due administration.
On that count the ball is in the government court and why does it
allow it to be hanging in mid air without smashing it with an ace? Pure
ignorance, lack of initiative and more likely neither reports have been
scanned by those who matter? The rule is to appoint a commission or
committee and go to sleep.
It is time that the majority patriotic forces make a unique gesture
in pressing the government to initiate a course of action to attend
to the grievances of the minorities while pressing for a unitary state.
It will give them more stature and make the term patriotic more meaningful
in their ventures as it is more inclusive with all the communities.
It will send a strong message to the international community and the
foreign interventionists and help to become a caring majority. It is
the patriotic forces that can push the State to give relief to the established
minority grievances more effectively than the secessionist columns.
Time is running out as the bondage of the forces that brought the President
to power stand together only one premise - on the national issue supportive
of the forces - which is indeed a prime issue. The government holds
the support of divergent elements (SLFP, CWC, SLMC and varying shades
of Muslim representation, JHU, UNP rebels) with carrots, oatmeal and
poonac. The JVP has come out more strongly and strenuously on the national
issue than any other but yet avoid to spell out a solution for political
expediency. However in a period where the JVP is attempting to hold
out as a national party, minority interest should be attractive to a
party that stands for universality. The JVP support is essential to
win over the remaining Sinhala majority as it is emerging as a convincing
bulwark of national interest. In future neither this nor another government
may be able to gather such broad spectrum support on the national issue
Of course the UNP will oppose for the sake of opposing but within the
UNP support grops are still the faithful nationalists with the interest
of the country at heart but sidelined and remain tongue tied. Rethreading,
Recycling, Rebranding Ranil Wickremasinghe will not make him a Reincarnated
Nationalist. In fairness, true to himself he does not desire that image
as his vision is beyond the local territorial limits seeking global
sovereignty. He may pass in economics and hygiene but fare poorly in
other subjects. UNP has discredited itself by its leaders that it is
not taken as objective on the national issue except by the Colombo few.
TNA is captive to the LTTE.
We can overcome but time is precious to the President as election year
draws closer, more will look to the departure gate.
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