WSJ Op-ed: Colombo needs to offer moderate Tamils a political settlement
The Sri Lankan Solution:
Sri Lanka's military is now two months into a full-on offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels in their northern base. An end finally may be in sight to the war that has roiled the country for a quarter century.
The government claims control of large areas in the region and could soon take the Tiger "capital" at Kilinochchi, an important symbolic victory. The operation, which has made surprisingly fast progress, could be over within six months to a year. But winning the conventional war is only a start to winning the peace.
Colombo is following the pattern it set in 2006 in the eastern provinces: launch a major offensive against Tamil fighters, then establish a democratic government. Two eastern elections this year were marred by some violence and charges of voter intimidation, but the peace seems to be holding.
The Tigers, a guerrilla fighting force par excellence, won't be easy to subdue. Despite the government's latest progress, there's speculation the Tigers have been holding back their best fighters up to now. Even if the government wins, enough remaining Tigers are likely to fade into the jungle to carry on a guerrilla campaign. The 25-year-old conflict has already claimed more than 100,000 lives, according to the International Crisis Group.
So as the military operation continues, Colombo needs to offer moderate Tamils a political settlement to separate them from the rebels. The government of President Mahinda Rajapakse has long promised to put greater power in the hands of local Tamil politicians in the east and north. So far it hasn't. The newly elected local and provincial councils in the east have little power to set economic policies in their areas, for example. The government has stalled on any proposal to vest more authority with local governments.
To break the cycle, the government needs to allow the All-Party Representative Committee, a body charged with negotiating a comprehensive devolution plan, to push forward toward an agreement. Colombo could also show good faith by reinstating the independent Constitutional Council that's supposed to oversee important institutions like the Human Rights Commission and the National Police Commission. Both steps would signal to moderate Tamils the government's seriousness about a political compromise between the ethnic Tamil minority and the majority Sinhalese.
Part of the problem is that President Rajapakse lacks the political will to follow through. He rode to power in 2005 on appeals to Sinhalese nationalism. The military solution plays well at the polls, and his coalition won big victories over the weekend in two provincial elections billed as referendums on the government. The political follow-up is more controversial.
Taking the battle to the Tigers in the north is an important step in ending the war. But lasting peace will be built on a political deal with the moderate Tamils left behind when the rebels are gone. [courtesy: The Wall Street Journal]
Related: Sri Lanka's Tamils Deserve More Freedom
2 Comments
A political scientist once said that an amicable divorce or peaceful separation between two countries takes place when there is a mixture of democratic traditions and constructive mentality. Peaceful separation was hailed by Russian revolutionary Lenin, who saw it as the right of nations, to determine by themselves, their own destiny.
Belgium and Netherlands in 1820, Austria and Hungary in 1867, Norway and Sweden in 1905, Singapore and Malaysia in 1965 and Czechoslovakia and Slovakia in 1993 are countries that opted for amicable divorce. They are now harvesting the benefits of peace, progress and prosperity.
Unwilling to be in the republic of Sri Lanka(SL), the people of North East(NE) of the island of Ceylon, naming their country as Tamil Eelam(TE), decided to go for a divorce in 1977, in the most democratic tradition acceptable to the democratic world, by popular vote and self referendum.
The divorce was for a marriage created by Britain in 1948, in the "Union of Ceylon" The interesting question is "why is there a delay in the creation of TE?"
Although, the divorce of TE was requested in 1977, the reply from Sri Lankan state was always violence, war and bloodshed for the past 31 years. Eventhough TE has more legal and political legitimacy for its independence than Kosovo, which is an independent country in the EU, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which separated from Georgia last week, it is not yet independent.
Considering the factors necessary for amicable divorce of (a) democratic traditions and (b) Constructive mentality; as far as the South is concerned, democratic traditions though not good appear to be sufficient. But the problem is with the mentality of the Sinhalese, which is not at all constructive for an amicable divorce. In fact the mentality is destructive causing genocide.
The Sinhalese often have two main reasons for refusing an amicable divorce.
Firstly, they fear that TE would join up with Tamil Nadu and overrun SL. This foolish and unsubstantiated fear is planted by politicos, monks and historians who interpret mythology as history.
The Sinhalese fail to consume the truth that in the present world, with the functioning of the UN, invasion of one country by another is impossible. Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the UN intervention is a classic example for it.
Secondly, the reason given by the Sinhalese is that Tamils are unfit to rule themselves and cannot survive alone !!
This reason reminds me of a Tamil Proverb which says "Wolf is crying because a goat is getting wet". Jealousy and Rhetoric are prevalent.
Surely, if peaceful separation of TE would have been wisely done 31 years ago, we would have had our island as the most peaceful and prosperous island. Ugly incidents and sufferings of war destruction, killings, disappearances and displacements could have been averted. SL was unfortunate not to have had a leader who cared for the prosperous living of every one in the island.
The truth is that Sinhalese, a people with destructive mentality are determined to destroy themselves and the others. Sinhalese should learn to be more open to respect and grant the request of Tamils in the country if they desire peace and prosperity for the entire island.
It is with these in mind I consider the present proposal to implement the 13th amendment as ridiculous.
It is logical to say that when any marraiage does not work between the partners because the husband has a cruel and wicked mentalty and if the husband is interested in keeping the marraiage, he should strive to change and get rid of his useless mentality and be decent and respectful to his wife. Change to a constructive mentality is essential.
This never happened for the past 60 years to the Sinhalese of SL. All what happened was the intensification of horror and terror, with a "no care" attitude, yet insisting "no divorce" to TE.
Apart from cruelty, the "husband" went around the world mourning about his horrible wife. And now suddenly, the "husband" wants to "live together" yet in the same house. Further the propsed "live together" package still tries to impose his cruelty, horror and terror with absolute control.
Surely, the package is a rhetoric and waste of time. The husband should come out and say as to how he would grant an amicable divorce, with the husband and wife living in separate houses yet respecting each other. Perhaps then peace progress and prosperity could set in.
This article points out a major stumbling block to a solution at least with the moderate Tamils, in the first instance. A part of the problem, as pointed out in the article, is that President Rajapakse seems to lack the political will to follow through (even with the moderate Tamils).
This lack of political will on the part of President R makes even the moderate Tamils suspicious of the President and his sincerity.