Sinhala Nationalism and the Elusive Southern Consensus
Lasting peace will not be found in Sri Lanka until Sinhala nationalism and the grievances that give it power are understood and addressed:
Sri Lanka: Sinhala Nationalism and the Elusive Southern Consensus, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the nationalism of the country’s largest ethnic community and its relationship to the almost 25-year conflict. Recent history shows the Sinhalese are not unalterably opposed to a fair deal for the minority Tamils but competition between their major parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), together with the violence and intransigence of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have led President Rajapaksa to adopt a hardline nationalist approach. Until the sources of Sinhalese nationalism are taken more seriously, it will continue to challenge attempts to produce a political settlement.
Although President Rajapaksa states his commitment to a political solution, his decision to rely on hardline Sinhala nationalist parties committed to a strictly unitary state structure instead of considering substantial devolution of powers to the regions has left him with little option other than to try to defeat the LTTE militarily. The All-Party Representative Committee (APRC) set up in 2006 is developing constitutional proposals intended to be endorsed by all parties but the limited progress it has made may unravel due to Rajapaksa’s insistence on the unitary state and the UNP decision to abandon the process.
“Moving away from the unitary state is the only viable basis for resolving the conflict politically. Nothing less has the chance of strengthening the non-LTTE Tamil parties and opening up a new, broader political agenda for constitutional reform endorsed by Muslim, Tamil and Sinhala parties”, says Alan Keenan, Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst in Colombo.
A new approach is needed that addresses legitimate Sinhalese fears, so as to tackle supremacist nationalism and allow for the necessary southern consensus on devolution. Sri Lanka’s international backers will need to persuade the president to compromise by dropping reference to the unitary state. Without strong international efforts to convince both the government and the UNP to find common ground, there is little chance the APRC can produce a political package attractive to both Tamil moderates and Sinhalese.
“To be sustainable, the next attempt at peace needs to be part of a larger project of state reform and good governance from which all communities benefit, not merely a deal in which Sinhalese trade territory for an end of war and terror”, says Asia Program Director Robert Templer. “Domestic and international actors should begin to fashion long-term strategies that take into account the power of Sinhala nationalist ideology, while aiming to minimise the sources of its appeal and its ability to set the political agenda”. [CrisisGroup Press Release]
Kathir said,
November 7, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Rajapaksa has proved himself to be a through dishonest politician in many fronts. The budget speech itsself contains lot of contradictions.
Will the world continue to trust him?
Will the Sri Lankans, especially the Sinhala people, continue to trust him?
Will the minorities continue to trust him?
Sarath said,
November 7, 2007 @ 11:38 pm
It took the “International Crisis Group” so long to figure this out? Isn’t it plain to see? Malaysia figured it out with it’s Malay majority and did something about it. Their peaceful but large Chinese minority didn’t wail “discrimination” and start a bloody campaign for independence. Even today there are affirmative action policies aimed at improving the lot of the majority. And the result? Today it is one of the most prosperous and politically stable Asian countries with the various ethnic groups living in harmony.
Trouble is in Sri Lanka, the Tamils ruled the roost for a century and more under the colonials without speaking a word for the discriminated majority Sinhalese (like the Chinese in Malaysia) but post-independence their racist leaders went crazy when the Sinhalese started redistributing power and putting forth affirmative action plans to correct the imbalance. The Tamils weren’t ready to relinquish their unfair hold on the country, they didn’t realise was that it was not fair for a 12.6% minority to hold more than 50% of the positions in all the most important spheres. They didn’t realise that such apartheid would contribute to angst among the majority Sinhalese. They didn’t realise that like in Malaysia, once the majority were given a fair chance, the benefits and prosperity would trickle down to everyone in the country. Instead, the Tamil leaders screamed “discrimination”and pushed their youth to extremism and violence.
Suresh M said,
November 8, 2007 @ 9:00 pm
Ref # 2 Sarath.
Back in 1965, Malaysia, let Singapore separate amicably and both nations prospered ever since.
Likewise Sinhalese can let Tamils separate and re-gain their own entity, we both can prosper just like Malaysia, and Singapore did. There is no Sinhala leader who has the guts that Malaysian Primiister Rahman had back in 1965.
Read what former statesman Lee had to say about Sri Lanka.
Thamilan said,
November 9, 2007 @ 9:05 am
Sarath,
Your Sinhalese leaders failed to educate the youth in English and that’s what created the problem. Tamil had many of the position because they valued education, while the Sinhalese valued reproduction, violence and blamed all thier failure on the Tamils.
There was no need to bring the Sinhalese only act if they wanted to distribute the position equally to the majority. By choosing Sinhalese as the main language of the nation what did you gain? Sinhalese is not a business language and no one outside of that island care about that dammed undeveloped language to begin with in the first place. No one outside of Ceylon and the Dravidian states of India care about Tamil either.
You should have left English to remain the state language that was mandatory to be learned by everyone and should have kept Sinhalese and Tamil in equal throughout the education curriculum.
Think about the educated people we would have had and we would have been economically 4 times stronger then Singapore.
Look at Singapore, they all know English and the Malays can speak their language, while Chinese speaks theirs and Tamils speaks theirs as well.
R.S.Ganeshan said,
November 10, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
Comment 2 mentions the Malaysian experience of affirmative action policies at the expense of other racial groups like the Chinese its development and economic prosperity and that the Chinese there tolerate and do not wail and launch a campaign for independence like the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Without providing any facts by way of statistics or logical reasoning the comentator trots out the same reason heard ad nauseam from people like him that the Tamils were favoured by the colonials and that they ruled the roost for over a century or so why can’t the Tamils tolerate our hegemony.
What seems to irk the commentator is the presence of ethinic conciousness on the part of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Ethnic conflicts explode periodically in many parts of the world.
It happened in Yugoslavia recently and if we take the South Asia India is not an exception and even in Malaysia in 1969 despite the degree of economic growth race riots erupted and the doctrine of boomi putra makes the Chinese and Indians a tolerated but disfavoured group.As I write this the news is
about the Malaysian police charging demonstrators demonstrating against the regime’s authoritarianism.
The whole problem where Sri Lanka is concerned is that the national question remains yet unresolved because of the low level of a Sri Lankan conciousness, and that is because there was no mass struggle by the people of that country irrespective of race or identity to win Independence.
The constitution of Sri Lanka describes the country as a socialist republic.Sri Lankan socialism is confined to one group of people viz. the Sinhalese which is the socialism of Hitler and Mussolini.
Speaking forcefully on the language debate in parliament in 1956
Colvin R.de Silva said ” parity of languages was .freedom of our nation and the unity of its component units while Sinhala Only would lead to unknown consequences……..two torn bleeding units may yet arise out of one small state……ready for the imperialists to mop up that which imperialism has only recently disgorged..”
That is what is happening today.
True two petty bourgeoisie parites have controlled the destiny of the country for sixty years now with the help of so called working class parties and opted for a policy that went against minority interests and catering to the interests of the majority community thereby deluding the people at large that progress and advancement would result but what has resulted is a killing field.
Sarath said,
November 11, 2007 @ 9:33 pm
Re: Comment 4 of Thamilan.
Firstly, if Sinhalese is a “damned undeveloped language” then I wonder what Tamil is. The Tamil language is unable to make out the difference between something as simple as “bat” and “pat” – the closest Tamil can get is “putt.” Further, the Tamil alphabet is deficient in a number of sounds that Sinhalese can produce. So please don’t bother with your jingoism. And in fact none of the ‘Dravidian states’ with the exception of Tamil Nadu give two hoots about Tamil. Neither the Kannadas, Telugus or Malayalis give any importance to Tamil. Infact, in India it’s the Tamils who are famous for the language chauvisim.
Secondly, Sinhalese is the native language of Sri Lanka. Why shouldn’t it be the official language? Why should English spoken by about 5% of the population be the state language? Why don’t you get those in Tamil Nadu to remove Tamil as the state language there and replace it with English first? Or is it one rule for the Tamils and another for the Sinhalese? The Tamils want to have the cake and eat it too?
Tamils already have a homeland called Tamil Nadu and they can do whatever they want to do in their homeland. They have no right to dictate to the Sinhalese what the Sinhalese should or shouldn’t do in the Sinhalese Homeland. Why should the Sinhalese sacrifice their mother tongue to satisfy Tamils? First make Sinhalese an official language of Tamil Nadu like Sri Lanka has done with Tamil.
In Malaysia only Malay is the official language. There is no position for the Chinese language, despite the fact that around 35% of the country is comprised of Chinese. Everyone has to learn Malay but it is not compulsory to learn Chinese or Tamil. But in Sri Lanka Tamil is also an official language alongside Sinhalese and Sinhalese students are taught Tamil and vice versa. But have you seen the Chinese rioting and blowing themselves up, bombing buses and trains and recruiting child soldiers? Nope. So who is given to violence? If the racist Tamil leaders didn’t take their people down the path of violence, terrorism, and racism none of this would have happened. The Sri Lankan Tamils were not prepared to equitably share power in Sri Lanka, they wanted to dominate and control everything like their did under the colonials. And when power was redistributed they wailed “dicrimination.”
And who is given to reproduction? Look at Tamil Nadu and it’s overpopulation which has led to famines and utter desperate poverty. In contrast, the Sinhalese have one of the lowest birth rates of all ethnic groups in South Asia, and they are the ones who give Sri Lanka the best human development statistics in South Asia. Compare the human development statistics of the Tamil homeland of Tamil Nadu to the Sinhalese homeland of Sri Lanka and you will see which is far better. Tamil Nadu, twice the land area of Sri Lanka with a population of 60 million has a GDP of US$ 23 billion while Sri Lanka with a population of 19 million has a GDP of US $95.55 billion. So who is “better”? Tamils or Sinhalese?
Sarath said,
November 11, 2007 @ 9:37 pm
Re: Suresh M comment # 3
If the Tamils agree to 682.7 sq km of land area (size of Singapore) from the Jaffna peninsula to be made into a separate country and if that will end the war, then sure, why not? I will campaign for it myself.
Gamini said,
November 15, 2007 @ 12:48 am
If you listen to many of the people in this forum
Raj said,
November 15, 2007 @ 1:04 am
Comments such as that of Thamilia #4 are inidcative why the problems are not easily resolved, he (and many in this forum) are under the impression that Sinhalese are some congenitally inferior people whilst the tamils are a pure race untouched by the environment around them who mysteriously eveolved out of thin air in the south of India.
Harmony will be elusive while we have people such as #4 who seriously hold these views and worse still brainwash the next generation.
Thamilan said,
November 15, 2007 @ 9:08 am
Comment # 6 and 7,
Have you seen the Chinese get treated badly by the fellow citizen like what happened in Sri Lanka?
Typical attitude from a Sinhalese, even though you have not openly said that Sri Lankan is for the Sinhalese that is exactly what your article is pointing out.
The GDP of Tamil Nadu in 2006 is about 60 billion, I am not sure where you got the 23 billion point. I forgot to tell you something, Tamil Nadu shares thier wealth with the rest of India to neturalize the standard of living. It also does not include the money contributed by the state to the military, fedral programs and so on. So the Tamil Nadu state GDP is well over the Sri Lankan GDP.
Just hope that Tamil Nadu dosn’t go the International Court claiming the island with the map from the past, just like Cameroon did to Nigeria over the Bakassi peninsula.
Devinda Fernando said,
November 19, 2007 @ 5:27 pm
*** Your Sinhalese leaders failed to educate the youth in English and that’s what created the problem. Tamil had many of the position because they valued education, while the Sinhalese valued reproduction, violence and blamed all thier failure on the Tamils. ***
What!? Tamilian, you are nothing more than a COLONIAL KISS-ASS! That is what you say about Sinhala people because they refused to learn the Language of their Colonial Masters? You think Tamils are superior to Sihalese in some way? Genetically Superior? If you worship English and England so much why dont you Tamil Nationalists leave Sri Lanka alone and go become Britain’s Faithful Dogs once more. I’m sure they will welcome you with open arms and attach the collars to your necks just the way you like it. Then you can await the praise of yoru Colonial Masters once again:
“Heel, Rollover, Sit, Scrub the Toilet! … Good (Tamil) Dog!”
Devinda Fernando said,
November 21, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
WHAT HAPPENS TO TAMILS LIVING IN SRI LANKA IF THE LTTE WERE GIVEN EELAM?
I love the way these people who SUPPORT or SYMPATHIZE with the LTTE say that the Sinhalese are the RACISTS and that we’re depriving Tamils of something they are ENTITLED to?
And so as not to get quoted out of context – for the entire content of this Discussion when I refer to Tamils, I refer to those who are Pro-LTTE and/or want a Separate State. (Not every Tamil is Pro-LTTE and every Tamil who is NOT Pro-LTTE does not necessarily wants to remain in Sri Lanka as a Sri Lankan).
My question is what are Tamils entitled to other than what they already have as EQUAL CITIZENS of Sri Lanka? Are they not EQUALLY COVERED under the Sri Lankan Constitution? Are they not entitled to the same thing that Sinhalese and Muslims are? Of course they are! They can all VOTE, buy LAND, get MARRIED, Practice their RELIGION, Practice their LANGUAGE, RUN for POLITICAL OFFICE, Get the SAME JOBS, live ANYWHERE, etc, etc.
The TRUTH is that these Tamils who want separation are the REAL TRUE RACISTS. They want their own ETHNICALLY DIVIDED piece of land – Racially Pure and Free of Sinhalese and other Non-Tamils. This is the Reality is it not? This is what EELAM is all about.
It is not sufficient that the Sri Lankan Government over the course of the Past 2 Decades has made right the Wrongs done to Tamils in the Past. Have there been any new RIOTS or POGROMS against Tamils? No. Yet there have been plenty of reasons to see why it could have happened – the LTTE has slaughtered on numerous occasions Sinhalese and Muslim people in their controlled areas. Have the Sinhalese called for BLOOD or REVENGE Against Tamils for that? No.
Have Tamils been banned from doing anything that Sinhalese are allowed to do? NO!!!! So what is the Complaint?
Why aren’t Tamils happy in Sri Lanka? And before the usual idiots bring up that whole Tamil Suffering due to War and Escalation, and Harassment of Tamils at Check Points argument I simply say that during 2002 to 2005 when the CFA was in effect, – were their any discrimination of Tamils then? NO!!! Of course Check Points are to be expected during War time, and of course Tamils will be scrutinized much more carefully than other Ethnic Groups, All LTTE members are Tamils, do you realistically expect there NOT to be extra suspicion? Yet during Peace time this is not the case,’there aren’t even Check Points! Don’t bring up the Circular argument and artificially created discrimination as a basis for separation because if there were no Armed Struggle there would be no Discrimination.
WHAT MORE can a separate State comprised only of Tamil people do for Tamils that a State where they are a Minority but with Equal Protection & Rights do for them???! The answer is NOTHING! In Sri Lanka it is not as if Tamils are the Lower Class being Paid less than Sinhalese or being subjugated to Slavery or Servitude, in fact the COMPLETE OPPOSITE is True, there are More wealthy business people (Tamils) as a percentage of their Ethnic Group as there are in the Sinhalese and Muslim Ethnic Groups. Do you think that an ordinary Tamil Living in Sri Lanka today would be better off if somehow now that his or her Neighbors are solely his own Ethnic group??? LOL! Keep Dreaming! The biggest Proponents of this Idea are all those Diaspora Tamils Living abroad!!! -They all shout from foreign countries where their communities make up SMALLER MINORITIES with very visible differences such as SKIN COLOR, FACIAL FEATURES, and CULTRAL DIFFERENCES to the Majority populations and they have little or No chance of practicing their Language or Culture in those societies! Ironic really.
But what will the creation of A TAMIL ONLY STATE do for Tamil living in Sri Lanka….? (the majority of Tamils live south of Anuradhapura). Loss of property for sure is the first outcome. If Tamils are given their Own Land, whether they want it or not they will have to go there. It would only be fair that if EELAM is RACIALLY PURIFIED of Sinhalese and Other Non-Tamils then Sri Lankan (what is left) should EXPEL Tamils from their Land. That would mean any Lucrative Businesses and Land held by Tamils would have to be FORFEITED and in the same fashion that the LTTE sent the Muslims packing from the East with only 200 Rupees and all they could Carry in their arms out of their controlled areas, then this would be a similar situation for Tamils who would be forced from Sri Lanka to move to Eelam. Of course this is very easy for Tamils who have nothing or Tamils who live abroad to Advocate,. after all they would have nothing to lose!. Those Majority of Tamils who do have good Jobs and Property and are Prospering in Sri Lanka would lose it all! That is the COLD HARD REALITY of it all.
There is discrimination and animosity against Tamils only when there is War and only when Tamils look the other way when the LTTE commit crimes against the Sinhalese. The LTTE do their VERY BEST to keep the War going and to keep the Ethnic Divides in our country alive and well in order to foster the Erroneous Belief that under them somehow Life would be better for Tamils. But in all reality, life would be better for everyone once the Fighting Stops and how does one get the LTTE to Stop Fighting when it is the Fighting alone that keeps them ALIVE, WELL, and in BUSINESS…. ?
Thamilan said,
February 6, 2008 @ 11:33 am
Comment # 12,
-Have the Sinhalese called for BLOOD or REVENGE Against Tamils for that?-
No reason to call violence openly against Tamils when you have an Armed Forces created just to carry that out as a daily routine.
You are full of BS.