by
Tamil
Guardian
editorial,
June
15,
2005
The
political
turmoil
which
engulfed
Sri
Lanka
this
week
was
utterly
predictable,
following,
as
it
does,
a
depressingly
familiar
pattern
that
has
characterized
ethnic
relations
in
Sri
Lanka
since
independence.
Today's
bone
of
contention
is,
of
course,
the
proposed
joint
mechanism
between
the
Liberation
Tigers
and
the
Sri
Lanka
government
for
sharing
tsunami-related
aid.
But
the
Post-Tsunami
Operation
Management
Structure
(PTOMS)
is
merely
a
device
around
which
a
much
deeper
dispute,
that
of
the
status
of
the
Tamil
people
in
the
Sinhala-dominated
country,
has
once
again
emerged.
We
emphasis
people,
because
the
rhetoric
of
pluralism
as
commonly
deployed
in
Sri
Lanka
marginalizes
the
notion
of
a
Tamil
collective
identity
-
even
as
the
Sinhala
equivalent
is
crystallised
in
the
unabashedly
non-secular
constitution.
As
such,
when
the
four
chapters
of
the
powerful
Buddhist
clergy
united
last
week
to
condemn
the
joint
mechanism,
they
were
taking
a
stand
not
only
against
the
LTTE,
but
the
formal
recognition
of
the
existence
of
political
rights-bearing
non-Sinhala
communities
on
the
island.
From a Tamil perspective, the events this week are strikingly similar to those of the mid-fifties (a full quarter century before the Tamils' armed struggle erupted). Even then Buddhist monks took to the streets alongside Sinhala nationalists to harangue that government over its belated recognition of the Tamil language in the wake of its Sinhala Only policy. Another precedent was also set by those protests - that of Sinhala leaders abrogating pacts with Tamils when pressured by nationalists. It also marked the beginning of what some scholars have termed 'ethnic outbidding' - Sinhala political parties vying with each other to be more anti-Tamil. Over two decades of brutal conflict and the sweeping winds of 'globalisation' have done little to alter this mindset.
A half-century after Sinhala Only, today's Sinhala leadership is in turmoil over another deal with the Tamils. Why such anguish? The P-TOMS is not about Tamil independence. It is not about federalism. It is not even about an interim administration for the NorthEast. In fact, it is not a political agreement at all. It is merely a procedural mechanism to distribute funds to rehabilitation projects. But it does formally recognise that there are Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese - not merely 'Sri Lankans' - on the island. And this is the cause of the indignation and hysteria.
But if peace and, in particular, ethnic reconciliation is to be possible in Sri Lanka, the breach made this week in Buddhist hegemony must be widened. The international community's uncompromising insistence on the joint mechanism is thus to be welcomed, despite the political uproar that has ensued. Without this international resolve, there is no doubt President Kumaratunga - herself a Sinhala hardliner - would have buckled to the Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) and the Maha Sangha. With the JVP's exit from government, international pressure has also had another unexpected but welcome outcome: the two main Sinhala parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), are being compelled to curb their proclivity for anti-Tamil outbidding. Both are nervous about the rising tide of Sinhala nationalism stirred up by the monks and the Marxists, but there is little they can do. International support for the joint mechanism has thus slowed the deepening of Tamil scepticism about peace.
But the question is what happens next? Having safely crossed the rubicon of the JVP's exit, Kumaratunga is still prevaricating over signing the P-TOMS. Instead, she intends to table the document in Parliament for discussion. As up to a million internally displaced brace for another monsoon and pledged aid awaits the agreement, it is unclear what purpose the Parliamentary debate is to serve.
More importantly, there are wider concerns for the Tamils. As Kumaratunga herself pointed out to the monks in her efforts to appease them, the actual disbursement of aid comes under state's purview. We know that Sri Lanka's corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy is shot through with Sinhala chauvinism and riddled with clientelist networks. P-TOMS, moreover, has only one year of life. These factors, combined with the Sinhala leaders' manifest reluctance to equitably distribute aid amongst the island's communities raises serious doubts as to whether those needing aid will actually receive it. Nevertheless, from a Tamil perspective, with the splintering of Sinhala resistance to sharing aid, there is decidedly more cause for optimism this week.
Let Live and Live: Colombo’s aggression will undoubtedly be matched
Amid the political turmoil in Sri Lanka, the shadow war between Army-backed paramilitaries and the Liberation Tigers continues unabated. The almost daily violent deaths in the island's restive east and in Colombo are taking place, moreover, amid deepening acrimony between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE. The mobilization of the Special Task Force (STF) in recent weeks amid LTTE accusations the unit is also launching cross-border raids, suggests things are going to get worse before they get better. One reason the situation has deteriorated this far is collective failure in the peace process to deal firmly with those aspects of the February 2002 ceasefire agreement concerning the numerous paramilitary groups nurtured by Sri Lankan military intelligence.
In this context, the pointed demand this week by the co-chairs of Sri Lanka's donor community that Colombo "take decisive action to ensure that killings are stopped and paramilitaries are disarmed immediately as required in the Cease-Fire Agreement," is welcome. It is not a question of whether Sri Lanka does so or not. The peace process stands on better ground if the fictional 'intra-LTTE violence' is replaced by a pragmatic recognition of ground realities. As the Co-Chairs are aware, the 'paramilitary' concept encapsulates the broader problem of the Sri Lankan armed forces subverting the ceasefire and continuing a campaign of targeted assassinations of LTTE cadres and supporters.
The question is whether the Sri Lankan armed forces are under political control? If President Chandrika Kumaratunga is unable to leash the dogs of war, then the viability of the Norwegian initiative must be in doubt. On the other hand, if her authority is respected, then the activities blamed on the paramilitaries - including the 'Karuna Group' - can be curtailed relatively quickly. The question arises, moreover, amid increasing belligerence by the military. Harassment and attacks on the officers and offices of the LTTE's Political Wing and even on the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) have risen sharply. There are efforts to trigger conflict between Tamils and Muslims in both Trincomalee and Batticaloa-Amparai.
The Co-Chairs have demanded the LTTE halt its counter-campaign to the Army's targeted killings. The LTTE is manifestly keen to expand its political activities and broaden support for its policies. The movement is well aware of the political costs - both internationally and domestically - stemming from engagement in the shadow war. But as long as the armed forces continue to make determined efforts to kill senior LTTE leaders while murdering other cadres, the movement will be compelled to defend itself vigorously. The fortunes of the peace process are thus utterly dictated by the trajectory of Colombo's shadow war.
Simply put, if it ends, peace advances.
###
Posted June 17, 2005