Rev.Fr. Alphonsus I. Bernard
Centre for Peace and Human Rights Culture Director Rev.Fr. A.I. Bernard has underlined an urgent and necessary remedy for the ailment Sri Lanka is undergoing on account of the ethnic conflict that grips the island state. On behalf of the Jaffna-based Centre Rev.Fr. A.I. Bernard says, in a letter addressed to the Sri Lanka’s Peace Secretariat Director General Jayantha Dhanapala on 10th of August 2004, that the lack of sincerity of purpose on the part of the southern political leadership and the mindset that regards the Tamil people simply as a minority are the two negative factors the Southern leadership have to get rid of.
Following is the full text of the letter:
This letter follows the meeting you had yesterday (August 9, 2004) with Jaffna civil society leaders regarding the peace process.
The level of trust of the Tamil community in the southern polity and leadership is fast ebbing. As you rightly said at the meeting, unless we act promptly to salvage the fragile ceasefire, the consequences will be drastic.
It seems to me that two negative factors in the southern leadership have to be got rid of. One is lack of sincerity on the part of the leadership. The South has produced hundreds of politicians since independence who place personal ambition and political power above the interest of the country, but not a single statesman. We have seen leaders at the very top who have gone back on their word after getting into agreements with Tamil leaders.
The situation prevailing at present does not seem any the better. One cannot be certain that what is stated in the morning will not be contradicted in the evening. Unholy alliances are made, both within and without the country, which show a lack of sincerity of purpose in searching for an honourable solution to the Tamil problem.
The south, therefore, has to come up with a “statesman” to salvage the country from the present mess.
The other obstacle to the pursuit of peace is the mindset that continues to regard the Tamil people simply as a minority. This concept has, as far as the Tamil people are concerned, come to grief. I do not think that they will settle for any solution that is not based on the notion that they are a nation, with the same dignity and rights as the Sinhala community. This equality will have to be respected at whatever level peace negotiations are conducted.
It would be stupid to think, as some sections of the south seem to do, that another military offensive against the LTTE is a plausible option to sort out the problem. Such a move will only spell total disaster and precipitate a break up of the country.
Let me add a word about the ISGA issue raised at the meeting. There is no point in charging the LTTE as being intransigent about it. The idea of interim administration has been espoused by the Tamil community itself for a long while. The people are quite aware of how neglected they have been by the successive governments with regard to development. They are aware of how funds due to them have been diverted for other purposes. Aren’t they justified in clamouring for the right to receive and disburse funds for their development, and for safe hands committed to it?
The sooner the peace talks are resumed with honest intentions, the less the chance for a total breakdown.
Source: http://www.lttepeacesecretariat.com/mainpages/n26084.htm