The Hindu Business Line : Sri Lanka needs political solution

The euphoria and propaganda over the military victory is worrying, since the real problem that needs to be addressed is the ethnic issue and the sense of alienation felt by the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka, says RASHEEDA BHAGAT.

Celebrating the fall of Kilinochchi…Military victories cannot resolve political problems

In a world that has developed zero tolerance for conflicts with a terrorist element, it is easy to see why the Sri Lankan military offensive against the Tamil Tigers is looked at with admiration. This is also the reason why Israel has been allowed to get away, so far, with the slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza.

The Sri Lanka story is, of course, different. Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination by the LTTE meant the end of support for the terrorist group in most of India, barring some sections in Tamil Nadu. With a Congress-led coalition government at the Centre, support to the extremist group, even in Tamil Nadu — as the Sri Lankan military offensive against it gathered force — has been muted and confined to raising concerns over the plight of the Tamil civilians.

After the fall of the LTTE bastion of Kilinochchi last week, the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, claimed in an interview to The Hindu (January 5), that as the offensive raged in the Tamil Tiger stronghold, his government had given the “highest priority to civilian safety” and armed forces had succeeded in maintaining a “zero civilian casualty policy”.

While in much of the world, fed up with suicide bombings and terror attacks, there were not many to shed tears over the LTTE’s plight, in Colombo and elsewhere in the south of Sri Lanka, there was jubilation and many Sinhalese came out on the streets to burst firecrackers to celebrate the fall of Kilinochchi.

Where is the solution?

The government propaganda machinery did its utmost to tell Sri Lankans that long years of battle with the LTTE was nearing an end. But it is exactly this kind of euphoria and propaganda that is worrying political analysts and peace activists in Sri Lanka. These people look upon the military offensive and its results as a short-lived triumph that will do nothing to address the real problem, which is the ethnic issue and the sense of alienation felt by the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.

Refusing to be carried away by the sense of triumph and euphoria evident in the Sri Lankan government circles, Prof Jayadeva Uyangoda, a Colombo-based political analyst, says the Rajapaksa government needs to make a distinct difference between “military gains and finding a lasting solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict. At the moment, the government is triumphant, but they have to politically address the issue of political rights of the Tamils. That is the real challenge, and not the military gains.”

While the military offensive rages, the short-term challenge is to ensure the safety of the civilian population, “but the long term challenge is to find a political solution. The issue that has to be addressed is the ethnic conflict but, unfortunately, this government has looked at it as a military triumph. The political management of the ethnic conflict is very important, and we have to remember that the ethnic conflict is a conflict for equality.”

Prof Uyangoda says that in the euphoria of the moment many people “seem to have forgotten that military victories don’t resolve political problems; so instead of congratulating ourselves on our military victory, we have to constantly remind people that a military victory can only be a partial victory, which may or may not last. What will last is a political solution.” He points out that the hardline JVP, “a very important and powerful ally of President Rajapaksa, has today come out with a statement opposing the devolution of power to the Tamil people.

Asked to comment on the mood on Colombo’s streets, he said the Sinhalese majority “are very happy, and unfortunately the government propaganda machinery creates an impression that this is a Sinhalese victory over the Tamils. This is the feeling you get when you hear the Government radio. It’s not only incorrect, but also dangerous, to give the impression that this is a Sinhalese victory over the Tamils. Let’s not forget that Sri Lanka is a country that belongs to all communities and its only when the majority as well as minority community feel equal, that we can find peace.”

Elusive peace

Dr Jehan Perera, Executive Director, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, agrees that the euphoria created by the military gains was uncalled for. “This has created a lot of optimism that an end to the war and peace are around the corner. But if you look at what has happened in the past, this is unlikely to be the case.”

He points out that in 1995 too the government had captured Jaffna which was then the LTTE’s administrative headquarters. “And yet the war did not end. This time, even if the government forces do take over more territory, the LTTE will still remain a guerrilla force and will continue to be nurtured by the Tamil diaspora.”

Dr Perera argues that the real problem in grappling with Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem was that in the “mind of most people — even the Sri Lankan government — the LTTE aspect has overshadowed the ethnic conflict. So they think that by getting rid of the LTTE the problem will be over. But even if you do manage to get rid of the LTTE, you get back to square one… when in 1957, Prime Minister Bandaranayake and Tamil leader Selvanathan tried to reach an agreement.”

He believes it is wishful thinking to surmise that the LTTE will simply vanish; even if it is given a huge military blow, “the LTTE will not suddenly collapse and disappear. It will remain, at least for some time to come, as a guerrilla force and capable of carrying out terrorist attacks. It is an organisation which has been in existence for over 30 years, it has a very good internal structure and even if its leadership is taken out, which may happen, it will still be capable of creating a lot of problems.” Also, the core of the problem of the ethnic conflict was yet to be addressed; “the best that the Government has been able to come up with is a Sinhala version of the solution, which can’t be acceptable to the Tamils. So there lies the crucial problem.”

Another factor that people like Dr Perera find disturbing is the kind of spin given to the “victory” against the LTTE. “Even though the Tamil people are exhausted and want an end to the war, they are feeling very bitter and humiliated inside. They see the celebrations in Sri Lanka, the lighting of firecrackers when Kilinochchi fell, when the Sri Lankan flag was hoisted and the LTTE flag removed, as anti-Tamil.”

Even though his close questioning of many Sinhala people showed that they saw the military victory as a “victory against the LTTE and not against the Sri Lankan Tamils, the Tamils too have a very jaundiced perception of the Sinhalese. They think the Sinhalese people want to humiliate them. Of course, the President has said in his speech that don’t see this as a victory of the South over the North, it is the victory for all Sri Lankans, and I will look after all my people, for the Tamils, these are only empty words. They don’t believe a word of what the President says because the conduct of the Government towards the Tamils has been atrocious.”

Giving an example, Dr Perera says “The Tamils have to register at police stations and are treated as a separate group… an outcast and a suspect group. When the Tamils see a check point they are frightened. Even I, if am going with a Tamil in my vehicle, am a little frightened not because they will arrest me, because they might arrest my friend and I will get held up, and will have to go through a process to get him out, etc. so I can imagine the fear of a Tamil in Colombo.”

On the challenge before the Sri Lankan government, he says the President, who has now entrusted the task of finding a solution to the All Party Representative Committee led by Minister Tissa Vitarane, would have to step in and assume leadership, instead of hoping that any such committee, which was filled with “many hardliners and extremists who are dragging their feet”, could throw up a solution.

“Till that is done, any military gains against the LTTE will only mean the removal of the symptom, not the problem,” he warns.

(Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in)

Related Stories:
Chennai, New Delhi and the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka
End of ceasefire in Sri Lanka — Will it lead to peace?

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