Put back missing chairs and stop the APC musical chairs game!
Repost This ArticleFor all intents and purposes, the All Party Conference (APC), has been a waste of time by playing for time, all the time. Periodic boycotts and exits of parties based on their factional agendas have indirectly helped the procrastination, supported by the lack of political will and courage on the part of those in authority.
Now at last there appears to be a ray of hope arising from the emerging political climate based on the state of the war and the performance of the respective political parties at the recent provincial council elections, not to mention international pressure.
It was reported in the papers recently that the APC had made up its mind to implement the Thirteenth Amendment and was writing to the UNP to ascertain their views on the proposed move. Evidently that would be an added incentive to further delay, through correspondence!
In that context, there is much common sense in the reaction of the JHU to the move, despite their own past predilection to abstain. They said if there was a concrete proposal, summon the APC itself to consider it, without beating about the bush.
There appears to be no reason why the UNP should boycott the APC in the developing context. Their fundamental reason for avoiding the APC was the argument that the Government should table their own proposal before their party participates in the work of the Committee.
Now that the Government has put its own card on the table, the UNP is obliged to attend the APC and participate positively with its deliberations with a view to solving our most vexed national problem, the Ethnic Conflict – a commitment they have unequivocally proclaimed. Besides such a response would be genuine proof of their expressed urge to forge a national consensus.
If the TNA also can make up its mind to attend the APC, the Committee would assume a legitimacy it has never possessed so far but in the realities of the ground situation, it would appear to be unkind to blame them for their absence. Nevertheless their attendance in addition to the UNP would grant the APC a meaning and a clout that would automatically silence the divisive forces that have thrived in the absence of consensus among the major parties.
The essential ingredient is only the attendance of these principal protagonists. Even the UNP may not be satisfied only with the Thirteenth Amendment. There could be no inconsistency in their agreeing to their own creature, may be, subject to a rider for further improvements. On the other hand the TNA can totally disagree and put forward their own proposals. What is important is that they participate. The TNAÂ cannot be unaware that the Thirteenth Amendment is the furthest that their demands have got so far. Why not consolidate at least that position and build on it as the situation clears up?
What is significant is that a consensus reached by a body representative of the vast majority of the people has an inherent legitimacy and a force that could break up the deadlock that has lasted for six decades, even if it is subject to a thousand riders. Political sagacity should convince the TNA that working with the moderate majority, if only to disagree with them, is their best guarantee against road-blocks placed by rabble-rousers, provided of course, they are permitted to do so by their own road-blocks.
If the majority in Parliament agree to the immediate and complete implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment, they would be laying the foundation on which the Edifice of National Harmony could be built. However unattractive that foundation stone may appear, it is the only choice available at present for a start. Only the consensus reached at the APC should include an oath of honour that even the dissentients would not exploit the majority agreement to their own political advantage but give it a fair chance of trial.
It is counter-productive to quarrel about the ultimate shape of the Edifice of National Harmony at this stage. Present constraints may not enable us to visualize its final form; nor do we have at present the men, the material and the environment that the mansion would call for completion. Undoubtedly, they would be produced by the progressively relaxing atmosphere that the developing national consensus should naturally generate.
Our immediate duty should be to lay the foundation stone as fast as possible and introduce proactive policies that would facilitate nation building.
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all party?
don’t kid yourself… the tamil party that represents the northeast wasn’t there…
it’s the sinhala APC…
None of the Sinhala political parties are non racist, non violent, reasonable, impose real democracy and take care of all the citizens of the island. Any racist party can never have these qualities
Until all parties agree to grant Tamil Eelam one could say briefly “another political gimmick is over”
The game was designed at the outset to be musical chairs, so one is hard pressed to see why the writer is harboring (still…) any hopes of changing the game. Even a cursory review of the APRC’s past, including the analysis from CPA (if one assumes all pronouncements from Tamil sounding names are completely biased), the sheer farcity of the proceedings will be clear to all who wish to see the “truth.” Pirapaharan, aided by the Rajapakse brothers, has created a situation where Sri Lanka is heading towards a path of no return: a secession, if Tigers hold out; or a total subordination of Tamils, in an unending guerilla quagmire that may last for a time no-one can predict.
One should remember that during the last elections the UNP got mandate for a Federal government in the North East. As such they cannot accept the 13th amendment.
As far as the TNA is concerned it has no right to accept anything less than a separate state. A mandate given by Tamils in 1976 and is being desired by the Tamils of North East.
The best solution to resolve the conflict Would be to create two independent sovereign states of Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam. There is no other sensible solution apart from it. But UPFA, the JVP and the racist Sinhalese lot will not accept it. No Sinhalese leader is brave enough to do just that.
APC was created for cheating the international community with a picture that a solution was coming. But Tamils from their past experience knew full well that nothing was coming up except procrastination.
APC should be abolished without wasting the time of others.
Decolonisation of Ceylon, initiated seriously by the UN, but handled shabbily by Britain from 1948 to 1972, was intended to abolish colonial “master- servant” syndrome. The belief that all human beings in this world are born equal, was the reason for it. The idea was never to replace colonialism with ethnic “master-slave” syndrome but to have free countries with dignity for all, equality and justice.
But decolonisation was used as a right by the Sinhalese to collectively gravitate in greed, selfishness, pride and superiority and to create an ethnic “master-slave” culture in the island.
Envy against Tamils ensued and the rights and freedoms of Tamils were vandalised. Political, social, economic and legislative discriminatory practices followed this discourse.
Adolf Hitler played the same dirty game of “Aryan Supremacy” and envy against the Jews to carry out genocide in Germany. Similar attitudes of supremacy and envy caused genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia.
In a recently held interview, the army commander in Sri Lanka(SL), a Sinhalese, answering like a television series mafia boss, claimed that 75 percent of Sinhalese living in the island would determine the destiny of Tamils in the North East(NE).
Democracy is not about numbers but is about equality, freedom and justice for all. One often talks of numbers to claim supremacy. The affirmation by Fonseka was that the ethnic Sinhalese master would decide what rights and freedoms to give to the ethnic Tamil slaves in the island.
Tamils believe the Statistics of 75% to be faked with an intent to claim supremacy. Sinhalese were only about 60 percent when Britain did the last census before independence. If true, the acts of genocide have caused Tamils to decrease in number.
This week, Sarath de Silva, the Chief Justice, a Sinhalese, said in Batticaloa that he gave a judicial verdict to separate the joined Eastern provincial council from the North because he felt that the Tamils in the East had a different culture. The democratic decision of 1977, the present desires of ethnic Tamils and even the Indo Lanka Accord of 1987 was irrelevant to the “ethnic master”, let alone the common Tamil culture.
Obviously, the judicial “master” failed to bring the Sinhala soldiers who committed gross human rights violations to justice, as “slaves” have no right to justice against the “master” !
Genocide in no two countries were alike because the cultures, habbits and circumsatnces were different. For this reason, the genocide of Tamils in SL cannot be expected to be exactly the same as in Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan.
However, in all instances of genocide, the criminal acts of killing, disappearing, rape, expulsion, displacement and causing bodily or mental harm had a common ethnic dimension and an ethnic intention to harm and destroy ethnic groups.
When there is a strong case that something is genocide one should not be afarid to use the word and say so. The government sponsored atrocities against the ethnic Tamils in SL should be called by their rightful word – genocide.
Genocide is crime against humanity. In SL it is the culmination of a process including discrimination, dehumanisation and destruction of ethnic Tamils.
The UN should address the discernable reality. The reality is that decolonisation of the island was not done meticulously with utmost care. Genocide of Tamils is occuring because of this reason.
The UN should therefore, appoint a Genocide Tribunal for SL immediately and decolonise the island properly, to abolish the existing ethnic “master-slave” culture.