Aftermath of the Victory: whither Sri Lanka?
Heartland of Eelam is fallen. LTTE is now cornered to a narrow strip of land and in near future whole bulk of 65, 610 km2 of land would be under the control of the Government of Sri Lanka. Glory of the victory would be with the Sri Lankan Army and the politicians as always would reap the harvest at the cost of the Sri Lankans. We’re practicing representative democracy. Though not futuristic as the President is, a fraction of me believes that the Independent celebrations might be held in Kilinochchi. The government has announced a rapid development plan for Kilinochchi with the hope of creating an endogenous return of the displaced civilians. Well done!
Development discourse follows with a tender cry for a political solution. India nominates full implementation of the 13th amendment as the solution, GoSL seconds and re-iterates it.
In 2008, we saw the liberation of the East. A huge development plan was implemented under the banner of Nagenahira Udanaya (Resurgence of the East) by the GoSL. Intention was to enable people in the east to “to reap maximum benefits […] from the humanitarian operations which were carried out in the region” (Budget speech 2008). I have not being to the East. I wish I would go there one day. My friends who have being there tell me that the Nagenahira Udanaya is subjected to a similar fate as many other development projects implemented in the country, that peoples are still suffering from dire poverty unable to cultivate their land destroyed from multi barrel rockets and without any aid from the government or from any other aid agency. The said economic freedom was accompanied with a shot of democracy by the Provincial Council elections. Rigged or not, UNP and TNA boycotted or not, elections were held honoring the symbolic act of representative democracy. Exemplifying the value of democracy the ex-LTTE cadre Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan of the TMVP became the Chief Minister. An ideal example was set for the others to follow if they wish! Credit goes to the government for the trouble they took. Well done!
We’re facing of another military victory. What would follow?
Last year, after the PC elections in the East were held, I participated in the residential inter university workshop on “Power Sharing and the 13th Amendment” organized by Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA). The organizers had asked two of the well known politicians to come and share their views on the provincial council system. One of them was MP Vijithmuni Soyza. He was open about the ups and downs of the PC system and was hopeful about its future. He was certain that the other provincial councils would indirectly get all the power allocated to PCs from the 13th amendment since the President would not hesitate to give them to the Eastern Province. I suspect that his confidence on this matter would have engendered from the assumption that the GoSL would not dare to deceive Tamils again, as I thought at that time. However, it proved to be another disappointment. To this date, Eastern PC rests alike the others, crippled and almost none functioning. Chief Minister Chandrakanthan has expressed his displeasure at number of times. During a recent interview with the Sunday Times complained that the PC was not being consulted on development projects carried out in the region and that he as the chief minister does not have any powers to implement the 13th amendment (The Sunday Times, November 23, 2008).
What waits North? T. Sabaratnam in his article “Kilinochchi has fallen, what next?” laments that the voice against the political settlement, what Tamils have always feared, is growing stronger. I share his fear. Though I am not aware at all about federal or con-federal set-ups, I understand that the solution to the North and East conflict lies with some sort of power sharing. If I am to put it the way I understand, Tamil people as well as the Muslim people along with other minority communities should be given a greater representation in decision making at all levels of governance. It should transgress the lines of ethnicity and religion. Would this take place after the defeat of the LTTE? I doubt. Despite replication of the word ‘political solution’, the GoSL and other political parties in the country along with the academia have not put forward a specific political solution. Sri Lankans in general and specially the Sinhalese do not show any sign of being aware of what the word ‘political solution’ implies. They glorify war and innocently assume that the end of the LTTE would be the end of the problem. Ready made solution at hand is the provincial council system. Government, like it did in the East, would carry on an accelerated democratization project in the North with symbolic elections. The way I understand, winners would be Douglas Devananda led EPDP party. MP Douglas Devananda himself might be the Chief Minister.
Would this be adequate? Would Tamils be content or feel silenced? Would the Sri Lankan army have to fight another battle to capture Kilinochchi in another ten, fifteen years? Would we have to wait and see to get answers to all these questions?
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Dear Amali,
"Sri Lankans in general and specially the Sinhalese do not show any sign of being aware of what the word ‘political solution’ implies."
Looking at your vague idea of "some sort of power sharing," it seems that you don't know any sign of being aware of what the word 'political solution' implies either! Why don't you read a bit about decentralized power systems, consociationalism vs. centripetalism, and then come back to us with a more useful idea?
Here's a short reading list for you re my above suggestion:
1. Erik Wibbels. Federalism and the Market. 2005
2. Jenna Bednar. The Robust Federation: Principles of Design. 2008
3. Mixed-Member Electoral Systems: The Best of Both Worlds? ed. by Matthew Soberg Shugart and Martin P. Wattenberg . 2003
Let me know when you're done, so we can have a discussion instead of listening to Colombo NGO-style pontification.
Hello Amali, It seems that you have forgotten something really important that has taken place recently in Sri Lanka. You wrote that politicians reap the harvest from the military victories. I like to remind you that it was only the current government who had put the right strategies in place and did the mighty task to achieve those strategic objects of getting rid off LTTE and their associates.
Yes, military had their responsibilities and accountabilities in this outcome. The politicians in the current government (yes there are shortcomings but tolarable) made the right decisions to equip our heroes to fight the LTTE. It was the previous successive governments that took all the money that was supposted to be spent on the war. I can give you names of them and incidents where a boat was delivered with the money allocated for fully equipped navy vessel.
It is shamfull of you to join a few others who push their own agenda and tarnish good work done by people who have balls to eradicate LTTE rather than agreeing to a ceasefire, an act only a man who has no balls would do.
For my part I have prepared a set of suggestions and am circulating it in any platform available.
One of them is the proposal to split and separate the powers of parliament now exercised by a group of PARTY representatives, and empower small groups of people's representatives to exercise each of the separated powers. This suggestion is put forward to eradicate the corruption that is eating the entire governing system due to the concentration of power at a point.
There are many other suggestions that together go to make good governance, basic need for sustainable peace, serenity, prosperity and a pleasant living for ALL the people in the country.
The other suggestions would be given in a separate article, if permitted.
i am glad that sri lankan president continune its war against the ltte despite the
pressure of the international community,since the world does not know the local
problem of sri lanka ,the international community just made hue and cry over the humunitarian add of tamil refuges,
the world dont know how ltte has destroys the tourrium industry of this country,
now the ltte almost abolished from the sri lanka ,now the sri lankan govenment can work upon the warfare of the tamil refuges
and for the integrety of the country ,the citizen of sri lanka should stop celebration the down fall of ltte,since this only add frustation in the mind of tamils.
and also the sri lankan goverment should stop discriminating between the people ot sinhale and jafna ,since previously the sri lankan goverment had done
partially between the student of the two areas.
now there should be equal rule for every one
An Astrologer from Argentina claims freedom for a collegue arrested in Sri Lanka 4 Jueves, 02 de Julio de 2009 10:55 Pedro del Carpio
An astrologer from Argentina,Don Zodiac Guille has already sent an e-mail to Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa imploring to liberate his collegue, Astrologer Chandrasiri BANDARA saying ” Please, MERCY for Chandrasiri, Dear President Mahinda Rajapakse, because his relate is maybe a mistake…”
Don Zodiac Guille is the chairman at World Wide Parapsychological Association and asked all newspapers from Asia to publish his petition to Sri Lankan President.
Argentine horoscope man also says: If the Sri Lanka leader is a Sagitarian. I know about his generosity but also his bad temper when he gets angry… I describe this in my site http://www.zodiacguille.com”
I feel that Chandrasiri will be free as soon as his Excellency reads my e-mail, I am an ordinary astrologer but I know the suffering stay in prison…”
Astrologer Don Zodiac Guille has recently predicted the civil-military rejection for the President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, but he also added that the President will returns to power.(Dorys Dodier from Madrid – Spain