Round The World

New Delhi, 24 March 2009

Growing Sinhalese Chauvinism

NO SOLUTION FOR PEACE IN LANKA 

By Monish Tourangbam

(Research Scholar, School of International Studies, JNU)

As the juggernaut of the Sri Lankan military offensive gained momentum with increasing successes of the Army, the international community had set its eyes on how the establishment tackled the certain humanitarian crisis. The homeless Tamil refugees camped in shanties in Batticalao, a city on Sri Lanka’s eastern shore provides a hint of the difficulties and divisions that lie ahead as the Rajapaksa government fights what it says is a final battle to end a 25-year separatist insurgency.

The army took Batticaloa from the rebels two years ago. The resentment of these refugees against the majority-Sinhalese government has only grown, sowing seeds of further dissatisfaction and disengagement among the minority.

Undoubtedly, the military campaign seems to be succeeding in what it intended: to crush the insurgency on the battlefield and to uproot the Tamil Tigers completely. However, the more political and long-term job of winning the confidence of the minority seems to have started on a wrong foot. At the moment, the Rajapaksa administration seems to be carried away with the “domino” style victory of the Sri Lankan army; compromising on the process of assuaging the affected civilians and trying to detach their sympathies away from the Tigers.

According to many analysts, by using fear and violence to quash a free press and civil liberties in what it says is part of its war effort, the government is undermining democratic freedoms and transforming Sri Lanka into a more repressive and intolerant nation.

Though the means employed by the LTTE to win its cause have to be condemned and the very ideas of secessionism is against the law and sovereignty of any country, it is equally important to understand that nothing starts in a vacuum. To end the violence and secure a more stable peace, the government must do more than it has to address the long-running grievances and ethnic antagonisms that lie at the heart of the conflict.

The menace of terrorism is a ‘hydra-headed’ monster that will always spring up a new head unless the roots of the problem are understood and efforts are made towards winning the confidence of the same people, whose vulnerabilities and frustrations are exploited to serve as recruits in future unrest. In other words, the government in all earnestness, along with the necessary military campaign, must focus easing divisions between the Sinhalese and the Tamils, who make up 12 per cent of the 21-million people and have been marginalized by laws on language and religion and by ethnic preferences in education and government jobs.

Expressing concern, the US Ambassador, Robert O. Blake recently said “My hope is that with the end of fighting, the President will really reach out to the Tamil and Muslim communities and give his vision of a united Sri Lanka, that will include a measure of dignity and respect and a level of autonomy for them in the geographic areas in which they predominate across the country. The concern is that with military success there is a growing Sinhalese chauvinism and certain hard-line elements in government that say the administration does not need to devolve any power to the Tamils.” He also added: “Essentially, to the victor go the spoils.”

Earlier, six former American ambassadors had written to President Rajapaksa, urging him to pursue democracy and national reconciliation as the country builds a postwar society. Not discounting the difficulty of fighting an unconventional war against a terrorist organization, they nevertheless expressed fear that, in the process, democracy might become a victim.

To the dismay of affected civilians and concerned international community, the Sri Lankan establishment and the LTTE continues to engage in a blame-game. The army claims that around 45,519 civilians have so far crossed into government-controlled areas from the LTTE-held territory. The government has hinted at its concerns with the refusal of the Tigers hierarchy to lay down their arms before talks begin.

As the military carried out its assault on LTTE resistance positions located north-east of Puthukkudiyirippu, 384 civilians reportedly sought protection with the government troops. According to the military, these civilians have revealed the continuation of forcible child recruitment by the LTTE for battle purposes and brutal killings of individuals who defy their orders. “Anyone who attempts to flee from the LTTE control will be brutally tortured and exhibited,” said the military.

On the other hand, Pro-LTTE TamilNet alleged that shelling by Sri Lankan Army had lately killed 102 civilians inside the “safety-zone”.  Moreover, the continuous shelling by the military has been condoned by B. Nadesan, political head of the LTTE, as creating an unbearable situation.

Meanwhile, adding to the complexity of the already murky situation, signs of differences among pro-LTTE outfits was seen recently in the Sri Lankan parliament. In a surprise development, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Vinodharadhalingam came out in support of the government’s welfare measures toward the displaced in the areas that had come under military control in recent time.

The plight of the civilians has been made all the more precarious with differences showing even at the UN Security Council. According to a report in Sri Lanka’s Information Ministry website, China had opposed a motion in the Security Council for a discussion on the humanitarian crisis triggered by the war in the north of Sri Lanka. The report stated Beijing had opposed the proposal on the ground that it was an internal matter of the island nation and the military operations had no effect on international peace and security.

On the other hand, pro-LTTE TamilNet has quoted Susan E.Rice, US Permanent Representative in the Security Council and her British counterpart John Sawers, as supporting the idea of a serious discussion on the humanitarian situation in the Council. In this context, it should not be very hard to discern that China probably does not favour international spotlight on its own ways of handling the ‘Tibet issue’.

Earlier this month, The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her growing alarm at the increasing number of civilians reported killed, injured in the conflict, and at the apparent ruthless disregard being shown for their safety. "Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the LTTE may constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law,” she said. "We need to know more about what is going on, but we know enough to be sure that the situation is absolutely desperate,” she added.

Well, an example of postwar reconstruction is Batticolao, freed from the Tigers control two years ago. However, the rebuilding of infrastructure and the restoration of government control has generally failed in muting the insecurity that lurks among the Tamils patrolled by a large Sinhalese police force, often unable to communicate in a common language. This gives the Rajapaksa administration all the more reason to sincerely address all aspects of the situation and not be swayed by the “glory” of the military victories.—INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)