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Solution to the ethnic problem through constitutional reforms: It’s time to seize the moment
View(s):Tamil National Alliance Leader R. Sambandan speaking in Parliament on the occasion of the debate on the President’s Statement of Government Policy last week drew the attention of the House to the importance of the constitutional reform process. He emphasised the importance of finding a solution to what is commonly called the ethnic problem through this reform process.
He highlighted two essential features of such a solution. The first being that such a solution must ensure an undivided and indivisible country and the second that such a solution must be acceptable to all sections of the Sri Lankan people. This, of course, is not the first time that the TNA leader has made such a statement. He has repeated this statement both publicly and privately many times during the past three years and insisted that such a solution must be approved by the people at a referendum.
He has gone even further to explicitly state that no solution must be adopted behind the backs of the Sinhala people and agreed to the inclusion of clauses in the Constitution that safeguard against secession.
Unfortunately the significance of the flexibility shown by the TNA in this regard after a protracted armed conflict spearheaded by the LTTE in pursuit of a separate state has not dawned on many sections of the Sri Lankan polity. Nor is it clear whether the Sinhala media have taken this message of welcome flexibility on the part of the TNA to the Sinhala people.
After all, it is this bogey of separatism that is used to frighten the Sinhala people away from any move towards constitutional reform. It, therefore, behoves both the Government and the media to highlight this development and create confidence among the Sinhala people to encourage a resolution of the issues around this problem.
With the defeat of the LTTE in 2009 and the political changes of January 8, 2015, the space for looking at national issues free of the pressures of armed conflict and in a dispassionate manner has opened up. The environment has been created for a national dialogue that can take a hard look at the needs of all our people and arrive at the best possible solution.
Today the TNA has realised that the leadership of the present Government is open to a fair and reasonable resolution of the ethnic problem. Towards this end, many steps have been taken to build the confidence of the minority communities which have been eroded during and after the armed conflict.
As recently as last week, President Maithripala Sirisena stressed in his Policy Statement the importance of resolving the ethnic problem and strengthening the Provincial Council system. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has speared the constitutional reform process and through the deliberations of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Reform Process succeeded in considerably narrowing down the differences between the political parties.
Unfortunately, consequent to the recent local council elections and the political events of the past few months, the constitutional reform process has stalled and been put on the back burner although there are once again calls for its revival.
The main reason that the Government has been unable to make more progress on this matter has been its indecisiveness and hesitancy in the face of the hardline groups in the South rather than its unwillingness to move forward in the matter.
The TNA has recognised this fact and is, therefore, continuing to remain engaged in the process knowing fully well that it is probably the best opportunity to resolve this contentious issue which has held back the country’s progress. Unfortunately, the TNA has been unable to communicate this message to its constituency resulting in hardline Tamil groups sowing dissension in the minds of the Tamil people.
The Sri Lanka Democratic Forum which did a yeoman service to the Tamil people by keeping the torch of democratic discussion alive during the dark days of the LTTE seems to have gone into hibernation. The time is opportune for the SLDF to revive dialogue within the Tamil community and channel the discussions in a constructive and productive form rather than allowing it to drift towards the destructive ways of the past.
Ironically, the Sinhala hardline groups are the ones nourishing the Tamil hardline groups. With their repeated cries of ‘wolf wolf’ at every attempt to resolve the ethnic problem and their attempts to instil fear among the Sinhalese that such efforts will result in the division of the country, these groups in the South give credence to the Northern hardline groups’ claims that no reasonable solution can be expected from the Sri Lankan State through peaceful negotiations.
If the separatist movement ever gets a new life it will be the Southern hardliners who would have helped to create the conditions for such a revival. These hardline groups who are averse to addressing the concerns of those in conflict areas such as returning private lands acquired by the armed forces during the war only provide grist to the mill of those groups in the North who say that one cannot accept justice from the Government.
Even the JVP-sponsored initiative to abolish the Executive Presidency has been criticised by looking at it through tinted glasses and as an attempt to pave the way for a separate state. This baseless allegation is continuously repeated despite the JVP announcing that Presidential powers in the current Constitution vis-a-vis Provincial powers will remain according to their proposal.
Thus one can only conclude that despite these criticisms being addressed through the JVPs proposals as well as the recommendations of the Steering Committee of the Constituent Assembly, the continuous attack on these efforts is simply a case of ‘none as blind as those who refuse to see’.
It is not too late for us to seize the moment and work with a positive mindset and a problem solving approach to resolve this longstanding problem in a manner acceptable to all sections of the people including the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims.
Otherwise it will be another lost opportunity which will result in one of many unresolved problems that will be passed on to future generations.
(javidyusuf@gmail.com)