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The struggle for peace

Are these the first signs that the winter of our discontent will eventually be at an end? Do we at last discern the light at the end of the tunnel? These are the thoughts which are bound to spring to the minds of a war-weary nation at the news that the Sri Lanka Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have finally fixed the dates for political negotiations with the aim of ending their conflict.

All reports indicate that under the auspices of the Royal Government of Norway which is playing the role of Fairy Godmother, the two sides have agreed on the agenda, structure and the timetable for these crucial talks which will be keenly watched not only by the people of Sri Lanka but the international community as well.

It was certainly a good thing that the preliminary stage or the 'talks about talks' should have taken the time it did because past experience shows us that rushing into negotiations on a tide of euphoria can often be counter-productive.

The preliminary stage would also have equipped both sides with the detachment and sense of sobriety needed to see the situation in perspective and assess the potential obstacles, pitfalls and snares which characterise any peace process. What is necessary, as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been insisting, is to be aware that the road ahead will not be an easy one. Peace does not fall from the sky nor will it be bequeathed to both parties on a platter. It has to be struggled for, but what is necessary is that both sides should possess the political will and sense of purpose to propel the country collectively towards that goal which has eluded us for so long.

While the two sides sit down at the conference table in Thailand it is also necessary that the groundwork is prepared in the country itself for a negotiated political settlement. It is not enough to say that the people are weary of the war and yearn for peace as if 'peace' is a mantra which, if repeated often enough can banish the ogre of war. It is true that there is a general feeling of war weariness in the country, a feeling that the protracted armed conflict cannot bring about a final resolution of our national problem. But this feeling still lies under the surface of national life and has not been articulated and expressed sufficiently. It is not enough for the peace constituency to be confined to Colombo-based NGOs, conflict resolution experts, expatriate intellectuals, political pundits and similar specimens of exotica. The feeling for peace among the larger masses in both town and countryside, the working people of the city and the peasantry of the hinterland has to be mobilised and expressed. The mass media has to be brought into play so that the people will have a vehicle to communicate their feelings and thinking.

It is also necessary that the talks should be given the chance to progress smoothly. This means not only a ceasefire in the internecine political war, but also a suspension of speculative reporting and comment in the media which can damage the talks. This does not mean that the talks should be shrouded in secrecy, for that can leave the impression of something hatched in the dark or a deal under the table. While the people have a right to know, it is also necessary that comment and opinion expressed about the talks by politicians, media commentators and other opinion-makers should be done in such a way that they will not damage the basic nature and objective of the negotiations.

It is also necessary that both sides should approach the talks in Thailand with an open mind. Neither primordial fears nor more recent prejudices and hang-ups should be permitted to clutter the minds of those who sit around the negotiating table. There should be goodwill on both sides and a willingness to see the long-term interest of the Sri Lankan nation rather than a commitment to some narrow sense of communal or tribal loyalty. While the rights of all communities have certainly to be guaranteed (that, after all, is the basic, inalienable right of all the people) the guiding principle of the negotiations should be the interest of the country as a whole.

This might well be the last chance for the country. For five decades and more after Independence we, as a people, have failed in the task of building the Sri Lankan nation. This has not been a failure merely of the political leadership but also a failure of civil society which has been content to leave the job to the politicians. But the politicians have often been small men who could not see the wood for the trees, pygmies myopically groping in the dark. There have been so many false dawns before this that the country will be wary of thinking that the September talks will presage a real end to its discontents, but given the will and purpose on both sides, there can still be hope for Sri Lanka.

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