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| Sunday, 8 December 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Can communal violence be prevented? In the wake of a series of communal clashes, we explore the need for conflict management to prevent the disintegration of communal harmony by ASIFF HUSSEIN
The perpetuation of social peace in a multi-ethnic society such as ours is often taken for granted, notwithstanding the fact that communal inspired violence still remains an ever present reality as seen from recent events. Although not as severe in scope and magnitude as the infamous Sinhala-Tamil riots of July 1983 these communal clashes and backlashes nevertheless take their toll in terms of both life and property and pose a serious threat to social peace. Very often one finds that such clashes are politically motivated and this is clearly seen from the recent events at Maligawatte. There are yet other instances where very trivial personal problems have triggered off communal strife. The recent clash at Mundalama clearly illustrates this point. Police investigations revealed that the initial cause of the clash was related to a new entry to the three-wheeler park. The regular drivers had restrained the new driver from parking his vehicle at the park and the ensuing verbal argument had turned into clashes. Major threat These incidents show that communal conflict remains a major threat to the achievement of communal harmony in the country. Not only are they contributing to ethnic tension and polarisation between the country's major communities, but they also show signs of undermining the ongoing peace process, especially in the Eastern Province which is a hotbed of ethnic tension. The fact that a trivial personal argument could turn into a major ethnic clash only goes on to demonstrate the unstable nature of inter-communal relations in certain parts of the country. Misunderstanding or lack of understanding of the other, deep-seated personal prejudices and ethnic stereotyping still remain formidable forces contributing to ethnic tension among certain groups. Given this potentially volatile scenario, it is only reasonable to suppose that the authorities concerned take into account the root causes of communal strife and move before they turn violent. Very often the law enforcement agencies are caught unawares and have failed to handle the violence effectively though there have been exceptions. The tense situation at Maligawatte was prevented from turning into a major ethnic conflagration due to the timely action taken by the police and religious leaders who exhorted their co-religionists to stay calm in those troubled times. The preparedness of the armed forces notwithstanding, the question that arises is whether these communal clashes could have been prevented before they took a turn for the worse. For instance, in the case of the Maligawatte incident, which centred around a construction issue, no preemptive action was taken by the authorities concerned to diffuse the situation until it reached serious proportions in spite of the fact that they were well aware of the controversy during the few months preceding the incident. One very often finds that it is only after such strife has taken place that action is taken. Ministers, members of parliament and other political personages would visit these riot-torn areas and peace committees would be set up to address the grievances of affected persons and award compensation to the victims of such violence. These peace committees are however invariably established after an incident and when their purpose has been fulfilled they are allowed to die a gradual death. Although these peace committees are able to restore normalcy to some extent, they are not able to prevent incidents of this nature from recurring. As such, this particular modality has its limitations. Civilian conflict Conflict management however has its preventive aspect as well and it is high time that this too was given due consideration by both the government and civil action groups. Especially relevant are the views of Dr. Kumar Rupasinghe, an international peace mediator who has served as Secretary-General of the London-based conflict resolution body, International Alert. Dr. Rupasinghe who is helping facilitate the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the LTTE contends that we should focus attention on preventing civilian conflict rather than acting once it has occurred and that this should be given top priority in the immediate future. The recent clashes such as those of Maligawatte he believes clearly demonstrates that there are forces inimical to the peace process who seem to be manipulating events to create de-stabilization. He therefore sees an urgent need for a comprehensive security system to prevent conflicts of this nature. Such a system, he avers, should involve the co-ordination of law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies as well as a central focal point which could co-ordinate these activities. He is also of the view that it should involve the participation of civilian organisations such as NGOs and peace committees. To complement this he proposes a citizen-based, early warning, rapid response system by civil society organisations. Civil society, he believes, must have information which would enable them to move before the conflict turns into a riot through mediation, consultation, reconciliation and a host of other mechanisms available today in the field of preventive diplomacy. He also proposes that there be a permanent authority or an ombudsman who could settle problems and address grievances on the ground whenever they happen to arise rather than to have politicians visiting the spot when the trouble starts. This he believes should be implemented not only in the Eastern Province where ethnic tension remains high, but also in other areas where there exist large ethnic communities living together. Deep understanding The Early Warning System basically takes into consideration certain indicators which identify unstable conditions in certain areas which could flare up at any given moment into something more serious. The system has been tried out in other societies and is part of conflict resolution theory and practice. Ketesh Loganathan, Head of the Conflict and Peace Analysis Unit, Centre for Policy Alternatives however cautions that the Early Warning System basically requires a deep understanding of a society, of the polity and of the social and economic factors that lead to violence. It also requires the constant monitoring of events so that they could be contained before they could assume serious proportions. However, the danger here is when this Early Warning System becomes a 'Panic system' as a result of over-reacting to a given situation. Therefore one has to be extremely cautious as to how such an early warning system is handled, since it is quite possible that if mishandled or mismanaged it could turn into a panic situation which in turn could trigger off incidents. Loganathan avers that inter-ethnic building of confidence which involves the influential people of various communities joining hands to make peace is a viable means of dispute prevention. In addition to this however there must also be a process within each community that empowers the voices of sanity, reason and moderation who should be able to contain the hotheads within their respective communities. This process would have to be largely achieved through civil society institutions including religious bodies, educational establishments, opinion makers and influential people of those areas. These forces should be able to maintain a dialogue with the members of their community and explain to them the dangers of unleashing and responding to violence and how it in turn could affect themselves and not only the other. In this connection, the media has a role to play and that is instead of only highlighting the violent aspects of communal conflict, it should also give due prominence to the many instances where potential violence has in fact been prevented. Root causes Loganathan also contends that one has to look into the root causes as to what makes one ethnic group resent another. One cannot avoid diversity since ours is a multi-ethnic community and each ethnic group has its own identity. There is what we call self-perception and perception of the other, both at an individual and collective level. There is also stereotyping of the other and certain stereotypings are unavoidable and inevitable since we do not live in a perfect world. However as to why such perceptions lead to ethnic violence and spreads rapidly needs to be examined. The challenge then is to prevent such misperceptions of the other from becoming a source of hatred leading to violence, he stressed. Loganathan also feels that as part of the conflict resolution process, there is an urgent need to study how different religions have handled issues such as tolerance and reconciliation, forgetting the past and coping with it and ascertaining whether these religions agree in possessing a common ground or philosophical foundation on these vital matters so that if proven convincingly it could be made a key element of national reconciliation. He noted that while we have inter-religious organisations in Sri Lanka, it usually happens that they are activated only after a particular event and then recede into dormancy until another major event takes place. Thus there is a need to look at means to make such activity an ongoing process. The teaching of comparative religion in religious institutions such as Sunday schools also needs to be seriously considered, he stressed. |
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