After terrorism was eradicated:

Lankans given new lease of life

by K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

More and more politicians, in the Government and in the Opposition, are talking about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and devolution of power.

At the same time, certain sections in the international community try to meddle in Sri Lanka's internal matters in a subtle manner ignoring the fact that this is a sovereign state. Those who pontificate to us on extensive devolution of power do not practice it in their countries or have had bitter experiences after extensive devolution of power.

During the three decades of LTTE terror and even after vanquishing of Prabhakaran and his goons, common words used by many are national issue or ethnic problem. Even certain politicians in the Government use these words without exploring the reality and the true meaning of them.Time is now opportune to question whether there is a national issue or an ethnic conflict. If there is an ethnic conflict, Colombo could never have been a safe haven to thousands of Tamils or Tamils could never have held high profile positions, including the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs.

When one makes a careful study, it is crystal clear that there is no national issue or ethnic problem. Those are words that had been injected to us, even without our knowledge, by certain INGOs and hidden forces in the West. However, we cannot deny the fact that there were problems in the North and the East. Then what would they be?

Grievances

Problems faced by the Tamils that led the LTTE to capitalise on it and spread terrorism, had not been unique to a specific ethnic group. Of course, Tamils living in the North and the East have a problems but that is not confined only to them. The Sinhalese and the Muslims living in the North and the East too experience identical problems. That is because of the geographical location and less fund allocation and resources in the two provinces in the past.

Hence, it is not fair by any standard to identify those as problems of Tamils or an ethnic issue. Those are the grievances or the problems faced by the people living in the North and the East. It is for that we should find an answer, and not to an ethnic problem.

Tamils do not have problems that are unique to them because of their ethnicity. Even if they have problems due to language, Muslims face the same problem. However, such lauguage barriers have now been narrowed to the maximum. Recent recruitment of Tamils to the Security Forces and the police would help to meet these language problems in the North and the East. Problems faced by the people in these two provinces are applicable to all communities and not only to Tamils. But with the Government's preferential treatment to the North and the East since the eradication of terrorism has given a new lease of life to Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese living in these areas.

The unprecedented 22 percent growth rate shown by the two provinces is ample testimony of the Government's sincere desire to find soltutions to the grievances of the people living in the North and the East. But the grievances are totally different of the aspirations on the LTTE cohorts and a section of the Tamil diaspora.

People in the North and the East, irrespective of their ethnicity, are worried too much about extensive devolution of power or accruing police or land powers.

Peaceful life

Their main concern is to have a secure future after they had been liberated by the Security Forces during the humanitarian operation. They do not want to go back to those dark days again and are only interested in having a peaceful life with enhanced living conditions.That is precisely what the Government is doing at the moment, enabling them to have a better lifestyle. Hence, the opportunist politicians should refrain from poisoning their minds again to gain petty political mileage.

Though we said that there is no ethnic problem, people in the North and the East have problems and grievances that are unique to them. Answers to those could be found though the Government's sincere efforts to develop those areas and by increasing the purchasing power of the people. Development of infrastructure facilities in these areas is an important achievement that goes a long way to address genuine grievances of the Northerners and Easterners. National reconciliation could only be achieved through such means and not granting extensive powers in a small country such as Sri Lanka. Too much of power would not do any good to people in those areas but would only add problems. That could well threaten the unity and territorial integrity.

Of course, we do not rule out the necessity to revolute power but that has to be made in a manner that suits a small country such as Sri Lanka the most. The territory of an Indian state is bigger than Sri Lanka. Hence, what India practices or that is practiced by the US may not suit us. What we need is an indigenous solution. The West should not force anything on us and let Sri Lanka to find its own home-grown solution to genuine grievances of the people in the North and the East.What matters the most is sustaining the hard-earned peace. The current peaceful environment was achieved through supreme sacrifices of the true sons of our soil. The soldiers gave life and the limb to safeguard the unity and integrity of our country. We must make every effort to give a better meaning to their efforts. Every effort should be made to protect this hard-earned peace.

Devolution

As the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma has stated in a letter to foreign media, it is better for the Commonwealth to make a practical difference to the situation in Sri Lanka instead of criticising the lack of progress from afar.

Like the title of Commonwealth Secretary-General's letter 'Wait before you judge Sri Lanka', the international community should give room for Sri Lanka to implement its own homegrown roadmap for achieving peace.

As the Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga has said, the 13th Amendment has to be viewed from people's standpoint. Devolution must be to the village. The Amendment must be viewed from the angle of the citizen.

It's no secret that administratively it's a white elephant. The experience of 22 years shows that the Provincial Council system that was introduced after the 13th Amendment, is a white elephant. But as President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said at his recent breakfast meeting with Editors and media heads, we cannot kill that white elephant all of a sudden. The best way of coming out of the situation is by finding a solution through the Parliamentary Select Committee headed by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. Political parties now have an opportunity to express their views and discuss it at length at the PSC.

There is no substitute for a PSC to resolve in a systematic and all-inclusive manner the issues relating to constitutional reform which are now the subject of vigorous debate in the country. As Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, told Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to Sri Lanka at a briefing last week, several Provincial Councils, political parties, academics and professionals had recently expressed divergent views on these issues and commented that a structured and comprehensive approach is necessary reflecting on these matters before constitutional amendments are presented to Parliament.

Since constitutional reform is necessarily a matter within the purview of Parliament and a special majority is required, involvement of a Parliamentary Select Committee for this purpose is indispensable. The government regards these matters as urgent and this is why the Parliamentary Select Committee, the Chairman and members of which were named by the Speaker last week, will convene on the first day Parliament meets on July 9. The Chairman of the Committee, Leader of the House Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, is eager to arrive at an early agreement about priorities and modalities regarding the work of the Committee and decisions in this regard will be made after broad-based discussion.

While issues relating to the 13th Amendment will naturally be in focus, the discussion at the Select Committee is expected to cover a wider range of matters in respect of the Constitution as a whole. The Government's wish is to ensure the expression of all points of view is amply demonstrated in many ways. This arrangement is entirely acceptable to the Government, although the government is entitled, in terms of the composition of Parliament, to significantly stronger representation. With regard to the terms of reference of the Committee, there had been discussion with the Tamil National Alliance and that their views had been taken into account. The Committee will function in a time-bound manner.

Hence, the political parties must make the best use of this opportunity to take part in the PSC and present their view in a democratic forum rather than shouting at roadside protests. The government's wish is to see all political parties participating in the deliberations of the Committee.

Attempted assassination

Incidentally, it will be 17 years since the Chairman of the PSC, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva survived an LTTE attack in Jaffna on July 4, 1996. Over 21 people were killed and 64 wounded when LTTE terrorists attempted to assassinate Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva at Stanley Road, Jaffna using a suicide bomber. However, the Minister was unhurt.

The bold statement made by Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) leader and Chief Government Whip Minister Dinesh Gunawardena last week was food for thought. Minister Gunawardena declared that said his party viewed the Provincial Council system to be an utter failure. He added that the Provincial Council system has proved ineffective and redundant -- and said a new system based on the district should be evolved to ensure that administrative and political power is delegated to the grass-roots level. The MEP, as a key ally of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government is of the view that the Legislature lost its supremacy due to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and all its provisions which undermined the supremacy of the legislature - and should therefore be abolished forthwith. Minister Gunwardena said free health and education services deteriorated due to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The MEP leader has appreciated the attempt to abolish all provisions in the Constitution that are leading to clashes between the Central government and the Provincial Councils. The MEP has tabled a set of proposals for a system based on the district for the administration and development and reorganization of the government structure.

Illegal document

The country's development would never be hampered by the abolition of Provincial Councils in the country. The country has seen massive development due to numerous projects launched by the Central Goverment and the district administrative system also play a vigorous role in development.

As Minister Gunawardena has pointed out, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is an illegal document as five out of nine Supreme Court Judges then upheld that it was inconsistent with the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.The merger of North and the East is detrimental to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Provisions enshrined in the 13th Amendment to the Constitution has undermined the supremacy of the Legislature. The clauses in the 13th Amendment are contradictory and the supremacy of the Legislature has deteriorated due to the 13th Amendment on which the Provincial Council system was set up. Hence, it is the duty of all political parties to make their presence felt at the PSC and make concrete proposals. They should make a tangible contribution to the PSC to come out with the most suitable for Sri Lanka, protecting the country's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.