Lanka focused on post-conflict opportunities -Lankan HC to India

The genesis of the modern State system and the “Doctrine of Sovereignty and Equality of States” is as recent as 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia.

Prasad Kariyawasam

Relations between India and Sri Lanka, however, are ancient and predate the Peace of Westphalia and the modern State system. Bonds between our people, kings and rulers are even older than recorded history.

Somehow, with the evolution of history, the long years of colonial rule, the travails of freedom struggles and independence, and the efforts thereafter to govern in the modern Nation State System, which itself is evolving; while dealing at the same time with several complications inherited from colonial rule; resulted in the blurring of ties that bound our people in the ancient past.

Historic opportunity

Today, with the end of terrorism that plagued Sri Lanka for 30 years, and the rise of India on the world stage, we have a historic opportunity to once again go back to building our traditional friendships and restore age-old ties.

And this is a path that our two nations have already embarked upon.

What most of you would have been exposed to on Sri Lanka in recent times are the headline grabbing events of the past 30 years - the terrorism and the suicide bombings.

For that reason, I want to first set before you, briefly, what Sri Lanka was, historically and what relations between India and Sri Lanka were in a historical context.

A strong influence on Sri Lanka’s history right throughout, for thousands of years, has been her position in the Indian Ocean , namely, her strategic location: an island, located midway between East and West.

For over 2000 years before the advent of the colonial powers, Sri Lanka served as a safe and important entrepot, providing ports for the exchange of goods between East and West; a contact point between two great regions. What has been called the opulent commerce of ancient Sri Lanka is well described by a Greek trader who visited around the 5th Century:

‘Sieldiba (or Taprobane) being thus placed in the middle as it were of India, receives goods from all nations, and again distributes them, thus becoming a great emporium. As its position is central, the island is the resort of ships from all parts of India, Persia, and Ethiopia, and, in like manner, many are despatched from it.

From the inner countries, I mean China, and other emporiums, it receives silk, aloes, cloves, clove-wood, sandalwood, and whatever else they produce. These it again transmits to the outer ports, I mean to Malabar, when the pepper comes; to Calliana (near Bombay), where there is brass and sesamine wood, and materials for dress, and to Sind, where they get musk, castor, and androstachum, to Persia, the Homeritic coasts (southern Arabia) and Adule.

Receiving in return the exports of those emporiums, Taprobane exchanges them in the inner ports sending her own produce along with them to each.

Sri Lanka , since time immemorial, has seen the continual absorption of influences from the outside world . This is evident in the multilayered make up of the population, its manners, its traditions, culture, architecture, food and attire. But, throughout history, the people of Sri Lanka have displayed a resistance to attempts at physical conquest. Being divided by India by just 30 miles, a narrow strip of sea, Sri Lanka has been close enough to India to be influenced throughout history, but remained fiercely independent so as to preserve a distinct individuality .

The history of Sri Lanka from the 3rd Century BC onwards is one of the best documented in the region. The island has a collection of historical chronicles and religious writings which have no parallel in South Asia. Recorded history begins over 2300 years ago when Emperor Asoka of India sent his son and daughter to Sri Lanka.

They set out to Sri Lanka from Sanchi and were received in Sri Lanka’s ancient Kingdom of Anuradhapura. This is an important civilisational link between the two countries. A sapling of the Pipal tree under which Prince Siddharta attained enlightenment as Gautama Buddha in Bodhgaya, was taken to Sri Lanka by Emperor Asoka’s daughter. That tree continues to stand in Anuradhapura even today.

It is acknowledged as the oldest recorded tree in the world and has remained in continuous worship since the inception in 3rd Century BC. For nearly 13 centuries, Anuradhapura remained the principal seat of government and the major centre of Sri Lankan culture and civilisation.

Its monasteries were great centres of learning, visited by scholars and pilgrims from many parts of Asia. It housed an international trading community, which included traders from India, China, Rome, Arabia and Persia. It was from the court at Anuradhapura that Sri Lankan ambassadors were despatched on several occasions to the imperial courts of Rome and China.

The Great Indian Buddhist scholar and commentator, Buddhaghosa, spent many years in Anuradhapura during the 5th Century, codifying the Buddhist scriptures which had been lost in India. Gunavarman, the Kashmiri monk, who carried Buddhism to Indonesia and China, passed through Sri Lanka, and must certainly have visited the city’s monasteries. Monks from Anuradhapura went out to many lands, such as India, China, Cambodia and Java, leaving there, inscriptions and records of their visits.

Influences from southern India have been of fundamental importance from prehistoric times. For a thousand years before the arrival of the Portuguese, successive waves of Hindu conquerors from South India invaded parts of Sri Lanka and established dependencies. There was a long history of Sri Lankan rulers sending emissaries to Southern India for their queens.

The Buddhist temples from the Polonnaruwa period onwards incorporated Hindu shrines in their premises. This is a feature one would find in Buddhist temples even today.

It has been said that ‘there is no island in the world that has attracted the attention of authors in so many distant ages and so many different countries as Ceylon’.

During much of the historic period, there are descriptions of the island: in the Hindu epics, in accounts of early Chinese Buddhist travellers, in the works of the Greek, Roman and Arab geographers, and eventually in the Portuguese and Dutch archives.

One of the earliest foreign records is that of a pilot in one of Alexander’s fleets, who seems to have visited Sri Lanka in the 4th Century BC.

In the 1st Century AD, Pliny gives a description of the country and its people, which he seems to have compiled from the accounts of Sri Lankan ambassadors to the court of Emperor Claudius. Some of the most accurate accounts are considered to be by the Chinese Pilgrim Scholar, Fa-Hsien, who visited Sri Lanka in 5th Century to visit the Buddhist monasteries which by that time had become great centres of learning.

The beauty and wealth of the Island had caught the imagination of Arab writers to such an extent that the land they referred to as ‘Serendib’ was incorporated into the stories of Sinbad the Sailor.

They believed that Adam lived there when he was exiled from Paradise. Even today, a Holy Mountain in Sri Lanka, 7,300 feet in height, called Siri Pada or Adam’s Peak, which has, at its Summit, a depression resembling a foot print, is considered by the Muslims as Adam’s.

The same footprint is venerated by Buddhists as that of the Buddha; by Hindus as that of Shiva; and by Christians as that of St. Thomas the Apostle.

It is also said of Sri Lanka that ‘there is probably no place that occurs so frequently or is so correctly situated on ancient maps’.

Perhaps nothing conveys this so graphically as the map of the world by Ptolemy, the Egyptian geographer of the 2nd Century AD. There, Sri Lanka, referred to as Taprobane, appears about 20 times its actual size, dominating the twin arcs of the Indian Ocean formed by the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.

All this stands testimony to the fact that Sri Lanka was not only a rich and beautiful Island but that it was also the seat of one of the small but important historical civilisations of Asia.

Historians of science have placed the Sri Lankan builders amongst the great hydraulic engineers of the pre-modern world, on a level with those of ancient Egypt and China.

The scale of their achievement can be measured when one considers that in the 12th Century, there were 600 miles of man-made canals in an island that is less than 300 miles long.

The ruins of great monasteries and cities, colossal man-made lakes, numerous inscriptions and a large body of ancient literature still survive as testimony to the achievements of the Sri Lankan people over a period of 2000 years and more. They indicate that from about 3rd century BC to about the 15th century, Sri Lanka took its place with other countries in Asia, as one of the most advanced and developed countries of the pre-modern world. Throughout this period, the people of Sri Lanka had evolved its own distinctive culture and economy while keeping in close contact with the outside world and being open to ideas and exchanges with the countries of the Indian Ocean region and beyond.

With the beginning of the modern era , and the world began to change and enter upon a new historical stage, Sri Lanka was compelled into forming new relationships with powers from overseas, particularly, the Europe of the Renaissance.

The colonial expansion of the European maritime nations had a direct political, economic and cultural impact on Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan people were outmanoeuvred by successive waves of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisers armed with military power and aggressive economic and diplomatic strategies of a rising Europe. The country remained a British colony for 150 years until Independence in 1948.

The process of transformation of Sri Lanka into a modern nation with modern institutions, therefore, took place under colonial domination.

Modern constitutional governance in Sri Lanka commenced in 1833, during the time of the British, with what is known as the Colebrooke-Cameron Reforms. These reforms provided the first inklings of constitutionalism for Sri Lanka. From this point on, constitutional governance evolved. At first, Restricted Legislative Assemblies were set up. In due time, they were enlarged until, in 1931, the people of Sri Lanka received Universal Adult Franchise. Thereafter, a National Assembly was established and the political party system emerged. In keeping with the British system of governance, a strong Bar and an independent Judiciary developed in the country.

The Parliament was established with the advent of Independence in 1948 and the Constitution known as the Soulbury Constitution, modelled along the Westminster model of government, was adopted. This was not an end in itself. Although, what may be described as a vibrant, practising democracy was established at the time, the process of finding the perfect constitutional model for the empowerment of people encompassing all communities still continues in Sri Lanka, even after 60 years of Independence.

New constitution

In 1972, a new Constitution was formed under an electoral mandate given to the Left Front Government. This exercise saw Sri Lanka breaking away from the colonial model. Continuing the process of modernisation of the Constitutional structure in Sri Lanka, another new Constitution was adopted in 1978, following the mandate given by the electorate to the United National Party. This saw the introduction of a new Constitution that broke away completely from the previous Westminster model. The 1972 Constitution declared the President of the Republic to be the Head of State; thereby changing the role of the Governor-General from one of being a mere representative of The Queen to that of a President, as a Head of State for Sri Lanka.

The 1978 Constitution changed this completely, expanding the role of the President as Head of State, Head of the Executive and of the Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. This 1978 Constitution is the one by which Sri Lanka is currently governed.

For 30 years, since the late 1970s, democracy in the country was under siege . A terrorist group, bent on carving out a separate State in the North and the East of the country, unleashed indescribable violence on the nation. Their aim was to convert the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious society that the people of the country had enjoyed for many centuries, into a narrow, mono-ethnic, mono-linguistic State.

The ruthless methods they used included the deployment of child soldiers and suicide bombers. They killed a Prime Minister of India, a President of Sri Lanka, a Tamil Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka and many more Tamil political leaders as well as Sinhalese and Muslims.

They completely destroyed the economy and the infrastructure of the North of the country while inflicting heavy damage on other parts of the country intermittently. They eliminated the democratic political leadership of their own Tamil community. A large number of innocent civilians from all races became victims of their violence. This even included Muslim and Buddhist civilians at prayer in mosques and temples. The LTTE also carried out ethnic cleansing raids. All non-Tamils, including a large number of Muslims who lived in the North were evicted by the LTTE. For example, in 1989, the entire Muslim population in Mannar were asked to leave their land, and in 1990, 75,000 Muslims from Jaffna were given two hours to leave the Northern region.

The ruthlessness of the LTTE and its intransigence resulted in its proscription by the USA, India, UK, EU and Canada.

The many attempts at bringing the LTTE into the democratic path included amending the Constitution as well. This was in the form of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1987, which came into effect along with the Provincial Councils Act, to devolve power to the Provinces, within a unitary State. As you all know, the LTTE would not accept power-sharing and was adamant on using terror tactics to carve out a separate State.

The Provincial Councils, however, are up and running. With the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, Local Government and Provincial Council elections which could not be held in the LTTE held areas for several decades have finally been held. The people of those areas are now once again electing their own leaders at free and fair elections.

The Constitution of Sri Lanka, through all this, continues to evolve, responding to the needs of the people.

A Parliamentary Select Committee is to be appointed shortly with representation by all political parties to take a fresh look at power sharing, based on our experience in the past two decades. This exercise is aimed at addressing the grievances of all communities in terms of administration, governance and power-sharing.

Our aim as a nation is to ensure that all communities and groups in the country are able to address all their problems through democratic means.

Statisticswise, Sri Lanka today has a population of 21 million made up of 74% Sinhalese; 18% Tamils consisting of Tamils of recent Indian origin and Sri Lankan Tamils; 7% Muslims, and 1% made up of other groups. The main religions practised are Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. The population growth rate is around 0.9%.

Sri Lanka’s social indicators are among the best in Asia. According to the UNDP Human Development Index, Sri Lanka enjoys the highest physical quality of life in the South Asian region. Another achievement is near universal literacy with a very narrow gender gap. The World Economic Forum has rated Sri Lanka among the top 20 countries in the world on gender equality. These are the results of sound policies implemented soon after Independence to provide free healthcare and free education for all Sri Lankans.

Recording a per capita income of US$ 2400 in the year 2010, Sri Lanka is now categorised as a middle income status country by the IMF. We have achieved an economic growth rate of over 8% and this is expected to even grow higher over the next few years. Our current aim is naturally to capitalise on post-conflict opportunities for the betterment of the people of our country. We are well placed on our path towards this aim: our workforce is versatile and easily trainable, with English widely spoken and understood; having ensured that our economy withstood the 30-year conflict and the impact of the December 2004 tsunami, our workforce can also claim resilience.

We have the second largest pool of UK qualified accountants in the world which helps us compete in the financial and BPO markets; and Sri Lanka’s stock market has been one of the best performing not only in Asia, but in the world.

Taking into account Sri Lanka’s strategic location on the east-west maritime route, close to the ocean routes that link Asia to Europe and the rapidly expanding markets of the Indian sub-continent, our vision in terms of our overall economy, as laid down in the Government Policy Document ‘Mahinda Chintana’ (Vision for the Future) is to become a dynamic global hub; a shipping, aviation, commercial, energy and knowledge hub, being a key link between the East and the West.

Trade

Growing trade in the Indian sub-continent and its increasing integration with the rest of the world have created demand for enhanced port facilities, giving Sri Lanka the opportunity to increase its volumes and market-share of trans-shipment traffic. In this context, ports have been identified as one of the highest potential revenue generators for Sri Lanka. The current expansion of the Colombo Port (the Colombo South Harbour Project) and the new Port in Hambantota are expected to drive economic activity and significantly boost revenues in years ahead.

The ancient and world renowned natural harbour in Trincomalee in the East of the country is envisaged to become an industrial port, in addition to ship refuelling. The Government intends setting up heavy industries in Trincomalee and the port will be used increasingly for commercial activities including power generation, cement production, flour milling and oil storage. The Indian Oil Corporation already operates out of Trincomalee. Shortly, NTPC, the giant Indian State owned Power Company, will enter into a Joint Venture with the Ceylon Electricity Board to build a 1000MW coal power plant.

In addition to these three ports there are also the ports in Galle, Oluvil and Kankesanthurai. The Galle Port in the South is being developed as a commercial and leisure port providing berthing and repair facilities for up to 80 yachts. The Oluvil Port which is seen as a catalyst for the growth of the eastern region which has seen slow growth due to the conflict is being developed as a commercial and fisheries harbour with Danish funding. The harbour is expected to create employment opportunities through increased trade, fisheries activities and the development of small-scale industries. The Kankesanturai Port in the North is currently being rebuilt with Indian assistance.

With Sri Lanka’s GDP growth rate of 8%, it is expected that per capita income, by 2016, would reach US$ 4000. Tourist arrivals, currently growing at 40%, are expected to reach 2.5 million by 2015. IT literacy is expected to increase from the current 35% to 75%.

As mentioned earlier, our focus is to capitalise on post-conflict opportunities to ensure a better future for the people of our country. Our challenges in this respect include consolidating the hard won peace after 30 years of conflict and taking our nation as a whole towards greater prosperity and social cohesion. This involves safeguarding Sri Lanka’s national interests, meeting the aspirations of its people of all communities, harmonising our multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, safeguarding our cherished and long-standing democracy, and projecting ourselves as a nation at peace and a venue for secure investment and good business.

Since Independence, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy has been guided by non-alignment. The policy of staying away from great power rivalries continues to serve Sri Lanka well. This policy is in line with our national ethos and persistent desire to be an independent nation, working with friendship towards all and enmity towards none. In this context, we enjoy close and friendly relations with all Member States of the UN, now numbering 192. However, extra effort is made towards developing closer ties with countries in our immediate neighbourhood. India, in this respect, holds a very special place.

In the words of our President, “India is our relation and all others are our friends”. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “It is, at least it should be, impossible for India and Sri Lanka to quarrel. We are the nearest neighbours.

We are inheritors of a common culture.”

Relations between Sri Lanka and India, in the post-Independence era, have matured over the years and diversified with the passage of time, encompassing all areas of contemporary relevance, including trade, services and investment, development cooperation, science and technology, culture, education and security.

The conclusion of the armed conflict in May 2009 created the space for new opportunities and further expansion of areas of cooperation between the two countries. The State Visit by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India in June 2010 was a landmark event that laid a strong foundation for the future development of bilateral relations, with the two leaders agreeing to harness the enormous potential available for consolidating and strengthening the bilateral partnership.

Today, India and Sri Lanka work together on the basis of mutual respect and understanding.

Our relations could be described as having reached a point of irreversible excellence. Interactions take place at every conceivable level on a regular basis and all issues are discussed and resolved amicably through direct bilateral discussions. Cooperation and interaction between our two countries also encompass all three security forces. A large number of Sri Lankan security personnel are trained in India, annually, and the Sri Lanka Navy has recently embarked on a program of procuring OPVs from India.

India today is Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner. India is first in terms of Foreign Direct Investment.

The largest number of tourists who come into Sri Lanka are from India. In all three sectors, Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, and Tourism, India occupies a dominant position in relation to our economy. Trade between the two countries has increased exponentially since the entry into force of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement in 2000. It is now envisaged that the time has come to take this partnership further in the form of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The Colombo Port and the Colombo Dockyard feed on substantial Indian business. Many Indian corporations are investing in Sri Lanka.

Indian banks and insurance companies operate in Sri Lanka as well. Physical connectivity between the two countries continues to expand. The Colombo-Tuticorin Ferry Service was launched recently and arrangements to launch the Rameshwaram-Talaimannar Ferry Service are currently under way. There are more than 100 flights a week between the two countries now and over 250,000 Sri Lankans visit India, annually, mostly on pilgrimage to Buddhist sites in North India.

Indian assistance

India’s assistance towards the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the conflict affected areas of the North and the East of Sri Lanka is substantial and continuing. India’s contribution covers a range of areas and include: provision of clothing, medicine, shelter material, cement, agriculture implements, deployment of demining teams, rebuilding infrastructure including railways, setting up vocational training centres, repair and construction of schools, 50,000 houses, stadia and recreational facilities, rehabilitation of the Palaly Airport and Kankesanthurai Harbour, construction of a cultural centre in Jaffna, and assistance towards rehabilitation of war widows.

Sri Lanka has permanent official representation in New Delhi as well as in Mumbai and Chennai. India has expanded its representation in Sri Lanka since the conclusion of the conflict. While the High Commission is based in Colombo, India has Consulates in Kandy in the Central Province, Jaffna in the North and Hambantota in the deep South.

Recognising India’s role as an emerging power in the world, Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to pledge its support for a permanent seat for India in the UN Security Council .

There is one sensitive matter which could be termed an outstanding issue, on which the two countries remain engaged to find a solution. This is the matter of fishermen from either side crossing into each other’s waters.

The main issue in this regard is that of fishermen from Southern India crossing the IMBL in the Palk Bay, in large numbers, almost on a daily basis, and fishing in the resource rich shallow waters off the coast of Sri Lanka.

The Northern Sri Lankan fishermen who have returned to their traditional livelihood after the lifting of restrictions on fishing following the conclusion of the armed conflict, protest that their resources are being plundered by the Southern Indian fishermen. Their other concerns include the fishing methods used by the Indian fishermen which are harmful to the marine eco-system.

The problem is not something that can be solved easily as it involves livelihood concerns of fishermen of both sides. But both countries recognise and acknowledge the problem and related concerns.

We remain engaged at all levels including through Fishermen’s Associations, to find practical solutions to the problem.

The above are the excerpts of the speech delivered by High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to India, Prasad Kariyawasam delivered at the National Defence College of India on August 11, 2011