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Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution

by R.B. Herath

225 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0606; ISBN 1-55369-793-6; US$22.00, C$25.50, EUR18.00, £13.00

This book is a frank reflection on the history and politics of Sri Lanka that has produced its current tragic ethnic crisis. It is the first book on the subject to help the reader fully understand the historic context of the crisis, discover hidden factors that influence it, and see a peaceful way to resolve it with a new democratic model of governance. The basic principles of the model are universally applicable to all countries enduring similar ethnic crises.

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About the Book

This book is a result of years of research on the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis. It gives a vivid description of the crisis, analyses the numerous factors that influence it, and explains a way to end it by democratic means.
Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution is a unique book among those written on the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for a number of reasons. It is the only book on the market that looks at the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis in a comprehensive manner. Every other book written on the subject focuses only on some selected aspects of the crisis. At the same time those written before do not help the reader understand the present intricacies of the crisis. A close look at all the books so far written on the subject reveals that Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution is the first book to:

reach readers in both the academic and non-academic environments;
help the reader fully understand the historic context of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka;
discover and discuss in a co-ordinated manner the hidden factors that influence the crisis;
expose the disguise of the elite and dynastic-type post-colonial rule as democracy, and the unbuddhist influence of some Buddhist monks on the ethnic crisis;
remind the British, the last colonial power of Sri Lanka, of their responsibility for the present predicament of the Sinhalese peasantry and "stateless" Indian Tamils;
suggest a complete solution to the crisis with a new democratic model of governance, which is equally applicable in principle to other countries suffering from ethnic strife; and
Outline a way to implement the solution in the present political climate.

This is the first time a person outside social science academia and the journalistic world has written a book on the subject, giving the citizen's point of view on the ethnic crisis combined with a democratic solution. In his solution, the author suggests a new, bottom-up approach to the crisis, with the people at the centre of the decision making process, instead of the top-down approach that has so far failed.
The Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution is a book of 85,000 words. It also includes a number of explanatory maps, tables, and charts. It is an easy-to-read, concise and up-to-date book that has the answers to the burning questions raised by those committed to finding a lasting solution to the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis. It is a book of interest to everyone everywhere interested in the phenomenon of identity politics, and in matters of democratic processes to ensure the civil, human and political rights of the entire citizenry.
Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution has five chapters. The first chapter introduces the reader to the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis and the objectives and organisation of the book. The second chapter gives a historical background to the crisis. It takes the reader through three phases of Sri Lankan history: pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial. It is useful for the reader to know the historical background of the crisis to fully understand its present complexities. The third chapter identifies the root cause of the crisis and explains 10 main factors that have contributed to its escalation into a separatist war since independence in 1948. The fourth chapter stresses the importance of a new political beginning for Sri Lanka as a multiethnic independent nation, and explains eight basic factors that should constitute the foundation for such a new beginning. Then it discusses the varied governing systems developed in other democracies in the world, and proposes a new democratic governing model for Sri Lanka. The model addresses the ethnic issues in Sri Lanka and formulates a way to establish genuine democracy in the country, giving the power of self-determination to all its peoples. This chapter also explains how the country would be able to implement such a new model of democratic governance within its present political climate. The fifth and last chapter calls upon all Sri Lankans to take up the challenge of being part of the central decision making process in making their country a place fit to live in for all.
For review copies or interviews, phone the author at 604-597-1920 (Canada) or email heraths@familynet.bc.ca.

About the Author

The author was born and raised in Sri Lanka. He was a toddler when the country gained independence in 1948. He grew up amidst the changes that shaped the country to what it is today. He was always concerned about the future of the country, and contributed towards reducing ethnic divisiveness among its people. He did this first as a student leader in his high school and university days, and later as an active participant in national politics. In October 1979, he co-founded and led a democratic political party in Sri Lanka by the name Podujana Party (meaning Peoples' party) with a vision of 'One Lanka - One Nation, One Nation - One Family.' This political party prepared for the general election scheduled for 1983. This election, however, did not take place; the incumbent government postponed it to 1989. Meanwhile, the LTTE turned the ethnic crisis of the country into a separatist war in 1983, taking control of its democratic political process. In the aftermath of the commotion that followed, the author left the country in 1984. He now lives in Canada.
He has travelled to many countries in the world, and worked as an engineer, university teacher, development planner and a public service administrator in six of them: Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, and Canada. In his teaching assignment at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, he was promoted from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer in 1975. In his work-assignment in Zambia as the national co-ordinator of a special rural development program (Intensive Development Zones), he represented that country in a number of bilateral and multilateral conferences sponsored by the United Nations. At these conferences he presented varied country review reports on agriculture and rural development. In 1984, he was registered with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements as an expert in Rural Physical Planning and Water Supply- Infrastructure. Presently he is working with the government of British Columbia, Canada, and deals with, among other things, First Nations' issues in managing and allocating Crown land. Wherever he travelled or lived, he always took keen interest to study the ways of governance in plural societies. He has an excellent knowledge of the international scene. After settling in Canada, he conducted extensive research on the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis. He now has a special message of peace and reconciliation to those committed to bring a lasting solution to it. This book is written to convey that message.
The author has published three books on Sri Lankan topics before, one in English and the other two in Sinhalese, a vernacular language of Sri Lanka. The author wrote these books after a constitutional change in the country, renaming it as The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The book in English, Democratic Socialism, discusses the pre-requisites of democracy. One of the books in Sinhalese, Sri Lanka Desapalanaya, Ayanna, Aayanna, Eyanna, Eeyanna (translation reads as A, B, C, D of Sri Lankan Politics) analyses the contemporary political system of Sri Lanka. The other, Desappremayen Odavadiwa Darudariyanta Kavivalinma Liyu Lipiyak (translation reads as A Letter to Our Children in Poems Written through Patriotism) is a book of poems. It gives a message of mutual respect, love and unity to the children of Sri Lanka in a child's diction. The government of Sri Lanka purchased a number of copies of this book for distribution among its schools and municipal libraries.
In 1989, while he was in Zambia, he wrote and directed a stage drama, Angulimala, depicting a story from Buddhist literature. Later he wrote and directed two other stage dramas in Canada based on historical heroic events in Sri Lanka, Hoisting the British Flag and Keppetipola Heroism, for the 50th Sri Lankan Independence anniversary celebrations held at Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, on 7 March1998. The author was one of the two Overall Co-ordinators of this event.
Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD) in Canada, and an active member of the International South Asian Forum (INSAF). He possesses a Bachelor's degree from the University of Ceylon and a post-graduate degree from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He is married and has three children.

Sample Excerpt and Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
About the author
Foreword
Acronyms

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2: HISTORIC BACKGROUND

Pre-Colonial Era
  Early Settlers
  Sinhalese-Buddhist Identity
  Advanced Hydraulic Civilisation
  South Indian Invasions
  Demise of Hydraulic Civilisation
  Three Kingdoms, Two Sinhalese and One Tamil

Colonial Era
  European Colonisation
  The Kandyan Convention
  Three Separate Administrations
  Uva-Vellassa Rebellion
  A Unified Administrative System
  Matale Rebellion
  Communal Representation
  Buddhist Revival and Transformation
  Talks on Constitutional Reforms
  Proposals for Federalism
  Constitutional Changes Implemented

Post-Colonial Era
  A Two-Party System
  A Language Fiasco
  The Emergence of the LTTE
  A Separatist War & Peace Talks

CHAPTER 3: PRESENT PARANOIA
Unwinnable War
Root Cause
Colonial Inheritance
National Disintegration
Non-secularism
Unreal Expectations
Marxists' Role
Racism Among Leaders
Escalation of Mistrust
Adding a New Problem
Democracy Betrayed
Unbuddhist Influence of Some Buddhist Monks
Ultimate Awakening

CHAPTER 4: A NEW BEGINNING
Recognize and Accept Diversity
Service to Buddhism
Equality of Languages
The Concept of Homeland
The Adivasis
Citizenship
Democracy
Democratic Models Developed Elsewhere
A New Democratic Model for Sri Lanka
Process for Change

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

APPENDIX

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this book is to examine the Sinhala -Tamil ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka and to contribute towards a democratic process to resolve it. The crisis climaxed in the early 1980s as a civil war. This civil war has already claimed more than 65,000 lives and displaced more than 670,000 people from their homes. The civilians living on both sides of the warfront have suffered from the cessation of civil society, indiscriminate killings of innocent people, extortion, kidnappings, rape, and other war crimes. Those who have become victims of suicide bombers were a President, three cabinet ministers, and many other prominent political leaders.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant group within the largest ethnic minority in the country, the Tamils, started the civil war to establish a separate state for Tamils in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. There are about 3.5 million Tamils altogether in the country out of the total population of 19.5 million (18%). The rest of the population consists of about 14.4 million Sinhalese (74%), 1.4 million Muslims (7%), 60,000 Malays (0.3%), 60,000 Burghers (0.3%), and 40,000 others of different ethnic identities (0.2%). The Sinhalese are predominantly Buddhists, while the Tamils are predominantly Hindus. According to 1981 census, 55.16% of the Tamils live in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, and the rest are concentrated in the central highlands and the urban areas outside the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Those settled in the central highlands, about a million, have a separate identity as Indian Tamils. They are descendants from the indentured Indians brought to the country during British colonialism in the nineteenth century for work in the colonial plantations. The Tamils who had domiciled in the country before that are generally referred to as Sri Lankan Tamils. Almost 74% of the Sri Lankan Tamils and 10% of the Indian Tamils live in the Northern and eastern Provinces.
The ethnic crisis and war in Sri Lanka has had implications beyond its borders. India had initially assisted in the training of the military cadres of the LTTE. In 1987, India sent thousands of its troops to Sri Lanka for peacekeeping purposes. The LTTE waged war against the members of the Indian peace keeping force and eventually together with the Sri Lankan government made India withdraw its forces in 1990. By this time the Indian army had already lost 1,150 troops to LTTE guns. Later, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a LTTE female suicide bomber. Subsequently in 1992 the Indian government has proscribed the LTTE as a terrorist organization. Ever since, neither the central government of India nor any of its State governments has shown interest in playing a direct role in resolving the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis.
Since the early 1980s when the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis took on its violent war phase the international community had shown concern. Thousands of Sri Lankans who took refuge in India and many western countries had further influenced the separatist war. There had been a growing concern and pressure from the international community on the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to resolve the crisis in a peaceful manner. In this context the activities of some members of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to financially and otherwise support the LTTE have become a contentious issue in many countries in the world. The United States of America (USA), Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), and Australia, where the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora is concentrated, have followed the Indian example and proscribed the LTTE as a terrorist organization.
Some of the factors that may have contributed to the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka may have a long history. However the escalation of the crisis to a separatist war is largely due to three recent, post-independence factors. Firstly , the country's constitution at its independence in 1948 had many shortcomings. It ignored the basic issues of equality, fundamental human rights and even citizenship. As a result, it left the doors open for inequality, discrimination, disenfranchisement, and the eventual conflicts in the country over ethnicity and religion. Post-independent governments have revised the constitution on two separate occasions, in 1972 and 1978. The revisions, however, failed to address the shortcomings of the country's constitution, and, instead, further aggravated issues of fundamental rights and discrimination.
Secondly, some post-independent politicians of the country have pursued shortcuts to power by resorting to divisive, chauvinist policies, taking undue advantage of the shortcomings of the country's constitution. After coming to power, these leaders have passed laws and regulations that discriminated against the minorities in the country. This has generated chauvinism among the majority Sinhalese and the largest minority, Tamils. Before the European colonization of the country, the Sinhalese and Tamils of Sri Lanka had lived separately for more than two centuries in three kingdoms, two Sinhalese (Kotte and Kandyan kingdoms) and one Tamil (Jaffna kingdom). Sinhalese kingdoms in the country date back to more than 2500 years. South Indian invasions and conquests had led to the rule of some of the Sinhalese kingdoms in the northern plain by foreigners from time to time. The leaders of post independent governments and the LTTE often represent and interpret this history in ways to legitimize their respective positions on the present ethnic divide.
Thirdly, the post-independent economy of the country has failed to create sufficient employment opportunities to its growing numbers of educated youth. Sri Lanka has been internationally noted for its very successful social development, particularly in education and health. But the slow economy failed to create adequate employment opportunities for the educated youth. This has made the limited opportunities in employment highly competitive. As a result, there was an increase in the need and competition for post-secondary education as well. In time, these matters became political issues among the different ethnic groups. Every group wanted a fair share of the limited opportunities. The leaders of the different ethnic groups, however, did not see eye to eye as to how to achieve that objective. The government dominated by Sinhalese leaders, advocated that the new opportunities in the public sector employment and higher education should be on a quota basis on the strength of the population of each group. The government argued that such a system was fair, as it could eventually correct the existing over-representation of Tamils in the public service and higher learning institutions. The leaders of the Tamil community, however, argued that it would be very unfair to follow such a policy. They insisted on selection to the public service and higher education institutions purely on the basis of merit. At one point, the government set two separate standards for the university entrance requirements, one for Sinhalese and the other for Tamils. These separate standards were applicable even when a Sinhalese student and a Tamil student sat for the same subjects in one language, say English.
Thus, the factors that contributed to the escalation of the Sinhala -Tamil ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka are both political and economic in nature. Many critics have commented on both these aspects. While the author recognizes the significance and importance of both, this book is confined to the political aspect of the crisis.
The post-independence governments of Sri Lanka attempted to bring about a solution to the ethnic crisis through a political settlement. However, they have so far failed to untangle the crisis and to bring lasting peace. In their attempts to solve the ethnic crisis, leaders of some post-independence governments had shown a willingness to correct the wrongs they had done to the Tamil community. For example, the government led by Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike had passed a bill in parliament making Sinhala the only official language of the country in June 1956. A year later, however, he entered into a special agreement with S. J. V. Chelvanayagam, the leader of the Federal Party representing the Tamil community. This agreement accepted Tamil too as an official language in the north and east and the need to allow a "reasonable use of the Tamil language" in the other provinces. This agreement known as the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact had provisions for the setting up of Regional Councils with adequate decentralized powers in the provinces. It also had a commitment not to change the majority status of Tamil population in the north and east with the settlement of Sinhalese colonists. In addition, there were to be negotiations with the representatives of the Indian Tamils in the central highlands, who had been defranchised in 1949, on the question of their citizenship. Bandaranaike, however, could fulfil only one of these promises ; he enacted the Tamil language (Special Provisions) Act of 1958 allowing reasonable use of Tamil in administration. He failed to implement the rest of the promises due to strong protests by his own supporters. The assassination of Prime Minster Bandaranaike by a Sinhalese Buddhist monk is in some ways linked to these protests.
A subsequent government led by Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake entered into a similar agreement with Chelvanayagam in 1965. Senanayake created regulations making Tamil the language of administration and law in the north and east and assured relief to Tamil public servants victimized by the Sinhala Only Act of 1956. He too, however, failed to implement the agreement in full due to strong protests by the extremist elements within the Sinhalese majority.
After the commencement of the separatist war there have been peace talks between the warring parties in 1985/6, 1990, and 1994/5, with and without cease-fires. These peace talks continued for months and ended without reaching a mutually acceptable solution to end the ethnic crisis. According to critics, every time peace talks broke down, the LTTE had returned to the warfront with more military strength than ever before. As a result, they say, the peace talks have only resulted in further deepening the crisis. Later in 2000, the government tabled in the country's legislature a devolution package modeled on the Indian federal system for a vote. The government, however, had to withdraw it from the parliamentary agenda after a few days due to strong protests from the same extremist elements within the Sinhalese majority.
The government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE have once again initiated a peace process in 2002. As the first step of this new peace initiative, the two warring parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a cease-fire arrangement on 22 February 2002. According to the LTTE, it has not yet decided to drop its call for a separate state. It treats this as an issue to be discussed at the peace talks now expected to follow. According to critics, the global war on terrorism launched by the United States of America and allied forces will significantly influence the LTTE to accept a political solution to the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka within the context of one country. The global war on terrorism is, however, not a solution in itself to eradicate the root cause of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka.
There are numerous reasons for the failure of the efforts so far made by the post-independence governments to find a lasting solution to the ethnic crisis. In the first place, post-independent leaders never had a cohesive program in the country for the national consolidation and integration of all its peoples as one nation. If there was such a program, the government should have been able to identify and correct the shortcomings of the constitution at the earliest opportunity, closing the doors for inequality and discrimination. In the absence of such a program, the political opportunists in the country became successful in their attempts to gain power by resorting to divisive, ethnic and chauvinist politics. In turn, this led to more inequalities and discrimination, even with constitutional amendments. Thus, since independence Sri Lanka was preparing itself not to bridge the differences that existed among the different ethnic groups in the country, but to aggravate them.
In the process, some of these post-independent politicians turned many innocent peace-loving people in the country into political activists in support of their divisive, chauvinist policies. These leaders had succeeded in doing this by propagating their divisive, chauvinist policies in a disguised form of Sri Lankan nationalism. These leaders have interpreted Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism as Sri Lankan nationalism, ignoring the ethnic and religious diversity of the country. They also advocated that only a unitary system of government could deliver the benefits of such a brand of nationalism. In pursuit of their course, these post-independent leaders have made federalism an anathema in the minds of the majority Sinhalese-Buddhists. In the process, their political activists, including some Buddhist monks, have become the most formidable opponents to any form of reconciliatory action, including federalism, as a solution to the ethnic crisis.
The dynamics of the power struggle within the two-party system that evolved after independence is another critical factor contributing to the escalation of the ethnic crisis. Whenever either of the two main parties took a step towards minority rights, the other had postured as the crusader of the interests of the majority. These two political parties have continued to rule the country since independence on their own or in coalition with minor parties, changing office back and forth.
The manner in which the post-independent governments attempted to address minority issues is also questionable. Their corrective efforts were secretive in nature. The discussions on possible corrections were strictly limited to the leaders of the government and the concerned minority groups. After striking a deal in those secret talks, they expected the whole country to accept it. Every time this happened, however, the government leaders had to face strong objections and protests from the Sinhalese, especially the extremist elements among them, some from among the government's own supporters. This clearly demonstrates the lack of a proper democratic process in the country for resolving its ethnic crisis. The leaders of the two main political parties have built an elite and dynastic-type rule in the country. For them, critics say, democracy ends at the ballot box. They fight elections on specific platforms. Once voted to power, however, they appear to disregard the promises they have made to the people.
The constitutional requirement for a two-thirds majority support in the legislature to establish a new form of government has become another problem in resolving the ethnic crisis. The constitution requires such a majority to change any of its provisions. Since the introduction of the proportionate representative electoral system in 1978, however, it has become difficult for any one political party or group to win enough seats in the legislature to have two-third majority on any issue. This is one reason why the devolution package tabled in the legislature in the year 2000 was not passed.
It also appears that the efforts of the government at the peace talks held so far have revolved around the need to address minority issues due to discriminative laws and regulations. The need to formulate a new system of governance for the country, with an altogether new constitution acceptable to all the ethnic groups, was not in focus. Before independence there was a definite proposal for such an altogether new system of government. It was a proposal to have a federal system of government giving the different ethnic groups in the country the power to rule themselves within the context of one, Sri Lankan nation. The representatives of the former Kandyan kingdom tabled the proposal at the sittings of two constitutional commissions appointed by the British government, in 1927 and 1946. Neither the departing colonialists nor the non-Kandyan Sinhalese or Tamil leaders supported the proposal at the commission sittings. There were, however, no protests or objections to the proposal from the Sinhalese or Buddhists as such. This proposal will be referred to later in the book in the context of its relevance to the present ethnic crisis.
The above is a brief outline of the ethnic crisis and civil war in Sri Lanka. The body of this book, after this introductory chapter, analyses the crisis in Sri Lanka in more detail and suggests a possible solution that may benefit all its peoples. Please see the last paragraph under About the Book for the contents in each chapter.

Catalogue Information