By Dr Devanesan Nesiah

President Lyndon Johnson ranked the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as the most important legislative achievement of his career – even more important than the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The latter was drafted under the direction of President John Kennedy, but was pushed through after his assassination by President Johnson. Both legislations were products of the Civil Rights Movement that gained momentum in the 1950s and dominated US politics for two or three decades. The Civil Rights Act redefined the relationships and sought to level the playing field between men and women and between different races of the USA. It introduced reverse discrimination (which it termed affirmative action) as a matter of national policy and outlawed racial segregation which was the norm, de facto and de jure, in many states especially in the South.

Why did President Johnson rank the Voting Rights Act above the Civil Rights Act?

In the USA of that time, as in Sri Lanka and some other countries even today, the law and even the constitution may say one thing, but what happens on the ground is another. President Johnson correctly identified political representation at every level, as a critical factor that could eliminate such anomalies. The First Reconstruction initiated by President Abraham Lincoln brought in de jure equality, including Voting Rights for men, as between races: Voting Rights for women was not even a serious issue at that time. For a short period Blacks did enjoy Voting Rights and a measure of equality. But all this eroded over the years and decades through administrative actions guided by what was termed Black Codes (not unlike the caste rules which applied throughout India for many decades without legal backing).

In Sri Lanka too the citizens in the North and East also enjoyed political representation at the Provincial level soon after the 13th Amendment was passed, but that was only for a year. Sadly, the Varatharaja Perumal administration made a stupid Declaration of Independence and the North East Provincial Council was dissolved. No elections were held for many years. Eventually the region was broken into two and Provincial elections were held in the Eastern part but not in the Northern part.

The Eastern Provincial Council does exist but it is run by the Governor and not by the elected Council. In the North the citizens continue to be denied even nominal political representation because Provincial Council elections have not been held. We are now informed that these will be held in September this year.

In the meantime there has been much ethnic cleansing and significant settling of people from outside. The ethnic cleansing was effected by the LTTE (mostly of Muslims) and by the state (mostly of Tamils). The new settlers brought in by the state are mostly Sinhalese. Many of the Sinhalese settlers have been provided with houses constructed by the state: presumably they are on the voting list for September elections. Perhaps some of them may have had roots in Jaffna long ago. But similar benefits have not been conferred on displaced Muslims (mostly expelled by the LTTE in 1990) and displaced Tamils (mostly displaced during the 24 year civil war).

Whether they will be able to vote in the September Provincial Council Elections is not known. While all ethnicity based disparities in treatment and rights are to be condemned, the rehabilitation of all displaced persons and their descendents is welcome.

It is hoped that opportunities will be provided for all displaced persons and their descendents to vote in the September elections and also resettle with facilities provided on par with those provided to the Sinhalese settlers. It is also hoped that the much waited and long overdue Northern Provincial Council Elections will be free and fair, devoid of violence, irrespective of who gets elected, there will be significant progress towards national reconciliation, which the newly elected Provincial Council should be in a position to help sustain.

It is also hoped that the Provincial Council Elections will initiate and facilitate a process of demilitarization not only in the North but also in the East, where the present Provincial Council is a sham. Four years after the war and the two years after the Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, very little has happened to promote national reconciliation, and much has happened to aggravate inert ethnic and inter religious conflict. The manner in which the Northern Provincial Council elections would be conducted; and the development thereafter could make a very significant and positive difference