By

Dr Nirmala Chandrahasan

The recently announced TNA manifesto has caused a lot of debate and trepidation among some sections. Hence it would be useful to look at the document to see whether there is any cause for such trepidation and what the provincial Council once it is constituted will be in a position to deliver. One factor which stands out in the manifesto is the commitment to a united Sri Lanka. This is in line with the thinking of a majority of the people of all communities in Sri Lanka who are content to live together in a united country.

In fact despite the sporadic racial riots from 1956 onwards culminating in the 1983 pogrom followed by the long drawn out insurgency and civil war in the north and east, the ordinary people of the country of all communities, show no hostility to each other, except for a few fringe groups and extremist elements. Recently reading a travel book on the Balkans written in the 1980s before the violent conflict that raged in the 1990’s in the former State of Yogoslavia, I was disturbed to read of the violent hatred and suspicion between the different ethnic groups and communities in that region, and could not help contrasting it with the situation in Sri Lanka

The TNA manifesto has a lengthy preamble which gives a historical background to the problems faced by the Tamil speaking people of the country ,and also sets out the party’s ideological position which is a reiteration of its stand since the ITAK (federal party ) was formed in 1949 and which it has consistently advocated for over sixty years. Its position simply stated is that there is and has been since Independence a majoritarian form of rule and there is a need to share the powers of governance between the different communities who occupy this Island nation. It may be noted that Article 3 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka states that sovereignty lies in the people, and hence the manifesto when it speaks of shared sovereignty is saying that this sovereignty must be exercised by all the peoples of Sri Lanka i. e. Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims and not only by the majority community. Certainly in a democracy there is rule by a majority but this is not a permanent majority but changes at parliamentary elections depending on the peoples support to the political programme of one or other political party. In Sri Lanka, however, it is asserted that there is rule by governments representing the majority community, and hence the term majoritarian rule.

Naturally, majoritarian governments advance the interests of their community and this is reflected in recruitment to the public services, armed forces, language of administration, economic development , land settlement , the decision making processes , the judiciary and the cabinet of Ministers, where all the important ministries are held by members of the majority community. Hence under a unitary Constitution such as ours, the minority communities feel sidelined and discriminated against. This is why in multi ethnic states constitutional arrangements have been worked out which are based on different forms of devolution or federal structures as we see in neighbouring India and most other states today. More recently the United Kingdom which is not a federal state has devolved power to the different ethnic groups with separate Parliaments, national Assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In this context the Provincial Council system provided for in the 13th Amendment which is part of the Constitution, despite its shortcomings, enables the minority communities to at least have a say in their own affairs at a local level in those areas where they constitute the majority. If governments at the Centre and the bureaucracy corporate with them and allow them to function efficiently without crippling or obstructing them it will help to assuage, to some extent, the exclusion from participatory governance. The first part of the TNA manifesto is largely a recapitulation of the TNA’s 2010 Parliamentary election manifesto, for which as stated in the present manifesto, the party has received a mandate at the 2010 election. While much of it has been described as rhetoric it can also be interpreted as an attempt to reiterate the identity and self-respect of the community in a post war era, while restating the constitutional and international law principles on which the ITAK /TNA has rested its case for power sharing. However, these are not matters within the competence of the Provincial Council to deliver. These are matters for the party to pursue at a national level in Parliament, through negotiations with governments, and by taking their case to the majority community, among whom there is at present little understanding of this point of view.

The documents also has a section entitled “Matters of Immediate Concern to the Tamil People”. This is the part which actually concerns the Provincial Council and would be within its competence. This part of the manifesto which I would regard as important has not been adequately looked at and I would like to analyze and discuss this part in greater detail. The concerns are as follows:

1.Demilitarization

2. Resettlement of the IDPS

3. Independent international investigations into allegations of violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian laws by both the LTTE and the GOSL

4. Persons detained without charges to be released promptly and a general amnesty granted to all prisoners. Finality to be reached as regards missing persons and compensation paid to next of kin

5. Refugees to have the right of return and a conducive atmosphere created for their return

6. A comprehensive programme for the development of the North and East including the creation of employment opportunities for the Youth to be undertaken with the support of the Sri Lankan state, the Tamil Diaspora and the international community.

7. Muslim community who were displaced invited to return with the PC promising to look after their interests.

8. War widows – The need to build their livelihoods and uplift them

9. Post war land Issues and the taking over of private land by the Government and the military.

10. Law and order – Need for a civilian Police Force to handle these matters.

These are the matters which the PC will have to deal with However, 1-5 are also matters which can be dealt with at a national and even international level as they deal with human rights and humanitarian law issues. It will be noted that the international investigation called for includes both violations by the LTTE and the GOSL. Items 6 – 9 are the issues which lie squarely within the competence of the PC and which the Council will have to deliver on. The comprehensive programme for the development of the North is the most Important task before the PC, as it would address the everyday concerns of the war ravaged province. The manifesto recognizes the need to involve the Sri Lankan state, and for this there has to be cooperation between the provincial council and the government.

The government’s development plans thus far have been concentrated on building the mega infrastructure projects with the help of donor countries. This is commendable as it has opened up the region and brought the benefits of good roads, railways, electricity etc. to the province. The government has also encouraged the opening of banks and financial institutions. On the one hand this has increased the flow of capital into the region and the growth of business enterprises, but this has also had adverse effects on the poorer sections of the population. Ahilan Kadirgamar in an Article, ‘Politics of Dispossession’ (published in The Frontline of Sept. 4) points out that the outcome of this has been the flooding of the market with retail businesses and consumer goods. In the absence of livelihoods and incomes the rural people who have been led into a buying spree now face a vast degree of indebtedness. Many of the rural folk are desperate to seek exit strategies even embarking on dangerous boat journeys to Australia. Social investment by the wealthier sections of the population and the Diaspora has focused on Temples and the leading Jaffna schools, while the education of the rural children is neglected.

What is needed is development to help the common man and especially the dispossessed and marginalized Vanni villages. The province’s agricultural and fisheries base has to be revived. Agriculture has to be revived focusing on ecologically friendly methods, small tanks and the canal system have to be restored, roads to interior villages have to be laid and bus services provided, not tourist hotels and industrial projects which are environmentally detrimental. These matters have to be worked out at a local level, with the cooperation of the people of those communities. These are matters which the PC can best deal with rather than the government at the Centre, which could look to the mega projects. The Provincial Council List, under Schedule 9 of the Constitution contains the subject of Planning –implementation of provincial economic plans and includes inter alia the following subjects; Agriculture and Agrarian services, Rehabilitation and maintenance of minor irrigation works, agricultural research, Rural development, Co-operatives, Land, , irrigation, Animal husbandry and construction of roads bridges and highways within the province excluding national highways. Hence the subject of economic development is squarely within the Councils area of competence and should be undertaken keeping in mind the day to day and livelihood concerns of the people of the province.

Looking at what befell the erstwhile state of Yugoslavia it is in the interests of governments at the centre to work with and extend cooperation to the provincial administration in its tasks so as to create a prosperous province and a contented population. In this process, a scaling back of the military involvement and the reverting to a civilian administration with law and order in the hands of the police force is also necessary for the process of normalization to take place in the social order. It will be remembered that after the insurgency in the 1970s and 1980s in the southern provinces of the country, once the insurgency was subdued a general amnesty was given and there was no major military presence was continued in these provinces. As a result the process of normalisation took place quickly and peace prevailed. A Provincial Council which fulfills the aspirations of the people of the North for some form of participation in governance even at a local level, together with a more inclusive approach at the centre, can strengthen the peoples inclination to remain within a united country rather than go down the road of Balkanization.