by Jehan Perera(December, 19, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The attention of Sri Lankans in the past week was riveted upon a crucial budget vote in Parliament. A defeat of the budget, which substantially raised military spending, would have led to a period of uncertainty or even the downfall of the government. The government's victory in the vote will undoubtedly shape the course of events in the short term.
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The justification for a renewed search for a non-violent solution to the ongoing conflict stems from a recognition of this basic reality, that there cannot be final victory through a military solution and that war cannot bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka.
The justification for a renewed search for a non-violent solution to the ongoing conflict stems from a recognition of this basic reality, that there cannot be final victory through a military solution and that war cannot bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka. ***************************************
The role played by the Sinhalese nationalist JVP, which reversed its previous stance of voting against the budget and abstained on this occasion, was decisive. It will add impetus to the inevitability of escalated warfare, seen by both the ruling party and the JVP as key to the solution to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's challenge to the state.
At the same time the budget debate was taking place in Colombo, an international conference on peace in Sri Lanka was taking place in the Tamil cultural capital of Jaffna in the extreme north of the island. This was the first such event to take place in Jaffna for many years. It was all the more remarkable that the event could take place at the present time when the clouds of war hang heavy over the north and travel to Jaffna is especially restricted with the closure of the highway to the Jaffna peninsula. All foreigners, whether tourists or humanitarian workers, require special government clearance to travel to Jaffna by available sea or air routes.
The decision to make Jaffna the location of the International Summit of Religious Leaders on Peace was to express solidarity with all those who continue to live in situations of violence and despair due to the ongoing conflict. The venue of the meeting was the Jaffna Public Library, which was burned down in 1981 in the course of the conflict and rebuilt nearly two decades later to be a testament to a new era of peace and national reconciliation, which is still to dawn.
The meeting was organized by the World Conference of Religions for Peace together with its local counterpart and the National Peace Council. There was resistance from sections of the government to this conference who may wish to keep civil society organizations on a tight leash. But there was approval for the conference at other high levels that included the Defense Ministry. The ability of the organizers to conduct the event without any interference from the government or LTTE helped to keep it an independent civil society initiative.
The participation of Japan's special envoy Yasushi Akashi, who has dedicated himself to reviving the peace process, also helped to elevate the significance of the conference. Akashi said that as Sri Lanka's largest donor, Japan could ask the Sri Lankan government for an adequate response to the grievances of the Tamil people. He said that a ceasefire was a first step in evolving a durable framework for a just and lasting solution, and that gains for one must be gains for all communities. He also affirmed the need to respect diversity in the modern world, pointing out that even the most powerful nations today could not impose their will upon others.
As an outcome of their experiences in Jaffna and deliberations at the conference with Sri Lankan religious leaders, the participants identified peace-building efforts in several important areas. They urged positive action on the part of the international community by the reactivation of the donor co-chairs, and the enhancement of Japan and Norway's facilitative roles, to re-open the path for fresh negotiations between the government and the LTTE, and by the provision of increased development assistance to reconstruct the war-torn areas, empower local community groups, rebuild the livelihoods of war-affected people and strengthen the national economy.
In addition, they called for an immediate end to the use of claymore mines, artillery firing and bombings that have targeted civilians, forced conscription of children and adults into armed groups, abductions, disappearances, extortions and extrajudicial killings of civilians, harassment of Tamil people through draconian provisions of the law that permit arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention and forced resettlement of internally displaced persons in locations not of their choice.
At the present time there is a sense of utter despondency among the Tamil population. The conflict in Sri Lanka is leading to destruction and suffering on a large scale that is taking its toll most heavily on the Tamil people of the north. A recent public opinion poll conducted by the Social Indicator unit of the Center for Policy Alternatives has shown a dramatic contrast between the Sinhalese and Tamil perceptions of the government's current strategy of military confrontation against the LTTE. Upwards of 85 percent of Sinhalese agree with the government while the reverse is true of the Tamils.
The Social Indicator survey shows that the polarization between the ethnic communities is greater than it has ever been in recent times. It is a truism that violence begets violence and hatred does not cease by hatred. It is therefore only to be expected, by those who think rationally, that the pursuit of a military solution will increase the intensity of the very ethnic conflict that gave birth to Tamil militancy, including the LTTE.
The justification for a renewed search for a non-violent solution to the ongoing conflict stems from a recognition of this basic reality, that there cannot be final victory through a military solution and that war cannot bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka.
(Dr. Jehan Perera is executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, an independent advocacy organization. He studied economics at Harvard College and holds a doctorate in law from Harvard Law School.)
The role played by the Sinhalese nationalist JVP, which reversed its previous stance of voting against the budget and abstained on this occasion, was decisive. It will add impetus to the inevitability of escalated warfare, seen by both the ruling party and the JVP as key to the solution to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's challenge to the state.
At the same time the budget debate was taking place in Colombo, an international conference on peace in Sri Lanka was taking place in the Tamil cultural capital of Jaffna in the extreme north of the island. This was the first such event to take place in Jaffna for many years. It was all the more remarkable that the event could take place at the present time when the clouds of war hang heavy over the north and travel to Jaffna is especially restricted with the closure of the highway to the Jaffna peninsula. All foreigners, whether tourists or humanitarian workers, require special government clearance to travel to Jaffna by available sea or air routes.
The decision to make Jaffna the location of the International Summit of Religious Leaders on Peace was to express solidarity with all those who continue to live in situations of violence and despair due to the ongoing conflict. The venue of the meeting was the Jaffna Public Library, which was burned down in 1981 in the course of the conflict and rebuilt nearly two decades later to be a testament to a new era of peace and national reconciliation, which is still to dawn.
The meeting was organized by the World Conference of Religions for Peace together with its local counterpart and the National Peace Council. There was resistance from sections of the government to this conference who may wish to keep civil society organizations on a tight leash. But there was approval for the conference at other high levels that included the Defense Ministry. The ability of the organizers to conduct the event without any interference from the government or LTTE helped to keep it an independent civil society initiative.
The participation of Japan's special envoy Yasushi Akashi, who has dedicated himself to reviving the peace process, also helped to elevate the significance of the conference. Akashi said that as Sri Lanka's largest donor, Japan could ask the Sri Lankan government for an adequate response to the grievances of the Tamil people. He said that a ceasefire was a first step in evolving a durable framework for a just and lasting solution, and that gains for one must be gains for all communities. He also affirmed the need to respect diversity in the modern world, pointing out that even the most powerful nations today could not impose their will upon others.
As an outcome of their experiences in Jaffna and deliberations at the conference with Sri Lankan religious leaders, the participants identified peace-building efforts in several important areas. They urged positive action on the part of the international community by the reactivation of the donor co-chairs, and the enhancement of Japan and Norway's facilitative roles, to re-open the path for fresh negotiations between the government and the LTTE, and by the provision of increased development assistance to reconstruct the war-torn areas, empower local community groups, rebuild the livelihoods of war-affected people and strengthen the national economy.
In addition, they called for an immediate end to the use of claymore mines, artillery firing and bombings that have targeted civilians, forced conscription of children and adults into armed groups, abductions, disappearances, extortions and extrajudicial killings of civilians, harassment of Tamil people through draconian provisions of the law that permit arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention and forced resettlement of internally displaced persons in locations not of their choice.
At the present time there is a sense of utter despondency among the Tamil population. The conflict in Sri Lanka is leading to destruction and suffering on a large scale that is taking its toll most heavily on the Tamil people of the north. A recent public opinion poll conducted by the Social Indicator unit of the Center for Policy Alternatives has shown a dramatic contrast between the Sinhalese and Tamil perceptions of the government's current strategy of military confrontation against the LTTE. Upwards of 85 percent of Sinhalese agree with the government while the reverse is true of the Tamils.
The Social Indicator survey shows that the polarization between the ethnic communities is greater than it has ever been in recent times. It is a truism that violence begets violence and hatred does not cease by hatred. It is therefore only to be expected, by those who think rationally, that the pursuit of a military solution will increase the intensity of the very ethnic conflict that gave birth to Tamil militancy, including the LTTE.
The justification for a renewed search for a non-violent solution to the ongoing conflict stems from a recognition of this basic reality, that there cannot be final victory through a military solution and that war cannot bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka.
(Dr. Jehan Perera is executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, an independent advocacy organization. He studied economics at Harvard College and holds a doctorate in law from Harvard Law School.)
 The attention of Sri Lankans in the past week was riveted upon a crucial budget...){kind=link}
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