Meritocracy or devolution?

"It is not fair to ridicule the TNA as taking political orders from elsewhere. National unity is an urgent need. One must not forget the sacrifices made by Mr Sampanthan’s colleagues -- A Amirthalingam, Neelan Thiruchelvam and Jaffna mayor Sarojini Yogewaran."

by Vipul

(November 16, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Tamil-speaking ethnic Sri Lankans are now caught between a murderous separatist group and a duplicitous Sri Lankan state.

The Tamil diaspora in the West is also blindly cheering the extremists from the comforts of their American, Australian and European homes, harming the social and economic interests of innocent Sri Lankan Tamil residents.

And the politicians of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu are trying to gain political mileage as the humanitarian crisis escalates in conflict areas.

Fears are also being expressed that ethnic Tamils will lose their rightful place in Sri Lanka once the insurgents are driven out to jungle hideouts from residential areas.

There is much talk these days about devolution of powers to provinces and 100 per cent implementation of the 13th amendment, foisted on Sri Lankans by New Delhi in 1987-88.

People who are championing the cause of an autonomous Tamil provincial council in the North do not have clear answers about protecting the interests of Tamils who own property and run businesses in the Western Province.

Time has come for all stakeholders including APRC participants to arrive at an innovative solution to the so-called Tamil question in Sri Lanka.

There should be more focus on meritocracy than on devolution in order to build up a new post-war Sri Lanka that can grow rapidly as an economic Tiger in Asia.

Globalisation is making people more tech-savvy. It is bringing people closer by breaking communication barriers.

There is no place in the 21st century for divisive doctrines preached by politicians such as S J V Chelvanayagam, S W R D Bandaranaike, GG Poonambalam and J R Jayawardene.

Historians, however, must note that J R Jayawarndene’s UNP government was taking Sri Lankans on the path of prosperity until the sectarian clashes of 1983 that hampered foreign direct investment in the country.

Also, the Jaffna district voters backed the “farmer-friendly” SLFP in the 1982 October Presidential elections, a few months ahead of Black July.

Some political mistakes made by then premier Sirima Bandaranaike and then president Jayawardene in 1970-80 paved the way for Indian intervention in Sri Lankan affairs. And turmoil followed with Sri Lankan youth facing each other as combatants.

The Indian model of devolution or federal solution may not be ideal for a small country like Sri Lanka.

In fact, decentralisation of administrative powers to divisional secretariat level will be more useful.

A district council for Jaffna will also help “Jaffnese” to maintain their distinct status.

The TNA theoreticians may talk highly about the North-East merger and a bigger Tamil council, but the fact remains that the Jaffna society consists of self-centred people who never sincerely reached out to Easterners or the Wanni people even in times of peace.

It is unfortunate that some selfish political decisions of Tamil and Sinhala leaders in late 1950s led to the current situation in our nice country.

The SLFP of course tried to change its policies under Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike and tried to implement political reforms in the early part of 21st century. Yet, the UNP did not co-operate and the conflict continued.

It will be nice if our politicians talk about a Singapore model (meritocracy) for Sri Lanka than latching onto calls for Tamil councils and Muslim councils.

Meritocracy helps build the ethic of hard work. A person’s advancement depends on his ability, performance and contributions.

The learning of English also gave Singaporeans an edge over regional competitors when tackling the global market.

It has been noted that Tamil pupils in the North and the East were voluntarily studying Sinhala along with English, even before the Sinhala only act was introduced by the Bandaranaike government.

In early 1990s, politicians such as N Srikantha (Telo) and Suresh Premachandran (EPRLF) were very critical of the Tamil Tigers. But now, they have changed their stances.

Time is running out for the TNA MPs. They should stop being seen as supporters of extremist opinion.

TNA leader R Sampanthan is a seasoned, elderly parliamentarian. He and V Anandasangaree must shed their political differences to propose a common plan to resolve all the urgent problems, affecting the Tamil community.

President Mahinda Rajapakse and opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe must also adopt and common stand as soon as possible and should take all efforts to politically sideline Tamil separatists.

It is not fair to ridicule the TNA as taking political orders from elsewhere. National unity is an urgent need. One must not forget the sacrifices made by Mr Sampanthan’s colleagues -- A Amirthalingam, Neelan Thiruchelvam and Jaffna mayor Sarojini Yogewaran.

Recession is becoming a major issue in developed economies. So Sri Lankans need to work harder to make their country a knowledge-based manufacturing economy, shaped by the demands of a rapidly changing global market.

The UNP and the SLFP should liaise closely with Tamil MPs and Tamil academics to arrive at a common secular plan to defeat extremism and to ensure all Sri Lankans enjoyed equal rights in theory and practice. - Sri Lanka Guardian