Attitudinal change is more important than changes to the Constitution

By Dr.M.A.Mohamed Saleem

(July 29, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Politicians, intellectuals and the media continue to reflect on various propositions for the future direction of Sri Lanka and in particular, the debate as to the merits and demerits of the 13th amendments has intensified after May 19, which marks the beginning of post-Prabahakaran era. I am neither knowledgeable nor qualified on constitutional matters. After making a deliberate decision to return to my country of origin, having lived overseas for over three decades, I wish to spend my last years in a peaceful and potentially prosperous Sri Lanka, which can be called OURS by all its citizens. It is saddening that precious time and energy are devoted to finding a rationale for and against the 13th amendment in a rekindled debate which I find out of tune and in my opinion, cannot achieve unity among the people and lasting peace, in search of which the country has invested so much, with lives and livelihoods.

In the process of transplanting democratic precepts, Sri Lanka’s post-independence constitutions and governance have been tilted towards the majority community. Amendments down the line that removed constitutional safeguards for the minority communities smacked of a deliberate hegemonic act by the majority. This majority-minority divide, fanned by political rivalries to gain power control, failed to infuse a patriotic spirit in everyone to claim that Sri Lanka belongs to all and it has been the root cause for growing dissatisfaction between the different communities which culminated in senseless LTTE brutality to divide the country. The minorities, particularly the Tamils, felt that they will be in better control of their destiny under self-administration and therefore pressurized the government directly and through proxies for power devolution to a merged territorial unit of the Eastern and Northern Provinces. The 13th amendment to the Constitution, in whatever form and fashion thrust on this country, was in essence, aimed at addressing the perceived ‘Tamil minority suffering under majority’ issue. However, implications of implementing this amendment on other communities in the merged North-East province were then disregarded and what was in store for non-Tamils in the merged territorial unit became evident as the LTTE evicted Muslims from the Northern Province. The LTTE, claiming to be the sole representative of the Tamils, constantly went after the non-Tamils to the point of driving the Muslims also from the Eastern Province as recent as the 2006 when LTTE laid siege on Mutur. The Sinhalese too had met the wrath of the LTTE in these areas at various times, and many families had to run for safety and they are now living in other parts of the country.

The short spell of LTTE-controlled administration under the Ranil negotiated CFA demonstrated what other communities may have experienced had a 13th amendment-backed power transfer to the ‘majority’ Tamil community gone through in the merged north-east provincial unit. Strengthening of LTTE loyalties by creation of arbitrary jobs, biased appointments, transfers, promotions and demotions, land grabbing and re-allocations, re-drawing of village boundaries, Tamilisation of village and street names, ad-hoc up-grading in Tamil areas and down-grading elsewhere of service institutions like hospitals, schools etc, and armed harassment of anyone who fell out of LTTE line are all what the Muslims in the area remember today about this post-CFA LTTE-backed administration.

It is well acknowledged that the Tamils have suffered more than any other, under the grip of terrorism and they also have amassed a lot of sympathy around the world. Implementation of the 13th amendment has been promised by leaders of this country and therefore the country has an obligation to fulfil promises. However, the ground situation has changed and implementation of 13th amendment in any form is likely to create more problems than it will solve and therefore won’t it be prudent to have an open mind and re-evaluate all options rather than be hooked on to the 13th amendment?

Compared to the time when the 13th amendment was introduced the Tamil population of Sri Lanka has considerably reduced now as close to one million of them have emigrated to other countries and obtained citizenship and joined the Diaspora. A large percentage of those who remained in Sri Lanka are now living outside the North and the Eastern provinces. The 13th amendment was (and it is still) perceived (particularly by the Indian Government) as a way of installing Tamil control in the two merged provinces, but the ground realities today do not lend support to this. Therefore, it will be remain potentially a contentious topic and the eastern province, in particular, can become a hot spot if 13th Amendment is carried through in any form. For instance, had normal democratic principles been respected in the last Eastern Province elections based on the voting realities someone else other than the present one should have been the Chief Minister. But the decision on who should occupy that position was made on some other criteria and such a scenario will be the expectation of the Tamils in the likely event of adopting the 13th Amendment. Already, there is growing discontent surrounding demographic claims (as known to all that the demographic count in these areas was inflated by the LTTE for various reasons), and therefore, people now wish for a proper census to re-evaluate the electoral standing of the different communities, particularly in the Eastern Province.

The most significant change ever in Sri Lankan politics is the bold pronouncement recently made by President Rajapaksa that the country has no minorities and the word minority had been removed from the Sri Lankan vocabulary. In principle, the President rooted out for all time the cause - the majority minority divide- for all the problems this country has gone through, which deserves more celebrations than what has been accorded for ending terrorism. Surprisingly, this has not happened. Does this mean that the general public has not taken the President’s word seriously and acted upon it or are they not prepared to accept non-distinction among them and therefore concerned of loosing privileges hitherto which may have been given on the basis of numerical strength or is the President ahead of time and the people need to evolve more to accommodate equality among citizens of a country as an attribute required for social harmony?

The country is eagerly waiting for the report of the APRC which essentially will suggest constitutional amendments to address the minority issues. This report might however be irrelevant if the people of this country wish to uphold President Rajapaksa’s claim of no minorities. This will mean that changes to the constitution should not be merely to share or devolve power with some because of being a minority, but the changes to the constitution should ensure (backed up with enforcement), that the majority has no extra claim – open or hidden – over anyone else in private and public matters. A radical change is therefore needed and not just amendments.

Many politicians and political parties have found it personally rewarding by promoting divisiveness in every possible fashion. Religion, race, caste, language, territory etc., have been cleverly used to secure group allegiance and public positions and for them, President Rajapaksa’s no-minority and all equal propositions will be anathema. For instance, the Muslim Congress cannot justify its existence if the country and its governance adhere strictly to the dictum that no one has special rights or will suffer by denial of rights on account of his/her membership to a particular community. How such an environment can be guaranteed for all will be a major challenge for the country if a no-minority spirit is to prosper. Equally, there are other parties whose sustenance is derived by ethnic divisiveness.

With a government that is formed by a coalition of splinter groups, whose support is determined by the weight of the crumbs and representing factional interest, will allow President Rajapaksa’s no-minority seed to take root and flourish. However, how Sri Lanka will nurture it will be critical to bringing about the country towards peace and prosperity. The President has won the confidence of the people of this country and therefore, they will certainly entrust to him this country once again to lead it to the next level. President Rajapaksa seems convinced and committed that only by removing the minority appendage that he will be able to bestow this country intact in peace and prosperity to the next generation. No amount of tinkering with the constitution with or without the 13th or 13th++ Amendments can deliver the President’s vision, unless there is a change of attitudes in all, that everyone has equal ownership in this country and particularly attitudinal changes across the political parties to make this happen. Unfortunately, this is not happening and that is a cause for worry.

-Sri Lanka Guardian