Nation-building – the persisting poser

By Lynn Ockersz

(February 01,Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa could not have done better, close on the heels of his re-election, than to call on the media to desist from promoting chauvinism. The timeliness of this request could be gauged from the fact that in sections of the wider body politic of Sri Lanka, communal rantings and bickerings are currently breaking forth, much to the consternation of those desirous of ethnic peace.

However much welcome the President’s request to us in the media may be, we cannot but help feeling that his word of caution should also be directed at the wider public, for the latter is not short of the purveyors of ethnic disharmony. Already, there are voices of disquiet in Southern Sri Lanka, disparaging the North-East populace for voting against the President, although the President is appreciative of the fact that the people of the North and East wholeheartedly participated in the democratic process by freely voting. As for us, we agree with the President that the media should always be used for the greater good of the public.

Those speaking words of anger and hatred against the people of the North-East, need to remind themselves that the populace concerned was exercising an inalienable democratic freedom, and by doing so were integrating themselves into the wider democratic mainstream in Sri Lanka. It was NOT a vote for separatism and division because no political force which addressed them sent out appeals of a separatist nature. If some sections are harshly critical of the people of the North and East for voting against the President, the conclusion is inescapable that these critics are of an anti-democratic, racist and even fascistic persuasion. Needless to say, such elements are a threat to the democratic system and ethos.

Besides snubbing the communalists into silence at this moment, the President is also obliged to read perceptively the message sent out by the Northern and Eastern Provinces at the recent poll. There is no doubt that given his political maturity the President would see in the polls verdict from the predominantly Tamil-speaking areas, the message that the most essential needs of the Tamil people are yet to be met. These needs are not only those of a material and mundane nature. There is also the crucially important need of dignity and self-respect. Only a political solution for Tamil grievances which ensures the dignity and empowerment of the Tamil people could find favour with them.

Political empowerment of a community does not necessarily have to come through geographical division. It could be provided within a geographically intact, united country through unhindered power devolution.

It is significant that Eastern Sri Lanka did not vote, as expected, for the government. It should be clear that the majority of the Eastern people are not satisfied with the power devolution exercise in the region. In other words, the Eastern Provincial Council is not operating up to the expectations of the people. This ought to be an eye-opener for the government.

The dismantling of the HSZs, the speedy resettlement and rehabilitation of the war- affected, the freeing of those Tamil-speaking persons against whom no charges could be brought and ensuring total public security, are some of the most immediate needs of the Tamil-speaking people. In the more medium and long terms, it is the establishment of a Northern Provincial Council to which power would be devolved unhindered, that would prove pivotal in the resolution of Tamil grievances. The latter factor would go a long way towards ensuring the dignity of the Tamil-speaking people, although this rough enumeration does not presume at specifying the totality of minority needs.

This is the second polls-related occasion on which the obvious ethnic polarization of the Lankan state is staring the government starkly in the face. The state was reminded of this polarization in 2005 too, the first time Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected President. The fact that this polarization has been underlined for a second time in 2010 should not lead one to conclude that sections in the North and East are nurturing separatist aspirations. Sri Lanka is their land of birth too and here is where they would prefer to bury their bones, but their needs, including the crucial yearning for self-respect, must be fully met, for a complete identification with the government, on the part of the people, to be possible.

President Rajapaksa should respond positively to the polls message from the North and East and make it an opportunity to satisfy these innermost expectations of the people. More fundamentally, what needs to be seen in these developments, by the state, is the need to get down to the task of nation-building.

A community begins to see itself as a separate nation when it begins to perceive that it is not being fairly treated by the state. That the Lankan state has not treated all its citizens equally since 1948, is a point that hardly needs reiteration. The path to nation-building is equal treatment of all, irrespective of ethnic, religious and language differences. This is the path to nation-building because the sense that one is being treated equally compels in one a complete identification with the state.

This is a profoundly important undertaking left over from 1948. President Rajapaksa has amply indicated that ‘peace for all’ is his priority. May it be so, is our rejoinder. It is clear that this is an occasion that calls for statesmanship of the first order. Will Mahinda Rajapaksa prove to be a Head of government who would look beyond short term political interests, to the needs of all Lankans?