I just finished on the Stream. Got cut off at the end, but had a beginning and a middle! My basic point is that the Tamil/Sinhala frame is A) not accurate IMHO and B) not productive (in somewhat demonstrable fact).
I think we need to look beyond who is wronged and get down to what do we do about it. Tamils have legit issues with land grabs. Colombians have legit issues with land grabs, as do Hambantotans, as do elephants. We can all work together on that. Look at the protests that made a difference:
Free Trade Zone: workers of all races protested their pensions being tooken. A young man died, but in the end they won and the police chief resigned (tho I think he was given a cushy job in Brazil).
Galle Face Green: media exposed sale of land to China. Got pulled back.
I’m not saying these things won’t be sneakily done again, but those were movements that made a dent, and they didn’t resort to identity politics, beyond unity. And what else is making news? Kumar Sangakkara’s speech on (among other things) incompetent cricket administration (which reflects the government). What did he say?
I am Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim and Burgher. I am a Buddhist, a Hindu, a follower of Islam and Christianity. I am today, and always, proudly Sri Lankan.
So that’s all I’m saying. Respect. Cricket. Peace.
UPDATE: In response to his last two points, yes Tamils have serious issues with election violence, land grabs, etc. This is something the government also does in the south, to all races of opposition and land-owner. The Sinhala opposition leader Sarath Fonseka is in jail. I know that MP Harsha De Silva has been chased through Colombo during a protest and election violence happens every election. That’s a problem for all Sri Lankans and we should do something about it for everyone. Second, the government tried to sell reclaimed land in Colombo to China. They’re also moving to displace elephants and treasured wildlife around Yala. Not to mention all the dodgy land deals around the island. So again, that’s an issue that affects all races, Tamils more, and something Sri Lankans need to address for our common interest.
You can’t really impose someone’s identity mate. If some people think they are tamil, thats what they are. It doesn’t matter if that’s imagined or unproductive, that’s how they think of themselves. Sangakara is apparently everything and more power to him, but not everyone feels that way.
I don’t think there’s too much to impose. Sri Lankans live in mixed communities (some places less than others) and have similar issues with the government and similar concerns.
I like this chap Guruparan. He comes across as sincere, serious and sensible. Indi, you seemed a bit… spaced out. Maybe it was the late hour or some satellite issue, but I was afraid you were going to say ‘duuude’ at any moment.
While I do agree with your larger point – that we must forge a common approach in our struggles for a better future – I don’t think anything would have been lost by acknowledging that Tamils justifiably feel a very special sense of grievance, alienation and pain.
Considering the magnitude of these emotions, trying to hastily change the subject to ‘Sri Lankan’ issues like schools and traffic, however worthy the intentions, just seems insensitive and patronizing.
Every one in Sri Lanka has problems, especially now with the way the State believes they are entitled to act in their own self interest pretending to be in the best interests of the country.
However with regard to the Northern and Eastern issues there are a few basic things that require addressing immediately, where the Govt. appear to be deliberately delaying. One example that comes to mind is the promise by India of building 50,000 houses for the resettled people. The govt has done very little in addressing this and does not even seem in any rush to help people get their homes. That in essence is the obvious problem, before saying the same is true in the South.
Also, this talk of “framing the problem” as “Sri Lankan” or “Tamil” risks missing the real point about solutions. Tamils have been asking for a measure of autonomy within a united country that goes beyond the unitary state. Guru made this point in his arguments and Indi, you really need to be upfront whether you’re in favour of a power-sharing that actually vests real political power with the people in the NE. All the other issues you say need addressing should be addressed. But they are not mutually exclusive with dealing with the essential Tamil political problem. and are not a substitute either.
It’s not acceptable for something like 7% of the Sri Lankan population to control 60% of Sri Lanka’s coastline and 30% of its land area and claim it as some exclusive area for people of a certain ethnicity. So the demand for Tamil autonomy here is, I think, demographically unjustifiable.
I tend to agree with Indi. There are marginalised people all over Sri Lanka. We might grumble over the condition of the roads in Colombo, when in some rural hamlet there is just no road to even grumble about, and people have to walk miles to school (with insufficient teachers and facilities) or the nearest hospital (which may be understaffed and lacking in supplies anyway). I really cant see much discrimination against Tamils in this sort of thing. Just as the government unfairly aquires land (I am a victim myself) Pillayan seems to engage in land grabs in the East. So it’s a matter of power, not race.
I think the real gripe of Tamils is with regard to culture, where they feel their culture is not given it’s due place in national matters. Sri Lanka has a unique identity, that developed over thousands of years. Naturally it reflects more of the majority community’s culture . Naturally. I think it’s absurd for Tamils to expect little bits of Tamil culture to be forced in to the national identity. It should come naturally, like the kovils in Buddhist temple premises. I understand they face some real language issues, which they could sort out in a reasonable manner, we have come a long way from the “Sinhala only” stance. The sense I get is that Tamils (politicians are the ones I hear) are complaining more about historical issues and not saying anything constructive about real issues that their ordinary people face today.
I come from a Catholic background but have no issue with the predominantly Buddhist flavour of all things Sri Lankan, because I accept that it was mainly Buddhism that influenced our culture over a long period of time. In fact I like the uniquely Sri Lankan identity based on Buddhism and a lot of other non-Buddhist, non-Sinhala aspects, simply because it’s unique. Tamils would stand a better chance at solving their grievances if they called for secularity and a common Sri Lankan identity.
But Tamils have specific grievances and it seems that the colombo govt. is insensitive to such grievances.
“The sense I get is that Tamils (politicians are the ones I hear) are complaining more about historical issues and not saying anything constructive about real issues that their ordinary people face today.”
Nail on the head, Shammi :)
This identity crisis the tamils are having is not only in Sri Lanka, its also happening in their adopted lands of western countries like Canada. They sing the eelam anthem first, Canadian anthem second.
Understood. To be fair, the central government is insensitive to everybody’s problems. Unless you’re connected to the family.
I think there should be federalism and Tamil language police and administration in the North and East and even parts of Colombo. That only makes sense. I think that’s also Sri Lankan law as per the 13th amendment.
Language definitely needs to be given a place, as per Canada. That’s important for Tamils, Muslims and everyone ultimately.
I don’t see why Tamils want a special victim card and what they would get with it.
in my experience everyone from southerners to a friend that got out Menik Farm was concerned about roads, educating their kids and getting a job to support their families. Maybe that’s me, but to me those seem like obvious concerns
Shoring up a narrative of Tamil victimhood is beneficial for Tamil propagandists et al who wish to tar Sri Lanka. The downside is that a victimhood mentality is self-perpetuating and often quite difficult escape from, kinda like the cycle of poverty. Tamil politicians are holding on very tightly to the victimhood card, hoping to use it as leverage without realizing that they are only holding the Tamil community back from progressing in a post-war environment. Look at Tamilnet for example – its articles are now bordering on hysteria and often make for amusing reads.
I do think the victim card is used by politicians and commentators more than people on the ground. Not that they aren’t actually victims, but they’re usually focused on getting food on the table and school clothes together somehow.
Shoring up a narrative of Tamil victimhood is beneficial for Tamil propagandists et al who wish to tar Sri Lanka.
Just as shoring up a narrative of Tamil separatism is beneficial for Southern politicians wishing to retain their grip on power.
The downside is that a victimhood mentality is self-perpetuating and often quite difficult escape from, kinda like the cycle of poverty.
Don’t you think the victimhood mentality is justified when people are locked up in a virtual prison, with limited economic opportunities? Look at Gaza, for example. With all the measures that Israel takes against Gaza, in the name of “security”, there is not much for the average Gazan to do (assuming he’s not affluent enough to escape), other than join up with Hamas.
. Tamil politicians are holding on very tightly to the victimhood card, hoping to use it as leverage without realizing that they are only holding the Tamil community back from progressing in a post-war environment.
I would argue that some Sinhalese politicians are doing the same thing with the majority community. Taking gigantic loans (which will have to be paid off by future generations), keeping defense expenditure unnecessarily high (while the education and health sector slowly crumble), not involving local people in developmental work but contracting out that work to China while skimming off the commissions, selling prime land off to China while again skimming off the commissions – I wouldn’t call any of this progress, because it concentrates the power and wealth of the nation in the hands of an elite few. You may not see all of the effects in the short-run, but they will definitely materialize in the long-run.
I appreciate the sentiment but the 13th falls way short of federalism and is inextricably linked to the unitary structure – which means Parliament can unilaterally roll back any devolution. Also, there’s no guarantee that it will be implemented which is critical because even the 13th isn’t being implemented in the North now. This is why constitutional reform is so critical to make Tamils feel secure that a majoritarian parliament cannot just screw them over on a whim. The demands are pretty simple. Federal system. Land powers. Police powers. If you actually look at what the TNA is saying, it’s not that unreasonable. As I said earlier on twitter, the country will only be able to get past the war, war crimes concerns, racial tension and other problems such as militarisation and authoritarianism if these issues [call them Sri Lankan if you wish] are addressed.
I don’t think any government concedes power. People have to take it. In the case of the North and East, this honestly isn’t going to happen soon.
Right now people are focused on surviving and putting the kids in school. Once those kids grow up, however, and see that the system is messed, then they’ll be in a position to march, to leverage even more powerful media, and take back the power they deserve. It’s an unsatisfying answer, but I think political change is as much demographic as democratic.
Tamil diaspora is good at injecting ethnicity card in to all problems that are faced by general all Sri Lankan population who do not have a voice/money/or a powerful relative/friend. Land, Education, Health, Unemployment, Poverty, Corruption, Uneven distribution of resources, Broken Promises, … are not tamil problems these are Sri Lankan problems.
Language problem is a tamil/minority problem but that is not that difficult to solve and there is no one who dont want to solve it. There are lots of problem in warzones (x-warzones). But those are really problems that are left behind by war. And they take massive amounts of money to fix and will be solved over time.
Also when you want to get something done in any organization you need to understand and make use of organizational culture and organizational politics (of which above problems are part of) . Without that you can be politically correct all you want, but you will not get things done.
Thanks for the comment Rakhita
I too don’t think local tamil politicos play this that much . Because in a Sri Lanlan context those problems are known to be national issue and not Tamil issues. Any one can recognize that.
But its a different story when it comes to circles that tamil diaspora target. They tend to swallow it so that the victim card fly very high in international context where listener is mostly ignorant about the real problems on the ground.
@indi: Bravo
As long as you have
1) Lots of cash
2) Lots of power
3) The family backing you up
you are set for life. The rest of us are screwed.
Guru was and still is a class debater and is very eloquent. There’s no denying that. But he is just as racist as the monks we have down here, Wimal W & Co and the Helayas. Hitler was pretty articulate and convincing too you know.
They’re not asking for a separate state anymore. We killed all the buggers who wanted to try that. Devolution, federalism, or whatever you want to call a limited autonomy won’t just be for the Tamils of the North, but for any province that wants it, and I think that’s OK.
I was actually referring to the devolution demand and not the separatist claim — I should have clarified this. I think that any federal solution that recognizes this would still be placing way to much control over vast sections of Sri Lanka’s land and sea in the hands of a tiny minority (by minority I don’t mean Tamils in general but merely those Tamils who live in the north and east of the country).
Omr is typical of the chauvinist crowd that associates any form ofTamil political autonomy with separatism. That’s why the war should not have gone down the way it did – it only reinforced already narrow pre-existing perceptions about Tamil political rights/aspirations. In other words, while defeating the LTTE militarily may have had its benefits, these benefits have been overlooked/neglected in favor of catering to chauvinism and triumphalism.
Tamil autonomy is in and of itself fine. But I certainly don’t agree in simply submitting to what I think are patently demographically unjustifiable demands. Leaving control of 60% of Sri Lanka’s coastline and 30% of its land area in the hands of something like 7% of the Sri Lankan population is absurd and completely unfair to the other 93% of the Sri Lankan population. If you consider that to be “chauvinistic” then so be it.
And the LTTE hand ample opportunity to work towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict over the last 20+ years. An all-out war was coming and most people knew it. Except this time there was an outright victor.
The 13th is a joke. It does absolutely nothing to diminish power at the Center The funny thing is that the extremists – JHU/JVP – are opposed to even the 13th. I saw the Somawansa interview on GV; his argument went along the lines of, “well, this amendment came from India, so its essentially a foreign doctrine imposed on us.” Other prominent politico’s have repeated the same argument pretty much verbatim with an added qualifier. That ” economic development” trumps any political solution. What they fail to realize is that you can have a cake without sugar, but its going to be very very bland .
Well, consider the alternative to a federal solution, from the point of view of all parties involved. The government seems keen on maintaining a permanent surplus military force in the North and East. Building new HSZ’s is just one indication of this. The Tamils would likely disagree with this for obvious reasons. On the other hand, the Sinhalese taxpayer has to bear the cost, when common sense would indicate that the money could better be spent to prevent power cuts, teacher strikes, shortages of essential drugs at hospitals, etc. Federalism would automatically mean a massive reduction in the size of the military presences (at least 70%); the money saved could then be reinvested in other projects, as I’ve indicated.
Federalism would also mean accelerated economic development in particular areas, because it removes the language/ethnic barriers that come from having to deal with the beauracracy of the Center each and every time. In other words, if some guy in the North wants to open a new tractor business, he doesn’t have to wait until Basil R. is ready to pose for pictures. Last week I saw a picture of MR posing for the opening of a bus stand in Pettah – the height of all stupidity. Any carpenter from the village can build a bus stand, he doesn’t need politicians to justify the validity of his output.
If people want to engage in new business ventures, they should be able to do so with minimum government interference. The term in economics is “laissez-faire.” Government interference does not help anyone, since they don’t allow the market to adjust to it’s natural state. But you need an environment for all that to happen, and federalism is really the most optimum one.
If federalism is to happen it needs to happen in a fair and transparent manner – and any proposals need to be approved by a majority of Sri Lankans (of whatever ethnicity) through a referendum. And I don’t think arbitrarily handing over control of 60% of Sri Lanka’s coastline and 30% of Sri Lanka’s land area (which are the demands made by Tamil politicians) to something like 7% of Sri Lanka’s population is fair at all.
And I don’t believe federalism can be accepted as some sort of magic bullet/panacea for all the ills befalling Sri Lanka.
You’re assuming that the demographics will remain constant. For the same reason that tons of Tamils flooded Colombo, tons of Sinhalese can move to the North, assuming there is a job market. People go where the money is: http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/2791614-16×9-940×529.jpg. India is a good example. It has a North and South, where ethnic/language differences are pretty distinct from one to the other, but there is a lot of mobility with people moving around for work.
“I don’t see why Tamils want a special victim card and what they would get with it. ”
Seriously?
Wow, I mean after having 40,000 killed in the space of a few months, over 100,000 still missing, as well as reports of abductions, rapes, murders plaguing the Tamil people, you seriously believe that these aren’t Tamil grievances?
Tamils have been the ones massacred. Not that SL doesn’t have other issues of corruption and free press to deal with, but to these merely exacerbate the Tamil problem.
Your statement about a “special victim card” is highly offensive.
The vast majority of Sri Lanka’s population resides outside of the North and the East. In that respect, handing over all that land and coastline to the small minority that resides there would be demographically unjustifiable. And it cannot be forgotten how the leaders of that small minority are quite vociferous in claiming all that land and coastline as some exclusive Tamil preserve, and stood by silently when Muslims and Sinhalese were ethnically cleansed by self-appointed “sole representatives”, and even now throwing a tantrum over non-Tamils simply VISITING the north as tourists.
Devolution for Tamils is very important symbolically. From their point of view I think it shows that the Government is willing to look at political solutions to problems.
In practical terms, devolution under the 13A would bring little in terms of material or tangible benefits. It will not improve opportunities or lifestyles but it can give them some stake in the decision making in affairs at a local level.
The real roots of the conflict are economic: access to higher education which lead to access to civil service jobs- this was the path that was available to the middle class for advancement .
Now their is enough education in English in the private sector and jobs in the private sector. State sector education and employment no longer has a near monopoly on opportunities, so the original sources of grievances are now much less.
In my opinion, the positions on devolution by the two parties are too wide for any realistic compromise. In any case devolution will not bring about any material improvement to the Tamils.
Therefore it would be more productive to shift the debate away from devolution and towards sources of current problems which stem from excesses under the Emergency regulations and the PTA.
Repealing these repressive laws and strengthening transparency and accountability will bring material and tangible improvements to the lives of Tamils and indeed all Sri Lankans.
Some well made points Jack.
The vast majority of Sri Lanka’s population resides outside of the North and the East. In that respect, handing over all that land and coastline to the small minority that resides there would be demographically unjustifiable
That’s an absurd argument. Let’s say 7% of the population lives in the North and East. Just because the war ended doesn’t mean the other 93% are falling over each other to get to the North and East. There are good resources all over the country, as the British found out. The North is probably better suited towards services, the East towards agriculture/rice production, and the South for agriculture/tourism. Now you see why some paddy field farmer in the South isn’t going to leave all his land behind and run to Jaffna – it wouldn’t make any sense. A lot of the land in Jaffna is simply not arable, and the farmer’s skill-set is pretty much limited to farming. The Southern farmer is better off staying where he is. The point is that whether or not you hand over the North and East to 7% of the population, the demographics are not going to change overnight.
Whatever the case, 7% of the population should not control 60% of the coastline and 30% of the land area. That is patently unfair and undemocratic.
There’s a difference between control and exclusive ownership. This is a case of merely giving them control. Which makes sense, considering that to use a resource, you need to actually be there. 70% of the population cannot use a resource that they live 200 miles away from.
*I should have said 93%, not 70
The Government is short of funds, but they do need to prioritise reconstruction.
However there will be more than enough charities that are willing to do the job, they need to let go and allow them to work.
I think to say “controlling” is to take a extreme view, Omr. There is nothing wrong with people administrating the land they themselves live on, rather than having it done by an administration far removed and uninterested in their problems and needs.
The Northern Province doesn’t constitute 60% of the coastline; I think you are mistaking this for the combined Northern and eastern provinces, as well as the territory claimed as Eelam. The East isn’t made up just of Tamils; there are lots of Moors and Sinhalese there too.
There are also lots of models of devolution that we can look at, within which the concerns of everyone can be addressed.
Indi…try calling it “The ONE FAMILY Dictatorship” instead of…the family.
That comment wasn’t especially helpful, my apologies for any offence. What I mean is that we all have grievances and can find a way out if we work together. Tamils did suffer disproportionately in the war. I consider it my loss as well