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Sri Lankan Tamils in a post-war scenario

The Sri Lankan armed forces have registered a significant military triumph over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It seems clear that the LTTE’s capacity to wage a full-fledged conventional war against the state has been critically undermined.

There is a lot of anxiety and concern about the fate of Sri Lankan Tamils in a transformed situation where the LTTE has been downsized from its earlier position of being the determining factor in the Island’s politics. This does not necessarily mean that the LTTE “struggle” had achieved some concrete gains for the Tamil people and that its perceived decline would have a negative impact. Nevertheless it must be realised that there are many Tamils who feel insecure about their plight in a post-war scenario.

The sad post-independence history of the island has been a clash of two ideas: of the Sinhala hardliners who wanted a hegemonic, Sinhala supremacist state, and the Tamil hardliners who strove for a separate state of Tamil Eelam. What has happened now is that the most virulent proponents of the ‘two-state’ theory have been routed on the military front. On the other hand this victory seems to have aroused a visible emotion of triumphalism among sections of the majority community.

The government, pursuing its objective of defeating the LTTE, has adopted harsh, tough measures in the recent past, leaving the Tamils embittered and alienated.

Thus many Tamils fear that with the LTTE ceasing to be a viable factor in the new equation, the Tamil people could undergo greater problems and suffering in the future. Compounding these fears has been the intensive LTTE propaganda that the international community in general and India in particular have aligned themselves with Colombo and were collaborating with majoritarian hawks in implementing an anti-Tamil agenda.

Against this backdrop, the question “whither the Tamils in a post-war climate?” has a sense of urgency requiring speedy attention. Fundamentally, the Tamils need to understand two salient factors.

The first is the point that the conflict has gone beyond its original causes. If the Tamils opted for a separate state owing to certain discrimination and unaddressed grievances, the brutal war has brought in a whole set of new problems dwarfing the original ones. Many of the ills afflicting Tamils now are due mainly to the war. It is logical therefore to assume that many of these war-related issues would gradually cease or lose their potency in a non-war situation.

The second factor is the paradigm shift that has occurred in the nature of ethnic relations in the country after the Indo-Lanka accord of July 1987. The earlier tendency of denying or ignoring Tamil discontent or opposing devolution has decreased considerably. The advent of Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremasinghe was a positive symptom of this change.

The debate was about the unit and substance of devolution. If the Tamil leadership had utilised this perceptible shift constructively, vast progress could have been made. Unfortunately, it was the LTTE that foiled such moves. Imposing itself on the Tamils as their ‘sole representative,’ the LTTE did not create an appropriate climate for positive political gain. Instead the conduct of the Tigers polarised the communities further and evoked an equally hawkish attitude from the Sinhala side.

The downside to the recent military victory is a growing mindset among sections of the majority to belittle or underestimate the nature of the problem. The Tamil national question is being depicted as a ‘terrorist’ problem. ‘Now that the LTTE has been vanquished we can all live as children of one family’ is the credo. There is no further need to recognise Tamil rights or work out a devolution scheme, it is argued.

While acknowledging the legitimacy of these fears and concerns, the Tamil people would do well to accept reality, however bitter it may be to some elements. The secessionist two-state dream is no more. The past months have seen the dream becoming a nightmare. The future and well being of the Tamil people are inextricably intertwined with that of Sri Lanka and its people. All future efforts to secure rights and share power have to be within the unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

The Tamils need to remind themselves that the LTTE, despite its prolonged campaign, has ultimately achieved nothing for the Tamil people. If the LTTE had converted the military strength it once enjoyed into bargaining power at the negotiating table, the Sri Lankan Tamils would have been much better off. It did not and in the process has brought misery and despair to the Tamil people. What is now left is for the shattered people to pick up the pieces and proceed towards progress. If the Tamils recapture that sense of pragmatism for which they were once famous, there could certainly be dazzling light at the end of the tunnel.

The onus however is on the Rajapaksa dispensation. It must demonstrate clearly that it has no hidden hawkish Sinhala agenda. It must go the extra mile in making estranged Tamils feel they are once again part and parcel of the island nation.

There are some matters, both short and long term, requiring urgent and positive action in this regard.

There is an immediate need to provide adequate and proper relief to the 200,000 persons who were recently displaced due to escalation of the war. The facilities available are abysmal. While providing relief is crucial, what is more important is the imperative need to resettle all these IDPs (internally displaced persons) in their original dwelling place as early as possible. There are some apprehensions that the IDPs will be kept in camps for an indefinite period. There is also suspicion of a hidden government agenda to settle Sinhalese in the Wanni and to alter demographic patterns. Early resettlement can dispel this anxiety. This has to be followed by the re-settlement of all displaced people from all communities in the island. Currently, the IDP figure has topped a million.

The government must reach out specifically to the Tamils. In the past, it alienated many Tamils through its obsession with the war. Now is the time to move away from capturing Tiger-controlled territory to capturing the hearts and minds of the Tamil people. The stringent security conditions must be gradually relaxed. Those detained without trial or charges being filed must be released. Security measures like checks and searches must be relaxed in a phased-out manner.

A special financial package is necessary to help the people of the North and East re-construct and develop their battered economy and shattered lives. An environment conducive to investment and growth must be created. Instead of frittering away its resources for an unwinnable goal, the Tamil diaspora must focus on stimulating and boosting the Northeastern economy.

Constitutionally, Tamil is now on a par with Sinhala as an official language. This however is not being implemented. Efforts should be under way to implement Tamil as an official language through the length and breadth of the country. An adequate number of Tamil-speaking officials must be recruited quickly to the public service.

The fragmented Tamil polity must realign and renew itself. At present the Tamil parties are either pro-government or pro-LTTE. There should be re-appraisal and revision of this course. Extremes should be spurned and the middle ground sought and attained. The evolving Tamil political leadership must set realistic goals and seek them through co-operative rather than confrontational approaches.

The government must go ahead with the unfinished task of nation building through genuine power sharing. Much valuable time has been lost and many opportunities squandered in the past. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s stock is sky-high with the Sinhala masses now. Any meaningful political concessions to the Tamil and Muslim people by President Rajapaksa would not be viewed with suspicion. He is therefore in a position to introduce a political package and implement it without risk of a Sinhala backlash. Powers devolved under the 13th amendment could be a starting point or basis. But the package has to be 13th amendment plus.

The international community, India in particular, has a crucial role to play. The nations that assisted Colombo in the fight against the LTTE must now begin assisting and encouraging the government to deliver politically to the long-suffering Tamils. While helping to evolve a political settlement, they must also ensure that the economy receives a boost. The war-ravaged infrastructure of the Northeast can be rebuilt through external aid and input. There is a need for the international community and India to demonstrate to the Tamil people that they objected to the LTTE and not the Tamils.

These then are the parameters within which a renaissance is possible within a united Sri Lanka. Despite bleak prospects in a post-war scenario, the beleaguered Tamil people must once again move towards the goal of being an integral component of the Sri Lankan nation. The government must reciprocate by re-inventing and re-invigorating a ‘new’ Lanka for its long-awaited tryst with destiny.

(D.B.S. Jeyaraj, a political journalist and analyst based in Toronto, is a former Colombo correspondent of The Hindu.)

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