Has Sri Lanka lost its mind?

by sivakaran | June 30, 2009 at 10:32 am

354 views | 34 Recommendations | 23 comments

I found this opinion piece from the Toronto Star very interesting, and posting it below.

Sri Lanka's ethnic conundrum

Jun 30, 2009 04:30 AM

Martin Regg Cohn

It won the war, but has Sri Lanka lost its mind?

After declaring total victory over the Tamil Tigers, Sri Lanka remains as combative as ever. Weeks later, it still sees enemies everywhere – and silences them.

The government is overcome by post-traumatic triumphalism syndrome: Its president behaves like a Buddha, gliding across the land of Lanka erecting stupas (shrines) commemorating his victory. Music videos sing the praises of Mahindra Rajapaksa. Billboards hail his inspired rule as a warrior king.

Anyone who is off key had best hold his tongue – or risk having it cut off, as Bob Rae discovered this month. The Liberal MP was denied entry to Colombo airport when the intelligence services (falsely) labelled him a Tiger lackey and security risk. Rae arrived with a visa in his passport, but after refusing to sign an "Orwellian" statement recanting past comments, he was put on the next flight to London.

So if Sri Lanka can offend a future Canadian foreign minister this way, how does it treat its own Tamils? And ours?

It turns out that Rae wasn't the only Canadian to find himself out of place in Sri Lanka. The Canadian Tamil Congress says it is receiving constant complaints from dual nationals facing harassment at Colombo's airport, including demands for bribes. But the trouble goes beyond airport formalities.

At least four dual nationals are being held in the sprawling network of detention camps set up by the government in the wake of its battlefield victory, according to the CTC. These Canadian citizens on family visits were ensnared by the guilt-by-association policy that has placed nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamils behind barbed wire.

Their Toronto lawyer, Gary Anandasangaree, tells me Ottawa is teaming up with Australia and Britain to free dual-nationals in the camps. A Canadian government spokesperson said yesterday that our diplomats are still trying to confirm the reports, but lack of access to the camps has frustrated their efforts. It's an issue that has the potential to further complicate bilateral ties after a mob attacked Canada's High Commission in Colombo last month.

Apart from the harm to Canadian citizens and interests, Sri Lanka's actions shine a spotlight on how it is harming its own people, its own stability and future prosperity.

After so bloody a war against so brutal a foe, it's hardly surprising the military wants to vet the camps for potential Tiger infiltrators. But it is unconscionable to keep so many displaced Tamil civilians locked up for so long.

An absurd two-year timeline for resettling the civilians has now been scaled back to about 12 months. And after barring outside aid groups, Sri Lanka has improved access for humanitarian relief, easing problems with malnutrition and sanitation.

But what the government still can't countenance is outside scrutiny or criticism, no matter how constructive. The tactic was honed by the military during the final showdown with the Tigers, when outside relief groups and independent journalists were barred from the battlefield. It doesn't augur well for the soul-searching dialogue that Sri Lanka now needs.

The nation has long been at war with itself: The Sinhalese make up three-quarters of the population; the Tamils are about 18 per cent. Under British colonial rule, the Tamils received preferential treatment; after independence, the Sinhalese settled scores by restricting language rights and imposing school quotas.

The problem is this: The Sinhalese are a majority group who behave with a minority mentality; the Tamils are a minority who act as if they were the majority.

The resulting polarization has played itself out on the battlefield for 26 years at the cost of nearly 100,000 lives. For Sri Lanka to heal itself, both sides must pull back from maximalist approaches.

By demanding an independent homeland, Tamils have only fed the paranoia of Sinhalese who fear that devolution is death. By treating federalism as a dirty word, Sinhalese have emasculated Tamils who seek only local rule.

Is there a way out? Only if both sides can keep their heads after losing so many lives.

The outside world can also help by prodding Sri Lanka to live up to its human rights obligations – and leveraging its financial obligations. Colombo's treasury is bare after the military campaign, and it needs a loan from the International Monetary Fund to stay afloat. But money alone won't work magic.

Now that the government has won the fight against Tiger terrorism, it needs a winning strategy to combat ethnic intolerance. The battlefield begets military solutions, but ethnic cleavages require conflict resolution. And that means devolution.

Martin Regg Cohn, the Star's deputy editorial page editor, writes Tuesday.

Claim:

"Tamils received preferential treatment by the British rule."

In fact:

Yes, during British rule, Tamils were in the higher ranks of the public service in a ratio that was disproportionate compared to the percentage of their population. However, This is because the basis of the Sinhalese economy was based on agriculture where as the basis of the Tamil economy was trades. The Sinhalese area is wet land and very suitable for agriculture. Tamil areas are very dry and therefore, Tamils relied on the trades.

Furthermore, Tamil community was more secular than the Sinhalese community. This is evident from the success of missionary schools in the north and east of the island than the rest of the country. Furthermore, even middle class Tamils were going to missionary schools, which was considered elitist in other parts of South Asia.

In conclusion, the secularism of Tamil community and their reliance on trade economy prompted Tamils to rely on education and public services occupation.

The Sinhalese leaders seeking to adjust this supposedly inequality used unfair methods such as Sinhala Only Act and Standardization Act.

For example:

- Source: Trade Union of Government Servants

This "seriously lessened the opportunities of Tamils for government employment" as stated in report Virginia Leary: Ethnic Conflict and violence in Sri Lanka.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Hiranya Malwatta

at 11:06 on June 30th, 2009

My recommendation on this story is for the part you have written Sivakaran, and not for the piece by thestar.com which is just another narrow minded opinion without looking into the complexity of the situation and not even knowing what really goes on in every day lives of Sri Lankans.

"Tamils were in 30% of Administrative services job in 1970 but dropped to 5% by 1956, the change in clerical service jobs were from 50% to 5%, professions from 60% to 10%, armed forces from 40% to 1%, labour forces from 30% to 5%."

There is a complex reasoning that goes beyond Sinhala Only Act and Standardization Act why the armed forces went from 40% to 1%.

Give me a day or 2 to find more facts to analyse the rest of it... things are not as simple as they look. Anyway this is not a bad piece ! (your part only)

sivakaran

at 11:12 on June 30th, 2009

Thank you for your recommendation of my piece.

I am looking forward to your complex reasoning as to why this % of change of Tamils in public services occupation.

KevinKulasekera (not verified)

at 14:22 on June 30th, 2009

Tamils were in 30% of Administrative services job in 1956 but dropped to 5% by 1970, the change in clerical service jobs were from 50% to 5%, professions from 60% to 10%, armed forces from 40% to 1%, labour forces from 30% to 5%. (see graph attached)

Indeed. So Tamils consider equal rights to be - 30% of the administrative jobs, 50% of the clerical jobs, 60% of the professions, 40% of the armed forces and 30% of the labour forces, not to forget 50% of the parliament seats. But Ceylon Tamils back then was less than 10% of the population (Indian Estate Tamils presumably had no part in this).
What Tamils consider equal right is actually special privileges, which they feel they are entitled for some obscure reason. Yes they were faithful to their British masters when the Sinhalese were fighting them, and perhaps that's where this sense of entitlement comes from. They expect us to give them the same privileges for the great honour of having these Tamils in our country. Guess what, beat it.
This is the Sinhalese' own country. Before independence, and after, the Tamils of Sri Lanka had no loyalty to this country. They were Indians at heart, and the Tamils in Tamil Nadu themselves see no difference between them and Sri Lankan Tamils. Sinhalese were particularly angry at the manner in which the Tamils propped up the British colonial administration in Sri Lanka which persecuted and stole from the Sinhalese. Of course after independence the special privileges given to Tamils were taken away, and affirmative action were initiated to help the disadvantaged Sinhalese. If Tamils want the same privileges they had under the British, go to Britain. But it seems that the British have abandoned you as well.

sivakaran

at 14:35 on June 30th, 2009

Please read few paras above and below what you quoted.

The root of all the problem is the very thinking that Sri Lanka belongs to Sinhalese and Sinhalese alone.

"Two different nations, from a very ancient period, have divided between them the possession of the Island: The Sinhalese inhabiting the interior in its Southern and western parts from the river Wallouwe to Chilaw, and the Malabars (Tamils) who possess the Northern and Eastern Districts. These two nations differ entirely in their religion, language and manners" - Sir Hugh Cleghorn, British Colonial Secretary, June 1799.

JamalDavid (not verified)

at 14:16 on July 1st, 2009

Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese in the same manner that France belongs to the French and England belongs to the French. Just as in Sri Lanka, these other countries also have non-French and non-English minorities.

Hugh Cleghorn is a bureacrat, not a historian. His superficial observation refers to the fact that due to colonial encroachment, the Sinhalese had gone further inland, while the South Indian (Malabars include Tamils along with other South Indians) slaves of Europeans had taken over the arid lands of the North and the East that Sinhalese had temporary left. Then they had hordes of Tamil Kallathony leaving their desolate cesspool motherland Tamil Nadu, swimming to prosperous and resourceful Sri Lanka. The East was a part of the Sinhalese Kandyan kingdom for the good part of the 18th century. The North may have been constantly annexed by hungry Tamils trying to invade our country for food, and their descendents, but invaders don't get the ownership of the land. All historians worth their salt are unanimous in accepting the Sinhalese heritage in the whole of the country.

Tamils already have their own country which is several times bigger than Sri Lanka. We will not let you have an inch of our country, so please go back to your own country. It's not our fault that you don't want to live in Tamil Nadu.

If you have any claim, even though it is heavily contested, it is to the North by having had your ancestor Kallathonies swim across for centuries looking for food, not the resourceful East. The North is an arid desert that Sinhalese would willingly give up if all you Tamils leave the rest of the country. Please please leave. We don't want you here.

sivakaran

at 18:32 on July 1st, 2009

I want to laugh at your ignorance, but such ignorance is killing my people.

Jesus Singhe (not verified)

at 20:37 on July 1st, 2009

Jesus saves you all Tamils from death. Embrace Christianity.Become Christians.

God bless all...

MPusshpam

at 21:14 on July 1st, 2009

Buahahahahahahaha............... Ur nothing but a laughing stock, JD. LOL!!!!!!!!

senthil5000

at 18:28 on June 30th, 2009

"I am not worried about the opinion of the Tamil people... now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion... the more you put pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhala people will be here... Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy."

- J.R.Jayawardene, Former President of Sri Lanka - Daily Telegraph, 11th July 1983

Babel-Fish

at 18:36 on June 30th, 2009

For once an article that I can read and believe thank you Martin Regg Cohn

Martin Regg Cohn is Deputy Editorial Page Editor. An award-winning foreign correspondent for 11 years, he was Chief of the Star's Middle East and Asia bureaus and most recently Foreign Editor. He has reported from more than 40 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to North Korea and Sudan. His column appears Tuesdays.

I am impressed at his well balanced story that really gets to the heart of the matter and supplies truth and nothing but the truth. Something I have not seen in reference to Sri Lanka since prior to the final conflict. Yep you got it right Martin!

sivakaran thanks for publishing the story here on Now Public and for your sensible added opinion. It shines for its truth within the hordes of propaganda fed to news communities on the internet.

Folks lets see more truth and less assumptions and propaganda and please keep away those that are paid to feed propaganda on to this news community.

Tamiya

at 19:01 on June 30th, 2009

Sri Lanka has not lost its mind.

Sri Lanka is marching up its own arrogant way to mistreat Tamils as it wants; the worse the situation gets for Tamils in Sri Lanka, the better the votes flow in from majority of the Sinhalese for the ruling government.

This plain and simple truth is very hard to believe for many, hence most probably will be assumed a propaganda.

However, if you assume this truth, and then see what the Sri Lankan government is doing, then things will start to make sense and won't look like Sri Lanka has lost its mind.

Many have given Sri Lanka the benefit of the doubt way more than it deserves, and failed to see a genocide of a minority for its real and plain reality.

I don't understand the "the Tamils are a minority who act as if they were the majority" from Martin Regg Cohn.

Would asking for educational & jobs accessibility would make Tamils acting as though they are asking for too much ?

Would resisting the slow death of their language and culture by systamatic elimination of Tamil language and destruction of culturally important places would make Tamils asking for too much ?

Tamils in Sri Lanka went through a 30 years of ethnic destruction before they decided to claim autonomy and supported rebel forces.

If you keep oppressing any community, sooner or later that community will start to fight back.

Babel-Fish

at 01:50 on July 1st, 2009

Many have given Sri Lanka the benefit of the doubt way more than it deserves, and failed to see a genocide of a minority for its real and plain reality.

Most of the Tamil's are still alive and kicking that word genocide.... hmmm..

While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG). Article 2 of this convention defines genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."[1]

What definition are you placing one that has firm proof or one thats assumed or using the word in its propaganda format? I would say that the government was subjecting the Tamil's to be obedient and as second class citizens, but total genocide in its strongest term no there is no solid proof only accusations. Which can not be confirm without press and media freedom.

sivakaran

at 07:11 on July 1st, 2009

If you look at the definition you have above, which I quote straight from the Article 2 from the convention, Sri Lanka's act against Tamils would definitely fall under this definition.

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

There are two reasons why world has trouble understanding/accepting genocide charge in this case:

1. All previous well-known genocides took place carried out in mass number of murders, within short period of time. However, in Sri Lanka it has taken for a longer time period, and brought about the destruction of community's physical and cultural base than murder.

2. Geopolitical reasons.

Killing members of the group

Organized anti-Tamil riots and massacres in 1956, 1958, 1961, 1971, 1977, 1981,
Anti-Tamil Pogrom - Black July of 1983.
Over 100, 000 are killed.
Systematic killing of community and religious leaders, journalist, human right advocates, humanitarian workers.

Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

Indiscriminate shelling and bombing civilian population, schools, temples, churches, and hospitals.
Use of cluster bombs, chemical weapons on civilian targets.
White van abductions
arbitrary arrest and disappearances.
Use of detention centers.
rapes, torture, abuse and threats.

Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part

Cultural genocide

Destruction of Jaffna library with its 95,000 volumes and priceless manuscripts
Destruction of temples, churches and mosques.
Discrimination in education and employment.

Barring Tamils from cultivating their field and fishing in their seas.
Targetted destroying of businesses belonging to Tamils.

sivakaran

at 09:57 on July 1st, 2009

Which can not be confirm without press and media freedom.

And, that is the reason Sri Lankan government is against press and media freedom.

sudharaka

at 20:31 on July 1st, 2009

Distribution of State Sector Employees by Major Occupational Group, Ethnic Group
2006
	Sinhalese	Tamil	SL Moor	Other
Senior Management	86.93%	8.96%	3.58%	0.53%
Profesionals	84.74%	8.68%	6.12%	0.46%
Tehnicians	90.36%	6.26%	3.03%	0.36%
Clerical	88.58%	7.97%	2.88%	0.58%

Source	Department of Census and Statistics
	http://www.statistics.gov.lk/CPSGSE06/State/Table3_1.pdf

Approximate etnicity distribution goes as 74% Sinhalese, 18% Tamils, 7% Moor and 1% others.

sivakaran

at 12:03 on July 2nd, 2009

Thanks for the recent statistics.

richardkathy11 (not verified)

at 08:19 on July 11th, 2009

That shows very clearly - ethnic cleansing. I thought this tamils are lyeing. Did you calculated who is living in IDP? Or are they coming under animals? What a country?!!!

Lava lavah (not verified)

at 23:01 on July 1st, 2009

"Systematic killing of community and religious leaders, journalist, human right advocates, humanitarian workers."

I guess the LTTE committed genocide on the tamils then, since they killed more tamil leaders and of the sort more than the singhalese....They should be dealt with severely!...ooh wait.....they are already dealt with!......
Stupid and deluded diasporic crap...

sivakaran

at 11:30 on July 2nd, 2009

That's a false claim..Why don't they allow investigation, so the world will know the truth.

Ohh..It is because the world will come to know the truth the Sri Lankan government will not allow an investigation.,

Uncle Sam (not verified)

at 21:28 on July 8th, 2009

Maybe China or Russia can do the investigation. Will that be ok?

sivakaran

at 07:54 on July 9th, 2009

so..That way they can hide the war crimes??
China and Russia were the ones to provide the illegal weapons in the first place. Its like inviting crime partner to be the judge!!

Lava lavah (not verified)

at 23:32 on July 2nd, 2009

Its not even worthy of discussion. A few deluded diasporic crackpots seem to publishing so called "News Alerts" to open the eyes of the global community. The point they seem to be missing is that the global community is already aware and have excepted the facts.

Bottom line- LTTE were a terrorist organisation, they killed so many Tamils as well as Sinhalese. Now that the LTTE are no more, all communities can live together in peace. There is no need of stirring back ghosts who did nothing but vandalize human morality. Even now we are paying for the wrongs that the LTTE did. Without finding fault in a legitimate government who did nothing but protect its people, the deluded dispora should take a look at their so called "freedom fighters" who have mislead them so far.

No one in their right minds would even try to comment on their pathetic arguments, I just did cos I frankly have had enough. and I am proud to be Tamil.