Parliament monk of Sri Lanka shuns non-violence

Buddha and Buddhism are well known for the Nirvana and the middle

path to enlightenment rather than extremes of any form with emphasis on

meditation. But the Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka are famous for their

political power games and extreme nationalism. Sri Lanka is the only country to have a

political party exclusively of monks not to mention their nine elected members

of the parliament. The extremist monk political party has advocated and

supported through its democratic strength in the parliament for a military

solution to the country’s ethnic strive. In a recent interview with Washington

Post, the lead monk of the political party sounding more like a military

general pledges to do the duty in the battle field.

The

USAID study of Sri Lanka’s standing on Democracy and Governance back

in 2001 concluded that the gradual unravelling of the Sri Lankan nation-state is

due to the combined effects of protracted ethnic-based conflict and

deteriorating democratic rights and institutions. The findings are very much valid

even after the six years of peace efforts. The study highlighted the serious

and irreparable damage done to the very foundation of Sri Lanka, the notion of it being a single

nation-state.

The researchers

also asserted that the protracted conflict and the obvious decline in

democratic politics and governance are directly and powerfully linked i.e. the

conflict fuels democratic decline and vice versa. Thus, any efforts to address

the decline in Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions will have

limited impact unless complemented by efforts to find a peaceful solution to

the conflict.

Further,

five key and interrelated causes were identified for the democracy and good

governance challenges faced by Sri Lanka. Any efforts to address the Sri Lanka’s worsening challenges must directly or indirectly

address all or most of these causes.

1) The

notion of the Sri Lankan nation subscribed to by many Sinhalese – including

most of Sri Lanka’s politically influential Buddhist monks

– is based on a firmly-rooted belief in the primacy of the Sinhalese/Buddhist

majority and its culture.

2)

Elite political competition, principally between two major political parties,

fuels ethnically-based majoritarian and is increasingly undemocratic.

3) The

government is excessively centralized and the large size of the state sector

gives the government excessive influence over society and intensifies political

competition for control of the state.

4) The

impact of civil society organizations (CSOs) on politics and governance has

been limited by ethnic and other divisions within civil society, by the

relative power of the state and political parties, and by the highly partisan

nature of the media.

5) The ethnic conflict has become

a well-entrenched institution that exerts a pernicious influence on society,

the economy, politics, and policy-making and governance.

The donor assistance is

identified as way to influence the strengthening of democratic institutions and

governance in Sri Lanka. Conditional aide in support of efforts

to end the conflict and achieve a sustainable peace; discouraging undemocratic

forms of political competition; encouraging the rule of law and respect for rights;

supporting efforts to improve national and local level governance; and

supporting greater and more effective citizen participation in politics and

government were the recommendations.

Will the leading donor countries such as Japan, USA and European Union achieve the nirvana in promoting democracy

and good governance in Sri

Lanka?