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Saturday, 22 September 2001  
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Liberal Perspectives: Putting Sri Lanka first

by Harim Peiris

The past week witnessed public support for peace organized by the Sri Lanka First organization a loose association of various business organizations and trade chambers, that initiated a campaign to inform and educate the public regarding the cost of our national ethnic conflict and the essential need for peace. The Sri Lanka First initiative is an important development in the peace process since it involves Sri Lanka's commercial sector in the resolution of the ethnic conflict. Some time ago the business community took a similar initiative for peace but essentially drew back once the two major national parties commenced talks on the issue. The talks did result in a large degree of consensus regarding devolution of power and one could argue that the draft constitution of August two thousand contains that consensus, the sole contention in that document according to opposition sources being the transitionary provisions of the executive presidency, a very southern power play issue.

In this instance one hopes that the business community would go the distance and stay the course with regard to peace and there are several issues that are well worth consideration by our captains of industry. Firstly the stated aim of the Sri Lanka First campaign is to bring the two major parties together on a resolution of the national ethnic problem. This is an important first step and in that regard they should consider that the government has most recently at the conclusion of the unsuccessful talks with the UNP to arrive at a working arrangement invited them to make a joint appeal to the LTTE to come for talks. This the UNP have refused to do, though the private media completely ignored the issue and pretended it didn't exist but it does and the UNP should join the government in a common call to the LTTE, Sri Lanka First, the OPA and the various trade chambers should insist on it.

Further Foreign Minister Kadirgamar in an interview on Rupavahini with this columnist, a week or so ago, clearly stated that the Government wished to move the issue of the national ethnic conflict out of the domestic political arena and make it a national issue on which bi-partisan consensus exists, in much the same way as a bi-partisan consensus exists today on a market economic policy framework for Sri Lanka. The opposition UNP must rise to the challenge of not playing politics with the ethnic conflict.

The other noteworthy aspect about the Sri Lanka First initiative is that it is an acceptance by the business community or at least a vast section of it regarding the priority nature of the ethnic problem. This is what President Chandrika and the PA have been saying since its formation in the early nineteen nineties and from prior to their election victory in nineteen ninety-four. In fact the nineteen ninety-three Southern Provincial election considered the heartland of the Sinhala south and a supposed bastion of Sinhala nationalism was won by the PA on the national issue platform of a negotiated end to the ethnic conflict. That eight years hence we are still at war is not for a want of trying by the government which despite a wafer thin majority in parliament and some might argue presently a minority position has expended a considerable amount of its political capital in seeking a solution to the ethnic conflict.

Influential sections of the business community and its like minded leadership of the opposition UNP were often arguing that the ethnic conflict is not Sri Lanka's biggest problem, that economic development rather than peace was the imperative. This was the thinking that drove the business community to be largely silent on the ethnic issue for much of the first one and a half decades of the conflict and their sudden awakening though extremely late is to be welcomed.

In fact it was the domination of this type of thinking that kept the opposition focussing on independent commissions and the free and fairness of a future election rather than solving the ethnic conflict. Taking the liberty of being uncharitable to the opposition UNP one could argue that they were most interested in coming to power and less interested in solving the national problem. The business community as well seemingly waited the outcome of the opposition's parliamentary coup last month to topple the government and now realizing that the PA wasn't about to roll over and disappear has launched a fresh peace initiative.

The other aspect for the business community to consider of course is that it takes two to tango and the LTTE has been remarkably intransigent on either coming for talks or compromising on its demand for a separate state. Reaching out to the Tamil community is a huge task; it requires a fundamental rethink of how we define the Sri Lankan nation. A strong reiteration of our multi ethnic, multi religious nature by the business community would add much moral strength to the mass moderate centre on both sides of the ethnic divide and marginalize the extremists on both sides, those who attacked peace demonstrators at Lipton circus and those that blow up moderate Tamil leaders.

The real impediment to peace though is a Sri Lankan political opposition, which believes that it is never in their interest to allow the government to bring about peace. It has been this conviction that has driven the government to pursue a more unilaterally driven peace process and it is perhaps incumbent upon the opposition to demonstrate to a President elected and reelected on a pledge and a policy platform of a negotiated end to the conflict, its own bona fides for peace.

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