Time for reconciliation

Now that the 30-year war is over and the country returns to normal, it is time to take stock of what went wrong and apply the necessary remedies so that never again would the country go through such a traumatic experience.

While it is true that the country was confronted with a terrorist problem there is no denying that it had its origins in communal friction.

This was amply demonstrated in the race riots of 1958.1977, 1981 and the watershed of 1983. The problem was exacerbated with politicians using the communal card to ride to power widening the gulf between the two major communities.

Hence although the war may have ended there may well be a residue of antagonism between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils- the former harbouring feelings of triumph and the latter nursing a defeatist psyche. The sooner the country sees the back of its communally fractured past the quicker will we be able to stand as one nation.

This therefore is the time for national reconciliation if the country is to move forward with its development goals in the post war era. This is the most opportune time to start mending broken fences and restore the multiethnic fabric that the country took so much pride in the immediate post independence era. Hence the decision by the Government to appoint a Reconciliation Commission in the aftermath of the war is most appropriate. Hopefully it would help clear all lingering suspicion between the communities and heal decades of festering wounds. Post apartheid South Africa too appointed a Truth Commission under similar circumstances in a genuine bid at introspection and reconciliation.

Prime Minister D M Jayaratne announcing the setting up a Reconciliation Commission said the purpose of such a Commission was to build mutual trust among communities. He said the objective of the Commission was to build trust that may have been breached over the years among the communities due to the conflict.

We are not aware of the contours of this Commission but a deep study should be undertaken of the nature of the conflict before drawing up its terms of references. There should be no room for papering over the fractures but a genuine attempt made for a holistic approach. While accommodating all view points, the Commission should specially seek the advice and guidance of those knowledgeable about the intrinsic nature of the problem before the necessary structures are set up to foster amity and concord between the communities.

The Commission should also take utmost care not to point out any accusing finger at any particular party. We should begin on a clean slate.

The ideal scenario at national reconciliation would be to evoke the President's injunction that there are no more different communities in Sri Lanka but only those who love the country and those who don't. While preserving each other's ethnic and cultural identities there is no reason why both the majority and minority communities could not stand as one and be counted as children of one nation calling themselves Sri Lankans.

India with such regional cultural and ethnic diversities have its nationals always identify themselves as Indians. A similar mechanism should be worked out here as well where ethnic differences could be buried or blurred where only nationality would count. We say this because today even when a member of a minority community is stopped at a check point he is looked at with suspicion when his ID is scrutinized. This attitude is what breeds resentment. The Proposed Commission we hope would seek to come out with a remedy to dispel suspicion based on ethnicity.

It is also important that the basic issues affecting the minorities be addressed. Today although the official language policy is in operation in many areas the Tamils cannot do their transactions in their own language. This naturally inculcates in them a sense of discrimination.

We also still have certain structures that lend themselves to different treatment of the communities.

Hopefully the Reconciliation Commission would come out with remedies not only to build trust between communities but to address the underlying undercurrents that gave rise to the ethic explosion so that this country would never again be divided on ethnic and communal lines.