A bridgeable perceptual gap

The government has thrown the door wide open for talks aimed at resolving the issues faced by our communities and it is up to the numerous parties to these deliberations to make good use of this opportunity. Some sections of the local media seem to be going the extra mile to underscore that the differences between the government and the TNA are unbridgeable on these matters but we choose to see things differently.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa airing a personal view has clarified issues with regard to land and police powers and his is a very important viewpoint which should not go unexamined. Among other things, he has drawn a distinction between the demands of some Tamil political parties and the real needs of the North-East people. The minister has pointed out that what the population segment wants with regard to land, for instance, is ‘land for the landless’, and nothing else.

That is, what is being asserted is the individual’s inalienable right to land. However, what some political parties based in the North-East seem to be hankering after is a kind of collective right to land which springs from the now questionable ‘homelands’ concept. However, this is not at the back of the minds of the people. They do need land, but what is being referred to here are individual land holdings for cultivation and other purposes.

Thus, basing ourselves on the minister’s perception, it could be said that the thinking of the political parties concerned is not entirely in keeping with the aspirations of the people of the North-East. Likewise, with regard to police powers, Minister Rajapaksa’s perception is that what the ordinary citizens refer to as these powers is basically the meeting of their security requirements by the state.

That is, the right to live in perfect security and comfort. These perceptions on land and police powers, the minister explains, are based on his everyday experiences of the North-East. He has been moving among the people of the region and has come to recognize what they need most.

There is sufficient meeting ground between the state and the TNA, if we are to base ourselves on these perceptions of the minister. The perceptual gaps between the parties are not as wide as they may seem and it is up to Minister Rajapaksa to enlighten his colleagues in the Cabinet of Ministers on the actual needs and aspirations of the people of the North-East, who should be related to by all with complete empathy and tremendous emotional maturity.

There are politicians and political parties of the South who get into a state of panic on merely hearing the terms, ‘land’ and ‘police’. They are as obstructive of the search for a peaceful, political solution to the issues facing our communities as those political parties of the North-East which are clinging to outdated and unviable constructs and concepts, such as, ‘homelands’ and exclusive mono-ethnic enclaves. Given the drastically changed ground realities of the North-East, what the TNA should aim at is an understanding with the state which provides for the realization of the democratic and just aspirations of the North-East people. What more, in fact, could a community want?

The TNA should view as exceedingly positive, assessments by highly responsible personalities within the government that land and police powers are, indeed, issues to be resolved. This is a very good ‘kick-off’ point for further negotiations. The likelihood is that a common understanding on these questions would be arrived at which would be acceptable to the population segments concerned. We ask for talks with an open mind on the part of all relevant parties.

On the other hand, political parties in particularly the South of Sri Lanka need to get out of what could be termed a perceptual miasma that nothing else needs to be done in terms of restoring normalcy, now that the Tigers have been militarily wiped out. This could be short-sightedness at its worst.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. There are tasks of a lifetime awaiting this country from now on and a glance at the recommendations of the LLRC should convince the observer of this truth. So, hopefully, may those who are misleading themselves on the challenges facing this country, come out of their smog of complacency.