Positive development against separatism

SLFP organiser for Batticaloa, Arun Thambimuttu's call for a new brand of politics in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, which would steer clear of ethnicity and separatism, is just what moderate political opinion in Sri Lanka has been waiting to hear. Indeed, it is high time this country said goodbye permanently to the virulent and extremely divisive politics of communalism and separatism.

Thambimuttu was emphatic that Sri Lanka rids itself of what is called the 'communal card' in the politics it practises and this point too must be pondered upon deeply by all right-thinking sections in this country. In fact, he went on to say that Sri Lanka must outlaw racism and other kindred species of destructive politics and this position too must be well received by the Lankan polity.

The impression that one receives is that the state would be very accommodative of the opinions of the likes of Thambimuttu. It would prefer to see emerging in the North and East, a political leadership which would articulate the hopes and aspirations of particularly the young in the provinces, who gravitate, basically, towards the policy position that political opinion in the North-East should integrate with the national mainstream and cooperate with the state in bringing development and prosperity to the once-conflict affected areas of the country.

Arun Thambimuttu is one such progressive politician who has shun the separatist slogans of the traditional political parties of the North-East and is desirous of getting on with the task of national advancement.

Accordingly, our hope is that there would be many more politicians of Thambimuttu's ilk from the North-East who would be willing to articulate a non-communal and non-separatist standpoint and cooperate with the state in advancing the cause of national development. In fact, as Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa observed recently, the coalition in power should, in the first instance, consider appointing to the National List slots in Parliament, progressive, young politicians who would help articulate the new hopes and aspirations of the North-East and cooperate in realizing them. This is something which should be pondered on deeply and acted upon.

In fact, if impartial fact-finding is conducted in the formerly troubled areas it could be found that a substantial section of opinion in the areas concerned is for turning a new leaf in the affairs of the North-East.

They are by no means for continuing with the threadbare separatist project of yesteryear. Thus, the possibilities are great for beginning anew in the North-East and of providing these provinces the opportunity of integrating strongly with the rest of Sri Lanka and of remaining intact within the Lankan fold forever more.

For its part, the Lankan state needs to aim at resolving the issues confronting our communities, once and for all. For one thing, there could be no quibbling on the LLRC report and on the substantive issues flowing from it. True, the state could not allow any quarter to hurry it on the report and its contents, but there could be no foot-dragging on truly implementing the more progressive and practicable measures recommended by the report. The public needs to have the evidence of its eyes that remedial measures to the outstanding issues faced by our communities are being implemented by the state.

The state also needs to consider the implementation of substantial confidence-building measures. We cannot see, for instance, any harm deriving from the imposition of a prohibition on communal politics. 'The communal card' was played both gleefully and deftly by some politicians of both the South and the North-East. This tactic amounted to rousing communal passions among the people for petty gain. The accumulated virulence of this tactic resulted in the ethnic holocaust of July 1983. For 30 long years since then, Sri Lanka buckled under a bloody conflict which left it emaciated and weak.

Therefore, we hardly need to stress the point that we need to see an end to the 'communal card'. National peace and reconciliation demands that we see an end to ethnicity and its cataclysmic consequences.