03-17-2006, 12:56 PM
No holds barred by Prof.S.Ratnajeevan H.Hoole
Participatory democracy for peace with justice
At the recent SLAAS seminar on 'Human Rights in Education - Towards an Egalitarian Sri Lanka', two things I heard set off this train of thoughts.
First, to the question from the audience why Save the Children in Sri Lanka (SC) is getting children to talk to the LTTE when it is conscripting children and preparing them for war. Greg Duly, SC's Country Director, responded that they are doing it because the LTTE needs to hear what children think and feel about it, and that he is disappointed that the public are not engaged in the peace process. And secondly, when Justice R.B. Ranaraja, The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, was asked whether top UGC officials ought not to be fired for the corruption he had detailed, he responded that the entire educational system is corrupt and expressed his horrible disappointment that we are all looking on and doing nothing about it.
Both these men were alluding to the fact that Sri Lankan democracy involves no participation by the people, making a mockery of the etymology of the word democracy, "rule by the people". We simply vote for people we do not like for lack of choice "that is we vote for the least corrupt of the lot, sometimes not even that and then we sit back and say in self-congratulation, "Just look at those corrupt clowns who are messing up the country." Naturally, we get what we deserve.
So it also is with the peace process. Among my Sinhalese friends, there is apathy. I am yet to meet anyone who thinks that peace is round the corner. There is some discussion in the media, thankfully, and wide consensus that a bipartisan effort is required. And yet, there is no move towards bipartisanship.
Among the Tamil public, the attitude is that of a "Third Party", that is identification with neither the Government nor the LTTE. Discussions focus on whether the war resumption will be now or in a couple of years. Citing this, several of my recently graduated Tamil engineering students are trying strenuously to migrate.
Apart from this shared expectation of war, there is major cleavage between Sinhalese and Tamil opinions. Sinhalese thinking is focused on the LTTE not vacating the Monkey Bridge Camp, recruiting and training, smuggling in arms and eliminating opponents. The Tamil mindset on the other hand seems oblivious to all this and is focused on the Government cheating by not vacating High Security Zones, and rearming and recruiting.
But despite the strong "Third Party" mindset, there is sympathy even among Tamils well-integrated into the South, to the LTTE position. Democracy among Tamils is dead except, we need to admit whether we like them or not, for sparks of independence from V. Anadasangaree and Douglas Devananda and their not inconsiderable following. When again we will be able to gauge Tamil opinion precisely is difficult to tell, given that even TULF stalwarts admit that the votes the TNA polled in Jaffna were rigged for them by university students.
Like the Premadasa talks, this time too the focus is on security and not on substantive devolution offering Tamils greater democracy and equality. It seems to suit all parties to the talks, including the mediators. Government's ready acceptance of the LTTE's rejection of Amnesty International's proposals for former AI President Ian Martin as Human Rights Ombudsman, confirms that Tamils rights are far down the road. The alternative suggested, monitoring by the Human Rights Commission, only exposes how safe monitoring by that slow moving organ is! With no Tamil rights, peace too would be way down the road.
The only way out of this impasse is through true democracy, participatory democracy. It is more easily said than done. In the South, a national government is to be encouraged so that whatever is offered will have the support of all and will not be reneged at the next change of government. We must not simply accept what the politicians decide for us. We must tell them exactly what we want and why, and exercise our votes accordingly. The recent engagement of professionals in the peace process is in the right direction.
On the Tamil side, we owe the LTTE to let them hear what we think without safely being "Third Party".
We must encourage those who have alternative thoughts to get together to allow sane discussion, widening our options.
We cannot have peace first and rights later. For peace without justice is just not peace. And for securing rights, we must be engaged and active in the process. We must participate.
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http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:rDucHt...uk&ct=clnk&cd=3
Participatory democracy for peace with justice
At the recent SLAAS seminar on 'Human Rights in Education - Towards an Egalitarian Sri Lanka', two things I heard set off this train of thoughts.
First, to the question from the audience why Save the Children in Sri Lanka (SC) is getting children to talk to the LTTE when it is conscripting children and preparing them for war. Greg Duly, SC's Country Director, responded that they are doing it because the LTTE needs to hear what children think and feel about it, and that he is disappointed that the public are not engaged in the peace process. And secondly, when Justice R.B. Ranaraja, The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, was asked whether top UGC officials ought not to be fired for the corruption he had detailed, he responded that the entire educational system is corrupt and expressed his horrible disappointment that we are all looking on and doing nothing about it.
Both these men were alluding to the fact that Sri Lankan democracy involves no participation by the people, making a mockery of the etymology of the word democracy, "rule by the people". We simply vote for people we do not like for lack of choice "that is we vote for the least corrupt of the lot, sometimes not even that and then we sit back and say in self-congratulation, "Just look at those corrupt clowns who are messing up the country." Naturally, we get what we deserve.
So it also is with the peace process. Among my Sinhalese friends, there is apathy. I am yet to meet anyone who thinks that peace is round the corner. There is some discussion in the media, thankfully, and wide consensus that a bipartisan effort is required. And yet, there is no move towards bipartisanship.
Among the Tamil public, the attitude is that of a "Third Party", that is identification with neither the Government nor the LTTE. Discussions focus on whether the war resumption will be now or in a couple of years. Citing this, several of my recently graduated Tamil engineering students are trying strenuously to migrate.
Apart from this shared expectation of war, there is major cleavage between Sinhalese and Tamil opinions. Sinhalese thinking is focused on the LTTE not vacating the Monkey Bridge Camp, recruiting and training, smuggling in arms and eliminating opponents. The Tamil mindset on the other hand seems oblivious to all this and is focused on the Government cheating by not vacating High Security Zones, and rearming and recruiting.
But despite the strong "Third Party" mindset, there is sympathy even among Tamils well-integrated into the South, to the LTTE position. Democracy among Tamils is dead except, we need to admit whether we like them or not, for sparks of independence from V. Anadasangaree and Douglas Devananda and their not inconsiderable following. When again we will be able to gauge Tamil opinion precisely is difficult to tell, given that even TULF stalwarts admit that the votes the TNA polled in Jaffna were rigged for them by university students.
Like the Premadasa talks, this time too the focus is on security and not on substantive devolution offering Tamils greater democracy and equality. It seems to suit all parties to the talks, including the mediators. Government's ready acceptance of the LTTE's rejection of Amnesty International's proposals for former AI President Ian Martin as Human Rights Ombudsman, confirms that Tamils rights are far down the road. The alternative suggested, monitoring by the Human Rights Commission, only exposes how safe monitoring by that slow moving organ is! With no Tamil rights, peace too would be way down the road.
The only way out of this impasse is through true democracy, participatory democracy. It is more easily said than done. In the South, a national government is to be encouraged so that whatever is offered will have the support of all and will not be reneged at the next change of government. We must not simply accept what the politicians decide for us. We must tell them exactly what we want and why, and exercise our votes accordingly. The recent engagement of professionals in the peace process is in the right direction.
On the Tamil side, we owe the LTTE to let them hear what we think without safely being "Third Party".
We must encourage those who have alternative thoughts to get together to allow sane discussion, widening our options.
We cannot have peace first and rights later. For peace without justice is just not peace. And for securing rights, we must be engaged and active in the process. We must participate.
########
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:rDucHt...uk&ct=clnk&cd=3