{"id":125378,"date":"2014-06-02T13:32:26","date_gmt":"2014-06-02T08:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=125378"},"modified":"2014-06-02T13:32:26","modified_gmt":"2014-06-02T08:02:26","slug":"way-forward-can-be-through-revamped-psc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/way-forward-can-be-through-revamped-psc\/","title":{"rendered":"Way Forward Can Be Through Revamped PSC"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jehan Perera<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Jehan<\/a>

Jehan Perera<\/p><\/div>\n

The outcome of President Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a>\u2019s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/span><\/a> has been a let down to the Sri Lankan government.\u00a0 There was a general expectation in Sri Lanka, fueled by the optimism of government leaders that a new era of relations would open up when the President of Sri Lanka met the new Prime Minister of India.\u00a0 In particular there was the hope that the vexatious international pressure on the government to proceed with a political solution on the basis of the devolution of power to the Tamil-majority areas of the country would subside. But this did not happen.\u00a0 On the contrary, Prime Minister Modi was uncommonly blunt and precise in calling on his Sri Lankan counterpart to begin delivering on his oft-repeated promise to the international community of a political solution that goes beyond the 13th Amendment<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was believed that because both President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Modi come from nationalist traditions, there would be a meeting of hearts and minds and that they would understand and empathise with each other as they were thought to be on the same wavelength.\u00a0 The Sri Lankan government was hoping that Prime Minister Modi\u2019s nationalist inclinations would make him focus on economic ties with Sri Lanka rather than on minority rights.\u00a0 This might have been possible if the two leaders were not from neighbouring countries, where the actions of one spilled over into the other country.\u00a0 For instance there could be a meeting of minds between the leaders of Sri Lanka and Russia where it concerns dealing with separatist insurgencies.\u00a0 Both countries ended up dealing with their separatists with military force and finally succeeded in crushing them.<\/p>\n

\"Inasmuch<\/a>

Inasmuch as President Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s nationalism is in relation to Sri Lanka, so would the Indian Prime Minister\u2019s nationalism be in relation to India\u2019s national interest.<\/p><\/div>\n

However, there is less reason to believe that two nationalisms that are next door to each other could cooperate.\u00a0\u00a0 Those who are nationalists tend to look at issues from the perspective of their own countries and the interests of those they deem to be their own.\u00a0 It is generally universalists or liberals who think of the larger picture and the wellbeing of all that transcends their own nationality. The boycott of the swearing in ceremony by the main political leaders of Tamil Nadu state and the emotional reaction in Tamil Nadu over the invitation extended to the Sri Lankan president would have sent a message to the Indian policymakers that the issue of Sri Lanka has to be handled carefully. \u00a0Inasmuch as President Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s nationalism is in relation to Sri Lanka, so would the Indian Prime Minister\u2019s nationalism be in relation to India\u2019s national interest.<\/p>\n

Reiterating Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is unlikely that Prime Minister was actually ever considering a new type of relationship with neigbouring Sri Lanka.\u00a0 His interests have not been with the south of India but rather with issues in the north, where his government won most of its seats and also faces the most serious challenges to its national security.\u00a0 Now the new government needs to consolidate itself in the south of India where it did not fare well at the general elections. The primary need would be to restore relations with Tamil Nadu. The Indian government would not wish to antagonize one of its largest states.\u00a0\u00a0 Simply because his government has an absolute majority in Parliament by itself, Prime Minster Modi will not wish to disregard those states in which the opposition parties have done well.\u00a0 He would also not wish to disregard the advice of the civil service that outlives governments and forms the backbone of long term Indian policy making.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka itself provides an example of a very strong government, enjoying a 2\/3 majority in Parliament, faces problems in governance due to its inability to win the confidence and support of its Northern Province. Having a majority in Parliament does not eliminate the need to have good relations with the constituent units of the country.\u00a0 It would be unwise for any government to jeopardize its internal relations for the sake of external ones. Accordingly, it is not surprising that Prime Minister Modi has reiterated what his predecessor in office has insisted was the way forward.\u00a0 In his meeting with President Rajapaka after being sworn in, he had asked the President to take the reconciliation process forward without delay.\u00a0 He had said that the full implementation of the 13th Amendment and, even more, going beyond it would contribute to the reconciliation process.<\/p>\n

There is a danger in the current situation that delay in addressing Indian concerns could aggravate Indo-Sri Lankan problems.\u00a0 As a nationalist, Prime Minister Modi\u2019s interests are Indian.\u00a0 He has also been projected as an efficient leader who is in a hurry to get things done. This makes it likely that he will show impatience if he sees nothing but delays and excuses coming from the Sri Lankan side.\u00a0 It was after four years of delay that the UN Human Rights Council<\/span><\/a> finally decided to appoint international investigators into war crimes in Sri Lanka, as the Sri Lankan side dragged its feet on addressing the issue. The government must not repeat with India what it has ended up with the UNHRC through its delays and denials, which is an internationally sanction investigation.\u00a0 The people of India voted for Prime Minister Modi to be their strong leader, and Sri Lanka should not seek to become a test case for a show of his strength.<\/p>\n

Pragmatic Calculation<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>During the war President Rajapaksa promised Indian leaders to implement the 13th Amendment and even go beyond it to an undefined \u201c13 Plus\u201d.\u00a0 President Rajapaksa made this promise to induce India and the Western countries to support his government\u2019s efforts to militarily defeat the LTTE<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 The understanding was that after the LTTE was eliminated there would be nothing that could stand in the way of a just political solution and implementation of the provincial council system in an exemplary manner.\u00a0 It would be judicious if the Sri Lankan government proceeds to expeditiously implement its promise regarding the system of devolution of power.\u00a0 Instead of dragging its feet on the implementation of the 13th Amendment, it would be in Sri Lanka\u2019s national interest to set about improving on the workings of this arrangement so that it meets the interests of all concerned.<\/p>\n

The Sri Lankan government\u2019s immediate response to Prime Minister Modi\u2019s statement on the 13th Amendment is to refer to the Parliamentary Select Committee<\/span><\/a> appointed by President Rajapaksa for the purpose of finding a political solution.\u00a0 However, so far the PSC has been a non-starter.\u00a0 None of the opposition parties have agreed to join it. None of them appear to believe in the government\u2019s sincerity and see in it a time-buying exercise.\u00a0 In these circumstances it is not reasonable for the government to expect the TNA<\/span><\/a>, which represents the majority of Tamil people, to join the PSC.\u00a0 The government needs to build the confidence of the opposition parties, and especially the TNA, in the value of the PSC process.\u00a0 The special concern of the TNA is that the PSC will reproduce the same ethnic majoritarian decision making formula that led to the separatist war in the first place.<\/p>\n

The ethnic conflict arose because the ethnic minorities disagreed with the ethnic majority having the numerical majority to always outvote them when it came to matters that involved their interests.\u00a0 The government needs to give an answer to his problem by re-shaping the method of decision making within the PSC.\u00a0 It has to find ways to ensure that decision making within the PSC is by consensus rather than by simple majority vote, whereby the ethnic minorities will once again be outvoted as they always have been in the past.\u00a0 One solution would be to adopt the method of \u201csufficient consensus\u201d adopted by the South African parties when they were negotiating a political solution to their own civil conflict.\u00a0 This simply meant that all the important parties should agree to the solutions that were presented.\u00a0 In practice it meant that the main governing party and the ANC had to agree.\u00a0 With South Africa\u2019s good offices, which it has offered, a similar arrangement can be developed for Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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