Winning peace

The ritual of Independence Day rolls around once a year, but the challenge is to infuse meaning to the celebrations that will march past Galle Face once again today.

Taking forward the twin challenges of reconciliation and economic growth is the burden before Sri Lankans, pointed out Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe succinctly in his Independence Day message. The struggles ahead are further enforced by the appearance of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Saturday on a four day tour that will include a visit to Jaffna where he is expected to meet with members of the public and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for talks. 

His visit comes after the National Government came under fire for attempting to backtrack on pledges made before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions last September. Caught between a rock and hard place, the President and Prime Minister have also been criticised over the possibility of foreign judges sitting on a hybrid court to try specific instances of disappearances and deaths during the last phase of the war, which could well try members of the military.

In another example of the hard road ahead, a debate erupted over whether the national anthem should be allowed to be sung in both Sinhala and Tamil at the Independence Day celebrations. The discussions, which began at the Cabinet meeting, last week, erupted into public debate after Opposition politicians rejected the suggestion. A final decision was to be made by President Maithripala Sirisena but no formal public statement has yet been made. For many it was seen as a symbolic gesture towards reconciliation, which would follow the special statement made by Sirisena during the Independence Day celebrations last year where he highlighted the sufferings of all ethnic communities during the war and called for a renewed push towards a meaningful peace.

The continued rhetoric of politicians, led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has vehemently and repeatedly slammed the Government on measures to foster reconciliation including systematic release of LTTE suspects jailed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), and pushing forward trials on disappearances, along with increased visibility of extremist organisations such as “Sinha-le,” show the political risks ahead for an already overburdened Government. 

Before the 69th Independence Day, Sri Lanka will have to tackle significant economic problems based on stronger fiscal consolidation, debt management, liberalising the economy and improving exports as well as craft a new Constitution. In a vulnerable global environment Sri Lanka will find it tough to attract investment and foster high growth. Economists have already warned the economy is showing signs of overheating and with low public revenue, continued borrowings seem to be the only answer to pulling back the Budget deficit. 

With so many balls in the air the Government is struggling to communicate clearly with the public and prioritise its agenda. Change is hard to achieve for any Government, but it is particularly so for one that is aiming to put right decades of wrong. For Sri Lanka, keeping open the window of opportunity created by political change in 2015 and moving forward towards a sustainable peace may prove harder than winning the war.