Equality and justice

More than a decade after the conflict ended, its anniversary is a good time to take stock. Today is usually the day when Sri Lanka typically saw large military parades to mark the end of the war. However, last year, there was a disruption in usual proceedings due to the horrific Easter Sunday attacks, and this year, COVID-19 has put a stop to all large gatherings. But even amidst new challenges to contend with, it is important to honestly evaluate the progress of peace and reconciliation in order to find ways to move forward. 

To the honest and moderate citizens, it is hard to think that Sri Lanka has done well on peace and reconciliation in the past 11 years. True, there has not been an outbreak of conflict on the scale of what was witnessed earlier but there have been unsettling, disturbing and disappointing instances when the reconciliation that was hoped for after the end of the conflict had very much been side-lined and Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism had instead become the norm. 

The political solution that was hoped for after the end of the war has largely been put on the back burner. The efforts to provide some level of power devolution, whether it was the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC), solutions based on the 13th Amendment or a new Constitution, as was attempted during the previous Government, have all come to dead ends. 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s manifesto also talks of the need for a new Constitution but that is more in the context of resolving issues created by the 19th Amendment and defining power boundaries between the Executive and Legislature as well as the centre and provinces. 

It is unclear whether this effort will be expanded to include what has come to be known as the National Question. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), for its part, has stuck to a strictly Sinhala-Buddhist nationalistic political ideology and has shown no signs of changing. 

As Parliamentary Elections creep closer, there may be isolated overtures, such as a mechanism to release Tamil prisoners or assist Internally Displaced People (IDPs) to return to their original lands. But these are likely to not be focused on larger political reforms for national-level change. There is also a question mark over what will happen to the thousands of families awaiting details of their loved ones, most of whom have been missing for decades, and whether the important work of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) will be allowed to continue. 

The socioeconomic development of the North and East also require continued attention as their development remains poor, as attested by the contribution to national GDP. The support needed by these provinces continue to be diverse and far more targeted than large-scale infrastructure projects. Requirements of education, healthcare, housing and employment opportunities as well as addressing social issues remains an ongoing challenge. 

Moreover Sri Lankan policymakers continue to be hamstrung, intentionally or otherwise, on how to include minorities and their concerns when making important policy decisions as seen in the controversial cremation issue, which is now before the Supreme Court. 

The Muslim community has been repeatedly targeted for years and had their rights infringed upon in a multitude of ways. On the day when Sri Lanka ended a near-three decade war, it is fitting to pledge to work to ensure that another conflict is not created and minorities finally get the equality and justice they deserve.