Ending the divide: Three-state solution for the UK

New United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson - Reuters

By Jayasri Priyalal

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received a thumping majority to accomplish the Brexit deal following the United Kingdom’s recent General Election, which concluded on 12 December. While the conservative party now enjoys a comfortable majority in Westminster, the Opposition Labour Party faced a humiliating defeat. 

The wave of nationalism, in tandem with popularism, has proven victorious across many representative democracies. This can be attributed to the socioeconomic hardships felt by most of the population over insecurities, uncertainties over sovereignty, widening inequalities as a result of negativity over neo-liberal policies driven on the globalisation platform.

‘Get Brexit Done’ was Johnson’s election campaign slogan, which stirred nationalistic feelings amongst the British to leave the European Union. This feelings of the British can be compared to the anti-imperialistic sentiments expressed by subjects under colonial rule soon after gaining independence.  Nationalistic populism has worked very well for Johnson and has served Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon equally well. Her Scottish National Party garnered a considerable majority and is now determined to hold a referendum to seek independence from Britain. In Northern Island, a nationalistic agenda has emerged with the election of Sinn Féin into government. This old saying reverberates strongly - what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

In the election manifesto the Conservative Party put forward for the UK elections, a two-state solution was endorsed to resolve the political tensions in Palestine, the Middle East and Sri Lanka. This may have been necessary to state in order to appease the electorate supporting separatism in the respective countries and those who are now living in the United Kingdom. 

Now the question before the British Government is if a two-state solution is considered suitable for Palestine, Cyprus and Sri Lanka, then will it support a three-state solution in the United Kingdom, thus, paving the way to resolve conflicts in divided societies supporting the independence of Scotland and facilitating the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.   

Colonial past

For centuries many nations were divided citizens of the United Kingdom, including Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Indian subcontinent only had two countries berthed in the Indian Ocean - Bharat (India) and Lanka. When the colonial masters ended their rule, India was lefted divided into three nations - Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Although there are three countries, there are two controversial dividing lines between India and Pakistan – in Jammu Kashmir - and between Bangladesh and Myanmar, which to date has served as a deathbed for many. 

Amidst the diversities of South Asian countries, one can always find a collective identity and enriching civilisation within the subcontinent weaving into a distinctive culture. A representative democratic system installed post-independence as an extension of the divide and rule policy of the colonial masters has stalled progress in South Asia, deepening the ethnic and religious divides even in the 21st century. 

One causal factor is the extractive political administrative structures put in place by the colonial administration. 

Nineteenth century political systems and institutions introduced in the post-independence era are now incompatible with 21st century aspirations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In this era, the power of individuals and machines, the control of ideas, flow and influence of many have grown exponentially thanks to Internet-based smartphone technology. Sadly, the political leadership in many post-colonial independent states is yet to realise the incompatibilities of the divisive, wasteful, extractive administrative structures of the nineteenth century. Those deliberately prevent citizens from taking real ownership with accountability and responsibility for the progress of their respective countries. 

Fortunately, Sri Lanka is an island, which has its unencumbered territory and it has remained an independent country with its unique identity and lineage of rulers as depicted in the legendary Ramayana. Moreover, Sri Lanka was chosen to be a foreign destination of the Gautama Buddha. The enlightened master had paid three visits to the country according to recorded history. 

Lessons from the Buddha

According to these recorded chronicles, the Gautama Buddha’s visits were made with a specific purpose of resolving conflicts between the rulers of the island. As such, the enlightened Buddha visited the island of Sri Lanka as a foreign emissary with the status of a statesman.  

The future must be built on the past. History is a valuable source to analyse the trends of human civilisation. The rise and fall of empires and faiths and beliefs being challenged by scientific inventions create critical milestones for one to examine and form an opinion in order to move forward.  

The exemplary conduct of Sri Lankan rulers and the ethics of good governance and its origins are explained clearly in historical chronicles of authentic sources. 

In the third century, the Great Emperor Ashoka took efforts to disseminate the Buddhist principles relevant for practice by rulers seeking the harmonious coexistence of subjects and greater prosperity. Skaya Muni Gautama Buddha’s teaching of the noble principles of Dasa Raja Dhamma – the Ten Royal Virtues - engages the community through participatory democratic structures which enabled rulers to practice a just administrative system. 

For instance, Avirodha (non-opposition and non-enmity), the 10th principle of the doctrine, recommends that the ruler should not oppose the will of the people. He must cultivate the spirit of amity among his subjects. In other words, he should rule in harmony with his people.   

"Amidst the diversities of South Asian countries, one can always find a collective identity and enriching civilisation within the subcontinent weaving into a distinctive culture. A epresentative democratic system installed post-independence as an extension of the divide and rule policy of the colonial masters has stalled progress in South Asia, deepening the ethnic and religious divides even in the  21st century"

Sri Lanka’s newly-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksha has received a robust mandate to govern the country and offer viable solutions to the numerous problems, including the longstanding ethnic issue. Following the election, there are calls to scrap the provincial council systems which are considered a wasteful parallel administration system in the island nation. 

I also support the elimination of administration systems which do not have the power to impose taxes on citizens and merely act as disbursing agents of the Central Government’s fiscal allocations for development work as a system of devolution of political power. Provincial councils breed a crop of politicians who are neither accountable to electorates nor to taxpayers. Thus, the principle of ownership and accountability is something unknown to them, which is a matter of great concern for all Sri Lankans.

Perhaps President Rajapaksha should think of a unique administrative structure for Sri Lanka, to devolve political power according to the principles of participatory democracy in the context of the new technoculture developed with the use of the internet and smart technologies that are compatible with 21st century aspirations. Essentially, this has to be done through sincere dialogue and discussions with the Tamil and Muslim communities.

The critical factor to make this a reality is to enable Tamils and Muslims to maintain their distinctive cultures and identities within administrative structures compatible with the current era of technocultural acceleration, which can translate the principles of participatory democracy for social cohesion. The ultimate goal should be allowing all Sri Lankans to take ownership and work together for their future prosperity. 

(The writer is the Regional Director of the UNI Global Union Asia and Pacific Regional Organization in Singapore. He can be reached at [email protected])