By Quintus Perera - Asian Tribune
Colombo, 08 May, (Asiantribune.com): Assessment of Needs in 
Douglas Devananda, Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare at the FCCISL Business for Peace Initiative Forumthe Conflict Affected Areas of Northern and Eastern Provinces prepared by Asian Development Bank, United Nations and World Bank has been estimated at US $ 3,085.8 million, said Douglas Devananda, Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare while he was addressing the 21st Business for Peace Forum organized by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) at Ceylon Continental Hotel.
Kosala Wickramanayake, President, FCCISL welcomed the participants and indicated that the Business for Peace Forum promotes the interaction of the private sector and the distinguished national leaders and other important personalities.
Devananda continuing said that post-independent legislative enactments, administrative directives and constitutional changes made by the majority community, the Sinhalese were detrimental to the aspirations of the numerically minority communities, the Tamils and it was made possible by exercising the power of the majority rule under a democratic system.
He said that the colonial rulers provided minority Tamils favors to gain more positions, disproportionate to the population ratio in the state apparatus and this attitude sowed the seeds of resentment and ill-feelings among the Tamils and Sinhalese.
He said "It has become the order of the day; it has become an inexorable logic of event, for no purpose, no reason, no necessity; it is the result of stupidity and callousness. The three decades of war has brought in immense hardships and sufferings. The human losses, the massive destruction and displacement, the psychological impact and the resultant mental distress caused by this war are beyond words to express."
He said that Tamils agitated against discrimination and demanded equality and power sharing in areas where they lived in substantial numbers and earlier agitations were non-violent. But later due the state machinery crushing the non-violent agitation they took up arms through militant organizations.
He said that the flames of conflict should have been doused with the Into-Lanka accord of 1987 which paved the way for power sharing. The LTTE stood in the way of implementing the 13th amendment but waged a war which could be compared to ‘Pol Pot’. He said that he advocated that LTTE should be dealt with militarily.
He said that All Party Representative Committee (APRC) is finalizing proposals which could be termed as “13th Amendment Plus” to enable deeper provincial autonomy, which would be a second chamber based on provinces.
He said that Preliminary Damages and Needs Assessment prepared by ADB, World Bank, JABIC and JICA on Tsunami recover programme have estimated US $ 774.4 million as the financial needs for the recovery of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. In Jaffna District alone due to conflict and Tsunami 12,628 persons died; 93,22 persons displaced; 100,577 houses damaged/destroyed and more than Rs 30 billion is required for the reconstruction of the damaged/destroyed infrastructure.
He said that there are more than a million Tamils live across the globe and they contribute to LTTE, but now most of them understand their mistakes.
He said that war is nearing the end and as the Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare and the Chairman of the Special Task Force for the Development of the North he has to solicit external assistance to rebuild the war torn areas.
The panellists at this Forum were Hydery A Rehmanjee, Chartered Insurer and former CEO and Director, Union Assurance PLC; Ms Crysanthi Thambiah, Deputy General Manager – Network Management, Hatton National Bank PLC and N R Gajendran, Partner, Gajma & Co – Chartered Accountant. Ranel T Wijesinha, International Management Consultant acted as the Chairman/Moderator.
- Asian Tribune -
Comments
The Minister has stated: "
The Minister has stated: " post-independent legislative enactments, administrative directives and constitutional changes made by the majority community, the Sinhalese were detrimental to the aspirations of the numerically minority communities..."
Mr. Devananda is surely aware that the shift to Swabasha usage had to come. The rural Sinhalese had been neglected for over a century through the deliberate policies of the British Colonial Office directed at keeping the Sinhalese (who were constantly trying to rebel against the colonial rulers) under control. Affirmative Action in education was directed at bringing justice to the rural Sinhalese as well as to rural Tamils.
The Tamils, already esconsed in favoured position by the British had to allow a little "give" from their position of advantage, but the Tamil leaders were not in any mood to do so. Every piece of legislative action was viewed through their narrow ethnic lens, and it is hoped that Minister Devananda will move away from that mindset. There have been many rural Tamils who have told us that if not for the legislative reforms that permitted the rural and less educationally advantaged especially in the Eastern Province, even they would have never been able to raise their heads and seek educational and economic opportunities.
Many of the legislative reforms that the Minister talks of were meant to alleviate the sufferings of the underprivileged of ALL communities. Many sacrifices were made by elite Sinhalese when the Land Reform Act was passed and their estates and lands were taken over by the State. Other reforms like the nationalization of Industries and Transport companies also affected mostly the wealthy Sinhalese. So it is not as though legislative reforms were directed against the Minorities. This is an incorrect statement by the Minister which should be rectified.
There is a tendency to make is seem that the oppressiveness in Sri Lanka is due to majoritarianism, when what has been operating is oppression brought on by terrorism and violence and their pervasive impact and ramifications over these long 30 years of the conflict, in the body politic as well as in the law enforcement areas. What the Tamil community has been experiencing is not due to Sinahla majoritarianism, but due to the Tamil Eelamist violence that has affected and infiltrated near every aspect of Sri Lankan society and life and oppressed not only the Tamils and Minorities, but the Majority as well.. Remove this terrorist factor, and you remove the oppression. It is indeed remarkable the Sri Lankan society has remained this sane considering what it has been subjected to.
But it will take wise leadership in the Tamil community especially, and the Muslim community as well, to face that reality. They cannot always lay the blame on the majority for everything that goes wrong....there were wrongs on all sides.
AML
In the historical context of
In the historical context of post colonial Sri Lanka was misgoverned by idiotic leadership. LTTE and JVP were resulting phenomena. R. Premadasa who was a commoner wiped out JVP and Now M. Rajapakse the next commonor to come to power is doing the same to LTTE.
Sinhalese rose above JVP to move on and Tamils should be able to do the same.
However the causes should be identified and resolved with a utmost priority. With terrorism under control, the government should now be able to have leverage on this.
If this comes true, this will be a start of a resurgence of Sri Lanka as a country and a golden period in the history for Sinhalese and Tamils both.
But if Tamils insist on a separate country then this will be a start of another dark period.
The Minister has a tough job
The Minister has a tough job ahead as Minister for Social Services & Welfare. I notice that the Tsunami tragedies have been added on to the list of war damage with the ltte. That happened in the so-called majority community areas too ... both Tsunami & LTTE damage added up to a mighty figure in the South too. Dear Minister, it is indeed a hard time for us all especially the IDPs, but all our communities have to gather our pieces and forge ahead together. It is not a time to divide ourselves or even complain. Many countries are trying to help us out; many more will join in as time passes. Let us move forward TOGETHER ! We can do it. Let us be friends, all of us.
I had no sympathy for the
I had no sympathy for the JVP and nor will I have any for the LTTE. Violence from any side cannot be supported and the govt of the day must be given to govern and show respect for all Sri Lankans. Sadly this did not happen in the 1980's,
So we have come a full circle, yes we need to start a fresh, Colombo is the home for all ethnic communities and mainly to the middle class Tamils and Muslims. If this can happen in Colombo I see no reason why it cannot happen in the other parts of the country.
Taking the gun to solve political problems must not be encouraged anywhere in the world.
The interference from the international community made this problem harder for us Sri Lankans to solve it among ourselves.
It does not matter who rule
It does not matter who rule the country. Polcies, rules, directives and modalities must be equal to all citizens irrespective of race, creed or cast. In a democratic country, one can not avoid majorty having more political power. It is essential feature of democracy. However, it should not hinder minority rights. Minister Devananda can not live in the past and start measuring future with same yard stick. He has a responsibilty support present GoSL to map up universally accepted policies for all citizens alike. Any asymetric power grabbing just because one group took arms, will not work any longer. It can not be 50:50 or 30:70 or similar formula. It mush be 100:100 for all srilankans. We shall not settle anything less than that.
We are always talking about
We are always talking about the rights of the minoritie, et al. But as far as I can make out, all the major issues such as language, university entrance quotas, etc were all granted as far back as 1979. The only demand that was not granted was a Federal State, and we all know, and must accept that this was impossible then, and will continue to be impossible today and in the future. Besides, these were all demands made by the politicians, for political purposes.
Before 1976, the ordinary Tamil people were as satisfied, or not, as any Sinhalese, Moor or Burgher. The agitations were all political. So what exactly are these demands by the minorities that remain to be granted? Is it just devolution of political power? If so, for what purpose?
If the Minorities have special rights, then the majority INDIVIDUALS will be discriminated against, unless they too are given those same rights the minorities are demanding. So waht are these rights that the minorities must be given and not the majority Sinhalese, and why?
Would it not be far better if ALL individuals, irrespective of ethnic origin or religion, were given the SAME rights? As the language issue has been muddled up (not solved really), leaving that aside for the present, what if each and every individual were to receive the SAME rights?
As for Language, my own stance on the matter is that we should introduce English as the universal language for everyone, from kindergarten to grave, the Official language. Sinhalese should be the national language. Tamil can be used for Tamil cultural affairs, as Sinhalese will also be used for Sinhalese cultural affairs. All communities used English until 1958, and we got on OK, despite the majority Sinhalese not being fluent in it. But today, with Sinhalese the official language, our so-called literacy is a joke, and the Sinhalese have suffered more than the Tamils.
The 13th Amendment merely gives POWER to a few politicians, which will, in most instances lead to animosity between the ethnic and religious communities because the various PC Ministers are forced to favour their own people in order to get re-elected. The PCs are therefore a Trojan Horse waiting to create further political dissent. Think hard before saying no.
I like the 100:100 idea.
I like the 100:100 idea.
Going forward what is top
Going forward what is top most priority is to build a political system where each citizen - irrespective of its ethnicity or religion - feels like a cherished person with full rights, privileges and individual powers, second to no other citizen. The challege for Sri Lankans of different communities is to converge to mutually understand one-another to build a brand new system. If anyone believes that the current defunk system can me mended to create an equitable democratic platform, then they are being naive and mistaken. The idea must be: to build a brand new nation. No patchwork will work.
Tamils need to work with two
Tamils need to work with two major parties to work towards a compromise rather than using ethnic based parties and crying wolf.. This is one of the major issues today. Power hungry Tamil leaders does not want equal treatments to Tamils, they want preferential treatments similar to what they got from British.
No point repeating the same mantra and blaming the Sinhalese leaders since fault lies with Tamil racist leaders.
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