Sri Lanka Perspectives: July 2016
Col
R Hariharan
Rajapaksa’s
“Long March”
In a bid to deprive the support base of
President Maithripala Siriisena within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and
to rally his supporters former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was leading a Pada
Yatra from Kandi to Colombo from July 28 scheduled to end on August 1. The 117 km walk vended its way despite
various efforts to obstruct its progress.
The United National Party (UNP) partner
of SLFP in the ruling coalition caused some anxious moments to the organizers
of the Pada Yatroa in their passage through the strongholds of two UNP
ministers. The Colombo Hyde Park venue for
a meeting at the end of the march has also raised some questions.
Though President Sirisena did not
directly criticise the Pada Yatra, in a veiled attack on Rajapaksa, he said “If the former leaders had performed
their duties and governed properly, there would not be a need for them to
undertake long marches for political purposes, hurting their feet.” However, the President made his mind
clear at a meeting of SLFP members. H warned that those found working against
the party would be removed from the SLFP; despite this 40 members of the joint
opposition are reported to have joined Rajapaksa’s long march indicating the
divisions within the SLFP.
Banners carried in the long
march sported slogans such as "Stop the political witch hunt",
"Don’t arrest soldiers", "Hold the postponed LG elections",
"No foreign war crimes courts", "Stop removal of subsidies for
people" and "Ninety two ministers; What’s is the difference." These
reflect Rajapaksa’s points of criticism of Sirisena government aimed at whipping
up nationalist sentiments and take a dig at the lack of progress in Sirisena’s
electoral promises.
Jaffna University students
clash
A clash between a group of
Tamil and Sinhalese undergraduate students studying at the University of
Jaffna’s Science Faculty on July 16 resulting in injuries to four Sinhalese
studentsm, including one seriously injured, has highlighted the continuing
ethnic divide between the two communities though the Eelam War ended seven
years ago.
The Jaffna University had
been admitting Sinhalese students since 2011. Well known columnist DBS Jeyaraj
to say a quarter of the Jaffna Univesity’s undergraduate population of 6590
were Sinalese predominantly in the science faculty. Generally, their
relationship with the faculty and Tamil students had been cordial though lack
of knowledge of each others’ language and limited proficiency in English
restricted their mingling. However,
Sinhalese students had minor grievances like non availability of campus
accommodation and understanding circulars which were only in Tamil.
Though there had been mixed cultural events
in the past, where Sinhala and Tamil students had participated together, this
year the Freshers welcome event organized had been the source of friction.
Unlike the previous years when the Kandyan dancers were allowed to perform
indoor, this year Sinhalese students requested that they be allowed to join the
welcome procession along with Tamil drummers. This was not acceptable to Tamil
students and the faculty decided to continue with the old format. This resulted
in clashes between factions of Sinhalese and Tamil students. The Dean quickly
intervened and sent the Sinhalese students to their homes.
The government has sensibly tried to
play down the incident. However, it is
to the credit of President Sirisena not to shy away from discussing the issue.
While inaugurating a training institute in Kilinochchi, he referred to the
student clash at Jaffna University and said “reconciliation should be included
in the school curriculum as a subject. All our educational institutions should
be reformed to prevent recurrence of an incident such as that which occurred in
Jaffna.”
He also told the Sinhala Buddhist
community that they would be able to “live happily only after solving the issue
pertaining to the issues pertaining to other communities in the country and
first step in this regard is to acknowledge that the people in the North have a
problem to solve.”
Political parties, particularly the
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have generally not allowed political polemics to
overtake the need for maintaining harmonious relations between the two
communities. The University authorities have already appointed a committee to
inquire into the incident and the Higher Education Minister Lakshman Kiriella
has promised to punish those guilty.
Northern Province chief minister CV Wigneswaran has suggested appointing
a commission to inquire into the incident lest it creates further disharmony.
However, inevitably the event has drawn
attention to bitter feelings still simmering in the two communities due their
factitious relationship in the past. Tamil grievances over continued military
occupation of their land, signs of Sinhala Buddhist cultural “invasion” and
Tamils own sordid experience of ethnic abuse and discrimination at the hands of
Sinhalas. Mischief mongers already seem to be at work as provocative posters in
Sinhala have appeared social media though Sinhalese students have disowned
them. In the past, Jaffna University students have shown strong pro-LTTE
sentiments and parties toeing the Eelam line still enjoy strong following.
It is high time shows both communities
and the government redouble their efforts at the social and political level to
rebuild bridges between the two communities lest chauvinists on both sides
exploit the event to further damage the situation. The incident sows, the
Sirisena government efforts at ethnic reconciliation is still a work in
progress despite claims of success.
Written on July 31, 2016
[Col R Hariharan, a
retired MI officer, served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace
Keeping Force from 1987 to 90. E-mail: haridirect@gmail.com Blog: http://col.hariharan.info ]
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