LANKA WITHOUT LTTE

So after 25 years of blood, gore and destruction, the war in Sri Lanka is drawing to a close. Many Sri Lankans are likely to breathe a sigh of relief on the prolonged bloodshed coming to an end. The war, for the past two and half decades, has brought immense suffering and misery to all the people of all Sri Lanka, whether they are Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim. Every single family in this small island has been affected by the war, in one way or another. Soldiers, civilians, doctors, journalists.. they’ve all died in this war. Falling victim either to artillery shells or to suicide attacks or sometimes to state-sponsored extra-judicial killings.

But does the end of the war mean, end of all problems? Let’s get this straight. Prabhakaran is not the fundamental problem. He’s only a symptom of the problem. Some would say the most vocal, potent manifestation of the problem. The fundamental problem is the legitimate aspiration of the Tamil people to a life of dignity, equality and autonomy. That fundamental problem doesn’t end, with or without Prabhakaran. You cannot have a Sri Lanka where 3.5 million Tamils feel they’re treated like second class citizens. They have every right to demand a Sri Lanka where they are given the same rights, opportunities and freedom as the Sinhala majority. And if by consensus, regional autonomy is the only way of doing that, then so be it. How far the Sri Lankan state can convert military success into lasting and durable peace will depend on how fast Mr. Rajapakse can come up with a devolution package for the Tamils.

Usually, one-sided military victories in ethnic conflicts are not followed by major political reforms. It hasn’t happened in Bosnia. It hasn’t happened in Darfur. Sri Lanka cannot afford that to happen. In the long run, the Sinhalese political establishment might learn that regional self-rule under unarmed, non-se­cessionist and integrationist Tamil political parties might not be such a bad idea after all. Anything would be better than 25 years of bloody battle with 70,000 lives lost.

Here’s where the problem is. Mr. Rajapakse is dependent on hard line Sinhalese nationalist parties and groups. They have a disproportionate influence on the policy agenda of his administration. According to hardline Sinhala parties like the JVP and JHU, Sri Lanka does not have an “ethnic problem”. What exists is a “terrorist problem”. For them, this terrorist problem is spearheaded by the “fascist” LTTE. And a military victory is adequate to resolve that problem.

And what’s aiding them is that 9/11 has completely obfuscated the difference between terrorism and armed rebellious insurgency. In George Bush’s world view everyone’s a terrorist, whether it’s a Mullah Omar, an Osama bin Laden, an Isak Muivah or a Velupillai Prabhakaran. America’s ubiquitous War on Terror has destroyed all nuances and subtleties. The LTTE has not been fighting this war based on some distorted interpretation of any religion. They’ve been fighting for the legitimate political aspirations of the Tamil people. You may disagree with the method, but you cannot ignore the message. Branding the LTTE’s insurgency as terrorism and crush­ing it is fine. But it should not obviate the fact that the secessionist rebellion, despite its defeat, represented the voice of almost a fifth of Sri Lanka.

For the Tamil people, Prabhakaran’s legacy will hang around their necks like an albatross. The Tamils, as a community will be compelled to accept that defeat was the only major outcome of these 25 years of armed struggle and suffering. That’s how history will remember this war. As a non-resident Tamil, it makes me cringe.