In Sri Lanka, reconciliation should no longer be treated as a buzzword -EDITORIAL

When the thirty year ethnic conflict ended in 2009, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had ample opportunities to address the grievances of the Tamil minority. But President Rajapaksa refused to acknowledge, let alone address their legitimate grievances against the state. Even though 16 years have elapsed since the end of the war, thousands of mothers and loved ones of individuals disappeared during and in the aftermath of the war are still seeking justice. 

Just after the war ended, the Rajapaksa government launched ‘Uthuru Wasanthaya’ and ‘Nagenahira Navodaya’ - two programmes to develop villages and infrastructure in the conflict-ridden areas of the country. The government at the time interpreted these projects as attempts to integrate ethnic minorities into the state. But the psychological trauma endured by these communities who were eagerly awaiting the return of their spouses, sons and daughters was ignored. Even though the war ended, Tamil minorities in the North suffered from heavy militarization and nationalist policies put forth by the Rajapaksa regime. 

However in 2015 when Sri Lanka welcomed Maithripala Sirisena as its new president, there were hopes about national unity and reconciliation because he assumed power on a promise that he would restore the rule of law, end the country’s international isolation and take steps towards reconciliation with the Tamil ethnic minority. Compared to the Rajapaksa regime, the Sirisena administration reached out to the Tamil communities and initiated constitutional and legal reforms. It also passed enabling legislation to establish an Office of Missing Persons to help find some of the 65,000 people reported missing during the war. But there was slow progress made about various other matters such as returning military-occupied lands to Tamil civilians in the North and East.  

In 2015, the Sri Lankan government co-sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution 30/1. The resolution was adopted to promote accountability, reconciliation, and human rights in Sri Lanka. But in February 2020, under the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government withdrew Sri Lanka from its commitments under UN Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, effectively rejecting the resolution. With a checkered past and going back and forth on multiple sessions at the Geneva Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka is yet to clear its stance on alleged war crimes that happened during the war. 

Addressing the 58th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said that the government has pledged to take tangible steps to further advance national unity and reconciliation. He said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had proposed to declare a Sri Lanka day in line with the government’s vision for a reconciled Sri Lanka and bridging gaps between communities. 

He further said that Sri Lanka would ensure that the domestic processes established to address remaining challenges from the conflict will continue their work in an independent and credible manner. Domestic institutions such as the Office on Missing Persons, Office for Reparations and Office for National Unity and Reconciliation will be strengthened. Minister Herath further said that the government aims to make the domestic mechanisms credible and sound within the Constitutional framework. 

During the recent Parliamentary election, the National People’s Power became the first Sinhala dominated national party to obtain the highest  number of votes and the most number of seats in the Jaffna electoral district comprising the administrative districts of Kilinochchi and Jaffna. During his visit to Jaffna in January this year, President Dissanayake assured that civilian lands under military custody would be returned to rightful owners soon. He acknowledged the numerous challenges faced by the people in the Northern Province and emphasized the government’s commitment to strengthening the education, healthcare, transportation and agricultural sectors, along with the overall public service in the region.

While all these acknowledgements are welcomed by Tamil minorities especially because it indicates that these issues are being discussed at a national level, the government now has the arduous task of ensuring that these pledges, promises and acknowledgements would eventually see light of day. In fact, the NPP government has the best opportunity to bridge the gap between the North and South and work towards establishing national unity and reconciliation to bring about lasting peace.