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A PEACE PLAN FOR SRI LANKA ©2008 Dr Romesh Senewiratne

Steps to pursue for a lasting peace in Sri Lanka:

1. Introduction of trilingual education (Sinhalese, Tamil and English) in

primary schools and secondary schools throughout Sri Lanka.

2. Reforms ensuring redistribution of wealth to needy citizens.

3. Establishment of higher minimum wage.

4. Submissions for new Bill of Rights ensuring cultural and linguistic rights

for minorities.

5. Abolition of the „Sinhala Only Act‟.

6. Abolition of „Prevention of Terrorism Act‟.

7. Arrest of those involved in war crimes in Sri Lanka (1982-2008),

including relevant commanding officers of GOSL (Government of Sri

Lanka) and LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).

8. Prosecution of those involved in war crimes in Sri Lanka (1983-2008).

9. Public investigation and public disclosure of all arms deals made by

Government of Sri Lanka (1983-2008).

10. Public investigation and public disclosure of all arms deals made by

LTTE (1983-2008).

11. University-based research and education programs studying specific

health, environmental and economic problems in Sri Lanka.

12. Focus on trilingual and multilingual competence in universities,

especially in medical education, legal studies, history and politics.

13. Retraining of medical profession and health-care workers into peace-time

medical care.

14. Building of cyclotron facility in Sri Lanka for provision of necessary

medical nuclear isotopes.

15. Devolution of funds for education, social services and health to rural and

peripheral regions with corresponding strengthening of local government

infrastructure.

16. Integration of existing public University system with focus of

development of non-divisive educational practices, including

propaganda-free education in science, politics, law, economics and the

arts with opportunities for trilingual tertiary education in all courses.

17. New University-based publication and promotion infrastructure to

market, locally and internationally, local literature, music, art, science

and technology, historical and anthropological studies, medicine and

other areas of study in English, Singhalese, Tamil and Sanskrit.

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18. Introduction of widespread opportunities to study Sanskrit, Pali and

Prakrit in primary, secondary and tertiary education.

19. Creation of learning centres for study of Chinese, Indian, South-East

Asian and African languages.

20. Government-funded research into history and anthropology of

Indigenous people of Sri Lanka (Veddahs).

21. University and school-based popular scientific study and photographic

documentation of existing fauna and flora in Sri Lanka.

22. National irrigation program for rural areas using renovation of existing

and ancient irrigation tanks.

23. National program of revegetation.

24. Disarming of police and police to be trained in use of digital cameras

to record and discourage public crimes.

25. Unarmed UN/International observers to inspect sites of massacres and

other crimes against humanity to collect photographic, DNA and other

forensic evidence.

26. Re-education of non-indictable members of Sri Lanka Armed Forces and

Police force based on non-violent means of conflict resolution.

27. Sri Lankan armed forces to be constitutionally limited to protecting the

nation from external threats and environmental threats.

28. Retraining of armed forces to confront environmental threats, including

removal of landmines, reforestation and recognition of indigenous fauna

and flora.

29. Expansion of police and military use of computer technology to trace

international funding sources for weapons.

30. Reform of banking sector with restriction of foreign withdrawals

31. Abolition of “free trade zones” and "high security zones" and prosecution

of those involved in human rights abuses in such zones.

32. Change of government policy regarding languages of correspondence

with Singhalese, Tamil and English translations provided on all forms,

letters and publications.

33. Formation of a National Centre for Peace Studies in Colombo, Kandy

Trincomalee, Galle and Jaffna.

34. Safeguards in new constitution to protect against discrimination against

racial, linguistic, religious or political minority groups.

35. Promotion of a multicultural, multilingual national identity.

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A PEACE PLAN FOR SRI LANKA

While the conflict in Sri Lanka is generally portrayed as one between

different races, the actuality is far more complex. There are conflicts

between religious groups (Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems and Christians) and,

perhaps more importantly, between classes. In the class war in Sri Lanka

haves are pitted against have-nots. The class structure in Sri Lanka has long

been extreme – with „middle class‟ families having live-in servants to do

their bidding, to cook for them, to clean, shop and look after the children.

This is especially the case with the “professional classes” which comprise

the highest echelon of the “post-colonial” class structure in Sri Lanka. On

the other hand, the economically and politically weakest population in Sri

Lanka are those denied tertiary education.

The second point in the peace plan, “Reforms ensuring redistribution of

wealth to needy citizens” is essential for resolving the war between the

classes in Sri Lanka. Redistribution of wealth in Sri Lanka is long overdue.

It can also be done peacefully, efficiently, justly and carefully.

The root cause of the conflict between the Sinhalese-speaking and Tamil-

speaking people in Sri Lanka is the fact that they have difficulty

understanding each other and are consequently suspicious of the other's

motives. Hence the plan to teach Sinhalese to Tamil children, Tamil to

Sinhalese children, and English to all children in Sri Lanka – from primary

school onwards.

Not long after the granting of Independence to what was then Ceylon in

1948, the 'Sinhala Only' act was introduced by the government of

S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike. This was in keeping with the decolonising spirit of

the times, designed to boost the position of the 'official language' - Sinhalese

(Singhalese), which, spoken by more than 70% of the population, is

indigenous to the island.

Tamil, designated the 'second language' in which children of 'pure-blooded'

Tamil children were obliged to study, is spoken by tens of millions in south

India, as well as by about 2.5 million of Sri Lanka's 20 million people. Of

these Tamil-speaking people, most identify themselves as 'Ceylon Tamils' as

opposed to 'Indian Tamils'. Indian Tamils are mainly descendants of

'indentured labour' brought to work in the British coffee and tea plantations

in the nineteenth century. The 'plantation Tamils', as they have been called,

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have long experienced appalling living conditions, with crowded, inadequate

housing, poor nutrition and dietary deficiencies, rampant infectious disease,

and grinding poverty aggravated by lack of educational opportunities. This

was the case under colonial rule by the British and remains the case today.

In contrast, the Ceylon Tamils enjoyed a somewhat privileged position under

the British, disproportionately represented in the colonial public service,

medical and engineering professions, and the legal profession. One reason

for this may have been the well-established colonial strategy of 'divide-and-

rule', and minority groups have systematically been placed in positions to

rule over the majority in many colonised countries.

Another reason was the fact that since India had long been colonised before

all of Ceylon succumbed to British rule, there were opportunities to obtain

degrees in universities in British India well before there were in Ceylon.

These were more readily available to Ceylon Tamils geographically close to

south India in Jaffna, than to the Singhalese-speaking majority. Thus a long

tradition of tertiary education in the 'status professions' of medicine, law and

engineering became a cultural feature of Ceylon Tamils well before the more

agriculturally-based Singhalese population pursued these professions with

the same enthusiasm.

To many Singhalese, the introduction of the Sinhala Only Act was a positive

assertion against colonial rule and dominance of the English language. The

postage stamps of Ceylon, at that time and since, include all three scripts -

Sinhala, Tamil and English. At the same time, English was demoted from

being the official language of government, in preference for Sinhala. In

ostensible efforts to reinvigorate the national languages of Sinhala and

Tamil, children were obliged to study in their 'mother tongue', while

opportunities to study in English were gradually reduced in both government

and private (Church) schools. Only children of mixed parentage, Burgher or

Muslim children were allowed to study in English, even in private schools.

While the intention might have been good, the effects of this policy have

been disastrous, not least because English has turned out to be the global

language of the computer age - affecting everything from the media to

medical texts and publications. To reach out to the rest of the multilingual

world every country requires expertise in understanding, reading, writing

and speaking English. At the same time, being fluent in one language does

not hinder fluency in others. Especially if introduced to many languages in

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infancy and early childhood, the human ability for multilingualism knows no

bounds.

Teaching Sanskrit at schools (in addition to Sinhala, Tamil and English)

would enable Sri Lankan children to study the mother language of all the

Indo-European languages. For those Singhalese who might resent the idea of

their children studying Tamil, it is worth considering the facts that Tamil is

the language spoken by the geographical neighbours of Sri Lanka (in

Southern India) and has a long history of use in Sri Lanka. It is also obvious

that trilingualism will increase the over-all language skills of Sri Lankan

children, and the knowledge and skills of a country‟s youth are its most

important investment in the future.

The education of children is where the potential wealth of Sri Lanka has

great capacity to increase. The country has long had a high literacy and

numeracy rate, now we have an opportunity to build on a long tradition of

education by investing in trilingual educational programs that have the

added advantage of ensuring a lasting peace in Sri Lanka. If Sri Lankan

children and adults recognise their common history and common needs, they

are less likely to become divided along racial, religious and linguistic lines.

The financial savings to the people of Sri Lanka by curtailing the foreign

purchase of arms and military technology would be immense. With a long

history of Buddhism in the island, and a recent history of prolonged warfare,

the support for a total ban on guns, bombs and landmines is likely to be

considerable. The possibility of creating the world‟s first weapon-free state

should not be squandered. Sri Lanka could lead the world in genuine peace

studies – leading by example. It is to be hoped that the police and armies of

the future will be more focussed on conflict resolution than conflict creation.

This will require retraining of the police and armed forces, after weeding out

those who have committed crimes against humanity over the past thirty

years. This „weeding out‟ will be necessary to create a new national defence

force focussed on foreign threats rather than fighting against Sri Lanka's

own citizens and residents.

For an enduring message of deterrence to future war crimes and human

rights atrocities, it is necessary that those who committed the worst of the

abuses of the past thirty years be brought to justice. This will inevitably

include senior members of the police and military as well as senior members

of the Tigers and other armed groups. All sides have been guilty of crimes

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against humanity in the recent war, and it is important that those implicated

in any serious crimes be arrested and prosecuted.

After decades of warfare, the entire infrastructure of a government and

society can be expected to be infected by the cancer of militarism.

Militaristic propaganda can infect all levels of education and permeate the

arts. Nevertheless I believe it is the educational system that provides Sri

Lanka with the best chance of ending the current conflict.

Romesh Senewiratne

Brisbane, Australia

20.1.2008