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73
THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH Part of the Sri Lanka Strategic Conflict Assessment 2005 David Rampton and Asanga Welikala 3 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized closure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized closure Authorized

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Page 1: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

THE

PO

LITI

CS

OF

THE

SO

UTH

Part

of t

he S

ri L

anka

Str

ateg

ic C

onfli

ct A

sses

smen

t 200

5

Davi

d Ra

mpt

on a

nd A

sang

a W

elik

ala

3

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

wb394321
Typewritten Text
63056
Page 2: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

THE

POLI

TICS

OF

THE

SOU

TH

PA

RT

OF

TH

E

SR

I LA

NK

A S

TR

AT

EG

IC C

ON

FLIC

T A

SS

ES

SM

EN

T 2

00

5

By D

avid

Ram

pton

and

Asa

nga

Wel

ikal

a

Page 3: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

Th

e g

over

nm

ents

of

the

Net

her

lan

ds,

Sw

eden

, an

d t

he

Un

ited

Kin

gd

om

, in

co

llab

ora

tio

n w

ith

Th

e A

sia

Fou

nd

atio

n a

nd

th

e W

orl

d B

ank

fun

ded

th

is p

roje

ct.

Th

e co

nte

nts

of

the

stu

die

s sh

ou

ldn

ot

be

con

stru

ed a

s re

flec

tin

g t

he

view

s o

f th

e fi

ve f

un

din

g a

gen

cies

.

© C

op

yrig

ht

2005

Sec

on

d P

rin

tin

g

Net

her

lan

ds

Min

istr

y o

f Fo

reig

n A

ffai

rsS

wed

ish

Inte

rnat

ion

al D

evel

op

men

t C

oo

per

atio

n A

gen

cyT

he

Asi

a Fo

un

dat

ion

Gov

ern

men

t o

f th

e U

nit

ed K

ing

do

m o

f G

reat

Bri

tain

an

d N

ort

her

n Ir

elan

dW

orl

d B

ank

For

rep

rod

uct

ion

s o

f th

is p

ub

licat

ion

ple

ase

con

tact

:

3 1/

A R

ajak

eeya

Maw

ath

aC

olo

mb

o 7

, Sri

Lan

ka

Ph

on

e:

+94

11 2

6983

56Fa

x:

+94

11 2

6983

58w

ww

.asi

afo

un

dat

ion

.org

All

rig

hts

res

erve

d

Prin

ted

in S

ri L

anka

Page 4: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

Cont

ents

Ackn

owle

dgem

ents

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

....

| 2

Abou

t the

Aut

hors

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.|

3

Acro

nym

s ....

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

| 4

Exec

utiv

e Su

mm

ary .

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

...|

5

1.Un

ders

tand

ing

Nat

iona

lism

in S

ri La

nka:

Act

ors

and

Traj

ecto

ries .

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

....

| 11

2.Th

e Po

litic

al A

ctor

s ....

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

....

| 15

Over

view

of t

he U

NP.

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

| 15

Over

view

of t

he S

LFP.

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

| 19

The

SLFP

, the

UN

P, a

nd C

onte

mpo

rary

Pea

ce P

roce

sses

in C

ompa

rativ

e Pe

rspe

ctiv

e....

......

......

..|

21Ov

ervi

ew o

f the

JVP

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.|

28Po

litic

al C

onst

ituen

cy a

nd S

ourc

es o

f Mar

gina

lity.

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.|

29Th

e JV

P's

Nat

iona

list I

deol

ogy

and

Attit

udes

to th

e Pe

ace

Proc

ess

and

Cons

titut

iona

l Ref

orm

......

| 33

Attit

ude

to In

tern

atio

nal a

nd C

ivil

Soci

ety

Acto

rs...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..|

35Th

e Po

st-T

suna

mi C

onte

xt a

nd th

e JV

P's

Long

-Ter

m P

oliti

cal P

rosp

ects

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

| 37

Ince

ntiv

es fo

r the

JVP

as

a Pe

ace

Stak

ehol

der..

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

| 39

The

Patri

otic

Nat

iona

l Mov

emen

t: Ai

ms

and

Cons

titue

nts.

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

| 42

Over

view

of t

he S

ihal

a Ur

umay

a/Ja

thik

a He

la U

rum

aya

com

bine

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

| 43

The

JHU'

s So

cio-

Polit

ical

Con

stitu

ency

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

...|

44Th

e JH

U, S

inha

la N

atio

nalis

m a

nd A

ttitu

des

to th

e "E

thni

c Co

nflic

t" an

d th

e Pe

ace

Proc

ess.

......

...|

46Th

e Ri

se a

nd F

all o

f The

JHU

as

a Si

nhal

a N

atio

nalis

t Org

an...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

....

| 48

Ince

ntiv

es fo

r the

JHU

/Sih

ala

Urum

aya

as a

Pea

ce S

take

hold

er...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

....

| 50

Jath

ika

Chin

tana

ya: A

ims

and

Stra

tegi

es fo

r Sin

hala

Nat

iona

lism

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

| 52

Over

view

of t

he U

pcou

ntry

Peo

ple'

s Fr

ont..

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..|

53Or

gani

zatio

n an

d Co

nstit

uenc

y Ba

se...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

| 53

The

UPF,

CWC,

Upc

ount

ry T

amil

Nat

iona

lism

and

the

Peac

e Pr

oces

s....

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.|

54In

cent

ives

for t

he P

eace

Pro

cess

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.|

56

3.Co

nclu

sion

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

| 57

4.Im

plic

atio

ns fo

r Int

erna

tiona

l Don

ors .

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

| 61

Polit

ical

Kno

wle

dge.

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.|

61Ai

d Fr

amew

orks

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..|

61En

gage

men

t with

Pol

itica

l Act

ors

and

Capa

citie

s fo

r Pea

ce...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

| 62

Civi

l Soc

iety

, Edu

catio

n, P

artic

ipat

ion,

and

Con

fiden

ce-B

uild

ing.

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.|

63Tr

ansp

aren

cy, C

onsu

ltatio

n, a

nd In

clus

ivity

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..|

64

Bibl

iogr

aphy

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

| 651

| C

onte

nts

Page 5: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

2

Ackn

owle

dgem

ents

All v

iew

s ex

pres

sed

in th

is s

tudy

are

the

auth

ors'

and

do

not r

epre

sent

thos

e of

the

com

mis

sion

ing

agen

cies

,th

e fa

cilit

ator

s of

this

stu

dy, o

r tho

se w

ho w

ere

inte

rvie

wed

. We

wou

ld n

ever

thel

ess

like

to th

ank

the

follo

win

gfo

r the

ir co

ntrib

utio

ns to

this

stu

dy. F

irst,

Nila

n Fe

rnan

do, J

onat

han

Good

hand

, Bar

t Kle

m, a

nd A

nthe

a M

ulak

ala

who

pro

vide

d fe

edba

ck o

n ea

rlier

dra

fts o

f thi

s re

port.

Sec

ond,

Ala

n M

artin

and

Gin

a Ge

nove

se, w

ho p

rovi

ded

valu

able

edi

toria

l ass

ista

nce.

Page 6: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

3|

Abo

ut t

he A

utho

rs

Abou

t the

Aut

hors

Davi

d Ra

mpt

on is

a v

isiti

ng le

ctur

er in

the

Deve

lopm

ent S

tudi

es a

nd P

oliti

cs D

epar

tmen

ts a

t the

Sch

ool o

fOr

ient

al a

nd A

frica

n St

udie

s (S

OAS)

in L

ondo

n. H

e re

ceiv

ed h

is B

ache

lor o

f Arts

deg

ree

in h

isto

ry a

nd p

oliti

csan

d a

Mas

ter o

f Sci

ence

in p

oliti

cal s

tudi

es a

t SOA

S, w

here

he

is c

urre

ntly

eng

aged

in d

octo

ral r

esea

rch

onth

e Ja

nath

a Vi

muk

thi P

eram

una

and

natio

nalis

m in

Sri

Lank

a.

Asan

ga W

elik

ala

stud

ied

for h

is L

LB a

t the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Hul

l. Si

nce

Mar

ch 2

000,

he

has

wor

ked

as a

rese

arch

asso

ciat

e in

the

Lega

l and

Con

stitu

tiona

l Uni

t of t

he C

entre

for P

olic

y Al

tern

ativ

es in

Col

ombo

. He

is a

lso

anoc

casi

onal

con

tribu

tor t

o lo

cal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal m

agaz

ines

and

new

spap

ers.

Page 7: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

4

Acro

nym

s

CFA

Ceas

efire

Agr

eem

ent

CWC

Ceyl

on W

orke

rs C

ongr

ess

CPCo

mm

unis

t Par

tyCP

ICo

mm

unis

t Par

ty o

f Ind

iaCP

IMCo

mm

unis

t Par

ty o

f Ind

ia (M

arxi

st)

CBM

Conf

iden

ce B

uild

ing

Mea

sure

sPN

M

Desh

ahith

aish

i Jat

hika

Vya

para

ya (P

atrio

tic N

atio

nal M

ovem

ent)

DJV

Desh

apre

mi J

anat

ha V

yapa

raya

(Pat

riotic

Peo

ple'

s M

ovem

ent)

EPDP

Eela

m P

eopl

e's

Dem

ocra

tic P

arty

EPRL

FEe

lam

Peo

ple'

s Re

volu

tiona

ry L

iber

atio

n Fr

ont

GoSL

Gove

rnm

ent o

f Sri

Lank

aIG

OsIn

ter-

Gove

rnm

enta

l Org

aniza

tions

ISGA

Inte

rim S

elf-G

over

ning

Aut

horit

yIF

IsIn

tern

atio

nal F

inan

cial

Inst

itutio

nsIN

GOs

Inte

rnat

iona

l Non

-Gov

ernm

enta

l Org

aniza

tions

JVP

Jana

tha

Vim

ukth

i Per

amun

a (P

eopl

e's

Libe

ratio

n Fr

ont)

JHU

Jath

ika

Hela

Uru

may

a (N

atio

nal S

inha

la H

erita

ge)

JSS

Jath

ika

Seva

ka S

anga

may

a (N

atio

nal W

orke

rs U

nion

)LS

SPLa

nka

Sam

a Sa

maj

a Pa

rtyLT

TELi

bera

tion

Tige

rs o

f Tam

il Ee

lam

MEP

M

ahaj

ana

Eksa

th P

eram

una

MSS

Mau

bim

a Su

raki

ma

Sanv

idha

naya

(Mov

emen

t for

the

Prot

ectio

n of

the

Mot

herla

nd)

MSV

Mau

bim

a Su

raki

ma

Vyap

aray

a (F

orce

for t

he P

rote

ctio

n of

the

Mot

herla

nd)

NM

ATN

atio

nal M

ovem

ent A

gain

st T

erro

rism

NSS

PN

ava

Sam

a Sa

maj

a Pa

rty (T

he N

ew E

qual

Soc

iety

Par

ty)

NGO

sN

on-G

over

nmen

tal O

rgan

izatio

nsPA

Peop

le's

Alli

ance

PLOT

EPe

ople

's L

iber

atio

n Or

gani

zatio

n of

Tam

il Ee

lam

P-TO

MS

Post

-Tsu

nam

i Ope

ratio

nal M

anag

emen

t Stru

ctur

e PR

Prop

ortio

nal R

epre

sent

atio

nSU

Si

hala

Uru

may

a (S

inha

la H

erita

ge)

SVV

Sinh

ala

Veer

a Vi

dhan

a (S

inha

la H

eroe

s Fo

rum

)SL

FP

Sri L

anka

Fre

edom

Par

ty

TNA

Tam

il N

atio

nal A

llian

ceTU

LFTa

mil

Unite

d Li

bera

tion

Fron

tUF

Unite

d Fr

ont

UNF

Unite

d N

atio

nal F

ront

UNP

Unite

d N

atio

nal P

arty

UPFA

Unite

d Pe

ople

's F

reed

om A

llian

ceUP

FUp

coun

try P

eopl

e's

Fron

t

Page 8: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

Thi

s rep

ort i

s a c

ontr

ibut

ion

to a

bro

ader

stud

y en

title

d"A

id, C

onfli

ct a

nd P

eace

build

ing

in S

ri La

nka"

(Goo

dhan

d an

d K

lem

, 200

5), w

hich

exa

min

es th

e pe

ace

proc

ess i

n Sr

i Lan

ka w

ith a

par

ticul

ar fo

cus o

nin

tern

atio

nal e

ngag

emen

t. T

he re

port

out

lines

the

cont

empo

rary

pol

itica

l dyn

amic

s of t

he "

sout

hern

polit

y" in

Sri

Lank

a th

roug

h a

map

of t

he m

ost

signi

fican

t pol

itica

l act

ors a

nd a

naly

ses t

he d

iver

se a

ndva

ryin

g sta

nces

and

ince

ntiv

es th

ese

acto

rs h

ave

tow

ard

the

curr

ent a

nd fu

ture

dire

ctio

ns o

f the

pea

ce p

roce

ss.

The

hist

oric

al d

evel

opm

ent o

f the

se p

oliti

cal f

orce

s and

part

ies i

s also

cha

rted

in re

latio

n to

thei

r pos

ition

s on

past

and

curr

ent a

ttem

pts t

o re

form

wha

t has

wid

ely

been

con

ceiv

ed a

s an

over

ly-c

entr

alize

d an

d un

itary

stat

estr

uctu

re, w

hich

has

act

ed a

s a b

attle

grou

nd o

f soc

ial,

econ

omic

, pol

itica

l, an

d cu

ltura

l con

flict

enc

ompa

ssin

get

hnic

and

oth

er so

cio-

polit

ical

dim

ensio

ns. T

he st

udy

also

focu

ses o

n th

e or

gani

zatio

nal c

apac

ities

, mob

ilizin

gstr

ateg

ies,

and

soci

al c

onsti

tuen

cies

of t

hese

act

ors,

pinp

oint

ing

how

shift

s with

in th

ese

area

s hav

e im

pact

edth

eir i

deol

ogic

al a

ppro

ache

s to

form

ulat

ing

mea

sure

s for

peac

e in

Sri

Lank

a.

We

argu

e th

at th

e ge

nera

l tra

ject

ory

in S

ri La

nka,

espe

cial

ly si

nce

the

1990

s, ha

s bee

n fo

r mai

nstre

amac

tors

to a

ccep

t the

nec

essit

y of

con

stitu

tiona

l ref

orm

as

a m

eans

for r

esol

ving

Sri

Lank

a's p

oliti

cal c

rises

. Thi

sha

s res

ulte

d in

a sh

ift fr

om m

ore

over

t and

con

siste

ntar

ticul

atio

ns o

f Sin

hala

nat

iona

list m

ajor

itaria

nism

for

polit

ical

legi

timac

y to

war

d a

theo

retic

al, a

lbei

t not

prac

tical

, con

sens

us o

n m

easu

res f

or p

oliti

cal d

evol

utio

n.T

he re

port

also

hig

hlig

hts t

he w

ay in

whi

ch S

inha

lana

tiona

list m

ajor

itaria

nism

--w

hile

hav

ing

been

dro

pped

to so

me

exte

nt b

y th

e U

nite

d N

atio

nal P

arty

(UN

P) a

ndSr

i Lan

ka F

reed

om P

arty

(SLF

P)--

has b

een

vigo

rous

lyta

ken

up b

y m

ore

over

tly n

atio

nalis

t act

ors l

ike

the

Jana

tha

Vim

ukth

i Per

amun

a (J

VP)

, the

Sih

ala

Uru

may

a

(SU

), an

d th

e Ja

thik

a H

ela

Uru

may

a (J

HU

). T

heca

paci

ty o

f the

se n

atio

nalis

t act

ors t

o m

obili

ze S

inha

lana

tiona

list s

entim

ents

pose

s dee

p pr

oble

ms f

or th

efu

ture

of t

he p

eace

pro

cess

as i

t thr

eate

ns to

dra

wm

ains

tream

pol

itica

l act

ors b

ack

into

mor

e na

tiona

list

strat

egie

s for

pol

itica

l sur

viva

l. It

also

serv

es to

cha

lleng

eth

e le

gitim

acy

of g

over

ning

coa

litio

ns o

r, th

roug

h th

eus

e of

a c

oalit

iona

l vet

o, b

ring

abou

t gov

ernm

enta

lco

llaps

e fo

r tho

se a

ttem

ptin

g to

mov

e th

e pe

ace

proc

ess

forw

ard.

The

fiel

dwor

k an

d th

e bu

lk o

f the

rese

arch

for t

his

repo

rt to

ok p

lace

ove

r a th

ree-

wee

k pe

riod

betw

een

Mar

ch a

nd A

pril

2005

, and

invo

lved

inte

rvie

ws w

ithre

pres

enta

tives

and

lead

ers o

f the

pol

itica

l par

ties a

ndm

ovem

ents

disc

usse

d he

rein

. Fie

ldw

ork

trip

s to

the

Nuw

ara

Eliy

a, G

alle

, and

Mat

ara

distr

icts

wer

e al

soca

rrie

d ou

t, an

d in

terv

iew

s with

resid

ents

of c

amps

for

the

post-

tsuna

mi d

ispla

ced

wer

e co

nduc

ted.

The

rese

arch

also

incl

uded

inte

rvie

ws w

ith a

cade

mic

s and

repr

esen

tativ

es fr

om N

on-G

over

nmen

tal O

rgan

izatio

ns(N

GO

s) a

nd o

ther

civ

il so

ciet

y ac

tors

.

UNDE

RSTA

NDI

NG

THE

HIST

ORIC

AL C

ONTE

XT O

FN

ATIO

NAL

ISM

IN S

RI L

ANKA

Whe

n w

e in

vesti

gate

the

role

nat

iona

lism

has

pla

yed

indi

srup

ting

the

peac

e pr

oces

s, co

nstit

utio

nal r

efor

m a

nd,

subs

eque

ntly,

the

soci

o-ec

onom

ic d

evel

opm

ent o

f Sri

Lank

a, it

is im

port

ant t

o ap

prec

iate

that

the

phen

omen

on h

as n

ot b

een

writ

ten

in st

one

thro

ugho

utth

e la

st se

vera

l dec

ades

. Rat

her,

one

mus

t rec

ogni

ze th

eco

nsta

ntly

shift

ing

forc

e of

this

dyna

mic

am

ong

diffe

rent

soci

o-ec

onom

ic fo

rces

and

pol

itica

l act

ors a

t var

ying

histo

rical

junc

ture

s. N

onet

hele

ss, o

ne b

road

hist

oric

alpa

ttern

that

can

be

iden

tifie

d ov

er th

e pa

st 50

yea

rs is

5|

Exec

utiv

e S

umm

ary

Exec

utiv

e Su

mm

ary

Page 9: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

that

Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

firs

t em

erge

d as

a li

nk b

etw

een

the

cent

er--

dom

inat

ed b

y th

e ru

ling

elite

s--a

nd th

e ru

ral

and

villa

ge-le

vel e

lites

. Thi

s nat

iona

list p

roce

ss d

id n

otfu

lly e

mer

ge u

ntil

the

1950

s, w

hen

it ga

ined

cur

renc

yam

ong

the

soci

o-cu

ltura

l for

ces l

ed b

y SW

RD

Band

aran

aike

's pa

ncha

mah

a ba

lave

gaya

.

As a

resu

lt, S

ri La

nka

witn

esse

d th

e em

erge

nce

of a

nel

ite re

form

ism c

oale

scin

g ar

ound

con

cept

ions

of l

iber

alde

moc

ratic

pol

itics

that

rem

ain

ambi

vale

nt a

bout

, but

not d

ivor

ced

from

, exp

ress

ions

of e

thno

-pol

itics

. A m

ore

over

t and

forc

eful

Sin

hala

Bud

dhist

nat

iona

lism

,in

extr

icab

ly ti

ed to

the

notio

n of

libe

ral d

emoc

ratic

maj

orita

riani

sm, a

lso d

evel

oped

. Suc

h m

ajor

itaria

nism

disq

ualif

ied

min

ority

righ

ts an

d gr

ieva

nces

, lea

ding

Tam

il na

tiona

lists

to re

act t

o th

e do

min

ance

of t

heir

Sinh

ala

coun

terp

arts.

It is

from

thes

e or

igin

s tha

t Sin

hala

natio

nalis

m a

ttain

ed h

egem

onic

stat

us in

the

Sout

h un

tilat

leas

t the

199

0s, a

nd c

ontin

ues t

o in

fluen

ce p

oliti

cal

even

ts to

day.

THE

SLFP

, THE

UN

P, A

ND

CON

TEM

PORA

RY P

EACE

PROC

ESSE

S IN

COM

PARA

TIVE

PER

SPEC

TIVE

A cr

ude

histo

ry o

f Sri

Lank

a m

ight

wel

l con

clud

e th

atth

e tw

o m

ains

tream

pol

itica

l act

ors c

an b

e id

eolo

gica

llyco

ntra

sted:

the

mor

e Si

nhal

a na

tiona

list,

statis

t, an

dso

cial

dem

ocra

tic v

ehic

le o

f the

SLF

P an

d th

e m

ore

Wes

tern

-orie

nted

, lib

eral

, and

free

-mar

ket U

NP.

Such

aco

ncep

tion

of th

e po

litic

al la

ndsc

ape

wou

ld n

otne

cess

arily

be

wro

ng, b

ut w

ould

be

an a

naly

tical

and

ahi

storic

al o

vers

impl

ifica

tion.

For

whi

le th

e SL

FP p

laye

dth

e ce

ntra

l rol

e in

the

insti

tutio

naliz

atio

n of

Sin

hala

Budd

hist

natio

nalis

m's

clai

ms t

o so

cial

and

pol

itica

ldo

min

ance

from

195

6 on

war

d, th

e U

NP'

s res

pons

e to

the

SLFP

was

that

of i

mita

tion

rath

er th

an a

n at

tem

ptto

pro

vide

dem

ocra

tic le

ader

ship

that

wou

ld fo

ster

ethn

ic re

conc

iliat

ion

and

plur

alism

. In

that

sens

e Si

nhal

am

ajor

itaria

n na

tiona

lism

was

take

n up

by

both

of t

hem

ains

tream

pol

itica

l act

ors o

ut o

f pol

itica

l exp

edie

ncy,

and

very

swift

ly a

ssum

ed h

egem

onic

pro

port

ions

.

It is

for t

his r

easo

n th

at b

oth

UN

P an

d SL

FP p

oliti

cian

sha

ve b

een

guilt

y of

inci

ting

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t pas

sions

and

legi

slatin

g fro

m a

stan

dpoi

nt th

at d

iscrim

inat

esag

ains

t min

oriti

es. C

onsti

tutio

nal c

hang

es in

trodu

ced

byth

e U

nite

d Fr

ont (

UF)

in 1

972

and

late

r in

1978

by

JRJa

yaw

arde

ne b

oth

infri

nged

upo

n m

inor

ity ri

ghts

and

form

alize

d Si

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

st na

tiona

lism

cons

titut

iona

lly. T

hat t

hese

wer

e dr

awn

up b

y SL

FP-le

dan

d U

NP

gove

rnm

ents

resp

ectiv

ely

is te

stam

ent t

o th

eco

mpl

icity

of b

oth

part

ies i

n "e

thni

c ou

tbid

ding

" in

thei

r pur

suit

of st

ate

pow

er.

Whi

le th

e le

gacy

of S

inha

la B

uddh

ist n

atio

nalis

mre

mai

ned

with

the

SLFP

wel

l int

o th

e ea

rly 1

990s

, the

polit

ical

rise

of C

hand

rika

Kum

arat

unga

was

to e

ffect

afa

r-re

achi

ng c

hang

e in

the

SLFP

's sta

nce

on th

e et

hnic

conf

lict.

Kum

arat

unga

was

abl

e to

per

suad

e th

e so

uthe

rnco

nstit

uenc

y no

t onl

y th

at T

amil

grie

vanc

es w

ere

legi

timat

e, b

ut th

at a

pro

cess

of n

egot

iatio

n an

dco

nstit

utio

nal p

ower

-sha

ring

wou

ld b

e ne

cess

ary

tosu

stain

a d

urab

le p

eace

. In

its e

arly

stag

es, t

he S

LFP-

led

Peop

le's

Allia

nce

(PA)

gov

ernm

ent w

as su

cces

sful i

npr

omot

ing

its a

gend

a of

a n

on-n

atio

nalis

tic, r

ight

s-ba

sed

reso

lutio

n to

the

conf

lict -

than

ks in

larg

e pa

rt to

the

supp

ort o

f the

med

ia a

nd c

ivil

soci

ety

acto

rs.

The

SLF

P/PA

pea

ce la

ter u

nrav

eled

due

larg

ely

to th

epu

rsui

t of t

he d

ual-t

rack

"w

ar-fo

r pea

ce"

strat

egy

and

afa

ilure

to w

in su

ppor

t for

nec

essa

ry c

onsti

tutio

nal

chan

ges;

how

ever

, its

cons

ider

able

shift

in p

oliti

cal

dire

ctio

n w

as to

hav

e fa

r-re

achi

ng ra

mifi

catio

ns fo

r the

coun

try.

The

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s bot

h m

oved

tow

ard

the

cent

er a

nd d

istan

ced

them

selv

es, t

o so

me

exte

nt, f

rom

the

mor

e ov

ert S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

m th

at o

nce

suffu

sed

mai

nstre

am p

oliti

cal d

iscou

rse.

A w

ide

cons

ensu

sgr

adua

lly g

rew,

incl

udin

g am

ong

the

UN

P, fo

r ane

gotia

ted

settl

emen

t and

subs

tant

ive

polit

ical

devo

lutio

n an

d co

nstit

utio

nal c

hang

e. T

houg

hco

nsec

utiv

e el

ectio

ns sa

w p

ower

cha

nge

hand

s to

new

coal

ition

gov

ernm

ents,

adv

ance

s con

tinue

d to

be

mad

e -

incl

udin

g th

e C

ease

fire

Agre

emen

t (C

FA) b

roke

red

byth

e U

NP-

led

Uni

ted

Nat

iona

l Fro

nt (U

NF)

. Mor

ere

cent

ly, th

e PA

-led

Uni

ted

Peop

le’s F

reed

om A

llian

ce

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

6

Page 10: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

(UPF

A) w

on o

ffice

in 2

004,

with

the

SLFP

sect

ions

of

the

gove

rnm

ent m

akin

g it

clea

r the

y ha

ve n

otre

linqu

ished

thei

r des

ire to

insti

tute

the

far-

reac

hing

cons

titut

iona

l and

dev

olut

iona

ry re

form

s tha

t the

y ha

dun

succ

essfu

lly a

ttem

pted

to ta

ble

in P

arlia

men

t in

Augu

st 20

00.

The

re a

re e

ssen

tially

thre

e re

ason

s to

expl

ain

the

polit

ical

shift

by

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s. Fi

rst,

ther

e w

as a

real

izatio

nth

at p

ursu

ing

a w

ar st

rate

gy h

ad le

d to

a m

ilita

rysta

lem

ate

betw

een

the

LTT

E an

d th

e go

vern

men

t - w

ithco

nsid

erab

le d

etrim

enta

l effe

cts o

n lo

ng-te

rm e

cono

mic

grow

th.

Seco

nd, t

here

was

reco

gniti

on th

at a

lack

of

prop

osal

s gra

ntin

g au

tono

my

to th

e Tam

il-sp

eaki

ngar

eas t

hrea

tene

d th

e la

rger

uni

ty o

f the

cou

ntry

. And

final

ly, th

e pr

opor

tiona

l vot

ing

syste

m in

crea

singl

ybe

nefit

ed th

e sm

alle

r and

min

ority

-bas

ed p

artie

s, m

akin

git

hard

er fo

r mai

nstre

am p

artie

s to

depe

nd u

pon

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t sen

timen

ts to

win

and

mai

ntai

n po

wer

.

NAT

ION

ALIS

T AC

TORS

IN T

HE S

OUTH

ERN

POL

ITY

Tho

ugh

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

m h

as d

omin

ated

Sri

Lank

anpo

litic

s sin

ce th

e 19

50s,

mar

gina

lized

and

unde

rpriv

ilege

d gr

oups

who

hav

e be

en e

duca

ted

and

soci

alize

d in

to th

is he

gem

onic

ideo

logy

hav

e in

crea

singl

yem

brac

ed it

for t

heir

purp

oses

as w

ell.

In th

is re

spec

t,na

tiona

lism

has

bec

ome

a po

litic

al v

ehic

le in

crea

singl

yem

ergi

ng fr

om th

e "m

arch

land

s and

cou

ntry

side"

rath

erth

an n

eces

saril

y fro

m th

e ce

nter

. It i

s fre

quen

tly ti

ed to

uneq

ual d

evel

opm

ent a

nd th

e po

litic

s of p

over

ty, a

nd a

sa

reac

tion

to th

e ec

onom

ic li

bera

lizat

ion

initi

ated

by

JRJa

yew

arde

ne's

1977

UN

P go

vern

men

t. T

his p

roce

ss h

asin

tens

ified

rath

er th

an d

imin

ished

ove

r the

yea

rs a

s the

smal

ler p

artie

s tak

e ov

er th

e na

tiona

list a

gend

ain

crea

singl

y ab

ando

ned

by th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties-

-co

ntrib

utin

g to

a si

gnifi

cant

, and

pot

entia

llyde

stabi

lizin

g, n

atio

nalis

t res

urge

nce

in re

spon

se to

pros

pect

ive

solu

tions

to th

e et

hnic

con

flict

.

As a

resp

onse

to su

ch S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t res

urge

nce,

the

sout

hern

pol

ity h

as a

lso se

en c

ompa

rativ

ely

rece

nt sh

ifts

in H

ill C

ount

ry p

oliti

cs. T

he U

pcou

ntry

Peo

ple's

Fro

nt(U

PF),

for e

xam

ple,

has

bro

ught

abo

ut a

mor

e m

ilita

ntat

titud

e to

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct. W

hile

this

posit

ions

the

UPF

as a

stro

ng st

akeh

olde

r in

the

peac

e pr

oces

s, it

may

wel

l her

ald

the

spre

ad o

f fur

ther

des

tabi

lizin

g an

dfra

gmen

ting

dyna

mic

s to

the

Hill

Cou

ntry

if m

easu

res

are

not t

aken

to d

isman

tle th

e co

loni

al le

gacy

of S

riLa

nka'

s uni

tary

and

ove

r-ce

ntra

lized

stat

e.

CON

CLUS

ION

: NAT

ION

ALIS

M'S

RET

URN

JOUR

NEY

Whi

le th

e na

tiona

list b

aton

has

bee

n pa

ssed

from

the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s to

the

mor

e m

argi

naliz

ed p

artie

s, th

eex

istin

g an

d w

iden

ing

ineq

ualit

ies o

f the

Sou

th a

re a

lsoin

crea

singl

y be

ing

expr

esse

d th

roug

h th

e na

tiona

lism

of

such

par

ties a

s the

JHU

and

JVP.

The

re a

re n

o cu

rren

tsc

hem

es fo

r alle

viat

ing

the

kind

s of i

nequ

ality

and

pove

rty

that

feed

into

the

JVP'

s sup

port

bas

e. T

hem

ains

tream

par

ties,

espe

cial

ly th

e SL

FP, w

ill fa

cedi

min

ishin

g el

ecto

ral r

etur

ns a

s lon

g as

they

con

tinue

tofa

il to

impr

ove

dem

ocra

tic a

nd fi

scal

acc

ount

abili

ty o

rex

pand

dev

elop

men

t prio

ritie

s bey

ond

the

Col

ombo

-ce

ntric

and

elit

ist n

etw

orks

that

exi

st at

pre

sent

.

Des

pite

this,

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s will

figh

t too

th a

nd n

ail

to k

eep

thei

r con

stitu

enci

es (a

nd th

eir t

radi

tiona

lcl

ient

elist

ic h

old

on p

ower

). In

doi

ng so

, the

re is

ada

nger

they

mig

ht re

ly o

n th

e co

rrup

tion

and

viol

ent

intim

idat

ion

of p

atro

nage

-bas

ed p

oliti

cs o

r res

ort o

nce

agai

n to

mor

e ex

trem

e na

tiona

list m

obili

zatio

ns to

com

pete

with

thei

r mor

e ov

ertly

nat

iona

list

coun

terp

arts.

As a

resu

lt, th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties o

ften

beco

me

will

ing

part

ies t

o fu

rthe

r rou

nds o

f eth

nic-

outb

iddi

ng a

nd z

ero-

sum

pol

itics

. Exa

mpl

es o

f thi

sin

clud

e th

e fa

ilure

of t

he C

onsti

tutio

nal B

ill o

f 200

0,an

d th

e po

st-C

FA n

egot

iatio

ns o

f the

UN

F in

200

2-20

04.

Whi

le th

e pe

ace

proc

ess i

s a n

eces

sary

firs

t ste

p to

war

dso

lvin

g m

any

of th

e af

orem

entio

ned

polit

ical

and

soci

alpr

oble

ms,

it is

clea

r tha

t the

re a

re li

mits

to th

e ex

tent

7|

Exec

utiv

e S

umm

ary

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mai

nstre

am p

artie

s are

pre

pare

d to

shift

aw

ay fr

omSi

nhal

a m

ajor

itaria

nism

. Muc

h of

this

failu

re b

y th

epo

litic

al le

ader

ship

to fi

nd d

urab

le so

lutio

ns to

the

curr

ent c

risis

lies i

n m

aint

aini

ng a

pat

ron-

clie

nt p

oliti

cal

syste

m th

at p

rovi

des l

ittle

scop

e fo

r ide

olog

ical

or s

ocia

ltr

ansfo

rmat

ion.

Mos

t fra

mew

orks

for c

onsti

tutio

nal c

hang

e an

d pe

ace

have

bee

n de

velo

ped

on a

nar

row

func

tiona

l bas

is, m

ost

notic

eabl

y by

the

UN

P/U

NF

unde

r Ran

ilW

ickr

emas

ingh

e, w

hose

mai

n co

ncer

n ap

pear

s to

be to

crea

te a

stab

le b

usin

ess e

nviro

nmen

t for

glo

bal a

nd lo

cal

capi

tal w

ithin

Sri

Lank

a. T

he re

sult

is th

at p

eace

effo

rts

and

refo

rms f

avor

ed b

y po

litic

al e

lites

hav

e fa

iled

to fi

ndpu

rcha

se a

mon

g w

ide

sect

ions

of t

he S

outh

whe

reSi

nhal

a na

tiona

lism

is st

ill a

pot

ent d

ynam

ic.

Con

sequ

ently

, whi

le th

e JV

P an

d th

e JH

U c

an b

evi

ewed

as t

he m

ost s

igni

fican

t pot

entia

l obs

tacl

es to

the

peac

e pr

oces

s and

pol

itica

l ref

orm

, we

mus

t be

war

y of

treat

ing

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

m a

s the

sole

dom

ain

of a

nypo

litic

al p

arty

. Nat

iona

lism

in S

ri La

nka,

as e

lsew

here

, is

far t

oo d

iffus

e an

d vo

latil

e fo

r suc

h an

ana

lysis

. Si

nhal

ana

tiona

list p

oliti

cs is

still

a v

ibra

nt p

heno

men

on th

atco

ntin

ues t

o im

pact

upo

n m

ains

tream

act

ors w

hile

at

the

sam

e tim

e em

ergi

ng fr

om c

urre

nts o

f end

urin

gm

argi

naliz

atio

n an

d co

unte

r-na

tiona

list r

eact

ion

bym

inor

ities

. Unl

ess s

ome

form

of d

evol

utio

n ca

n br

eak

the

dead

lock

of t

his e

thni

c ou

tbid

ding

, the

gro

wth

of

natio

nalis

m w

ill c

ontin

ue u

naba

ted

- a te

nden

cy th

atm

ay te

ar a

t the

div

erse

soci

o-po

litic

al fa

bric

not

just

ofSr

i Lan

ka b

ut o

f the

sout

hern

pol

ity it

self.

IMPL

ICAT

ION

S FO

R IN

TERN

ATIO

NAL

DON

ORS

The

se fi

ndin

gs h

ave

the

follo

win

g im

plic

atio

ns fo

rin

tern

atio

nal d

onor

s aim

ing

to su

ppor

t pea

cebu

ildin

gpr

oces

ses:

1.Po

litic

al K

now

ledg

e:

The

don

or c

omm

unity

mus

t dev

elop

mec

hani

sms

to e

nsur

e a

mor

e ex

tens

ive

and

up-to

-dat

ekn

owle

dge

of th

e po

litic

al p

roce

sses

at w

ork

in th

eso

uthe

rn p

olity

and

am

ong

the

dias

pora

.

2.Ai

d Fr

amew

orks

:

The

don

or c

omm

unity

nee

ds to

take

acc

ount

of t

heef

fect

s aid

and

atta

ched

con

ditio

nalit

ies h

ave

info

sterin

g na

tiona

list s

entim

ents

and

anti-

glob

aliza

tion

reac

tions

that

can

deb

ilita

te th

e sta

tean

d un

derm

ine

the

pros

pect

s for

pea

ce.

3.En

gage

men

t with

Pol

itica

l Act

ors

and

Capa

citie

sfo

r Pea

ce:

"Eth

nic

outb

iddi

ng"

cont

inue

s to

unde

rmin

e pe

ace

bids

and

atte

mpt

s at c

onsti

tutio

nal r

efor

m b

ym

ains

tream

pol

itica

l par

ties.

Don

ors n

eed

to b

eaw

are

that

nat

iona

lism

is n

ot th

e m

onop

oly

of a

nyon

e pa

rty

but a

tact

ic o

ften

depl

oyed

to u

nder

min

epe

ace

proc

esse

s and

the

polit

ical

legi

timac

y of

oppo

nent

s. R

athe

r tha

n pr

ivile

ging

cer

tain

pol

itica

lac

tors

, the

don

or c

omm

unity

shou

ld c

once

ntra

teef

fort

s on

enco

urag

ing

inte

r-pa

rty

dial

ogue

that

prev

ents

the

use

of "

ethn

ic o

utbi

ddin

g" a

nden

cour

ages

mec

hani

sms f

or p

ower

-sha

ring

and

grea

ter o

penn

ess.

Past

peac

e pr

oces

ses h

ave

conc

entr

ated

too

heav

ilyon

eith

er C

onfid

ence

Bui

ldin

g M

easu

res (

CBM

) or

the

prep

arat

ion

of tr

ansp

aren

t con

stitu

tiona

lpr

opos

als,

each

at t

he e

xpen

se o

f the

oth

er. P

oliti

cal

acto

rs e

ngag

ed in

find

ing

long

-term

solu

tions

to th

eco

nflic

t sho

uld

craf

t int

erve

ntio

ns th

at a

ddre

ss th

ese

area

s sim

ulta

neou

sly.

The

insti

tutio

nal c

apac

ities

of t

radi

tiona

l par

ties t

om

obili

ze in

supp

ort o

f pea

ce su

ffer w

hen

intr

a-pa

rty

gove

rnan

ce fr

amew

orks

are

wea

k. H

elpi

ngtr

aditi

onal

par

ties o

verc

ome

insti

tutio

nal l

imita

tions

wou

ld e

nhan

ce th

e qu

ality

of d

emoc

racy

in te

rms o

fpa

rtic

ipat

ion,

del

iber

atio

n, a

nd in

form

ed c

hoic

e.

As th

e JV

P, an

d to

a le

sser

ext

ent t

he JH

U, r

emai

nun

rece

ptiv

e to

the

fram

ewor

ks o

f pre

sent

pea

ce

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

8

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effo

rts,

we

caut

ious

ly re

com

men

d th

e w

ider

part

icip

atio

n an

d co

nsul

tatio

n of

ext

erna

l and

inte

rnal

act

ors t

hat m

ight

be

able

to e

xert

influ

ence

on su

ch p

artie

s. D

oing

so c

ould

con

fer g

reat

ertr

ansp

aren

cy, c

onse

nsus

, and

legi

timac

y on

a v

iabl

ean

d en

durin

g fra

mew

ork

for p

eace

.

4.Ci

vil S

ocie

ty, E

duca

tion,

Par

ticip

atio

n, a

ndCo

nfid

ence

-Bui

ldin

g:

Ove

r the

last

two

deca

des,

publ

ic p

olic

y re

sear

chan

d ad

voca

cy o

rgan

izatio

ns h

ave

beco

me

key

acto

rsin

the

peac

e pr

oces

s. Pr

ogra

mm

atic

supp

ort f

or su

chci

vil s

ocie

ty a

ctor

s is e

ssen

tial t

o en

sure

that

they

cont

inue

to g

ener

ate

polic

y op

tions

and

act

as r

ight

sw

atch

dogs

.

5.Tr

ansp

aren

cy, C

onsu

ltatio

n, a

nd In

clus

ivity

:

Nat

iona

list d

iscon

tent

with

the

peac

e pr

oces

s by

som

e op

posit

ion

grou

ps a

nd se

gmen

ts of

civ

ilso

ciet

y ha

s bee

n fu

elle

d by

feel

ings

that

pea

ce e

ffort

sla

ck tr

ansp

aren

cy, c

onsu

ltatio

n, a

nd in

clus

ivity

.T

hese

feel

ings

mus

t be

addr

esse

d, a

s the

y fe

edsu

spic

ion

and

destr

oy tr

ust a

nd c

onfid

ence

am

ong

oppo

sitio

n gr

oups

and

civ

il so

ciet

y as

a w

hole

. Thi

sin

turn

can

serv

e to

legi

timize

ant

agon

ism to

war

dpe

ace

and

refo

rm p

ropo

sals

and

ultim

atel

y fa

n th

efla

mes

of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t pro

test.

9|

Exec

utiv

e S

umm

ary

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Thi

s rep

ort f

orm

s a th

emat

ic c

ontri

butio

n to

the

broa

der

study

, "Ai

d, C

onfli

ct a

nd P

eace

build

ing

in S

ri La

nka"

(Goo

dhan

d an

d K

lem, 2

005)

and

focu

ses o

n th

e po

litic

aldy

nam

ics o

f the

"so

uthe

rn p

olity

", p

artic

ular

ly o

nna

tiona

list u

nder

curr

ents

whi

ch c

ontin

ue to

influ

ence

aw

ide

rang

e of

pol

itica

l act

ors a

nd th

eir a

ttitu

des t

owar

dsth

e pe

ace

proc

ess,

devo

lutio

n an

d co

nstit

utio

nal r

efor

man

d th

e cy

clic

al im

pact

that

thes

e dy

nam

ics i

n tu

rn h

ave

upon

thei

r soc

ial c

onsti

tuen

cies

. Alth

ough

, we

argu

e th

atth

e m

ains

tream

par

ties,

the

UN

P an

d th

e SL

FP, h

ave

by-

and-

larg

e re

cogn

ized

and

acce

pted

the

need

for

fede

ralis

m a

nd/o

r pol

itica

l dev

olut

ion

in o

rder

to b

reak

with

the

colo

nial

lega

cy o

f an

over

-cen

traliz

ed st

ate,

our

pers

pect

ive

also

stre

sses

the

capa

city

of s

mal

ler S

inha

lana

tiona

list p

artie

s lik

e th

e JV

P an

d th

e JH

U to

fom

ent

and

draw

suste

nanc

e fro

m n

atio

nalis

t mob

iliza

tion.

Thi

sre

sults

in th

e re

cycl

ing

of n

atio

nalis

t dyn

amic

s tha

t can

once

aga

in re

capt

ure

mai

nstre

am p

oliti

cal a

ctor

s as t

hey

seek

to m

obili

ze a

nd se

cure

elec

tora

l sup

port

and

legiti

mac

y. As

a re

sult,

the

maj

or fo

cus o

f thi

s rep

ort l

ies

in th

e hi

storic

al b

ackg

roun

d, d

evelo

pmen

t and

cont

empo

rary

traj

ecto

ry o

f bot

h Si

nhal

a na

tiona

lism

and

the

coun

ter-

natio

nalis

t rea

ctio

ns th

at it

pro

voke

s am

ongs

tth

e m

inor

ity p

artie

s sur

veye

d.

Yet,

whe

n w

e in

vesti

gate

the

role

nat

iona

lism

has

pla

yed

in d

isrup

ting

the

peac

e pr

oces

s, co

nstit

utio

nal r

efor

man

d, su

bseq

uent

ly, th

e so

cio-

econ

omic

dev

elop

men

t of

Sri L

anka

, it i

s nec

essa

ry to

app

reci

ate

that

the

phen

omen

on h

as n

ot re

mai

ned

writ

ten

in st

one

or

unch

ange

d in

the

polit

ical

vic

issitu

des o

f the

isla

nd o

ver

the

last

few

dec

ades

. Rat

her,

one

mus

t rec

ogni

ze th

eco

nsta

ntly

shift

ing

forc

e of

this

dyna

mic

am

ong

diffe

rent

soci

o-ec

onom

ic fo

rces

and

pol

itica

l act

ors a

t var

ying

histo

rical

junc

ture

s. N

onet

hele

ss, o

ne b

road

hist

oric

alpa

ttern

that

can

be

iden

tifie

d ov

er th

e pa

st 50

yea

rs is

that

Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

firs

t em

erge

d as

a li

nk b

etw

een

the

cent

er a

nd th

e sta

te, d

omin

ated

by

the

rulin

g el

ites,

with

the

rura

l and

vill

age-

leve

l elit

es. T

his n

atio

nalis

tpr

oces

s did

not

em

erge

with

full

forc

e un

til th

e 19

50s,

whe

n th

e vo

id le

ft by

cou

nter

-col

onia

l disc

ours

e w

hich

had

imbu

ed th

e re

form

ism o

f Sri

Lank

a's p

oliti

cal e

lites

prio

r to

Inde

pend

ence

, beg

an to

be

fille

d w

ith th

e so

cio-

cultu

ral f

orce

s led

by

SWR

D B

anda

rana

ike's

pan

cha

mah

a ba

lave

gaya

. It s

houl

d be

not

ed th

at th

is na

tiona

list

dyna

mic

ope

rate

d th

roug

h co

ncep

tions

of a

Sin

hala

Budd

hist

natio

n an

d no

t, as

in In

dia,

thro

ugh

a w

ider

,N

ehru

vian

, sec

ular

, all-

Indi

a na

tiona

lism

art

icul

ated

agai

nst a

col

onia

l pow

er.

As a

resu

lt, tw

o po

litic

al tr

ends

em

erge

d in

Sri

Lank

a.Fi

rst,

an e

lite

refo

rmism

coa

lesc

ing

arou

nd c

once

ptio

nsof

libe

ral d

emoc

ratic

pol

itics

that

rem

ain

ambi

vale

ntab

out,

but n

ot d

ivor

ced

from

, exp

ress

ions

of e

thno

-po

litic

s;1an

d se

cond

, a m

ore

over

t and

forc

eful

Sin

hala

Budd

hist

natio

nalis

m, r

athe

r tha

n an

all-

Cey

lon

natio

nalis

m, w

hich

bec

omes

inex

tric

ably

tied

to th

eno

tion

of li

bera

l dem

ocra

tic m

ajor

itaria

nism

from

the

1950

s. T

he la

tter i

n tu

rn se

rved

to d

isqua

lify

min

ority

right

s and

grie

vanc

es a

rtic

ulat

ed a

bout

thos

e rig

hts,2

11|

Und

erst

andi

ng N

atio

nalis

m in

Sri

Lan

ka: A

ctor

s an

d Tr

ajec

tori

es

1. U

nder

stan

ding

Nat

iona

lism

in S

ri La

nka:

Act

ors

and

Traj

ecto

ries

1Fo

r ex

ampl

e, t

he w

ay in

whi

ch a

ttem

pts

to o

rche

stra

te s

ome

form

of

fede

ral o

r ot

her

ethn

ical

ly w

eigh

ted

solu

tion

to

the

prob

lem

of

stat

e po

wer

fro

m t

he

Don

ough

mor

e pe

riod

up

to I

ndep

ende

nce

wer

e co

nsis

tent

ly d

isqu

alif

ied

as "

com

mun

al"

wit

hin

the

rubr

ic o

f lib

eral

dem

ocra

tic

maj

orit

aria

nism

. S

ee J

.

Rus

sell

(198

2)

Com

mun

al

polit

ics

unde

r th

e D

onou

ghm

ore

Con

stit

utio

n,

1931

-194

7 (T

issa

ra

Prak

asya

yo,

Col

ombo

); M

. R

ober

ts

(199

4)

Expl

orin

g

Con

fron

tati

on: S

ri L

anka

- P

olit

ics,

Cul

ture

and

His

tory

(Har

woo

d, S

wit

zerl

and)

, pp.

249-

268;

and

D. S

cott

(199

4) "

Com

mun

ity,

Num

ber,

Etho

s of

Dem

ocra

cy"

in R

efas

hion

ing

Futu

res:

Cri

tici

sm A

fter

Pos

tcol

onia

lity

(Pri

ncet

on U

nive

rsit

y Pr

ess,

Pri

ncet

on, N

.J.),

pp.

158-

189.

2Th

is i

s no

whe

re m

ore

appa

rent

tha

n in

D.C

. V

ijaya

vard

hana

's R

evol

t in

the

Tem

ple,

whe

re t

he g

riev

ance

s of

the

Fed

eral

Par

ty b

ecom

e ex

pres

sion

s of

"com

mun

alis

m,"

whe

reas

Sin

hala

maj

orit

aria

nism

is

the

natu

ral

outc

ome

of "

dem

ocra

tic"

pol

itic

s. S

ee D

.C.

Vija

yava

rdha

na (

1953

) R

evol

t in

the

Tem

ple

(Sin

ha P

ublic

atio

ns).

Page 15: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

lead

ing

to a

Tam

il na

tiona

list r

eact

ion

to th

e do

min

ance

of it

s Sin

hala

cou

nter

part

.3Ad

ditio

nally

, it s

houl

d be

note

d th

at th

ese

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t tro

pes d

id n

otre

mai

n th

e ex

clus

ive

prer

ogat

ive

of B

anda

rana

ike's

SLF

Pbu

t also

beg

an to

per

mea

te th

e po

licie

s and

pol

itica

lcu

lture

of t

he e

stabl

ished

Lef

t in

Sri L

anka

. Thi

sha

ppen

ed to

the

exte

nt th

at b

oth

the

Com

mun

ist P

arty

(CP)

and

the

Lank

a Sa

ma

Sam

aja

Part

y (L

SSP)

bec

ame

mor

e en

trenc

hed

in th

e co

aliti

onal

pol

itics

of t

he c

ente

r,dr

oppi

ng th

eir s

trug

gles

for l

ingu

istic

par

ity o

f sta

tus

and

the

re-e

nfra

nchi

sem

ent o

f the

Upc

ount

ry T

amils

afte

r the

195

6 pe

riod.

As a

resu

lt of

thes

e pr

oces

ses t

heSL

FP-le

ft co

aliti

on o

f the

UF

gove

rnm

ent c

ame

topo

wer

in th

e 19

70 e

lect

ion,

and

pro

duce

d a

1972

cons

titut

ion

whi

ch c

lear

ly d

iscrim

inat

ed in

favo

r of t

heSi

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

st m

ajor

ity. T

his w

as e

vide

nced

thro

ugh

clau

ses a

sser

ting

the

need

for t

he st

ate

to g

ive

Budd

hism

the

"for

emos

t pla

ce"

and

to "

prot

ect a

nd fo

ster"

Budd

hism

at t

he sa

me

time

as it

rem

oved

the

min

ority

safe

guar

ds th

at h

ad b

een

artic

ulat

ed in

Art

icle

29

of th

eSo

ulbu

ry C

onsti

tutio

n. T

his s

et in

mot

ion

a se

ries o

fpu

blic

pol

icy

chan

ges t

hrou

gh th

e 19

70s p

ursu

ed b

y th

eU

F go

vern

men

t of S

irim

ao B

anda

rana

ike

and

addi

tiona

lco

nstit

utio

nal c

hang

es u

nder

JR Ja

yew

arde

ne's

UN

Pgo

vern

men

t in

1978

, whi

ch e

xace

rbat

ed th

e ce

ntra

lizin

gan

d au

thor

itaria

n na

ture

of u

nche

cked

elit

e ru

le. I

t also

resu

lted

in th

e in

crea

sing

polit

iciza

tion

of a

ll br

anch

es o

fth

e sta

te a

nd th

e co

ntin

uing

rise

of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

m.

Whi

le S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

m b

ecam

e he

gem

onic

from

this

perio

d, o

ne o

f the

pat

tern

s in

its sh

iftin

g tr

ajec

tory

isth

at w

e in

crea

singl

y se

e it

not o

nly

artic

ulat

ed a

t the

cent

er b

y el

ites,

but a

lso b

ecom

ing

a ce

ntra

l tro

pe o

fm

argi

naliz

ed a

nd u

nder

priv

ilege

d gr

oups

who

had

bee

ned

ucat

ed a

nd so

cial

ized

into

this

hege

mon

ic id

eolo

gy. A

sa

resu

lt, it

is e

lites

who

are

incr

easin

gly

view

ed a

s"i

naut

hent

ic"

in te

rms o

f nat

iona

lism

, allo

win

g Si

nhal

ana

tiona

lism

onc

e ag

ain

to b

ecom

e th

e ve

hicl

e fo

r

coun

ter-

elite

pol

itica

l mov

emen

ts an

d str

ateg

ies.

It is

only

in th

is se

nse

that

we

can

loca

te th

e sh

iftin

gdy

nam

ic o

f nat

iona

lism

vis-

à-vi

s, fo

r ins

tanc

e, a

par

tylik

e th

e JV

P. In

this

resp

ect,

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

mbe

com

es a

pol

itica

l veh

icle

incr

easin

gly

emer

ging

from

the

"mar

chla

nds a

nd c

ount

rysid

e" ra

ther

than

nec

essa

rily

from

the

cent

er,4

and

thus

freq

uent

ly re

activ

e to

the

forc

es o

f glo

baliz

atio

n th

at b

ecam

e as

cend

ant a

fter t

heec

onom

ic li

bera

lizat

ion

initi

ated

by

JR Ja

yew

arde

ne's

1977

UN

P la

ndsli

de g

over

nmen

t, an

d tie

d to

une

ven

and

uneq

ual d

evel

opm

ent a

nd th

e po

litic

s of p

over

ty.

Thi

s pro

cess

has

if a

nyth

ing

inte

nsifi

ed ra

ther

than

dim

inish

ed o

ver t

he y

ears

and

it is

now

cle

ar th

at th

eJV

P ha

s inc

reas

ingl

y ta

ken

up th

e sla

ck in

nat

iona

lism

left

by th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties'

retre

at in

the

1990

s fro

mm

ore

over

t art

icul

atio

ns o

f Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

.C

onse

quen

tly, i

f we

are

to d

efin

e an

d un

ders

tand

the

JVP,

an a

naly

tical

per

spec

tive

on n

atio

nalis

m re

mai

nsm

ore

usef

ul th

an a

ttent

ion

to th

e pa

rty'

s Mar

xism

whi

chha

s bee

n la

ckin

g or

supe

rfici

al fr

om it

s inc

eptio

n. T

his i

sno

t to

say

that

reco

urse

to S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tm

obili

zatio

n ha

s disa

ppea

red

in to

tofro

m th

em

ains

tream

par

ties'

polit

ical

ars

enal

or t

hat t

his r

eces

sion

of th

e na

tiona

list e

ffect

is a

s a re

sult

of a

seism

iche

gem

onic

shift

, but

rath

er th

at th

is ch

ange

has

bee

nne

cess

itate

d by

cer

tain

requ

irem

ents

of g

over

nanc

e th

atw

ill b

e di

scus

sed

in g

reat

er d

etai

l bel

ow.

Des

pite

thes

e ch

ange

s in

the

gene

ral t

rend

of S

inha

lana

tiona

lism

, we

shou

ld n

onet

hele

ss re

cogn

ize th

atel

emen

ts of

the

mai

nstre

am a

nd m

iddl

e cl

asse

s hav

e no

ten

tirel

y ex

haus

ted

or a

band

oned

thei

r rec

ours

e to

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t mob

iliza

tion.

Thi

s dyn

amic

has

, for

exam

ple,

und

erpi

nned

the

emer

genc

e an

d ch

angi

ng fa

ceof

the

Siha

la U

rum

aya/

Jath

ika

Hel

a U

rum

aya

(SU

/JH

U)

com

bine

. Thi

s mov

emen

t has

also

con

trib

uted

to a

signi

fican

t pen

dulu

m sw

ing

in n

atio

nalis

t res

urge

nce

as a

resp

onse

to p

rosp

ectiv

e so

lutio

ns to

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct -

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

12

3S

ee A

ntho

ny J

eyar

atna

m W

ilson

(199

4) S

JV C

helv

anay

akam

And

The

Cri

sis

Of

Sri

Lan

kan

Tam

il N

atio

nalis

m, 1

947-

1977

: A P

olit

ical

Bio

grap

hy (H

urst

& C

o.,

Lond

on) &

Ant

hony

Jey

arat

nam

Wils

on (2

000)

Sri

Lan

kan

Tam

il N

atio

nalis

m: I

ts O

rigi

ns A

nd D

evel

opm

ent

In T

he N

inet

eent

h A

nd T

wen

tiet

h C

entu

ries

(Hur

st

& C

o., L

ondo

n).

4S

ee T

. Nai

rn (1

975)

"Th

e M

oder

n Ja

nus,

" N

ew L

eft

Rev

iew

, Vol

. 1, N

o. 9

4, p

p. 3

-29

& T

. Nai

rn (1

998)

Fac

es o

f N

atio

nalis

m: J

anus

Rev

isit

ed (V

erso

, Lon

don)

.

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a pr

oces

s tha

t gat

here

d co

nsid

erab

le m

omen

tum

whe

nR

anil

Wic

krem

asin

ghe's

UN

F go

vern

men

t im

plem

ente

dth

e C

FA w

ith th

e LT

TE

in F

ebru

ary

2002

. Thi

s was

perc

eive

d by

the

SU/J

HU

as a

nar

row

ing

of th

e gr

ound

for n

atio

nalis

t mob

iliza

tion

in th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties

them

selv

es a

s the

y be

gan

to g

rope

tow

ard

corr

espo

ndin

gpo

sitio

ns o

n th

e ne

ed fo

r im

plem

entin

g a

peac

e pa

ckag

ean

d co

nstit

utio

nal r

efor

m. F

or th

ese

soci

al fo

rces

,na

tiona

lism

bec

ame

a ve

hicl

e fo

r re-

terr

itoria

lizin

g so

cio-

polit

ical

and

cul

tura

l con

trol o

ver d

ynam

ics t

hat p

oliti

cal

elite

s wer

e se

en to

hav

e re

linqu

ished

to g

loba

lizin

g fo

rces

such

as p

ower

ful d

onor

stat

es, a

id in

stitu

tions

, NG

Os,

and,

to so

me

exte

nt, t

he fo

rces

of m

ultin

atio

nal

capi

talis

m. T

he so

uthe

rn p

olity

has

also

seen

com

para

tivel

y re

cent

shift

s in

Hill

Cou

ntry

pol

itics

toth

e ex

tent

that

the

UPF

has

ado

pted

a m

ore

mili

tant

attit

ude

to th

e et

hnic

con

flict

and

the

plig

ht o

fU

pcou

ntry

Tam

ils a

nd to

war

d po

tent

ial s

olut

ions

to th

eco

nflic

t, in

clud

ing

a ra

ppro

chem

ent w

ith th

e LT

TE.

13|

Und

erst

andi

ng N

atio

nalis

m in

Sri

Lan

ka: A

ctor

s an

d Tr

ajec

tori

es

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Page 18: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

OVER

VIEW

OF

THE

UNP5

The

UN

P w

as fo

rmed

just

prio

r to

Inde

pend

ence

,am

alga

mat

ing

a va

riety

of l

oose

org

aniz

atio

ns su

ch a

sth

e C

eylo

n N

atio

nal C

ongr

ess a

nd th

e Si

nhal

a M

aha

Sabh

a. A

s the

se c

onst

itutiv

e or

gani

zatio

ns w

ere

larg

ely

vehi

cles

for p

oliti

cal p

erso

nalit

ies o

f the

tim

e ra

ther

than

mas

s-ba

sed

orga

niza

tions

in th

eir o

wn

right

, the

embr

yoni

c U

NP

is pe

rhap

s bet

ter u

nder

stoo

d in

term

sof

a c

oalit

ion

of le

adin

g po

litic

al p

erso

nalit

ies

repr

esen

ting

the

Cey

lone

se b

ourg

eoisi

e, b

roug

htto

geth

er b

y op

posit

ion

to th

e ra

dica

lism

of t

he L

eft.6

As th

ere

was

an

elem

ent o

f disd

ain

for t

he b

urge

onin

gBu

ddhi

st re

viva

lism

repr

esen

ted

by th

e V

idya

lank

ara

mon

ks7

as w

ell,

a co

nsci

ous e

ffort

was

also

mad

e to

incl

ude

broa

d et

hnic

repr

esen

tatio

n in

the

part

y's

com

posit

ion.

Thi

s was

ach

ieve

d ei

ther

thro

ugh

dire

ctco

-opt

ion

of e

thno

-pol

itica

l lea

ders

or t

hrou

ghel

ecto

ral c

oalit

ions

, alth

ough

the

adve

nt o

f pos

t-In

depe

nden

ce e

thno

-nat

iona

lism

was

to d

ivid

e th

epa

rty'

s pol

itica

l org

aniz

atio

n al

ong

ethn

ic li

nes (

De

Silv

a, 1

986)

.

Whe

n th

e So

ulbu

ry C

onst

itutio

n w

as g

rant

ed in

194

7,it

disc

ontin

ued

the

part

icul

ar fo

rm o

f dem

ocra

cypr

ovid

ed b

y th

e D

onou

ghm

ore

Con

stitu

tion

of 1

931,

whi

ch w

as p

redi

cate

d on

the

abse

nce

of a

par

typo

litic

al sy

stem

. The

Sou

lbur

y C

onst

itutio

n in

trod

uced

conv

entio

nal p

arlia

men

tary

gov

ernm

ent,

nece

ssita

ting

the

intr

oduc

tion

of p

oliti

cal p

arty

ele

ctor

al d

emoc

racy

(Jen

ning

s, 19

48).

The

prim

ary

impe

tus f

or th

e

form

atio

n of

the

UN

P, th

eref

ore,

was

for p

oliti

cal p

-ar

ties t

o be

cre

ated

to c

ompe

te in

the

first

gen

eral

elec

tion,

as r

equi

red

unde

r the

new

con

stitu

tiona

ldi

spen

satio

n.

The

UN

P lo

cate

d its

elf t

o th

e rig

ht o

f cen

ter f

rom

its

ince

ptio

n, a

nd so

ught

to fu

lfill

the

role

of t

he G

rand

Old

Par

ty o

f mod

erat

e co

nser

vatis

m. T

he m

ost

appr

opria

te a

nalo

gy fo

r the

form

ativ

e po

litic

al st

imul

ibe

hind

the

UN

P is

perh

aps t

he B

ritish

"O

ne N

atio

nTo

ryism

." S

taun

chly

non

-ideo

logi

cal,

the

UN

Pel

evat

ed p

ragm

atism

to a

virt

ue. I

t sou

ght t

o se

rve

asan

um

brel

la p

arty

aro

und

whi

ch C

olom

bo a

nd W

este

rnPr

ovin

ce c

apita

lists

, as w

ell a

s rur

al e

lites

, cou

ld c

ome

toge

ther

on

the

shar

ed in

tere

sts o

f sta

bilit

y, st

rong

lead

ersh

ip, m

iddl

e-cl

ass c

omm

on se

nse,

and

an

oste

nsib

ly c

osm

opol

itan

polit

ical

out

look

. The

latte

r,ho

wev

er, w

as to

pro

ve su

perf

icia

l in

the

late

r dyn

amic

sof

Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

bec

ause

the

UN

P w

as S

inha

la in

the

sam

e w

ay th

at "

One

Nat

ion

Tory

ism"

tend

ed to

be

pred

omin

antly

Eng

lish.

Bec

ause

the

cons

erva

tism

of

the

sout

hern

pol

ity su

stai

ns, r

athe

r tha

n ch

ecks

Sin

hala

Budd

hist

nat

iona

lism

and

its s

upre

mac

ist e

thno

-re

ligio

us w

orld

view

, ele

ctor

al e

xige

ncie

s im

pelle

d th

eU

NP

to b

e le

d by

thos

e fo

rces

. The

UN

P's a

ssoc

iatio

nw

ith m

ajor

itaria

n ex

cess

es th

roug

h de

moc

ratic

inst

itutio

ns, t

here

fore

, hav

e ea

rly a

ntec

eden

ts.

Som

e of

thes

e ch

arac

teris

tics w

ere

also

the

pred

omin

ant

pers

onal

trai

ts of

the

UN

P's p

roge

nito

r, D

. S.

Sena

naya

ke, w

ho u

ltim

atel

y be

cam

e th

e fir

st pr

ime

15|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

2.Th

e Po

litic

al A

ctor

s

5Th

is s

ecti

on d

raw

s on

a p

revi

ous

pape

r by

Asa

nga

Wel

ikal

a. S

ee A

sang

a W

elik

ala

(200

4) "

Sri

Lan

ka: T

he P

olit

ics

of D

ual M

anda

te,"

Sou

th A

sian

Jou

rnal

,

Sep

tem

ber

28, 2

004.

6M

icha

el R

ober

ts (1

999)

"N

atio

nalis

ms

Toda

y an

d Ye

ster

day,

" in

His

tory

and

Pol

itic

s: M

illen

nial

Per

spec

tive

s. E

ssay

s in

Hon

our

of K

ings

ley

de S

ilva

(Law

&

Soc

iety

Tru

st, C

olom

bo);

Dav

id L

ittl

e (1

994)

Sri

Lan

ka: T

he In

vent

ion

of E

nmit

y (U

nite

d S

tate

s In

stit

ute

of P

eace

Pre

ss, W

ashi

ngto

n D

.C.).

7H

. L. S

enev

irat

ne (1

999)

The

Wor

k of

Kin

gs: T

he N

ew B

uddh

ism

in S

ri L

anka

(Chi

cago

Uni

vers

ity

Pres

s); W

A. W

isw

a W

arna

pala

(197

8) "

Sang

haan

d Po

litic

s

in S

ri L

anka

: Nat

ure

of t

he C

onti

nuin

g C

ontr

over

sy,"

Indi

an J

ourn

al o

f Po

litic

s, V

ol. 1

2, N

os. 1

-2.

Page 19: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

min

ister

of i

ndep

ende

nt C

eylo

n.8

A m

an re

lyin

g on

inna

te "

nativ

e" sh

rew

dnes

s rat

her t

han

inte

llect

ual

achi

evem

ent,

Sena

naya

ke w

as a

pra

gmat

ic a

nd w

ilypo

litic

ian

who

was

equ

ally

at h

ome

in c

onsti

tutio

nal

nego

tiatio

ns in

Whi

teha

ll as

he

was

in h

is co

untr

y es

tate

plou

ghin

g pa

ddy

field

s in

the

fash

ion

of th

e lio

nize

dpe

asan

t of S

inha

la B

uddh

ist lo

re. S

enan

ayak

e'spe

rson

ality

is b

ette

r cha

ract

erize

d by

an

avun

cula

r eas

ew

ith p

eopl

e th

an b

y ac

adem

ic a

ccom

plish

men

ts in

the

liber

al p

rofe

ssio

ns (a

t the

tim

e th

e na

tura

l res

ourc

e po

olfro

m w

hich

pol

itici

ans e

mer

ged)

or o

rato

rical

gift

s.

Sena

naya

ke's

asce

nt to

the

undi

sput

ed le

ader

ship

inC

eylo

nese

pol

itics

dur

ing

the

empe

nnag

e of

Brit

ish ru

le is

due

in e

qual

mea

sure

to tw

o fa

ctor

s. Fi

rst, t

he sh

rew

dca

pita

lizat

ion

of h

is ro

le as

min

ister

of a

gric

ultu

reth

roug

hout

the

curre

ncy

of th

e D

onou

ghm

ore

Con

stitu

tion

conv

eyed

to th

e Si

nhala

pol

ity th

e ev

ocat

ive

perso

na o

f the

agr

aria

n m

onar

ch o

f Sin

hala

Budd

hist

histo

riogr

aphy

. Sec

ond,

he

won

the

resp

ect o

f Brit

ishad

min

istra

tors

as a

dep

enda

ble

pair

of h

ands

and

trustw

orth

y pr

oxy

in th

e co

ntex

t of t

he w

ar e

ffort

durin

gW

orld

War

II, i

n sta

rk c

ontra

st to

the

unco

mpr

omisi

ngat

titud

e of

the

Indi

an in

depe

nden

ce le

ader

ship

.9

How

ever

, the

eth

os o

f pra

gmat

ic e

thni

c ac

com

mod

atio

nth

at c

hara

cter

ized

the

early

UN

P w

as fo

rcef

ully

disp

laced

by th

e dy

nam

ics o

f Sin

hala

Budd

hist

natio

nalis

m, w

hich

emer

ged

as th

e ke

y gr

ound

s for

pol

itica

l mob

iliza

tion

afte

rIn

depe

nden

ce. I

n th

e co

ntex

t of m

ajor

itaria

nism

untra

mm

eled

by in

stitu

tiona

l res

train

ts or

con

stitu

tiona

lcu

lture

, eth

nici

zed

elect

oral

dem

ocra

cy d

rove

pol

itica

lpa

rties

to fo

cus o

n m

ajor

ity in

tere

sts to

the

exclu

sion

ofm

inor

ities

(Litt

le, 1

994)

. Hen

ce, t

he U

NP

was

resp

onsib

le fo

r the

dise

nfra

nchi

sem

ent o

f plan

tatio

nTa

mils

and

for o

ppor

tuni

stic

oppo

sitio

n to

the

Band

aran

aike

-Che

lvan

ayak

am P

act--

the

earli

est a

ttem

pt a

tde

volu

tion

and

pow

er-sh

arin

g th

at m

ay h

ave

prov

ided

am

ore

viab

le fra

mew

ork

for c

onfli

ct m

anag

emen

t thr

ough

cons

titut

iona

l arr

ange

men

ts.10

Whi

le m

ajor

itaria

npo

pulis

m, a

s exp

loite

d by

the

SLFP

-led

Mah

ajan

a Ek

sath

Pera

mun

a (M

EP) i

n 19

56, n

o do

ubt i

nstit

utio

naliz

edSi

nhala

Bud

dhist

nat

iona

list c

laim

s to

soci

al do

min

ance

and

state

pow

er, i

t mus

t be

born

e in

min

d th

at th

e U

NP'

sre

spon

se to

the

prog

ram

of t

he M

EP w

as th

at o

f im

itatio

nra

ther

than

an

atte

mpt

to g

ive

dem

ocra

tic le

ader

ship

toan

y do

rman

t for

ces o

f eth

nic

reco

ncili

atio

n an

d pl

urali

sm.

It is

diffi

cult

to im

agin

e ho

w a

UN

P go

vern

men

t in

1956

-196

0 co

uld

have

, giv

en th

e na

tiona

list h

yste

riasw

eepi

ng th

e ele

ctor

al lan

dsca

pe o

f the

Sou

th d

urin

g th

atpe

riod,

diff

ered

from

the

MEP

with

rega

rd to

ling

uisti

cpo

licy

and

attit

udes

to e

thni

c m

inor

ities

and

cons

titut

iona

l pow

er-sh

arin

g.

Inde

ed, a

n in

tens

ifica

tion

of th

e co

nflic

t res

ultin

g in

the

erup

tion

of c

ivil

war

dur

ing

the

1980

s occ

urre

d du

ring

ape

riod

in w

hich

the

UN

P ha

d un

para

llele

d co

ntro

l ove

rth

e in

stitu

tions

of t

he st

ate.

The

UN

P be

ars a

sign

ifica

ntsh

are

of th

e re

spon

sibili

ty fo

r the

eth

nic

conf

lict a

s the

auth

orita

rian

cent

raliz

atio

n of

pol

itica

l pow

er a

ccor

ded

thro

ugh

the

1978

Con

stitu

tion

resu

lted

in a

bru

tal u

seof

forc

e to

add

ress

Tam

il in

surr

ectio

nary

act

iviti

es,

incl

udin

g th

e in

sidio

us e

ncou

rage

men

t of a

nti-T

amil

mob

vio

lenc

e du

ring

such

inci

dent

s as t

he p

ogro

m o

f19

83.11

Like

wise

, the

seco

nd in

surr

ectio

n of

the

JVP

was

exte

rmin

ated

by

the

state

app

arat

us c

ontro

lled

by th

eU

NP,

empl

oyin

g bo

th le

gal a

nd e

xtra

-lega

l met

hods

of

extre

me

viol

ence

.

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

16

8S

ee K

umar

i Ja

yew

arde

ne (

2000

), N

obod

ies

to S

omeb

odie

s (S

SA

, C

olom

bo);

Mic

hael

Rob

erts

, (1

999)

"N

atio

nalis

ms

Toda

y an

d Ye

ster

day,

" in

His

tory

and

Polit

ics:

Mill

enni

al P

ersp

ecti

ves.

Ess

ays

in H

onou

r of

Kin

gsle

y de

Silv

a (L

aw &

Soc

iety

Tru

st, C

olom

bo);

Dav

id L

ittl

e (1

994)

Sri

Lan

ka: T

he In

vent

ion

of E

nmit

y

(Uni

ted

Sta

tes

Inst

itut

e of

Pea

ce P

ress

, Was

hing

ton

D.C

.).

9S

ee K

. M. d

e S

ilva

(Ed.

) (19

97) B

riti

sh D

ocum

ents

on

the

End

of E

mpi

re: S

ri L

anka

(Ser

ies

B, V

ol. 2

) Par

ts I

& II

(Ins

titu

te o

f Com

mon

wea

lth

Stu

dies

, Uni

vers

ity

of L

ondo

n).

10S

ee S

unil

Bas

tian

(19

99)

"The

Fai

lure

of

Sta

te F

orm

atio

n, I

dent

ity

Con

flic

t an

d C

ivil

Soc

iety

Res

pons

es -

The

Cas

e of

Sri

Lan

ka,"

Wor

king

Pap

er 2

, (C

entr

e

for

Con

flic

t R

esol

utio

n, D

epar

tmen

t of

Pea

ce S

tudi

es, U

nive

rsit

y of

Bra

dfor

d).

11S

ee A

. J.

Wils

on (

1988

) Th

e B

reak

-Up

of S

ri L

anka

(H

urst

, Lo

ndon

); S

. J.

Tha

mbi

ah (

1986

) S

ri L

anka

: Et

hnic

Fra

tric

ide

and

the

Dis

man

tlin

g of

Dem

ocra

cy

(Uni

vers

ity

of C

hica

go P

ress

).

Page 20: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

The

UN

P, ho

wev

er, h

as b

een

cons

isten

t with

its

foun

ding

visi

on to

the

exte

nt th

at it

reta

ins t

he lo

yalty

of

appr

oxim

atel

y 30

% o

f the

Sri

Lank

an e

lect

orat

e at

any

give

n tim

e an

d re

mai

ns th

e la

rges

t sin

gle

polit

ical

par

tyin

the

coun

try.

As th

e pr

inci

pal r

ight

-of-c

ente

r pla

yer i

nSr

i Lan

kan

polit

ics,

the

UN

P is

mor

e pr

o-W

este

rn in

its

exte

rnal

pol

icy

than

any

oth

er p

arty

and

is g

ener

ally

asso

ciat

ed w

ith a

mar

ket-f

riend

ly e

cono

mic

out

look

. All

of it

s her

oes -

the

form

er C

hief

Min

ister

of A

ndhr

aPr

ades

h, C

hand

raba

bu N

aidu

, Sin

gapo

rean

Prim

eM

inist

er L

ee K

uan

Yew,

Mal

aysia

n Pr

ime

Min

ister

Mah

athi

r Moh

amm

ed -

are

the

Asia

n Br

ahm

ins o

f fre

em

arke

t cap

italis

m a

nd sp

ecta

cula

r eco

nom

ic su

cces

ses.

Thi

s ser

ves a

s a te

stam

ent t

o its

ulti

mat

e go

als.

How

ever

, the

lead

er-c

entr

ic n

atur

e of

all

polit

ical

par

ties

in S

ri La

nka

has m

eant

that

the

part

y ha

s cha

nged

its

natu

re fr

om ti

me

to ti

me

in re

fere

nce

to it

s lea

der's

pers

onal

ity, p

refe

renc

es a

nd im

pera

tives

, rat

her t

han

onre

alig

nmen

ts ba

sed

on m

embe

rshi

p de

sires

. Det

ract

ors

wou

ld p

oint

to a

n un

derc

urre

nt o

f dyn

astic

pol

itics

inth

e U

NP

as th

e ve

hicl

e of

the

Wije

war

dene

fam

ily,

exem

plifi

ed in

the

pejo

rativ

e ep

ithet

that

its a

cron

ymsta

nds f

or "

Unc

le N

ephe

w P

arty

." W

hile

it is

per

haps

mor

e th

an a

coi

ncid

ence

that

all

of it

s lea

ders

bar

two

-R

anas

ingh

e Pr

emad

asa

and

D. B

. Wije

tung

a (th

e la

tter

head

ing

only

a b

rief t

rans

ition

al in

terr

egnu

m) -

hav

ebe

en re

late

d to

the

Wije

war

dene

fam

ily, t

he in

tra-

part

ycu

lture

of t

he U

NP

allo

ws r

elat

ive

scop

e fo

r dem

ocra

ticle

ader

ship

inde

pend

ent o

f dyn

astic

ties

than

its p

rinci

pal

oppo

nent

, the

SLF

P.

The

UN

P is

perh

aps t

he m

ost o

rgan

ized

polit

ical

par

tyne

xt to

the

JVP,

alth

ough

this

clai

m m

ust s

urel

y no

t be

over

state

d.12

It ce

rtai

nly

func

tions

with

intr

a-pa

rty

insti

tutio

ns a

nd p

roce

sses

to a

far g

reat

er e

xten

t tha

n th

eSL

FP. B

ut a

s with

mos

t Sri

Lank

an p

oliti

cal p

artie

s,in

dica

tive

stand

ards

of i

ntra

-par

ty d

emoc

racy

are

wea

k.Po

licy

form

ulat

ion

and

strat

egic

and

tact

ical

dec

ision

-m

akin

g re

mai

n th

e pr

eser

ve o

f the

lead

er (e

ven

thou

ghth

ese

are

tech

nica

lly fu

nctio

ns o

f the

par

ty's

wor

king

com

mitt

ee) a

nd w

ider

con

sulta

tion

depe

nds o

n th

ele

ader

's at

titud

e to

col

legi

ality

. The

re is

cer

tain

ly li

ttle

orno

role

pla

yed

by th

e gr

ass-

root

s mem

bers

hip

in th

ese

area

s, an

d pa

rty

conf

eren

ces a

nd in

tra-

part

y el

ectio

ns a

rela

rgel

y ce

rem

onia

l affa

irs. I

n pa

rtic

ular

, fin

anci

altr

ansp

aren

cy a

nd a

ccou

ntab

ility

are

wea

k, a

nd re

pres

ent

a re

gula

tory

lacu

na in

fina

ncia

l int

egrit

y, bo

th o

f the

part

y an

d its

indi

vidu

al m

embe

rs. A

noth

er in

stitu

tiona

lha

ndic

ap is

org

aniza

tiona

l cap

acity

in a

ny n

umbe

r of

resp

ects,

from

adm

inist

rativ

e ar

rang

emen

ts to

rese

arch

and

deve

lopm

ent.

The

legi

slativ

e pe

rform

ance

of

mem

bers

in e

lect

ed in

stitu

tions

such

as P

arlia

men

t and

prov

inci

al c

ounc

ils, a

s wel

l as t

he p

oliti

cal l

itera

cy o

f its

gras

sroo

ts ac

tivist

s, su

ffer a

s a re

sult.

In fa

ct, t

he U

NP'

sin

stinc

tive

disc

omfo

rt w

ith o

vert

ideo

logi

cal d

iscou

rse

man

ifests

itse

lf in

the

use

of th

e m

ocki

ng a

ppel

latio

n"T

heor

y-ka

raya

" fo

r any

one

seen

to b

e ov

erly

inte

reste

din

pol

itica

l disc

ussio

n an

d de

bate

.

Inte

resti

ngly,

the

UN

P ha

s bee

n les

s diff

iden

t abo

utbo

rrow

ing

polit

ical

tool

s and

cha

ract

erist

ics f

rom

the

Left,

even

whe

re th

e Le

ft's c

ultu

re o

f ide

olog

ical

and

polic

yde

bate

has

bee

n di

scar

ded.

For

exa

mpl

e, in

cele

brat

ion

ofM

ay D

ay, t

he U

NP

set u

p a

com

mun

ist-st

yle

yout

hco

rps,

and

has d

evelo

ped

a pr

esen

ce in

the

trade

uni

onse

ctor

with

the

Jath

ika

Seva

ka S

anga

may

a(J

SS-N

atio

nal

Wor

kers

Uni

on).

In th

e 19

70s,

unde

r the

lead

ersh

ip o

fth

e pu

rpor

ted

patro

n sa

int o

f cap

italis

t "ro

bber

bar

ons"

J.R.

Jaya

war

dene

, suc

h fro

nt-li

ners

as L

alith

Athu

lathm

udali

flirt

ed w

ith so

ciali

sm. D

espi

te th

e no

wun

ques

tione

d de

scrip

tion

of th

e Ja

yaw

arde

nead

min

istra

tion

as o

ne o

f fre

e-m

arke

t cap

italis

m, i

t onl

yre

tract

ed th

e sta

te fr

om so

me

of it

s mor

e in

terv

entio

nist

econ

omic

roles

intro

duce

d by

an

LSSP

fina

nce

min

ister

inth

e pr

evio

us re

gim

e. It

did

not q

uesti

on in

any

fund

amen

tal w

ay th

e po

st-w

ar K

eyne

sian

cons

ensu

s of t

hem

ixed

eco

nom

y as

Tha

tche

rism

or R

eaga

nono

mic

s did

.

Inde

ed, t

he P

rem

adas

a ad

min

istra

tion

is ch

arac

teriz

ed b

yre

sista

nce

to c

ateg

oriza

tion

alon

g th

e rig

ht-le

ft ax

is. It

was

mer

cant

ilist

in it

s pro

mot

ion

of in

dustr

y an

d sm

all-

17|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

12C

entr

e fo

r Po

licy

Alt

erna

tive

s (2

005)

Sri

Lan

ka C

ount

ry R

epor

t (C

PA, C

olom

bo);

CPA

and

Inte

rnat

iona

l ID

EA D

ialo

gue

Wor

ksho

p on

Pol

itic

al P

arti

es in

Sou

th

Asi

a, A

pril

7-9,

200

5, C

olom

bo.

Page 21: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

and

med

ium

-sca

le b

usin

esse

s, an

d as

an

aspe

ct o

f its

popu

lism

, con

ceiv

ed a

big

role

for t

he st

ate

in te

rms o

fgr

and

pove

rty

amel

iora

tion

sche

mes

and

the

prov

ision

of

hous

ing

for t

he p

oor.

Prem

adas

a in

fact

atte

mpt

ed a

"tria

ngul

atio

n,"

bind

ing

toge

ther

non

-elit

eco

nstit

uenc

ies b

etw

een

rich

and

poor

, lef

t and

righ

t, an

dac

ross

the

ethn

ic d

ivid

e. T

he n

atur

e of

the

Prem

adas

asta

te w

as in

the

clas

sic p

ater

nalis

t mol

d of

the

Sinh

ala

Budd

hist

natio

nalis

t ide

al: p

atro

n an

d pr

otec

tor.

Mor

eove

r, Pr

emad

asa'

s non

-elit

e pe

rson

al b

ackg

roun

d,ec

umen

ical

relig

ious

inte

rests

, exp

erie

nce

in th

em

ultic

ultu

ral m

ilieu

of c

entr

al C

olom

bo, a

nd se

nse

ofem

path

y w

ith th

e po

or a

nd d

isadv

anta

ged

enab

led

him

to c

once

ive

of a

pol

itica

l wor

ldvi

ew th

at, o

n on

e le

vel,

wen

t bey

ond

paro

chia

l nat

iona

lism

s (Ro

bert

s, 19

94).

How

ever

, suc

h a

state

cou

ld, w

hen

conf

ront

ed w

ithch

alle

nges

to it

s ow

n se

curit

y, ve

ry e

asily

turn

pre

dato

r.T

his i

s pre

cise

ly h

ow th

e sta

te re

spon

ded

to th

ech

alle

nges

of t

he JV

P an

d Ta

mil

mili

tanc

y,de

mon

strat

ing

the

trui

sm a

bout

the

inhe

rent

men

ace

ofpa

tern

alism

: the

re is

a li

mit

to it

s cap

acity

for t

oler

ance

.

The

rete

ntio

n of

the

perv

asiv

e sta

te p

oint

s to

the

relia

nce,

inde

ed e

ncou

rage

men

t of c

lient

elism

, and

the

part

isan

adva

ntag

es o

f per

petu

al ru

le to

be

gain

edth

ereb

y. In

this

way

, the

UN

P's p

ositi

on in

the

right

of

cent

er d

oes n

ot n

eces

saril

y de

note

an

affin

ity w

ithlib

erta

rian

conc

eptio

ns o

f lim

ited

gove

rnm

ent a

ndin

divi

dual

aut

onom

y pe

r se.

In a

ver

y Sr

i Lan

kan

way

, it

can

deno

te a

muc

h de

eper

em

path

y w

ith S

inha

laBu

ddhi

st na

tiona

lism

's id

eal s

tate

than

the

UN

P's

asso

ciat

ion

with

libe

ral c

apita

lism

wou

ld a

t tim

es se

emto

sugg

est.13

Thi

s exp

lain

s, fo

r ins

tanc

e, S

ir Jo

hnK

otel

awal

a's t

otal

ly u

nsuc

cess

ful a

ttem

pt to

mak

epo

litic

al c

apita

l out

of t

he e

xtra

vaga

nt g

over

nmen

t-sp

onso

red

Budd

ha Ja

yant

hice

lebr

atio

ns in

195

6; a

nd J.

R. J

ayew

arde

ne's

rete

ntio

n in

the

1978

Con

stitu

tion

ofth

e "f

orem

ost"

stat

us o

f Bud

dhism

, and

his

pled

ge to

crea

te a

"D

harm

ista

Sam

ajay

a" (V

irtuo

us S

ocie

ty) i

n th

eca

mpa

ign

that

bro

ught

him

to o

verw

helm

ing

pow

er in

1977

--ac

tions

that

ulti

mat

ely

serv

ed to

ero

de th

ese

para

tion

betw

een

the

state

and

relig

ion.

The

latte

rex

ampl

e is

sym

ptom

atic

of a

n at

tem

pt to

rega

in th

ena

tiona

list m

oral

hig

h gr

ound

from

a su

ppos

edly

"dha

rma-

less"

(as i

n go

dles

s) a

nd "

imm

oral

" le

ft, w

hich

had

atte

mpt

ed a

doc

trin

aire

rein

vent

ion

of a

soci

ety,

toth

e ex

clus

ion

of it

s ow

n gl

orio

us h

istor

y, cu

lture

, and

lang

uage

. Suc

h an

app

eal t

o th

e Si

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

stvo

lksg

eist,

whi

le a

t the

sam

e tim

e cr

eatin

g pr

oble

ms f

orth

e pu

rsui

t of p

lura

lism

and

resp

ect f

or m

inor

ities

,ca

nnot

be

expl

aine

d aw

ay a

s Mac

hiav

ellia

n el

ecto

ral

calc

ulat

ion,

as i

t also

dem

onstr

ates

a p

oten

tid

entif

icat

ion

with

maj

orita

rian

natio

nalis

m (L

ittle

,19

94).

Thi

s was

now

here

mor

e ap

pare

nt th

an in

the

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t bat

tlegr

ound

of t

he la

te 1

980s

ove

rth

e th

reat

to so

vere

ignt

y re

pres

ente

d by

the

Indo

-Lan

kaAc

cord

, whe

n Pr

emad

asa

com

pete

d w

ith th

e JV

P fo

r the

man

tle o

f nat

iona

list a

nd p

atrio

tic "

auth

entic

ity."

14

In th

is se

nse,

the

UN

P ha

s hist

oric

ally

dem

onstr

ated

apo

wer

ful n

exus

with

Sin

hala

Bud

dhist

nat

iona

lism

and

,un

der P

rem

adas

a at

leas

t, w

ith a

pot

ent s

tatis

tde

velo

pmen

tal r

ole

as w

ell.

How

ever

, the

se fa

cets

of th

eU

NP

wer

e an

ill f

it w

ith th

e R

anil

Wic

krem

asin

ghe

UN

P re

gim

e th

at c

ame

to p

ower

in 2

001.

It w

as a

regi

me

char

acte

rized

by

a se

emin

gly

doct

rinai

re p

ositi

onon

eco

nom

ic li

bera

lizat

ion

(ref

lect

ing

the

Was

hing

ton

cons

ensu

s and

em

brac

ing

glob

aliza

tion)

; by

bold

mov

esto

war

d pe

ace

and

cons

titut

iona

l ref

orm

(mar

ked

by th

eFe

brua

ry 2

002

signi

ng o

f the

CFA

with

the

LTT

E); a

ndby

an

evid

ent s

hift

away

from

mor

e ov

ert o

r voc

alSi

nhal

a na

tiona

list m

obili

zatio

n. N

onet

hele

ss, a

s far

as

the

UN

P re

frain

hol

ds (t

hat i

t was

unf

airly

robb

ed o

fde

liver

ing

on it

s lon

g-te

rm e

cono

mic

pro

gram

and

cons

eque

ntia

l pol

itica

l div

iden

ds a

fter i

t was

thro

wn

out

of o

ffice

in A

pril

2004

), it

is to

be

expe

cted

that

a fu

ture

UN

P ad

min

istra

tion

wou

ld c

ontin

ue in

bas

ical

ly th

e

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

18

13S

ee S

unil

Bas

tian

(19

99)

"The

Fai

lure

of

Sta

te F

orm

atio

n, I

dent

ity

Con

flic

t an

d C

ivil

Soc

iety

Res

pons

es -

The

Cas

e of

Sri

Lan

ka,"

Wor

king

Pap

er 2

(C

entr

e

for

Con

flic

t R

esol

utio

n, D

epar

tmen

t of

Pea

ce S

tudi

es, U

nive

rsit

y of

Bra

dfor

d); A

. Sha

stri

(198

3) "

Evol

utio

n of

Con

tem

pora

ry P

olit

ical

For

mat

ion

of S

ri L

anka

,"

Sou

th A

sia

Bul

leti

n, V

ol. 3

, No.

1.

14S

ee A

nand

a A

beys

ekar

a (2

001)

Col

ors

of t

he R

obe

(Uni

vers

ity

of S

outh

Car

olin

a Pr

ess)

, pp.

228-

229.

Page 22: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

sam

e po

licy

dire

ctio

ns in

resp

ect t

o pe

ace,

gov

erna

nce,

and

the

econ

omy.

It se

eks i

n th

is co

ntex

t, no

t onl

y a

parli

amen

tary

maj

ority

, but

also

the

deci

sive

instr

umen

tof

stat

e po

wer

in S

ri La

nka-

-the

exec

utiv

e pr

esid

ency

--to

get o

n w

ith a

n un

finish

ed jo

b. Y

et, a

t the

sam

e tim

e, it

wou

ld b

e w

ide

of th

e m

ark

and

far t

oo h

asty

to c

oncl

ude

from

this

that

the

UN

P ha

d un

derg

one

som

e ki

nd o

fra

dica

l tra

nsfo

rmat

ion

in w

hich

the

head

y ai

r of S

inha

lana

tiona

list m

obili

zatio

n ha

d su

dden

ly v

anish

edid

eolo

gica

lly fr

om th

e U

NP

in to

tobe

caus

e of

Wic

krem

asin

ghe's

lead

ersh

ip sk

ills.

As w

e w

ill se

e be

low,

the

rela

tions

hip

to n

atio

nalis

m is

far m

ore

com

plex

and

ethe

real

than

can

be

gaug

ed b

y a

linea

r or h

istor

ical

lypr

ogre

ssiv

e an

alys

is of

this

kind

, whe

ther

in re

latio

n to

the

UN

P or

the

SLFP

.

OVER

VIEW

OF

THE

SLFP

15

The

SLF

P w

as fo

unde

d by

S. W

. R. D

. Ban

dara

naik

e in

1952

, whe

n he

left

the

UN

P an

d cr

osse

d ov

er to

the

oppo

sitio

n, fo

llow

ing

a U

NP

succ

essio

n cr

isis i

n th

ew

ake

of D

. S. S

enan

ayak

e's d

eath

. At t

he ti

me

Sena

naya

ke's

son

Dud

ley,

Sir J

ohn

Kot

elaw

ala,

and

-m

ore

perip

hera

lly -

Band

aran

aike

him

self

com

pete

d fo

rle

ader

ship

of t

he p

arty

. At t

he c

ore

of th

e SL

FP a

t its

ince

ptio

n w

ere

the

netw

orks

and

org

aniza

tiona

l str

uctu

reof

Ban

dara

naik

e's S

inha

la M

aha

Sabh

a. A

s its

nam

esu

gges

ts it

was

an

orga

niza

tion

esse

ntia

lly e

spou

sing

the

inte

rests

of t

he S

inha

la c

omm

unity

. Alth

ough

a fe

dera

list

at th

e co

mm

ence

men

t of h

is ca

reer

in th

e 19

20s,

Band

aran

aike

cha

nged

into

a m

ore

paro

chia

l Sin

hala

Budd

hist

natio

nalis

t, at

leas

t in

publ

ic se

lf-de

finiti

on fo

rpo

litic

al a

dvan

tage

, dur

ing

the

1930

s and

194

0s (M

anor

,19

89).

Des

pite

this

som

e sc

hola

rs h

ave

atte

mpt

ed to

clai

m h

im a

s a h

istor

ical

ly m

isund

ersto

od p

roto

-co

nsoc

iatio

nal f

eder

alist

for t

he d

urat

ion

of h

is po

litic

allif

e.16

By 1

956,

the

year

of t

he B

uddh

a Ja

yant

hi(th

e 25

00th

anni

vers

ary

of th

e Bu

ddha

's bi

rth)

, Sir

John

Kot

elaw

ala'

sU

NP

had

beco

me

wid

ely

disc

redi

ted

as in

ept,

arro

gant

,an

d ou

t of t

ouch

with

the

polit

ical

asp

iratio

ns o

f the

peop

le. T

his h

as to

be

unde

rsto

od in

the

cont

ext o

f the

grow

ing

asse

rtiv

enes

s of t

he v

erna

cula

r vill

age-

leve

l elit

esof

the

Sinh

ala

polit

y an

d of

the

kind

of r

ural

uph

eava

lth

at h

ad b

roug

ht th

e co

untr

y to

a st

ands

till i

n th

e Le

ft-le

d ha

rtal

of 1

953.

Whi

le th

e LS

SP a

nd th

e C

P ha

ddo

min

ated

ant

i-col

onia

l pre

ssur

es a

nd su

balte

rn c

lass

tens

ions

unt

il th

e 19

50s,

it w

as c

lear

from

Phi

lipG

unaw

arde

na's

mor

e na

tiona

list-i

nspi

red

split

with

the

LSSP

that

such

disc

onte

nts w

ere

now

bei

ng tr

ansla

ted

into

the

vehi

cle

of S

inha

la B

uddh

ist re

viva

lism

. It w

aseq

ually

cle

ar, h

owev

er, t

hat t

his v

ehic

le re

quire

d a

cham

pion

with

wid

er a

ppea

l tha

n G

unaw

arde

na c

ould

prov

ide.

Alth

ough

a sc

ion

of th

e Ba

ndar

anai

ke-

Obe

ysek

era

clan

, exe

mpl

ifyin

g th

e el

ite A

nglic

ized

ancie

n re

gim

ethe

new

driv

ers o

f pol

itica

l cha

nge

wer

ese

ekin

g to

disp

lace

, Ban

dara

naik

e ad

roitl

y ex

ploi

ted

the

Kot

elaw

ala

UN

P's s

ense

of a

liena

tion.

He

did

this

bybu

ildin

g a

broa

d co

aliti

on a

roun

d th

e SL

FP in

the

form

of th

e M

EP th

at c

oher

ed th

e fo

rces

of S

inha

la B

uddh

istna

tiona

lism

, inc

ludi

ng G

unaw

arde

na's

VLS

SP(V

ipla

vaka

ri [R

evol

utio

nary

] Lan

ka S

ama

Sam

aja

Part

y)sp

linte

r, in

to a

n el

ectio

n-w

inni

ng fo

rce

(Man

or, 1

989)

.

In c

aptu

ring

state

pow

er in

195

6, m

ajor

ity n

atio

nalis

mde

moc

ratiz

ed p

oliti

cs b

y gi

ving

a st

akeh

oldi

ng to

subo

rdin

ate

clas

ses i

n th

e Si

nhal

a po

lity

who

had

hith

erto

bee

n ex

clud

ed, a

nd w

ho h

ad p

revi

ously

lack

edth

e co

nfid

ence

to c

halle

nge

such

elit

ist e

xclu

sion.

The

form

atio

n of

the

Sinh

ala

aspi

ratio

nal "

ape a

nduw

a"--

"our

gov

ernm

ent"

--re

info

rcin

g be

long

ing,

ow

ners

hip,

and

affin

ity w

ith th

e sta

te g

rave

ly a

ggra

vate

d et

hnic

tens

ions

by

reje

ctin

g le

gitim

ate

stake

hold

ing

bym

inor

ities

in p

oliti

cs, n

atio

n-bu

ildin

g, a

nd p

oliti

cal

insti

tutio

ns. A

lthou

gh B

anda

rana

ike

atte

mpt

ed to

19|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

15Th

is s

ecti

on d

raw

s on

a p

revi

ous

pape

r by

Asa

nga

Wel

ikal

a. S

ee A

sang

a W

elik

ala

(200

4) "

Sri

Lan

ka:

The

Polit

ics

of D

ual

Man

date

" S

outh

Asi

an J

ourn

al

(WH

ERE)

, Sep

tem

ber

28, 2

004.

16S

ee J

. Uya

ngod

a (1

993)

"S

ri L

anka

's C

risi

s: C

ontr

acta

rian

Alt

erna

tive

s,"

Prav

ada

2, p

p.5-

11 a

nd M

icha

el R

ober

ts (1

994)

, Exp

lori

ng C

onfr

onta

tion

, (H

arw

ood

Aca

dem

ic P

ublis

hers

, Sw

itze

rlan

d), p

p. 2

49-2

68.

Page 23: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

addr

ess T

amil

dem

ands

for r

egio

nal a

uton

omy

thro

ugh

dial

ogue

with

the

Fede

ral P

arty

and

to a

ssua

ge th

e se

nse

of in

justi

ce c

ause

d by

the

Sinh

ala-

only

lang

uage

pol

icy,

the

emot

ive

pote

ncy

of th

e po

litic

al fo

rces

he

him

self

had

unle

ashe

d se

vere

ly re

stric

ted

his m

aneu

verin

g sp

ace

and

ultim

atel

y le

d to

his

assa

ssin

atio

n (L

ittle

, 199

4).

The

SLF

P ha

s a so

cial

dem

ocra

tic o

utlo

ok re

lativ

e to

the

UN

P. Tw

o fa

ctor

s exp

lain

this:

firs

t, na

tiona

lizat

ion

ofpr

ivat

e en

terp

rises

in th

e 19

50s w

as a

refle

ctio

n of

the

natio

nalis

m o

f the

SLF

P/M

EP, i

n w

hich

the

popu

list

state

is in

strum

enta

l in

the

wel

fare

of i

ts ow

ners

--th

eSi

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

st na

tion-

-and

thei

r sec

urity

has

to b

egu

arde

d ag

ains

t the

per

ceiv

ed m

achi

natio

ns o

fde

raci

nate

d el

ites,

conn

ivin

g m

inor

ities

, and

per

haps

even

ext

erna

l foe

s. Se

cond

, the

SLF

P's c

apac

ity to

ous

tth

e U

NP

from

pow

er h

as a

lway

s dep

ende

d on

supp

ort

from

the

Left,

mos

t evi

dent

ly in

197

0-19

77, w

hen

doct

rinai

re so

cial

ism d

omin

ated

the

econ

omic

thin

king

of th

e U

F go

vern

men

t. Ev

en in

its r

elat

ivel

y m

arke

t-fri

endl

y ph

ase

from

199

4-19

95, t

he S

LFP

posit

ed c

arin

gw

elfa

rism

as a

n eq

ualiz

er to

mar

ket f

orce

s: "t

he o

pen

econ

omy

with

a h

uman

face

."

The

SLF

P al

so a

ssoc

iate

sits

elf w

ith th

e no

n-al

igne

d m

ovem

ent,

and

has t

aken

inte

rnat

iona

l rel

atio

ns se

rious

ly, e

spec

ially

dur

ing

the

lead

ersh

ip o

f Siri

mao

Ban

dara

naik

e, w

hen

in th

e co

ntex

tof

the

Col

d W

ar so

me

mod

est f

orei

gn a

ffairs

' suc

cess

esw

ithin

the

non-

alig

ned

mov

emen

t and

in th

e re

gion

wer

e ac

hiev

ed.

The

SLF

P is

the

nonp

arei

l of d

ynas

tic p

oliti

cs a

ndle

ader

-cen

trism

am

ong

polit

ical

par

ties i

n Sr

i Lan

ka. I

tsle

ader

ship

is so

clo

sely

iden

tifie

d w

ith th

e Ba

ndar

anai

kefa

mily

that

eve

n th

e br

ief i

nter

lude

led

by o

utsid

erM

aith

ripal

a Se

nana

yake

onl

y ca

me

abou

t bec

ause

Sirim

ao B

anda

rana

ike

had

been

dep

rived

of h

er c

ivic

right

s and

was

ther

efor

e un

able

to st

and

for p

ublic

offic

e. O

ther

wise

, the

lead

ersh

ip h

as d

evol

ved

from

fath

er to

wife

to d

augh

ter.

It is

perh

aps u

nfai

r to

spea

kof

the

Band

aran

aike

dyn

asty

as i

f it w

ere

entir

ely

thei

rsc

hem

e to

reta

in th

e le

ader

ship

with

in th

e fa

mily

. The

Band

aran

aike

nam

e ex

udes

a tr

aditi

on o

f pub

lic se

rvic

ean

d ch

arism

atic

lead

ersh

ip th

at th

e el

ecto

rate

has

com

eto

exp

ect.

Inde

ed, a

ll th

ree

Band

aran

aike

hol

ders

of t

heSL

FP le

ader

ship

hav

e pr

oven

to b

e co

nsum

mat

eca

mpa

igne

rs a

nd g

enui

ne e

lect

oral

ass

ets t

o th

eir p

arty

.

At th

e sa

me

time,

detra

ctor

s wou

ld a

lso m

ake

the

poin

t(a

s the

UN

P do

es so

exp

licitl

y), t

hat P

resid

ent

Kum

arat

unga

suffe

rs fro

m su

ch a

sens

e of

ent

itlem

ent t

oth

e lea

dersh

ip o

f the

cou

ntry

that

she

wou

ld e

ven

cont

empl

ate

a co

nstit

utio

nal r

evol

utio

n in

ord

er to

cont

inue

in o

ffice

afte

r her

con

stitu

tiona

lly li

mite

d tw

ote

rms a

re o

ver.

How

ever

unk

ind

the

impu

tatio

n of

mot

ive,

it is

inco

ntro

verti

ble

that

Sri

Lank

an g

over

nmen

tsan

d po

litic

al lea

ders

have

em

ploy

ed th

e m

ost e

thic

ally

inde

fens

ible

met

hods

to p

rolo

ng in

cum

benc

y. Si

rimao

Band

aran

aike

gav

e he

rself

two

extra

yea

rs (1

975

- 197

7),

and

J. R.

Jaya

war

dene

ext

ende

d th

e lif

e of

a p

arlia

men

t in

whi

ch h

e en

joye

d a

five-

sixth

maj

ority

thro

ugh

are

fere

ndum

. In

Kum

arat

unga

's ca

se, h

er g

over

nmen

t'sC

onsti

tutio

n Bi

ll of

Aug

ust 2

000

colla

psed

in P

arlia

men

tbe

caus

e of

the

pres

iden

t's p

lans t

o us

e tra

nsiti

onal

prov

ision

s of t

he b

ill to

giv

e he

rself

seve

ral e

xtra

yea

rs in

offic

e. In

doi

ng so

, the

UN

P w

as g

iven

the

open

ing

todi

ssoci

ate

itself

from

the

bill,

whi

ch it

had

spen

t fiv

e ye

ars

help

ing

to d

raft

in a

par

liam

enta

ry se

lect c

omm

ittee

. Suc

hpe

rnic

ious

con

stitu

tiona

l the

ories

as t

he d

octri

ne o

fne

cessi

ty h

ave

been

serio

usly

ent

erta

ined

by

her

gove

rnm

ent a

s pos

sible

mod

es o

f circ

umve

ntin

gPa

rliam

ent i

n th

e pr

oces

s of c

onsti

tutio

nal a

men

dmen

t,m

ost e

arne

stly

in th

e af

term

ath

of th

e ge

nera

l elec

tions

of

April

200

4. T

here

is a

reas

onab

le pr

obab

ility

that

aco

nstit

utio

nal r

evol

utio

n m

ay y

et b

e at

tem

pted

, with

peril

ous c

onse

quen

ces f

or th

e pe

ace

proc

ess,

inclu

ding

the

valid

atio

n of

sece

ssion

in th

e N

orth

-Eas

t.17

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

20

17S

ee f

or e

xam

ple:

A.

Wel

ikal

a, (

2004

) "M

anda

te,

Proc

ess

and

an I

nter

im C

onst

itut

ion

as M

odus

Viv

endi

," D

aily

Mir

ror

(Col

ombo

), M

arch

26,

200

4; D

r. J.

Wic

kram

arat

ne (2

004)

"Pe

ople

hav

e a

fina

l say

in a

dopt

ing

new

Con

stit

utio

n,"

Dai

ly N

ews

(Col

ombo

), M

ay 1

5, 2

004;

Dr.

N. J

ayaw

ickr

ama

(200

4), "

No

lega

l

basi

s fo

r co

nsti

tuen

t as

sem

bly,

" S

unda

y Le

ader

(Col

ombo

), A

pril

18, 2

004;

Pro

f. L

. Mar

asin

ghe

(200

4) "

Con

stit

utio

nalis

m c

onfu

sed:

the

doc

trin

e of

nec

essi

ty

vs. K

else

n's

pure

the

ory

of la

w,"

Dai

ly N

ews

(Col

ombo

), M

ay 5

, 200

4; D

r. S

. Liy

anag

e (2

004)

"C

onst

itue

nt a

ssem

bly

as a

par

alle

l pea

ce p

roce

ss,"

Dai

ly M

irro

r

(Col

ombo

), Ju

ne 2

6, 2

004;

Pro

f. L

. Fe

rnan

do (

2004

) "L

egit

imac

y of

a c

onst

itut

ion,

" D

aily

New

s (C

olom

bo),

June

9,

2004

; S

tate

men

t by

Pro

f. G

. L.

Pei

ris

MP

on b

ehal

f of

the

Uni

ted

Nat

iona

l Par

ty o

n th

e pr

opos

ed C

onst

itue

nt A

ssem

bly

to e

ffec

t ch

ange

s to

the

Con

stit

utio

n, A

pril

25, 2

004.

The

use

of N

orth

-Eas

t th

roug

hout

thi

s re

port

rec

ogni

ses

the

cont

este

d na

ture

of

the

term

. “N

orth

east

” or

“N

orth

and

Eas

t” w

ould

den

ote

diff

eren

t po

litic

al

appr

oche

s to

the

asp

irat

ions

of

Tam

il na

tion

alis

m.

Page 24: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

How

ever

, the

SLF

P's r

elia

nce

on p

atro

nage

, ind

ivid

ual

lead

ersh

ip, c

haris

ma,

and

star

pla

yers

has

also

suffu

sed

the

seco

nd ti

er o

f the

par

ty, w

ith su

ch fi

gure

s as F

elix

Dia

s Ban

dara

naik

e, C

. P. d

e Si

lva,

Mai

thrip

ala

Sena

naya

ke, T

. B. I

llang

arat

ne, M

ahin

da R

ajap

akse

, S.

B. D

issan

ayak

e, a

nd M

anga

la S

amar

awee

ra.

Con

sequ

ently

, the

SLF

P's o

rgan

izatio

nal c

apac

ity is

perh

aps o

ne o

f the

wea

kest

amon

g Sr

i Lan

kan

polit

ical

part

ies.

All i

ndic

ator

s of i

ntra

-par

ty in

stitu

tions

and

dem

ocra

cy p

oint

to a

disa

ppoi

ntin

g sc

ore

card

, with

ala

ck o

f cla

rity

on su

ch b

asic

info

rmat

ion

as m

embe

rshi

pfig

ures

. Les

s sur

prisi

ngly,

fina

ncia

l inf

orm

atio

n is

even

mor

e ob

scur

e. T

he u

neas

y re

latio

nshi

p be

twee

n th

eSL

FP a

nd JV

P w

ithin

the

curr

ent U

PFA

gove

rnm

ent i

sno

t onl

y du

e to

fund

amen

tal p

olic

y in

cong

ruiti

es; t

here

is al

so a

dim

ensio

n of

SLF

P in

secu

rity

in th

e fa

ce o

f the

JVP'

s muc

h pu

blic

ized

orga

niza

tiona

l effi

cien

cy. I

n fa

ct,

even

Lak

shm

an K

adirg

amar

, for

eign

min

ister

,pr

esid

entia

l con

fidan

t, an

d ke

y ar

chite

ct o

f the

UPF

A,ha

s des

crib

ed h

is ow

n pa

rty

as "

tired

, fla

bby,

and

corr

upt."

Suc

h an

indi

ctm

ent f

rom

with

in it

s ow

n ra

nks

is te

lling

of t

he w

ider

pol

itica

l cris

is th

at c

urre

ntly

affli

cts t

he S

LFP.

Man

y of

the

part

y's d

iffic

ultie

s lie

inba

lanc

ing

its ro

le a

s a p

arty

of g

over

nanc

e an

dco

nstit

utio

nal c

hang

e w

ith a

"tr

aditi

onal

" im

age

that

has

been

ass

ocia

ted

with

stat

ism a

nd S

inha

la B

uddh

istna

tiona

lism

. It i

s an

impe

dim

ent t

hat h

as re

cent

lyas

sum

ed h

eigh

tene

d pr

opor

tions

due

to th

e co

ncom

itant

rise

of th

e JV

P as

a p

arty

that

fulfi

ls al

l the

SLF

P's p

ast

stren

gths

with

new

vig

or.

Alth

ough

the

lega

cy o

f its

lead

ersh

ip o

f Sin

hala

Budd

hist

nat

iona

lism

rem

aine

d w

ith th

e SL

FP w

ell

into

the

early

199

0s--

durin

g w

hich

tim

e it

oppo

sed

even

a li

mite

d sc

hem

e of

dev

olut

ion

offe

red

by th

eT

hirt

eent

h Am

endm

ent a

nd th

e In

do-L

anka

Acc

ord

of19

87--

a fa

r-re

achi

ng c

hang

e in

the

SLFP

's st

ance

on

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct h

as o

ccur

red.

Beg

inni

ng in

199

3,C

hand

rika

Kum

arat

unga

's SL

FP w

as a

ble

to p

ersu

ade

the

sout

hern

con

stitu

ency

that

Tam

il gr

ieva

nces

wer

ele

gitim

ate

and

that

a su

stai

nabl

e, d

urab

le p

eace

cou

ldon

ly c

ome

abou

t thr

ough

a p

roce

ss o

f neg

otia

tion

and

cons

titut

iona

l pow

er-s

harin

g. A

ssoc

iate

d w

ith th

eSL

FP-le

d Pe

ople

's Al

lianc

e (P

A) w

ere

the

Sri L

anka

npe

ace

cons

titue

ncy-

-jour

nalis

ts, a

cade

mic

s, N

GO

s, an

dci

vil s

ocie

ty a

ctiv

ists-

-who

wer

e in

stru

men

tal i

nso

urci

ng th

e PA

with

con

cept

ual a

rgum

ents

and

rhet

oric

with

whi

ch to

pur

sue

an a

ggre

ssiv

e po

licy

on a

nego

tiate

d pe

ace.

In it

s ear

ly st

ages

, the

PA

gove

rnm

ent

was

cha

ract

eriz

ed b

y su

cces

sful i

nitia

tives

des

igne

d to

info

rm th

e so

uthe

rn p

olity

abo

ut n

on-n

atio

nalis

t,rig

hts-

base

d ex

plan

atio

ns o

f con

flict

form

atio

n an

d th

em

eans

of r

esol

utio

n. W

hile

this

bid

for p

eace

and

cons

titut

iona

l ref

orm

soon

col

laps

ed in

to th

e m

ire o

f a"d

ual t

rack

" "w

ar fo

r pea

ce"

stra

tegy

, the

PA

was

and

cont

inue

s to

be in

telle

ctua

lly c

omm

itted

to a

nego

tiate

d pe

ace

alon

g fe

dera

list l

ines

. Nev

erth

eles

s, as

with

the

UN

P, th

e SL

FP/P

A ha

ve n

ot e

ntire

ly d

epar

ted

from

mom

ents

of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t str

ateg

y an

dm

obili

zatio

n. T

his h

as b

een

mos

t app

aren

t in

atte

mpt

sto

shor

e up

a fl

aggi

ng p

arlia

men

tary

maj

ority

thro

ugh

agre

emen

ts w

ith th

e JV

P w

hile

in o

ffice

and

inat

tem

pts t

o un

derm

ine

the

UN

P-le

d pe

ace

bid

of 2

001

to 2

004

in th

e ru

n up

to th

e U

PFA

elec

tora

l vic

tory

of

2004

. Suc

h m

achi

natio

ns a

re e

vide

nced

thro

ugh

both

its fo

rgin

g of

the

UPF

A co

aliti

on a

nd p

artic

ipat

ion

inSi

nhal

a na

tiona

list m

obili

zatio

n th

roug

h m

ovem

ents

such

as t

he P

atrio

tic N

atio

nal M

ovem

ent (

PNM

).

THE

SLFP

, THE

UN

P, A

ND

CON

TEM

PORA

RY P

EACE

PROC

ESSE

S IN

COM

PARA

TIVE

PER

SPEC

TIVE

Wha

t we

have

so fa

r tra

ced

is a

brie

f ove

rvie

w o

f the

UN

P an

d SL

FP p

artie

s and

thei

r rel

atio

nshi

p to

the

state

, soc

iety

, nat

iona

lism

, dev

elop

men

t, an

d th

epr

ospe

cts f

or p

eace

in S

ri La

nka.

How

ever

, mor

e de

taile

dan

alys

is of

con

tem

pora

ry a

ttem

pts a

t pea

ce n

egot

iatio

nan

d co

nstit

utio

nal r

efor

m is

also

requ

ired

in o

rder

toun

ders

tand

the

curr

ent d

ynam

ics a

nd c

onte

xts f

orpe

aceb

uild

ing,

and

wha

t les

sons

mig

ht b

e le

arne

d fro

mpa

st at

tem

pts t

o in

stitu

te ra

dica

l cha

nge

into

the

hith

erto

pre

dom

inan

tly m

ajor

itaria

n m

achi

natio

ns o

f the

sout

hern

pol

ity.

21|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

Page 25: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

As w

e ha

ve st

ated

abo

ve, t

he P

A's a

scen

t to

pow

erin

itial

ly sp

elle

d th

e de

mise

of a

per

iod

of U

NP

rule

that

had

been

cha

ract

erize

d by

aut

horit

aria

nism

, bru

tal

coun

ter-

insu

rgen

cy p

ract

ices

, and

a la

ck o

f res

pect

for

hum

an ri

ghts

issue

s. Ac

cord

ingl

y, K

umar

atun

ga's

asce

ntto

pow

er w

as a

revi

taliz

atio

n bo

th fo

r the

SLF

P an

d fo

rth

e ci

vil s

ocie

ty g

roup

s in

favo

r of a

mea

ning

ful p

eace

proc

ess.18

Non

ethe

less

, des

pite

the

PA's

com

mitm

ent t

ope

ace,

neg

otia

tions

bro

ke d

own

due

to th

e LT

TE'

sin

tran

sigen

ce a

s wel

l as t

he g

over

nmen

t's in

com

pete

nce

in th

e "t

alks

abo

ut ta

lks"

dur

ing

early

199

5. T

his

spaw

ned

a po

licy

real

ignm

ent i

n th

e PA

--th

e "w

ar fo

rpe

ace"

stra

tegy

-- th

at c

alle

d fo

r a "

dual

" ap

proa

ch to

solv

ing

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct: d

efea

t or c

onta

in th

e LT

TE

mili

taril

y w

hile

offe

ring

the T

amil

peop

le c

onsti

tutio

nal

optio

ns fo

r mee

ting

legi

timat

e as

pira

tions

for r

egio

nal

auto

nom

y. T

his "

dual

trac

k" st

rate

gy re

sulte

d in

the

wor

st in

tens

ifica

tion

of th

e m

ilita

ry c

onfli

ct, w

hich

occu

rred

bet

wee

n 19

95 a

nd 2

001.

It e

nded

with

wha

tha

s bee

n de

scrib

ed a

s a st

alem

ate

by P

A ap

olog

ists,

but

whi

ch--

in v

iew

of t

he si

gnifi

cant

gai

ns o

f the

LT

TE

and

the

inab

ility

of t

he st

ate

to re

asse

rt it

self

in th

e N

orth

-Ea

st--in

fact

cre

ated

a p

arity

of m

ilita

ry st

reng

th a

nd a

bala

nce

of p

oliti

cal p

ower

that

ena

bled

the

LTT

E to

conc

lude

a c

ease

fire

agre

emen

t in

early

200

2 w

ith th

ene

w U

NP

gove

rnm

ent.

The

LT

TE

wou

ld n

ot h

ave

ente

red

into

a c

ease

fire

agre

emen

t fro

m a

pos

ition

of

mili

tary

wea

knes

s.19T

he p

ursu

it of

this

"dua

l tra

ck"

"war

for p

eace

" str

ateg

y al

so le

d to

the

depa

rtur

e of

signi

fican

t civ

il so

ciet

y fig

ures

that

had

hel

ped

to sw

eep

Kum

arat

unga

's PA

coa

litio

n in

to p

ower

in 1

994.

At t

hesa

me

time

the

PA's

draf

t con

stitu

tiona

l bill

of A

ugus

t20

00 w

as d

erai

led

by th

e U

NP,

Sang

ha, a

nd JV

Pop

posit

ion

(Gho

sh, 2

003,

p.1

89).

Whi

le th

e la

tter h

adju

stifia

ble

reas

ons f

or o

ppos

ing

it, th

is w

as n

onet

hele

ssye

t ano

ther

exa

mpl

e of

the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s' et

erna

lte

nden

cy to

try

and

unde

rmin

e ea

ch o

ther

in th

e pu

rsui

tof

pow

er a

nd a

t the

exp

ense

of c

onsti

tutio

nal r

efor

m.

Follo

win

g th

e in

tens

ifica

tion

of th

e co

nflic

t in

the

2000

-20

01 p

erio

d, th

e so

uthe

rn e

lect

orat

e ga

ve a

cle

arm

anda

te to

Wic

krem

asin

ghe's

UN

P le

d-co

aliti

on, t

heU

NF.

The

coa

litio

n in

clud

ed th

e Sr

i Lan

ka M

uslim

Con

gres

s, C

eylo

n W

orke

rs C

ongr

ess (

CW

C),

and

UPF

;as

wel

l as t

he su

ppor

t bro

ught

ove

r by

seve

ral p

rom

inen

tPA

pol

itici

ans,

who

in c

ross

ing

over

to th

e op

posit

ion

inJu

ne 2

001

had

caus

ed P

resid

ent K

umar

atun

ga to

lose

her p

arlia

men

tary

maj

ority

. C

onse

quen

tly, a

per

iod

inw

hich

the

PA h

ad b

een

asso

ciat

ed w

ith c

onsti

tutio

nal

over

haul

had

pas

sed

with

out a

ny o

f the

obj

ectiv

es o

f the

dual

trac

k str

ateg

y ha

ving

bee

n ac

hiev

ed, l

eavi

ng th

eSL

FP in

som

e di

sarr

ay.

It w

as in

this

cont

ext t

hat t

helim

ited

enga

gem

ent f

or c

oope

ratio

n be

twee

n th

e PA

and

JVP

refe

rred

to a

bove

was

firs

t env

isage

d, w

here

by th

eJV

P w

ould

vot

e w

ith th

e go

vern

men

t on

criti

cal i

ssue

s,w

ithou

t joi

ning

the

gove

rnm

ent o

r acc

eptin

g ex

ecut

ive

offic

e. T

his w

as th

e so

-cal

led

"Par

ivas

a An

duw

a"(p

roba

tiona

ry g

over

nmen

t), w

hich

hel

d on

for a

few

mon

ths b

efor

e th

e po

litic

al fa

llout

of t

he a

irpor

t atta

cks

prec

ipita

ted

a ge

nera

l ele

ctio

n an

d th

e in

stalla

tion

of th

eU

NF

gove

rnm

ent.

Con

sequ

ently

, the

SLF

P be

gan

tore

ly o

n th

e JV

P to

shor

e up

its f

lagg

ing

polit

ical

cond

ition

, whi

le th

e JV

P sim

ulta

neou

sly b

egan

to e

atin

to th

e SL

FP's

cons

titue

ncy.

The

JVP

has s

ucce

eded

inth

is re

gard

bec

ause

it w

as n

ot a

fraid

to v

ocal

ize it

sal

legi

ance

to a

n un

dilu

ted

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

m a

nd a

criti

que

of d

evol

utio

n an

d co

nstit

utio

nal c

hang

e. In

doin

g so

it c

apita

lized

on

the

grou

ndsw

ells

of S

inha

lana

tiona

lism

in a

way

in w

hich

the

SLFP

, as a

par

ty o

fgo

vern

ance

, was

incr

easin

gly

cons

trai

ned

from

doi

ng.

Con

sequ

ently

, the

UN

P w

on th

e ge

nera

l elec

tions

inD

ecem

ber 2

001

on a

plat

form

of n

egot

iatin

g a

peac

eful

settl

emen

t to

the

ethn

ic co

nflic

t. W

hile

this

mig

ht b

e se

enas

a te

stam

ent t

o th

e ra

dica

lly c

hang

ed id

eolo

gica

l nat

ure

of th

e U

NF

appr

oach

to th

e pe

ace

proc

ess,

we

shou

ldun

derst

and

inste

ad th

e se

ries o

f int

erlo

ckin

g dy

nam

ics, o

fgo

vern

men

tal a

nd e

cono

mic

nece

ssity

as w

ell a

s hist

orica

l

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

22

18It

sho

uld

also

be

note

d th

at t

he P

A c

ampa

ign

enco

urag

ed t

he r

etur

n of

the

JV

P in

the

Sou

th (

albe

it u

nder

a d

iffe

rent

mon

iker

) as

par

t of

its

str

ateg

y to

disc

redi

t 17

yea

rs o

f U

NP

rule

.

19S

ee T

. Fer

dina

nds,

K. R

upes

ingh

e, P

. Sar

avan

mut

tu, J

. Uyn

goda

& N

. Rop

ers

(200

4) T

he S

ri L

anka

n Pe

ace

Proc

ess

at a

Cro

ssro

ads

(CPA

, Col

ombo

).

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cont

inge

ncy

that

face

d th

e U

NF

regi

me

at th

e tim

e. Fi

rst,

the

UN

P un

der R

anil

Wick

rem

asin

ghe

emer

ged

as a

par

tyth

at h

ad re

turn

ed to

the

mol

d of

bus

ines

s-orie

nted

and

angl

icize

d eli

te le

ader

ship

afte

r the

stat

ist, p

opul

ist, b

utul

timat

ely a

utho

ritar

ian le

ader

ship

of t

he P

rem

adas

a ye

ars.

Thi

s pro

cess

bega

n in

the

early

199

0s w

ith P

rem

adas

a'sde

mise

and

the

form

atio

n of

the

Dem

ocra

tic U

nite

dN

atio

nal F

ront

off-

shoo

t. It

signa

led a

tens

ion

betw

een,

on

the

one

hand

, the

mor

e an

glici

zed

"tra

ditio

nal"

UN

P eli

tes

and

the

popu

list s

tyle

and

supp

ort-b

ase

of P

rem

adas

a; an

d,on

the

othe

r, be

twee

n th

e m

ore

func

tiona

l bus

ines

s-or

iente

d fa

ctio

ns o

f the

par

ty a

nd P

rem

adas

a's st

atist

and

inte

rven

tioni

st ap

proa

ch.20

The

UN

P un

der R

anil

Wick

rem

asin

ghe

has c

ome

to e

mbo

dy a

par

ticul

arly

ope

nre

spon

se to

glo

baliz

atio

n, li

nkin

g a

sect

ion

of th

e Si

nhala

elite

to th

e fo

rces

of g

loba

l cap

ital i

n a

way

that

is n

olo

nger

as r

elian

t on

natio

n-sta

te c

once

ptio

ns o

fde

velo

pmen

t as i

t was

und

er P

rem

adas

a, fo

r ins

tanc

e(U

yang

oda,

2005

). As

a re

sult,

the

UN

P, fo

r pra

gmat

ican

d fu

nctio

nal r

easo

ns, s

aw "

nego

tiate

d pe

ace

as th

e on

lyw

ay fo

rwar

d fo

r Sri

Lank

a's fu

rther

inte

grat

ion

with

the

glob

al ec

onom

y."21

Thi

s fac

ilita

ted

an e

asy

rejec

tion

ofK

umar

atun

ga's

"war

for p

eace

" str

ateg

y in

the

inte

rest

oflo

ng-te

rm e

cono

mic

grow

th a

nd d

evelo

pmen

t.

To th

e U

NF

coal

ition

it w

as a

lso p

ainf

ully

obv

ious

that

Cha

ndrik

a K

umar

atun

ga's

strat

egy,

whi

le n

o do

ubt

crea

ting

a th

rivin

g m

ilita

ristic

war

-eco

nom

y,22w

as a

lsore

spon

sible

for t

he h

uge

loss

of l

ife a

mon

g th

e po

ores

tse

ctio

ns o

f soc

iety

, and

had

stifl

ed e

cono

mic

alte

rnat

ives

avai

labl

e to

Sri

Lank

a's e

cono

my.

Mor

eove

r, it

had

not

prov

ided

any

way

out

of t

he c

ount

ry's

high

ly u

neve

nde

velo

pmen

t, po

vert

y, an

d ec

onom

ic v

ulne

rabi

lity.

The

mili

tary

stal

emat

e an

d "s

trat

egic

sym

met

ry o

f pow

erbe

twee

n th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

state

and

the

LTT

E" re

sulti

ng

from

Kum

arat

unga

's str

ateg

y ha

d on

ly a

dded

to th

ere

cogn

ition

that

a m

ilita

ry so

lutio

n w

as n

o lo

nger

avi

able

long

-term

solu

tion

to S

ri La

nka'

s pol

itica

l,ec

onom

ic, a

nd so

cial

pro

blem

s (U

yang

oda,

200

5). T

hew

ar a

ppea

red

basic

ally

unw

inna

ble.

It w

as a

lso h

ighl

yap

pare

nt a

mon

g a

wid

e ra

nge

of c

omm

enta

tors

that

som

e le

vel o

f fra

gmen

tatio

n of

a u

nita

ry S

ri La

nka

was

inev

itabl

e. If

any

uni

ty w

as to

be

pres

erve

d, th

ey a

rgue

d,fe

dera

list a

nd d

evol

utio

nary

solu

tions

shou

ld b

e fo

und

in c

onju

nctio

n w

ith p

eace

talk

s with

the

LTT

E.23

Anot

her f

acto

r at p

lay

was

the

syste

m o

f Pro

port

iona

lRe

pres

enta

tion

(PR

) int

rodu

ced

by Ja

yaw

arde

ne in

1978

. As t

his s

yste

m in

crea

singl

y be

nefit

ed th

e sm

alle

ran

d m

inor

ity-b

ased

par

ties,

the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s wer

eno

long

er a

s abl

e to

dep

end

upon

Sin

hala

nat

iona

list

ethn

ic o

ut-b

iddi

ng to

car

ry th

em th

roug

h el

ectio

ns a

ndpe

riods

of o

ffice

. Wha

t has

bec

ome

incr

easin

gly

clea

r is

that

with

PR

the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s hav

e ha

d to

ope

rate

with

out s

igni

fican

t par

liam

enta

ry m

ajor

ities

and

so, h

ave

relie

d on

man

y of

the

smal

ler a

nd m

inor

ity p

artie

s to

act

as k

ingm

aker

s for

the

esta

blish

men

t and

mai

nten

ance

of

gove

rnm

ent (

Goo

dhan

d et

al.,

200

5, p

p. 2

4-26

). T

his

has b

roug

ht th

e U

NP

and

the

SLFP

aw

ay fr

om m

ore

vehe

men

t and

ove

rt S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t mob

iliza

tion

tow

ard

the

cent

er-g

roun

d in

ord

er to

cou

rt th

e m

inor

itypa

rtie

s for

coa

litio

n m

akin

g. A

t the

sam

e tim

e it

has

prov

ed a

Sisy

phea

n ta

sk to

intro

duce

con

stitu

tiona

lch

ange

due

to th

e im

poss

ibili

ty o

f atta

inin

g th

e re

quisi

tetw

o-th

irds m

ajor

ity in

Par

liam

ent.

It is

in th

is sta

ticpo

litic

al c

onte

xt th

at th

e ba

ton

of o

vert

nat

iona

list

mob

iliza

tion

has b

een

pass

ed to

the

smal

ler a

nd m

ore

extre

me

natio

nalis

t act

ors l

ike

the

SU/J

HU

and

the

JVP.

The

Uru

may

a co

mbi

ne c

an a

lso b

e se

en a

s em

ergi

ngge

neal

ogic

ally

out

of t

he U

NP

cons

titue

ncy

and

the

23|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

20Fo

r ex

ampl

e, t

his

view

is t

aken

by

K.D

. Bus

h (2

003)

The

Intr

a-G

roup

Dim

ensi

ons

of E

thni

c C

onfl

ict

in S

ri L

anka

: Lea

rnin

g to

Rea

d be

twee

n th

e Li

nes

(Pal

grav

e

Mac

mill

an, L

ondo

n), p

p.58

-59.

21J.

Uya

ngod

a, "

Thre

e Ye

ars

afte

r th

e C

ease

fire

Agr

eem

ent:

Whe

re h

ave

we

gone

?"

Dai

ly M

irro

r (C

olom

bo) M

arch

18,

200

5.

22S

ee K

.D. B

ush

(200

3) T

he In

tra-

Gro

up D

imen

sion

s of

Eth

nic

Con

flic

t in

Sri

Lan

ka: L

earn

ing

to R

ead

betw

een

the

Line

s (P

algr

ave

Mac

mill

an, L

ondo

n), p

p. 1

58-

159.

See

als

o D

. W

insl

ow a

nd M

icha

el D

. W

oost

(20

04)

"Art

icul

atio

ns o

f Ec

onom

y an

d Et

hnic

Con

flic

t in

Sri

Lan

ka"

in D

. W

insl

ow a

nd M

icha

el D

. W

oost

(eds

.) Ec

onom

y, C

ultu

re a

nd C

ivil

War

in S

ri L

anka

(Ind

iana

Uni

vers

ity

Pres

s, B

loom

ingt

on),

pp. 1

-30.

23S

ee f

or in

stan

ce t

he r

emit

of

the

Man

gala

Moo

nesi

nghe

Com

mit

tee,

whi

ch a

imed

to

find

a p

olit

ical

sol

utio

n to

the

eth

nic

ques

tion

in o

rder

to

"pre

vent

the

disi

nteg

rati

on o

f th

e na

tion

" in

P. G

hosh

(200

3) E

thni

city

ver

sus

Nat

iona

lism

: The

Dev

olut

ion

Dis

cour

se in

Sri

Lan

ka (S

age,

New

Del

hi),

p.14

2.

Page 27: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

alie

natio

n ca

used

by

the

UN

P's d

ecisi

ve sh

ift to

war

d th

ene

ed fo

r con

stitu

tiona

l ref

orm

, as w

ell a

s a p

eace

pro

cess

that

, in

turn

, inf

lam

ed th

e "s

mal

l isla

nder

" in

secu

ritie

s at

the

hear

t of S

inha

la B

uddh

ist n

atio

nalis

m.24

Con

sequ

ently

, the

UN

P sh

ift a

nd p

assin

g of

the

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t bat

on c

anno

t be

read

as s

prou

ting

from

ara

dica

l ide

olog

ical

tran

sform

atio

n w

ithin

the

supp

ort

base

or e

ven

mem

bers

hip

of th

e pa

rty.

Rat

her i

t mus

t be

seen

as a

pra

gmat

ic re

spon

se to

cha

nges

in th

e po

litic

al,

soci

al, e

cono

mic

, and

mili

tary

land

scap

e at

the

time.

Itis

ther

efor

e no

t pos

sible

to c

laim

(as s

ome

have

don

ew

ithin

the

part

y)25

that

the

UN

P w

ill n

ot u

nder

goan

othe

r pen

dulu

m sw

ing

with

in it

s ow

n ra

nks o

r pol

icy

pers

pect

ives

whe

n Si

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

st un

derc

urre

nts a

gain

bubb

le to

the

surfa

ce. I

ndee

d, a

s lon

g as

Sin

hala

natio

nalis

t und

ercu

rren

ts an

d an

xiet

ies e

xist

with

in th

eso

uthe

rn p

olity

, the

UN

P lik

e ev

ery

othe

r act

or w

ill h

ave

to re

spon

d to

them

thro

ugh

appe

asem

ent,

conf

ront

atio

n, o

r iso

latio

n.

The

UN

P-le

d U

NF

adm

inist

ratio

n to

ok su

bsta

ntia

l risk

sdu

ring

the

peac

e pr

oces

s bet

wee

n 20

01-2

004.

The

initi

alsig

ning

of a

cea

sefir

e ag

reem

ent a

nd th

e bu

ildin

g of

aco

nsen

sus b

etw

een

the

Gov

ernm

ent o

f Sri

Lank

a(G

oSL)

and

the

LTT

E re

gard

ing

the

form

and

impl

emen

tatio

n of

CBM

(inc

ludi

ng th

e ba

sis fo

r thi

rdpa

rty

med

iatio

n an

d th

e Sr

i Lan

ka M

onito

ring

Miss

ion’s

peac

e m

onito

ring)

, res

ulte

d in

the

long

est c

ease

fire

inth

e hi

story

of t

he c

onfli

ct. T

he in

itial

frui

t of t

his

fram

ewor

k ha

d "i

mm

edia

te, v

isibl

e, a

nd p

ositi

ve im

pact

son

live

s and

live

lihoo

ds th

roug

hout

the

islan

d" (B

ush,

2003

, pp.

158-

159)

. The

re w

as a

gra

dual

isla

nd-w

ide

dem

ilita

rizat

ion

and

in c

onfli

ct-a

ffect

ed a

reas

ther

e w

asle

ss re

stric

ted

mov

emen

t of p

eopl

e an

d go

ods,

as w

ell a

sso

me

limite

d ai

d an

d re

cons

truc

tion.

Thi

s has

bee

nch

arac

teriz

ed a

s a "

deve

lopm

ent f

or p

eace

" in

itiat

ive

inw

hich

the

norm

aliza

tion,

eco

nom

ic d

evel

opm

ent,

and

de-e

scal

atio

n of

con

flict

cre

ated

a m

ore

stabl

e co

ntex

t for

deve

lopi

ng lo

ng-te

rm in

stitu

tiona

lized

fram

ewor

ks fo

rpe

ace.

Nev

erth

eless,

the

UN

F in

itiat

ive

can

also

be c

ritici

zed

on a

num

ber o

f cou

nts.

It is

clear

that

the

gove

rnm

ent a

t tha

ttim

e de

liber

ately

set o

ut o

n a

peac

e pr

oces

s with

a ta

bula

rasa

rega

rdin

g w

hat c

onsti

tutio

nal f

ram

ewor

k m

ight

form

the

basis

for d

iscus

sion.

As o

ne sc

holar

has

not

ed, "

the

impl

icatio

n w

as th

at c

onsti

tutio

nal c

hang

es sh

ould

follo

wfro

m ra

ther

than

pre

cede

talk

s with

the

LTT

E" (I

bid,

p.

160)

. The

UN

P ap

proa

ched

talk

s with

onl

y on

epr

econ

ditio

n: to

avo

id th

e di

sinte

grat

ion

of th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

state

. Whi

le th

is m

ight

seem

a p

ragm

atic

appr

oach

tope

aceb

uild

ing,

wha

t act

ually

tran

spire

d w

as th

at th

e G

oSL

hesit

ated

in d

raw

ing

up a

nyth

ing

othe

r tha

n a

very

min

imali

st pr

opos

al th

at w

as "

prim

arily

adm

inist

rativ

e in

natu

re"

and

writ

ten

from

with

in th

e ex

istin

g co

nstit

utio

nal

struc

ture

(Fer

dina

nds e

t al.,

200

4, p

.18)

. Thi

s han

ded

the

initi

ativ

e to

the

LTT

E w

ho re

spon

ded

by p

lacin

g th

eIn

terim

Self

-Gov

erni

ng A

utho

rity

(ISG

A) o

n th

e ta

ble

- an

undi

lute

d m

axim

alist,

eth

no-n

atio

nalis

t fra

mew

ork

that

bega

n to

unr

avel

the

basis

for p

eace

talk

s in

the

sout

hern

polit

y du

e to

the

hosti

le re

spon

se it

rece

ived

in th

e m

edia

and

amon

g m

oder

ate

and

natio

nalis

t elem

ents.

Whi

le th

eea

rlier

PA

peac

e in

itiat

ive

floun

dere

d by

faili

ng to

impl

emen

t an

envi

ronm

ent f

or p

eace

and

CBM

, the

oppo

site

was

the

case

with

the

UN

F in

itiat

ive.

Thi

s may

well

hav

e un

derm

ined

Wick

rem

asin

ghe's

pea

ce p

roce

ss,w

hich

ulti

mat

ely st

raye

d fro

m th

e pr

incip

les o

utlin

ed in

the

Oslo

com

mun

iqué

.

Seco

nd, w

hat t

he U

NP

did

not d

o--p

artic

ular

ly in

the

area

s of b

uild

ing

publ

ic su

ppor

t for

fede

ralis

m in

the

Sout

h an

d at

tent

ion

to h

uman

righ

ts iss

ues--

is als

o th

esu

bjec

t of d

ebat

e.26N

otew

orth

y in

this

rega

rd is

the

fact

that

ther

e is

no in

dica

tion

of a

n id

ealis

tic c

omm

itmen

t to

cons

titut

iona

l ref

orm

and

mul

ticul

tura

lism

or g

rand

iose

visio

ns o

f eth

nic

reco

ncili

atio

n an

d ju

stice

with

in th

eU

NP.

Rath

er, w

hat i

s evi

dent

is th

e pr

imac

y of

a

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

24

24A

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h B

radm

an W

eera

koon

, Mar

ch 2

004.

25A

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h H

emak

umar

a N

anay

akka

ra M

P, M

arch

200

4.

26A

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h Pr

of. G

. L. P

eiri

s M

P.

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func

tiona

l atti

tude

to c

onfli

ct re

solu

tion.

The

cea

sefir

ean

d ne

gotia

tions

on

a co

nstit

utio

nal s

ettle

men

t the

nbe

cam

e m

erely

nec

essa

ry st

eps f

or th

e re

stora

tion

ofpo

litic

al sta

bilit

y an

d th

e ab

senc

e of

a c

ostly

war

. As s

uch

they

wer

e su

bord

inat

ed to

the

prim

ary

proj

ect o

fec

onom

ic re

form

and

acc

elera

tion-

-aim

s tha

t gen

uine

lyin

tere

sted

the

UN

P. W

hat m

ust a

lso b

e un

derst

ood

is th

atth

e U

NF-

led p

eace

bid

can

be

seen

to h

ave

been

exce

ssive

ly e

cono

mic

in it

s thr

ust a

nd la

ckin

g in

cons

ulta

tion

and

trans

pare

ncy.

In th

at se

nse

it re

peat

edth

e cla

ssic

econ

omist

ic m

isund

ersta

ndin

g th

at p

resu

med

that

"ra

pid

econ

omic

gro

wth

wou

ld b

e a

mor

e ef

fect

ive

antid

ote

to th

e 'et

hnic

con

flict

' tha

n de

batin

gco

nstit

utio

nal i

ssues

." It

is an

assu

mpt

ion

that

was

itse

lfba

sed

on "

the

idea

that

eco

nom

ics c

ould

be

sepa

rate

dfro

m p

oliti

cs--t

hat d

evelo

pmen

talis

m b

ore

no re

latio

nshi

pto

gov

erna

nce"

(Goo

dhan

d et

al.,

200

5, p

.19)

.

Thi

rd, o

ne c

an a

lso c

ite a

flaw

for w

hich

bot

h of

the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s mus

t be

held

par

tially

acc

ount

able

--th

e fa

ilure

to c

oope

rate

on

the

impl

emen

tatio

n of

the

peac

e pr

oces

s in

the

cont

ext o

f an

unpr

eced

ente

dpo

litic

al la

ndsc

ape.

Whi

le th

e hy

brid

Con

stitu

tion

of19

78 c

once

ptua

lly c

onte

mpl

ated

the

poss

ibili

ty o

fop

posit

iona

l par

ties c

ontro

lling

the

exec

utiv

e an

dle

gisla

tive

bran

ches

,27th

is w

as th

e fir

st tim

e th

at it

had

in fa

ct o

ccur

red.

It th

eref

ore

occa

sione

d a

thor

ough

re-

eval

uatio

n of

the

polit

ical

prin

cipl

es a

nd th

eco

nstit

utio

nal r

ules

of e

ngag

emen

t bet

wee

n th

e tw

obr

anch

es, w

here

a sy

stem

of "

coha

bita

tion"

per

haps

not

unlik

e th

e ty

pe th

e Fr

ench

had

dev

elop

ed d

urin

g th

e19

80s w

ould

be

mad

e po

ssib

le.28

Wha

t hap

pene

d in

stead

was

an

unea

sy a

nd a

t tim

esco

nfro

ntat

iona

l rel

atio

nshi

p be

twee

n th

e pr

esid

ent a

ndth

e ca

bine

t enj

oyin

g a

parli

amen

tary

maj

ority

. It i

sw

orth

whi

le re

visit

ing

som

e of

the

reas

ons f

or th

is

inab

ility

to c

oope

rate

on

gove

rnan

ce o

n th

e ba

sis o

feq

ually

val

id p

opul

ar m

anda

tes e

njoy

ed b

y bo

thbr

anch

es o

f the

stat

e. T

he P

A an

d th

e U

NF

are,

as c

anbe

gat

here

d fro

m th

e pr

eced

ing

disc

ussio

n, c

onsp

icuo

usby

thei

r rel

ativ

e co

ngru

ity a

t the

pol

icy

leve

l. In

this

sens

e, th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

polit

ical

par

ty sy

stem

, rei

nfor

ced

thro

ugh

the

pres

sure

s of P

R, h

as c

ome

to re

sem

ble

the

Wes

t, w

here

in p

oliti

cal c

ompe

titio

n is

mos

t int

ense

inth

e ba

ttle

for t

he c

ente

r. H

owev

er in

Sri

Lank

a, th

e"c

ente

r" is

an

elus

ive

terr

itory

that

the

two

part

ies

som

etim

es c

onte

mpo

rane

ously

occ

upy,

depe

ndin

g on

who

is m

ore

"rad

ical

" or

"co

nser

vativ

e" o

n a

give

n iss

ue.

Thu

s the

pol

itica

l cen

ter i

s ela

stic

at th

e sa

me

time

as it

is ne

bulo

us, i

n th

at it

may

incl

ude

natio

nalis

m a

s wel

l as

prag

mat

ism, o

r der

egul

atio

n (a

s a fe

atur

e of

the

com

mitm

ent t

o th

e fre

e m

arke

t) as

wel

l as p

rote

ctio

nism

(as a

n as

pect

of s

ocia

l dem

ocra

cy).

Nei

ther

of t

hese

polit

ical

or e

cono

mic

deb

ates

is u

nder

stood

in S

riLa

nkan

dem

ocra

cy a

s eve

n re

mot

ely

dich

otom

ous o

rev

en p

artic

ular

ly c

ontr

adic

tory

, whi

ch is

wha

t mak

esce

ntris

t par

ty p

oliti

cal b

ehav

ior s

o di

fficu

lt to

subj

ect t

oW

este

rn-s

tyle

und

ersta

ndin

g.

Thi

s is p

erha

ps to

be

expe

cted

in a

n es

sent

ially

cons

erva

tive

polit

y th

at h

as h

ither

to te

nded

to c

hoos

ego

vern

men

ts on

per

sona

litie

s and

mun

dane

issu

es o

fim

med

iate

con

cern

, rat

her t

han

on id

eolo

gy, c

onvi

ctio

n,or

ratio

nal p

ersu

asio

n. It

is th

us n

o su

rpris

e th

at w

hile

the

cons

erva

tive

onto

logy

can

qui

te c

omfo

rtab

lyac

com

mod

ate

natio

nalis

m, w

hich

thriv

es o

n ei

ther

side

of th

e et

hnic

div

ide,

pol

itica

l par

ties h

ave

lear

ned

that

othe

r typ

es o

f doc

trin

al ri

gor (

i.e.,

soci

alism

, lib

eral

dem

ocra

cy) m

ust b

e sa

crifi

ced

at th

e al

tar o

f ele

ctor

alsu

cces

s. O

n th

e qu

estio

n of

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct a

ndm

eans

of i

ts re

solu

tion,

the

posit

ions

of t

he P

A an

dU

NF

have

larg

ely

alw

ays b

een

the

sam

e. B

oth

agre

e th

atth

ere

is no

mili

tary

solu

tion

to th

e co

nflic

t and

that

a

25|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

27S

ee H

. M

. Za

frul

lah

(198

1) S

ri L

anka

's H

ybri

d Pr

esid

enti

al a

nd P

arlia

men

tary

Sys

tem

& S

epar

atio

n of

Pow

ers

Doc

trin

e (U

nive

rsit

y of

Mal

aya

Pres

s, K

uala

Lum

pur)

; R

. Ed

risi

nha

(200

0) "

Con

stit

utio

nalis

m a

nd t

he C

onst

itut

iona

l Ev

olut

ion

of S

ri L

anka

: 19

48 -

199

9,"

5th

Lect

ure

in t

he L

ectu

res

on C

ompa

rati

ve

Con

stit

utio

nalis

m in

Sou

th A

sia

Ser

ies

(Law

& S

ocie

ty T

rust

, Col

ombo

). Fo

r a

gene

ral i

ntro

duct

ion

to S

ri L

anka

's c

onst

itut

iona

l law

and

str

uctu

res,

see

J. A

.

L. C

oora

y (1

995)

Con

stit

utio

nal a

nd A

dmin

istr

ativ

e La

w o

f S

ri L

anka

(Sum

athi

, Col

ombo

).

28S

ee f

or a

con

tem

pora

ry a

ccou

nt o

f th

e vi

sion

of

the

cons

titu

tion

al d

raft

ers

A.

J. W

ilson

(19

80)

The

Gau

llist

Sys

tem

in

Asi

a: T

he C

onst

itut

ion

of S

ri L

anka

(197

8) (M

acm

illan

, Lon

don)

.

Page 29: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

polit

ical

settl

emen

t mus

t be

nego

tiate

d be

twee

npr

inci

pally

the

gove

rnm

ent a

nd th

e LT

TE.

Bot

h pa

rtie

sre

cogn

ize th

at th

ird p

arty

faci

litat

ion

is ne

cess

ary

in th

epe

ace

proc

ess,

and

have

reco

gnize

d N

orw

ay a

s bes

t-pl

aced

to p

lay

that

role

. The

y al

so a

gree

that

afu

ndam

enta

l res

truc

turin

g of

the

state

with

subs

tant

ial

devo

lutio

n to

the

regi

ons i

s cen

tral

to a

succ

essfu

lpo

litic

al se

ttlem

ent.

It w

ould

thus

app

ear t

hat t

here

wer

e w

ide

area

s of

cong

ruen

ce o

n w

hich

the

PA a

nd th

e U

NF

coul

d ha

veco

me

to a

n in

tere

st-ba

sed

acco

mm

odat

ion

for t

hepu

rpos

es o

f the

pea

ce p

roce

ss, i

f not

a c

ompr

ehen

sive

agen

da fo

r coh

abita

tion

gove

rnm

ent.

Tha

t thi

s did

not

happ

en, d

espi

te p

revi

ous a

ttem

pts a

t agr

eem

ents,

29

poin

ts to

the

zero

-sum

nat

ure

of S

ri La

nkan

dem

ocra

cyin

whi

ch p

oliti

cal p

artie

s can

not c

once

ive

of sh

arin

gcr

edit

for p

opul

ar a

chie

vem

ents.

Thi

s cul

ture

is so

perv

asiv

e th

at it

has

bee

n pa

rt o

f the

impr

oper

lyra

tiona

lized

dem

ocra

tic v

alue

syste

m u

pon

whi

ch th

ein

stitu

tiona

l str

uctu

re o

f the

Sri

Lank

an st

ate,

in it

sse

vera

l inc

arna

tions

, has

bee

n gr

ound

ed si

nce

inde

pend

ence

. It c

ontin

ues t

o en

sure

that

succ

eedi

ngge

nera

tions

are

con

tinuo

usly

robb

ed o

f opp

ortu

nitie

s to

rem

edy

that

ano

mal

ous v

alue

syste

m, t

o m

ake

the

state

wor

k fo

r citi

zens

as a

who

le, r

athe

r tha

n ju

st fo

r the

polit

ical

cla

ss th

at c

ontro

ls pu

blic

insti

tutio

ns.

Fina

lly--

whi

le w

e ha

ve to

uche

d on

the

prim

acy

of th

eec

onom

ic sp

here

vis-

à-vi

s the

UN

F-le

d pe

ace

proc

ess-

-w

hat i

s also

cle

ar is

that

eco

nom

ic p

erfo

rman

ce in

com

bina

tion

with

the

afor

emen

tione

d fa

ctor

s also

pla

yed

a pa

rt in

und

erm

inin

g th

e U

NF

regi

me,

and

with

itW

ickr

emas

ingh

e's p

eace

bid

. Alth

ough

ther

e ar

e no

long

er g

reat

diff

eren

ces b

etw

een

the

SLFP

/PA

and

the

UN

P/U

NF

in re

spec

t to

the

econ

omy

(oth

er th

an th

ePA

bei

ng m

ore

soci

al d

emoc

rat i

n ou

tlook

and

the

UN

Fm

ore

free-

mar

ket o

rient

ed),

this

did

not p

reve

nt th

eec

onom

y fro

m b

ecom

ing

a m

ajor

sour

ce o

f pol

itica

lte

nsio

n in

the

gene

ral e

lect

ions

of 2

004.

The

UPF

Aat

tack

ed th

e U

NF'

s doc

trin

aire

pro

gram

of e

cono

mic

liber

aliza

tion

embo

died

in th

e "R

egai

ning

Sri

Lank

a"do

cum

ent,

and

clai

med

that

cap

italis

m o

f the

kin

dpr

omot

ed b

y th

e U

NF

bene

fited

onl

y th

e af

fluen

t. T

his

struc

k a

reso

nant

cho

rd a

mon

g a

wid

e co

nstit

uenc

y of

Sri L

anka

ns b

elon

ging

to th

e lo

wer

mid

dle

clas

s,w

orki

ng c

lass

, and

the

peas

antr

y fo

r who

m w

elfa

re a

ndgo

vern

men

t spe

ndin

g cu

tbac

ks h

ad im

pact

ed o

n th

e co

stof

livi

ng. T

hey

wer

e al

so d

ismay

ed th

at th

e gr

eatly

expe

cted

div

iden

ds re

late

d to

the

cess

atio

n in

hos

tiliti

esan

d ec

onom

ic g

row

th h

ad n

ot b

orne

frui

t. T

he fa

ct th

atth

e U

PFA

purs

ued

an a

rgum

ent o

n ec

onom

ic is

sues

isno

tew

orth

y fo

r sev

eral

reas

ons.

Firs

t, th

e U

NP

has b

een

trad

ition

ally

per

ceiv

ed a

s the

par

ty o

f eco

nom

icco

mpe

tenc

e. S

econ

d, th

e U

NF

gove

rnm

ent,

inun

dert

akin

g to

ugh

struc

tura

l ref

orm

and

tigh

t fisc

aldi

scip

line,

mad

e th

e fa

tal m

istak

e of

not

exp

lain

ing

toth

e pu

blic

why

the

mea

sure

s wer

e ne

cess

ary

or h

ow th

em

easu

res w

ere

mea

nt to

del

iver

tang

ible

resu

lts to

the

peop

le. T

his a

llow

ed th

e U

NF'

s opp

onen

ts to

exp

loit

the

peop

le's

sens

e of

alie

natio

n an

d di

sgru

ntle

men

t to

max

imum

ben

efit.

Mos

t sig

nific

antly

, the

UN

F's f

ailu

re to

con

vinc

e th

epu

blic

of t

heir

econ

omic

pro

gram

poi

nts n

ot o

nly

to th

atpa

rty's

unsu

cces

sful p

ublic

relat

ions

, but

also

to th

e na

ture

of th

e po

lity'

s exp

ecta

tions

of t

he st

ate

in th

e ec

onom

iclif

e of

the

com

mun

ity. A

s disc

usse

d be

fore

, in

the

polit

ical

imag

inat

ion

of th

e pe

ople,

the

state

is se

en a

s bot

hpr

otec

tor a

nd p

atro

n; su

ch a

ttitu

des t

owar

d th

e sta

te a

rere

lativ

ely m

unifi

cent

. Thi

s is i

n co

ntra

st to

mos

t mod

ern

cons

titut

iona

l sta

tes i

n w

hich

dom

inan

t con

stitu

tive

assu

mpt

ions

with

rega

rd to

stat

e fo

rmat

ion

are

by n

atur

esu

spic

ious

of p

oliti

cal p

ower

and

its w

ielde

rs, p

artic

ular

lyin

relat

ion

to th

e ec

onom

ic fr

eedo

m o

f ind

ivid

uals.

In S

riLa

nka,

how

ever

, any

adm

inist

ratio

n th

at is

incli

ned

tow

ard

dere

gulat

ion,

com

petit

ion,

glo

bal c

apita

l; an

dw

ants

to c

ut b

ack

welf

are,

subs

idies

, and

gov

ernm

ent

spen

ding

, run

s a ri

sky

polit

ical

gaun

tlet.

Prev

ious

UN

P ad

min

istra

tions

that

boa

sted

of e

cono

mic

acco

mpl

ishm

ent h

ave

achi

eved

that

succ

ess t

hrou

gh a

mix

ture

of a

utho

ritar

iani

sm a

nd st

eam

rolli

ng re

form

s

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

26

29Li

am F

ox a

ttem

pted

to

med

iate

suc

h an

agr

eem

ent

betw

een

Kum

arat

unga

and

Wic

krem

asin

ghe

in 1

997.

Page 30: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

past

the

oppo

sitio

n. T

he la

st U

NF

adm

inist

ratio

n la

cked

cont

rol o

f the

dec

isive

insti

tutio

n of

exe

cutiv

e po

litic

alpo

wer

: the

pre

siden

cy. T

his d

isallo

wed

it fr

om se

eing

unpo

pula

r ref

orm

s to

fruiti

on. O

n th

e ot

her h

and,

the

grow

th a

nd d

evel

opm

ent s

trat

egie

s of t

he la

st U

NF

adm

inist

ratio

n di

d no

t see

m to

focu

s on

the

poor

in th

ew

ay it

s pre

dece

ssor

s had

don

e, w

ith th

e re

sult

that

its

econ

omic

pol

icy

lost

wid

er p

opul

ar su

ppor

t am

ong

fixed

inco

me

grou

ps li

ke w

age-

earn

ers a

nd p

ublic

-sec

tor

empl

oyee

s as w

ell a

s the

rura

l pop

ulat

ion

depe

nden

t on

the

agric

ultu

ral e

cono

my.

By c

ontr

ast,

the

UPF

A ca

me

up w

ith a

wild

ly p

opul

ist se

t of p

rom

ises o

n w

elfa

rem

easu

res t

hat a

n el

ecto

rate

less

naï

ve a

bout

mac

roec

onom

ics w

ould

hav

e sc

offe

d at

.N

otw

ithsta

ndin

g th

e im

plau

sible

nat

ure

of th

ose

prom

ises,

that

the

peop

le e

ndor

sed

the

prog

ram

poi

nts

not m

erel

y to

igno

ranc

e. It

is a

telli

ng e

xam

ple

of th

eco

mm

on p

erso

n's p

erce

ptio

n of

the

idea

l rol

e of

the

state

in h

is or

her

life

and

eco

nom

ic w

ellb

eing

.

Thi

s con

cept

ion

of th

e sta

te w

as a

lso p

artly

a re

sult

ofth

e fa

ct th

at p

oliti

ciza

tion

of S

ri La

nkan

soci

ety

occu

rred

larg

ely

at th

e ha

nds o

f the

Lef

t, du

e to

its a

nti-c

olon

ial

polit

ical

mob

iliza

tion

agen

da in

the

pre-

inde

pend

ence

perio

d. E

ven

ther

eafte

r, w

hen

it w

as c

lear

that

Sri

Lank

an in

depe

nden

ce m

erel

y m

eant

the

tran

sfer o

fpo

wer

from

one

elit

e to

ano

ther

, the

Lef

t's in

fluen

ce o

npo

pula

r mob

iliza

tion

has b

een

clea

rly e

vide

nt. T

hena

ture

of t

he c

omm

unist

stat

e is

very

sim

ilar t

o th

epa

radi

gm o

f sta

teho

od in

the

colle

ctiv

e so

cial

mem

ory

ofpr

e-co

loni

al p

oliti

cs in

Sin

hala

soci

ety.

As m

entio

ned

befo

re, t

he st

ate

is bi

g an

d ge

nero

us--

a pr

otec

tor a

nd a

patro

n; a

nd p

oliti

cal r

elat

ions

are

ess

entia

lly c

lient

elist

.In

pos

t-col

onia

l Sri

Lank

a, th

e "b

ourg

eois"

par

ties (

the

SLFP

and

UN

P) m

erel

y ex

ploi

ted

the

clie

ntel

ist p

oliti

cal

notio

ns o

f the

peo

ple

to th

eir a

dvan

tage

by

indu

lgin

g in

gene

rous

wel

fare

pro

gram

s. H

ere

we

mea

n no

t jus

tifie

din

vestm

ent i

n he

alth

, edu

catio

n, a

nd in

frastr

uctu

re th

ata

post-

colo

nial

nat

ion-

build

ing

proj

ect m

ust n

eces

saril

yun

dert

ake;

but

impr

uden

t spe

ndin

g on

dire

ct h

and-

outs

unlin

ked

to p

rodu

ctiv

ity o

r effi

cien

cy. I

n th

eir m

ost

extre

me

form

this

incl

uded

gov

ernm

ent s

ubsid

ies f

orco

nsum

er g

oods

and

serv

ices

.

The

opp

ortu

nity

affo

rded

by

the

2001

dua

l man

date

for

forg

ing

a na

tiona

l con

sens

us re

gard

ing

peac

e an

dpr

ospe

rity

diss

ipat

ed w

ith th

e U

NF'

s pea

ce st

rate

gy, a

s it

was

per

ceiv

ed b

y a

signi

fican

t sec

tion

of S

ri La

nkan

soci

ety

to h

ave

falle

n at

the

feet

of a

n LT

TE-

scrip

ted

ISG

A ag

enda

. The

par

ty w

as a

lso se

en a

s hav

ing

faile

d to

enga

ge in

soci

al c

onsu

ltatio

n or

pol

itica

l coo

pera

tion

over

pea

ce o

r dev

elop

men

t. N

or w

ere

they

seen

as

havi

ng p

ursu

ed a

n ec

onom

ic p

olic

y th

at b

enef

ited

peop

le b

eyon

d a

narr

ow C

olom

bo-c

entr

ic e

lite.

All

ofth

ese

perc

eptio

ns fu

elle

d th

e de

feat

of t

he U

NP

and

ana

rrow

UPF

A vi

ctor

y in

the

2004

ele

ctio

n.

As a

resu

lt, th

e pe

ace

proc

ess-

-und

er th

e gu

idan

ce o

f aU

PFA

coal

ition

split

bet

wee

n th

e br

oadl

y pr

o-fe

dera

list

PA a

nd th

e th

orou

ghly

uni

taris

t and

inte

grat

ioni

st JV

P--

had

to b

e re

com

men

ced

from

new

pol

itica

l coo

rdin

ates

.M

any

obse

rver

s wer

e sk

eptic

al a

bout

the

coal

ition

'sab

ility

to o

verc

ome

inte

rnal

div

ision

s con

sider

ing

the

JVP'

s hos

tility

to b

oth

cons

titut

iona

l cha

nge

and

the

LTT

E as

a n

egot

iatin

g pa

rtne

r. U

ntil

the

tsuna

mi s

truc

k,th

e pe

ace

proc

ess r

emai

ned

fairl

y sta

tic a

nd ru

mor

s of a

retu

rn to

war

by

the

LTT

E ci

rcul

ated

. In

this

cont

ext i

tha

s bee

n w

idel

y re

cogn

ized

that

the

tsuna

mi's

destr

uctiv

e im

pact

also

occ

asio

ned

a po

tent

ial r

eviv

al o

fth

e pe

ace

proc

ess t

hrou

gh th

e Jo

int M

echa

nism

for A

iddi

strib

utio

n--w

hat i

s now

kno

wn

as th

e Po

st-Ts

unam

iO

pera

tiona

l Man

agem

ent S

truc

ture

or P

-TO

MS)

--w

hich

the

pres

iden

t ple

dged

to si

gn d

espi

te JV

P th

reat

sto

leav

e th

e U

PFA

coal

ition

.

Dur

ing

the

writ

ing

of th

is re

port

, the

JVP

wal

ked

out o

fth

e go

vern

men

t ove

r the

Join

t Mec

hani

sm is

sue,

but

the

pres

iden

t wen

t on

to si

gn th

e P-

TOM

S ag

reem

ent.

Des

pite

the

gove

rnm

ent's

pow

er b

ase

bein

g re

duce

d to

am

ere

79 se

ats w

ith th

e th

reat

of f

urth

er d

efec

tions

, the

P-

TOM

S fo

rms a

muc

h-ne

eded

ope

ratio

nal b

asis

for k

ick-

start

ing

the

peac

e pr

oces

s. W

ithou

t it a

retu

rn to

con

flict

wou

ld b

e in

crea

singl

y lik

ely. D

ue to

the

UPF

A's c

urre

ntdi

sinte

grat

ion,

the

pass

age

of th

e P-

TOM

S fra

mew

ork

and

the

susta

inab

ility

of t

he g

over

nmen

t, bo

th re

quire

the

taci

t sup

port

of t

he U

NP-

led o

ppos

ition

. Alth

ough

this

has b

een

fort

hcom

ing,

it h

as a

lso b

een

acco

mpa

nied

27|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

Page 31: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

by c

ritic

isms f

rom

G.L

. Pie

ris a

nd th

e U

NP

over

the

cont

ent o

f the

P-T

OM

S do

cum

ent,

spec

ifica

lly th

e la

ckof

Sin

hala

repr

esen

tatio

n pr

opos

ed in

the

mai

n ai

d bo

dy.

Mor

eove

r, re

port

s of o

vert

ures

from

the

pres

iden

t for

the

form

atio

n of

a jo

int U

NP-

SLFP

-led

natio

nal g

over

nmen

tha

ve a

lso re

ceiv

ed a

luke

war

m re

cept

ion

from

the

UN

P,w

ho a

re k

een

to h

old

a pr

esid

entia

l elec

tion

befo

rem

akin

g an

othe

r bid

for p

arlia

men

tary

pow

er. T

hey

are

also

thre

aten

ing

anot

her r

ound

of "

Jana

Bal

a M

ehey

uma"

(Peo

ple's

Pow

er p

rote

sts) t

o th

is ef

fect

. In

this

cont

ext,

whi

le th

e P-

TOM

S pr

ovid

es a

n ai

d di

strib

utio

nfra

mew

ork

that

mig

ht c

once

ivab

ly o

pera

te o

utsid

e th

eus

ual c

ycles

of e

thni

c ou

tbid

ding

, it r

emai

ns to

be

seen

whe

ther

a m

ore

cong

enia

l spi

rit o

f coo

pera

tion

betw

een

thes

e tw

o pa

rtie

s has

bee

n ef

fect

ed in

the

shor

t to

med

ium

term

. It i

s aga

inst

this

back

grou

nd th

at th

e ro

leof

nat

iona

list a

ctor

s and

thei

r im

pact

on

pros

pect

s for

peac

e sh

ould

be

cont

extu

alize

d.

OVER

VIEW

OF

THE

JVP

The

JVP

or P

eopl

e's L

iber

atio

n Fr

ont o

rigin

ated

in th

e19

66-1

967

perio

d as

a sp

linte

r gro

up fr

om th

eC

omm

unist

Par

ty (P

ekin

g).30

It en

gage

d in

a ra

pid

and

wid

espr

ead

polit

ical

mob

iliza

tion

in th

e Si

nhal

a-do

min

ated

rura

l are

as o

f the

Sou

th d

urin

g th

e la

te19

60s,

with

a le

ader

ship

bas

e am

ong

educ

ated

rura

lyo

uth

who

had

ben

efite

d fro

m th

e ad

vant

ages

of

expa

ndin

g sta

te-s

pons

ored

uni

vers

ity e

duca

tion.

The

mov

emen

t soo

n un

dert

ook

an in

surr

ectio

nary

stra

tegy

inAp

ril 1

971,

atte

mpt

ing

to ta

ke st

ate

pow

er th

roug

h a

"one

-day

revo

lutio

n" ta

ctic

cen

tere

d on

the

capt

ure

ofru

ral p

olic

e sta

tions

thro

ugho

ut th

e co

untr

y. It

was

an

atte

mpt

that

end

ed in

failu

re a

nd a

bru

tal c

ount

er-

insu

rgen

cy.31

In 1

977

wha

t rem

aine

d of

the

JVP

lead

ersh

ip w

as re

leas

ed, a

nd b

etw

een

then

and

198

3 th

epa

rty

unde

rwen

t a p

hase

of d

emoc

ratic

pol

itics

with

mod

est b

ut n

ot in

signi

fican

t suc

cess

. In

the

afte

rmat

h of

the

anti-

Tam

il po

grom

s of "

Blac

k Ju

ly"

1983

, the

JVP

was

use

d as

a sc

apeg

oat f

or th

is ev

ent a

nd p

rosc

ribed

,fo

rcin

g th

e le

ader

ship

und

ergr

ound

.32Be

twee

n 19

86 a

nd19

89 th

e JV

P on

ce a

gain

eng

aged

in a

mor

e pr

otra

cted

and

susta

ined

insu

rrec

tion,

whi

ch a

lmos

t suc

ceed

ed in

capt

urin

g sta

te p

ower

but

eve

ntua

lly, t

hrou

gh ta

ctic

alan

d str

ateg

ic m

iscal

cula

tion,

spaw

ned

a co

unte

r-in

surg

ency

that

mat

ched

if n

ot o

utdi

d th

e in

surg

ency

inits

bru

talit

y.33

How

ever

, afte

r the

land

slide

ele

ctor

al v

icto

ry o

f the

PA

gove

rnm

ent i

n 19

94, t

he JV

P on

ce a

gain

resu

rface

d as

an o

ffici

ally

reco

gnize

d po

litic

al p

arty

eng

aged

inel

ecto

ral p

oliti

cs.34

In th

e O

ctob

er 2

000

gene

ral e

lect

ions

it w

on 1

0 se

ats,

esta

blish

ing

it as

the

"thi

rd fo

rce"

in S

riLa

nkan

par

liam

enta

ry p

oliti

cs a

t the

exp

ense

of t

he "

Old

Left"

and

the T

amil

part

ies (

CP,

LSSP

, Tam

il U

nite

dLi

bera

tion

Fron

t [T

ULF

], an

d Ee

lam

Peo

ple’s

Dem

ocra

tic P

arty

[EPD

P]).

In th

e 20

01 e

lect

ion,

the

JVP

expa

nded

its e

lect

oral

bas

e fu

rthe

r, re

turn

ing

16M

Ps to

Par

liam

ent a

nd b

uild

ing

its e

lect

oral

man

date

still

furt

her i

n th

e Ap

ril 2

004

elec

tion

on a

coa

litio

ntic

ket w

ith th

e PA

as t

he U

PFA,

whe

n th

e JV

P ca

ptur

ed39

seat

s. T

he JV

P ha

s also

dem

onstr

ated

sign

ifica

ntsu

cces

ses i

n lo

cal g

over

nmen

t ele

ctio

ns, c

aptu

ring

Tiss

amah

aram

a Pr

ades

hiya

Sab

ha in

200

2, a

long

with

219

othe

r sea

ts an

d 80

pro

vinc

ial c

ounc

il se

ats i

n 20

04.

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

28

30Th

e C

P (P

ekin

g) w

as it

self

a b

reak

away

fac

tion

fro

m t

he C

P M

osco

w t

hat

had

occu

rred

due

to

the

coal

itio

nal p

olit

ical

str

ateg

ies

of t

he "

Old

Lef

t."

31B

etw

een

3,00

0 an

d 8,

000

peop

le a

re e

stim

ated

to

have

bee

n ki

lled

in t

he c

ount

er-i

nsur

genc

y, w

hich

incl

uded

ext

ra-j

udic

ial k

illin

gs a

nd, o

n m

ore

than

one

occa

sion

, lar

ge-s

cale

mas

sacr

es o

f lo

w c

aste

gro

ups.

32In

add

itio

n to

the

JV

P, t

he C

P an

d th

e N

ava

Sam

a S

amaj

a Pa

rty

(NS

SP)

wer

e al

so p

rosc

ribe

d.

33Th

e in

surg

ency

and

cou

nter

-ins

urge

ncy

are

belie

ved

to h

ave

resu

lted

in o

ver

60,0

00 d

eath

s. M

any

of t

he d

eath

s w

ere

larg

ely

attr

ibut

able

to

the

incr

easi

ngly

indi

scri

min

ate

fero

city

of

the

mili

tary

and

par

amili

tary

for

ces

of t

he c

ount

er-i

nsur

genc

y. B

y th

e en

d of

Nov

embe

r 19

89,

alm

ost

the

enti

re u

pper

lea

ders

hip

of t

he J

VP

had

been

exe

cute

d or

had

gon

e in

to h

idin

g an

d ex

ile.

34Th

e JV

P ca

ptur

ed a

Ham

bant

ota

seat

for

Nih

al G

alap

atti

, con

test

ing

unde

r th

e ba

nner

of

the

Nat

iona

l Sal

vati

on F

ront

/Pro

gres

sive

Fro

nt a

t th

is t

ime.

Page 32: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

POLI

TICA

L CO

NST

ITUE

NCY

AN

D SO

URCE

S OF

MAR

GIN

ALIT

Y

Inte

rpre

tatio

ns o

f the

JVP'

s sup

port

bas

e, id

eolo

gy,

tact

ics a

nd st

rate

gy te

nd fo

r the

mos

t par

t tow

ard

seve

ral

disti

nct s

ets o

f exp

lana

tion.

Firs

t, m

any

com

men

tato

rsem

phas

ize th

e str

uctu

ral f

acet

s in

the

orig

in, a

scen

danc

yan

d en

dura

nce

of th

e JV

P w

hich

gav

e ris

e to

and

cont

inue

to su

stain

the

econ

omic

, soc

io-c

ultu

ral a

ndpo

litic

al a

liena

tion

of S

inha

la y

outh

in th

e So

uth.

The

sestr

uctu

ral d

ynam

ics h

ave

been

var

ious

ly in

terp

rete

d as

deriv

ing

from

a n

umbe

r of o

verla

ppin

g so

urce

s of

mar

gina

lity.

Thi

s is e

vide

nced

by

sour

ces o

f "str

uctu

ral

unem

ploy

men

t" a

mon

g pr

edom

inan

tly ru

ral,

Sinh

ala

univ

ersit

y-ed

ucat

ed y

outh

, aris

ing

from

the

exha

ustio

nof

the

post-

colo

nial

stat

e in

Sri

Lank

a an

d its

inab

ility

tom

ake

room

for t

he d

istrib

utio

n of

em

ploy

men

t and

good

s to

this

soci

al st

ratu

m. T

he e

xhau

stion

of t

he st

ate

in th

is re

gard

can

not b

e un

ders

tood

with

out a

lsoco

mpr

ehen

ding

the

cont

ext o

f a v

ulne

rabl

e ag

ro-e

xpor

tan

d ga

rmen

t-exp

ort o

rient

ed e

cono

my

susc

eptib

le to

wor

ld p

rice

fluct

uatio

ns th

at h

ave

forc

ed fi

nanc

em

inist

ers t

o go

to th

e Br

etto

n W

oods

insti

tutio

ns fo

rlo

ans s

ince

at l

east

the

1960

s. So

me

of th

ese

pers

pect

ives

also

stre

ss th

e JV

P's o

rigin

s and

end

uran

ce a

s the

outc

ome

of p

roce

sses

of r

ural

cla

ss fo

rmat

ion

and

com

petit

ion,

35in

whi

ch th

e JV

P ha

s bec

ome

the

engi

nefo

r the

disc

onte

nt o

f bot

h th

e su

balte

rn a

nd p

oore

r rur

alcl

asse

s, es

peci

ally

smal

l-hol

der a

nd la

ndle

ss ru

ral f

arm

ers

and

thei

r offs

prin

g, th

e ni

rdha

na p

antiy

a(d

ispos

sess

edcl

asse

s) o

f the

sout

hern

pol

ity.36

Seco

nd, t

here

are

serio

us d

evel

opm

enta

l and

infra

struc

tura

l disp

ariti

es b

etw

een

the

mor

e de

velo

ped

sout

h-w

este

rn a

reas

of t

he is

land

in th

e im

med

iate

envi

rons

of C

olom

bo a

nd m

ore

perip

hera

l rur

al a

nd d

ryzo

ne d

istric

ts lik

e An

urad

hapu

ra, H

amba

ntot

a,Po

llana

ruw

a, a

nd M

atar

a. T

he la

tter h

ave

cons

isten

tlyfo

rmed

the

geog

raph

ical

cor

e of

JVP

stren

gth

whe

ther

inpe

riods

of e

lect

oral

or i

nsur

rect

iona

ry a

ctiv

ity. T

hese

disp

ariti

es h

ave

susta

ined

a v

iew

in th

e ru

ral S

outh

that

deve

lopm

ent i

n th

e so

uthe

rn p

olity

is C

olom

bo-c

entr

icw

hile

the

perip

hera

l are

as o

f the

cou

ntry

suffe

r fro

mun

equa

l acc

ess t

o a

rang

e of

reso

urce

s. It

is a

disp

arity

perfe

ctly

cap

ture

d in

the

rura

l slo

gan,

colo

mba

ta k

iri,

apat

a ke

kiri.

37H

owev

er, s

emi-u

rban

ized

cons

titue

ncie

sin

and

aro

und

Col

ombo

hav

e no

w a

lso in

crea

singl

ybe

com

e ar

eas o

f JV

P el

ecto

ral s

treng

th. P

art o

f the

thru

staw

ay fr

om a

con

cent

rate

d ru

ral b

ase

is re

flect

ed in

the

JVP'

s fai

rly re

cent

rise

in u

nion

pol

itics

. The

par

ty's

Inte

r-C

ompa

ny E

mpl

oyee

s Uni

on, f

or e

xam

ple,

has

exte

nded

into

alm

ost e

very

sect

or o

f the

eco

nom

y w

ithov

er 1

50 b

ranc

hes a

nd is

beg

inni

ng to

em

erge

as a

dom

inan

t for

ce in

indu

stria

l rel

atio

ns in

som

e se

ctor

s of

the

econ

omy.38

Addi

tiona

lly, t

he sh

ift to

urb

anize

d an

dse

mi-u

rban

ized

cons

titue

ncie

s with

in a

nd a

roun

dC

olom

bo c

an a

lso b

e ex

plai

ned

as a

resu

lt of

new

lyur

bani

zed

and

educ

ated

gro

ups w

ith g

reat

er li

tera

cy a

ndw

ider

acc

ess t

o th

e m

edia

who

are

will

ing

to c

halle

nge

the

dom

inan

ce o

f the

mai

nstre

am p

oliti

cal p

artie

s'cl

ient

elist

ties

.

Thi

rd, t

he JV

P al

so a

rises

from

cul

tura

l mar

gina

lity

in a

sfa

r as t

he "

Sinh

ala-

only

" la

ngua

ge c

hang

es in

stitu

ted

afte

r Ban

dara

naik

e's p

anch

a m

aha

bala

vega

yael

ecto

ral

vict

ory

of 1

956

serv

ed to

ghe

ttoize

man

y of

the

Sinh

ala

rura

l you

th st

rata

with

in fr

ames

of v

erna

cula

r edu

catio

n.M

eanw

hile

Eng

lish

cont

inue

d to

ope

rate

as a

dom

inan

t

29|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

35S

ee P

. Ale

xand

er (1

981)

"S

hare

d Fa

ntas

ies

and

Elit

e Po

litic

s: T

he S

ri L

anka

n 'In

surr

ecti

on' o

f 197

1" M

anki

nd V

ol.1

3, N

o.2,

pp.

124-

129;

T. M

arks

(199

4) M

aois

t

Insu

rgen

cy S

ince

Vie

tnam

(Fr

ank

Cas

s, L

ondo

n).

It s

houl

d be

not

ed t

hat

both

the

se w

rite

rs s

tres

sed

mud

alal

i an

d pe

lant

iya

clas

s te

nsio

ns u

nder

lyin

g th

e

1971

insu

rrec

tion

.

36S

ee J

. Uya

ngod

a (2

003)

"S

ocia

l Con

flic

t, R

adic

al R

esis

tanc

e an

d Pr

ojec

ts o

f Sta

te P

ower

: The

Cas

e of

Jan

atha

Vim

ukth

i Per

amun

a of

Sri

Lan

ka"

in M

. May

er,

D.

Raj

asin

gham

-Sen

anay

ake,

Y.

Tang

araj

ah (

eds.

) B

uild

ing

Loca

l C

apac

itie

s fo

r Pe

ace:

Ret

hink

ing

Con

flic

t an

d D

evel

opm

ent

in S

ri L

anka

(M

acm

illan

,

Lond

on),

pp.3

7-64

.

37A

phr

ase

that

can

be

liber

ally

ren

dere

d: "

As

Col

ombo

get

s m

ilk,

the

rest

mus

t m

ake

do w

ith

wat

er."

Cf.

Rep

ort

of t

he P

resi

dent

ial

Com

mis

sion

on

Yout

h

(Gov

ernm

ent

of S

ri L

anka

, 199

0).

38Fo

r ex

ampl

e, t

he J

VP

have

con

trol

of

thos

e un

ions

in t

he e

nerg

y an

d pe

trol

eum

sec

tors

, whi

ch a

re c

urre

ntly

thr

eate

ning

str

ike

acti

on (M

arch

200

5).

Page 33: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

and

nece

ssar

y re

sour

ce fo

r acc

ess t

o em

ploy

men

t and

soci

al m

obili

ty.39

At th

e sa

me

time,

edu

catio

n an

dso

cial

izatio

n in

to th

e ve

rnac

ular

-spe

akin

g Si

nhal

aBu

ddhi

st str

ata

of th

e So

uth

has a

lso d

raw

n Si

nhal

ayo

uth

into

pol

itico

-cul

tura

l pre

conc

eptio

ns o

f a S

riLa

nkan

stat

e fra

mew

ork,

whi

ch is

freq

uent

ly p

erce

ived

as n

eces

saril

y un

itary

and

redi

strib

utiv

e. It

is a

lso se

en a

sa

prot

ectiv

e fra

mew

ork

for t

he S

inha

la n

atio

n an

d th

eBu

ddhi

st re

ligio

n. C

onse

quen

tly, a

dee

p ne

xus h

asal

way

s exi

sted

betw

een

the

sphe

res o

f edu

catio

nal

incu

lcat

ion

into

Sin

hala

Bud

dhist

cul

ture

and

the

orig

ins,

grow

th, a

nd n

urtu

re o

f the

JVP.

The

ver

nacu

lar

scho

ols a

nd u

nive

rsiti

es o

f the

cou

ntry

serv

e to

ope

rate

as si

tes o

f par

ty re

crui

tmen

t thr

ough

the

twin

arm

s of

the

Inte

r-U

nive

rsity

Stu

dent

s Fed

erat

ion,

or A

ntha

reas

itis

popu

larly

kno

wn,

and

the

Soci

alist

Stu

dent

s' U

nion

.T

his h

as a

lso c

ontr

ibut

ed to

fier

cely

hos

tile

attit

udes

toth

e pr

ivat

izatio

n of

serv

ices

and

to so

cial

pol

icy

liber

aliza

tion,

esp

ecia

lly in

rega

rd to

the

prov

ision

of

univ

ersit

y ed

ucat

ion.

40D

espi

te th

e ad

mira

tion

for J

VP

cadr

es' o

rgan

izatio

nal c

apac

ities

and

thei

r str

uggl

e fo

rso

cial

justi

ce, i

t is w

idel

y re

cogn

ized,

des

pite

the

univ

ersit

y co

nnec

tion,

that

the

JVP'

s int

elle

ctua

l and

cultu

ral h

orizo

ns h

ave

rem

aine

d co

nsist

ently

restr

icte

dth

roug

hout

thei

r hist

ory.

It is

a fa

ctor

that

bod

es il

l for

thei

r cap

acity

to th

ink

imag

inat

ivel

y an

d in

nova

tivel

yw

ith re

gard

to a

rang

e of

pol

icie

s--fr

om th

e ec

onom

y to

cons

titut

iona

l ref

orm

s and

the

peac

e pr

oces

s. Fr

om th

is,on

e ca

n cl

early

exp

lain

how

wid

er in

telle

ctua

l and

cultu

ral s

elf-d

evel

opm

ent f

requ

ently

brin

gs a

bout

larg

e-sc

ale

defe

ctio

ns a

nd d

epar

ture

s fro

m th

e pa

rty

rath

erth

an th

e po

ssib

ility

of n

otab

le in

tern

al sh

ifts i

n pa

rty

polic

y. It

is fo

r thi

s rea

son

that

the

poin

t of e

ntry

into

and

exit

from

the

part

y ha

s bee

n de

scrib

ed a

s a"r

evol

ving

doo

r" o

r "a

nest

in w

hich

the

educ

ated

rura

lyo

uth

are

ideo

logi

cally

incu

bate

d" re

sulti

ng in

mas

sive

turn

over

of p

erso

nnel

whe

ther

in th

e af

term

ath

ofin

surg

ency

or d

urin

g pe

riods

of e

ngag

emen

t with

elec

tora

l pol

itics

(Cha

ndra

prem

a, 1

991,

p. 7

4).

Four

th, t

he n

atur

e of

dom

inan

t pol

itica

l cul

ture

in S

riLa

nka,

the

failu

res o

f dem

ocra

cy, t

he h

istor

ical

har

deni

ngof

clie

nteli

stic

polit

ics,

corr

uptio

n, a

nd p

oliti

cally

mot

ivat

ed th

ugge

ry h

ave

also

serv

ed to

disq

ualif

ym

ains

tream

pol

itics

am

ong

polit

ical

ly a

ctiv

e yo

uth

from

rura

l are

as. T

hat t

he JV

P of

fers

alte

rnat

ive

chan

nels

ofm

obili

zatio

n th

at d

o no

t ope

rate

thro

ugh

rent

-a-c

row

d or

"stro

ng-a

rm"

polit

ics h

as th

us b

ecom

e at

tract

ive

to ru

ral

yout

h in

the

Sout

h an

d in

the

univ

ersit

ies.

Addi

tiona

lly,

whi

le th

e JV

P hi

storic

ally

has

bee

n no

stra

nger

topo

litic

al v

iolen

ce o

f an

ofte

n-ex

trem

e fo

rm, t

he p

arty

has

atte

mpt

ed to

por

tray

itself

in it

s cur

rent

elec

tora

l pha

se a

sdi

scip

lined

, non

-vio

lent,

and

with

a re

puta

tion

for s

elf-

renu

ncia

tion

and

inte

grity

.41Fo

r ins

tanc

e, JV

P M

Ps a

ndlo

cal g

over

nmen

t offi

cial

s cla

im to

sacr

ifice

thei

r sal

arie

sto

the

part

y co

ffers

, dra

win

g in

stead

a st

ipen

d fro

mco

llect

ive

fund

s. JV

P M

Ps' c

apac

ity to

use

Par

liam

ent f

orth

e re

pres

enta

tion

and

rela

ying

of c

onsti

tuen

ts' in

tere

stsin

a w

ay th

at is

abs

ent f

rom

the

parli

amen

tary

deb

ates

unde

rtak

en b

y ot

her p

oliti

cal p

arty

can

dida

tes s

houl

dal

so n

ot b

e ov

erlo

oked

. Add

ition

ally,

JVP

clai

ms o

f asiz

eabl

e an

d hi

ghly

org

anize

d ca

dre

base

hav

e be

ensu

bsta

ntia

ted

by th

e m

obili

zatio

n of

som

e 10

,000

Sah

ana

Seva

Bal

akay

a(S

ocia

l Reli

ef F

orce

) cad

res f

or p

ost-

tsuna

mi s

ocia

l reli

ef. T

he JV

P's o

rgan

izatio

nal s

truc

ture

isal

so o

f a c

lass

ic B

olsh

evik

cell

ular

stru

ctur

e bu

ilt a

roun

d

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

30

39Th

e pe

rsev

erin

g si

gnif

ican

ce o

f Eng

lish

in th

is w

ay h

as b

een

char

acte

rize

d as

the

neo-

colo

nial

dom

inan

ce o

f the

"ka

duw

a" o

r sw

ord

of E

nglis

h. S

ee S

. Per

era

(199

5) L

ivin

g w

ith

Tort

urer

s an

d O

ther

Ess

ays

of In

terv

enti

on (I

CES

, Col

ombo

), pp

.37-

45.

40Th

e un

iver

siti

es h

ave

been

bes

et b

y vi

olen

ce i

n th

e w

eeks

in

whi

ch t

he f

ield

wor

k fo

r th

is r

epor

t w

as c

ondu

cted

ove

r th

ese

issu

es a

nd r

elat

ed v

iole

nce

betw

een

SLF

P an

d JV

P fa

ctio

ns w

ithi

n th

e un

iver

siti

es. C

f. In

terv

iew

wit

h PD

P, C

olom

bo U

nive

rsit

y S

tude

nt M

arch

11,

200

5.

41W

hile

the

issu

e of

pri

vile

ge a

nd p

erks

for M

Ps a

nd m

inis

ters

has

com

e un

der r

ecen

t scr

utin

y w

ith

the

use

of lu

xury

veh

icle

s, th

e ch

arge

of n

on-v

iole

nt p

olit

ics

is g

ener

ally

con

firm

ed b

y el

ecti

on c

ompl

aint

sta

tist

ics

from

non

-par

tisa

n el

ecti

on m

onit

orin

g bo

dies

. For

exa

mpl

e be

fore

the

UPF

A w

as f

orm

ed, i

n th

e 20

02

loca

l ele

ctio

ns, t

he U

NP

and

the

PA r

egis

tere

d 40

5 an

d 14

3 al

lege

d in

cide

nts

of v

iole

nce

whi

le t

he J

VP

regi

ster

ed ju

st 1

4 in

cide

nts.

In t

he G

ener

al E

lect

ions

of 2

001

the

figu

res

for

alle

ged

inci

dent

s w

ere

1,28

4 fo

r th

e PA

, 75

1 fo

r th

e U

NP

and

9 fo

r th

e JV

P. S

ee F

inal

Rep

ort

of E

lect

ion-

Rel

ated

Vio

lenc

e by

the

Cen

tre

for M

onit

orin

g El

ecti

on V

iole

nce

(CM

EV) -

Loc

al G

over

nmen

t Ele

ctio

ns 2

002

(CM

EV, 2

002)

and

Fin

al R

epor

t of E

lect

ion-

Rel

ated

Vio

lenc

e by

the

Cen

tre

for

Mon

itor

ing

Elec

tion

Vio

lenc

e (C

MEV

) -

Gen

eral

Ele

ctio

n 20

01 (

CM

EV,

2002

). It

sho

uld

be n

oted

how

ever

tha

t un

iver

sity

pol

itic

s in

whi

ch t

he J

VP

also

play

a p

ower

ful r

ole

thro

ugh

the

Inte

r-U

nive

rsit

y S

tude

nts

Uni

on is

cha

ract

eriz

ed b

y fr

eque

nt e

rupt

ions

of

viol

ence

.

Page 34: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

the

prin

cipl

e of

"de

moc

ratic

cen

tralis

m"

amon

g th

e1,

000

to 2

,000

full-

timer

s and

20,

000

mem

bers

.42

How

ever

, whi

le th

is m

ight

affo

rd so

me

subs

tanc

e to

the

JVP'

s adh

eren

ce to

dem

ocra

tic p

rinci

ples

, it i

s also

wid

elyre

cogn

ized

that

the

part

y of

fers

alm

ost n

o sp

ace

for

publ

ic p

oliti

cal d

isson

ance

or d

issen

t fro

m th

e pa

rty

line,

even

bet

wee

n lo

cal a

nd le

ader

ship

leve

ls.43

Nev

erth

eless

,w

hat i

s clea

r is t

hat t

he JV

P's o

rgan

izatio

nal s

truc

ture

and

polit

ical

cul

ture

rem

ain

radi

cally

at o

dds w

ith th

esh

ape

and

style

of th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties.

The

seor

gani

zatio

nal d

ynam

ics a

re a

lso c

learly

an

atte

mpt

tota

ke th

e m

oral

hig

h gr

ound

in a

situ

atio

n of

wid

espr

ead

disil

lusio

nmen

t with

the

state

of p

oliti

cal c

ultu

re in

Sri

Lank

a. H

owev

er, o

nly

time

will

tell

whe

ther

the

JVP

can

mai

ntai

n th

is tre

nd o

r whe

ther

it w

ill b

e su

cked

into

the

shap

e an

d fo

rm o

f the

pre

dom

inan

t, pr

e-ex

istin

g po

litic

alcu

lture

thro

ugh

thei

r eng

agem

ent w

ith e

lecto

ral p

oliti

csan

d th

e fru

its a

nd p

rivile

ges o

f offi

ce. A

fter a

ll, o

ne o

f the

cent

ral r

easo

ns b

ehin

d th

e JV

P's a

bilit

y to

mob

ilize

and

orga

nize

in th

is w

ay h

as b

een

its p

ast m

argi

naliz

atio

nfro

m p

oliti

cal p

ower

that

affo

rds i

t litt

le ot

her r

ecou

rse

than

to su

ch "

wea

pons

of t

he w

eak.

"

Fifth

, it i

s clea

r tha

t the

JVP'

s sup

port

base

am

ong

the

Sang

haha

s also

exp

ande

d co

nsid

erab

ly. T

he JV

P ha

salw

ays h

ad a

sign

ifica

nt in

fluen

ce a

mon

g th

e yo

unge

rge

nera

tion

of b

hikk

usan

d th

is pa

ttern

was

pre

sent

eve

n in

the

early

insu

rgen

cy y

ears

of th

e 19

71 g

ener

atio

n w

hen

pans

alas

beca

me

hidi

ng p

laces

for b

oth

JVP

cadr

es a

ndw

eapo

nry,

desp

ite th

ere

bein

g co

nsid

erab

le am

biva

lence

tow

ard

the

Sang

haam

ong

the

JVP

leade

rship

at t

his t

ime.

The

attr

actio

n of

the

JVP

for t

hese

you

nger

, jun

ior m

onks

has a

lway

s bee

n ba

sed

on th

e co

mm

on so

cial o

rigin

s in

the

rura

l and

ver

nacu

lar-e

duca

ted

sphe

res o

f Sin

hala

socie

tysh

ared

by

both

such

sect

ions

of t

he S

angh

aan

d lay

JVP

cadr

es. I

t also

has

its r

oots

in th

e w

iden

ing

of a

cces

s to

univ

ersit

y ed

ucat

ion

(inclu

ding

incr

ease

d co

ntac

t with

lay

stude

nts a

nd se

cular

disc

iplin

es) a

mon

g bh

ikku

sim

plem

ente

d in

the

post-

inde

pend

ence

yea

rs. It

is in

this

cont

ext t

hat t

he fo

rmer

mon

astic

Bud

dhist

col

leges

like

Vid

yoda

ya a

nd V

idya

lanka

ra, w

hich

wer

e aw

arde

dun

iver

sity

statu

s afte

r 195

6, b

ecam

e ce

nter

s of J

VP

activ

ityfo

r the

"19

71"

gene

ratio

n. T

he n

exus

bet

wee

n th

e JV

Pan

d yo

unge

r gen

erat

ions

of m

onks

has

also

bee

n a

cons

eque

nce

of so

cio-e

cono

mic,

cul

tura

l, an

d ca

stete

nsio

ns a

nd re

sent

men

t bor

ne o

f the

hier

arch

ical n

atur

e of

the

Sang

ha--w

hich

juni

or a

nd n

ovice

mon

ks fe

el to

war

dth

eir e

lder

s in

the

piriv

enas

, pan

sala

s,m

onas

tic c

hapt

ers,

and

othe

r walk

s of B

uddh

ist c

lerica

l life

in S

ri La

nka.

Con

sequ

ently

, the

JVP

has a

lway

s main

tain

ed a

sepa

rate

orga

niza

tiona

l sec

tion

for m

onks

with

in it

s par

ty st

ruct

ure.

At o

ne ti

me,

ther

e ha

d be

en c

onsid

erab

le di

sapp

roba

tion

for t

he JV

P am

ong

the

olde

r and

seni

or th

eras

, par

ticul

arly

of th

e As

giry

a an

d M

alwat

te C

hapt

ers -

esp

ecial

ly o

ver

accu

satio

ns o

f a JV

P at

tack

on

the

Dal

ada

Mal

igaw

ain

the

late

1980

s. D

espi

te th

is, si

nce

the

1980

s the

re h

as b

een

aco

nsid

erab

le ra

ppro

chem

ent b

etw

een

the

JVP

and

the

elder

San

gha

with

a n

otice

able

shift

on

both

side

s in

whi

chth

e JV

P lea

dersh

ip se

eks t

he b

lessin

gs o

f the

San

gha

and

enga

ges i

n bo

dhi p

uja

ritua

ls to

the

sam

e ex

tent

as i

sco

mm

on a

mon

g ot

her p

arty

lead

ers.

Thi

s rec

oncil

iatio

n is

a te

stam

ent t

o th

e de

eper

nex

us fo

rged

bet

wee

n th

e JV

Pan

d Si

nhala

Bud

dhist

nat

iona

list s

entim

ent.

The

re is

som

e sp

ecul

atio

n th

at th

e JV

P ha

ve a

lsoex

tend

ed th

eir s

uppo

rt b

ase

amon

g th

e m

ilita

ry a

nd th

atth

is ha

s bee

n a

grow

ing

tend

ency

with

in th

e pa

rty

since

the

1980

s per

iod

whe

n sig

nific

ant a

mbi

vale

nce

tow

ard

the

JVP

amon

g di

ffere

nt st

rata

of t

he m

ilita

ry h

iera

rchy

brou

ght a

bout

a c

onsid

erab

le re

luct

ance

to e

ngag

e in

viol

ent c

ount

er-in

surg

ency

tact

ics a

gain

st th

em

ovem

ent.44

Acco

rdin

gly,

it is

quite

cle

ar th

at, a

side

from

the

JVP'

s voc

al b

rand

of "

patr

iotis

m,"

its a

nti-

31|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

42C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e, M

arch

19,

200

5.

43C

f. in

terv

iew

s w

ith

SD

Mar

ch 1

6, 2

005,

Mar

ch 2

3, 2

005,

and

SF

Mar

ch 1

0, 2

005.

44It

has

bee

n cl

aim

ed t

hat

the

turn

ing

poin

t on

ly c

ame

whe

n an

ti-J

VP

forc

es is

sued

Des

hapr

emi J

anat

ha V

yapa

raya

(DJV

) thr

eats

and

"ch

its"

aga

inst

mili

tary

pers

onne

l and

the

ir f

amili

es t

hat

spaw

ned

the

fero

city

of

the

coun

ter-

insu

rgen

cy o

n a

wid

er s

cale

. Cf.

fie

ldw

ork

in A

nura

dhap

ura

Dis

tric

t, 2

002.

S

ee a

lso

A.C

. Alle

s (1

990)

The

JV

P, 1

969-

1989

(Lak

ehou

se, C

olom

bo),

pp. 3

10-3

12.

Page 35: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

LTT

E sta

nce,

and

its e

ndur

ing

and

ofte

n-in

voke

d pr

aise

for t

he se

curit

y fo

rces

, the

re is

also

a so

cial

nex

usbe

twee

n th

e JV

P an

d th

e so

cial

stra

ta w

ithin

Sri

Lank

aw

ho c

onsti

tute

the

core

recr

uitm

ent m

ater

ial o

f the

mili

tary

serv

ices

. Ind

eed,

it h

as b

een

asse

rted

by

som

eco

mm

enta

tors

(inc

ludi

ng in

disc

ussio

n w

ith th

e au

thor

s)th

at th

e JV

P ha

s inf

iltra

ted

the

Sri L

anka

n Ar

my

to th

eca

ptai

n-le

vel45

--a

tend

ency

for i

nfilt

ratio

n of

mili

tary

serv

ices

by

"fun

dam

enta

list"

forc

es th

at is

by

no m

eans

ano

vel p

heno

men

on in

Sou

th A

sia.46

The

pot

entia

lev

olut

ion

of a

JVP-

mili

tary

nex

us in

this

way

cou

ld it

self

prov

e pr

oble

mat

ic fo

r the

pea

ce p

roce

ss in

a c

risis

situa

tion

and

is m

ore

likel

y to

add

to th

e pr

essu

re o

f are

turn

to a

"w

ar fo

r pea

ce"

strat

egy

shou

ld th

e ne

xus b

ere

info

rced

. Alth

ough

it m

ay c

urre

ntly

be

an e

xtre

me

inte

rpre

tatio

n an

d so

mew

hat p

rem

atur

e, in

a w

orst-

case

scen

ario

one

cou

ld n

ot e

ntire

ly ru

le o

ut th

e fu

ture

deve

lopm

ent o

f mili

tary

cou

p dy

nam

ics i

n a

cont

ext o

fhe

ight

ened

pol

itica

l ins

tabi

lity.

Fina

lly, a

num

ber o

f com

men

tato

rs (f

or e

xam

ple,

Ivan

,K

apfe

rer,

Jiggi

ns) h

ave

asse

rted

that

the

JVP

cann

ot b

eun

ders

tood

unl

ess o

ne a

lso u

nder

stand

s the

hist

oric

alpo

tenc

y of

cas

te p

oliti

cs in

Sri

Lank

a. S

uch

polit

ics

oper

ate

thro

ugh

KSD

(Kar

ava,

Sal

agam

a, D

urav

a) a

ndlo

wer

cas

te (f

or e

xam

ple,

Bat

gam

, Wah

umpa

ra) b

lock

sag

ains

t for

ms o

f cas

te p

oliti

cal d

omin

atio

n fro

m th

eup

per s

trata

(Goy

igam

a) w

ithin

Sri

Lank

a's in

vert

edpy

ram

idal

or h

ourg

lass

-shap

ed c

aste

stru

ctur

e. W

hile

the

JVP

them

selv

es re

ject

a c

aste

-bas

ed a

naly

sis o

f the

irm

obili

zatio

ns (a

tend

ency

rein

forc

ed b

y th

e co

mbi

ned

influ

ence

of M

arxi

sm a

nd B

uddh

ism),

the

poss

ibili

ty th

atca

ste n

etw

orks

hav

e be

en (a

nd m

ay st

ill b

e) o

pera

tive

at a

back

grou

nd le

vel i

n a

way

that

also

inte

rlock

s with

cla

ss,

mas

s-elit

e, a

nd c

ente

r-pe

riphe

ry c

onfli

ctua

l dyn

amic

sca

nnot

be

reje

cted

out

right

.47In

deed

, occ

asio

nally

info

rman

ts sy

mpa

thet

ic to

the

JVP

have

exp

ress

edre

sent

men

t aga

inst

a pe

rcei

ved

caste

nex

us o

f wha

t are

calle

d th

e th

ree

"Cs"

--Col

ombo

, Cat

holic

or C

hrist

ian,

and

(the

"C"

that

is a

"K

") K

arav

a. T

he im

port

ance

of

this

is th

at it

und

erlin

es h

ow th

e vi

ew th

at th

e JV

P ar

eno

w e

xpre

ssiv

e of

cas

te d

ynam

ics b

elow

the

clas

sic K

SDtri

angl

e, th

at h

ad p

revi

ously

und

erpi

nned

elem

ents

of th

eO

ld L

eft,

cann

ot b

e sim

ply

dism

issed

.48C

aste

pers

pect

ives

on

the

JVP

stres

s the

diff

icul

ties f

acin

g ov

ert

low

er-c

aste

elec

tora

l mob

iliza

tion

in a

con

text

whe

re th

eG

oyig

ama

cons

titut

e ro

ughl

y ha

lf th

e Si

nhal

a ele

ctor

ate.

Thi

s can

be

used

to e

xpla

in th

e co

nsist

ent r

ecou

rse

tona

tiona

list t

rope

s and

sym

bols

in JV

P m

obili

zatio

ns in

whi

ch d

eepe

r pro

blem

s of s

ocia

l inj

ustic

e an

d in

equa

lity

rem

ain

obsc

ured

. In

this

sens

e ca

ste re

mai

ns th

e "i

nner

cour

tyar

d" in

Sri

Lank

an p

oliti

cs, a

tabo

o ar

ea th

atno

neth

eless

und

erpi

ns th

e str

uggl

es o

f sub

alte

rnm

ovem

ents

like

the

JVP

whi

le al

so e

xpla

inin

g th

eir

cons

isten

t rec

ours

e to

Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

rath

er th

an to

mob

iliza

tions

bas

ed o

n th

e so

cial

fiss

ures

that

und

erpi

nth

eir c

onsti

tuen

cy.49

In th

is w

ay S

ri La

nka

is un

able

toun

ify to

solv

e th

e et

hnic

pro

blem

, as c

aste

fiss

ures

are

cons

isten

tly re

trans

late

d in

to S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tdy

nam

ics.

Such

a c

risis

in S

inha

la id

entit

y su

stain

s the

inab

ility

to o

verc

ome

Sinh

ala

Budd

hist

maj

orita

riani

sman

d its

det

rimen

tal e

ffect

s upo

n th

e po

lity

as a

who

le.

A nu

mbe

r of s

chol

ars h

ave

emph

asize

d th

at th

e JV

P is

radi

cally

age

ncy-

driv

en, v

olun

taris

tic, a

nd a

par

ty o

fac

tion

and

not i

deol

ogy

with

an

imm

ense

cap

acity

for

polit

ical

ent

repr

eneu

rshi

p.50

Des

pite

this,

it is

cle

ar th

atth

e pa

rty

has n

onet

hele

ss su

stain

ed it

self

(eve

n af

ter t

he

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

32

45C

f. in

terv

iew

s w

ith

SD

Mar

ch 1

6, 2

005

and

Mar

ch 2

3, 2

005.

46S

ee T

ariq

Ali

(200

1) "

Bit

ter

Chi

ll of

Win

ter,"

Lon

don

Rev

iew

of

Boo

ks, V

ol. 2

3, N

o. 8

, Apr

il 19

, 200

1.

47C

f. in

terv

iew

wit

h V

I Mar

ch 1

6, 2

005.

48Fi

eldw

ork,

200

2. It

sho

uld

be n

oted

tha

t th

e in

form

ant,

a J

VP

supp

orte

r, w

as e

choi

ng t

he v

iew

s of

Nal

in d

e S

ilva,

the

Jat

hika

Chi

ntan

aya

ideo

logu

e.

49S

ee J

. Uya

ngod

a (2

000)

"Th

e In

ner

Cou

rtya

rd: P

olit

ical

Dis

cour

se o

f C

aste

, Jus

tice

and

Equ

alit

y in

Sri

Lan

ka"

Prav

ada,

Vol

. 6, N

os. 9

& 1

0.

50Se

e M

. Moo

re (1

993)

"Th

e JV

P in

Sri

Lank

a: T

horo

ughl

y M

oder

n Re

volu

tiona

ries,

" So

uth

Asi

an S

tudi

es, V

ol. 2

7, N

o. 3

, p. 5

96. F

or t

he v

iew

tha

t th

e JV

P ar

e a

part

y

of a

ctio

n an

d no

t ide

olog

y, s

ee G

. Sam

aran

ayak

e (1

999)

"Po

litic

al V

iole

nce

in S

ri La

nka:

a D

iagn

ostic

App

roac

h" T

erro

rism

and

Pol

itica

l Vio

lenc

e, V

ol. 9

, No.

2, p

. 111

.

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deat

h of

Wije

wee

ra) t

hrou

gh m

any

of th

eaf

orem

entio

ned

struc

tura

l dyn

amic

s. M

oreo

ver,

the

ideo

logy

that

und

erpi

ns a

nd su

stain

s the

JVP'

s pol

itica

lco

hesio

n lie

s not

so m

uch

in th

e do

ctrin

es a

nd th

eorie

sof

Mar

xism

as i

n th

e m

ore

affe

ctiv

e an

d em

otiv

e ap

peal

of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

m. A

dditi

onal

ly, it

shou

ld b

ere

cogn

ized

that

the

JVP

has t

aken

on

the

man

tle o

fSi

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

st na

tiona

list m

obili

zatio

npr

opor

tiona

tely,

to th

e ex

tent

to w

hich

bot

h th

e U

NP

and

the

SLFP

hav

e be

gun

to d

istan

ce th

emse

lves

from

an o

vert

ly S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t pos

ition

.51In

a se

nse,

this

can

be in

terp

rete

d as

aris

ing

from

the

JVP'

s cap

acity

--be

caus

e of

its v

erna

cula

r, lo

wer

-cla

ss, a

nd ru

ral r

oots-

-toar

ticul

ate

a m

ore

pote

nt d

iscou

rse

of n

atio

nalis

tau

then

ticity

in o

ppos

ition

to w

hat i

t has

con

siste

ntly

desc

ribed

as t

he in

auth

entic

, dec

aden

t, de

raci

nate

d, a

ndco

rrup

t pol

itics

of S

ri La

nka'

s elit

es. S

o, w

hile

a g

radu

alin

tern

al tr

ansfo

rmat

ion

is no

dou

bt a

ccom

pany

ing

incr

easin

g ex

posu

re to

the

sphe

res o

f pol

itica

l offi

ce,

unle

ss th

ese

unde

rlyin

g dy

nam

ics o

f ine

qual

ity a

read

dres

sed,

it is

unl

ikel

y (in

the

fore

seea

ble

futu

re a

tle

ast)

that

this

will

also

resu

lt in

a sh

ift a

way

from

the

JVP'

s rec

ours

e to

form

s of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tm

obili

zatio

n. T

he fa

ct th

at th

e JV

P w

alke

d aw

ay fr

omth

e U

PFA

coal

ition

in Ju

ne 2

005

over

the

Join

tM

echa

nism

issu

e, w

hen

ther

e w

as m

uch

deba

te a

bout

the

poss

ibili

ty th

at th

ey w

ould

rem

ain

in o

ffice

, is a

testa

men

t to

this

fact

.

THE

JVP'

S N

ATIO

NAL

IST

IDEO

LOGY

AN

DAT

TITU

DES

TO T

HE P

EACE

PRO

CESS

AN

DCO

NST

ITUT

ION

AL R

EFOR

M

It is

thro

ugh

the

polit

ical

veh

icle

of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

mth

at th

e JV

P ha

ve in

crea

singl

y so

ught

legi

timac

y as

guar

dian

s of t

he te

rrito

rial i

nteg

rity

and

unity

of t

he S

riLa

nkan

stat

e. W

hile

we

can

say

that

this

JVP

ideo

logi

cal

fram

ewor

k ha

s har

dene

d in

rece

nt y

ears

, it b

uild

s upo

n

prev

ious

mom

ents

of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t mob

iliza

tion

that

dat

e ba

ck to

the

1960

s whe

n an

ti-In

dian

chau

vini

sm fo

und

expr

essio

n in

the

four

th c

lass

of t

hepa

nti p

aha,

the

serie

s of l

ectu

res t

hat f

orm

ed th

ere

crui

tmen

t veh

icle

of t

he p

arty

. Thi

s lec

ture

, "In

dian

Expa

nsio

nism

," b

uilt

upon

a C

hine

se C

omm

unist

Par

type

rspe

ctiv

e of

Indi

a's l

ong-

term

stra

tegy

, whi

chdi

scer

ned

polit

ical

and

eco

nom

ic d

esig

ns o

f reg

iona

list

expa

nsio

nism

em

anat

ing

from

the

subc

ontin

ent.

In th

eco

ntex

t of t

he JV

P, th

e le

ctur

e al

so la

bele

d th

eU

pcou

ntry

Tam

il es

tate

wor

kers

as a

"fif

th c

olum

n" in

Sri L

anka

, who

se p

oliti

cal i

nter

ests

wer

e in

imic

al to

the

revo

lutio

nary

stra

tegy

of t

he JV

P an

d w

hose

suffe

rings

wer

e su

ppos

edly

not

as g

reat

as t

hose

of S

inha

la ch

ena

and

smal

lhol

der f

arm

ers i

n th

e So

uth.

Not

with

stand

ing

this,

the

JVP

ente

red

a m

ore

acco

mm

odat

ive

phas

e to

war

d Ta

mil

min

ority

inte

rests

durin

g th

e 19

77 to

198

3 pe

riod,

whe

n bo

th R

ohan

aW

ijew

eera

and

Lio

nel B

opag

e ar

ticul

ated

the

need

tore

cogn

ize th

e po

tent

ial l

egiti

mac

y of

the T

amils

' rig

ht fo

rse

lf-de

term

inat

ion.

52H

owev

er, t

his m

omen

tary

shift

was

undo

ne a

fter B

opag

e's 1

984

resig

natio

n fro

m th

e pa

rty

over

this

and

issue

s of p

arty

mob

iliza

tion

and

orga

niza

tion.

As a

resu

lt th

e JV

P on

ce a

gain

retu

rned

toa

posit

ion

that

reje

cted

the

right

to se

lf-de

term

inat

ion

for T

amil

min

oriti

es (W

ijew

eera

, 198

6). D

urin

g th

epe

riod

of th

e In

do-L

anka

Acc

ord

in 1

987

and

the

13th

Amen

dmen

t pro

posa

ls fo

r mea

sure

s of p

rovi

ncia

lau

tono

my,

the

JVP

mob

ilize

d vo

cife

rous

ly a

gain

st an

ysu

ch d

evol

utio

nary

con

sider

atio

n to

the T

amil

com

mun

ities

. Thi

s was

don

e bo

th a

s a si

ngle

pol

itica

lfo

rce

and

thro

ugh

othe

r nat

iona

list o

rgan

s or f

ront

orga

niza

tions

such

as t

he M

aubi

ma

Sura

kim

a Vy

apar

aya

(MSV

- Fo

rce

for t

he P

rote

ctio

n of

the

Mot

herla

nd),

the

Mau

bim

a Su

raki

ma

Sanv

idha

naya

(MSS

- M

ovem

ent f

orth

e Pr

otec

tion

of th

e M

othe

rland

) and

the

Desh

apre

mi

Jana

tha

Vyap

aray

a(D

JV -

Patr

iotic

Peo

ple's

Mov

emen

t).

33|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

51C

f. A

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h G

unad

asa

Am

aras

eker

a M

arch

17-

18, 2

005.

52S

ee L

. B

opag

e (1

977)

A M

arxi

st A

naly

sis

of t

he N

atio

nal

Que

stio

n of

Sri

Lan

ka (

Niy

amuw

a, C

olom

bo)

and

L. B

opag

e &

R W

ijew

eera

(19

75)

The

Polic

y

Dec

lara

tion

of

the

JVP

(Gin

ipup

ura

Publ

icat

ions

, U.K

.).

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The

ana

lytic

al th

rust

of W

ijew

eera

's m

ove

once

aga

in to

a m

ore

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t pos

ition

was

that

cal

ls fo

rau

tono

my

for t

he N

orth

and

Eas

t of t

he c

ount

ry w

ere

mer

ely

an im

peria

list c

onsp

iracy

to sp

lit th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

prol

etar

iat t

hrou

gh sp

urio

us ra

cial

cat

egor

ies t

hat

ultim

atel

y se

rved

the

ambi

tions

of t

he W

este

rn st

ates

and

Indi

a's "

Cho

lan"

am

bitio

ns. W

ijew

eera

atte

mpt

edto

legi

timize

this

posit

ion

thro

ugh

reco

urse

to a

nan

alys

is of

Len

in's

disc

ussio

n of

the

natio

nal q

uesti

on.

As h

e hi

mse

lf pu

t it,

"we

know

ver

y w

ell t

hat t

hedi

visio

n of

the

coun

try

and

dece

ntra

lizat

ion

are

com

plet

ely

oppo

sed

to th

e cl

ass a

ims a

nd n

eces

sitie

s of

the

prol

etar

iat"

(Ibi

d).

Whe

n th

e JV

P re

surfa

ced

afte

r the

bish

ana-

sam

aya

perio

d, it

hel

d an

inte

rnal

deb

ate

on th

e na

tiona

lqu

estio

n. D

ebat

e re

volv

ed a

roun

d w

heth

er th

e pa

rty

shou

ld a

dopt

a M

arxi

st or

nat

iona

list s

tand

on

the

ques

tion

of m

inor

ities

, or a

Ros

a Lu

xem

burg

or

Leni

nist-

orie

nted

stan

d on

the

ques

tion

of se

lf-de

term

inat

ion.

53Ad

ditio

nally

, Dr.

Vic

kram

abah

uK

arun

arat

ne a

nd o

ther

Nav

a Sa

ma

Sam

aja

Part

y (N

SSP)

dele

gate

s wer

e in

vite

d to

atte

nd th

e JV

P na

tiona

lco

ngre

ss in

Tan

galle

in M

ay 1

995,

whe

re a

ll of

the

spea

kers

wer

e he

avily

crit

ical

of a

mili

tary

solu

tion

to th

eco

nflic

t.54H

owev

er, o

nce

the

PA g

over

nmen

t ann

ounc

edits

dev

olut

ion

prop

osal

s, th

e JV

P be

gan

to c

ritic

ize a

fede

ral o

r dev

olut

iona

ry so

lutio

n to

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct.

Asid

e fro

m a

brie

f soj

ourn

on

a co

mm

on L

eft p

latfo

rmin

the

pres

iden

tial e

lect

ion

of 1

999,

this

has r

emai

ned

thei

r pos

ition

eve

r sin

ce--

whe

ther

art

icul

ated

aga

inst

PAor

UN

P-le

d go

vern

men

ts. A

lthou

gh th

e JV

P w

ere

rival

sto

the

SLFP

in o

ppos

ition

to th

e U

NF

in th

e 20

02pe

riod;

they

sign

ed a

n M

OU

with

the

SLFP

in Ja

nuar

y20

04 to

form

the

UPF

A, in

the

cont

ext o

f a st

alle

dpe

ace

proc

ess,

risin

g pr

ices

and

uni

on u

nres

t. T

he te

xt o

fth

e M

OU

ass

erts

that

"as

a re

sult

of th

e w

rong

pol

icie

s

follo

wed

by

the

rulin

g U

nite

d N

atio

nal F

ront

, the

coun

try

face

s the

pro

spec

t of l

osin

g its

terr

itoria

lin

tegr

ity...

"55As

crit

ics f

rom

with

in th

e PA

at t

he ti

me

state

d, a

coa

litio

n fo

rmed

with

the

JVP-

-a p

arty

unre

cept

ive

to th

e LT

TE,

to IS

GA,

and

to fe

dera

lde

volu

tion-

-cou

ld p

rese

nt a

pot

entia

l obs

tacl

e to

cons

titut

iona

l ref

orm

s and

to a

ttem

pts t

o ta

ke th

e pe

ace

nego

tiatio

ns fo

rwar

d. W

hile

this

pres

ente

d a

new

obsta

cle

to th

e po

ssib

ility

of t

he P

A be

ing

able

to d

eliv

era

peac

e pa

ckag

e, so

me

criti

cs p

oint

to P

resid

ent

Kum

arat

unga

's va

cilla

ting

com

mitm

ent t

o th

e pe

ace

proc

ess a

s an

equa

lly e

ndur

ing

prob

lem

impa

ctin

g on

the

likel

ihoo

d of

mea

ning

ful n

egot

iatio

ns.

Alth

ough

the

UPF

A co

alitio

n w

on th

e Ap

ril 2

004

elect

ion

on a

slen

der m

ajorit

y--w

ith th

e JV

P ho

ldin

g 39

seat

s and

4m

inist

erial

por

tfolio

s--it

is cle

ar th

at th

e JV

P ha

d th

epo

tent

ial to

act

as a

vet

o bl

ock

from

with

in th

e w

alls o

f the

gove

rnm

ent.

As in

tern

atio

nal a

nd n

atio

nal p

ressu

re o

n th

ego

vern

men

t to

mov

e pe

ace

nego

tiatio

ns fo

rwar

d in

crea

ses,

inclu

ding

$4.

5 bi

llion

in T

okyo

Con

fere

nce

aid, t

he c

rack

san

d fis

sure

s in

the

UPF

A co

alitio

n ha

ve b

egun

to a

ppea

r.In

Feb

ruar

y 20

05, t

he JV

P pa

rliam

enta

ry g

roup

lead

er a

ndpu

blici

ty se

cret

ary,

Wim

al W

eera

wan

sa, c

alled

on

the

gove

rnm

ent t

o w

ithdr

aw fr

om th

e IS

GA

fram

ewor

k,w

hich

it c

onsid

ered

con

trary

to th

e let

ter o

f the

MO

U.

Thi

s pro

mpt

ed th

e pr

esid

ent t

o ca

ll th

eir b

luff

and

dem

and

their

dep

artu

re fr

om th

e co

alitio

n.

Wha

t is c

lear

from

the

UPF

A's p

redi

cam

ent a

t the

tim

eis

that

the

JVP

rem

aine

d un

mov

ed b

y th

e ur

gent

nee

dto

brin

g th

e pe

ace

proc

ess f

orw

ard.

The

y co

ntin

ued

tore

asse

rt th

eir o

ppos

ition

to n

egot

iatio

ns o

n th

e ba

sis o

fIS

GA

and

reite

rate

d th

at b

oth

the

LTT

E an

d th

e Tam

ilN

atio

nal A

llian

ce (T

NA)

wer

e un

dem

ocra

tic a

nd n

ot a

legi

timat

e en

tity

for t

he G

oSL

to c

ondu

ct n

egot

iatio

nsw

ith.56

Addi

tiona

lly, t

he JV

P re

ject

ed a

fede

ral

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

34

53S

ee D

r. S

unil

Rat

napr

iya

(199

6) "

Peac

e: P

ossi

bilit

ies

and

Obs

tacl

es."

Pro

ceed

ings

of

the

Inte

rnat

iona

l C

onfe

renc

e on

the

Con

flic

t in

Sri

Lan

ka P

eace

wit

h

Just

ice

(Can

berr

a, A

ustr

alia

).

54Ib

id.

55S

ee S

LFP-

JVP

"Mem

oran

dum

of

Und

erst

andi

ng"

(Jan

uary

200

4).

56C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a M

arch

10,

200

5.

Page 38: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

fram

ewor

k fo

r Sri

Lank

a an

d ar

gued

that

the

only

acce

ptab

le d

evol

utio

n as

far a

s it w

as c

once

rned

was

toth

e lo

cal a

dmin

istra

tive

distr

ict l

evel

s and

bel

ow--

not

unlik

e th

e pa

nchy

atsy

stem

.57T

his i

s onc

e ag

ain

refle

ctiv

eof

the

JVP'

s obs

essio

n w

ith u

nita

ry st

ate

pow

er ra

ther

than

with

any

dev

olut

iona

ry fr

amew

ork

that

cou

ldm

eani

ngfu

lly d

eliv

er a

resp

onse

to th

e cu

rren

t eth

nic

conf

lict.

It is

a pe

rspe

ctiv

e on

the

state

that

has

cle

arly

fuel

led

the

perp

etua

tion

of S

inha

la B

uddh

istm

ajor

itaria

nism

.58In

the

sam

e ve

in, w

hile

the

JVP

clai

ms t

o be

"th

e on

ly p

arty

to h

ave

publ

icly

stat

ed th

atth

e St

ate

shou

ld n

ot h

ave

a la

ngua

ge o

r a re

ligio

n,"59

the

fact

that

this

clai

m to

secu

lar s

tatu

s was

imm

edia

tely

qual

ified

by

Som

awan

sa A

mar

asin

ghe's

ass

ertio

n th

at"t

he m

ajor

ity in

this

coun

try

are

Sinh

ala

Budd

hists

" an

dth

at "

one

shou

ld n

ot fo

rget

the

fact

that

this

coun

try

has

a cu

lture

bui

lt on

Bud

dhist

val

ues a

nd th

is w

as a

tole

rant

soci

ety,"

spea

ks v

olum

es a

bout

the

natu

re o

f the

JVP'

s sec

ular

ism.60

For s

ecul

arism

with

out a

via

ble

cons

titut

iona

l fra

mew

ork

for p

oliti

cal a

uton

omy

and

the

prot

ectio

n of

hum

an ri

ghts

thro

ugh

a co

mbi

natio

n of

afe

dera

l fra

mew

ork

and

a se

ries o

f che

cks a

nd b

alan

ces t

oth

e ex

ecut

ive

and

legi

slativ

e br

anch

es o

f gov

erna

nce,

islit

tle m

ore

than

a g

uise

for p

ersis

ting

ethn

icm

ajor

itaria

nism

.

ATTI

TUDE

TO

INTE

RNAT

ION

AL A

ND

CIVI

LSO

CIET

Y AC

TORS

The

JVP

have

long

mai

ntai

ned

a re

puta

tion

for h

ostil

ityto

Inte

rnat

iona

l Fin

anci

al In

stitu

tions

(IFI

s), I

nter

-G

over

nmen

tal O

rgan

izatio

ns (I

GO

s), I

nter

natio

nal

Non

-Gov

ernm

enta

l Org

aniza

tions

(IN

GO

s), N

GO

s,

and

civi

l soc

iety

act

ors.

Such

insti

tutio

ns a

nd a

ctor

s are

frequ

ently

cha

ract

erize

d as

a th

reat

to th

e so

vere

ignt

yan

d te

rrito

rial i

nteg

rity

of S

ri La

nka.

In th

e pa

st, th

eJV

P ha

ve b

een

criti

cal o

f IFI

s suc

h as

the

Wor

ld B

ank

and

the

Inte

rnat

iona

l Mon

etar

y Fu

nd b

ecau

se th

ese

insti

tutio

ns a

re p

erce

ived

to e

ncou

rage

libe

raliz

atio

n an

dpr

ivat

izatio

n as

wel

l as a

ttem

pt to

dism

antle

are

as o

fsm

all-h

olde

r agr

icul

ture

that

rem

ain

cont

entio

us in

term

s of t

he JV

P's t

radi

tiona

l rur

al p

ower

bas

e. T

his i

ses

peci

ally

true

for t

he p

addy

and

che

na fa

rmin

g th

atre

mai

n sy

mbo

lic S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t tro

pes (

wew

a,ch

aitiy

a, a

ndya

ya),

whi

ch th

e sta

te e

ncou

rage

dhi

storic

ally

thro

ugh

num

erou

s col

oniza

tion

and

larg

e-sc

ale

irrig

atio

n pr

ojec

ts.61

Inde

ed, i

t sho

uld

be n

oted

that

the

JVP

laun

ched

its d

ahas

ak w

ewor

"on

e th

ousa

ndta

nks"

reha

bilit

atio

n pr

ojec

t in

Augu

st 20

04 in

Kur

uneg

ala.

By

doin

g so

the

JVP

indi

cate

d its

con

tinue

dou

twar

d co

mm

itmen

t to

this

form

of s

tate

-spo

nsor

edag

ricul

tura

l dev

elop

men

t and

this

part

icul

ar su

ppor

tba

se. H

owev

er, d

espi

te th

e JV

P's s

uppo

rt fo

r a m

ore

com

man

ding

eco

nom

y an

d th

e str

engt

heni

ng o

f sm

all-

hold

er a

gric

ultu

re, l

eade

r Som

awan

sa A

mar

asin

ghe

indi

cate

d th

at th

e pa

rty

reco

gnize

s the

nec

essit

y of

inte

rnat

iona

l ins

titut

ions

and

the

need

for a

cces

s to

inte

rnat

iona

l fin

ance

. So

the

part

y is

not a

gain

st th

ese

insti

tutio

ns p

er se

.62

In th

is co

ntex

t, th

e re

cent

atta

ck o

n th

e W

orld

Ban

kC

ount

ry D

irect

or sh

ould

not

be

read

in th

e co

ntex

t of a

grat

uito

us a

ttack

on

the

insti

tutio

n of

the

Wor

ld B

ank

itsel

f. R

athe

r, it

was

an

atta

ck o

n th

e C

ount

ry D

irect

or's

perc

eive

d tre

atm

ent o

f the

LT

TE

as a

stat

e-lik

e or

qua

si-sta

te in

stitu

tion,

thro

ugh

whi

ch a

id c

an le

gitim

atel

y be

chan

nele

d to

the

Nor

th-E

ast.

In o

ther

wor

ds, a

s with

35|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

57Ib

id.

58S

ee f

or i

nsta

nce,

A.

Wel

ikal

a (2

002)

"Th

e D

evol

utio

n Pr

ojec

t in

Sri

Lan

ka:

Two

Nat

ions

in

One

Sta

te?"

Lib

eral

Tim

es,

Vol.

10,

No.

3.

D.

Sco

tt (

1994

)

"Com

mun

ity,

Num

ber,

Etho

s of

Dem

ocra

cy"

in D

. Sco

tt (e

d) R

efas

hion

ing

Futu

res:

Cri

tici

sm A

fter

Pos

tcol

onia

lity

(Pri

ncet

on U

nive

rsit

y Pr

ess,

Pri

ncet

on, N

.J.),

pp. 1

58-1

89.

59C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a, M

arch

10,

200

5.

60Ib

id.

61S

ee, f

or e

xam

ple,

M. M

oore

(199

8) "

Ideo

logi

cal H

isto

ry o

f th

e S

ri L

anka

n Pe

asan

try"

Mod

ern

Asi

an S

tudi

es, V

ol. 2

3, N

o. 1

, pp

179-

207.

62C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a, M

arch

10,

200

5.

Page 39: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

Wim

al W

eera

wan

sa's

rece

nt c

ritic

isms o

f Kof

i Ann

an,

the

atta

ck o

n th

e C

ount

ry D

irect

or re

mai

ns a

n at

tack

on

perc

eive

d th

reat

s to

Sri L

anka

's po

litic

al a

nd te

rrito

rial

inte

grity

rath

er th

an n

eces

saril

y on

the

econ

omic

and

deve

lopm

enta

l visi

on o

f the

Wor

ld B

ank

as a

who

le.

Whi

le w

e ar

e no

t sug

gesti

ng th

at a

fund

amen

tal

over

haul

of t

he JV

P's s

tatis

t mac

ro-e

cono

mic

pol

icie

s are

on th

e ca

rds i

n th

e im

med

iate

futu

re o

r tha

t the

JVP

have

eng

aged

in a

mira

culo

us v

olte

face

on B

retto

nW

oods

pol

icie

s, it

is cl

ear t

hat t

he e

xper

ienc

e of

pol

itica

lof

fice

has s

ofte

ned

thei

r onc

e un

com

prom

ising

hos

tility

to su

ch in

stitu

tions

. The

exp

erie

nce

has o

pene

d th

em u

pto

the

pote

ntia

l of d

ialo

gue

and

the

poss

ibili

ty o

f a lo

ng-

term

tran

sitio

n on

eco

nom

ic p

olic

y ev

en if

the

cent

ralit

yof

uni

tary

nat

ion-

state

pow

er w

ill b

e di

fficu

lt to

disp

elfro

m su

ch a

visi

on.

In th

e sa

me

way

, the

JVP'

s atti

tude

to IN

GO

s, N

GO

s,ci

vil s

ocie

ty a

ctor

s, ac

adem

ics,

and

thin

k-ta

nks i

s driv

enby

the

sam

e id

eolo

gica

l com

mitm

ent t

owar

d th

e re

-te

rrito

rializ

atio

n of

pow

er w

ithin

the

unita

ry fr

amew

ork

of th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

natio

n-sta

te. I

n di

scus

sions

with

the

auth

ors,

the

JVP

lead

ersh

ip a

gain

stat

ed th

at th

ey a

reno

t aga

inst

NG

Os p

er se

but t

hat t

hey

diffe

rent

iate

betw

een

NG

Os s

uch

as C

are

Inte

rnat

iona

l, w

ho a

dher

eto

a n

on-p

oliti

cal m

anda

te (a

nd w

ith w

hom

the

JVP

have

wor

ked

in th

e po

st-tsu

nam

i con

text

), an

d N

GO

ssu

ch a

s Wor

ld V

ision

(whi

ch it

shou

ld b

e no

ted

is al

so a

Chr

istia

n or

gani

zatio

n). T

he JV

P pe

rcei

ve th

e la

tter a

sha

ving

a p

oliti

cal a

gend

a in

Sri

Lank

a th

at tr

ansg

ress

esSr

i Lan

kan

gove

rnm

enta

l sov

erei

gnty

and

bei

ngth

eref

ore

polit

ical

ly u

nacc

ount

able

and

ille

gitim

ate.

63

Addi

tiona

lly, d

urin

g th

e pe

riod

in w

hich

this

repo

rt w

asw

ritte

n th

ere

wer

e nu

mer

ous a

ttack

s on

civi

l soc

iety

figur

es (i

nclu

ding

spok

espe

ople

for t

hink

-tank

s,ac

adem

ics,

and

NG

O o

ffici

als)

by

the

JVP

pres

s. T

hey

wer

e va

rious

ly d

escr

ibed

as b

eing

in le

ague

with

the

LTT

E, b

eing

bea

rers

of f

orei

gn a

nd c

orru

ptiv

e va

lues

and

lifes

tyle

s, or

bei

ng tr

aito

rs to

the

Sri L

anka

n na

tion

(dro

hi).

The

se a

ttack

s cul

min

ated

in a

rabi

d an

d fa

natic

alas

saul

t by

Wee

raw

ansa

dur

ing

the

cour

se o

f a P

NM

mee

ting

at M

ahar

agam

a in

Apr

il 20

05. I

n hi

s add

ress

,W

eera

wan

sa e

ncou

rage

d hi

s aud

ienc

e to

"sp

it on

NG

Os

and

stop

them

from

wal

king

on

our s

treet

s. D

onor

coun

trie

s and

thei

r NG

O a

gent

s are

hol

ding

this

coun

try

to ra

nsom

, tel

ling

the

gove

rnm

ent t

o se

t up

ajo

int t

suna

mi r

elie

f mec

hani

sm w

ith th

e LT

TE.

It is

som

ethi

ng th

at c

an b

e do

ne th

roug

h th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

state

mac

hine

ry. T

here

is n

o ne

ed fo

r a jo

int

mec

hani

sm."

64W

eera

wan

sa w

ent o

n to

acc

use

fore

ign

NG

O w

orke

rs o

f bei

ng "

crow

s who

had

com

e to

Sri

Lank

a in

sear

ch o

f dol

lars

."65

Wee

raw

ansa

then

wen

t on

to a

ttack

Pro

fess

or Ja

yade

va U

yang

oda;

Kum

arRu

pasin

ghe

of In

tern

atio

nal A

lert

; Dr.

Pakk

iyas

othy

Sara

vana

mut

tu o

f the

Cen

tre fo

r Pol

icy

Alte

rnat

ives

; the

late

jour

nalis

t Tar

aki;

Jeha

n Pe

rera

of t

he N

atio

nal P

eace

Cou

ncil;

and

the

polit

icia

ns o

f the

Lef

t, Va

sude

vaN

anay

akka

ra a

nd W

ickr

amab

ahu

Kar

unar

atna

; who

mhe

acc

used

of b

eing

cov

ert N

GO

pup

pets.

Whe

n on

e an

alys

es th

e JV

P sta

nce

on in

tern

atio

nal

NG

O a

nd c

ivil

soci

etal

act

ors,

it ap

pear

s tha

t the

irou

tlook

is st

ruct

ured

from

a b

ackg

roun

d di

chot

omy

ofpo

litic

al a

nd n

on-p

oliti

cal o

ppos

ites.

The

pol

itica

l sph

ere

shou

ld re

mai

n th

e ex

clus

ive

dom

ain

of "

dem

ocra

tic"

and

"acc

ount

able

" po

litic

al a

ctor

s and

figu

res;

whi

le N

GO

san

d ci

vil s

ocie

tal a

ctor

s--w

ho h

ave

rece

ived

no

such

man

date

from

the

"peo

ple"

--sh

ould

stic

k to

cle

arly

dem

arca

ted

non-

polit

ical

, hum

anita

rian,

relie

f and

deve

lopm

enta

l man

date

s.66

Whi

le th

e JV

P's p

ersp

ectiv

e on

this

issue

raise

s ser

ious

conc

erns

abo

ut th

eir n

arro

w c

once

ptio

n of

the

"pol

itica

l" a

nd th

eir c

omm

itmen

t to

freed

om o

f spe

ech

amon

g ci

vil s

ocie

ty a

ctor

s as a

who

le, i

t sho

uld

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

36

63Ib

id.

64C

f. "

JVP

slam

s N

GO

s, w

este

rn c

ount

ries

for

med

dlin

g,"

Tam

ilnet

Apr

il 7,

200

5 (w

ww

.tam

ilnet

.com

).

65C

f. "

Wee

raw

ansa

lash

es o

ut a

t IN

GO

s, N

GO

s, R

ING

Os,

GR

ING

Os

and

BIN

GO

s,"

Lank

a A

cade

mic

, Apr

il 7,

200

5.

66C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a, M

arch

10,

200

5; a

nd w

ith

Som

awan

sa A

mar

asin

ghe,

M

arch

19,

200

5.

Page 40: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

none

thel

ess n

ot b

e di

smiss

ed o

ut o

f han

d. It

is re

leva

ntto

the

broa

der d

ebat

e ab

out t

he e

xten

t to

whi

ch d

onor

state

s, in

tern

atio

nal a

ctor

s and

NG

Os s

houl

d co

ntin

ueto

con

trav

ene

trad

ition

al n

otio

ns o

f sov

erei

gnty

and

the

exte

nt to

whi

ch a

id sh

ould

rem

ain

harn

esse

d to

cond

ition

aliti

es li

ke "

good

gov

erna

nce"

-or,

in th

e Sr

iLa

nkan

con

text

, to

"pro

gres

s in

the

peac

e pr

oces

s." T

his

is es

peci

ally

rele

vant

in th

e fra

gile

pos

t-tsu

nam

i con

text

of w

idel

y ac

know

ledg

ed st

ate

inca

paci

ty.67

Whi

le th

em

aint

enan

ce o

f suc

h co

nditi

onal

ities

may

be

inte

nded

toco

ntrib

ute

to th

e str

engt

heni

ng o

f hum

an ri

ghts

with

inde

velo

ping

wor

ld c

onte

xts,

they

may

non

ethe

less

be

coun

terp

rodu

ctiv

e in

as f

ar a

s the

y le

ad to

the

rein

forc

emen

t of n

atio

nalis

t age

ndas

aga

inst

a pe

rcei

ved

"im

peria

list"

cos

mop

olita

n ag

enda

impo

sed

bydo

min

ant s

tate

s and

NG

Os-

-a si

tuat

ion

whi

ch w

ill h

ave

been

exa

cerb

ated

and

not

impr

oved

by

the

tsuna

mi.

The

rece

nt p

lan

to c

reat

e a

parli

amen

tary

sele

ct c

omm

ittee

topo

lice

aid

and

NG

Os,

spea

rhea

ded

by JV

P he

avyw

eigh

tN

anda

na G

unat

illak

e, is

a te

stam

ent t

o th

e po

litic

alpo

lariz

atio

n ov

er a

id th

at h

as ta

ken

plac

e in

Sri

Lank

a.68

The

JVP

also

rem

ains

hig

hly

criti

cal o

f Nor

way

's ro

le a

sm

edia

tor i

n th

e pe

ace

proc

ess.

It co

nsta

ntly

que

stion

sN

orw

ay's

agen

da a

nd p

ropa

gate

s the

not

ion

that

Nor

weg

ian

med

iatio

n is

part

ial t

o th

e LT

TE'

s int

eres

tsan

d th

eir u

ltim

ate

obje

ctiv

es o

f cre

atin

g a

sepa

rate

stat

e--

a pe

rspe

ctiv

e th

at is

not

con

fined

to th

e JV

P.C

onsid

erin

g th

e JV

P's h

istor

y of

ant

i-Ind

ian

mob

iliza

tion-

-dat

ing

back

to th

e "I

ndia

n Ex

pans

ioni

sm"

clas

s, an

d co

ntin

uing

with

the

agita

tion

agai

nst t

heIn

do-L

anka

Acc

ord

and

the

pres

ence

of t

he In

dian

Pea

ceK

eepi

ng F

orce

--th

e JV

P ha

s iro

nica

lly b

ut v

ery

firm

ly

shift

ed to

war

d a

pro-

Indi

an p

ositi

on in

term

s of b

oth

apr

efer

able

pot

entia

l med

iato

r to

the

peac

e pr

oces

s and

inte

rms o

f for

eign

pol

icy

alig

nmen

ts as

a w

hole

. Thi

sre

flect

s a m

utua

lity

of in

tere

sts--

with

Indi

a w

antin

g to

ensu

re th

at a

pot

entia

lly d

esta

biliz

ing

sepa

rate

stat

e of

Tam

il Ee

lam

doe

s not

app

ear a

t the

foot

of I

ndia

, whi

leth

e JV

P ar

e ke

en (f

or o

bvio

us re

ason

s) to

enl

ist th

eex

tern

al su

ppor

t of a

pow

erfu

l reg

iona

l sta

te a

ctor

that

isop

pose

d to

Eel

amist

asp

iratio

ns. C

onse

quen

tly, t

he JV

Pha

ve b

een

keen

to d

evel

op g

ood

rela

tions

with

the

Indi

an H

igh

Com

miss

ion

and

to lo

bby

for a

n In

dian

role

in th

e pe

ace

proc

ess.69

THE

POST

-TSU

NAM

I CON

TEXT

AN

D TH

E JV

P'S

LON

G-TE

RM P

OLIT

ICAL

PRO

SPEC

TS

The

rece

nt p

oliti

cal j

unct

ure

is on

e in

whi

ch th

e JV

Pha

s sou

ght t

o se

cure

pol

itica

l cap

ital a

nd le

gitim

acy

thro

ugh

its sw

ift re

actio

n in

the

wak

e of

the

Asia

ntsu

nam

i. It

mob

ilize

d 10

,000

cad

res o

f the

Sah

ana

Seva

Bala

kaya

(Soc

ial R

elie

f For

ce),70

a re

lief f

orce

that

prov

ided

med

ical

aid

, wel

l pur

ifica

tion,

relie

f cam

ps, t

hedi

strib

utio

n of

food

, and

oth

er e

mer

genc

y su

pplie

s. It

also

eng

aged

in re

cons

truc

tion

wor

k in

clud

ing

the

rebu

ildin

g of

the

Gal

le B

us S

tand

, rep

airs

to th

e Sr

iLa

nkan

railw

ay n

etw

ork,

and

pro

visio

n of

tem

pora

ryho

usin

g to

the

disp

lace

d.71

Som

awan

sa A

mar

asin

ghe

state

s tha

t whi

le th

e Sa

hana

Sev

a Ba

laka

yais

not a

gove

rnm

enta

l org

aniza

tion,

it is

non

ethe

less

the

JVP'

sor

gani

zatio

nal s

treng

th th

at h

as m

ade

up fo

r oth

erpa

rtie

s' la

ck o

f org

aniza

tiona

l cap

acity

and

hel

ped

toth

us fa

r avo

id se

rious

food

riot

s in

the

Sout

h.72

Base

d on

37|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

67Fo

r a

broa

der

disc

ussi

on o

f th

ese

issu

es in

the

Sri

Lan

kan

cont

ext,

see

N. W

ickr

amas

ingh

e (2

001)

Civ

il S

ocie

ty in

Sri

Lan

ka :

New

Cir

cles

Of

Pow

er (S

age,

2001

); fo

r th

e re

cent

pos

t-Ts

unam

i co

ntex

t, s

ee G

. Fr

erks

and

B.

Kle

m

(200

5) "

Mud

dlin

g th

e Pe

ace

Proc

ess:

Pos

t-Ts

unam

i R

ehab

ilita

tion

in

War

-tor

n S

ri

Lank

a" (C

linge

ndae

l Con

flic

t R

esea

rch

Uni

t, N

ethe

rlan

ds).

68Th

e ap

poin

tmen

t of

the

Par

liam

enta

ry S

elec

t C

omm

itte

e is

sch

edul

ed f

or e

arly

May

200

5.

69C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a, M

arch

10,

200

5.

70Th

e Sa

hana

Sev

a Ba

laka

yaw

as n

ot c

reat

ed in

res

pons

e to

the

200

4 ts

unam

i but

in r

elat

ion

to d

roug

hts

and

floo

ds in

dif

fere

nt a

reas

of

the

Sou

th in

200

3.

71C

f au

thor

's in

terv

iew

wit

h PB

, Mat

ara

Dis

tric

t O

rgan

iser

of

the

Saha

na S

eva

Bala

kaya

, Wel

igam

a, M

arch

200

5.

72Ib

id.

Page 41: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

our b

rief f

ield

wor

k in

the

Sout

h an

d al

so fr

om re

port

s of

post-

tsuna

mi p

rote

sts e

man

atin

g fro

m G

alle

and

Mat

ara

amon

g ot

her p

lace

s, di

ssat

isfac

tion

and

frustr

atio

n w

ithth

e le

vel o

f gov

ernm

enta

l int

erve

ntio

n in

the

Sout

h ha

sbe

en h

igh

and

the

atm

osph

ere

in so

cial

relie

f cam

ps is

high

ly c

harg

ed. C

ompa

ring

testi

mon

y fro

m d

ispla

ced

peop

le in

bot

h a

JVP

relie

f cam

p an

d fro

m a

n N

GO

tent

ed c

amp,

all

the

inte

rvie

wee

s cha

rged

the

gove

rnm

ent w

ith n

eglig

ence

and

failu

re in

solv

ing

thei

rlo

ng- a

nd sh

ort-t

erm

pro

blem

s whi

le p

raisi

ng th

e JV

Pfo

r the

ir re

lief a

nd re

cons

truc

tion

effo

rts.73

Addi

tiona

lly,

thos

e di

spla

ced

in th

e te

nted

cam

p al

so a

ggre

ssiv

ely

indi

cate

d th

eir i

nten

tion

to v

ote

for t

he JV

P in

any

subs

eque

nt e

lect

ion

with

out b

eing

dire

ctly

ask

ed a

bout

such

inte

ntio

ns. T

he p

ost-t

suna

mi c

onte

xt m

ay w

ell

have

pro

vide

d an

occ

asio

n fo

r the

JVP

to p

rove

its

orga

niza

tiona

l cap

aciti

es a

nd c

omm

itmen

t to

soci

al re

lief

at a

mom

ent o

f sha

rp c

risis,

and

may

serv

e to

exp

and

itspo

pula

rity

and

polit

ical

con

stitu

ency

in a

ny fu

ture

elec

tion.

Whi

le th

e JV

P m

ay h

ave

expa

nded

its p

oliti

cal

legi

timac

y in

the

face

of g

over

nmen

t fai

lure

s in

the

post-

tsuna

mi s

ituat

ion;

it is

also

pos

sible

that

whi

le th

e JV

Pai

d ef

fort

has

bee

n w

elco

med

in a

reas

whe

re it

has

bee

nop

erat

ive,

due

to th

e cr

isis c

onte

xt it

may

not

nec

essa

rily

have

ext

ende

d th

e pa

rty'

s pol

itica

l con

stitu

ency

in a

nysig

nific

ant l

ong-

term

way

. A m

ore

extre

me

inte

rpre

tatio

nis

that

the

JVP

may

hav

e di

scre

dite

d its

elf t

hrou

gh a

perc

eive

d na

ked

atte

mpt

to e

xplo

it th

e po

st-tsu

nam

icr

isis f

or p

oliti

cal a

ims a

nd th

roug

h its

par

tner

ship

in a

gove

rnm

ent t

hat i

s wid

ely

perc

eive

d to

hav

e dr

agge

d its

feet

and

pro

vide

d lit

tle o

ther

than

food

stam

ps to

thos

em

ost s

erio

usly

affe

cted

by

the

tsuna

mi.

How

ever

,fie

ldw

ork

indi

cate

d a

high

leve

l of d

iffer

entia

tion

amon

gin

form

ants

betw

een

the

JVP

on th

e on

e ha

nd a

nd th

eU

PFA

gove

rnm

ent o

n th

e ot

her,

indi

catin

g th

at th

e JV

Pm

anag

ed to

acc

rue

mos

t of t

he p

oliti

cal c

apita

l fro

m

inde

pend

ent s

ocia

l rel

ief w

ork

whi

le st

ill a

mem

ber o

fth

e U

PFA

coal

ition

.74T

his s

ugge

sts th

at th

e fo

rmer

scen

ario

of e

xpan

ded

JVP

legi

timac

y is

far m

ore

likel

y.

From

bot

h th

e po

st-tsu

nam

i situ

atio

n an

d th

e JV

P's

depa

rtur

e fro

m th

e U

PFA

coal

ition

in Ju

ne 2

005

over

the

Join

t Mec

hani

sm is

sue,

it is

cle

ar th

at so

me

obse

rver

sha

ve u

nder

estim

ated

the

part

y's l

ong-

term

stra

tegy

and

impa

ct u

pon

polit

ical

cul

ture

in S

ri La

nka.

One

of t

hear

gum

ents

cons

tant

ly m

ade

is th

at th

e JV

P ar

e be

ing

draw

n in

to m

ains

tream

pol

itica

l cul

ture

thro

ugh

thei

rex

posu

re to

the

fruits

and

spoi

ls of

coa

litio

nal o

ffice

.Fr

om th

is it

has b

een

vary

ingl

y in

terp

rete

d th

at th

e JV

Pw

ill e

ither

fall

into

a d

eclin

e in

the

sam

e w

ay th

at th

eO

ld L

eft p

artie

s did

from

the

1970

s onw

ard;

75or

that

thes

e pr

oces

ses m

ay le

ad to

an

inte

rnal

tran

sform

atio

nan

d m

oder

atio

n of

the

part

y aw

ay fr

om m

ore

radi

cal

and

natio

nalis

t pol

itics

. How

ever

, wha

t has

per

haps

bee

nov

erlo

oked

is th

e im

pact

that

the

JVP

will

con

tinue

toha

ve o

n po

litic

al c

ultu

re a

nd p

oliti

cal p

roce

sses

in S

riLa

nka.

It is

qui

te c

lear

, as t

he JV

P's J

oint

Mec

hani

smde

part

ure

dem

onstr

ated

, tha

t the

par

ty's

shor

t-ter

min

tere

st in

por

tfolio

and

offi

ce is

not

as e

xten

sive

as so

me

have

sugg

este

d--a

poi

nt S

omaw

amsa

Am

aras

ingh

e w

aske

en to

em

phas

ize in

an

inte

rvie

w w

ith th

e au

thor

s.76

Bear

ing

this

in m

ind,

it is

cle

ar th

at th

e JV

P's l

ong-

term

goal

s are

to m

aint

ain

its st

aunc

h re

sista

nce

to b

oth

the

Join

t Mec

hani

sm a

nd IS

GA

and

to a

chie

ve it

s sta

ted

polit

ical

obj

ectiv

es a

t the

hel

m o

f a fu

ture

gov

ernm

ent.

How

ever

, the

re w

as a

bro

ad c

onse

nsus

am

ong

acad

emic

and

med

ia c

omm

enta

tors

durin

g th

e fie

ldw

ork

perio

dth

at, i

n th

e ev

ent o

f ano

ther

gen

eral

elect

ion,

the

JVP

wou

ld n

ot re

tain

its c

urre

nt 3

9-se

at p

ositi

on. T

here

was

agre

emen

t tha

t its

seat

cou

nt w

ould

fall

to p

erha

ps th

ere

gion

of 2

0 to

25

seat

s. T

he a

utho

rs' o

wn

pred

ictio

n is

that

the

JVP'

s fut

ure

elect

oral

gain

s will

be

cons

ider

ably

grea

ter t

han

this.

In th

e co

ntex

t of a

noth

er S

inha

la

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

38

73C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

s co

nduc

ted

in t

he S

inig

ama

area

, Gal

le D

istr

ict

and

in W

elig

ama,

Mat

ara

Dis

tric

t, M

arch

200

5.

74C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

s in

Mat

ara

and

Gal

le D

istr

icts

, Mar

ch 2

005.

75C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

s w

ith

SF,

Mar

ch 9

, 200

5 an

d in

terv

iew

wit

h V

I, M

arch

16,

200

5.

76C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a, M

arch

10,

200

5.

Page 42: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

natio

nalis

t ups

urge

in re

spon

se to

P-T

OM

S an

d th

eco

ntin

uing

failu

re o

f the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s to

coop

erat

ein

gov

ernm

ent,

it is

high

ly li

kely

that

the

JVP

will

cont

inue

to d

isem

bow

el th

e SL

FP's

polit

ical

cons

titue

ncy.

Mor

eove

r, th

e pr

ospe

ct o

f a re

align

ed JV

P-SL

FP c

oalit

ion

at th

e ne

xt e

lectio

n, w

ith th

e JV

P in

a m

uch

stron

ger

posit

ion,

is n

o lo

nger

unl

ikely

. Disi

llusio

nmen

t with

the

clien

telis

m o

f the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s, th

e SL

FP's

own

polit

ical

crisi

s, th

e str

uctu

ral i

nequ

alitie

s out

lined

abo

ve,

along

with

the

JVP'

s cap

acity

to a

ssum

e th

e m

oral

high

-gr

ound

of n

atio

nalis

t aut

hent

icity

and

asc

etic

disc

iplin

e,all

rem

ain

key

ingr

edien

ts in

the

almos

t ine

vita

ble

polit

ical

asce

ndan

cy o

f the

par

ty.

INCE

NTI

VES

FOR

THE

JVP

AS A

PEA

CEST

AKEH

OLDE

R

Whi

le it

is q

uite

cle

ar fr

om th

e pr

eced

ing

page

s tha

t the

JVP

rem

ain

criti

cal o

f the

pea

ce p

roce

ss in

its c

urre

ntly

envi

sage

d fra

mew

orks

, the

re a

re a

num

ber o

f pos

sible

area

s tha

t offe

r pot

entia

l spa

ce fo

r man

euve

r. T

hepr

ospe

cts f

or su

ch o

peni

ngs i

nclu

de:

1)T

he J

VP

as

a de

moc

rati

c an

d/or

nat

iona

list

enti

ty?

Firs

t, it

is cl

ear t

hat a

mor

e op

en, e

lect

oral

ly-

orie

nted

JVP

has b

een

a ste

p fo

rwar

d in

the

rela

tive

stabi

lity

of th

e so

uthe

rn p

olity

. Thi

s is e

spec

ially

true

in c

ompa

rison

to th

e vi

olen

t dyn

amic

s at w

ork

in th

e bi

shan

e pe

riod

(198

7), w

hen

Sri L

anka

last

had

the

oppo

rtun

ity to

impl

emen

t a so

lutio

n to

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct. T

he JV

P ha

ve a

lso sh

own

som

ew

illin

gnes

s to

enga

ge in

dia

logu

e w

ith in

tern

atio

nal

acto

rs a

nd d

iplo

mat

ic re

pres

enta

tives

from

diff

erin

gid

eolo

gica

l hue

s so

they

may

pre

sent

thei

r ow

npe

rspe

ctiv

e on

the

Sri L

anka

n sit

uatio

n. T

his i

sm

otiv

ated

in re

spon

se to

thei

r per

cept

ion

that

the

Sri L

anka

n m

edia

dist

orts

thei

r sta

ndpo

int,

thus

posin

g a

maj

or o

bsta

cle

to b

oth

thei

r pol

itica

lgr

owth

and

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f the

ir in

tern

atio

nal

repu

tatio

n.77

In th

is se

nse,

it is

cle

ar th

at th

eir t

ime

in o

ffice

has

bee

n sig

nific

ant.

At th

e sa

me

time,

how

ever

, sin

ce th

e JV

P ha

veta

ken

up th

e sla

ck le

ft by

the

UN

P an

d SL

FPpa

rtie

s' re

lativ

e m

ove

away

from

a S

inha

lana

tiona

list p

ositi

on, t

hey

still

act a

s the

mos

tsig

nific

ant p

oliti

cal m

ovem

ent f

omen

ting

activ

eop

posit

ion

to c

urre

nt fr

amew

orks

for t

he p

eace

proc

ess.

The

y al

so se

rve

to m

obili

ze m

ore

pass

ive

oppo

sitio

n to

the

peac

e pr

oces

s as w

ell--

a bl

ock

with

in th

e so

uthe

rn p

olity

that

is c

onsid

erab

le a

ndsh

ould

not

be

unde

resti

mat

ed.78

Dur

ing

the

perio

dof

fiel

dwor

k fo

r thi

s rep

ort t

he JV

P he

ld th

eir o

wn

serie

s of p

olls

in re

gion

al m

eetin

gs in

Mar

ch 2

005

that

ask

ed fo

r a d

emoc

ratic

con

sens

us o

n w

heth

erth

e JV

P sh

ould

leav

e th

e go

vern

men

t at t

hat

junc

ture

("no

"), w

heth

er th

ey sh

ould

opp

ose

ISG

A("

yes"

), an

d w

heth

er th

ey sh

ould

opp

ose

the

join

tm

echa

nism

for r

elie

f and

reco

nstr

uctio

n ("

yes"

).W

hile

this

reve

aled

the

JVP'

s will

ingn

ess t

o cr

itici

zeth

e go

vern

men

t fro

m w

ithin

(whe

re it

cou

ld a

ct a

s am

ore

effe

ctiv

e ve

to b

lock

with

out h

avin

g to

brin

gab

out a

noth

er p

oten

tial e

lect

ion

and

the

poss

ibili

tyof

ano

ther

UN

P-le

d ad

min

istra

tion)

, it i

s cle

ar th

atth

e Jo

int M

echa

nism

issu

e pr

ovid

ed a

n un

miss

able

oppo

rtun

ity fo

r the

JVP

to m

axim

ize p

oliti

cal

mile

age

out o

f voc

al S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tm

obili

zatio

ns a

gain

st th

e Jo

int M

echa

nism

. It w

asto

this

exte

nt th

at th

ey w

ere

will

ing

to fo

llow

thro

ugh

thei

r thr

eat t

o w

alk

out o

f gov

ernm

ent.

2)T

he R

efer

endu

m:I

n in

terv

iew

s with

the

auth

ors,

the

JVP

indi

cate

d th

at sh

ould

a re

fere

ndum

be

held

on th

e iss

ue o

f fed

eral

ism a

nd th

e ab

oliti

on o

f the

exec

utiv

e pr

esid

ency

, the

JVP

wou

ld fi

erce

ly c

onte

stit

on th

e ba

sis o

f a c

halle

nge

to a

fede

ral

cons

titut

ion,

but

they

wou

ld n

onet

hele

ss su

ppor

t are

fere

ndum

resu

lt w

hate

ver t

he o

utco

me

wou

ld b

e.79

It sh

ould

also

be

note

d th

at in

the

past

the

JVP

39|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

77C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a, M

arch

10,

200

5; a

nd w

ith

Som

awan

sa A

mar

asin

ghe,

Mar

ch 1

9, 2

005.

78S

ee C

entr

e fo

r Po

licy

Alt

erna

tive

s (2

004)

Kno

wle

dge,

Att

itud

es, P

ract

ices

Sur

vey

on t

he S

ri L

anka

n Pe

ace

Proc

ess

(KA

PS) (

CPA

, Col

ombo

).

79C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

nsa

Am

aras

ingh

e, M

arch

19,

200

5.

Page 43: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

have

stat

ed th

at th

is re

fere

ndum

is u

nnec

essa

ry a

sth

e fra

mew

ork

for p

eace

lies

out

side

the

coal

ition

alM

OU

, and

that

the

pres

iden

t alre

ady

chos

e to

disr

egar

d th

e ab

oliti

on o

f the

pre

siden

cy in

the

post-

1994

per

iod.

3)Fe

dera

l Dev

olut

ion:

The

JVP

have

som

e cl

early

circ

umsc

ribed

pow

er b

ases

in a

reas

that

suffe

r fro

mhi

ghly

une

ven

deve

lopm

ent,

and

the

cent

raliz

edpo

lity

cont

inue

s to

exac

erba

te th

is un

even

ness

. In

this

sens

e th

e LT

TE

and

the

JVP

can

be se

en a

sm

irror

imag

es o

f eac

h ot

her,

and

it w

ould

seem

alo

gica

l cor

olla

ry th

at th

e JV

P w

ould

be

will

ing

toin

dulg

e so

me

form

of s

ymm

etric

al p

oliti

cal

devo

lutio

n or

regi

onal

aut

onom

y fro

m w

hich

itw

ould

ben

efit

in te

rms o

f a p

oliti

cal p

ower

bas

e.T

his s

houl

d be

con

sider

ed in

the

sam

e w

ay th

at th

eC

omm

unist

Par

ty o

f Ind

ia (C

PI) h

ave

prof

ited

ifno

t thr

ived

hist

oric

ally

thro

ugh

pow

er b

ases

inK

eral

a an

d W

est B

enga

l. H

owev

er, w

hat i

s cle

arfro

m th

e JV

P's c

onsis

tent

ly n

egat

ive

resp

onse

is th

atth

eir a

ttach

men

t to

the

cent

raliz

ed p

olity

cle

arly

outw

eigh

s any

imag

inat

ive

resp

onse

to a

fede

ral

solu

tion

at th

e pr

esen

t jun

ctur

e. A

lthou

gh it

rem

ains

cle

ar, t

o th

e au

thor

s at l

east,

that

the

JVP'

sta

ctic

is n

ot n

eces

saril

y on

e of

instr

umen

tal

man

ipul

atio

n of

nat

iona

list i

ssue

s, bu

t of a

mor

ehe

gem

onic

dep

th o

f nat

iona

list a

ffect

, thi

s doe

s not

,ho

wev

er, e

xclu

de th

e po

ssib

ility

of a

futu

re sh

ift a

s it

is cl

ear t

hat t

he JV

P ha

ve sh

ifted

on

a nu

mbe

r of

polic

ies i

n th

e pa

st (fo

r exa

mpl

e, th

e 19

77-1

983

polic

y on

the

natio

nal q

uesti

on).

4)D

ialo

gue

wit

h M

arxi

st m

ovem

ents

:As a

par

ty w

ithcl

aim

s to

a M

arxi

st he

ritag

e, th

e JV

P sti

ll m

aint

ains

a di

alog

ue w

ith b

oth

the

CPI

and

the

Com

mun

istPa

rty

of In

dia

(Mar

xist)

(CPI

M);

and

both

par

ties

rece

ntly

invi

ted

the

JVP

to th

eir p

arty

con

vent

ions

for t

he fi

rst t

ime.

Add

ition

ally,

Sita

ram

Yec

hury

from

CPI

M re

cent

ly g

ave

a K

andi

ah m

emor

ial

lect

ure

on fe

dera

lism

in C

olom

bo a

nd it

isun

ders

tood

that

the

CPI

M h

ave

atte

mpt

ed to

enga

ge th

e JV

P in

som

e ki

nd o

f dia

logu

e on

the

pote

ntia

litie

s of a

fede

ral s

olut

ion

to S

ri La

nka'

scu

rren

t cris

is, re

port

edly

with

out s

ucce

ss.80

Whi

le th

e C

omm

unist

Par

ty in

Sri

Lank

a al

som

aint

ains

a d

ialo

gue

with

the

JVP,

a fa

mili

ar st

ory

has e

mer

ged

from

an

inte

rvie

w w

ith a

Com

mun

istPa

rty

repr

esen

tativ

e in

Sri

Lank

a.81

Alth

ough

the

JVP

have

bui

lt br

idge

s with

the

NSS

P ov

er th

eiss

ue o

f con

flict

and

the

natio

nal q

uest

ion

in th

epa

st, f

or in

stan

ce, t

his m

omen

tary

shift

cam

e at

atim

e of

JVP

conv

ales

cenc

e af

ter t

he 1

980s

insu

rrec

tion.

It is

now

qui

te c

lear

that

the

JVP

curr

ently

rem

ains

unm

oved

on

this

issue

and

no

amou

nt o

f int

elle

ctua

l bad

gerin

g se

ems t

o pr

oduc

ean

y sh

ift o

r sig

ns o

f a w

illin

gnes

s to

chan

ge. W

hile

this

failu

re o

f dia

logu

e w

ith o

ther

Mar

xist

mov

emen

ts is

per

haps

a si

gn o

f the

intr

acta

ble

natu

re o

f the

JVP'

s pos

ition

on

the

natio

nal

ques

tion

in S

ri La

nka,

it is

not

com

plet

ely

surp

risin

g as

the

emer

genc

e of

the

JVP

pow

er b

ase

has f

requ

ently

bee

n at

odd

s (an

d ra

rely

inco

oper

atio

n) w

ith ri

val L

eft m

ovem

ents

. How

ever

,as

long

as t

he JV

P m

aint

ains

goo

d re

latio

ns w

ithth

ese

mov

emen

ts th

ere

is st

ill th

e po

tent

ial f

ordi

alog

ue o

n th

e qu

estio

n of

fede

ralis

m.

5)T

he J

VP

and

the

"na

tion

al q

uest

ion"

:It

shou

ld b

eno

ted

that

the

auth

ors h

ave

atte

mpt

ed to

em

phas

izeth

e va

ried

histo

rical

atti

tude

of t

he JV

P on

the

natio

nal q

uesti

on to

the

JVP

lead

ersh

ip th

emse

lves

.In

deed

, in

the

1975

to 1

983

perio

d th

e JV

Pat

tem

pted

to a

rtic

ulat

e th

e ge

nuin

e gr

ieva

nces

of t

heSr

i Lan

kan

Tam

il po

pula

tion

in L

ione

l Bop

age's

"A

Mar

xist

Anal

ysis

of th

e Nat

iona

l Que

stion

"an

dW

ijew

eera

's "P

olicy

Dec

lara

tion.

"82

How

ever

, upo

n

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

40

80C

f. a

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h K

L, M

arch

14,

200

5. S

ee a

lso

"No

obje

ctio

n to

'con

fede

rati

on' i

n La

nka:

Sit

aram

Yec

hury

" in

Hin

dust

an T

imes

, Aug

ust

11, 2

004;

P.K

. Bal

acha

ndra

n (2

005)

"In

dian

Red

s bu

ild b

ridg

es w

ith

Lank

a's

cont

rove

rsia

l JV

P" H

indu

stan

Tim

es, M

ay 3

0, 2

005.

81C

f. a

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h D

G, M

arch

200

5.

82S

ee L

. B

opag

e (1

977)

A M

arxi

st A

naly

sis

of t

he N

atio

nal

Que

stio

n of

Sri

Lan

ka (

Niy

amuw

a, C

olom

bo)

and

Bop

age,

L.

(197

5) T

he P

olic

y D

ecla

rati

on o

f th

e

JVP

(Gin

ipup

ura

Publ

icat

ions

, Col

ombo

).

Page 44: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

bein

g pr

esen

ted

with

the

idea

that

this

was

a v

arie

dhi

storic

al p

ersp

ectiv

e on

the

natio

nal q

uesti

on th

atco

uld

pote

ntia

lly b

e re

vive

d, S

omaw

ansa

Amar

asin

ghe

imm

edia

tely

cou

nter

ed th

at th

ere

was

no sh

ift in

pos

ition

. Rat

her,

diffe

rent

ideo

logi

cal

curr

ents

had

alw

ays b

een

at w

ork

and

Bopa

ge's

ideo

logi

cal i

nflu

ence

was

ulti

mat

ely

defe

ated

(hav

ing

only

thre

e vo

tes a

t the

cen

tral

com

mitt

eele

vel)

once

it w

as p

ut to

the

dem

ocra

tic te

st. S

uch

ape

rspe

ctiv

e re

info

rces

the

idea

that

the

JVP'

s Sin

hala

natio

nalis

m is

dee

ply

embe

dded

, alth

ough

the

fact

that

Som

awan

sa A

mar

asin

ghe

is al

so v

iew

ed a

s one

of th

e ch

ief p

ropo

nent

s of t

he S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tpo

sitio

n sh

ould

not

be

over

look

ed.83

So, o

nce

agai

n,in

tern

al c

hang

es in

the

part

y le

adin

g to

pol

icy

shift

sca

nnot

be

entir

ely

rule

d ou

t.

6)T

he J

VP

and

the

LT

TE-

-une

xplo

red

empa

thy:

One

oth

er p

ersp

ectiv

e is

that

the

JVP

and

the

LTT

E sh

are

muc

h in

com

mon

and

are

in fa

ctm

irror

imag

es in

rela

tion

to th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

state

.Ac

cord

ing

to th

is ar

gum

ent,

if a

spac

e fo

run

ders

tand

ing

coul

d be

car

ved

out b

etw

een

thes

etw

o ac

tors

, the

pot

entia

l for

pea

ce c

ould

be

augm

ente

d. A

lthou

gh th

ere

is lit

tle d

oubt

that

mem

bers

of t

he L

TT

E an

d el

emen

ts sy

mpa

thet

ic to

the

LTT

E ho

ld th

e JV

P in

a sy

mpa

thet

ic li

ght,

we

have

foun

d lit

tle e

vide

nce

of th

e re

vers

e at

pre

sent

.W

hile

ther

e is

an o

bvio

us re

cogn

ition

that

the

LTT

E ar

e an

effi

cien

t org

aniza

tion,

84th

ere

is lit

tleot

her e

vide

nce

of a

dmira

tion

on th

e pa

rt o

f the

JVP.

Thi

s is m

ainl

y be

caus

e th

e JV

P no

w p

oint

to th

eLT

TE'

s lac

k of

dem

ocra

tic a

ccou

ntab

ility

and

mili

tary

stru

ctur

e as

the

mai

n re

ason

for c

ensu

re o

nth

eir p

art.

The

se fa

ctor

s also

acc

ount

for t

he JV

P's

rabi

d op

posit

ion

to th

e Po

st-Ts

unam

i Ope

ratio

nal

Man

agem

ent S

truc

ture

(P-T

OM

S) fo

r aid

distr

ibut

ion

signe

d by

the

LTT

E an

d th

e G

oSL

inJu

ne 2

005-

-an

issue

that

pro

mpt

ed th

eir d

epar

ture

from

the

UPF

A go

vern

men

t. H

owev

er, t

he JV

Pha

ve c

onsis

tent

ly m

aint

aine

d th

at if

the

LTT

E w

ere

to e

nter

the

dem

ocra

tic fo

ld it

s pos

ition

wou

ldra

dica

lly c

hang

e. F

or th

e sa

me

reas

ons t

he JV

P (li

keth

e JH

U) h

ave

also

bee

n ke

en to

dev

elop

rela

tions

with

alte

rnat

ive T

amil

polit

ical

par

ties s

uch

as th

eEP

DP.

Prog

ress

was

mad

e in

this

area

in M

ay 2

004

whe

n th

e JV

P an

d EP

DP

agre

ed to

em

bark

on

ajo

int p

rogr

am a

rtic

ulat

ing

the

need

for a

solu

tion

toth

e et

hnic

con

flict

, set

ting

out t

heir

oppo

sitio

n to

the

ISG

A pr

opos

als a

nd th

e LT

TE'

s cla

im to

be

the

"sol

e re

pres

enta

tives

" of

the T

amil

peop

le.85

Whi

leth

is m

ight

sugg

est t

hat t

here

is ro

om fo

r man

euve

ram

ong

the

JVP

on th

e iss

ue o

f nor

ther

n an

d ea

stern

auto

nom

y, th

e bo

nd b

etw

een

the

JVP

and

the

EPD

P is

prob

ably

mor

e re

flect

ive

of a

mut

ualit

y of

inte

rests

in o

ppos

ing

the

LTT

E an

d of

the

JVP'

sre

spec

t for

a p

arty

that

had

unt

il ve

ry re

cent

ly a

cted

as a

surr

ogat

e ar

med

win

g of

the

Sri L

anka

ngo

vern

men

t in

the

Nor

th-E

ast.

Addi

tiona

lly, t

heJV

P ha

ve a

lso b

een

keen

to e

stabl

ish re

latio

ns w

ithAn

anda

sang

ari s

ince

his

split

with

the

LTT

E, a

gain

beca

use

they

see

him

as a

pot

entia

l pol

itica

lal

tern

ativ

e. A

t the

sam

e tim

e, it

doe

s dem

onstr

ate

that

cha

nges

with

in th

e LT

TE,

cou

ld h

eral

d a

shift

in th

e JV

P's a

ttitu

de to

war

ds a

ctor

s who

they

mig

htpe

rcei

ve a

s hav

ing

a le

gitim

ate

role

to p

lay

in th

epe

ace

proc

ess.

7)In

tern

atio

nal R

elat

ions

and

the

JV

P:A

s pre

viou

slysta

ted,

the

JVP

rem

ain

hosti

le to

Nor

weg

ian

invo

lvem

ent a

s med

iato

rs in

the

peac

e pr

oces

s. T

his

is ba

sed

larg

ely

on th

e fe

elin

g th

at th

e N

orw

egia

ngo

vern

men

t is p

artia

l to

the

LTT

E an

d to

war

d th

eIS

GA

fram

ewor

k. T

he JV

P ha

ve a

ltern

ativ

ely

sugg

este

d In

dia

as m

edia

tors

, as D

elhi

rem

ains

hosti

le to

the

crea

tion

of a

sepa

ratis

t Eel

am p

ower

base

that

mig

ht d

esta

biliz

e th

e In

dian

pol

ity.

How

ever

, giv

en th

e ob

viou

s les

sons

of S

outh

Asia

n

41|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

83C

f. a

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h U

G, M

arch

21,

200

5.

84C

f. a

utho

r's in

terv

iew

wit

h S

omaw

ansa

Am

aras

ingh

e an

d Ti

lvin

Silv

a, M

arch

10,

200

5; a

nd w

ith

Som

awan

sa A

mar

asin

ghe,

Mar

ch 1

9, 2

005.

85S

ee "

JVP-

EPD

P ta

lks

cord

ial"

in D

aily

New

s (C

olom

bo),

May

25,

200

4.

Page 45: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

histo

ry, i

t rem

ains

hig

hly

unlik

ely

that

Indi

a w

ould

wish

to b

e to

o cl

osel

y in

volv

ed u

nles

s the

pol

itica

lsit

uatio

n in

Sri

Lank

a w

ere

to se

rious

ly d

eter

iora

tefu

rthe

r. O

ther

alte

rnat

ive

exte

rnal

act

ors t

hat m

ight

pres

ent o

ppor

tuni

ties f

or a

pot

entia

l dia

logu

e w

ithth

e JV

P ar

e C

hina

(as t

he p

arty

tend

s to

mai

ntai

ncl

ose

links

with

Chi

nese

Com

mun

ist P

arty

and

upho

lds C

hina

as a

par

adig

m fo

r Sri

Lank

a's

deve

lopm

enta

l fut

ure)

and

Japa

n, to

whi

ch th

e JV

Pse

nt a

dip

lom

atic

miss

ion

in Ju

ne 2

005.

THE

PATR

IOTI

C N

ATIO

NAL

MOV

EMEN

T: A

IMS

AND

CON

STIT

UEN

TS

As th

e PN

M (D

eshah

ithai

shi J

athi

ka V

yapa

raya

) is f

or a

llin

tent

s and

pur

pose

s a li

mb

of th

e JV

P, a

fulle

rtre

atm

ent o

f thi

s mov

emen

t will

not

be

requ

ired

othe

rth

an to

out

line

the

part

icip

ants

invo

lved

and

the

mov

emen

t's a

ims a

nd st

rate

gies

. The

PN

M is

the

late

stin

a se

ries o

f pol

itica

l sid

ecar

s tha

t the

JVP

has

mob

ilize

d as

a v

ehic

le fo

r art

icul

atin

g its

nat

iona

list

proj

ect a

nd it

is c

lear

that

the

mov

emen

t's a

ims r

emai

nfir

mly

em

bedd

ed w

ithin

this

natio

nalis

t age

nda:

1."T

o re

sist a

ny a

ttem

pt a

t the

div

ision

of t

he c

ount

ryin

the

nam

e of

dev

olut

ion

of p

ower

. To

pres

erve

sove

reig

nty

of th

e N

atio

n an

d th

e te

rrito

rial

inte

grity

of t

he c

ount

ry.

2.To

resis

t the

neo

-col

onia

l eco

nom

ic e

xplo

itatio

nth

at is

bei

ng c

arrie

d ou

t by

Wes

tern

pow

ers.

To sa

veou

r eco

nom

ic re

sour

ces,

our l

and,

rive

rs a

nd fo

rests

from

bei

ng u

surp

ed b

y fo

reig

n po

wer

s.

3.To

resis

t the

cul

tura

l inv

asio

n ai

med

at d

estro

ying

our N

atio

nal i

dent

ity a

nd o

ur c

ultu

ral h

erita

ge. T

opr

eser

ve o

ur c

ivili

zatio

n an

d cu

lture

."86

The

JVP

has a

long

hist

ory

of u

sing

alte

rnat

ive

plat

form

s to

reac

h ou

t to

a w

ider

soci

o-po

litic

al se

t of

forc

es su

ch a

s the

MSS

, MSV

, and

DJV

org

ans o

f the

Indo

-Lan

ka A

ccor

d pe

riod.

Man

y co

mm

enta

tors

feel

that

the

form

atio

n an

d us

e of

thes

e or

gani

zatio

ns is

am

eans

for s

epar

atin

g th

e us

e of

an

ultr

a-na

tiona

list

vehi

cle

from

the

JVP

per s

e(in

ord

er to

pre

sent

a se

cula

rno

n-na

tiona

list f

ace

to th

e w

orld

bey

ond

Sri L

anka

). As

the

PNM

is a

dia

spor

ic o

rgan

izatio

n w

ith b

ranc

hes i

nFr

ance

and

the

U.K

.,87ou

r per

spec

tive

is th

at o

nly

anin

cred

ibly

naï

ve o

bser

ver w

ould

not

see

this

conn

ectio

n,es

peci

ally

con

sider

ing

the

pivo

tal a

nd v

ocal

role

pla

yed

by W

imal

Wee

raw

ansa

, the

JVP

Com

mun

icat

ion

Secr

etar

y. As

such

the

PNM

serv

es tw

o pr

imar

yfu

nctio

ns fo

r the

JVP.

Firs

t, it

enab

les t

he JV

P to

wid

enits

reac

h to

figu

res a

nd g

roup

s who

mig

ht o

ther

wise

be

relu

ctan

t to

asso

ciat

e w

ith th

e JV

P be

caus

e of

its v

iole

ntpa

st an

d a

lack

of c

onne

ctio

n on

thei

r par

t with

its s

ocia

lco

nstit

uenc

y. It

also

serv

es to

forg

e po

litic

al b

ridge

s with

othe

r pol

itica

l act

ors a

nd n

atio

nalis

t fig

ures

. Sec

ond,

the

PNM

act

s as a

veh

icle

for m

obili

zing

and

rein

forc

ing

the

emot

ive

and

affe

ctiv

e ap

peal

of S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

m a

t aw

ider

leve

l tha

n sim

ply

thro

ugh

the

JVP.

In th

is w

ay it

wor

ks to

try

and

set a

Sin

hala

nat

iona

list c

onte

xt,

plat

form

and

age

nda

for e

lect

oral

and

pol

itica

l str

uggl

es,

with

in w

hich

the

JVP

can

thriv

e an

d in

deed

out

do th

eir

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t riv

als s

uch

as th

e SU

/JH

U. I

t is n

otsu

rpris

ing,

ther

efor

e, th

at W

imal

Wee

raw

ansa

put

dow

nth

e U

PFA'

s 200

4 el

ecto

ral v

icto

ry a

nd p

oliti

cal

revi

taliz

atio

n of

the

exec

utiv

e to

the

succ

ess o

f the

PNM

.88

The

PN

M in

itial

ly c

oale

sced

in 2

002

as a

loos

e, JV

P-le

dor

gan

oppo

sing

Ran

il W

ickr

emas

ingh

e's p

eace

pro

cess

and

did

not o

ffici

ally

esta

blish

itse

lf un

til 2

003.

The

mov

emen

t dre

w o

n a

wid

e ci

rcle

of p

artic

ipan

ts fro

m th

eJV

P, th

e M

EP, a

nd th

e SL

FP; t

he c

lerg

y; a

nd S

inha

laac

adem

ics,

artis

ts, a

nd in

telle

ctua

ls su

ch a

s Wim

alW

eera

wan

sa, A

rjuna

Ran

atun

ga, W

ijeda

sa R

ajap

akse

,El

le G

unaw

ansa

, Gun

adas

a Am

aras

ekar

a an

dBu

ddha

dasa

Vith

anar

achc

hi. W

hile

the

afor

emen

tione

d

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

42

86C

f. h

ttp:

//w

ww

.pnm

srila

nka.

com

/abo

utus

.htm

87Th

e PN

M o

pene

d th

ese

bran

ches

in N

ovem

ber

2004

, an

even

t th

at t

he a

utho

r ob

serv

ed.

88"W

eera

wan

sa w

hack

s le

ft a

nd r

ight

" D

aily

Mir

ror

(Col

ombo

), O

ctob

er 2

6, 2

004.

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are

mem

bers

of t

he P

NM

Exe

cutiv

e C

ounc

il, m

arch

esor

gani

zed

by th

e m

ovem

ent a

gain

st th

e U

NF-

led

peac

epr

oces

s also

attr

acte

d th

e su

ppor

t and

par

ticip

atio

n of

polit

ical

figu

res l

ike

Din

esh

Gun

awar

dana

of t

he M

EPan

d M

anga

la S

amar

awee

ra, A

nura

Ban

dara

naik

e an

dD

ilan

Pere

ra o

f the

SLF

P. In

this

resp

ect,

the

mov

emen

tse

rved

to b

ring

figur

es fr

om th

e JV

P an

d th

e SL

FPcl

oser

and

ther

efor

e m

ay h

ave

been

of g

reat

sign

ifica

nce

in b

ringi

ng a

bout

the

UPF

A co

aliti

on b

etw

een

the

SLFP

and

JVP.

Whi

le it

is p

erha

ps c

orre

ct to

say

that

the

UN

Pan

d SL

FP e

lites

hav

e br

oadl

y m

oved

aw

ay fr

om a

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t pos

ition

, one

shou

ld a

lso re

cogn

izeth

at m

ovem

ents

like

the

PNM

rem

ain

attr

activ

e ve

hicl

esfo

r mem

bers

of t

he S

LFP

who

rem

ain

sym

path

etic

tona

tiona

list a

spira

tions

. It s

houl

d be

und

ersto

od a

s wel

lth

at th

e PN

M h

as a

lso b

een

depl

oyed

by

the

PA/S

LFP-

-fo

r the

nor

mal

pol

itica

l pra

ctic

e of

und

erm

inin

g th

eU

NP'

s ow

n at

tem

pts t

o re

solv

e Sr

i Lan

ka's

conf

lict a

ndas

an

elec

tora

l str

ateg

y fo

r the

resu

mpt

ion

of p

ower

. Thi

sis

clea

rly e

vide

nt fr

om th

e no

tabl

e dr

ift a

way

from

the

PNM

by

PA m

embe

rs in

the

afte

rmat

h of

the

2004

elec

tora

l vic

tory

.89T

he P

NM

has

also

bee

n pa

rt o

f acl

oser

rapp

roch

emen

t bet

wee

n th

e JV

P an

d on

e of

the

lead

ing

and

mos

t inf

luen

tial S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t sch

ools

of th

ough

t, Ja

thik

a C

hint

anay

a, w

ith G

unad

asa

Amar

asek

ara

form

ing

a cl

ose

ideo

logi

cal b

ond

with

the

mov

emen

t for

the

first

time.

90As

the

PNM

is ra

dica

llyop

pose

d to

the

devo

lutio

n of

pow

er, i

t is c

lear

that

few

ifan

y in

cent

ives

tow

ard

the

peac

e pr

oces

s can

be

fore

seen

.D

espi

te th

is, th

e m

ovem

ent g

ives

us a

pow

erfu

l sen

se o

fth

e ex

tent

to w

hich

Sin

hala

nat

iona

list m

obili

zatio

n ha

sbe

com

e ke

y to

the

JVP.

OVER

VIEW

OF

THE

SIHA

LA U

RUM

AYA/

JATH

IKA

HELA

URU

MAY

A CO

MBI

NE

Alth

ough

ther

e is

a cl

ear o

verla

p be

twee

n th

e JH

U's

and

the

JVP'

s cur

rent

ideo

logi

cal p

latfo

rm--

the

form

eres

pous

es a

radi

cal S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t pro

gram

--it

is cl

ear

that

ther

e ar

e sig

nific

ant d

iffer

ence

s bet

wee

n th

ese

two

mov

emen

ts. T

hey

rem

ain

arch

rival

s, an

d ha

ve c

lear

diffe

renc

es in

thei

r soc

ial c

onsti

tuen

cy b

ase

and

polit

ical

gene

alog

ies.91

It is

wor

th tr

acin

g so

me

of th

e hi

storic

alba

ckgr

ound

to th

e em

erge

nce

of th

e cu

rren

t Uru

may

aav

atar

. In

doin

g so

, one

mus

t exa

min

e no

t onl

y th

eem

erge

nce

of th

e Si

hala

Uru

may

a its

elf,

but a

lso th

epo

litic

al m

ilieu

out

of w

hich

som

e of

its l

eade

rsem

erge

d--a

con

text

in w

hich

the

JVP

once

aga

in p

lays

ace

ntra

l rol

e.

Som

e of

the

cent

ral f

igur

es in

the

curr

ent J

HU

(nam

ely

the

Vene

rabl

e At

hura

liye

Rat

hana

The

ra, C

ham

pika

Ran

awak

a, a

nd U

daya

Gam

man

pila

) wer

e on

ce JV

Por

gani

zers

,92an

d w

ere

activ

e du

ring

the

1980

s agi

tatio

nsag

ains

t the

Indo

-Lan

ka A

ccor

d. A

t tha

t tim

e, R

anaw

aka

and

Rat

hana

wer

e id

eolo

gica

lly a

ligne

d to

bot

h Ja

thik

aC

hint

anay

aan

d (a

s Int

er-U

nive

rsity

Stu

dent

s Fed

erat

ion

lead

ers)

to th

e JV

P. T

hey

wer

e al

so a

ctiv

e in

the

Des

hapr

emi S

ishya

Vya

para

ya, t

he st

uden

t arm

of t

heJV

P-le

d na

tiona

list f

ront

, the

DJV

.93H

owev

er,

Cha

mpi

ka R

anaw

aka

was

to p

lay

an in

tegr

al p

art i

n a

split

with

the

JVP

over

two

issue

s. Fi

rst,

Ran

awak

a ha

d a

disp

ute

with

Wije

wee

ra o

ver t

he JV

P's i

deol

ogic

al p

ath,

decl

arin

g M

arxi

sm d

ead

and

urgi

ng th

e JV

P to

who

lehe

arte

dly

embr

ace

natio

nalis

m a

s its

cent

ral

ideo

logi

cal e

ngin

e--a

line

Wije

wee

ra re

fuse

d to

coun

tena

nce.

94Se

cond

, the

JVP'

s dec

ision

not

to

43|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

89C

f au

thor

s' in

terv

iew

s w

ith

Gun

adas

a A

mar

asek

ara

Mar

ch 1

7-18

, 200

5.

90Ib

id.

91It

sho

uld

be n

oted

tha

t pr

ior

to t

he S

U's

fir

st p

arti

cipa

tion

in

an e

lect

ion,

the

JS

S a

ttem

pted

to

form

a b

road

er S

U a

llian

ce w

ith

the

Sin

hala

ya

Mah

asam

mat

ha B

hum

iput

ra P

arty

or

Sin

hala

Son

s of

the

Soi

l Par

ty a

nd t

he J

VP

wit

hout

suc

cess

.

92U

daya

Gam

man

pila

and

Cha

mpi

ka R

anaw

aka

wer

e JV

P m

embe

rs w

hile

at

scho

ol.

93C

f. a

utho

rs' i

nter

view

wit

h U

G, C

olom

bo M

arch

21,

200

5.

94Ib

id.

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supp

ort M

rs. B

anda

rana

ike's

can

dida

cy fo

r the

198

8pr

esid

entia

l ele

ctio

n tr

igge

red

a fin

al sp

lit b

etw

een

the

JVP

and

Jath

ika

Chi

ntan

aya

and

SLFP

-alig

ned

unio

ns(C

hand

rapr

ema,

199

1, p

. 117

). Af

ter t

he sp

lit,

Ran

awak

a an

d R

atha

na e

stabl

ished

the

Jana

tha

Mith

uro

("Fr

iend

s of t

he P

eopl

e") o

rgan

izatio

n, w

hich

repr

esen

ted

an a

dmix

ture

of e

nviro

nmen

tal l

obby

ing

with

soci

alist

and

nat

iona

list p

oliti

cs. H

owev

er, t

hede

eper

plu

nge

into

Sin

hala

nat

iona

list p

oliti

cs o

nly

cam

eaf

ter t

he d

issol

utio

n of

the

Jana

tha

Mith

uro

and

adr

awin

g to

geth

er o

f a n

umbe

r of S

inha

la o

rgan

izatio

nsin

to th

e N

atio

nal M

ovem

ent A

gain

st Te

rror

ism(N

MAT

) in

1998

, led

by

Cha

mpi

ka R

anaw

aka.

Am

ong

the

orga

niza

tions

wer

e th

e Ja

thik

a Sa

ngha

Sab

hava

orBu

ddhi

st M

onks

Cou

ncil,

whi

ch is

a c

ross

-nik

aya

asso

ciat

ion,

and

the

Jath

ika

Dah

am G

uru

Sabh

aor

Nat

iona

l Ass

ocia

tion

of D

ham

ma

Scho

ol T

each

ers.

The

NM

AT re

ceiv

ed c

onsid

erab

le su

ppor

t fro

m th

e Si

nhal

asm

all-t

rade

r bus

ines

s com

mun

ity u

nder

the

umbr

ella

of

the

Sinh

ala

Veer

a Vi

dhan

a(S

inha

la H

eroe

s For

um -

SVV

). T

he S

VV

pro

mot

ed a

mili

tary

solu

tion

to th

eet

hnic

con

flict

, and

mob

ilize

d vi

goro

usly

aga

inst

the

LTT

E, th

e pe

ace

proc

ess,

and

min

oriti

es.95

On

the

latte

rsc

ore

it w

as p

artic

ular

ly o

ppos

ed to

pol

itica

l par

ties s

uch

as th

e C

WC

and

pol

icie

s tha

t wer

e pe

rcei

ved

asbe

nefic

ial t

o m

inor

ities

, suc

h as

the

Equa

l Opp

ortu

nitie

sBi

ll of

199

9.

As a

con

sens

us a

mon

g th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties g

rew

for

the

need

to fo

rmul

ate

a co

nstit

utio

nal r

espo

nse

to th

eet

hnic

con

flict

, the

NM

AT a

nd S

VV

coa

litio

n be

gan

tose

nse

a po

litic

al sp

ace

for a

mor

e di

rect

ly p

oliti

cal

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t org

an--

beyo

nd th

e us

e of

civ

il so

ciet

yan

d lo

bby

grou

ps su

ch a

s NM

AT a

nd th

e SV

V. O

nAp

ril 2

6, 2

000

the

SU w

as e

stabl

ished

. SL

Gun

asek

era,

Tila

k K

arun

arat

na a

nd C

ham

pika

Ran

awak

a as

sum

edth

e ke

y po

sitio

ns o

f the

par

ty a

t the

out

set,

serv

ing

as

chai

rman

, sec

reta

ry a

nd n

atio

nal o

rgan

izer r

espe

ctiv

ely.96

The

SU

also

relie

d on

the

polit

ical

exp

erie

nce

and

fund

raisi

ng c

apac

ities

of S

L G

unas

eker

a, a

ndK

arun

arat

ne, b

oth

seas

oned

pol

itici

ans.

The

form

er w

asa

long

-tim

e m

embe

r of t

he S

LFP,

whi

le th

e la

tter h

adbe

en le

ader

of t

he n

atio

nalis

t Hel

a U

rum

aya

fact

ion

with

in th

e SL

FP u

ntil

his 1

993

switc

h to

the

UN

P.Al

mos

t im

med

iate

ly th

e pa

rty

gain

ed o

ne se

at fr

om th

ena

tiona

l list

in th

e 20

00 e

lect

ion

afte

r pol

ling

127,

863

vote

s (1.

47%

of t

he v

ote)

. Alth

ough

the

part

y su

ffere

dan

initi

al se

tbac

k in

the

2001

ele

ctio

n w

hen

it lo

st al

l its

seat

s, it

reco

vere

d in

the

April

200

4 el

ectio

n af

ter a

fusio

n of

the

SUan

d th

e Ja

thik

a Sa

ngha

Sam

mel

anay

a(N

atio

nal S

angh

aC

ongr

ess -

JSS)

led

to th

e ad

optio

n of

the

JHU

labe

l. It

also

ben

efite

d by

fiel

ding

bhi

kku

cand

idat

es in

alm

ost e

very

ele

ctor

ate

in th

e co

untr

y in

the

afte

rmat

h of

the

Vene

rabl

e So

ma'

s dea

th. T

he JH

Usu

bseq

uent

ly w

on 9

seat

s--th

ree

from

Col

ombo

Dist

rict;

two

from

Gam

paha

; one

from

Kal

utar

a an

d th

e K

andy

Dist

rict r

espe

ctiv

ely;

and

two

from

the

natio

nal l

ist.97

Indo

ing

so, i

t see

min

gly

secu

red

its p

lace

at t

he h

eart

of S

riLa

nka'

s pol

itica

l exi

stenc

e.

THE

JHU'

S SO

CIO-

POLI

TICA

L CO

NST

ITUE

NCY

Alth

ough

man

y of

the

JHU

par

liam

enta

rian

mon

ksth

emse

lves

hav

e ru

ral o

rigin

s, th

e JH

U/S

U c

ombi

nem

ust b

e se

en a

s a p

rimar

ily u

rban

and

subu

rban

phen

omen

on. T

his i

s cle

ar fr

om it

s pas

t and

pre

sent

elec

tora

l con

stitu

enci

es (p

rimar

ily lo

cate

d in

and

aro

und

Col

ombo

), an

d w

ith sy

mbo

lic su

ppor

t bas

es su

ch a

s the

Sri V

ajira

ghan

a te

mpl

e in

Mah

arag

ama.

The

latte

rre

mai

ns c

lose

ly ti

ed to

the

non-

Siya

m A

mar

apur

a ni

kaya

with

whi

ch (a

long

side

the

Ram

man

a ni

kaya

) alm

ost a

llth

e JH

U m

onks

are

affi

liate

d. W

hile

the

JHU

may

appe

ar o

n th

e su

rface

to re

pres

ent t

he in

tere

sts o

f the

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

44

95Fo

r in

stan

ce,

SV

V o

rgan

ized

a c

ampa

ign

dire

cted

aga

inst

Tam

il ex

pans

ioni

sm i

n C

olom

bo i

n 19

99 a

nd a

mar

ch o

rgan

ized

by

the

SV

V i

n Ju

ne 1

999

on t

his

plat

form

end

ed u

p in

an

atta

ck o

n th

e C

WC

off

ice

in C

olom

bo.

96S

ee M

ahin

da D

eega

lle (2

004)

"Po

litic

s of

the

Jat

hika

Hel

a Ur

umay

a M

onks

: Bud

dhis

m a

nd E

thni

city

in C

onte

mpo

rary

Sri

Lan

ka,"

Con

tem

pora

ry B

uddh

ism

,

Vol.

5, N

o. 2

.

97Ib

id.

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Sang

hain

pol

itics

, the

San

gha

itsel

f is o

bvio

usly

driv

enby

pre

-exi

sting

pol

itica

l diff

eren

ces a

nd a

ffilia

tions

. As

such

the

deci

sion

to e

xclu

sivel

y fie

ld m

onk

cand

idat

esca

n be

seen

as n

ot n

eces

saril

y an

exp

ress

ion

of "

bhik

kupo

litic

s" a

s a w

hole

but

rath

er a

s the

exp

loita

tion

of th

eSi

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

st sw

ing

caus

ed b

y th

e Ve

nera

ble

Som

a's

deat

h in

200

3. T

his n

atio

nalis

t ups

urge

insp

ired

the

lay

lead

ersh

ip o

f the

SU

to st

and

asid

e fo

r an

excl

usiv

eca

ndid

acy

of m

onks

in th

e Ap

ril 2

004

elec

tion.

Addi

tiona

lly, "

the

JHU

mon

ks b

y an

d la

rge

cam

e in

topr

omin

ence

out

side

the

hier

arch

ical

stru

ctur

es o

f the

Sang

ha"

as m

any

of th

em w

ere

invo

lved

in h

igh

prof

ile,

publ

ic a

nd m

edia

-driv

en p

reac

hing

and

ritu

als a

nd w

ere

accu

stom

ed to

life

in c

omfo

rtab

le u

rban

con

text

s,de

spite

thei

r rur

al o

rigin

s (Fr

yden

lund

, 200

5, p

. 15)

. In

that

sens

e th

ey w

ere

expr

essiv

e of

the

dyna

mic

s of

"pro

testa

nt B

uddh

ism"-

-of t

he m

onk

who

is a

ctiv

e in

the

wor

ld to

the

exte

nt th

at p

oliti

cs is

no

long

er a

pros

crib

ed a

rea

of a

ctiv

ity, a

nd in

whi

ch a

far m

ore

aggr

essiv

e bu

t les

s dep

ende

nt re

latio

nshi

p is

forg

edbe

twee

n th

e la

ity a

nd th

e Sa

ngha

.98

In th

is se

nse

the

JHU

is re

pres

enta

tive

of a

mod

ern

Sinh

ala

Budd

hist

natio

nalis

m ti

ed to

the

spre

ad o

f prin

tan

d te

levi

sual

med

ia. I

t is a

lso a

mor

e ag

gres

sive

"eva

ngel

ical

" re

ligio

us d

ynam

ic th

at h

as b

een

espe

cial

lypr

olifi

c am

ong

the

urba

n an

d su

burb

an m

iddl

e cl

asse

sra

ther

than

bei

ng e

xpre

ssiv

e of

"tr

aditi

onal

" Bu

ddhi

stva

lues

or o

f the

inte

rest

of th

e Sa

ngha

as a

who

le. I

t is

also

cle

ar th

at th

e pa

rty'

s mem

bers

hip

and

supp

ort b

ase

is co

mpr

ised

of S

inha

la p

rofe

ssio

nals,

inte

llect

uals,

99

busin

ess c

omm

unity

lead

ers,

and

mem

bers

of t

he a

rmed

serv

ices

.100T

his i

s app

aren

t fro

m th

e co

nnec

tion

betw

een

the

JHU

and

org

aniza

tions

like

NM

AT a

nd th

e SV

V, a

sw

ell a

s fro

m th

e la

y fig

ures

in th

e U

rum

aya

com

bine

.

The

Uru

may

a co

mbi

ne is

bui

lt up

on v

ery

mid

dle-

clas

sfo

unda

tions

, with

con

sider

able

fina

ncia

l and

med

iare

sour

ces m

obili

zed

both

in S

ri La

nka

and

amon

g th

edi

aspo

ra.10

1M

oreo

ver,

its p

re-e

xisti

ng p

oliti

cal a

ffilia

tions

are

clos

er to

the

UN

P, as

is il

lustr

ated

by

Tila

kK

arun

arat

ne's

prev

ious

role

in th

e pa

rty.

In th

is se

nse,

whi

le th

e JH

U/S

U m

ovem

ent s

tress

ed th

e ne

ed fo

r the

revi

taliz

atio

n of

a "

natio

nal e

cono

my"

bui

lt on

the

glor

ious

Sin

hala

pas

t of h

ydra

ulic

civ

iliza

tion

and

agric

ultu

re w

ith a

focu

s on

self-

suffi

cien

cy in

food

, thi

squ

est f

or e

cono

mic

aut

arky

is n

ot a

ll en

com

pass

ing

and

has b

een

qual

ified

in th

e SU

man

ifesto

by

a re

lativ

eop

enne

ss to

fore

ign

inve

stmen

t:

"We

do n

ot se

e m

ulti-

natio

nal c

ompa

nies

and

fore

ign

inve

stors

as d

evils

," p

arty

secr

etar

y K

arun

arat

ne to

ldAr

atuw

a, a

Sin

hala

bus

ines

s new

spap

er. "

With

in th

isgl

obal

izatio

n, [w

e] a

re w

orki

ng c

onfid

ently

with

the

priv

ate

sect

or, a

nd a

ccep

t the

nec

essit

y of

fore

ign

inve

stmen

t. Al

thou

gh w

e ha

ve a

ccep

ted

that

the

publ

icse

ctor

and

priv

ate

sect

or sh

ould

func

tion

at th

e sa

me

leve

l in

the

econ

omy,

we

are

not o

f the

opi

nion

that

the

publ

ic se

ctor

mus

t con

trol i

ndus

try

and

busin

ess..

."(S

enar

atne

and

Jaya

seke

ra, 2

000)

.

Whi

le th

e JH

U/S

U e

vide

ntly

hav

e a

pote

nt te

nden

cyto

war

d th

e re

-terr

itoria

lizat

ion

of p

oliti

cal p

ower

as a

reac

tion

to th

e fo

rces

of g

loba

lizat

ion,

thei

r per

spec

tive

on th

e re

vita

lizat

ion

of st

ate

pow

er (u

nlik

e th

at o

f the

JVP)

is m

ainl

y co

ncen

trat

ed o

n th

e po

litic

o-cu

ltura

lra

ther

than

eco

nom

ic sp

here

. It i

s a st

ance

that

refle

cts

thei

r sol

id c

onsti

tuen

cy in

the

busin

ess a

nd p

rofe

ssio

nal

clas

ses a

nd w

hich

, des

pite

the

elem

ents

of sm

all b

usin

ess

men

talit

y th

at p

erse

vere

in th

e co

mbi

ne, p

lace

s the

mcl

ose

to th

e U

NP'

s bra

nd o

f glo

bally

con

nect

ed b

usin

ess

45|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

98S

ee H

.L.

Sen

evir

atne

(19

99)

The

Wor

k of

Kin

gs:

The

New

Bud

dhis

m i

n S

ri L

anka

(U

nive

rsit

y of

Chi

cago

); R

. G

ombr

ich

& G

. O

beye

seke

re (

1988

) B

uddh

ism

Tran

sfor

med

: Rel

igio

us C

hang

e in

Sri

Lan

ka (P

rinc

eton

Uni

vers

ity

Pres

s, P

rinc

eton

, N.J

.).

99Fo

r ex

ampl

e, P

rofe

ssor

Piy

asen

a D

issa

naya

ka, P

rofe

ssor

C. M

. Mad

dum

a B

anda

ra, P

rofe

ssor

A. D

. V. d

e S

. Ind

rara

tne,

and

Dr.

Ran

jini R

atna

pala

.

100

For

inst

ance

at

its

ince

ptio

n M

ajor

Gen

eral

Thi

lak

Para

naga

ma

and

Lieu

tena

nt C

olon

el A

nil A

mar

asek

era

wer

e ap

poin

ted

as d

eput

y pr

esid

ents

.

101

This

acc

ount

s fo

r th

e S

U a

nd t

he J

HU

's c

apac

ity

to m

obili

ze w

idel

y an

d sp

eedi

ly in

ele

ctio

ns s

ince

200

0 an

d to

hav

e fi

elde

d 25

2 m

onk-

cand

idat

es in

21

of

the

coun

try'

s 22

ele

ctor

al d

istr

icts

. The

re h

ave

also

bee

n al

lega

tion

s th

at T

hila

nga

Sum

athi

pala

, who

se f

amily

ow

ns a

cha

in o

f be

ttin

g sh

ops

in S

ri L

anka

,

fund

ed t

he J

HU

in t

he 2

004

elec

tion

and

tha

t th

e pa

rty

rece

ived

pro

min

ent

expo

sure

thr

ough

the

TN

L, M

ahar

aja,

and

Sw

arna

vahi

ni n

etw

orks

.

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inte

rests

. It a

lso se

rves

as y

et a

noth

er fa

cet o

f the

endu

ring

rela

tions

hip

betw

een

the

JHU

/SU

and

the

UN

P. In

deed

, one

ext

rem

e in

terp

reta

tion

that

was

rein

forc

ed b

y th

e "s

peak

er e

lect

ion"

inci

dent

of 2

000

isth

at th

e SU

and

the

JHU

are

no

mor

e th

an a

UN

Pde

coy

crea

ted

to d

raw

vot

ers a

way

from

oth

er S

inha

lana

tiona

list r

ival

s suc

h as

the

MEP

or t

he JV

P.102

Whi

leth

is in

terp

reta

tion

is ex

trem

e, it

doe

s art

icul

ate

the

trui

sm th

at th

e JH

U is

ulti

mat

ely

a U

NP

cons

tella

tion.

Bear

ing

this

in m

ind,

wer

e th

e JH

U to

col

laps

e,de

pend

ing

on th

e po

litic

al c

onte

xt, m

embe

rshi

p an

dsu

ppor

t wou

ld p

roba

bly

be re

abso

rbed

bac

k in

to th

eU

NP.

How

ever

, con

sider

ing

the

JVP'

s rap

id e

xpan

sion

and

the

curr

ent a

ttem

pts a

t con

stitu

tiona

l ref

orm

and

peac

e pr

oces

ses p

ursu

ed b

y m

ains

tream

par

ties,

the

poss

ibili

ty th

at th

ese

natio

nalis

t ele

men

ts m

ay fi

nd a

nid

eolo

gica

l hea

rth

in th

e JV

P ca

nnot

be

entir

ely

rule

dou

t.

THE

JHU,

SIN

HALA

NAT

ION

ALIS

M A

ND

ATTI

TUDE

S TO

THE

"ETH

NIC

CON

FLIC

T" A

ND

THE

PEAC

E PR

OCES

S

The

SU

and

the

JHU

mob

ilize

prim

arily

on

a Si

nhal

ana

tiona

list p

latfo

rm b

ased

on

the

perc

eive

d pr

emise

that

the

sout

hern

pol

ity is

exc

essiv

ely

dom

inat

ed b

y m

inor

ityin

tere

sts.

Thi

s ass

ertio

n is

base

d on

the

belie

f tha

tm

inor

ity-b

ased

par

ties s

uch

as th

e TN

A an

d th

e H

illC

ount

ry T

amil

part

ies a

re a

llege

d to

hav

e a

disp

ropo

rtio

nate

influ

ence

on

the

prop

ortio

nal e

lect

oral

syste

m a

nd c

oalit

ion

polit

ics.

Acc

ordi

ng to

this

view

,th

e m

inor

ity a

nd m

ains

tream

par

ties (

the

SLFP

and

the

UN

P) h

ave

succ

umbe

d to

the

agen

da o

f the

LT

TE,

Wes

tern

gov

ernm

ents,

NG

Os,

and

ING

Os.

Mea

nwhi

le,

the

inte

rests

of t

he m

ajor

ity S

inha

la c

omm

unity

are

sidel

ined

. The

par

ty w

as e

stabl

ished

to fi

ll a

void

in th

epo

lity

and

"to

repr

esen

t the

sile

nt m

ajor

ity w

ho d

o no

tre

ally

hav

e a

voic

e,"

as o

ne m

embe

r of t

he JH

U p

ut it

,103

and

to lo

bby

(like

the

JVP)

for t

he p

rote

ctio

n of

the

unita

ry st

ate

and

Sri L

anka

n na

tiona

l sov

erei

gnty

.

Unl

ike

the

JVP,

the

SU a

nd th

e JH

U h

ave

an a

ppar

ently

clea

r and

tran

spar

ent 1

2-po

int p

rogr

am a

rtic

ulat

ing

thei

rm

ain

dem

ands

aro

und

the

cent

ral t

heoc

ratic

pill

ar o

f the

dhar

mar

ajya

(rig

hteo

us st

ate

or ru

le) c

once

pt, a

imed

at

resto

ring

the

Budd

hasa

sana

(miss

ion

of th

e Bu

ddha

) at

the

apex

of t

he S

ri La

nkan

stat

e. W

e ha

ve b

riefly

cond

ense

d th

e pr

ogra

m b

elow

:

1)T

hat S

ri La

nka

shou

ld b

e a

Budd

hist

state

and

shou

ld b

e ru

led a

ccor

ding

to B

uddh

ist p

rinci

ples

whi

le sim

ulta

neou

sly sa

fegu

ardi

ng th

e rig

hts o

f oth

erre

ligio

ns a

nd c

omba

ting

"une

thic

al co

nver

sions

"

2)Sr

i Lan

ka is

and

shou

ld re

mai

n a

unita

ry st

ate

3)T

hat t

he n

atio

nal c

ivili

zatio

nal h

erita

ge o

f the

coun

try

is th

at o

f the

Sin

hala

maj

ority

4)T

hat r

uler

s sho

uld

adop

t the

uni

vers

al d

harm

araj

aco

ncep

t of A

soka

n ru

le, w

hich

shou

ld a

pply

to a

llet

hnic

gro

ups e

qual

ly

5)T

hat t

he g

over

nmen

t sho

uld

have

supe

rviso

ry a

ndm

onito

ring

cont

rol o

ver a

ll ac

tiviti

es a

nd m

onet

ary

tran

sact

ions

of N

GO

s and

ING

Os i

n Sr

i Lan

ka,

espe

cial

ly in

the

cont

ext o

f the

se in

stitu

tions

' use

of

educ

atio

nal p

rogr

ams f

or p

rose

lytiz

atio

n

6)T

hat a

dec

entr

alize

d ad

min

istra

tion

(gra

ma

rajya

sank

alpa

ya) s

houl

d be

ado

pted

acc

ordi

ng to

the

prin

cipl

e of

gra

ma

rajya

(vill

age

rule

) and

that

ade

volu

tion

of p

ower

in th

e cu

rren

tly p

ropo

sed

form

s are

impo

rted

con

cept

s

7)T

hat d

evel

opm

ent s

houl

d be

bas

ed o

n th

e na

tura

lha

bita

t, an

imal

s, an

d hu

man

ity o

f Sri

Lank

a an

d on

a Bu

ddhi

st-or

ient

ed n

atio

nal e

cono

my

that

empo

wer

s loc

al fa

rmer

s and

ent

repr

eneu

rs

8)T

hat a

n ed

ucat

iona

l sys

tem

suite

d to

Sri

Lank

ash

ould

be

deve

lope

d ba

sed

on th

e tr

aditi

onal

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

46

102

For

inst

ance

, MEP

lead

er D

ines

h G

unaw

arda

na, a

fter

hav

ing

his

invi

tati

on f

or t

he S

U t

o co

ntes

t un

der

the

MEP

ban

ner

refu

sed,

ass

erte

d th

at t

he S

U w

as

only

mob

ilizi

ng o

n be

half

of

the

UN

P. N

alin

de

Silv

a ha

s al

so m

ade

sim

ilar

alle

gati

ons.

See

Wal

ter

Jaya

war

dhan

a (2

004)

"M

onks

vot

ing

wit

h TN

A i

s

unac

cept

able

" A

sian

Tri

bune

, Apr

il 24

, 200

4.

103

Cf.

aut

hor's

inte

rvie

w w

ith

UG

, Col

ombo

Mar

ch 2

1, 2

005.

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hier

arch

ies o

f dut

y an

d ob

ligat

ion

betw

een

pare

ntan

d ch

ild, t

each

er a

nd p

upil

etc.

9)T

hat S

ri La

nka

as th

e la

nd o

f dha

mm

ash

ould

bui

ldtie

s with

oth

er B

uddh

ist c

ount

ries a

s wel

l as w

ithno

n-Bu

ddhi

st ne

ighb

ors a

nd se

ek to

spre

adBu

ddhi

sm g

loba

lly

10)

Tha

t a B

uddh

ist c

ounc

il sh

ould

be

esta

blish

ed a

ndm

aint

aine

d fo

r the

supe

rvisi

on o

f the

San

gha,

and

the

1957

and

200

2 Bu

ddhi

st C

omm

issio

ns sh

ould

be a

dopt

ed

11)

Tha

t the

mor

al ri

ghts

of w

omen

and

the

statu

s of

mot

herh

ood

shou

ld b

e pr

otec

ted

12)

Tha

t the

med

ia sh

ould

be

gove

rned

by

"ind

epen

dent

, fre

e, a

nd e

thic

al p

rinci

ples

"104

Con

sequ

ently

, the

JHU

pre

sent

ly re

mai

ns e

mbe

dded

ina

char

acte

ristic

ally

Sin

hala

nat

iona

list c

once

ptio

n of

the

Sri L

anka

n sta

te--

one

that

is A

soka

n, u

nita

ry, m

unifi

cent

and

prot

ectiv

e of

the

lang

uage

, rel

igio

us ri

ghts,

and

agric

ultu

ral a

nd e

ntre

pren

euria

l fou

ndat

ions

of t

heSi

nhal

a pe

ople

. Suc

h a

conc

eptio

n in

evita

bly

prec

lude

sth

e po

ssib

ility

of e

nter

tain

ing

(at l

east

in th

eir c

urre

ntsta

nce)

the

viab

ility

of m

eani

ngfu

l con

stitu

tiona

l ref

orm

or o

f a fe

dera

l sol

utio

n to

the

curr

ent e

thni

c co

nflic

t. In

fact

the

JHU

doe

s not

eve

n re

cogn

ize a

n "e

thni

cco

nflic

t" a

s suc

h. In

stead

they

ass

ert t

hat t

he c

urre

ntcr

isis i

s the

resu

lt of

an

uppe

r-m

iddl

e cl

ass f

ailu

re a

mon

gTa

mil

polit

ical

lead

ers i

n Sr

i Lan

ka (a

nd a

mon

g th

edi

aspo

ra) t

o re

treat

from

a c

olon

ially

priv

ilege

d po

sitio

n.T

hey

also

arg

ue th

at th

e LT

TE,

with

the

aid

of "

peac

e-lo

bbyi

ng N

GO

s," m

aint

ain

thei

r dom

inan

ce o

ver t

heTa

mil

popu

lace

thro

ugh

coer

cion

and

the

supp

ress

ion

ofde

moc

ratic

alte

rnat

ives

such

as t

he E

PDP

and

Eela

m

Peop

le’s R

evol

utio

nary

Lib

erat

ion

Fron

t (EP

RLF

).105

Addi

tiona

lly, t

he p

arty

reje

cts a

ny p

ropo

sal f

or se

lf-de

term

inat

ion

on th

e pa

rt o

f Tam

ils o

r oth

er m

inor

itygr

oups

. The

reas

onin

g be

hind

this

is th

at th

e JH

U d

ono

t rec

ogni

ze T

amils

as a

"na

tiona

l min

ority

" in

the

Sri

Lank

an a

s opp

osed

to In

dian

con

text

but

as a

n "e

thni

cm

inor

ity,"

whi

ch a

utom

atic

ally

disq

ualif

ies t

he T

amil

strug

gle

for a

uton

omy.

Mor

eove

r, th

e JH

U h

as b

een

pres

sing

for a

de-

mer

ger o

f the

Nor

ther

n an

d Ea

stern

Prov

ince

s (w

hich

wer

e m

erge

d su

bjec

t to

a re

fere

ndum

in 1

987)

in o

rder

to u

nder

min

e th

e cl

aim

that

thes

e ar

e"T

amil

Hom

elan

ds."

106

Con

sequ

ently

, the

JHU

, lik

e th

eir S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tne

mes

is, th

e JV

P, re

mai

n in

cont

rove

rtib

ly h

ostil

e to

the

LTT

E, w

hich

they

per

ceiv

e as

an

unde

moc

ratic

,un

repr

esen

tativ

e, il

legi

timat

e an

d un

acco

unta

ble

terr

orist

orga

niza

tion

that

vio

late

s hum

an ri

ghts.

The

y al

sobe

lieve

that

Pra

bhak

aran

and

the

Vann

i LT

TE

rem

ain

oppo

sed

to a

pea

cefu

l sol

utio

n to

the

curr

ent c

onfli

ct.

Alle

ged

evid

ence

to th

at e

ffect

lies

in P

rabh

akar

an's

asse

rtio

n to

Ani

ta P

rata

p107

(and

to th

e w

orld

med

ia a

tth

e gr

ound

-bre

akin

g pr

ess c

onfe

renc

e of

200

2) th

at a

mili

tary

stru

ggle

for t

he d

efea

t of t

he S

ri La

nkan

Arm

yw

ill se

cure

a m

ore

legi

timat

e Tam

il sta

te a

nd th

at E

elam

still

rem

ains

the

ultim

ate

goal

of t

he L

TT

E.10

8

Furt

herm

ore,

the

JHU

(lik

e th

e JV

P) re

mai

ns h

ostil

e to

the

ISG

A fra

mew

ork

for p

eace

talk

s, sta

ting

that

it is

mer

ely

an a

ttem

pt to

turn

a d

e fac

toLT

TE-

led

Tam

ilna

tion-

state

into

a d

e jur

esta

te.10

9T

he JH

U a

lso fe

el th

atth

e G

oSL

has n

ot e

xplo

ited

to th

e fu

llest

the

oppo

rtun

ity p

rese

nted

by

the

LTT

E sp

lit, a

rgui

ng it

serv

ed a

s an

occa

sion

to d

estro

y th

e Va

nni L

TT

E in

the

East.

47|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

104

See

Mah

inda

Dee

galle

(200

4) "

Polit

ics

of t

he J

athi

ka H

ela

Urum

aya

Mon

ks: B

uddh

ism

and

Eth

nici

ty in

Con

tem

pora

ry S

ri L

anka

," C

onte

mpo

rary

Bud

dhis

m,

Vol.

5, N

o. 2

, pp.

81-

2.

105

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

UG

, Col

ombo

Mar

ch 2

1, 2

005.

106

This

bec

ame

one

of t

he c

ondi

tion

alit

ies

alon

g w

ith

the

aban

donm

ent

of t

he p

rinc

iple

of

auto

nom

y fo

r an

unf

ulfi

lled

JHU

's p

arti

cipa

tion

in t

he U

PFA

.

107

See

A. P

rata

p (2

001)

Isla

nd o

f B

lood

: Fro

ntlin

e R

epor

ts f

rom

Sri

Lan

ka, A

fgha

nist

an &

Oth

er S

outh

Asi

an F

lash

poin

ts (P

engu

in, N

ew Y

ork)

.

108

Ibid

.

109

Ibid

.

Page 51: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

The

JHU

also

app

ear t

o re

mai

n as

hos

tile

to N

GO

s and

inte

rnat

iona

l act

ors a

s the

JVP.

As d

emon

strat

ed b

y th

eir

"Tw

elve

Poi

nt P

rogr

amm

e,"

the

tran

sgre

ssio

n of

sove

reig

nty

by su

ch a

ctor

s rem

ains

as h

igh

on th

e JH

Uag

enda

as o

n th

at o

f the

JVP-

-des

pite

a h

istor

y of

hosti

lity

and

mut

ual i

nfilt

ratio

n be

twee

n th

ese

two

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t act

ors.

In th

is re

gard

, it s

houl

d be

note

d th

at th

e JH

U fe

el th

at th

ey h

ave

succ

essfu

lly u

sed

the

prom

otio

n of

a ra

dica

l Sin

hala

nat

iona

list a

gend

a to

push

the

JVP

to a

rtic

ulat

e an

eve

n m

ore

hosti

le li

ne to

ISG

A an

d a

fede

ral s

olut

ion

than

wou

ld o

ther

wise

hav

ebe

en th

e ca

se. W

hile

ther

e is

a pr

ofou

nd a

cade

mic

deba

te b

eyon

d th

e sc

ope

of th

is re

port

as t

o th

e ex

tent

of

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t heg

emon

y in

the

Sout

h as

a w

hole

,110

it is

none

thel

ess c

lear

that

a n

umbe

r of p

oliti

cal,

econ

omic

and

soci

o-cu

ltura

l fac

tors

can

coa

lesc

e to

prod

uce

signi

fican

t pen

dulu

m sw

ings

tow

ard

a Si

nhal

aBu

ddhi

st up

surg

e. It

mus

t be

reco

gnize

d th

at th

ese

feat

ures

of t

he S

ri La

nkan

pol

ity a

re n

ot st

atic

but

par

tof

a h

ighl

y dy

nam

ic a

nd v

aria

ble

phen

omen

on.

Alth

ough

the

JHU

hav

e co

ntrib

uted

to a

righ

twar

d sh

iftw

ithin

the

JVP

and

the

sout

hern

pol

ity a

s a w

hole

, our

opin

ion

is th

at th

e JH

U a

s it c

urre

ntly

stan

ds is

no

long

er a

s sig

nific

ant a

long

-term

pot

entia

l spo

iler o

f the

peac

e pr

oces

s as i

t may

hav

e se

emed

in A

pril

2004

whe

nit

won

nin

e se

ats i

n th

e el

ectio

n. O

ur re

ason

s for

this

asse

ssm

ent w

ill b

e ex

pand

ed u

pon

belo

w.

THE

RISE

AN

D FA

LL O

F TH

E JH

U AS

A S

INHA

LAN

ATIO

NAL

IST

ORGA

N

The

JHU

fiel

ded

bhik

kuca

ndid

ates

in th

e 20

04 e

lect

ion

in th

e co

ntex

t of a

sudd

en u

psur

ge o

f Sin

hala

Bud

dhist

natio

nalis

t pas

sions

. Thi

s nat

iona

lism

had

em

erge

d in

late

200

3 in

the

afte

rmat

h of

the

deat

h of

the

Vene

rabl

eG

ango

davi

la S

oma,

a p

opul

ar B

uddh

ist p

reac

her a

ndbh

ikku

who

was

abl

e to

reac

h a

wid

e au

dien

ce th

roug

hth

e el

ectro

nic

med

ia a

nd h

is un

com

prom

ising

casti

gatio

n of

the

gene

rally

cor

rupt

stat

e of

pol

itics

inth

e So

uth.

Som

a al

so p

reac

hed

voci

fero

usly

aga

inst

Chr

istia

n ch

urch

es a

nd N

GO

s, se

eing

them

as "

the

instr

umen

ts of

a d

iabo

lical

con

spira

cy b

y C

hrist

ian

pow

ers t

o co

nver

t and

cor

rupt

the

Sinh

ales

e Bu

ddhi

stpu

blic

."11

1T

his u

psur

ge a

lso e

mer

ged

at a

tim

e of

finan

cial

har

dshi

p an

d ris

ing

pric

es in

the

coun

try

alon

gsid

e th

e de

stabi

lizin

g dy

nam

ics a

nd u

ncer

tain

ty o

fa

stalle

d pe

ace

proc

ess i

n w

hich

the

UN

F go

vern

men

tw

as u

nabl

e to

cap

italiz

e on

the

visio

n of

the

2002

CFA

.112

All t

hese

fact

ors m

ay w

ell h

ave

com

bine

d to

prod

uce

the

pote

ncy

of th

e su

dden

nat

iona

list t

urn

and

expr

essio

ns o

f diss

atisf

actio

n w

ith th

e U

NF

gove

rnm

ent.

Muc

h of

this

lay

in th

eir p

erce

ived

failu

re to

eng

age

inco

nsul

tatio

n w

ith th

e pe

ople

or t

he p

resid

ent o

ver t

hena

ture

of t

he p

ropo

sals

for i

nter

im a

dmin

istra

tion

in th

eN

orth

-Eas

t. In

deed

, it b

ecam

e no

t unc

omm

on fo

r Ran

ilW

ickr

emas

ingh

e to

be

depi

cted

in th

e m

edia

as m

ore

sym

path

etic

to th

e ca

use

of T

amil

Eela

m th

an to

the

conc

erns

of t

he so

uthe

rn e

lect

orat

e. H

e w

as p

ortr

ayed

as

a le

ader

who

had

han

ded

the

inte

rests

and

con

trol o

f the

coun

try'

s fut

ure

to IN

GO

s and

pow

erfu

l don

or st

ates

pres

surin

g fo

r a so

lutio

n to

the

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct, a

nd a

sth

e he

lmsm

an o

f a g

over

nmen

t tha

t had

don

e lit

tle fo

rde

velo

pmen

t and

gro

wth

in th

e So

uth

outsi

de o

f ana

rrow

elit

e se

ctio

n of

the

Col

ombo

-cen

tric

bus

ines

sco

mm

unity

.

In th

is m

ore

turb

ulen

t situ

atio

n, a

serie

s of a

ttack

s on

Chr

istia

n ch

urch

es im

med

iate

ly fo

llow

ed S

oma'

s dea

thin

Dec

embe

r 200

3. T

hey

cont

inue

d w

ell i

nto

the

2004

perio

d re

sulti

ng in

at l

east

170

reco

rded

act

s of v

iole

nce

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

48

110

Aga

in t

he C

PA S

ocia

l Ind

icat

ors

surv

ey r

emai

ns o

f us

e in

thi

s re

spec

t as

it c

lear

ly d

emon

stra

tes

the

exis

tenc

e of

sig

nifi

cant

opp

osit

ion

to t

he p

eace

pro

cess

in th

e S

outh

. See

Cen

tre

for P

olic

y A

lter

nati

ves

(200

4) K

now

ledg

e, A

ttit

udes

, Pra

ctic

es S

urve

y on

the

Sri

Lan

kan

Peac

e Pr

oces

s (K

APS

) (C

PA, C

olom

bo).

Wha

t

such

em

piri

cal s

tudi

es c

anno

t ga

uge

is t

he e

xten

t to

whi

ch p

olit

ical

lead

ersh

ip c

an s

wif

tly

prod

uce

a co

unte

r-he

gem

onic

pos

itio

n to

the

cla

im t

hat

the

Sou

th

is S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t in

ori

enta

tion

.

111

See

"S

ri L

anka

n pr

esid

ent

war

ns a

gain

st a

nti-

Chr

isti

an v

iole

nce,

" C

hris

tian

Sol

idar

ity

Wor

ldw

ide,

Jan

uary

19,

200

4 (w

ww

.csw

.org

.uk)

.

112

See

J. U

yang

oda

(200

5) "

Whe

re h

ave

we

gone

? Th

ree

year

s af

ter

the

Cea

sefi

re A

gree

men

t" D

aily

Mir

ror

(Col

ombo

), M

arch

18,

200

5.

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agai

nst C

hrist

ian

chur

ches

.113

NG

Os (

such

as W

orld

Visi

on) w

ere

also

targ

eted

with

ant

i-Chr

istia

n po

sters

,slo

gans

, and

act

s of v

iole

nce.

The

JHU

/SU

com

bine

obvi

ously

atte

mpt

ed to

mak

e th

e m

ost o

f its

links

with

Vene

rabl

e So

ma,

whi

ch w

ere

form

ally

esta

blish

edth

roug

h th

e M

ahar

agam

a Tem

ple

conn

ectio

n, a

nd th

eaf

filia

tion

of h

is Ja

na V

ijaya

Fou

ndat

ion

with

the

SU in

2002

. To

this

exte

nt th

ey h

ave

even

cla

imed

his

supp

ort

from

bey

ond

the

grav

e. In

deed

, it i

s the

SU

who

cont

ribut

ed m

assiv

ely

to th

e co

ntin

ued

fann

ing

of a

nti-

Chr

istia

n fla

mes

, pas

sions

, and

vio

lenc

e an

d w

ho w

ere

instr

umen

tal i

n th

e ca

mpa

ign

for t

he ta

blin

g of

an

"ant

i-co

nver

sion

bill"

in 2

004

that

was

in th

e en

d ru

led

unco

nstit

utio

nal.11

4

How

ever

, the

JHU

influ

ence

on

the

polit

ical

pro

cess

has

been

such

that

the

min

ister

for B

uddh

a Sa

sana

, Rat

nasir

iW

ickr

eman

ayak

e, a

lso ta

bled

a g

over

nmen

t ant

i-co

nver

sion

bill,

the

"Act

of S

afeg

uard

ing

Relig

ious

Free

dom

." Ir

onic

ally,

this

bill

is vi

ewed

as e

ven

mor

estr

inge

nt th

an it

s pre

dece

ssor

, with

pot

entia

l pen

altie

s of

up to

five

yea

rs im

priso

nmen

t or a

Rs.

100,

000

fine

for

"une

thic

al"

conv

ersio

n of

fenc

es. P

enal

ties i

ncre

ase

tose

ven

year

s im

priso

nmen

t and

a R

s. 50

0,00

0 fin

e in

the

case

of m

inor

s. Ev

iden

tly, b

oth

bills

wer

e ta

rget

ing

the

perc

eive

d in

duce

men

t to

conv

ersio

n of

poo

rer B

uddh

istco

mm

uniti

es b

y C

hrist

ian

evan

gelic

al o

rgan

izatio

ns a

ndN

GO

s. A

law

that

pot

entia

lly c

ontr

aven

es h

uman

righ

tsar

ticle

s on

freed

om o

f rel

igio

n m

ay c

onse

quen

tlyse

rious

ly a

ffect

relie

f and

reco

nstr

uctio

n ef

fort

s on

the

part

of C

hrist

ian

aid

grou

ps a

nd c

harit

ies i

n Sr

i Lan

ka,

and

coul

d al

so a

ugm

ent r

athe

r tha

n di

min

ish re

ligio

usstr

ife in

the

coun

try.

Des

pite

the

cont

inui

ng im

pact

of t

he JH

U o

n th

e Sr

iLa

nkan

pol

itica

l lan

dsca

pe, t

he U

rum

aya

com

bine

has

suffe

red

a se

ries o

f set

back

s and

scan

dals

since

its

ince

ptio

n. T

his h

as re

nder

ed th

e JH

U's

curr

ent p

oliti

cal

influ

ence

and

futu

re e

lect

oral

pro

spec

ts co

nsid

erab

lym

ore

tenu

ous t

han

a ye

ar a

go. A

mon

g th

e se

tbac

ks w

asth

e sp

lit su

ffere

d by

the

SUin

Oct

ober

200

0 on

the

ques

tion

of w

ho sh

ould

take

up

thei

r sin

gle

parli

amen

tary

seat

won

in th

at y

ear's

ele

ctio

n. A

fact

ion

led

by R

anaw

aka

and

the

NM

AT so

ught

to re

mov

e th

epa

rty

chai

rman

, SL

Gun

asek

era,

from

his

unan

imou

sno

min

atio

n to

the

seat

by

the

SU's

cent

ral c

omm

ittee

.R

anaw

aka

blam

ed G

unas

eker

a fo

r the

poo

r sho

win

g in

the

elec

tions

and

acc

used

him

of l

acki

ng n

atio

nalis

tau

then

ticity

; cas

ting

aspe

rsio

ns o

n hi

s rel

igio

us v

iew

s (or

lack

of t

hem

), hi

s con

sum

ptio

n of

alc

ohol

, and

his

alle

ged

use

of E

nglis

h ov

er S

inha

la.11

5T

his l

ed to

the

depa

rtur

e of

a m

ore

restr

aine

d va

riety

of S

inha

lana

tiona

lism

cha

mpi

oned

by

the

SL G

unas

eker

a fa

ctio

n.In

its p

lace

, the

righ

t win

g of

an

alre

ady

ultr

a-na

tiona

list

orga

n be

gan

to a

sser

t con

trol o

ver t

he U

rum

aya

mov

emen

t.

The

JHU

wer

e al

so b

eset

by

scan

dal w

hen

two

diss

iden

tJH

U m

onks

, Apa

rekk

e Pa

nnan

ada T

hera

and

Kat

halu

we

Rat

hana

seeh

a The

ra, r

esig

ned

from

the

part

y in

clo

sesu

cces

sion.

The

y ac

cuse

d th

e pa

rty

of c

orru

ptio

n an

dbr

iber

y an

d co

ntin

ue to

crit

icize

the

part

y fo

r fal

ling

into

the

trap

of S

Um

anip

ulat

ion.

The

mon

ks th

enm

yste

rious

ly d

isapp

eare

d im

med

iate

ly p

rior t

o th

eel

ectio

n of

the

parli

amen

tary

spea

ker a

nd th

en e

mer

ged

to v

ote

with

the

gove

rnm

ent f

or D

EW G

unas

ekar

a (C

Pan

d U

PFA)

as s

peak

er. T

his p

rom

pted

the

JHU

to c

ast

the

two

deci

sive

vote

s, al

ongs

ide

the

UN

F an

d th

e TN

A,fo

r a U

NP-

affil

iate

d ca

ndid

ate,

WJM

Lok

uban

dara

. It

was

a m

ove

that

was

per

ceiv

ed, p

artic

ular

ly a

mon

gfe

llow

nat

iona

lists,

as c

ontr

ary

to th

e el

ecto

ral w

ill o

f the

coun

try

and

to th

e su

ppos

ed p

rinci

ples

of t

he JH

U. I

ndo

ing

so it

reki

ndle

d su

spic

ions

that

ele

men

ts w

ithin

the

part

y sti

ll se

emed

to u

phol

d U

NP

inte

rests

. T

hese

even

ts le

d to

a se

ries o

f atta

cks o

n JH

U-a

ffilia

ted

tem

ples

in th

e So

uth

and

are

perc

eive

d to

hav

e w

idel

y

49|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

113

Sou

rce:

Nat

iona

l Chr

isti

an E

vang

elic

al A

llian

ce o

f S

ri L

anka

.

114

The

JHU

's "

Proh

ibit

ion

of F

orci

ble

Con

vers

ions

of

Rel

igio

ns B

ill"

was

tab

led

in J

uly

2004

, but

was

judg

ed u

ncon

stit

utio

nal a

s it

bre

ache

d ar

ticl

es p

rote

ctin

g

free

dom

of

relig

ious

exp

ress

ion.

115

See

htt

p://

ww

w.w

sws.

org/

arti

cles

/200

0/de

c200

0/sr

i-d0

4.sh

tml

Page 53: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

disc

redi

ted

JHU

cla

ims t

hat i

t was

act

ing

abov

e th

epo

litic

al fr

ay a

nd in

the

gene

ral n

atio

nal i

nter

est.

Furt

herm

ore,

def

ectio

ns fr

om th

e JH

U/S

U c

ombi

neha

ve c

ontin

ued

with

bot

h T

hila

k K

arun

arat

ne re

turn

ing

to th

e U

NP

fold

and

Gam

paha

Dist

rict M

P, K

olon

naw

eSu

man

agal

a The

ra, a

nnou

ncin

g hi

s res

igna

tion

from

part

y po

litic

s in

Oct

ober

200

4. O

ne in

terp

reta

tion

ofth

ese

cont

inui

ng sp

lits i

n th

e pa

rty

is th

at th

ey re

pres

ent

a po

litic

al d

ivid

e be

twee

n th

e la

y le

ader

ship

of

Cha

mpi

ka R

anaw

aka

and

the

bhik

kule

gisla

tors

in th

epa

rty.

Con

sequ

ently

, the

JHU

is d

eem

ed to

hav

e be

en w

idel

ydi

scre

dite

d in

bot

h po

litic

al c

ircle

s and

am

ong

the

wid

erpu

blic

. The

y ar

e al

so se

en to

hav

e br

ough

t the

cont

rove

rsia

l im

age

of b

hikk

usin

pol

itics

into

shar

pdi

srep

ute.

Thi

s may

sugg

est s

ever

al th

ings

--in

clud

ing

that

the

JHU

's lo

ng-te

rm p

rosp

ects

have

bee

n se

rious

lyun

derm

ined

, tha

t the

Uru

may

a or

gan

ther

efor

e no

long

er p

oses

as s

erio

us a

thre

at a

s spo

iler t

o th

e pe

ace

proc

ess,

or th

at su

ppor

t for

the

mov

emen

t may

swin

gba

ck to

the

UN

P or

eve

n to

the

JVP.

Non

ethe

less

, it i

spo

ssib

le th

at th

e U

rum

aya

elem

ents

may

regr

oup

and

reas

sert

thei

r inf

luen

ce o

n th

e po

litic

al la

ndsc

ape

in a

revi

taliz

ed a

nd n

ovel

shap

e. T

he p

ossib

ility

of a

nU

rum

aya

revi

val r

ecei

ved

a co

nsid

erab

le b

oost

in th

ere

cent

neg

otia

tion

and

signi

ng o

f the

P-T

OM

Sag

reem

ent b

etw

een

the

GoS

L an

d th

e pr

esid

ent.

The

JHU

alo

ng w

ith th

e JV

P w

ere

at th

e fo

refro

nt o

fpr

otes

ts an

d m

obili

zatio

ns a

gain

st th

e ai

d m

echa

nism

,in

clud

ing

high

-pro

file

fasts

-unt

o-de

ath

by A

thur

aliy

eR

atha

na T

hera

and

Om

alpe

Sob

hita

The

ra o

f the

JHU

and

four

oth

er m

onks

. The

re h

ave

also

bee

n ru

mor

sci

rcul

atin

g in

the

pres

s tha

t the

JHU

has

bee

n en

gagi

ngin

neg

otia

tions

with

the

JVP

rega

rdin

g th

e fo

rmat

ion

ofa

coal

ition

and

the

field

ing

of a

com

mon

pre

siden

tial

cand

idat

e. S

uch

a po

ssib

ility

, how

ever

, has

bee

n sw

iftly

dism

issed

by

the

JVP

who

are

mor

e lik

ely

to se

ekpo

litic

al p

artn

ersh

ips w

ith th

e M

uslim

par

ties a

nd th

eM

EP.11

6H

owev

er, t

he c

urre

nt S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tup

swin

g on

ce a

gain

pos

es a

t lea

st th

e po

ssib

ility

that

the

JHU

cou

ld h

ave

a po

litic

al re

surr

ectio

n. A

s suc

h, it

isw

orth

con

sider

ing

the

pote

ntia

l inc

entiv

es th

ere

may

be

for t

he JH

U in

rega

rds t

o th

e pe

ace

proc

ess.

INCE

NTI

VES

FOR

THE

JHU/

SIHA

LA U

RUM

AYA

ASA

PEAC

E ST

AKEH

OLDE

R

1)It

is cl

ear t

hat t

he JH

U/S

Uan

d th

eir s

atel

lite

orga

niza

tions

hav

e ta

ken

on a

con

siste

ntly

neg

ativ

ero

le v

is-à-

vis t

he is

sues

of m

inor

ities

, the

pea

cepr

oces

s, pr

ospe

ct o

f a fe

dera

l sol

utio

n, a

nd IS

GA.

The

y ha

ve a

lso p

rove

d ho

stile

to re

cogn

izing

the

LTT

E as

a le

gitim

ate

acto

r and

repe

ated

ly a

ttack

and

mar

gina

lize

ethn

ic a

nd re

ligio

us m

inor

ities

and

thei

r pol

itica

l rep

rese

ntat

ives

, inc

ludi

ng S

ri La

nkan

and

Hill

Cou

ntry

Tam

ils, M

uslim

s, an

d C

hrist

ians

.As

the

JHU

cle

arly

seek

s to

cont

rol a

nd c

halle

nge

the

activ

ities

of I

NG

Os,

NG

Os,

inte

rnat

iona

l and

inte

r-go

vern

men

tal a

ctor

s, an

d fo

reig

n m

edia

tors

(suc

h as

Nor

way

), it

is cl

ear t

hat t

hey

rem

ain

ahi

ghly

ant

agon

istic

forc

e an

d a

pote

ntia

lly se

rious

obsta

cle

as fa

r as t

he a

id c

omm

unity

is c

once

rned

.T

his m

ovem

ent h

as c

onsis

tent

ly v

ied

for a

mili

tary

solu

tion,

mak

ing

it (a

long

side

the

JVP)

opp

osed

toth

e pe

ace

proc

ess i

n its

cur

rent

form

. Whi

le it

mus

tbe

stat

ed th

at th

e JV

P ar

e a

mor

e sig

nific

ant

polit

ical

act

or a

nd th

us p

oten

tial o

ppon

ent t

o th

epe

ace

proc

ess,

the

JHU

/SU

's ca

paci

ty to

wie

ld a

disp

ropo

rtio

nate

influ

ence

on

the

polit

ical

land

scap

e sh

ould

not

be

unde

resti

mat

ed. I

t can

be

reas

onab

ly a

rgue

d th

at th

e JH

U h

ave

also

pus

hed

the

JVP

itsel

f in

a m

ore

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t dire

ctio

nw

ith th

e la

tter p

arty

seek

ing

to m

obili

ze th

e Si

nhal

ana

tiona

list b

lock

in c

ompe

titio

n w

ith th

e fo

rmer

.

2)H

avin

g sa

id th

at, t

he JH

U/S

U h

ave

diffe

renc

es w

ithth

e JV

P. C

onsid

erin

g th

e re

fract

ory

natu

re o

fJH

U/S

U's

stanc

e, th

ey a

re ir

onic

ally

end

owed

with

a gr

eate

r tra

nspa

renc

y of

aim

s and

pot

entia

l for

dial

ogue

than

the

JVP.

The

JHU

/SU

hav

e al

way

spr

omot

ed th

eir i

deas

in a

cle

ar a

nd a

cces

sible

way

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

50

116

See

, for

inst

ance

, Nam

ini W

ijeda

sa (2

005)

"JV

P ru

les

out

deal

wit

h JH

U"

Sun

day

Isla

nd (C

olom

bo),

July

3, 2

005.

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and

(unl

ike

the

JVP)

do

not d

eny,

disg

uise

, or

atte

mpt

to d

ilute

thei

r Sin

hala

nat

iona

list d

iscou

rse

thro

ugh

reco

urse

to th

e ho

mog

enizi

ng rh

etor

ic o

fps

eudo

-Mar

xist

plat

itude

s abo

ut u

nive

rsal

man

. In

this

resp

ect,

whe

n do

nors

con

front

the

spec

tra

ofth

e JH

U/S

U c

ombi

ne, t

here

can

be

a cl

ear

pers

pect

ive

of w

here

the

mov

emen

t lie

s in

rela

tion

to a

via

ble

peac

e pr

oces

s. So

me

of th

is m

ay h

ave

todo

with

the

broa

der c

ultu

ral h

orizo

ns o

f a m

ovem

ent

that

is to

a g

reat

ext

ent r

elate

d to

the

Sinh

ala d

iasp

ora

and

has g

reat

er a

cces

s to

the

Engl

ish m

edia

--in

spite

of it

s sm

all w

orld

nat

iona

list p

rete

nsio

ns. W

hile

we

are

not f

or a

min

ute

sugg

estin

g th

at th

ese

cultu

ral

horiz

ons m

oder

ate

the

exclu

siona

ry p

oten

cy o

f "lo

ng-

dista

nce"

nat

iona

lism

, the

abi

lity

to e

njoi

n an

dm

ount

a d

ialo

gue

is cle

arly

ther

e. T

his i

s not

a fa

r-fe

tche

d vi

ew. A

stud

y on

the

role

of th

e Sa

ngha

in th

epe

ace

proc

ess i

ndic

ated

that

eve

n na

tiona

list m

onks

have

, at t

imes

, bee

n su

scep

tible

to id

eolo

gica

lm

ovem

ent o

n th

e pe

ace

proc

ess (

Fryd

enlu

nd, 2

005,

p. 3

0). T

his i

s also

ech

oed

by th

e w

ords

of a

seni

orJH

U re

pres

enta

tive:

"We,

the

JHU

, are

will

ing

to c

hang

e ou

r sta

nd if

som

ebod

y pr

oves

us w

rong

. The

day

that

we

are

conv

ince

d or

pro

ved

that

we

are

wro

ng, w

e ar

ew

illin

g to

cha

nge

our s

tand

… W

e ar

e no

tsu

ppor

ting

the

Sinh

ala

caus

e ju

st be

caus

e w

e ar

eSi

nhal

ese

in a

ver

y tr

ibal

way

. We

are

supp

ortin

g it

beca

use

we

thin

k it

is th

e co

rrec

t per

spec

tive

and

ifso

meb

ody

conv

ince

s us t

hat i

t is w

rong

, we

will

acce

pt th

at. W

e str

ongl

y be

lieve

that

we

mus

t cru

shth

e LT

TE.

Tha

t is t

he tr

ue li

bera

tion

for T

amils

,tr

ue in

depe

nden

ce fo

r the

ent

ire c

ount

ry."

117

Nev

erth

eles

s, it

is cl

ear f

rom

the

sam

e qu

ote

that

the

JHU

/SU

see

the

LTT

E as

one

am

ong

aco

nten

ding

rang

e of

arc

h ad

vers

arie

s and

this

has

serio

us im

plic

atio

ns fo

r a p

eace

pro

cess

in w

hich

the

LTT

E pl

ay a

lead

ing

role

.

3)W

hat i

s also

cle

ar fr

om d

iscus

sions

with

the

JHU

isth

at th

ere

is so

me

hist

ory

and

cont

inui

ng d

ialo

gue

betw

een

the

JHU

/SU

com

bine

and

pol

itica

lal

tern

ativ

es to

the

LTT

E. W

hile

gro

ups l

ike

the

EPD

P an

d th

e EP

RLF

may

be

rega

rded

as

para

mili

tary

arm

s of t

he S

ri La

nkan

stat

e(in

clud

ing

by m

any

dono

rs a

nd N

GO

s),11

8sin

ceth

e C

FA it

is c

laim

ed th

at th

ese

grou

ps h

ave

been

disa

rmed

and

repr

esen

t an

alte

rnat

ive

to th

e LT

TE.

The

y ha

ve c

laim

ed a

will

ingn

ess t

o en

gage

in th

eel

ecto

ral p

roce

ss a

nd in

a d

ialo

gue

with

JHU

mem

bers

. As a

lead

ersh

ip-le

vel r

epre

sent

ativ

e of

the

JHU

put

it:

"I h

ave

a ve

ry c

lose

rapp

ort w

ith th

e al

tern

ativ

eTa

mil

grou

ps. R

ecen

tly a

t an

EPD

P w

orks

hop

Isa

id, '

Con

vinc

e m

e yo

ur st

rugg

le fo

r fed

eral

ism is

corr

ect.'

I ha

ve b

een

supp

ortin

g EP

RLF

sinc

e m

ysc

hool

day

s. I w

as a

stro

ng L

eftis

t in

my

scho

olda

ys.

I was

supp

ortin

g Ee

lam

and

EPR

LF."

119

Tho

ugh

such

a st

ance

doe

s not

pre

clud

e th

epo

ssib

ility

of a

dia

logu

e ab

out a

uton

omy

for t

heN

orth

-Eas

t with

non

-LT

TE

grou

ps, a

t the

sam

etim

e it

mak

es th

e po

ssib

ility

of t

he JH

U/S

Uen

gagi

ng in

a d

ialo

gue

with

the

LTT

E hi

ghly

impr

obab

le.

4)As

men

tione

d ab

ove,

it sh

ould

be

clea

rly re

cogn

ized

that

the

JHU

/SU

dyn

amic

has

bee

n eb

bing

ove

r the

last

year

, as h

as th

e co

ntex

t for

its i

nitia

l pot

ency

. It

is cl

ear t

hat o

ver t

he p

ast y

ear,

influ

entia

l fig

ures

asso

ciat

ed w

ith th

e JH

U/S

U m

ovem

ent h

ave

left

inco

nsid

erab

le n

umbe

rs. D

ue to

its i

ncre

ased

lack

of

polit

ical

influ

ence

it m

ay, t

here

fore

, be

mor

e ap

t to

desc

ribe

the

JHU

as a

n or

gani

zatio

n th

at w

ill b

em

ore

effe

ctiv

ely

isola

ted

than

acc

omm

odat

ed in

any

mea

ning

ful p

eace

pro

cess

. Nev

erth

eles

s, it

ispe

rfect

ly p

ossib

le th

at, a

s the

impl

emen

tatio

n of

ajo

int a

id m

echa

nism

and

the

peac

e pr

oces

s is r

olle

d

51|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

117

Cf.

inte

rvie

w w

ith

UG

, Col

ombo

Mar

ch 2

1, 2

005.

118

See

UTH

R (2

004)

15

Year

s A

fter

Raj

ani:

The

Con

tinu

ing

Cos

t of

Dis

sent

(UTH

R, C

olom

bo).

119

Cf.

inte

rvie

w w

ith

UG

, Col

ombo

Mar

ch 2

1, 2

005.

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forw

ard,

the

Uru

may

a co

mbi

ne m

ay a

ttem

pt to

forg

e cl

oser

link

s with

the

elem

ents

that

opp

ose

thes

e ai

ms-

-incl

udin

g iro

nica

lly th

ose

min

ority

part

ies t

hat t

he U

rum

aya

have

freq

uent

ly a

ttack

ed.12

0

As st

ated

abo

ve, t

he v

iciss

itude

s of S

inha

lana

tiona

lism

show

that

the

pend

ulum

can

swin

gsw

iftly

; and

that

the

pote

ntia

l for

a g

rass

-roo

tsm

obili

zatio

n of

Sin

hala

nat

iona

list o

pini

on h

as n

otco

mpl

etel

y di

ssip

ated

am

ong

the

JHU

/SU

's so

cial

cons

titue

ncy;

and

, the

refo

re, t

he so

cial

con

text

for

dono

rs m

ust b

e se

rious

ly c

onsid

ered

bef

ore

com

plet

ely

writ

ing

off s

uch

dyna

mic

s and

thei

rpo

tent

ial f

or re

gene

ratio

n.

JATH

IKA

CHIN

TAN

AYA:

AIM

S AN

D ST

RATE

GIES

FOR

SIN

HALA

NAT

ION

ALIS

M

As Ja

thik

a C

hint

anay

ais

not p

reci

sely

a p

oliti

cal

asso

ciat

ion

but m

ore

a sc

hool

of t

houg

ht le

d by

two

inte

llect

uals-

-aut

hor G

unad

asa

Amar

asek

ara

and

Nal

inde

Silv

a, w

ho h

eads

the

thin

k-ta

nk Ja

thik

a C

hint

ana

Parsh

aday

a--th

is se

ctio

n w

ill re

mai

n ve

ry b

rief.

Non

ethe

less

, we

will

out

line

the

cent

ral a

lignm

ents

betw

een

the

ideo

logi

cal p

rogr

am a

nd p

oliti

cal a

ctor

s we

have

disc

usse

d be

caus

e th

e m

ovem

ent h

as a

pro

foun

din

fluen

ce o

n bo

th c

ultu

ral a

nd p

oliti

cal f

acet

s of S

inha

lana

tiona

lism

. The

term

Jath

ika

Chi

nata

naya

was

firs

tco

ined

in G

unad

asa

Amar

asek

ara'

s Sin

hala

jour

nalis

ticar

ticle

s in

the

1980

s and

is b

est t

rans

late

d as

"civ

iliza

tiona

l" o

r "na

tiona

l con

scio

usne

ss."

It re

fers

to a

prog

ram

of r

egen

erat

ion

of tr

aditi

onal

Bud

dhist

soci

alan

d po

litic

al v

alue

s as a

bul

war

k ag

ains

t the

per

ceiv

edso

cio-

cultu

rally

del

eter

ious

impa

ct o

f cap

italis

t and

Wes

tern

influ

ence

s.121

Such

con

cept

ions

onc

e ag

ain

serv

eto

repr

oduc

e Si

nhal

a Bu

ddhi

st na

tiona

list a

ssoc

iatio

ns

betw

een

king

ship

and

righ

teou

s rul

e; a

nd e

ngen

der a

nat

tach

men

t to

the

unita

ry st

ate

and,

of c

ours

e, a

rabi

dho

stilit

y to

any

pro

ject

of d

evol

utio

nary

con

stitu

tiona

lre

form

. It m

ight

be

assu

med

from

this

that

the

JHU

/SU

and

Jath

ika

Chi

ntan

aya

have

a n

atur

al id

eolo

gica

lpr

oxim

ity a

nd it

is in

deed

cle

ar th

at a

fter C

ham

pika

Ran

awak

a an

d At

hura

liye

Rat

hana

The

ra le

ft th

e JV

P,th

ey a

ligne

d th

emse

lves

for a

tim

e w

ith th

e Ja

thik

aC

hint

ana

Parsh

aday

a.12

2H

owev

er, t

he re

latio

nshi

p so

ured

over

disa

gree

men

ts on

long

-term

Sin

hala

nat

iona

list

strat

egy

and

Nal

in d

e Si

lva

has s

ince

rem

aine

d ho

stile

toth

e JH

U/S

U. T

his r

ecen

tly le

d to

acc

usat

ions

of U

NP

subt

erfu

ge in

the

strat

egie

s of t

he p

arty

.

It is

inte

resti

ng to

not

e fo

r the

pur

pose

s of t

his r

epor

tth

at fo

r mos

t of t

he 1

980s

bot

h N

alin

de

Silv

a an

dG

unad

asa

Amar

asek

era

rem

aine

d cr

itica

l of t

he JV

P--

desp

ite th

e pa

rty'

s fre

quen

t app

eal t

o Si

nhal

a na

tiona

list

disc

onte

nt a

nd in

terp

reta

tions

of s

uppo

rt(C

hand

rapr

ema,

199

1, p

p.11

0-11

7). F

or th

e pr

opon

ents

of Ja

thik

a C

hint

anay

a, th

e JV

P's r

evol

utio

nary

Mar

xism

was

also

a W

este

rn d

ilutio

n of

the

true

pot

entia

l for

Sinh

ala

civi

lizat

iona

l con

scio

usne

ss. H

owev

er, w

hile

Nal

in d

e Si

lva

still

refu

ses t

o sh

ift c

ompl

etel

y on

the

ques

tion

of th

e th

ird g

ener

atio

n of

the

JVP

(aga

ince

nsur

ing

the

part

y fo

r the

ir co

ntin

ued

adhe

renc

e to

Mar

xism

), ov

er th

e la

st th

ree

year

s Gun

adas

aAm

aras

ekar

a ha

s bee

n ea

ger t

o hi

tch

the

Jath

ika

Chi

ntan

aya

band

wag

on to

the

JVP.12

3Fo

r Am

aras

ekar

a,th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties n

o lo

nger

hav

e an

y na

tiona

list

dyna

mic

s and

the

JVP,

with

Wee

raw

ansa

at t

heid

eolo

gica

l hel

m, h

as ta

ken

up th

e Si

nhal

a na

tiona

list

caus

e to

pot

ent e

ffect

. Suc

h a

turn

arou

nd is

not

able

, as

it ha

s for

med

a v

ital p

oliti

cal b

ridge

bet

wee

n an

old

eran

d m

ore

esta

blish

ed g

ener

atio

n of

Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

and

the

JVP'

s you

thfu

l "pa

trio

tic"

coho

rts.

It al

so

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

52

120

In A

pril

2005

, the

JH

U in

vite

d th

e JV

P an

d al

l pol

itic

al p

arti

es w

ho w

ere

agai

nst

the

Join

t M

echa

nism

to

join

for

ces.

See

"JH

U t

o jo

in J

VP

agai

nst

the

join

t

mec

hani

sm"

Dai

ly M

irro

r (C

olom

bo),

Apr

il 26

, 20

05.

UPF

A C

abin

et M

inis

ter,

Feri

al A

shra

ff's

Nat

iona

l U

nity

Alli

ance

als

o vo

iced

obj

ecti

on t

o th

e "j

oint

mec

hani

sm."

121

Cf

auth

ors'

inte

rvie

ws

wit

h G

unad

asa

Am

aras

ekar

a M

arch

17-

18, 2

005.

122

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

UG

, Mar

ch 2

1, 2

005.

123

Ibid

and

cf.

aut

hor's

inte

rvie

w w

ith

Gun

adas

a A

mar

asek

ara,

200

2.

Page 56: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

conf

irms t

he a

utho

rs' i

nter

pret

atio

n th

at th

e JV

Pre

mai

ns th

e m

ost s

igni

fican

t con

tem

pora

ry S

inha

lana

tiona

list a

ctor

and

that

its n

atio

nalis

m is

dee

ply

ideo

logi

cally

em

bedd

ed. I

t is a

lso c

lear

ly ta

king

up

the

bato

n of

Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

incr

easin

gly

disc

arde

d by

the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s due

to th

eir g

ener

al c

onse

nsus

on

the

need

for a

dev

olut

iona

ry so

lutio

n. F

or th

ese

reas

ons

also

, the

JVP

rem

ains

the

mos

t sig

nific

ant o

ppon

ent t

oth

e cu

rren

t fra

mew

orks

for t

he p

eace

pro

cess

.

OVER

VIEW

OF

THE

UPCO

UNTR

Y PE

OPLE

'S F

RON

T

The

UPF

is a

smal

l but

not

insig

nific

ant H

ill C

ount

ryTa

mil

polit

ical

par

ty th

at e

mer

ged

as a

splin

ter g

roup

from

the

CW

C, t

he le

adin

g po

litic

al o

rgan

izatio

nre

pres

entin

g th

e in

tere

sts o

f the

"U

pcou

ntry

" Tam

ils.

The

UPF

em

erge

d in

198

9 w

hen

Periy

asam

yC

hand

rase

kara

n, a

CW

C o

rgan

izer,

Urb

an C

ounc

ilre

pres

enta

tive

and

ener

getic

soci

al a

ctiv

ist b

ecam

edi

sillu

sione

d w

ith th

e C

WC

's fa

ilure

to n

omin

ate

him

for t

he p

rovi

ncia

l cou

ncil

elec

tions

of 1

988

and

the

gene

ral e

lect

ions

of 1

989.

In fo

undi

ng th

e pa

rty,

Cha

ndra

seka

ran

join

ed fo

rces

with

Kad

er (a

n U

pcou

ntry

Mar

xist

inte

llect

ual a

nd fo

rmer

act

ivist

in th

e C

eylo

nTe

ache

r's U

nion

), T

harm

alin

gham

(a sc

hool

prin

cipa

l),an

d a

grou

p of

act

ivist

s who

had

pre

viou

sly b

een

conn

ecte

d to

the

Gam

ini Y

apa

grou

p an

d th

e U

pcou

ntry

Mas

s Org

aniza

tion.

124T

he p

arty

was

initi

ally

una

ble

tore

giste

r ind

epen

dent

ly a

nd th

eref

ore

ran

in th

e 19

89el

ectio

ns u

nder

the

anch

or sy

mbo

l of t

he P

eopl

e’sLi

bera

tion

Org

aniza

tion

of T

amil

Eela

m (P

LOT

E) w

ithU

mam

ahes

war

an's

bles

sing.

Whi

le th

ey fa

iled

to c

aptu

rea

seat

, the

UPF

non

ethe

less

man

aged

to a

mas

s 10,

000

vote

s in

thei

r deb

ut g

ener

al e

lect

ion.

The

y al

sosu

ccee

ded

in sp

littin

g th

e U

pcou

ntry

vot

e in

the

distr

ict

so th

e C

WC

also

faile

d to

obt

ain

a se

at. A

fter c

aptu

ring

thre

e se

ats i

n th

e lo

cal g

over

nmen

t ele

ctio

ns in

199

1, th

e

part

y fe

ll in

to a

mom

enta

ry d

eclin

e af

ter K

ader

,T

harm

alig

ham

, and

Cha

ndra

seka

ran

wer

e de

tain

ed fo

ral

lege

dly

harb

orin

g Va

rath

an w

ho w

as a

ccus

ed o

fbo

mbi

ng th

e Jo

int O

pera

tiona

l Com

man

d in

Col

ombo

.

Non

ethe

less

, in

1993

Cha

ndra

seka

ran

beca

me

the

first

prov

inci

al c

ounc

ilor t

o w

in a

seat

whi

le st

ill in

dete

ntio

n. In

the

1994

gen

eral

ele

ctio

n, h

e w

orke

dal

ongs

ide

the

PA, w

on a

seat

, and

bec

ame

min

ister

for

esta

te h

ousin

g un

til h

is re

signa

tion

in th

e co

urse

of t

hete

rm. T

he U

PF th

en b

ecam

e ac

tive

mem

bers

of t

heU

NF

allia

nce

in 2

001

and

thou

gh C

hand

rase

kara

nbe

cam

e m

inist

er o

f soc

ial d

evel

opm

ent h

e ea

rned

disa

ppro

batio

n in

som

e ci

rcle

s by

bein

g th

e fir

stm

inist

er to

pub

licly

eng

age

in a

Pon

gu T

ham

il ad

dres

sin

200

3. S

ince

the

UPF

A ca

me

to p

ower

, the

UPF

have

mai

ntai

ned

thei

r pol

itica

l alig

nmen

t with

the

UN

F, lo

bbie

d vo

cally

for a

resu

mpt

ion

of p

eace

nego

tiatio

ns, a

nd c

ontin

ue to

mai

ntai

n cl

ose

rela

tions

with

the

LTT

E.

ORGA

NIZ

ATIO

N A

ND

CON

STIT

UEN

CY B

ASE

The

CW

C a

nd th

e U

PF h

ave

broa

dly

simila

r roo

ts in

that

they

ope

rate

out

of s

imila

r Upc

ount

ry T

amil

cons

titue

ncie

s and

rem

ain

heav

ily d

epen

dent

on

unio

nac

tiviti

es fo

r fun

ding

, tra

inin

g, o

rgan

izatio

nal d

ynam

ics,

and

inte

rnat

iona

l lin

kage

s. In

deed

, des

pite

the

mas

sive

decl

ine

in u

nion

mem

bers

hip

in re

cent

yea

rs it

is w

idel

yre

cogn

ized

that

any

pol

itica

l for

ce se

ekin

g to

mob

ilize

the

Upc

ount

ry v

ote

will

not

succ

eed

with

out a

lso la

ying

dow

n w

hat i

s ter

med

as t

he tw

in "

trac

ks"

of H

illC

ount

ry "

railw

ay p

oliti

cs."

125

Alth

ough

the

UPF

firs

tbe

gan

as a

pol

itica

l par

ty ra

ther

than

a u

nion

, it s

oon

reco

gnize

d th

e es

sent

ial n

eces

sity

of fo

rmin

g th

eU

pcou

ntry

Wor

kers

' Fro

nt--

the

seco

nd-la

rges

t esta

teun

ion

with

an

estim

ated

45,

000

mem

bers

and

100

full-

53|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

124

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

Law

renc

e, M

arch

20,

200

5. F

or f

urth

er b

ackg

roun

d, s

ee a

lso

UTH

R B

ulle

tin

No.

4 "S

ulle

n H

ills:

the

Sag

a of

Up

Cou

ntry

Tam

ils,"

(Jan

uary

, 199

3).

125

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

Law

renc

e, M

arch

20,

200

5, a

nd P

.P. D

evar

aj, M

arch

15,

200

5.

Page 57: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

time

unio

n w

orke

rs,12

6m

any

of w

hom

rece

ived

thei

rtr

aini

ng w

ithin

the

CW

C.12

7In

term

s of s

ocia

lco

nstit

uenc

y, th

e U

pcou

ntry

peo

ple

mus

t be

soci

o-ec

onom

ical

ly d

iffer

entia

ted.

The

re is

a si

gnifi

cant

,so

cial

ly m

obile

, and

gro

win

g ur

ban

and

trad

ing

clas

s of

the

Upc

ount

ry p

opul

ace

in b

oth

Col

ombo

and

in th

eto

wns

of t

he C

entr

al P

rovi

nce.

How

ever

, the

maj

ority

of

Upc

ount

ry T

amils

are

still

em

ploy

ed o

n th

e es

tate

sde

spite

the

fact

that

ther

e is

an in

crea

sing

trend

for

youn

ger g

ener

atio

ns to

shun

esta

te w

ork

and

the

soci

alsti

gma

that

acc

ompa

nies

it. W

here

pos

sible

, peo

ple

pref

er to

mov

e ou

t of t

he e

state

sect

or. I

n th

is se

nse,

desp

ite th

eir s

low

ly in

crea

sing

mob

ility

and

soci

aldi

ffere

ntia

tion,

bot

h th

e C

WC

and

the

UPF

still

hav

eth

eir o

rgan

izatio

nal r

oots

in th

e es

tate

s whe

re th

ede

pres

sed

state

of U

pcou

ntry

Tam

ils is

mos

tco

ncen

trat

ed a

nd e

vide

nt. T

his i

s so

desp

ite th

eir

reco

gniti

on th

at th

e so

cio-

econ

omic

con

ditio

ns a

ndpo

litic

al ri

ghts

of a

ll U

pcou

ntry

Tam

ils n

eed

impr

ovin

g--

whe

ther

they

are

livi

ng in

the

Hill

Cou

ntry

are

as,

Col

ombo

, or t

he N

orth

-Eas

t.

THE

UPF,

CW

C, U

PCOU

NTR

Y TA

MIL

NAT

ION

ALIS

M A

ND

THE

PEAC

E PR

OCES

S

Som

e in

form

ed c

ritic

s vie

w th

e U

PF a

nd th

e C

WC

inth

e sa

me

light

, as p

artie

s who

se c

entr

al c

once

rns

rem

aine

d tie

d to

"im

med

iate

pol

itica

l obj

ectiv

es."

The

irac

tions

are

also

con

sider

ed a

form

of p

oliti

cal

"bar

gain

ing"

that

"fit

s in

very

wel

l with

the

curr

ent s

tate

of p

oliti

cs in

Sri

Lank

a." T

he p

rese

nt le

ader

ship

,ho

wev

er, i

s crit

icize

d fo

r "no

t hav

ing

a lo

ng-te

rm v

ision

and

is no

t cap

able

of d

evel

opin

g a

long

-term

visi

on"12

8

beyo

nd th

e de

sire

for h

oldi

ng m

inist

eria

l por

tfolio

s and

barg

aini

ng fo

r acc

ess t

o eq

ual c

itize

nshi

p en

title

men

t,em

ploy

men

t, an

d de

velo

pmen

t pro

ject

s fro

m th

eel

ecto

rally

dom

inan

t par

ties o

r coa

litio

ns. N

onet

hele

ss,

since

the

CW

C e

nter

ed e

lect

oral

pol

itics

in 1

97712

9it

has

beco

me

reno

wne

d fo

r its

polit

ical

opp

ortu

nism

and

capa

city

to w

ork

with

eith

er o

f the

two

mai

nstre

ampa

rtie

s. As

a re

sult

it pl

ays a

sign

ifica

nt ro

le in

coa

litio

n-m

akin

g an

d br

eaki

ng,13

0an

d ca

n ef

fect

cle

ar d

iffer

ence

sof

em

phas

is an

d nu

ance

s in

the

appr

oach

of t

hese

two

part

ies-

-esp

ecia

lly w

ith re

gard

s to

Tam

il id

entit

y an

d th

epe

ace

proc

ess.

Inde

ed, w

hat i

s cle

ar is

that

the

UPF

'ssta

nce

on th

e na

tiona

l que

stion

has

, to

som

e de

gree

,de

part

ed fr

om th

at fo

und

in th

e ge

neal

ogy

of b

oth

thei

rle

ft-w

ing

and

CW

C ro

ots.

Thi

s is e

vide

nt in

the

fact

that

they

hav

e, a

t lea

st rh

etor

ical

ly, d

iscar

ded

the

redu

ctio

nist

Mar

xist

econ

omic

pla

titud

es th

at a

sser

t tha

tec

onom

ic c

hang

e w

ith o

ther

pro

leta

rian

forc

es sh

ould

be

the

prim

ary

obje

ctiv

e of

Upc

ount

ry T

amil

peop

le. T

hey

have

also

mod

ified

thei

r app

roac

h to

the

natio

nal

ques

tion

in th

e af

term

ath

of th

e su

cces

sive

targ

etin

g of

Upc

ount

ry T

amils

by

Sinh

ala

chau

vini

st vi

olen

ce in

1977

, 198

1, a

nd 1

983.

Mor

e re

cent

exa

mpl

es o

f eth

nic

viol

ence

, inc

ludi

ng a

ttack

s orc

hestr

ated

by

the

NM

AT/S

VV

com

bine

in 1

998

and

the

afte

rmat

h of

the

Bind

unuw

ewa

mas

sacr

e in

200

0, h

ave

also

influ

ence

dth

eir c

hang

e in

pos

ition

. For

the

UPF

then

, the

prob

lem

s of t

he U

pcou

ntry

Tam

il co

nstit

uenc

y ar

e no

long

er to

be

cont

aine

d w

ithin

a "

citiz

ensh

ip"

para

digm

.As

a re

sult,

the

lead

ersh

ip b

ase

of th

e pa

rty

took

up

am

ore

mili

tant

ly U

pcou

ntry

Tam

il na

tiona

list p

latfo

rmaf

ter h

avin

g fo

rged

link

s with

the

Eela

m R

evol

utio

nary

Org

anisa

tion

of S

tude

nts,

EPR

LF, a

nd P

LOT

E in

the

late

198

0s.

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

54

126

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

Law

renc

e, M

arch

20,

200

5.

127

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

P.P.

Dev

araj

, Mar

ch 1

5, 2

005.

128

Ibid

.

129

Sau

miy

amoo

rthy

Tho

ndam

an h

ad b

een

a go

vern

men

t-no

min

ated

rep

rese

ntat

ive

for

the

CW

C s

ince

the

196

0s b

ut i

t w

as o

nly

in 1

977

that

he

won

on

an

elec

tion

tic

ket.

130

It s

houl

d be

not

ed t

hat

the

CW

C b

rief

ly w

alke

d ou

t of

the

pre

sent

UPF

A c

oalit

ion

in la

te F

ebru

ary

2005

, ove

r re

port

ed d

isag

reem

ents

ove

r th

e U

pper

Kot

mal

e

Dam

pro

ject

and

a s

erie

s of

oth

er c

ondi

tion

s th

at h

ad s

eale

d th

eir

part

icip

atio

n in

the

coa

litio

n.

Page 58: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

The

ess

entia

l diff

eren

ce b

etw

een

the

UPF

and

the

CW

Cis

that

they

no

long

er c

laim

to se

e th

e ci

tizen

ship

issu

ean

d th

e gr

adua

l equ

alizi

ng o

f sta

tus t

o be

the

mai

n ai

mof

an

Upc

ount

ry T

amil

polit

ical

par

ty.

The

y ha

vein

stead

opt

ed to

em

phas

ize th

at th

eir s

uffe

ring

at th

eha

nds o

f Sin

hala

cha

uvin

ism--

as w

ell a

s the

ir lo

ng-te

rmed

ucat

iona

l, em

ploy

men

t, in

frastr

uctu

ral,

cultu

ral,

polit

ical

, and

dev

elop

men

tal d

epriv

atio

ns--

can

only

be

answ

ered

thro

ugh

reco

urse

to a

fede

ral o

r dev

olut

iona

ryre

struc

turin

g of

pow

er.

In th

is, th

e U

PF o

pera

te a

dua

lstr

ateg

y of

cle

arly

dem

arca

ting

and

diffe

rent

iatin

g th

ene

eds,

iden

tity,

and

right

s of t

he U

pcou

ntry

Tam

ils fr

omth

ose

of th

e N

orth

ern

and

Easte

rn T

amils

. At t

he sa

me

time

they

act

ivel

y fo

rge

links

with

and

supp

ort t

hestr

uggl

e fo

r aut

onom

y ar

ticul

ated

by

the

Vann

i LT

TE.

In th

e ey

es o

f the

UPF

, the

ess

entia

l dem

and

and

solu

tion

for t

he U

pcou

ntry

Tam

ils (a

s wel

l as t

he L

TT

E)is

for t

errit

oria

l dev

olut

ion

and

the

carv

ing

out o

f a"d

evol

utio

nary

uni

t." T

he U

PF h

as p

ublis

hed

this

prop

osal

in it

s man

ifesto

com

mitm

ents,

pre

sent

ed th

eid

ea to

the

Parli

amen

tary

Sel

ect C

omm

ittee

s on

Dev

olut

ion

and

resp

onde

d to

the

gath

erin

g of

sugg

estio

ns fo

r con

stitu

tiona

l ref

orm

in 1

994.

On

all

occa

sions

, acc

ordi

ng to

the

UPF

, it f

aile

d to

pro

duce

any

nota

ble

resp

onse

oth

er th

an a

dee

p re

luct

ance

on

the

part

of t

he G

oSL

to in

trodu

ce y

et a

noth

er d

imen

sion

that

mig

ht b

e pe

rcei

ved

as a

pot

entia

l sou

rce

of e

thni

cfra

gmen

tatio

n/ba

lkan

izatio

n w

ithin

the

Sri L

anka

npo

lity.13

1It

was

also

tout

ed th

at sh

ould

the

terr

itoria

lde

volu

tion

unit

prov

e im

prac

tical

, the

UPF

wou

ldex

plor

e th

e po

ssib

ility

of P

ondi

cher

ry-s

tyle

enc

lave

s.132

The

par

ty a

lso in

dica

ted

that

thei

r com

mitm

ent t

ofo

rgin

g a

bond

with

the

LTT

E is

base

d on

the

latte

r'spl

edge

to lo

bby

on b

ehal

f of t

he U

PF p

ropo

sal f

or

Upc

ount

ry d

evol

utio

n w

hen

cons

titut

iona

l ref

orm

isse

rious

ly d

iscus

sed.

133

The

em

erge

nce

of a

dee

per L

TT

E/U

pcou

ntry

nex

us h

asno

t sur

prisi

ngly

trig

gere

d cr

itici

sm fr

om S

inha

lana

tiona

list q

uart

ers t

hat a

re e

ager

to re

ad in

to it

an

LTT

E in

filtr

atio

n of

the

Hill

Cou

ntry

dist

ricts.

It h

asal

so b

roug

ht a

bout

con

dem

natio

n fro

m A

rum

ugam

Tho

ndam

an w

ho a

ccus

es th

e U

PF o

f ove

r-ex

tend

ing

itsco

nnec

tions

and

supp

ort t

o th

e LT

TE.

He

asse

rts t

hat

the

UPF

are

losin

g sig

ht o

f the

sepa

rate

issu

es a

t sta

kean

d of

pot

entia

lly su

bjug

atin

g U

pcou

ntry

Tam

il in

tere

ststo

the

will

of P

rabh

akar

an. I

n re

spon

se, t

he U

PF h

ave

state

d th

at th

e re

latio

nshi

p is

not s

o m

uch

a ca

se o

fin

strum

enta

l des

ign

but a

resu

lt of

a g

radu

al e

volu

tion

due

to th

e ris

ing

num

bers

of U

pcou

ntry

Tam

ils in

are

asof

the

Nor

th-E

ast s

uch

as th

e Va

nni.

Thi

s hap

pene

dsu

bseq

uent

to th

e fo

rced

mig

ratio

ns a

nd c

olon

izatio

nsth

at to

ok p

lace

afte

r the

land

refo

rms a

nd fo

od c

risis

of19

73-1

974;

and

then

the

serie

s of a

nti-T

amil

pogr

oms

of 1

977,

198

1, a

nd 1

983,

whi

ch se

rious

ly a

ffect

ed th

eH

ill C

ount

ry d

istric

ts.13

4It

is al

so e

vide

nt th

atN

orth

easte

rn T

amils

are

also

pre

sent

in th

e H

ill C

ount

ryin

size

able

num

bers

, with

41,

445

"Sri

Lank

an T

amils

"re

sidin

g in

Nuw

ara

Eliy

a al

one.

135

Acco

rdin

g to

the

UPF

,al

thou

gh th

e U

pcou

ntry

Tam

ils a

re a

sepa

rate

nat

iona

lco

mm

unity

, a b

ond

has b

een

deve

lopi

ng b

etw

een

the

com

mun

ities

bec

ause

of t

his i

ncre

asin

g in

terp

enet

ratio

nof

the

com

mun

ities

, the

ir sh

ared

Tam

il sp

eaki

ngba

ckgr

ound

and

exp

erie

nce

of o

ppre

ssio

n. T

he U

PF-

LTT

E ne

xus i

s exp

ress

ive

of th

ese

dyna

mic

s.136

Yet w

hile

Tho

ndam

an h

as c

onde

mne

d th

e U

PF's

prox

imity

to th

e LT

TE,

the

CW

C h

as a

lso lo

ng fo

rged

conn

ectio

ns w

ith T

amil

mili

tant

gro

ups,

atte

mpt

ed to

55|

The

Polit

ical

Act

ors

131

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

Law

renc

e, M

arch

20,

200

5.

132

Ibid

.

133

Ibid

.

134

See

for

exa

mpl

e, O

ddva

r H

ollu

p (1

992)

"Et

hnic

Iden

tity

, Vio

lenc

e an

d th

e Es

tate

Tam

il M

inor

ity

in S

ri L

anka

," R

ound

Tab

le, N

o. 3

23, J

uly

1992

.

135

Sri

Lan

ka C

ensu

s of

Pop

ulat

ion

and

Hou

sing

, 200

1 (G

over

nmen

t of

Sri

Lan

ka, 2

004)

.

136

Cf.

aut

hors

' int

ervi

ew w

ith

Law

renc

e, M

arch

20,

200

5.

Page 59: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

appe

ase

Prab

haka

ran,

and

supp

orte

d th

e LT

TE'

s ISG

Afra

mew

ork

for t

he p

eace

pro

cess

. Ind

eed

the

purs

uit o

fIS

GA

beca

me

one

of th

e pu

blic

ly p

rono

unce

dco

nditi

ons f

or th

e C

WC

's en

try

into

the

UPF

A co

aliti

onin

Sep

tem

ber 2

004.

Inde

ed, s

ince

the

1980

s the

CW

Cha

ve re

gula

rly m

ade

loud

noi

ses i

n su

ppor

t of a

nau

tono

mou

s reg

ion

in th

e N

orth

-Eas

t with

out a

llow

ing

this

stanc

e to

affe

ct it

s im

med

iate

pol

itica

l int

eres

ts an

dde

cisio

ns. A

lthou

gh th

e C

WC

was

one

of t

he p

rinci

pal

acto

rs in

volv

ed in

the

Vadd

ukod

ai D

ecla

ratio

n of

197

6,it

is qu

ite c

lear

that

the

CW

C w

ent i

ts ow

n w

ay in

the

afte

rmat

h of

the

decl

arat

ion,

par

tly d

ue to

its n

ewfo

und

plac

e in

ele

ctor

al p

oliti

cs. B

earin

g in

min

d th

e in

fluen

ceth

at th

e LT

TE

has c

ome

to w

ield

ove

r the

TN

A, th

eC

WC

is th

us c

once

rned

with

pro

tect

ing

the

auto

nom

yof

its p

ower

bas

e fro

m th

e po

tent

ial e

ncro

achm

ent a

ndsu

zera

inty

of P

rabh

akar

an. T

he C

WC

also

feel

sam

biva

lenc

e ab

out t

he p

rosp

ect o

f con

stitu

tiona

l and

elec

tora

l ref

orm

s. M

inor

ity p

artie

s cur

rent

ly b

enef

itun

der t

he p

ropo

rtio

nal a

nd p

resid

entia

l sys

tem

and

may

,th

eref

ore,

lose

out

und

er c

urre

ntly

pro

pose

d ch

ange

s.In

dia'

s int

eres

t in

keep

ing

the

LTT

E, IS

GA,

and

the

UN

F at

bay

may

also

hav

e in

fluen

ced

the

CW

C's

curr

ent p

oliti

cal t

actic

s.137

It is

also

cle

ar th

at th

e in

fluen

ce o

f the

Tam

il m

edia

, the

histo

ry o

f con

join

ed su

fferin

g, th

e in

tera

ctio

n be

twee

nth

e di

ffere

nt T

amil

com

mun

ities

, and

the

restl

essn

ess o

fa

youn

ger g

ener

atio

n of

Upc

ount

ry T

amils

hav

e al

lpl

ayed

thei

r par

t in

prod

ucin

g an

em

path

y w

ith th

eLT

TE

amon

g th

e co

nstit

uenc

y ba

se o

f the

Upc

ount

ryTa

mils

. Thi

s has

pla

yed

a m

ajor

par

t in

both

the

rhet

oric

al st

rate

gies

of t

he C

WC

and

the

mor

e de

ep-

seat

ed a

llian

ce o

f the

UPF

. The

latte

r app

ear t

o be

asse

rtin

g a

mor

e po

tent

supp

ort f

or a

dev

olut

iona

ryso

lutio

n an

d le

anin

g to

war

d a

stron

ger r

elat

ions

hip

with

the

LTT

E an

d th

e U

NP

coal

ition

. Yet

supp

ort f

orau

tono

my

in th

e N

orth

-Eas

t by

both

the

UPF

and

the

CW

C c

an a

lso b

e in

terp

rete

d as

an

atte

mpt

to st

eal t

heth

unde

r of T

amil

natio

nalis

m a

nd p

reve

nt th

e LT

TE

from

mak

ing

in-r

oads

into

the

Hill

Cou

ntry

. It t

here

fore

rem

ains

to b

e se

en if

the

UPF

will

con

trib

ute

to a

mor

epo

tent

pol

itics

of n

atio

nalis

t affe

ct in

the

Upc

ount

ryTa

mil

cons

titue

ncie

s or w

heth

er, a

s with

the

CW

C, t

hepa

rty

is ba

sed

on th

e pa

trona

ge n

etw

orks

and

pol

itica

lba

rgai

ning

that

has

hith

erto

cha

ract

erize

d th

e C

WC

. On

the

latte

r sco

re so

me

com

men

tato

rs h

ave

inte

rpre

ted

the

histo

rical

traj

ecto

ry o

f Esta

te T

amil

polit

ics a

s a si

mpl

esu

bstit

utio

n of

the

unio

n fo

r the

kan

gani

syste

m.

Non

ethe

less

, hav

ing

final

ly o

verc

ome

the

first

lega

cy o

fth

e hi

storic

al h

urdl

es le

ft by

the

dise

nfra

nchi

sem

ent o

fth

e ci

tizen

ship

act

s of 1

948

and

1949

,138

Upc

ount

ryTa

mils

now

form

a si

gnifi

cant

vot

ing

bloc

k w

ithin

anu

mbe

r of e

lect

oral

dist

ricts.

As a

resu

lt th

ey h

ave

even

grea

ter p

oliti

cal p

rom

inen

ce th

an si

mpl

y T

hond

aman

'sca

paci

ty to

act

as p

oliti

cal k

ingm

aker

, and

ther

efor

e th

eir

role

in re

latio

n to

the

peac

e pr

oces

s will

bec

ome

incr

easin

gly

signi

fican

t.

INCE

NTI

VES

FOR

THE

PEAC

E PR

OCES

S

Whi

le th

e C

WC

is lo

cked

into

the

statu

s quo

as f

ar a

s the

peac

e pr

oces

s goe

s, th

e U

PF is

will

ing

to e

nter

tain

the

ISG

A fra

mew

ork

for n

egot

iatio

ns, w

ith th

e un

derst

andi

ngth

at th

e LT

TE

will

brin

g its

requ

est f

or a

dev

olut

iona

ryun

it fo

r the

Upc

ount

ry T

amils

ont

o th

e ag

enda

for

cons

titut

iona

l ref

orm

. In

this

resp

ect t

he U

PF o

ffer l

ittle

in te

rms o

f pot

entia

l obs

tacle

s to

the

reco

mm

ence

men

t of

peac

e ta

lks o

n th

e ba

sis o

f con

tinui

ty w

ith th

e U

NF

regi

me.

In fa

ct C

hand

rase

kara

n hi

mse

lf at

tem

pted

,un

succ

essfu

lly, t

o br

ing

Wee

raw

ansa

and

the

JVP

to th

eta

ble

with

the

LTT

E in

200

4 on

the

basis

of I

SGA.

Con

sequ

ently

, the

UPF

had

bee

n w

illin

g to

take

initi

ativ

es w

ith th

e U

PFA

in o

rder

to re

vive

the

peac

epr

oces

s, de

spite

rem

aini

ng a

ligne

d w

ith th

e U

NF.

The

UPF

's pe

ace

strat

egy

pres

ently

rem

ains

unp

robl

emat

ic, a

fact

or th

at m

ay sw

iftly

cha

nge

if U

pcou

ntry

Tam

il iss

ues

are

not m

oote

d w

hen

fram

ewor

ks fo

r con

stitu

tiona

lch

ange

are

serio

usly

disc

usse

d.

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

56

137

See

Tis

sara

nee

Gun

asek

era

(200

4) "

The

Impo

rtan

ce o

f B

eing

Tho

ndam

an"

Asi

an T

ribu

ne, D

ecem

ber

9, 2

004.

138

See

Am

ita

Sha

stri

(199

9) "

Esta

te T

amils

, the

Cey

lon

Cit

izen

ship

Act

of

1948

and

Sri

Lan

kan

Polit

ics"

Con

tem

pora

ry S

outh

Asi

a, V

ol. 8

, No.

1, p

p.65

-86.

Page 60: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

57|

Con

clus

ion

3.Co

nclu

sion

From

the

fore

goin

g an

alys

is, it

is c

lear

the

mai

nstre

ampa

rtie

s (th

e SL

FP/P

A an

d U

NP/

UN

F) h

ave

shift

ed o

nth

e w

hole

tow

ard

a co

mm

on p

latfo

rm th

at re

cogn

izes

the

need

for c

onso

ciat

iona

l con

stitu

tiona

l ref

orm

and

the

nego

tiatio

n of

a p

eace

pro

cess

on

the

basis

of

auto

nom

y fo

r the

Nor

th-E

ast.

Thi

s con

sens

us h

as c

ome

abou

t des

pite

the

fact

that

atte

mpt

s to

impl

emen

t suc

h a

solu

tion

by e

ach

part

y ha

ve b

een

frequ

ently

der

aile

d by

the

oppo

sitio

n be

nche

s. A

lthou

gh th

is sh

ift h

asoc

curr

ed a

t the

leve

l of p

oliti

cal l

eade

rshi

p an

d am

ong

wid

e se

ctio

ns o

f Sri

Lank

a's e

lite,

it d

oes n

ot in

any

way

signi

fy th

at S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

t maj

orita

riani

sm is

in th

epr

oces

s of f

inal

ly b

eing

effa

ced

from

its l

ong

hege

mon

icso

jour

n in

the

sout

hern

pol

ity. T

he d

ynam

ics b

ehin

dth

is pe

rsev

eran

ce a

re c

ompl

ex b

ut fo

r the

sake

of

unde

rsta

ndin

g w

e ca

n br

eak

them

dow

n in

to a

four

-fold

,ov

erla

ppin

g sc

hem

a.

First

, dec

ades

of p

oten

t soc

ializ

atio

n th

roug

h fa

mili

al,re

ligio

us, e

duca

tiona

l, an

d m

edia

pra

ctic

es h

ave

resu

lted

in a

Sin

hala

Budd

hist

natio

nalis

t heg

emon

y th

at sp

ans t

hepo

litic

al, so

cio-

econ

omic

and

cul

tura

l lan

dsca

pe o

f Sri

Lank

a. It

has r

esul

ted

in th

ese

prac

tices

and

app

arat

uses

bein

g re

prod

uced

and

dee

ply

perm

eatin

g w

ide

levels

of

soci

ety,

espe

ciall

y th

e ve

rnac

ular

stra

ta. T

he K

now

ledge

,At

titud

es, P

ract

ices

Sur

vey

on th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

Peac

ePr

oces

s atte

sts to

this,

and

whi

le w

e ar

e no

t sug

gesti

ngth

at th

is vi

sion

of th

e w

orld

goe

s unc

onte

sted

or th

at it

isstr

uctu

rally

rigi

d or

stat

ic, o

ur v

iew

is th

at it

ebb

s and

flow

s in

reac

tion

to e

vent

s, as

one

wou

ld e

xpec

t. In

that

sens

e Si

nhala

nat

iona

lism

is st

ill in

the

room

of S

riLa

nka's

pol

itica

l hou

se a

nd li

ke a

n un

wan

ted

gues

t is a

lsoke

epin

g lo

ng a

nd u

nsoc

ial h

ours.

Seco

nd, i

t is c

lear

that

the

incr

easin

gly

glob

alize

d w

orld

oper

ates

to b

reak

up

natio

nalis

t spa

ce v

ery

sudd

enly

and

unev

enly

due

to th

e ra

pid

circ

ulat

ion

of m

oder

nco

mm

unic

atio

n, c

apita

l, an

d so

cio-

cultu

ral f

low

s. T

his

can

ofte

n le

ad to

pot

ent n

atio

nalis

t rea

ctio

ns se

ekin

g to

re-te

rrito

rializ

e th

ese

flow

s pol

itica

lly, s

ocia

lly, c

ultu

rally

,an

d so

met

imes

eco

nom

ical

ly in

ord

er to

reas

sert

con

trol

over

wha

t is e

ssen

tially

a v

ery

diso

rgan

ized

phas

e of

late

capi

talis

m. A

ccor

ding

ly, g

loba

lizat

ion

may

"pr

oduc

estr

ong

polit

ical

reac

tions

ass

ertin

g th

e no

rmat

ive

auth

ority

of t

he lo

cal a

nd th

e na

tiona

l ove

r the

glo

bal

and

the

inte

rnat

iona

l" (O

ng, 1

999)

, whi

ch a

mor

e sta

tist

appr

oach

was

onc

e m

ore

able

to, i

f not

reso

lve,

then

at

leas

t con

tain

.

Addi

tiona

lly, b

ecau

se d

ispar

ities

are

exa

cerb

ated

with

in"g

iven

" na

tiona

l spa

ces,

cosm

opol

itani

sm m

ay sw

iftly

beco

me

a cu

ltura

l mar

ker f

or th

e el

ite, j

ust a

s nat

iona

list

cultu

ral a

uthe

ntic

ity o

ften

play

s a si

mila

r rol

e fo

rsu

balte

rn g

roup

s. T

his i

s esp

ecia

lly tr

ue if

they

are

ghet

toize

d w

ithin

the

soci

o-cu

ltura

l ver

nacu

lar o

rec

onom

ical

ly o

pera

tive

fram

ewor

ks th

at th

e el

ites a

reke

en to

rein

forc

e up

on e

very

one

but t

hem

selv

es. I

t is f

orth

is re

ason

that

we

argu

e, w

ith T

om N

airn

, tha

t muc

h of

the

thru

st of

nat

iona

lism

com

es in

crea

singl

y (b

ut n

otex

clus

ivel

y) fr

om th

e "m

arch

land

s and

the

coun

trys

ide.

"139

As n

atio

nalis

m fr

eque

ntly

em

erge

s with

over

t for

ce fr

om th

e m

argi

ns a

nd p

erip

herie

s in

a gl

obal

,na

tiona

l, an

d lo

cal s

ense

, exp

lana

tions

of t

his

phen

omen

on c

anno

t sim

ply

be re

duce

d to

eco

nom

icfa

ctor

s. W

hile

the

diffe

ring

cons

titue

ncie

s of t

heJH

U/S

U a

nd th

e JV

P at

test

to th

is, it

is u

nmist

akab

leth

at th

e JV

P's m

ore

pote

nt p

oliti

cal p

rese

nce

and

repr

oduc

tion

of th

is Si

nhal

a na

tiona

list s

eam

has

eman

ated

from

a p

rofo

und

soci

o-ec

onom

ic a

nd p

oliti

co-

cultu

ral d

isart

icul

atio

n w

ithin

Sri

Lank

a. T

his

disa

rtic

ulat

ion

is op

erat

ive

thro

ugh

clas

s, ca

ste, c

ultu

ral,

lingu

istic

, cen

ter/

perip

hery

, and

mas

s/el

ite d

iffer

ence

s

139

See

T. N

airn

(197

5) "

The

Mod

ern

Janu

s,"

New

Lef

t R

evie

w, V

ol.1

, No.

94,

pp.

3-2

9 &

T. N

airn

(199

8) F

aces

of

Nat

iona

lism

: Jan

us R

evis

ited

(Ver

so, L

ondo

n).

Page 61: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

58

and

disp

ariti

es in

whi

ch th

e JV

P ha

s pos

ition

ed it

self

asa

mor

e "a

uthe

ntic

" na

tiona

list v

oice

bec

ause

of i

tstr

aditi

onal

ly m

argi

naliz

ed p

ower

bas

e. In

a si

tuat

ion

inw

hich

elit

es h

ave

shift

ed th

eir g

ener

al p

ositi

on o

n th

epe

ace

proc

ess,

the

JVP

have

serv

ed to

cro

wd

the

natio

nalis

t sta

ge--

thei

r "m

oral

" an

d "s

over

eign

hig

hgr

ound

." T

his h

as b

een

done

in a

con

text

in w

hich

dono

r sta

tes,

lend

ing

insti

tutio

ns, N

GO

s, an

d th

e flo

ws

of g

loba

l cap

ital a

nd c

ultu

ral c

urre

nts h

ave

all i

ncre

ased

thei

r inf

luen

ce w

ithin

Sri

Lank

a, th

ereb

y de

epen

ing

the

perc

eive

d tr

ansg

ress

ion

of th

e co

untr

y's s

over

eign

ty.

In th

is la

ndsc

ape

a di

visio

n ha

s ope

ned

up b

etw

een

the

polit

ical

pro

ject

of t

he "

cosm

opol

itan"

elit

es w

ho a

reat

tem

ptin

g to

mov

e th

e po

litic

al sc

ene

tow

ard

a fe

dera

lor

dev

olve

d so

lutio

n an

d so

cial

forc

es w

ithin

the

Sout

h,so

cial

ized

into

the

ideo

logi

cal h

eart

h of

Sin

hala

natio

nalis

m, w

ho se

e th

is as

a st

ep to

war

d th

edi

sinte

grat

ion

of S

ri La

nka.

As a

resu

lt of

the

disa

rtic

ulat

ion

and

failu

re to

ove

rcom

e th

eaf

orem

entio

ned

disp

ariti

es, a

pot

ent b

ridge

has

bee

ncr

eate

d be

twee

n un

even

dev

elop

men

t, po

vert

y, an

dso

cio-

polit

ical

and

cul

tura

l mar

gina

lizat

ion

in th

e So

uth

and

natio

nalis

t dyn

amic

s. In

the

case

of t

he JV

P at

leas

t,it

cont

inue

s to

susta

in th

e pa

rty'

s gra

ssro

ots s

uppo

rt a

ndex

pand

ing

pow

er b

ase.

Thi

s is n

ot to

say

that

the

JVP

are

abso

lute

ly in

imic

al to

pea

ce in

Sri

Lank

a bu

t tha

tth

eir v

ision

, alo

ng w

ith th

at o

f the

JHU

, is p

rese

ntly

trap

ped

with

in th

e "i

nteg

rativ

e, e

volu

tiona

ry"

sche

me

that

den

ies "

diffe

renc

e" a

nd a

ttem

pts t

o ch

alle

nge

the

prob

lem

s of S

inha

la m

ajor

itaria

nism

from

with

in th

atpo

wer

stru

ctur

e (G

hosh

, 200

3, p

p. 2

3-34

). It

is a

stanc

eth

at h

as p

rove

d co

nsist

ently

frui

tless

and

ulti

mat

ely

rein

forc

es m

ajor

itaria

n do

min

ance

.

Thi

rd, w

hile

we

have

arg

ued

that

the

bato

n of

natio

nalis

m h

as b

een

pass

ed fr

om th

e m

ains

tream

par

ties

such

as t

he U

NP

and

the

SLFP

to th

e on

ce m

ore

mar

gina

lized

par

ties s

uch

as th

e JH

U a

nd th

e JV

P; it

mus

t also

be

appr

ecia

ted

that

ther

e is

a re

turn

jour

ney

here

in a

s far

as t

he c

ombi

natio

n of

exi

sting

and

wid

enin

g in

equa

litie

s tha

t exi

st in

the

sout

hern

pol

ityha

ve c

ome

to b

e ex

pres

sed

thro

ugh

the

voca

l nat

iona

list

dyna

mic

s of t

he JH

U a

nd, m

ore

signi

fican

tly, t

hrou

ghth

e JV

P. T

here

is, a

s it s

tand

s, no

cur

rent

sche

me

for

alle

viat

ing

the

kind

s of i

nequ

ality

and

pov

erty

(infra

struc

tura

l, so

cio-

econ

omic

, pol

itica

l, an

d cu

ltura

l)th

at fe

ed in

to th

e JV

P. As

such

, mai

nstre

am p

artie

s(e

spec

ially

the

SLFP

) fac

e a

futu

re o

f dim

inish

ing

elec

tora

l ret

urns

as l

ong

as th

ey m

aint

ain

thei

r poo

rre

cord

of d

emoc

ratic

stan

dard

s, ac

coun

tabi

lity,

and

resp

ect f

or m

ovin

g de

velo

pmen

tal p

riorit

ies b

eyon

d th

eC

olom

bo-c

entr

ic a

nd e

litist

pat

ron-

heav

y ne

twor

ks th

atex

ist a

t pre

sent

. In

the

curr

ent c

onte

xt th

e JV

P w

illex

pand

and

, if p

ast e

xper

ienc

e is

anyt

hing

to g

o by

,pr

ove

a w

orth

ier r

epre

sent

ativ

e of

mos

t of i

tsco

nstit

uent

s tha

n ha

s bee

n th

e ca

se w

ith m

ains

tream

part

ies.

At th

e sa

me

time,

as t

radi

tiona

l hol

ders

of

gove

rnm

ent,

the

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s will

figh

t too

th a

ndna

il to

kee

p th

eir c

onsti

tuen

cies

; and

, unl

ess t

here

is a

radi

cal c

hang

e, m

ay c

ontin

ue to

rely

on

the

corr

uptio

nan

d vi

olen

t int

imid

atio

n ty

pica

l of p

atro

nage

-bas

edpo

litic

s in

the

past.

Sim

ilarly

, the

re a

re c

once

rns t

hat

mai

nstre

am p

artie

s may

reso

rt o

nce

agai

n to

mor

eex

trem

e na

tiona

list m

obili

zatio

ns to

com

pete

with

thei

rm

ore

over

tly n

atio

nalis

t cou

nter

part

s. T

his c

an le

ad to

cycl

es in

whi

ch, f

or in

stanc

e, b

old

atte

mpt

s to

rush

thro

ugh

peac

e an

d co

nstit

utio

nal r

efor

m p

acka

ges

with

out s

uffic

ient

soci

al in

clus

ivity

, par

ticip

atio

n, a

ndco

nsul

tatio

n m

ay c

ontin

ue to

be

undo

ne b

y op

posit

ion

from

an

adm

ixtu

re o

f the

opp

osin

g m

ains

tream

par

tyan

d/or

the

natio

nalis

t par

ties.

In th

is co

ntex

t,m

ains

tream

pol

itica

l act

ors o

ften

beco

me

will

ing

part

ies

to fu

rthe

r rou

nds o

f eth

nic-

outb

iddi

ng a

nd z

ero-

sum

polit

ics.

We

have

alre

ady

seen

this

in th

e gr

avey

ard

ofth

e C

onsti

tutio

nal B

ill o

f 200

0, th

e po

st-C

FAne

gotia

tions

of t

he U

NF

in th

e 20

02-2

004

perio

d, a

ndth

e U

NP'

s ref

usal

to e

nter

tain

the

idea

of a

nat

iona

lU

NP/

PA g

over

nmen

t afte

r the

dep

artu

re o

f the

JVP

inJu

ne 2

005.

Onc

e ag

ain,

Sri

Lank

a fa

lls v

ictim

to th

eze

ro-s

um g

ame

and

"eth

nic

outb

iddi

ng"

of S

ri La

nkan

polit

ics.

Whi

le th

e pe

ace

proc

ess i

s a n

eces

sary

firs

t ste

p to

war

dso

lvin

g m

any

of th

e af

orem

entio

ned

polit

ical

and

soci

alpr

oble

ms a

ffect

ing

the

curr

ent c

risis,

the

shift

aw

ay fr

om

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59|

Con

clus

ion

Sinh

ala

maj

orita

rian

mob

iliza

tions

has

not

bee

nsu

ffici

ently

acc

ompa

nied

in a

ny su

stain

ed w

ay b

y a

coun

ter-

hege

mon

ic, p

artic

ipat

ory

proj

ect,

rela

ying

this

ideo

logi

cal s

hift

to w

ider

leve

ls of

soci

ety.14

0M

uch

of th

isfa

ilure

in p

oliti

cal l

eade

rshi

p ha

s bee

n du

e to

the

pers

ever

ance

of p

atro

n-cl

ient

age

as th

e pr

edom

inan

tpo

litic

al th

read

that

runs

ver

tical

ly fr

om th

e sta

teth

roug

h th

e so

cial

bod

y. It

is a

mod

e of

pol

itics

that

prov

ides

littl

e sc

ope

for i

deol

ogic

al o

r soc

ial

tran

sform

atio

n.

All t

oo o

ften

initi

ativ

es fo

r pea

ce a

nd c

onsti

tutio

nal

chan

ge h

ave

been

dev

elop

ed o

n an

exc

essiv

ely

narr

owfu

nctio

nal b

asis,

mos

t not

icea

bly

of la

te, b

y th

eU

NP/

UN

F un

der R

anil

Wic

krem

asin

ghe.

The

latte

r'spe

ace

initi

ativ

e fe

ll pr

ey to

the

over

ridin

g in

tere

sts o

f apa

rty

that

is re

pres

enta

tive

of a

"str

atum

of t

he S

inha

lese

rulin

g el

ite"

that

"is

linke

d to

glo

bal c

apita

l and

no

long

er v

iew

s the

stat

e fro

m th

e ou

tdat

ed p

arad

igm

of

natio

nal s

over

eign

ty"

(Uya

ngod

a, 2

005)

. In

this

rega

rdth

e U

NP/

UN

F str

ives

to c

reat

e a

stabl

e la

ndsc

ape

for

the

long

-term

inte

rests

of g

loba

l and

loca

l bus

ines

sw

ithin

Sri

Lank

a. S

imila

r con

cern

s hav

e no

t bee

nen

tirel

y ab

sent

from

the

agen

da o

f the

SLF

P/PA

, whe

refa

r gre

ater

atte

ntio

n is

paid

to m

eetin

g bo

th e

nds o

f the

polit

ical

spec

trum

, inc

ludi

ng th

e na

tiona

list a

nd g

loba

lcu

rren

ts. S

uch

pres

sure

s evi

dent

ly p

rodu

ced

grea

ter

tens

ions

on

the

forg

ing

of th

e U

PFA

coal

ition

with

the

JVP

and

did

not g

reat

ly im

prov

e th

e co

nsul

tativ

em

echa

nism

s for

the

peac

e pr

oces

s. T

he re

sult

is th

at th

eag

enda

of c

onsti

tutio

nal r

efor

ms a

nd p

eace

favo

red

bypo

litic

al e

lites

has

not

bee

n ef

fect

ivel

y tr

ansla

ted

tow

ider

sect

ions

of t

he S

outh

whe

re S

inha

la n

atio

nalis

tm

obili

zatio

n an

d af

fect

is st

ill a

pot

ent d

ynam

ic, a

lbei

ton

e th

at is

subj

ect t

o sh

iftin

g pe

ndul

um sw

ings

.

In th

is, b

oth

the

JVP

and

the

JHU

hav

e pl

ayed

a ro

le in

fom

entin

g op

posit

ion

to c

onso

ciat

iona

l and

devo

lutio

nary

fram

ewor

ks fo

r pol

itica

l ref

orm

. In

doin

gso

they

repr

oduc

e th

e dy

nam

ics o

f Sin

hala

nat

iona

lism

and

the

conc

omita

nt d

esire

s for

the

pres

erva

tion

of th

e

Sinh

ala

maj

orita

rian

and

unita

ry st

ate.

Con

sequ

ently

,w

hile

the

JVP

and

the

JHU

can

be

view

ed a

s the

mos

tsig

nific

ant p

oten

tial o

ppon

ents

of th

e pe

ace

proc

ess a

ndpo

litic

al re

form

, we

mus

t be

war

y of

trea

ting

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

m a

s the

sole

dom

ain

of a

ny p

oliti

cal p

arty

.N

atio

nalis

m in

Sri

Lank

a, a

s else

whe

re, i

s a fa

r too

diffu

se a

nd v

olat

ile p

heno

men

on fo

r suc

h an

ana

lysis

.T

he JV

P (a

nd to

a le

sser

ext

ent t

he JH

U/S

U) w

illco

ntin

ue to

mob

ilize

on

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t dem

ands

,bu

t the

y w

ill a

lso se

ek to

mov

e th

e po

litic

al sp

ectr

um in

thei

r fav

or b

y re

crui

ting

mai

nstre

am p

oliti

cal a

ctor

s ont

oth

eir n

atio

nalis

t pla

tform

s or t

hrou

gh n

atio

nalis

tba

ndw

agon

s suc

h as

the

PNM

. The

dra

fting

of t

he A

nti-

Con

vers

ion

Bill

is a

perfe

ct il

lustr

atio

n of

nat

iona

list

mov

emen

ts' e

ndur

ing

influ

ence

on

mai

nstre

am p

oliti

cal

acto

rs. F

or su

ch re

ason

s, Si

nhal

a na

tiona

list p

oliti

cs is

still

a vi

bran

t phe

nom

enon

, im

pact

ing

on m

ains

tream

acto

rs a

s wel

l as p

rodu

cing

cur

rent

s of e

ndur

ing

mar

gina

lizat

ion

and

coun

ter-

natio

nalis

t rea

ctio

n by

min

oriti

es. T

his i

s evi

denc

ed, f

or in

stanc

e, b

y U

pcou

ntry

Tam

il po

litic

al p

artie

s suc

h as

the

UPF

, who

hav

ede

man

ded

devo

lutio

nary

aut

onom

y an

d fo

rged

stro

nger

polit

ical

brid

ges w

ith th

e LT

TE.

Unl

ess s

ome

form

of

devo

lutio

n ca

n br

eak

the

dead

lock

of t

his e

thni

cou

tbid

ding

, the

gro

wth

of n

atio

nalis

m w

ill c

ontin

ueun

abat

ed--

a te

nden

cy th

at m

ay te

ar a

t the

div

erse

soci

o-po

litic

al fa

bric

, not

just

of S

ri La

nka

but o

f the

sout

hern

polit

y its

elf.

140

The

earl

y pe

riod

of

the

PA c

oalit

ion'

s ri

se t

o po

wer

and

ini

tial

tim

e in

gov

ernm

ent

in t

he m

id-1

990s

can

be

seen

as

a m

ore

thor

ough

goin

g at

tem

pt a

t a

cons

ulta

tive

, edu

cati

onal

pro

ject

but

it w

as n

ot s

usta

ined

.

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Page 64: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

61|

Impl

icat

ions

for

Inte

rnat

iona

l Don

ors

4.Im

plic

atio

ns fo

r Int

erna

tiona

l Don

ors

The

se fi

ndin

gs h

ave

the

follo

win

g im

plic

atio

ns fo

rin

tern

atio

nal d

onor

s aim

ing

to su

ppor

t pea

cebu

ildin

gpr

oces

ses:

POLI

TICA

L KN

OWLE

DGE

The

don

or co

mm

unity

mus

t dev

elop

mec

hani

sms t

o en

sure

am

ore e

xten

sive a

nd u

p-to

-dat

e kno

wled

ge o

f the

pol

itica

lpr

ocess

es at

wor

k in

the s

outh

ern

polit

y an

d am

ong

the

dias

pora

. A se

nsiti

vity

to th

e nu

ance

s and

com

plex

ities

of

polit

ical

pro

cess

es w

ill le

ad to

a h

eigh

tene

dun

ders

tand

ing

of th

e de

ep n

exus

bet

wee

n po

vert

y,un

even

dev

elop

men

t, so

cial

exc

lusio

n an

d co

nflic

tdy

nam

ics-

-not

just

in re

latio

n to

the

Nor

th-E

ast b

ut in

the

Sout

h as

wel

l. D

oing

so w

ill si

gnifi

cant

ly o

pen

the

pote

ntia

l spa

ce fo

r dev

elop

men

ts am

ong

the

depr

esse

dco

mm

uniti

es o

f the

Upc

ount

ry T

amils

. Thi

s app

roac

hca

n al

so c

ontr

ibut

e to

a d

eepe

r und

ersta

ndin

g of

con

flict

with

in a

glo

bal f

ram

ewor

k an

d pr

even

t don

ors f

rom

falli

ng in

to th

e tr

ap o

f see

ing

such

dyn

amic

s thr

ough

an

exce

ssiv

ely

"int

erna

list"

lens

. Sim

ilarly

, it m

ight

ave

rtin

terv

entio

ns th

at fa

il to

look

bel

ow th

e ed

ifice

of

natio

nalis

m a

t the

soci

o-cu

ltura

l, ec

onom

ic, a

nd p

oliti

cal

crac

ks a

nd fi

ssur

es th

at n

atio

nalis

m se

eks t

o pa

per o

ver

but w

hich

freq

uent

ly fe

ed in

to it

s dyn

amic

s. In

this

sens

e, it

can

lead

to a

mor

e so

phist

icat

ed a

naly

sis o

fco

nflic

t tha

t loo

ks a

t int

ra-g

roup

dyn

amic

s rat

her t

han

acce

ptin

g th

e ve

neer

of "

ethn

ic c

onfli

ct"

at fa

ce v

alue

.

An o

ngoi

ng, p

oliti

cally

info

rmed

app

roac

h co

uld

also

enha

nce

conc

eptio

ns o

f the

vic

issitu

des a

nd m

icro

-po

litic

al sh

ifts t

hat m

ay b

e ho

stile

to fr

amew

orks

for

peac

e; fo

r ins

tanc

e, th

e up

swin

gs a

nd d

owns

win

gs o

fna

tiona

list a

gita

tion

and

uphe

aval

and

the

mov

emen

tsth

at fe

ed in

to a

nd a

way

from

nat

iona

list p

ositi

ons.

Rat

her t

han

taki

ng n

atio

nalis

t act

ors s

impl

y at

face

valu

e, e

ffort

s sho

uld

be m

ade

to c

reat

e an

aw

aren

ess t

hat

impr

oves

judg

men

ts ab

out t

he a

ppro

pria

tene

ss a

ndtim

ing

of d

onor

inte

rven

tions

in si

tuat

ions

of t

ensio

nan

d po

tent

ial c

onfli

ct. M

oreo

ver,

ther

e sh

ould

be

acl

eare

r per

cept

ion

of th

e ca

paci

ties f

or p

eace

am

ong

the

spec

trum

of p

oliti

cal a

ctor

s.

AID

FRAM

EWOR

KS

The

don

or co

mm

unity

nee

ds to

take

acc

ount

of t

he ef

fects

aid

and

atta

ched

cond

ition

aliti

es ha

ve in

the d

ebili

tatio

n of

the s

tate

and

in th

e fos

terin

g of

nat

iona

list a

nd a

nti-

glob

aliz

atio

n re

actio

ns th

at u

ltim

ately

com

bine

in th

eireff

ects

to u

nder

min

e the

pro

spec

ts fo

r pea

ce. O

ne o

f the

cent

ral t

ensio

ns th

at e

mer

ge fr

om a

n an

alys

is of

natio

nalis

t act

ors s

uch

as th

e JV

P, th

e SU

and

the

JHU

is th

e ev

iden

t hos

tility

of t

hese

pol

itica

l act

ors t

o IF

Is,

IGO

s, N

GO

s, an

d IN

GO

s. In

deed

, the

ir ho

stilit

yex

tend

s to

any

natio

nal o

r int

erna

tiona

l act

or w

ho is

perc

eive

d to

tran

sgre

ss th

e so

vere

ignt

y of

Sri

Lank

a.Su

ch a

ttack

s hav

e be

en ta

ken

to th

e le

vel o

f an

art f

orm

by th

e JV

P's p

ropa

gand

a se

cret

ary

and

parli

amen

taria

n,W

imal

Wee

raw

ansa

, and

are

em

blem

atic

of a

nat

iona

list

reac

tion

to th

e w

ay in

whi

ch h

uman

itaria

n ai

d an

dde

velo

pmen

t ass

istan

ce h

ave

incr

easin

gly

beco

me

focu

sed

on n

on-g

over

nmen

tal b

odie

s. In

this

resp

ect,

whi

le W

eera

wan

sa's

atta

cks c

an b

e re

ad o

n on

e le

vel a

sex

ampl

es o

f ind

iscrim

inat

e, fa

natic

al a

nd in

sula

rna

tiona

lism

, the

y no

neth

eles

s ref

lect

som

e of

the

deba

tes

that

hav

e ra

nged

abo

ut th

e w

ay in

whi

ch a

idor

gani

zatio

ns h

ave

cont

ribut

ed to

a tr

ansn

atio

nal

reco

nfig

urat

ion

of th

e w

orld

ord

er a

nd su

bseq

uent

conc

erns

ove

r the

loss

of s

tate

sove

reig

nty.14

1W

hile

few

wou

ld a

rgue

that

a re

turn

to a

n ou

tmod

ed c

once

pt o

f

141

For

a di

scus

sion

of

this

in t

he S

ri L

anka

n co

ntex

t, s

ee N

. Wic

krem

asin

ghe

(200

1) C

ivil

Soc

iety

in S

ri L

anka

: New

Cir

cles

of

Pow

er (S

age,

New

Del

hi).

Page 65: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

sove

reig

nty

is po

ssib

le, t

here

are

non

ethe

less

dee

pco

ncer

ns a

bout

the

way

in w

hich

this

proc

ess h

as a

lsopl

ayed

its p

art i

n re

duci

ng th

e sta

te's

deve

lopm

enta

l rol

e,ca

paci

ty, a

nd re

spon

siven

ess.

It is

an is

sue

that

has

cert

ainl

y ta

ken

cent

er-s

tage

in th

e po

st-tsu

nam

i con

text

.T

he in

crea

sing

intro

duct

ion

of "

gove

rnan

ce"

prin

cipl

esan

d co

nditi

onal

ities

to a

id fr

amew

orks

has

also

obv

ious

lyco

ntrib

uted

to su

ch c

once

rns.

Con

sequ

ently

, as p

art o

f the

pro

ject

of s

treng

then

ing

conf

lict r

esol

utio

n an

d th

e pe

ace

proc

ess w

ithin

the

SCA

proj

ect a

s a w

hole

, the

aut

hors

stre

ss th

e ne

ed fo

r the

dono

r com

mun

ity to

take

acc

ount

of t

he e

ffect

s aid

and

atta

ched

con

ditio

nalit

ies h

ave

on th

e Sr

i Lan

kan

state

. In

this

cont

ext,

aid

has b

een

accu

sed

of re

prod

ucin

g cy

cles

in w

hich

the

gove

rnm

ent i

s deb

ilita

ted

and

caug

htbe

twee

n th

e ne

ed to

succ

umb

to tr

ansn

atio

nal a

ndin

tern

atio

nal p

ress

ures

whi

le ju

gglin

g th

e ris

e of

natio

nalis

t and

ant

i-glo

baliz

atio

n re

actio

ns a

ndag

itatio

ns su

ch p

ress

ures

pro

voke

. Thi

s has

bee

nev

iden

ced

by te

nsio

ns b

etw

een

the

state

and

NG

Os i

nw

hich

the

form

er a

ttem

pts t

o pl

ace

cont

rols

and

regu

latio

n on

the

latte

r. T

he N

GO

s res

pond

by

taki

ngon

a h

ostil

e an

d an

tago

nisti

c sta

nce,

incl

udin

g re

fusin

gdi

alog

ue w

ith th

e sta

te. T

he a

utho

rs, t

here

fore

, sug

gest

grea

ter d

ialo

gue

betw

een

thes

e se

ctor

s tha

t act

to d

elim

itth

e "c

ircle

s of p

ower

" in

a m

ore

resp

onsib

le, t

rans

pare

nt,

and

mut

ually

acc

epta

ble

fash

ion.

We

also

stre

ss th

e ne

edfo

r im

plem

entin

g "i

nitia

tives

that

hel

p to

bui

ld a

stro

ng,

legi

timat

e an

d re

spon

sive

state

" (G

oodh

and,

200

1, p

.11

2).

ENGA

GEM

ENT

WIT

H PO

LITI

CAL

ACTO

RS A

ND

CAPA

CITI

ES F

OR P

EACE

Don

ors n

eed

to b

e aw

are t

hat n

atio

nalis

m is

not

the

mon

opol

y of

any

one

par

ty b

ut a

tacti

c ofte

n de

ploy

ed to

unde

rmin

e pea

ce p

roce

sses a

nd th

e pol

itica

l leg

itim

acy

ofop

pone

nts.

Rath

er th

an p

rivile

ging

cert

ain

polit

ical a

ctors,

the d

onor

com

mun

ity sh

ould

conc

entra

te ef

fort

s on

enco

urag

ing

inte

r-pa

rty

dial

ogue

that

pre

vent

s the

use

of"e

thni

c out

bidd

ing"

and

enco

urag

es m

echa

nism

s for

pow

er-

shar

ing

and

grea

ter o

penn

ess. T

he a

utho

rs fe

el th

at a

deep

er k

now

ledg

e of

the

polit

ical

act

ors (

incl

udin

g th

ose

natio

nalis

t par

ties t

hat a

re g

aini

ng p

oliti

cal g

roun

d) w

illen

gend

er a

mor

e in

-dep

th a

ppre

ciat

ion

of th

e ca

paci

ties

of th

e di

vers

e ac

tors

invo

lved

in th

e sp

ectr

um o

f Sri

Lank

an p

oliti

cs. I

n th

e co

urse

of t

his s

tudy

we

have

atte

mpt

ed to

del

imit

the

vary

ing

ince

ntiv

es to

war

den

gage

men

t with

the

peac

e pr

oces

s tha

t exi

st am

ong

thes

e fo

rces

. The

ove

rrid

ing

conc

lusio

n is

that

alm

ost a

llof

the

signi

fican

t pol

itica

l par

ties d

iscus

sed

(with

the

exce

ptio

n of

the

JVP

and

the

JHU

) are

pot

entia

lly o

pen

to d

irect

eng

agem

ent w

ith th

e pr

oces

s and

to a

dia

logu

eab

out t

he p

ossib

ility

of f

eder

al fr

amew

orks

.

How

ever

, one

of t

he c

entr

al fi

ndin

gs in

this

repo

rt is

that

the

proc

ess o

f "et

hnic

out

bidd

ing"

con

tinue

s to

unde

rmin

e pe

ace

bids

and

con

stitu

tiona

l ref

orm

by

mai

nstre

am p

oliti

cal p

artie

s. W

hile

ther

e ha

s bee

n so

me

posit

ive

mov

emen

t her

e (fo

r exa

mpl

e, o

n th

e P-

TOM

Sag

reem

ent),

don

ors n

eed

to b

e aw

are

that

nat

iona

lism

isno

t the

pro

vinc

e of

any

one

of t

he m

ains

tream

par

ties.

Rat

her i

t has

bee

n de

ploy

ed b

y bo

th th

e U

NP

and

SLFP

-led

coal

ition

s as a

tact

ic fo

r und

erm

inin

g pe

ace

proc

esse

s and

pol

itica

l leg

itim

acy,

ther

eby

cont

ribut

ing

to th

e su

stena

nce

and

repr

oduc

tion

of d

esta

biliz

ing

Sinh

ala

natio

nalis

t dyn

amic

s. In

this

cont

ext,

the

dono

rco

mm

unity

shou

ld n

ot p

rivile

ge a

ny o

ne o

f the

pol

itica

lac

tors

. Ins

tead

it sh

ould

enc

oura

ge in

ter-

part

yco

mm

unic

atio

n an

d di

alog

ue, i

nclu

ding

atte

mpt

s by

gove

rnm

ent a

nd o

ppos

ition

coa

litio

ns to

ent

er in

to a

ndho

nor a

gree

men

ts de

signe

d to

pre

vent

the

use

of su

chta

ctic

s (fo

r exa

mpl

e, th

e 19

97 U

.K.-m

edia

ted

bipa

rtisa

nag

reem

ent).

In th

e in

tere

sts o

f lon

g-te

rm p

oliti

cal

coop

erat

ion,

don

ors s

houl

d al

so c

ontin

ue to

enc

oura

gem

echa

nism

s for

pow

er-s

harin

g an

d gr

eate

r ope

nnes

s.

Polit

ical a

ctors

enga

ged

in fi

ndin

g lo

ng-te

rm so

lutio

ns to

the

conf

lict s

houl

d cr

aft i

nter

vent

ions

that

add

ress

conf

iden

ce-

build

ing

mea

sure

s and

tran

spar

ent c

onsti

tutio

nal p

ropo

sals

simul

tane

ously

. One

of t

he p

robl

ems w

ith p

ast p

eace

proc

esse

s disc

usse

d in

this

repo

rt is

that

they

hav

e le

aned

too

heav

ily in

the

dire

ctio

n of

eith

er C

BM (f

or e

xam

ple,

the

UN

F 20

01-2

004)

or o

n th

e pr

epar

atio

n of

cle

ar a

nd

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

62

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tran

spar

ent c

onsti

tutio

nal p

ropo

sals

(for

exa

mpl

e, th

ePA

199

4-20

00),

at th

e ex

pens

e of

the

othe

r. P

oliti

cal

acto

rs e

ngag

ed in

find

ing

long

-term

solu

tions

to th

eet

hnic

con

flict

nee

d to

reco

gnize

the

impo

rtan

ce o

fad

dres

sing

both

are

as si

mul

tane

ously

, as i

t is c

ruci

al to

the

crea

tion

of a

n en

viro

nmen

t con

duci

ve to

dia

logu

e,ne

gotia

tion,

and

dev

elop

men

t.

Help

ing

tradi

tiona

l par

ties o

verc

ome i

nstit

utio

nal

limita

tions

wou

ld en

hanc

e the

qua

lity

of d

emoc

racy

inte

rms o

f par

ticip

atio

n, d

elibe

ratio

n, a

nd in

form

ed ch

oice

.In

resp

ect t

o th

e tr

aditi

onal

par

ties-

-the

UN

P an

d SL

FP-

-it sh

ould

be

note

d th

at in

stitu

tiona

l cap

aciti

es a

ndin

tra-

part

y go

vern

ance

fram

ewor

ks a

re w

eak.

Mob

iliza

tions

in su

ppor

t of p

eace

suffe

r as a

resu

lt. W

eno

te th

at th

ere

are

seve

ral h

andi

caps

com

mon

to b

oth

part

ies t

hat i

mpa

ir th

eir a

bilit

y to

func

tion

as e

ffect

ive

acto

rs in

Sri

Lank

a's m

ulti-

part

y de

moc

racy

.

The

se in

clud

e an

abs

ence

of t

rans

pare

ncy

and

acco

unta

bilit

y; o

ver-

cent

raliz

atio

n of

dec

ision

-mak

ing

pow

er in

hie

rarc

hica

l lea

ders

hips

pre

vent

ing

part

icip

atio

n an

d di

vers

ity; t

he la

ck o

f str

uctu

res,

initi

ativ

es, a

nd in

cent

ives

for b

uild

ing

polic

yde

velo

pmen

t cap

aciti

es; a

nd a

lack

of e

ven

mar

gina

llysa

tisfa

ctor

y fra

mew

orks

for f

inan

cial

tran

spar

ency

and

acco

unta

bilit

y. T

here

is a

n al

arm

ing

lack

of c

apac

ity a

ndin

cent

ive

on th

e pa

rt o

f ele

cted

mem

bers

of t

hese

par

ties

to e

mpl

oy d

emoc

ratic

insti

tutio

ns in

the

cond

uct o

fpo

litic

s and

the

adva

ncem

ent o

f par

ty in

tere

sts.

Con

sequ

ently

, leg

islat

ive

insti

tutio

ns su

ch a

s Par

liam

ent

and

prov

inci

al c

ounc

ils b

ecom

e re

gres

sivel

y irr

elev

ant,

anex

ecut

ive-

cent

ric p

oliti

cal c

ultu

re d

evel

ops,

and

polit

ical

com

petit

ion

is in

crea

singl

y co

nduc

ted

outsi

dein

stitu

tions

. Hel

ping

the

trad

ition

al p

artie

s ove

rcom

eth

ese

disa

bilit

ies w

ould

enh

ance

the

qual

ity o

fde

moc

racy

in te

rms o

f par

ticip

atio

n, d

elib

erat

ion,

and

info

rmed

cho

ice.

It is

also

wor

thw

hile

to b

ear i

n m

ind

that

thes

e tw

o pa

rtie

s com

man

d be

twee

n th

em th

eco

nfid

ence

of a

ppro

xim

atel

y 60

% o

f the

ele

ctor

ate.

By

any

stand

ard,

this

is a

form

idab

le c

onsti

tuen

cy fo

r pea

ce,

if on

ly th

e pa

rty

lead

ersh

ips'

state

d co

mm

itmen

t for

ane

gotia

ted

settl

emen

t alo

ng fe

dera

list l

ines

can

be

perc

olat

ed d

own

to th

e gr

assr

oots.

Thi

s may

exp

lain

how

the

UN

P's r

emar

kabl

e tr

ack-

one

achi

evem

ents

in 2

002-

2004

cou

ld n

ot b

e tr

ansfo

rmed

into

bro

ad p

ublic

supp

ort f

or p

eace

.

Wid

er p

artic

ipat

ion

by a

nd co

nsul

tatio

n w

ith ex

tern

al a

ndin

tern

al a

ctors

mig

ht in

fluen

ce p

artie

s tha

t rem

ain

hosti

leto

pea

ce. T

his c

ould

conf

er g

reat

er tr

ansp

aren

cy, c

onsen

sus,

and

legiti

mac

y on

a v

iabl

e and

endu

ring

fram

ewor

k fo

rpe

ace.

Whi

le w

e ha

ve c

oncl

uded

that

the

JVP,

and

to a

less

er e

xten

t the

JHU

, rem

ains

opp

osed

to th

epr

edom

inan

t par

adig

ms f

or a

pea

cefu

l sol

utio

n, th

ere

are

a ra

nge

of a

ctor

s tha

t hav

e th

e po

tent

ial t

o pl

ay a

role

inop

enin

g up

the

spac

e fo

r dia

logu

e an

d en

gagi

ng w

ith th

epe

ace

proc

ess.

Exte

rnal

act

ors w

ho m

aint

ain

cont

act

with

and

/or i

nflu

ence

ove

r the

JVP

incl

ude

Chi

na,

Indi

a, a

nd th

e C

PIM

; whi

le in

tern

al p

laye

rs in

clud

e th

eLe

ft pa

rtie

s in

Sri L

anka

(the

CP,

LSSP

, NSS

P) a

ndpe

rson

aliti

es su

ch a

s TU

LF's

V. A

nada

sang

ari.

Bear

ing

inm

ind

som

e of

the

criti

cism

s we

have

raise

d ab

out p

ast

failu

res i

n en

cour

agin

g w

ider

par

ticip

atio

n in

and

cons

ulta

tion

abou

t the

pea

ce p

roce

ss, a

n ex

pand

ed ro

lefo

r bui

ldin

g pe

ace

capa

citie

s am

ong

a w

ider

rang

e of

acto

rs c

ould

con

fer a

gre

ater

tran

spar

ency

, con

sens

us,

and

legi

timac

y on

a v

iabl

e an

d en

durin

g fra

mew

ork

for

peac

e.

CIVI

L SO

CIET

Y, E

DUCA

TION

, PAR

TICI

PATI

ON,

AND

CON

FIDE

NCE

-BUI

LDIN

G

Prog

ram

mat

ic su

ppor

t for

civi

l soc

iety

acto

rs is

essen

tial t

oen

sure

that

they

cont

inue

to g

ener

ate p

olicy

opt

ions

and

act

as ri

ghts

wat

chdo

gs. B

earin

g in

min

d th

e co

ncer

ns se

t out

abov

e, it

mus

t be

reite

rate

d th

at e

xpan

sion

of d

emoc

ratic

polit

ics t

o in

clud

e ci

vil s

ocie

ty a

ctor

s as l

egiti

mat

esta

keho

lder

s in

publ

ic p

olic

y de

bate

s mus

t be

enco

urag

ed. D

urin

g th

e la

st tw

o de

cade

s Sri

Lank

a ha

sse

en th

e es

tabl

ishm

ent o

f sev

eral

pub

lic p

olic

y re

sear

chan

d ad

voca

cy o

rgan

izatio

ns th

at a

re k

ey a

ctor

s in

the

peac

e co

nstit

uenc

y. Pr

ogra

mm

atic

supp

ort f

or th

ese

orga

niza

tions

is e

ssen

tial t

o en

sure

that

they

con

tinue

toge

nera

te p

olic

y op

tions

and

act

as r

ight

s wat

chdo

gs. T

he

63|

Impl

icat

ions

for

Inte

rnat

iona

l Don

ors

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med

ia, t

oo, h

as p

laye

d a

simila

r rol

e an

d re

quire

sco

ntin

ued

supp

ort.

How

ever

, civ

il so

ciet

y m

ust n

ot b

e de

fined

to in

clud

eon

ly c

erta

in ty

pes o

f org

aniza

tions

to th

e ex

clus

ion

ofot

hers

. Loc

al-le

vel a

nd c

omm

unity

-bas

ed o

rgan

izatio

nsar

e pi

vota

l alli

es in

pea

cebu

ildin

g ef

fort

s but

are

curr

ently

suffe

ring

from

man

y of

the

sam

e ca

paci

typr

oble

ms a

s tra

ditio

nal p

oliti

cal p

artie

s. T

here

fore

,en

gage

men

t with

them

is im

pera

tive.

TRAN

SPAR

ENCY

, CON

SULT

ATIO

N, A

ND

INCL

USIV

ITY

A la

ck o

f tra

nspa

renc

y an

d co

nsul

tatio

n in

the p

eace

pro

cess

mus

t be a

ddre

ssed

as it

feed

s sus

picio

n an

d de

stroy

s tru

stan

d co

nfid

ence

am

ong

oppo

sitio

n gr

oups

and

civi

l soc

iety.

One

of t

he p

robl

ems t

hat h

as in

cite

d an

d le

gitim

ized

cycl

es o

f nat

iona

list d

iscon

tent

with

pas

t and

pre

sent

peac

e ef

fort

s is a

lack

of t

rans

pare

ncy,

cons

ulta

tion,

and

incl

usiv

ity. T

his i

s tru

e in

resp

ect t

o op

posit

ion

grou

ps a

sw

ell a

s civ

il so

ciet

y as

a w

hole

. It i

s im

port

ant t

hat t

hese

area

s be

addr

esse

d, a

s a la

ck o

f tra

nspa

renc

y fe

eds

susp

icio

n an

d de

stroy

s tru

st an

d co

nfid

ence

am

ong

polit

ical

opp

ositi

on g

roup

s and

civ

il so

ciet

y ac

tors

as a

who

le. T

his i

n tu

rn c

an se

rve

to le

gitim

ize a

ntag

onism

tow

ard

peac

e an

d re

form

pro

posa

ls. T

he re

cent

con

text

for P

-TO

MS

prov

ided

ano

ther

exa

mpl

e of

failu

re in

this

area

and

ulti

mat

ely

fann

ed th

e fla

mes

of S

inha

lana

tiona

list p

rote

st.

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

64

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65|

Bib

liogr

aphy

Bibl

iogr

aphy

Abey

seka

ra, A

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01) C

olor

s of t

he R

obe(

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vers

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arol

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olum

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he S

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Ali,

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Lon

don

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icy D

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03) T

he In

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ensio

ns o

f Eth

nic C

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ct in

Sri

Lank

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earn

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ead

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een

the L

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grav

e M

acm

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Cen

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r Pol

icy

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rnat

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tude

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actic

es Su

rvey

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the S

ri La

nkan

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ce P

roce

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APS)

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, Col

ombo

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tre fo

r Pol

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rnat

ives

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5) S

ri La

nka

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ntry

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ombo

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he Y

ears

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erro

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he JV

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ashi

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n D

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a, K

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ts on

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f Em

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erie

s B, V

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ts I &

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nstit

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he Ja

thik

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ela

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may

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nici

ty in

Con

tem

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ry S

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nka,

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onte

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rary

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Ferd

inan

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ata

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Page 69: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements

The

Polit

ics

of t

he S

outh

|

66

Fryd

enlu

nd, I

. (20

05) "

The

San

gha

and

its R

elat

ion

to th

e Pe

ace

Proc

ess"

PR

IO R

epor

t.

Gho

sh, P

. (20

03) E

thni

city

versu

s Nat

iona

lism

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Disc

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Aid,

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repo

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vern

men

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r Cou

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The

Polit

ics

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he S

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|

68

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Sep

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s Doc

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vers

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f Mal

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Pres

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Page 73: THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH - Documents & Reports - All Documents …documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/405381468335538202/... · 2016-07-15 · The Politics of the South | 2. Acknowledgements