IS FEDERALISM A SOLUTION TO SRI LANKAN ETHNIC CONFLICT? (original) (raw)
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Managing Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka through Constitutional Arrangements
NJIPS, 2021
Marginalization causes conflicts; they may be political, social, or economic. A careful contemplation over the history of Sri Lanka reveals that the sentiments of being marginalized have been presentin one (ethnic) group or the otherin the island right from its independence. When the majority ethnic group, i.e., the Sinhala, was in a position of power, it manipulated the constitution of the country to safeguard its own interests. This widened the rift among different ethnic and religious groups, especially between the Sinhala and the Tamil. This structural marginalization resulted in a civil war, starting in 1983, that lasted for 26 years. However, the ethnic conflict did not resolve even after the end of the civil war and continues to exist in the form of a political struggle between the Tamil and Sinhala. The Tamil demand for federation, autonomy, inclusion, and self-determination can only be achieved through constitutional means. Therefore, this research evaluates the post-Civil War constitutional development and amendment processes that were, at a point in time, more pluralistic and liberal, and contributing well to managing the ethnic conflict in the country. It was expected that the ethnic conflict would be permanently resolved through the constitutional arrangements, which Sri Lanka was already heading. However, the majority (Sinhala) reversed the progress through a new (20 th) amendment to the constitution. Against this backdrop, this article argues that all segments of the society can be accommodated in the political sphere of the state through political liberalization which is possible only through constitutional arrangements.
Federalism and Power Decentralization as Way Forward in Sri Lanka
BASAS Annual Conference 2007, 2007
Sri Lankan ethnic conflict has been a widely discussed topic among both local and international scholars. Regardless of the differences of suggested solutions, many agree that the Sri Lanka needs political solutions based on decentralization of power and reorganization of diversity of the society. By now, all the main political players to the conflict such as Sri Lankan government, LTTE, Muslim political parties and others have agreed for a political solution based upon decentralization and federalism. However, still Sri Lanka has been not able to develop any power sharing model suitable and agreeable to all the stakeholders. There may be several reasons for such failures but misunderstanding of concepts such as federalism, power decentralization and sovereignty remains one of main obstacles for developing such political solutions. One another main problem is the implementation issues associated with conceptually agreeable principles of decentralization of governance. The focus of this paper is to study the role federalism and decentralization in finding a political solution to ethnic problem to Sri Lanka. This will be done by examining the concepts of federalisms and power decentralization applied to Sri Lankan context. It is also expected to analyse the advantages decentralized governance system compared to traditional governance system in managing development issues. Further it is expected to study the implantation issues of federal structures in Sri Lankan context.
New Dilemmas for Sri Lanka: Federalism and Post-war Reconciliation
ISAS Insights, 2020
Following his election as president of Sri Lanka in 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has taken a strong stand against federalism and devolution of powers to protect the unitary structure of the state. In February 2020, the Gotabaya-led government also withdrew from the United Nations (UN) resolution number 30/1 on accountability and reconciliation. This paper examines the reasons for maintaining the unitary state structure and withdrawing from the UN-led resolution. It argues that as the long time demands of Sri Lankan Tamils for federalism and reconciliation are relegated to the background, their political and social position is unlikely to change.
Federal or Unitary? The Power-sharing Debate in Sri Lanka
The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 2019
Sri Lanka's power-sharing debate is focused on the labels 'federal and 'unitary'. A recent Judgment of the Supreme Court recognising the fluidity of these terms, and a creative reform proposal defining Sri Lanka as a 'aekiya rajyaya/orumitha nadu', present opportunities for consensus. Yet there are also powerful obstacles, including the virtual collapse of Sri Lanka's coalition government and exclusivist nationalist ideologies. Regardless of the outcome of this round of reform, however, reformers must focus on the political if Sri Lanka is to ever reach a just and equitable solution to the ethnic conflict.
Ethnic conflict, ethnic imagination and democratic alternatives for Sri Lanka
Futures, 2005
Sri Lanka's unitary state and consequently much of its pluralist contestations are products of a precise colonial legacy, particularly the organization and reproduction of the constitutional principle of European/British unitary state in the island. Only after decades of violent ethnic conflicts between the minority Tamils and the majoritarian Sinhalese population did the Sinhalese ruling elite realize the need for altering
Abstract Reconciliation is a more forward-looking process of healing divisions between and within communities. It requires recognition of others‘ grievances and experiences and changes in policies that may have worsened the conflict or prevented greater cohesion. In the history of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, ethnicization of politics and politicization of ethnicity have become very common. The politicization of ethnic and religious revivalism as also assertion of various ethnic and regional identities is posing serious problems for the integrity of Sri Lanka. The post-colonial Sri Lanka followed strategies of modernity and economic progress. However, the modernization and development process led to the centralization of development progress. The negative connotation of such centralization was the manifestation of discriminatory attitudes in terms of ethnicities and region. Discriminatory distribution of rights and privileges together with the arbitrary attitude of power elites led to a feeling of deprivation among minority ethnic groups. The Sinhala elites largely failed to strengthen the democratic institutions by decentralizing political economic power. Instead, they responded by strengthening and using coercive powers to preserve regime interests against minorities which paved the way for a civil war. Four years since the end of civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lanka is farther from reconciliation than ever. Devolution of power to the north and east is essential to for sustainable peace. It has become no less urgent with the defeat of the LTTE; indeed, the end of the war and the return of normalcy in those areas make real power sharing all the more important. In this context, the government has essentially rejected the need for any political solution or power sharing with the Tamil-speakingmajority in North and East under the 13th amendment. This is a remarkable change from previous governments. The current chaos on devolution creates uncertainty and, therefore, it is difficult to outline the future moves of the present government. But despite such problems, prospects for reconciliation through devolution should remain hopeful. This study focuses on the current crisis of the 13th amendment of the constitution of the Sri Lanka. The prime objective of this study is to critically analyze the ongoing debates over the devolution of powers to minority under the 13th amendment. The fundamental questions of this research are the following: why does the present government deny provision of reasonable devolution of power to minorities and its impact on reconciliation among the multi ethnic society of Sri Lanka. This research is a critical one based one interpretive analysis in which has used both quantitative and qualitative data have been used. Here, the stated purpose is being examined by studying both primary and secondary materials. This secondary data have been collected from books, reports, journals, news papers, official documents and research articles Keywords: Ethnic Conflict, Politics of Sri Lanka, Reconciliation, Devolution of Power.