COLUMNIST: JEHAN PERERA
Pursuit of Peace
Dr. Jehan Perera is executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, an independent advocacy organization. He is also a columnist for the Daily Mirror and the Lanka Monthly Digest in Colombo. He holds a Doctor of Law degree from Harvard Law School and a BA in economics from Harvard College. In April 2007 he received the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti National Award for Peace, Tolerance and Harmony from the Interfaith Harmony Foundation of India.
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July 02, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The visit of a high-level Indian delegation to Sri Lanka has given rise to much speculation regarding its purpose. Reports suggest India was contemplating either supporting or stalling military offensives into LTTE territory. The Indian visit reveals the vulnerability of Sri Lanka to external pressures.
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June 25, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Implementing reforms in a time of war, when the preoccupation is with issues of both physical and political survival, is a difficult task. It is not surprising that the fate of two major reforms of the Sri Lankan government, which could impact the long-term prospects of the country, hang in the balance.
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June 18, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The World Bank’s decision to provide Sri Lanka with US$900 million from 2008 to 2011 will boost the morale of the government, following the loss of its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council. It seems the international community is reluctant to penalize the country over its human rights situation.
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June 11, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Recently, the region around Colombo has been subject to a series of terror attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Despite all the security systems set up in Colombo and elsewhere, and the deployment of security force, it is become virtually impossible to safeguard the civilian population against LTTE attacks.
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June 04, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — “We look to the time when the power of love will replace the love of power. Then we will have the time of peace," said William Gladstone, the former British prime minister who championed “home rule" as the solution to the Irish question. His wisdom could be relevant to the Sri Lankan question as well.
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May 28, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's recent unsuccessful bid to maintain its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council has highlighted the deteriorating condition of human rights in the country. While the government cannot be happy with this, it can be seen constructively as a wakeup call to improve the situation on the ground.
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May 21, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has chosen Pillayan, leader of the TMVP militant group, as chief minister of the Eastern Province. This shows that an armed Tamil group can be accommodated within the government so long as they do not fight for separation
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May 14, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The election in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province on May 10 provided an opportunity for the people to oppose the government’s military policy. There seemed to be a strong possibility of the majority Tamil and Muslim vote going to the opposition. However, the results have shown otherwise.
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May 07, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Upcoming elections in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province could be threatened by Tamil-Muslim rivalry, especially as the government-allied Tamil faction has been allowed to retain its weapons while contesting the elections. Reports show the TMVP is subjecting its opponents to a high degree of intimidation.
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April 30, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Reports of fighting at Muhamalai in northern Sri Lanka are contradictory, with both the government and the LTTE claiming to have killed hundreds on the other side. As neither side seems inclined to change its confrontational approach, civil society must stand up to oppose militarism if there is to be peace.
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April 24, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — A frustrating sense of stagnation in terms of problem solving troubles the Sri Lankan government and propels it to seek even short-term results. It has put its faith in the ability of the Sri Lankan military to capture the revered Catholic shrine of Madhu and provide it with a much-needed morale booster.
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April 16, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The breakup of the People's Liberation Front in Sri Lanka last week came as a big surprise. The departure of Sinhalese nationalist Wimal Weerawansa may allow the party to find space for the rights of minorities and commit to a political solution to the ethnic conflict.
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April 10, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The decision of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauf Hakeem to contest the Eastern Provincial Council election has upped the stakes in the upcoming May 10 elections. He is taking a great personal and political risk in contesting these elections in opposition to the government.
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April 02, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government has declared that elections for the provincial council in the east will be held on May 10. This is a bold call. Its success in conducting local elections peaceably in the Batticaloa district has emboldened the government, but the next round could be different.
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March 26, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Indian government has been making repetitive pronouncements to the effect that there is no military solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, India has been providing Sri Lanka with weapons and training its military personnel. The United States is sending a similar double message.
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March 19, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The difficulties encountered by the Sri Lankan government in the battlefields of the north have recently induced its spokespersons, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa to extend the time frame for the successful conclusion of the war.
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March 12, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government has been engaged in a battle against the human rights lobbies in the international community, and not only in battling the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in recent months. Wide publicity has been given to the prospect of unfair aid and trade sanctions by Western countries.
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March 05, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Pressure is mounting on the Sri Lankan government to add a viable political package to its arsenal in the conflict with the LTTE. At present, only Indian pressure is keeping the devolution debate alive. Objections to this Indian intervention are based on a misreading of international politics.
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February 27, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka has been back in international headlines, mainly on account of the Sri Lankan government's eloquent denunciation of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The Sri Lankan statement comes from bitter experience of prolonged warfare and international intervention, not mere theoretical possibilities.
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February 20, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Two years and three months into the six-year term of the Rajapaksa government, the denunciation of those who continue to urge a negotiated political solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict, is at a peak.
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February 13, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has extended the August deadline for eliminating the LTTE to over a year and a half. Violence, arrests, abductions and killings have led to mistrust, anger and suspicion -- an unhealthy environment that plays into the hands of nationalists.
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February 06, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — With local elections in Sri Lanka's eastern district of Batticaloa scheduled for March 10, a team of monitors went to ascertain the ground situation. In areas that only came under government control last year, police seemed confident that armed groups would not interfere with the elections.
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January 30, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The prospect of escalated war in Sri Lanka looms larger than ever on the horizon. The expectations of a breakthrough by the All Party Representatives Committee, appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to find a consensual political solution to the ethnic conflict, have all but ended.
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January 23, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — Events of the past three weeks are an indication of the potential for savagery in the Sri Lankan government's war with the LTTE. The recent massacre of civilians in the remote rural countryside of the south evoked memories of earlier war times, and it is likely that more such attacks will occur.
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January 16, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — After deciding to abrogate the Ceasefire Agreement with the LTTE, the Sri Lankan government is showing interest in a political solution to the ethnic conflict. This will be an uphill task as the government has already cranked up war preparations with its nationalist allies in Parliament.
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January 09, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government's Jan. 2 decision to abrogate the Ceasefire Agreement on account of the ground reality, where conditions of war and terror prevail, was not unexpected. Domestically the decision has not been contested, but the international community has voiced strong concern.
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January 02, 2008Colombo, Sri Lanka — As the new year begins, Sri Lanka can find examples of the directions open to the country right in its own neighborhood. In Nepal, the government and Maoist rebels have negotiated an agreement on establishing a federal state. But in Pakistan, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto shows how violence can suddenly create chaos.
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December 26, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — In ethnically divided democracies, obtaining the support of the ethnic majority, by hook or by crook, has been a long-proven recipe for electoral success. Morality and principles of good governance, although spoken from the lectern for public consumption, are of little consequence in the pursuit of power.
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December 19, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The attention of Sri Lankans in the past week was riveted upon a crucial budget vote in Parliament. A defeat of the budget, which substantially raised military spending, could have led to the downfall of the government; its passage will add impetus to escalated warfare.
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December 12, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ordered the dismantling of permanent security checkpoints to facilitate the movement of traffic on public roads, suddenly changing the landscape of Colombo. The abandoned checkpoints at various entry points to the city have a desolate look.
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December 05, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Last Saturday two significant events took place, revealing the contradictions and tensions within Sri Lankan society. The first was an award ceremony in the Presidential Secretariat.
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November 28, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — It is becoming increasingly clear that the government's efforts to impose a military solution on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the north and east are having economic and political implications in the rest of Sri Lanka. The economic costs of th
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November 21, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Two years ago, when I last made the journey to Jaffna in Sri Lanka's Northern Province by air, the passengers on board the aircraft were cheerful and prosperous-looking expatriate Tamils, returning to Jaffna to renew family ties. Most of the passengers th
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November 14, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Reports from the north and east of Sri Lanka, where major military confrontations between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been taking place over the past two years, highlight the sufferings and terror of the people. Vir
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November 07, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The shock-and-awe type of airstrike by sophisticated bomber aircraft of the Sri Lankan air force deep into territory controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam, and the precise targeting that killed the LTTE's political wing leader S. P.
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October 31, 2007COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's ground and air attack on the Anuradhapura Air Force base destroyed and damaged around eight aircrafts as per government sources. However, a much larger number alleged by independent analysts, together with the loss o
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October 24, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's synchronized ground and air attack on the Anuradhapura Air Force Base that destroyed several aircraft came two days after the Sri Lankan government played host to a galaxy of international experts on terrorism and co
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October 17, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's international image with regard to human rights took another beating with the visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour. In her final media briefing, she made it clear that the absence of the rule of law and the
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October 10, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The visit to Sri Lanka of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, provides the best chance for the discipline of human rights to be imposed on the conflicting parties.
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October 03, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government came out with a forceful campaign in favor of the global war against terrorism and against those whom it claimed sought to use human rights as a tool against states, in New York at a recent meeting of the U.N. General Assembly an
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September 26, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has declared that his government is determined to militarily defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a comprehensive manner. According to him, only then will a political solution be possible.
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September 19, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's new National Congress opposition alliance has organized several mass rallies in a show of strength in the few months since its formation. These rallies have educated the people on matters of public interest.
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September 12, 2007COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government's plan to raise US$500 million through the issue of a sovereign bond on the international market has ignited a controversy within the country. The foreign exchange that comes in through this transaction is intended to give the go
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September 05, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The government has justified its military operations in the Silavathurai area of northern Sri Lanka as a humanitarian operation. This is similar to the language used by the government a year ago when it sent in the army to open the irrigation sluice gates
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August 31, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's all-party process, aimed at coming up with a political solution to the ethnic conflict, seems to have come to a halt for the foreseeable future. Only a fortnight ago there were promising signs that this labor-intensive effort would bring posit
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August 22, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The difference that has overtaken Sri Lanka in the space of five years is stark, especially with regard to relations with the international community. In 2002, with the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the Liberation Tigers of
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August 15, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka appears to be having a respite from war, as there are no reports of major military confrontations such as those reported from the east in preceding months. Instead of large-scale military operations by the regular armed forces, the emphasis now
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August 08, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The high cost of the war recently fought by the government in eastern Sri Lanka -- and the purpose of the war -- become agonizing considerations when one is face-to-face with the reality on the ground in the "liberated" part of the country. In the abstr
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August 01, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The present time of political flux and violence in Sri Lanka is an opportune one for reflecting on the past. The month of July in particular held two anniversaries of momentous significance.
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July 25, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's address to the nation to celebrate the government's victory in the battle of Thoppigala is being hailed as establishing him as one of the most powerful orators the country has seen. Even though the battle for Thopp
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July 18, 2007COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government has made plans to celebrate the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elaam, and the liberation of the eastern region of Thoppigala by the security forces, on a grand scale later this week. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to be
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July 11, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — In the past year, the international image of Sri Lanka and its government has plunged to dangerously low levels that could impact the country's sovereignty, due to human rights abuses associated with political assassinations, abductions, disappearances an
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July 04, 2007COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — There are reports that the Sri Lankan government is contemplating new initiatives to revive the peace process. Taking a respite from war is likely to be politically popular with the electorate today.
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June 27, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa warned his party members that he will dissolve the 225-seat Parliament if there are any more defections to the opposition, after leading party members rebelled against him. His warning reflects both the strength and
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June 20, 2007COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — In the face of a quizzical if not downright hostile international human rights community, President Mahinda Rajapaksa represented the beleaguered Sri Lankan government in the human rights stronghold of Geneva, last week. The President received a unique in
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June 13, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The power of the judiciary, as the third great branch of government, was demonstrated to great effect last week in Sri Lanka when the Supreme Court put a halt to the forcible eviction of Tamil people from Colombo. Until the Supreme Court gave its verdict,
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June 06, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — The remote-controlled bomb blast in the Colombo suburb of Ratmalana on May 28 came only a few days after a similar attack in the vicinity of the Colombo port. Though both bombs had apparently targeted vehicles of the security forces, they killed and injur
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May 30, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — Most critics of the Sri Lankan government, whether they are political analysts or members of the international community, agree on two points. One is that Sri Lanka's governance, human rights record and economic wellbeing are deteriorating in the context
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May 23, 2007COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has finally come up with a political proposal to solve its ethnic conflict, almost 18 months since it was promised by the President in his election campaign, November 2005, which he won b
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May 17, 2007Colombo, Sri Lanka — At the same time that the Sri Lankan cricket team was battling their Australian counterparts at the cricket World Cup finals in Jamaica on April 28, the night sky in Colombo was set alight. This was not a display of fireworks to celebrate the underdog tea