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| Saturday, 11 October 2003 |
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Small Arms control as a peace factor by Robert Muggah After 20 years of conflict that led to the violent deaths of at least 65,000 and more than 800,000 forcibly displaced, it appears that Sri Lanka is inching toward a permanent settlement. On June 10, 2003, international donors pledged their support to the peace process, promising some USD 4.5 billion, including USD 1 billion each from Japan, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and over USD 290 million from the European Union.
Though the prospects for peace are good, there is a threatening cloud on the horizon: the continued widespread availability of Small Arms and light weapons, especially grenades and assault rifles (e.g. T-56s). A central concern of the negotiations must now be what to do with the estimated (according to the military) 51,000 deserters from the Sri Lankan Army and the many thousands from the still-armed LTTE. At the same time, armed violence is becoming a more regular feature of civilian life in Sri Lanka. For example, armed crime is on the rise, especially in the South of the country. Sri Lanka already has the highest homicide rate in the region. Moreover, gang-related murders have risen six-fold since 1990. Worryingly, political violence is on the increase. Many of the key players are armed, including the bodyguards of politicians, home guards and other paramilitary groups who have not returned tens of thousands of weapons handed-out in the 1980s and 1990s. These disturbing trends make it clear that we cannot allow more post-conflict weapons to creep into wider Sri Lankan society. Official figures estimate that there are 45,000 legally registered firearms and an additional 20,000 unregistered weapons. However, the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey estimates that the numbers are much higher - at least 2.3 million total Small Arms and light weapons in Sri Lanka, of which 1.9 million are in the possession of civilians, rebels and the underworld. Though many of these are relics from the colonial era or old hunting rifles, an alarming number are military-style weapons designed for military-use. It is clear that Sri Lankan Government must develop a comprehensive and long-term strategy to collect and destroy the significant numbers of illegal weapons still in circulation. Current gun laws provide a firm foundation for such a strategy. Unlike many other countries in the world, Sri Lanka has firearm registration legislation in place to control civilian firearm possession and use. The Firearms Ordinance dates back to 1916, and the Firearms Act was amended in 1996. However, the legislation has not been effectively implemented. Without effective enforcement, the law has no chance of benefiting public safety and crime control. Civilian gun registration is not the only answer to cleaning up the hundreds of thousands of guns in circulation. There is an urgent need to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate the former combatants as quickly as possible. Experiences from other States emerging from war, such as El Salvador, Angola, Afghanistan and Kosovo indicate that crime and social violence can remain at war-like levels where guns are not effectively disposed, combatants demobilized and economic opportunities available for former soldiers. In addition to controlling the current stockpile, efforts must be made to keep additional guns from arriving on the island. That possibility is real. We know that the Sri Lankan combatants are remarkably adept at scouring the legal and illegal markets for grenades, assault rifles, howitzers and surface-to-air missiles. A recent Small Arms Survey report (1) describes the procurement system of the LTTE as one of the most innovative and impressive ever witnessed for a rebel organization, involves a complex network of shipping vessels and transportation corridors stretching from Singapore and Cambodia to Lithuania, Bulgaria, Afghanistan and even Mozambique. Sri Lanka has already pledged to take steps to help stop this kind of illegal gun trade, by signing up to a politically-binding UN Programme of Action to reduce the trafficking of illegal weapons in 2001. The Programme of Action outlines a number of positive steps to coordinate international efforts to reduce the proliferation of illegal small arms, but falls short when it comes to greater regulation of civilian ownership and transfers to non-state actors. Sri Lanka should welcome the participation of civil society in efforts toward a safer society. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have long played a leading role in reducing impacts of Small Arms and light weapons. On October 9 in Colombo, and in over 50 countries around the world, Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) - a network of over 500 NGOs around the world - launched a global campaign to end the illegal trade in Small Arms and light weapons. They are calling for a adoption of an international Arms Trade Treaty to prevent small arms from being exported to places where they are likely to be used to commit grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. These organisations frequently work on the front-line to ensure the protection of civilians from the egregious effects of Small Arms, and this is truly a global effort made up of local efforts, including in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka stands on the cusp of delivering an enduring peace to her civilian population. The Government has recently announced its intentions to establish a National Commission against the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms, and a committee is currently preparing a Cabinet paper to enact this promise. This needs to be approved as a priority, and is a positive first step. However, it is nevertheless only a first step. Meaningful disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration and the reform of the security sector are clearly priority issues to allow the country to fulfil its economic potential. Taking the lead on a Regional Arms Trade Treaty would also ensure a reduced supply of fresh weapons. Indeed, Sri Lanka stands to gain by pushing for more Small Arms and light weapons control in the region. Its civilian population has everything to lose by inaction. (The writer is a Visiting Fellow of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies in Colombo and GSC Professional Fellow of the Social Science Research Council in the US. He is also a Senior Researcher of the Small Arms Survey in Geneva, Switzerland.) ############### The necessity for bipartisanship on the Interim Administration by Prof.S.Ratnajeevan H.Hoole As the peace process moves on, the government, to its credit, seems determined to implement the Interim Administration (IA). In the meanwhile, there are signs that this will be accomplished at great cost to democracy - following the classic self-contradictory pro-business argument that by creating a free market and order, sacrificing some democratic values, democracy will ultimately be fostered. It is an argument that saw abysmal failure throughout Latin America, and Iran and South Korea where governments were overturned by uprisings. In the Latin nations where democracy thrives today, the cause may be attributed to Jimmy Carter's policy of loosening democratic forces at great cost to American business. In the Arabian countries, there is still no sign of democracy despite the order and free market. Countries like the Congo and Zaire, are in a total mess. Where some success for this policy is claimed is the Far East - Singapore and Malaysia where democracy is still not how we perceive it. Perhaps Taiwan is the one country where this policy has led to democracy without too much violence. In the face of so many failures of this policy, we must look for other causes for this success rather than the policy itself. The signs are that we too are following this failed policy in increasingly looking for leadership to Singapore (where a university lecturer who dared contest a seat was fired because his taxi travel claim was 10 percent more than when his Head took a taxi between the same pick-up and drop-off points, ignoring variables like traffic jams and alternative routes that affect the fare) and Malaysia. Our government's silence in the face of so many political assassinations here is yet another sign of the policy that democracy must give way a little to order. A stronger sign that such a broad policy on curtailing democracy for the sake of order is being pursued is the matter of the Lotteries Board that has been glossed over by the press. Many lawyers are convinced that the law is on the side of the president. But by using hooligans to prevent the printing of the necessary gazette notification, officials have been able legally to refuse the orders of the president and matters continue as they were. Minor though the issue may be, it is ominous, given that many of those in power when Supreme Court judges had their houses stoned for handing down unacceptable judgements, are now once again in power. The repeated threat of an impeachment of the Chief Justice without actually impeaching him, seems deliberate. What has all this got to do with this Peace Column? It is this. IA is a concept that nearly all Tamils are for, although many of us want to see democratic principles inbuilt. Only the UNF and the LTTE are deciding the details. After this arduous process, with Tamil hopes high, the IA will reach implementation. At that point, it is a certainty that the IA will be challenged before the Supreme Court. Only one of two things can then happen. First, without bipartisan support and therefore without the required constitutional changes, the IA will be declared unconstitutional. Tamils will then claim that they were tricked as always with packages that were never going to be implemented. A return to war would become imminent. Or second, as a top UNP-er confidently asserted, "We are determined to implement the IA whatever happens. We will deal with the courts if necessary." Neither option is good for democracy. This legal uncertainty is dangerous. The PA and the UNP must get together at least on this matter and devolve power to the North-East through appropriate constitutional changes so that democracy is not weakened and is in fact strengthened by allowing Tamils to have a greater say in their own affairs. After all, the PA and the UNP do say that they are for devolution. ############### Challenge of building peace by Daisaku Ikeda "At the top of the pyramid which we call civilization there is still the terrible fact of war. We cannot call ourselves a fully civilized people was long as that possibility exists and is, indeed, taken for granted." These are the heartfelt words of John Kenneth Galbraith, a man who witnessed firsthand the war and violence of the 20th century. Professor Galbraith and I are engaged in an ongoing dialogue that has included a frank exchange of views on the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Directly or indirectly, we have all been affected by this horrific crime and its aftermath. One of the victims was a gifted graduate of Soka University whom I knew personally. However deep our sense of outrage, we must not allow the flames of hatred and anger to drive our world toward further division and destruction. It is crucial to maintain a forward-looking outlook, and work to construct a future of peace and harmonious coexistence. Concretely, I think there are two positive ways in which we can respond to the challenges of the new era. The first is to strengthen the effectiveness of international law, centered around the multilateral processes of the United Nations. Over the long-term, greater faith in the justice and efficacy of the international legal system will help to contain and defuse the conflicts in which terror breeds. The second element is the effort to change people's awareness, to help forge the heart-to-heart links that transcend national boundaries, ethnic and cultural differences. This means sustained grass roots efforts for dialogue and peace education. Regarding the first approach, we need first to acknowledge the reality that so-called hard-power responses to conflicts - military force - produce "solutions" that are at best temporary. Because such responses inevitably involve bloodshed and suffering - including that of innocent civilians - they invariably sow the seeds of future violence. In contrast, as system of international law that is widely accepted as just and impartial will be able to resolve conflicts in a manner that breaks down and frees people from cycles of hatred and retribution. As one step towards this goal, I have long expressed support for the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to judge the perpetrators of grave crimes against humanity. Although the ICC began functioning this year, it remains weakened by the limited number of ratifications, particularly among the major powers. Japan played a constructive role in drafting the treaty and should sign and ratify it with all haste. I feel that Japan should then work to build international consensus towards making the rule of law the only acceptable means of resolving conflict. The work of strengthening the systems of peace must be supported by matching efforts to foster positive changes in people's thinking. Dialogue and education for peace can help free our hearts from the impulse toward intolerance and the rejection of others. People need to be made conscious of a very simple reality: we have no choice but to share this planet, this small blue sphere floating in the vast reaches of space, with all of our fellow "passengers". It is the younger generations who hold the key to creating peace. No one is born hating others. Prejudices and discriminatory attitudes are ingrained during the process of growing to adulthood, as young people are inculcated with a fear and hatred of "the Other". I know this from experience, having spent my youth amid the dark and violent pressures of a society dominated by militarism. Everyone can be engaged in education for peace. It can be as simple as taking the time to talk with the children and young people in our lives - in our homes and communities - about the dignity of life and the equality of people. We must never underestimate the impact of such seemingly small efforts. This has been the spirit behind the "Victory Over Violence" program, initiated by the youth membership of the Soka Gakkai International in the United States (SGI-USA). Through meetings and discussion groups, these young people have reached out to their peers with the message that there are nonviolent solutions to life's inevitable conflicts, with heartening success. Since 9/11, much has been made of the role religious belief plays as a factor in terrorism. But the real issue is that of exclusionary ideology and fanatic actions cloaking themselves in the language and symbols of religion. If we fail to appreciate this, and start looking askance at the practitioners of a particular faith, we will only deepen mistrust and further aggravate tensions. It goes without saying that any religion that justifies terrorism or war has undermined the spiritual basis for its own existence. I firmly believe that the mission of religion in the 21st century must be to contribute concretely to the peaceful coexistence of humankind. Religious faith can do this by fostering a truly global consciousness and restoring the bonds between human hearts. But it is only through dialogue that this potential can be realized. In an exchange I shared with Iranian-born peace scholar Majid Tehranian, he expressed this in the starkest terms: "Without dialogue, we will have to walk in the darkness of self-righteousness". The time has come to look beyond questions of "friend or foe" and to learn to speak from the common ground of our shared humanity. It is from this perspective that the members of the SGI globally have offered their support to the drafting and promotion of the Earth Charter, a document that seeks to generate a "shared vision of basic values to provide an ethical foundation for the emerging world community". The Charter's language draws on the wisdom and virtues, such as a profound reverence for life, that have been fostered by the world's various cultural and religious traditions. Buddhism stresses that since war and violence are ultimately products of the human heart, the human heart is also capable of fostering peace and solidarity. Two years have passed since 9/11, and this terrible tragedy has unleashed forces that continue to cast a shadow over our lives. But it is my unshaken belief that the wisdom to transform this tragedy and create a new and better future for humankind is to be found within the human spirit. This confidence will continue to drive my efforts to work for peace. (Daisaku Ikeda is president of the Soka Gakkai International and founder of Soka University) ############### Count your blessings Worries, depressions, frustrations, due to a past, To him that gives more, all the more will be given Peace be still, and be still, and know that I am God Let us teach the toddler in school to be still Wars, wars and more wars; when will they ever learn Oh! ye mad frenzied greed Oscar E. V. Fernando |
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