Sri Lanka’s experience and its lessons for the world:

Equal infrastructure development vital

The last part of the speech by External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris at the China Institute of International Studies, Beijing on August 12, 2010. Prof Peiris was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute. Second part of this article was published yesterday

At the end of such a long and hard fought conflict, it is inevitable, regrettable though it is, that there would be pain and anguish in the hearts and minds of people.

In the post conflict stage, it is vital to move the country rapidly towards reunification and emphasis on a national identity. If you take South Asia, one of the basic policy dilemmas of South Asia is to answer a fundamental question. How do you reconcile ethnic and cultural pluralism with the concept of mature

nationhood? This is a problem that not only Sri Lanka but every nation in South Asia has had to consider in earnest. To put it simply, what are the economic and social structures that you need to create in order to enable people speaking different languages, professing different religions, coming from different cultural backgrounds to feel at home, in one country, without any sense of exclusion? That is very important.

The conflict is over and you try to remove the pain in the hearts and minds of people by setting in motion a healing process, a process of rapprochement. Other countries in similar situations have had to experiment with this. One of the best-known experiments is that of South Africa, which established the ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ with which the name of Nobel Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, is indelibly associated. How do you so arrange matters as to address the root causes of the problem and embark on a sincere and genuine search for pragmatic solutions that would enable you to remove these scars from the hearts and minds of people and to put this painful experience behind them? If you lost your child and your husband, that is an irreparable loss.

No sum of money can compensate you, no apology, however sincere can offer you full redress, but how do you create an environment in which it is possible to come to terms with reality, pick up the pieces and get on with life, as well as one could in those very difficult circumstances? That is the Commission that Sri Lanka appointed, the Commission which began its sittings yesterday. Its sittings will not be confined to the capital city of Colombo, but they will be held in parts of the North, in Vavuniya and Killinochchi which were the areas, most seriously affected by the war. This is an initiative that is very much underway in Sri Lanka.

International community

There is another lesson that the international community needs to recognize and I put this in as compelling a manner as I could. The international community can help, but there should not be judgmental postures. The international community or a section of it is not entitled to say, this is the prescription. This is what you must do and we insist you to do this. If you do not do this, we will take away trade concessions from you. We will cut off access for your commodities from the markets of the developed world. Such a policy is, by definition, self-defeating and counterproductive because the brunt of it would be borne not by the government in power but by the most vulnerable sections of the community, the poorest people.

The Government of Sri Lanka firmly believes that there is a significant co-relation between political innovation and economic well-being. We want to put in place innovative political arrangements. The President of Sri Lanka has already begun negotiations with the leaders of Tamil political parties. He met the leader of Tamil National Alliance on two occasions. We are trying to formulate practical arrangements which will satisfy the minorities. But history demonstrates beyond doubt that, with changes of this kind, you are swimming against the tide, in the sense that people are not accustomed to these changes and often there is intuitive resistance. They want time to get accustomed to these changes which require a re-orientation of one’s traditional mindset and attitudes. Changes of that kind are very difficult to accomplish in a situation of economic adversity.

Economic development

If people are unhappy, poor and unemployed, then, it is that much more difficult to put in place political innovations of the kind I have described. So there is a link between economic wellbeing and political innovation.

That is why the Government of Sri Lanka is putting a sharp focus on the development of infrastructure in all parts of the country.

In my meetings with the Vice Premier of China and the Foreign Minister of China I thanked them very sincerely on behalf of the President of Sri Lanka for everything that the Government of China has done to help us in the development of infrastructure. As I speak you today, within three days, water will be let into the port of Hambantota in the Southern part of the country and on the November 19, the first ship will call at that Port. It is a matter of great satisfaction both to us and to China, because it is China that made this achievement possible.

What we want to do is to make sure that the fruits of economic development are not confined to a small section of the people, that these benefits will be spread all over the country. The Foreign Minister of China told me that the growth rate of the economy of China is approximately 9 percent. Sri Lanka is also recording an economic growth rate of about 7.1 percent today. This is an achievement under difficult conditions which we had to grapple with in the recent past. However, we do not think that there is room for complacency, because we do not want significant disparities between one part of Sri Lanka and another part of Sri Lanka.

That is unacceptable. When you talk of economic progress, it must reflect itself in the quality of life of people up and down the country.

National grid

Economic development cannot consist of mere statistics or figures, it must means something to people in an everyday sense, it must make their lives richer, better and more meaningful. Otherwise you have the problem of disenchanted youth in particular, youth who may rebel against society.

That is why we are particularly appreciative of the contribution the Government of China has made in assisting us with highways. If you ask me, what is the single factor that can bring the fruits of development to the homes of people, I would say roads, highways. That is what would enable the people to enjoy in a practical sense the fruits of development. China has played a pioneering role in helping to develop our highways, irrigation systems, schools, hospitals. We want to take industry to the villages. When the water level rises, it takes all boats up automatically.

Therefore, if we want incomes to rise, then we have to take industry to the rural hinterland. In order to do that, we have to add substantially to the national grid. The Government of China is assisting appreciably with regard to power facilities. The Government of China is playing a role with regard to that and we have massive infrastructure development all over the country. That is what we regard as one of the essential features of a successful post conflict policy. These are some of the things we are doing.

We need to look at the situation of our country and decide what is our potential. At the moment Sri Lanka has two twin advantages. One is a durable and lasting peace. The other is an unprecedented degree of political stability, the Government in power enjoying almost two-thirds support in Parliament. This is reflected in certain concrete manifestations, mainly the unprecedented number of tourists who are visiting our country. This year we expect the largest number of tourists ever on record in Sri Lanka.

Traditional concepts

I think the Sri Lankan experience indicates a need to take a critical look at some of the traditional concepts of the current world order. There has been a great deal of discussion in international law about the responsibility of States. What about the responsibility of non-State actors? Today terrorist groups can be much more powerful than governments, because governments are bound by rules and regulatory systems. Terrorists have no rules to comply with at all. Their will is the law. Therefore, I think the international legal system has to focus much more sharply on the imputation of responsibility to non-State actors. How do you hold them responsible for the harm that they inflict on innocent people? You also have to develop remedies in international law, which enable pre-emptive action within the territory of the threatened State before it is too late. You don’t wait till a terrorist group becomes all-powerful. The LTTE of Sri Lanka built itself up over a long time, about a quarter of a century. Don’t forget that although they are defeated in the field of battle, they still have immense resources under their control. They have a very sophisticated communications network. They have ships, they have guns, they control media. You don’t have to wait till all this happens before you take action against them. Nations must have the right of self defence within their own territory when there are reasonable grounds for anticipating a threat from a terrorist group.

Combat terrorism

You do not have to wait until you have proof to offer that the terrorist group has actually inflicted harm. If they are preparing to inflict harm and the evidence is compelling that they are going to reach their target within a short period of time, then international law must concede to the State in question the right of taking suitable precautions within its own territory before it is too late. These are some of the changes that are required in the international world order if we are to deal with terrorism effectively. Of course, no single country however powerful can combat terrorism. There must be collective agreements, there must be both regional and global strategies to deal with terrorism. Rules with regard to the boarding of vessels, the safeguarding of the high seas, territorial waters, the exclusive economic zones, all these matters require very careful consideration in the light of Sri Lanka’s recent experience.

In conclusion, I would tell you that Sri Lanka is an example of a country whose development has been set back for a quarter of a century by the phenomenon of terrorism. But happily, that has now been consigned to history. We are in a position to forge ahead and the friendship of nations like China mean a great deal to us. Terrorism cannot be combated in isolation, it has to be done in association with other countries. Sri Lanka has been fortunate, in finding friends who have always stood by us.

Concluded