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Peace requires separation of religion and state

Muruges Arumugam argues that peace and democracy can only be achieved in Sri Lanka if religion and politics are kept separate, and the influence of Sinhala-Buddhist fundamentalism countered by those in power.

The recent election of a Buddhist monk to the Sri Lankan Parliament, repeated protests by Buddhist organisations against devolution of the Northeast and the recent controversy raised inadvertently by a newspaper article questioning the origin of Buddha's Tooth in Kandy (requiring hasty intervention by the Prime Minister) are all signs that the Buddhist clergy remains a powerful and vocal force in Sri Lanka. More importantly, there is a real risk that sections of the Buddhist religious leadership could destabilise the ongoing peace process when core issues come to be discussed.

The monks' influence on the course of Sri Lankan politics and, more specifically, the island's ethnic conflict is undeniable. Many analysts, such as the esteemed Professor Stanley Tambiah of Harvard University and the late Professor Tessa Bartholomeusz, have devoted numerous volumes exposing the importance of the clergy in promoting Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism and determining government policies.

Yet, despite the active role played by religious organisations such as the Buddhist Maha Sangha, Sri Lanka is seen by most observers as a healthy secular democracy - a system in which the government is independent of religious influence.

However, as the island struggles towards a negotiated political settlement of the so-called "Tamil question", it is perhaps timely to re-examine the "separation of church and state"- a doctrine that lies at the heart of liberal democracy - in Sri Lanka.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with religion playing an important role in people's lives, previous experience has shown that there are numerous problems that are difficult to avoid when religious leaders get actively involved in politics.

One recent example of a theocracy - the system of government by people who claim a divine right to rule - was the recently overthrown Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Such extreme versions of theocratic regimes do not allow for genuine representation of the people and usually end up being extremely oppressive and intolerant of non-conformity. Thankfully, such brutal theocracies are rare and usually not tolerated for long by other governments. Nevertheless, they serve as an important reminder of how excessive influence by religious leaders can be bad.

Even where clergy play a less prominent role we have seen problems. In Iran, where civilian politicians are openly subservient to the religious leadership, the process of making politics more democratic has been extremely difficult, much to the frustration of human rights groups and Western governments. Similarly, in a range of Muslims, particularly in North Africa, secular political leaders have found it increasingly difficult to counter the fundamentalist influences of some religious leaders. In Sri Lanka, it is critical to make sure that such fundamentalist influences do not undermine the entire political system, especially during this critical period of peace-building.

Of course, Sri Lanka is a far cry from these regimes and, in any case, the influence of Buddhism is widely - and wrongly, it should be added - believed to be less problematic than Islam. Nevertheless, while Sri Lanka certainly looks like a democratic republic with independent and publicly accountable institutions on paper, there is considerable cause for concern.

The most obvious problem is that the Buddhist clergy seems to lever considerable influence over the Sinhalese leadership and the wider Sinhala-Buddhist populace. What the monks say and how they interpret important political events is of great significance on public opinion. This, in turn, will impact on how popular certain policies and politicians are likely to be. This circuit of influence means that Sinhalese politicians have often found it difficult to ignore the clergy.

So much so that Sri Lanka could be called a "shadow theocracy" - a system in which the clergy wields immense power behind the scenes - in which many politicians actively seek to be closely associated with the clergy.

Part of the problem can be found in the country's Constitution which guarantees a "foremost place" to Buddhism and establishes a "Supreme Council" to protect Buddhist interests. While this may be considered to be acceptable in a country in which one religion is followed by a large majority of people, this sort of ambiguity between church and state is potentially inflammatory in more diverse societies. Indeed, as generations of Tamil leaders have pointed out, the Constitutional backing given to Buddhism has been the foundation upon which Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism has been built.

As Professor Tambiah argues in his influential 1992 book, "Buddhism Betrayed? Religion, Politics and Violence in Sri Lanka", in Sri Lanka, the creation of a "political Buddhism" has gone hand in hand with the promotion of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism, often articulated to counter more inclusive views of the island. As a result, the exclusionary doctrines associated with the Mahavamsa and Dutugemunu have come to play a central role in contemporary Sinhala-Buddhist dogma as a result of populist activism by some sections of the clergy. Today, their ideological support for a Sinhala-Buddhist "reconquest" of the island remains one of the major obstacles to peace in Sri Lanka.

Thus, while the Sri Lankan government claims to be multicultural, it is obliged to protect and promote one religion. What makes things worse is that the prominent members of the leadership of this religion are openly against that very multicultural project. One recent example was the call by some Buddhist clergy for new laws to ban conversion to Christianity in Sri Lanka. Their promise of collective action against conversion and their 11-point plan to fight proselytisers goes against one of the fundamental freedoms of democracy - the right to choose one's own religion.

What is perhaps even more worrying are the repeated protests by prominent Buddhist organisations against any form of devolution for the Northeast, any negotiations with the LTTE and even any foreign mediation. At a first glance, it would seem that much of the Buddhist clergy is out of touch with the hopes and aspirations of the majority of people on the island.
However, as analysts have warned for decades, the clergy should not be dismissed so easily.

Despite their recalcitrant and belligerent views, some sections of the Buddhist leadership have the ability to shape the course of events through public opinion and private influence. Not only does this have the potential to derail the peace talks in the short term but also prevent the emergence of any real democratic reform.

After all, centuries of experience around the world have shown that for democracy to be successful and sustainable all those in power need to be accountable. In Sri Lanka, we have seen that, as politicians fall into and out of favour with each election, one force remains beyond the reach of elections and unaccountable. One of the challenges facing this and successive governments will be to keep religion and politics separate.

Without such a separation, a genuinely multicultural democracy will be impossible. More immediately, as the process of dialogue for peace continues, fundamentalist and chauvinist influences, even if they come from sections of the Buddhist clergy, need to be countered by clear and decisive action by elected officials.

Bringing the Sun down to Earth

As countries like Sri Lanka struggle to provide electricity to rural communities and meet rising demands from existing user, Siva Muthulingasamy managing director of Solar4Us, argues that a cleaner, sustainable and cheap alternative to coal or hydro-power is available.

Electricity and the associated systems and organisation have been considered one of the most important developments of the 20th century. Much of human existence is touched daily by electricity. Economic development has been intrinsically coupled to electricity use. The information revolution would have impossible without it. The lack of electricity or insufficient electricity is therefore a concern of all governments and development organisations.

However, approximately 2 billion people in the world do not have access to any form of electricity. That is one third of the world population. Its absence is usually associated with poverty and reduced quality of life. Indeed, it is inevitably that if people who don't have it live close to 'wires' that carry it, they find ways to steal it, tapping into the supply in dangerous mechanisms.

It is clearly an integral part of our lives and has a large component of public benefit associated with it. The question of 'keeping the lights on' must be interpreted in the broader context. How will the world's electricity systems provide sufficient quantities to maintain our quality of life in a sustainable manner and perform all the duties we assign it?

The answer is, in theory at least, straightforward: 99% of people without electricity live in sun kissed parts of the world. Solar radiation is the largest renewable resource on earth. If approximately 1% of the world's desert area were covered by solar panels, sufficient energy would be generated to supply the world's entire electricity demand for the year 2002.

The 'Solar economy' concept is making a come back due to technological advances, growing environmental concerns and uncertainties about the security and price of oil. This may not be entirely obvious with the apparent tyranny of hydrocarbons at present- energy companies are pulling in record profits from petroleum, OPEC meetings are once again in the headlines, and former industry executives are shaping national energy policy in the US and pushing to drill in ecologically sensitive regions.

As this energy source is more evenly distributed in the sun belt of the world than wind or biomass, more sites are possible. It is one of the most cost-effective renewable power technology and promising cost competitiveness with fossil fuel plants in the future.

After all, no other form of energy is so environmentally sensible or offers a more compelling case for development. Clean energy should be one of the world's most important objectives. We at Sola-r4Us believe that conventional fossil fuel power pollutes our water and air and robs our children of the earth's precious resources. There are companies in Germany and Japan who are dedicated to developing environmentally friendly products that improve everyday life also.

Technology to produce electricity from solar is proven and well demonstrated. Over 100 years of accumulated operating experience demonstrate the soundness of the concept, with nine solar thermal power plants of the parabolic trough type feeding over 9 billion kWh of solar-based electricity into the Californian grid.

Solar modules directly convert solar light into electricity without any moving parts and the raw material required for producing them are sand and sun. Solar electric systems provide a reliable, safe and for many applications a competitive source of power.

Such technology is now ready for a more widespread application if a more intensified market penetration is undertaken immediately. The market is there, proven products are there, but the market penetration is slow. This can be attributed to issues related to affordability, a lack of financing schemes, very limited service centres in rural areas and little maintenance know-how.
However, accelerated application will lead to further innovation and cost reductions to meet the challenge of competitive conditions in the years ahead.

Generating electricity using solar cells is becoming more popular than ever before for a wide range of applications, just as the awareness that energy conversion and utilization should be based on sustainable concepts is growing rapidly.

Typical Applications of grid-connected and standalone Photovoltaic (PV) systems, as these are called, include pumping system for irrigation and drinking water, desalination and refrigeration systems, street and traffic lights, navigation lighthouses, electrification of houses in remote areas, power supply for medical facilities in rural areas, communications and emergency communication systems, environmental data monitoring systems, power source for holiday homes and leisure, microwave/ radio repeater stations, solar cookers and solar crop dryers.

Clearly it is in the rural areas of developing countries that PV already makes a profound difference to people's lives. It does not bring 'just' light and radio or TV, but the opportunity to set up businesses and phone services, and to power schools. Cities in which each rooftop produces power to meet the needs of the building beneath may not be so far away.
In Sri Lanka, close to 50 percent of in a population of 19 million do not have electricity. And they are unlikely to get it in the next decade due to the high cost of installation and the rising demand for power among current users.

According to government data, 47 percent of households - mostly-rural homes - do not have access to the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) national grid, Interpress Services reported last year. The demand for electricity is rising by an average of 8 percent per year, while the present demand is expected to double by 2010, according to the Central Bank's annual report for 2000. With the country's hydropower resources unable to meet the demand, dependence on thermal (coal) power has risen sharply.

Sri Lanka's few solar-power companies have also joined a World Bank project under which the units are subsidized to users. Under the bank-assisted Energy Services Delivery (ESD) project, solar power has been recognized as a key way to meet the micro-level requirements of rural households. It disburses funds to the local NGO SEEDS, which handles the financing and loan collection under the project.

Solar power recipients are normally middle-income farmers with an average monthly income of 5,000 rupees - small farmers find it too expensive for now. Once the units are installed, SEEDS pays the solar companies and collects the money from users. Solar users make a small down payment, then pay once every six month for an average five-year loan.

Shell, which sold 300 solar-power units to rural households in 1999, sold 1,800 units in 2000. Its sales figures for this year are expected to be even higher. During the first half of 2001, for instance, some 2,200 solar-power units had been sold. The company said in 2001 that it plans to sell 4,500 units by year-end as "demand is constantly growing."