Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran reiterated that accountability for the mass atrocities committed in 2009 cannot be traded off for politics, in remarks made in Colombo earlier this week.

Speaking at the southern capital Justice Wigneswaran responded to questions on accountability by stating it was a “legal question”.

“Are we going to have a proper legal machinery to look into the wrongs that have been committed and take necessary steps with regard to that?” he said. “Or are we going to make it into a political thing in order to trade it off?”

“Whether it is Tamils saying it or somebody else saying it is not the important thing - these are two different things. There is a political question to be looked in to.”

The chief minister went on to call for the victims of the massacres to be taken into consideration.

“What about the people who have lost their lives?” he said. “ Who have gone through so much immense hardship at the time when these things happened in Mullaiviakkal. Are we going to forget about all of them? At least let them have the benefit of this being tried out by an international tribunal or forum and come to some decision.”

He also commented on the current situation in the Tamil North-East stating that “trust is not born at the end of the barrel of a gun”.

“Nor can it flourish when private lands are occupied by military forces,” he continued.
“The immediate transition to a civilian atmosphere is essential for the building of trust,” he said. “There is no need for the military to continue to be in the North usurping and using people’s land, buildings, trades and livelihood sources.”

Justice Wigneswaran was speaking at the launch of a book entitled “UNEARTHED” BY Kusal Perera at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute earlier this week. During his address the chief minister also spoke on how alongside accountability, Sri Lanka had to undertake an “exercise of introspection”

“It is not only the violence that needs to be examined,” he said. “Violence arises as a result of other structural defects including social inequalities.”

See the full text of his speech below.

Mr Chairman, the author of UNEARTHED Mr Kusal Perera, our Co-Guest Speaker Mr Victor Ivan, distinguished guests, my dear brothers and sisters!

I met Mr Kusal Perera for the first time today. But I have now and then read some of his articles and felt “here is a reasonable man among the Sinhalese willing to articulate his thoughts without reticence nor reservation”. It is the reluctance of our intellectuals among all communities in Sri Lanka to truthfully and dispassionately review and research ideas, concepts, historical evidences and information generally and state their views boldly that has brought us to our present plight and predicament. It has helped unscrupulous politicians and pseudo intellectuals to take the upper ground. Latest market place conduct in our Parliament is a good example of such usurpation. I am reminded of Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) at this stage, who was a prominent Protestant Pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. Niemöller is best remembered for the following quotation:

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me!”

I am glad that the author has made use of the occasion to launch his book UNEARTHED compiled from his articles and creations to arrange a discussion on Nation Building and Reconciliation. After all, the whole purpose of our bringing about a political change on the 8th of January 2015 was to pave way for the rebuilding of our fractured Country and to usher in reconciliation among the several communities constituting this Island Country.

You will realize I have purposely avoided the term “Nation” so far. When we speak of Nation Building there is a hidden assumption that there is one Sri Lankan Nation and we need to build up that Nation.

Without getting bogged down on polemics let me first flag the fact that a group of people have lived continuously in determinable areas in the North and East of this Island for over 2000 years speaking a common language among themselves and following a common cultural background and way of life that they had qualified to be recognized as a Nation themselves in terms of the International Covenants. They had lived within identifiable borders, established administrations within them, been ruled by kings and had been recognized as sovereign by others within the Island as well as by the three successive colonizing European powers. Each of the European powers conquered this Nation and others and then created a unified administration within the Island. So this Country is blessed with more than one Nation. We are a multi ethnic, multi lingual, multi religious society.

Thus when we speak of Nation Building what we are discussing is the rebuilding of this Country with all its differences and diversities. We are not assuming that there is already a Sri Lankan Nation which needs to be built. On the other hand we have a Country common to various Nations within it and we are proceeding to discuss ways and means of building this Country fractured at this moment. So I use the phrase “Nation Building” in the sense of rebuilding this fractured Country.

Nation Building like the construction of any complex building requires proper planning and alignment. In the building construction trade, alignment among the architects, the engineers, the construction workers, the users of the building, the neighbours, the suppliers, the bankers and other stakeholders is essential if the construction project is to succeed. Nation building is no different.

But what does one do when a building has major flaws and needs repair? When we speak of “Nation Building and Reconciliation” we are looking at reconstructing a building that has had deep fissures and fractures – they could be due to structural flaws, they could be due to bad workmanship, they could be due to sabotage, they could be due to natural causes and many others.

We have to look at our entire exercise of “nation building and reconstruction” from the perspective of having a flawed edifice. What should we do? The easiest option would be to destroy the entire building and hire a new set of architects and contractors to set about building a new structure from the beginning. But how do we know if those architects and contractors will not make the same mistakes? What if the problem was with the ground conditions or was due to other natural causes?

The first step, therefore, would be to analyse the reason for the problems. Without finding the cause for those fissures, fractures and faults we cannot prescribe a solution. The process of finding the cause or causes must be honest.

In my view, the most fundamental step in nation building and reconciliation is to have honest introspection. To do that we have to be able to transcend our own biases and prejudices and conditioning. A recent survey for instance found that a vast majority of Sinhalese did not think that there was any need for any inquiry into war crimes, while a vast majority of the Tamils felt there was a need. Thus we are faced with polarised communities of people. How do we set about getting the respective communities to engage in an exercise of honest introspection?

In this respect Kusal is able to look at things dispassionately – a remarkable ability at a time when communities have become polarised and issues have become politicised. We could learn much from his ability to disentangle himself from parochial worldview. For instance, I read one of his articles outside today’s publication titled “Exclusively Sinhala- January 08 Change Is Not For Tamils”. In his article he makes the powerful and cogent argument that the steps taken, both during the campaign to establish a new regime in early 2015 and after being elected to office, were meant for a “Sinhala Nation”. The remarkable piece highlights the concerns of most of the people in the Northern Province and when raised by Tamils draw the ire of many Sinhalese who claim that it is not patriotic or that we are asking for separation. Kusal is therefore able to place himself in the shoes of the “other” to understand their perspective. He could empathise! This is why despite my immense workload and other priorities, I made it a point to be present at this Discussion cum Book Launch Programme.

We would need people like Kusal amongst both sides to encourage them to empathise with the “other” side. Thus honest introspection would be the first and most fundamental step towards true reconciliation. For honest introspection to take place we need to ensure that where necessary, impartial investigations are carried out. In the context of finding out the root cause of a building defect, it would not work if we say, for instance, my brother-in-law was the contractor and he will never use sub-standard building materials. For then we are limiting the scope of our inquiry. Sometimes, finding out the true causes may be very painful or may point accusingly at popular persons. We cannot say that the Armed Forces carried out a zero casualty war or that only permissible collateral damage took place, without carrying out an impartial investigation. One thing has to be borne in mind – investigating into and prosecuting officers who have violated the law does not mean that you are unpatriotic or that you are ungrateful towards the security forces or that you are demeaning them. The failure to investigate wrongs on the other hand is disrespectful towards the officers who carried out their duties with dedication and within the ambit of the law.

Let us look back to 1971, when an innocent young girl, a beauty queen in fact, from the sacred city of Kataragama was brutally raped, tortured and murdered by Army officers. Would anyone today consider the trial of Lieutenant Wijesuriya and his co-accused unpatriotic? Would the call for the trial be considered the insidious work of an imperialist Western Government or a mercenary NGO? The Government at the time ordered the autopsy within four or five days. The CID and the Attorney General were tasked with swift investigation and prosecution of the incident.

The crimes that took place during the latter stages of the War in 2009 in particular, a wanton war without witnesses, were more heinous – yet why is it that the majority of the people and the Government not particularly concerned with them? Is it not due to the fact that the victims of such crimes were “others”?

When carrying out the exercise of introspection it is not only the violence that needs to be examined. Violence arises as a result of other structural defects including social inequalities. We have to examine the history of the conflict. From constitutional defects to deficiencies in the application of the law would have to be examined. The majority community would have to examine its conduct in the process of “Sinhalisation” from 1956 to the so called autochthonous constitution of 1972 which marked the first constitutional step in creating second class citizens. Standardisation, steps taken to change demography through colonisation and several other steps to marginalise Tamils including the most recent Divineguma type legislations and the undermining of the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils, all contributed to depriving the Tamil speaking people of their Constitutional right to equality. The late S.J.V.Chelvanayagam in his Memorandum submitted to the Delegates who attended the 20th Commonwealth Conference in Sri Lanka in September 1974 on behalf of the Tamils of Ceylon argued that post independence Sri Lankan Governments had successfully discriminated against and excluded the Tamils from the mainstream of public life. He referred to the Kodeeswaran Case which successfully avoided an Appellate Court decision on the legality of the Sinhala Only Act vis a vis Article 29 of the 1948 Constitution.

The Tamils on the other hand would have to examine if there was any factor in their way of life until then which had provoked serious discrimination against them. It may have been introspection on Mr S.J.V.Chelvanayagam’s part when he suggested to the then Government that he would resign his seat in Parliament and re-contest against any Government Candidate putting forward his point of political views and if he lost he would withdraw from politics for ever. The Government delayed having the election for two years and when they finally had the Election SJV won quite decisively proving that he spoke for the great majority of the Tamils.

The process of introspection also needs to take into account the present state of the people who have borne the brunt of the war. Their economic and psycho-social needs would have to be examined. The continuing plight of 90,000 war widows in the North-East is a serious issue. The fact that a 150, 000 strong Army is occupying several thousand acres of private land is another issue. It is tragic that an inspection by a team of respectable Parliamentarians including the Leader of the Opposition of this Country, of private properties forcibly occupied by the Military raises howls of protest. Those cacophonous voices remain silent on the other hand with regard to the propriety of the illegal and unnecessary military occupation of acres and acres of land private and public in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Having examined the causes of the conflict, the next major step is to create the right atmosphere for solutions to be found to the problems. The call by the Government to have proposals for constitutional amendments is a salutary step. I found it amusing that several people faulted the Northern Provincial Council for passing a resolution with their views on required constitutional amendments on the basis that those proposals were unconstitutional. In fact Cases have been filed against us. First- every proposal to amend a Constitution is by definition “unconstitutional” – that does not mean that the people who propose changes to a constitution are engaging in unconstitutional activity. Second, the Northern Provincial Council and its members individually and collectively have the freedom of expression. They are entitled to express their views on any matter, and especially on any proposed amendment of the Constitution or formulation of a new Constitution. Third, their participation in the constitution-making exercise by putting forward proposals is a bottom-up approach given that the NPC is the institution that functions closest to the Northern polity on day to day basis. Fourth, from a constitution making point of view it is important to have as much input as possible.
Of course creating the right atmosphere is not only the work of the Government but also that of the media. Misrepresenting statements or quoting matters out of context to sensationalise issues hardly helps the process. There have always been exploiters and spoilers in Sri Lanka’s tragic history. Even though SWRD Bandaranaike exploited communal sentiments in coming into power his well intentioned attempts at rectifying his error through the Banda-Chelvanayagam pact were spoilt by Mr. J.R. Jayawardene, who bore the communal mantle. The Dudley-Chelvanayagam pact met with the same fate. Decades earlier Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was disappointed by the reneging of the then Sinhalese Leaders Sir James Peiris and E.A.Samarawickreme. But it is an amusing fact that close upon Old J.R.’s exit from this world in an interview he had stated that his regret was that he did not consider a federal set up to solve the problems of the minorities.

It is time that all parties approach the issue of the National question with a view to resolving problems rather than exploiting them for petty political gain. After all how long are we going to use our political differences to appease our personal hegemonic greed and parochial expectations? We are even distorting history to promote our Mahawansa mentality.

I was disappointed with the way in which the NPC proposals for constitutional reform were described by certain sections of the media, which painted them as proposals for separation of the country. That could not be further than the truth. Proposals for the Tamil Speaking Peoples to be granted equal status as their Sinhalese brethren are hardly proposals for separation. Proposals for regions to be grouped on linguistic basis is exactly what India has done and continues to do. The creation of Telangana recently is an affirmation of the success of the model. We did not make any representations on whether the Sinhala majority areas should be divided into States or other groupings because that is a decision that should be made by the Sinhalese. We do not seek to impose our will on them. We ask for the same respect. Let not the Sinhalese determine how the Tamil Speaking Peoples group themselves in areas in which they are in a majority. The proposal cherishes our Sri Lankanness whilst respecting our individual linguistic and cultural identities.

One Muslim leader questioned our right to speak for the Muslims. If the Muslims of North and East were Sinhala speaking and had considered themselves as Sinhala Muslims we would certainly have expected them to deal with the Sinhalese Representatives and kept silent regarding their political status. But we consider the Eastern Muslims as Tamil speaking being aware that some of them are excellently proficient in the Tamil Language. Their leaders cut their teeth in politics with the Federal Party in the early days whether it was Mashoor Mowlana or M.H.M. Ashraff. In fact my friend Ashraff compared the Tamil and Muslim villages placed in the East as being very akin to Pittu and Coconut scrapings that follow each other! That is why we ventured to speak up for the Tamil speaking Muslims of the North and East.

So too we were concerned about the Tamil speaking Upcountry Tamils of comparatively recent Indian Tamil origin. Did not the Sinhala Only Act of 1956 precipitate the communal divide? It is the non recognition of the Tamil Language initially that brought about the subsequent impasse. That is why linguistic divisions have been proposed by us including into the equation the Muslims and the Upcountry Tamils who are Tamil speaking.

Recently some media outlets wrongly claimed that I was opposed to mixed marriages. Marriages are private matters and no one, including myself, can oppose or propose that marriages take place in a particular way. However, what I did say is that encouraging mixed marriages as a solution to our problems is conceptually and morally wrong. That is a move designed to destroy collective identities. We have to learn to celebrate different cultures not try to straight-jacket everybody to belong to one culture or create a new generation of people who belong to a mixed culture. Cultural mixing should be allowed to take place organically not as political projects aimed at enshrining one single dominant culture.

Another important facet of creating the right atmosphere to enable solutions is to create trust between parties. Trust is not born at the end of the barrel of a gun. Nor can it flourish when private lands are occupied by Military Forces. The immediate transition to a civilian atmosphere is essential for the building of trust. There is no security concern that requires the military to be retained in the Northern Province. The Tamil people are war weary. They will not condone any attempts to revive violence. Furthermore an efficient Police Force could handle civil time security quite professionally. There is no need for the Military to continue to be in the North usurping and using People’s lands, buildings, trades and livelihood sources. A possible revival of LTTE activities are often quoted as the reason for the continued stationing of the Army. It is my position that Prabakharan was the creation of State Terrorism. If the Military were progressively diminished and during the past seven years concrete steps to solve the ethnic question were taken we would already have been on the Road to Recovery, Rebuilding, Revival, Regeneration and Reconciliation. Distrusting the Tamil Community if the Government were to continue to station the Army amidst the victims of the erstwhile war, you cannot blame anyone if another Prabakharan gets reincarnated.
In as much as the Buddha said that spiritual discourse could not be had when a person is hungry, it is important to understand that populations that are fighting for their survival cannot generate solutions. The serious economic hardships of people who have been dispossessed of their lands and their primary means of income, who are unable to carry out their professions such as fishing due to security sector intrusions and those who are in a perilous state, such as war widows who are at the mercy of soldiers, do not permit them to participate properly in the democratic process. The immediate needs of the most vulnerable groups need to be met urgently. They look up to the Provincial or Central Governments to ameliorate their conditions. Since the Provincial Council Administration is often scuttled and undermined naturally our people are wondering what lies at the back of the mind of powers that be. Trust should be the foundation of our relationship not doubts and suspicions.

These are the first and most important steps in building up this fractured Country and ushering in reconciliation. Many more steps are needed such as having a proper plan including economic plans, measures to ensure accountability, transparency, good governance etc. At this stage, however, we are at the nascent stage and we have a long way ahead. We should therefore be focusing on the foundational steps.
Let me quote from my own presentation at the National Conference on Post War Socio Economic Development organized by the University Grants Commission on the 13th of February 2014 in Colombo. Speaking on “Accelerated Provincial Development: The Way Forward” I made a request to the academic community and the intelligentsia of our society. I said:

“Exert your influence on the Southern Polity to make them understand the needs of the North and East in the post war context.

Counter the false propaganda carried out in the Sinhalese and English media by explaining that the Northern polity is committed to non violence and a political settlement within a united Sri Lanka.

Act as leaders across ethnic divide who could engage in and enrich debates in the public sphere on critical issues of national importance.

Ensure that you promote and support the Rule of Law, democracy and fundamental freedoms.

Foster a climate to come up with innovative models of cooperation and governance between the provincial councils and central government to enable each province to develop, based on its needs and aspirations in keeping with democratic governance principles.

Use your persuasive skills to persuade the Governments to keep their promises and commitments.

If they do Sri Lanka would become a better place to live in”, I said!

Thus building up trust among the communities is the way to Reconciliation. The reluctance to remove Regiments from the North and East cannot be a recipe for Reconciliation. Continued central hegemonic attitudes towards the periphery cannot be the right road to Reconciliation.

Division of accumulated central powers devolving them to the periphery adequately, recognizing the equal rights of majority communities and the so called minority communities and enabling them to deal with each other with dignity and decorum is certainly the path to the rebuilding of our fractured Country and Reconciliation.

I thank you for inviting me and I thank you for your patient hearing.

Justice C.V.Wigneswaran
Chief Minister,
Northern Province