A
Relentless Pursuit: Staying the Course on
the Road to Peace in Sri Lanka
Notes for a Discussion with
Members of
the Sri Lankan Community in Ottawa
by David
Kilgour
Travelodge
Hotel, Ottawa
June 4,
2002
Last March,
Scarborough East MP John McKay and I got
a first hand look at a very fragile peace
process. As one of the members of the Peace
Group Support group we met with said, “It
is more an absence of war than a reality
of peace”. There are reported violations
of the ceasefire from both sides, however
the general desire to see a lasting peace
seems to dominate.
In my opinion,
the peace process is Sri Lankans’ last,
best chance at peace for a long time to
come.
A positive
role for the LTTE
At a time
when there were many voices – both
in Sri Lanka and around the world –
claiming that a cease-fire would be used
by the LTTE only to re-arm, recruit and
rest, the international community gave the
LTTE the benefit of the doubt.
We believed
that the LTTE were willing to come to the
negotiating table in good faith. I hope
our good faith was not misplaced.
Compromise
is what negotiations are all about. Let
there be no doubt about it: if we want the
talks to succeed, the real enemy of both
the LTTE and Government of Sri Lanka is
not each other, but rather an uncompromising
attitude of intransigence. It is a simple
fact of life that no party gets everything
it wants during negotiations, and the sooner
both the LTTE and the Government of Sri
Lanka accept this reality, the sooner a
final solution to a generation of terrible
bloodshed and suffering on both sides will
come to an end.
An Eye-Opening
Visit
The trip
to Sri Lanka was a real eye-opener. The
island is truly stunning: wonderful people,
lush jungles, magnificent mountains, picturesque
rice paddy fields, and stunning wild life.
Even though John and I were there for only
four days, through the wonders of helicopter
transport, we were fortunate enough to see
large swaths of the island.
We flew from
Colombo to Batticaloa, skirting the southern
ranges of the tea-growing highlands, at
times just a few metres above the carpeted
mountain tops, and then swooped-in along
the Eastern Province’s rice paddy fields.
On the return trip, we first headed north
along the eastern coastline towards the
magnificent harbour of Trincomalee, before
turning inland over the elephant stomping
grounds of the Central Province. Regrettably,
we didn’t have time to go to Jaffna
or Trincomalee. Unfortunately, our time
in the helicopter was all we had for sight-seeing.
When in “Batti”,
we met a cross-section of residents: urban,
rural, professionals, farmers, labourers,
Hindus, Christians, Tamils, Muslims, and
Singhalese. And although they were of one
voice in praise of the peace process, and
the hope for a better life which it promises,
they were also clearly very anxious.
Anxious not
just about the uncertainty of the unknown;
but – more disturbing – anxious
from their fears of what they expect is
likely to occur.
Some Fears
We were quite
surprised to hear people – of different
backgrounds, including Tamils – tell
me, in confidence, that they were concerned
about the prospects of living under an
LTTE-controlled
administration. We heard stories of LTTE
cadres coming into the villages, and Batticaloa
town, demanding money from residents, on
the grounds that it simply represented the
legitimate collection of back taxes.
A Canadian
Offering
Peace talks
are moving faster than expected. Given most
parties' cautious optimism that the cease
fire will hold, the next step is the formation
of interim councils in the North and East
and the planning of timing for future talks
("talks about talks") scheduled
to take place in Thailand next month.
The political
settlement we hope will ultimately result
from these talks will have to address devolved
systems of governance and the drafting of
a constitution that addresses language rights,
regional differences, self-determination
without secession, multiculturalism, asymmetrical
federalism, and more. In other words - areas
of Canadian expertise.
In Sri Lanka,
we made very clear that we’re willing
to share our experiences - to offer them
up as examples from which everyone can learn
of both our successes and our failures.
All parties
- including the Norwegians - have responded
favourably to offers to help in this area,
but no-one yet has suggested specific approaches.
There remains great apprehension about involving
another outside party while the process
is so precarious. Moreover, no one is yet
sure how the substantial talks should proceed.
Stability
= Prosperity
In Colombo,
I spoke at a luncheon organized by a group
of business people like yourselves, who
are very concerned Sri Lanka’s fate
and believe that peace is the only condition
under which Sri Lankans generally can truly
prosper. As business people, you understand
that before the enormous potential for increased
trade and investment between our countries
can be realized, there must be stability.
Sri Lanka is an attractive investment partner
for Canadian businesses, but not if it is
in the throws of a civil war. You are the
perfect example: how many of you, as highly
skilled, active professionals, would like
to either return someday, or be involved
professionally in some way?
De-Mining
Sri Lanka
receives significant humanitarian support
through CIDA. But we’re also trying
to address another issue that’s integral
to the success of the peace process: de-mining.
Peace won’t hold unless life can return
to normal. For hundreds of thousands, this
will be impossible while farmers’ fields
and roads remain littered with hundreds
of thousands of land mines. Because Sri
Lanka is not a signatory to the Ottawa Convention,
we cannot clear land mines. We can, however,
make valuable contributions through mine
mapping and awareness programs.
Next Steps
Support and
interest in Sri Lanka goes right to the
top: Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham
is keenly engaged and has directed the Department
of Foreign Affairs to offer the support
needed to encourage the peace process.
This will
of course involve continuing to work with
Sri Lankans still living on the island,
as well as with the huge diaspora here in
Canada.
We’re
thinking about how we can get Sri Lankans
from all regions now living here in Canada
to get together and discuss the peace process.
One idea is the possibility of organizing
a speaker’s tour where significant
players in the peace process are invited
to Canada to report on the progress of negotiations
- to update the community and share their
thoughts on the way forward. I’d be
very grateful for your thoughts on that
idea.
I hope that
tonight we can have a very candid discussion.
I’m happy to try to answer whatever
questions you might have, and would be very
grateful for your feedback on how you think
we’ve been doing, how you foresee the
coming months and years playing out, and
what role you see for Canada.
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