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Sarendib's Sorrow: Sri Lanka's Continuing Conflict

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Sarendib's Sorrow: Sri Lanka's Continuing Conflict SARENDIB S SORROW : SRI LANKA S CONTINUING CONFLICT ∗∗∗ Abhayraj Naik Inthisarticle,theauthorstudiestheconflictinSriLanka,andidentifiesanddescribestwosourcesofits intractability:fracturedfrontsandmaximalistgoals.ThearticleseekstorevealthatwhiletheSriLankan government’srecentmilitaryonslaughtagainsttheLTTEhasbeensurprisinglysuccessful,historyisclear thatameaningfulsolutiontotheconflictinSriLankawillbefoundnotonthebattlefieldbutinthehearts andmindsoftheSriLankanpeople.Thecausesoftheconflictareseveral–ananalysisofthesesourcesof intractabilityinvolves both a backward lookingappreciation of the events, perspectives and trends that fracturedanationaswellasaforwardlookingtransformativeoutlooktowardsashareddeliberativereality. The author believes that while the current military success against theLTTE coincideswith a wave of collectiveSriLankananguishatthecountry’sgrimpredicament.Forseveralreasons,thepresentrepresentsa potential moment of critical realignment inSri Lanka. Ananalysis of the institutional, historical and ideologicalbasesoftheconflictindicatesdifferentchannelsthatthepublicspherewillhavetosimultaneously destroyandcreateifsuchacriticalrealignmentistobeserendipitouslyrealised. INTRODUCTION ….………………………………………………………………….55 I. AN OVERVIEWOFTHE CONFLICT ………………………………………………...8 II. SOURCESOF INTRACTABILITY ……………………………………………………17 A. FRACTURED FRONTS :ADEFICITOF CONSENSUS ………………………………...17 B. MAXIMALIST GOALS :ASURPLUSOF MISTRUST …………………………………...24 ABATTLEOFGREATANTIQUITY …………………………………………………….24 COLONIAL LEGACIES ………………………………………………………………..26 NATIONALISMAND NATIONALISMS …………………………………………………28 CONCLUDING REMARKS ……………………………………………….…………....88 ∗ B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), National LawSchool of India University, Bangalore (2006); LL.M., Yale Law School,NewHaven(2008). Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com SerendibandTaprobane– Wordsasargent-chimedasrain, Wordslikelittlegoldenbeads, Appleandpomegranateseeds, Strunguponasilverthread, Littledropsoflacquer-red, Tintinnabularandsweet, Littlewordswithcrystalfeet Runninglightlythroughmymind. Ifmylazywitcouldfind Gildedphrasestoexpress Theirperfectedloveliness, Iwouldmakeacageofwords Where,likebrightheraldicbirds, Theyshouldstrutandflauntandpreen, Scarlet,silver,goldandgreen, Elegantlystrangeandvain– SerendipandTaprobane. –AnneAtwoodDodge,“SerendipandTaprobane”, Harper’s (August1927),p.272. Introduction HoraceWalpole,the4 th EarlofOrford(24September1717–2March1797)coined theword‘serendipity’inoneofhisnumerousletters,andcreditedthederivationtoa‘silly fairytale’thathehadread–TheTravelsandAdventuresofThreePrincesofSarendip .1Thethree * B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), National LawSchool of India University, Bangalore (2006); LL.M., Yale Law School,NewHaven(2008). IamgratefultoSitharamamKakaralaforencouragingmetobeginworkonthistopicin2002-03.Mostof the research for this paper was carried out at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Colomboin2003and2005.IamgratefultoICES,Colomboforuseoftheirresearchfacilities.Iwould alsoliketothanktheeditorsandananonymousrevieweroftheSOCIO -LEGAL REVIEWfortheirhelpful commentsonearlierdraftsofthispaper.Theresponsibilityforallviewsanderrorshereinremainsmine. 1LetterfromHoraceWalpoletoHoraceMann(28Jan.1754), in 4THE YALE EDITION OF HORACE WALPOLE ’S CORRESPONDENCE 407 (W.S. Lewisetal.eds.,1960). RobertKMertonpointsoutthatthisfairytalefirstappearedinsixteenth-centuryVeniceunderthetitle Peregrinaggioditregiovani,figliuolidelrediSerendippo,tradattodallalinguapersianainlinguaitalianadeM.Christoforo Armeno ,whichwastranslatedintoEnglish(viaaFrenchintermediary)onlyin1722underthetitle Travels Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com princesofthetitlearethesonsofJaffer,thephilosopher-kingofSarendip(orSerendibor Serendippo–which,alongwithTaprobaneandCeylon–wasanancientnameforwhatis todayknownasSriLanka). 2Thewordserendipityconnotesaquality,discoveryorturnof eventsthatisgood,unexpectedandtheresultofaparticularcombinationofsagacityand luck. Given the devastating conflict that has been raging across Sri Lanka for a quarter centurynow,‘serendipity’seemstobeparticularlyinappropriatetodescribetheconditionof thecountryfromwhichthewordoriginates. 3 TheintractabilityandcomplexityoftheconflicthasleadRajasingham-Senanayaketo callSriLanka,atthecloseofacenturyofdecolonisation,asSouthAsia’s‘mostdramatic failureatmodernnation-building.’4Thebestialmetaphorsofthewar–lionversustiger–are particularlyillustrativeoftheferocityoftheconflict. 5Theapotheosisoftheideaofafailed andAdventuresofThreePrincesofSerendip . See RobertKMerton, Preface , in ROBERT K. MERTON &ELINOR BARBER ,THE TRAVELSAND ADVENTURESOF SERENDIPITY (2004). 2MERTON &BARBER , id. at2. 3LeeKuanYew(widelyacclaimedasthearchitectofmodernSingapore)representsamuchrespected figureintheSriLankanpoliticalmilieu,andhismemoirimpressionsonSriLankaareworthexcerpting fromhere:‘ ItissadthatthecountrywhoseancientnameSerendiphasgiventheEnglishlanguagetheword“serendipity” isnowtheepitomeofconflict,pain,sorrowandhopelessness. ’ See LEE KUAN YEW,FROM THIRD WORLDTO FIRST : THE SINGAPORE STORY :1965-2000 (2000), quotedin RajeevAmarasuriya, LeeKuanYew'simpressionsofSri Lanka , SUNDAY OBSERVER , Aug. 31, 2003, available at http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2003/08/31/fea14.html. 4 Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, Democracyand the Problemof Representation: The Makingof Bi-polar Ethnic Identity in Post/ Colonial Sri Lanka, in ETHNIC FUTURES – THE STATE AND IDENTITY POLITICSIN ASIA 99(JoannaPfaff-Czarneckaetal.eds.,1999). 5Jeyarajpointsout: MythologicalhistorytracesSinhaleseoriginstoPrinceVijayawhointurnisbelievedto havehadaleonineancestor.SinhayaistheSinhalawordfor“lion”andtheSinhalese themselvesarecalled“PeopleoftheLion”orthe“LionRace”.TheSriLankannational flagbearsasword-bearinglion,whichisareplicaoftheoneusedbyKandy,thelast Sinhalese kingdom to fall to the British colonialists……When Tamil nationalism reachedwarringproportionsithadanappropriatecountersymbol—theroaringtiger, whichwasusedbythemostmartialTamildynastyinIndia,theCholas.Today,theSri LankanarmyhasregimentscalledSinha,orlion,anditsadversary,theLiberationTigers ofTamilEelam(LTTE),popularlyknownasTamilTigers,haveleopards,panthersand cheetahsintheirranks. See D.B.S. Jeyaraj, Lions and Tigers , HIMAL SOUTHASIAN , Apr. 1999, available at http://www.himalmag.com/99Apr/lions_tigers1.htm. Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com andconflict-torn Sri Lanka/Sarendib is, however, a failureof theimagination. 6 Myemphasis upon‘Sarendib’and‘serendipity’throughoutthispaperreflectsbothadeliberatehistorical dredgingupoftheword’sconnexionwithSriLanka’sgloriouspast, 7aswellasahopeful characterisation of lasting solutions to Sri Lanka’s seemingly intractable conflict. 8 What eludesserendipityandserendipitousopportunitiesinSriLanka? AnanalysisofSriLanka’spastattemptstoendtheethnicconflictisnotencouraging atall. 9BrownandGangulyhaveconvincinglyarguedthatitis“importanttounderstandthe dynamicsofethnicrelations,thecausesofethnicconflicts,theprocessesbywhichethnic 6IamparticularlyfondoftheusageofthisphrasebyArundhatiRoyinoneofherspeeches,andIquote fromherwritinghere: To call someone anti-American, indeed, to be anti-American, is not just racist, it's a failureoftheimagination.Aninabilitytoseetheworldintermsotherthanthosethat theestablishmenthassetoutforyou:Ifyoudon'tloveus,youhateus.Ifyou'renot good,you'reevil.Ifyou'renotwithus,you'rewiththeterrorists. See Arundhati Roy, Not Again , THE GUARDIAN , Sept. 30, 2002, available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/sep/30/usa.iraq. 7TheanswertothisandothermysteriesconcerningSindbad’sadventuresinSerendib mayneverbeknown.Whatissignificantisthattheislandfiguresprominentlyinthe Sindbadtales,andthatitisportrayedasastorybookkingdomgovernedbyawiseruler, a place where the magical and the miraculous are commonplace. For Serendib was regardedasnotonlyacentreofearlytrade,butalsoasanenchantedislandaboundingin wisdomandmajesty. See Richard Boyle, Sindbad in Serendib , 17 SERENDIB MAGAZINE , available at http://koslanda.com/sindbad.htm(lastvisitedMay132008). 8TheessenceofthischaracterisationhasperhapsbeenmostelegantlydescribedbyJohnZiman,who states: The keypoint is that serendipitydoes not, of itself, produce discoveries: it produces opportunities for making discoveries…..Even then, the perception of an anomalyis fruitlessunlessitcanbemadethesubjectofdeliberateresearch.Inotherwords,weare reallytalkingaboutdiscoveriesmadebytheexploitationof serendipitousopportunities by personsalreadyprimedtoappreciatetheirsignificance. See JOHN ZIMAN ,REAL SCIENCE :WHAT IT ISAND WHAT IT MEANS 217(2000). 9 A detailed discussion of Sri Lanka’s pre-2000 attempts at peace and negotiation may be found in NEGOTIATING PEACE IN SRI LANKA : EFFORTS , FAILURES AND LESSONS (K. Rupesinghe ed., 1998); CREATING PEACE IN SRI LANKA : CIVIL WAR AND RECONCILIATION (Robert Rotberg ed., 1999). Uyangodahasconvincinglyarguedthattheshadowofthatnegativepastisboundtobecastovernew attempts at peace. See Jayadeva Uyangoda, Civil War and the Peace Process in Sri Lanka , 18 ASIAN EXCHANGE 56(2002). Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com conflicts become violent, andwhat well-meaningleaders andgovernments can do about theseproblems.”10 IfasettlementistobefoundtoSriLanka’sconflict,itisimportantthat the causes of the conflict and the sources of its intractability be clearly ascertained, understood,andrespondedto.Thisisoneofthecentralaimsofthispaper. GangulydescribesDavidCarment’scomparativeperspectiveonsecessionistethnic conflictinSouthandSouthEastAsiaasa“near exhaustivereviewofthestate-of-the-art
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