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HUMAN RIGHTS: No Multi-Ethnic Balance in Sri Lanka, Says Expert

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Mar 22 2006 (IPS) - Sri Lankan human rights lawyer Nimalka Fernando says "the world is steeped in racism and religious intolerance," which threaten the very existence of minority communities in countries like her own.

"In today&#39s world, the ‘other&#39 than me and my community is an alien and an object to be dealt with and annihilated somehow," said Fernando, president of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), which was founded in Japan in 1988.

In addition, "The global economic and politic order creates and generates vulnerabilities and marginalisation of people in an unbelievable proportionàToday human lives are threatened by poverty and the ‘thirst for fuel&#39 of (U.S. President George W.) Bush," Fernando said in an interview with IPS.

IPS: What role does racism play in the world today?

NIMALKA FERNANDO: Racism is the political ideology that moves wars and the grabbing of resources from our countries that exposes our communities to experiences of racism and exclusion.

IPS: How do non-governmental organisations like IMADR carry out their activities today?


NF: Our work has become challenging and difficult in the post-9/11 era. In the wake of (the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington) all dissident activities are viewed as the work of terrorists and insurgents. Democratic rights activities are smashed up under the slogan of crushing terrorists.

IPS: Is there racism in your country?

NF: Yes, racism is based on ethnic origin in Sri Lanka. The Sinhala extremist forces inside the government have embarked on a campaign to spread hate speech against the Tamil leadership fighting for self-rule and democratic rights (in northern Sri Lanka) for several decades. (The Sinhalese are the largest ethnic group in the country).

IPS: How would you describe the overall situation?

NF: Sri Lanka is a classic example of a failed nation state. A country that could not handle its post-colonial politics to secure a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious political ethos and power-sharing.

IPS: And the consequences?

NF: We have been engaged in ethnic conflict resulting in a war dragging on for more than two decades. Thousands of lives have been lost (including the) disappeared. The largest losses have been faced by the Tamil community. Millions are displaced both within and outside the country. The war thrives on to annihilate a community.

IPS: Is there no solution in sight?

NF: Despite the (Feb. 22, 2002) signing of the memorandum of understanding for a ceasefire, the war looms larger every day. In the wake of the new president (Mahinda Rajapaksa) coming into power (on Nov. 19), violence erupted again in the north and east, killing hundreds of people. Most of those killed were unarmed civilians.

IPS: How are the parties to the conflict behaving?

NF: Political assassinations have not been investigated by the government. The paramilitary units operating in the east supported by the government are engaged in violence and killing. The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) too have denied reports of violations by them.

IPS: Sri Lanka, one of the Asian countries hit by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami, lost between 17,500 and 41,000 lives, according to estimates. How are things looking now?

NF: The situation after the tsunami in a post-conflict Sri Lanka has further exacerbated the discrimination against the Muslim and Tamil communities. The relief and rehabilitation activities in the south (where the Buddhist majority and Christian minority are concentrated) received much attention, while the north and east received only a trickle.

The president&#39s constituency has 500 houses constructed more than was required after the tsunami, while in the north and east hundreds are still living in temporary shelters.

IPS: Have these developments received the attention they deserve?

NF: I must say with a sense of responsibility that even the U.N. system has not documented the stories of the deprived in Sri Lanka. We always hear rosy pictures of the post-tsunami rebuilding from the U.N. and when (former U.S. president) Bill Clinton visited us to review the progress (as a U.N. special envoy).

Action Aid has produced a document discussing the human rights issues of the tsunami-affected and I would refer you to their website.

IPS: What is the situation of the minority communities?

NF: The Muslim community living in Sri Lanka faces a dual discrimination. On one hand the government&#39s failure to address their issues, and on the other hand the conflicts and tensions they face with the Tamil community in the east.

Many Muslim people died last year in the east and no proper investigations have been carried out. The Muslim people who were forced by the LTTE to leave the north ten years ago are still living as IDPs (internally displaced persons) and their future is unknown. As IDPs they face ill treatment and discrimination from all communities wherever they reside now.

IPS: And in the case of the Tamils?

NF: Tamil people living in Sri Lanka continue to face discrimination with regard to the use of their language. Even though according to the official language policy Tamil persons are entitled to use their language, the government has failed to implement the provisions.

Tamil persons arrested are compelled to sign confessions written in Sinhala or forced to sign all kinds of documents in a language they are not familiar with. There are no officers proficient in Tamil language in police stations in the government-controlled areas in the north and east. Furthermore, the post offices are not equipped to send telegrams and messages in Tamil.

IPS: What repercussions does that climate have on women?

NF: Women face double or multiple discrimination. Tamil women continued to face violence throughout the war, though since the signing of the ceasefire, the situation eased.

But since last December, with the heightening of activities by the armed forces in the north and east, reports of violence and harassment against women have been reaching us. The government of Sri Lanka has still failed to report on or investigate the rape and death of a young girl, Dharshini, from Jaffna. Her mutilated body was found inside a well located near a naval base in the north.

IPS: What future do these communities face?

NF: Minorities and nationalities all over the world are struggling for their just share in the world of work, society and governance. We need to move beyond the concepts of concessions and welfarism to equal treatment based on human rights.

Mr. Bush&#39s thirst for oil must be overturned by a thirst for justice and fair play in the global economy by the American people. Racism must be condemned at all levels and fought against at all levels.

IPS: Could you comment on the peace negotiations that began in Geneva in February and will continue in April?

NF: We welcome the talks between the LTTE and the government in Geneva because Sri Lanka cannot go back to war. People have suffered as a result of the war and the tsunami. So we take this opportunity as civil society activists to keep the dialogue open and to look into the problem area and also to finally come up with a solution to the troubled ethnic question.

We are not directly engaged in the official discussions, but as a civil society group of peace advocates, we are working diligently back home, speaking to the government, speaking to the LTTE, trying to create confidence, which is very necessary in peace-building – confidence among the Tamil community that discussions are important.

And we are also trying to develop a political culture, especially in the minds of the Singhalese, that we need to resolve this issue through a political settlement and negotiations, and not by war.

So on one hand our task as civil society activists back home is to keep our dialogue open with the Tamil community, and on the other hand really, really work with Singhalese society to accept that finally there could be peace in Sri Lanka one day.

 
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