Govt. needs to consult more before deciding

Since the war ended bloodily on the military battlefield in 2009, Sri Lanka has been subjected to repeated and increasingly intrusive scrutiny by the international community that has rankled successive governments and induced them to react defensively.

- BY JEHAN PERERA

This year's UN Human Rights Council session is no different, with fresh emphasis on accountability and reconciliation. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath will be representing Sri Lanka at the UNHRC's 60th session that commenced this week. The government will be calling on the international community to give it the space to continue with its programme to advance the rights and wellbeing of all Sri Lankans.

The government takes its mandate for "system change" seriously. This may be why it is so reluctant to consult other stakeholders, whom they probably see as either failures or tainted by the past, and seem to be making their decisions after internal consultations only. This has given the impression of a unilateral and top-down decision-making style. The government's ideological position is that all citizens are equal and will be treated equally by the state. Resolving the ethnic conflict is among its top three priorities, together with reviving the economy and improving people's living standards, and putting an end to impunity, corruption and mismanagement of resources.

In the run-up to the UNHRC session, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake spent two days in the northern capital of Jaffna. The media showed images of warm interactions he had with the people of the north, including students and families, and he announced several development initiatives. These included new investments in fisheries, infrastructure and higher education. Such projects have the potential to improve livelihoods in a region that has lagged behind for decades. In general, any form of developmental initiative that creates employment and wealth would be welcomed by the people of the north, as it would by people anywhere in the country. Yet, development alone has never been enough to address the core grievances of the Tamil people. Unless development is accompanied by political inclusion and justice, it risks being dismissed as tokenism or worse, as imposition.