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Asia’s Century
The epoch-defining changes ongoing presently in the global economic structure are rapidly transforming the long-dormant Asian economies. This massive continent, home to huge populations, production capabilities and markets, could well become the pivot of growth for the entire world.
Some have named this Asia’s Century. European predominance which has been so spectacular for nearly five centuries is slowly but surely receding and perhaps moving to the East. Obviously those Asian nations endowed with intelligent and educated leadership will get more benefits from the shifting economic opportunities than others.
It is in this background of transforming economic opportunities, with their potential to reward or deny, that we should view the sad events unfolding in Sri Lanka. Instead of building a national consciousness, we seem determined to assert our particularities, an attitude that ensured our defeat for centuries. Ignoring the endless opportunities of a dazzling 21st century, we are mired in by-gone ideas arising from bigotry, the two sides apparently contemplating conversions or pogroms.
Essentially, the events that occurred in some parts of the southern coast are only an example of the gradual collapse of the rule of law in this country.
Collapse of rule of law
Most of us interpret the concept of a rule of law to mean a set of clear rules, enforced by an objective and impartial arm of the State such as the Police and if in dispute adjudicated by an independent Judiciary. Of course the whole process should be transparent.
If such a system existed things would definitely have not turned out as they did. For example, if a Buddhist priest (or for that matter any person) was assaulted on the high way as alleged, the Police ought to have charged the assailant straight away. If stones and other objects were thrown at a person or property it should be the most natural thing to commence criminal proceedings against the miscreants without delay. Similarly, if inflammatory or degrading things are said about a person or a community, those speakers should be appropriately dealt with.
That would have been the probable scenario, if we have a rule of law. But if we have a rule of persons, like in Sri Lanka the absolute rule by the elected, the Police will have to wait until the powers that be consider aspects such as their political interests and the loyalties of the persons involved, and receive their orders accordingly. Even if a person commits a murder, if he has political patronage, there is no certainty that the system will prevail, unless of course the victim too has powerful associates, sufficiently interested in the dead man!
People’s mandate
In real democracies on the other hand, although it is the elected that rule, they do so only in accordance with the legal system which enabled them to get elected in the first place. But in Sri Lanka starting from 1970s particularly, the elected began to argue that the people’s mandate empowers them to do as they wish!
Any public servant who is less than enthusiastic about the orders emanating from the political bosses will be labelled an enemy of the government. So we often see situations where those elected use the Police and the machinery of the Government to harass and even destroy their political opponents while those in power will enjoy total immunity. But if the so-called elected have the misfortune to lose at an election, and the ‘mandate’ goes to somebody else, it is then their turn to be the bad boys. The whole thing is quite farcical.
It is in this context that we have to assess the so-called Police reports on the various incidents that are alleged to have occurred in Aluthgama and other areas. Are these true and objective reports of truly independent officers working according to various rules and manuals of their profession? There will be very few people who will believe that.
Most of the officers in forces such as the Police would have initially enrolled with idealistic ideas of serving their country by enforcing law and order, without fear or favour. But today they have been degraded to a level of private security guards of those in power, just there to do their bidding.
Muslims in Sri Lanka
Needless to say, the Muslims of this country have now been living here for generations, even going back to as far as the 12th century. Some of them formed the bodyguard of the last Kings of Kandy. In our darkest hour, when the country was in the grip of terrorism, there were many Muslims who fought in the Army and even made the final sacrifice.
Apart from that, there have been notable contributions from this community towards nation building as lawyers, doctors, architects as well as in other professions. Millions of foreigners came to know of Sri Lanka only when our own M. Laffir became the world’s snooker and billiard champion in the mid-1970s. Even in the days of the Donoughmore Commission or even before, Muslims have played an important role in our political evolution.
"An outmoded way of looking at the world, a view that perhaps fortified us in the centuries gone by, is not necessarily the kind of thing that will serve well in the 21st century. Things have changed far more than ever contemplated in archaic ideas we sometimes hold dear. It will be a great pity if petty politics and a lack of a credible rule of law are allowed to spoil the relationship between races in our country once again"
We have all heard of the much-respected politician T.B. Jaya and of course the maestro Mohideen Beg. There are well-known Muslim doctors whose curing hands have blessed many. Some of the Muslim judges such as the urbane Justice Amir Ismail and more recently the learned Salim Maroof added lustre to the Bench. Of course these are only a few that I can speak of personally. There are thousands of other Muslims who have and continue to serve our country very well.
An outmoded way of looking at the world, a view that perhaps fortified us in the centuries gone by, is not necessarily the kind of thing that will serve well in the 21st century. Things have changed far more than ever contemplated in archaic ideas we sometimes hold dear. It will be a great pity if petty politics and a lack of a credible rule of law are allowed to spoil the relationship between races in our country once again.
(The writer is an Attorney-at-Law and a freelance writer.)
