Ethnic reconciliation to win economic struggle

Without ethnic reconciliation, economic growth and prosperity would be stunted at best or retarded at worst

If there is one political leader and one political party that could reverse this trend of intercommunal disconnection, dissatisfaction and discontent and bring them all together under the umbrella of a united Sri Lanka that leader would be Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and that party would be NPP. The support his party received from Tamil and Muslim voters from the north and east would vouch for this

A fundamental truth or axiom that many economists and development experts ignore in their models is the role of ordinary people in building a country’s economy and contributing to its development. The size of an economy’s Gross National Product is not simply the outcome of land, labour, capital and technology, but above all it depends on the collective synergy pumped out of the feeling of connectivity of the populace towards a nation’s struggle for economic growth and development. The size and depth of that synergy is unquantifiable, which is the reason why it is ignored. 

In a plural society like Sri Lanka, which consists of several ethnic communities and cultures, it is the task of the Government and national leaders to see that all communities and cultures rally behind the nation’s commitment towards achieving economic prosperity. But, unfortunately, 76 years of politics dictated by a policy of divide and rule, and an overall system of governance structured on an ideology of racial majoritarianism had deprived the nation’s struggle for economic development that invaluable synergy and feeling of connectivity, and the consequences of that deprivation are now crystal clear. 

At last, an opportunity has arisen as the result of a new awakening from a young generation of Sri Lankans who want to get rid of that politics of hatred, its ideological foundation and mode of governance. The results of the last General Election bear witness to the success of their awakening.  

Mammoth mandate

No political party or coalition of parties since independence had ever received such a mammoth mandate to govern from every recognisable community in the country as NPP did. NPP’s slogan “system change” originally coined by the Aragalaya youth and that party’s fearless commitment to close forever the ethnonationalist political culture and its corrupt governance proved magnetic to a vast majority of voters. It was indeed a silent revolution kindled by the Aragalaya youth which finally convinced every community that to deny support to NPP was tantamount to a political suicide. AKD’s victory at the Presidential Election was only a dress rehearsal for the final showdown that took place on 19 November. 

Be that as it may, there are plenty of issues that need addressing and demand solution for a complete system change which would mean something positive to every community and every citizen. But two of those issues need immediate attention: economy and ethnic reconciliation. In a sense, these two are interrelated. Economic splendour alone does not bring ethnic reconciliation as one former President dreamt, and without ethnic reconciliation, economic growth and prosperity would be stunted at best or retarded at worst. 

Until now, minority communities in this country either remained spectators of the development drama staged by successive Governments or played the role of extras. In other words, these communities were not fully incorporated into the national struggle for growth and prosperity. This was particularly true of the Tamil minority. It was that feeling of disconnection and rejection that sowed the seeds of Tamil discontent, which grew from peaceful resistance to organised violence when Tamil leadership fell into the hands of a rebellious generation. A similar trend was noticeable within the Muslim community also as demonstrated by the 2020 Easter massacre. 

AKD and party can bring all together under umbrella of a united Sri Lanka 

If there is one political leader and one political party that could reverse this trend of intercommunal disconnection, dissatisfaction and discontent and bring them all together under the umbrella of a united Sri Lanka that leader would be Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and that party would be NPP. The support his party received from Tamil and Muslim voters from the north and east would vouch for this. For instance, when he was asked about implementing the Rajiv Gandhi inspired 13th Amendment, AKD bluntly responded that he wanted to go beyond that Amendment, which would only mean power devolution and something more. That would mean a meaningful and deeper participation of minorities in the country’s economic struggle and social transformation. Why shouldn’t the north be developed with diaspora Tamil investments and why shouldn’t the east be developed with diaspora Tamil and Muslim investments? This is why ethnic reconciliation needs to become a necessary requirement for success in economic struggle. 

But already a few communal hate mongers have started rekindling the fear of separatism and they are making a mountain out of molehill about the omission of Muslim representation in the Cabinet. True, such representation from all communities could be a good public relations exercise. Many of the former Governments did exactly that. But did that solve the ethnic problem? Weren’t Tamils and Muslims subjected to cycles of organised violence watched by security forces? What did those Muslim and Tamil ministers do to prevent those episodes except to visit the scenes of violence once everything quietened down? 

But as long as cabinet ministers and officials under their portfolio abide by the law and made answerable to any breaches and as long as the judiciary remains free from political interference should it matter whether a minister is a Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim? Ethnic reconciliation and economic development are therefore inseparable. To put it bluntly, without ethnic reconciliation Sri Lanka’s economic struggle cannot be won. Hence, the priority for it in NPP’s agenda for year 2025.  

IMF trap

But the economy itself requires special attention, because voters are expecting quick relief from punishing cost of living and falling real income. But the major problem is the IMF trap. NPP, despite canvassing before the election that it would renegotiate some of IMF’s conditionalities, decided in the end not to do so, and pragmatism dictated to go along with that agenda almost to the end. This is however not the same as treading along the path that Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) laid out, as his supporters are claiming. Because even IMF was disappointed with RW’s incompetence to tackle corruption and reform governance. 

How could he when he was promoting corruption and protecting the corrupt under his wings? Didn’t the CBSL bond scam take place when he was the Prime Minister? Who except him protected all those who bankrupted the Treasury and the economy so that he could win their support when needed to survive as President? But the fact that NPP straight away launched its anti-corruption campaign and governance reforms was welcomed by IMF and with that campaign the IMF agenda should produce better results than without it. 

Yet, that alone is insufficient. Government needs extra resources to invest in and to rejuvenate the neglected local production sector particularly food production. IMF is not concerned about this. With food production turning into a gamble with climate in many poor countries there seems to be a hidden agenda among rich nations not unknown to IMF to convert those countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America into consumers of factory produced food by MNCs in rich nations. The agreement arrived few days ago at CoP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan to offer financial assistance of an annual sum of $ 300 billion for the next 10 years as compensation to poor nations for the environmental havoc caused by the four industrial revolutions and environmentally unfriendly scientific and technological advancement in rich countries was really an “insult” as some delegates from the poor nations called it. 

This is why food security should become the primary target on NPP’s economic agenda. Why not encourage diaspora Sri Lankans to invest in this sector? The east and parts of the north in particular, could become a granary supplying the bulk of the nation’s victuals. But the ethnic disharmony fed by a racially determined system of land distribution in these provinces has prevented this becoming a reality. Absence of ethnic reconciliation which cripples the synergy from collective participation has therefore become the enemy of economic development. Will year 2025 under NPP put an end to this curse? 

(The writer is attached to Business School, Murdoch University, W. Australia.)