Moving beyond conflict

By Cassandra Mascarenhas

The end of a long period of conflict brings many factors that need to be addressed. The multitude of issues that arise in a post-conflict situation is not easy to manage and requires time. Failure to address these adequately and speedily can result in agitation from the public and drive away potential investors.

International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research Head Dr. Rohan Guneratne as one of the keynote speakers for the second plenary session praised the country’s efforts at successfully providing humanitarian assistance to the influx of civilians who required rehabilitation, providing ample rehabilitation for Tamil Tigers by harnessing the private sector and other communities and for giving vocational training to assist them in going back to leading normal lives.

However, he urged the entrepreneurs who braved the conflict in the south to go to the north and the east.

“The economic bridge between the north and south has not been created yet and this needs to be done urgently. The Government faces many challenges in the area of political stability. The TNA is still sectarian party. It is important to groom a new set of young Tamil leaders and I believe that this is one of biggest challenges that the country faces because many of the bright and brilliant Tamils were killed by the LTTE,” he stated.

Guneratne called for the Government to encourage young Tamil professionals to join political parties and encourage the formation of more political parties in order to maintain long-term political stability.

“Sri Lanka still faces many challenges other than creating a mainstream Tamil leadership. We need to fight corruption which has been a feature of South Asian lives. Rule of law is essential and there is a need for more investment in this sphere. As we move towards reconciling the hearts and minds if the people in the country, let us not forget that while the people in the North suffered the most, the people in the South suffered too and I feel that we need to invest more in reconciliation and the organisations that work towards furthering it and start creating that bridge between the North and the South,” he added.

Up next, the second keynote speaker for the session High Commission of the Republic of Rwanda High Commissioner William Nkurunziza first shared Rwanda’s own experience of rehabilitation after the conflict they suffered from.

How do you reconstruct and rebuild for prosperity without the requisite resources? Managing a post conflict state is complicated, made more so by the presence of external involvement.

For Rwandans who lived through the nightmare, who saw their nation and lives reduced to rubble, the fall of the genocidal regime in 1994 was momentous but it also presented monumental challenges such as how do you turn around a failed state, how do you secure your peace while the genocidal forces are regrouping across the border with the support of their traditional friend, how do you heal without fomenting revenge, how do you rebuild institutions without capacity and how do you reconstruct and rebuild for prosperity without resources.

“Managing a post-conflict state is complicated not only by internal contradictions but also by the crisis of confidence in the external environment about the suitability and sustainability of internal efforts. A country under reconstruction tends to become a target of the subjective, often uniformed, ranting of non-state actors, who have the resources and network to sway both media and public opinion in foreign capitals. This tends to dampen early efforts at international relations,” he cautioned.

Nkurunziza went on to list out a couple of points to keep in mind in the process of rehabilitation and reconciliation:

• No adversity is too huge handle or too complex to solve if people work together.

• Effective post-conflict management must be internally owned. No one else will fix your rot. While outsiders may have a view or hold out a hand of support, you, as a people, must put your shoulders against the wheel and break the first sweat. Be masters of the lives, not visitors in life!

• You must build your peace on the foundation of restorative and not punitive justice. Indeed, peace in a necessary condition for economic development.

• In a post-conflict condition, you must seek consensus to heal and build, instead of confrontation to wreck up old wounds. In our case, the politics of confrontation would have driven us into a vicious circle of recrimination and potentially down the path of self-annihilation.

• You must empower people, especially the young as the inheritors of your collective future, and make them agents of governance and not subjects to be governed, and finally,

• Your must define your narrative, your vision, and articulate it together.

“The new Rwanda leadership focused more on what needs to be done internally, in particular before you talk you must first do enough in your own country to use as a basis for your own narrative. Emphasis was placed on ensuring that survivors of the genocide will be attended to at times to ensure that their voices were heard and through systems of governance set to empower the people. Moving from conflict to rehabilitation you need to empower the private sector to be the engine of growth,” the high commissioner said.

Panel discussion

The two speeches were followed by a panel discussion featuring the keynote speakers along with High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa Geoffrey Quinton M. Doidge, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Past Chairman Deva Rodrigo and Ministry of External Affairs Director General Ahamed Lebbe Sabarullah Khan and was moderated by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Secretary General/CEO Harin Malwatte

Q: How important are the implementations of the LLRC recommendations and what challenges may we face in the implementation?

Rodrigo: The LLRC is a good first step although there was apprehension about its composition overseas. The governments that criticised it are now calling for its implementation. I think at the private sector level, we establish relationships with people overseas and these have become very strong bonds and through that we can spread the word of what is happening in the country now. The chambers get to communicate with very influential people in other countries and as for embassies, there is a commercial person from the private sector and they are able while promoting trade and investment, to talk about our reconciliation efforts.

Malwatte: We have to be sensitive about the local situation. If we hurry, we may lose important opportunities and we have to take every step carefully. I’m confident that the current government is strong enough to bring about the needed reconciliation. The processes are going on at their own pace which appear to be satisfying but at the same time we have to be mindful of the local situation.

Guneratne: LLRC is the best roadmap available for Sri Lanka to move forward and I believe that it has given a very fair hearing to everyone. There may be some areas that will be difficult to implement in the short term. The LLRC provides a step by step guide to bring about long term stability to Sri Lanka but there are some recommendations that can’t be implemented in the short term and therefore this will reuire a lot of time.

Q: Can you tell us about the truth and reconciliation settlement?

Doidge: In it, it is outlawed to discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, culture etc. and that was the first cornerstone of reconciliation in South Africa. The LLRC has not dealt with the issue of accountability whereas the TRC dealt with far more aspects and we are offering to share the TRC with the Government of Sri Lanka but you must also that as businesses remember that you are part of the global community.

You have a Diaspora that is a reality. We engage regularly with the African Diaspora and you need to ask yourselves if you are dealing with them. Long after the TRC closed its books, its recommendations are still being implemented. Move beyond the suspicion that exists and consider yourself as a global player as I believe that Sri Lanka has the potential for it – you need to face some of your realities. Don’t waste time defending yourself, get on with the recommendations.

Q: Do you feel there is sufficient space for engagement for the private sector?

Rodrigo: We can do a lot ourselves first by engaging with the people who were isolated and divided due to the war by giving them employment. The civil society orgs can do a great deal. The private sector can also tell the Government what more that can be done. We have to come to terms with the past – we have to recognise the atrocities, respect the dead – which is not happening.

Q: A lot of our diplomats are political appointees – are they qualified to do the job entrusted to them?

Khan: The appointing authority is the President and he has a good idea of what role has to be played by the appointees and I have faith in them.

Q: What are your thoughts on building a Sri Lankan identity?

Rodrigo: It should be a sincere effort coming right from the top and should permeate to various levels of Government, the private sector and all people. Then only will the people in the North who are not convinced that this is not a genuine reconciliation effort will be assured that their lives will be protected and will be offered equal opportunities. I think this is key to move on beyond the conflict.

Q: Sri Lanka has done well but the international community doesn’t seem to accept this position?

Guneratne: The Government failed miserably in countering the anti-Government propaganda which is mostly misinformation. Part of that responsibility perhaps rests in the failure of the President to appoint appropriate people to head our diplomatic missions. The failure of the Government to counter the misinformation has really affected Sri Lanka.