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UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206promote equity in development and language policies have been revised, there is still need ofgreater committed concern to ensure equity.16.2. IdentityIn order to rectify the above scenario, it is necessary that the State works towards inculcatinga culture where each citizen becomes an active participant in society and feels a sense ofbelonging and of being Sri Lankan. To this end, the State should make every effort to identifyand address the social, economic and political structures which caused dissension betweencommunities in the first place.Further, the Government needs to ensure equitable resource allocation and developmentof villages, bearing in mind that the reverse could lead to frustration and communal tension inclusters of villages dominated by different ethnic communities, particularly in the Easternprovince of the country.Moreover, building ownership is critical to safeguard sustainability of initiatives andhence every effort should be made to ensure that future development activities are carried outin consultation and with the participation of the local people so as to build ownership to thedevelopment activities, as well as give them a sense of participation in nation building. 148Recognizing that the ensuing minority grievances stem from deficiencies in the systemof administration and lack of good governance that affect all citizens regardless of ethnicity,will guarantee that every citizen who has a grievance out of any executive or administrativeact, particularly those based on ethnicity or religion, should have the right to seek redressbefore an independent institution.16.3. Public ServiceEfforts should be made to make the public service and the police inclusive of all communitieswith special attention to ensuring adequate representation of the population in any area.Though this should not depart from the principle of merit based recruitment and promotion,positive discrimination may be necessary for a limited period to restore the balance withregard to services where currently such balance is lacking.To this end, measures should be taken to take further current measures for recruitmentof Tamil speaking police officers; Recruitment to the police and armed services of Tamils andTamil speaking citizens, with particular attention to officer cadres, should be accelerated. 149Recognizing that an independent permanent Police Commission is a pre-requisite toguarantee the effective functioning of the Police and to generate public confidence, theGovernment must make every effort to empower such a Police Commission to monitor theperformance of the Police Service and ensure that all police officers act independently andmaintain a high degree of professional conduct. This will increase the confidence of theminorities in the impartiality of the Police.148 Salma Yusuf: "Sri Lanka’s tryst with Reconciliation: Where are we today?", Groundviews, 31 January 2013,at http://groundviews.org/2013/01/31/sri-lankas-tryst-with-reconciliation-where-are-we-today/.149"Sweeping Reforms including Senate for Reconciliation", The Sunday Times, 11 March 2012, athttp://www.sundaytimes.lk/120311/News/nws_04.html; National Policy on Reconciliation, Final Draft, Peace inSri Lanka, August 2012, at http://www.peaceinsrilanka.lk/human-rights/national-policy-on-reconciliation-finaldraft-august-2012.216
UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-220616.4. EducationBearing in mind the significant lapse of time since the introduction of standardization as ameans of affirmative action by the State to mitigate the imbalance in educational opportunitiesafforded to different communities, it is time that the State, in the best interests of futuregenerations undertakes a careful review of this quota system and works towards theintroduction of a merit-based admissions system.Coupled with the above, the Government must actively pursue a programme ofequitable distribution of educational facilities and make a concerted effort to minimize anyfeeling of discrimination felt by the minorities. Further, the Government should make everyeffort to ensure that the inequality in the availability of educational facilities in different areasof the country is reduced and eventually eliminated.More importantly, the Government must explicitly and unequivocally convey to thepublic that it strongly discourages disqualifying students on ethnic or religious grounds, inrespect of admission to schools, as being a significant impediment to reconciliation.Additionally, the Government must reinforce its commitment to developing a pro-activepolicy to encourage mixed schools serving children from different ethnic and religiousbackgrounds. Such a policy must be implemented in such a manner so as to facilitate theadmission of children from different ethnic and religious groups to these schools.To make the above a reality, simple measures need to be worked out includingassurance that at least bilingualism in the public service and other professions serving thepublic is required, whilst nationally the culture of tri-lingualism should be fostered by makingpasses in any two of the National Languages compulsory, along with Mathematics, at theGCE Ordinary Level Examination. 15016.5. The ConstitutionIt is acknowledged that grievances have been exacerbated by a sense of frustration that thepolitical process has been hijacked by those in power. This contributed also to two youthinsurrections in the South of the country, but this sense in the North has been reinforced bythe absence of political leaders from that area contributing to decision making, with regardboth to national questions as well as those affecting the regions.In addition, it is generally accepted that decision making on many matters cannot be leftto central government, which is often unaware of the ground situation, and has little politicalincentive to provide swift solutions to problems. 151 This makes both devolution with regard topolicy decisions in certain matters and decentralization to ensure swift responses in mostareas, a matter of urgency. The ideal therefore is three tiers of government with clear-cutresponsibilities and systems of accountability, to ensure the best possible service to thepeople. 152150 Ibid.151 Yusuf, Salma: "Sri Lanka’s tryst with Reconciliation: Where are we today?", Groundviews, 31 January 2013,Available at http://groundviews.org/2013/01/31/sri-lankas-tryst-with-reconciliation-where-are-we-today/.152 Sweeping Reforms including Senate for Reconciliation, The Sunday Times, 11 March 2012, available at:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120311/News/nws_04.html; National Policy on Reconciliation, Final Draft, Peace inSri Lanka, August 2012, at http://www.peaceinsrilanka.lk/human-rights/national-policy-on-reconciliation-finaldraft-august-2012.217
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ISSN 1696-2206 Nº 33 Octubre /Octo
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Juan Emilio CheyreDirector, Center
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UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (O
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