A metaphor for the enemy
The SLFP proposals have been denounced as setting the peace process back 25 years. And yet the JVP says they are giving too much. Truly we are polarized. Part of the problem I think is that we do not have a metaphor for the LTTE. Who are they? Are they a bunch of terrorists who have to be taught a lesson? Are we trying to rescue the Tamil people from the jaws of the LTTE? Or are they the genuine (even if not sole) representatives of the Tamil people? They are banned in many Western countries, but not in Sri Lanka; if they were, we could not think of talking to them, and even President Rajapakse says he is willing to talk to them.
by Professor Priyan Dias
We are hemmed in on every side these days. There are unprecedented air strikes from the Tigers – and even just the rumour of a strike is enough to cripple the economy through flight diversions and flight of capital (and tourists). The international community has blacklisted us for our human rights record. And on top of it all, the average citizen is battered by the rising cost of living. Even nature seems to be against us, heaping disaster after disaster upon us, as if in judgment for our sins.
The war seems to be the key – we must stop the war. But how can we do that when we cannot agree on peace? And as so many have said in the past, we cannot have a military solution – that will only postpone inevitable recurrence. The Sri Lankan state defeated the JVP militarily in 1972, only to have it re-emerge in 1988. But it seems we learn from history that we learn nothing from history.
The SLFP proposals have been denounced as setting the peace process back 25 years. And yet the JVP says they are giving too much. Truly we are polarized. Part of the problem I think is that we do not have a metaphor for the LTTE. Who are they? Are they a bunch of terrorists who have to be taught a lesson? Are we trying to rescue the Tamil people from the jaws of the LTTE? Or are they the genuine (even if not sole) representatives of the Tamil people? They are banned in many Western countries, but not in Sri Lanka; if they were, we could not think of talking to them, and even President Rajapakse says he is willing to talk to them.
Our President recently met the Pope, who had apparently asked him to clean up our human rights record. Many newspapers squealed, asking why the Pontiff does not tell the LTTE that. That’s precisely the point – he can’t, because the LTTE is not a legitimate state (I hope to goodness that VP does not get an audience with his Holiness). On the other hand, we are a legitimate state (though perilously close to being a “failed” one), and legitimacy brings responsibility, not to mention foreign aid. This asymmetry is very frustrating of course: “How can they get away with it, while we are pulled up for the slightest infringement?”, but the reality is that we are not playing a game of cricket or soccer.
This brings me to my metaphor. I suggest we treat the LTTE as a trade union, with the Sri Lankan state being the management of Sri Lanka Ltd. No metaphor is perfect and I should apologize at the outset to any dedicated trade unionist who is offended – trade unions are good things. I do not want to be derogatory of Tamils either, categorizing them all as workers – we do of course hear many of them describing the state as a “Sinhala State”. But let me continue.
Trade unions arise because of real or perceived injustice. And let me state categorically that injustice there is in this country. I will not talk so much of racial injustice because that will divide my readership (and I want to keep them united as far as possible). But if there is any phrase that captures the biggest injustice in this country, it is one taken (and slightly paraphrased) from the Youth Commission report of 1990 – “Colombata kiri; gamata kekiri”, i.e. regional injustice, with Colombo being developed disproportionately at the cost of our villages. So, seen in this light there is common cause for both JVP and LTTE uprisings – lack of opportunities for the peripheries. And given that Tamil areas are solely in the peripheries (and that Colombo is in the Sinhala South), the regional disparity felt and represented by the LTTE is probably greater than that felt by the JVP.
Now trade unions find it very difficult to convince management about the injustice they experience. Management is often cushioned by their plush offices, luxurious homes and chauffeur driven vehicles. They think that the workers owe them a debt of gratitude for the employment they have, rather than seeing the workers as the source of their own comfortable lifestyles. So trade unions resort to shock tactics. They may strike work and down tools. In order to do this, they may violate human rights somewhat by persuading every worker to strike – forced conscription in other words. At times the trade union may get some of the more vociferous workers to surround the managing director so that he is a virtual hostage in his office. They may even instigate workers to damage company property – so very counterproductive and such distasteful violence, but all in an attempt to get management to hear their cry for justice. In most cases there is generally some genuine underlying grievance – otherwise the trade union leaders will not be able to mobilize mass support. However, in a curious sort of way the hard core trade union leadership may in fact NOT want management to be sympathetic, because such lack of sympathy will give them greater scope to lead the struggle against the oppressors and legitimize their own existence – i.e. they may not have any work skills apart from trade union work!
Management on the other hand must keep their cool. They have to recognize that they need the workers for the company to survive. They have Human Resource Departments to instruct them in conflict resolution. Psychology is resorted to. By NO means however can management resort to the tactics of the workers (e.g. terrorizing the trade union leader’s family) – their legitimacy precludes them from doing so. They must of course be firm. Baton charges and tear gas are fair game if the protestors get out of hand. But nowadays management must have sensitivity to ascertain whether there is a genuine basis for worker dissatisfaction, i.e. whether there is in fact injustice, if they want to solve the industrial dispute. They are also masterful at taking the wind out of the sails of trade union leaders by making appropriate concessions to worker demands. The era of riding roughshod over workers is over. Management must sign collective agreements in consultation with the workers’ representatives, because they recognize that workers are also an integral part of the company. One cannot have a company with managers alone.
Sri Lanka Ltd. does not seem to have good management. We have heard people say that Sri Lanka is for the Sinhalese and that our problems would be solved if everyone spoke Sinhala. The only psychology they practice seems to be that of repression. They fight even dirtier than our opponents, actively promoting Karuna (financed under our noses through ransoms, with or without abductions of Tamil businessmen) against VP. Some of them still say that this country has merely a terrorist problem and not an ethnic one. They allow VP to increase his legitimacy by alienating the Tamil people – bombing them in the North and East and harassing them in the South. And we just do not seem able to draft anything akin to a collective agreement – everything we write creates the opposite. This is why our company is on the brink of bankruptcy.
This is a small contribution to highlight the asymmetry between the legitimate Sri Lankan state and the renegade LTTE. The latter can get away with violating human rights to an extent; the Sri Lankan state can NOT. I am not precluding limited military offensives against the LTTE, but we should bomb only if we are sure about civilian immunity. (By the way, why is no one bombing the LTTE airfields? I doubt there are many civilians close by.) Neither am I precluding cordon and search operations, but we must be extremely polite in the process, and talk to Tamils in Tamil if they don’t know Sinhala or English. (How about giving Tamil lessons as part of the basic training for soldiers?)
It is our self imposed restraint in order to uphold human rights that will give us continued legitimacy, while taking it away from the LTTE. Despite such constraints, the Sri Lankan state should be able to come up with a win-win solution, because private sector companies do so all the time. Perhaps the state needs a Human Resources Department. Also, given that my metaphor constitutes a largely private sector phenomenon, maybe that sector can be consulted on how to deal with the above asymmetry. I am not saying that the private sector is God’s gift to mankind, but it counts my two siblings in its ranks, so there must be some good in it. [island.lk]
