“Trapped In Constituency Politics”
By Laksiri Fernando -July 19, 2012
Dr. Laksiri Fernando
Raj Gonsalkorale’s recent article titled “Sri Lanka trapped in constituency politics; A point of view” (Asian Tribune, 16 June 2012) merits serious thought both by the Sinhala and Tamil intellectuals and those who wish to promote reconciliation in the country. By subtitling the article as “a point of view,” he has shown that his views are not rigid, but subject to change and debate. As far as I know, Gonsalkorale is one of the pioneers of the Sri Lanka Reconciliation Forum in Sydney, Australia, formed in 2009, and therefore his efforts are not merely theoretical but practical to see some progress in the reconciliation front in tangible measure.
The basic premise of the article perhaps is indisputable that Sri Lanka is unfortunately trapped in constituency politics. While he admits that there can be some inevitability in this constituency formation in the country, the main thrust of the argument is that ‘the trap’ perhaps is the main reason for the conflict, engineered and exacerbated by the politicians. Although in the latter part of the article, he has paid some attention to the Muslim constituency in the country, the main theme of the article rotates around the bi-polar conflict or the polarization between the two major constituencies, the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
