Vasudeva And Putting Social Integration Policy Into Act
The national social integration policy of the government is the latest in its multi-pronged effort to affirm and reaffirm its commitment to improvement in practices of governance and making Sri Lanka the home of all Sri Lankans. It comes at a time when the flight of boat people from Sri Lanka to Western countries has reached a level that is attracting international media attention that is not complimentary to the country. Less visible is the brain drain that is depleting the country of its best human resources as I discovered over the weekend to my dismay when I rang up to make an urgent appointment with my doctor. The launch of the National Policy Framework for Social Integration that took place at the President’s House in Temple Trees follows the report of the Lessons Learn and Reconciliation Commission which was validated by the UN Human Rights Council in March and the National Human Rights Action Plan to be submitted at its forthcoming meeting in November. It was also significant that the launch took place on July 16, exactly a week before the anniversary of the anti-Tamil pogrom that commenced on July 23, 1983 that spelled the disintegration of a democratic and plural society.
Jehan Perera
The national social integration policy of the government is the latest in its multi-pronged effort to affirm and reaffirm its commitment to improvement in practices of governance and making Sri Lanka the home of all Sri Lankans. It comes at a time when the flight of boat people from Sri Lanka to Western countries has reached a level that is attracting international media attention that is not complimentary to the country. Less visible is the brain drain that is depleting the country of its best human resources as I discovered over the weekend to my dismay when I rang up to make an urgent appointment with my doctor. The launch of the National Policy Framework for Social Integration that took place at the President’s House in Temple Trees follows the report of the Lessons Learn and Reconciliation Commission which was validated by the UN Human Rights Council in March and the National Human Rights Action Plan to be submitted at its forthcoming meeting in November. It was also significant that the launch took place on July 16, exactly a week before the anniversary of the anti-Tamil pogrom that commenced on July 23, 1983 that spelled the disintegration of a democratic and plural society.
The policy on social integration was prepared under the auspices of the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration with technical backing from the German government. The policy framework document states that it intends to “safeguard fundamental and human rights and promote social and legal protection and foster cohesion, harmony and inclusiveness through the assurance of socio-economic well being and social justice.” The government could not have selected a more appropriate person than Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara, to lead the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration and to promote social integration amongst the diverse components of the Sri Lankan population. As a left-oriented politician with a Marxist background, Minister Nanayakkara has been one of Sri Lanka’s most respected proponents of universalistic and people-centred thinking that transcend existing social and political structures.
Those who aim for conflict resolution in Sri Lanka need to take into consideration the fact that successive governments, including the present one, have encountered seemingly insuperable difficulties when it comes to addressing ethnic issues. Therefore an over-concentrated focus on the ethnic conflict has not been a recipe for political success or even for obtaining widespread public support. It has instead tended to exacerbate ethnic polarization still further, whereby any solution that is proposed to the specific problems of the ethnic minorities is perceived to be detrimental to the interests of the ethnic majority. An alternative approach would be to aim to remedy problems that are common to all communities, and not only to the ethnic minorities. Such an approach would identify the discriminatory practices that impact negatively upon some members of all ethnic communities, be they religious, economic, class or caste, and deal with them in a comprehensive manner.
