Sri Lankan reform shelved, but not dead yet

The Government bowed on Tuesday to opposition inside and outside Parliament, and postponed a debate and vote on the new Constitution which has been under discussion for five years.

The surprise decision came as thousands of Buddhist monks and Sinhala nationalists protested on the streets of Colombo, and dealt an embarassing blow to President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s Government, ahead of general elections, due this year.

Analysts said that while the Government had been keen to push the Constitution through Parliament with an eye on the elections, its decision to shelve the debate gave it an opportunity to bring on board broader pubic opinion.

“This may be a blessing in disguise and give the Government room to amend the law in order to muster more support for it, particularly from the Tamil parties,” said Kethesh Loganathan of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, an independent think-tank.

The proposed Constitution aims to devolve powers to regions, including one administered by Tamils, in an effort to give the minority a political alternative to the separatist Libration Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The LTTE have been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka’s North and East since 1983.

Mainline Tamil parties and the LTTE have rejected the proposed Constitution, saying it did not meet the political aspirations of the minority.

Nationalists among the largely Buddhist Sinhalese majority fear that the greater autonomy, which the new basic law would give the regions, would lead to division of the country.

Kumaratunga now has two choices — to still try muster the two-thirds’ support needed to pass the Constitution in the current Parliament, or seek a fresh mandate on a peace platform and, if successful, reintroduce an amended version in the new House.

Parliament’s current term ends in two weeks’ time, and fresh elections are due by November.

The main Opposition, the United National Party (UNP), which after talks with the government aimed at reaching a consensus on the document, pulled its support, has sounded an optimistic note.

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament that agreement on several issues enshrined in the document was a landmark in Sri Lankan history.

“If we build on this concord, bringing the other political parties, the clergy, including the (Buddhist) Maha Sangha, and the civil society, we can thereby create a broad consensus to start discussions with the LTTE,” he said.

“This is the only way we can achieve a political solution without dividing the country.”

Mainline Tamil parties have offered Kumaratunga support if she agreed to give the country a more federal structure.

The UNP withdrew its support after saying the Government had not first discussed the document with the LTTE and that it had included clauses on which the two parties had not agreed.

Analysts said a lack of consensus between the two main Sinhala parties over the basic law would increase the danger of it becoming another failed experiment to heal the bitterly-divided country.

The Constitution under discussion is the fourth for Sri Lanka in its 52 years of independence.

The previous two constitutions were passed by governments with huge parliamentary majorities and did not take into account the aspirations of the minority, fuelling Tamil militancy.

“There are no quick fixes, but at least we are sure that this document will be the minimum starting-point whenever the constitution comes for discussion again,” said a Tamil politician.