PEACE LANKA: JHU opposes Provincial Council system, but supports Gram-raj

Thursday, August 21, 2008

JHU opposes Provincial Council system, but supports Gram-raj

Thu, 2008-08-21 04:45

Colombo, 21 August, (Asiantribune.com): The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the introduction of the provincial Council system was done with the brute force of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). When those amendments were introduced in the constitution, the referendum was not there. We need some referendum to ratify these kinds of things. That is why we are totally against the provincial council system, because this has not been approved by the people of the country in a referendum.Minister Champika Ranawaka: Narayanan has failed to read the new paradigm and the paradigm shift that happened in 2005.

The Minister Champika Ranawaka said that JHU opposes the present Provincial Council system and wishes to introduce Gram-raj system in the country to decentralize and devolve the power and administration to the grassroots level. This is similar to the ‘Panchayat system,’ being practiced in India.

On the India’s National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan’s recent remark, Minister Champika Ranawaka said Narayanan has failed to read the new paradigm and the paradigm shift that happened in 2005. Before 2005, in fact before the last presidential election, there was a dichotomy - the political solution and the military solution. That kind of dichotomy was based on one hypothesis that is Tamils as a nation. Tamils as a suppressed nation and has the right for self-determination and this kind of hypothesis has been rejected in the Mahinda Chinthana.

Here is the excerpts of the interview Asian Tribune had with Champika Ranawaka - Minister of Environment and Natural Resources:

Asian Tribune: There is a news report to say that JHU is opposing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Is it correct?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: No, that is not the position. It has been recorded that the APRC has decided to implement the 13th amendment in full in toto. But our position is that no such decision is made at the APRC. The only thing that has been agreed is to the endeavor to implement of 13th amendment and we have to search for a final solution based on political consensus.

Asian Tribune: Do you have any solutions in other words, any proposals regarding this issue?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: No …no, we have proposed a system that is based on the ‘Gram-raj’, that is to decentralize and devolve the power and administration to the grassroots level. This is similar to the ‘Panchayat system,’ being practiced in India. We proposed that kind of system, because the Gram-raj system was practiced in Sri Lanka and even the British colonialists did not abolish this system because it is very much inherited from our culture and also it has been practiced for few centuries and uprooting of this kind of a system is very detrimental to the society, as well as tothe polity of this country.

Asian Tribune: Yes what do you mean by this Gram-raj system?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Gram- Raj, that is to devolve power. Ando decentralize power into a smallest possible unit. That unit may be demarcated by looking into various parameters. One such parameter would be culture, population and the resource, geography and all those factors should be considered to demarcate new local government unit. We should devolve power to those kind of units, unless otherwise the systems like Provincial Councils or District Councils are a waste of money, waste if resources and lot of administrations problems too are there. So, thing is that, if we want to solve those administration problems, as well as cultural and other problems, only if we come forward to devolve power at the grassroots level.

Asian Tribune: That means that you wants to reintroduce the village council systems that was abolished in the latter part of the 70s.

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Yes, Village Councils should be empowered.

Asian Tribue: Then again we have to come up with new proposals and new regulations and all these things?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Yes the present Parliamentary system must also be changed, with minor changes with the Executive Presidency, and we propose that there should only be one election, to elect the President or to elect the Parliament or to elect the village level or the local government level representatives. So only one election. We have proposed this to APRC.

Asian Tribune: We think that your entire proposal warrants a change in the present constitution. And we want 2/3 majority in the Parliament?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Not to introduce such a system. We don’t need 2/3 majority, but we only need to amend the Local Government Act and to empower the delimitation Commission to demarcate proper units representing their capacity to devolve. Their cultural identity to be preserved. Do you know that the Provincial Councils boundaries, District Council boundaries and the Local Government bodies boundaries – all those were demarcated by the British colonials to collect taxes. But, no scientific base for those geographical units is there. What we need is some scientific base to demarcate such units.

Asian Tribune: The electoral delimitation commission is used to be done by our own people?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Yes, but those factors are not being considered. So that commission should be empowered to look after these aspects as well and change the local government authorities’ boundaries.

Asian Tribune: Is this the permanent solution you are proposing?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: I think the various demands are there. Tamils and Tamil’s parties are generally agitated that the North and East provinces be amalgamated and more powers should be vested, with the 13 Amendment ++maybe vested with these provinces, maybe quasi-federal or con-federal type of government should be introduced in Sri Lanka. But the people are totally against that.

The 13th Amendment, the so called 13th Amendment and the introduction of the provincial council actually was introduced in Sri Lanka with the brute force of Indian Peace Keeping Force (PKF) and then UNP government so called fighting the majority, but the so the referendum was not there. We need some referendum to ratify these kinds of things. That is why we are totally against the provincial council. Because this has not been approved by the people.

Asian Tribune: Whatever said and done, this provincial council system is there for the last 20 years since 1989. There is a popular belief that it has come to stay forever ?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Practice reveal that it is a waste of time and waste of resources. Also lot of administration problems are there and the provincial council system is a total failure.

Asian Tribune: As a temporary solution to all these problems, do you have any proposals?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Yes, the problem is that any solutions should be based on majority consensus and it should be approved in a referendum, because otherwise any solution that is forced on people will not work.

Asian Tribune: Policy wise it is ok, but there is an issue of practicability?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: Yes, but any proposal has to have to majority’s approval.

Asian Tribune: I take this opportunity ask you about Mr. M.K. Narayananm the National Security Advisor of the Government of India, who in an interview with a newspaper in Malyasia has said that Sri Lanka government has no support of the Tamils?

Minister Champika Ranawaka: I think that he misinterprets what is happening here in Sri Lanka. Paradigm shift has been happening in Sri Lanka. Before 2005, before the Presidential Election, there was a dichotomy - the political solution and the military solution. That kind of dichotomy was based on one hypothesis that is Tamils as a nation. Tamils as a suppressed nation has the right for self-determination and this kind of hypothesis has been rejected in the Mahinda Chinthana. The submission is that there is no such ethnic problem here in Sri Lanka and there is no way for the homeland in north and east. And the whole Sri Lanka is a homeland for every citizens of the country.

Based on that, the so called political solution, the military solution, the dichotomy does not exist.

The new three dimensional approach was been actually introduced.

• The first is demilitarization.
• The second is democratization and
• The third is development.

That type of 3D solutions has been introduced and is being practiced now. You know that the demilitarization phase in the eastern province has been finished.

Democratization phase also being partially finished with the local authority elections and the provincial council election and the general election will be held in the Eastern province in the course of time.

The developmental phase, the reawakening of the eastern province, the development projects that is costing over SLR166 billions is being now focused.

So the similar thing will happen in the Northern Province as well.

Demilitarization phase is in focus, the democratization phase will be proceeded and the development phase will be followed, right? What matters is that Mr. Narayan could not clearly read the new paradigm and the paradigm shift that happened in 2005.

- Asian Tribune -

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The Muslims of Sri Lanka

A brief history of the Muslims of Sri Lanka Introduction courtesy http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/SriLanka/sri_lanka.html

Sri Lanka, known to the ancients as Ceylon, has been recorded in history books as a country that has had many visitations from foreign travellers throughout the ages. The people are mainly Buddhist, with a complex mixture of Hindus, Muslims, Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations. The main race are the Sinhalese while the Tamils, Muslims and Burghers (Anglo-Sri Lankans) form the remaining. The Muslims of Sri Lanka are a very small minority amounting to approximately 10% of a total population of 16 Million people. They claim descendancy from the Arab traders, who made Sri Lanka their home even before the advent of Islam. The Tamils comprise around 25% of the population.

Sri Lankan Muslims can be categorized into two distinct sub groups, the Moors and the Malays. The former is the name given to them by the Portuguese colonial rulers who used the word Moros to identify Arabs in general. The Malays are a group of Muslims who originated from Java and the Malaysian Peninsula. They differed from the Moors, both, in their physical appearance as well as in the language they spoke which was a mixture of Malay and local dialects.

The Muslims of Sri Lanka have a colorful history behind them punctuated by a long spell of hardship suffered during the Portuguese and Dutch ocupation of the Island. It is much to their credit that they withstood the onslaught of economic constraints, political intrigues and religious persecution to stay behind and survive. Most other peoples may have packed their bags and left for good. They not only saved their religion from the Christian enemies but also rebuilt the economy, slowly and steadily, by the 18th century when the British took over control of the island from the Dutch.

Being geographically isolated from the main centers of Islamic culture and civilization the Muslims of Sri Lanka were forced to interact closely with their neighbours, the Muslims of South India, in order to preserve their identity. Had they been denied this slender link, it is possible that, they may have lost their distinct Islamic character completely. However, it must be observed that this link has also caused many Indian (Hindu) traditions and rituals to creep into their culture and life style, some of which, even though vehemently anti-Islamic, are still practised to date. Lack of a correct understanding of the teachings of Islam has been the main cause of this sad situation. Having adapted to the local conditions in various ways and also contributing largely to the Islands economic prosperity, the Muslim community of Sri Lanka, unlike the Hindu Tamils of the Northern Province, has saved itself from any major clash with the indigenous Sinhalese population. They have also been able to receive a fair share in the countrs Politics and Administration by virtue of their hard work and also of being an important minority whose support has been vital to all the political groups in the country. Although it may be said that the Muslim community was not politically dominant at any stage, yet, it is certainly true that they manouvered their political activity without much noise, unlike the Tamils. This work attempts to present a brief

history of the Muslims of Sri lanka from their early Arab trader beginnings to the present day minority community that is fully integrated into the Sri Lankan society.

Historical Background Sri Lanka (previously known as Ceylon) lies of the south-east of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The pear shaped island, often referred to as the pearl of the east is separated from mainland India by a narrow strip of water called the Palk Straits. Being in such close proximity to and having such easy access from India, it might be expected that Sri Lanka received a large number of migrants from its neighbour from pre-historic times. The original inhabitants of the island are believd to be an aboriginal tribe called the Veddahs. The Sinhalese, presently the majority community, are supposed to be the descendants of the colonists, led by Vijaya, from the valley of the Ganges who settled in the island around the 6th century B.C. Sinhala, the language of the Sinhalese, is an Aryan language, closely related to Pali. Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa during the period 307-267 B.C. Trade relations between India and Sri Lanka are traced to the 3rd century B.C. Historians have not been able to pin-point the actual date of establishment of Tamil settlements in Sri Lanka. However, during the 3rd century B.C. a Tamil General, Elara, set up a Tamil Kingdom at Anuradhapura, in the North Central Province, and ruled there for 44 years. He earned a reputation for his just and impartial administration among the Sinhalese and Tamils and was thus called Elara the Just.

The strategic location of the island, in the Indian Ocean, together with some of the coveted goods it produced, resulted in a fair degree of foreign trade even from ancient times. The Romans discovered the commercial value of Sri Lanka in the first century A.D. and the island was visited by Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, and Chinese traders. Sri Lankas trade offering included Cinnamon, which grew wild in the forests of the wet zone, precious stones, pearls, elephants and ivory.

While most of the traders were only visitors to the island, who made their fortunes and left, it was the Arabs who settled down, making Ceylon their home. Furthermore as the Muslims of Sri lanka claim their desecndancy from the Arabs it is imprtant to look at the information available on the advent of the Arabs to the island.

The Arabs: The Tamils of Sri Lanka, throughout history, have attempted to categorize the Sri Lankan Muslims as belonging to the Tamil race. This has been mainly for selfish reasons in a bid to eliminate the minority Muslim community from having its own unique identity. The Government of Sri Lanka, however, treats the Muslims as of Arab origin and as a distinct ethnic group from the Tamils.

Fr. S.G. Perera in his book -History of Ceylon for Schools- Vol. 1. The Portuguese and Dutch Periods, (1505-1796), Colombo (1955), The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., p 16, writes,

-The first mention of Arabs in Ceylon appears to be in the Mahavansa (Ancient Sri Lankan history) account of the reign of the King Pandukabhaya, where it is stated that this king set apart land for the Yonas (Muslims) at Anuradhapura-

With the decline of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century A.D., Roman trade also died out and the Arabs and Persians filled up the vacuum; engaging in a rapidly growing inter-coastal trade. After the conquest of Persia (Iran), Syria and Egypt, the Arabs controlled all the important ports and trading stations between East and West. It is estimated that the Arabs had settled in Sri Lanka and Sumatra by the 1st century A.D. K.M. De Silvas, Historical Survey, Sri Lanka - A Survey, London (1977), C. Hurst & Co. Ltd., p 50, states, -by about the 8th century A.D., the Arabs had formed colonies at the important ports of India, Ceylon and the East Indies. The presence of the Arabs at the ports of Ceylon is attested to by at least three inscriptions discovered at Colombo, Trincomalee and the island of Puliantivu-

The manner in which Islam developed in Sri lanka is very closely similar to that on the Malabar coast of India. Tradition has recorded that Arabs who had settled down on the Malabar coast used to travel from the port of Cranganore to Sri lanka on piligrimage to pay homage to what they believed to be the foot-print of Adam on the top of a montain, which, until today, is called Adams Peak.

Ibn Batuta, the famous 14th. century Arab traveller, has recorded many facets about early Arab influence in Sri lanka in his travelogues.

Before the end of the 7th. century, a colony of Muslim merchants had established themselves in Ceylon. Fascinated by the scenic splendour and captivated by the traditions associated with Adams Peak, Muslim merchants arrived in large numbers and some of them decided to settle in the island encouraged by the cordial treatement they received by the local rulers. Most of them lived along the coastal areas in peace and prosperity, maintaining contacts, both cultural and commercial, with Baghdad and other Islamic cities.

According to Tikiri Abeyasinghe in his Portuguese Rule in Ceylon, 1594-1612, Colombo (1966), Lake House Investments Ltd., p 192, tradition has it that,

-the first Mohammadans of Ceylon were a portion of those Arabs of the House of Hashim, who were driven from Arabia in the early part of the 8th. century by the tyranny of the Caliph, Abdel Malik bin Marwan, and who proceeding from the Euphrates southwards made settlements in the concan in the southern parts of the peninsula of India, on the island of Ceylon and Malacca. The division of them which came to Ceylon formed eight considerable settlements along the Nort-East, North and Western coast of that island; viz., one at Trincomalee, one at Jaffna, one at Colombo, one at barbareen, and one at Point de Galle.-

It is perhaps reasonable, therefore, to assume that the Arabs, professing the religion of Islam, arrived in Sri Lanka around the 7th./8th. century A.D. even though there was a settled community of Arabs in Ceylon in pre-Islamic times.

The circumstances that helped the growth of Muslim settlements were varied. The Sinhalese were not interested in trade and were content in tilling the soil and growing cattle. Trade was thus wide open to the Muslims. the Sinhalese Kings considered the Muslim settlements favorably on account of the revenue that they brought them through their contacts overseas both in trade and in politics. The religious tolerance of the local population was also another vital factor in the development of Muslim settlements in Ceylon. The early Muslim settlements were set up, mainly, around ports on account of the nature of their trade. It is also assumed that many of the Arab traders may not have brought their womenfolk along with them when they settled in Ceylon. Hence they would have been compelled to marry the Sinhalese and Tamil women of the island after converting them to Islam. The fact that a large number of Muslims in Sri Lanka speak the Tamil language can be attributed to the possibility that they were trading partners with the Tamils of South India and had to learn Tamil to successfully transact their business. The integration with the Muslims of Tamil Nadu, in South India, may have also contributed to this. It is also possible that the Arabs who had already migrated to Ceylon, prior to Islam, had adopted the Tamil language as a medium of communication in their intercourse with the Tamil speaking Muslims of South India. The Muslims were very skilful traders who gradually builtup a very lucrative trading post in Ceylon. A whole colony of Muslims is said to have landed at Beruwela (South Western coast) in the Kalutara District in 1024 A.D.

The Muslims did not indulge in propagating Islam amongst the natives of ceylon even though many of the women they married did convert. Islam did attract the less privileged low caste members of the Tamil community who found the factor of equality a blessing for their status and well-being.

There is also a report in the history of Sri Lanka of a Muslim Ruler, Vathimi Raja, who reigned at Kurunegala (North Central Province) in the 14th. century. This factor cannot be found in history books due to their omission, for reasons unknown, by modern authors. Vathimi Raja was the son of King Bhuvaneka Bahu I, by a Muslim spouse, the daughter of one of the chiefs. The Sinhalese son of King Bhuvaneka Bahu I, Parakrama Bahu III, the real heir to the throne was crowned at Dambadeniya under the name of Pandita Parakrama Bahu III. In order to be rid of his step brother, Vathimi Raja, he ordered that his eyes be gouged out. It is held that the author of the Mahavansa (ancient history of Ceylon) had suppressed the recording of this disgraceful incident. the British transaletor, Mudaliyar Wijesinghe states that original Ola (leaf script) was bodily removed from the writings and fiction inserted instead. The blinded Vathimi Raja (Bhuvaneka Bahu II or Al-Konar, abbreviated from Al-Langar-Konar, meaning Chief of Lanka of Alakeshwara) was seen by the Arab traveller Ibn Batuta during his visit to the island in 1344. His son named Parakrama Bahu II (Alakeshwara II) was also a Muslim. The lineage of Alakeshwara kings (of Muslim origin) ended in 1410. Although all the kings during this reign may not have been Muslims, the absence of the prefix -Shri Sangha Bodhi- (pertaining to the disciples of the Buddha) to the name of these kings on the rock inscriptions during this hundred year period may be considered as an indicator that they were not Buddhists. Further during Ibn Batutas visit a Muslim ruler called Jalasthi is reported to have been holding Colombo, maintaining his hold over the town with a garrison of about 500 Abyssinians.

In spite of this the Mulsims have always been maintaining very cordial relationships with the Sinhalese Royalty and the local population. There is evidence that they were more closer to the Sinhalese than they were to the Tamils. The Muslims relationship with the Sinhalese kings grew stronger and in the 14th. century they even fought with them against the expanding Tamil kingdom and its maritime influence.

By the beginning of the 16th. century, the Muslims of Sri Lanka, the descendants of the original Arab traders, had settled down comfortably in the island. They were evry successful in trade and commerce and integrated socially with the customs of the local people. They had become an inseparable, and even more, an indispensable part of the society. This period was one of ascendancy in peace and prosperity for the Sri Lankan Muslims. The Malays:

Sri Lankan Muslims include the Malays although they form a separate group by themselves. Even the earliest census of Sri Lanka (1881) lists the Muslims as Moors and Malays separately. Malays too, follow the Islamic religion just like the Moors. The real beginning of the Malays in Sri Lanka dates back to the 13th. century. Husseinmiya writes,

-The definite arrival of Malays in Sri Lanka took place in the 13th. century. Chandra Bhanu, the Malay King of Nakhon Sri Dhammarat in the Isthmus of Kra on the Malay Peninsula invaded Sri Lanka in A.D. 1247, with Malay soldiers. He was determined to possess the relics of the Buddha from the Sinhalese kingdom. In a second invasion he brought soldiers from India-.

Chandra Bhanus 50 year rule of northern Ceylon in the 13th. century is remembered by such place names as Java Patnam (Jaffna), Java Kachcheri (Chavakachcheri), Hambantota etc. Most authors have, yet, linked the origin of the Malays in Ceylon to the period when the uisland was ruled by the Dutch. Murad Jayah in -The plight of the Ceylon Malays today-, MICH Silver Jubilee Souvenir, 1944-1969, Colombo (1970), p 70, writes,

-In 1709 Susana Mangkurat Mas, king of Java, was exiled to Sri Lanka by the Dutch with his entire retinue. He was followed in 1723 by 44 Javanese princes and noble men who surrendered at the battle of Batavia and exiled to this country with their families. These familes formed the nucleus from which the Malay community grew.-

-The Dutch continued to bring more -Java Minissu- (Malay people) as exiles, and employed them to fill the ranks of the army, the police force, the fire brigade, the prison staff and other services. They formed the bulk of the servicemen during the Dutch occupation and the early British times. The British too imported Malay families for settlement in Ceylon with the idea of raising a regiment. The Kings colors were awarded in 1801 to the Ceylon Malay Regiment, the first Asian to receive that Honor.- The unsuccessful attempts of the British to attract more Malays from overseas, the meagre salaries paid to the malay soldiers coupled with more avenues for lucrative employment in the plantation industry, resulted in the disbandment of the malay Regiment in 1873. The Malays released from the army were absorbed into the police and the fire brigade services.

The mother tongue of Malays is Malay (Bahasa Melayu). Murad Jayah writes, -Bahasa Melayu has been preserved in this country for over 250 years due to the fact that the original exiles from Indonesia were accompanied by their womenfolk and it was not necessary for them to find wives among Sinhalese and Tamil women, unlike the Arab ancestors of the Ceylon Moors.-

PEACE LANKA

Thursday, August 21, 2008

JHU opposes Provincial Council system, but supports Gram-raj

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