Page 1
CONFLICT RESOLUTION:
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FEDERALISM WS SEPARAT
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- J. D. F. Jones
- Patrick Jayasuriya

Page 2
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Page 3
TRENDS
UM Group, BASL
discuss disappearances
A visiting UN Working Group on Disappearances discussed with the Bar ASSOciation of Sri Lanka (BASL) the need for a inquiry into disappearances since 1983. The UN İCAT expressed concern about the slow progress of the Presidential Commission on Involuntary Renoval or Persons.
COII II mission
Also, a Working Group recommendation submitted to the government during a visit last year has not plemented. The
been ill
TCCO III
Wol. 15 No. 12 October 1Fi, I ggք Price Rs. 10.00 Published fortnightly by Lanka Guardian Publishing Co. Ltd. No. 246, Union Pacg
Ըt IEmեք-շ
Editor: Mervyn da Silva
475E.
Printed by Ananda Press B2/E, Sir Ratnajoth i Sarawana muttu Ma Watha, Colombo 13. Telephone 43Eg7E
:gחםTEIBph
CONTENTS
News Background 3. Parliamentary Democracy 8
Presidential System Anti-Federalism 13 Agrarian Changg (4) Conflict (3) 19 Letters 21 Books 23 POETI
ation was t bodies suci check reg Stations c. disappearan
A
A two m Amnesty In til å Triycjll C 21 to observ situation he IIIו tors made on made last also observe On-going col Voluntary Re
Return
Newspaper un na medl po I that the rect LCD1 de tenues di core JWPers' camp pointed ing of the Cording to ti JWP was stil of some ju They are als hawc a consi of weapons.
Open Un take i
Sri Lanka's
sity can take i Students, Wi Dayantha Wiji Ced. The Ol 16,000 on its
Te 250 teache Chancellor sai tion for OUSI the same as any other uni,
 

er mit recognised is the BASL to TS at erining
police reported
am due VWeek
Imber tea111 from) rnational is due lombo com October the human rights 2. The A1 Toni
taluate progress
recommendations rear. They will the work of the mission on Inmoval of Persons.
If the WP?
reports quoting ice sources said int break-out of escribed as hard from a detention L0 a TC-groupI1movement. AChese sources, the in possession ngle hide-outs. to believed to erable quantity
iversity to
TOE
Open Univerin another 9,000 ce Chancellor eSekera a Il nou D1JSL now has register. There rs. The Wice 1 that recognidegrees were or those from versity in the
country, except for Law and Engineering degrees which needed additional recognition
from the respective professional bodies.
North, East conflict: a compromise?
Select Committee Chair Iman Mangala Moonesinghe has soundled TULF leader M. Siwasithamparall on a "compromise' solution to the North East conflict at informal talks. Ranil Wickremasinghe (UNP) a Indi Altmui Ta Bandaran aike (SLFP) also attended the offthe-record meeting. All viewed these "alternate arrangements' favourably, reports said.
The new compromise solution provided for two separate provincial councils for the North and East With a anchther political body providing a link.
Meanwhile, there was no confirmation of Tumoured talks
between the government and the LTTE.
less suspicions with closer ties
President Premadasa ending an official tour of SAARC countries said in Male that confidence among SAARC I members would grow as regional co-operation increased, and this would dispel suspicion and fear that sormetimes hau Inted South Asian countries.
There is growing confidience in SAARC, of its own ability and effectiveness. We can now surely benefit from mutually helpful relationships with other regional groupings such as the EEC and Asean', the president said.

Page 4
INTERNAL CONFLIC
Edited by KUM
Provisional Publication Details Hardc:
Publication Date: Ашgшs Prict: E35.00 Extent: 256pр Format: 216 x ISBN: 0-333
PLEblished in association Writh the Inti
KUMAR RUPESINGHE is a Senior Research Fe in Oslo. He is the chair of the International teral Conflicts and their Resolution, the Coor on governance and conflict resolution. He he in the fields of conflict resolution which includ Conflicts and Human Rights.
Wiolence, War and internal Conflicts have aSSUn War. There are over 32 civil Wars going on million refugees in the year 2000 as a direct case studies and theory-oriented papers dealin Middle East. Taken together, they spell out ir comparative basis for a systematic approach to
Contents
Notes on the Contributors - Introduction - E/s The Disappearing Boundaries Between Internal The Dirty War: Civilian Experience of Conflict in N
The State, Ethnicity and the Middle Class Fact Malaysia — Johan Sarawa na muttu
Empowering People for Peace: the Philippine Fiji: Ethnicity and the Post-Colonial State - W Containing Conflict and Transcending Ethnicity The Kurdish Ouestion in Regional Politics: Po
Human Rights, Reconciliation and Conflict in bian Army and Police Force - Laurie Nathan
An Interest Approach to Resolution of Civil Negotiation on the Eritrean Conflict-Hizkias
Civil and External Conflict Interface: Violence, Angolan Civil War - Earl Conteh-Morgan
Uganda: A Second-Phase Bid for Legitimacy Civil War in El Salvador and the Efforts to A
Conflict Resolution. Theory and its Application AMEHEFYD PE CMFW Mad
Internal Conflicts in Mexico in the Eighties - Index Internal Conflict and Governance will be
In case of difficulty, please contact Jacil Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 2XS (fax
Price per copy £35.00 H
- - ---------- - - - -

AND GOVERNANCE AR RUPESINGHE
UE
1992
וחוח38 58953-9
rnational Peace Research institute, Oslo
low at the International Peace Research Institute Peace Research Association's Commission on Inlinator of the United Nations University program s published and edited many articles and books a Conflict Resolution in Uganda and Ethnic
led a new intensity with the decline of the Cold today. Our world may well witness over 100 result of internal Wars. This Volume consists of g With Asia, Africa and Latin America and the mplications of wide general interest, providing a I conflict trasformation.
в Вош/dїп9 — and External Сопflicts — Киптаг Rupesїпghe Mozапnblique and Sri Lanka — Саго/ул /Wordstrom tor: Addressing Nonviolent, Democratic Change in
Experience - Ed Garcia
ijay Waidu
in Mauritius — Thomas Hy/land Eriksen
ssible Peaceful Solutions - Oar Shaikous
Independent Namibia: The Formation of the Nami
Wars in the Horn of Africa: Lessons from the 155af
Militarization, and Conflict Management in the
inder International Scrutiny - O//ver Furlay
hieve Peace - Rat Berez-Mag,
to Guatemala's Socio-political Context - Louis
Jorge Cadena-Roа
available from your local bookseller
tie Parry, Macmillan Press, Houndmills, 0256) 81 0526) or ca II her on (0256) 29242.
ind Postage 8f Packing £1.50
====त

Page 5
INDIA-SRI LA BHA-BHA
Mervyn de Silva
resident Rana singhe Prcima
dasa's brief but surprisingly successful visit to India (Oct. 1-3) may have removed many of the irritants in Indo-Sri Lankan Telations of the past decade or Timore. If that Teading is proved correct much of thic credit Will surely go to Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and his diplomatic skill, and the new spirit of regional cooperation generated by S.A.A.R.C., the seven-member South Asian Association. Deeply committed to S.A.A.R.C. President Premaldas a belie Wes that closer economic cooperation could help resolve bilateral disputes and reduce regional tensions,
Both leaders represent continuity and change. There may be psychological affinities too. Mr. Rao is the first southerner' to become Prime Minister of India. Mr. PreITadasa is an olitsider to the Westc Trilised Colombo upper-class that has produced Sri Lanka's prime ministers and pTcsidents.
And yet, paradoxically, it was mounting India-Pakistan tensions that paved the way for Premadasa's success on his Indian Visit. Rarcly cordial, Telations between South Asia's major powers have suddenly soured over the secessionist insurgency in Kashmir, the region's generic COnflict. India continues to acCuse Pakista 11 of actively assisting the rebels, while Pakistan uses every forum to accuse India of ruthlessly suppressing an 'independence struggle'. In this campaign Pakistan uses Muslim Organisations, in particular, to
internationalise the issue.
When Mr. Premalda sa visited Pakistan the previous Week, PreSident Ghulam Ishaq Khan dwelt at length on the Kashmir issue. At no point on his Pakistan visit did Mr. Premadasa use what most lindians regard as the
seven-letter But Officials hal We taken. In nected latters
His visit to Prelaciasa's f: after he succec wardene nearl, He was visitin Sri Lankain Pr outgoing Chair, His choice to than India til Ilmore important hardly have b Delhi.
His choice the Pakistanis lamabad promp brief ceremonia visit', with all ing honours in säll’ultic at Lille a sident Ghulam eted lini Ill Wartml The Sounds salute Would loud and clear of South Block eign Office. So were surprised cly twenty four departure, made visit a state
The day be Pakistan, Mr. chief guest at conference in C by the World a Saudi-support from 43 coll The conference M. M. H. Mola ker. The keygiven by Mr. A. Minister of Ju Foreign Ministe The vote of rities - Tamils, Christians - ca. under the Presi troduced in 19 old Westminste tary system. W

NIKA
rd, KASHMIR, in Delhi would e of Other, cont). Pakistan was Mr. st overseas trip ed President Jayafour years ago, Pakistan not as sident but as the lan of S.A.A.R.C. Pälkistan Tather e closer and far neighbour, would :en unnoticed in
endeared him to so Imuch that Is. tly upgraded the visit to a 'state the accompany. cluding a 21-gun irport where PreIshaq Khan grely.
of that 21-gun lave been heard in the corridors the Indian Forfew Sri Lankans when Delhi, barhou T3 bcfore his Mr. Premadasa's
isit' too. OTe he 1eft For Premadasa was
an international lombo organised uslim Congress, body. Muslims ies participated. was chaired by lmed, the Spea»te aéld Tess was C. S. Hameed the ice and former
national mino
Muslims and es more weight 2ntial system in
than under the style parliamen11e Tamils are
slightly over 20 (twenty) percent of the island's population, the Muslims are about seven (7) percent. An affluent Muslim business community has expanding commercial links with Iran, the Arab World, Pakistan and more recently Malaysia and lindonesia, The current Islamic "awakening' has politicised a traditionally non-political community.
The Tamils on the other hand find comfort in the large South Indian State of Tamilnadu, just across thic na Tr3W. Palk straits, from the northern province, the Tamil heartland and the main base of the separatist Tamil "Tigers'.
Since no administration in Delhi can neglect so large a state as Tamillnadu, the Sri Lankan Tamil, trapped in a fierce ethnic conflict, tends to regard India as a protective patron, with Tamilnadu as a sanctuary. Dwarfed by India, and nervous about the large Tamil presence across the Waters, the Sinhalas sometimes behave like a majority with a minority complex. In any event, the ethnic conflict lies at the inter-face of the island's domestic politics and its foreign policy, to remain the core issue in Indo-Sri Lankan relations.
And yet there was a time when eminent Indians regarded Sri Lanka as India's only trustworthy neighbour, From Colombo's point of view, this paid good dividends.
After independence (1948) the 'Tamil issue' was the problem of nearly a million Indian Tamils. While today the armed youth Inveilents of the Tamil Ilirth demand a separate state, the "Indian Tallis' were "stateless plantation workers in the central highlands. A connected problem was the flow of illegal immigrants from South India in search of jobs and a better life in
- 3

Page 6
Ceylon. The 'stateless' was a colonial legacy. When tea became the main export and the island came to be known as Lipton's garden, the British firms brought cheap indentured labour from India to pluck the tea.
This alien presence in the island’s heartlandi, directly invol. ved in producing the main export, frightened the Sinhalese leaders. All that they could do, though, was to deny many of the Indian workers voting rights, and citizenship. Whose citizens were they? Two agreements were signed by Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1964 and 1974. OLI both occasions, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Was Mrs. Balmdaranaike, These *accords" had a lesson that not all Sri Lankills learnt, Indian tictքII1ITiotiatiքTl was readily available to Sri Lankan regimes if only Colombo pursued a foreign policy that did not adversely affect Indian foreign policy and national security interests. Mrs. Bandaranaike followed a "non-alignment" that was a model of what India expected from its small neighbours.
Mrs. Bandaranaikers pai Tty was founced by the conservative UNIP 1977. Es cader was 72 WEHr old Junius Richard ya Wardene, nicknamed Yank Dicky" quite early in his career. This Sing-Willed patriarch settled views on governance, and a World-view that would h:}WE Pleased John Foster Dulles, was Confronted across the Pilk Straits by Indira Gandhi, the CFOWned **Empress of TiTi dia**,
Sin Ct IR, Was als) chairman of
the Tionaligned T10 Werelt, it
WAS. El classic confrontation.
Not
only did Jayawardena opt for free market policies in the hope of C0TWETE i Ing Sri Lanka to a second Singapore' but he all but abandoned the island's traditional nonalignment, Օբ Course, Indira. Gandhi had *Preted nomalignment even more freely when she signed a Pact. With the other Superpower in 1921, the Indo-Soviet tTeaty.
Indian security thinking is the most obvious of British legacies. Not long after British troops took
d
Trincomalee and ruled maritime pro Pitt would info that Ceylon the colonial possessio giving to out. In Security it had in its first establish From the 1940 gists have focussed "nodal position' ocean, India's c. fian ko' and wital Trinto malee.
J.R. had plans was thinking of motion. One in using Trince as was hoping he c US, especially already worried of Subic bay.
To contain de-Stabilise is Gandhi took issue. Jayawardei the Tails the Tamilnadu, and on that large sta politics, gawe Del In a C.I.A-type tion, India's exte service R.A.W., camps in India "Tigers and rebel groups. T back to the is province with so titigllsנitנIIוlזוווCor
TT 10 Inley.
J.R. lõiked t West for help.
aliente Idil 1 try was ready to the Tamil liliti only from Pakis in the end, Israt dent Reagan tol that the US cou mise India, F.J. R." Was lip. But in
Ole final bil i [i] dili planes MIG’s) flew owe: ford pargels
J.R.' got the signed the II
Agreement" po ==Peace Accord". the EF Accord' w; of Letters' whic
India's security Trincomalee, th teTests 5 eCtilo”

then the Dutchvinces, William TII Pa Tliacint I lost Williable T1 i Til the woTld, dian Empire a ot enjoyed from 11t:Tit", s, Indian strate1 on Sri Lanka's in the Indian Xposed souther
іпmportance of
of his own. He ELT), CXPOTT pT)- the north-east,
EE SE EHE ould attract the the US nawy wer the future
.R., or perhaps regime, Mrs. lp the Tamil
E’S FETT" I refugee flow to impact of both te’s society and lui lăcu stării.
COWert Operarnal intelligence set up training f’T TE T1 ther separatist 'hey were sent Tidl’53, northern phisticated a Tīls, equipment and
US ՄոWilling to Wester Collllhelp him fight ints, Help came tam, China and :l.. When Presid him bluntly ld not antago' knew the game 1987, he made El Like Jl. (Soviet-built r:Jafina dropping Imedici Ile I etc. : In essage. He dial-Sri Lanka pularly called Together with is "an exchange h Ellil TE35 Çd all
CTT CEILS -- e Israeli i Filin the US
embassy, a W.O.A. project and L000 S LHGS LaLCC S LLL S LHHLLLLLLLS S S LLLLLL point Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was a proud and happy ITEIl.
MT, Premadasa, the Prillle Minister, knew nothing about it. He was in Japan at that time and learnt of the treaty and its terms from a frontpage report in the Firia Vicial Tirre. Hic wa15 Il 10 Te thal II WOTTied. Hic Wasi Ing. He di Tea SCIl to be LLLLHHLHuaLLS S S LL S LLK S SaaLLLLLLLaLLLLLLLaaS Imovement, JWP, crushed in the early 70's was now re-emerging in the ultra-nationalist garb. As a critic of the FFACCrd in the grounds that Sri Lankan sovereignty and independence had been compromised. Premadasa could meet the JWP propagandist barrage without going under. President "J.R.' inade him the party Candidate at the presidential polls. Premadasa promised to abrogate the pact and call in India t}. Withdraw its troops, some 60,000 or IIlore.
He wol Llei election. He als C crushed the JWP Telt. It was
(Cr ரா ராஜூ 22)
SLFP Rift Wides
After the recent Teverses — the Youth League and the SLFP Bhikku organisations elections - Mrs. Bandara Illike, President Of the party hit back hard by declaring the Sangha Front polls illegal and un constitutional, accused the limo Ilık elected president of being "connected with the conspiracy' to remove her from the party leadership when she was stripped of her civic rights by JR regime. She says that the latest move by the Anura group is "part of the conspiracy' to remove her from the leadership. The Youth League polls which Were WØrn by the Anura group is not IIlentioned in her press stateLillet. Thic BhikkuIS WH10 attended the meeting that elected these new office-bearers came from two electorates, she says.
The clash between the Mrs. B. and the Anura group is not only public now but moving to WäTd5 sa head-Com Collision.

Page 7
The new Pakistan High ComLisole fT Sri Lill MT. Husain Haqqani has expressed the hope that the goodwill and Closeries5 til at Chill Tacite Tize Frielily relations between Shri Lanka ad Pakistal Ill Willil further StrengLLaLLLLLL S 000LS LLLLa aaaLaL SS tt SSSS LLLKLLLtHLS ship between the two countries a Te eased on the cherished prinCiples of Imutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and on interwention in the iffairs of ther countries,
Pak-Lanka ties stronge
He was spel: Guest at the Ti in his honour b.
ka-Pakistan FTi
III.
MT. Huskill H:
global changes h; listä Ilces ad o proximity of sta of geographical tal Colši de TS S friendly Ileighbo Asia T1 regio In, Tl ו01lpווshare comi
T's wicious, continuing ethnic conflict in Sri Lankal 1 may be see as : microcosm of what happens when issues of ethnicity take over the political process. It is the most intracable and tragic of all conflicts, often with a power to de-stabilise well beyond its national frontiers. It has its own internal dynamics
which defeat external attempts at Editio o T Sol'ultiCJI. It proves how cruelly illusive the
quest for reconciliation can be: as soon as the chance of a settlement appears, it is wrecked by the actions of one side or the other all the Wolcinct the
Scalates.
Much of the discussio Il Ceilt:Tel On the non-implementation of the India-Sri Lalka Peace Accord of 1987 and Wether its failure
was inevitable or a tragically LLHHLLLLLLLa LLaaLLHaa S aLLS S LLaaaaLLLLL S LLLLLL conflict. Most take the Wie W.
that the Accord was compromised from the tset because the main Sri Lanka, in actors would not tolerate any agreement imposed by outside forces. EWell the LL LLL LLSS HHt S LLLLL S S LLLLL L LLLLLLLLS plicit federal arrangements rejected the proposed devolutionary measures in the Accord.
But it is also argued that the rejection of thc Accord by Tamils and Singhalese was largely due to their not being consulted bęfo Te hand, even if this had been unavoidable. The Accord had been based on the premise that internal forces on their own
Religious and ethnic
challenge
This is a rite the WILTON PARK On the ligi Liggi Ili ethnic challellքtes ! this year's WILTO FERENCE.
would not be
Ebollt a Sol Llitical of a unitary Stal ed il Sri Link refeTell Lil Wol HԼյիit wed the Tiet fo. El 11 el SL Te presenting its fari accorri pli, til an imaginative a culwent the ob. a tiimic of Illilita deadlock.
Since the Illud the Conflict hals conclusively. Th. internal settleme pered by the em line Sillall questions the ne cal solution and consensus and I Wedge that a the LTTE (Libe Tamil Eelam) ca The nature of 1 lakes dialogue bines a passiona to its cause wit. city for destruct brutality. Its ne; is daunting; it willingness for dation which it raising the stak Sihlala milita Inc
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

r
iking as Chief ception hosted y the Shri Lailandship Associ
qqani said that We Shrinked the the concept of tes On the basis location, PakisTi Laka 15 * H IT ill the StյլItի le IWO Coll|IlITies erceptions if not
NEWS BACKGROUND
borders. The stewardship afforded to the SAARC by Sri Lanka during its term for Chairmanship held by President Raasinghe Premädässä Hills effected El furthe-T impetus to mutual cooperation anlong the countries of the region on the basis of equali status of all the states. Preside Rana singhe Premadas a has infused the realisation that future of the people of South Asian Tegion was closely linked to Inlitual cooperation and optimum utilisail of the resources of each country for the development and welfare of the poor Ilasses.
S
ST LEHI ii PAPER 57, based in Religious and 1 South Asia, at
PARE CON
able to bring The concept ć is Sc Elltrelch... that even a ild not have :essагу пmajority f devolution. By Iropos als as al le ACCord Was it tempt to cirious impasse at Iy and political
iam Withdrawal,
dragged till ine Sell Tch for li nt is Ilow hämiergence of hariopinion which ed for a politi
greater political efuses to lickny dialogue with ration Tigers of be substantive.
LTTE admittedly
difficult; it coinIt ctյTIIIllitillent h awes оппе сараin and extreme gotiating strategy shows initial
E TIL 101 TL1) = then wrecks, so es and hardening
W.
The Te is now fcat that the government's coll Initillent to a multi-ethnic pluralist state, with greater devolution of powers, is receding fast ill the face of hard-line Illilitancy. Pressu Te is in circa sing on the govern Ilment te subjuga te the LTTE I militarily and, it is believed, a military offencive could be the likely out
come. This is a tragedy which сап опly cause great human suffering but will not resolve
anything since what is required is a political solution.
DiSCLIS5io aboliti alternitive:S remained tentative in the light of thli5 53ITlibre: 3155e55The It aldı of the limited scope for any external initiative. The conflict in Sri Lanka has now gonė om fог loпg enough for many of the 5t:1Ildard sölution3 te) h:1Ve been fold workable.
Whereas in Pakistan there is hope of allaying ethnic conflict by the introduction of more representative democ:Talcy, greater political freedom has only deepened the conflict in Sri Lanka. Federalism too is bitterly contested because to the ardently nationalistic Sinhalese it is mere Hìnti-nationalisIT1. The Teligious elenlent in the Conflict in the shape of the Singhalese Buddhists is a further complicating factor; combine With ethnic mobilisation, it hinders any settlement getting off the ground. A possible UN role was Ilmooted, but only hesitantly as the current example of Yugoslavia shows the limits of peace-keeping where there is no peace to keep.

Page 8
LET | FOOLS CO/WTEST
Parliamentary Democra System – A Realist A
Radhika Coomaraswamy
IDEA PRACTICE
3 idea of democracy is today part of a uniwersal disCourse con government. But the concrete manifestation of this idea within institutional Tols of gover Inance is als diverse as the history of the modern World. Representaive democracy is a near universal political goal, but the form of representative democracy and its effects in a particular society are empirical questions of fact. Such an analysis cannot come from priori assumptions about structures of government BLI E from the evolution of Ectual historical experience.
This disjuncture between the idea of Tepresentative democracy andl its CGOIC Tete Imanifestation Illust be the starting point for our analysis. Some may argue against the proposition of representative government2, ... but very few hawe put forward a wiable alternative to such a form of government at the national level. Though We Inay want to foster indigenous traditions We must also recognise that a world heritage of ideas, institutions and practical experience have cracked open the internal processes of developing Societies.3 The acceptance of representative democracy as a universal political goal is a manifestation of this dynamic. Na Serig L15 acto T Coll the STi Lankan political scene is asking For its rewal as the cornerstone ideal for Cllr own delloCratic syster 11.
The debate about the choice between parliamentary dem CCFalcy and presidential Systemısi" currently taking place must be understood in this context. At one level it is a debate about the perfect ideal institution - a positivist debate : aHCult Words indi fills. At another level it is a debate about structuring government and
6
a contest about be heard, whos privileged and be protected, I is also about it of electoral list titution one sup fore reflect the as important in Since Constit is deeply affect of the author, predispositions iddell Cd) Instituti in my opinion 1 El Imaximises i Էլ:s HTitl ther trarines; i L. b Xilises
betweet tE periphery
eople as p, in public d c Islaxillises
Very of st: the param critic 5etTilլIst be t Inct Of El especially di Tlaxiilises
пminority г te Tritorial right to decisions , future it as they ri and privile ald Illinor in these a as they all dспостatic
II ts protecti storic of : order whic SLT's Il electic II b. life of pe These are th ciples, which wi рег іп еvaluа! should adopt : Parliamentary sy

cy vs the Presidential
pproach
whose wice will e Voice will be what rights will In other Words it le actual Tesults ing 5. The Consports must therevalues one places a given society. Lltional adw) Cacy cd by the values I will state my very clearly. An Il for Sri Liliki Ilulist be Ille thalt
checks and ball Ilefore reduces arbidecision-making sharing of power Le celtTe l'Ill thic sch that 15 IT1any ossible participate Lecision-Illaking
the efficient deliÀte services Within etETS OF EL EIlp, services which he welfare safety ly given society, a developing one. Drotection of ights and allows Illinorities the fully determine which affect their heir areas so long spect the rights ges of individuals ity groups living reas and so long Te Collitted to B
բTCICES8, fundamental righio II, the co Tineriny Constitutional sh not only encracy at times of It in the everyday ople. Le cardinal prinIl guide this paing whether we
Presidential of stem. The paper
does not argue that either one
of these systems are a panacea
for all cils bctycell the Ilı ör
ånd
thԷ Եligitas part of a
LaLLHHLLLLLLL C S LLL S S aLaLLLLL S LL S LLaLaLLL
Illust be alchored cal realities of a Tiny
in the politigiven society.
CHECKS AND BALANCES -
A WESTM INSTER CONSCIOUSNESS
IIl ctual historical terms checks all balances among the arms of government has comic from those
Wիtյ iլtivitate
the
Presidential
system. The alternative tradition
of parliamentary democracy,
in
its West Illi Tlstet føTI Illulatio II, 5ee5 the triumph of Parliaments as the central and superior instituLion which reflects the Will of
the people. The
governmental conduct
COF wմլյlt1 bit
restraint
Imalintained by systemıs of accountability and conventions of parliaillentary conduct and not by any clearly articulated doctrine
of checks and balia, Inc.cs.
In ther Words bal ELICES WELS Secil sary only when one
checks and to be Iltg:Է- had a power
ful executive presidency and the checks were on the use of arbitrary power by an elected in
dividual. Majoritari
an democracy,
as a step away from monarchy
was to be unbridled
especially
in a society with the homogenous population of England. However,
in Sri Lanka the tull til Lind its proved to us that
I972 CCisti
operation has
parliamentary
democracy, when the government has 2/3 of the MPs in its party, is as unbridled and as arbitrary
as presidential
systel.
Te
tyranny of the majority results
not only in the
other political parties
геpression of but also
Illinority groups. Without effective checks and balances on the
legislative process, much arbitrariness as
there. i3
in the
presidential system.

Page 9
Checks and balances as defined by traditional constitutional wisdom is grounded in the premise of balanced government'. He says that this notion of balance Colles from the allti-despotic idealism of Montesquieu but also from the practical shrewdness of the US drafters of the Constitutio II. 4; III Sri Lailka We llawe not only inherited Westminister foTIls of government but also WestLlister com 5 cilius Ille55. III other words, unlike Montesquieu or Jefferson, English leaders fröIl Coll Well on WaTcl dil Illot really believe in balanced government; they believed in the supremacy of parliament as the insLLLLLLLLL LLLLHHLHHLLLLLLLa S LHHLHLHHLH HaaLa everything follows. This supreIllacy of parliament coupled with leftist notions of people's assenblics and centralised party structurc Icel to the 1972 Sri LaLıkLI C011stitution where e wen ffurhidiamental rights, though formally adopted as an element of the Constitution, was Watered down in the intercist of the National State Assembly'.
Sri Lanka has therefore no accepted historical consciousness or practice with balanced government. At the same time this historical consciousness is absolutely necessary if a Presidential System is to avoid its IIlost despotic phase. In fact the institutional system of checks and balances manifests itself by deliberately placing a check on the EXCCultive as well as the legislatlre by the judicial interpretation of Constitutions. For a systell of checks and balances to work, one has to have a powerful judiciary and a legislature which is suspicious of presidenLiial aliction di Sees itself as al Watchdog of the President. It is this mutual suspicion which gives the system of checks and balances meaning. In Sri Lanka we have neither the powerful judiciary which has the capacity to review legislation - only bills End executive action - and since the inception of the Presidential system. We do not have a prac. Lice of eternal legislative vigilance with regard to the practices, the finances, and the spending and appointing power of the President.
The constant vigil suspicion is lack
WEat Te the
contribute to th cio ad multLII
1.
The Presilt government l to parliam ministers. : he can hold in importan policy, is policy buit It table, IП. th dent is Ilot PariaII.le IIL l legislative c hil uIncler (, and his Slled : for public question. Si Of PTE311 ETII. i Sri Lan pensated fo. tive machill for the poli f the Pre ject to scrut in cry exists kāII c{, 11 text of politics the executive enjoyed a d tary majorit the effectiw mechanism.
The Tallit le " Ille it illoti: Ile II1bJETS, jf the only ex docility of Tc ga Tid to the dency. But extraordinary of truly the has newer be full well ill tւ:S, Sirite it all elected Ill) St Systells caution ill b lil Ċint to են: 1S, TOT (:LIDIT inst the jud geS HTC T1) t therefo Te IT to the the go WellcIlt.
The fact thị liament woul against a

ance the mutual ing.
tellents which
is lack of suspi1 accountability.
Ilt 15 held af S. It accountable ent - only his At the Sarle tille portfolios so that areas he makes responsible for -וIIונtטHC|חון 11115:וחל U.S. the Presi
accountable to
but the powerful tonnittees keep :Einstant scrutiny ficials Inay be at ally ill Oilent le: T1. Il g3 O II a Iy o the imimu Inity from parliam cint kall is inst Cir by amy effec:ry which allows cies and officials dent to be subiny. The machiil the Sri Lallbut thic realities ill which both - presidents have ocile parliameny has prevented e Lise of thig
bizarre impeachIn led by some parliament was ception to this parliament with e executive presiimpechment is " Imleal SL1 Te; a Il act IEi5 t re5OT t Which te. In Very S LLCCESShic United Stais a move against representative, law acted with ringing impeachk. In fact, it III only used agaicia Ty si Incc judelected and :ite ore accountable institutions of
Lt a docile pard suddenly move President іп
an impeach ITnent mowemment points to som cithing more funda Ilmental in the body politic. Constitutions and parliaments arte still sceni ili an instruIn Ental se se - i.e., whethe T they will allow one section to capture state power and anything goes' in that attempt. This is not the weakIness of any olc political party but appears to be 醬 to the Sri Lankan body politic. However, if there is no possibility of grabbing state power, then the only option is docility. The whole middle ground of using parlia ment as a Watchdog, of keeping a check on the day to day activities of the executive, of increasing the technical competence of parlia TimeTit to del With cTiuciåll issues of policy especially financial policy, arc issues that have not been cultivited cor develop cd.
Checks and billances à Teirllportant concepts in any form of representative governiheit. Mutual suspicion among powerful bodies of gover Ilment is one way toward honest and effective government. It is especially important when we have a presidential system since there is no presidential accountability to parliament, If Sri Lanka is to maintain a Presidential system it would have to increase the power of the judiciary including the scope for judicial review of legislation as well as to develop mechanisms whereby Parliament, regardless of på Tty affiliation sees itself as a Watchdog on an CT Tant executive, not only on impeach ment day" but in the every day life of politics.
In additio 11 it Imay be a rgued that the 1970-1977 period has also pointed to us the pitfalls of an urnbridled legislature in the alternative system of parliaпmentary democracy. It is therefore imperative that no matter what system is chosen, whether a presidential system
T

Page 10
or a parliamentary system, it is necessary to have the safeguards - a judiciary that can review legislation witholIt Fear oI favolII and a parliament which is competent to be a watchdog on the day to day policy-making. Without these effective checks om both the executive and the legislature, the era of arbitrariness, patronage and unbridled power - Sri La Inka's post-colonial political legacy will never really left We 118,
The other factor which had prevented the healthy mutual suspicion, which is at the heart of checks and balances between the Executive and the legislaturc, has been the ргоротtional representatioп Syste E11 i Tı relation to an executive president. The system of proportional representation has had one salutary Feature Which is to allow for the Tepresentation of political parties in terms of the votes that they have actually polled. This has prevented the pendulum swings reflected by the first past the post system which had charactcrised our early years with parliamentary democracy of ten leading to the tyranny of the Illajority.
But the system, which had as one of its objectives placing the party over the personality has led to political power being concentrated in the lands of the political party. This has led to major problems in the political system, because very few of the political parties in Sri Lanka have the orgaInisational structure of Indern political parties. In fact, they have often been characterised as loose associations Where the Whi IIn San di fancies of the party leadership have more clout than the internal processes of selection and election.
This has led to the developIlment of party oligarchies, a com di Lion Which has bocc 1 well analysed in western
political parti Writes:-
** It is the pa which gives bil nation of th the electors, taries Over th{ the delegates gators. Who tion says olig
This oligarch intrinsic part Cratic apparat dern world, kā the Te are standards wit conduct of it fairs of the While we may law with reg cnterpris c, th with regard t of political III SCOTT1 e SETSE not b c El la W all political similar oTganis, freedom of it citation 51 maximum lice, should not bec ched b'u Fecau1Cr; there should standards with conduct of bus a Ineasure Of cracy and fin tability to the Whether wye dential system mentary Syste) has to bւ 1 both institutio party is the core of the is We dieWise : policies to en mum standard tic deliberati party structul itself will in function. It i cratic and system which Timäl chcick, errant preside way parliame rant prime in also only an system which put forward will be our leaders. If

3. A5, Michel 5
ty organisation th to the do Imielected over if the mandamandators, of over the dellesays organisaLrchy'5
may be an of any bureauis in thic Imout im Sri Lillno, Tminimum regard to the ne internal alfbolitical party. have Company ard to private tre is nothing the conduct arty business. , there should which makes parties into ations — ili fact Internal experiould be given way; the party Ol clien LICD1acy. And yet, be Illinimum regard to the iness to ensure integral demoancial accounmembership. have a presi, or a parlian, this factor Inderlined. In is, the political ou Indiation, the ystem. Unless trategies and sue Elle miniof democrans Within Lhe , the system t be able to only a demofective party will be the either on an ht, OIT a Tu1T1at With an erlister. It is effective party ill groom and indidates who Lure political lere is 50 me
blockage within the party structures, then quality leaders will never emerge. In any system they are the final protectors of democratic valաts.
SHARING OF POWER
It is said that a Parliamentary system is better suited for the implementation of a scheme of devolution and sharing of power as described in the thirteenth amic Idlelt of thic Sri Lanka Il Constitution.B. In fact the scheme replicates the Westminster model at the provincial lewel, where the head of the executive, the Governor is the appointed head with many ceremonial powers but the effective executive in terms of legislation and cabinet policy is the Chief Ministerthe person who commands the confidence of the provincial Collici 1.7
Many commentators hawe pointed to the problem of having a parliamentary Inodel at the prowincial level and a presidential model at the centre, the areas of contention and discrepancy which may arise in the implementation of the thirteenth aimCndment. A strong presidential system with power vested in an executive president is inherently a centralising force. The new immo walitions such as thic Presidential mobile secretariat and even such massive programmes such as the Janasaviya and the village awakening programme which originated within the centräl executiv c c Teate al direct equation between the President and the people. This so-called Bonapartist style has very little tool for intermeliaries. In fact it has been argued that even the cabinet of ministers would be bypassed, but in the same way, апс регHaps to a larger degree, the provincial councils will also be bypassed in the implementation of these schemes So a President with a grand Wision may actually subvert the autonomy and delegative powers of a provincial council.
And yet, the same could be said of a cabinet of ministers and a primeminister in a first

Page 11
past the post legislative system if they wish to implement national policies. The experience from 1971-1977 clearly points to a great deal of centralisation both in the state sector and in the industrial sector but this time under the prime minister and important cabinet ministers. In fact the combination of econdmic centralisation and political Centralisation was nuch lore Effective during those years When We were a parliamentary demoCTHCy.
Centralisation in the past has had much less to do. With the forms of government and Thore to do with the vision of the political leaders. Activist, interwentionist political leaders who Wanted to illipose a vision on the society were more likely to be centralist thān thüse who Were pragmatic and oriented to ward problem solving. What is important is that neither system is inherently conducive to power sharing without the neccessary Structures of protection built into the scene.
The United States is a presidential system but under their federal powers the states have a great deal of authority. The French are also a combination of presidential and parliamentary rule but their system is very centralised and uniforn. The Canadians hawe a Westminster model but theirs is perhaps one of the far reaching constitutional structures with regard to the
| sgaring of power with the pro
Vinces while the Indials al Te also a West Illinster model with a great deal of centralisation at least With rega Tid to the state secto T. Il fact it is ofteil Salicl Lihat India is kept together by the All India bureaucracy and the All India army; two extremely centralising forces in the Indian Sub-continent.
1f the forms of government do not determine the nature and extent of power sharing, then what does? The extent of power sharing Illust be reflected in the Constitutional sections relating to the provincial coulcils. If they are federal in character, i.e., where the provinces
have exclusive
lation, there will sharing; if the character, that sions of the p Call be overid. the there is
CETitTillis :it:10m H of the devoluti
In the final : tion against a be found in rele CO15 titul Lional 5 could be argued tive presidency ! CEIl tItalise Illið Country, whereth the leader of the important and patгопаge have п by Weberian sys rules and proc personality style tällt tillä bure it is argued t executive presic Tildr E. Lil II (111:17re isIT1 iT1 a l de Wel
PROTECTION ( - FROMALLS) SRI LANKA
While the th Iment duplicates ITno del at the al 11d al belief tha style ef governi IIöTE Conduciye dévolution aime aspirations of t North and the the Sri Links thiere is no lo dential system W: ducive to lecti aspi Taltiois of much more sign a parliamentary
Before thic : ecutive presiden Illentary System Sri Lanka was sensitive to th. mino Tities, Indii elected in electo no minority re. bécome prime m LT1 text Wher TH is completely Sin
Iot Well have deal with Illing The tradition is
election is a cas

heres of legisbe more powerare unitary in If all the decibyincial colu incil by the Centre, lore scope for d the subversion I schelle,
vent the protecbitra Tine55 must ant and specific ctions, though it that EL EXCCL1as a tendency to in a developing personal style of state is extremely here systems of it been overtaken Lems of objective utiլյրes. Since a is more impor|cratic procedure, at thic style of ency would be to authorita tria inping country.
OF MINORITIES NHALATO ALL
irteenth amend
the Westminster provincial level : a parliamentary ment Would be
to a system of
at meeting the he people of the East, especially Tamil minority. bt that a presi11 ble illo TC COIng Some of the minorities in a ificant Way than
system.
twent of the excy, the parliawhich existed in
completely inneeds of the iduals could be rates which had resentation and inisters. In the .it electoral base halese, they did
to attempt to rity grievances. et by the 1956 е іп point.
However, with the advent of the executive presidency and a national instead of divisional electoratic, the minority voice suddenly became important. At the last Presidcntial electio T1 all sides attempted to address minority grievances. The DPA platform of the Opposition was even more progressive than the election manifesto of the UNP, the party which traditionally attractcd the TaTTill Woltes outside the North and the East. The Musli wote Was al 50 Cate:Tcl tcb.
The electoral hustings therefore put the minorities in a position that they have never enjoyed in an election in Sri Lanka. They have been happy to sit on opposition benches screaming for federalism and separate states or Worked within the major parLics, but Withollit an effective DHLLLaaHS LLLL S aaa S SSSS LLLLaLHHLLLLLLL S aLLLLK was a national electorate, no political party could afford to be outrageously racist, because the Illinolities held a important block of votes. The parameters of electoral discourse was also forced to change. This has been one of the wholesome contributions of the Presidential system, even if it is seen as the only one. For the first time the In inorities in the country felt that they had a say. In the end this may not translate into actual action but the setting of electoral discourse within the parameters of having to have an All Sri Lanka idcology is extrcmely important since it is the clectoral competition among political parties for the All Sinhala vote which had led to the primacy of the parochial constituency and the days of strident nationalis In and ethnic nobilisation in the 1950s, the 1960s and the 1970. By the time the system changed in the 1980, and a new president Was elected in 1988, Lhe Illinorities living in the North and the East were being led by militant groups who had no in
terest in a national electoral proceՏ8.
The call for a return to a
parliamentary system in contemporary Sri Lanka comes from two quarters. The first is the liberal and socialist constituency
9.

Page 12
who feel that the operation of a presidential system has led to an increase in authoritarianism. They argue that the imposition of a presidential style on a civil society used to personal patron age only reinforces traditional authoritarialisin and develops new avenues for such patronage centered around one individual, his friends and family.9 There is a sense that a return to parliamentary democracy with a system of proportional representation will in fact strengthen democratic structures and traditions at least those ones which are supposedly entrenched in the legislature. There is a strong case for this arguilent.
The second constituency which is demanding a return to the practice of parliamentary denocracy in the Sinhala Only constituency which resents the new voice and the new power that millo Tities llawe il the electio II of the President. They especially resent the bloc vote provided by the CWC and the Indian Tamils to the Tuling party. They wish to return to the days of the All Sinhala electoratic' and are resentiful at the shift of dis. course resulting from an "All Sri Lanki clectorate'.
The final formula is therefore not an essentialist one - i.e., a choice between parliamentary democracy and a presidential system. What is needed is a system of representation which gives the minority a voice in electing the executive and thereforce ensures al All STi Lanką, consciousness at election time but Which at the 51 IThe tille IlliniIlises the authoritarian trends which may be present in a centralised executive presidency. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Not every constitutional systern formulated a Bill of Rights as integral feature of gover In Ilment. In fact it is ofte Said that the Bill of Rights is what the British Crown feared - all What the Allerical flicts decided to riski”’o III SI i Lällika, with our West IIlinster Consciousness, the fear of fundamental rights as a Wolatic cellent in the collstitutional scheme is subconsciously expressed. For example,
O
at the Illict, Call be clllllc III Inental Tights elictment of B the law becomics the point of vi tal rights this : satisfactory sin little tice of little public dis important one law in actual op of the West is and the emoti to loctrics SLIPITEIT 1:ElCY, TOT of Sri Lankam given the judici judicial review latiol. In thila mental rights h protected in a mentary democr the British syst a system of the dency modelled I the Indian judicial revicw lation is permit WOLuli COf collTS: Since 1978, a: of the Lew Con llls ha We the COLIITT EIl di chia actiö Il IIlder Sei CostitLILioIl 10. funda Ilmental rig ing the courts Section. Trólica tha L a PT eSidet the President als Chief Hilla 5 illi Te; security forces ducive to the p damental rights. of the Constitut the actual and are truly succes to il diwidual II which challenge It is the Wilati tal rights by th is the subject of the Supreme Again the pe 1 m alde, that wh parliamentary si sidential system of fundamental Tests on a pow pendent judiciar and India haws 5, 10 del5 of fu protection, one

legislative action ged for fundilonly before the is and lot after legislation. From čW of Tudal Illeis completely unce d'Ile has Very the bill, very cussion and lost es. It see the eration. Beca L15 el LI COIisciousne55 onal attachment f parliamentary of the drafters Constit LltiCJI 15 hawe ay the right of of en acted legist sense, fu Indial5 EE111 fall T le555 system of patoliaacy, modelled on Lem, than under i executive presiCLI the AleTical Collistit Luticos. If of emacted legisLed this SitLIation I change. nd the adoption stitution, indivi: right to go to llenge cxecutive til 126 of the
Il fact 11 til: hts cases floodTe Llect this lly it is argucci ial system where Collander in it access to the 15 TELT ||USS CDI |- Totection of filBut thic nature ion is such that only cases which sful with regard ights are those executive action. in of fundalene executive which of the scrutiny COLI Tt.
It has to be Le ther it be : 'stem or a pre, the protection rights ultimately verful Lld i Tidety. Both the US a betIl held tյլIէ Indamental rights
for the West and
one for the developing societies With their new innovations of social action litigation. The US has a presidential system, India has a Westminster system. What makes their judiciaries sensitive is the power they actually wield.
Firstly, they are federal judicirie5. Il titleTefo IIc the APEX judicial body, the Supreme Court, is a powerful overlord of a vast network of lower courts, Secodily, both have the right of judicial review of enacted legislation sic that the acts of the legislaturc are constantly under review not only before enactment but also in practice. Thirdly, the judges of the court in recent years have shown a marked independence and initiative in experimenting with new legal ideas and approaches - the confidence to do so colles from their sense of power as a co-equal arm of government as built-in structLITES
Nes
1 R., Unger, Peyrics, Haward Law
Schtյdl, 1981 բ.33
2 S. D. Bandaranayake in his speches in parliamentand in the Presidential election gårnpaign Of 1988. LLLLL KLa LLLLLLL LLLL SaLaLLLLSSS aLLLLLL LLL LLLLH LLLLS SLLLLLLaLL LL LLL L LS
Lanka" Law and Society Trust Newslette July 1992
3 R. Unger, ச ரி சரிசா பிதாசர.
THIF', 'ffffff"f 5;ff Thry', Free Pre55, NW · York, 1976 p., 64
4. J. Uyango da The President and Parlia, Incnit in Sri Lanka:- Conflicts, LLLLLu u LLLLLL LLLLLLLLkLSS S H H S SYLTS SS LLLLLSS LLL O O OLHMLLLLL MCML S S MCLLLS S LTLLLLS голл.--A Camparative Study, Delhiyala,
99.
5 R. Michels,
York 1952
L0S LLLLLLLHHLL LLLLLaLLLLLLL LLLL L LLLL LLL LLLLLS LLLLaLL LLL LLLLHluLLLLLLL LLLLKLL LLLS public of Sri Lanka, Nov. 1987 and aLLLL0 LLLLLLLHHLLLLL L LLLLL S LLLLLLL LLLT L
if 1937
7 See R. Coomaraswamy, Legal AirPerfs of de viria, CRIDS, Colombo
99.
8 see for example the debates on the impeachment, Sunday Times, Septb.) : LICET I 1991
9 F. Friendly, and M.J. H. Elliott, The Gr Thr Pசlாேச Br New York, 1984 p.
10 Article 126 of the Constitution
Poffriral Parties New

Page 13
Two SYSTEMS
Some comments'
H. L. de Silva
he truncated quotation from Pope which Dr Coolinaraswamy has chosen as the Illa in title of ller paper Let Fools Contest makes the obvious point that the consideration of the Presidential system as against the Parliamentary form from a thcoretical standpoint is an idile
excrcise. Let me the Tefo Te make sопе ђrief comments on the Sri Lankan experience of the
Presidential system during the last decade or so in the light of som c of the questions Taised
Негі paper. I am in broad agreement with Dr. C's criteria for evaluating the acceptability of a system in terms of generally accepted democratic values. Does it exhibit the negative features, or even a real danger of the emergence of the features of a totalitarian system? Does the experiential evidencc suggest a strong tendency towards the concentration of powers, a frequency of unilateral decisions taken at the highest level without regard to dissent or discussion, an ever increasing tendency for the misuse or abuse of powers, opportunities for the unfettered exercise of discretions coupled with the constitutional immunity from legal liability, the absence of continuing accountability of the Chief Executive to any body of elected representatives, the capacity of the Government to function regardless of the need to respect minority rights and interests and is there opportunity for the subversion of vital fundamental rights and freedoms? These are fairly reliable guides to test the lewel of democratisation.
I am not denying that a Prime Minister under certain circumstances is also capable of exhibiting all these negative attributes but I believe it is to a much lesser degree. Yet the essential difference is that under a Parliamentary system the withdrawal of parliamentary support is a
real deterrent : Till:411ce of Fl'I) C Under the Sr. not only is the fected by a wo dence in the L CCl3 tituti) : political parties nal managemen manipulated to dangers, The di from party mei) ETC lind which deels sufficient indiscipline, and loss of status a resentative in th aggravated the Walled the Will Palliä Illicit Lld position of the LIll:T : Parliam dissilicit M.P.S by docile ones : tions relating to of a Prime Min shed, the Prime bjectille: # * OneConsidering th. position of Inos succumb to the ence of the la I taching to the emergence of a Dı torship, the clai ling advantages Stal ble executiwe . Weight to com these da Ingers.
The protection traditional check th Tough the Legi Judiciary hawe bt that they no lor guarantee against
The elected rep been EcI11 ASCLI liited city for indep through the mail Fältty appal ralltILIS. Imatic deterrent t: his ceased to be and the tendency El ppears i to be process in the Sri On the other another developm
S S TT TTLCLH LHHLH TT LLLTTT TLTT LGHLLaLMHC TL

gainst the coltippressive regime. i Lankan system President Llaf. te of Ille-configislature, but the ET Llictul Te5 Withill and their interhave been so prevent any such twice of expulsion mbership on any the leadership as an act of the consequent is all elected repe Legislatilire has pTiC5 ble III1 and dee: iIstitutibn F ellanced the President. Ewell enta Ty system if Can ble Teplaced ELIld the conventhe resignation is ter are ElboliMiniste tā cil
El Slow". e natural predist politicians to corrupting influLCLIS DOWCTS atoffice and the
elected dicta Till Cid Colunterwaiof a strong and Farry insufficient pensate against
afforded by the S and balances slatu Te and the Il So Weakened Iger afford any
Such abuses.
"Çselta Liwes have of the cap:- endent action ipulation of the Ewen the ultiif impeachiment : il live threat W to absolutism EA In inicxorable Lankan system. hand there is Le Tilt which as
had an equally pernicious effect. There has been a steady and rapid advancement in the financial position of the M.P. Increased emollments, subsidiary alloWances, pensions, supporting staff and services, concessionary befits of diverse kinds, have mellowed even the most fractious M.P.s into a quiet acceptance of the advantages of all uninterrupted term of office. Nearly two-thirds of the members of the Govern Illent Party do ill addition enjoy the cornucopia. of Coffice under Warious designatio I - Cabinet Ministers, State Ministers, Project Ministers, Chief Ministers, Provincial Millisters — their na Ille is legion. Il addition to this they may even TECciye Tellef Tru IIl the PTöSide Ilt'5 Fund if afflicted by any calami
OLH5 0"11.
The other competing source of power that could provide alını effective check or restraint would be the Judiciary. The general view appears to be that this institution to C läs Wilte di Liller the overpowering pressures of
Presidential power. With the abolition of office of all the Judges of the Supreme Court
appointed under the 1972 Constitution and the selection of some for elevation to the newly stablished COLTL the constittional guarantees of independence secmlı lını Teal and in substantial. Likewise the preliminaries to reIllwil for his behaviour in the form of hearings before a Select Collittce of Parliatt Werc activated twice, even the inadWertellt fiul Te to take the oth of judicial office. On the other Hill LlTitleT, a lateT dillimistation they have been showered with generous benefits. The salaries of Judges are charged on the Congolidated Fund and Thot subject to debate in the interests of judicial independence. But this safeguard too has been eroded by granting them handso Ille allowią Ilces that presu Ilmably for Ill part of the Annual Appropriation Bill that has to be debatscoil in Parlia IlleInt.
I do not think that in order to strengthen judicial indepen
(CρΙΙΙΙπIMται στη ΡμΕΕ 18)
“" #5 Porsored by the LA y 50 CIETY TRUST
11

Page 14
DRU
Doctors are a Ware that are not always desirable.
The main reason is that out of that proliferate from a single scientif two finally remain in any Rational F. advanced for marketing purposes fail
Before this happens unfortunately in human, economic and medical ter.
Generic drugs that have entered there have stood the test of time an for clinical excellence.
For over a third of this century drugs to the country's hospitals and
This great reliance is the biggest to the people and the medical profes
M. S. J. Indu Factory a
P. O.
Colli
 

JGS ?
Market Oriented Drug Policies
a bewildering variety of derivatives cally validated compound, only one or ormularν, This means that maην Clairης
under extended scientific scrutiny.
irreparable damage has been done
S.
the Pharmacopoeia and have remained d have weathered the unceasing search
we have made and supplied Formulary clinics, and to the private sector.
factor in our growth and our service sion.
stries (Ceylon) Ltd., Ld IILaboratories
Box 430 15 0נmh

Page 15
S. Sathananthan
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Nationalitics and the State
The British Colonial State Created its social base in the collprador classes drawn from all nationalities in Sri Lanka. The upper most position in the social hierarchy, engineered by colonialism, was occupied by this multi-nationality social straturn. An implicit parity Was maintained between the nation. alities whilst the comprador fraction of each nationality separatly negotiated the terms of exploitation with the, alien colo: nial State. An early political Expressign of this clientalist relationship was the 1833 Legislative Council, in which the British apportioned seats between different nationalities to ensure 'balanced representa
After Independence in 1948, the Sinhala-speaking (Sinhalese) fraction of ruling classes inheri. ted control of the post-colonial State. They set out to establish a Social base for the State aIllong the Sinhalese (major) nationality in order to strengthen their own grip on political power as well as to ensure the legitimacy of the new State. Towards these ends, the Sinhalese ruling frac. tion used their virtual по пороly exercise of State power to effect two important changes.
Firstly, they re-ordered in stages the hierarchical social position (Kapferer, 1988) of the Tamil and Muslim пninor) паtionalities (who spea Tamil) to place them more and more subordinate to the Sinhalese. This "as symbolically expressed by elevating Sinhala language to the position of sole official language in 1956 (whilst denying the same status for Tamil language); and
Cliria i'r Ffrain, MARWYDDRU (tre fr A Irerrrafiye Develaprrıerur arilad நீரேரா Cooperario), Jaffrra, Sri Lanka.
Anti-Federalism: an e political bankruptcy
by reserving the for Buddhism, most Sinhalesc stitution in con practiced by IT and Christianit: cial and ccond Of IllinoT nati simultaneously
Secondly, the fraction set ou tional society W#18 UQ11Cẹjựët! cultu Tal-religiou halese society. of (Upcountry. adopted as the 1952, with the Wertical stripes - the other Green alırld Muslims" — Flag proper ant portant pole-e1 History was reSi Thalese: as b, of the soil'); Muslims were p Celt ERTTiwi IS" the country a therefore, are the rights of Sin With the superio to the Sinai Buddhist religior fil Irther re-in Forc lence" (Sheth), 1. the State and S hist) nationalit legitimized the di of Sinha lese in Tallils and Mus discrimination nationalities.
A corollary of nation was the minor nationalit ritics' in the Sinha lese Membe (MP), Mr. Nima there is one in BellTitry, HTitl tFiը lese nation, and a are national Illi Sa Tid, vol. 24, 19 Sequently POLITI which is inse
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

cercise in
- foremost place' the religion of in the 1972. Contrast to Hinduism, Lost Tamils, Islam . The actual somic subordination 31:lilities coccurred (Wilson, 1988).
Sinhaleseruling to create a Fillwhich in fact narrowly in the s a image of SinThe Lion Flag ) Sinhalese was national flag in addition of two - OIle Saffron and to dicinote Tamilis Outside the Lion l at the less imld of the flag. Written to define 'їи/иіригra ( *Sons whilst Tamils and Orttrayed als fireWho Sic claims on Dild government, subordinate to halese. Together T. Stiltill Sal CCT led language and l, these changes ed the equiva1989: 618) befween inhalese (Budd. Y. They also DIllinant position relation to the ills and justified against minor
Sinhalese domiTe-definition of ies as é i mino. WOrds of a T of Parliament | Karunatil lake, lation in this t is the Sinha| other groups. | Crities"" (Han56:1720). ConCAL POWER, parable from
nationalities and the Testructuring of which is at the core of the nationality, question, was kept
out of the political agenda. Instead, political debate was structured around the issue of
POLITICAL RIGHTS, which are more relevant to ethnic groups Cor Illi 10 Title5.
During early lēgtiltis between Sinhalese and Tamil leaders under the 1957 Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact, attempt was made to partially compensate for the subordinate status imposed on Tamils and Muslims by providing for the administration of the Northern Province as a single Tamil linguistic region and the Eastern Province are two or more regions. But the agreement was aborted in the face of opposition from Sinhalese chauvinisTim. In 1963, regional administration at provincial level was abolished; and limited administrative authority was decentralized at the level of districts within each province, ostensibly to bring administration closer to the peoplc". In reality, this change was aimed at further centralizing policymaking powers in Government and eliminating any scope for provincial-level administration of either province as the Tamil linguistic region.
1.2. Traditional homeland and
the federal alternative Attempts at domination were resisted by Tamils and gave rise to the defensive claim that the Northern and Eastern Provinces constituted the traditional homeland' of Tamil-speaking peoples. In 1976, the gnal or establishing a separate Tamil State, Tamil Eelam, in the two provinces was formally adopted by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), In the late 197OS conflicts sharply intensified. Tamil militant groups and particularly the Liberation Tigers of Tahil Eelam (LTTE) launched guerilla
13

Page 16
struggles in the two provinces to create a separate State, Tamil Eela.
Among the Muslim nationality, resistance to Sinhalesc domi. nation crystallized when the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) demanded in 1988 the creation of "Muslim homeland' in the Eastern Province. Wery quickly the bi-polar conflicts bct Ween Sinhalese-controlled State and the Tamils was transformed into a three-cornered struggle, which included Muslims, for control of territory and access to political power.
The increasingly authoritarian response of the State produced a multi-dimensional political crisis: civil society was militarizcd, political institutions and traditions were emasculated, and freedom of dissent and protest was diluted in the extreme. This was explained by the then President Mr. J. R. Jayawardene in one sentence: In times of war, laws are silent". A further consequence was the rapid centralization of political power in til Office Of In Executive President under the 1978 Constitution. A measure of the intensity of crisis il Southern STi Lanka Was the resurgence of guerilla strug
gles by the Sinhalese Jara tha Virukthi Perazzina (JVP) in the Illid-1980s and the abortive
attempt to impeach the President in September 1991.
The political crisis has Teached a point now where it it clear that attempts by the Sinhalese Iuling fraction to adımilister the Country through domination of Tamil and Muslin nationalities are tragically dysfunctional. In this context, it Elas become bious that the introduction of a federal system of government is the only awali lable political solution within the fraПеwork of glumited Sri LaПka Willich could
(a) reverse the centralization of power and democratize political SLTLIC:till Tes Lid
(b) address the question of power-sharing between the diffeTermit II äitionalities.
14
The importanc Solution bascid structure is und growing militan country or Kand are culturally north-east (LOW. and are el 11:CirgiTI nationality. Th political autoInt) Eerritories in C: Provinces where the majority,
Leading Tamil d thטhampionט
Federalism fir Ir decades. The 11 Sinhalest Eli We realize the rele alternative. The Tamil pogroms
1981 in the F
1983, the Tell Ict forces which allist exclusive
– to protect T: the blatailt II security forces wealed the incr bctwcem tle L1 I the Sinhales E. П taneously, the gained greater lic eyes of Tami
liticalities.
But any refe troduction of a of government, emasculate don Illil OT DELLINITE hostility from Sin Before the 198C TCS) COISES WCTE Tudimentary te [aTglTilt חזי0וkI Linkel is toch S. require federal tric բԸ (31 - 1 է: federalism; El incl Drawidian Tamil being descendall til Waders"" froIII hawe 10 right receive equal : bhFraip fra AT people.
The decet. Täll rity to the two into the North(NEP) u Indler | Lanka Accord elected Provin. W5 far III

e of a political
om a fedeTe1 rscored by the -g LIpחÖווCy HT, yan Tamils, who
distinct fTGIl -Colintry) Tamis gas the fourth ey are seeking my for defined ntrll HTld UWa
they constitute
politicians have a concept of 1.Te thal Il f”JLIT ore enlightened also begun to ince of a Federal I repeated antiof 1977, 1979, olocalist of July ance of security EլTէ: mained ly by Sinhalcsc Ili ls and indecidi articipation of in pogroms re*asing сопgгuence itary State and lationality. Simulederal alternative gitimacy in thc and Muslim
Telce to the iIfederal system Wիicի WլյլIItl hination by the lity, provoked halese opposition. is, anti-federalist expresscd in Tm5: te better its a Te that Sri mall a country to sm; that it is
untry to afford that the alien
people, allegedly ts exclusively of 1 southern India, L0 expect Cir talls with the WAI) Silil Ele:5
izati OI of Alth Coprovinces, merged Eastern Province Էլt: 1987 Intlյthrough an ial Council (PC) successful; which
made the introduction of a federal system all the more compelling. But Sinhalese opposition further refined its anti-federalist positions to defend the retention of the unitary State. Arguments against federalism based on environmental rationality' were exa Illincd earlier (Sathananthan, 1992), The present essay will examine
arguments against federalism based on so-called 'legal rationality'.
2. On the inapplicability of a
federal system
The arguments based on legal rationality and directed against the introduction of a federal system of government were māTshalled in Ar Apraisa of the Federal Alter Flativē for Sri Lanka (de Silva 1991). The author, Mr. H. L. de Silva, is a Sinha lese and an Attorney-atLaw who was a member of the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) delegation to the 1985 Thimpu Talks. The publication was a response primarily to views expressed at a seminar of Sri Lankan conflicts conducted in June 1991 by the Centre for South and South-East Asian Studies, Madras University. The Appraisal (p. 1-2) referred to statements by Mr K. P. Menon Foreign Secretary of ndia), Mr Thomas Abraham 蠶 High Commissioner for India in Colombo), Mr N. Ram (Editor, The Hindu) and Mr R. Šampanthan MP (TULF), all of whom supported the introduction of a federal system as the solution to ethnic conflicts' in Sri Lanka. The statement of Mr. Subramanian Swamy was especially forceful: If (the GSL) cannot offer a truly Federal Constitution, then We may have to force them to act" (p. 2). Moreover, the Preface noted the emergence of a body of opinion' in Sri Lanka (that is, a long. Sinhalese), which considered the introduction of a federal system as a possible solution to the political crisis. In reply, the Appraisal put forWard a series of arguments against a federal system in Sri La Inka.

Page 17
2-1. Federalism and the
Constitution
It was claimed that a federal structure cannot be introduced because the unitary Constitution does not provide for a federal Ein (P. 20). The vulgar legalism of this position defies the imagination.
Moreover, since a Constitution. at amendment for introducing a federal system should be PHSSed by a 23rd majority in Parliament and requires approval at a Referendum, this route was also considered virtually closed. But the Constitution was made Eice. Within six years (in 1972 and 1978) to satisfy the ambi ions of the Sinhalese ruling raction and aspirations of the Eationality. It could surely be F-Written a third time for hich the government has the necessary parliamentary majority and which does not require EPProval at a Referendum to incorporate the demands of
Tamil, Muslim and of the Ilerging Kandyan Tamil matonalities. The Appraisal failed
to explain why this could not he done.
2.2 Federalism
Federalism Շtilist, it was a Systerih dics; lo always contain cies by serving to Secession. readers were it the acceptance idea'. Referring encil disintegrat lavia, it was federal structure intensified Secessi because it enco loyalties and fis: cies leading to
(p. 14). The oby that is no caus between federal
SeCessionist movi ionist movement Collintries with as federal system: Շ:1118e for hլIch II political conditio of peoples as in abridged or deni. (Blaut, 1987), Whether the Stat federill.
It is unfortu Appraisal did not
TAM
AT TH
U.N.
THE LIFE
THE
KRISHIMA
The book:
 

I Secc55ion
rejected beged, a federal necessarily and paratist tenden5 an alternative the Preface, utioned against sluch a facile to the threatn' of Yugosplied that a caused and/or nist novellents Tages regional parous tendenlestibilization'' Ols answer is ll relationship systems and ments. SeccSSal Tc found in litary as well The common Wellents is a where rights Ationalities are ed by a State irrespective of : is unitary or
late that the seck inspiration
in more successful examples of federal system. Even references to india ignored the creation of linguistic states, which protect the territorial expression of identities of different national
ities. Instend, the concern Was more to show that imposition of Presidential Rule in Some
Indian states is sufficient evidCInce that constitutional mechanisms and legal devices alone do not necessarily guarantee either peace or stability" (p. 3). This observation is cqually true for the unitary State in Sri Lanka, where constitutional and legal provisions have tragically failed to stem the rising Tamil and Muslim nationalisms and spreading civil war. Therefore, the Appraisal advocates implicitly a two-pronged REGRESSIVE approach to the nationality question: it suggests that (a) the unitary State should be retained with a minimum of modifications whilst (b) political movements struggling for a federal alternative must be contained militarily by the State.
(To be continued)
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15

Page 18
AGRARIA W CHA MWIGE (4)
Llandlordism and Merch Prevails over Growth
Kuudu KLISLIm Kumara
t was observed in the previous section of this paper that While the agricultural production in the peasant sector in Sri Lanka in the post-colonial period has witnessed a significant growth, the benefits of this growth did not accrue equally to all sections of the peasantry, the poorer sections among them, the marginallis cd peasantry and the agricultural Workers, in particular.
As we discuss below in this section, the full benefits of increased earnings from this growth do not accrue to the peasantry due to several factors: Landlordism in the traditional villages rewail continuing to extract rents roll share tenants; commercialization and technological modernization strengthened the lominance of Iller chant and usurer capital over productive capital in Tural economy extracting the surplus produced by the peasanLTy; state-sponsored Tu Tall i Institilltionis rein forced L.h1c existing power structures at village level en hancing the flow of sur plus from the peasants to mercantile elements and lalim dlo Tids; the nu Timber of persons depending on existing land has continued to increase, leading to fragmentatil of ILlici Il fullTitle ICWICring the incone per person depending on land; state sponso Ted agricultural re-set Elements despite the professed government objective of creating a stratum of prosperous farmers', have witnessed at a more acute level, the repetition of the saime above problems which characterize traditional villages.
Landlordism Prevails
Landlords whose small agricultural holdings a Te cultivated by share tenants in the peasant sector in the traditional
16
willages -
hawe in thic pið continuel Lo Stäta in the Tui Stic ad Ordi5) the limits in ownership by t [ltהנgt 1972 ct paddy land til above tէլt: 25-i1 il additio 11 to
5ðITE COf these
nucd to be culti oriented labour sed foTIls of (Guinasinghe, 19 share-rents (H. Throughout tl period shal Te 1 agriculture ha ill coside able
about 225,000
accounting for
16 per cent) co Tated Llm de T Shäl of Agriculture
Nile of the llIldertakel in Period, brough changes in tre relations. The lize Ladlo Td-t without any fu in the systell thuis legitimizir not only share
f is la Indlord’s lega first two, the of 1953 and I at providing LEIlure to sh:1Te and regulating dil Int affect of agricultural Act which ill the 581 c fe a LL. cessor ald Wa more easily contained one the landlord: of passing the could evict his ded that he/sh

nant Capital
st-colomill LeTiCl be a significant rall society. McIlm, unaffected by posed on land e Land ReföITIT Illes to CCC Lily שווזניט ăit wouldן cre land ceiling: shaTe CTopping, |:1Tlds : To Colitiwated Lilder casterent, and disguibllel lab 82:55-55) and high aneed, 1977:108). le post-colonial enacy in paddy is prevailed at level: At present Paddy parcels about 200,000 (or f actreage are opere tenancy (Census 1982),
fOLIT lili reforl; the post-colonial է about significant ditional agrarian sought to for IlaIlant relationship Indiamental cha Inge of ill tenure ng the rights of telä-ILS ELL 153 wen specifying the | Crop share. The Paddy Lands Acts 958, while aimed security of land crմբping tenants, levels of Tent, ownership pattern ill. The 195S general embo diel res as its predes Writtel L. Ele Inforced however, escape clause for within five years Act, the landlord ihler tenant provie Would Cultiwa te
the land him/herself. In addition to this serious limitation, the Act did not bring about Ewell the desire results in the proposed reforms due to lack of will on the part of the government in the implementation and enforcellent of the Act. There were also social factors which prevented the tenants from availing themselves of the opportillinities extended to them under the Act. Neither the Land ReFoI Act of 1972, which set : land ownership ceiling at 25 acres of paddy land or 50 acres of other land, radically unaffected with only 1.3 percent of total paddy acreage or about 19,000 acres brought under the Act and distributed among the the peasantry, the reason being that the ceiling of 25 acres was to high by Sri Lankan standa Tds (Shanmugaratnam, 1980:69-70). The Land Reform Act of 1975 brought under state control all estates belonging to foreign and local companies, almost totally cultivated to export crops, mainly tez alıcıl to a lesseTextent : Tılıbber and coconut. Of the la Tid brought under the state control under both the reforms, less tham 14 percent (or 135,000 out of 98.1368 acres) only was redistributed among the landless, thus rendering the two Telforms VIIItually a transfer of ownership from the private sector to the State (Shaumugaratnam, ibid). Thus, despite four land reforms, the insecurity of teniul Te prevails
Landlords under various mechaIlisms have co TitiThulled to cha Tige share rents, higher than the maximum of one fourth stipulated under the Paddy Lands Act of 1958. Payment of 53 percent of produce of paddy as share rent by tenants to landlord was the Thorm. Tilther than the exoption in many parts of the coun

Page 19
in the early 1970's (Harmeed 1977:19; Central Bank cited ITl, Shanmugarätnam, 1980:76; ARTI, 1975:16). Even in late 1970 peasants in some parts of the Entry continued to pay half the produce as share rent (Morrison et al. 1979:9).
In recent times, the burden on the share tenants as lgaist the landlords has been increas
ed through State-intervention: the Agrarian Services Act No. 8 of 1979, changed the previous
law which enjoined, Shire cropper to pay a rent of one fourth of the yield or 15 bushes of Paddy irrhicheier ra soller in areas with higher yields to one which provides the share tel the same alternative, but ET1joins him to 卫ay 嘻凸。、 grega fer (Guinasinghe, 1986. 46-47), thus fixing a minimum Tטnt instead of a fixed Tlaximuli Tent Which would have benefitted the peasantry even within the frameWork of share tČT24T1Cy. The Agrarian Services Committees St up under the Act, have been turned into instruments to eli
minate the inefficient fa TimeTs Who would invariably be the poor ones. The enforcement of
Productivity norms an טTopping talenders among PפֿHSant producers has been chanced by tying the Security of tenancy to the productivity of the tenants and penalties for violations including dispossession written into the Law (Shan Iniugaratnam, 1987: 173; De Vroey and Shanmugaratman, 1984:35: Gunasin ght, 1985: 47). Thus the Persistence of landlordism and high-share rents continue to depress the net incomes of share tenants.
Merchant Capital Dominates
Increasing commercialization and the spread of modern technology in agriculture has added to the money lender and the trader, new agents of merchant capital in the rural areas: transport agents who transport agricultural produce, tractor owners who hire tractors for CLI liwation purposes, the newly епnergiпg rich peasants and agricultural entrepreneurs who themselves act as money lenders and hire farm machinery. It is not uncommon
til See ole ir ting two or in T{}les iT1 comb ging the entir Ta tipini aid 859 my of the p. Wirtual control Operator incr diency of Pe (Guinasinghe,
Increasing and monetizat economy has e ket e Ticinited c. the peasantry period, This, Tead F practices oli y been compelle creasingly and the purchase Il a Tiket hawe i needs of the II to higher rate In the absence TuT:ll Ti II:lIlcial
Sequently, gen Telations in til finance for cı
production, an of agricultural
El Salts body Services from
Sources at very tes to be repai and kind, mos har vest. The di PČ:13:1ľ1LIy 0 m Ile hals heightened tary Telations “E Rarties (Shanmi 200) instead of ties with the talist relations.
of the CCc) In Iiiii tlle PEl Safitg | aused by eithe decine in prices Produce or a for agricultural
Vices, or an LII
GWEITnts in fami drive them to i tio!ing a cycle
Which could ever lease, sale or f
tgage of the Ultimately the p P being a share her own and unemployed.
Warious attem
BOWCTImment With objective of sav

Il dividual represen10 Te of the bowe i11ation thus - brinC cultivation opeTleti Illes the econoeasa Ints under the of one financial asing the depenELSAT tS. El tim 1986:48).
CC. In Hercialization ion of the rural hinced the manInsumption among since the cylia together with the dern agricultural hich peasants have
to depend in Which necessitate if inputs in the Creased the cash easan try leading f borrowing. t of a developed Illrket and conIeralised market 1. Provision of TSlumption and the provision Services. ΤT11Την " Попеy ог һire Private lending high interest ra
in kind or cash tly tied to the *penderice of the TCilitic elements ETSI nalised moneetween the two Iga Tattan, 1987: eliminating such letration of capiAny disruption : activity of midwhich could be El CTop Failure. for agricultural increase in prices inputs and serExpected turn of ily life would ndebtedness imi: of borrowing Itually result in rfciture through gricultural land. El Salint Illa y end tenant on his CT al land Ic5
its taken by the the expressed ing the small
producer and the consumer from the clutches of the middle man have failed: The benefits of the GPS, did not accure to all the peasants equally due to the administrative weaknesses of the scheme which lent itself to fraud and abuse, the absence of an effective institutional infrastructure, as well as due to the very indebtedness of the peasants which was to the advantage of middlemmen (Snodgrass, 1966: 162163). The provision of subsidised institutional credit under the Agricultural Credit Scheme has, as a result of most of the middle and por peasants dropping Coult of the Scheme after defaulting, eventually benefitted only the rich peasāntry (Shan II1m. LugaTatnarını, 1980:85). The performance of the Scheille has been extreill cly erratic with a 49,3 percent aver age default rate out of a total amount 1299.1 million rupees worth of loans granted between 1967/68 Mahla to 1981 Yala. With high default rates and the total amount defaulted growing every year, the Scheme has made no significant impression on the Overall structure of rural credit (Thorbecke and Svejnar, 1987: 164). As a means of gaining popularity aIIlong the electorate, all governments on several occasions have Written of out. standing crop loans and issued fresh lans to Ele entire com In unity of paddy farmers. This has led peasants to consider government sponsored agricultural Credit as a Welfare measure thus affecting the economic viability of the Scheme. Crop insurance which began on a pilot basis in 1959 has not been tible to a Ltract sufficient numbers of farIllers to make the scheme viable. This has been partly the result of crop insurance being tried to borrowing under the Agricultural Credit Scheme. Attempts to develop government-Tun marketing agencies to facilitate the purchase of agricultural products from farmers and their distribution to the consumer have failed in the long run, with corruption, inefficiencies апсi poor management affecting the viability and effectiveness of such
projects,
17

Page 20
Thus despite all the 4ttempts by the government with the professed objective of protecting the peasantry from the Cxploitation of middlemen, IlllllII. CITLIS, agents of merchant capital, the trader and the moneylender continue to dominate the rural financial market, extracting surplus froIl the peasапtry.
The Elite and the PoliticoBureацcracy Dominates Rural Institutions
The government-sponsored suportive institutions at the village such as the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (MPCSS) or the cultivation Committees to name two key institutions, have contributed to reinforce the existing structures of inequality to the disadvantage of the average peasant. These institutions which were traditionally dominated by the socially and economically powerful groups, since late have been controlled mainly by the politically powerful through the patronage of the regime in power. In Illa Ily instances the politically powerful also happen to represent sections of the socially and economically powerful. Otherwise, Thglitical power have given rise to new elites in village who thrive on political patronage of the ruling regime in collaboration with the bureaucracy. These dominant minority groups usurp the control and benefits of Tural institutions, use the positions thus usurped in promoting their entrepreneural activities and economic status through a symbiotic relationship formed with the politico-bureaucratic organizations (ARTI, cited in Shanmugaratnain, 1980:86). Under the 1970).--77. SILFP lle leftcoalition regime, political patronage became the operative mechanism of rural institutions as a result of government supporters being entre Inched at ali levels within these institutions (Morri5011 et al, 1979; vi) The outcome has been Inis management of these institutions, with widespread corruption, in the name of the politicization
Until 1977, the purchase of paddy and other food טrQps
18
under the GPS Ime Tit Hild the agricultural inp visions of sup Imainly through Cooperatives no Illai Italin i TE essential input the cultivation Uther flod CT) få WClured the Imically and pic Sections of the distribution placing the awi a disadvantag 140; Morrison Moore, 1985:89 Cultivatill Co. under the 19. Act to regulate initially consist clected from li Waltors tius 1 presentatical CF decision Illikin under the do elite groups yielded Timore With subsequen composition of hlas been cha under the Agri tivity Committe appoint the I. CČITI I liittee. Te Minister of increasing polit agricultural ac Willage level; I to the earlier less than tem CũIIlmittee tỷf I геpresentatives c the Agrarian S 58 of 1979 at that 8 Out of 11ittee Ilembe govern Illent offic iTng bureaucrati HgTicultural pro singlie, 1986:45overall effect of tions has been ing the existing leaving the aver subaltern positio ability to benefi provided by the the decision ima
agriculture at th
(Next: Rese

by the governdistribution of buts and the proport services Were the MPCS5. The Dit only failed to :gular supply of 5 and services for of paddy and ps, but also they socially, econolitically
Willage in the f services, thus TEC PC34534 mit allt : (Harriss, 1977: et al. 1979:31-38: –95). The village innittees set up
58 Paddy Lands
: the cultivation, ICd of members rmli...) II1g the . cultiowing some Te
the peasantry at g levels however, minance of the Whose meillbers
political power. t legislations, the
the Committee 1ged LWice: First Cultural Produc. e Law of 1972 to
liliority of the mbers by the Agriculture thus
ical influence on tivities at the ext as opposed טח ovision ofחק embers of the 4 to be direct if the cultivators, eTwices Act No. le it mandatory 14 of thԷ tւյIllT5 shi, olulull be tials thus increas. [: C{IIIt Tool &1\ựẹT duction (Guna47). Thus the “ Tural institulIle of strengthen
pOWET St. Ligtu Tes In 5II1L Hit al in affecting their ti f'TOOIT SET"Wice5
VT nimetad king process on
.t village level.
tleets)
stronger
SOme. . . .
(Сол тілшег1 fromп page. II )
dence and effectiveness there is any great need for an enhancement of their jurisdiction O constitutional powers. Their wcäkness stems from Other SOUTces which is directly traceable to the enormous power wielded by the President and not infrequently to the choice of men for appointment who lack strength of character. These debilitating tendencies are not of recent origin, nor are they բE&ll= liar to Sri Lanka. But when enhancing the powers of the Executive it is well to bear in mind the relative weakness of the other two branches.
Finally, I am not inclined to agree with Dr. Coomaraswamy that the national minorities have a greater advantage under a system of electing the president on an all - Island basis. The Tclative influence of minority groups a Te to a great exte Int CC) Inditioned by the voting patterns of the electors of the majority community which are not always constant. Minority support turned out to be crucial for the U.N. P. in March 1960 but not three Ionths later for the SLFP in July 1960. Again it was crucial for the UNP in the 1965 General Election but not for the UF Government in 1970. Overly strong pressures from a minority may set in motion chauvinistic trends among the majority and give rise to groups such as the Hela Urumaya and the Sinhala Arakshaka Sangwidanaya which will narginalise minority support. A just and equitable solution to the problem of the Illinorities which is also a viable one has to be fashioned on the basis of national consensus, above partisan politics, the necessity for which has to be painfully learned by the majority рагty leader and which I think is now more likely to emerge in the context of the sufferings of every community during the last decade. Perhaps we may also have to experiment with some features of consociational democracy in the quest for a solution of the problem of ethnic minorities.

Page 21
more likely to produce
first and negotiators
CONFLICT (3)
Supportive problem-so
John M. Richardson and Jianxin Wan
dvocates of problem-solving approches maintain that Zerosum strategies are of limited effectiveness except in single, one-shot negotiations over limited resources (Singer, 1990, Ch. 2)
In complicated negotiations, and
especially in resolving conflicts where protagonists will remain in close proximity to one another, a strategy that transforms zero
sum bargaining to mutually sup
portive problem-solving is far stable,
long-lasting agreements.
The Harvard Negotiation project, headed by Roger Fisher and William Ury has been instrumental in both refining and popularizing problem-solving approaches (Fisher and Ury, 1981; Fisher and Brown, 1989). The Project's strategy of principled negotiation' advocates looking for mutual gains wherever possible. When interests conflict, Outcomes should be based on fair standards, independent of the will of either side,' (1981, p. xii). A principled negotiation, then, becomes a collaborative process of agrecing on fair standards and identifying previously un recognized arcas for mutual gain,
The authors propose four basic principles to guide negotiation processes (1981):
I, Separate the people fron the probler (Ch. 2). Adversaries must be recognized as people List li ttempt to place themselves in their opponent's shoes. The problens caused by differing perceptions, strong emotions and the need to save face"' must be taken into account.
2. Focus on interests, riot positions (Ch. 3). Negotiators must recognize that behind opposed positions lie shared and compatible interests as well as conflic
ting ones. . . . , tion of the 111 will reveal the In ore interests it and compatible
are opposed' (i.
3. Ілуетіп оры, gain (Ch. 4). Il separate the cre seeking (brainst tions from the 1 confronting proc and choosing an
4. Irrisis I u III (Ch. 5). The al that creativity in tions Will not the - il-harsh reali that conflict" p. lenge is to tran: clution of such a test of Will to on the basis of independent of t side. Legitimate, teria can be basi ognized principle judgement', 'It professional sta ciency', and the
Although every different, Fisher tain that the cle cipled negotiatio “Principled nego purpose strategy' plicable to famil Superp Weir all Ins
(p. xiii),
Two contendi thought are four focus on negot
and international conflicts specific criticizes traditi argues that in other for Ills of much in colm a in increased Tol trained professi the Secold Scho. Illulch can be le tional diplomacy tional conflicts

|ving approaches
A close examinaterlying interests xistence of пna nу hät are shared than ones that 3. 43).
for is far riffiti Negotiators must ative process of rming) new opThore analytical, ess of judging long them.
Ejective பFile: 1lhors recognize | inventing opntirely obviate Ey of interests B4). The chaliforn the res
conflicts fro | El Tegotiatico Il Criteria that are le Will of ether practical” crid. 011 Such reS AS of Scientific: arket value", Indards”, “Fefiji
like.
negotiation is and Ury main. ments of a prindo not change. iation is an all that is as apdisputes as to Con tTC) Ek 5
g schools of l in Works that iting national level political y. The First al diplomacy, Trnational and Conflicts have and advocates for technically ål mediators. I LI ES that led from tradithat internalve distinctiwe
characteristics and that mediators
must play a political as well ls El Professional role.
The first school of thought is exemplified by C. R. Mitchell's Work on third Party mediation (1981). He believes that traditional approaches to legð til tio have high risks and, even if Successful, fail to produce viable long-term solutions (Ch. 1). Traditional negotiators 355-LIII le that they are in a twin-los situation Where Compromises, involving concessions by both sides prowicie the best possible OPPortunity for a solution (Intro). The shortcomings of traditional էlբբTCaches could be remedied, the El Lutho T maintains, by the Participation of professionally trained "CCSultants' who would Similar to Fisher and Ury’s principled negotiation. Conflicts would be Incidiated by altering Protagonists gals, perceptions and Tidlige Ofåvailable altefnatives (Introduction and Ch. 4). Mitches חltנtleI for the consultant's is the workshop' format first propsed by John Burton (2969) and Subsequently used by Kelman and Cohen to intervene in the conflict between Greek and T[]T- kish Cypriots (1972).
The works by Zartman alınd Berlin (1982) and especially by Touval (1982) present álmost á miTror image of Mitchell's PClint of view. They lfgle that IIluch can be learned from diplomats experiences. In their View, the distinctiveness of national and international level political conflicts and negotiations demands, Elit lealist in some degree, distin. ctive conflict Tésolution strategies.
Zartman and Berman's Te Practical Negotiator (1982) is the Ingst empirically grounded Study Ջf political conflict Tesolution found in the literature. It draws upon more than ten years research under the aսSpices of the
9.

Page 22
the Academy for Educational Development's Conflict and Communication program. The resources generated by the project included inteiTiViews With Illu Imērolls practitioners and the results of dialogues between scholars and practitioners in several structured settings. The authors propose a three stage model of the In cgotiation process. In the diagnostic phase, negotiations are ilitiated and opportunities ToT a solution to the conflict are identified. In the fợ"#IIIII Phase, specific formulas or rules that could provide a basis for ag Teeiment a Te defined. In the detail phase the specific elements of an agreement are negotiated and finalized. For each phase, "specific behawiors and tactics" that can improve the conduct of negotiations and better the chances of success are propos cd. These are summarized in practical checklists' which negotiators are advised to keep on
their desks."
Wilc Zärt
Work is broad both di Tect 1 e protagonists a which third p; S::lli: TollWall ke-5: Medictor eli Conflict, 19 Tesses the Tole exclusively. It the distincitiwe international c Inost strongly “Peçe, Brokers duals or teilms in sine distinct solve the ongo Arabs and Israe Toluwa attribut IIlediators are emphasized e shtuld be expe resolution and about the spec CDT1 text in Whit the parties in qualities shoul intelligence, pe T. lity and pati
VASA O
2O7, 2d C Colomb
Telephoпе :

In di BcTilal’s y applicable to gotiations between to those in rties play a role, 5 TXIe PëICe: Ergir "WE Ars Mars8-79 (1982) addof third parties also empha sizes characteristics of ImıLI1äl CôI1flicts Thie author's Te the i Ildiwithat participated alt LCI'll pils, t) Teng Strife between is. The qualities
es to Suce essful similar to those lsewhere. They
ielced in conflict knowledgeable fic conflict, the sh it is waged and olved, Personal iIgude tilgt, LlisiweThess, hlLL 11 niC. But in
contrast to other analysts, Touwal does not believe that successful ediators in intellational and ethnic conflicts need be or probably will be unbiased. Rather he believes that third parties will bring both recognized biases and external resources to the mediation process. In the cases he exallied, mediators' effectiveness in winning concessions from protagonists was due more to the resources at their disposal than impartiality or even nego
tiating skills. Tollwall believes that third party mediation in the Middle East must realisti.
cally be viewed as another for ill of power politics, albeit one of the Ice555 est Licitiwe form 15.
Examination of The peace Brokers concludes our brief literatu Te survey. The stage is now set to answer the two questions that introduced this paper: (1) Why did the ethnic peace accords fail? (2) How can those concerned with resolving ethnic conflicts do better
PTICANS
ross Street, Ճ = 1 1 .
4, 21 631

Page 23
LETTERS
Maravar Militarism
Please permit me to say a few words about Mr. Sivaram's essays on Tamil military castes. III his account he is illegitimately glorifying them. Hic s ccms to be implying that they were treated unambiguously with a We and veneration, at the time of their exploits. Tamil literary documents of the period are not reliable on this score. Poets and bards were hired - hands in the service of chiefs and could be paid to praise and exaggerate their struggles and victories. In :a I 1Y Case there aTc ( ) th, eT T:aIThlil poems that portray thc Inaravar ELS bloodthirsty Savages, uncoլIth, undisciplined and lawless who lived by robbing unarmed travellers. The Shilapatikaram for instance. In entions them as practising 'the glorious art of stripping travellers of their wealth
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- for the brave lies in the heart der.“
There is lo established king own - and at c WEfo IIlLrLEIlirie: other kingdoms Were many Iulii cielt Talil 5oci TWI YW CT: F 5 Li Im:Ily Cistes Wer tention for pow WIT W01, alt til Ilot Overpowering all thic time an territory. In til Diulwicva's clair Were quite corre possible to show a “fierce mara prefer to die : On the battlefi,
Defining
Sri Kanthi w October 1) that predominently Saxon Protest: cribe to the ico cracy. He cxclu Japan and Int been stable decades.
There arc si democratic states around 6 in 1 to be regarded : the “concept Otherwise they practising demo
It is a III lista democracy as white Anglo-S: W-11טוIטphenom democratic idea of Hobbes, Lock ding fathers ol Revolution, all White Anglo-Sa Blut the Te Were : Writers of the whose work led Rew Clutio11, wh: stride for deno
(D. P. Sivarano Tere ar FF, Miffları

mlrlvár virtue licissim css of plun
doubt that they gdoms of their ther times they i in the pay of . In fact there 1g castes in anety. The marach group. These e always in conet and the IllaraIles. They were g and domina Ilt d over the entire lis - respicct Mr. ns (L.G. 1992) Ct. In ficti: iš that they were war tribe who Li glorious death eld to a willage
Democracy
rites (L. G. of
only 16 states, f white Anglotheritage, subsIncept of demodes froIl hi5 list lia which have lemocracies for
ÇTES TE T the count being 390, which have as subscribing to of democracy, will rrot bic Tacy,
ke to think of predominently a axon Proteställt We call trace the in the writings e, and the founthe AImerical of whom were Xoin - Protestants. lso the European Enlightenment to the French ich was a giant cracy.
funeral pyre, as the Shilapadikaran puts it, they lacked a theory of government and civil society. For them a civil socicty is not som cithing that people live in but something that onc Tobs and dewours because thc Illaravar newer produce anything. Long before the British callic to suppress them, they had shown an inability to govern a civil society of Ill'any castics for any extended period of time. Gowcrnance mccds intclligičmcc. political wisdom, historical knowlcdge, forcbearance and a capacity for trust, all of which, if we arc to judge by the cliscriptions in the ancient Tamil texts, the marawar conspiciously lack.
A leadiness to kill and be killed, as We know only too well, is not the way to create
a civilized society.
T. Wanniasingham Callad
What has been happening in recent decades suggests strongly llat Luc lcmocratic idea hills al wcry widespread, if not a universal, appeal. The third Wave' of democracy after 1970 was essentially a Catholic phenomenon. After the collapse of European communism in 1989, the movement for democracy has covered the Slaw world and increasingly the Afro-Asian collintries. The latest - to holci del 10cratic elections have been Angola and Guyana,
The peoples of Burma, Thailand, the Philippines and South Korca, hund Teds of whom died for democracy, will be perplexed by Sri Kantha’s argument, o according to which their cnthusiasin for democracy has to be explained in terms of a slavish mentality. They will probably respond that it is those who try make excuses for nonsense demJcracy who exhibit the mentality of slayers and slaves,
Izeth Hussain Colombo I.
frri Hill be corrírued frr fhg frexf fastre)
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Kegālē, Gampaha, Mahiyangara, Matalè, AwissaWella, Galle, Horana, - Chlaw, Ja-Ela, Kadawatha, Homagana.

Page 25
ichael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan poet, domiciled in Canada, who has now Written the extraordinary novel We have been awaiting from him: The English Patier It is, li suggest, a masterpiece. This week, it was amed on the Booker prize shortIist。
Over the past 10 years, without fanfare, Ondaatje has become something of a cult figure. There was a 1979 jazz novel called Corning Through Slaughter, and a 1983 memoir of his family, in particular of his drunken father, called RFI ning in the Family (re-issued recently in Bloomsbury's elegant mini-hardback format, £999).
Then - leaving aside the poetry there was a remarkable novel
me of the most di Talmatic Oia surprising developments of the last twenty years was the proliferation of aggressive political Inow cments linked to religion. This book examines the interplay of religion and politics in predominantly Hindu India, Islamic Pakistan, and Buddhist Sri Lainka. This collection of Studies by internationally known scholairs challenges traditional stereotypes and interpretations of South Asian religion and politics and provides a multidisciplinary perspective on contemporary conFicts. While the focus of the work is on Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, the arguments advanced by the authors are useful for understanding recent developments in religion and politics around the World.
An informative introduction Overviews the link between cligion and political conflict in South Asia and offers a frame
Retreat from war - a Sri Lankan's masterpiece
THE ENGLIS by Michael Bloomsbury EI.
That Book called for a prefatory qu again will a sing as though it wer There is a clue P芷严。
It is interes cssential, to kno Work picks up characters from a Lio. After tE of the earlie are low in Tilsic sing months of t WEAT
The English cha TiTed, unide man Who, we gr parachuted in f North Africa di
Religion and Political Conflict in Sout
India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka Edited by Douglas Allen
Contributions to the Study of Religion, Nu
work and synops teTs that follo W. ped into three I ality. The cha examinic Tecent : growth of militan ill pact of cast socio-economic the problems of largest religious II: The chapters on how political and ges, led to the fundamentalisill relationship amon lism, and the Ts tble evolution social system in tion. The chapt ka explain the myth in justifyi pression, the the ideal of Bu and the reality lence, and the class, and gend conflict. Politic
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

H PATIENT
Ondaatjը o 33 pager o
on John Berger Citation: . Never gle story be told e the only one." to The English
ting, but not W that this new Several of the
f the Sir :F
Le 1930's Canada
book, W al Illy in the clohic second world
patient" is a
was rescued by the Bedouin. He is now tended by Hana, the shellshocked Canadian nurse who is making her farewell to arms; and attended by the burglarspy Caravaggio (for both, see the earlier novel) and a Sikh sapper, Kip, who spends his time on the very brink of death defusing the booby traps left in and around the villa by the departing Germans.
The four of them aire, in their different ways, in retreat; they continue their trades - nursing, bomb defusing - but they have stepped back into a private World in which social constructs have lost meaning. Ondaatje gives us their varios and interlocking stories, and tells them with an imaginative power that makes them haunting and unforgettable.
There is a central Tystery about the “patient’’ and, um
tifiable, dying latively and tentatively, we piece
dually discover gether a history of his pre-war
anes into Cairo life in the years when
*SCTt Where Elu rேied ரா நge 2)
th. Asia torians, and religion scholars will find this study a timely and valuable addition to their libraries,
Imber 34
is of the chapThese are grouAir ES by nationriters on IIldia. lections and the | HinduisIn, the relations on Inditions, and Muslims as the inority in India. 'akistan explore CC010Inic chiallise of Islamic the historical gelder, nation. amic state; and a capitalist El til Islamic IlITS ÖL STi Lantle of Buddhist g political opinflict between dhist pacifism F political vionpact of race, oil political Scientists, his
DOUGLAS ALLEN is profes. sor of Philosophy, at the University of Maine at Orono. A former Fulbright Instructor at Banaras Hindu University, his interests include Eastern philosophy and the phenomenology of religion. He has authored several books on Mircea Eliade (Structure ard Creativi in Re. Rico, Mircer Elia de: Ani Arnoialed Bibliography with Dennis Doeing, and Mircea Eliade et le Phεποπτεπε. Γεfigιεμι. and his Co-edit cd, with Ngo Wiinh Long, Соліпg o Terms: Глdochina, je
fired States, and the War.
Orders:
West port Publicatians, Ltd. 3 Henriet til Street Lind WC2E 8LU England
Toppin Company Box 2.
Jurong Town Post Office մurong
Singapore

Page 26
India . . .
(Сол тілшғd fғаліні раgғ: #)
not easy to get the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF) to withdraw. Yet the new nonCongress government of Prime Minister W. P. Singh was basically responsive, partly because the mighty Indian army had failed to dic feat some 2,000 Tamil guerrillas. While Premadasa's aggressively strident patriotism (anti-Indianism in Delhi's eyes) has infuriated large segments of of the Indian elite and, Illore Crucially, thic all-powerful bureaucracies - foreign office, intelligence and perhaps Defence establishment - Mr. Narasimha Rao, a realist, has adopted a conciliatory line. Two considerations have weighed most in the
new thinking'.
No non-Communist country's policy-makers have been so totally disoriented by the Soviet collapse than the Indian. The pains of re-adjustment to a post-Cold War World are all the Illore a culte becausic of the greater agonies and risks of the IMF’s structural adjustment policies now being implemented. Confronted by many armed revolts, separatist movements, caste discontent and religious
extremism, lin neighbourhood has improved
US So Well t US Llavics ha exercises. It
embassy in Is
In a refere: Sri Lika + P Mr. Prelladas Lankans Tegar and * ou nequa President Day
of the acco teh SC. Bult Rajiv Gandi
hegemonistic c. he said was ': to help Sri L. ethic conflict
vēl lige St political settle address Tamil regional auton communique i: gover III lents a equitable settl legitimate as Tami coll framework of a Rö's Indi: coercive dipl interated its - in the resolլլ: problen. Mr. Шf the is сатту Can't be stum
In the desperation Of or ration.
A RECORD OF THE EIGH
Assault and assassination were part Of the politician's art
We feared the mid-night knock To turn fra terror thg hornely sock. In the morn, the Small of frying eg By the saka, was gadsess Gadawer Dолe on bиглfлg tyres By night's surreptitious fires. Secret moves by dark, of hosts, Апd g hosts їлferacted with 9:hosts. Sure, this was па са глiva! Eut this our fear fin/ r70 cfuturria. Should we not then be glad МУһал до//ffcs wears tha who/a br/9)
Patrick a

dia needs a quieter . Meanwhile it
relations with the hat the Tadian and wg conducted joint
has opened an Tael.
nce to the India
:ace Accord' which al and most Sri ded as imposed' T treaty, Indian all Sharma spoke Td' in the past
he absolved
regime of any lesigns. The treaty I sincere attempt allkill resolve the , FHe qilicl hovyrIngly a negotiated Tment that Would aspirations for ony. In the joint Suled by the two lso spoke of an Illent to fulfil the pirations of the Inity. Within the LIII nited Sri Lanka”.
L has renounced сапасy, but геlegitimate' interest tion of the Tamil
Rao talks softly. ing a big stick, it
by the neighbours.
TES
S. " /ед75
paid? "asшriya
Էլէ: ,
Retreat. . .
|[[Салгiлығd from Page 23)
the Libyan desert was being explored for the first time and ecorded in the dry prose of the Royal Geographic Society. The patient is not what he seems. and there is irony in it; he is
not even English, but that is shown not to matter.
We are taken beneath the
charred surface to see that he is in no way an enemy we are beneath that level - but a human being Who enjoys pain, love. affection, memory, morphine, while his burnt body is symbolic of the old universe which has ended in flames.
Caravaggio, too, has a dramatic biography of horror and has retreated to watch over Hana, just as she has dedicated herself to the patient. And Kip, engrossed in his terrifying trade, hovering on the outside, clearing the ground around the villa, is drawn slowly into the inner ciri cle-until he hears of Hiroshima. "They would never have dropped Sluichl El bomb on a whitic nation."
The young man who has risked his life to defuse a thousand European bombs is undone. He now, Illust quit the war.
Not for the first tilne, OHdaatje's imagination is seized by the plunge into the void (see the nun blown over the bridge in In the Skin of a Lion). Here, the image of the aviator descen ding in flames is гepeated in Kip's final motorcycle crash into the river.
The patient slips into the har ness of the oil-wet parachute and pivots upside down, breaing free of glass, wind flinging his body back. Then his legs are free of everything, and he is. in the air, bright, mot kпоwiпg Why he is bright until he realise he is on Fire.
None of this can convey the Power of Ondaatje's writing, the beauty and excitement of his image, the elegances of his prose. The are early days, and Bookerguessing is a silly game, but 1 find it hard to see how they will be able to deny hin this year's prize.
J. D. F. Jones

Page 27
MEN
Why there's soun in this rustictob
There is laughter and light banter amongst these rural damsels who are bus, sorting (JuttobačCO leaf in a barn. It is one of the hundreds of such
baTTıs spTead OʻLut in the rimid and LupcCILIIrıtr y intermediate zone where the arable land remains fallo during the of 5eason.
Here, with careful nurturing, tobacco grows as a lucrative cash crop and the green leaves turn to gold... to the value of over Rs. 250 million or more annually, for perhaps 143,000 rural folk,
Traba: the SE people gTYJE: and in For
T.
Entյլոց
SHa
for
 

RICHNGRURAL LIFESTYLE
ld of laughter acco barn.
co is the industry that brings employment to cord highest number of people. And these
are the tobacco barn owners, the tobacco is and those who work for thern, on the land.
the bıII5. em, the tobacco leaf means meaningful work, fortable life and a secure future. A good h reason for laughter,
CeylonTobacco Co. Ltd.
ring and caring our land and her people,

Page 28
STILL LEADING
Mr. William Thompson ( and established the first
in this island on 01st June 1841.
He called it " Bank of Ceylon' That was 150 years ago, but that was not We. We opened our doors in 193
only to capture our rightful place in Bankin;
and are proud to say th; LEAD
Over the years banking profession shared our expertise and BANK OF CEYLON became Sri Lanka’s SANDHURST TO BANE
Ban
Bankers

btained a Royal Charter
Joint Stock Commerical Bank
9
Ο
at we still
KERS.
k of Ceylon
to Nation