In the 1980s, Sri Lanka was the face of major ethnic strife. The Tamilian population of Sri Lanka, which became a significant minority, demanded equal rights and treatment along with the Sinhalese citizens. The Tamils were facing active discrimination and there were many incidents of violence and brutality against them. Many separatist movements began during this time period and it led to the emergence of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), led by V Prabhakaran. The Tamil separatists gained support from the Indian government, and they were provided with military training and arms. In 1985, the Sri Lankan government also commenced its military rearmament to suppress the insurgency. This in turn led to an increase in violence in the island nation where many civilians became casualties.
With an effort of nurturing, intensifying, and strengthening the traditional friendship between Sri Lanka and India, and acknowledging the imperative need of resolving the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka, on 29th July 1987, the then prime minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, and the president of the democratic socialist republic of Sri Lanka, J. R Jayawardene signed the Indo- Sri Lanka peace accords to bring the Sri Lankan civil war to an end. As a result of the peace accords, the 13th amendment was passed in 1987. The amendment proposed the establishment of a provincial council system and the devolution of power for all nine provinces of the island nation and made Sinhalese and Tamil as national languages while preserving English as the link language. The hope was that when the amendment would be implemented entirely, the provincial councils will have the right to self-govern over issues such as education, health, agriculture, housing land, and police.
The country perceived this amendment as an imposition by India in its internal affairs. It was also opposed strongly by both the Sinhala nationalist party and the LTTE. The reason for the opposition was that the Sinhala nationalist parties thought that it was too much power to share, while the LTTE deemed it to be very less. The Tamil polity, especially its dominant nationalist strain, does not find the 13th amendment sufficient in its substance. However, some see it as an important starting point, something to confide in. There is a deadlock over the issue as most of the Sinhalese nationalist parties like Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), National Freedom Front (NFF), and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), continue to call for scrapping the amendment. The overriding powers given to the presidents of the country, throughout the years have become a hurdle in the implementation of this amendment.
India has been urging Sri Lanka to implement and enforce the amendment ever since the country’s war with the Tamil separatists ended in 2009. In mid-December 2021, several Sri Lankan MPs representing the Tamil and Muslim parties reached a consensus and sought India’s intervention to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government for full implementation of the long pending 13th amendment to its constitution. India’s Union minister for External Affairs, S. Jaishankar stated, during his visit to Colombo in 2021, “It is in Sri Lanka’s own interest that the expectations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace, and dignity within a united Sri Lanka are fulfilled. That applies equally to the government on meaningful devolution, including the 13th amendment of the constitution.” India had also raised the issue in the multilateral forum. At the United Nations human rights council (UNHRC) session held in Geneva in 2021, India’s permanent representative, Indra Mani Pandey, said India remains committed to “aspirations of the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, peace, and dignity”. Regardless of all the efforts made by India, the Sri Lankan government has failed to enforce the amendment completely.
At present, on the 75th independence of the country, the president, Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the nation about the implementation of the amendment. The amendment has been in the Sri Lankan constitution for over 3 decades. President Wickremesinghe stated that it must be implemented and if opposed, one can propose a constitutional amendment to change or abolish it. He also stated that implementing the amendment would not make Sri Lanka a federal state as former President J.R. Jayawardene and his lawyers took great measures to ensure that it would not lead to a federal state. He further added that he is against the idea of a federal state, but he supports the devolution of power to the provinces. In response to his statement, the nationalists, mainly represented by Freedom Peoples Alliance (FPA) have opposed the implementation. The National Freedom Front (NFF), a constituent member of the FPA, said that patriotic Sri Lankans were ready to defeat the full implementation of this amendment, “even at the expense of their lives.” The National People’s Power (NPP) were ambiguous and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) remained sceptical. Meanwhile, The Mahanayaka Theras, the leaders of the Sri Lankan Buddhist clergy, wrote to the president on February 2, urging him not to implement the 13th amendment to the constitution. By granting provinces, the powers over land, the police, and historical monuments, the government is encouraging separatism, the prelates said.
Till date, the 13th amendment represents the only solution to the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question. While ethnic reconciliation remains a distant dream, the implementation of this amendment would give the minorities of the country the equal rights they deserve.
Comments