Economy, Culture, and Civil War in Sri Lanka

4 The Open Economy and Its Impact on Ethnic Relations in Sri Lanka

4 The Open Economy and Its Impact on Ethnic Relations in Sri Lanka Newton Gunasinghe Although the anti-Tamil riots of July 1983 stand out for the sheer magnitude of devastation, the recent history of Sri Lanka is not devoid of other instances of mass violence directed against ethnic and religious minorities. The year 1915 witnessed widespread anti-Muslim riots; islandwide anti-Tamil riots and SinhalaTamil clashes occurred in 1958. However, from 1977 onwards,anti-Tamil riots have become more frequent, with many instances of localized violence and two instances of islandwide rioting, ¤nally culminating in the holocaust of July 1983. Ethno-religious contradictions and rivalries have always been present in the modern body politic of Sri Lanka, with roots spreading back into the historical past; it is only occasionally, however, that these contradictions have erupted into open rioting . Thus, after the 1915 anti-Muslim riots, no ethno-religious riots occurred for a period of more than four decades, and after the anti-Tamil riots of 1958, there was a period of relative calm for nearly two decades. It is only from the year 1977 that ethno-religious riots have become frequent. A number of political and ideological factors contributed to the intensi¤cation of ethnic tensions during this period. a. The government’s failure to evolve a political solution to the secessionist demand advised by the Tamil United Liberation Front and the consequent emergence of armed militant groups who embarked on the path of armed struggle to achieve a separate state. b. The violent skirmishes between state security personnel and the armed militant youth groups being interpreted by the broad Sinhala masses as a facet of Sinhala/ Tamil con®ict, under the guidance of chauvinistic elements both within the regime and outside it; the hysterical chauvinistic propaganda carried out by the popular Sinhala press is of cardinal importance in the formation of ideology among the Sinhala masses during this period. c. The general breakdown of law and order and the rule of law during this phase witnessed the emergence of goon squads under the patronage of important political personalities. They operated with impunity against workers on strike, political dissenters , dissident intellectuals, students boycotting classes, and even against independently inclined judges of the Supreme Court. A high point in this rule of goon squads was the referendum held in December 1982. During the holocaust of July 1983, the rule of goon squads attained its zenith and consummation with the state security forces either being oblivious or actively encouraging the mobs on the rampage. d. Organized attempts on the part of certain chauvinistic elements both within and outside the regime to ignite an anti-Tamil pogrom with the expressed intention of breaking the economic base of Tamil entrepreneurs, resulted not only in attacks against small Tamil shopkeepers but also attacks against major industrial establishments . While not denying that the general deterioration of political relations between the Sinhala and Tamil ethnic groups has contributed to the frequent occurrence of riots, it is now proposed to concentrate on the economic context of these con®icts. The period 1977–83, as pointed out earlier, is one of incessant ethnic rioting; it is simultaneously a period during which the country’s economic structure was overhauled with the introduction of an open economic policy. Is it possible to establish a correlation between the open economic policy and the frequent occurrence of rioting? If such a correlation could be established, what are its speci¤c forms and manifestations as far as ethnic relations are concerned? Within this context , how far could the open economic policy be implemented without causing irreparable damage to ethnic relations, whose deterioration may emerge as a fundamental barrier to any policy of rational economic development? The economy of Sri Lanka during the period 1955–77 could be called a stateregulated economic system. There were a number of facets to this process of state regulation. The state, through the establishment of a number of industrial and commercial corporations, started performing an important economic role. A number of private enterprises were nationalized, expanding the public sector of the economy, culminating in the nationalization of the plantations, the foundation of the export-import economy. The private sector, basically consisting of light industrial and commercial enterprises, came under strict state regulation; the system of quotas, permits, and licenses, a product of the policy of import-substitution, made state patronage essential for any industrial or commercial venture in the private sector. Given the elaborate system of political patronage...