The Socialist (June 06) - Sectarian violence grips Sri Lanka

Only 18 months after the devastating tsunami, the working class and poor of Sri Lanka are facing the grim prospect of a return to bloody civil war. Recent weeks have seen an escalation of attacks and bombings as Tamil Tigers and government forces clash. Over 300 people have lost their lives since the beginning of April.

The threat posed by a return to all-out civil war cannot be underestimated. The 18 year long civil war which began in 1983 claimed the lives of over 60,000 people. The present crisis has its roots in the presidential election campaign last November, where all the main pro-capitalist parties whipped up anti-Tamil sentiment among voters in a cynical attempt to win the election.

One of the main slogans of Mahinda Rajapakse, who went on to win the election, was to withdraw from the cease-fire agreement. As the United Socialist Party (USP - Sri Lankan section of the CWI) warned at the time, the communalist (sectarian) parties had released forces which threatened the stability and peace of the island. This prognosis has unfortunately been confirmed by recent events.

On 25 April, 11 people died and 23 were injured including the top Sri Lankan army commander in a suicide attack in Colombo. In response, the Sri Lankan military launched concentrated air strikes on Tamil-controlled areas around the city of Sampur. Over 15,000 people have fled the area. Round-ups and harassment of Tamils are a daily occurrence in Colombo and other towns. Individual Tamils have been snatched and assassinated, with headless bodies being dumped on the outskirts of town!

In a vicious and cold blooded massacre, Sri Lankan soldiers based in the north launched a muderous raid on the Tamil population of Kayts island, killing women, children and elderly men.
In mid-May, ‘Sea Tigers’ (LTTE navy) attacked Sri Lankan navy vessels including one carrying foreign peace envoys near the port of Trincomalee in the east. Over 50 people are reported to have died as a result of this attack alone.

Despite President Rajapakse’s pre-election promise to withdraw from the Ceasefire Agreement, the ruling class has come under serious pressure from US imperialism which fears the destablisation of the region. It was this pressure that forced the new Sri Lankan government to the negotiating table in February. This pressure also resulted in a short term agreement between the two parties. However, the failure of both sides to implement the agreement has led to the escalation of the situation and the present crisis.

Rajapakse himself is in a difficult situation. While his UPFA list won the local elections in March, they suffered a big drop in votes. The main opposition party - the UNP - also saw their vote decrease, as did the JVP and the JHU. In fact the only party to see their vote increase was the USP.

The latest crisis has had an impact on the economy and the living standards of the working class. When the LTTE announced that it was not going to attend the second round of peace talks, $250 million was wiped off the Sri Lankan stock market. The price of petrol has gone up by 7%, diesel by 16% and kerosene - a vital commodity for the poor and working class - increased by 25% while the price of fertilizer trebled. It is clear that the Sri Lankan ruling class want the working class to pay for any new war.

What is clear from the present situation is that none of the establishment parties have a way out of the current crisis. Their approach is summed up by Udaya Gammanpila, a leader of the Heritage Party, allied with the Rajapakseís ruling coalition, “We must follow Israel. For every suicide bombing, there must be retaliatory strikes.”

The only force that can offer a way out is the working class. Whether Tamil or Sinhala, the workers of Sri Lanka have a common enemy in the capitalist system. The various factions have a interest in maintaining the divisions in Sri Lankan society. For this reason there cannot be a lasting solution on the basis of capitalism. Nor can the massive poverty and inequality be addressed if left to the sectarian pro-capitalist parties.

What is needed now, and what is being advocated by the USP, is an independent trade union convention to build a non-sectarian voice of opposition to war. It is only on the basis of a struggle for basic democratic and economic rights - which supports self determination for the Tamil people - that the war mongers can be silenced. This would then open up the path to a socialist alternative which could gaurantee the rights of all. The threat of a return to bloody sectarian civil war makes the task of building the USP and a mass working class alternative more vital than ever before.