Tamil civilians gather at a tube well at Manik Farm, a camp for internally displaced Tamils in Vavuniya. (AP)

In a thought-provoking article Dr Mohamed Saleem and Arjuna Hulugalle of the Mahathma Gandhi Center have in your issues of 27th and 28th of April placed before the people and government an interesting concept with regard to bringing back normalcy to the whole of the Northern Province which has been affected by the war. In their own words "The biggest challenge for sustainable peace and development of the country would be to bring back the Tamil community to the mainstream of nation building from having a feeling of being marginalized."

I have no doubt that the Ministry of Nation Building and the energetic and results oriented Minister Basil Rajapakse would no doubt have prepared a plan for the resettlement of the IDPs and for re-construction and development of the war ravaged areas but it would be in their interest to give thought to the concept enunciated by Dr. Saleem and Mr. Hulugalle of  the Gandhi Center.

  The first priority would of course be the resettlement of IDPs in the Northern Province . In the first instance we need to bear in mind that these are people from settled villages who have been  compelled to seek refuge from the war, they therefore have to go back  to where they belong namely back to their villages and resume normal life. Unlike the Muslims who were evicted by the LTTE from Jaffna and who have in the past 20 plus years lived in Puttalam and are now reluctant to go back, these Tamil IDPs would wish to go back at the earliest.

The government would need to get the green light from the Armed Services to allow them back; this would no doubt require a certification that the areas to which the IDPs would return are Mine free. Mine clearance would take time as the LTTE would not have had maps of where mines were laid unlike the army. Presuming that mine clearance is completed and people are prepared to return (it must not be forgotten that these traumatized people would return only if they feel that it would be safe for them to return —- our experience in certain other areas that have been de-mined has been that some people are reluctant to return for many reasons including the fear for their own security) and re-settle, Dr Saleem and Mr. Hulugalle have suggested that  the Gandhian concept of the Panchyati Raj be adopted and the village be used as the focal point for development. There is said to be 923 villages or potential ‘Gramarajyas’ in the Northern Province; basic infrastructure would needless to say, have to be put in as a first step to encourage people to return.  The major reconstruction and infrastructure development projects would follow with foreign aid and could continue as a parallel operation (The Tokyo Conference of 2003 pledged 4.5 billion over a period of four years for the development of the North and East and adjacent areas).  

They write of "the need for a separate effort for creating a secure environment of equity and social justice". They fear that this need could be relegated to the backburner in the belief that such an environment of equity and social justice would result from massive infrastructure development. They emphasize the imperative need to engage the people in their future and to create a socio-political environment for people to regain their self confidence, and equally important is the need to address the psychological needs of a traumatized people. We should also not forget the fact that over 25,000 Tamil youth are said to have died in their quest for a separate state; this means that at least twenty five thousand families would be bitter and be having deep hate for those who vanquished them. It is therefore important, and in the country’s interest to ensure that there is no celebration of ‘triumphalism’, we need to reach out to all those who have suffered as a consequence of this war irrespective of the fact that they supported the LTTE during the conflict; we need to win them over.

Mobilizing the people of the 923 villages first at Grama Niladari level next at Divisional level and subsequently at District level, whilst being a challenge should not be difficult as we already have the administrative infrastructure in place  despite the war. The example of the Cultivation Committee system under the Paddy Lands Act of 1958 would be worth re-introducing; each village elected its own Cultivation Committee, the system worked very well until the left oriented government of 1970 threw overboard the apolitical elective system and appointed, yes appointed party lackeys to Cultivation Committees and killed off that valuable exercise. Each Grama Niladari division could elect its own apolitical Gramaraj and a President and Secretary. Next these village level Gramarajs would elect the Divisional level Gramaraj —- this could be the start of an apolitical peoples’ movement which would empower the people and would effectively address their problems. This would also contribute towards ending the curse of confrontational party politics, which has been the bane of our country.    

Recommencing domestic agriculture, if the inputs are provided, would be the easiest as agriculture is the traditional occupation of the people, but we would need to ensure that good marketing facilities and agricultural credit are provided; other occupations should also be introduced such as the Thai craft village concept. The teaching of IT for the youth must also be given priority. Education has been the way to true liberation in the past for the Tamil people and if a good education system is put in place they would take to education like ducks taking to water. There is no doubt that expatriates would also send money to their relatives and a Grameen Bank system could be started especially for the people of the northern province who are thrifty by nature, we may perhaps invite Mr. Yoonoos to help establish such a bank. The people of the Northern Province were known to have had the best uncorrupted cooperative system in the country and I have little doubt that they would make a success of such a venture as a Cooperative Bank for their own people.