A man for peace and tolerance

Charles Abeysekera, 1926 -1998.

NEELAN TIRUCHELVAM

CHARLES ABEYSEKERA was without question one of the leaders of civil society in Sri Lanka. Many people have written of his distinguished career in the public service but the last 20 years of his life after his retirement in 1978 were the most eventful years of his career. He engaged himself with all the energy and enthusiasm at his command in an extraordinary and even bewildering range of activities spanning the social sciences, the arts, human rights, peace and reconciliation, the media, the protection of democratic rights and the integrity of the electoral process.

In the catholicity of his interests and the intensity of his social and human rights activism, the clarity of his social vision, and the certainty of his sense of moral purpose, Abeysekera was distinctive. He brought to bear exceptional intellectual and writing skills on the most mundane of tasks. His overriding characteristics were the extraordinary humility, compassion and generosity of spirit that informed his work and his life.

Abeysekera was supportive not only of the institutions that he founded, but of all other like-minded institutions. He was one of three persons who helped conceptualise and secure initial funding for the annual Status of Human Rights Reports which have now been published by the Law and Society Trust for four consecutive years. He attended almost every important seminar/ workshop or intellectual/cultural event sponsored by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES). His most recent contribution was to a symposium on civil society issues organised by the ICES to coincide with the enactment of the law on the Human Rights Commission. His thoughtful and reflective essay on the role and accountability of civil society institutions continues to frame the discussion on these issues.

SRIYANTHA WALPOLA

Abeysekera agreed with Norbetto Bobblo, the Italian political theorist, that our need is to create through the agency of the people "a state apparatus which would be efficient without being oppressive." He concluded that the contemporary Sri Lankan state is far removed from the legacy Sri Lanka received at its independence in 1948, in that "the integrity and cohesiveness of the state have been lost perhaps irretrievably."

The Movement for Inter Racial Justice and Equality (MIRJE) was a non-governmental organisation which was established by Abeysekera in the aftermath of the 1977 racial violence. The objective of the movement was to promote harmony between the ethnic groups. It has a mixed membership and branches in different parts of the country. Until 1988, it had even an active branch in Jaffna.

MIRJE has been effective in continuing to sound a note of caution on the deteriorating nature of ethnic relations in Sri Lanka and on the need to take effective measures to secure the individual and collective rights of Tamils. It also documented the incidence of racial violence in 1981 and 1983, and engaged in several fact-finding missions thereby ensuring that objective and impartial information is available on such incidents of violence.

The events of July 1983 deeply traumatised and disturbed Abeysekera. Jonathan Spencer, reflecting on the causes and consequences of the 1983 riots, described it as "a dark night of the collective soul". It was an event during which 2,000 to 3,000 defenceless people were brutally murdered and thousands of homes and buildings were burnt or destroyed. Abeysekera was outraged by the organised and systematic nature of the violence and the degree of state complicity in it.

MIRJE also propagated the concept of a multi-ethnic Sri Lankan society grounded on the bedrock of equality and equal opportunity. It has called for constitutional and political structures that recognise this reality and give room for the full expression of the social, cultural and political aspirations of all ethnic groups.

With these objectives in view, MIRJE has engaged in the following activities. First, it publishes two newspapers, one in Tamil and the other in Sinhala, to ensure that there is balanced reporting on events relating to the ethnic conflict and its resolution. Second, it is engaged in a programme of public education through cultural activity including the organisation of a peace march to Jaffna. Third, it has been providing legal assistance to detenus and has filed more than 3,000 applications in this regard. Fourth, it has framed a model constitution based on the federal form of devolution of power and effective protection of minority rights. It has lobbied for the acceptance of some of the concepts and ideas embodied in this draft.

Abeysekera was also intellectually engaged in researching the nature and character of Sinhala and Tamil nationalism, the causes and consequences of ethnic antagonism and the structural arrangements and policies which may strengthen and reinforce the pluralistic character of the Sri Lankan polity.

At every important phase of ethnic reconciliation, he intervened intellectually and emotionally to support the forces of tolerance and accommodation. In 1987 in the aftermath of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, he intervened in the Supreme Court together with Tissa Balasuriya and Godffrey Gunatilleke to support the constitutionality of the 13th Amendment. Since 1987 he helped in the assessment of the North-East Provincial Council and assisted in the preparation of a report which focussed on the inadequacies and deficiencies in the practical implementation of this scheme.

He believed deeply in the importance of genuine and comprehensive constitutional reforms which would provide the framework for the just resolution of the ethnic conflict. During the discussions between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1995, three important civil society actors - Abeysekera, Jayadeva Uyangoda and Bishop Kenneth Fernando - were invited to join the official delegation. They entered the process late when it was already in crisis. They made a genuine and serious attempt to re-establish confidence between the two parties but, sadly, these efforts proved to be abortive.

Abeysekera never surrendered to despair or to disillusionment. He continued to work courageously and tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and focussed on the terrible human rights and humanitarian consequences of a brutal and cruel civil war.

When he was appointed the Chairman of the Official Languages Commission, he was not entirely comfortable as a civil society actor who had again become part of the official establishment. The resources that were made available to the Commission were quite meagre and there were many practical constraints that they had to struggle against to ensure that the language rights became a reality in Sri Lanka. I had arranged on many occasions meetings between the Official Languages Commission and a group of parliamentarians concerned with language policy issues. These were difficult meetings as there was a great deal of frustration and anger at the gap between promise and fulfilment. Abeysekera was able to handle these difficult meetings with his maturity, understanding and characteristic charm.

SRI LANKA'S ethnic conflict remains one of the most protracted and intractable in Asia. The hope of peace and reconciliation has too often been overtaken by the despair of death, displacement and destruction. Neither side has been able to mobilise the resolve, the generosity of spirit and the political imagination necessary to overcome the legacy of distrust.

Non-governmental organisations have to struggle against odds to respond effectively to the consequences of the conflict. Abeysekera's strength was his capacity to take principled positions on the important social, political, and moral issues of our times, and to articulate boldly these positions and to defend them against the tide of public opinion.

Abeysekera was an important bridge between the different communities as his life and work were grounded on the belief that the forces of tolerance and accommodation will ultimately triumph over the forces of bigotry and intolerance. It is a solemn duty to ensure that the deep and abiding faith that he had in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit will be vindicated in the years to come.

Neelan Tiruchelvam, MP, is a distinguished lawyer, legal scholar and public figure in Sri Lanka.

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