A Sri Lankan Alternative for Peace on Earth
by Swanee Hunt, Rocky Mountain News
December 31, 2023

The call for "Peace on Earth" proclaimed from pulpits across America this week has an ironic ring as our country prepares for a new war. Thoughtful people disagree about the necessity of a military attack on Saddam Hussein. But regardless of our opinions, as we gathered with our families around TV holiday shows, Bing Crosby's dreams of a "White Christmas" paled against the fiery rhetoric of "Countdown Iraq," replete with drum roll.

We tucked our children around us snugly to watch reports of how the US is staging war games in earshot of Iraq, beaming into Baghdad radio a call to revolution, and gathering Iraqi dissidents in London for a future leaders talent show audition. As we oil our war machine, the cost is rarely questioned, although informed estimates are stunning: in excess of 200 billion, a number we would never consider for public education, health care for all Americans, global AIDS education, or clean drinking water that, according to the UN, would save the lives of thousands of children each day.

Peace on earth? We must turn to the back pages of our newspapers for hope. There we'll find the likely end to nearly two decades of civil war in Sri Lanka, home to 19 million people off the coast of India. Known as Ceylon when it became a British colony in 1815, the tropical island won independence in 1948. But the new government drifted toward nationalism and failed to balance the rights of the Sinhalese (Buddhist) majority with the Tamil (mostly Hindu) 12% minority, which occupies the north and which had been better educated under colonial rule. When the government made Sinhalese the sole official language and gave state support to Buddhism, a ruthless separatist movement ensued, fueled by suicide bombings against civilians, assassinations, and recruitment of child soldiers. The rebels called themselves the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), and the Sri Lankan military went into the jungles, trying to drive them out.

Over 64,000 people have died in the fighting, and some 800,000 have had to flee their homes. In the war areas, government policies have prevented the largely Tamil displaced from getting medical care, going to school, or working. In July 2001, an LTTE bombing raid left half the country's commercial airline fleet destroyed on the tarmac. Insurance rates for planes and ships skyrocketed. That's when Neela Marikkar decided she had to get involved. As managing director of a major public relations firm, she realized that trade was grinding to a standstill, and the tourist industry would be doomed as long as the war continued. "A patchwork response wouldn't work. The answer wasn't ten-foot electrical fences around the airport, or international forces providing security. We had to attack the root of the problem."

The root, she decided, was a lack of political will to resolve the disagreements, which grew out of language, education, economic, religious, and cultural differences. To force political action, Neela co-founded "Sri Lanka First," a coalition of businesses who launched a three-week public campaign educating citizens about the issues and urging them to support political candidates who stand for peace. The group planned a demonstration for September 19, 2001. Eight days earlier, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. Neela wondered if the resulting "war on terror" would deflate her efforts to create an environment where the cause of the terrorism in Sri Lanka would be examined. Instead, throughout the country-north and south-one million Sri Lankans stood outside at noon, holding hands, as a signal demanding that their officials pursue talks.

The bombing and fighting stopped, and a new round of peace talks began almost immediately. Relieved, but not naïve, Neela remained dogged in her efforts, bringing more business leaders into her coalition, calling on Fortune 500 companies and the Sri Lankan Diaspora to "Invest in Peace," creating TV programming to educate the citizenry about the contested issues and the problems a peace process inevitably encounters.

The extended truce and Norwegian-led negotiations resulted in a major breakthrough this month. In a dramatic move, the LTTE has given up its insistence on a separate state; the Sri Lankan government has lifted its economic embargo on the north, is no longer banning the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group, and is calling on the international community to respond quickly with reconstruction help that will inspire confidence in the peace process.

Throngs are filling the temples, churches, and mosques, as the people of Sri Lanka pray for a sustained peace on their earth. Americans, meanwhile, could learn from their experience. Perhaps Neela was right. The answer to terrorism is ultimately not ten-foot electrical fences. Peace - or terror - are fed from the root.

more articles by Swanee Hunt

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