Former Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga said on Saturday, that the dismantling of Sinhala majoritarian politics, government structures and laws, is essential for the establishment of durable peace in the island nation.

In her SJV Chelvanayakam oration on “Winning the war is not establishing peace” held under the auspices of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, Kumaratunga said the root cause of the unending ethnic conflict in Lanka is the monopolisation of the political, economic and social resources of the country by the majority Sinhala community to the exclusion of the minority communities.

In her view, the Sinhala Only Act of 1956 is not the root cause. The root cause is that the other two languages, namely Tamil and English, were neglected.

The country’s ancient genius will have been truly and fully realised if the Act had been an inclusive one, she said. In the context of the fear and distrust plaguing ethnic relations in Lanka, Kumaratunga urged Lankans not to harp on the bitter past and indulge in a blame game but get down to building an inclusive, democratic and cohesive society.

(The New Indian Express)