Transcript 29th September 2006 FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka

Second International Seville Seminar on
Future-Oriented Technology Analysis (FTA):
Impacts on policy and decision making
28th- 29th September 2006
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism
in Sri Lanka
CHAMINDA HETTIARACHCHI
UNIVERSITY OF MORATUWA – SRI LANKA
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Introduction to Sri Lanka
"Sri
Lanka - The finest Island in all the world" - Marco Polo
[Sub-header]
Sri Lanka is an island situated in the Indian
Ocean, at the base of the Indian SubContinent, 880 km north of the equator.
The total land area is 65,610 sq. km.
( Size similar to Ireland))
Due to its strategic location as a gateway to
East from West, It has been always a meeting
point for different cultures.
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Introduction to Sri Lanka
“Multicultural Sri Lanka”
Muslim
7%
Others
1%
Moor
7%
Christian
8%
Tamil
18%
Hindu
15%
Buddhist
70%
Sinhalese
74%
Ethnicity
Religion
Total Population is about 19.5 mn ( 2004 est.)
Languages:
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%,
Tamil (national language) 18%,
English is the “link” language (spoken by about 10% of the population)
It is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual society
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Introduction to Sri Lanka
Socio-Economical Indicators
GDP Per Capita
Average GDP Growth Rate
Population below poverty line
Adult Literacy
Life expectancy at birth
Infant mortality rate
US$ 3,570 (ppp)
5%
22% (1997 est.)
92%
72 years
15 per1000 births
“Comparatively Higher Development Indicators for the
low per capita income”
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Introduction to Sri Lanka
Socio-economical development in Sri Lanka- Key Points
•Sri Lanka has long traditions of multi-party democracy
•The Island has been a “early mover” among
developing countries to adopt market economy
•It has done well In Human Development, compared to
other South Asian countries
However,
•It has not performed in its full potential in its socioeconomic development efforts.
•Impact of ethnic war, high political polarization and
poor socio-economic policies are major obstacles
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka
•Conflict between Sinhala Majority and Minority Tamils for self-rule.
•Civil war 1983-2002 fighting between government forces and LTTE
or “Tamil Tigers” ( An armed rebel group asking for separate state
for Tamils)
•A ceasefire and a political agreement from 2002 up to now
•Current Situation – “No Peace -No War Situation”
•Escalating violence in recent times
Cost of war
•More than 65,000 deaths
•Loss of Infrastructure
•Damage to industries ( e.g Tourism, FDI..)
• “The bloodiest ethnic war in Asia”
Damage due to Tsunami in to Sri Lanka
The death toll is 38,000.
A 1.5 million persons are displaced and destitute.
Property damage of US$ 1.5-1.8 Billion
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Nation Building of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is currently working on a national scale
program of nation building
• Tsunami Rebuilding and Post-War Construction
• Political solution to Ethnic Conflict through
negotiations of the all parties and interest groups
• Federalism and Power Decentralization as a
solution for a united country for a multicultural co-existence
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
What is Federalism?
Definitions
•Federalism is the theory or advocacy of
federal political orders, where final authority is
divided between sub-units and a centre.
(Stepan)
•Federalism is essentially a system of
voluntary “self-rule” and “shared rule”.
(Kincaid, John)
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Why is Federalism?
•Economical efficiency
•Protect and promote diversity
•Allow experimenting in Public
Policy at regional level
•Political Empowerment
•Cultural Empowerment
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Future Oriented Technology Analysis (FTA) as an Enabler
Sri Lanka should carry out
•complex set of negotiations ,
•awareness building measures,
•policy changes and
•stakeholder analysis
in order to introduce political solution based on
federalism and power decentralization.
FTA can assist as an enabler in multiple
ways.
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Some FTA tools and Applications
Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs)
•Public Educational and Awareness Building
programs
•Public Interactions and Citizen Feedback
•Active Public Participation in democratic
process
Information
Interaction
Participation
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Some FTA tools and Applications
•Simulation Models
•Multi-Stack Holder Analysis
•Game Theory for political
negotiations
•Scenario Analysis for developing a
federal model for Sri Lanka
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Main Obstacles of Using FTA in Sri Lanka
•Political Decision Making Process based
on “ad -hoc” methods
•Lack of knowledge about FTA tools
•Capacity and knowledge constrains of
the policy makers
•No Research Institutes
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Recommendations for Effective Use FTA in Sri Lanka
•Learning by other countries using FTA in
similar applications
•Collaborate with International Experts
•Train policy makers
•Active research studies
FTA as an Enabler of Federalism in Sri Lanka
Thank You
and
Q&A