Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
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The War Imperative- S Sathananthan[S Sathananthan believes that for the <strong>Tamil</strong> <strong>Nation</strong>al Questionto be resolved short of an <strong>in</strong>dependent State of <strong>Tamil</strong> Eelam, itrequires an extreme federal system of government. This, he po<strong>in</strong>tsout can only be realised by abolish<strong>in</strong>g the executive presidency orat the very least divest<strong>in</strong>g it of considerable powers]The President Mah<strong>in</strong>da Rajapakse declared <strong>in</strong> his electionmanifesto, “War is not my method” to resolve the <strong>Tamil</strong> <strong>Nation</strong>alQuestion. That may very well be true. But he has to surmountdaunt<strong>in</strong>g structural barriers.The ethno-religious unitary State<strong>Sri</strong> <strong>Lanka</strong> has a S<strong>in</strong>hala-Buddhist ethno-religious unitary State.It cannot and does not provide democratic space for the <strong>Tamil</strong><strong>Nation</strong>al Movement, led by the Liberation Tigers of <strong>Tamil</strong> Eelam(LTTE), to negotiate a political solution. However, Rajapaksecategorically rejected any change <strong>in</strong> the unitary character of theState. To make “war is not my method” claim credible, dur<strong>in</strong>g theelection campaign last month (November) his campaign managersdishonestly cited the Indian example of shar<strong>in</strong>g powers with<strong>in</strong> “aunitary structure” to prove that a political settlement based onpower shar<strong>in</strong>g is feasible <strong>in</strong> <strong>Sri</strong> <strong>Lanka</strong> with<strong>in</strong> the current unitaryState.The President has already reversed the decision to jettison theGovernment of Norway as facilitator <strong>in</strong> “talks” with the LTTE.Would he similarly abandon his attachment to the unitary Stateand explore federal alternatives? If not, he has pa<strong>in</strong>ted himself<strong>in</strong>to a political corner and is set on a collision course with theLTTE.22