People have found a solution to Sri Lanka’s problem: Adopt it!

Harping on a political solution to the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka has become a favourite pastime of many. According to them there is an unspecified political solution to the ethnic problem. It is easy to blame politicians for not coming up with a political solution but it is more complex than meets the eye. In fact, many political solutions were attempted, but, all failed to solve the problem. The 13th Amendment proved to be a very costly experiment. It paved the way for eight Provincial Councils which turned out to be a heavy burden on the public. However, nothing happened; nothing changed! Many more political solutions were proposed. Ironically they were torpedoed by the very same people who are now clamouring for them! Prominent Tamil politicians were instrumental in crippling the ‘political package’ that was proposed by the CBK administration. A few Sinhala and Muslim elements also made a contribution to the scuttling of the political process. Even if it had gone through there would not have been any difference.

It is important to define the problem before attempting a solution. Few facts need to be addressed at the outset.

Is there an ethnic problem in Sri Lanka? Yes and reasons are given below.

Will a political solution end LTTE’s violence campaign? No, because LTTE is not driven by the people and violence is a way of life for senior LTTE leaders who can run their project regardless of the thinking of the Tamil people. A classic example is the plight of about 250,000 Tamils civilians trapped in the Vanni. They know that more than 2,000,000 Tamils are living outside the LTTE controlled areas. The few that are trapped very much want to escape the LTTE but have no say and no way. LTTE tells them what is good for them!
Will there be a permanent peace if both the ethnic problem and the LTTE problem are resolved? No, Sri Lanka, as any other developing country will continue to experience violence. Wide spread discontent in the society irrespective of ethnicity, the high crime rate, high suicide rate, the likelihood of a third JVP-style insurgency, violent trade union action and counter-action, ill effects of globalisation and political violence are possibilities. Tackling them takes a long time and until such time the country will have to live with them. It may be recalled that within 12 years of gaining Independence, a Prime Minister was gunned down in this country. Worse, the culprits were not punished! It bears testimony to the fact that there was ample violence in the society even before the eruption of war. Expecting a utopian peace in the short term is only foolhardy.

Is there an ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka? No, although there is an ethnic problem and a conflict there is not ethnic. In the contemporary Sri Lankan society in government controlled areas there is ethnic unity in spite of war in some parts of the country. If the conflict were an ethnic conflict, Colombo would be the battlefield, not the Vanni!

Unfortunately, these four trivial and straightforward issues dominate the discussion about political solutions and as a result, real issues have gone unaddressed.
The biggest hindrance to solving the ethnic problem is that it has at least two contradictory definitions. There is no possibility that these contradictory definitions reconciled.

Definition Number One (as the majority Sinhalese see it)

Ethnic Problem is the lack of unity among people of various ethnicities and the lack of ethnic diversity in some parts of the country.

This is the popular view. Unity – coexistence, interdependence and harmony among people of various ethnicities in Sri Lanka – is an untold success story. There is no ethnic disunity in any part of the government controlled area. Every district of Sri Lanka is home to thousands of Tamils. However, divisive forces are still at play. They play the race-card for their survival. A good example is race-based political parties. Although a large number of Tamils and most Muslims have embraced the two national political parties, race-based political parties still exist. Their very survival depends on ethnic division.

Also there are at least three districts in the north where Sinhala and Muslim civilians were completely ethnically cleansed by the LTTE. Today Sinhalas and Muslims cannot live in these districts because of their ethnicity. Stemming from this is the other aspect of the problem: lack of ethnic diversity in the north. Vast resources including the expanses of land in the north must be available to people of all ethnicities.

A political solution should strengthen unity among ethnicities and do away with demarcations and divisions and enhance ethnic diversity in the north. For such a solution, there is no need to create regions vested with power, no need for devolution, no need to have racial bargaining and absolutely no necessity to entertain racial aspirations.

The argument that devolution should be based on development doesn’t hold water. Undeveloped areas could be developed through a national development plan, rather than through a regional development plan. The tragic failure of the Provincial Councils in carrying out development work is only too well known. This has happened despite the fact that all those councils have at their helm the same ruling party as the centre. But, at the same time, it is not difficult to imagine what would happen if two different parties came to power at the centre and in the PCs. There are enough and more local government bodies like municipal councils, urban councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas and they can handle all regional issues effectively.
The concept of ethnic homelands is totally rubbished by this view that only recognises one undivided nation for all the people to live everywhere. Race has no place in this definition. Grievance handling is done without regard to ethnicity. The overriding notion is that "Sri Lanka should be for all Sri Lankans".

The implementation of this solution depends on military operations and according to this school of thought the deployment of the military in any trouble spot is in order and democracy should be the basis of decision making.

Definition Number Two (as the Tamils see it)

The ‘Ethnic Problem’ is about not fulfilling Tamil aspirations. Tamil aspirations include the acceptance of the Tamil homeland, Tamil right of self-determination and Tamil nationality. Ethnicity matters most. If these demands cannot be granted outright, they must be granted in part. But in the short run something should be granted so it will help achieve the aforesaid aspirations in the long run.

The political solution would actually create disunity in the country to the extent that space is created for meeting Tamil aspirations. If the country remains unitary (the highest form of unity), there would be no space for Tamil aspirations. Too much unity means Tamils will have to conform to the general Sri Lankan values and lose their aspirations.
Tamil aspirations are that North and the East must be unified so that a large part of their "traditional Tamil homeland" will remain together. Colonisation schemes that cause demographic distortions of the north-east should stop. Regions should be vested with power, including legislative power and power over land. Power should be devolved to the largest possible unit created in the north-east. Development is a secondary objective as development without Tamil aspirations means nothing!

Race-based political parties are the key to governance and they must be promoted. The overriding concept is Tamil aspirations and Tamils, especially Eelam Tamils have a say in governance of the north-east whether they live in Sri Lanka or not. Tamil Diaspora’s role is critical.

Military operations stand in the way to peace according to this view. Essential military activities may be carried out, but they too should cease at the earliest. Certainly no large "occupying army" should be stationed in the Tamil majority areas. Democracy alone cannot guarantee this type of a resolution. Therefore, a certain amount of imposition is needed as a counter to the majoritarian rule. Help and pressure of international actors are essential for finding a solution.

Contradictory

These definitions (the first definition and the second definition) contradict each other. What’s more interesting is that a solution found according to one view becomes a problem according to the other.

Suppose a solution was introduced that further strengthens the unitary status of Sri Lanka, allows "colonisation" of the north, helps national political parties to gradually replace race-based political parties or establishes a grievance handling procedure without regard to race, that "solution" will be seen as the intensification of the ethnic problem by those who hold the opposing view.

Similarly, if a solution introduces a federal structure in place of the present unitary structure, starts addressing race-based grievances and addressing problems from a racial perspective or further strengthens race-based political parties, according to the definition number one, this "solution" would amount to the worsening of the ethnic problem.

One man’s solution is another’s problem!

All the pundits who advocate an unspecified political solution carefully avoid this reality. Those who suggest specific solutions, try to impose themselves on others. No attempt has been made to understand and appreciate these differences. It must be noted that no lasting solution can be evolved at the expense of the interests of either of these two groups. These two views cannot coexist as they contradict each other. Superficial attempts to reconcile the two fail to bridge differences that arise outside the drawing board.
A Compromise

Theoretically, a compromise should be possible. However, given the completely opposing views, a compromised solution will not work at all. A compromise between the two would only disappoint both groups and aggravate the problem. This has happened too many times in the past. A worse situation can arise from a compromise. If only one party compromises, the other (the uncompromising party) can demand further compromises. This way the uncompromising party can gradually push the other party to an extreme. Unfortunately, this is what has happened with all political solutions Sri Lanka has experimented with. Tamil Elamists demanded compromise after compromise from the other side while not budging a bit themselves. Their greed knows no bounds that they ultimately led to the total breakdown of the political process. Certainly, a compromise is not going to work again; it will only disappoint both groups and drive them to extremism.

Ignoring the problem is another way to handle it, rather than complicate matters! Most Lankan politicians opted for that easy wayout.
However, the ethnic problem demands a solution.

What should the solution be?
The solution is out there
The ethnic problem coupled with the war, wreaked havoc throughout the country; mostly in the north-east. Commander after commander waged war in the north-east in search of peace. Tigers in turn bombed civilians in the south umpteen times. Amidst all these chaos, there are people who found solace, harmony and relative peace. They ran to these oases in hundreds of thousands from warzones.

There is a big difference between where they ran from and where they ran to. They essentially ran from mono-ethnic enclaves in the north to multiethnic communities in the south. Race mattered most in the mono ethnic enclave but it mattered less in multi ethnic communities. Belonging to the "right" race was a prerequisite to live in the mono ethnic north but was not so important in the multiethnic community in the south.

Had they waited till politicians found a solution to their problems, they would have died by now! Not only did they run to the solution, they became an integral part of the solution! Unfortunate events of 1983 didn’t repeat thereafter thanks to the multiethnic community that flourished in the South. Few unfortunate matters that affected only a fraction of the Tamil community in the South have happened but they left hundreds of thousands of Tamils without a scratch. Unfortunately, the North was cursed with tribalism and ethnic isolation which further bred intolerance.

If the Southern model is introduced to the North, it will be as peaceful as the South. Of course it will not solve the terrorist element which has to be addressed militarily.
This solution, although it looks like a combination of the above discussed solutions, is actually divorced from both views. It is not based on any theory to begin with. It all started when people themselves found a solution out of the mess that existed around them.
Politicians, academics, professionals, diplomats, priests and even Maharishis can split hairs and argue for importing alien solutions, but none will work so well as the people’s solution has worked.

Also it is a fact of life that some problems do not have solutions. For instance there is no room for a separate Tamil (or Sinhala or Muslim) nation in the island of Sri Lanka. This fact must be formally established. That will not give any solace to those who want it, but it will help them recover from the misery of not having a solution to their problem. No solution can equally satisfy all.

By Thomas Johnpulle
The Sri Lanka Guardian