CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Stop this Madness of Hasty Political Solutions

Dilrook Kannangara

The first requirement as regards the ethnic problem and the war is not a political solution but a military solution. Only following a military solution to the terrorist problem will there be a conducive environment for a political solution. There is no sense in rushing through the political process, or bypassing it just to satisfy India and Tamils. There are more stakeholders to it than just India and Tamils; all their expectations must be met in a successful political solution. Above all Sri Lankan national interests must also be satisfied.

If Sri Lankan authorities are going to panic and jump into irrecoverable madness each time Tamil Nadu politicians make a fuss, it is clearly not a healthy sign of governance. Give in to their demands this time, LTTE will again and again manipulate its Tamil Nadu puppets to get all its demands.

The fate of the last hasty political solution has been pathetic. It failed to end violence, failed to achieve anything significant in regard to the ethnic problem, continues to consume a colossal amount of money every year to sustain utterly unproductive provincial councils, led to mass protests, bloodshed and violence and further complicated the resolution of the ethnic problem. Identified Tamil grievances were addressed by the Thirteenth Amendment but alas! Tamil grievances graduated to Tamil aspirations. Today even ?moderate' Tamil politicians reject the Thirteenth Amendment and demand more power. As it is said, all these small steps are like bus-stops in the long journey to Tamil Elam. However, what should happen is the exact opposite where people of all races are integrated into one undivided country.

If a political solution is going to create conditions for what the LTTE fought for 32 years and failed, it is a monumental mistake. It is better to allow LTTE run its little de facto state than allow one third of the country to be managed by anti-Sri Lankan elements with state support, finance and legal backing. It will be a national kamikaze project.

Indian leaders had over 2 years to realise the human catastrophe of war, human rights issues that accompany any war and the need for a political solution. They kept silent until Tamil Nadu politicians started their circus. No further evidence is necessary about the genuineness of their concerns. Stop giving political solutions before finishing off the LTTE.

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