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by A. Kandappah

Anton Balasingham has said more than once while what is offered in the several rounds of talks so far falls short of their objectives, in the interest of peace, they are prepared to work within a federal system i.e. within a united Sri Lanka.

Though he did not say this, it is widely believed the international community had much to do in getting the LTTE to come down from their earlier described "recalcitrant" stand of "nothing but Eelam". Balasingham is too shrewd a political analyst to ignore Benjamin Franklin's time-tested dictum, "There has never been a good war or a bad peace." The LTTE theoretician, however, expressed concern there is much division, even to the watered down concession, among the Sinhala political formation. He suggests now it is in the hands of the Sinhala people in the South - represented by the UNP, PA, JVP - to choose war or peace.

In recent times many social scientists have pleaded for a consensus in this direction in Southern Sri Lanka. Just to quote one - Sumanasiri Liyanage of the Colombo University observers, "If the Sinhalese population takes the leadership in the formation of a federal state, that would not only facilitate in building a sense of partnership but also in sustaining the federal state without the danger of breakdown." Balasingham reiterates if the current talks are sabotaged to fail, the LTTE will be left with no alternative but to take to arms again. This, he insists, is not meant as a threat and adds they cannot go back to their young fighters ("terrorists", if you must) with any less.

He cautions they are prepared to lay their lives to regain their due within or outside a unitary Sri Lanka.

Dr. Colvin R. de Silva stated in Parliament nearly 25 years ago, "Inter-ethnic relations in the post-independent era has deteriorated to the point when genuine reconciliation between the two communities is almost impossible." Have we reached the point of no return?

In the past 3 decades for many outside the political structure (not to mention within it) in civil society, the academia, the professions - deeply concerned with the rapidity at which the country is hurtling towards disintegration, were to lament "only if we had agreed for a settlement with the Tamils?" They were referring to the various alternatives of power-sharing proposals put forward by successive Tamil leaders from 1958. If the features of accommodation found within these proposals were then seized Sri Lanka would have gravitated years ago towards political unity and economic prosperity.

This monotonous refrain was to be regularly heard since then. We heard this when the Tamil leadership indicated willingness in the 60s to try out a federalistic form of sharing power.

This method proved successful in other like theatres of conflict involving the sharing of political power amongst hotly contested groups such as in Nigeria - today a part of a united land with little or no talk of Biafra. The USA, Canada and Australia are countries where the federal system has endured and enriched all their people.

The cleavage here was so deep at that time Sinhala politicians worked overtime to ensure the word "federalism" was made to look to the ordinary Sinhala synonymous with the extinction of the Sinhala race. The federal exercise then having failed, efforts were made thereafter under the Dudley-Chelva pact, which collapsed in double quick time.

The subsequent DDC proposals under JRJ was almost a non-starter - thanks to the vast crop of chauvinistic elements within his Cabinet then. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, literally "went down the drain". By the time the Mangala Moonasinghe Committee began looking at matters afresh the chasm between the feuding two sides had hardened so much leaving little space for objective results. Both the Government and the Tamil militants were by then heavily locked in conflict - with a large supply of modern arms, technology and equipment available to both sides.

The LTTE that was estimated to have a strength of 3,000 rag-tag boy-soldiers in the mid-80s now boasts of a much larger well-trained cadre. Astonishingly, their armed power has extended from land to air and the sea. CBK in 1994 - acting on the popular mandate given to her by the majority and war-weary Sinhala electorate - and, with plans of quickly reviving the economy, signalled hopes to the Tamils and appeared to be negotiating somewhat seriously. But this time it was the turn of the UNP in the opposition again to kill the idea at the embryo stage.

Back to war and the further decimation of what was left of the tottering economy. Today the UNP is in the saddle and has admittedly made much gains in the search for lasting peace - with definitive assurances of backing from important sections of the international community. The issue is no longer internal.

The Japanese are no longer happy with the restricted role of "writing cheques only". Koizumi's administration wants a more visible participatory role for Japan. And, Japan will be a big player in the months to come as suggested by the visits to LTTE's heartland in Kilinochchi by significant Japanese leaders. The inclusion of the international community in the search for a settlement - is undeniably the initiative to the credit of Chandrika - with Ranil carrying the baton thereafter...

Is the fact any breakthrough by Ranil's government will mean a long stay in the Opposition for the P.A., the case for the many acts of "scuttling of the peace process" - often the subject of much media speculation? Was it the same game plan by the UNP when the PA was in power? It is in the interests of the nearly 20 million innocent people of this country that we break away soon from this vicious and fatalistic chain of playing "football" with the future of an entire nation.

The Sinhalese and Tamils have a rich cultural history spanning many centuries. There is much more that binds us historically and culturally than those irritants that separate us. Now that the political leadership at both ends are caught in a self-centred impasse, religious and social leaders of both sides, even at this late stage, should step into resolve the conflict quickly and save the country. Religious leaders can do more for peace than what has obtained so far.

Although on many occasions the religious leadership itself appeared to be invariably aligned to one of the two political parties contending for power, it is likely if they now take an unambiguous stand, calculated at facilitating the prospects for a lasting peace, the vast majority of the Buddhist population are likely to respect their views.

The Dutugemunu-Elara stories and many other are historical evidence our two people have been tested for centuries and they have overcome their temporary periods of muddy patches of limited confrontation - both in time and intensity. They continued to live amicably for centuries thereafter.

The common religion-cultural values shared by us now must be made to come to the fore. The weapons of war so far used now must yield to instruments of peace - respect of the others religion and culture, equality in educational and economic opportunities and a right to live and work wherever they choose in the land being other critical factors.

As in almost all theatres of conflict here too the precondition for sustainable peace should be social, economic and political justice. It is encouraging in both sides of the ethnic divide in the past year people seem more relaxed, happier, feel safer and travel wherever they will. This is their democratic right in a society worth its salt. Our political system must ensure they continue to enjoy this.

They have suffered for long to determine that war is only a multiplier of suffering. The current climate, even by the most cynical of accounts, increases the hope for the future and deserves to be fortified. If our political, social and religious leadership join hands they can help redirect our focus away from military and confrontational postures towards human development and national-building.

That final opportunity we have waited for a quarter of century is here and we must seize this last chance for peace. Batty Weerakoon, who has done some homework on the model suggested observes, "There can be no hope for reconciliation where one side refuses to candidly seek solutions to the problem of the Tamil people. To tell the Tamils there is no feasible solution is to leave them with no alternative but separatism. This is a gift from the Sinhala people which the LTTE will certainly not resist."

I have heard it said the ethnic problem was exacerbated by the politicians who ruled the roost from independence to the late 70s and that they will never be able to solve the problem. These sources maintained it has to be younger politicians in the post-1980 era, unscarred by earlier events, who will step in and solve the problem. Curiously, both Chandrika and Ranil are politicians who are associated with the latter period.

Constitutionalist Dr. Lakshman Marasinghe notes "In the course of human history, it has been shown, that nations enveloped by ethnic conflicts have, even after many years of battle, returned to the negotiating table to workout sustainable constitutional arrangements within which bullets have been exchanged for ballots and conflicts replaced by constitutions.

We have reached such a stage here in Sri Lanka where it has now become necessary to arrive at constitutional settlement which would not only provide cast iron constitutional guarantees to all persons equally, which human ingenuity could devise, but also provides the legal institutions that could protect and enforce those guarantees." He goes on to offer friendly caution "Unless that is achieved now, this nation would have lost yet another opportunity to solve its ethnic conflict which might in its next phase wrench the country apart".

I suspect we might not have another opportunity. The tomorrow we prayed for yesterday is with us today.

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