The quest for peace

 

 

After decades of fierce guerilla war to carve out an independent Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, a section of Tamil militant groups has come to say ‘enough is enough’. That a ‘political solution through dialogue’ is more tangible than a ‘solution through arms’. These groups, understandably, are non-LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) now the only predominant force in the forefront of the Tamil armed struggle in the neighbouring island. Leading these groups is Douglas Devananda, leader of the armed Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), which he has converted into a political party, Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) to participate in the democratic electoral process, a turn around or a stunning metamorphosis after prolonged armed rebellion. Devananda, now a member of Parliament of Sri Lanka and also a minister (of Social Services and Social Welfare) in the President Mahinda Rajapakse-led coalition government, was in the Indian Capital last week.

In an exclusive chat with The Sunday Indian, Devananda says India cannot continue to be silent in the matter and suggests a three point formula: that the Tamil dominated northern and eastern provinces should be permanently merged to form one single administrative unit like a State in India; second stage is conferring powers to this united province with amalgamating subjects in the concurrent list which can be achieved with Constitutional arrangements; third is to achieve a consensus amongst all the parties including the LTTE.

Once the first two stages are achieved, almost the whole country would force the LTTE to accept this peaceful political solution and this is EPDP’s outline of the political approach. However, India does not seem to have actively expressed any opinion and appears to be waiting for the outcome of the negotiation process that has been set in now by the new regime in the Island with the LTTE. But the present ceasefire agreement with the LTTE too has come under criticism by the non-LTTE groups as they have been mandated to surrender the weapons under the agreement.