Ultimatums are not solutions

Saturday, 6 August 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s political sphere has become stormy again. With the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) issuing conditions on the next round of talks, the entire dialogue between it and the Government is in danger of breaking down. Adding to the cloudy atmosphere, the United National Party (UNP) is facing another leadership battle, which could very well shape the future of the country’s political arena.

The TNA has put forward three conditions and insisted that, within a period of 10 days, the Government delegation should inform the TNA in writing of its position on the following matters: (1) The structure of governance, (2) The subjects and functions allocated to the central government and the provincial councils and (3) Issues pertaining to fiscal and financial devolution.

This is a tall order indeed, for just 10 days. When one considers that these three points encompass almost the entire contentions that caused a three decade war, the demand that it be solved in just 10 days amounts to expecting a miracle. In response, the Government has expressed its disappointment and assured that it will form a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to address these issues in the future.

Given the many rounds of discussions that have taken place on this issue for the past few years, it is not surprising that the TNA is getting impatient. The All Party Representative Committee (APRC) suffered a similar fate when months upon months were spent in discussions, only to end up spawning a report that was never released to the public. From the start there were issues when the TNA refused to participate and attempts by the Government to buy time by allowing it to continue, only to shelve the report. Despite the lapse of two years since the end of the war, there has also been little attempt to comprehensively address the issue of a political solution, paving the way for a rocky relationship between the TNA and the Government.

Yet, there are many more sides to this story; one dimension being the simple fact that political solutions cannot be formulated and passed into law overnight. There are many sensitive issues that need to be dealt with and the consensus of the people considered. It is not only for the Sinhalese, but also for the inclusion of the Muslim communities. In a problem that has varying shades of grey, it is impossible for one party to stand out as white.

Having said that, it is also important for the Government to genuinely commit to a credible and sustainable path of negotiations with not just the TNA but other Tamil parties, civil organisations and non-governmental partners to gain a blueprint of the much-talked-about political solution. A larger discussion forum would engender ideas that can be implemented for the satisfaction of everyone rather than one party.

The threat of political polarisation is becoming more real every day. The recent Local Government elections results in the north proved as much and there is an increasingly urgent need for the Government to reach out to the minorities who are feeling sidelined. Yet the means have to be practical for both sides and this is at the moment the biggest challenge.

As for the UNP, it is time for it to unite under a leader accepted by the people and engage in the process to build a sustainable and inclusive political solution.