So what after the LTTE is eliminated?

(June 11, Colombo) This is a question that has been in the minds of most people — especially the thousands of Tamils who have been displaced from their homes in the north-east and those whose homes have been occupied by the army for over 10 years.

Autonomy for the Tamil minority has been promised, but like a thousand broken promises, will they be implemented? Will the Tamils be allowed to have all they need to fulfill their aspirations?

For this to happen there has to be federalism, which has been shown to be disagreeable to the Sinhala intelligentsia, who do not seem to quite understand what it is all about. The combination of remaining as a unitary state and freedom for the Tamils can only be had in a form of federalism. If this is not possible then the only thing left is either submission to the demands of the majority or secession of the Tamils.

If the LTTE is effectively eliminated and the Tamils subjugated without the autonomy of federalism, there would be a continuous guerilla war like the Basques of Spain and in parts of South America. Sri Lanka would never be free.

If however the successive governments after independence had invested in the north-east, Tamils would have remained in the north instead of coming down south and taking up jobs there.

There was a similar situation in Turkey. But Turkey has got wise to it and has decided to spend Sterling Pounds 6 billion in the Kurdish areas to reduce the poverty that feeds violence.

The GOSL could do well to develop the Tamil areas in the north-east in order to encourage Tamils and keep them there, without Sinhala hegemony.

"I think that is a brilliant idea," says my taxi driver friend. "That means we can get more "Muralitharans into our cricket team" — he says laughingly. "If Turkey can do it we too should be able to do it," he says with a broad smile.

After a few minutes, he burst out "I think that is the only solution. If the government develops the north-east, there will be more tourism and we too can go up north-east for the holidays, and also play more cricket with the Tamils."

I think that is brilliant.

by Anton J.N. Selvadurai