SOLVING A NON EXISTING PROBLEM
The so called international community (IC) consisting of about ten countries in the whole world is apparently waiting for the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to come out with a solution to the "ethnic problem". It is said that the IC would be satisfied with a solution coming from the APRC with all members supporting it. The UNP has taken up a similar position in asking the political parties in the government to propose a solution that is accepted by all parties comprising the government. The UNP would come back to the APRC only if such a solution is formulated.
If the APRC fails to present a solution acceptable to all the parties in the government it is clear that the UNP would not come back to the APRC. On the other hand if the APRC comes up with a unanimously accepted solution but the UNP fails to agree with it then the IC would be in a position to claim that the APRC and hence the All Party Conference are not agreeable on a common solution. Then the IC would demand the government of Sri Lanka commence negotiations with the LTTE which would take the opportunity to insist on Eelam.
Thus the UNP is in a position to help the LTTE whenever they want. The strategy of UNP keeping out of the APRC temporally suits the IC as well as the LTTE, and there is reason to believe that the IC, UNP and the LTTE work in collusion. It is clear that the IC is waiting for a lapse on the part of the government to interfere and perhaps help the UNP to come to power. The lapse could be a failure by the APRC, including the UNP, to arrive at an agreeable solution.
The JVP which left the APRC sometime ago would definitely oppose a solution which is not federal, and if the APRC proposes a federal solution that would spell disaster to the country. In any event it is very unlikely that the APRC would come out with a unanimous federal solution to the so called ethnic problem, but the JVP would not be satisfied with a solution other than a unitary solution. The government which has given a promise to the public to retain the unitary character of the state would find it very difficult to agree to a solution other than a unitary solution.
The Tamil parties and some Muslim parties would oppose a unitary solution and this would mean that the UNP, IC and the LTTE would be in a position to demand that negotiations between the government and the LTTE should commence almost immediately. Thus there appears to be no solution to the so called ethnic problem as negotiations between the LTTE and the government have never made way towards a solution.
As it has become so difficult to find a solution to the "ethnic problem", it is time to ponder over the problem itself. Are we correct in the formulation of the problem? Are we trying to solve a non existing problem? One of the solutions to a non existing problem is to accept that the "problem" has not been formulated correctly assuming of course that there is some kind of a problem which has to be formulated correctly. The other option is to say that there is no problem at all.
The problem is usually formulated in such a way to claim that the Tamils and the Muslims are been discriminated by the Sinhalas, and as such the former should be given the opportunity to take decisions on matters affecting them. When finding solutions to this problem it is always the case that ONLY the "grievances" of the Tamils and the Muslims are discussed ignoring the views of the Sinhalas. The Sinhalas are always requested to accommodate the demands of the Tamils and the Muslims without even listening to what the Sinhalas have to say on the so called problem.
However, though the problem is formulated in the above manner, no solutions are worked out to solve that problem. Instead a solution is sought for the Northern Province and the Eastern Province, and not for the Tamils and the Muslims in the entire country. If the Tamils and the Muslims are discriminated then it has to be members of those communities in the entire country and not only those living in two provinces demarcated by the British. The problem is concerning communities but solutions are sought for provinces. One could argue that the majority of those living in the said provinces are Tamils and the Muslims, thus a solution is sought for those two provinces. However, that defies any kind of logic, including Aristotelian logic, known to me, and I would be much grateful if one could enlighten me on the logic used in this case.
In the process of finding a solution to the provinces named above very often the problem is reformulated as the "North East Problem", as if the problem is associated with the provinces. In attempting to give a solution to the "North East Problem" the Tamils and the Muslims living in the other parts of the country are either neglected and left to be "discriminated by the Sinhalas" or it is assumed that their problem could be solved without devolving power, or it may even be assumed that the Tamils and the Muslims living outside the Northern Province and the Eastern Province have no problem to be solved.
If the latter is the case then as the Tamils and the Muslims living outside the Northern and the Eastern Provinces have no problems, it follows that these communities have no problems and it is only the Tamils and the Muslims living in the Northern Province and the Eastern Province who have problems, in contradiction with the original formulation of the problem that dealt with these communities in general. This is a good example for reductio ad absurdum method in Aristotelian Logic, but it is very unlikely that the Tamil parties, the Muslim Parties or the Marxist Parties would accept that position.
No Tamil Party or Muslim Party would admit that the Tamils and Muslims living outside the Northern Province and the Eastern Province would be left to be "discriminated by the Sinhalas", especially when we all know that the majority of each of the communities live outside the two provinces unlike in India where power has been devolved on linguistic basis. Thus we are left with the case of solving their problems, even if we assume that there are problems, without devolving power. If the "problems" of the Tamils and the Muslims living outside the Northern Province and the Eastern Province could be solved without devolving power then it follows that the "problems" of those living in Northern Province and the Eastern Province also could be solved without devolving power.
Professor Nalin de Silva
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