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New plan in Colombo
17 August 2007

IT’S premature yet to say whether something tangible will come out of the power devolution plan currently being finalised by Sri Lanka’s political parties. There are positive sides to the move, even as it is not time yet to say there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Clearly, the plan is aimed at directly addressing the grievances of the Tamil minority, spread largely in the north and the east, who are up in arms for a quarter of a century, raising the spectre of a civil war, and resulting in the deaths of over 60,000 people so far. A proposal, for which broad consensus has been reached, is to make the provinces the units of devolution of powers, within which, districts will be a major administrative unit. What must be of essence, under the plan, is how much financial clout, and leverage, the provincial authorities, as also the district administrations, will have. After all, everything about development boils down to matters of economics.

Tamils’ grievance has been that their regions, and the people, were being given a step-motherly treatment by Colombo. Devolution of powers must mean, prima facie, an end to such a scenario. What, however, is positive about the current plan is that the salient elements of the Sri Lankan political establishment stand together in a common cause, unlike in the past when they were working at cross purposes.

Yet, the fact as it stands is also that the rebels, under the banner of the LTTE, have not expressed themselves in favour of the move, and are still insisting on the setting up of an independent state for the Tamils. These are difficult times for the rebels, as well. The Rajapaksa government has acted decisively against their fortresses in the east, and the LTTE had to run for cover for the first time. The north, however, remains unassailable. The rebels have their strengths, including the rare sea and air power that they possess, much to the worry of Colombo. Yet, in these times of concerted international campaign against terrorism, how long can the militants hold out is a moot point. In the least, they must be responding favourably to positive approaches, be it from the government or from elsewhere. On its part, the government may have its flaws, but it is making some serious efforts, of late. A carrot and stick policy is what it is pursuing, and it hopefully must work.