THE INTERMINABLE conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan government has claimed the lives of over 70,000 people, is the longest running armed conflict in South Asia, and one of the 20 deadliest wars ever fought in world history. Tens of thousands of civilians are now trapped in an impending humanitarian crisis in the north, dragging international humanitarian aid teams in and sending expats and foreign workers out running scared. If history is any indicator, it clearly demonstrates that this conflict cannot be resolved by negotiation, and the only viable solution next to a never-ending cycle of violence is establishing an autonomous Tamil state or region.
Tamils and Sinhalese never could and never will be able to coexist peacefully due to manifestations of nationalism and the radicalization of politics on both sides. Throughout history, Sinhalese have treated Tamils as a minority, while Tamils have wanted equal rights. In 1923, for instance, the Sinhalese political elite in the colonial Ceylon National Congress demanded that their superior population sizes be reflected in political representation, thereby forcibly marginalizing the minority Tamils.
After the British, Sinhalese nationalist aspirations manifested themselves in even more radical ways. The formation of the two Sinhalese parties -- the Sri Lankan Freedom Party and the United Nationalist Party -- resulted in both parties outbidding the other to get Sinhalese votes, feeding nationalist sentiments which alienated Tamils. The imposition of Sinhalese as the only national language of Sri Lanka in 1956 and the affirming of Buddhism's "foremost status" in Sri Lanka, were veiled attempts at marginalizing the Tamil language and Hinduism respectively. In addition, the discriminatory education quota system in the 1970s designed to increase Sinhalese entry into universities at the expense of Tamils created massive resentment and led to a radicalization in Tamil politics -- from which the Tamil Tigers rose. This conflict of status perceptions between equality and marginality has endured and been entrenched over decades, making it clear that the Tamils will never get the equality they desire, while the Sinhalese will only recognize Tamils for what they are, a measly minority.
Furthermore, all past peace initiatives and devolution measures have resulted in failure. According to Sisira Edirippulige of Kobe University in every agreements from the Pact of 1957, tothe Devolution Package of 1994, up to theNorwegian mediated peace process, failed because of oppositionfrom radicals and nationalists in both camps. Recently, the Sri Lankan government has engaged in a more aggressive policy convincing other countries to ban the group and cut off overseas funding from the Tamil diaspora. At the same time, the Tigers themselves have been responsible for over ninety percent of ceasefire violations, according to international observers.
Tragically, any remaining hopes for peace have evaporated with the European Union sanctioning the Tigers as a terrorist group. The Tigers have consequently hardened their position and expelled E.U. ceasefire monitors, which, according to Norway, has damaged chances of renwed talksAs demonstrated by decades of failed peace in every imaginable form, any diplomatic solution to this conflict short of an autonomous state will not succeed.
Carving a separate state for the Tamils, contrary to popular belief, would not be tantamount to "giving in" to the Tigers. What really constitutes "giving in" to the LTTE is abandoning all diplomatic initiatives and resorting to the Tiger's way of resolving disputes -- through violence. Besides, the concept of autonomy is a compromise point, is far from the complete independence that the Tigers want, and is the only key to a solution to the conflict. According to Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda, of the University of Colombo, "Any workable solution will require the recognition that the Tamils are a distinct community and that the North and the East will require asymmetrical autonomy."More crucially, the Tigers are not merely a rebel force, but an idea and symbol of decades of Tamil frustration at the hands of an intransigent Sri Lankan government that has mistreated them. Destroying the Tigers will only result in a further radicalization of Tamil politics and the resurgence of even more militant groups, since the core problem of social justice and equality for ethnic Tamils will not be resolved.
It is high time the Sri Lankan government stop focusing its efforts on undermining the Tigers and start thinking about how to address the Tamil aspirations of equality and autonomy. In this way, the Sinhalese nationalist sword-bearing lion on the Sri Lankan flag and the roaring tiger evocative of the Tamil struggle, can live separately in peace instead of clawing each other to death. Lions and tigers simply don't mix.
Prashanth Parameswaran's columns appear Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at pparameswaran@cavalierdaily.com.
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