The lack of economic opportunities in the south led to a large number of educated youth taking to arms in two bloody insurrections. The lack of economic opportunities coupled with changes in language policies were the factors responsible for the ethnic conflict. Today we are in a blatantly clear situation where the resolution of the ethnic conflict is a sine qua non for rapid economic growth. On the other hand, if the economy were allowed to grow with a period of peace, then several dimensions of the ethnic conflict would be much easier to manage. Unfortunately the state of politics does not allow for such cessation of conflict to allow economic forces to melt down the conflict situation. The political dimensions require to be immediately resolved, so that the environment could be created for economic reconstruction and growth to take place.

The best one could expect in the current situation is that a breath of realism would pervade the discussions towards reaching a settlement. Paradoxically, the issues that are likely to be difficult to resolve are in fact the least relevant in the long-term interests of both the majority and minority communities. The prosperity of all communities is not dependent on the geographical demarcations, language rights and the political systems that are being envisaged. If the talks break down owing to these, then once again all parties would be responsible for putting political considerations, mostly of benefit to the politicians themselves, as the priority rather than the potential economic gains and improvements in welfare of the people. In as far as the government is concerned, it is fairly clear that they realise the absolute need of peace for prosperity.

There appears to be a willingness to compromise on political issues in order to achieve the desired economic gains. It appears that the people at large also recognise the economic gains of a peace. It is a minority of political interests that are drumming up all sorts of fears so that the lack of economic progress owing to the dragging of the war would get people to put them into power in desperation. Unfortunately the nature of the conflict and constitutional solutions provide enough material not merely for disagreement but the evocation of communal fears. We can only hope that this would not happen on a sufficiently large scale so as to hinder a final and lasting settlement. Unfortunately democratically elected representatives do not head the peace effort on behalf of the Tamil people. It is solely placed in the hands of those who have brandished the sword effectively. That makes for a vital difference in the approaches to the settlement.

The economic and social welfare of the Tamil people are likely to get a low priority, while issues of power sharing and retention of authority over the Tamil people would no doubt be of the highest priority for the leaders of the LTTE. It is only the changed international situation with respect to terrorism that is likely to temper their interests. It is therefore vital that representatives of the Tamil people articulate their interests, so that a more reasonable settlement in the interests of the economic well being and social development of the Tamil people is reached. It is also important that the long-term interests of the Tamil people are in the forefront rather than political and constitutional issues that can easily choke the welfare consideration in a settlement.

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