Even before President Jayewardene’s meeting with Indian journalists on Thursday, it should have been obvious that the process of finding a solution to the Sinhalese-Tamil problem is going to be a prolonged and painful affair. His statement confirms this assessment. Indeed, if he has his way, it will be a long time before talks between the Sri Lankan government and other representatives of the Sinhalese people and the Tamil United Liberation Front can begin. Two points made by President Jayewardene are pertinent in this connection. First, the TULF must give up its demand for a separate Tamil state before the proposed negotiations can open. Secondly, his first priority is to weed out the extremists from the armed forces and the police, ensure that they obey orders and reassure the Sinhalese people that he will be able to protect the unity and integrity of the island republic. The implication is obvious. The talks cannot begin for quite some time. For the TULF cannot and will not give up its platform so long as it is not assured of a reasonable deal which only negotiations can produce. And, in fact President Jayewardene himself will find it virtually impossible to fight Sinhalese extremists so long as he is not able to hold out the promise of a viable solution on the one hand and the fear of dismemberment of the island on the other. That is where India comes into the picture. It can help him open talks with the Tamil leaders and frighten the Sinhalese chauvinists.
President Jayewardene is reluctant to use India’s offer of good offices at least just now. It is not particularly difficult to understand his reasons. Sinhalese nationalism has taken an anti-Indian turn and he is afraid of being seen to be going against it. He himself might have been partly responsible for it. But that is besides the point in the present context. It has to be assumed that he means well. The more relevant fact in any case is that he cannot possibly resolve the crisis in Sri Lanka except with India’s help. For New Delhi alone can provide the bridge between his government and the TULF leaders. He cannot construct it on his own. President Jayewardene has shown an awareness of the dilemma the TULF leaders face, but unfortunately only a partial one. It is, of course, not easy for them to repudiate the platform on which they have been elected to parliament. It is plainly ridiculous for President Jayewardene to suggest that they should resign and seek fresh election whenever he is able and willing to offer them such an opportunity. That apart, the TULF leaders face another more difficult problem. They will lose ground to the Tamil Tigers if they give up their demand for a separate Tamil state before talks open with the authorities and before there is some hope of an acceptable agreement. Such a development will undermine whatever prospect there remains of a solution of the Tamil problem being found within the framework of a united Sri Lanka. President Jayewardene must be shrewd enough to recognise this implication of his present, publicly stated position. He has his difficulties. But these can only increase if he prevaricates on India’s mediatory offer and delays talks with the TULF.
President Jayewardene has again spoken of the presence of some Tamil Tigers in Tamil Nadu and of the competition between the AIADMK and the DMK in that state. Apparently, he wants to make the point that these developments are complicating the situation in Sri Lanka. But to what effect? He has to come to terms with the reality, which is that New Delhi is just not in a position either to prevent a traffic between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu or to catch hold of the Tigers and turn them over to Colombo, or to persuade Mr. Karunanidhi not to try and exploit the bitterness of the Tamil people over the pogroms in Sri Lanka. In fact, he should have little difficulty in recognizing that Mrs. Gandhi would by now have found herself under irresistible pressure to act if she had not been seen in India to have handled the problem with firmness from the very beginning, and that she must now be seen to be producing some result if she is not to come under such pressure. That is not all. President Jayewardene will be making a sad mistake if he believes that the pressure on the Indian Prime Minister comes only from the Tamils. All sections of Indian society are united in their condemnation of what has happened in Sri Lanka and in their determination to see to it that the Tamils there get justice. So, pending direct talks so that President Jayewardene can get the time he thinks he needs in order to be able to try and put his house in order, there have to be indirect talks through India. In a sense, this process has begun with President Jayewardene’s brother’s and the TULF leaders, Mr. Amirthalingam’s visits to New Delhi. It should move further when Mr. G. Parthasarathi goes to Colombo next week as Mrs. Gandhi’s special emissary. President Jayewardene does not seem to be ready for it. But there is not much time to lose.