Hindu, Oct 29
    
First of all, this issue has been there for a long time, more than 20 years, and it’s high time we came to a solution. As President of Sri Lanka, I am absolutely clear that there is, and can be, no military solution to political questions. I have always maintained this. A military solution is for the terrorists; a political solution is for the people living in this country.

Let me reiterate that my government is firmly committed to a negotiated political solution — based on devolution of power and ensuring the democratic, political, including linguistic, rights of all our Tamil brethren within an undivided Sri Lanka. I would like to see more devolution to the people. It must go to the grassroots level, because they must decide on their development work, what they need. We must allow them to participate in the whole process.

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- The Academic

Quote:

MR: First of all, this issue has been there for a long time, more than 20 years, and it’s high time we came to a solution. As President of Sri Lanka, I am absolutely clear that there is, and can be, no military solution to political questions. I have always maintained this. A military solution is for the terrorists; a political solution is for the people living in this country.

Quote:

question: The four ‘Ds’ in your vision of the political process — Demilitarisation, Democratisation, Development, Devolution — are they in some order?


MR: Yes. Without demilitarisation first, you won’t be able to achieve anything. No democratisation, no development, no devolution. It is useless to give them devolution when they are not ready to accept it or you can’t implement it.

Well said Mr President.


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The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed - Clark Kerr.
Think, brainstorm, and Just Do It - Nike plus.

rm7000 wrote:

Quote:

question: The four ‘Ds’ in your vision of the political process — Demilitarisation, Democratisation, Development, Devolution — are they in some order?


MR: Yes. Without demilitarisation first, you won’t be able to achieve anything. No democratisation, no development, no devolution. It is useless to give them devolution when they are not ready to accept it or you can’t implement it.

Well said Mr President.

It makes a chicken and egg situation story is also well said.  
I think I need to learn from you how to become a optimist.

Negombo wrote:

rm7000 wrote:

Quote:

question: The four ‘Ds’ in your vision of the political process — Demilitarisation, Democratisation, Development, Devolution — are they in some order?


MR: Yes. Without demilitarisation first, you won’t be able to achieve anything. No democratisation, no development, no devolution. It is useless to give them devolution when they are not ready to accept it or you can’t implement it.

Well said Mr President.

It makes a chicken and egg situation story is also well said.  
I think I need to learn from you how to become a optimist.

Well Negombo can anything be achieved by pure
 pessimism, compared to hope, positivity and optimism?!
L.t.t.e has mastered the art of sabotaging anything and everything.
The policy makers have to be cautiously optimistic. L.t.t.e has to be weakened before
any policy can take shape.


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The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed - Clark Kerr.
Think, brainstorm, and Just Do It - Nike plus.

I am an eternal optimist. Yet this is all nonsense. The prevailing mindset with MR et al is " lets hang on until the Indian elections are done "  and we wil carry on regardless. MR at every turn has undermined the APC. Good on MR for talking rfom both sides of his gifted gab. Too bad, so sad for my Tamil brothers and sisters caught between a rock and a hard place. The latter can only thank " sun god " for their predicament.


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" The Old wounds, the old battles. They and we, and no place in the middle " - Authour Unknown.

rm7000 wrote:

Well Negombo can anything be achieved by pure
 pessimism, compared to hope, positivity and optimism?!
L.t.t.e has mastered the art of sabotaging anything and everything.
The policy makers have to be cautiously optimistic. L.t.t.e has to be weakened before
any policy can take shape.

If your kid get constatntly low marks in school and if you don't set him high standard by showing him his mistakes and where to improve you will never allow him to grow.
If you be optimistic and pat his back all the while that he will do better without showing him where he went wrong he will get worse.
You have to set high standards, push him to limits to allow hin to achieve higher.
This is a philosophy all US private companies constantly follow to not to become extinct.

I am ok weakening or eliminating LTTE outright. That solves a major problem.
But my standard question these days; Do you honestly believe MR will propose a politicial solution for moderate tamils acceptable to them after LTTE is eliminated?

Quote:

If your kid get constatntly low marks in school and if you don't set him high standard by showing him his mistakes and where to improve you will never allow him to grow.
If you be optimistic and pat his back all the while that he will do better without showing him where he went wrong he will get worse.
You have to set high standards, push him to limits to allow hin to achieve higher.

Fine, makes sense.

Quote:

I am ok weakening or eliminating LTTE outright. That solves a major problem.
But my standard question these days; Do you honestly believe MR will propose a politicial solution for moderate tamils acceptable to them after LTTE is eliminated?

he'll be forced to, or he won't be able to handle the vaccuum created by l.t.t.e's absence.
MR ( and most of them in the region ) have not seen Tamils fully out of the l.t.t.e's shadow of fear.


_________________
The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed - Clark Kerr.
Think, brainstorm, and Just Do It - Nike plus.

rm7000 wrote:

he'll be forced to, or he won't be able to handle the vaccuum created by l.t.t.e's absence.

the ltte vacuum will be taken over by rhetorics of JHU, JVP.  the vacuum will take the country back to 1956.
MR is confident that he is just few months away from 1956. The leaders in EU, US, India have the vision to foresee this coming. That's why all these leaders are pushing MR to come with a political solution before the war is over.

Negombo wrote:

But my standard question these days; Do you honestly believe MR will propose a politicial solution for moderate tamils acceptable to them after LTTE is eliminated?

Why do you honestly believe there will be any political changes with LTTE?

If the empirical evidence over 5 successive govts has demonstrated its impossible.  The prime reason being, the non-chauvinistic Tamils are either unwilling to take responsibility or they are simply incapable of keeping LTTE in negotiations till there is a permanent solution.  Even if you table something acceptable to 2/3 of Parliment, LTTE will reject and spoil its implementation. The non-chauvinistic Tamils will keep quiet, go into hibernation again start complaining there is no political solution.

I think Cancer, the disease is a good analogy here to properly explain the situation.  One gets Cancer sometimes because of bad management health.  When one gets cancer, its pointless treating the underlying causes before eliminating the cancer itself since it can destroy what is left.  Soon there will be nothing left to treat.  This is why you nuke the cancer to take away the immediate threat first and then treat the underlying cause so that it never appears again.


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Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. - Albert Einstein

Athos,

I also believe that LTTE will be over soon. The whole country believe it. After LTTE it will be  the non-chauvinistic Tamils such as Karuna, Pillian, Douglas who would be leading the tamils. They have alreay joined hands with GOSL.

So it is time to plan the future with the non-chauvinistic Tamils such as Karuna, Pillian, Douglas.

Heylo Negombo,

You have a standard question why wait until LTTE is defeated for political changes. I just laid it out for you possibly for the millionth time.  I keep doing it because a new comer to the forum might think the govt is starving Tamils from getting much needed political changes because its unwilling. Clearly this is not the case.  

You and I know why there is no progress with anything.  This is simply because Velupillai Prabararakn is deeply commited to the cause originally set out by TULF.  He is also powerful enough to block other Tamils from negotiating on behalf of Tamils. He rejects anything less that any sane govt could possibly offer because he probably thinks he is doing something good for Tamils.  Therefore, the only possible way forward for a political solution is;

1 - Prabakaran wins Eelam as per Voddokkodai resolution. (improbable at this stage)
2 - Tamils all over publicly insist he negotiate core issues with other Tamils. (probable at this stage)
3 - Prabakaran surrenders and allow Tamil leaders to negotiate core issues. (probable at this stage)
4 - Prabakaran is military defeated. (probable at this stage)

Pick 2, 3 or 4. This will guarantee a political solution straight away as per your wish. Only Tamils have the luxury of choosing options 2 or 3.  The govt is only left with one option and that is - 4.


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Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. - Albert Einstein

Athos wrote:

I keep doing it because a new comer to the forum might think the govt is starving Tamils from getting much needed political changes because its unwilling. Clearly this is not the case.

any rationally thinking person would believe what Mr Blake says not you.

Negombo wrote:

Athos wrote:

I keep doing it because a new comer to the forum might think the govt is starving Tamils from getting much needed political changes because its unwilling. Clearly this is not the case.

any rationally thinking person would believe what Mr Blake says not you.

Lets see. Here is I who lived and breathed this problem for a few decades.  Then you have Mr. Blake, an American who has served a term or two in SL working for US interests.  I don't think its rocket science whom will be believed.

But hey look it seems US policy have changed too.
US commends Sri Lanka's war against LTTE

Probably because of :
The failures of successive peace processes with the LTTE - An historical overview


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Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. - Albert Einstein

I hope P4A, Warmonger are reading this post from Athos, in particular this part
and figure out if there was a way that l.t.t.e could have not sabotaged all the talks  -

"The failures of successive peace processes with the LTTE - An historical overview
http://www.peaceinsrilanka.org/peace2005/Insidepage/SCOPPDaily_Report/SCOPP_report041108.asp"


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The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed - Clark Kerr.
Think, brainstorm, and Just Do It - Nike plus.

rm, it is true ltte sabotaged all the peace efforts, but our southern politicians have their share as well.


"The nature of the main Tamil nationalist organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has made any peace settlement particularly hard. The LTTE has been banned in many countries because of its use of suicide bombers and child soldiers, widespread human rights abuses, and its intolerance of any dissent among Tamils.

Sinhalese-dominated political parties have consistently failed to reach consensus on reasonable power-sharing or devolution proposals that might be acceptable to the majority of Tamils. Party politics has interfered with any common approach to the conflict, and extreme nationalist parties have frequently derailed any attempt to offer concessions. Without a two-thirds majority in parliament – which no single party can achieve under current electoral rules – no constitutional reforms are possible. The LTTE has shown no interest in even the most generous devolution proposals offered by recent governments."

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5144&l=1

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4459&l=1