The report of the Expert Panel appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse to advise the All Party Conference on a political solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka is in deep limbo. The nationalist outcry against its recommendations, adopted by a majority of 11 out of 17 members of the panel, has been so strong that the government has publicly dissociated itself from the report, and even the president may distance himself from it.
The report makes proposals that could form the basis for a reasonable political solution on the island, by seeking to balance the competing interests of the main ethnic communities. While it does not go as far as to explicitly propose a federal solution, the report is clear that a solution lies in going beyond the present unitary constitutional framework.
The report also calls for the merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces for a period of ten years, to be followed by a referendum to ensure that the will of the people of the east is being served. Interestingly, the report came at a time when the Supreme Court had just ordered the two provinces, which had been temporarily merged for over 18 years, to be de-merged – a decision welcomed by the nationalist parties.
Truth be told, there is no reason why the report should not be acceptable to the ruling party of President Rajapakse, for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party has in the past adopted a liberal and progressive attitude on power-sharing as the solution to the ethnic conflict. Unfortunately, the report seems likely to fall victim to the heightened nationalist sentiment in Colombo, which has been fuelled by the ongoing military conflict.