Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Sri Lanka

The conflict in Sri Lanka has already consumed more than 70,000 lives, displaced 700 to 800 thousand people besides being the cause for billions of rupees worth of lost opportunities. It is of great concern to the whole world and directly affects the region in general and India in particular. Efforts over the period to resolve the politico-ethnic problem in Sri Lanka has not made much headway. It has been felt that the unitary system has not delivered. Even in the first half of the last century, the political setup in Sri Lanka had discussed federalism. However, it did not merit attention while framing the post independence constitution. Federalism was not a preferred subject of discussion even in the recent past. It was an anathema to some, foreign to some others and allergic to many.

The agreement reached in Oslo in December 2002 has brought back the subject of federalism to find a political solution. The concept and idea of federalism, therefore, felt worthwhile to discuss in detail. While there can be many permutations and combinations in a federal set up, unless ideas get discussed, a move forward does not take place. With this in view the Center for Security Analysis in collaboration with Hans Seidel Foundation and Sri Lanka Foundation Institute organized a Seminar at Colombo on Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Sri Lanka on 10 and 11 May 2005, the proceedings of the same are covered in this book.