Sri Lanka may amend constitution

The reforms are aimed at ending the decades old conflict and restoring peace to the region.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka said on Monday it was aiming to push through constitutional reform to end two decades of civil war, but analysts said it would probably not be enough to bring Tamil Tiger rebels to talks.

More than 700 people have died so far this year, some 280 in June alone, raising fears a 2002 ceasefire could collapse, restarting two decades of civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels who want a separate ethnic Tamil homeland.

Both sides say they want peace but diplomats say that, so far, neither has been willing to make the necessary compromises. On Tuesday, the government will hold the first of a string of meetings aimed at discussing constitutional reform. “It is the launch of a process,” government peace secretariat head Palitha Kohona said. “Constitutional reform is an essential part of our approach to resolving the conflict. We don’t have a time limit but we need it sooner rather than later.”

Neither the Tigers nor their political proxies will be involved in the meeting, although the government says they were invited.

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) also said it would not attend, saying the government needed first to clarify its position on the peace process.

Sri Lanka’s current non-federal constitution gives little power to the northern and eastern provinces where minority Tamils and Muslims live. Some believe the government may be moving towards a more federal constitution like India’s. The meeting will bring together southern majority Sinhalese, Muslim and anti-Tiger Tamil parties as well as a 15-person committee of experts, including four Tamils, said Kohona. Some analysts say the committee is too hardline to be credible.

When they first emerged in the 1970s, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) wanted a separate state. Now they say they might settle for regional autonomy but suggest that they want full independence at least discussed and not ruled out. “Having these options on the table will increase the confidence of the Tamils in the fairness of the current peace process,” wrote lawyer Viswanathan Rudrakumaran on a pro-rebel website.

Violence has fallen since the beginning of July. Some hope that means the two sides have decided that they can’t afford war, but others fear the Tigers are preparing a new, larger attack.

They fear the Tigers will reject the new meeting. Some officials say that is not important, it is enough if ordinary Tamils know the government is on their side and become willing to switch their support from the LTTE.