The National Peace Council (NPC)

The Government seems to think that economic development of the North & East will resolve all the problems of the Tamils and that the Tamil demand for a political solution can be ignored. If we want to have a Sri Lankan nation we must consciously develop a Sri Lankan identity. A Sri Lankan identity means there should be no more appeals to Sinhala nationalism or Tamil nationalism. In Tamilnadu Tamil nationalism withered away only after the Tamil language was recognized and equal rights were conceded to the minorities in India. It cannot be different in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese fear that Tamils threaten the unity of Sri Lanka as one nation because of their claim to the traditional lands in the North & East. But the answer is not to seek to plant more Sinhalese in these areas and reduce the Tamil majority for that would only worsen the fear and suspicion of the Tamil people that the Sinhalese are seeking to dominate them. The stoppage of State aided colonization has always been a demand of the Tamil people to which we have to pay heed. Peace can come only through justice and reconciliation.