Ethnic conflict and devolution of power in Sri Lanka: power sharing for Muslims in the North- East

Abstract

Muslims are conscious of the serious problems that are likely to arise when the Northern and the Eastern provinces are permanently merged. The temporary merger effected undemocratically by a regulation under Public Security Ordinance during emergency, only helped the Tamils to unilaterally declare the "Tamil Elam" in the merged region. This had made a mockery of the very character of the unitary State and the concept of devolution. While solving the Tamil problem the Government had created a community of political and social slaves out of the Muslims in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.