The proposals are bound to become a sheet of paper if the LTTE is not where the decisions are being made. Bringing the LTTE into the process may require the mediation of a third party. But the LTTE should not lay down any pre-conditions that would be impossible for the Government to accept, such as the withdrawal of the security forces from Jaffna. There should also be a commitment on both sides to adjure violence against non-combatant civilians and a willingness to pursue the democratic process. Achieving peace is a matter that can be arrived at only in stages and at various levels.
Total peace is only a final goal that can be achieved gradually through mutual confidence-building.
It is here that the religions and the NGOs have an important role to play. Tissa Balasuriya and others in helping to resolve a conflict that has cost the country so much blood and treasure. The seminars and discussions organised by the CSR to discuss devolution and its implications, as an important step towards resolving the present crisis, were intended to provide a forum for people of various shades of political opinions to express their views freely in an atmosphere of give and take. In spite of some of the heated discussions that ensued, the exercise was intended as an expression of people's democracy in action. If the proposals are imposed before they are properly understood by people, there can be much room for confusion and conflict.