"...In the Sinhala language, the words for nation, race and people are practically synonymous, and a multiethnic or multicommunal nation or state is incomprehensible to the popular mind. The emphasis on Sri Lanka as the land of the Sinhala Buddhists carried an emotional popular appeal, compared with which the concept of a multiethnic polity was a meaningless abstraction..." [Sinhala Historian K. M. de Silva in Religion, Nationalism and the State, USF Monographs in Religion and Public Policy, No.1 (Tampa, FLA: University of South Florida 1986) at p31 quoted by David Little in Religion and Self Determination in Self Determination - International Perspectives, MacMillan Press, 1996]
"..In countries with internal conflicts, the traditional way of reconciling people with distinct identities within a single nation state is through some form of power sharing and devolution..." British Commissioner in Sri Lanka on United Kingdom's Peace Building Efforts in Sri Lanka, 15 June 2007
"...Having postulated a conflict between ‘primordial’ and ‘civil’ sentiments it is an easy step for politicians and social scientists to argue for the substitution of one (civil ties) for the other (primordial ties)... But is one form of nationalism traditional and the other modern? .. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the two nationalisms? ... If modernity and cultural nationalism are defined as in opposition to each other how do we understand the resurgence of cultural nationalism (and the definition of cultural variables as the relevant determinants of political identity) in many post-industrial societies?.." Marguerite Ross Barnett, Princeton University in Creating Political Identity: The Emergent South Indian Tamils
"...The problem in nationally divided societies is that the different groups have different political identities... In this situation, the options available to represent these distinct identities are very limited... if the minority group seeks to be self-governing, or to secede from the larger state, increased representation at the centre will not be satisfactory. The problem in this case is that the group does not identify with the centre, or want to be part of that political community... One conclusion that can be drawn is that, in some cases, secession/partition of the two communities, where that option is available, is the best outcome overall. .." Professor Margaret Moore in Normative justifications for Liberal Nationalism
June 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with Maha Sanga (Buddhist monks) from all over the country at the Presidential Secretariat this evening. Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa updated the assembly on the current situation in the North and East. The commanders of the three forces, IGP and President's secretary Lalith Weeratunga were also present.
