Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that he will support a political solution to the long standing ethnic problem, as decided by the Parliament. The Presidential website stated that in a meeting with the local news editors, Mr Rajapaksa said that the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on a political solution to the ethnic issue was by no means a delaying tactic, but one that sought to obtain the concurrence of Parliament for any decision made.AIR correspondent reports, in a Parliament where the ruling coalition has near two thirds majority, the Sri Lankan President has now announced that he will support the decision of the parliament on the issue of political solution to the ethnic problem. Rejecting the charge that the appointment of the parliamentary select committee to look into the political solution is a delaying tactics by the government, the President said that it is the view of many party leaders and MPs that the search for a solution should not be confined to discussions with one party. Referring to the ongoing talks with the largest Tamil political group in the Parliament, the TNA, the government says that discussions in the Select Committee are parallel activity. The process would be concurrent and not successive. It would amount to a telescoping of two consultative processes. Mr Rajapaksa also said that he intends to hold the provincial council elections in the war-torn Northern Province next year. Sri Lankan has had at least two such committees in the recent past to look into the political solution to the ethnic problem, but none of the earlier reports have seen the light of the day. It is now to be seen if the latest select committee can find a political solution to the elusive ethnic problem which has plagued Sri Lanka for the last more than 30 years.