The devastating Tamil Tiger attack on Sri Lanka's international airport represents a further descent into turmoil and uncertainty in an island that once prided itself on being one of Asia's most advanced societies. For more than 18 years the Sri Lankan Government has been locked in battle with Tamil rebels who wish to create an independent state in the island's north and east.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that this is a war that the Sri Lankan Government cannot win.
Governments faced with independence movements have only two choices before them: crush the movements militarily, or negotiate with them. They do not have the option of dithering. This is what the Government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga has been doing. It has neither been able to get peace talks going, nor has it been able to defeat the Tigers. The attack on Colombo's airport is a demonstration of the fact that the status quo is untenable.
Unfortunately, it does not look as though President Kumaratunga is going to be the person who will be able to break this log jam. After facing a parliamentary rebellion and street protests from the opposition, her position is shaky. She is in no position to make the decisive political moves necessary to resolve this conflict. Neither is a military victory on the cards.
So is Sri Lanka fated to suffer indefinitely under this long and increasingly meaningless conflict?
Hopefully, the attack on the airport will prove to be a defining moment in the conflict, and focus the attention of the nation's Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority on their options. Clearly, continuing the fighting for much longer is not a viable option.
