For months, bombs have gone off and killings returned in Sri Lanka. Yet, even as soldiers have started patrolling the streets of the capital Colombo, the government is maintaining that war against the Tamil Tiger rebels has not broken out. That is all for the sake of not scaring off foreign businesses and billions of dollars in foreign aid, which flows on the condition that peace will hold.
It is difficult to see how the denial can continue without making a mockery of the situation. Since April, when a pro-Tiger official was killed, violence has escalated. A series of bomb attacks, assassinations and strikes and counter strikes between government and rebel forces have killed scores of civilians and soldiers. A hard won ceasefire brokered by Norway in February 2002 has effectively collapsed.
Two weeks ago, talks between the two sides in Oslo broke down. Representatives of the rebels refused even to meet their government counterparts and would talk only to Norwegian mediators. The rebels were upset by President Mahinda Rajapaksa's insistence on a unitary state for the whole of Sri Lanka, rejecting their plea for federalism.
As tension mounts, there is speculation that the rebels are itching for an all-out war by forcing a government crackdown on Tamil residents in Colombo. Meanwhile, the intrigue within the rebel camp has deepened, with a splinter group headed by Colonel Karuna challenging the authority of the mainstream faction headed by Velupillai Prabhakaran. As the two sides have fought for 20 years over rights for nationhood that are rooted in ethnic and religious differences, it is hard for outsiders to counsel for peace. But it is sad to see what used to be a peaceful country being torn and hapless people held captive by violence.
In 2004, Sri Lanka was hit by the deadly Asian tsunami and more than 30,000 people in the country were killed. However, a deal on how foreign aid to help reconstruction should be shared with the rebels has yet to be struck. Even as the sufferings of victims in Tamil areas remain unaddressed, their plight has been aggravated by the outbreak of violence since April.
As leaders on both sides are gearing up for war again, it is to be hoped that they will have the good sense to realise their differences can be resolved only through talks. If they put the interests of their people first, the rebels should stop fighting so humanitarian aid can come through.
