Belligerence back with ferocity in Sri Lanka

What is more worrying is the ruthlessness that is being witnessed in the battle. Fifteen aid workers of a French organization lost their lives in the battlefield. They were engaged in providing relief to the victims of the tsunami disaster that battered coastal line areas of the country earlier. The severity of the fighting can also be gauged from the fact that the army, the navy and the air force have been forced into the combat by the government. The militants, on the other hand, essentially a guerrilla outfit, are locked in battle with the navy.

The Lankan imbroglio more than ever before needs a settlement through negotiations. Earlier this year, talks resumed between the two sides in Geneva. But whatever optimism the dialogue had generated evaporated in quick time and things again were back to square one. Later, their contacts in Oslo to break the impasse did little to improve the hostile attitude that exists on both sides. The mediators themselves, like the government of Norway, are not pinning much hopes on the prospects of a negotiated settlement among the contending parties. A special peace envoy John Hansen has reached Colombo to make a difficult attempt to salvage the situation. But the chances of him succeeding seem to be very thin.

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Both the government and the Tamil militants came under intense pressure from the international community for eschewing the path of confrontation. But, unfortunately warring sides choose to stick to their own positions. Even powerful donors and mediators are now losing hope. Still, they can not afford to slacken their efforts.

Reverting to the conflict has led many to believe that the tenuous truce has virtually broken down and the nation is heading towards intensified civil war. This was least expected because the resumption of the dialogue in Geneva in February generated new hopes. The next round of talks could not take place, much to the dismay of those who want to see an end to the trouble. But strained ties between the parties led to postponement of the dialogue.

The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that several major incidents have taken place in recent times like air strikes in rebel strongholds in the north-east of the country. On the militants' side, there has been the daring feat of suicide by a woman that left ten troops killed and many injured, including the army chief himself. But later another senior army general could not escape death. All these mark the toughening of stance of both parties. President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Tamil rebel Vellupillai Prabhakaran are speaking about the need for peace, but reality is neither side is sparing the other.

As things stand now, the truce remains only on paper. Both sides need to be patient and realistic. The ceasefire must be observed by both sides. All pleas from saner sections of humanity both inside and outside Sri Lanka are clearly falling into deaf ears. Can they be really oblivious to the colossal destruction all around them?

However, the bottom line is that peace prospects have not been exhausted. Peace can be salvaged if the government and the militants demonstrate some degree of flexibility in their respective stances.

The Middle East crisis triggered by the Israeli invasion of Lebanon has pushed the Sri Lanka civil war somewhat into the background despite increasing belligerence in the island state. Understandably, the Middle East situation is fraught with dangers, having international repercussions. However, the two crises are qualitatively different. The Middle East crisis is largely dominated by foreign powers, who all have stakes in the Lebanon crisis in varying degrees. Consequently, the situation is turning intractable despite flagrant violations of human rights and international laws by Tel Aviv.

By stark contrast, in Sri Lanka only domestic players are responsible for the crisis while the international community is working for a settlement. Would the Lankan parties heed the calls for dialogue? The solution lies in their hands.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is Foreign Editor of BSS.