Matters Around Us
Sri Lanka sliding back to all out war?
The south Asian island state of Sri Lanka seems to be inexorably moving towards resumption of the full blown war following a number of developments that clearly indicate the hardening of the stance of both -- the government and the Tamil militants. T
The peace process has been in tatters for long, but mediators hope it can still be revived if the warring sides respond to their calls for reversing the current trend of hostilities. Contrary to this expectation, the belligerence is on the increase, and there appears little doubt that Sri Lanka is heading towards pre-truce violence with full intensity.
The Sri Lanka monitoring mission (SLMM), put in place by peace-broker Norway to supervise the 2002 ceasefire agreement, now says it is "alarmed" by the developing situation. Others in and outside the country feel the same, and are concerned about the shape of things to come in the days ahead -- which may be more bloodshed and destruction.
The peace talks have been stalemated for long and took a beating following the exit from power of former prime minister Ranil Wickramsinghe, whose government had initiated the dialogue with the rebels but was dismissed by President Chandrika, evidently for being "soft" toward the Tamil militants. The elections that followed brought Chandrika's supporters to power under new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, and the chances of a settlement of the more than two-decade old civil war through discussions have become more remote.
President Mahinda Rajapakse, who succeeded Chandrika, followed the same hard-line with the rebels, and no progress has been made towards a negotiated settlement of the civil war. Rather, new complexities have been introduced in the vexed problem, even though both sides are claiming that they are for peace in the country.
Six rounds of talks between the Colombo government and the Tamil Tigers during Ranil's time raised hopes for a negotiated settlement of the contentious civil war in Sri Lanka, which was virtually bleeding white because of the long drawn conflict centering the minority Tamil's armed struggle for a separate homeland in the north of the country.
There was no decisive outcome of the civil war as the success in the battlefield swung from one side to the other, and occasional cease-fires produced no tangible results, and hostilities resumed in quick time. However, the situation marked a qualitative change when the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramsinghe took an active pro-peace policy with the rebels, which facilitated a dialogue that went for several rounds in different venues abroad, making some progress in the vexed problem.
While it was the height of folly to expect an easy resolution of the Sri Lankan imbroglio, given the complexities involved, the dialogue gave hope since both sides made significant concessions. The government conceded to some demands of the Tigers while the latter abandoned their main position -- an independent state for the Tamils -- and agreed to autonomy.
The road to peace through negotiations was undoubtedly bumpy, but what was remarkably encouraging was the marked willingness to find common ground towards a permanent settlement of the problem. Notwithstanding differences on some key areas, both sides demonstrated commendable attitude in carrying forward the parleys.
Admittedly, the talks occasionally ran into rough weather, and had even been suspended indefinitely at one stage, but neither side spoke of resumed hostilities. But this scenario began changing, and it is totally different now.
During the last few weeks, several incidents, including the killing of S.P.Tamilselvan who was the political adviser of the militants, contributed to the worsening of the situation. Clearly, this came as a big setback for the rebels, who vowed to avenge this killing, and an attempt on a minister, George Devanand, certainty further queered the pitch of government-militant relations. At the same time, violence and skirmishes increased to the extent that there was an impression that the Lankan war was coming back with full fury.
Earlier, rebel supremo Vellupillai Prabakaran had set a deadline for the government to give an acceptable guideline for the settlement of the civil war or risk resumption of the hostilities. Expectedly, the government rejected the deadline, but insisted that talks could take place. In the meantime, signs of deteriorating conditions were evident as stray incidents of violence took the lives of 18 soldiers along with the lives of some rebel supporters. This was clearly disturbing, raising fears of resumption of the bloodshed. However, peace efforts have not been fully abandoned.
The war, that has cost more than 70,000 lives so far, is claiming lives almost everyday, including those of civilians. In four days, from November 25 to November 28, 49 civilians have been killed with many more being injured, while both the government and the rebels suffered casualties. The latest government vow to kill rebel leader Prabakaran has further infuriated the militants. The government, evidently, is showing no mercy, as the air raids have become a daily affair and the rebel-soldier encounters on both land and sea have also increased.
The latest developments have frustrated the mediators, who pin hopes of resumption of the dialogue despite yawning differences in the positions of the two sides. Norway and several other nations, including Japan, are keen to see that the belligerence is at least minimised. But they are getting increasingly disillusioned over the turn of events.
Sri Lanka needs prudent policies under the circumstances and, obviously, the onus largely lies with the government, while the militants are expected to demonstrate flexibility and a rationale attitude should both want the peace process to be resumed with the ultimate objective of a settlement of the civil war through talks.
If the nation reverts to full scale warfare, the bloodshed may assume unthinkable proportion. This will cost both sides heavily and, consequently, take the war-torn but otherwise very prospective country on a further downslide. Wisdom and sagacity are the need of the hour for the key players in the Lankan drama.
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is the Chief Editor of the BSS news agency.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments