Sri Lankan peace process on the brink of collapse?
http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/12/21/d41221020435.htm
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury
The South Asian island state of Sri Lanka seems slowly heading towards
bloody conflict once again because of setbacks in recent times over
resumption of the stalled peace process between the government and
Tamil militants unless the stalemate is broken and some positive
signals are available from the parties involved in the country's long
drawn civil war. The anxiety has been heightened after several Western
nations, keen to see that the peace dialogue is resumed, have urged
president Chandrika Kumaratunga to rein in the defiant partner JVP in
the ruling coalition and similar other forces opposing peace with
Tamil rebels.
Fears continue to mount whether the truce between the government and
the Tamil Tigers is increasingly becoming uncertain due to the stand
off and the impression being given by the Tigers that they are getting
apprehensive about the fate of the cease fire. The peace talks are
stalled for many months and took a beating following exit from power
of former prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, whose government had
initiated the dialogue with the rebels but was dismissed by the
president evidently for being "soft" to the Tamil militants. The
elections that followed brought Chandrika's supporters in power under
a new prime minister and chances of a settlement of two-decade old
civil war through discussions have since been hanging in the balance.
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205385. Bloody conflict about to start once again in Sri Lanka
205385. Bloody conflict about to start once again in Sri Lanka
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