The Sri Lankan army is pushing hard to finish off the LTTE militarily. The militant organisation is cornered in a stretch around Mullaitivu. It seems that the end of LTTE is near.
But will be the end of the problem? It seems like it will be back to square one for both the Tamils and Sri Lanka; back to the situation that existed thirty years ago.
In fact it was the failure of the Sinhala dominated Sri Lankan polity to assimilate the Tamil minority into the country's mainstream that gave birth to The LTTE.
Finishing off the LTTE will solve nothing. Lankan president Rajapaksa will have to take steps that will enable Tamils to live in peace, dignity and be treated as equal to the Sinhala majority. The Sri Lankan army that is acting against the LTTE is a Sinhala army.
Rajapaksa should understand that even if the army manages to crush the LTTE militarily, the task of assuaging Tamil demands will be long and hard. The Sinhalas will have to show a big heart and maturity.
Unless the Tamils are assimilated well into the country their honor intact, more LTTEs will spring up again.
The Tamil civilians are suffering the most in the conflict. At least five civilians have died just yesterday after a makeshift hospital was shelled in a rebel-held area of northern Sri Lanka, health officials there say. Pro-rebel websites blame the army for the deaths, but the military has strongly denied being responsible.
The Sri Lankan army is pushing hard to finish off the LTTE militarily. The militant organisation is cornered in a stretch around Mullaitivu. It seems that the end of LTTE is near.
But will be the end of the problem? It seems like it will be back to square one for both the Tamils and Sri Lanka; back to the situation that existed thirty years ago.
In fact it was the failure of the Sinhala dominated Sri Lankan polity to assimilate the Tamil minority into the country's mainstream that gave birth to The LTTE.
Finishing off the LTTE will solve nothing. Lankan president Rajapaksa will have to take steps that will enable Tamils to live in peace, dignity and be treated as equal to the Sinhala majority. The Sri Lankan army that is acting against the LTTE is a Sinhala army.
Rajapaksa should understand that even if the army manages to crush the LTTE militarily, the task of assuaging Tamil demands will be long and hard. The Sinhalas will have to show a big heart and maturity.
Unless the Tamils are assimilated well into the country their honor intact, more LTTEs will spring up again.
The Tamil civilians are suffering the most in the conflict. At least five civilians have died just yesterday after a makeshift hospital was shelled in a rebel-held area of northern Sri Lanka, health officials there say. Pro-rebel websites blame the army for the deaths, but the military has strongly denied being responsible.