| The days have come in Indian Ocean's war-torn | | | | offensive than any sincere motive towards the |
| island to realize the war is un-winnable | | | | governments.Still in the country there are |
| after the decades long never ending war.The | | | | some elements not willing for a peaceful |
| world is not any more ready to watch both | | | | settlement and calling them as a self-made |
| parties waging a war for just passing the | | | | Marxist generation and shouting like pundits |
| time until a solution comes.The political | | | | that what they are saying all on undermining |
| leaders has started to realise that they | | | | the negotiation are correct while rest of the |
| can't stay in power by encouraging some | | | | world is keen on solving the nation's |
| military high officials by uplifting their | | | | problem.I met recently a young couple from |
| stars and colours and the ranks at the | | | | West Bengal in Koddaikkanal of the Nilgries |
| expense of some of the poor soldiers from the | | | | Mountains in India on a private visit last |
| underprivileged families in the fields.One | | | | year. They were too keen on finding what is |
| factor is apparent that a country like Sri | | | | going on in Sri Lanka and whether there is |
| Lanka can't wage a war continuously on | | | | any possibility for peace in the near future. |
| economic grounds.And the other factor, | | | | What I could have answered to them other than |
| communal thinkers can't live in a fool's | | | | just keeping silent.Another major issue why |
| paradise and recalling archaic stories which | | | | so far both communities could not come to a |
| community came first to the Island, while the | | | | settlement, is mostly on the fear what Tamils |
| inter-marriages between the both communities | | | | ask, are if once provided, will lead to |
| from the pre-historic time have made a null | | | | separation.The solutions should be based on |
| and void in the ethnic-origin arguments and | | | | the realities of the contemporary social, |
| confusions.They should realise we are living | | | | ethnical and economical problems and not by |
| in an era where the transportation and | | | | the anticipation of something whether that |
| telecommunication have changed the world into | | | | will happen or not.Though some pre-cautionary |
| one village and globalisation is a | | | | measures could be taken by the mutual |
| reality.The UN is active though it met some | | | | acceptance of the both parties but that |
| failures in some incidents in some countries | | | | should not undermine the main objective.If we |
| but it has reduced the fatality of those | | | | are going to waste more and more time for the |
| countries' disasters and still the UN is a | | | | right time for negotiation, implementation |
| accepted global platform for discussing and | | | | and more wide study for the pre-cautionary |
| solving much of the world problems in | | | | set-ups, then the country will be in the |
| political, social, economic, judicial and | | | | lines of Israel-Palestinian conflict.A |
| other arenas and giving sense to a new world | | | | Palestinian told me sometime back that if |
| order.The economy has gone bad to worse after | | | | Yasser Arafat had accepted what Israel has |
| the independence and the nation is facing a | | | | proposed twenty years ago, we would have |
| severe foreign deficit problem, which could | | | | gained much more than what now they are |
| not be overcome by the declining GDP. If | | | | willing to offer us.I feel that if Israel had |
| things are not corrected at least at this | | | | applied more diplomacy towards accepting the |
| stage, the country will have to go for | | | | peace accord by the Palestinians, now they |
| interest-based heavy loans and then it will | | | | would have developed their country into a |
| have to earn very hard for the interest too.A | | | | self-reliant and an economic-power house |
| country which is losing its competitive edge | | | | status in the Middle East than merely begging |
| in its cash crops-tea and rubber, will go | | | | Americans for everything.The government and |
| into more difficulties and the expectations | | | | the LTTE will have to navigate jointly this |
| of Sri Lanka as an IT hub of South Asian has | | | | Island into a new direction for a lasting |
| already become a myth after the slow down in | | | | solution rather than checkmating each |
| the US economy and the September 11 disaster | | | | other.If the renewed war and the hostility |
| and their direct impact on the investment - | | | | could not be stopped early as possible, then |
| cut in the IT projects.These situations have | | | | what will happen to peace negotiation? Well, |
| made the country to think other avenues for | | | | anything is possible in this Planet Earth. |
| income generation and mainly an urgent cut in | | | | Who anticipated the magnitude of present |
| the defense spending. Sri Lanka is the | | | | development in the ethnic crisis? Norway is |
| highest military personnel employed vs. the | | | | now functioning mostly as a |
| population and a much-needed human resource | | | | facilitator-mediator status and coming with |
| is being wasted in the war zone from both | | | | the support of the international community.If |
| sides.Argentina realised an end to its civil | | | | there is a prolonged checkmating between the |
| war in high time and though it succeeded to | | | | government and the LTTE, the facilitator |
| an ultimate solution, it was too late to | | | | might take the ethnic issue to the UN with |
| re-structure the country's economy and they | | | | the help of some of the permanent member |
| came out with various chaotic economic | | | | countries of the Security Council. |
| re-structuring models and faced the worst | | | | |
| economic chaos ultimately.In Sri Lanka we are | | | | The UN might try to get involved in many |
| also in the same situation more or less and | | | | grounds in the Sri Lankan politics and on |
| if we couldn't take any corrective action at | | | | other national interests too by directly or |
| least at this juncture, we will be in a | | | | indirectly.All these suggestions might be |
| position worse than Argentina.The perception | | | | some laughing points to some of the foreign |
| and interest beyond merely overcoming the | | | | policy experts but when India entered into |
| economic chaos out of peace negotiations, but | | | | the Sri Lankan Air-Zone, all Sri Lankans |
| by the realization in mind that the minority | | | | silently observed. |
| Tamils also really having some problems and | | | | |
| it cannot be achieved just by isolating the | | | | When Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) |
| LTTE but by negotiating with them and a | | | | landed in the Sri Lankan soil, they all |
| settlement through them towards the Tamil | | | | surprisingly observed. |
| minority is still far away.The leaders are | | | | |
| lacking to take interest to win the hearts of | | | | When the LTTE and the then Government were |
| the Tamils and the perception to ban the LTTE | | | | united together, sending the IPKF out of the |
| around the world will bring an end to the | | | | island, we more surprisingly |
| problem, resulted in other way around so far | | | | observed.Sometimes foreign policy is |
| by more increasing sympathy towards LTTE and | | | | determined by the circumstances of that time |
| more funding through their | | | | and not by any standard rules and |
| front-organizations made the LTTE more | | | | regulations. But if the Sri Lankans couldn't |
| capable of buying sophisticated arms in the | | | | realise anything from their past observations |
| world market and made them more a | | | | at least at this juncture, then they all are |
| conventional army.Though the earlier | | | | going to observe pathetically, the |
| governments succeeded in banning the LTTE, to | | | | sovereignty of the Island - Paradise is |
| which extent that might have prompted the | | | | falling into the hands of some of the |
| LTTE to consider negotiation with the | | | | International Financial Institutions, |
| governments is highly questionable.They have | | | | International Judicial System and the |
| opted a strategic move with hostile mentality | | | | International Forces in the near future. |
| for a good time to blow-up things for a fresh | | | | |