Sri Lankan gov't should end violence, seek settlement

The ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka has been the source of graphic images of death and destruction in recent months, as Sri Lankan government forces have moved in to obliterate the last vestiges of resistance by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Northwestern region of the island nation. The LTTE is a rebel group that rose to prominence in the '70s by initiating a war of secession against the Sri Lankan government. The group's stated aim is the establishment of an ethnically separate Tamil homeland in the northwest part of the country, a goal the group has worked tirelessly toward for decades. This conflict has become known as the Sri Lankan civil war, and has led to the deaths of around 200,000 Sri Lankans since its start.

In recent years, the LTTE has lost significant ground. The dissolution of a cease-fire with government forces, followed by a prolonged military offensive by the Sri Lankan government, led to the loss of several key strategic areas to the LTTE. What seemed to be the final nail in the coffin came on Jan. 2, when the president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced that Sri Lankan troops had captured Kilinochchi, which the LTTE had used for over a decade as their de facto administrative capital. With the fall of Kilinochchi as well as the loss of most of the Jaffna Peninsula, which had been LTTE territory for most of the civil war, the conventional capabilities of the LTTE had been essentially declared irrelevant to the conflict.

What ensued has been a deadly assault by government forces, as they have moved in to crush what is left of LTTE resistance. Thousands of civilians are caught in the middle and many have died. The UN, in response to protests around world capitals, called for an immediate ceasefire, which was completely ignored.

The roots of this conflict lay in the formation of a Sri Lankan state in the wake of independence from Britain in 1948. The majority Sinhalese were successful in creating a state where the minority Tamils were marginalized from state formation process and essentially relegated to second-class status. Dozens of Tamil groups emerged in an attempt to bring about change through political protest. This was simply not a possibility, however, as the Sri Lankan government demonstrated its unwillingness to negotiate any meaningful settlements.

The government has taken a position of unrelenting rejectionism and brutality and what has ensued is the violent secessionist campaign that continues today. The Sri Lankan government, throughout the conflict has been the source of the vast preponderance of violence. This has been true since the early stages of the conflict, as well as the dissolution of the most recent ceasefire. The ceasefire, brokered by Norway in 2002, was honored in its entirety by the LTTE. However, when the new Sri Lankan government came into power in 2006, they came with a mandate to abrogate the ceasefire agreement and to renew the war. The only possible solution for the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict in their eyes was a military one.

It is essential that world powers back a negotiated settlement of the conflict instead of tacitly supporting the government's brutal campaign. The Sri Lankan government should not be supported militarily as it continues its oppressive policies nor should it be provided with diplomatic immunity.

The creation of a separate Tamil Homeland has become a reality for those involved in the 30-year struggle. Though the conflict may be ending along conventional lines, experts believe that it will undoubtedly continue in other forms. Several weeks ago, across the world from Sydney to Toronto thousands of people took to the streets demanding an end to the bloodshed. It is time for world governments, including the U.S., to support the right to self-determination of all people from a position of principle rather than political expediency.