Fighting escalates in Sri Lanka

Government leaders talks of devolution, while Army prepares to target Tiger heartland in the north.

from the October 4, 2007 edition

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The Tigers never had full control over eastern Sri Lanka, with its mix of Tamils, Sinhalese, and Muslims. But they have a vise-like hold on the north, and Goonetilleke says they will not go down without a fight.

The result, he says, will be a major displacement of civilians – which aid agencies in the area are preparing for – and many deaths.

"I'm sure when the battle continues, civilians won't hang around" says Fonseka when asked about the likelihood of civilian deaths. "We don't mind taking military casualties if we are winning," he adds.

Talking of devolution

The government itself has said that peace will be impossible without a political solution: giving some kind of autonomy to the Tamils, who for decades have suffered discrimination by the Sinhalese majority.

Sri Lankan political parties have reached broad consensus on a proposal to devolve governance to the provincial level, rather than the district level that the government had suggested.

But Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said Sept. 17 there would be no political solution until the Tigers were crushed. Though he hastily followed this up by urging the rebels to return to peace talks, observers say his earlier gung-ho rhetoric was a truer expression of the government's position.

Lessons from the east

Western diplomats, meanwhile, are urging the government to look to the east, where it has a chance to show Tamils they are better off under government rule. So far, they say, it has not done a persuasive job.

In Trincomalee, a strategic eastern harbor town, the government recently celebrated its military victories with fanfare.

Nearby, more than 80 families are camping in a town hall - their living areas demarcated by cooking pots and piles of clothes - as they have done for over a year since they were shelled out of their homes.

Many come from Sampur, a town from which the rebels had attacked the navy, and which has now been declared a high security zone. Its former inhabitants are unlikely to ever return home.

"There's no space here for my children," says Nimalee, looking miserable in her orange nightdress. "And Sampur people are not allowed to fish," she adds, gesturing out of the door to the sparkling blue Indian Ocean.

The local fishermen might argue that they aren't either. Fearing collusion with the Sea Tigers – the rebels' naval wing – authorities have banned night catches. Fishermen form 40 percent of Trincomalee's working population, and the ban has hit the town hard.

"If the government has brought peace, as it says, why won't it let fishermen fish?" asks V Jeevaraj, project manager with aid organization Sarvodaya.

Across town, in his white-washed church, Fr. George Dissanayake says he hopes the government is watching the east as carefully as the north.

"You know, people don't really mind who rules them as long as they can live in peace and look after their children," he says.

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