I strongly advise anyone feeling giddy about the turn of events in Sri Lanka to hold on to the champagne a little longer — a few decades, to be more precise. The government may have crushed the LTTE, but that will not bring peace. It will simply silence the guns until a new generation of Tamil insurgents grows up to carry on the struggle.
It’s worth remembering that, incredible as it may sound, this all started over language in the 50s. That it spawned a 26-year war and one of the world’s most vicious terrorist groups and turned a fledgling democracy into a police state can be squarely blamed on politicians on both sides. Today, there is even less chance for a military solution to the problem than there was in th early 80s when the first bombs went off. The grievances of the 50s were but minor niggles compared to the bitterness felt by the Tamils after years of killing and neglect. And if you believe the Colombo government is about to waste its newly acquired political capital by addressing the losers’ issues, you’re in for a nasty surprise.
You clearly have never lived in, nor know, Sri Lanka as well as you should by making such biased statements.
I am Sri Lankan and the fact is, I have only known war my whole life, living under the shadow of bombs, death and terror but to know that this is all over in the phase that it has been is what our country needs.
Not the negative, cynical and ignorant slants which you seem to dabble in. If we live in the past, then we will never move forward. The success of a progressive people will rely on lessons learnt but taking new steps and new moves towards the problem that got them there in the first place. So getting rid of the filth that was the LTTE is the start of that important process.
Now we help, comfort and reconcile the Tamil people and never let this mistake happen again.
And I’ll be opening my bottle of champagne today thank you.
Thanks for the comment. You’re absolutely right — you guys deserve your champagne. I haven’t lived in Sri Lanka but I’ve worked there often enough to know a little about the ordeal you’ve gone through. Here’s hoping that your leaders listen to the wise words of their citizens.