Despite peace talks, Sri Lanka drifts towards civil war

Last Saturday the naval vessel Dvora, a fast attack craft, was sunk during a confrontation with a trawler off the north west coast. Eight sailors died and another 11 were seriously injured when the trawler they were searching exploded. The sinking, which Colombo immediately branded as an LTTE suicide attack, is the worst of series of incidents involving both sides in recent weeks.

The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which is responsible for overseeing the ceasefire agreement, issued a statement last Sunday criticising the government and the LTTE. After questioning the LTTE’s denial of any involvement in the Dvora attack, the SLMM commented: “There has been a dangerous escalation of violence taking place over the last couple of weeks. This trend is extremely worrying.”

In the immediate aftermath of presidential elections last November, more than 200 people, including military personnel, LTTE cadre and civilians were killed in a series of murders, bombings and clashes that had all the hallmarks of an undeclared war. The killings declined during the first round of Geneva talks in February, where government and LTTE representatives pledged to uphold the terms of the ceasefire.

However, the lull has proved to be short-lived. The SLMM statement warned: “Both sides have shown a lack of commitment and their actions have been provocative and not in line with the spirit of the ceasefire agreement... If the parties do not take responsibility we fear that the situation could become gradually worse, resulting in an escalation beyond what we had in December and January.”

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/apr2006/sril-a01.shtml