Tension Falls in Sri Lanka's North, Key Talks Watched
Reuters
Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:43 AM IST
By Peter Apps
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Normality is returning to northern Sri Lanka after the region went to the brink of war in January, residents say, but coming talks between government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Geneva will decide if the peace will last.
Troops keep up a high presence on the streets of the Jaffna peninsula, dominated by the island's Tamil minority, hemmed in by rebel lines and seen as a key objective for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if a 2002 truce fails and a two-decade civil war resumes.
But the atmosphere has changed.
"The violence of the army has stopped," Tamil shopkeeper S. Poobalaratham told Reuters as an armoured personnel carrier growled up the road. "We don't hear firing, we don't hear bombs and mines going off. We hope and pray this will continue."
Since the two sides agreed to meet in Switzerland next week, suspected Tiger attacks that almost destroyed the ceasefire in December and January have ceased, relations between the army and civilians are improving and business is beginning to return.
"If we don't attack the army, there is no reason for them to attack us," Poobalaratham said.
Recent violence killed some 200 people in less than two months, terrifying Jaffna residents off the streets, devastating shop sales and sending the price of key staples such as vegetables soaring as farmers refused to come to town.
Now, just weeks after Norwegian envoy Erik Solheim brokered an agreement for the two sides to meet in Geneva, deliveries have resumed. A month ago, troops often suffered several grenade attacks a day. Now, there are none.
HOPE AND CAUTION
But in a city that changed hands several times and where streets still bear the scars of bombing and shelling during a war that killed more than 64,000 people, optimism is tempered by caution. Many remember how previous ceasefires collapsed.
Last week Vidneswaramourthy Rajan's family opened what they say is Jaffna's first modern supermarket, its construction delayed by the violence. They say they are hoping for peace, but failure in next week's talks would hit them hard.
"We believe we are safe for the next few years," the 30-year-old civil engineer said as shoppers browsed the shelves of the shining new shop. "We hope a peaceful solution will be reached at Geneva. If not, the LTTE will try to capture Jaffna. This place might be damaged. We would have to close shop."
Diplomats caution that the Swiss meeting -- the first direct high-level talks since negotiations broke down in 2003 -- may not be easy. Neither side trusts the other, and the rebels say they are already frustrated and war remains an option.
On Monday, President Mahinda Rajapakse ruled out Tiger demands for a separate Tamil homeland in the war-ravaged north and east. The rebels in turn described his words as "childish" and said they doubted the government's commitment to peace.
The Swiss talks will centre on implementing the ceasefire, leaving larger issues aside. The rebels want the government to pull back troops from Tamil civilian areas and rein in a renegade group of ex-rebels they say are now backed by the army.
Some analysts say both sides are just buying time.
Jaffna residents say some young men are still crossing into LTTE territory every weekend for military training. Further south in the de facto rebel capital, Kilinochchi, most say they hope talks will avert war, but others say it remains inevitable.
"There have been talks before and nothing has come out of it," said vegetable vendor Mutu Balu, 36, as camouflaged rebel vehicles drove past. "The Sinhalese majority government will never concede to the Tamils' demand and fulfill their rights to self-determination."
Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:43 AM IST
By Peter Apps
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Normality is returning to northern Sri Lanka after the region went to the brink of war in January, residents say, but coming talks between government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Geneva will decide if the peace will last.
Troops keep up a high presence on the streets of the Jaffna peninsula, dominated by the island's Tamil minority, hemmed in by rebel lines and seen as a key objective for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) if a 2002 truce fails and a two-decade civil war resumes.
But the atmosphere has changed.
"The violence of the army has stopped," Tamil shopkeeper S. Poobalaratham told Reuters as an armoured personnel carrier growled up the road. "We don't hear firing, we don't hear bombs and mines going off. We hope and pray this will continue."
Since the two sides agreed to meet in Switzerland next week, suspected Tiger attacks that almost destroyed the ceasefire in December and January have ceased, relations between the army and civilians are improving and business is beginning to return.
"If we don't attack the army, there is no reason for them to attack us," Poobalaratham said.
Recent violence killed some 200 people in less than two months, terrifying Jaffna residents off the streets, devastating shop sales and sending the price of key staples such as vegetables soaring as farmers refused to come to town.
Now, just weeks after Norwegian envoy Erik Solheim brokered an agreement for the two sides to meet in Geneva, deliveries have resumed. A month ago, troops often suffered several grenade attacks a day. Now, there are none.
HOPE AND CAUTION
But in a city that changed hands several times and where streets still bear the scars of bombing and shelling during a war that killed more than 64,000 people, optimism is tempered by caution. Many remember how previous ceasefires collapsed.
Last week Vidneswaramourthy Rajan's family opened what they say is Jaffna's first modern supermarket, its construction delayed by the violence. They say they are hoping for peace, but failure in next week's talks would hit them hard.
"We believe we are safe for the next few years," the 30-year-old civil engineer said as shoppers browsed the shelves of the shining new shop. "We hope a peaceful solution will be reached at Geneva. If not, the LTTE will try to capture Jaffna. This place might be damaged. We would have to close shop."
Diplomats caution that the Swiss meeting -- the first direct high-level talks since negotiations broke down in 2003 -- may not be easy. Neither side trusts the other, and the rebels say they are already frustrated and war remains an option.
On Monday, President Mahinda Rajapakse ruled out Tiger demands for a separate Tamil homeland in the war-ravaged north and east. The rebels in turn described his words as "childish" and said they doubted the government's commitment to peace.
The Swiss talks will centre on implementing the ceasefire, leaving larger issues aside. The rebels want the government to pull back troops from Tamil civilian areas and rein in a renegade group of ex-rebels they say are now backed by the army.
Some analysts say both sides are just buying time.
Jaffna residents say some young men are still crossing into LTTE territory every weekend for military training. Further south in the de facto rebel capital, Kilinochchi, most say they hope talks will avert war, but others say it remains inevitable.
"There have been talks before and nothing has come out of it," said vegetable vendor Mutu Balu, 36, as camouflaged rebel vehicles drove past. "The Sinhalese majority government will never concede to the Tamils' demand and fulfill their rights to self-determination."
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