Mahinda gets a dose of reality

Driven by the southern nationalist ideology and perhaps positive intentions, Mahinda charged ahead with an offensive to recapture territory many reckon is under the LTTE unlawfully. But after 700 Sri Lankan military deaths and thousands of civilian displacements the reasons why the previous leaderships failed to eliminate the LTTE became pretty apparent. The only tangible gain after weeks of deadly clashes was the capture of eastern town of Sampoor which the LTTE swiftly abandoned for “strategic” reasons. The military engagement in the North was an entirely different story. Weeks of battle killed hundreds of soldiers as well as rebels in the Jaffna peninsula while the de facto border between the SL forces and the LTTE controlled land barely moved. The resulting refugee situation was catastrophic; an estimated half a million civilians were displaced.

Following the talks, the hard-line rhetoric of the Mahinda administration has now slowly softened. While the talks itself was a failure, Nimal Siripala De Silva has announced that the government was willing to open the A9 to traffic bound for LTTE controlled areas, a key demand of the LTTE. In return the government has asked the rebels cease the attacks on the military.

So, like the governments before them, the Mahinda administration seems to have realized the true nature of the situation. Their overambitious plans seem to have come crumbling down and the future doesn’t seem likely to deviate from the current status quo. The LTTE will hold their place as the quasi-government of the areas under them and the government will give in to many concessions like have done all the previous governments in order maintain reasonable stability in our or beloved motherland. A real solution seems eons away.