sri lanka

the war has intensified with a large number of civilians being affected.
the expectations of the government that they will be able to militarily achieve their objectives is based on the premise that there will be others in the tamil community to step into leadership positions.
this is contrary to the peace in northern ireland where it was achieved by talking with the primary armed group,sinn fein and the ira and not with the peripheral groups.
the first step towards achieving a breakthrough in a conflict is to sit with the opposition.
in sri lanka,the government seems to be under the illusion that labelling the opposition as a terrorist group will help in winning the war.
a real peace seems more distant as long as the government continues in its policy of labelling the opposition as terrorist.
the sri lankan president has been visiting temples,including thirupathi,in his quest for a victory.
such visits do not suggest the existence of a clear policy to arrive at a real resolution of the conflict.