Civil war in Sri Lanka may be coming to an end

[Iskandar]

There has been a civil war ongoing in Sri Lanka for decades between government forces and the rebel group of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, popularly known as the Tamil Tigers, who are widely considered a terrorist organization. The conflict is between two ethnic groups, the Indo-Aryan Sinhala and the native Tamil population, who desire to create their own state in the north and east of the island.

In case you haven't been following the current events, the Sri Lankan army has been making significant gains over the past few months. Recently the city of Kilinochchi, the Tamil Tigers' de facto capital fell and the last Tamil stronghold of Mullaittivu was captured today, bringing an end to the war within sight.

What are your thoughts? This has been a long and destructive conflict, with much needless loss of life. How do you think it will turn out? Do the Tamils have legitimate concerns, and will they be heard? Or should Sri Lanka remain a single state for both groups? Interesting parallels with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6690633.stm

[Der Übermensch]

Aryan superiority ftw? :p

[Iskandar]

That's the problem, yes, the Sinhalese dominating government and civil society....

[DJ Karl Marx]

maybe with the decline in tamil tiger insurrection, whoever they are fighting for will resort to nonviolent activism. dont really know what the hell this war is about, but i doubt sri lanka will concede autonomy and even if whoever these natives are gain concessions they will still have a minority status within the country, though i dont really know what i am talking about, ha ha ha

[Iskandar]

It's about the Tamil people, who are strongly nationalist about their culture and language, and their right to self-determination. They feel marginalized in the Sinhala-dominated society and want political autonomy. In order to do this some of them choose violent means and thus the current conflict.

Well not so current because it's been ongoing since the 1980s and is only just now within sight of an end.

[DJ Karl Marx]

what, the tigers have just become so broken?

[Iskandar]

Well the Sri Lankan army has made significant gains in the last few months including capturing most of their territory as well as their capital. I made this thread because I read their last stronghold had fallen. It says they're going to take to the jungle for a guerilla war but beyond that they're finished.

For the duration of the war Tamil-controlled territory was de facto an independent state. Looks like that's over now.

[siva_chair]

I believe in the right to secession.

[Iskandar]

I believe in the right to self-determination. I don't believe in violence where it's not absolutely necessary.

I sympathize with the Tamils to an extent but if they want their concerns to be heard they will have to try other channels first.

[siva_chair]

I think its probably a bit past that at this point, but idk.

[Iskandar]

Well, we'll see. It looks like this war is coming to an end, barring a few holdouts.

Though I'm not sure a Tamil state would be all that viable. They're a minority on the island and their proposed state would essentially be a strip of land along the north and eastern coast. The vast majority of Tamils actually live in India or elsewhere.

[Already_Taken]

M.I.A. is hot.

[VomitStainedCretin]

The LTTE might be on the brink, though they've come back strongly from defeat before, but as long as the underlying social tensions remain, conflict is always a strong possibility. Whatismore, the Tigers were significantly weakened by a schism between the northern and eastern Tamils, who believed they were underrepresented dying in disproportionate numbers. The Eastern Tamil militia are currently aiding the government forces but still remain heavily armed, so might well turn on their new allies once their spat with the LTTE is settled.

[Iskandar]

The Sri Lankan government rejected a ceasefire with the Tamils.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/01/30/sri-lanka-friday.html

They appear to be determined to stamp out the Tigers. I mean, an end to the conflict is clearly a good thing, but the underlying issues with the Tamils will not be resolved. And in the meantime there are 250 000 civilians in the area who are in the line of fire. They should at least be willing to offer them safe passage, that is if the Tigers will let them leave.