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Interview: Worries of 'Unrestrained War' in Sri Lanka

Council on Foreign Relations

Interviewee: Ahilan Kadirgamar, Spokesperson, Sri Lanka Democracy Forum
Interviewer: Jayshree Bajoria, Staff Writer

January 11, 2008

The 2002 cease-fire agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers, the separatist terrorist group formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), had been steadily deteriorating. But the government's decision to formally end the cease-fire has led to an escalation in the violence. Ahilan Kadirgamar, spokesman for the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum, an independent group of activists working to promote democracy, says a political solution is the only way to resolve the conflict. He worries that without a cease-fire, "It will be an unrestrained war going forward."

What’s the situation in the country now?

The situation in the country has deteriorated considerably over the last eight days. Two members of parliament have been assassinated since the government’s abrogation of the cease-fire agreement. There have been a number of bomb blasts, fighting that’s going on in the north. 2008 looks quite bleak for Sri Lanka.

The cease-fire had really only existed on paper since 2006, when both sides had begun to violate it. Do you think its official end holds any significance now?

The cease-fire agreement may have been a flawed agreement to begin with because it did not have any provisions to ensure implementation. Soon after it was signed in 2002, mainly the LTTE started violating it but then about three years ago, the security forces began violating the CFA [cease-fire agreement]. Over the last two years we have fallen into a full-blown war. So, in that sense the CFA was just on paper. Nevertheless the possibility of talks between the LTTE and the government has pretty much collapsed along with the CFA.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.