NEW DELHI -- The July 24 rebel attack on Sri Lanka's only international airport at Colombo further underscored that peace cannot be easily achieved in the island nation that has witnessed an ethnic crisis for almost two decades now. The minority Tamil-speaking people have been demanding an independent state in the northern and eastern parts of the country, which the Sinhala majority refuses to give.
Although there are several groups representing the Tamils, the most vocal and violent is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which under its supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been waging a relentless war against the government forces.
The airport offensive -- which destroyed several military planes (parked in the adjoining air force base) and at least two civilian aircraft -- was a big blow to President Chandrika Kumaratunga's administration.