MADRAS, India -- The Sri Lankan peace process is under serious threat. Fifteen months after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government began negotiations, differences between the two have snowballed into an ugly confrontation.
The LTTE fought a guerrilla war with Colombo for nearly two decades, demanding a separate homeland for Tamil-speaking minorities in the north and east of the island nation. Literally thousands died, including Sri Lankan leaders and one former Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi. Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga survived an assassination bid, but lost the use of one eye.
The current peace process, brokered by Norway, appeared to be making headway till some weeks ago. Fighting, often bitter, between the Tigers and Sri Lankan forces had ceased.