Ending the 20-year civil war in Sri Lanka was never going to be easy, but that task has become considerably more difficult with the outbreak of fighting within the Sri Lankan government. The battle between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe over the peace talks has only helped the rebel Tamil Tigers. Mrs. Kumaratunga's power grab may have been motivated by genuine concern over the fate of the country, but it looks like partisan politics. It appears that their internecine warfare is only aiding the rebels and undermining efforts to help find a path to peace.

Tamil separatists have waged a bloody civil war in Sri Lanka for two decades. Representing a minority group that they claim has been suppressed by the majority Sinhalese, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, usually known as the LTTE or just the Tamil Tigers, have fought for their own homeland in the north and east of the country. The conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives in the island nation of 19 million.

Efforts to halt the conflict had been fruitless, as the two sides have been more interested in exploiting a shifting balance of power than in making peace. Finally, last year a ceasefire was agreed in February, brokered by Norwegian intermediaries who then shepherded the two sides through six rounds of peace talks. Those talks broke down earlier this year, when the rebels walked out after demanding greater autonomy in parts of the country where Tamils are a majority.