So said Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse after yet another round of violence that threatens to end the fragile peace in that country. His exasperation is understandable. The distrust between the two antagonists -- the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -- is so profound that it is proving impossible to transport negotiators to internationally sponsored meetings. The failure to resume the talks will guarantee a return to the civil war that has bloodied the country for over two decades.
Tensions between the Sinhalese that make up the majority of Sri Lankans and the 3.2 million Tamil minority exploded in conflict in 1983. Protesting discrimination and second-class status, the Tamil Tigers, as the LTTE are unofficially known, have fought for an independent homeland in the north of the country. It has been a bloody conflict, with both sides showing no hesitancy in attacking civilians. Tamil separatists have been just as quick to kill Tamil moderates prepared to work with the government in Colombo on a political solution to the war. During two decades of conflict, more than 65,000 people have been killed and more than 350,000 people have been displaced.
Finally, in February 2002, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire. It has endured despite sporadic violations ever since. Peace talks have been considerably less successful as the government has proven as divided as the Sri Lankans themselves. Members of the Sinhalese majority protest concessions to the Tamils, arguing that it could pave the way to division. The splits have been powerful enough to bring about the collapse of the government in Colombo.