According to Sri Lankan Defense Ministry sources, atleast 34 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed in fierce clashes with government troops in the country’s north over the past two days.
It seems various peace attempts, brokered mainly by Norway, have done little to maintain a constructive ceasefire in the island. Many analysts believe that the previous negotiations between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government were nothing but farce, a diplomatic and clever way of replenishing the respective military infrastructure. Previously also, in the middle of ceasefires, both the conflicting parties carried out deadly operations against each other providing no chance to any peace initiative.
The LTTE is in no mood to compromise on their demand for a separate land for the minority Tamils and at the same time, Sri Lankan government has made it clear to the rebels and the world that no negotiations can take place on the pretext of a divided island leading to a general scare that another full-scare civil war - that over the last 25 years has claimed the lives of atleast 70,000 people - is on the cards.
If there is no prospect of any immediate peace in Sri Lanka, the cost of a future war would be unbearable for the country. Sri Lanka’s economy, despite the domestic problems, is doing well with a relatively handsome annual growth rate. The Sri Lankan people are largely educated and the literacy rate is one of the highest in the region. Due to some sort of lull in the violence over the past few years, the tourism industry has boomed because of foreign investment increasing Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earning. But any sort of escalation of violence in the country could neutralize the current economic boom as in the event of war, military expenditure would go up two-fold stretching the financial sector.
Apart from the financial side, the country would suffer from war on the humanitarian part as well. Analysts have pointed out that a war is likely to cause a huge displacement of people from the conflict-affected regions of the north and the east leading to domestic refugee problem. The estimated war cost for the first five years comes to around $400 million, leaving aside future redevelopment and rehabilitation costs.
But the Sri Lankan people and the world are banking on one factor that has the potential to put a plug on the tensions. India, Japan and the EU have vast business interests in the country, including the LTTE-dominated areas, which might be at stake in the event of a conflict. So the onus is somewhat firmly on these major international players to prevent a war in order to safeguard their millions worth of financial assets.
Link:bloomberg
