War between Tamil pro-independence fighters and Sri Lanka will not end with truce or ceasefire, but a military defeat or surrender by Tamil Tigers. Such is Colombo’s and Sinhalese army’s determination in the light of their refusal to accept the Tamil Tigers call for a ceasefire. According to Reuters, some military sources reckon it will only take a few days for the Tamil State to fall. Both rebels –who have been cornered in a small portion of palm-dotted coastal scrubland in the North of the island– and government military believe that one day would suffice to get rid of them if it were not for the presence of civil population in the area.

According to BBC, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have offered a ceasefire in a letter to the UN and the international community so that ceasfire “grows further into peace talks to seek a political solution to the ethnic conflict”. In the letter, they not only drop the idea of disarming, as the Sri Lankan government and a part of the international community demand, but further add that "it is painful to see the world maintaining silence on this immense human suffering as if it is amused by what is going on". The Tamil Tigers have also asked for a “permanent political solution” for the Tamil people with the support and the guarantee of the international community".

One of the main concerns is the humanitarian crisis the Tamil population caught in combat areas is undergoing. International aid organizations such as Amnesty estimate that the number of civilian people trapped amounts to 250,000, whereas Sri Lankan officials bring the figure down to 70,000. The government accuses pro-independence fighters of using civilians as human shields, stopping civilians from fleeing the battleground and conscripting the population, whereas Tamils have in turn accused the government of shelling civilians indiscriminately.

A 25 years old war and a de facto Tamil State

The Tamil Tigers have been at war with Sri Lanka since they established Tamil Eelam, their independent State, in 1983. The country has been a de facto state for the last years, as it has had a government, army, police, judiciary, national bank and even a national public service broadcaster. Kilinochchi, the capital of Tamil Eelam, was seized by the Sinhalese army on January 2, and since then the Tamil Tigers have been persistently driven away.

Picture: Flag of Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam.

Further information:

• AFP: Sri Lanka rejects Tamil Tiger truce call: military
• Reuters: Sri Lankan army measures end of 25-year war in days
• bbc.co.uk: S Lanka rebels 'ready for truce'
• TamilNet: Ceasefire, solution first; laying down arms irrelevant: LTTE appeals to Co-chairs, UN
• Nationalia:About 250,000 civilians remain trapped in Tamil Eelam as Sri Lanka’s troops and Tamil Tigers fight on