Ameen Izzadeen

With questions hanging over the fate of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), indications are that there is little to stem the country's rapid slide back to a major war.

The door for peace is not, at this point, totally closed, but time is rapidly running out. Rajapakse must decide - and decide fast.

Sri Lanka has been fortunate to survive without war for the past three years. But along with the third anniversary of the ceasefire agreement is a reminder of lost opportunities and lack of progress.

Evidently, Sri Lanka is gradually coming back to 'normal': the dirty politics which puts self before the country is returning, and 'aid politics' is simply adding more venom to the warped interface between the major players in this troubled island na

The Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, it seems, can do business together But what is complicating the issue is the challenge from the 'Colonel' Karuna group. The LTTE is perturbed that the Karuna group is emerging as a strong force with substantial

Between the aid-donors and the warring LTTE factions, the government is in a bind. There is a stalemate at the peace front. There is a stalemate in Parliament, which has seen no bills but only blows since April. And there is a stalemate in the econom

A minority government and uncertainties regarding the peace process and the economy are a combination that creates a troubling picture of Sri Lanka's future.

By calling a snap general election on April 2, President Chandrika Kumaratunga has played into the hands of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), even as the rebel group is rocked by a rebellion within.

A cart pulled by two bulls, each trying to go in a different direction - this metaphor exactly fits the Sri Lankan Government today.