Peace is always elusive in an ongoing conflict.The recent massacre of the supporters of a former military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will damage the peace process in Sri Lanka even further. On Sunday, seven supporters of the LTTE’s former military leader, Mr V. Muralitharan, were gunned down near Colombo. And although the LTTE has not claimed responsibility for the killings, most reports suggest that the Tamil tigers had a hand in the assassinations. Indeed, an LTTE website has even identified those killed as Mr Muralitharan’s associates and a Sri Lankan army intelligence operative. The killings took place shortly before the Norwegian deputy foreign minister, Mr Vidar Helgesen, arrived in Sri Lanka to hold talks on restarting the peace dialogues, which have been stalled since the beginning of the near-civil war within the ranks of the LTTE. It may be recalled that in March, Mr Muralitharan, who is well known by his nome de guerre, Colonel Karuna, rebelled against the LTTE supremo, Mr Velupillai Prabhakaran. Mr Muralitharan had acquired the reputation for being a fierce and ruthless military commander and was the leader of the LTTE in the East. He had gained total control of Batticaloa and was continuing to strengthen his hold through mass mobilization and collection of arms and ammunition. Mr Muralitharan’s decision to split from Mr Prabhakaran has led to a bloody war between the two factions, and jeopardized the peace process.

The LTTE has made it clear to the Sri Lankan government and the Norwegian mediators that it will not resume a dialogue till the government stops supporting the renegade Karuna.While Mr Helgesen has been arguing for the maintenance of the ceasefire, both the Prabhakaran and Karuna factions have been killing each other’s cadre and other supporters, especially over the last few weeks. Most recently, the LTTE has killed Satchi Master, a close Karuna associate. An attempt has also been made on the life of a key Karuna supporter in the Sri Lankan cabinet, Hindu affairs minister, Mr Douglas Devananda. Similarly, the Karuna faction, too, has targeted Mr Prabhakaran’s supporters, and taken responsibility for the killing of a pro-LTTE journalist. It is unfortunate that just when it seemed that Colombo may be willing to accommodate the legitimate aspirations of the Tamils, problems within the tigers have reached new heights. Ultimately, outside mediators, such as the Norwegian government and its representatives can do very little. The responsibility lies with the people of Sri Lanka, and especially, in this case, the Tamils. They have to speak up and fight for peace, and let the movement towards normalcy not be hijacked by outfits committed to violence.