It almost seems like "another week, another terrorist attack" in the island nation of Sri Lanka. Once again last Friday, Tamil Tigers invaded the streets of Colombo. They detonated bombs and fired randomly into crowds of passers-by on a busy downtown street. They locked themselves into a residential condominium. Then, surrounded by authorities, they refused to surrender. In a savage and desperate act, they blew up themselves and most of the apartment complex.
The final death toll in this latest horrific act was 28. That included a woman suicide bomber and her victims. It included 12 commuters, dead in their cars where they were shot by the terrorist squad. Another 50 people were wounded in the bombings and shootings. In other words, as usual, the terrorist attack has ruined or massively altered the lives of hundreds of people and their families. And the incompetent but ruthless Tamil Tigers did not manage to attack the convoy of government ministers which apparently was their target.
As Sri Lankan terrorism goes, this was not the worst such event. More than 55,000 people have died in military campaigns and terrorism since the Tamil Tigers launched a separatist guerrilla war in 1983. Before last week, the previous noteworthy terrorist attack was also in Colombo. Another woman suicide bomber wounded President Chandrika Kumaratunga-and killed three bystanders.
Since the formation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, terrorism has become sadly ingrained in life on the island once known as Serendipity. Neither side can be especially proud of its tactics. Civilians on both sides of the bitter, ethnically drawn lines have borne the brunt of attacks.
But the Tigers appear locked in their vicious and unrelenting brand of terrorism. The use of woman suicide bombers appears to break virtually every religious and cultural taboo. The random killing of civilians such as occurred last weekend in Colombo cannot be justified. Nor can either side justify escalating its use of force as retaliation.
This is why it is somewhat heartening to see President Kumaratunga stress that peace talks and civilised negotiations are the proper way to end the terrible civil war. No one, least of all Mrs Kumaratunga, thinks that peace talks will be easy to achieve. But Sri Lanka should know that the world is horrified by the continuing Tamil Tiger terrorism.
Norway has once again entered the political arena in an effort to arrange talks between Colombo and the Tamil Tigers. Oslo's role is officially called "facilitator"-although so far it has been unable to facilitate the Tamil Tigers to the bargaining table. Previous attempts to arrange diplomatic negotiations have failed spectacularly. This is partly because the war has lasted 18 years, with no victory in sight, and resentments now run deep on both sides.
This does not change the responsibility of either side. If anything, the continuing conflict should bring a sense of accountability to the alleged leaders. It seems impossible to justify the continuing terrorist attacks of the Tamil Tigers as long as there is a chance of halting the violence, sitting down, and discussing terms for peace.
The shape of a Sri Lankan settlement is up to the people of that country-and that includes the Tamil citizens. But it must also be remembered that Mrs Kumaratunga and the government have been elected in a democratic manner.
The Sri Lankan system may be flawed-but ethnic Tamil citizens must participate and strive to fix the system in a civilised and democratic manner. The terrorism of the Tamil Tigers appears to be so deeply ingrained that the group literally cannot stop. Its followers, and every nation with any contact, must tell the Tamil Tigers to halt their violence. It is time to negotiate the end to this shocking conflict.