Don't ignore Tamil cry for self-government

Norwegian minister Erik Solheim, the chief architect of Sri Lanka's 2002 peace process, has urged Colombo to be generous and not to ignore the Tamil desire for autonomy just because the Tamil Tigers chief is dead and his organisation decimated.
"The government of Sri Lanka has won the conventional battle but it is far from winning the peace," Solheim said in a telephonic interview from Oslo hours after Velupillai Prabhakaran, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was killed Monday in a remote part of the island's north.
Also killed in the little strip of land were his son Charles Anthony, who headed the LTTE's IT wing and was being groomed to take over from the father, LTTE political head B. Nadesan, LTTE intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman and LTTE Sea Tigers chief Soosai.
"It is now that the government must show generosity, give substantial offer of self-government in the north and east (of Sri Lanka) and start creating an inclusive state for both Tamils and Sinhalese alike," Solheim told IANS.