While the Dec. 24, 2006, tsunami became a blessing disguise to end the nearly three-decade war in Aceh after the worst ever natural disaster in recorded human history forced separatist rebels and the government to reach a peaceful solution, the same disaster did not do much to end a similar conflict in Sri Lanka.

Instead, peace took a longer and violent route there. Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa is expected to issue an official victory declaration Tuesday against the 25-year armed struggle by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Time will tell if this peace will hold, and a lot will depend on how Colombo handles the situation now that the rebels have laid down their weapons.

People in Sri Lanka are now celebrating the victory. The war against the minority Tamil rebels has severely damaged the country – from being one of the wealthiest in Asia in the 1970s, it is now one of the poorest on the continent.

The government defied earlier calls from the international community, including the UN, to observe a ceasefire to allow thousands of civilians trapped between the two warring sides to seek refuge, as it launched the final push to defeat the rebels. The move paid off but the cost in terms of human casualty may be high and could have been averted.

It is true, the gross human rights abuses were not the sole responsibility of the government, but also of the LTTE rebels, and their use of civilians as human shields is simply deplorable. The ruthless LTTE is also on the US terror list.

Colombo also ignored Western countries’ sanctions, including a refusal to let the International Monetary Fund (IMF) channel much-needed funds. There is a strong mood among Sri Lankans that the rebels should be militarily crushed, otherwise separatists will continue to haunt the country.

But the victory was too costly. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed in the last several months since the government stepped up its military offensive against the separatists. The humiliating defeat will leave very deep and painful scars on supporters of the rebels, both domestically and internationally.

In any war or conflict, there are no real winners, but there are real victims, and there is the large number of people displaced by the prolonged conflict. The victors should not gloat because at the end of the day, they are all Sri Lankans, whether you are on the right or wrong side of the conflict. 

The task at hand now is to rehabilitate the country and rebuild Sri Lanka as one racially integrated nation.

Militarily, the Tamil rebels perhaps are no longer a threat. But history has shown that a military solution is never enough to ensure lasting peace. As long as the minority Tamil continue to feel discriminated against, the aspiration to set up their own state will continue to simmer. Therefore, Colombo should seriously accommodate their aspirations. But it needs sincere and wholehearted efforts from the entire nation, not just from the government.

Indonesia can share its own experience in bringing peace and rebuilding Aceh with the Sri Lankan government, because the latter is in great need of trustworthy friends. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry needs to take the initiative to help rebuild Sri Lanka.

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