Sri Lanka: Giving Peace a Chance

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For more than two years, guerrillas demanding an independent homeland for the 3 million Tamil minority in Sri Lanka (pop. 16 million) have been fighting an increasingly bloody civil war against President Junius Jayawardene's government. Last week there were signs that both sides were willing to scale down the conflict, which has claimed several hundred lives so far this year. In Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital, National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali announced that the five largest Tamil guerrilla groups, known as the Tamil Tigers, had agreed to a "cessation of all hostile acts."

The accord followed discussions in New Delhi early this month between Jayawardene and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, during which the two leaders agreed to "defuse" the situation in Sri Lanka. Because the five insurgent organizations subscribing to the truce have their headquarters and operational commands in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, Gandhi is in a position to put pressure on them. Jayawardene, for his part, has ordered a review of the constitution, with an eye toward granting Sri Lanka's Tamils greater autonomy.