"My Priority is Peace"

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re can be few shorter post-election honeymoons than that granted Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. Within a few days of taking office on Nov. 18, ethnic Tamil rebels fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east began a new round of attacks on his Sinhalese-dominated administration in the south in which more than 100 people have died. Rajapakse met TIME's South Asia bureau chief Alex Perry at his former residence, Temple Trees, in central Colombo.

TIME: Is civil war inevitable?
Rajapakse: The L.T.T.E. [Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam] is trying to force us into war. They have killed over 70 soldiers, and destroyed one of our ships. But we're very patient. We're still ready for talks. People call me a hawk or a warmonger. That's propaganda. I am a Buddhist. I believe in the importance of tolerance. Whether we're Sinhalese or L.T.T.E., we are human beings, many of us are related, and we are all from Sri Lanka.

When does your tolerance run out?
My problem is that I have to keep the south silent, I have to keep the armed forces together, and there is a limit to all this. My patience should not be taken as weakness. I hope there will not be a war. But I will not hesitate to defend my country. And the armed forces are ready to face any situation.

Someone is also killing Tamils. Who?
I have already started an inquiry. People suspect the STF [Special Task Force, the Sri Lankan paramilitary intelligence wing]. There may be one or two black sheep, but our forces are very disciplined.

Sri Lanka has such potential: a booming tourism industry and billions of dollars pledged in development and tsunami aid. Why throw it all away?
This is what I can't understand. My priority is peace and economic development.

If sense doesn't work, how about compassion? 20 years of war killed 64,000 and retarded development. Then came the tsunami. Now tsunami victims face more war.
The people suffer, yes. My feeling is that [L.T.T.E. leader] Prabhakaran and his men have a responsibility. If they want to 'liberate' the Tamil people, they must develop them. Unfortunately, that's not happening. Within a few days [of my election], they attacked. They did not even allow me to breathe.

Are you the right leader to reach across the divide?
I am ready to go the extra mile for peace. Let's sit and discuss what they want and what we can give.

Sri Lankans talk about a ceasefire agreement when there is no ceasefire, and a unitary state when a separate L.T.T.E. state essentially already exists. Does Sri Lanka have a problem facing reality?
We have a ceasefire agreement but no ceasefire, yes. But it is one country. We cannot divide it. We will give them maximum devolution [instead].

Can the international community help prevent war?
Look at September 11. This is the same thing. React like that.

Many believe a new civil war could be even more bloody. Do you agree?
Yes. But I hope the L.T.T.E. comes for talks. They must.