A Gain for Sri Lanka

The suicide bombings and assassinations that have plagued Sri Lanka for nearly two decades have so poisoned the air that neutral locations are needed to discuss how to stop the killing. Norway has played a key role in mediating between the Tamil terrorists and the Sri Lankan government, and Oslo was chosen for talks this month that centered on how to maintain the cease-fire that has worked well for a year. The meetings produced an unexpected bonus: The terrorists gave up their demands for independence.

The minority Tamils on the beautiful island off the southern tip of India long have claimed that the majority Sinhalese discriminate against them. Nineteen years ago the Tamil Tigers demanded a separate homeland and launched a civil war in which 64,000 people have been killed -- this in a country of fewer than 20 million.

Fighting was especially savage in the northeast, where rebels held so much territory they established their own police stations and courts. India sent troops in the 1980s in an unsuccessful attempt to enforce a cease-fire. A Tamil suicide bomber who crossed into India assassinated former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 as he was campaigning for reelection.

A Tiger negotiator said his group would have to explain to followers why it had abandoned its demand for independence. But giving up the impossible dream of a new nation and acceptance of a “federal” state were important steps in making the cease-fire more solid. So was the trip by Tamil leaders to Switzerland last week to examine the Swiss government’s relationship with the cantons.

The Oslo talks were the third round in a year, resulting in what should be a clear road map to ending the civil war. The Tigers claim to have stopped recruiting children as soldiers or kidnapping them, and the next talks, scheduled for Thailand in January, will include human rights and possible constitutional changes to allow the Tamils the autonomy both sides have agreed on.

Washington considers the Tamil Tigers a terrorist organization and has helped Sri Lanka in the peace process by providing aid and financing the clearing of land mines. Some three dozen foreign nations gathered in Oslo in November to show support for the cease-fire and promise additional funds to rebuild from the devastation.

Past attempts to end the bloodshed have failed, but both sides appear sufficiently weary of the killing to give this cease-fire a greater chance for success.