Sri Lanka: From Military to Political Struggle

Sri Lankan troops are advancing toward the strategic Elephant Pass after capturing Kilinochchi, the de facto political capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, on Jan. 3. If government forces succeed in taking the pass (and the army's prospects are looking good), the Tigers will have little choice but to give up on conventional warfare and resort to guerrilla tactics to survive as a militant movement. For its part, now that the government has the military upper hand against the Tigers, the next logical step is to seek to politically integrate segments of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority to deprive the Tigers of a viable support base over the long term.