First I would like to offer my prayers for the thousands of lives that have been lost of our people of all communities in this horrendous war. May they find peace and happiness in their new incarnations.

The Sri Lankan State forces under the determined leadership of Mahinda Rajapakse has done what many including myself thought was not possible - the military defeat of the LTTE. However as we saw in Iraq when George W. Bush declared `mission accomplished` winning the war on the battlefield is a different kettle of fish than winning the peace.

Winning the peace means not only holding the territory but most importantly being able to address the grievances of the Tamil people that lead to the creation and growth of the LTTE in the first place.

This is the most critical period now. How will the Mahinda regime treat the defeated, harassed and bloodied people of the North and East? Is the Eastern province the model to be imposed upon the North? That is, will a favored proxy of the govt like Devananda`s EPDP be given the task of holding the people in check like Karuna`s TMVP is doing in the East with thuggery and impunity?

Or will there be an attempt to bring about real devolution of power so that the people of the area can run their own affairs in their own language with minimal interference from the center?

How the govt responds to its victory will determine to a great extent the future course of the Tamil people`s struggle for their rights. If the govt acts arrogantly this will only be the end of the begining and a new phase of guerrilla war is likely to emerge in the not too distant future.

However it is to be hoped that the just struggle for the basic rights and dignity of the Tamil people will take a form that is non-violent and that will usher in the benefits that are due to them. The just struggle of the Tamil people was overshadowed by the brutality of the organization that came to lead them. The LTTE became simply a mirror of the brutality of the State. The way to peace is never through war. That is a lesson that the govt needs to understand as well. The just grievances of the Tamil people could have been addressed far earlier with the sympathy of the vast majority of non-racist Sinhala people as well as with the sympathy of the world if the LTTE did not attempt to suicide-bomb its way to liberation.

That being said the courage and pride of the warriors of the Tamil people should never be forgotten. It should be a lesson to all people what happens when you try to dominate other human beings and deprive them of their dignity.