Sri Lanka - Light at the end of the tunnel? The Sunday, March 3, 2002 issue of the “New York Times” contained an article by Barbara Crossette, “War on Terror Sets Country for Peace. The second sentence of this article states: "A week ago, the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, one of Asia's most ruthless and totalitarian rebel movements, agreed to a firm ceasefire, with promise of peace talks to come.”[1] But does the LTTE intend to keep their promises this time? Has Sri Lanka's 20-year struggle finally come to an end? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? until the colonial period, when Sri Lanka was a formal colony of Great Britain. Even then “politics was already divided along rigid ethnic lines…”[2] Sri Lanka is populated by two ethnic groups, the Tamils ​​and the Sinhalese Tamils ​​make up only 15% of Sri Lanka's total population, according to Stuart Bell of the National Post, Sinhalese still feel like a "minority within the wider region"[3], due to Sri Lanka's geographic location. , just 30 kilometers from the coast of Indian Tamil Nadu. Another factor to take into consideration is that Sri Lanka is the only place in the world where Sinhala culture exists. There is no doubt that the Sinhalese feel even more threatened because of this. Further differences that add fuel to the fire between the two groups are: language (Tamil versus Sinhala); religion (mainly Hindu vs. Buddhist); interpretations of history; claims of moral superiority; question of the original inhibition of the island. The government has taken the path of an extremely pro-Sinhala attitude, after coming to power in February... middle of paper... amidst the influx of arms. The LTTE is also losing its legitimacy among its supporters. Secondly, the country itself also seems to have become extremely tired of the continuous human and economic sacrifices. Both sides, it seems, cannot move forward and are very ready to compromise. And third, the same growing global atmosphere of non-tolerance, as mentioned above, is playing an important role in taming tigers this time. As “The Hindu” states: “…the post-9/11 world could prove to be an increasingly difficult place even for groups that fight their battles within a defined geographical territory in remote corners of the globe, such as the LTTE, for using terror as a strategy.”[19]I think the combination of these three factors could prove to be just the right mix to finally end a 20-year long war in Sri Lanka. And the country will see the light.