Spotlight: THE PEACE IN SRI LANKA.

(From The Statesman (India))

Sri Lanka: A Dangerous Interlude. By Apratim Mukarji New Dawn Press. Pp - 294. Price: Rs 800. This book examines the dynamics of the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka and various political and diplomatic pulls and pressures that determine this process A review by Soumitro Das It has been four years since the cease-fire agreement came into force in Sri Lanka, marking a halt to hostilities between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE, in the northern and eastern parts of the island. This book examines the dynamics of the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka and various political and diplomatic pulls and pressures that determine this process. In the opening chapter, Mukarji examines the fallout of the defection of top LTTE commander Karuna who broke away from the parent organization with 6000 fighters in March 2003. The Tigers were left militarily weakened, especially in the east. But that was not the only reason why the dialogue between the government and the LTTE had come to a halt. At the heart of the peace process lay the proposal for the constitution of an Interim Self Governing Authority in the …