Gauravaneeya or not it looks like it's going to be a yuddaya for a long time

"Thaaththa," Bindu Udagedera asked, "is there a ceasefire?"

"Of course there is," Bindu's father Percy assured.

"But thaaththa," Bindu said, "I thought the war had begun."

"What makes you say that?" Percy wanted to know, surprised.

"Why, thaaththa, isn't there fierce fighting in the East and aren't people dying everyday?"

"Ah," Percy said, "there may be a few incidents in some areas…"

"But thaaththa," Bindu argued, "there was a bomb explosion in Kandy and then there was a bomb explosion in Colombo within a few days of each other."

"But most areas of the country are safe, isn't it?" Percy asked.

"I suppose so," Bindu said, "though I don't think any area is really safe anymore."

"That is all the more reason why we should try and safeguard the ceasefire," Percy pointed out.

"But what is the use of a ceasefire if bombs are exploding everywhere and there is fighting in some areas and people fleeing their villages in their thousands?" Bindu wanted to know.

"That is precisely why we should have a ceasefire," Percy said.

"How can you say that?" Bindu was puzzled.

"There are different kinds of ceasefires," Percy explained. "Remember the ceasefire we had those days?"

"But there weren't any incidents like this during that time," Bindu recalled.

"And that was because we just allowed the Tigers to do what they wanted and looked the other way," Percy said.

"But there were no bombs or claymore mines and people were not running away from their homes," Bindu protested.

"Yes, but the Tigers built up their stocks and infiltrated the rest of the country, the results of which we are seeing today," Percy replied.

"That maybe true," Bindu conceded.

"And don't forget," Percy observed, "even during that ceasefire, the Tigers killed whenever they wanted, like when they assassinated our Foreign Minister…"

"But thaaththa," Bindu said, "still there were no incidents every day and by and large the country was relatively peaceful."

"That maybe so," Percy said, "but remember, for all purposes, the ceasefire is still on."

"And what exactly does that mean?" Bindu queried.

"What it means is that the Tigers are able to do whatever they want and then it is difficult to do anything about it because the ceasefire is on," Percy said.

"But how can that be helpful?" Bindu asked.

"But what the ceasefire also means is that the military can also undertake certain tasks and it is difficult for the Tigers to do anything about it directly because the ceasefire is on."

"But at the end of the day, both sides are fighting each other even though the ceasefire is officially on," Bindu said.

"But don't forget that both sides are always issuing statements saying they are fully committed to the ceasefire," Percy pointed out.

"So, where will that get us?" Bindu asked, "will that take us towards the 'gauravaneeya saamaya' that Mahinda maama promised?"

"Do we want a 'gauravaneeya saamaya' anymore?" Percy asked.

"Why, thaaththa, some people would prefer any kind of peace," Bindu said.

"But the 'rathu sahodarayas' are urging us to go to war and even the 'urumaya' is thinking on those lines," Percy said.

"But thaaththa," Bindu said, "wouldn't a 'gauravaneeya saamaya' be better?"

"It certainly will, only we can achieve it" Percy said. "But right now, what me might be getting for a long time to come will be a 'yuddaya', regardless of whether it is 'gauravaneeya' or not."

Bindu was not sure he wanted that either.