To understand the possible repercussions of a government seemingly shining the searchlight on members of the minority community, consider Sri Lanka’s demography. Colombo, the country’s political and commercial centre, has almost equal numbers of Sinhalas and Tamils. It is for both these communities a reminder of the problem of operationalising outright separation of populations — as envisaged by the LTTE in its demand for a separate homeland and by Sinhalese chauvinists aiming to isolate the ethnic minority. This is why civil society groups here have labelled the eviction drive — the next hearing in the Supreme Court is posted for June 22 — an attempt at “ethnic cleansing”, not merely a civil rights issue.

It is good that disgust for the eviction drive has been across communities. But this government misadventure is, in the longer term, a reminder of the dangers of overlooking the gross violations of the ceasefire, which still exists on paper. International — and given this country’s unique leverage, especially Indian — pressure must be urgently applied for a cessation of hostilities.