the support of the Sinhala nationalistic JVP and the JHU parties, both hawkish towards most of the LTTE’s long-standing demands.

When Rajapakse was elected in 2005, LTTE chief Prabhakaran seemed to open a window for renewal of talks, calling the President ‘‘a practical man’’. However, the position has deteriorated drastically since then. Over 800 people have lost their lives in incidents involving the army or the LTTE since the new president took over. Violence has further escalated of late. Last month, a bus was blown up by the LTTE in a remote area near Anuradhapuram, killing 64 Sinhalese villagers.

The following are extracts from the interaction between the Sri Lankan President and the visiting Indian journalists:

During his recent visit to Sri Lanka, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran came up with some very specific proposals. Some kind of federal structure. Are you considering these proposals?

We have set up a committee of specialists and I have told them to study all these models, especially the Indian constitution, and come up with a Sri Lankan model because this is Sri Lanka. We are a small country.

So you think devolution of some powers is not really working.

Whatever the solution, everyone must be willing to accept it. Whether the south, the west or the north, the Sinhalese, the Muslims and the Tamils. We have invited all the political parties and experts. There will be a round-table conference. They will give me one or two proposals that I can put up to the LTTE. Because I want their views also on it.

... contd.