When the tsunami waves struck Sri Lanka on the morning after Christmas, it was felt that the sheer magnitude of the tragedy might help bring the two estranged parties in the ethnic imbroglio closer together. Such expectations were further enhanced by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s address to the nation wherein she called upon all sections of the Sri Lankan society to rise to the occasion as one man. She also urged those involved in the relief and rehabilitation work to perform their functions without any bias for class or community among those affected.

But the ensuing events do not seem to have adhered to that script. Among other things, the government controlled Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) made it worse by rushing to broadcast an utterly speculative report suggesting that the LTTE chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and his intelligence chief might have died in the tsunami attack. Though SLBC recanted later over this piece of irresponsible journalism, the damage had been done.

Then came the weekend visit by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to some of the tsunami affected parts of the Sri Lankan coastline. He visited the Hambantota district in the south and the Trincomalee harbour in the northeast. By the time he left the island, Annan was already promising to come back again to be able to visit the other parts of the coastline that had been equally hit by the sea waves. Such an assurance had become necessary since many Tamils living in the northeast were left with the feeling that their sufferings had been underplayed during this high profile visit.

Several Tamil opinion leaders expressed their disappointment over the UN Secretary General’s inability to visit places such as Batticaloa, Amparai and Mullaitivuâ€â€