This was a bit of a surprise. We had our press cards with accreditation received from the Ministry of Information a few days before in Colombo, and we had told press officials that we planned to visit the North. When we reached Vavuniya, the gateway to the North, we thought we had everything in order. After all, the World Food Programme, which has been active in the conflict areas, was assisting us to ensure that we could cross over safely from the government-controlled area to the Tiger-held area.

Our plan was to report on and shoot footage of the WFP's education and feeding programmes for young children in the Tamil-held areas. Then, we hoped to sit down for a chat with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's number two man, Thamilvaran.

But now the security official was telling us that we needed a special permit from the Defence Ministry as we were not residents of Sri Lanka. Only residents could visit the LTTE-controlled area. Other UN agencies in the area also tried desperately to help us but failed to convince the official to let us proceed.

The situation had been very tense the entire day that we had planned to travel from Vavuniya to Kilinochchi. The day before, two bombs were tossed at the city's clock tower killing two people and injured scores of others. There were exchanges of gunfire, the whole city was literally paralysed from mid-day onward following the bomb blasts. People got stuck in places they visited or shopped. It took seven or more hours for the security to clear and a state of normalcy declared.

During our negotiations at the checkpoint outside Vavuniya, another Claymore mine exploded near the city centre, targeting a military jeep. Fortunately, we were travelling in a UN four-wheel drive, which passed through heavily manned checkpoints without delay. But radio contact between the head office in Colombo and the one in Kilinochchi was constant to be sure that the vehicle was safe and of its whereabouts. Indeed, the bombing on the same day that we attempted to cross into the LTTE's area complicated our plan to go north. One of the UN officials suggested that it would be better to follow their rules - that no permission to cross over would be granted without papers from the Defence Ministry. We complied.

Vavuniya, located 275 kilometres north of Colombo, is considered the major route to the north of the island by land. About 100 kilometres from Vavuniya, one sees soldiers standing guard every 50 metres or so along the A9 highway.

A Tamil resident of Vavuniya said one hears of someone being shot or kidnapped and killed for no reason almost every day in the city. She said she was used to the threats, the sirens, the uncertainty, the Claymore mines and the shootings. "I just want make sure that I return home alive," she said.

With three young children, she hoped that there would be peace soon. The conflict has been going on for too long and affected everyone - Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims - in every part of the country, not only the much-reported North and East.

Whether peace will come to Sri Lanka depends on many factors. One of them is international support. Newly elected President Mahindra Rajapakse wants increased international pressure on the LTTE to force them back to the negotiating table. Colombo has been optimistic that many Western countries will follow Canada's move in declaring the LTTE a terrorist group, as the US, UK and India have already done, adding it to a list of more than 200 such organisations around the world.

However, there was a hitch when Denmark, Finland and Sweden last week blocked the European Union's attempt to list the LTTE as a terrorist group. The Sri Lankan government now hopes Australia, which has a sizeable Tamil community, will soon declare a ban on the group. The government hopes further isolation of the LTTE, including cutting its financial lifeline, will force the rebels to return to the peace process.

In an interview with Nation TV, Foreign Minister Magala Samaraweera disclosed that there was a possibility the peace process, which began in earnest in Bangkok in 2002, could return to Thailand again if the talks resume. Local papers said the next round of Geneva talks was scheduled to start tomorrow. Samaraweera said Japan might want to host the third round and then Bangkok could be the next venue.

After a week's stay in Sri Lanka, one realises the complexity of the ethnic conflict here, which has been going on for the past 20 years. Lots of space is devoted to reports and analyses of the conflict, with very partisan views. Six journalists were killed last year and none of the culprits was brought to justice. Last week, the International Federation of Journalists called Sri Lanka a death-trap for journalists.

Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Nation