Asian Disaster May Affect Two Civil Wars

[Eugene]

By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Two of the world's longest-running civil wars are
being fought on land devastated by Sunday's earthquake and tsunamis.
In one conflict, the tragedy showed hopeful signs of bringing the two
sides together; in the other, it appeared to be hardening the divisions.

Immediately after the quake struck, the warring sides in Indonesia's
Aceh province agreed to put hostilities on hold, while government and
rebel spokesmen in ethnically divided Sri Lanka accused each other of
mishandling the response to the disaster.

- snip -

In Sri Lanka, the response could not have been more different.

Government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, who have clashed since 1983
over the ethnic minority Tamils' claim for a homeland, refused to work
together despite a massive humanitarian crisis.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041228/ap_on_re_as/quake_political_fallout