SRI LANKA's ethnic war reached its bloody denouement in May when government forces encircled and wiped out the Tamil Tigers' entire leadership, including its supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran. That a guerilla fighter of his guile and endurance should have made the fatal miscalculation of gathering all his top men in a tiny area always suggested Prabhakaran had been preparing for a surrender or an arranged exile. President Mahinda Rajapakse ignored pressure from the West, particularly Britain, to give his generals a free and heavy hand. As soon as victory had been achieved, he sounded all the right conciliatory notes. He began his victory speech in Tamil; he asked Sri Lankans around the world, regardless of ethnicity, to help rebuild their nation. Given the brutality of Prabhakaran's campaign for a separate Tamil state, few tears will be shed over Colombo's decision to end the scourge. The world might even have permitted itself a philosophical view of the horrific civilian toll, however offensive this was, and resumed business with Sri Lanka.

However, by holding 300,000 Tamils in transit camps after the fighting ended, Mr Rajapakse has prompted questions about his intentions. The process of returning the displaced to their homes has since been accelerated, with the number of inmates reduced, but he is still behind on his own timetable. The government says it cannot allow people to relocate without first clearing land mines planted by the Tigers, and that it has a responsibility to ensure they have the means to support decent lives. It also wants to weed out remnants of the Tigers in these camps, to secure a safer future for the land. But with the onset of the monsoon rains, the camps, much like facilities elsewhere in South Asia holding victims of floods and civil strife, are a story of untold misery. Inmates have said they would rather seek shelter with relatives. Some have wondered if this is a ploy to prevent them from voting in parliamentary elections.

Well-intentioned as Mr Rajapakse probably is, he is losing the perception battle with traditional allies such as Britain and the United States. There are vocal emigre Tamil communities in these countries. Words have been exchanged. There are allegations of human rights abuses, war crimes. As he sets out to rebuild Sri Lanka's society and economy, these are not voices Mr Rajapakse can ignore. The sooner he lets the Tamils resume their lives, the earlier he obtains the mandate required to offer a just settlement to the battered minority, the better for Sri Lanka's future. Mr Rajapakse was too accomplished a wartime president to risk being labelled a peacetime manipulator.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.