CALL TO ARMS: Despite signing a peace accord with the Government, LTTE posters continue to exhort women to join its cadres

A bullet-scarred board marks the entrance to Killinochichi town. It also symbolises the turbulence in the region. On the opposite side of the road is a giant, olive-green hoarding exhorting women to join the cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with the ubiquitous listing of its martyrs. Despite the recent peace moves by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it is evident that the organisation's supremo is not giving up war as an option to achieve Eelam or an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community.

Freshly painted boards of various "Tamil Eelam" civilian institutions have sprung up in the town to prove that the LTTE is more than just a guerrilla force. Used artillery shells painted blue and white mark the pathway to the recently constructed zinc-roofed police station in Marikulam in the outskirts of Killinochichi. It is manned by constable Bharat Kumar, wearing a new uniform with the LTTE's emblem of the roaring tiger and the words "Tamil Eelam Police" emblazoned on the sleeves of his sky-blue shirt. Crime, Kumar says, is negligible in the region. Understandable, given the LTTE's strong-arm tactics of dealing with erring citizens, including summary executions.

UNCHARTED TERRAIN: New signs that reflect the LTTE's foray into politics

On either side of the A-9 highway leading to Killinochichi, the Wanni jungles have closed in menacingly. Till the recent opening of this crucial road that links Colombo to the Tamil-dominated South, the Tigers had mined it up to the checkpost in the outskirts of Vavuniya town, 60 km away. It took close to a month for the LTTE to chop the thick vegetation and remove the mines. Now as part of the peace process the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE have set up heavily guarded border checkposts at the line of control at Omantai near Vavuniya town. Unused to movement on the highway, soldiers carry out a thorough check of all vehicles that entails opening the bonnet and noting the engine chassis numbers. Passengers are made to line up in huge thatched halls where their luggage is given the twice over.

TIGER FORCE: In a bid to establish civic control, the LTTE has set up the Tamil Eelam Police. Given its strong-arm methods, the crime rate is low in Tiger areas.

The differences between Tiger-controlled territory and government towns are stark. Vavuniya has bustling markets, well-paved roads, electricity and piped water supply. In contrast, Killinochichi, which once rivalled Vavuniya in prosperity, is just a shell of a town. The years of war have taken their toll. Poverty stares out of every window of the mostly bombed out buildings. There is no tap water and electricity is supplied through an erratic generator that fails frequently. The shops are deserted and close early. The only vehicular traffic consists of armed LTTE soldiers moving around on motorcycles or senior commanders being ferried around in heavily tinted Pajeros. The rest of the populace moves in cycles or cars of such vintage that one even chugged around in a 1935 Humboldt.

In Tiger areas, the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE have over the years of warring worked out a peculiar arrangement. Killinochichi district with a population of 1.5 lakh has changed hands thrice in the past decade. The LTTE wrested control of the district in the early 1990s, then lost it to the Lankan army in 1996 only to recapture it in 1998. While the Lankan armed forces personnel are prevented from entering the region, government officials continue to administer the area and run its municipalities, schools and hospitals. The LTTE has set up a parallel administrative structure to monitor their activity and provide assistance wherever necessary, usually in the form of manpower. But it is obvious that the arrangement is far from effective.

NEW GENERATION: Most Tamils are tired of war and want a return to normalcy for their children

The Government agent or collector for Killinochichi, E. Ayyadurai, complains that there isn't any money to run essential services. What the Lankan Government gives every month is just enough to pay the salaries of its 2,500 employees in the district. So development has stagnated. The situation has eased somewhat with the lifting of the economic embargo after Prabhakaran signed an agreement with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in February to end hostilities and begin negotiations. It caused a dramatic fall in commodity prices: kerosene price which ruled at Sri Lankan Rs 150 (Indian Rs 76)a litre is now down to Rs 50. Cycle tyres that sold at Rs 1,000 a pair are now available for Rs 250.

The tentative peace saw the return of the government-controlled Ceylon Bank that had been relocated during the war-torn years. Bank manager S. Thiruchelvam talks excitedly of how in just two months 400 new accounts have been opened and thousands have reactivated accounts that had been lying dormant. It is an indication of just how desperate the three million Tamils, who form 18 per cent of Sri Lanka's population, are for peace.

LINE OF CONTROL: Checking is strict at Omantai checkpost where the LTTE territory begins

Most are not willing to insist on the maximalist demand for Eelam. Says Ram Dhanraj, 55, a Tamil education officer: "We have suffered enough. Now is the time for peace if the Government meets most of our demands for equality." It is something that Prabhakaran would have to take note of since in his new role as a political leader he frequently mouths the words "wishes of the people".

At his press conference on April 10, Prabhakaran indicated he was willing to explore a political solution. He wants Wickremesinghe to agree to an interim administration for the Tamil-dominated areas that would give the LTTE control of civilian institutions, besides funds from the Union. Since then he has interacted with Tamil politicians from the region and even made peace overtures to the Muslims who had been persecuted by the LTTE in the past.

Being a democrat, however, is quite unlike Prabhakaran, who till recently had ruthlessly eliminated his opponents. He runs a highly secretive organisation that is ill-trained to handle the daily grind of administration. Though Prabhakaran says he is for an "open market" economy, his inexperience in matters of government is evident. Running an interim administration successfully would be a crucial test of his political acceptability. Prabhakaran may find battling the Sri Lankan Army far easier than being accountable to his people for governance.