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points to this. For the outcome of the referendum may not have left either party with any manoeuvrability. The government was also perhaps seeking a consensus among political parties not only on the merger issue but on the Tamil problem as well While it would be speculative to assess why the LTTE had decided on what amounted to a significant climb down from its earlier position, it is a fact that the Sri Lankan army operations had resulted in serious reversals for the group. However, these were still not of such a magnitude as to reduce the LTTE to a position weak enough to be forced to concede ground against its will. It would appear that LTTE's moves were well- planned with the reversals offering the right opportunity for putting them into practice.