war is over? what?
Tamil Tiger Leader Killed; Sri Lanka Claims Victory in 25-Year Civil War
Sri Lanka’s quarter-century-long civil war is in its final throes, with the militant Tamil separatist group the Tamil Tigers, or the LTTE, almost completely defeated. The Sri Lankan military said today that the fifty-four-year-old leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead. Army Commander Sarath Fonseka announced that the army had “liberated the entire country by liberating the north from terrorists.” On Sunday, the LTTE said it was “prepared to silence its guns” and admitted that the fighting had reached a “bitter end.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/18/tamil_tiger_leader_killed_sri_lanka
http://savingsrilanka.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/pandemonium-in-the-streets/
Although Sri Lankans are celebrating what may be the end of a 25-year war, the situation in the cities has gotten even more dangerous for civilians, especially Tamils and foreigners.
Finally free of the fear of the Tigers that they’ve lived with for years, Sinhalese citizens are harassing Tamils in the streets. Tamil citizens are afraid to leave their homes. Anti-foreign sentiment has reached a fever pitch. Encouraged by the government, soldiers have been trying to intimidate foreign nationals. Today, a soldier at a checkpoint in Colombo aimed an an assault rifle at an American woman in an attempt to bully her.
Sri Lanka’s quarter-century-long civil war is in its final throes, with the militant Tamil separatist group the Tamil Tigers, or the LTTE, almost completely defeated. The Sri Lankan military said today that the fifty-four-year-old leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead. Army Commander Sarath Fonseka announced that the army had “liberated the entire country by liberating the north from terrorists.” On Sunday, the LTTE said it was “prepared to silence its guns” and admitted that the fighting had reached a “bitter end.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/18/tamil_tiger_leader_killed_sri_lanka
http://savingsrilanka.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/pandemonium-in-the-streets/
Although Sri Lankans are celebrating what may be the end of a 25-year war, the situation in the cities has gotten even more dangerous for civilians, especially Tamils and foreigners.
Finally free of the fear of the Tigers that they’ve lived with for years, Sinhalese citizens are harassing Tamils in the streets. Tamil citizens are afraid to leave their homes. Anti-foreign sentiment has reached a fever pitch. Encouraged by the government, soldiers have been trying to intimidate foreign nationals. Today, a soldier at a checkpoint in Colombo aimed an an assault rifle at an American woman in an attempt to bully her.