Yet another forgotten conflict... Tamil Rebels Push to Recapture Peninsula http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/13/ap/world/mainD8JF9V400.shtml Rebels mounted a fierce offensive Saturday in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna Peninsula, the heart of the island's Tamil minority, military officials and the rebels said amid the heaviest fighting since the two sides signed a 2002 cease-fire. Thousands of civilians were reported trapped by the fighting, much of it focused around the village of Muhamalai, a dividing line between territories controlled by the government and the Tamil rebels _ and a strategic spot along the only highway into the core of the peninsula. More than 200 rebels and 27 government soldiers died in Saturday's fighting, which continued as night fell, said a military spokesman, Brig. Athula Jayawardana. Eighty government soldiers were wounded, he said. Rebel officials could not be reached for comment on their casualties, and the government's report could not be confirmed. The combat zone has been sealed off to outsiders, and there was no way to independently confirm the situation. The government controls most of the peninsula, which is the traditional home of Sri Lanka's 3.2 million ethnic Tamils, who accuse the 14 million Sinhalese who dominate the island of discrimination. Saturday's fighting began with the rebels launching attacks on navy camps in the town of Trincomalee and then striking at government forces in Muhamalai and elsewhere, Jayawardana said. A pro-rebel Web site, TamilNet, said the insurgents captured an army checkpoint at Muhamalai, but a statement from the defense ministry said that soldiers had beaten them back. An ethnic Tamil lawmaker said civilians in parts of the peninsula were trapped by heavy fighting because of a government curfew and did not have electricity or telephone service. "People are not allowed to move to save their lives. The Sri Lankan government, by imposing a curfew, has kept them as human shields," said Nadaraja Raviraj, a lawmaker from Jaffna. There was no immediate comment from the government. Meanwhile, a senior peace co-ordinating official in Sri Lanka's government was shot dead Saturday at his home in a suburb of the capital, Colombo, police and a doctor said. The government blamed separatist Tamil Tiger rebels for the assassination of Ketheesh Loganathan, deputy head of the government's Peace Secretariat, which has coordinated a Norway-brokered peace process between the government and Tamil Tigers since 2002. The government's peace Web site said the rebel group had killed Loganathan "in its quest to eliminate prominent Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka opposed to the ruthless brutality of the LTTE," calling the guerrillas by their formal name the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. There was no immediate comment from the rebels. The 2002 cease-fire was intended to halt more than two decades of bloodshed between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east of the country. While the cease-fire remains officially in effect, it has been left in shreds by weeks of fighting. The latest conflict started when the rebels blocked the flow of water from a reservoir to government-held villages in the northeast July 20, accusing officials of backtracking on a pledge to boost water to rebel-held areas. After days of fighting the sluice was reopened, with both sides claiming credit for ending the water crisis.
Damn, tiger... is the world just goin' to hell, or what?? Arthur C. Clarke still lives in Colombo, having lived in Sri Lanka since the mid-'50's. Yes, I know it doesn't have anything to do with this, but my uncle got to meet him there during a high technology conference. I thought that was really cool, since I've been a fan of Clarke's since I was a kid. Such a beautiful country, and another tragedy brought on by religion and ethnic conflict. I was hoping they were going the route of Ireland, and settling down to a prosperous peace. It's not to be. Keep D&D Civil.
I'm considering going to Sri Lanka for the two year anniversary of the tsunami and check on some projects that my tsunami relief group worked on. I'm pretty worried about this conflict and hope things quiet down by December.
Clarke has lived there for 50 years, and has been able to carry on. My uncle said the area he was able to tour was beautiful. Just be careful. I'd make the trip. Keep D&D Civil.
It seems like ethnic conflicts are becoming the new dominant trend here. So much for that whole 'globalization' thing that envisions one big happy world, it looks like tribalism is winning out...
Per the CIA website: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) How does 73.8% of the population not be able to pacify the other 8.7%?
There is no trend here. The norm in Sri Lanka is returning. The Tamil Tigers make most rebels groups seem like school teachers. These guys are baaaaaaaaaad news! Probably the most bloodthirsty rebel group out there besides Al Qaida in Iraq. No regard for human life at all. I'll say this: maybe the last 3-4 years they've started to care (ever so slightly) about PR. Maybe it's an attempt to at least SEEM like human beings.
Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful countries I've been to. Many followers of Islam believe that Sri Lanka was the true place of the Garden of Eden. Nowadays, their security in Colombo borders on the extremes as seen in Israel.
I'm mainly planning on visiting the southern part which I've heard is pretty safe but I have a friend who is Tamil and has been able to do some relief work in some rebel held villages and was thinking about going with her. None of my plans are definate right now. I'm definately going to be in SE Asia in December and if things in Sri Lanka get way too dangerous I will either go back to Thailand or to Aceh.
