The Sri Lankan government may hail the scorching of the east as a victory but for the civilians of the east it is hell on earth.
A review of the al-Jazeera Documentaries, ‘How the East was Won’ and ‘Monks of War’
"There is clear evidence that production in several sectors of the economy was affected by the prevailing security conditions and the tight money policy."
Displaced since 1990, a Tamil fisherman tells a tale of fleeing one tragedy only to find another catastrophe. Aloysius Premathas, having just seen his son loose his legs in a SLAF air-raid, recounts his familiy’s woes.
Every time 16-year-old Suresh Subramanium steps out of his home in Sri Lanka's heavily-guarded capital, his father says a silent prayer for his son's safe return. The Subramaniums are ethnic Tamils, and run a grocery store in Colombo. They have lived in the city all their lives, and have little connection to the north and east where government troops are fighting Tamil Tigers. But they say life for ordinary Tamils in Colombo is getting worse. "I can't step out of the house without my identity card and police papers. If I don't have them, I will be detained," Suresh said. Tamils, whose...
Sri Lankan authorities were rounding up hundreds of ethnic minority Tamils in the capital of Colombo, forcing them onto buses to destinations unknown. They were allowed to return two days later , after an international uproar , but many Tamils are afraid the expulsions could mark the beginning of a new wave of persecution, and that the next knock on the door might be even more dangerous. "I'm scared about what will happen," said the woman, Sanmugam Rasamma, who came back to Colombo after her expulsion. "I'm scared it could happen again." For two decades, the Tamil Tigers , a highly secretive...
The new capability of the Tamil Tigers to carry out airborne attacks has not only made them a rarity among the world's guerrilla outfits but has also badly shaken an entire country. Sri Lanka's defence ministry has acknowledged that the Tigers may be operating at least five light aircraft, used in three headline-grabbing raids against military and civilian targets over the past month. The Tigers already possess an effective naval unit known as the Sea Tigers. The Tiger air force may be minuscule compared with Sri Lanka's fleet -- which comprises supersonic jets, spy planes and helicopter...
There was not a town in the government-held areas which was not dotted with Karuna's offices or camps, which significantly, were almost always close to the camps of the government forces.
'The attacker can't be seen. There is no warning that he is going to come. There is no escape!'
'The levels of killings, disappearances and abductions make clear there is a growing climate of impunity'