August the fighting in the northeast was the most intense since the 2002
ceasefire, and peace talks in Geneva failed again. The optimistic days of
negotiation and ceasefire seemed more distant than ever.
In January 2008 the Sri Lankan government officially pulled out of the
ceasefire agreement, signalling its dedication to ending the 25-year-old
civil conflict by military means. Later in the year the LTTE offered a uni-
lateral 10-day ceasefire in support of the South Asian Association for Re-
gional Cooperation (SAARC) summit being held in August in Colombo.
The government, suspicious that the LTTE planned to use the ceasefire
as a time to shore up its strength, responded with an emphatic no.Cornering the LTTE
A change in military strategy saw the Sri Lankan security forces fight fire
with fire with an increase in guerrilla-style attacks, and by August the Sri
Lankan Army (SLA) had entered the LTTE’s final stronghold, the jungle
area of the Vanni. The Sri Lankan government stated that the army was
on track to capture the LTTE capital Kilinochchi by the end of 2008.
Faced with a series of battleground defeats, the LTTE struck back with
another suicide bomb in Anuradhapura, killing 27 people.
In September 2008 the Sri Lankan government ordered UN agencies
and NGOs to leave the Vanni region, saying it could no longer guarantee
their safety. This may have been true, but their withdrawal denied a be-
leaguered population of Tamils access to humanitarian support and the
security of a human-rights watchdog. The departure of the NGOs and the
barring of independent journalists from the conflict region made (and
continues to make) it impossible to verify claims made by either side
about the final battles of the war.
Government and LTTE forces remained dug in around Kilinochchi –
the de facto capital of the unofficial Tamil Eelam state since 1990 – until
the SLA declared victory there in January 2009. This was followed rapidlyA FLAG FOR COMPASSION
Sri Lanka’s flag was created in 1948 and took on many changes over the years. The core
element was the lion on a crimson background, which had been used on flags through-
out Sri Lankan history, beginning with Prince Vijaya, who is believed to have brought a
lion flag with him from India. The lion, then, represented the Sinhalese people, and the
gold is said to signify Buddhism. The flag was adopted in 1950, and as Sri Lanka settled
into independence, it evolved: in 1951 green and orange stripes were added to signify Sri
Lanka’s Muslims and Hindus, respectively, and in 1972 four bodhi-tree leaves were added
to represent metta (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), upekkha (equanimity) and
muditha (happiness).Although its
authorship and
veracity have
been disputed,
Tamil Tigress,
by Niromi de
Soyza, tells the
engrossing story
of a former Tamil
Tiger child soldier
who left school
at 17 to join the
movement.TAMIL TIGER
1994
p resident Chandrika
Kumaratunga comes to
power pledging to end
the war with the LTTE.
p eace talks are opened,
but hostilities continue.
In 1999 she survives a
suicide-bomb attack.1995–2001
Hostilities between
the Sri Lanka military
and the LTTE intensify;
following more failed
attempts at negotia-
tion, the LTTE bombs
Kandy’s Temple of the
Sacred Tooth Relic in
1998.2002
After two years of ne-
gotiation, a Norwegian
peace mission secures
a ceasefire. Sri Lan-
kans, especially in the
north and east, return
to a new normal; many
émigrés return.2004
A tsunami devastates
coastal Sri Lanka,
leaving 30,000 people
dead. It’s thought the
disaster will bring unity,
but the government
and LTTE are soon
wrangling over aid
distribution and
reconstruction.History
T
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F
(^) THE
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