Ayoub mzee with Srilanka Foreign Minister Hon. Rohitha Bogollagama
Srilanka Foreign Minister Hon. Rohitha BogollagamaTigers routed, but what now for Tamils in Sri Lanka?
Matt Wade
April 25, 2009
HIS realm once spanned a third of Sri Lanka and boasted a well-equipped army, navy and air force.
But Tamil Tigers supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran now controls just eight square kilometres of sand and swamp in north-eastern Sri Lanka.
Rumours have circulated in Colombo that the feared leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who rarely appears in public, was smuggled out of Sri Lanka months ago. But the Sri Lankan army says he remains with his dwindling band of cadres, moving constantly around the strip of land in rebel hands.
The prospect of capturing the elusive guerilla chief has been overshadowed this week by the tens of thousands he is accused of holding hostage.
The LTTE, proscribed as a terrorist group in more than 30 countries including Australia, is renowned for its ruthless tactics. It pioneered suicide bombing and pressed children into battle. It has assassinated two national leaders — former Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Satellite photos released by the US this week showed the huts of more than 120,000 people living rough on the beach in rebel-held territory. They were hemmed in by defensive earth barriers constructed by the Tamil Tigers using mechanical diggers.
But on Monday the Sri Lankan army used explosives to destroy a section of one of these fortifications and thousands of people began to pour out.
The scale of the exodus caught everyone by surprise. By Thursday, the Government said more than 100,000 people had crossed from rebel territory to Government-held areas.
"The Government has been saying for a long time that there were only about 70,000 people inside the no fire zone," said Gordon Weiss, the United Nations spokesman in Sri Lanka. "That was clearly wrong."
Having realised the scale of the refugee crisis, the Sri Lankan Government has pleaded for international assistance.
Some Tamil civilians have opted to flee by boat to India, making the treacherous journey across the strait that separates Sri Lanka from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In one case 19 refugees, including eight women and two children, reached the town of Arcothurai after sailing for nearly 24 hours in a small fishing boat, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Continued...
Photos: Ayoub mzee
Matt Wade
April 25, 2009
HIS realm once spanned a third of Sri Lanka and boasted a well-equipped army, navy and air force.
But Tamil Tigers supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran now controls just eight square kilometres of sand and swamp in north-eastern Sri Lanka.
Rumours have circulated in Colombo that the feared leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who rarely appears in public, was smuggled out of Sri Lanka months ago. But the Sri Lankan army says he remains with his dwindling band of cadres, moving constantly around the strip of land in rebel hands.
The prospect of capturing the elusive guerilla chief has been overshadowed this week by the tens of thousands he is accused of holding hostage.
The LTTE, proscribed as a terrorist group in more than 30 countries including Australia, is renowned for its ruthless tactics. It pioneered suicide bombing and pressed children into battle. It has assassinated two national leaders — former Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Satellite photos released by the US this week showed the huts of more than 120,000 people living rough on the beach in rebel-held territory. They were hemmed in by defensive earth barriers constructed by the Tamil Tigers using mechanical diggers.
But on Monday the Sri Lankan army used explosives to destroy a section of one of these fortifications and thousands of people began to pour out.
The scale of the exodus caught everyone by surprise. By Thursday, the Government said more than 100,000 people had crossed from rebel territory to Government-held areas.
"The Government has been saying for a long time that there were only about 70,000 people inside the no fire zone," said Gordon Weiss, the United Nations spokesman in Sri Lanka. "That was clearly wrong."
Having realised the scale of the refugee crisis, the Sri Lankan Government has pleaded for international assistance.
Some Tamil civilians have opted to flee by boat to India, making the treacherous journey across the strait that separates Sri Lanka from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In one case 19 refugees, including eight women and two children, reached the town of Arcothurai after sailing for nearly 24 hours in a small fishing boat, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Continued...
Photos: Ayoub mzee
