Tough Year for Sri Lanka

In early 2009, the Tamil Tiger rebels lost control of their de-facto capital Kilinochchi and ended up isolated on a tiny coastal strip in the north-eastern corner of the country.

In the final phase of the war that lasted until May, the Sri Lankan army forces inched their way into the zone and eventually managed to kill all the major LTTE rebel leaders, including the commander Velupillai Prabhakaran.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was triumphant. “My government, with the total commitment of our armed forces, has in an unprecedented humanitarian operation finally defeated the LTTE militarily," he declared.

Uncertain future for Tamils

But Prabhakaran's death and the LTTE's end gave rise to a great number of questions, particularly regarding the future of the Tamil population.

Jehan Perera, Executive Director of the National Peace Council in Colombo, insisted that the Tamils be granted their rights.

“It is not only the Tamil minority that feels this way,” he said. “Even the Muslim minority also feel aggrieved because they have a feeling that they are marginalised, that neither the Tamils nor the Muslims wield real political power in this country. This creates a certain resentment in them as a result.”

However, Basil Rajapaksa, the president's brother and senior adviser, claimed the government had been doing its best, “at every level” to integrate the alienated Tamil population since the end of the civil war. “We have a lot of Tamil ministers in our government,” he stated.

“There will be democratisation. We can win. This northern province will also be a province of opportunity,” he promised.

But it will take time for the former war-zone to become a so-called “province of opportunity”. The region is currently still being cleared of mines, weapons, ammunition and explosives. Moreover, some 10,000 suspected Tamil rebels remain in custody, pending either prosecution or rehabilitation.

Media became a target of both sides

The media also became a target in the civil war. The government dubbed the international media “media tigers” saying that the LTTE had used them as a tool for their propaganda.

N. Manoharan, a Sri Lanka expert from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in New Delhi, said that “20 people from the media were killed from 2006 and 2009. Many fled. This is not right in a country which calls itself a democracy.”

Thus, Sri Lanka's international image was tainted. With its anti-LTTE offensive, the government went against the concerns of the international community.

Its later wish to host the next Commonwealth conference was denied.

“We have come to a consensus that Sri Lanka will not host the next Commonwealth conference but will host the one following that will be in 2013,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper explained. “That should give Sri Lanka plenty of time to get on a path towards genuine political reconciliation and broad based multi ethnic participation in their democracy."

The army's victory also sparked a new rivalry between President Rajapaksa and General Sarnath Fonseka, who led the offensive and survived a suicide attack by the LTTE. The two will run against each other in the upcoming January 26 elections.

Author: Debarati Mukherjee
Editor: Thomas Bärthlein