Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic country, and an ancient centre of Buddhism. It also has a significant number of Hindus, Christians and Muslims.
For much of the last 20 years Sri Lanka has suffered fighting between the armed forces of the predominantly Sinhalese government and Tamil Tiger rebels who want an independent homeland in the north and east.
Because of the civil war more than 70,000 people have died so far. Now the army says victory is finally in sight.
Over the years war and the army has become a way of life for many families.
Fighting has become the best career option for young men.
The origins of the current violence go back to the island's independence from Britain in 1948.
Tensions developped between the majority Sinhalese community - who are mostly Buddhist - and the Tamil community who are mostly either Hindu or Roman Catholic.
The communities speak different languages - Sinhala and Tamil - and both claim their ancestors were original settlers on the island. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s and for parts of this decade, the country has witnessed a combination of Tamil Tiger suicide attacks on the one hand and repeated military skirmishes in the north and east on the other.
The violence over this time period has been interspersed by various international efforts to negotiate a peace settlement: technically the two sides are not at war despite the recent violence, as neither has formally withdrawn from a peace treaty signed in 2002.
Both the military and the Tamil Tigers have been frequently accused of gross violations of human rights by international rights groups.
Civilians have been routinely murdered and thousands made homeless by the years of war...
(From BBC WORLD News)
_I feel ashamed when I think of so many conflicts in the world whose reason has been lost through the time, and whose causes have stopped to be looked at!
When this happens we let things getting more complex until the solution becomes just impossible to see!
Ending War and sufferance in Sri Lanka should begin from recognizing the right to self-determination of Eezham Tamils and the integrity of their homeland...
For much of the last 20 years Sri Lanka has suffered fighting between the armed forces of the predominantly Sinhalese government and Tamil Tiger rebels who want an independent homeland in the north and east.
Because of the civil war more than 70,000 people have died so far. Now the army says victory is finally in sight.
Over the years war and the army has become a way of life for many families.
Fighting has become the best career option for young men.
The origins of the current violence go back to the island's independence from Britain in 1948.
Tensions developped between the majority Sinhalese community - who are mostly Buddhist - and the Tamil community who are mostly either Hindu or Roman Catholic.
The communities speak different languages - Sinhala and Tamil - and both claim their ancestors were original settlers on the island. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s and for parts of this decade, the country has witnessed a combination of Tamil Tiger suicide attacks on the one hand and repeated military skirmishes in the north and east on the other.
The violence over this time period has been interspersed by various international efforts to negotiate a peace settlement: technically the two sides are not at war despite the recent violence, as neither has formally withdrawn from a peace treaty signed in 2002.
Both the military and the Tamil Tigers have been frequently accused of gross violations of human rights by international rights groups.
Civilians have been routinely murdered and thousands made homeless by the years of war...
(From BBC WORLD News)
_I feel ashamed when I think of so many conflicts in the world whose reason has been lost through the time, and whose causes have stopped to be looked at!
When this happens we let things getting more complex until the solution becomes just impossible to see!
Ending War and sufferance in Sri Lanka should begin from recognizing the right to self-determination of Eezham Tamils and the integrity of their homeland...
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