Colombo, Sri Lanka THE Sri Lankan government's defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009 ended a three-decade war that took tens of thousands of lives. But only now is the government beginning to acknowledge its huge human cost. Two weeks ago, a government-appointed reconciliation commission released a long-awaited report, giving voice to the...
Sri Lanka released about 1,800 former Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday who had been held since the nation's civil war ended more than two years ago. They were among about 11,000 rebels who surrendered at the end of the war in May 2009. Rights groups and other countries have urged the government to either charge the detainees or release them. The...
Sri Lanka on Monday acknowledged for the first time that civilian casualties occurred in the final phase of its 26-year war against Tamil Tiger rebels, but called the deaths unavoidable. The Defense Ministry statement was a reversal from its previous insistence that its troops adhered to a ''zero civilian casualty policy.'' However the report said...
De Tamilske Tigre (LTTE) er en tamilsk oprørsgruppe i Sri Lanka, opstået i 1970erne, der kæmper imod den srilankanske regering for regional autonomi i den nordlige del af øen (se Borgerkrigen i Sri Lanka). Tamilerne er et etnisk mindretal i Sri Lanka og udgør ca 9% af befolkningen, med eget sprog (Tamil), kultur og traditioner.
Efter en forfatningsreform i 1972 modsatte tamilerne sig den srilankanske regerings sinhelesisk-buddhistiske nationalisme og krævede tamilsk selvbestemmelse og oprettelse af Tamilsk Eelam. En guerillagruppe oprettedes i 1976 og den stærkeste fraktion "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam" (LTTE) blev dannet 1981.
Tirgrene blev i stigende grad militante og har siden 1983 været i regulær krig med den srilanske hær og udført diverse terroraktioner. Omkring 60.000 mennesker har mistet livet i konflikten, der først i 2001 blev afløst af en våbenhvile. I 2002 opgav Tigrene kravet om selvstændighed til fordel for en føderal løsning. Fold ud