News in Review
Is 2009 the Year of Peace?

Time magazine’s “Year in Review” lists the conflict in Sri Lanka among the top 10 “under-reported stories” of 2008 (http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10). Early into 2009, that situation may be changing as the civil conflict of 25 years may be drawing to an end.

It’s been a year since the Government of Sri Lanka formally withdrew from the terms of a cease-fire agreement with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Throughout 2008, the military pushed its campaign further north, into territories the LTTE sought to have declared an independent homeland for Tamils. The Army’s declaration, seen throughout the capital Colombo on billboard signs, promised a military victory by the end of 2008, and early into January 2009, government troops claimed to have taken the village Killinochchi – considered the headquarters of the LTTE – as well as the Jaffna peninsula, home to Tiger compounds including air strips for the group’s fledgling aerial division. On Jan. 22 the government announced that it had gained control of the Tiger “command center” in northeastern Mullaitivu, considered to have been the final stronghold of the group.

Reports are unconfirmed, however, as journalists are barred from conflict areas. Counter-claims include charges that government air strikes were launched on civilian targets, including hospitals, and the Associated Press reported that more than 60 civilians were killed by Sri Lankan weapons in a three-day period.

Some consider the developments to be promising; ending the open combat that has torn the island apart for a quarter century could open the opportunity for stability and civil solutions. Others worry about the political divisions that still need healing.
Peace in Sri Lanka will be defined partly in Colombo, but also in the communities and villages such as the one Grace Care Center calls “home.” We join the many organizations and volunteers – native Sri Lankans and international friends – in hoping that 2009 brings a new beginning for our friends and an end to a generation of devastating conflict.