And so life returns to... normal??

Heard last night from Father John, the priest for the local Catholic church, that the LTT are pulling out of the 3-year cease fire between them and the government. Apparently in part due to the government being very slow with any deals or compromises, while in Jaffna the government forces are still occupying public buildings and private homes, leaving many local Tamils living in refugee camps, unable to return home. This has obviously worsened since the tsunami of course. The father also described how discrimination is still occurring in schools and other government bodies towards Tamils, but while the reaction of the LTT may in part be understandable, it is still a very unfortunate development.

The LTT itself has split up into two groups, one of which is siding with the government. The other side (the remaining “original” LTT) is the one withdrawing from the ceasefire, and though not strong enough to fight directly against the government forces due to the split, according to the father may go back to using guerrilla tactics targeting government facilities and personnel.

The additional worry is the LTT was renowned for using child soldiers – the UN has instigated action against them – and so Father John says that some of the local kids may have to go into hiding. A little worrying indeed…

But just to re-emphasise what I’ve read and heard a number of times, even during the 20-year civil war prior to the ceasefire, the fighting carefully and very deliberately avoided all foreign nationals and tourists, so I’m not feeling concerned for my own safety at all. However, for the kids and youth I’ve been working with it’s another story altogether…