Sri Lanka must move beyond triumphalism and bitterness

HINDUSTAN Times: Sixteen years ago, Sri Lanka emerged from one of the bloodiest civil conflicts in modern Asia. The military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended a nearly three-decade war that cost tens of thousands of lives, displaced entire communities, and left deep scars on the national psyche. For many Sri Lankans, the end of the LITE marks the return of peace. For others, it revives unresolved grief. But as a nation. It is time to move beyond both triumphalism and bitterness. Reconciliation-genuine, inclusive, and forward-looking is the only viable path.

- BY MILINDA MORAGODA

The LTTE was one of the most ruthless terrorist organisations of its time. It pioneered suicide bombings, forcibly conscripted children, and assassinated elected leaders-including Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Yet disturbingly, efforts to romanticise the group and its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, have gained renewed currency in some quarters.