A bloody denouement to 26 years of civil war has left Sri Lanka's minority Tamil population facing an uncertain future. Following the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, up to 270,000 Tamils are being held in camps under the control of victorious government forces. Robin Hammond was able to circumvent restrictions on journalists to visit a camp holding around 6,000 Tamil civilians in Pulmoddai. The camp - dubbed a 'welfare village' by the authorities - was surrounded by barbed wire and Sri Lankan...
more »A bloody denouement to 26 years of civil war has left Sri Lanka's minority Tamil population facing an uncertain future. Following the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, up to 270,000 Tamils are being held in camps under the control of victorious government forces. Robin Hammond was able to circumvent restrictions on journalists to visit a camp holding around 6,000 Tamil civilians in Pulmoddai. The camp - dubbed a 'welfare village' by the authorities - was surrounded by barbed wire and Sri Lankan soldiers prevented unauthorised entry or exit.
Speaking to writer Dan McDougall in the belief that he was an aid worker, the official in charge of the Pulmoddai compound claimed the Tamil women and children were being held for their own safety. "We are protecting these people," he claimed. "This is why there are so many soldiers here. There might be Tamil Tigers in there and we cannot just let them come and go. They have water and shelter and they are happy to be free of the war."
A charity worker gave the visitors a very different view: "The children, their mothers, their grandmothers, they can't get out. They are trapped behind barbed wire with guns trained on them. There is a fine line between refugee camps and prisons here."
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