Clearly, these were recent recruits of the Karuna faction. Some of the gun-toting boys were so small that they were dwarfed by the T-56s they were carrying. One dreaded the thought of a child soldier pulling the trigger in a fit of excitement. They boys were also small enough to be playful with that instrument of death. Karuna's presence was ubiquitous, though locals said that the extent of the presence did not match popular support. "Support for him may be about 5 per cent," said a school teacher," who did not wish to be named, for obvious reasons. "If Karuna had been better than Prabhakaran and helped the Tamil refugees, we would have embraced him. But he is doing precious little," said a Christian priest, involved in relief work. There was not a town in the government-held areas which was not dotted with Karuna's offices or camps, which significantly, were almost always close to the camps of the government forces. The TMVP's offices are located in opulent houses, many owned by Tamils who had fled to the West apparently.    more »

Note: We do sincerely hope that this is a serious message, not an April Fool prank. CS

Referendum on CFA?

By Dinesh Weerawansa

The Government plans to hold a referendum to determine the fate of the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement which was signed by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, the then Prime Minister and the LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, mediated by the ...   more »