How The East Was Won
Juliana Ruhfus investigates the impact of Sri Lanka’s civil war.
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| The army wants to persuade the returning Tamils that life will be better than it was under the LTTE |
When Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger fighters were expelled from the Toppigalla region in July this year the government declared that its “war for peace” strategy had succeeded in the east of the country and that the region was ‘liberated’ from rebel forces.
After months of shelling and heavy fighting, soldiers began to embark on a hearts and minds campaign – distributing food and resettling civilians – in order to show local people that they are better off under government control.
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But the impact of the fighting is not so easily brushed off. Many doubt whether the Tamil Tigers really have been defeated and the humanitarian and political challenges are huge. Refugees have yet to make it home from their camps, child soldiers remain missing, and many locals hold a deep-seated fear of Col Karuna, a break-away Tamil faction leader, whose men act with impunity.
People & Power’s Juliana Ruhfus travels to Sri Lanka to investigate the impact of the war and to find out what it will take for the east to return to normality.
Watch this episode of People & Power here:
Part One:
Part Two:
This episode of People & Power aired from Sunday 26 August at the following times GMT:
Sunday 26 August (1430)
Monday 27 August (0130)
Tuesday 28 August (0630, 1330)
Saturday 01 September (0300, 2030)
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