JASON MOTLAGH

The Globe and Mail 

COLOMBO -- For the first time in more than a decade, Sri Lankan government forces are deep inside the Tamil Tigers' northern stronghold and within striking distance of the Tamil capital, according to military officials who insist an end to one of Asia's deadliest civil wars nears by the day. Some observers say it's still too soon to talk of the end of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's 25-year armed struggle for a Tamil state. But there's no dispute that the latest military offensive has unprecedented momentum thanks to an international crackdown on the Tigers' fundraising and smuggling networks and high-level defections that have undermined support for its iron-willed leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Sunday discourse by Philip Fernando for Asian Tribune

Garrison town of Thunukkai has fallen to the armed forces, so the Asian Tribune reported. Prabhakaran now seems to linger inside a bunker waiting in vain for USA, India and someone else to intervene. There will be none. The political vacuum he succeeded in creating doomed him. He bumped off Alfred Duraiappah, A, Amirthalingham, Neelan Thiruchelvam, Lakshman Kadiragamar, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and all the Tamil moderate leadership ruthlessly. His evil wizardry in marketing terrorism was his own booby trap that swallowed him as his options for negotiations dwindled. Now he is battered, cornered and seemed as if he is at the end of a shortened tether.

Landmines have become a severe threat, not only to people’s lives the world over, but also to the economic and social development of any country. Over the years, Sri Lanka too has had its share of the destruction caused by landmines, the effects of which are still felt by many victims. It is estimated that approximately 3.5 million landmines were discovered in the war torn areas of the country and the victims, mostly men, range between the ages of 20 and 45 years. Recognising the urgent need for a safe and reliable method of de-mining, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded a special project at the University of Moratuwa to address this problem.

By Dr. T.C.Rajaratnam