Yearbook 2007
Sri Lanka. Hard battles were fought throughout the year
between the army and the separatist guerrilla Tamil Eelam's
Liberation Tigers (LTTE) both on land and at sea in the
country's northern and eastern parts. The guerrillas were
slowly driven to retreat and reportedly lost their last fort
in the east in July. However, its ability to strike back was
unbroken, and during the year LTTE conducted several air
strikes against military targets both outside the capital
Colombo and on the Jaffna Peninsula in the north. The fact
that the guerrillas had gained flight seemed to confirm the
suspicions the army had long had for light planes smuggled
into the country in small parts and assembled on
guerrilla-controlled land.
According to
CountryAAH, the fiercest guerrilla attack happened in October, when a
21-man Tamil suicide bomber attacked an air base attacked an
airbase north of Colombo. At least nine soldiers were killed
and after a few days the government acknowledged that eight
aircraft had been destroyed, including the defense's most
important spy plane.
A serious hardship for LTTE was that its political leader
and negotiating head SP Thamilchelvan was killed in an air
strike in November. Another five members of the guerrilla
negotiation delegation were killed. LTTE leader Velupillai
Prabhakaran said in a radio speech that new peace talks with
the government are impossible.
The fighting caused severe civilian casualties and tens
of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes
during the year. Hundreds of Tamils were deported from
Colombo on the grounds that they posed a security risk.
In particular, the government was criticized for lack of
respect for human rights and Sri Lanka was described as one
of the most dangerous countries in the world for aid
workers. The government rejected the UN's demand to station
human rights observers in the country. Four members of the
government's advisory group on human rights issues submitted
their statement on the grounds that the government did
nothing to curb the abuses.
When a small Tamil party, representing tea plantation
workers, resigned from the government, the government's
majority was reduced to a single mandate, which made it
dependent on the support of ultra-nationalist Sinhalese
parties.
President Mahinda Rajapakse announced in April that in
accordance with the traditions of the family he would
henceforth sign Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka - Colombo
Colombo
Colombo, city in Sri Lanka; 752,900 residents (2012), in the metropolitan
area approximately 2. 6 millionColombo is located on the west coast of the
island, just south of the Kelami River. The city is one of Asia's most important
port cities against the Indian Ocean, and the port, completed in 1885, is
admired for its beauty. Colombo is the country's economic and cultural center.
It is the archbishop's seat and has two universities, colleges, research
institutes and several libraries. The industry includes food, steel and textile
industries, metallurgical industry and oil refinery. Colombo is the hub of air
traffic between Europe, the Far East and Australia. In 1982, the government
moved from Colombo to Sri Jayawardenapura, which is part of Colombia's urban
area.
In Colombo, there are several Buddhist and Hindu temples, but the city gets its
main character from the European-influenced settlement. Prominent buildings
include the Parliament building and the Wolvendahl church from the mid-18th
century.
Colombo's port is mentioned in Chinese sources as early as the 400s AD, and in the
700s Arab traders settled there. The city's name is a Europeanization of the
Sinhalese Kolamba, which means port. In the 1520s, Portuguese built a
fort in Colombo, in 1656 it was conquered by the Dutch and in 1796 by the British,
who placed their administration there of the colony of Ceylon.
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