Sri Lankan expatriates in the Kingdom are lauding their military forces and President Mahinda Rajapakse for the fight against the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), while they are also worried about the safety of their families back home and the economic depreciation resulting from the violence in Sri Lanka. Jayantha Kumara, president of Api Sri Lanka Association International, said: “I agree with what the Sri Lankan government is currently doing. It is attempting to eradicate LTTE terrorism from Sri Lankan soil, and I greatly appreciate the Sri Lankan President's efforts in this process. Also, this is not a war against the Tamil community; it is the biased international media that has projected it as discrimination by the majority Sinhalese community against the Tamils.” He said the international media should visit the country to witness how people of the three nationalities, i.e., Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese are ‘living in harmony'. “In fact,” Kumara adds, “the Tamil and the Muslim community are the privileged classes, while the Sinhalese, being a majority, is the deprived class.” Niron Dissanayaka, president of the Sri Lankan Expatriate Society, described the Lankan government's fight as a ‘good move'. “We should congratulate the forces and President Rajapakse for this victory over LTTE. Our government is spending a lot of money to eradicate this terrorist group that has international links, and we hope that this is an end to our problems and that the country is moving in the right direction,” said Dissanayaka. Another Sri Lankan expat, employed in a petrochemical organization in Jubail, expressed his concern. “I appreciate the government's bold decision. However, it's natural for us to worry as our families live in Colombo and no one knows what will happen next,” he said. “What is perturbing is that the terrorists are using human shields as their last weapons,” said Haari, who lives in Dammam, adding that his family remains in constant touch with him throughout the day to assure him that they are safe. “The incidents which are happening are scary as the civilians are affected. The future is very unpredictable. We have been living in anxiety and fear for our families, who live in the war zone,” said Dinesh, a Sri Lankan who is working in Al-Khobar. Calling the government's fight against the rebel groups a ‘mere military victory', Mohamed Iman, a Sri Lankan, said the government must provide food, shelter and medical treatment to the war-affected people. “Even when the government is claiming that the war is in its final stage, they have not yet put forward a political solution to fulfill the Tamil aspirations. This is not the end of the conflict,” said a Sri Lankan Tamil resident, who wished to remain anonymous. According to sources in the Sri Lankan Embassy here, over 550,000 Sri Lankan expatriates live in the Kingdom. Several of them refused to comment on the issue. However, a perception that was common among them is that the problem in Sri Lanka will not come to an end unless the LTTE chief Prabhakaran is caught.
