[ Telegraph ]
Since his narrow election victory in 2005, Mahinda Rajapaksa has dedicated himself to the cause of defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by military means. He opposed moves towards peace made by Sri Lanka’s previous government on the grounds that too much was being given away to the rebels. Talks brokered by Norway had made significant progress towards reaching a settlement based on a federal Sri Lanka, with significant autonomy “although not a separate state” for the largely Tamil north and east.
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