Srilanka, Feb. 27 -- When the thirty year ethnic conflict ended in 2009, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had ample opportunities to address the grievances of the Tamil minority. But President Rajapaksa refused to acknowledge, let alone address their legitimate grievances against the state. Even though 16 years have elapsed since the end of the war, thousands of mothers and loved ones of individuals disappeared during and in the aftermath of the war are still seeking justice.
Just after the war ended, the Rajapaksa government launched 'Uthuru Wasanthaya' and 'Nagenahira Navodaya' - two programmes to develop villages and infrastructure in the conflict-ridden areas of the country. The government at the time interpreted these projects as a...