Extracts from Krishan Francis’ report for AP (see the full text here):
Sri Lanka is again a palm-fringed tourist paradise, the government says. But for Tamils living in the former war zone, it is still a hell of haunted memories, military occupation and missing loved ones.
Hundreds of thousands remain homeless, and no effort has been made to reunite families separated two years ago during the final bloody months of the war between the now-defeated Tamil separatists and the ethnic Sinhalese-dominated government.
A power-sharing program that President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised to enact after the quarter-century war has gone nowhere.
The International Crisis Group castigated the government in a July report that said "the country is yet to see any semblance of compromise or inclusiveness."
In the meantime, the government has worked hard to project an image of peace and redemption to the world. It insists Tamils have embraced its plan to rebuild homes and shattered lives. It is playing up the Indian Ocean island's reputation as a tourist destination.
But in the Tamil heartland in the north, resentment has been building.
