Colombo : The ice cream man went to work with dread every day at Colombo's main rail station, a prime target for suicide bombers who once killed several teenage baseball players on a platform in front of his stand. With the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, the vendor and many other Sri Lankans say they no longer live in terror of the next blast – a welcome change after more than two decades of suicide attacks by the rebels.
"People can travel freely, without fear," said Jayakodiarachcige Jayaweera, the ice cream man.
But security remains tight amid fears the rebels are not completely gone.
Political veterans caution that without a settlement for the minority Tamils, the respite may be brief. And Tamils fear the end of the rebellion may remove any incentive for the government to satisfy their grievances.
Jayaweera remains haunted by the sight and smell of the 15 victims killed when a suicide bomber blew herself up as she disembarked at the Fort station in February 2008. Nearly 100 others were wounded. Platform 3 was awash in gore and blood.
The teenaged baseball players had just returned from a weekend tournament in the city of Kandy. The nation was preparing to celebrate 60 years of independence from British rule and the city was tense after two recent bus bombings killed 32 people. The rebels appeared unstoppable, capable of striking at will in the national heartland.
"It was a horrible scene. You never forget that," Jayaweera said.
"You can't explain the fear," he said. "It's terrible."
The Tamil Tiger separatists, who ran a shadow state in the north for years, have been blamed for more than 250 suicide attacks since a rebel known as Capt. Miller drove a truckload of explosives into an army camp on July 5, 1987, killing himself and 40 soldiers.
Photographs this week of rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's fatigues-clad body in the battlefield brought palpable comfort to Colombo, a city whose 800,000 residents grew accustomed to security blockades, an ever-present force of armed soldiers on the streets and constant wariness about concealed bombs.
"I feel a great relief after hearing of Prabhakaran's death," said Nimal Seneviratne, 42, a port worker who makes a two-hour commute daily by train. "Everyday when I would leave home in the morning I would feel sad for my children, because I was not sure whether I would see them again."
The army said security will remain tight and troops would continue sweeping the jungles to flush out remaining rebels. The military said it killed eight insurgents Thursday in a battle outside the eastern city of Trincomalee.
"There is no relaxation of the security," said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. "We will continue with the same security level until such time we are confident that there are no remaining terrorists."
The United Nations estimates 80,000 to 100,000 people have died since the civil war began more than a quarter century ago. Among the victims were civilians killed in attacks in markets and department stores, on trains and buses.
Those killed included Tamil bystanders and Tamil politicians the rebels considered traitors or rivals.
ut the predominantly Tamil neighbourhood of Wellawatte did not share in any victory celebrations. Tamils have complained of years of police raids, harassment, arbitrary detentions and even abductions and many live in fear of the government dominated by the Sinhalese majority.
A 74-year-old pharmacist, who like most Tamils spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said Tamils worry about a repeat of the ethnic riots that once plagued this country.
"We used to face violence every now and then, and it stopped only after Tamils took up arms," said the pharmacist, whose studies were cut short in the first ethnic violence in 1958. "We had an indirect protection from them, but now the people are anxious."
Tamils had been the favored class when the British ruled this island, then called Ceylon. After independence in 1948, the dominant Sinhalese excluded them from key jobs and education opportunities and banned any official use of the Tamil language.
"It is the rulers who forced our youth to take up arms," said the pharmacist. "Now the terrorism is over but do they have a solution? Only God knows."
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sent reassuring messages to the Tamil community and called on Sri Lankans on Thursday to celebrate "with magnanimity and friendship toward all."
Rajapaksa has promised to strive for equal rights for all ethnic groups and even spoke a few lines in the Tamil language during his victory address to Parliament.
But Tamils were skeptical.
"Talk of equal rights, of one nation, this is all standard," said opposition Tamil legislator Mano Ganesan. "We have heard this from every government for the last 60 years. What I need is activity on the ground."
Ganesan said the government could show good faith by opening the displacement camps where more than 200,000 Tamil war refugees are held. Relief operations by the U.N. and the Red Cross have been restricted in the camps, and aid workers say they are not allowed to speak to the displaced.
"The key word should be transparency," said Ganesan.
Eric Solheim, a former peace envoy from Norway who spoke to The Associated Press in Oslo, said the government must move quickly to reconcile with the Tamils, or militance could resume.
"The Sri Lankan government has won the war," he said, "but they have not yet won the peace."
"People can travel freely, without fear," said Jayakodiarachcige Jayaweera, the ice cream man.
But security remains tight amid fears the rebels are not completely gone.
Political veterans caution that without a settlement for the minority Tamils, the respite may be brief. And Tamils fear the end of the rebellion may remove any incentive for the government to satisfy their grievances.
Jayaweera remains haunted by the sight and smell of the 15 victims killed when a suicide bomber blew herself up as she disembarked at the Fort station in February 2008. Nearly 100 others were wounded. Platform 3 was awash in gore and blood.
The teenaged baseball players had just returned from a weekend tournament in the city of Kandy. The nation was preparing to celebrate 60 years of independence from British rule and the city was tense after two recent bus bombings killed 32 people. The rebels appeared unstoppable, capable of striking at will in the national heartland.
"It was a horrible scene. You never forget that," Jayaweera said.
"You can't explain the fear," he said. "It's terrible."
The Tamil Tiger separatists, who ran a shadow state in the north for years, have been blamed for more than 250 suicide attacks since a rebel known as Capt. Miller drove a truckload of explosives into an army camp on July 5, 1987, killing himself and 40 soldiers.
Photographs this week of rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's fatigues-clad body in the battlefield brought palpable comfort to Colombo, a city whose 800,000 residents grew accustomed to security blockades, an ever-present force of armed soldiers on the streets and constant wariness about concealed bombs.
"I feel a great relief after hearing of Prabhakaran's death," said Nimal Seneviratne, 42, a port worker who makes a two-hour commute daily by train. "Everyday when I would leave home in the morning I would feel sad for my children, because I was not sure whether I would see them again."
The army said security will remain tight and troops would continue sweeping the jungles to flush out remaining rebels. The military said it killed eight insurgents Thursday in a battle outside the eastern city of Trincomalee.
"There is no relaxation of the security," said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. "We will continue with the same security level until such time we are confident that there are no remaining terrorists."
The United Nations estimates 80,000 to 100,000 people have died since the civil war began more than a quarter century ago. Among the victims were civilians killed in attacks in markets and department stores, on trains and buses.
Those killed included Tamil bystanders and Tamil politicians the rebels considered traitors or rivals.
ut the predominantly Tamil neighbourhood of Wellawatte did not share in any victory celebrations. Tamils have complained of years of police raids, harassment, arbitrary detentions and even abductions and many live in fear of the government dominated by the Sinhalese majority.
A 74-year-old pharmacist, who like most Tamils spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said Tamils worry about a repeat of the ethnic riots that once plagued this country.
"We used to face violence every now and then, and it stopped only after Tamils took up arms," said the pharmacist, whose studies were cut short in the first ethnic violence in 1958. "We had an indirect protection from them, but now the people are anxious."
Tamils had been the favored class when the British ruled this island, then called Ceylon. After independence in 1948, the dominant Sinhalese excluded them from key jobs and education opportunities and banned any official use of the Tamil language.
"It is the rulers who forced our youth to take up arms," said the pharmacist. "Now the terrorism is over but do they have a solution? Only God knows."
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sent reassuring messages to the Tamil community and called on Sri Lankans on Thursday to celebrate "with magnanimity and friendship toward all."
Rajapaksa has promised to strive for equal rights for all ethnic groups and even spoke a few lines in the Tamil language during his victory address to Parliament.
But Tamils were skeptical.
"Talk of equal rights, of one nation, this is all standard," said opposition Tamil legislator Mano Ganesan. "We have heard this from every government for the last 60 years. What I need is activity on the ground."
Ganesan said the government could show good faith by opening the displacement camps where more than 200,000 Tamil war refugees are held. Relief operations by the U.N. and the Red Cross have been restricted in the camps, and aid workers say they are not allowed to speak to the displaced.
"The key word should be transparency," said Ganesan.
Eric Solheim, a former peace envoy from Norway who spoke to The Associated Press in Oslo, said the government must move quickly to reconcile with the Tamils, or militance could resume.
"The Sri Lankan government has won the war," he said, "but they have not yet won the peace."
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