Asch Summer Fellow Alan Keenan, who lives in Colombo and works for the International Crisis Group, is quoted in a February 18 New York Times article by Thomas Fuller.

Displaced ethnic Tamils, Feb 7, 2009.

TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka — Just north of here, after a string of recent victories, the Sri Lankan military is closing in on separatist rebels in what it calls the climactic battles of the country’s long-running civil war. But in this heavily militarized port city, there are no signs of jubilation.

Ethnic Tamil civilians waited on Feb. 7 to go to a camp for displaced people. Intense fighting is still expected in the territory that remains held by the rebels, where an estimated 200,000 civilians are trapped.

The government similarly declared victory here in Eastern Province 18 months ago. Though there are clear hints of reconstruction, the fear and lack of development apparent in the area reveal just how far the government still has to go to win the peace, even if its forces ultimately prevail on the battlefield.

The rest of the article can be found HERE.