Word: sinhala
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...communal intoxication and anti-western sentiment. Another example of this reality was the conduct of state media during the polls—they continued to depict the ruler as a pious and pure soul offering prayers in the temples, thus not allowing the average voter to think past the Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism. These are the exact types of policies that nurtured hate and communal disharmony in every Sri Lankan election leading to several ethnic riots unleashed on Tamils...
...been taken over by the Criminal Investigation Department. There have been no arrests so far, nor are there any suspects. Journalists from Sri Lanka's minority Tamil ethnic community have long felt under threat, but Wickrematunge's death sent a clear signal that even journalists from the majority Sinhala community, like Wickrematunge, were not safe...
Fonseka's base of support cuts right into Rajapaksa's. Both are from the increasingly vocal bourgeoisie of the rural south, the heartland of Sri Lanka's Sinhala Buddhist majority. The LTTE's Tamil nationalism and its dream of a separate homeland for the Tamil minority were a challenge to Sinhala Buddhist dominance. Fonseka has the reputation of being an even more strident Sinhala nationalist than Rajapaksa but is now trying to soften that image. "I am a very good Sinhalese, a very good Buddhist, there is no question about it," he says. "But towards minorities I never...
...endless war, Rajapaksa would appear to be unbeatable. But Sri Lanka's numerous opposition parties have come up with a consensus candidate whose stature as a war hero is unquestioned: retired General Sarath Fonseka, the army commander who defeated the Tigers. Fonseka has softened his once die-hard Sinhala nationalism and criticised the government for holding civilians in camps, calling for rapid and complete resettlement. "We did not win the war to lose the hearts and minds of the people," Fonseka said recently...
...votes of the displaced, and their families in the Tamil-majority north, could play a decisive role in a tight contest. Rajapaksa and Fonseka could split the majority Sinhala Buddhist vote, leaving Sri Lanka's Tamil and Muslim populations with powerful leverage. (Those who have been displaced during Sri Lanka's long conflict are overwhelmingly Tamil and Muslim.) President Rajapaksa's supporters have already begun their election work in the north, and the opposition is likely to follow suit. The vote will be a referendum, not just on who gets credit for winning Sri Lanka...