Tamils fear fresh crackdown after minister’s assassination

WITH Sri Lanka’s foreign minister dead and the country under emergency rule, there is growing fear among the island’s minority Tamils that they may once again be targeted by security forces fighting Tamil Tiger rebels.

The Tigers have denied government claims they were behind Friday’s assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar - one of their most vociferous critics - and urged the military to look within its own ranks for the perpetrator. But nearly everyone seems to agree the murder was a severe blow to Sri Lanka’s peace process.

Now, ethnic Tamils who live outside areas controlled by the rebels in the north and east of the country say they could be faced with a nightmare scenario - the peace process collapsing and taking with it a measure of security Tamils have enjoyed since a 2002 ceasefire.