image

epa01739160 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrives at Sri Lanka's Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 23 May 2009. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is on a visit to the island nation which was fighting a separatist war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for nearly three decades. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa cut short his visit to Jordan where he attended the G11 summit and the World Economic Forum, announcing his country had 'militarily defeated' the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 16 May. The Sri Lankan president was quoted by media as saying that he would be 'returning home to a nation which had militarily vanquished the worst form of terrorism'. Human rights organizations have been criticizing the large number of civilians who were killed in the conflict. EPA/M.A.PUSHPA KUMARA