On May 16th, 2009 the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan Government ended with the death of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. This brought about a bloody end to the 30-year civil war but left many unresolved issues in the conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority and a reported 80,000 people dead.

At this time Sri...
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On May 16th, 2009 the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan Government ended with the death of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. This brought about a bloody end to the 30-year civil war but left many unresolved issues in the conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority and a reported 80,000 people dead.

At this time Sri Lanka is experiencing an uneasy optimism and a strong return to nationalism in the south. Sri Lanka also has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any predominately Buddhist nation and considers it part of the national fabric.

In June of this year, over two million war weary and cautiously optimistic Buddhist worshipers made the long and difficult pilgrimage to Anuradhapura and Mihintale to celebrate the Poson Poya. This is an immensely important Poya (full moon festival); it commemorates the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Mahinda. For many, this was the first time since the end of the war that the pilgrimage was a possibility, a fact made clear by the record crowds.
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