John Haughton

Seagulls Over Sri Lanka John Haughton

My interest in Sri Lanka began many years ago. I saw the country as a very idyllic one, of beauty wildlife nature unspoiled. Friends of our family used to go there on holiday each year and I dreamed of going there someday. I had heard of the Tamil Tigers and their efforts to gain independence from the government of Sri Lanka. But my image of Sri Lanka was seriously dented, when I heard of the way the Tamil people were treated and their eventual and ultimate virtual annihilation. Sri Lanka became the plaything of the superpowers and their main ports are now seen as of strategic importance of the power play of those superpowers. The people of the island are the pawns in that game. The constant conflict that exists between the different ethnic groups is secondary to that power play, but very real for the inhabitants of the Island. Sri Lanka is an island located south of the Indian subcontinent with very close ties to it. I did my best to establish the historical facts, which was difficult as the powers that control Sri Lanka have it would appear prevented the facts from seeing the light of day particularly what has rightly...