ABSTRACT
The year 2009 will be remembered as a golden period in the history of modern Sri Lanka. The fratricidal ethnic conflict, one of the most bitterly fought and also one of the longest in the history of the world, came to a successful end with the decimation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the virtual annihilation of its top leadership, including Velupillai Prabhakaran. The victory is all the more significant because most Sri Lanka specialists were of the view that a military solution was impossible and the only possible solution is for the two warring sides to come together and negotiate a political settlement on the basis of a federal or a confederal model.
