<b>Sri Lanka Marks Massacre Anniversary</b>

SHIMALI SENANAYAKE, Associated Press Writer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka marked the 19th anniversary of a massacre of minority Tamils on Tuesday amid the strongest hope in years for an end to a brutal civil war that followed the killings, officials and analysts said.

For the first time in nearly two decades, the "Black July" anniversary took place in an optimistic climate ,after Sri Lanka's government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam signed a Feb. 22 cease-fire , aimed at restoring normalcy to the country's warring northeast.

"What is significant this time is that, there is very little attention being paid to the incidents of 1983. Society has moved beyond it ... the cease-fire and peace process have been greatly responsible for this turn of events," Jehan Perera, head of the National Peace Council, an independent think tank, told The Associated Press.

The week of violence in July 1983 was sparked by the ambush of 13 government soldiers by a fledgling ethnic Tamil rebel group in the north. Human rights groups say more than 2,000 Tamils were killed by majority Sinhalese in the riots that followed.

Many young people fled to the north to join the Tamil Tigers and fight for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east. More than 64,500 people have died in the 19-year conflict.

Each year during "Black July" the rebels have been known to stage bomb attacks. Last year they launched one of their fiercest attacks, destroying commercial and military aircraft at the country's main air base and only international airport.

A. Vinayagamoorthy of the Tamil National Alliance attributed the change in mood to the "sincerity of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the LTT (Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in implementing" the cease-fire.

Military checkpoints that dotted the capital have been removed, and security in Colombo was eased significantly on Tuesday.

In the eastern town of Batticaloa, black flags were flown from houses and shops in memory of those killed in 1983. But activity in the town was normal, S. Manoharan, a resident of the mostly Tamil area, said by telephone.

Peace talks to complete a permanent truce are expected to be held in Thailand next month.

The rebels say Tamils are denied equal opportunity in jobs and education by the Sinhalese, who make up 74 percent of Sri Lanka's 18.6 million people.

Courtesy - Yahoo News