Velupillai Prabhakaran, the deceased leader of the Tamil Tigers, once likened himself to a spider in the center of a web, comfortably in control of a sprawling network. But over the past two years, the Sri Lankan military methodically, unflinchingly pulled his web apart, ultimately dismantling one of the most sophisticated insurgencies in the world. On May 19, the government claimed victory in a 30-year-old campaign, one that had cost tens of thousands of lives and seen the unraveling of much of Sri Lankan society. Though the guns have fallen silent, a state of emergency continues. Checkpoints are manned by [...]
GRAZ, Austria — Austria’s far right, riding high on its recent national election success, is conducting one of the most hate-filled election campaigns in recent memory in a bid for EU Parliament seats. Jews, Muslims and non-European foreigners have all been maligned, while far-right supporters have expressed their loyalty to the cause by using the outlawed Nazi salute. The Freedom Party (FP) and the splinter Alliance for the Future (AF) party unexpectedly won almost a third of votes in last September’s national election. Two weeks later, the outpouring of sympathy that followed the death of Jorg Haider — the leader [...]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A polarized Lebanese electorate goes to the polls this Sunday in a hotly contested general election that will determine Lebanon’s cabinet and government for the next four years. It is a high-stakes race, with more than 15 political parties and over 700 candidates jockeying for power. As always in this country of roughly four million citizens, the internal faultlines have become a proxy to geopolitical interests and regional turf battles. The multitude of parties could easily be misconstrued as the genuine sign of democracy and freedom of speech, often lacking in the Middle East. But to a [...]
