SL government begins to wipe out traces of Tigers in the North

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 March 2010, 10:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka government has begun clearing all Liberation Tigers landmarks in the North in an attempt to wipe out any trace of the Tigers, government sources told media in Colombo Thursday. Tourism Ministry Secretary George Michael confirmed that the government had begun clearing some LTTE landmarks in the north in line with the government’s policy to not highlight former LTTE landmarks for local or foreign tourists.

According to media reports, LTTE landmarks have now become a popular tourist spot in the north as people flock to these areas to view the buildings and houses which once belonged to the LTTE leaders.

“The official government policy is not to highlight former LTTE landmarks for tourism purposes,” tourism secretary.

While the clearing LTTE landamarks is underway, the Tourism Ministry has begun promoting Jaffna and the Northern Province as tourist destinations in an effort to empower the country’s economy, he added.

Nearly 300,000 local and foreign tourists have visited Jaffna, since the opening of the A-9 road to Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said.

The Ministry in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Army has set up a tourist information centre at Hospital Street in Jaffna town to offer help and facilitate those visiting the Northern peninsula.