Sri Lanka's Tiger Rebels Have Own Rules, No Bribes

Reuters

By Raju Gopalakrishnan

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, Jan 30 (Reuters) - There's very little of Sri Lanka in Kilinochchi.

At first glance, the dusty town of about 150,000 looks like most others on the Indian Ocean island, with shops, small houses and government buildings lining the main street.

But buses and trucks maintain a steady, slow pace through Kilinochchi, instead of tearing down the highway and changing lanes at will. Young policewomen who stand by the road are notorious for handing out heavy fines on the spot.

And there's no arguing or a quick bribe.

This is the headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, one of the most disciplined and ruthless guerrilla armies in the world, and the capital of their de facto state covering a large swathe of northern Sri Lanka.

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