KILINOCHCHI (Sri Lanka) Aug 4: Sri Lanka’s “Highway of Death” is slowly returning to life, transforming a broken artery into a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of minority Tamils.

The highway runs from the centre of the island through jungle territory controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting for a separate Tamil state in the north and east, to northern Jaffna peninsula.

The road is flowing again with thousands of people and tonnes of goods, a result of the peace bid that has given Sri Lanka its best chance to end 19 years of ethnic war.

Just six months ago — before a ceasefire between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels — the A9 highway was blocked by barbed wire and studded with landmines, a physical state that reflected the mistrust between the two sides.

Goods and people made the trip to Jaffna either by a lengthy sea journey or an expensive air trip.

Now, buses packed with people returning to see their villages for the first time in years compete for space with trucks loaded down with telephone cables and local Elephant brand soda pop.

The road itself is being repaired with funds from the government, even though much of it meanders through Wanni, the northern area run by the LTTE.

“This is the first time in 14 years I can go to Jaffna,” said S. Jebathasan, a Tamil who was forced by the fighting to flee to Colombo years ago.

“I am going up to see my house, to see if it is okay. My neighbours have been looking after it,” he said at the Omanthai checkpoint into Wanni.

Wanni is home to nearly 400,000 people living in some of the worst poverty in the country.

CHECKPOINT: The road was dubbed the “Highway of Death” during 1997 and 1998 when the military conducted its biggest-ever offensive since the ethnic war started.

More than 3,700 rebels and troops died as the government tried to wrest control of the road from the Tigers.

Late in 1999, the rebels took just five days to recapture what the military had taken 18 months to gain.

Crossing the checkpoint is similar to stepping into another country, complete with an official entry form to fill out that is stamped with the rebel emblem — a roaring Tiger head in front of two crossed machineguns.

Two officials from the Tamil Tigers — who say they need a separate state because of discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese — ask visitors if they are Sinhalese or Muslim.

“This is my first visit to Jaffna. I want to see the place. I have got the opportunity because of peace,” said Sinhala civilian Mihiri Kumarasingha.

The day she travelled, the A9 was full of the usual shipments of bicycles — the most common form of transportation in Wanni.

There was also a group of officials from People’s Bank, the state-run bank that has five branches in Wanni. A counter for a branch expansion in Jaffna was jammed into the back of a van.

“This makes it a lot easier to work here. I’m going to Jaffna for some training courses,” said P.K.P. Silva, the chief training manager for the bank in Colombo.

TRAFFIC TIGERS: Despite the war, the government provides and pays for some services in Wanni, including banks, schools and post offices, although the people working in them answer to the Tigers, who have set up their own police and court systems.

The road construction was basic, with a worker — his feet wrapped in burlap bags for protection — spreading hot tar followed by another worker throwing sand on top of it.

The traffic markers were used artillery shell casings.

There is so much traffic along the A9 that the Tigers even have police doing speed checks, using a stopwatch to time a vehicle between two points.

There was also a steady stream of signs warning of mines all the way to Kilinochchi, the main town in the north where the Tigers have their political offices.

There was a marked increase in goods in the town, although residents said increased taxes meant prices had not fallen much.

“The people’s suffering has increased, prices have gone up,” said one merchant in front of dirt-floored store. “We make just enough for my family to eat.”

The Tigers even run the local morning vegetable auction, where farmers pile their goods on the ground to be auctioned off.—Reuters