Sri Lanka on Tuesday released a banknote to mark the end of the country's 37-year separatist war, following the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels in May, the central bank said. Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam founded in May 1976, it waged a violent secessionist campaign that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka. This campaign evolved into the Sri Lankan Civil War, which was one of the longest running armed conflicts in Asia until the LTTE was defeated by the Sri Lankan Military in May 2009.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared military victory over the Tamil Tigers on May 16, 2009 after 26 years of conflict. On May 17, 2009, rebel official Selvarasa Pathmanathan conceded defeat saying in an email statement "This battle has reached its bitter end". Several rebel fighters committed suicide when they became surrounded.On May 18 it was confirmed that the rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been killed along with several other high ranking Tamil officials.
The first commemorative banknote in the 1,000-rupee (nine dollars) denomination was given to President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday, the bank said in a statement.
"The valiant contribution made by the nation's victorious sons and daughters, of the security forces and the police, is the theme on the reverse of the note," the bank said in a statement.
"The design at the centre depicts the hoisting of the national flag by members of the security forces."
Source: AFP News, Wikipedia
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