The Cage: The fight for Sri Lanka & the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers

About the Book: The Cage: The fight for Sri Lanka & the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers

Once known for its exquisite tea, drowsy climate, and amiable people, Sri Lanka was the Indian Ocean jewel of the British Empire. After Independence, the island enjoyed a liberal parliamentary democracy with a lively independent press and a booming economy. It had a judiciary, an efficient economy, and a stability envied by emerging nations. The world expected a leader amongst nations. Instead, in pursuit of power and fundamentalist Buddhism, an oligarchy of Sinhalese political leaders and monks hi-jacked democracy. In response a brutal enemy was born: the Tamil Tigers. The result, one of modern history's longest civil conflicts, spawned a host of horrific innovations: suicide bombers, child soldiers, death squads, violent Buddhism, and murdered journalists. But ethnic conflict is only part of the story.

About the Author: Gordon Weiss

Gordon is a Sydney-born writer who has reported from Bosnia and Kosovo, and spent the better part of two decades abroad in the Caucasus, Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Japan and India. He worked with the UN for some 12 years in conflict- and disaster-response, including in Sri Lanka: an experience that resulted in a highly acclaimed book about the Sri Lanka conflict, The Cage.

Reviews

'A striking account of the ruthless terror wreaked by both sides on the innocent civilians trapped in the pocket of land ... he has published the first comprehensive, factual account of the mass killing and why the UN was powerless to prevent it'-Jon Swain, Sunday Times

'Comprehensive, fair and well-written' - Jason Burke, Literary Review

''What does the Sri Lankan government have to hide? That's the question Gordon Weiss sets out to answer in this painstakingly researched and referenced study, and his conclusions are nothing short of horrific' ' - Scotsman