After 26 years of fighting between the government and the Tamil minority rebels—known as the Tamil Tigers, of Tamil Eelam— Sri Lanka has announced a “victory” following the death of Tamil Tigers leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran and his top officers. But is it really a victory for the minority group, who still feel their needs are being met with deaf ears?

More than 800,000 are dead as a result of this violence. Over 280,000 Tamil people remain displaced, in what the government calls “welfare villages.” Sri Lanka says it will take about six months to reestablish homes for these people, saying that all Tamil Tiger rebels have to be found first. Humanitarian aid givers are complaining that they’re being denied access to the people.

Tamil Tigers call these villages “concentration camps.”

It’s interesting that a “victory” is marked by one’s death. If death and devastation are victorious, what is defeat? Death and devastation—simply amplified? As Janeatte Rankin said, “You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.”

The country’s economy is also unstable; Sri Lanka is requesting a $1.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund—a request that some countries, such as Britain and the United States, are seeking to limit. These countries want the funds to be tied to the country’s handling of human rights and treatment of its displaced citizens.

Many Tamil Tiger rebels still maintain that their leader is alive and well, and that the man killed was a double of Prabhakaran, as he was reputed to have many look-alikes employed.

Tamil people over the world protested as the victory was claimed. The United Nations maintains that Sri Lanka needs to reconcile with the Tamil community, sage advice for creating true peace within the country.

“It's time for Sri Lankans to heal the wounds and unite without regards for religious and ethnic identity,” says U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Let’s include Sri Lanka in our daily meditations and prayers for peace all over the world. Just as with Iraq, Afghanistan, the Congo, Darfur and many other war-torn areas, Sri Lanka needs the support and feelings of love and hope to get through the destruction of the past and move on toward a peaceful future.

And in our thoughts, may we include hope for the Sri Lankan government to reconcile with the Tamil people as the U.N. Secretary suggested. By working together, perhaps they can prevent such violence from happening again.