News: IDP

The fishing boats seem to chase each other out in the lagoon. A flock of seabirds rises, glorious against the blue sky. Calm has returned to Jaffna's waters after decades of turbulence. It is still a tense peace. The bay where they repair their boats is cordoned off, guarded by the military. Parts of the shore are lined with razor-wire. But as the vessels crowd into the wharf by the fish market, there is a real buzz in the air. The men weigh their crabs and cuttlefish, hack the big meaty fish into steaks, bargaining, bartering. A young fisherman tells the BBC he is delighted with peace in the north. Restrictions have been lifted, he says: they can sail to more places; export their fish abroad; find more markets at home, too. And he is enthusiastic about the 26 January election. The two main candidates, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the former army chief (and former northern commander), General Sarath Fonseka, are both widely viewed as hardline advocates for the island's Sinhalese ethnic majority - people instrumental in vanquishing many Tamils' desire for an autonomous homeland. Fisherman in Jaffna Earlier we were voting under threat. Now we're free, and people can decide for themselves Fisherman in Jaffna But the election is relevant to Tamils, too, says the man. "It's important to vote - after all, this is for our president. "Earlier we were voting under threat. Now we're free, and people can decide for themselves who's good for this country. "The Tamil Tigers and the government fought - we were the innocent victims," says another. "We'll support whoever will benefit ordinary Tamil people."