Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Sri Lanka's Tamils Vote for Greater Autonomy Ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka`s war-ravaged north have resoundingly voted for greater regional autonomy. The country`s elections commission announced Sunday that the Tamil National Alliance will form the first functioning provincial government in the northern Tamil heartland after securing 30 seats out of 38 in Saturday`s election. President Mahinda Rajapaksa`s coalition won eight seats. The polling comes four years after the military crushed a 26-year separatist Tamil conflict. The fighting resulted in more than 100,000 deaths. The international community has been pressuring Sri Lanka`s government to reconcile with the former rebels. Saturday`s voting is seen as a crucial test of reconciliation between the Tamils and the majority ethnic Sinhalese, who control Sri Lanka`s government and military. __________________________________________________________________ [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/sri-lankas-tamils-vote-for-greater-au tonomy/1754602.html References 1. http://www.voanews.com/content/sri-lankas-tamils-vote-for-greater-autonomy/1754602.html