by Mel Gunasekera
COLOMBO (AFP) - Each time Indika Jayawickrema uses public transport, his wife Chamindri anxiously waits for a telephone call to let her know he has safely reached his destination.
His journey is one that has become more risky recently as a wave of bomb attacks targeting civilians sweeps through Sri Lanka, which is in the midst of 36-year-old civil war.
"With a 10,000 rupee (93 dollar) monthly pay, an infant and a wife to maintain, I can only afford the bus," he shrugs outside a bus stop in Colombo, a day after twin bus bombs on Friday killed 23 people.
Sri Lanka's defence ministry blames Tamil Tiger rebels for a string of attacks against civilian targets that have killed more than 170 and injured over 500 since January.
Attacks against civilians are of little strategic military or political importance, but they heighten public insecurity, said Ajai Sahni, head of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management.
"If you look at the pattern, they (the attackers) are hitting the softest of soft targets, the poorest of the poor, the most unguarded population. The sheer volumes doesn't allow meticulous checking to prevent future attacks," he told AFP.
However, the Colombo-based government is not easing up and instead has poured a record 1.5 billion dollars into this year's war effort, hoping for a quick end to a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead.
Endless bloodshed is also taking a toll on the island nation's finances, where inflation in May hit a high of 26.6 percent, fuel prices were recently raised by 30 percent and bus fares by 27.7 percent.
"We have to first look after our safety, in spite of economic hardships," said Sudeepa Jayakody, who drives a private minibus carrying office workers to Colombo.
Jayakody, who narrowly escaped Friday morning's bus bomb, wants to buy a motorbike to escape the dangers of public transport.
"I tell everybody, Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese, if you can afford it, hire private transport, buy a bike, rather than risk your life on a train or bus," Jayakody said.
But many, like financial analyst Anchana Kathirgamathamby and stockbroker Mohandas Thangarajah, say they have no choice but to use the bus.
"I can't afford to take cabs," Kathirgamathamby told AFP, calling the security situation "scary."
"Each time I step into a bus or stand at a bus stop, I try to be aware of people around me, the surroundings, people carrying bags and try to keep my distance from them," she said.
Thangarajah, a minority ethnic Tamil, says the rebels are "knowingly or unknowingly waging an economic war" on hapless civilians. "Terrorism is hitting people who are barely making ends meet. People are living on the edge."
The situation is worse for minority Tamils who live in and around the capital of Colombo.
"Each time an incident happens, Tamils in the surrounding areas are detained for hours, their houses are searched. I can't remember ever being so scared, as we are now," said a Tamil lawyer, who declined to be named.
He said security forces question and search people of his community at length at the many checkpoints and roadblocks.
"They (security forces) are suspicious of anyone based in the (island's) north and east. But even, we who are born in the south, are treated the same way," another ethnic Tamil office worker said.
Sri Lanka's hawkish government insists it now has the upper hand, with the defence ministry reporting the deaths of 4,094 rebels to 339 government soldiers this year.
However, Sahni said the bloodshed was unlikely to cease until both sides were significantly weakened militarily, adding: "I don't see it happening soon."
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