By Matt Wade | The Sydney Morning Herald
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Tens of thousands of Tamils are living rough in war-torn villages in the north of the country where the army - dominated by the Sinhalese majority - maintains tight control.
Tens of thousands more remain in temporary camps, unable or unwilling to go home.
Human rights advocates in Sri Lanka say conditions for Tamils have improved in the past year but the situation is far from normal.
''As far as acts of violence and killings are concerned the situation has improved,'' Jehan Perera of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka said.
''But people living in the north and east, especially those who were displaced, continue to be in a very vulnerable situation because they are living under military control in areas where community life has totally broken down.
''That is where the situation has to improve a lot more … People are fleeing because they are not able to live a proper life. There is a need to protect them.''
Tamil Tiger rebels waged a bloody campaign for a separate homeland until they were routed in May last year. More than 70,000 people died in the war.
On Monday a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report said the human rights and security situation in Sri Lanka had improved since a year ago but there was still the risk of persecution for some.
The UNHCR said Tamils should still have claims for asylum assessed.
The Sri Lankan government has been repeatedly accused of war-related human rights violations and on Monday the European Union announced it would withdraw trade concessions to Sri Lanka because of its refusal to improve human rights.
Sri Lankan authorities have described this as interference in its internal affairs.
Immediately after the war boatloads of Tamils left Sri Lankan ports bound for Australia. Others have flown to destinations in south-east Asia and hired agents to take them to Australia via Indonesia.
Sources in Colombo say the number of boat departures has fallen significantly this year.
© The Sydney Morning Herald
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