Extracts from a report by The Washington Post on Friday:

Gathering in a spot that they judged safe enough to speak freely, a group of Tamil women recounted the daily humiliation of life under the victorious Sri Lankan army — almost exclusively made up of ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists.

Twice a month, the women said, soldiers enter their homes to photograph everyone. Permission from the military is required for even the smallest gathering, or just to collect firewood in the nearby forest.

“I even have to go and ask someone for permission to have a birthday party for my daughter in my own home,” said a 46-year-old mother of six from the Kandavalai area who, like the others, spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearful that revealing their names could endanger their lives.

“And if they say no, I am not going to have a party for my 8-year-old daughter in my own house.”

The women described how they were forced or tricked to attend demonstrations in support of the government and against its foreign critics.

One said villagers were not even allowed to light a single prayer candle in their local church, because the army suspected them of trying to honor dead Tamil Tiger fighters buried nearby.

Another woman complained about soldiers turning up in her kitchen and demanding a cup of coffee.

“We are scared,” said the mother of six. “More than that, I am frustrated, I am angry. It is a feeling you cannot describe.”