Lanka holds mass wedding for ex-rebels

More than 100 people said to be former Tamil Tiger rebels were married in a mass wedding ceremony as part of the government's rehabilitation plans for ex-fighters after a 25-year separatist war.
"Bollywood" star Vivek Oberoi witnessed the mass wedding of 53 couples, who the government said had all fought to create a separate state for minority Tamils in the north and east of the Indian ocean island nation.
Ravichandra Rasikeshara, a 26-year-old who said he worked as a paramedic for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), married another former fighter, 22-year-old Thaksarani.
"We don't want an Eelam (a separate state), we want freedom and a happy family life," Ravichandra told Reuters.
The mass wedding came just over a year after Sri Lanka's military declared victory in the war against the LTTE following a bloody final campaign.