Anjali Wijesooriya 860328 8849Stockholm University

Department of political scienceIntermediate level: Individual research project

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and its

impact on civil society; predominantly

children

Introduction p 3

Method and material p 4

Analyzing raw data 1: The cultural and political background of Sri Lanka p 5

Ethnic conflict and separatism: The background of the ethnic conflict p 6

Out break of civil war: the 1983 riots p 7

Escalation of violence: Eelam war 1, 2 and 3 p 8

The present situation: end of the ceasefire and peace talks p 9

Analyzing raw data 2: The impact of the war p 10

Impact on children in the north east p 10

Impact on civilians in general p 13

Future prospects and possible solutions p 15

Concluding remarks p 16

References p 16

Appendix p 17

2

Introduction

“Wednesday 28th of November 2007 two bomb explosions have struck the Sri Lankan

capital Colombo killing at least 16 people and injuring 37” and a few weeks ago “a

Tamil Terrorist suicide bomber disguised as a pregnant woman, spontaneously

combusted in central Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 8 people. Her intended target was Lt

General Sarath Fonseka - the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, who is in hospital in

serious but stable condition along with 27 others”1.

There is an ongoing civil war in the Democratic Socialist, Republic of Sri Lanka which is

of immeasurable importance and significance in the country at present. This war involves

the second largest ethnic group the Tamils who’s rebelling against the government. Since

the year 1983 there has been on and off civil war between the government and the

terrorist group known as the liberation tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist

militant organization who is fighting to create an independent state named the Tamil

Eelam in the north and east of the island.

My study and the core purpose in this paper is to investigate this ethnic conflict in

question and its impact on the civilians; particularly the children in the north of Sri Lanka

More transparently and precisely my hypothesis is: the ethnic conflict is causing the

collapse of civil society. This conflict is affecting civil society in many harsh ways. The

country has met with effects such as the downfall of the economy; the value of the rupee

has fallen, and the degradation of health care, education and various development

programmes etc. The main reason is that funds that should have been used to finance

development are being spent on warfare instead.

My aim is to get a picture of this conflict by scrutinizing various aspects of it such as the

background of the actual ethnic war; its origins, the present situation of the country and

finally its various impacts on the civilians specially the children in the north; where the

war is taking place.

I will be conducting a case study to achieve my goals. I will refer to “state nation and

ethnicity in contemporary southeast Asia” by Ishtiaq Ahmed and “The Bottom Billion-

1 BBC homepage,28.12.07.

3

why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it” by Paul Collier as

well as articles from “the Economist” and of course internet resources (for example the

official web page of Tamil Eelam) to support my arguments.

Method and material

Method

The method of my research project will take the form of a “case study”. Taking a some

what qualitative descriptive research I will be examining intensely how the conflict is

affecting children in the north and the civilians in general.

To conclude the consequences and the out come of the war and its impacts on the civil

society and most importantly the impacts on children, the future prospects for the country

will be discussed.

Material

I found an extremely interesting book named “State, nation and ethnicity in contemporary

south east Asia” by Ishtiaq Ahmed a professor of political science. This is going to be my

primary resource as well as one of the scholarly materials. I am also using “The Bottom

Billion- why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it” by Paul

Collier a professor of Economics. This will help me to analyze my hypothesis which is

that the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is one of the reasons of the collapse of the country.

I will be also be utilizing internet resources such as the official web page of the LTTE

and some web pages belonging to the Sri Lankan government; Lanka Web.

As my secondary resources I am using various articles from Financial times and a

UNICEF report.

4

Analyzing the raw data 1: The cultural and political

background of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka got the independence on the 4th of february 1948 from the British empire. It is

home to around 20 million people who are multi religious and multi ethnic; Sinhalese,

Tamils , Muslim ,christians and others such as Malays and Burghers. Bhuddism is the

main religion where as Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are other main religions.

Table 1

percentage

Sinhaleese 70%

Tamil 15%

Muslim 7.5%

Christian 7.5%

Other 1%

The current president and prime minister, are Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ratnasiri

Wickremanayake respectively.

Sri Lanka has a two-party system; the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka

Freedom Party (SLFP) have been the largest parties. The general rule has become

coalition politics, since neither SLFP nor UNP are able to gather parliamentary

majorities.

In the LTTE controlled northern areas, the two main parties are non-existent.

Sri Lanka is considered one of the "world's most politically unstable countries" by the

World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The Economist labels Sri Lanka a "flawed

democracy" in its 2006 rankings.

Sri Lanka is considered one of the "world's most politically unstable countries" by the

World Bank and Asian Development Bank . The Economist labels Sri Lanka a "flawed

democracy" in its 2006 rankings.

According to the Sri Lankan central bank statistics, the economy was estimated to have

grown by 7% last year, although inflation had reached 20%. Parts of Sri Lanka,

particularly the South and East coast, were devastated by the 2004 Asian Tsunami. The

economy was briefly buoyed by influx of foreign aid and tourists, but this was disrupted

5

with the reemergence of the civil war resulting in increased lawlessness in the country

and a sharp decline in tourism.2

According to Ishtiaq Ahmed it can be argued that because states are entities representing

organized power, the most poweful groups are likely to be those who dominate and

constitute the state. This is the case of Sri Lanka as well. The two main ethnic groups

which are the Sinhalese and the Tamils are the groups in question.3

Ethnic conflict and seperatism :The background of the ethnic

conflict

The ideology and programme of the LTTE :A marxist oriented socio economic

programme but with strong emphasis on political democracy is set forth in the

programme of the proposed Eelam state. The Socialist Tamil Eelam declares its main

objective as the creation of an independent sovereign socalist state of Tamil Eelam.

(see map no.1).

Ishtiaq Ahmed states that “ they resorted to questionable methods to crush perceived

threats and thus gained a reputation of being men and women of steel. In the process a

cult of adulation grew around them and they began to be sourrounded by financial

devotees but themselves became victims of megalomania.”4

several hundred thousand diaspora Tamils are settled outside Sri Lanka; countries such

as Canada, USA, UK, Norway, Malaysia and Singapore. They are playing an important

role in the provision of material and moral support for the terrorist movement.

S.W.R.D Bandaranaike's (The founder of the SLFP) declaration of the "Sinhala Only

Act", which stipulated the recognition of sinhala as the only official language, in

parliament, was the spark that led to conflict. The civil war is a direct result of the

escalation of the confrontational politics that followed. Communal uprisings in the 1950s,

1977, the formation of the Tamil United Liberattion Front (TULF) with its Vaddukkodei

resolution of 1976 etc, were key events. These lead to a hardening of attitudes on both

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka,23/12/07.3 Ishtiaq Ahmed, State nation and ethnicity in contemporary south east Asia,23.4 Ishtiaq Ahmed, Article to The news, 1.

6

sides. The leftist parties had remained "non-communal" for a long time, but the Federal

Party deeply conservative and dominated by Vellala (upper class Tamils) casteism, did

not attempt to form a national alliance with the leftists in their fight for language rights.

Following the sweeping electoral victory of the UNP in July 1977, the TULF became the

leading opposition party, with around one sixth of the total electoral vote. In late 1977, in

the aftermath of a serious communal clash in August that year, J. R. Jayawardene's UNP

government granted essentially all the language and educational rights demanded by the

Tamils, But the Tamil leadership, virtually on pain of death, to the reclusive military

leader of the LTTE, could not take advantage of the favorable political situation, and

were thus forced to support the violent campaign of the various Tamil militant groups.5

Out break of the civil war: the 1983 riots

The sinhalese-Tamil conflict reached extreme propostions with a series of events taking

place in 1983. In march the terrorists ambushed a militory convoy. In may the election to

local bodies were tio be held. The terrorists mounted a campaign in favour of boycotting

the the elections. A Tamil candidate belonging to the UNP was assasinated. Things came

to a head when in an ambush on 23rd July the terrorists mowed down 13 soldiers of the

SL army.

Following this Sinhaleses went on the rampage damaging and burning property and

attacking Tamils. The Janatha vimukthi peramuna (JVP,a revolutionary party inspired on

the one hand, by Che Guevara ,Castro and Mao and on the other, by Sinhalese

nationalism), switched over to violence. Between 400 and 3,000 Tamils were estimated

to have been killed, and many more fled to Sinhalese-majority areas. Enormous damage

was caused to tamil businesses and industrial interests located in colombo and other

towns. At least 100,000 Tamils were driven in to refugee camps. On the other hand,

Tamil terrorists ruthlessly killed sinhalese living in the north. This is usually considered

the beginning of the civil war.

5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War#Its_Origin_and_evolution,23/12/07

7

Escalation of Violence, Eelam war 1, 2 and 3

In August 1983 a special session of the parliament amended the constitution to ban

organizations and parties advocating secession. This meant that the TULF was also

placed under a ban, as a result the TULF leaders and members of the parliament went in

to self-exile in Madras, Tamil Nadu.

In the 1980s and 1990s, successive governments enacted a number of official acts to

appease the Tamil community, including recognizing Tamil as an official language and

merging the Northern and Eastern Provinces of the country.

Yet the violence continued, A tentative ceasefire held in 1990 as the LTTE occupied

itself with destroying rival Tamil groups while the government cracked down on the JVP

uprising. When both major combatants had established their power bases, they turned on

each other and the ceasefire broke down.beginning of Eelam war 1(1983-1987); The

LTTE massacred 113 Sinhalese and Muslim policemen after they had surrenderedon

promises of safe conduct. The largest battle of the war was in July 1991, when the army's

Elephant Pass base, which controlled access to the Jaffna peninsula, was surrounded by

5,00 LTTE troops. More than 2,000 died on both sides in the month-long siege, before

10,000 government troops arrived to relieve the base. 6

The LTTE took significant parts of the north as the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)

withdrew. After a tentative ceasefire held in 1990, in which both major combatants had

established their power bases, they turned on each other again. The government aimed to

retake Jaffna. This Phase of war is called the Eelam War 2(1989-1993). During this

period, both sides showed that they were capable of inflicting major damage on the

enemy and civilians. Yet, neither displayed any hope of winning the war. The

government placed a ban on food and medicine entering the Jaffna. The LTTE

responded by attacking Sinhalese and Muslim civilians. The government death squads

killed anybody suspected of being LTTE sympathizers.

6 This is the truth, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon,4.

8

LTTE used 'ethnic cleansing' strategy of Muslim districts and massacred 120 Muslims at

prayer. The LTTE broke the ceasefire on April 1995.

Although started as a stalemate, Eelam war 3(1995-2002) took six years of another

bloody fighting before a cease-fire was possible.As violence continued in the North,

LTTE suicide and time bombs were exploded numerous times in populated city areas and

public transport in the south of the country, killing hundreds of civilians. In January

1996, the LTTE carried out one of their deadliest suicide bomb attacks at the Central

Bank in Colombo, killing 90 and injuring 1,400. In October 1997 they bombed the Sri

Lankan World Trade Center and, in January 1998, detonated a truck bomb in Kandy

damaging the Temple of the Tooth, one of the holiest Buddhist shrines in the world.7

The present situation; End of the Ceasefire and Peace Talks

On the 03rd of January 08 the Sri Lankan government announced that the ceasefire came to an end.

With international aid thousands of internally displaced families have returned home,

food and medical support was supplied, and buildings were reconstructed while the

politicians were doing the peace talks.

Through six rounds of peace talks from September 2002 to April 2003, the situation

made a dramatic progress. Although the government did not agree with LTTE's demand

that they become an interim administration in the north and east, they agreed to share

power within the federal system in which Tamils would have autonomy in the north and

east of the country. The LTTE in turn, agreed to accept regional autonomy rather than a

separate state. LTTE promised to stop taking on child soldiers. This is clearly not true.

7 Ibid, 5-6.

9

Analyzing raw data 2: Impact of the war

The war has had a negative impact on the national economy and the livelihoods of

innocent people. Heavy war expenditures are hard for a poor country to bear. People

suffer from direct and indirect taxes imposed by the government to meet war

expenditures. According to government sources, more than 60,000 people, both armed

and civilian, have died in the war. Some sources report that blameless civilians are more

vulnerable in the war, since three-fourths of war victims are civilians.

Furthermore countless people have become disabled, lost their property, or lost their

livelihoods. Recruitment of children as soldiers is a social problem created by the war. As

a result of the war, many people have immigrated to other countries. Many people live in

refugee camps under poor conditions. Unfortunately, neither the government nor the

LTTE has paid adequate attention to finding a solution to the problem.

Impact on children in the north east

“My daughter is Kasthuri, we are from Mullativu district. LTTE is forcibly utilizing our

children for their training sessions. If we refuse to attend our children to their sessions,

our family members would face grave consequences. At the 4th day of the training the

LTTE camp was air raided. LTTE deprived lives of our innocent children.”8

Children from the Northeast are the part of the island’s population that has been most

seriously affected by the war. Children from the Northeast have been particularly at risk

from malnutrition, poor health care and education, displacement, shelling and aerial

bombing, disappearance, torture, rape, mass arrest and prolonged detention. Efforts by

the security forces to eliminate the rebels in the areas the military controls, attempts to

weaken the indigenous population in areas the LTTE controls, and general indifference

by the government to a politically and economically marginalized community have all

contributed to the miserable condition of these, primarily Tamil, children.

8 Interview with Rupavahini TV channel- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2EtOPry6I4&feature=related,06.01.08.

10

UNICEF estimates that there are 900,000 children in the Northeast, all of whom have

been seriously affected by the war, either through a lack of education, food, shelter or by

direct injury.9

If one adds children affected by the war outside the Northeast, which include Sinhalese

children, a rough estimate of 1 million war-affected children can be presumed. These

large numbers, plus the longevity and the sustainable chaos of the conflict, are the

reasons war-affected children in Sri Lanka deserve more attention. Indicators of general

well-being of children in the war zones declined dramatically during the 19 years of war.

Infant mortality has at least quadrupled in the Jaffna peninsula since the start of the war

and is at least twice the rest of Sri Lanka. Malnutrition among children in areas not under

government control is roughly estimated to be over 60% by Red Cross and other NGOs.

68% of the children returning to government-controlled Trincomalee since the ceasefire

are underweight.10

Education in the Northeast has been severely affected by the war, both in the

percentages of children attending school and the quality of education. Literacy was over

80% before the war and 99% of children attended school up to Grade 5 before 1990. The

Education Ministry says that 75,000 students enrolled in the first year of primary school

in the war zones this January, compared to 40,000 to 50,000 who enrolled each year

during the war.

This means that at least one third of the children from these areas were not in school as a

result of the war.

The issue of child soldiers has become entwined with politics in Sri Lanka, with those

government entities, media and NGOs against the peace negotiations, including parts of

the UN using allegations concerning the use of child soldiers to assert that

1.) The LTTE is not a trustworthy partner for peace negotiations and

2.) The LTTE should be allowed no administrative functions as a result of these

negotiations.

The children who live in Jaffna, the Vanni and the LTTE-controlled areas of the East

have been most at risk because of the destruction of the economy, the lack of access by

9 UNICEF, A Special Program for Assistance for Children and Women Affected by Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka 2000-200110 TamilNet,30.12.07

11

aid-givers, restrictions on movement, military offences, shelling and aerial bombing.

Even those Tamils that live in government-controlled areas have had difficulties because

of restrictions on movement, few restraints on the armed forces, arbitrary arrest and

detention and neglect by government programs.11

“UNICEF has listed 1,591 outstanding cases of LTTE child recruitment up to end of May

2007. The LTTE still does continue to recruit children under the age of 18, marching

Tamil children in to an unrealistic war. We declare a stunning 5956 abductions carried

out by them for forced recruitment between January 2002 to December 2006.”12

Children in Prison - Of the hundreds of Tamils who are now in prison without charge,

some for as long as 5 years, a certain number are under 18. In October, 2000 26 inmates

of the Bindunuwewa camp housing suspected to be members of the LTTE were killed in

a mob attack. All were between 14 and 23. 150 children under age 5 are held with their

parents who have been in custody under the PTA.

Security forces & children -Tamil youths are specifically targeted by security forces in

their checking, barrier and search operations, and they are often detained for questioning,

torture, execution, or even rape. Youngsters have disappeared on a regular basis over the

course of the war. 15% of the 600 people who disappeared in 1996 in the Jaffna

peninsula were children. According to Amnesty International, torture by security forces is

‘among the most common human rights violations reported’ and is reported almost daily.

Rape of girls in areas under army control is a major problem, with allegations of 150

cases per year in the northeast by police and security forces, while rape of both boys and

girls in detention is common. Impunity by the security forces for these crimes is total.

Forced labour at army and Special Task Force camps, particularly in the East, is often

reported. Restrictions on freedom of movement for young people was a serious problem

until the ceasefire.13

Trauma - In the civil war children have been traumatised by common experiences such

as shelling, helicopter strafing, round ups, barricade and search operations, deaths, injury, 11 Ceylon daily news paper,22.12.0612 Joanna Van head of UNICEF-Sri Lanka mission, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z9FVIPYaEE&feature=related,06.01.08.13 Avis sri Jayantha, Impact of war on children in Sri Lanka.

12

destruction, mass arrests, detention, shooting, grenade explosions, and landmines.

Growing up in displaced and in a heavily militarised environment can lead to

psychological stress, family break-up, misery, alcoholism, violence and suicides. Nearly

25 percent of children in conflict areas have lost one or both parents, either to death or

displacement. Suicide among children, even those under 10, is alarmingly high,

especially in IDP camps.14

Its impact on civilians in general

Disruption of the economy-As I mentioned earlier the gradual collapse of the economy

could be detected. The value of the rupee had declined immensely. Tourism which was

the major income to the country turned down as a result of bomb threats. This affected

the civilians with several ways such as loosing their jobs in this particular field.

Unemployment in Sri Lanka has increased by about 50% compared with that of 1994.

Poor economic performance and an unstable political environment in 2001 contributed to

the further deterioration of the economy and social development of Sri Lanka. Economic

growth was pathetic, with a negative 0.6% growth rate for 2001. The GDP dropped by

3.7% in the last quarter of the year. 15 For the average civilian the day to day existence

has become hard. “Day by day prices are going up, not going down. That is Sri Lanka at

the moment”, states the “Financial times”.16

The degradation of health care-Low allocation of government funds to the health

sector. The share for the health sector in Sri Lanka is only 1.4% of GDP, compared with

3.0% and 6.9% GDP in middle and high-income countries respectively. The situation is

exacerbated by a shortage of medicines, doctors, qualified nursing and technical staff in

the hospitals, and the inability of poor people to get treatment at private hospitals.17

Malnutrition is a serious problem in Sri Lanka. Pregnant and nursing mothers and pre-

school children are most vulnerable to protein-energy malnutrition, iron deficiency

14 Ibid.15 A hard time, Udaya Rajapakshe, 154-156.16 Financial Times,04.01.08.17 A hard time, Udaya Rajapakshe, 156. ?

13

anemia, vitamin A, iodine and other micro nutrient deficiencies. Food insecurity is one of

major reasons for malnutrition. Unfavorable conditions created by the ethnic war with the

LTTE threaten physical access by people in those areas to adequate and nutritious food.

Deterioration of investment on human development areas is seen; most importantly

Effect on education- Most of the schools in the northern part of the country have been

devastated by the war. The children are not in a position to go to school and educate them

selves. As a result, the moral standards have been deteriorated, and war has become the

norm!

The main reason for these dreadful conditions of economy, health care and development

could be considered the on going war in the country. The money which the government

should utilize for this is instead used for war and acts of war.

“The concern is that the country could be doing far better if it were not for the war, the

issue is this conflict was resolved, the country would see a dramatic revival that would

change everything” states the Financial times.18

Furthermore the 18-year armed conflict between government forces and the LTTE

movement, and mismanagement and corruption resulting from politicization of

government institutions can be identified as underlying causes of the slowdown and

reversal of socio-economic development. Estimates suggest that the costs of conflict

since 1983 may be at least equivalent to twice Sri Lanka's 1996 GDP.

According to Paul Collier “the problem that is pretty distinctive to the bottom billion (the

third world) is political conflict. Some of them are stuck in a pattern of violent internal

challenges to government. Sometimes the violence is prolonged, a civil war; sometimes a

coup d’état. These forms of political conflict both are costly and can be repetitive. They

can trap a country in poverty”.19

Thus my hypothesis which is the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is one of the reasons of the

collapse of the country is proved.

Future Prospects and Possible Solutions

As Sri Lanka headed toward Eelam War 4; diplomatic initiatives were underway by

many countries, to prevent a resumption of all-out war and to encourage steps toward a

peaceful resolution. However, as LTTE committed numerous terrorist acts, there is little 18 Financial Times,04.01.08.19 The Bottom Billion,Paul Collier,17.

14

hope of reconciliation. The LTTE's stubborn demand for absolute independence of

Tamils is worsening the situation. There is high probability that Eelam War IV will be

another bloody conflict. On the brighter side, the government will try a wide range of

diplomatic policies to put constant pressure on LTTE and at the same time, suggest

various peace treaties.

In order to achieve the peace back in Sri Lanka, the government could adopt three

possible options. The first policy option is to emphasize the inappropriateness of purely

"majoritarian" decision-making in sharply divided societies. It was the discrimination

against minorities that resulted the civil war from the very beginning. Second, where

sharp cleavages exist in societies, political stability should be ensured, if not guaranteed,

by devising institutional arrangements giving minorities easy access to the highest

decision-making processes. Third, stop the restrictions and minor discriminations against

Tamils. Today, Tamils are required to carry multiple forms of identification and are

subject to searches and interrogation at any time. Non-Sinhalese areas are under the

occupation of Sinhalese troops. These minor restrictions arouse antipathy among the

people.

Even if the war is stopped and peace resettles, the problems ahead of Sri Lanka are vast.

Tsunami reconstructions, removal of one million land mines, and fairer employment

between the Tamils and Sinhalese are all just part of assignments left. Hope, is probably

the best and the only word to describe my feelings toward the situation in Sri Lanka.20

Concluding remarks

“Tamil minority must come to terms with the fact that the colonial era of privileges is

gone forever. Sinhalese are a tolerant nation. They have never tried to deprive anyone of

20 Ibid,94-96.

15

their rights, but they can never allow their little island, the only place the Sinhalese

civilians exists, to be divided.”21

The division of the country for which these terrorist Tamils are fighting, is not only not

practicable but creates a dangerous precedent for the minority groups all over the region

or the world, specially India to struggle for their own states. The natural follow up will be

for these separatists to form a political entity with the Tamil Nadu of India.

No sensible leader would like to see his or her country Balkanized into separate

sovereign states.22

References

Primary sources

Ishtiaq Ahmed, State Nation and Ethnicity in contemporary south East Asia, 1996

Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion, 2007

Secondary sources

Ishtiaq Ahmed: Article to The news, 2007

Financial Times: January 2008

Udaya Rajapakshe: Article A Hard Time

Ceylon daily news paper, 22.12.06

www.youtube.com

Avis Sri Jayantha: Article Impact of war on children in Sri Lanka, 2006

UNICEF Article A Special Program for Assistance for Children and Women Affected by

Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka 2000-2001

www.TamilNet.com Interview with Rupavahini TV channel 2005 Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Article this is the truth, 2004

Publication of Sinhalese association: Article Tamil terrorists a threat to Sri Lanka, 2004

Letter to Mrs. Indira Gandhi by Mahinda Perera, 1996

21 Tamil terrorists a threat to Sri Lanka, Publication of Sinhalese association of Sri Lankans in the UK,11.22 Mahinda Perera in his letter to Mrs Indira Gandhi.

16

Appendix

The map of Sri Lanka showing the area claimed by the LTTE

17

18