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Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) Article of the Month Crisis in Sri LankaBy Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D. Natural disasters, communal violence, insurgencies and other problems have plagued South Asia for a long time. No sooner that one crisis seems to subside a little, another one flares up. The recent deterioration of situation in Sri Lanka has alarmed many people concerned about the geopolitics in South Asia. The chronic Tamil-Sinhala tensions already aggravated by the government policies has been further complicated by rivalry between the two groups of Tamils. People have already suffered tremendously. More than 60,000 Sri Lankans have lost their lives since the 1970’s, when Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) started armed struggle for a separate homeland for their people. In the late 1990s, almost a million people, amounting to one-third of the total population of the northeast, became internally displaced persons. About a quarter of the total Sri Lankan Tamil population has left the country. For the last several years, the ethnic conflict has been consuming a large part of the country’s resources. Also it has discouraged foreign investments as well as tourism, one of the biggest sources of the nation’s income. In the last few weeks, there have been frequent claymore attacks by LTTE against security personnel. Also Sinhalese-speaking gangs have been targeting Tamil lives and property in Trincomalee. There was further escalation after the April 25 LTTE attack in on the Army Chief, to which Sri Lankan Army and Navy have responded with air strikes on LTTE targets. The new wave of violence has resulted in loss of 100 additional lives. More than 20,000 people have fled their homes in northeastern Sri Lanka . Once again the country appears to be on the brink of civil war. So far foreign peacemakers have not succeeded in overcoming mutual suspicions, which have kept the various sides apart. Probability of this happening in the near future is not very high. Sooner or later, all parties will have to find a way to tackle the trust-deficit, which feeds on their fears and insecurities, and aggravates even minor situations into gigantic problems. The Sinhala majority has to reach out to the minorities to help them feel safe. The government has to eliminate laws, which discriminate against minorities. Minorities have to rededicate themselves to integrity and welfare of their adopted homeland. All sides will have to renounce violence, and commit themselves to meaningful negotiations to seek solutions to their problems. It will require a lot of courage and patience from all sides. But nothing is impossible once they make up their mind.
ARCHIVE: Link to April 2006 Article of the Month |