Overview

Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is a small island 30 miles off the coast of the southern India province of Tamil Nadu and host to one of the world’s most violent, brutal and enduring wars. After Sri Lanka gained independence form Britain in 1948, discord was immediate and flared into sporadic violence that has grown over the years as rebel forces have developed. The island is home to two primary ethnic and religious groups, or nations; the Sinhala-Buddhist majority and the Tamil-Hindu minority. The war is between the majority government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, led by Velupillai Pirabakaran. The Tamils aspire to self-determination and an independent homeland; the Sri Lankan government is fighting to maintain a unitary state. The roots of the disagreements date to several centuries before Christ and, despite some 50,000 deaths and millions of forced refugees, the conflict appears no closer to settlement.

At the foundation of the conflict is an ancient and pointless argument, based on mythology, over which people first populated the island and their historical rights to call it their homeland. It seems apparent that whichever group arrived first, all originated from nearby India. Regardless of which ethnic groups settled first, they later succumbed to European colonial rule, which exaggerated ethnic and religious divisions. After suffering disadvantage during British colonial rule, the majority Sinhala assumed political control after independence, pursuing chauvinist and repressive policies, and driving the Tamil people to rise up armed opposition.

In today's era of mysterious, rag-tag terrorist groups skulking in the shadows and blending into civilian populace, the Tamil Tigers have evolved from a bunch of guerrillas known more for their martyrdom than their method into a deadly fighting force. Backing up the LTTE fighting force is a global intelligence and financial network. Using an array of front companies, the the Tamil's web extends from Singapore and Australia, to Europe and North America. The Tamil's earn millions of dollars annually from investments in shipping, property, securities, restaurants, Tamil-language videos and music cassettes. They also receive substantial contributions from the global Tamil diaspora.

The Tamil Tigers are an old fashoined guerrilla army - and navy - that has been able to win and hold territory, fending off government forces, including security forces from India. The LTTE also employs terrorist tactics, including suicide bombers, child soldiers and women, which has resulted in their designation as an international terrorist group.

The Sri Lankan war has now gone on for decades with neither side able to prevail, and neither willing to give in. For each advance by government forces, or each ceasefire agreed to by the LTTE, the smart money will bet on a near term reversal of fortune that sustains an intractable conflict.

Background

The Colonial Period

Pursuing exotic spices, the Portuguese landed in 1505 and by 1595 controlled most of the island. In 1658, the Sinhala kingdom in Kandy allied with the Dutch and forced Portugal out. The British arrived in 1796, expelled the Dutch and established complete control by 1830, maintaining the colony until independence in 1948.

The British developed plantations of coffee, tea, coconuts and cinnamon, importing over one million Tamil laborers from neighboring India. These Indian Tamils eventually became permanent residents, mainly in the central and western flatlands and their citizenship became a contentious issue. The British employed their strategy to divide and rule, playing each group against the others. Indian Tamil laborers were the lowest caste and easily controlled in the central and western region. To counter-balance the Sinhala majority, native Tamils resident in the North were introduced to British education and language. Many then migrated southward, finding public employment, running businesses and entering the learned positions. The Sinhalese majority was blocked from certain forms of employment, dominated by the British, Tamil professionals, or Muslim traders. Resenting this situation of relative disadvantage, they directed their resentment at anyone seen as outsiders.

The Sinhala strengthened their national group bond by developing their mythic origins, emphasizing the arrival of Buddhism and their role as the chosen guardians of the religion, the people, and the land. This nationalist fervor was antagonistic to outsiders, be they Europeans, Indians, Tamils or Muslims and lacked only the opportunity to manifest itself politically. This opportunity came as Britain granted self- rule in 1931 and appointed a Sinhalese Board of Ministers, followed by independence in 1948.

Independence and Sinhala Nationalism

The new government was led by the United National Party (UNP), which promoted multi-ethnic representation, but responded to the pressure of Sinhalese chauvinism. Although they had been allowed to vote since 1931, the Indian Tamils were immediately disenfranchised. In 1956, the SLFP party, led by Prime Minister Bandaranaike, swept to power. He quickly replaced English with Sinhala as the official national language, threatening the Tamils, who organized Satyagraha (peaceful protest) and were attacked by Sinhalese mobs. Over the next two decades, faced with the language barrier, the position of Tamils in jobs and society was in steady decline.

In 1958, the SFLP and the new Federal party agreed to the power-sharing under the B-C Pact to devolve power through regional councils. The UNP objected, anti-Tamil rioting broke out and tens of thousands of Tamil refugees were driven North. Badaranaike then abandoned the pact, only to be assassinated in 1959 by a Buddhist monk. His wife, Shirmavo is elected the world’s first women Prime Minister in 1960 and in 1964 agreed to a new pact to return “non-citizen” plantation Tamils to India.

In 1971 the government adopted a discriminatory university admissions standard, setting higher requirements for Tamil, than for Sinhalese students. In 1972 the government declared Buddhism would hold “the foremost place”, in effect the state religion. Ceylon became Sri Lanka, effectively a Sinhala-Buddhist state, characterized by Sinhala chauvinism. During this period, peaceful protesters were continually attacked by a radical Sinhala group, the JVP and Tamils youths retaliated.  Insurrection became widespread and a state of emergency was declared, which lasted 6 years. As more Tamils took up arms, the death toll soared into the thousands. In its attempts to maintain order, the ill-prepared security forces adopted repressive tactics, further inflaming emotions and driving recruits to the Tamil cause.

In 1976 the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) called for creation of a separate state of Tamil Eelam in the North and East provinces. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) emerged and took up arms and battle for a Tamil homeland. Tamils were excluded from the military, which became a Sinhala army. Over 200,000 Tamils fled to India, as many thousands became internal refugees, fleeing state oppression and Sinhala mobs. The government passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 1979 and the President appointed his nephew T.I. Weeratunge as head of the armed forces, with the mandate to eliminate terrorism in all its forms. In 1982, TULF representatives refused a loyalty oath and were banished from Parliament, leaving Tamils without representation. Widespread insurrection broke-out and Weeratunge proceeded to lead the army into the Tamil north, culminating in the anti-Tamil pogroms in 1983.

International Complications

Faced with a continuing economic decline since independence, Sri Lanka liberalized its economy in the late 1970’s. They established free trade zones, loosened regulations and encouraged foreign investment. Money flowed in from western nations, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Formerly part of the Non-aligned Movement, Sri Lanka moved progressively closer to the capitalist Western block. In the cold war era of East-West tension, this change of posture was cause for concern in India, which faced its own problems vis-à-vis Pakistan and China. 

As the Sri Lankan conflict escalated, refugees flocked to the Indian province of Tamil Nadu, inexorably drawing India into the issue. Tamils pleaded with India and the United Nations to intervene to stop the genocide, while India recognized security implications of the war. After Sri Lankan forces launched an all-out offensive into the Jaffna peninsula in mid 1987, India responded with humanitarian aid. Sri Lanka blocked the aid flotilla and India countered with an airlift of supplies.

The US was allowed to open a Voice of America station in Sri Lanka in 1980 and was believed to be interested in a Navy base at Trincomalee, due to an uncertain situation in the Phillipines. Meanwhile Tamil Nadu had become a stronghold for LTTE guerilla support and training in India, while Sri Lanka turned to Israel, Pakistan and South America for arms and training. Israel was even reported to have opened a Special Interests office within the US Embassy. Many of the world’s nuclear and military powers had convened in Sri Lanka and India’s doorstep.

As the death toll exceeded 15,000, Sri Lanka adopted moderating measures simplifying Indian Tamil citizenship, while negotiating India. In 1987, India’s Rajiv Ghandi and Sri Lanka’s J.R. Jayawardena signed the Indo-Sri Lanka accord and an India Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) of 20,000 arrived to enforce the agreement and disarm the LTTE rebels. Although greeted with relief by Tamils, Sinhalese radicals and the JVP objected to concessions for Tamils and assassinated several government leaders.

After 15 Tamil prisoners were killed while in custody, the LTTE rejected the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact and engaged the Indian forces. Indian forces grew to nearly 100,000 before they negotiated their withdrawal in mid-1990. Rajiv Ghandi was assassinated in 1991 and the LTTE has been blamed, although other possibilities exist. President Premadasa was killed by a bomb in 1993, allegedly by the LTTE and again other rumors persists. Since Ghandi’s murder India is reported to have issued a death warrant on LTTE leader Pirabakaran, which hinders prospects for a peaceful settlement.

Sri Lanka Today

The war continued through the 1990's with occasional cease-fires, invariably followed by a return to fighting. Chandrika Kumaratunga was elected President in 1994. Heavy fighting continued through 1998 as Sri Lankan security forces suffered serious losses and setbacks, attempting to secure roadways to, and control of LTTE held Jaffna province. By early 1999, Jaffna was again brought under government control. LTTE bombings continued as the government refused to enter peace talks, however bowing to international pressure, they have agreed to exhumation of mass graves, suspected to be missing Tamils. Access by journalists and human rights groups remains severely restricted.

As heavy fighting continued and human rights violations by both sides increased, the adversaries began peace talks in December 2001. In February 2002, the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) and LTTE signed a ceasefire agreement negotiated by Norway. The LTTE broke the ceasefire in early 2003 and fighting resumed.

In March 2004, a new Tamil faction emerged when commander Karuna split from the LTTE. In March 2006, the Karuna faction registered a political party, the Tamil People’s Liberation Tigers. The main LTTE and the Karuna faction have targeted each other in low-level attacks since that time.

In December 2004, Sri Lanka was devastated by a tsunami that killed over 30,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless. In June 2005, the GSL and LTTE rebels reached an agreement to share $3 billion in international tsunami aid, but the agreement has been blocked by the courts and was not implemented.

In August 2005, the LTTE assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, an ethnic Tamil. Parliament declared a state of emergency and passed special powers legislation. In December 2005, pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance MP Joseph Pararajasingham was assassinated inside a government high security zone.

After renewing peace talks in February 2006, hopes were dashed again by a bombing in a Sinhalese market that sparked an anti-Tamil backlash of violence. Within days an LTTE suicide bomber attacked the main army compound in Colombo, killing eight soldiers and seriously wounding the army commander. In retaliation, the GSL launched air strikes on LTTE strongholds. An LTTE suicide bomber then killed the army’s third highest ranking general.

In August 2006, heavy fighting resumed. Hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands fled their homes as LTTE and GSL forces clashed. By September, GSL forces had reclaimed a significant amount of territory from the rebel forces, but the prospects of holding that territory appear as bleak as the prospects for successful peace resolution. On October 12, 2006, the BBC reported that over 128 Sri Lankan arny troops wre killed in the latest round of fighting. And so it continues...

Related Resources:

Pro-Tamil:

Sri Lanka Government
http://www.priu.gov.lk

Tamil Eelam
http://www.eelamweb.com/

LTTE
http://www.eelamweb.com/

Hot Spring
http://www.hotspring.org/

Tamil Eelam Home Page
http://www.eelam.com

Tamil Nation
http://www.tamilnation.org/

Tamil Net
http://www.tamilnet.com/

Pro-Sinhalese:

Sinhaya
http://www.sinhaya.com/

News Update
http://www.lanka.net/lankaupdate/

Eliminate LTTE Terror
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/

Friends of Sri Lanka in the US
http://members.tripod.com/~FOSUS/

Kalaya
http://infolanka.com/org/kalaya/

Voice of Lanka
http://www.voiceoflanka.net/

Sri Lanka
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~sydney/

Independent:

Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies
http://www.lanka.net/chasl

Derechos
http://www.derechos.org/saran/lanka/

Ecoi.net
http://ecoi.net/index.php?iflang=en&country=LK

Global IDP Database
http://www.db.idpproject.org/Sites/idpSurvey.nsf/wCountries/Sri+Lanka