Sri Lankan civil war

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is an ongoing conflict between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils on the island-nation of Sri Lanka. Since 1983, there has been on-and-off civil war, mostly between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or the LTTE, who want to create an independent Tamil Eelam state in the northeast of the island. It is estimated that the war has left 65,000 people dead since 1983 and caused great harm to the population and economy of the country. A cease-fire was declared in 2002, but renewed violence in late 2005 led to fears of a renewed civil war.

Roots of the conflict

Since independence from the British Empire in 1948, there has been tension between the different ethnic groups on the island. While many religious practices of the Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka have been intertwined by centuries of cultural union, including worship of common deities and celebration of a common "New Year," the Sinhala and Tamil communities do not share as much common ground. Concerns about minority representation were expressed and given some attention during the independence struggle, but nothing was incorporated into the new constitution of the country. Since independence, it has been argued that there has been official and unofficial governmental preference for Sinhalese. This became a sore spot with Tamils as they lost employment and educational opportunities.

Sinhalese argue that Tamils received preferential treatment under British rule. By the time of independence, there were more British built schools in Tamil dominated Jaffna than in the rest of the island. This meant that there was a disproportionate number of Tamils in the civil service, medicine and law in post-independence Sri Lanka. Spokespeople for the Sinhalese claim that this showed that the Tamils had benefitted from favouritism, Tamil spokespeople said that there was no preference towards them during colonial times and so the Tamil community gained positions on merit.

A watershed in Sri Lankan politics was the Sinhala Only Act of 1956, which made Sinhala the sole official language, restricted many government jobs to Sinhala speakers, and changes in university admissions policies, which reduced the number of Tamils getting higher education.[1]

While many have been led to believe that the struggle between Tamils and Sinhalese has been a permanent historical feature of political life in Sri Lanka, this is not so. Before the colonial era, there were two Sinhalese and one Tamil kingdom on the island; the three had changing alliances and wars but there was no systematic ethnic rivalry. Instead, rivalries and conficts took place within and between these kingdoms and were not ethnically-based.

There is a sizable population of Tamils in the Central Province, descendants of forced laborers from India imported by the British colonial authorities in the nineteenth century. The estate Tamils, as they are called, work mainly in Sri Lanka’s world famous tea plantations. They have been locked in poverty for generations and continue to experience poor living conditions. Originally, they were the chief targets of Sinhala nationalism. Many were deprived of their citizenship in the late 1940s, and there were repeated attempts to repatriate them to India. Although they speak the same language, they are usually considered a separate community from the Tamils of the North and East.

In the decades after independence, Tamils supported a more federal system through the Federal Party. The concept of a separate nation, Tamil Eelam, was proposed by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in 1976. TULF was a coalition of parties who went on to campaign in the 1977 elections for an independent state for Tamils in Sri Lanka. They won and went to Parliament to represent the northern and eastern provinces. The government banned TULF representatives from parliament for advocating an independent state. Talk and nonviolence actions continued, but youths started to form militant groups, some funded by bank robberies, and military presence in the north also grew.

A deadly attack on the military in the north sparked riots in Colombo, the capital, and elsewhere in July 1983. The riots alleged to have been planned in advance, with the knowledge of senior cabinet ministers. Between 400-3,000 Tamils were killed [2], and many more fled Sinhalese-majority areas. This is usually considered the beginning of the ethnic conflict. In 1985, peace talks between the Tamils and the government failed, and the war continued. In 1987, government troops pushed the LTTE fighters to the northern city of Jaffna, which remains a center of LTTE activity to this day. In April 1987, the conflict exploded with ferocity, as the LTTE and other Tamil groups committed bombings in Colombo and ambushed Sinhalese crowds, killing hundreds.

In July 1987, the Tamils carried out their first suicide attack, the first of some seventy six different suicide attacks. In the 1987 attack "Captain Miller" of the Black Tigers drove a small truck with explosives through the wall of a fortified Sri Lankan army camp, reportedly killing forty soldiers.

Initially there was a plethora of different resistance groups. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's position, attempting to learn from the PLO, was that there should be only one. Over time the LTTE merged with or exterminated almost all the other militant Tamil groups.

Indian involvement

India became involved in the 1980s. The involvement has been motivated by a mix of issues – its leaders' desire to project India as the regional power in the area, worries about India's own Tamils seeking independence, and a genuine concern for the Sri Lankan Tamils' plight. Uncoordinated in the 1980s, the central and state governments supported both sides in different ways.

In the late 1980s the Indian government under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi negotiated an agreement with the government of Sri Lanka on the Tamils' behalf (without consulting the armed resistance). India promised military support if needed, and Sri Lanka agreed to concessions, including constitutional changes to grant more local power (this was eventually enacted as the 13th Amendment). India got agreement from all of the Tamil resistance groups including, grudgingly, the all-important LTTE.

The Sri Lankan government was facing a mostly unrelated uprising by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in the south, and called in the Indian military immediately after the agreement was signed. The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was formed, and initially oversaw a cease-fire and modest disarmament of the militant groups. The Sri Lankan government pulled its troops south and put down the JVP rebellion, but dragged its feet on reforms. The LTTE's trust in both governments dissolved and the IPKF ended up fighting the LTTE. Nationalist sentiment among the Sinhalese led to the government's call for India to quit the island, and eventually even supply the LTTE with weapons and munition to achieve the IPKF's withdrawal; the Indian force left Sri Lanka in March 1990. During the IPKF stay, IPKF killed around 6000 Tamils, raped several Tamil women, and tortured several Tamils.

Rajiv Gandhi, who lost his office due to the IPKF intervention, was assassinated while attending an election rally on May 21, 1991, by a Tamil suicide bomber believed to be a victim of IPKF terror. Indian support for the LTTE dropped to near zero, and even in Tamil Nadu (home to 60 million Tamils) feelings are still mixed. India's central government has been firmly against the LTTE since, although they do still speak up for Tamils' rights.

In the 1980s and 1990s, successive governments officially revoked some of the discriminatory policies, and recognizing Tamil as an official language. Sinhalese and Muslims today claim they are reverse discriminated. Tamils deny the latter claim, and see the changes that have been made as too little too late.

The 1990s

The LTTE took significant parts of the north as the IPKF withdrew, and established many government-like functions in the areas under its control. LTTE attacks on the government continued, and they scored a major victory when one of their suicide bombers killed Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in May 1993.

Amidst great hope, in 1994 elections brought the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to power on a peace platform. After failed peace talks, the government pursued a "war for peace" line, and retook Jaffna (the largest city in the north). Repeated attempts by the government to take control of the land route from the south to Jaffna gained ground but ultimately failed. The LTTE then rolled the government out of much of the territory it had taken, but never succeeded in re-taking Jaffna.

The Government forces often attacked civilian buildings such as temples, churches and schools in a bid to stem the growing resistance. These were often safe havens for refugees fleeing the air raids and their destruction resulted in a high amount of Tamil civilian casualties. In one particular incident in August 1995, Sri Lankan Air Force jets bombed Navali's St. Peter's church, killing at least 75 refugees.

LTTE suicide and time bombs were exploded numerous times in populated city areas and public transport, killing hundreds of civilians. In January 1996, the LTTE carried out their deadliest suicide bomb attack, 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. In response to this bombing, the Sri Lankan government outlawed the LTTE and with some success pressed other governments around the world to do the same, significantly interfering with their fund-raising activities.

From July 1, 1999 to December 20, 1999 the LTTE intensified its attacks on the Sri Lankan armed forces in an attempt to liberate and consolidate territory. The LTTE launched 17 successful attacks in the region which culminated in the overrunning of the Paranthan Chemicals Factory base and the Kurrakkan Kaddukulam base. Thousands were killed. The rebels also advanced north towards Elephant Pass and Jaffna. The LTTE was succesful in cutting all land and sea supply lines of the Sri Lankan armed forces in the town of Killinochchi and surrounding areas. In December 1999 the LTTE tried to kill the Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga. She lost one eye, among other injuries.

At the same time, the suicide rate on the island climbed to become first in the world per capita. [3]

A significant peace movement also developed in the 1990s, with many organisations holding peace camps, conferences, trainings and peace meditations, and many other efforts to bridge the two sides at all levels.

After securing a vast area controlled by the government forces the LTTE further advanced Northwards, this advancement of the LTTE was posing a serious threat to the Elephant Pass military complex that enhoused 17,000 troops of the Sri Lankan forces. [4] On April 22 2000 the Elephant pass military complex, which had separated the Jaffna peninsula from the Wanni mainland for 17 years, completely fell in the hands of the LTTE.[5], Tigers Seize Elephant Pass.

Tentative peace

In 2000 the LTTE began to declare their willingness to explore measures that would safeguard Tamils' rights and autonomy as part of Sri Lanka, and announced a unilateral ceasefire just before Christmas 2000. Their July 2001 assault on Bandaranaike International Airport destroyed 8 (2 IAI Kfirs,2 Mil-17,4 K-7 trainers), of the air force's planes and 4 SriLankan Airlines's planes (2 Airbus A330s,1 A 340 and 1 A320), dampening the economy and causing tourism to plummet. Sri Lankan hopes for a military solution also faded. In parliamentary elections toward the end of the year the United National Front (UNF) came to power on a peace platform.

For the first time since the 1978 constitution introduced a strong presidency, one party held the Presidency (Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sri Lanka Freedom Party) and the other, Parliament (with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, United National Party). This co-habitation was extremely uneasy. The new government reciprocated another unilateral LTTE ceasefire offer at the end of 2001. The two sides formalized it in a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2002. Norway is mediating, together with the other Nordic countries it also monitors the ceasefire through the SLMM and many other countries are offering substantial financial support if peace is achieved.

Some Sinhalese and Muslims have refused to support any concessions unless the LTTE disarms and becomes a democratic political entity.

The LTTE temporarily pulled out of the peace talks in 2003, saying that insufficient attention was being put on developing an interim political solution. The government eventually produced a proposal, and the LTTE a counter-proposal, which President Kumaratunga responded to by taking over several defense-related ministries. Peace talks remained suspended. In 2004 she took over additional ministries, and dissolved Parliament, calling an election, which brought her United People's Freedom Alliance to power.

During the election, LTTE commander Karunai of Batticaloa-Ampara split from the group's main leadership, claiming insufficient resources and money were being given to him. The LTTE officially sacked him, small-scale violence erupted, and tensions were extremely high. After the election, brief fighting south of Trincomalee led to a rapid retreat and capitulation of the Karunai group, their leaders eventually fleeing to Colombo. It has now been revealed that a ruling Muslim politician was involved with Karuna's escape.

The Asian tsunami of late 2004 killed more than 30,000 people in the country. It was hoped that the disaster would bring the warring sides together, but the two sides continued their bickering.

Renewed violence

Until 2005, the cease fire between the LTTE and the government largely held. However, the situation was complicated by allegations that both sides were carrying out covert operations against the other. LTTE rebels would kill opponents or government soldiers and get away with it, the government claims, and the rebels would say the government would get away with harassing Tamil civilians.

The foreign minister of Sri Lanka, Lakshman Kadirgamar, was killed by a sniper on August 15 2005. The government blamed the LTTE, but no retaliation was made.

In the 2005 presidential election, the UNF candidate, Wickremasinghe, advocated reopening talks with the LTTE. The UPFA candidate, Mahinda Rajapakse, called for a tougher line and renegotiation of the ceasefire. He won that election, which the LTTE told Tamil voters to boycott. In an address after assuming office, Rajapakse promised to pursue peace and new talks with the rebels.

Violence escalated in December 2005. LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran said in November that the Tigers were running out of patience and that they would "renew their struggle" in 2006 if the government did not take serious moves toward peace. In addition, the LTTE called for new peace talks to be held in Europe, but the government said they wanted talks in Japan. The Tigers rejected this as well as the government's attempts to get the European Union to label the Tigers a "terrorist organization."

Dec 23, 2005:Attack on Navy a revenge to rape and murder - Tamil Group.JAFFNA - A recently emerged Tamil group, The Resurgence People’s Force, again claimed responsibility for the latest and deadliest attack on the Sri Lankan Navy that lead to 15 deaths and another 15 seriously injured. The same group, earlier as well, claimed responsibility for two of the deadliest claymore mine attacks on the army patrols in the Jaffna peninsula. In a statement, the group claimed that their latest attack on the Navy was a revenge attack in response to the brutal rape and murder of Ilayathambi Tharsini (20) in Punguduthivu, Jaffna.

The body of Ilayathambi Tharsini (20), the young woman from Punguduthivu 7th district, who disappeared on last Friday and her naked body tied to a stone was found in an abandoned well near the Sri Lanka Navy (Navy) camp on the next day.

24 Dec 2005:Sri Lankan politician gunned down in church: Joseph Pararajasingham(71) a Sri Lankan Member of Parliament who supports the Tamil Tigers was shot and killed at a midnight mass that was ushering in Christmas Day in the town of Batticaloa.His wife and eight other people were wounded .

External links

Additional references

Assignment in Colombo, J. N. Dixit (Indian High Commissioner during the 1980s negotiations that led to the IPKF presence) -- ISBN 8-122-00499-7

Significant lacunae - differences among Tamils (Indian Tamils, north/east, Muslims), pre-war political history and violence and non-violent actions, peace movement, non-India foreign involvement (e.g. arms sales), JVP's position, women fighters, government deserters