Insurgency in Sri Lanka

The crisis and conflict in Sri Lanka are not new. The ongoing problem has been developing ominously since the middle of 2006 when the army gradually began to gain territory. As the army moved out, taking with them their belongings and the burden of the history. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s (LTTE) most of the bases, including its political capital Kilinochchi, have been captured by the Sri Lankan army.

The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has proclaimed that the rebel LTTE would be completely defeated very soon, potentially signaling an end to a 25-year insurgency that is one of the world’s longest ongoing conflicts. An estimated 70,000 people have died in the conflict.

Moving closer to annihilating the LTTE, Sri Lankan troops captured their last strong- hold of Pudukudiriyirippu and pushed the rebels into a narrow ‘no-fire zone’ packed with civilians after killing at least 420 Tamil Tigers in heavy fighting in the north on April 5, 2009.LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, second-in-command Pottu Amman and other senior commanders of the guerrillas are believed to be holed up in the 20 sq km safety zone. The military accused the rebels of using the tens of thousands civilians as human shields.The Army has captured the entire Pudukudiriyirippu area that was under the control of the Tamil Tigers, who have lost many of their key leaders in the latest fighting. Bodies of 420 rebels killed in intense clashes with advancing troops in recent times have been recovered from the war zone. Important LTTE leaders killed in the clashes included Vidusha, Nagesh, Durga, Deepan and Patabi. Another senior rebel leader Banu was injured.

The latest developments may increase international concerns about the safety of the trapped civilians. In the first international acknowledgement that that the rebels might be near to defeat, the US, Japan , the European Union (EU) and Norway—Sri Lanka’s international quartet of top donors—stated that the LTTE and the Government should recognise that further loss of life, of civilians and combatants, will serve no cause.

Anatomy of Conflict
Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean about 80 km East of the Southern tip of India. The Tamils in Sri Lanka have been fighting for more power for over two decades. Of the 20 million people, the Sinhalese form a majority (74 per cent) and Tamil’s are in minority (18 per cent). The Tamils inhabit the northern and eastern parts of the islands and their settlements go back to centuries ago. There is sizeable population of Indian Tamils who are the descendants of plantation workers taken by the British from southern India to Sri Lanka during mid 19th century. There are also Sri Lankan Muslims, who constitute about seven per cent of the population.

The conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils can be traced back to 1931 when the island was granted adult franchise by the British. Since the Sinhalese were in majority, the Tamils feared that their predominance in administrative services and education would dwindle. They demanded 50 per cent reservation for all the minorities but it was rejected by the British. After independence, a major blow to the Tamils came when the newly floated, Sri Lankan Freedom Party under SWRD Bandarnaike came to power in 1956 on the ‘Sinhala only’ Plank: He passed the ‘Sinhala Only Act’ making Sinhala the sole official language of Sri Lanka. This meant that the Tamils either had to learn Sinhala or lose out on Government jobs and education. Rather than eulogising the Sinhala language, the move was directed towards bringing down the over representation of Tamils in the services. This controversy came to an end by signing a pact between leaders of both factions (Government and Tamils) and Government granted some concessions.

Yet another blow to the Tamils came in 1972 when new Republican Constitution gave special status to Buddhism. In addition, the standardisation admission policy by the Government made the Tamil students’ access to higher education more difficult. To fight the discriminating laws, the frustrated Tamil youths picked up arms. They demanded separate Eelam (home land) for Tamils. On March 5, 1976 the LTTE was born.

Need of the Hour
The Sri Lankan military might be close to declaring a famous victory over the LTTE to end the 25-year civil war. But for the displaced Tamils the war of life is likely to continue for many years to come.

The international community should help amplify Sri Lankan voices that support a solution that respects the concerns of all communities equally within an undivided country. These include the Muslims, the upcountry Tamils, and the left-liberal political actors, whose significant presence has been ignored, precisely because they have not been obstacles to peace and stability in the country.

None of these steps are easy, they are not impossible either. While the belligerents make war, those who want peace in the country from within and those who wish to help from without must start their plans for establishing peace.