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CRISIS PROFILE: Sri Lanka grapples with peace process
27 Oct 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Source: AlertNet - background material
By Dan Caspersz
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A Tamil Tiger rebel guards an entry point into a rebel-held area of Sri Lanka's eastern district of Batticaloa.
Photo by ANURUDDHA LOKUHAPUARACHCHI
LONDON (AlertNet ) - Despite a two-year ceasefire, violence and suffering are still a fact of life for many in Sri Lanka. Some 64,000 have died in 20 years of bitter civil war. An uneasy standoff between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels has left the country deeply fractured and the after effects of the war linger.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees are unable to return to their homes. Millions of landmines and explosive debris have left large areas of land uninhabitable. Malnutrition is widespread among children in conflict-stricken areas, while boys and girls under 15 continue to be abducted and trained for war.
Routine killings and suicide bombings are no longer an everyday occurrence, but they’re still a part of life for many. Nobody wants a return to all out war, but with deep divisions on both sides, a permanent peace seems a long way away.
What is the fighting about?
The conflict is based on deep ethnic divisions and the fight for control of the island. Seventy-four percent of Sri Lankans are Singhalese and mainly Buddhist. Eighteen percent are Tamils -- the largest minority and typically Hindu.
Following independence in 1948, Singhalese nationalism alienated some minorities and led Tamil movements to seek a separate homeland, or “Eelam”, in the north and the east of the island. The most hard-line of these movements were the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), known as the Tamil Tigers.
The conflict began in 1983 when the Tigers ambushed and massacred an army patrol. The Sri Lankan government failed to prevent widespread Singhalese rioting. Hundreds of Tamils were killed and tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes.
Violence swiftly escalated and continued unabated through the 1980s and 1990s. Full-scale war in the north was accompanied by widespread massacres, disappearances and torture by both sides.
The Tigers used suicide bombings to devastating effect with attacks on Sri Lanka’s financial institutions, religious sites and tourist industry. Assassinations claimed the lives of government ministers and even a president.
The Sri Lankan government fought back with huge military force, plunging the country into an ongoing state of emergency.
Why hasn’t anybody intervened?
India, Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour, tried but ended up regretting it.
In 1987 the Sri Lankan and Indian governments agreed an accord to give autonomy to areas with Tamil majorities in the north and east. An Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was put in place to guarantee the agreement and disarm the rebels.
Widespread opposition to the foreign presence and bitter fighting with the Tigers led India to withdraw the last of its 80,000-strong force in 1990, having lost more than 1,000 lives. A year later, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Civil war resumed where it had left off, even more bloody than before.
The world has been careful not to get too involved in Sri Lankan affairs since then. The Norwegians have been the exception, playing an active role in mediating peace talks and leading the monitoring of the ceasefire.
How did the ceasefire come about?
The September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and the election of a new Sri Lankan prime minister provided the impetus for peace talks.
The Tigers were understandably keen to shed the “terrorist” label given to them by the government and some members of the international community. By the beginning of 2002, the government and the Tigers had signed a permanent ceasefire agreement.
The biggest positive development has been the Tiger’s relaxation of their demand for an independent state. They’re apparently satisfied now to be given regional autonomy in the contested areas.
The government now controls the Jaffna peninsula at the far northern tip of the island. Below that point, large parts of the north and east are controlled by the Tigers from their capital in Kilinochchi, deep in the northern jungles.
Tiger territory is a no-go area for the Sri Lankan army and Singhalese civilians aren’t welcome.
The fighting has stopped, but major mistrust on both sides means no agreement has been reached on how to proceed. In April 2003, the Tigers withdrew from peace talks, saying they were being sidelined. The stakes were raised in June 2003 when donors promised $4.5 billion in aid conditional on progress with the peace talks.
So where does this leave the Sri Lankan people?
Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced during the conflict. At the height of the fighting for Jaffna in 1995, just 400 of the originally population of 140,000 remained in the city.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 386,100 people remain internally displaced by the conflict, with 39 per cent of those under 18 years of age.
The World Refugee Survey estimates that 143,000 Sri Lankans remain refugees in India. UNHCR figures show that 345,734 people have returned since the ceasefire agreement in 2002. Most of the Sri Lankan internally displaced people and refugees are Tamil, along with several thousand Singhalese and Muslims.
Fear of renewed fighting isn’t the only thing keeping people away from their homes. NGOs estimate that 1.5 million landmines are strewn across the war-torn north and east, mostly located near villages and public buildings.
Despite a concerted effort to clear mines, estimates suggest that just 20 percent of the mines laid have been cleared since the ceasefire. In areas where people have returned to their homes, mine-risk education programmes do a huge amount to create awareness among people who have to live with landmines.
Neither side will commit to a ban on the use of landmines in the future, which limits the funds made available for clearance. NGOs remain hopeful and are committed to clearing areas critical to the return of refugees by the end of 2006.
Large areas of agricultural land have been laid to waste, which has made malnutrition a problem in war-torn areas. Research conducted by the World Food Programme shows that 38 percent of Sri Lankan children aged between three months and five years are underweight. Nearly one in four children have stunted growth and one in five children have a low birth weight.
One of the biggest tragedies of the conflict in Sri Lanka has been the widespread use of child soldiers by the Tigers and other Tamil groups. Boys and girls under 15 were forcibly abducted from their parents to fight for the Tigers. In some cases, children as young as nine have been recruited.
The Tigers have pledged to put a stop to the recruitment of child soldiers, but UNICEF says the practice continues -- albeit in smaller numbers. Parents who try to prevent abductions are threatened with violence.
The problem is endemic in this conflict. When 1,300 child soldiers were released by the Tigers in 2003, many were swiftly re-recruited or are known to have returned to service voluntarily. Transit care centres for former child soldiers are underfunded and run by Tiger organisations in Tiger-controlled areas.
What’s preventing a permanent end to the conflict?
The peace process is stuck in limbo as internal divisions on both sides make negotiation almost impossible.
After a prolonged political standoff with the pro-reconciliation Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, then opposition President Chandrika Kumaratunga suspended the Sri Lankan parliament in November 2003.
Victory at the polls in April 2004 allowed her to oust the prime minister to form her own coalition government. Her partner in government is the nationalist People’s Liberation Front (JVP) party, which opposes concessions to the Tigers.
The Tigers also have their hands full at the moment. In March 2004, a Tiger commander known as Colonel Karuna attempted a rebellion against the Tiger leadership led by Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Although the insurrection was quickly contained, Karuna and his supporters have gone into hiding and remain a disruptive influence and the Tigers suspect Sri Lankan army involvement. Hundreds have been killed as the two Tiger factions jostle for control.
What hope is there for lasting peace?
Despite all the difficulties there is no appetite for renewed fighting -- for now at least. Norwegian-led ceasefire monitors have recorded countless ceasefire violations, but they see no sign of preparations for war.
The conflict is so deep and complex that it could take years to resolve totally. In the meantime, while both sides court international favour they are being encouraged to put their people’s immediate welfare first.
Where can I read more?
UNHCR provides an account of the refugee problem in its Sri Lanka Global Report.
For information on the child soldier problem, see Human Rights Watch's briefing for the UN Security Council.
A comprehensive overview of Sri Lanka’s landmine problem is provided by the Landmine Monitor Report.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission’s website provides in depth details of ceasefire violations.
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