Sri Lanka Causes and Consequences of conflict

Social Studies notes: Theme: Conflict in Multi-ethnic societies

Chp 4 Sec 3 Social Studies [X Ref – Bonding Singapore]

Key Question: “The key cause of the Sri Lankan Civil War was because of historical reasons.” How far do you agree? Explain.

A) Causes of Sri Lanka Conflict

Factor	Explanation
Sinhala only policy	Sinhalese government declared Sinhala as the official language in 1956 by Official Language Act à Language test requirement for all Tamils who wanted to work in the Civil Service à had 3 years to master the language à if they failed test à sacked or could not be promoted à forced to learn another race’s language à Tamils would not be as good in Sinhala compared to the Sinhalese à  Sense of unfairness à more Sinhalese would pass the language test than Tamils à Tamils would lose their jobs à no income à families would suffer à anger towards the Sinhalese for creating this situation à Tension increases between races à conflict
No citizenship rights for Indian Tamils	Indian Tamils à Not given citizenship when SL became independent à no citizenship rights à [Reasons for anger of Indian Tamils towards Sinhalese à raised tension à conflict between the 2 races] a) Indian Tamils had contributed to economy of Sri Lanka by working in the tea plantations à tea was a major export for SL à yet the SL government did not reward them with citizenship à Indian Tamils felt insulted à tension increased b) no citizenship = no free education benefits, public housing rights à quality of life reduced à their families face bleak future à hopeless and helpless à turned their anger towards the Sinhalese à tension increased. c) no citizenship = no voting rights + stateless à no power to change the SL government à felt even more helpless à Indian Tamils felt neglected à developed anger towards the Sinhalese à tension increased.
Unfair university admission criteria	University entry criterion made more stringent for Tamils à Tamils have to score higher on entry tests to make it to local universities à e.g. for the Medicine course à Tamils needed a much higher mark of 250 as compared to just 229 to enter the course à effectively fewer Tamils could become doctors à hence, fewer Tamils will graduate from university à could only work in lower paying jobs à Lower standard of living for the entire community à effectively the entire community’s future generations are condemned to a bleaker future since many are denied a higher education because of this discriminatory law against their race à No meritocracy à Tamils feel angry towards the Sinhalese because of such unfairness à increased tension between the races.
Resettlement	Moved Sinhalese into Tamil-majority areas  à Areas belonged to Tamils given to landless Sinhala peasants to grow “padi”/rice à Tamils felt that their territory had been invaded à their property taken without permission à found this insulting à Sinhalese did not respect what belonged to the Tamils. Sinhalese moved in with their military à caused the Tamils to feel threatened à Tamils felt helpless and could not stop Sinhalese action à Sinhalese also brought with them their religious leaders Buddhist Monks à Tamils are Hindu à the presence of Buddhist monks meant that the Sinhalese were also attempting to spread their religion à Tamils felt even more threatened and intimidated à [Raised/increased] tension arose between the 2 races. [ Conflict – escalation of conflict/tension]
Actions by the colonial master Britain Historical reasons	Britain colonized SL (till 1947) à British favored the Tamils à used English as official language à many Tamils learnt the language à given positions of responsibility (In the colonial government in SL à better off than Sinhalese during British rule à Sinhalese were already unhappy with the Tamils from the colonial times à jealous of the Tamils’ favoured position with the British. The discrimination by the Sinhalese towards the Tamils à a reaction to the Sinhalese wish to regain control of SL à aim was to rebalance the favoured position of the Tamils in favour of the Sinhalese à After the British left, Sinhalese wanted to regain their superiority à created a series of laws than reduced the influence of the Tamils à aimed at making the Sinhalese the more influential race in Sri Lanka and reduce the power and wealth of the Tamils who had benefited from British Rule à series of discriminatory laws such as the Sinhala only Act and the more stringent University Admission Criteria for Tamils à led to Tamils being discriminated à further tension between the races created.
Historical factors/colonialism [Tamils picked up English Language and were educated in Colonial Sri Lanka]	Many Tamils hired in the British colonial government before SL’s independence à Sinhalese were jealous of the special position Tamils enjoyed à Tamils were proficient in English à Sinhalese felt threatened by Tamils who were holding onto government jobs and were better educated à caused Sinhalese to create laws that favoured themselves but which discriminated against the Tamils à aim was to rebalance the privileges the Sinhalese believed the Tamils had enjoyed under colonial rule à hence the discrimination the Tamils’ experienced is linked to Sinhalese aim to win back control of Sri Lanka àthis perception of the Sinhalese is historical in nature and led to the Sinhalese discriminatory laws à this ensured that the Sinhalese would be the more influential race in post-colonial Sri Lanka à For example, the Sinhala only policy was aimed at removing the Tamils from the civil service à the policy itself was seen as discriminatory by the Tamils and raised tensions à conflict.

B) Consequences of Sri Lanka Conflict

Factor	Explanation
Social consequence = Impact on the people minus economic matters Jaffna = Northern area in Sri Lankan.	Tamil were driven out of their town and villages by the Sinhalese forces à Aim was to clear Tamil majority areas of Tamil Tigers à impossible to differentiate innocent Tamils from the LTTE members à Sinhalese soldiers decided to force ALL Tamils out of where they were living à these areas cleared of all Tamils including possible LTTE members à Developed HSZ(High Security Zones) set up by the Sri Lankan military. The Tamil civilians were fleeing their towns and villages and moving North à to escape the fighting between the LTTE and government forces à avoid being killed in the cross-fire. [ Fleeing of the Tamils = Tamils leaving their homes/towns/villagers ] The Tamil refugees à in fleeing their homes à lose most of their possessions , land and have no shelter over their heads à lack of security + life becomes harsh as they are constantly on the move. Many Tamils became refugees à Lived in deplorable conditions in refugee camps à exposed to the elements à poor nutrition and no proper shelter à cramped conditions à Diseases spread easily in these dirty conditions à many died or suffered from illness and malnutrition due to the lack of hygiene and proper food and clean water. = Humanitarian disaster à Hence serious and devastating consequence.
Political consequence = Armed Conflict Foreign intervention	Foreign intervention à by India Loss of national pride for the Sri Lanka government à diminished/eroded international standing of SL government à sovereignty violated through violation of airspace à message is SL was unable to defend itself and stop foreign nations from violating its territorial space. Indians were aiding the SL Tamils à interference in Sri Lankan domestic affairs without their permission à SL govt lost the respect of the international community à danger of intervention by other states possible à further erosion of SL government’s reputation for being able to stand up for itself à Makes it more challenging for the SL govt. to be respectfully treated in its diplomatic relations with other states since India has set the precedent of disrespecting SL already. Example: Peace accord( Peace treaty btw the SL govt and the LTTE) à SL forced to accept it à India was a militarily stronger nation à SL forced to accept the presence of Indian peace-keeping troops on SL soil à again sovereignty of SL violated. Presence of Indian troops did not end the war = The SL govt. was embarrassed. Armed conflict à policies of the Sinhalese controlled SL government made the Tamils feel discriminated à Voiced their unhappiness peacefully to be treated properly à Tamil political parties asked for Tamil areas to be considered a Federation for partial self-government à rejected à Tamil United Liberation Front which later became the Tamil Tigers emerged à asked for a independent Tamil State or Eelam à believed that since Tamils were neglected and discriminated à having their own state and caring for themselves was the best option à Sri Lankan government rejected idea à started the LTTE à use violence to obtain their rights à [Damage] à innocent people were killed in attacks on Sinhalese soldiers/police and government officials including Tamils à Led to retaliation by Sinhalese àMany incidents of violence à Civil War started when 13 Sinhalese soldiers were killed by the LTTE à [Outcome] infrastructure destroyed à normal daily activities disrupted à public services disrupted à roads and bridges destroyed à money needed to rebuild such damage à strain on government finances à hence lower quality of life à people also get killed in fighting/bombing and families suffer pain of such loss à Civil war went on for almost 30 years and ended only in 2009 à more than 60,000 people died à much of Sri Lanka did not develop during this time à hence armed conflict had a devastating and damaging impact.
Economic {Please fill this up yourselves}	(1) Drop in investments à Investors’ property may get damaged due to àTerrorism and civil war àNo foreign investors like to come to Sri Lanka + existing ones flee à Unemployment (2) Drop in tourists à Tourists do not want to be caught in cross-fire à may get killed or injured à avoid Sri Lanka completely as a tourists destinations à businesses linked to hospitality will close à (3) (3) Unemployment = Loss of jobs à Loss of income à Cannot support family à Live in poverty à standard of living drops.
Weighing	Criteria = damage is not easily reversed In conclusion, the most serious consequence of the Sri Lankan conflict is the political consequence of armed conflict as the outcome of armed conflict is the loss of thousands of lives which is irreversible. The loss of a family member is permanent and irreplaceable. However, while the economic consequences of unemployment because of loss of tourism and investors are serious, it can be reversed once the civil war is over and things return to peace. Also, the social consequence of being a suffering refugee, while serious, is largely reversible once the war ends and the refugees return to their respective homes or areas.