Chpt 4 Notes Sec 3

Chapter 4
Social Studies notes: Theme: Conflict in Multi-ethnic societies
Chapter 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 languageà 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 àyet the SL government did not reward them with citizenship àIndian 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 futureà 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 Sinhaleseà tension increased.
Unfair university admission criteria	University entry criterion made more stringent for Tamils àTamils 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 àhence, 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 àTamils 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 àTamils felt helpless and could not stop Sinhalese action àSinhalese 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 àused 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 ruleà 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 àseries 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 Tigersà 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 àlack 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 = Foreign intervention Armed Conflict	Foreign intervention à by India Loss of national pride for the Sri Lanka government àdiminished/eroded international standing of SL government àsovereignty 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 forpartial 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 SinhaleseàMany 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 àpublic services disrupted à roads and bridges destroyed àmoney 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 àCivil war went on for almost 30 years and ended only in 2009 àmore 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 closeà (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.

C) Causes of Northern Ireland Conflict

Factor	Explanation
Historical factors [ Lost of Fertile lands; Medieval Penal Laws; View of the Protestants as descendants of the English Invaders ]	Start point of NI conflict is historical à 12th century à English who were Protestants invaded Ireland which was Catholic à The Protestants in Northern Ireland are the descendants of the original British invaders. The past actions of the English Protestants were not done in favour of the Irish who are Catholics. a) The invading English stole the fertile land + drove the Irish off the land à the Irish Catholics fled to the South à Those who stayed behind in the North were left with the less fertile land à Irish Catholics found themselves driven off their ancestral land à because of poor farmland to grow crops to make a living à Catholics became poorer à standard of living fell à angry towards the English Protestants and their descendants.  b) Protestant rulers came up with the Medieval laws that prevented the Catholics from owning land or having higher education à these laws designed to prevent the Catholics from being economically independent à The catholic community were being made poor by these laws created by the Protestants.  The medieval laws also prevented the Catholics from voting à this led to the Catholics being unable change the policies since they could not vote the protestants out à it was these laws created centuries earlier that created a legacy of discrimination against the Catholics and which made generations of Catholics hate Protestants à thus the root cause of the conflict between the 2 communities stretches back into history. c) Finally, the Irish Catholics view the Protestants as the descendants of the original English invaders who took away their land and country and artificially divided Ireland into Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. Hence, the loyalties of the Catholics are towards the people of the Republic of Ireland and they yearn for reunificationà without the wish for a common destiny and future, the Catholics and Protestants are doomed to be divided and distrustful of each other.
Divided loyalties	The Protestants loyal to Britain as the English are their ancestors and wanted NI to remain as part of Britain. Catholics wanted to break away from the UK and rejoin Northern Ireland, as the people in NI and ROI are from the same heritage but separated by the English invasion. Both communities were unable to see a common future for NI together à deep differences on how to move NI forward politically à Both sides distrusted each another’s political intentions and motives à no common goal for the future of NI à difficult to cooperate and trust each other à led to tension between Catholics and Protestants.
No voting rights for Catholics	Catholics up till 1969 were not allowed to vote à Only citizens of NI who owned their own homes and businesses could vote and those who owned larger businesses could get more votes àthis system benefited the Protestants who were wealthier and the poorer Catholic community ended up with fewer votes à This unfair electoral system led many Catholics to dislike the Protestants for creating these laws to govern the number of votes per person à This was in favour of the Protestants and guaranteed that the Protestants would be more likely to stay in power in NI and the Catholics would be less likely to vote in a government that would treat them more fairly à sense of injustice and being trapped by the system led the Catholics to hate the Protestants even more.
Unfair allocation of housing	The city councils were controlled by the Protestants à allocated the housing to citizens à even though Catholic families were larger, they were given smaller homes + made of inferior material + Catholics had to wait longer for their homes than Protestants à viewed as discrimination by the Catholics à caused the Catholics to not have proper housing à As most Catholics were poorer, they depended on government housing yet were “blocked” from gaining fair access to such housing à Catholic quality of life was negatively affected and this made the Catholics dislike the Protestants à increasing the tension between the 2 communities.
Separation of communities – lack of opportunities for social interaction.	Residential areas The Catholics and the Protestants live in separate neighborhoods. This causes them to have minimal interaction with one another. This causes them to have a lack of understanding as they have little opportunity to interact and form friendships. Hence, the 2 communities remain physically separated with little opportunity for socializing. Thus when there are any misunderstandings between the 2 communities, there is little chance for the 2 sides to mediate as they have little understanding of none another.  Separate school system Also, there are separate school systems in NI and this ensures that the 2 communities did not get much chance to interact with one another from a young age. Protestant pupils attended British schools which focus on British sports, history while the catholic schools focus on Irish sports and heritage. Thus from young, the 2 communities see themselves as different and thus this leads a a lack of unity in NI. Thus the young of both sides never have a chance to interact and hence from young they view the other community with suspicion as their is little chance friendship or understanding to develop between the 2 communities.
Unequal employment opportunities	The Catholics were given the same chances for employment as the protestants. The Catholics were discriminate against in getting jobs in the government that was controlled by the protestants. Many of the large businesses in NI were also owned by Protestants and hence they preferred not to employ Catholics. Thus Catholics felt that they were not able to earn a living and take care of their families. As a result many catholic families were poor and had a poor quality of life not because the Catholics were less educated or able but simply because they were discriminated due to their religion. This made them angry with the Protestants as they controlled the government and the large businesses which refused to employ Catholics and this made the Catholic families suffer financially. Hence this caused Catholics to dislike the Protestants and thus raise tension between Catholics and Protestants.
Bloody Sunday	Bloody Sunday à (1972) British troops which had been sent to keep the peace between the Catholics and protestants opened fired on peaceful Catholic protestors on a civil rights march àCatholic civilians were killed à this angered the Catholics as the British Troops were supposed to be neutral and to keep the peace but ended up killing un armed Catholics à this was the last straw for the Catholics à felt that peaceful approach to fight for their civil rights was not effective à Catholics embraced the Irish Republican Army ( IRA) à this led to more Catholics endorsing violence and joining in the IRA à reduced likelihood for peaceful solution to the tension between the 2 communities à Bloody Sunday is the modern escalation of the Northern Ireland conflict.
Weighing for cause of NI conflict – Which is the main cause of conflict?	In conclusion, the main cause of conflict is divided loyalties because as long  as the Protestants and the Catholics cannot see eye to eye on matters on the political future of Northern Ireland because of their divided loyalties, it will be impossible for either side to agree with one another on other matters and the likelihood of having tensions and suspicion will be higher OR Historical factors as this is the root cause of the hatred between the 2 communities.

D) Consequences of NI conflict

“The consequences of the NI conflict are solely negative.” How far do you agree? Explain.

Stand: I agree to a small extent as there was also a positive consequence.

Factor	Explanation
Social (-)	Some of the consequences were indeed negative…… Social segregation à Catholics and Protestants stayed in different residential areas. Separated by peace walls à never had a chance to interact from young with members of the other community à there is no level of comfort à distrust and fear abounds. The 2 communities also separated in school and educationà different school systems.
Economic (-)	Economic decline à investors stayed away because of the unrest and the civil war à fewer companies and few tourists à businesses declined à fewer jobs à unemployment à no income or low incomes à standard of living in NI falls for both Catholics and Protestants.
Political Reform (+)	However, there were positive political outcomes as well such as the signing of the peace agreements between the Catholics and the Protestants and the laying down of the arms by the IRA. This came about because the NI conflict was violent and there was pressure on the British government from the international community to make sure that a peaceful outcome between the IRA and the NI government was achieved by having a peace agreement between both the Catholics and the Protestants. As a result of the conflict, Catholics today enjoy better treatment by the Protestants as the world started to pay attention to the plight of the Catholics and the discrimination they were facing because of the civil war. This attention forced the NI government and the British government to gradually seek ways to treat the Catholics better and give them equality. Hence, while the conflict created harm, it also led to fairer treatment for the Catholics eventually.