Ltte And The Sri Lankan Government example essay topic

Introduction The past twenty years in Sri Lanka has been wrought with war between the government and the Liberations Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Over 60,000 people have died, and the economy and homeland of the Tamil people has suffered greatly. The conflict began in the 1950's when the Sinhalese had the perception that the Tamil had too large of a roll in the government, and then managed to nearly remove Tamil influence (although the make up ~20% of the Sri Lankan population). With the governments refusal to bring things into balance, Tamil militant groups began to demand their own nation. The current situation in Sri Lanka is no longer war. For the past for months there has been a cease fire that both sides have recognized.

This paper will further discuss the historical background that led to these twenty years of civil war, and then analyze why previous attempts at peace have failed. Finally, it will discuss why the current cease fire is lasting longer than the others, and what must still be done to ensure permanent peace in Sri Lanka. Historical Background During the British Colonial period, there was an English speaking elite governing Sri Lanka. This group consisted of both the Tamil and Sinhalese people. In the southern areas, the local Sinhala speaking elites saw the English speaking government as a barrier to their advancement. Also, they felt that there were a disproportionately high number of Tamils in this government.

In the 1956 election, these local elites defeated the United National Party, and attempted to correct the perceived unfair advantages of the Ceylon Tamils. In the coming years, several actions were taken to reduce the number of Tamil people in the government: - The official government language was changed to Sinhala - The removal of schools from the control of private bodies (which caused schools in Tamil control to lose funding) - The introduction of ethnic quotas for university entrance, which prevented qualified Tamils from attaining an education In response to these actions, the Tamil people made several requests of the government: - A federal constitution; - Equality of status for the Tamil and Sinhala languages - Granting of citizenship to the Up-country Tamils - Halt to government-sponsored Sinhalese resettlement in what were seen as traditional Tamil speaking areas With the government not acting on their agreements or demands, the Tamil people saw a separate state as their only hope. Tensions continued to grow, and in 1983 war broke out when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil (LTTE) ambushed and killed 13 soldiers. India attempted some peacemaking exercises, which resulted in the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987. This accord was signed by the governments of Sri Lanka and India, and appeared to meat several of the LTTE grievances. The LTTE, however, saw this as a betrayal of India (Where many Tamil people live), and more killing resulted.

The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), which was deployed as part of the accord, was soon caught up in war with the LTTE and was finally withdrawn. Peace talks between the government and the LTTE began in 1989, but lasted only briefly, ending when the LTTE attacked police posts in the east. In 1994, the People's Alliance Coalition (PA) government came to power, promising sincere efforts for peace. In early 1995, fighting ceased while peace talks began. The PA reduced economic sanctions on the north. In mid April, the LTTE declared the government to be evasive and non-committal, and the next day they violated the agreement by launching suicide attacks on two gunboats of the Sri Lankan Navy.

In the coming years, the Sri Lankan government attempted to modify the constitution to appease the LTTE, but nothing ever came of it. In 2002, Norwegian mediators helped the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government agree to a permanent ceasefire (a Memorandum of Understanding), ending 20 years of fighting after 60,000 deaths. The Tamil acceptance of the ceasefire was contingent upon the lifting of sanctions and the removal of a ban on fishing. Although there is not currently any major fighting, the two sides still have many issues to discuss before peace is truly reached. Causes of the Outbreak of War in 1983 The reasons for the outbreak of war in 1983 were quite obvious. The militant Tamil people were facing a government unwilling to consider their requests.

After years rule under the Sinhalese, they faced reduced opportunities for education, and little representation in government even though they made up almost 20% of the population. War continued because the Sri Lankan government sought mostly to do the minimum to make the militants go away. They did this by military action, economic sanctions, and peace talks all simultaneously. The economic sanctions did little to persuade the LTTE because they saw them as yet another example of being repressed by the government. Failure of the 1989 Peacemaking efforts Although the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 appeared to address several Tamil grievances (such as the recognition of Tamil as an official language and offered a system of devolution (transfer of power to local units) ), it was made and signed without the input of the LTTE. Furthermore, the LTTE saw this Accord as a betrayal because many Tamil people reside in India and because it was made without their input.

When the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) arrived in order to enforce the cease fire, they immediately engaged with the LTTE and were later withdrawn. Without them, negotiations quickly broke down as the LTTE began preparing for war. Failure of the 1995 peacekeeping efforts There were several reasons that contributed to the rapid breakdown of the cease fire. One of the main reasons was that each side (the LTTE and the PA government) had distinctly different goals in the peacemaking process. While the government wanted to work on a political package to solve the ethnic conflict, the LTTE wanted to discuss reconstruction and rehabilitation of their homeland. Also contributing was that fact that both sides felt the other side was unwilling to budge.

There are several other theories on why these talks failed: - That both the LTTE and the military used the period of 'peace' to re-arm and regroup - That the government sought merely to establish a favorable impression among the international community to secure economic assistance Another possibility for the sudden breakdown was that the LTTE saw the negotiations as a trap. Instead of trying to deal with the LTTE's problems, the LTTE felt the government was just trying to get them out of the way. In part, this is true because while for the LTTE the war was meant to bring back and keep their way of life, the government saw the war as an activity interfering with its other duties. Because of this perceived trap, the LTTE attempted to develop first strike capability, which explains why they suddenly ended the negotiations with several surprise attacks. Current peacekeeping efforts The current situation is more likely to succeed than previous attempts at peace. Both sides finally realized they will have to compromise, and are willing to discuss issues important to the other side.

For example, the Sri Lankan government lifted the seven year embargo on food and medicine into the rebel controlled northern territory. They also removed restrictions on fishing in these territories. The fact that the Sri Lankan government did these things before the signing of the agreement went a long way towards showing the LTTE that this was a sincere effort. The presence of an international support is also greatly increasing the chances of success. The presence of Norway acting as a mediator in the fabrication of the Memorandum of Understanding helped both sides realize that sacrifices would have to be made. The presence of international monitors in the months following cease fire is also prevented both sides from taking advantage of the peace in order to prepare for a military assault.

In order for negotiations to succeed, both sides must have a sincere trust in the other. To this end, the Lankan government has showed that this is a sincere effort by removing the embargo's and limits on fishing. The LTTE have not demonstrated a similar effort as of yet. Most of the burden is on the government, however, ? as for the LTTE the only was they know is war, and have no experience in creating a working peace agreement. As stated in Democracy and Deep-Rooted Conflict: Options for Negotiators: "in deep-rooted conflict, parties who come to the negotiation table carry with them an abiding experience of conflict, struggle and war. The exercise of force has been their dominant, perhaps only, mode of engagement.

The key challenge in process design is to invert that experience, to get the contenders focused on fears, concerns and interests and the importance of reconciling them, on issues and the importance of resolving them. An effective process is one that will prove itself resilient and durable in the face of delays, deadlocks, walkouts, continuing violence, raised hopes, false expectations and angry words". Conclusion: Although previous attempts at peace in Sri Lanka have been made, the current situation seems much more promising. The Sri Lankan government has shown a sincere effort to meet some Tamil demands, and the presence of an international mediator has prevented further fighting.