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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
April 25, 2006
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| April 17, 2006 |
The Challenges of Reconciliation in Sri Lanka – Dr. Mario Gomez |
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| Dr. Mario Gomez, onboard from Vietnam to Sri Lanka, updates participants with latest news on the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. |
Famous for it’s beautiful beaches, Buddhist sanctuaries and Ceylon tea, Sri Lanka is known as the Island of Serendipity. Despite its picturesque appearance, Sri Lanka is ridden with conflict and strife. A long-running civil war recently re-erupted despite a ceasefire agreement in 2002. In addition to the conflict, Sri Lanka was heavily devastated by the Tsunami of 2004 and is still struggling to regain its footing.
Dr. Mario Gomez, a Sri Lanka specialist, joined Peace Boat to give participants deeper insight into the many complex issues surrounding their next port of call. Based in Colombo, Dr. Gomez currently works at the Berghof Foundation as a Program Associate. The Berghof Foundation provides a forum for dialogue between different groups of conflict in Sri Lanka. |
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| A participant-made poster reads: Sri Lanka’s Shadow’s: the Conflict, Ceasefire, and the Road to Reconciliation. |
A Brief History of Sri Lanka’s Conflict
Sri Lanka gained its independence in 1948 after a long history of colonization under the Portuguese, Dutch and British. A Democratic Socialist Republic, Sri Lanka is a diverse country made up of many ethnicities: Sinhalese (74%), Tamil (17%), Muslim, and Burghers. The conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil separatists, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), began in 1972 when the Sri Lanka government constitutionalized Sinhala as the national language. Outraged, the Tamils stormed out of parliament, demanding to have their language officially recognized as well. Initially moderate and peaceful, they slowly began to resort to more militant and insurgent tactics to get their message across. Their demands escalated as well, they now want to see the establishment of an independent Tamil state in the Northeast part of the island.
In 1983, violent conflict exploded when the LTTE massacred a Sri Lankan army patrol. The Sinhalese retaliated with a murderous rampage that killed three thousand Tamils. Since then both sides have committed horrendous atrocities –pregnant women and children brutally killed, sons and husbands have gone missing, political figures assassinated, and land mines were abundantly planted throughout the countryside. In 1990, the Muslim community was also targeted when the LTTE demanded that they evacuate their homes in the northern region of Sri Lanka within 24 hours. In 23 year of conflict, more than a million people have been displaced.
The LTTE and Sri Lanka Government signed a ceasefire agreement in 2002 and shortly afterwards peace talks mediated by a Norwegian delegation began. This was their first serious attempt at the peace process. Both sides committed to reduce violence and allowed 350,000 displaced people to return home. However, the ceasefire was disrupted in 2005 when Foreign Minister Kadirgamar was assassinated and an intense political election followed. Political uncertainty has slowed the fragile peace process, and violence has once again increased on the ground between Tamil civilians and Sri Lanka’s security forces. Renegotiations commenced in February of 2006, the two parties reaffirmed the ceasefire agreement and have committed to continue negotiations later this year. |
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| Dr. Gomez shows the Tsunami devastated areas of Sri Lanka. |
In 2004, when the Sumatra earthquake occurred, 80% of Sri Lanka’s coastline was affected by the Tsunami. Over 35,000 people lost their lives, 99,000 homes destroyed and another 800,000 people displaced. The Tsunami presented an unprecedented opportunity for the two groups to set aside their differences and work together in relief efforts. Though the LTTE and the Sri Lanka government shared the generous outpouring of international aid, further collaborative efforts have been slow to come. “I had hoped that something similar to what happened in Aceh would happen in Sri Lanka but is has not,” said Dr. Gomez. In the wake of Tsunami, the longstanding Indonesian civil conflict was resolved when the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement came together in a successful power sharing agreement. |
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| To gain better understanding of the conflict in Sri Lanka, participants had many questions for Dr. Gomez. |
“So how do we move from the situation of ‘No War, No Peace’ to a just peace?” asked Dr. Gomez. He believes that conflict transformation is needed in Sri Lanka, not just conflict resolution. Where conflict resolution is the negotiation and the construction of peace agreements, conflict transformation “wants to deal with root causes of conflict” by implementing institutions and arrangements to manage conflict nonviolently.
Dr. Gomez believes that there are several factors that must be accomplished in order to overcome the two-decade-old civil war and restore peace. First of all, the displaced must be allowed to return to their homes and rebuild their lives. The Sri Lankan government and the Tamils need to come to an agreement over the distribution of power. The fragile relationships between the Sinhalese and Tamil need to be rebuilt. Past human right violations have to be addressed. Both parties must agree to resolve conflicts nonviolently and begin the process of demilitarization.
Dr. Gomez believes that the most important yet challenging step towards reconciliation is developing empathy for one another. “The conflict is rooted in the different perceptions of the other side. Unless Tamil, Sinhalese, and Muslim can develop this empathy, I don’t think Sri Lanka can make the transformation. “ On April 21st, participants will disembark in Sri Lanka with a greater awareness as they visit with NGOs working on both Tsunami and conflict related relief efforts.
For more information on the Berghof Foundation, click here
www.berghof-foundation.lk
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