II. Historical and Political Background to the Conflict
24. After almost three decades of brutal armed conflict, on 19 May 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka declared its victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The final stages of the war gave rise to numerous allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, about which the Panel has been tasked to advise the Secretary-General. It is not the role of the Panel to dissect the complex and contested political history of Sri Lanka. Nonetheless, in order to place the final stages of the war in its relevant political and social context, the Panel found it necessary to consider some elements of the history of the conflict.
25. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island State situated in the Indian Ocean, 18 miles off the south-eastern coast of India. Sri Lanka is an ethnically, linguistically and religiously diverse country of 21 million people, of which 74 per cent are Sinhalese, speak Sinhala and are overwhelmingly Buddhist; 18 per cent are Tamil, speak Tamil and are mostly Hindu (comprised of Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils, 13 per cent and 5 per cent respectively); 7 per cent are Muslim, comprised of Moors and Malays who practice Islam and are largely Tamil-speaking; and 1 per cent belong to small ethnic communities including the Burghers and Veddahs, among others.[1] Christians account for a small percentage of some communities.
26. Sri Lanka gained independence from the British in 1948, after four centuries of colonization, first by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British.[2] Sri Lanka has been governed, since independence, by an elite group comprised of members of different ethnic communities, within a majoritarian Sinhala State, in which Sinhalese dominate. Strong indicators of democracy, including universal franchise, a multi-party system and a vibrant electoral process, combined with important human development achievements, such as high literacy rates both for men and women and low infant mortality, contrast sharply with Sri Lanka’s long history of war.
A. Ethnicity and politics
27. The armed conflict in Sri Lanka was the violent reflection of deepening divides along political and ethnic lines. It played out as a struggle for the existence of the Sinhalese and Tamil peoples.
1. The rise of ethno-nationalism
28. After independence, political elites tended to prioritize short-term political gains, appealing to communal and ethnic sentiments, over long-term policies, which could have built an inclusive state that adequately represented the multicultural nature of the citizenry. Because of these dynamics and divisions, the formation of a unifying national identity has been greatly hampered. Meanwhile, Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism gained traction, asserting a
- ↑ The Indian Tamils, also known as Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or Plantation Tamils, descended from labourers brought by the British from south India in the 19th and early 20th centuries to work on plantations in Sri Lanka. Rendered stateless for decades, they are one of Sri Lanka’s poorest and most marginalized communities. Muslims are considered a distinct ethnic group in Sri Lanka. Populations figures are from: http://www.statistics.gov.lk/page.asp?page=Population
- ↑ Until the name was changed under the 1972 Constitution, Sri Lanka was formerly called the Republic of Ceylon.
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