1. DIVIDED COUNTRIES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_kysrN5Osc
DIVIDED

2. CONFLICT IN MULTI-ETHNIC SOCIETIES:
CASE STUDY 1:
Sri Lanka
CASE STUDY 2:
N Ireland

3. Why do people of different races and religions disagree?
Not allowed to keep traditional way of life; forced to adopt different set of customs and traditions
Language and education policies which do not consider their interests
Law has been unfair to them
Fight for control of power
Disagreement on how the country should be ruled
Job opportunities or economic resources

4. How do people resolve these disagreements?
Tolerance
Peaceful protest & marches
Hunger strikes
Taking up arms
Diplomatic negotiations to work out a peace settlement

5. Conflict in Multi-ethnic Sri Lanka

8. First,
The scenic side of Sri Lanka…

11. How was Sri Lanka like few years ago?

12. Some parts in Colombo are marred by …

14. Tamil woman suicide bomber killed 23, wounded 60 Friday 05, July 1996
[Source :

16. SRI LANKA
The setting for a violatile situation

17. SRI LANKANS 3 major races SINHALESE TAMILS MOORS
Map 2000
SRI LANKANS
3 major races
SINHALESE
TAMILS
MOORS

18. SINHALESE SPEAK SINHALA; BUDDHISTS TAMILS SPEAK TAMIL; HINDUS
Sri Lankan Tamils
Descendants of Tamils who have been living in Sri Lanka for centuries
Indian Tamils
Descendants of tea plantation workers brought in from India by the British
MOORS MUSLIMS
Descendants of Arab or Indian Muslim traders

20. SRI LANKA 1798 to 1948 4 Feb 1948 22 May 1972 British Colony
Gained independence
Known as Ceylon
22 May 1972
Officially became known as the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

21. SRI LANKA
But why did conflict arise?

22. Resettlement of Population
SRI LANKA
Racial Differences
Sinhalese vs Tamils
Conflicts over
Citizenship rights
Language policy
University Admission
Resettlement of Population

23. Political decisions that led to conflict …

24. Citizenship rights
1948: Indian Tamils became stateless due to amendment in citizenship clauses
Granted citizenship only to those who were either born in SL or those whose forefathers were born there.
1964: Indian Tamils who were stateless received help from India to become citizens of India again

25. In 2003, SL passed the Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Bill.
Citizenship given to any person of Indian origin who had permanently lived in SL since 1964 or was descended from someone who had permanently stayed in SL since that date.

26. ‘Sinhala only’ policy
Under the British rule, the minority English-educated Tamils were able to occupy some fo the most powerful jobs in the government service.
Eight years after independence, in 1956, Sinhala was declared as the country’s official language.
Sinhala, not English, was to be used as administrative language

27. impact
Peaceful demonstration against the Official language Act took place.
Supporters of the Sinhala language disrupted the demonstration.
Rioting occurred and hundreds died.
- What action did the government do to appease the situation?

28. July 1958
Pact signed which made Tamil the language of national minority and used for administrative purposes in areas where there were Tamils
Consequence
protests from Sinhalese which resulted in withdrawal of pact in 1958
Violence escalated

29. In1978
Tamil declared national language in Sri Lankan Constitution and used mainly for administration in northern and eastern parts of the country as well as an official language.
English used as medium of communication amongst the different groups.

30. University admission Before 1970 Based on merit
Medium of instruction in exams: English
Sinhalese dissatisfied that there were almost as many Tamils as Sinhalese in the university medical and engineering courses
Did not reflect population proportion in the country

31. After 1970, the government introduced new university admission criteria.
Measures taken to lessen Tamil students in university – what are these measures?
Tamils had to score higher marks than the Sinhalese students to enter the same courses in university.
A fixed no. of places reserved for Sinhalese
Consequence: significant fall in percentage of Tamil students as opposed to rise of Sinhalese students

32. Resettling of Sinhalese
Indian Tamils lived in highland districts
Sri Lankan Tamils located mainly in Jaffna & Batticaloa
Policy in 1950 to resettle poor Sinhalese peasants from densely populated central and southwestern parts to the Tamil-majority areas

33. Population Resettlement
Consequence:
Tamils who felt that the Sinhalese were ‘intruders in their territories’-
Sinhalese peasants
Buddhist monks
Soldiers who were mainly Sinhalese
Whole villages were driven out by the Sri Lankan army to be occupied by Sinhalese settlers
The new settlers were also provided protection by the army

34. impact
Unhappiness amongst Tamils felt marginalized and rejected by the large-scale government resettlement schemes into these traditional areas of Tamils

35. Consequences of conflict..

36. consequences
Political
Economic
Social

37. Political consequences of the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict

38. Tamils embarked on armed conflict
Peaceful demands made initially
1950: Federal party requested for recognition of federation of Tamil areas in the country.
1976: Tamil United Liberation Front formed to fight for independent state for the Tamils
Separate state to be known as Tamil Eelam

39. Rejection by government to the demands
In 1976, the militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or Tamil Tigers was formed to pressure the government to give in to their demands
Sinhalese also showed hostility towards Tamils through violence.
Between , anti-Tamil riots broke out

40. During the 1983 riots, 13 Sinhalese soldiers were killed by the Tamil Tigers
The riots sparked a long armed conflict between government forces and Tamil Tigers in the struggle for self rule in the north and east of the country.
The internal war has been on-going for 20 years, and cost more than 60,000 lives.

41. Intervention from India
Initially played the role of mediator in response to 1983 riots
Mediator: neutral party who acts as peacemaker to resolve conflicts
However, peace talks between Sinhalese and Tamils (initiated by India) FAILED
In June 1987, Indian government decided to send food supplies and petroleum to help the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka

42. Map of Sri Lanka

43. BUT Sri Lankan navy turned them away
Indian Air Force decided to send their supplies through air, resulting in violation of Sri Lankan airspace

44. July 1987: to resolve conflict with India over the abovementioned incident, peace accord was signed. It included:
Ceasefire between Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan forces
Tamil Tigers to surrender all their arms to Indian peacekeeping troops
Merging of northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka where Tamils are dominant group

45. Impact of India’s intervention:
Sri Lanka lost the sovereignty to govern itself.
People lose confidence in government
More instability in country
Hostility and distrust among people

46. Peacekeeping: successful?
NO! Why?
Tamil Tigers failed to abide to the agreement to surrender their weapons
Indian troops took over Tamil-dominated Jaffna
Confrontations are between Indian troops and Tamil Tigers from then onwards

47. Economic consequences of the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict

48. Unemployment
Riots of July 1983 left many factory workers, plantation and self-employed jobless
E.g. destroying their workplaces by vandalism or burning them down
crime rate in the country rose as a large number of Sinhalese took part in vandalism, looting and burning of their places of work occurred ,

49. Investment loss from other countries
Investments play a vital role in the economic growth of Sri Lanka
However, riots in the country led to fall in investments due to the instability

50. Fall in tourism
Tourism is another major component of the economy in Sri Lanka
Riots=>loss of jobs=> fall of economy
Fall in tourism which resulted in loss of jobs and decline in the economy

51. Social consequences of the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict

52. Sri Lankan Tamils driven out of their homeland
Large-scale displacement of Tamils (in July 1983, many Tamils fled to Tamil Nadu)
In 1990s, High Security Zones (HSZ) were set up by Sri Lankan army to contain LTTE

53. In 1995, many Tamils fled their homes when the Sri Lankan army moved into Jaffna to take on the LTTE.
Today, many Tamils still live in overcrowded conditions in refugee camps or with relatives and friends

54. 2005 Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadingamar, a Tamil, was assassinated
2005 Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadingamar, a Tamil, was assassinated. His campaign against a separate Tamil state angered LTTE, a setback to peace
A string of attacks ensued
Tamil Tigers vowed to use available resources to obtain independence
Peace talks to commence in 2006

57. Women and children massacred by LTTE in Kotiyagala in Monaragala District in Sri Lanka, Dec 1995

58. Is peace possible? 2002 Peace talks on ceasefire pact
LTTE dissatisfied
First Suicide bomb since 2001
Devastation was large - 30,000
Foreign aid not given to both

59. Was the formation of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) a help or hindrance to the Tamil cause?