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POLITICS
The Internal Conflict
The ethnic conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lasted over 25 years and appears to have come to an end with the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. Over 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed and some one million displaced.The roots of the conflict lie in the deterioration of relations between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities from the 1950s. By the late 1970s a number of armed groups were operating in the north and east of the island. In 1983 there were serious anti-Tamil riots in Colombo resulting in the lynching and killing of some 2000 Tamils. Some Ministers in the Government of Sri Lanka were implicated in the event. Many Tamils returned to traditional Tamil areas in the North and many others began to seek asylum abroad.
One of the highest profile violent acts was the assassination of the Mayor of Jaffna in 1975 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran who later became established as the leader of the LTTE.
In mid 1987 when a Government of Sri Lanka embargo of Jaffna began to result in severe hardship, the Government of India, pushed by public opinion in Tamil Nadu, forced the Sri Lankan Government to sign the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord This provided for an Indian peacekeeping Force (IPKF) in the North and East. However relations between the IPKF and the LTTE broke down and there was heavy fighting and reports of human rights violations on both sides. President Premadasa negotiated the IPKF's withdrawal, which was completed in March 1990.
During 1988, in part against the India intervention, unrest among the Sinhalese community grew into a violent insurgency by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and a counter-terrorist campaign. The rebellion ended in 1989 after JVP leaders were murdered. The Sri Lankan army undertook a ruthless counter-insurgency campaign and tens of thousands were killed.
There followed a period of relative peace before the situation in the North and East deteriorated in June 1990. After 18 months, negotiations fell apart and the LTTE again resorted to violence. They extended their control until they held the Tamil heartland: the Jaffna Peninsula and large areas of the North and East. The security forces succeeded in winning back most of the East, but the North remained outside their control.
Hundreds of people have been killed and injured in terrorist attacks relating to the conflict. Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in southern India in May 1991. President Premadasa was assassinated in May 1993.
The Conflict Since 1995
In July 1995, the Sri Lankan army launched a military operation, culminating in the fall of Jaffna in December 1995 to Government forces. At the end of January 1996 the LTTE began a bombing campaign in Colombo (see Terrorist Attacks below).
During 1996, the Sri Lankan army secured enough of the Jaffna Peninsula to allow the civilian population to return to Jaffna town. The LTTE reasserted themselves in the Eastern province and infiltrated back into the Jaffna Peninsula. LTTE inspired terrorist attacks continued in the south, including on the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the most sacred Buddhist site in Sri Lanka.
In March 1999 the Sri Lankan Army launched two major offensives in the Vanni and captured over 800 sq kms of territory from the LTTE. Fighting in the North intensified in late 1999 and the Vanni (jungle areas in the North) fell to the LTTE after some of the fiercest fighting since the conflict began. In April 2000 the LTTE carried out a major assault which led to the withdrawal of Sri Lankan troops from Elephant Pass (which links the Jaffna peninsula to the rest of Sri Lanka). With control of Elephant Pass, the LTTE continued further attacks into the Jaffna Peninsula. Fighting continued until December 2001 when the announcement of a new ceasefire by the LTTE was reciprocated by the newly elected UNF government. A Ceasefire Agreement was signed in February 2002 by the government and LTTE.
In April 2004, the LTTE’s eastern commander, Karuna and a group broke away form the LTTE. He complained that the LTTE leadership did not sufficiently look after the interests of those in the east of the country. The Karuna group aligned themselves to the Government and fought against the LTTE in the East.
Recent Developments
After President Rajapakse came to power in November 2005, there was an initial period of violence and short lived talks between the LTTE and the Government in December 2005 and January 2006. Large-scale violence resumed in April 2006. Talks were eventually held in Geneva in October 2006, but were inconclusive. In January 2008 the Government of Sri Lanka abrogated the Ceasefire Agreement.
In the period January – May 2009 the Government of Sri Lanka captured the last remaining LTTE strongholds in Northern Sri Lanka. In May 2009 the Government of Sri Lanka announced that it had captured all land previously held by the LTTE and that all senior LTTE leaders, including Prabhakaran, had been killed in the final stages of the battle.
Towards the end of the fighting high numbers of civilians are believed to have been killed and injured as a result of being caught in the middle of heavy fighting. There was no independent access to the conflict zone and international concern has been raised about the conduct of hostilities by both sides in the final months of the conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced as a result of the recent fighting and remain in IDP camps in northern Sri Lanka. International attention is focused on improving conditions for them and for other longer-term displaced civilians, and supporting the Government to return IDPs to their areas of origin. For more information on the UK’s humanitarian response, see: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/srilankacrisis
HUMAN RIGHTS
Sri Lanka is a signatory to all six core human rights instruments.The Sri Lankan government has taken steps to improve its very poor human rights record of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Significant improvements have been made, but problems do remain. There are continuing reports of serious human rights abuses including assassinations of political opponents, abductions, torture in custody, extortion, the recruitment and/or use of child soldiers in violation of applicable international law. There have also been incidents of attacks on religious minorities. The perpetrators of the most serious human rights abuses are rarely identified or prosecuted, creating a culture of impunity.
In autumn 2006 President Rajapakse announced the establishment of a special Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the most egregious allegations of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka over the preceding 12 months. The President mandated that a parallel group, the Independent International Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), should also be created with a remit to oversee the work of the CoI and ensure compliance with international norms. The IIGEP withdrew from Sri Lanka in 2008, citing a lack of co-operation from the Government. The CoI has now submitted its final report to the President, which set out the results of its investigations into just over half of the cases assigned to it. There has not yet been any follow up.
In October 2008, the European Commission launched an investigation into Sri Lanka’s implementation of three UN conventions. The outcome will determine whether Sri Lanka will continue to benefit from the GSP+ scheme for the remainder of the 2009-2011 period. GSP+ is an EU incentive scheme for vulnerable countries that adhere to human rights conventions, labour rights, environment and good governance. In February 2009 the EU expressed its concern about human rights including high profile attacks on the media and journalists, the assassination of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge in particular.
