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MILNET: Sri Lanka



Sri Lanka   ( map )

Recent Events | Terrorism


Once again, the conflict is ethnic in origination, with both separatist and dogma producing an area ripe with plenty of historical background leading to 20th century conflict including the terrorist preying upon the innocent. Given its history, the small country combines some of the dynamics of the India-Pakistan struggle, thankfully without the nuclear option, as well as separatists problems like Spain which will be discussed later in this report.

The U.S. Department of State site illustrates modern history for Sri Lanka with the following:

"Sri Lanka has benefited from the traditions of the rule of law and constitutional government that emerged during 150 years of British colonial rule. At least until the early 1970s, these traditions fostered the development of a political system characterized by broad popular participation in the political process, generally strict observance of legal guarantees of human and civil rights, and an orderly succession of elected governments without the intervention, as has occurred in several neighboring states, of the military. By the early 1980s, however, many observers feared for the future of Sri Lanka's democratic institutions. Some observers contended that constitutional government, rather than curbing the arbitrary use of political power, seemed itself to be shaped by aggressively narrow sectarian interests whose manipulation of the constitutional amendment process excluded large numbers of persons from politics and contributed to ethnic polarization and violence. "
To put it bluntly, Sri Lanka is facing a crisis, a crisis of perhaps their own making.  And quite familiar to the reader by now, the seeds of the problem lie in ethnic groups found throughout the country:  the Sinhalese, the Tamils, the Muslims, and the Burghers.  Language, Culture, and Borders create the dissent in Sri Lanka, less so than race or religion however integrated those two have become with the cultures over the years. Recent Events in Sri Lanka

The most recent Sri Lankian internal strife has sent hundreds of thousands fleeing, a difficult task since the nation is an island many miles from the mainland of India and 10 times that distance from other island nations such as Indonesia  or Malaysai or the mainland coastlines of Burma or  Thailand.  Despite the long distance, Thailand and Burma seem to be the countries where most of the refugees are fleeing.  The chaos of course has crushed the economy and it is not clear what the survival mechanism will be for the government or the people.  Some believe In International peacekeeping force from the U.N.  However, past U.N. experiences make it hard to find volunteers amongst those nations capable.  For security reasons, India may opt to take on the job alone, however this too is fraught with problems - the Muslim portion of the population will undoubtedly not look upon India's intervention as innocent.  Sri Lanka is rated by MILNET as one of the nations that could explode at any minute, listing it in the August, 2001 Flash points as well as the more recent update.

Here is a list of a recent weeks headlines, plus a key few headlines since the New Year, indicating the fast moving pace of news worthy events in Sri Lanka:



Terrorist Groups Active in Sri Lanka

As you would expect, the mix of cultures and divisions between different ways of living have produced violence.  There are a number of terrorist groups active in Sri Lanka -- some with India or Pakistani influence or other simply religious based such as Hindus or Muslims -- note too that the Hindu caste system adopted in the country makes for additional friction.

As in the other countries profiled, Sir Lanka provides a frightening vision into diverse cultures unable to live together.  While not a danger to world peace, certainly Sri Lanka will provide plenty of violent news for years to come.
 
 

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