What's Being Done On . . . Democracy NGO Participation in Formal Peace Negotiations?

Introduction General Resources Women's Organizations Resources Democratic Republic of Congo: A Short History of the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo Profile of La Ligue des Electeurs Liberia: A Short History of the Conflict in Liberia Profile of the Mano River Women's Peace Network Sri Lanka: A Short History of the Conflict in Sri Lanka An Interview with the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka Chechnya: A Short History of the Conflict in the Chechen Republic An Interview with the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society in Europe

A Short History of the Conflict in Sri Lanka and the Involvement of NGOs in the Peace Process

Sri Lanka is host to one of the world's most enduring ethnic conflicts. Civil war has plagued the island for almost 25 years, and peace talks have repeatedly failed. The Sri Lankan population is divided into a Buddhist Sinhalese majority (74%), Hindu Tamils (19%), and Tamil-speaking Muslims (7%). Since Sri Lanka gained its independence in 1848 and elected the Sinhalese majority into power, consecutive Sinhalese governments have implemented various discriminatory legislation against the Tamils. By the early 1970s, militant ethnic nationalist groups who demanded autonomy emerged in the Tamil-dominated eastern and northern regions of the island, with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) most prominent among them. In 1983, the LTTE launched an attack on the military in northern Sri Lanka that sparked anti-Tamil riots across the country and is generally viewed as the beginning of the civil war. By 1989, the LTTE controlled the majority of northern and eastern Sri Lanka. Peace talks between the government and the LTTE were initiated in 1995 but quickly broke down because neither side was willing to concede anything substantial. In February 2002, a new peace process was begun with the signing of a ceasefire agreement, in which both sides agreed to disarm, maintain current borders, and enter into peace negotiations. From September 2002 to April 2003, six rounds of peace talks were held between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. However, in 2003, the LTTE announced that it would settle for nothing less than an interim government and pulled out of the negotiations, which were not resumed until February 2006, when the entities met in Geneva, Switzerland. The February talks proved fruitless, and by the summer of 2006, full-scale violence had returned to eastern Sri Lanka. A stalemate was reached in September, and another peace talk was held in Geneva in October. However, both parties failed to agree on a constructive way to end the conflict and have once again resorted to violence.

The peace talks in Sri Lanka have repeatedly failed for three main reasons. First, the government's failure to engage in structural reform and address root causes of the conflict is hindering the peace process. Second, during their talks, both parties have concentrated on immediate issues, such as the implementation of the ceasefire agreement or humanitarian concerns, and not on what a final solution to the conflict might entail. Third, all of the peace talks have been bilateral and have suffered from a lack of participation and representation. The government has acknowledged the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil people, and has thereby effectively denied different groups of Tamils, many of which are opposed to the LTTE, input into the peace process. Likewise, Muslim and Sinhalese civil society, which constitutes over two-thirds of the population in the war-torn eastern region, do not have representation in the peace process. The peace talks have been neither open nor transparent, and NGOs and civil society have maintained a low-key, supportive role.

Prior to the 1970s, not many Sri Lankan NGOs working for peace and democracy existed. The Sri Lankan NGO movement began to form in the 1970s in response to the ethnic riots and government repression against the Tamils. The carnage of conflict during the 1970s and the inability of either side to provide fundamental services to the Sri Lankan population led to a fast rise in the number of NGOs. The peace talks in 1995 and from 2002 to 2006, and the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, further increased the space for NGO activity and cooperation. However, civil society in Sri Lanka remains uncoordinated, spans a broad spectrum of interests, and is highly politicized and ethnically divided. Furthermore, NGOs cannot easily reach out to the masses because access between the north and south of the Island is relatively restricted. The LTTE resents all Tamil opposition to its authority, and Tamil NGOs working for peace and democracy are scarce. Nonetheless, attempts have been made to encourage Sri Lankan civil society to speak with a unified voice for a continuation of the peace process, and advance its involvement in the peace talks. Local NGOs and research organizations are playing an increasingly important part in catalyzing debate about peace and democracy. For example, in 2000, several peace organizations began meeting regularly, under the name of the Peace Support Group, to advocate for an acceleration of the peace process. The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), a membership organization, was formed in 1997 to coordinate work among NGOs in Sri Lanka. The Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has implemented the Voices of Reconciliation project, an initiative that aims to increase the capacity of NGOs to engage effectively in the peace process and strengthen professional media that support reconciliation and democratic reform in Sri Lanka. The National Peace Council of Sri Lanka (NPC) is a vocal voice for civil society involvement in the peace process, and has issued a request to the government and the LTTE to provide space for civic groups to be observers at formal peace talks.

Information for this short history of the conflict in Sri Lanka has been drawn, in part, from the following sources:

"Sri Lanka: The Failure of the Peace Process." Asia Report 124. International Crisis Group, 2006.
"Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations in Sri Lanka: Peacemakers or Parasites?" Neil DeVotta. Civil Wars, 2005.