Sri Lanka:

ethnic conflicts

By: Val, Serenity, & Khanh

Location of the conflict:
The conflict between the Buddhist
Sinhalese and the Hindu Tamil occurred
in the continent of Asia
The neighboring countries include
India, Nepal, Bangladesh
The Sinhalese did not like their
British rulers, which lead to the
development of the new Sinhalese
political system
Since the Sinhalese had political power
they also dominated most of the land,
even if it was owned by Tamils
Overview of the Conflict:
Civil war between mainly the Buddhist Sinhalese and the Hindu
Tamil
July 23rd, 1983 - May 18, 2009
Buddhist Sinhalese were the majority and controlled the
government where they fought to defend from the Liberation
Tigers and eradicate them
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were the minority and wanted to
create an independent state in northern east part of Sri Lanka
Overview of the Conflict
On July 23rd, 1983, Liberation Tigers started an intermittent
insurgency against the Sri Lankan government killing 13 Sri Lankan
soldiers
80,000 - 100,000 people killed in this 25 year period
(Sri Lankan government officials, military officers,
journalists, religious figures, soldiers, civilians)
Suicide attacks and assassinations are blamed for the deaths of many
Sri Lankan government and army officials
War ends on May 18, 2009 as their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is
killed thus ending in a victory for Sri Lanka
Classification Of The Dispute:
The Sri Lankan Civil War
can be described as a
territorial dispute
Territorial dispute can be
defined as a disagreement
over the possession/control
of land between two or more
territorial entities
These two entities being
the Tamils and Sinhalese
Classification Of The Dispute:
In this case, the Sri Lankan
war is able to be identified
as a territorial dispute
because Tamils claimed
certain parts of Sri Lanka
as their own
This was due to the fact
that it is indigenous land
Centrifugal Forces:
Many civilians are driven out of their homes mainly due to the
terror of being injured throughout the conflict between the two
ethnicities

1. Ethnicity: The Hindu Tamils and Buddhist Sinhalese are basically the ethnic
rivals of Sri Lanka. They do not want to put up with each other, and of course they
hate living near each other. The two ethnic groups are fighting for self
determination and therefore are not united.
2. Language: Over 2,000 languages are spoken, with as many as 8,000 dialects.
This results in difficulties when it comes to communicating towards peace. Sri Lanka
3. Terror: Many civilians have fled from their country due to the war that
occurred and the pain it caused. There is also the fear of running into the rival
ethnicity who might harm those who are not like them.
Centripetal Forces:
Even though there has been much conflict throughout Sri Lanka
between the Hindu Tamils and the Buddhists Sinhalese, much of
the population wants to keep inhabiting that land.

1. Geography: Sri Lanka is an island meaning that there is a massive amount of

water which isolates the population from other countries. THis barrier helps keep the
civilians in and enemies out.
2. Communication: By being such a compact state, Sri Lanka has easy
communication access between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. Therefore, moving towards
a peace agreement is much more manageable. Sri Lanka
3. Ethnicity: Living near those who share the same ethnicity and religion is very
important to many when they are decided whether or not they stay or flee from the
country. A Tamil will consider staying because there are other Tamils living near them.
The same applies to a Sinhalese.
Type of state:
Sri Lanka is considered to be a multinational
state
Many different ethnic groups within the
boundaries of Sri Lanka
The island are inhabited by the Sinhalese,
Tamils, and many other small ethnic groups
Comprised of 75% Sinhalese, 11% Tamils, 9%
Moors, 5% other
If the Hindu Tamils had won the war, they would
have established their own independent nation.
Outside Influences:
In the 1970s, the Research and
Analysis Wing (RAW) of India helped
train and arm the Tamils, but withdrew
their support after terrorist
activities grew
1987, the Indian and Sri Lankan
government made an agreement to deploy
peacekeeping troops
These forces were unable to put an end
to the conflict and began fighting
alongside the Tamils
Indias involvement, however ceased in
the 1990s when the Sri Lankan
President forced them to withdraw