Question 1

The Failed Peace Processes of the Sri Lankan Civil War

In 2009, the Sri Lankan Civil War, one of the longest Civil Wars in Asia came to an end. But the wounds of the war still live on. While the fighting is over, peace has not returned as thousands, particularly from Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil community, continue to seek justice for the alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan state and the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). You are required to consult various sources, including your course study guide that provides some discussions on the Sri Lankan case, to answer the questions for this assignment. You are also expected to read/watch the materials below, make specific references to the points discussed in them, integrate them into your answer and cite them.

1. Download and read the journal article “Ending the Sri Lankan Civil War”, by Sumit Ganguly, available via the SUSS online library (https://library.suss.edu.sg) or JSTOR open access. Ganguly, Sumit. “Ending the Sri Lankan Civil War.” Daedalus 147, no. 1 (2018): 78–89. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48563408.

2. Watch the following YouTube videos:

SBS Dateline, “Inside the Territory of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers | SBS Dateline Archives” YouTube, September 13, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwkkclDAzPE.

Al Jazeera English, “Can justice be served years after Sri Lanka’s civil war ended? | Inside Story” YouTube, February 26, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlyecV1NTvk.

a) While the Sri Lankan Civil War is largely perceived as a clash of ethno-nationalisms (Tamil vs. Sinhalese nationalism), its origins may have a basic orientation based on the unmet needs of human and social groups. Examine the relevance of the Theory of Basic Human Needs (BHNs) and the Theory of Horizontal Inequalities (HIs) to determine the causes of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

b) The Sri Lankan Civil War lasted for decades and was one of the most violent in Asia, with more than a hundred thousand people believed to have been killed and millions displaced. While the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out suicide bombings, terrorist attacks, exploited child soldiers and human shields, the Sri Lankan army was accused of targeting civilians and killing tens of thousands in indiscriminate bombings in the final stages of the war. Using the concept of “partisan moralism” analyse how the two sides justified their use of violence in the Civil War.

c) Although the Civil War concluded in 2009 with the total military defeat of the LTTE, peace has not fully returned. Analyse the situation in post-Civil War Sri Lanka and determine three reasons why it is best characterised as “negative peace”.

d) Formulate three ways in which the current post-Civil War “negative peace” in Sri Lanka can be converted to “positive peace.”