While the Sri Lankan Government won the recent war against the Tamil Tigers, the humanitarian cost was high and both parties stand accused of war crimes. This paper, published by the House of Commons Library, reviews recent Sri Lankan developments, international involvement, and military aid and development issues. Sri Lanka now faces the challenges of reconstruction and political and constitutional reforms that will give autonomy to regions where the minority Tamils are in the majority.
After more than a decade of conflict, the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed a peace agreement in 2008. This ended the Tamil struggle to stop what it claimed to be the political and economic marginalisation of the Tamil by the Sinhalese majority.
Both parties to the conflict have been accused of human rights abuses against non-combatants. Independent observers agree that while the militant Tamil was as exclusivist and chauvinist as the Sinhalese, many of the LTTE’s political and economic grievances remain unaddressed.
The following domestic and international factors mark the current Sri Lankan political landscape:
- The European Union (EU), United States (US), Norway and Japan, named co-chairs at a donor conference on Sri Lanka, coordinate their Sri Lankan actions. India and the United Nations are also engaged, the latter largely for humanitarian reasons.
- Concerns about human rights abuses perpetrated by both Government and LTTE forces still resonate among international parties. The United Kingdom (UK) supports investigation of these abuses. The US has placed the LTTE on its terrorist list.
- The current size of the army may require substantial demobilisation and reintegration of Sinhalese soldiers who distrust the Tamil minority and pose a threat to post-conflict stabilisation.
- China, Pakistan and India are major arms suppliers. The UK has provided significant military development advice. Russia is reported to have recently entered discussions about Sri Lankan purchase of military transport.
- Major development donors include the UK, EU, Germany, Sweden, the US, Norway and Japan.
- The US has imposed embargoes on military equipment sales to Sri Lanka. The EU has announced it would investigate Sri Lanka for non-implementation of human rights agreements upon which its trade preferences are predicated.
Sri Lanka faces the following post-conflict issues:
- There are doubts that the Government’s victory over the LTTE has completely destroyed the LTTE as a military force.
- Political and electoral realities may severely limit political and constitutional reforms that address Tamil grievances.
- Large-scale donor contributions to reconstruction and development are far from guaranteed.
- Land disputes and post-conflict resettlement could continue to destabilise the country.
- Sri Lanka is faced with critical issues of justice and reconciliation arising from the grave human rights abuses committed by all armed groups during the conflict.
