Conflict in Multi-Ethnic Societies Sri Lanka & Northern Ireland

What are the consequences of the conflict? 5.1 Political consequence 5.2 Economic consequence 5.3 Social consequence

Political: Armed Conflict Tamils made peaceful demands at first Federal Party asked for recognition for Tamil areas as a federation Demands not met. Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) emerges TULF calls for separate independent state which government rejects Some Tamils form a militant group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

Political: Armed Conflict LTTE more popularly known as Tamil Tigers (considered a terrorist organization) The Tigers have attacked –Sinhalese –Tamils members of the police force –Tamil members/supporters of the ruling party –Tamil politicians who did not support the proposed separate state

Political: Armed Conflict Sinhalese also committed acts of violence July 1983 riots saw 14 Sinhalese soldiers killed and sparked a long armed conflict Armed conflict has lasted more than 20 years and cost more than 60,000 lives

Political: Foreign Intervention A conflict may attract the attention of another country That may country may act as a mediator The country may also send troops to directly solve the conflict

Political: Foreign Intervention India tried to play mediator after 1983 riots Foreign Minister sent to mediate Dialogue failed as parties involved could not reach an agreement

Political: Foreign Intervention Indian govt sent 20 Indian ships to provide food and fuel to the Tamils (3 June 1987) Ships turned away by Sri Lankan navy India tried to air-drop the supplies and violated Sri Lankan airspace

Political: Foreign Intervention Under pressure from India, Sri Lanka signed a peace accord with India (July 1987)(Peace Accord extract on pg 106) Tamil Tigers failed to disarm in accordance with Peace Accord India sent troops to take control of the Tamil Tigers (Oct 1987) Troops withdrawn in March 1990 after failing to defeat the Tigers

Economic: Unemployment July 1983 riots led to massive unemployment Large number of the jobless were Sinhalese These jobless took to vandalising, looting and burning their places of work

Economic: Loss of Foreign Investments Foreign Investments for a country's growth When a country is unstable, investors lose confidence in it See graph on pg 107 for impact of the conflict on Foreign Investments

Economic: Fall in number of Tourists Tourism is a major income earner for Sri Lanka Tourist arrivals decreased steadily after the July 1983 riots This resulted in a loss of jobs and earnings The economy was affected and funds were limited for the development of infrastructure

Social: Tamils driven out of their homeland The conflict caused large-scale displacement of people Thousands of Tamils fled to Tamil Nadu during the July 1983 riots 65,000 remain as refugees in India

Social: Tamils driven out of their homeland Sri Lankan Army set up High Security Zones (HSZ) to keep LTTE away Large areas of Tamil land occupied by the army Tamils forced to flee after the army moved in Many people still live in overcrowded conditions in refugee camps