Three years after the Tamil Tiger's defeat, the underlying issues that caused Sri Lanka's civil war are once again coming to a head.
Jaffna, the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province and once the bastion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is once again experiencing unrest.
Violent clashes broke out on November 27, Martyrs' Day for Tamil, between students of Jaffna University and Sri Lankan security forces. Each year Tamils use Martyrs' Day to honor friends and family members who were killed in the Sri Lanka Civil War (1983-2009).
The civil war pitted the Tamil militant group, the LTTE (often called the Tamil Tigers), against the Sri Lankan government forces. The conflict was essentially an ethno-political struggle that had its roots in the early years of Sri Lanka's independence when Sinhalese leaders effectively transformed the country into a Sinhala-Buddhist state through a series of laws such as the controversial Official Language Act No. 33 of 1956, which made Sinhala the official language. The excluded Tamil population protested and demanded a government based on federalism where the Tamils in the east and north of the country would enjoy greater autonomy. When these calls went unheeded for decades, some Tamils formed the Tamil Tigers and began taking up arms against the government in 1983.
The 26-year civil war that ensued, which ended with the LTTE’s military defeat in 2009, would come to claim the lives of between 80,000 and 100,000 people, according to the UN. Some non-governmental organizations like the International Crisis Group say the number of deaths was actually much higher.
Since the LTTE’s defeat, Tamils have observed Martyrs’ Day by quietly “lighting lamps inside their homes.” This year, however, “some Jaffna University students decided to perform the rituals on campus,” E Saravanapavan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament (MP) representing Jaffna district told The Diplomat in a phone interview. According to Saravanapavan, this prompted Sri Lankan security forces to forcibly enter the student’s dormitories to prevent them from lighting lamps for Martyrs’ Day.
Tensions have always run high in Jaffna peninsula on Martyrs’ Day. Security forces are put on heightened alert in anticipation of a LTTE attack. These forces equate citizens observing Martyrs’ Day as them showing solidarity with the LTTE militant group. For Tamils, however, it is “a day of mourning, not just for dead LTTE combatants but also for the thousands of civilians, including their kin, who were killed in the war,” Saravanapavan says.
With Tamils determined to properly mourn their dead, and security forces equally determined to stamp out any show of support for the LTTE, it is nearly inevitable that Martyrs’ Day will be marked with some degree of confrontation and tension. What made this year’s Martyrs’ Day more complicated was that it coincided with Karthigai Theepam, a festival when Hindus decorate their homes with lamps.
Photo Credit: Wikicommons
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Jayadevan
If LTTE had not killed Rajiv Gandhi, they would have got an Tamil autonmous region. India can never support another country within SriLanka as India itself is a victim of such tendencies within in India.
David
First of all tamils have to understand that they lost the war that they started. And western countries bet on the wrong horse and lost. So at the end of the day all is fair in love and war.
David
As a recent visitor to Sri Lanka (and Jaffna), I have to concur with the article's sentiments. Although whilst in Colombo, I kept hearing about the government's post war efforts (positive of course, by mostly the vocal Singhalese), what I saw and experienced in Jaffna was something different entirely.
In my opinion, Sri Lanka is slowly becoming the "Zimbabwe of Asia" with Rajapakse and his cronies running the country to ruin, slowly but surely. Sri Lanka now need to 'pay back' its economic and military supporters in China. As China has done in Africa, they are slowly but surely, draining Sri Lanka of its limited resources and will exploit it's powerful position in this one sided relationship. It will take a few years for the Sri Lankan people to understand that they been duped.
Jaffna has had very limited 'effective aid", the roads being built and sponsored by Chinese moneys are mostly used to build highways to the cement factories, hotels and soon to be oil fields, the Chinese have taken over. The Tamil people are being further alientated and it is a matter of time before the Tamils of India become more involved in this conflict, as they see their bretheren suffer under this brutal Sri Lankan regime. They must look back now on the Tamil Tiger era and think how much better off they were, even if they did not realize it at that time.
Srivanamoth
What laughable claim contrary to post independent history to date. Lying and deceit are all part of the so-called Sinhala norms. Obviously you hide the fact that tamils lived amongst the Sinhalas and paid a heavy price so often. That is why full accountability under international law is very vital to leave all this 'rotten baggage' behind. The Sinhala politicians and governments never learn. They only repeat past mistakes. LTTE were a rebel group and never part of the state. Therein lies the vital difference.
Andy
Hi Christiper,
You sinhalese dreaming to eliminate tamils population to 4 % level.We are not that percentage yet.But if your GENOCIDE process continue with the help of China,Irahn and Syeriya and the international community do not awake up yet then your calculation would go right.
Sam
Andy, please don't publicly display your ignorance. With regards to the 4%; Christopher was only quoting the CIA World Fact Book . Tamils liveed and still live amongst us and were protected in times of trouble by Sinhala people….however all the Sinhala people who lived in Jaffna & the north were eliminated by your terrorists! Remember the Kent & Dollar Farms??
Andy
Do not forget coveniently the then called the Ceylon(presently Sri-Lanka) was merged together by England for their administrative purpose only, when they colonized the island.Before that there were two official languages in two differant regimes which were Tamil regime and Sinhala regime.When Ceylon was liberated in 1948 the England was given the tamils fate to the majority sinhalese people.Which gave a chance to the sinhalese people and the sinhalese governments to do whatever they want to do against Tamils.These things leaded them to do GENOCIDE against tamils which was happening accelarate basis now after the so called end war in 2009 May.
Srivanamoth
A very realistic article about the sadistic militarised mono-ethnic governance that prevails in the north by way of a continuum in the aftermath of what happened in 2009 specifically and more generally after July 1983 until today.Without a change of mode of state governance the same old miseries continue in the life of the people. Instead of changing the circumstances that led to the tribal warring continuing the same old recipe is likely to lead to more problems. With local unemployment running at some 80% and locals denied even the right to run tea kiosks, till their lands and market the produce free of harassment from an ethnic military it is absurd that things can be supposed to improve. Local fishermen find they have been relocated inland and their once rich fishing grounds usurped by Sinhala state sponsored settlers with Sinhala militery aid how can things be expected to change for the locals ? It is also time for local people to think over again any support to reviving support for the Tamil Tigers. Rather full acccountabiilty for mass crimes committed by both sides is vital to bringing about a retrurn to normalcy under the rule of international law.