Reconciliation in Post War Sri Lanka: Issues and Prospects

Abstract

Having been subjected to 30 years of brutal war,Sri Lanka has gone through many difficulties which has changed the mindset of society. Though the war has eventually come to an end and the country is stepping towards a positive peace, the changed minds of the people, who use to despise the other ethnic groups, are obstructing those efforts. Thus the peace and stability of the country has become quite a sensitive topic. Though all the communities talk about peace they have not accepted the principle of equality among them. Therefore, the question of identity and belonging remains the same. Moreover relevant authorities have not recognized the true requirement of the reconciliation process. Although everyone opines on peace, stability, reintegration, reconciliation and rebuilding, majority of them have not understood what makes this process a success. If the process of reintegration starts with youth, it would be a stable foundation for the future of the country’s reconciliation process.

The paper will seek to identify the current issues of the reconciliation process from 2009 to present and suggest recommendations so as to prevent consequences caused by ethnic conflicts to the development process.

Information in this regard will be derived from secondary sources like reference of text books, electronic data bases, journals. The study is based on qualitative resources and discussions conducted with experts on the issue. This paper also reviews some past case studies and government policy reports such as the LLRC and the corresponding National Action Plan. The research further focuses on new constitutional reforms as well.

The paper will propose that ongoing and future challenges could be overcome through accepting ethnic differences by lessons learned in the past and by creating fine opportunities for youth coming from every community.