Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of armed groups in post-war Sri Lanka: a study based on Koralaipattu South Divisional Secretariat division in Eastern Sri Lanka

Abstract

This article generally focuses on the process of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) which are essential to restore sustainable peace in the post-war scenario. The DDR is one of the significant aspects of the process of post-war peacebuilding. In most of the cases, this process has implemented with the assistance of foreign governments and international or regional institutions. However, the circumstances under which the Government of Sri Lanka happened to take over the sole responsibility for implementing the DDR process have raised serious concerns both at the local and international level. Hence, this article attempts to conduct a detailed inquiry of the DDR process implemented in Sri Lanka after the end of the civil war. This article followed a descriptive method of investigation. The findings of the study show that the DDR process was not fully implemented in a broad manner in the Sri Lankan context, but only served as a continuation of the military victory over the LTTE. In particular, not much attention was paid to disarming and demobilizing the armed groups, and only the so-called DDR process took place without international assistance and supervision.