Abstract:
Many observers view the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 as a significant
turning point in the protracted ethnic conflict that was troubling Sri Lanka. The armed struggle and the
consequences of war have encouraged the state and society to address the group rights of ethnic minorities
and move forward towards state reconstitution. The Tamil minority and international community expect that
the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) must introduce inclusive policies as a solution to the ethnic conflict. They
believe the state should take measures to avoid another major contestation through the lessons learned from
the civil war. The study is a qualitative analysis based on text analysis. In this backdrop, this paper examines
the attempts made for the inclusion of minorities into the state system in post-civil war Sri Lanka, which would
contribute to finding a resolution to the ethnic conflict. The study reveals that numerous attempts were made
at various periods to introduce inclusive policies to achieve state reconstitution, but those initiatives failed to
deliver sustainable peace. The study also explores problems pertaining to contemporary policy attempts.
