The key lessons for the state and the Tamil minority derived from the civil war in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to pinpoint the key lessons that the state and the Tamil minority groups can derive from the civil war that ended in 2009. The state, the minorities and international community are expected to have learnt some lessons from the consequences of the civil war that ravaged the country for 26 years and devastated the lives, property and economy of the country. This study uses a qualitative research approach that involves analysis of certain critical entities. The state, the society and some international players were the entities selected for assessment. Based on the lessons learned, the state could have introduced a few inclusive policies to accommodate the minorities into the state system. However, studies have revealed that contrary to the above course of action, the state decided to use the counterinsurgency approach to defeat the social forces that remained after the civil war. Further, the state sought to broadcast the message to the international community to follow the ‗Sri Lankan model‘ for eliminating insurgency in those countries where intra-state contestations occur. As a result, post-war initiatives for installing inclusive mechanisms failed as usual. In fact, the state actually introduced exclusionary policies and consolidated its power, alienating the minorities further.