Sri Lanka

Last Update: Jun. 19, 2009

The magnitude of violence against civilians qualified Sri Lanka as one of GI-NET's Areas of Concern for 2008 and the ongoing nature of the violence has confirmed this status for 2009.

The civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) appears to have ended, but there is yet to be a comprehensive effort to bring about a peaceful settlement and ensure the protection of all Sri Lankan civilians, regardless of ethnic identity.

The 25-year old civil war took on a new character in 2008 as government forces launched an offensive against LTTE-controlled territory, capturing the LTTE ‘capital' of Kilinochchi. Heavy fighting in the north of the country led to the death of nearly 6,500 civilians in 2009 before the LTTE's battlefield defeat in May.

During the fighting, Civilians were the victims of indiscriminate and targeted bombing, shelling and gunfire during the battles between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army. Even though the government created a "No-Fire Zone" in the northern Vanni region where civilians would reportedly be safe, they were under almost constant fire.

Throughout Sri Lanka, civilians have been "disappeared" or killed by government forces and paramilitaries, due to suspected links to or support for the LTTE. Government forces and proxies, including the Karuna group, appear to operate with impunity throughout the country. There have also been numerous attacks against those critical of the government, with opposition politicians and journalists being threatened or murdered.

The LTTE was also responsible for violence against civilians. They have continued the use of suicide bombings throughout the country, targeting transportation facilities and political figures. The LTTE also recruited child soldiers and forcibly recruited civilians in areas under its control. International human rights organizations accused the LTTE of using civilians in the area as human shields against government attack.

Between 2005 and 2008, more than 5,000 people, mostly from the island's Tamil community, have died as a result of fighting between the government, the LTTE and the Karuna group. Since the beginning of 2009, the UN estimates that more than 6,500 civilians have died in the latest offensive in the Vanni; however, due to government restrictions on media access, it is difficult to confirm this number.

Since the ceasefire collapsed in 2006, nearly 500,000 people have been displaced by violence, primarily in the northern districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. Many of the displaced are in former rebel-held territory, where the government has refused the access of international humanitarian workers and limited the delivery of aid supplies. Many civilians who have fled recent fighting face imprisonment in government-run camps, where they are reportedly subject to arbitrary violence and sexual abuse.

Despite the Sri Lankan goverment's military victory over the LTTE, there is still much to be done to address the long-standing discrimination against the Tamil minority, the impunity surrounding disappearances as well as extrajudicial executions of dissenters and suspected LTTE symphatizers.

While the massive casualties and civilian harm that characterized the violence in Sri Lanka in late 2008 and 2009 have ended, there has been little movement towards ensuring that civilians are protected against the abuses by security forces and paramilitaries.

Background on Sri Lanka

Roots of Conflict

Since Sri Lanka gained independence from the British in 1948, there have been recurrent conflicts between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority.

In the decades after independence, Sinhala nationalists in the Sri Lankan government passed laws discriminating against members of the Tamil and Muslim minority. This included disenfranchising over 1 million Tamils, making Sinhala the official language and granting Buddhism a foremost place in the constitution.

This discrimination against the Tamils sparked protests, which were violently put down by government forces. This led to the formation of militant Tamil movements in the north and east of the country, seeking to gain self-determination within a separate state.

In the early 1980's the country exploded in violence after an LTTE attack on a Sri Lankan army patrol, resulting in a pogrom against Tamils. Known as Black July, these riots killed over 3,000 Tamils within ten days. Following the riots, the LTTE intensified its guerilla tactics to gain the independent homeland in the north and east of the country. These tactics prompted a severe government response, resulting in a civil war which has raged since 1983.

The 1990's were marked by the failure of several peace efforts and widespread violence throughout the country, with major battles being fought in the north and east. Serious peace negotiations began in February 2002, when the government and the LTTE agreed on a ceasefire and began to work towards the creation of autonomous Tamil regions in a federal Sri Lanka.

Failure of the 2002 Peace Process and Return to War

The LTTE withdrew from peace talks in April of 2003, citing a lack of government cooperation and exclusion from donor meetings. After this withdrawal, LTTE cadres in the east, led by Colonel Karuna, split from the main body and began to fight against the LTTE. The government increasingly backed Karuna as a proxy force, resulting in the destruction of the minimal amount of trust between the government and the LTTE, leading to the failure of the ceasefire.

In 2005, Mahinda Rajapaksa became president after campaigning on a platform of military victory over the LTTE. After his election, attacks between the LTTE and the government resumed as the government, with the help of the Karuna group, began its counterinsurgency in the north and east. Meanwhile, the LTTE resumed its widespread bombing campaign against targets throughout Sri Lanka.

Peace talks in early 2006 failed to salvage the ceasefire and full-scale fighting broke out in July. This fighting resulted in massive civilian displacement and casualties, particularly among the Tamil residents of the country. During this time, the LTTE continued its suicide bombings on civilian targets in the south. Eventually the LTTE officially withdrew from the peace talks in November 2006 as both sides began to suffer increasingly heavy casualties.

In July 2007, the government gained control of the east, resulting in a shift of military operations to the north of the country. Since the end of 2007, the government is seen as increasingly run by hardliners, expressing its commitment to military victory over the LTTE.

The government has repeatedly framed its offensive against the LTTE in the rhetoric of the ‘global war on terror,' stating that its goal was to neutralize the LTTE. While the government has claimed that it will address the legitimate grievances of the Tamil population through a political solution, including the full implementation of provisions for regional autonomy, no substantive proposals have been passed to date.

In early 2008, the ceasefire officially collapsed after the government's withdrawal. Throughout the year, Sri Lankan Army troops forced the LTTE out of rebel-held territory, closing in on the LTTE's de facto capital of Kilinochchi and eventually taking the city in December 2008.

In May of 2009, the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa officially declared the end of the 25-year civil war after the army killed Vellupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the LTTE, and took control of the entire island. Addressing the parliament in the Tamil language, the president said the war was not waged against Tamil people, but against terrorism.

While the military conflict may be over, the Sri Lankan government still has to achieve a political solution to the long-standing concerns of Tamils and other minorities, as well as ensure the protection of civilians.

For more detailed information about the conflict in Sri Lanka, please visit the background information resources section of our website or read the International Crisis Group's report Sri Lanka's Human Rights Crisis.

Who are the parties to the conflict?

The Sri Lankan Government. The government, currently run by militant hardliners, has discriminated against minority communities. Government forces are accused of the forced disappearance of thousands and have used anti-terror legislation to stifle regime critics and media coverage. The government has also reportedly indiscriminately shelled civilian areas in its attempts to defeat the LTTE.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Fighting for an autonomous Tamil state, the LTTE is responsible for numerous bombings of civilian targets throughout Sri Lanka. The Tigers are also responsible for forced recruitment of civilians, the use of civilians as human shields and other widespread human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings and abductions.

The Karuna Group (TMVP). A breakaway faction of the LTTE, the group has served as a proxy for Sri Lankan government attacks on the LTTE in the east of the country. The Karuna Group has a history of forcible recruitment of child soldiers, as well as the abduction and execution of suspected LTTE sympathizers. The Karuna Group appears to operate with impunity throughout the country.

Stories from the conflict

"There was heavy shelling, especially where people gathered near the hospital and where the UN distributed food. People were running around, crying. There was no shelter. Some were trying to hide under trees, like animals. Two shells landed 50 meters ahead of me. I was very afraid. When I reached the place where the shells landed, I saw that one person had been injured and was being carried away. Two people were lying by the roadside, one young man and one man about 55. They were both dead and covered in blood."

- Premkumar P., witness to a shelling on January 22, 2009

"War on the Displaced," Human Rights Watch, February 2009

Reports on Sri Lanka

Additional links about Sri Lanka

For More Information on Sri Lanka, Click Here

Videos about Sri Lanka

Featured Video: Sri Lanka: Killing For Peace

Unreported World~Sri Lanka Killing For Peace 2007

In the north of Sri Lanka, innocent civilians are often caught in fighting between the government and rebel forces.

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