Panel Organizer: Dr. Camilla Orjuela - Department of Peace and Development Research, Göteborg University, Sweden
Dr. Birgitte Refslund Sørensen - Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen
Abstract

This panel focuses on the political challenges of contemporary Sri Lanka. It welcomes papers dealing with

a) peace and conflict resolution, e.g. the Tamil struggle for self-determination, other identity-based struggles, the peace process initiated in 2002, possible political solutions to the conflict
b) reconstruction, i.e. the challenge of rebuilding the war-torn areas as well as the areas affected by tsunami.
c) political culture, e.g. the functioning of democratic structures in Sri Lanka, popular participation in politics and the role of non-state actors such as NGOs, religious leaders and media in politics.

The purpose of the panel is to provide a meeting space for European (and other) scholars on Sri Lankan society and politics.

Theme one: Conflict and conflict resolution

1) Ameerdeen Vellaithamby, University of Peradeniya, Department of Political Science, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Ethnic Routes Of Violence: The Case Of Muslim

The origin of the ethnic violence in the island can be attributed to various factors that emerged from the Sri Lanka history. Ethnic conflict is a prominent issue in Sri Lanka politics since 1915. The conflicts were mostly short and snappy in the beginning, and communal harmony used to be restored. The competition mainly between the Sinhalese and Tamils for attaining beneficial positions in the political institutions as well as in the bureaucracy was fully manifested in the conflicts that arose since the 1950s. With the gradual development of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, a bias against the Muslim community was evident. In early 1990, a decisive change in Tamil-Muslim relations occurred, particularly in the Eastern Province. Successive killings in Kathankudy and Eravur followed by ethnic cleansing, demand of ransom by Tamil militants, and issues of traditional Tamil homelands led to growing tension between the two communities, catalysing the consolidation of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). The festering problems militarized the communities, which hitherto had struggled along democratic patterns or at least without arms. Even the SLMC in its infancy found it difficult to prevent the tendency towards violence. However, it is widely believed in the outside world that the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is between Sinhalese and Tamils and that Muslims are not involved. But, in fact, the Muslim community is also a victim of the conflict and the Muslim factor has become one of the major problems in the present peace process in the country.

This paper examines the routes of ethnic violence against the Muslim community from early 20th century to recent past. Ethnic war and patterns of ethnic violence will be studied. The paper will analyse the circumstances and compulsions, both social and political that led to the ethnic violence against the Muslim community.  The paper will attempt to understand the state of the Muslims as a community in the ethnic violence and it will study the Muslim perception of nationalism in the changing social and political context of Sri Lanka. The Muslims those who were evacuated from their homelands and their living conditions and problems will be discussed.

2) Torkel Brekke, University of Oslo, Dept of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages, Oslo, Norway
Beyond Theological Essentialism and Ethnic Reductionism: A Review of Research on the Role of Religious Leaders and Organizations in the Peace Process

The aim of the paper is to present all significant research produced about the role of religious leaders and organizations in the peace process in Sri Lanka. This body of literature will be discussed and assessed both with regard to relevance and quality. It will also be placed within the larger framework of the international research on the role of religious leaders and organizations in peace processes in general. The main thesis of the paper is that most of the research so far has taken one of two basic approaches to the subject. One strand of research looks at the doctrines of an idealized Buddhism and argues about the possible political role of religion from what I call a theologcial essentialism. The other approach is the more important research in the field of "ethnic studies", which reduces religion to a  more or less irrelevant aspect of ethnicity. I look at the weaknesses of both of these approaches and make suggestions for future research. In particular, I suggest that we focus more on the organizational and trans-national aspects of religion and less on theological doctrines and on ethnic identity.

3) Rev. Sangasumana, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
Conflict and Displacement: A leading social problem of Sri Lanka

Internal Displacement in Sri Lanka could be viewed as multidimensional consisting of both temporal and spatial processes' The IDP problem has become a highly complicated national problem because its political, socio-economic and environmental dimensions have been lost sight of in seeking solutions' In this study attention focus has been on the social problems that govern internal displacement within the past two decades' The selected focus group in this study comprised the Sinhala IDPs in North Central Sri Lanka because most of the studies conducted hitherto had dealt with IDPs of Tamil origin in the Northern and the Eastern provinces. Even though superficially internal displacement in Sri Lanka appears to be a linear phenomenon where people flee from one place to another, when considered in-depth, it is a complicated process consisting of several sub- processes such as displacement, migration, resettlement, relocation which dovetail into one another' The main conflict which had affected to the displacement of people in Sri Lanka could be considered as the result of much complicated combination of internal and external factors such as ethnicity, culture, ideology, religion, politics, competition for resources, foreign intervention etc' The internal war which has kept worsening almost during the past two decades is a result of the ethnic conflict originating from a combination of all types of the above mentioned factors' Even though many people have not fled from their places of origin, they have become economically and socially deprived because of the conflicts. This background has created different kind of social problems related to the IDPs and other communities living in proximity to the war affected areas' This study has focused to understand how does internal displacement become a social problem under the them of mental trauma, victim socialization and block socialization of children etc.

5) Lodve A. Svare, University of Tromsø, Centre for Peace Studies, Faculty of Social Science, Tromsø, Norway
Norwegian Peace Efforts in Sri Lanka - a Clash of Morals?

In parallel to renewed attempts to rescue a disrespected cease-fire agreement, a "shadow debate" is continuing on the real or hidden motives of the facilitator. While such undertakings should not be encouraged to the extent that the actual matter of the fact is forgotten - whatever the reasons for Norway's involvement they clearly matter less than true-life efforts to reduce tension - the critique reflects a possible lack of self-awareness and, probably, weak communication strategies vis-à-vis the various stake-holders on the part of the facilitator. The questioning of Norway's intentions is also a response to the, hitherto, low-key and rather self-congratulatory and self-satisfactory character of the domestic debate on the peace component of Norwegian foreign policy.

A critical inspection of the ideological thinking behind Norwegian peace efforts in Sri Lanka must account for ideas which, though inspired by the realist school of international relations, surpass long-established notions of power and give crucial weight to position and reputation for attaining influence and so securing so-called "national interests". Such political aims blend with a national line of storytelling which braces a steadfastly built image of an "idealist regime of goodness", rooted in the nation's mainly Christian, Socialist and humanitarian values. This idealist affiliation characteristically signals deep moral convictions. Interestingly, while repudiated by critics for showing a lack of moral character (or courage) to confront the "terrorists", the domestic justification for Norwegian involvement is, to a large extent, centred precisely round moral arguments. This clash of morals Norway has to deal with intelligently. The question is how the facilitator defines her role and goes about explaining her point of departure - to a Sri Lankan audience and the rest of the world. In addition, there is the constant risk of losing touch with the ground reality and, as a result, not being able or willing to address cruelty and evildoing in a satisfactory manner if relentlessly pursuing a "higher" moral obligation of keeping the dialogue going at any cost.

6) Jonathan Goodhand, SOAS, London, UK
The Sri Lankan Peace Process: An Experiment in Liberal Peacebuilding?

Theme two: Reconstruction

7) Nadarajah Shanmugaratnam, Norway
Politics of Post-disaster Development in North-East Sri lanka

Sri Lanka's failure to find an appropriate mechanism to deliver aid to the tsunami victims in the North-East (NE) of the country was a powerful reminder of an earlier failure to find an interim arrangement to address humanitarian and rehabilitation needs of the war-torn inhabitants of the same region. On both occasions, multilateral and bilateral donors had pledged large amounts of aid but the inability of the government and the LTTE to find a joint mechanism had prevented most of the promised aid from being used for the intended purpose. The challenges of post-tsunami reconstruction in the NE have a lot to do with the intractability of the militarised Lankan national question. Three decades of neoliberalisation have exposed the Lankan economy and society to globalisation in a variety of ways. During the same period, however, the militarisation has deepened internal ethnic divides (Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim), fragmented the polity, further communalised the state and paved the way for the formation of an alternative nationalist power structure by the LTTE in the NE. Excluded from development and devastated by war, the majority in the NE find themselves in a state of livelihood insecurity in the vortex of two contending power structures. The impact of the tsunami has compounded both the already existing socio-political variations and the development challenges in the NE. This paper looks at the political dimensions of the challenge of development in the NE by locating the intra-state conflict and the compounding effects of the tsunami in their national and global contexts. It does this with due consideration to the heterogeneities within the NE and with reference to the contradictions between the neoliberal paradigm of peace and development prescribed by the international community and the internal needs of peacebuilding and inclusive development.

8) Camilla Orjuela, Göteborg University, Department of Peace and Development Research, Göteborg, Sweden
Reaping the Harvest of Peace? The Politics of ‘Post'-war Reconstruction in Northern Sri Lanka

With the initiation of the peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil separatist LTTE guerrillas, the term ‘peace dividend' entered public political discourse. It has been repeatedly argued (in public statements from both parties, as well as by international actors) that for people in Sri Lanka to support the peace process, they need to see something good coming out of it in terms of reconstruction and development. International donors made lavish promises to fund reconstruction (4.5 billion USD was pledged at a well-attended conference in Tokyo, June 2003). The implicit belief was that with the (re)building of roads, buildings, schools, etc. trust would simultaneously be built. The mistrust that has characterised the relationship between the people in the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan government was to be revoke with an efficient reconstruction process, while the involvement of the LTTE in the process would be a way to refocus the organisation's struggle for justice for the Tamil people from the battle field to mainstream politics. However, almost four years after the promising signing of the ceasefire agreement, the peace process is stalled (if not seriously threatened), and with that much of the anticipated massive reconstruction efforts.  

This paper aims to analyse the politics of reconstruction in northern Sri Lanka and problematise the discourse on peace dividend. To what extent have the people in government-controlled Jaffna and guerrilla-controlled Vanni been able to reap the harvest of peace during the ceasefire years? How do ordinary people manage the everyday politics of rebuilding their lives in relation to several authorities and actors?

The article argues that the political culture(s) in northern Sri Lanka is shaped by the competition between (at least) two political powers claiming authority and legitimacy - the government and the LTTE. People's experience of peace dividend is ambiguous. While the ceasefire agreement has eased life in many ways - facilitated mobility, increased security and enabled the return of many displaced (while others are still unable to return to army occupied zones) - reconstruction processes has largely failed to increase popular trust in the government and the LTTE, and trust between the two. The feeling that the government does not care about the Tamil areas (a major theme during Sri Lanka's post-colonial era, and a root cause to the violent conflict) is still widespread, and is clearly illustrated by the lack of government-run reconstruction efforts in the north. Instead, war-affected villagers rebuild their lives on their own, helped by remittances from abroad and - sometimes - international NGOs. Also the LTTE extends old patterns into the reconstruction process, maintaining its ambition to be in full control over people and politics in the Tamil areas and desperately striving to uphold the picture of the government as the enemy of the Tamil people.

9) Udan Fernando, Sri Lanka and Dorothea Hilhorst, Wageningen University, Disaster Studies, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Tsunamis within Tsunamis: Sri Lankan Politics and Everyday Practices of Humanitarian Aid

This paper explores the question of the humanitarian response in Sri Lanka to the Tsunami. It is based on real-time research among aid agencies, conducted in the weeks immediately following the disaster and the results of evaluations done a year after the Tsunami. It brings out how humanitarian aid is profoundly political. It constitutes an uneasy mix of humanitarian principles and policies with the everyday cultures of organisational politicking and rivalry. Humanitarian aid is also political in its consequences: reshuffling local power balances and playing political roles in the locales of implementation. At the same time, humanitarian actors are geared towards legitimisation. In order to mobilize support, they have to convince stakeholders of their appropriateness and trustworthiness. These different kinds of politics are entangled in practice, turning aid far more complicated than being merely dictated by principles.

This paper makes a statement for the importance of grounding the analysis of humanitarian aid in an understanding of everyday practice. This is done by presenting and discussing ethnographic vignettes about three aspects of aid-response after the Tsunami in Sri Lanka. The first section deals with the nature of humanitarian actors, the second explores how different kinds of politics intertwine, and the third discusses the issue of humanitarian partnerships. The sections all point to the need for detailed analysis of everyday practice as the starting point for understanding humanitarian aid. This would signify a shift in today's academic practice, where discussions on humanitarian aid usually start from the level of principles rather than practice. It is argued that accounts of everyday practices and dilemmas of NGOs counterbalance blind expectations, unmask uncritical admiration and put unrealistic critique into perspective.

10) Luckshmi Sivalingam, London School of Economics and Political Science, Santa Clarita, USA
Ethnicity, Aid, and Peace in Fragile States: A Sri Lankan Case Study

This study examines the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict through a multi-layered analytical lens of ethnic, socio-economic, and political considerations.  Residual colonial tensions, intensified by market liberalization and political competition, created an atmosphere conducive to ethnic scapegoating and civil war.  Under the current Norwegian-brokered Ceasefire Agreement, and in the face of immediate need for relief in the North and East in a post-tsunami atmosphere, it is demonstrated that international humanitarian and monetary aid must be allocated in consideration of the resulting ethnic grievances if peace is desired.  The Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) is argued to have the potential to serve as a mechanism to achieve this end by its encompassing nature.  The study concludes that, if proven to be effective not only as an aid distribution mechanism, but also as a catalyst for state reform and conflict resolution, the P-TOMS may be able to serve as a model for general aid distribution throughout the entire country, while simultaneously facilitating durable peace.

Theme three: Education 

11) Birgitte Refslund Sørensen, Ùniversity of Copenhagen, Department of Anthropology, Copenhagen, Denmark
From Policy to Politics in Education

In 1997 a comprehensive reform of primary education was undertaken in Sri Lanka in accordance with the goals and priorities outlined in the global Education For All Framework. The Framework highlights universal access to education; equal opportunities for boys, girls and children of vulnerable groups; and quality education, the EFA framework and advocates for school based management and involvement of communities to achieve the stated goals.
Hence I was interested in exploring how this global and national policy travelled from metropoles and capitals to towns and villages throughout Sri Lanka. My first stop was Puttalam. How did national policy on education translate into practice here? What did teachers, parents and children think of education? And how did education relate to wider social processes of establishing livelihoods and developing social identities?
Visits to different schools soon made it clear that the policy categories of education officers, principals, teachers, parents and children which assume a certain identity within each category are only partly relevant. In the everyday lives of schools, other and more politicised categories are often employed to explain the particular circumstances at the school. The status as internally displaced or host community, belonging to an ethnic minority, party affiliation and political connections are seen as far more decisive for access to and allocation of human and financial resources. They are also at the root of the school's self-understanding and positioning vis-à-vis the local and larger Sri Lankan community, a relation that is almost always conceived of in terms of inequality, injustice and discrimination.
The view that national policy is only relevant in Colombo, whereas at the local level, things are determined by politics was expressed in many ways and suggested a shift in analytical gaze from planning and predictability to navigation and contingency, or from policy to politics in education.

12) Sunethra Thennakoon, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Pannipitiya, Sri Lanka
Poverty and Education: Impact of family background on School Dropouts in North-Central Province of Sri Lanka

The study of poverty and education is complex, because of the circular nature of the relationship and poverty has many dimensions that are affected by education. Poverty signifies lack of income and deprivations in terms of political and civil rights, voice, freedom of choice and the quality of life based on health and education. While education is a goal in itself, it can be instrumental to poverty alleviation working not only through income but through its influence on other dimensions of poverty. The terms education and poverty have two aspects; i) effects of education on household and poverty and ii) impact of poverty on educational investment. All these have strong impact on poverty alleviation. UN has also placed a grate attention to achieve universal primary education to all by 2015, as its second MD Goal. Though there are many importance of education, in the developing world, there are still grate concern about the problem of low schooling attendance as well as completion rates. Even though the primary education is compulsory in Sri Lanka to all children from 5-14 and given free education, there is a significant amount of school dropouts even without completing primary education. Approximately 91071 of total dropouts have been shown in Sri Lanka recently (Ministry of Education, 2003). Whatever the issues arisen as direct and indirect consequences of school dropouts, it has a strong relationship with student's family background. Some families are unable to fulfil their responsibilities on their children's education due to many reasons. The main reasons for school dropouts of school are poverty and family environment. In Sri Lanka, 76% of school dropouts related to low income families. The poor school quality and poor classroom processes of such children further reinforce the issue of dropping out students from school.

The main objective of this study is to examine the degree of relationship between school dropouts and different factors related to their family background and school environment. In carrying out of the study, three schools and surrounding villages (which represents the highest school dropouts) in Galenbindunuwewa Educational Division of Anuradhapura District were selected. Student dropouts from grade five to ten were selected for the in-depth analysis. Data were gathered using a questionnaire, in-depth case studies, direct observations and formal and informal discussions.
The study found that economic status of households, attitudes & education of parents, number of family members, social class, ability of students and school environment are the most significant variables that determine the school dropouts of children in poor households. Further, children of poor families attend schools where no more facilities for better education and no attractive factors to push children to stay longer in schools. The study concludes that given the increasing importance of education in poverty alleviation, policies should be directed to facilitate the completion of education of children in poor income households.