SS Chap 4 Sri Lanka_2012

MULTI-ETHNIC MULTI-ETHNIC SOCITIESSOCITIES

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Why do people of Different Races and Religions Disagree?

• Forced to adopt different customs & traditions• Language and education policies do not

consider their interests• Law unfair to minority groups• Power struggle• Disagreement on ruling of country• Competition for Job Opportunities or

Economic Resources

How do people Resolve Disagreements?

• Tolerance

• Peaceful protest & marches

• Hunger strikes

• Violence

SRI LANKASRI LANKA

Causes of ConflictsCauses of ConflictsCitizenship rights

Sinhala OnlyUniversity Admission

Resettlement

SRI LANKASRI LANKA

ConsequencesConsequences

Armed Conflict

Foreign Intervention

Unemployment

Fall in Tourists

HistoricalBackground

1798 to 1948

A British Colony

Known as Ceylon

Model country for the

world

Feb 1948

Gained independence

Sinhalese Govt

May 1972

Officially known as Sri

Lanka

How does the multi-ethnic make-up result in conflicts in Sri Lanka?

Source: http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/g101ilec/sasia/ssc/ssdiv/ssdivfr.htm

MoorsMinority 8%

SinhaleseMajority 81.9%

Tamils2nd Majority 9.4%

SINHALESE

• Largest race (81.9%)

• Speak Sinhala• Majority Buddhists

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2zNtjrbu4o

TAMILS • 2nd largest race (9.4%)• Speak Tamil• Hindus

2 Types of Tamils

1) Sri Lankan Tamils (11%)

Descendants of Tamils who have been living in Sri Lanka for centuries

2) Indian Tamils (7%)

Descendants of tea plantation workers brought in from India by the British

MOORS• 3rd largest race (8%)• Muslims• Descendants of Arab or

Indian Muslim traders

WHERE DO THE TAMILS LIVE?

Sri Lankan TamilsNorthern (Jaffna Peninsular) and

Eastern (Batticaloa)

Indian TamilsHighland districts –

tea plantations

WHERE DO THE SINHALESE LIVE?

Sinhalese

Found in large numbers everywhere

except Jaffna and Batticaloa

In the south, they form almost the

entire population

SRI LANKASRI LANKA



Resettlement

• Part 1 (Causes: Citizenship): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X46qh7twGfM

Ceylon Citizenship ActCitizenship granted to:

a. Those born in Sri Lankab. Those whose fathers & grandfathers were born

in Sri Lanka

This excluded the Indian Tamils brought from India to work in tea plantation in Sri Lanka.

They became stateless despite living in Sri Lanka for many years and contributing to its economy.

They were denied basic rights such as education, jobs, housing, voting etc.

Why (1) Citizenship Rights became a cause of the Conflicts?

In 1964, after allowing some Indian Tamils to return to India and granting some the citizenship, about 100,000 still stateless.

By 2003, Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Bill gave citizenship to those of Indian descent.

Outcome of Citizenship Rights?

Source A: Tamil Refugees at the harbour, August 1983

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_July_11.jpg

Do you think this Source showed that

Citizenship Rights was tackled well?

Source B: An extract taken from 2010 Human Rights Report on Sri Lanka, published by the U.S. State Department website

The 2003 Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Act recognizedthe country's nationality of previously stateless persons, particularly hill-country Tamils. The government made limited progress towardsnaturalizing and providing citizenship documentation to stateless persons.By December approximately 20,000 hill-country Tamils in the country lackedidentity cards and citizenship documents, compared with 30,000 at thebeginning of 2009 and 70,000 in 2008. Those lacking identity cards were athigher risk of arbitrary arrest and detention, but there were no reports of suchincidents during the year.

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154486.htm

What can you infer about the success of resolving Citizenship Rights after

the Violence?

I can infer that the govt measures to resolve the Citizenship Rights has not been very successful and slow as many of the Tamil Indians remain stateless as seen by “approximately 20,000 hill-country Tamils in the country lacked identity cards and citizenship documents” even after the violence has ended.

Although efforts were continuously made to resolve the citizenship rights issue, the slow process caused great inconvenience, insecurity and resentment among the Indian Tamils, which could have made them oppose the Sinhalese Govt.

Link: How do you think the Citizenship Rights issue contributed to the Conflicts?

Recall some of the answers discussed based on the 2

sources?

SRI LANKASRI LANKA



Resettlement

• Part 2 (Causes: Sinhala Only): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Z7P1Y4wpw

During British RuleDuring British Rule Indian Tamils brought in by the British Colonial Masters

were educated in English They worked in the British Government service and

held some of the most powerful jobs although they were a minority

Sinhalese – majority in country but could not read or write English

After Independence (Sinhalese Govt) 1956: Made Sinhala the language of administration

under Official Language Act Tamils in govt service given 3 years to learn Sinhala or

be dismissed

Why (2) ‘Sinhala Only’ Policy became a cause of Conflict?

Tamils upset as they found it difficult to find jobs or get promoted.

Peaceful demonstration disrupted by Sinhalese Riots resulted in high no. of deaths Pact between Sri Lankan Govt and Tamil leader to

allow Tamil to be used as language of admin in North and East Sri Lanka led to even higher fighting and deaths

Then, Tamil was declared national and official language of Sri Lanka.

Tamils upset as they found it difficult to find jobs or get promoted.

Peaceful demonstration disrupted by Sinhalese Riots resulted in high no. of deaths Pact between Sri Lankan Govt and Tamil leader to

allow Tamil to be used as language of admin in North and East Sri Lanka led to even higher fighting and deaths

Then, Tamil was declared national and official language of Sri Lanka.

Outcome of ‘Sinhala Only’ Policy?

Does this source show that the Sinhala Only policy has been resolved?

Source C: Official documents and dollar notes used in Sri Lanka all showed the 3 different languages on them

Source D: A cartoon taken from www.tamilnation.org

What is the cartoon trying to show about the Sinhala Only Policy?

The cartoon is trying to show to the world that the Sri Lankan Govt and Army, which majorly comprises of the Sinhalese is trying to get rid of

Tamils from Sri Lanka.

This can be seen from the drawing of the smartly-dressed official and soldier representing the Sri Lankan

govt and army using a saw titled ‘Sinhalese Colonialisation’ to cut off

the eastern region dominated by mostly Tamils from the map of Sri

Lanka.

As the discrimination caused the Tamils to be denied the right to use their language and forced to accept a different culture instead, they felt outraged and the urgent need to fight for their rights, resulting in violence and bloodshed.

Link: How do you think the Sinhala Only policy contributed to the Conflicts?

SRI LANKASRI LANKA



Resettlement

Before 1970:• University admission based on merit and exams held in English• Number of Tamil and Sinhalese students in respected medical and engineering almost equal• Sinhalese were unhappy because the no. of Tamil students were higher than their proportion in the country.

Why (3) University Admission criteria became a cause of Conflict?

Is the proportion of students in each course to their population size fair?

Source E: Graph, which shows no. of Tamil and Sinhalese university students and their population size in the country, is taken from a Sinhalese website

Why (3) University Admission criteria became a cause of Conflict?

Course Students Minimum Marks

Arts SinhaleseTamils

187170

Engineering SinhaleseTamils

227250

Medicine & Dentistry

SinhaleseTamils

229250

After 1970•Compulsory for Tamil students to score higher marks than Sinhalese students•A fixed no. of places also reserved for Sinhalese.•Admission was not solely based on academic results.•Still in place today.

Why do you think the Arts course requirement is higher

for Sinhalese students?

• Because of the unfair admission criteria, the number of Tamil students entering universities fell. They felt frustrated and helpless as this discrimination adversely affected their educational qualifications, job opportunities and standard of living. This encouraged the Tamil youths to join forces which could help them seek justice.

Link: How do you think the University Admission criteria contributed to the

Conflicts?

SRI LANKASRI LANKA



Resettlement

In 1950: Sinhalese peasants were

transferred from densely populated south-western and central areas into

Tamil areas

Why (4) Resettlement became a cause of Conflict?

But Tamils were unhappy because

Buddhist monks and Sri Lankan Army also came

to occupy their lands.

Govt implemented this to provide fertile land for landless Sinhalese peasants to live and cultivate padi.

Source F: Account extracted from ‘Son of Soils’ published by Stanford

University

•Tamil leader, Chelvanayakam warned that the government’s resettlement policy was even more dangerous to the Tamil people than the Sinhala-language policy. His political party claimed that the resettlements were “calculated to overwhelm and crush the Tamil-speaking people in their own national areas.” The aftermath of the Sinhala-only riot resulted in 87 injuries, but no deaths. However, the rioting due to resettlement somewhere killed between 20 and 200 people. •The threat of losing majority status in one’s homeland might have driven some Tamils into violence. Participating in these violent activities were Tamil irrigation workers, construction workers and truck drivers, who might not have been directly concerned about the language issue. The gradual displacement of Tamils became a full-scale retreat. Tamil refugees escaped to the forests to the west and up north to the Jaffna peninsula, many joining rebel bands. The Sri Lankan government continued to support Sinhala settlement in Tamil areas even though its officials understood its provocative implications.

What can you learn about the Resettlement and Violence in Sri Lanka?

• Because of the injustice of being driven out of their lands, threatened security and being treated as minority in their own areas, the Tamils felt outraged by the government deliberate plans to discriminate them. This had motivated many Tamils to carry out violence and seek help from rebel militants, the LTTE.

Link: How do you think the Resettlement contributed to the Conflicts?

Political Economic Social

Armed Conflict Unemployment Driven out of homeland

Foreign Intervention

Loss of Investments

Fall in Tourists

• Part 3 (Consequences: Armed Conflict & LTTE): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftrjkIGegqA

• Part 4 (Consequences: Tamils welcome LTTE, Foreign Intervention, Peace Accord) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlqTpuE2-7o

• Part 5 (Consequences: Unemployment): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJkXtoB2ro

• Part 6 (Consequences: Fall in Tourist, Massacre) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdrZdH9H0JM

How did the Conflict result in (1) Armed Conflict?

Tamils made peaceful demands for fair treatment by Sri Lankan Govt.

1950s, Tamils requested that Tamil areas be recognized as a

federation within Sri Lanka. No violence.

1976, Tamils asked for a separate independent state in North and East

of Sri Lanka, which will be called Tamil Eelam. Tamils believed on a

separation could ensure their rights.

All demands not met and idea of separate state rejected.

Angry and dissatisfied, Tamils (including youths) form the militant

group, LTTE (Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam), which used violence

to demand for Tamils’ rights.

Why were the Tamil Tigers

also known as terrorists?

What can you infer about the actions of LTTE in fighting for the Tamils’ freedom?

Source G: An LTTE bus bomb kills 25 Colombo commuters, in April 2008.

The bombings by the LTTE are inappropriate and immoral acts because innocent lives, both Sinhalese and Tamils, were lost.

Furthermore, the bombings will not help in getting the Sinhalese to grant their demands.

Tamil woman suicide bomber killed 23, wounded 60Friday 05, July 1996

Source H: Extract from Madras Hindu, a Tamil

newspaper on Mr. Kuttimani, one of the 52

Tamil political prisoners, 10 August 1983 .

•Kuttimani, a nominated member of Sri Lankan parliament... was forced to kneel in his (maximum security prison) cell by his assailants and ordered to pray to them. When he refused, he was taunted by his tormentors about his last wish... He had willed that his eyes be donated to someone so that at least that person would see an independent Tamil Eelam. The assailants then gouged his eyes... He was then stabbed to death and his testicles were wrenched from his body.

Because of LTTE, is it fair to say that the Tamils are the more violent race in the

Conflict?

As the armed conflict escalated the use of violence, tens of thousands of innocent lives, both Sinhalese and Tamils, are lost. The security of the nation is threatened as the people are living in constant fear and violence. Also, much wastage results from the spending on weapons and reconstruction of infrastructure. Lastly, the repercussions of the armed conflict spill over into other areas of impact.

Link: How do you think the Armed Conflict was a serious consequence?

SS Chap 4 Sri Lanka_2012

Education

Transcript of SS Chap 4 Sri Lanka_2012