Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of Armed Groups in Post-war Sri Lanka: A Study based on Koralaipattu South Divisional Secretariat Division in Eastern Sri Lanka

V Kamalasiri,M A M Fowsar,M M Fazil

doi:10.5539/jpl.v13n3p236

Abstract

This article generally focuses on the process of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) which are essential to restore sustainable peace in the post-war scenario. The DDR is one of the significant aspects of the process of post-war peacebuilding. In most of the cases, this process has implemented with the assistance of foreign governments and international or regional institutions. However, the circumstances under which the Government of Sri Lanka happened to take over the sole responsibility for implementing the DDR process have raised serious concerns both at the local and international level. Hence, this article attempts to conduct a detailed inquiry of the DDR process implemented in Sri Lanka after the end of the civil war. This article followed a descriptive method of investigation. The findings of the study show that the DDR process was not fully implemented in a broad manner in the Sri Lankan context, but only served as a continuation of the military victory over the LTTE. In particular, not much attention was paid to disarming and demobilizing the armed groups, and only the so-called DDR process took place without international assistance and supervision.

Highlights

Peacebuilding is a continuous process that is generally undertaken by the support of the international community, and it is an essential long-term process after the end of a war
As far as Sri Lanka’s Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process is concerned, it can be said that it was not implemented in accordance with international DDR protocol the way it is usually done in other countries; it did not involve any collaboration with the UN or any other equivalent global agency
The process was implemented by the security forces with the assistance of a few local and international NGOs under the direction of the government. Their objective was to bring about reintegration by following the DDR process according to their own methods and expecting an outcome that would be in keeping with the UN Guideline (2000)

Summary

Introduction

Peacebuilding is a continuous process that is generally undertaken by the support of the international community, and it is an essential long-term process after the end of a war. In Sri Lanka, the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was brought to an end in May 2009 after defeating it militarily, and there were talks of emphasizing development from onward. After the independence of Sri Lanka, ethnic relations among communities were characterized by the ruling Sinhala elites and their political agenda that mainly focused on excluding the Tamil speaking minorities from the mainstream political arena. Ethnic minorities were subject to ethnic discrimination and subject to other strictures, which eventually led to the armed conflict. Peaceful protests by the Tamils eventually transformed into a violent uprising of Tamil youth, and it took on a new dimension after the July 1983 pogrom against the Tamils, which drew international attention and criticism (Fazil, 2019)

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Results

Conclusion