Abstract
Since Sri Lankan ethnic conflict was considered as a confrontation between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, the impact of conflict and civil war on other [minority] ethnic groups has always been sidetracked by major parties involved in resolving conflict. One of the communities severely impacted but always forgotten in the discourse of resolution process is the Muslims who ever resorted to violent agitations and arm rebellion to resolve their problem and achieve their political objectives. However, the constant impact of ethnic conflict and civil war on the lives and livelihoods of the community caused them to search for political and institutional mechanism to protect them. Muslim autonomy demand has emerged on this backdrop in the middle of 1980s and has been advocated by Muslim parties and public in the discourse of ethnic politics in Sri Lanka. There has been changing dynamics, phases of acceleration and sidetracks on the advocacy of the demand. This paper aims to examine the changing dynamics of the Muslim demand for territorial autonomy in the eastern part of Sri Lanka. The study was conducted using both primary and secondary data collected from desk analysis and field survey conducted in three years. Analysis of the study is interpretive and descriptive in nature. Findings reveal that the fragmentation of Muslims politics, demerge of north-eastern province, and the new political context in eastern Sri Lanka not only caused to sidetrack the demand but also made the demand politically contested and irrelevant.
Highlights
Territorial cleavages are today’s main source of ethnic conflict and one of the principle causes for violence in the World
Since Sri Lankan ethnic conflict was considered as a confrontation between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, the impact of conflict and civil war on other [minority] ethnic groups has always been sidetracked by major parties involved in resolving conflict
The demand has come to articulate the Muslim majority areas in the North-Eastern region to be merged and be recognized as a self-governing autonomous unit for the Muslims, in non-contiguous basis on the assumption that the northern and eastern provinces would be constituted as one territorial unit
Summary
Territorial cleavages are today’s main source of ethnic conflict and one of the principle causes for violence in the World. Since the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has come to impact on the Muslims living in the north-eastern part, they started to demand and advocate for an autonomous power-sharing unit to safeguard their existence and to ensure their rights of self-determination in the ethnic conflict resolution process. 87) indicates, all discussions have neglected the role of the other minorities like the Muslims for many years in the power-sharing debates in Sri Lanka. On this backdrop, this research pays attention on the emergence of the Muslims’ demand for an autonomy unit, its development, and its present stand after the de-merger of north-eastern province in Sri Lanka. The interviews session was conducted on 21 respondents selected from the academics, politicians, and civil society members to gain different perspectives of different ethnic groups on www.ccsenet.org/ass
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