Abstract
Regional and international mediation by third parties in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict have had diverse impacts on the country’s political scene at various times. India spearheaded a significant regional mediation following the July 1983 pogrom against minority Tamils. An international mediation effort by a third party was initiated in 2000, with Norway playing the role of facilitator. Both of these attempts to resolve Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, which were taken to bring an end to the intense and continued violence, have had mixed outcomes. In particular, Norway’s initiative to bring an end to the conflict with international facilitation was taken in the backdrop of the changed world order that prevailed after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. It is against this backdrop; this article attempts to examine the contributions made by Norway towards the resolution of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict. The major finding shows that Norwegian initiative fell into fail after a period and the armed insurgency did not come to an end until 2009. In May 2009, the government forces defeated the LTTE militarily and declared the war victory.
Highlights
Sri Lanka was a colony of the British Empire until its independence on February 4, 1948
The new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe formally requested Norway to participate as a facilitator in the peace process on December 27 2001
A series of peace negotiations were initiated to find a political solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict with regional and international mediators assisting in the process
Summary
Sri Lanka was a colony of the British Empire until its independence on February 4, 1948. Tamil minority have not had vigorous relations with the Sinhala Buddhist supremacist state. S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike’s election victory in 1956 led to the rise of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism in the country. The fear among Tamils was further doubled soon after the Bandaranaike’s Government declared the Sinhala-only policy in 1956. Tamils refused to accept this policy and engaged in boycotts against the Government. It resulted in conflicts between the nationalized Sinhalese and Tamils after 1956. In the mid-1970s, the demand for a separate state arose among Tamils. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) embarked on an attempt to establish a separate Tamil state through military means. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) emerged as a strong organization than any other Tamil armed groups. The LTTE targeted state forces and Tamil militants (Fazil, 2016)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
