Triumphalism, fear and humiliation: The psychological legacy of Sri Lanka's civil war

Abstract

The Sri Lankan government's recent victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) presents a unique opportunity to resolve the long-standing ethnic conflict in the country. However, the Tamil population's distrust of the government will not change easily. Furthermore, the Tamil diaspora located in Europe, Australia, and Canada believed that the LTTE was the only force that could protect the Tamil people from annihilation, and the war's end has left them confused and humiliated. Significant psychological hurdles – including group narcissism on the part of the majority Sinhalese, feelings of vulnerability and distrust on the part of Sri Lankan Tamils, and a sense of humiliation on the part of the Tamil diaspora – need to be surmounted in order to reach a successful reconciliation.