Transition Initiatives: Sri Lanka Fact Sheet
JANUARY 2004
Recent Developments
Sri Lanka's peace process is at its most critical juncture to date since the signing of the Ceasefire Memorandum of Understanding in February 2002. The Sri Lankan population and the international community welcomed the long-awaited announcement that the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) were ready to return to the negotiating table, coupled with a set of proposals submitted for an interim self-governing authority in the North and East. However, the President's sacking of ministers from three key ministries in November 2003 has effectively stalled resumption of formal peace negotiations and plunged the country into a constitutional crisis that threatens to further divide the nation. Numerous meetings between the President and Prime Minister have not brought resolution to the impasse. The political stalemate in Colombo has strengthened the position of the LTTE. The government's inability to expeditiously resolve the ethnic conflict, according to the LTTE, may force the rebels to secede and form a separate state in the North and East.
Regional News: In November and December Trincomalee district witnessed an upsurge in violence. Most incidents occurred in Kinniya, where Muslims and Tamils live in close proximity. There were related incidents in Trinco town aimed at Muslims celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, apparently in retaliation for similar attacks on Tamils during this year's Hindu Deepavali festival.
Elsewhere on the island, skepticism about the benefits of peace remains high, particularly among the majority Sinhalese in the south. A lack of balanced information about the peace process, particularly in the vernacular press, has contributed to this negative point of view. The JVP, a neo-Marxist nationalist movement that almost overthrew the government in a bloody 1987-1989 uprising, has sharply criticized the government's approach to the talks and successfully played to the grievances of disaffected youth throughout the South. Signs are now emerging that they are making similar inroads into communities of Sinhalese settlers in the border villages of the North and East.
OTI Program Updates
Since inception in March 2003, the OTI Sri Lanka program has approved 89 grants for approximately $2.2 million. Funding a total of 51 grants for $1,589,309, the Colombo operation covers national initiatives, Jaffna, the greater Puttalam area and the South. The Trincomalee office covers the greater Trinco area and to date has programmed 15 grants for a total of $231,631. The Ampara office covers the Ampara-Batticaloa area and has funded 23 grants for $376,631.
OTI seeks to generate greater support for a negotiated settlement and increase the political space needed to further the peace. The program has three main objectives: to demonstrate tangible benefits of peace; to increase the amount and exchange of information and diverse points of view among various levels of society and between and among various communities on peace related issues; and, to reduce or prevent the incidents of violence in conflict prone communities. Working with local non-governmental organizations, informal community-based groups, media entities, and local government authorities, OTI identifies and supports initiatives that move the country further along the continuum from war to peace. To increase the program's impact in regions outside the capital, OTI has opened two satellite offices in Trincomalee and Ampara.
Programs vary by geographic area to better reflect the needs and interests of local communities, within the framework of the OTI Sri Lanka mandate. In Jaffna, Tamils have suffered from serial displacement and there has been slow progress on rehabilitation of critical infrastructure. In response, OTI is funding projects to demonstrate tangible benefits of peace, including the issuance of six grants in the education sector that reconstruct partially destroyed facilities or broaden the practical skill sets of teachers and student leaders. Livelihood assistance has been provided through two grants while two additional grants have been aimed at rehabilitation of damaged health care establishments.
In Puttalam, an influx of Muslims displaced from the North in 1990 has placed enormous pressure on an area where public and private resources and services are scarce. Displaced people and host community members often find themselves in conflict over access to these resources; sometimes the conflict is violent. OTI has focused on reducing the incidences of violent conflict through supporting improved provision of services, as well as through projects that enhance the livelihoods of both the host community and displaced persons. OTI grant activities incorporate a community participation component so that both groups have a stake in the projects. OTI has funded five activities that have increased access to free legal services, improved both access to, and standards of, public health facilities, and enhanced the livelihoods of both communities.
Sri Lanka's Sinhalese heartland in the South has endured a variety of difficulties over the past few years. In addition to natural disasters, the area has been the target of political agitators determined to derail the peace process. OTI has responded by funding a number of projects that focus on the two most at-risk areas in the South. The emphasis in all of these activities has been to demonstrate to communities the tangible benefits of peace. Addressing local needs, OTI has provided 17 grants that include: repair of public facilities; livelihood restoration; skills training; and two ambitious multi-ethnic construction initiatives. In both locations, OTI has been able to demonstrate that the people of the South are not being overlooked and that peace is making a positive difference in their lives.
The Ampara-Batticaloa region of the East is an area where tensions between Muslims and Tamils are on the rise and where war weary Sinhalese communities are growing increasingly impatient with the lack of positive impact from the peace process. In the multi-ethnic coastal areas most OTI-funded activities have contained a conflict mitigation dimension in order to rebuild relationships between the different groups. For instance, grants that constructed sanitation facilities involved labor investment from both Tamil and Muslim community members. In Ampara, OTI has assisted in generating immediate peace dividends through the funding of infrastructure and livelihood projects in war-affected communities.
In Trincomalee district, the most pressing issue continues to be the sectarian conflict between Tamils and Muslims. In response, OTI has funded initiatives that bring the ethnic groups together through common and constructive goals. OTI has funded a number of livelihood assistance or skills development projects that involve young Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese working together to improve their lives.
At the national level, the OTI focus has largely been on media and information gathering and sharing. OTI has funded field-based training in reporting on conflict for print journalists, as well as town hall seminars in different parts of the country to share information and elicit feedback on the peace process. A campaign of print public service announcements and an inter-religious peace forum series has also benefited from OTI support.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C.: Rachel Wax, Program Manager, 202-712-1243, rwax@usaid.gov
|
