Violence in Sri Lanka

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 18

Violence in Sri Lanka

The new outbreak of fighting in Sri Lanka is a tragic continuation of the communal fighting that occurred in July last year. . The reports do not make it clear whether the Tamil separatist movement is initiating the clashes or whether the Sri Lankan security forces are taking the initiative. Without doubt, many Tamil people in Sri Lanka are terrified about what is happening and if they come to believe that the security forces are acting against Tamils as a whole, not just against the guerrillas (or terrorists, as they are in the Sri Lankan Government’s view), the Tamils will find it all the harder to trust their Government again. Gratuitous violence against Tamils is bound to fuel the demands for a separate Tamil province or provinces and may add to the numbers of those willing to use violence to achieve their aims.

The violence last year, which lasted for a week, resulted in the deaths of 400 people. Arson and looting directed against Tamils living outside the area dominated by Tamils left 100,000 homeless. The incidents since August 4 this year have not been on the same scale. Even so, the further violence will undermine confidence in the Government’s ability to maintain order and cast doubt on the security forces’ ability to be impartial. The party that has sought a separate area is the Tamil United Liberation Front. Its base area is the Northern Province, of which the capital is Jaffna. The party also has some support in the Eastern Province, which has a mixed population of Tamils, Muslims, and Sinhalese.

The party has always claimed to be nonviolent. It was embarrassed by the activities of young, militant Tamils who have carried out a campaign of murder and robbery since 1975. Tamil businesses and citizens were not exempt from attacks by the young militants. The Government believed that, although the Tamil United Liberation Front disavowed violence, there were links between the party and the young, violent militants. Two communities of Tamils live in Sri Lanka. Those living in the north are known as Jaffna Tamils and number about 1.9 million, or about 12 per cent of the population. Indian

Tamils, living mainly in the plantation areas of the central wet zone of the island, number about 800,000, or 5.6 per cent of the population. Although .the Indian Tamils have shown no inclination to have a separate State, they, too, were subjected to violence in last year’s incidents.

Fears had long been expressed that the attacks on security forces in the north could provoke a backlash against Tamils living outside the Tamil-dominated areas and that, if this happened, the security forces would be slow to react. This is What happened. After the security forces were criticised for their inability to restore order, the Government alleged that this was a deliberate ploy by some Army officers to demonstrate that the Government could not keep order. The officers then hoped they might seize power themselves. India is viewing what is happening in Sri Lanka with increasing apprehension. Although the official Government response has been to stay out of Sri Lanka’s affairs, the events in Sri Lanka may influence the election to be held later this year in India. Sri Lankan basic foreign policy has always been to maintain good relations with India. The Jaffna Tamils, who are indigenous to Sri Lanka, share a common language, culture, and religion with the 50 million Tamils who live in Tamil Nadu, the Indian state less than 30 kilometres away across the Palk Strait.

Last year, when the Indian Tamils were attacked and when even Tamil members of the Indian High Commission in Colombo were attacked, the Indian Government came under severe pressure to intervene in Sri Lanka. It may be expected that if the violence continues this year, the pressures will be even greater. When the election is coming up, the Indian Government will not want to be seen as doing nothing for the Tamils of Sri Lanka. Yet any effective action it might take would mean interference in the affairs of a friendly Commonwealth neighbour. Mrs Gandhi must be hoping that the Sri Lankan Government can quickly restore order, and begin to take account of Tamil aspirations, on the racially-divided island.