Symposia & Conferences
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Item New Trends of US-Sri Lanka Diplomatic Relations(2nd International Studies Students’ Research Symposium – 2018, Department of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Malsha, N.K.The 70th anniversary of US-Sri Lankan diplomatic relations was celebrated in 2018. The diplomatic relations between the US and Sri Lanka are mainly based on mutual interests, a shared commitment to the ideals of democratic governance, progress and development. The US has prioritized sovereignty, moderate nonaligned foreign policy, and support for Sri Lankan unity, territorial integrity, democracy and socio-economic development through their foreign policy towards Sri Lanka. The US can be distinguished as the largest trading partner of Sri Lanka. In this study new trends of US-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations were examined with a perspective of Sri Lankan citizen. The US is the super power in this international system. Therefore, Sri Lanka much more needs mechanisms, strong and strategic foreign policies when engage with the US. Dynamic nature and fluctuations are reflected in the United States- Sri Lanka diplomatic relations from 2005 to 2018. These dynamics have negatively consequence on US-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations. Therefore, the factors which constrained diplomatic relations can reflect in bi lateral diplomatic relations due to considerable reasons during the time period of 2005-2018. The main objective of this research study is to evaluate the reasons for these dynamics of diplomatic relations between the US and Sri Lanka. This article is based on qualitative secondary data obtained from online articles and other sources such as E-books, E-reports, some journals published by various institutions related to US-Sri Lankan relations. The study scope is to identify the economic and political relations between both actors from 2005 to 2018. The research findings manifest that US- Sri Lankan relations are largely based on development assistant and human rights. It also concludes that both countries can uplift their relations through mutual understandingItem Theory of Dependent Origination and Social Healing Approach Towards Post Conflict Reconciliation(Reviewing International Encounters 2018,The Research Center for Social Sciences (RCSS), University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Ven.Dhammananda, G.The reconciliation approach that is in use in post conflict reconciliation works in Sri Lanka is the existing models of reconciliation that identify the categories of victims, perpetrators and the bystanders. This very approach creates much deeper divisions and suspicions among the people rather than bringing them together. Further, this approach disconnects people from understanding the interconnectedness of everyone in different ways and in different degrees in the process of development of the conflict and in the same manner in the process of healing. The answer to this problem is developed based on the teaching of the theory of dependent origination and incorporating the practice of four sublime states. Through the theory of dependent origination, the interconnectedness of the whole gamut of story is seen and then the historical development of the problem also is understood. In this approach there is no clear cut divisions of victims, perpetrators and the bystanders. Instead it is understood as a connected whole. The healing is not seen as the healing of individuals or individual categories but healing of all and to understand the need of healing of all as a determining factor for the healing of individuals.Item Going beyond ‘Reconciliation’: A Buddhist Approach to ‘Healing Wounded Minds(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Ven.Dhammananda, G.‘Reconciliation’ is a new term that came in to the vocabularies of Sri Lankan local languages with different translations and adaptations after 2009 when the armed conflict between government forces and the LTTE came to its end with the defeat of the LTTE. However, not only the term ‘Reconciliation’ is new but the meaning and approaches of the reconciliation as well seems obscure to the mass of the society even after 9 years from the end of the armed conflict. One of the basic problems pertaining to this is the failure to find deep rooted local traditions, knowledge, and the approaches towards reconciliation and connect those practices with the present reconciliation efforts. In this paper Buddhist approach of Healing of the Mind of all the parties connected with the conflict is discussed without identifying them as ‘Oppressor’, ‘Oppressed’ or ‘By standers’. Particularly, it is highlighted here the need of understanding the so called oppressor, as well, as an ‘oppressed’ person in different levels and in different conditions to develop the healing model that include all the parties into a liberation model. This approach supports to see what happen in a conflict situation is a process of ‘wounding’ and then what need is ‘Healing’. It is argued here this paradigm shift helps to avoid further wounding that can happen even in the ‘reconciliation’ processesItem From reconciliation to National Development through PModel Tourist Zone in Eastern Province of Sri Lanka(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Liyanage, A.; Seneratne, P.; Herath, B.After experiencing an ethnic based civil war for 30 years and unfulfilled promises by authorities after that, Eastern province of Sri Lanka is still far behind the national development efforts. While being forced back by inadequate infrastructure facilities, lack of service industry oriented vocational training and underemployment, the province consist of enormous amount of historic and natural tourist attractions. The main problem identified for this research evolved in this back ground of having no sustainable model to reap the benefits from tourist attractions in the war affected areas in eastern province. The primary objective was to address the aforesaid issue by developing a Model Tourist Zone; a self-sufficient supply chain model with resources supplied from and within the region and minimized negative aspects related to tourism industry in Ampara district mainly Pothuvil, Lahugala and surrounding areas, which can be implemented in the other parts of the country as well. The secondary objective was finding out circumstances of tourism industry in this area. A group of 25 Tamils who were former rebel groups’ members who have entered into small scale tourism and/or politics, 15 Sinhala and/or Muslim tourism related business owners, local government members and government officials were considered for a series of focus group discussions and key informant interviews to gather information for the research. The key findings are distrust among majority of participants regarding government related development & reconciliation initiatives, inadequate infrastructure facilities, lack of tourism oriented vocational training facilities and favouritism towards corporate giants and maltreatments for small scale entrepreneurs in tourism. In conclusion, it is necessary to regain the trust of the underemployed former rebel members by skilling them on tourism and channelling their unity and strengths combined with the natural tourist attractions in the area towards national development through making them stakeholders of Model Tourist Zone.Item Effective understanding; attempt of using motion pictures to direct Sri Lankans towards Post-war Reconciliation with Reference of “Him. Her.The other” and “Demons in Paradise”(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Senarath, S.; Jayasekara, S.; Boteju, I.; Gunathilaka, D.Visual media is a universal language. It addresses almost every living species on the world. The two films “Him. Her. The other” by Prasanna Vitanage, Vimukthi Jayasundera and Asoka Handagama, and “Demons in the Paradise” by Jude Ratnum can be identified as an effort they made to picturize the unseen, unidentified and unrevealed corners of the aftermaths and consequences of the 30 years of war in Sri Lanka. These films were given different messages, backgrounds and they had shown different insights of war that victims had to face. From the two motion pictures and their contents, the way they address the concept of reconciliation, it is fair to assume that the visual media is one of the best medium to address the social consciousness of lay people especially with reference to key elements of reconciliation like replacing fear, coexistence, empathy and non-violence. The aim of this study was to understand whether these two selected films address the conscious of the spectators, originated due to an unsolved question which resulted in 30 years of war and if so how they address them. This was a case study conducted through forums among spectators of the two selected motion pictures and the sample selection had been limited to the age group of below 45 years from both Tamils and Sinhalese who were not directly affected by the 30 years of civil war. The forums conducted with the spectators did not show any aggressive or negative perspective therefore, it was likely possible to anticipate a better attitudinal change from them in near future. The findings might not be representative of the study population due to the fact that the number of screenings completed so far, do not represent the majority viewership of both Sinhalese and Tamils. With the limited number of screenings and with the received mindful and positive responses it endured the hint that even in public screenings there were no any negative or aggressive responses and certainly these two films can attract the minds of the majority of the Sri Lankans to the path of reconciliation.Item Applicability of International Peace Making Models to the Post War Era of Sri Lanka.(1st International Studies Students’ Research Symposium-2017 (ISSRS 2017) ,Department of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Ishaq, M.A.M.This research is based on the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. Although it is said that there was no ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka it is an obvious fact that there was a long fought civil war in Sri Lanka. This research study finds out the progress of the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka after its end in 2009 and whether it is well implemented or not and thereby to find out an international peace keeping model for Sri Lankan ethnic conflict which will be a new light reevaluate the conflict. The research objectives of this research are to identify the nature of Sri Lankan peace process, to identify the reasons for its failure and to identify the applicability of international peace keeping models on Sri Lankan peace process. This research is based on descriptive research method. The research assesses the past of the conflict, the current context and future trends. This research analyzes both primary data collected by interviews using semi-structured interview method and a questionnaire method and secondary data. But this research is heavily based on secondary data from internet, journals, books and newspapers. These data have then been analyzed using several theories of international relations, political studies, psychology and social studies. The research has been done in several levels of analysis. First the multi-ethnic nature of Sri Lanka has been taken into account while drawing comparisons from similar countries in the world faced with ethnic conflict and investigating what measure have been taken by them. In this regard, the post-apartheid movements in South Africa, America and the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet have been evaluated. Secondly, the study explores the presence of nationalist and humanitarian revolutionary factors in Sri Lanka. Thirdly, it has looked into feasible governing models that can keep the peace in Sri Lanka. Finally the research finds out what institutions are suitable to sustain the peace. Based on this multi-level analysis, the study concludes that transformative leadership, peace education, peace journalism, moderate political solution and equal economy can pave the way for lasting peace in Sri Lanka.Item Strategies of Reconciliation through Education and Research(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Vitharana, S.; Sumedha, K.; Jayaweera, S.; Manuratne, P.Postwar Sri Lanka has explored several modes and models of reconciliation as part of its effort to address the deep ethnic divide that still affects the country. Ultra-nationalist groups continue to create discourses and forums that destroy the potential for any sustainable peace among the various ethno-religious groups that were affected by the conflict. Attempts at creating discourses on reconciliation do not always occur at the grassroots level, often employing top-down models that prove unsustainable in the long run. In this research, we theorize a pedagogical exercise in which we participated as lecturers at the University of Kelaniya. A group of Third Year Sociology students were required to conduct a field research as part of their study program. The study involved a field trip to Tirukkovil and Karaitivu in two consecutive years, two Divisional Secretariats in the Eastern Province. The students had to be part of home-stays that involved close cultural contact with the host community. In this paper, we explore how the experience of being part of this research project can be theorized in terms of pedagogical strategies for reconciliation. Drawing on this experience, and the insights of the Freirean model of education, we explore the limits and challenges of traditional modes of delivering information such as lectures and presentations. We argue that informal modes of cultural exchange, operating at the grassroots level, facilitate ethnic reconciliation more effectively than traditional modes of delivery.Item Building Reconciliation in Sri Lanka; An analysis of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Herath, O.V.Sri Lanka is struggling with the aftermath of a brutal 26 year civil war that cost tens of thousands of lives. It ended in 2009 when the government forces advanced behind heavy bombardments into the strongholds of separatist extremists fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in the north of the country. In the wake of the war, the rift dividing the two major national communities has remained wide. To build that gap among civilians, so many initiatives for reconciliation are happening through various branches of government as well as non- government. Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission is one of the initiatives introduced by previous government and though there are lots of arguments against Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission, it is still in the operation. So this research is focused on analysing the recommendations and the actions that the Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission has taken with reference to reconciliation. Weather the recommendations provided by Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission could be used to build reconciliation in Sri Lanka is the research problem and the major objective of this research is to analyse the recommendations and the actions of the Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission with reference to reconciliation. This research is a qualitative content analysis and has used both primary and secondary data, and interviews were used to gather primary data. Secondary data was collected using books, magazines and websites. Data was analysed qualitatively. According to the findings of the research, the Sri Lankan Government has introduced two commissions to investigate alleged crimes against humanity, violations of international law, and related harms. The first, the Group of Eminent Persons, concluded its work without issuing a report and the Department of State welcomed the establishment of the second body, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. This report notes several aspects of its constitution and mandate that are of concern. The Commission has examined the progression of the conflict that afflicted Sri Lanka as well as looked ahead towards an era of healing and reconciliation in the country. It endeavoured to analyse submissions as well as other published reports, both local and international, relevant to its mandate in order to draw lessons, and made recommendations based on an analysis of the course of the conflict and its causes with a view to redressing grievances while taking the country forward to an era of reconciliation and peace buildingItem Post Conflict Reconciliation as a Strategy Promote Tourism; Special Reference to ongoing Reconciliation Process in Sri Lanka (Western Province in Sri Lanka)(Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2015) Dilrukshi, N.G.A.C.M.; Abeshinhe, C.After ended Sri Lanka-LTTE conflict in 2009, there is an ongoing reconciliation process in Sri Lanka. And also, dynamic growth in tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Ongoing Post Conflict Reconciliation process takes the major role under this scenario. The researcher takes effort to find out the ongoing reconciliation process whether impact to promote tourism and to give recommendations to increase tourism promotion strategies. The main objective of this study is to identify whether the post conflict reconciliation process has helped to promote the tourism industry. Other objectives are identify the post conflict reconciliation process in Sri Lanka, Study Strategies of post conflict Tourism promotion in Sri Lanka. Recognize people attitudes in village community in study area, effectiveness of reconciliation process for the growth of post conflict tourism in Sri Lanka. This research study is comprised primary data and secondary data and has done mix method (qualitative and quantitative) research study using books, journals, reports, academic publications and web sites. Primary data collect by interviews and questionnaires to analyze the research. The target population was fifty village community in Nilaweli area and twenty Local and International tourists in this area. Structured questionnaire and open ended interviews were used to collect data. Respondents were village community, local and International tourists and hotel managers or owner who were involved in tourism sector The research study has highlighted regional development, tourism promotion strategies, protection, Employment, freedom, integration, education, and other regional causes are affected to promote tourism. It has proved while follow the primary data which are included. In addition, it can be identified the ongoing reconciliation process has helped to promote tourism in Sri Lanka.