Social Sciences
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Item The Application of Non-violence Approach for Settling Prolonged Civil Wars: Case Study of Syria(2nd International Studies Students’ Research Symposium – 2018, Department of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Dilhani, R.W.T.By nature, wars are the component instrument and it is fundamentally political. The parts involved in war should concentrate all their energy towards the final aim: victory. Recently, wars become smaller than before but even so, they seem to be more intense and vicious as always. The local actors’ revolt in civil wars to achieve their diverse goals. The Middle East wanted for once beginning the wave of rebellion against their ruling regimes. The wave is called as “Arab Spring” and it has led to demonstrate plenty of pro-democracy changes across the whole Middle East continent within a short period. For decades currently, the international actors tried to bring an end state to civil wars through negotiated settlements instead of the military approach. Find a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict seems very difficult. The economic, political or cultural issues do not seem to be viable barriers to a winning negotiated agreement and a mediation method has already been initiated inside Syria´s case. Therefore, the objective of this is to determine why a negotiated settlement has not been found in Syrian war. And also, to identify the importance of the use of non - violence negotiation approach rather than a military approach to the Syrian Civil War. The research takes up a descriptive analysis method under the qualitative approach to that end it gathers secondary data that assess conflict situation of Syria. The research findings manifest that how some actors had influenced to the development of the conflict making use of their status on the national and international stage. And also, conflict from different perspectives have been disclosed additional reasons that contribute to the failure of the negotiation process in Syria. Therefore, there should be a proper mechanism to bring a successful non-violence approach for Syrian war. If the negotiated application can be succeeded within this civil war, its results will be answerable for other same situations in the worldItem The LTTE Air Asset(University of Kelaniya, 2005) de Silva, G.Y.U.The LTTE's Acquisition of Air Assets means that it has acquired Strategic Depth and capabilities that would not only bolster its Military, that mainly comprises guerrilla fighters, but also bring VPs, Air Assets and High Security Zones of Sri Lanka and India within its target range. The constituents and dimensions of this Air Threat are: a) airstrip of about 1250 meters in Iranamadu allowing light to medium size aircraft to operate with a payload of 1.5 to 2 tons. (A fuel load adjustment could provide for a payload enhancement, however the range will be reduced and vice versa). b) The airfield has been provided with surveillance and self-protection means - radar, other electronic means and the support facilities to enable safe operations. The hard kill options are expected to be the Close Range Anti Aircraft weapons and Surface to Air Missiles and c) The type of aircraft in possession of the LTTE is the Czech Aircraft ZLIN Z-143. The biggest aircraft in the 143L range can carry four passengers with a payload of about 500kgs. The ZLIN Z-143 can be used for training, cross-country flying, reconnaissance, communication duties and limited air offensive missions. Purchasing and shipping an aircraft requires adherence to end user licenses and other stringent regulations. Yet the LTTE has been able to buy their air inventory despite being branded a terrorist organization. Any aircraft is required internationally to be registered (even applicable to the Military), have identification marks/symbols and tail number, and to be flown as per both International Civil Aviation Organization Regulations and the relevant laws of the land. The aircrews and the maintainers need clearance from a competent authority. The skies over Sri Lanka are under the sovereign control of the Government of Sri Lanka, aircraft flying in the Sri Lankan airspace should have express authorization of the SL Government. International airspace is controlled by International Agreements. Flying by an unrecognized group like the LTTE, is therefore a gross violation of both Sri Lankan and International Law. The need of the hour is to nip the bud otherwise it would be just a matter of time before the LTTE scouts for more potent air platforms and weapon systems. The Sri Lankan authorities should at the minimum trace the documentation trail - the commercial transaction, details of importer, import license and where it was obtained, contractual agreements etc.Item Onward Buddhist Soldiers: The Sri Lankan Civil War through the Eyes of Buddhist Military Personnel(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Kent, D.Who are the Buddhist soldiers and how do they deal with the reality of war? This paper deals with the relationship between religion and war as seen from the perspective of Buddhists in the Sri Lankan military. Moving beyond abstract ethical arguments about Buddhist justifications of violence, this study will concentrate on Buddhist practice within a condition of warfare. In the two decades of Sri Lanka’s civil war, there has been considerable discourse on the topic of Buddhism and violence. (Kapferer: 1988, Obeyesekere: 1991, Tambiah: 1992) While scholars have made many important contributions to the continuing discussion of ethnic violence and religious identity in Sri Lanka, very little has been written on the topic of Buddhism and the military. Recently, Tessa Bartholomeusz opened up academic discussion of the more specific topic of Buddhism and war in In Defense of Dharma: Just-war ideology in Contemporary Sri Lanka (2002). In this work, Bartholomeusz asks two questions: first, how do Sri Lankan Buddhists employ different narratives when they perceive Dharma to be threatened?; and second, is there a Buddhist “just-war” tradition comparable to that found in Christianinspired ethics? Using Bartholomeusz’s work as a starting point, this study will look beyond the Buddhist ethical questions raised by warfare and concentrate on how soldiers practice their religion during a time of war. Rather than asking how Buddhists justify warfare, this study will ask how Buddhists engage in warfare and deal with its consequences. How do Buddhist soldiers mourn and commemorate fallen comrades? How do military personnel and their families deal with the fear and stress that arises both before and after combat? How do Buddhist religious specialists help soldiers deal with both physical and psychological trauma? The answers to these questions will be sought through ethnographic field work consisting of structured interviews with Sri Lankan military personnel and observation of religious ceremonies commissioned by individual soldiers and the military as an institution. While this study will be presented primarily from the perspective of religious studies, it will also deal more generally with the issues of ethnicity, nationalism and individual identity. In an attempt to get beyond the initial categorical dissonance created by the juxtaposition of ‘Buddhism’ and ‘War’, this work seeks to produce a vivid picture of how soldiers in the Sri Lankan military understand and put into practice their national, ethnic, religious identities.