Reconciliation for Ethnic Harmony in Post War Sri Lanka from 2015- 2019

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a multi-religious country where Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians have lived in peace and Harmony. The Sinhalese are the largest ethnic group in the country. The Sri Lankan civil war ended in May 2009 with the defeat of the Tamil guerrilla group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the Sri Lankan forces and Sri Lanka became seriously fragmented as a result of intensified anti- minority sentiments and violence. In the 2015-2019 period, there are many ethnic clashes which destroy the ethnic harmony of the country. Sinhala Buddhists hegemony group, they attack minority communities especially Muslims. We can see some incidents such as Digana, Teldeniya violence, and the Easter Sunday attack. This study focuses on identifying the ethnic clashes in Sri Lanka during this period, examine how to re-establish the relationship between ethnic groups and how to remove the disregard and disrespect among conflict groups and define the actions to be taken by the government and how to achieve ethnic harmony and long-lasting peace. This study is based on the qualitative and quantitative analyzing method, adopted a qualitative approach to collect data, particularly through an interview. The study is mainly descriptive, as it tries to describe the reconciliation process by civil society organizations in Sri Lanka. This study is significant to Sri Lanka both domestically and internationally because on the one hand peaceful co-existence is vital for a multi-ethnic country like Sri Lanka and on the other hand, such recurrence of war would be gravely uncomfortable and the keep the country lagging in a fast- developing world. Therefore, not only is this research significant and valid but also timely. The findings of the study reveal that significant positive and negative outcomes, major concerns peaceful co-existence and social well-being. With the end of civil war, Muslims have become “another other” and also the target of ethno- religious hatred and violence from the vigilant right-wing ethnic- nationalist forces that claim to be protecting the Sinhala-Buddhist nation, race, and culture in Sri Lanka.