Notes on Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland

Consequences of Sri Lankan Conflict

· The LTTE was formed as a response to the government’s rejection of the idea of a separated and independent Tamil state. They resorted to violence and attacked both the Sinhalese and the Tamil members who supported the government.
· The fight for a separate homeland for the Tamils from the 1970s to the early 1990s cost thousand of lives and the destruction of millions of dollars of property.
· Thus, armed conflict and violence had affected Sri Lanka the most as when violence is used to solve the problems, the hostility tends to worsen. This makes peaceful solutions even more difficult to achieve.
· Due to the instability in Sri Lanka, investors from other countries were discouraged from investing in Sri Lanka as they had lost their confidence to invest in the country.
· Many investors fear that their business might fail due to the uncertainties in the country.
· Thus, loss of foreign investments had affected Sri Lanka the most as the economy of a country can only grow with businesses from outside the country. If the economy declines due to this, the people will suffer as they may not have many jobs to choose from, thus increasing the level of unemployment.
· The Sinhalese-Tamil conflict attracted the attention of its bigger neighbour, India.
· At first first, India tried to play the role of a mediator.
· Later as dialogue between the opposing parties failed, the Indian government sent a flotilla of 20 Indian ships to Jaffna to send food and petroleum products to the Sri Lankan Tamils. In the same year, 1987, under pressure from India. Sri Lanka agreed to sign a peace accord with India
· Thus, foreign intervention had affected Sri Lanka the most as by doing all these, Sri Lanka had lost much of her sovereignty as an independent country.


Which factor was the most significant cause of conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils in Sri Lanka:

Citizenship Rights
Jobs in the Government Service (Sinhala Only Policy)

Explain your answer.

I think the jobs in the government service issue was the more significant cause of conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The jobs in the government service issue (Sinhala Only Policy) was about the Tamils not being able to secure jobs or promotion in the government service. With independence, the Sri Lankan government decided to improve the position of the majority Sinhalese by making Sinhala the only language of administration in the civil service. Tamils in the government service were given three years to learn Sinhala or be dismissed. This upset the Tamils. A peaceful demonstration against the Official Language Act was disrupted by supporters of the Sinhala language. Rioting occurred which resulted in over a hundred deaths.

The citizenship rights issues was about Sri Lanka granting citizenship only to those who were either born in Sri Lanka or those whose fathers and grandfathers were also born there. As a result, many Indian Tamils who were brought from India to Sri Lanka by the British to work on the plantations found themselves stateless. To be stateless meant that they were not citizens of any country. Though they had lived for many years in Sri Lanka, they were denied the basic rights such as voting. Thus, the Tamils were unhappy with the situation as they could not even vote for the government that would rule them even though they continued to work on the plantations and to contribute to the country’s economy.

I think the jobs in the government service issue was a more significant cause of conflict because it had a more serious impact on the lives of the people. In fact, as a result of the Official Language Act, riotings often occurred which led to loss of lives, thus deepening the hatred of the Tamils towards the Sinhalese. On the other hand, the citizenship rights issue had been partially resolved when a certain number of Indian Tamils were allowed to return to India while many had been granted Sri Lankan citizenship over the years.

Which factor was the most significant cause of conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants in Northern Ireland:

Divided Loyalties
Housing ?

Explain your answer.

I think divided loyalties was the more significant cause of conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants in Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, most Protestants regard themselves as British and wish to see the country continue as part of the United Kingdom. Many of them are afraid of union with the Republic of Ireland, which is a Catholic country. The Catholics in Northern Ireland, on the other hand, see themselves as Irish and would like their country to be reunited with Ireland. Moreover, they still resent the past history of English conquest where Catholics were either massacred or treated harshly. This sense of loyalty to different countries make the Protestants and Catholics intolerant of each other.

Another cause of conflict is in the provision of public housing by city councils. These public houses are partly paid by the government but the councils usually consist largely of Protestants. Often, large Catholic families in need of housing are delayed in getting their houses. In 1968, 71% of the local houses in Dungannon were given to Protestants although 53% of the people there were Catholics. Thus, the Catholics were frustrated as the shortage of houses meant they would have to wait any years before they were given their own houses. The Catholics thus find the provision of housing unfair.

I think divided loyalties was the more significant cause of conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants in Northern Ireland because it has a deeper impact on the people of Northern Ireland, be they Catholics or Protestants. Divided loyalties led to deep-seated feelings that are not easy to remove. For instance, due to divided loyalties, parents of these 2 groups of people sent their children to different schools to pursue different types of education like the Protestant children in schools that taught British history and British sports and tradition. Thus, generations of children grow up to be distrustful of each other as they seldom get to meet and thus makes them even more hostile to each other.