Tamil Genocide A Myth? Legitimacy of Tamil Genocide Claim
Institutional Affiliation
University of Manitoba
Start Date
2-11-2023 1:30 PM
End Date
2-11-2023 3:00 PM
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Format
On-campus
Proposal Description
Since independence in 1948, Tamils have claimed systematic genocide against them. The Sri Lankan Government's (SLG) goal to construct a Sinhalese Buddhist country has disenfranchised the Tamil people. Tamil protests in response to SLG's discrimination and pogroms were followed by SLG counterstrategies, giving rise to the LTTE and a 26-year war (1983–2009).
Due to the atrocities of the war, many Tamils have been internally displaced, forced to migrate, and have just disappeared. Today, a quarter of the Tamil population lives in the diaspora as refugees and migrants; and the disappeared are feared dead. Tamils’ advocacy for genocide recognition, the passage of Bill 104, and its vehement rejection by the SLG, necessitates a discussion about the legitimacy of the Tamil genocide claim. To reach a conclusion, a comparative analysis of the Tamil experience against the UN genocide definition, Stanton's 10 stages of genocide, and Rwanda’s genocide is conducted.
The research contributes to the field of peace and conflict resolution by ventilating the issues and fostering an understanding of the "other," that is, the motivations for the SLG's denial and the Tamils' demands for a genocide declaration from the international community. This paper also suggests strategies to break the impasse, find asymmetry between conflict resolution and social justice to move the Sri Lankan society towards building sustained positive peace.
Tamil Genocide A Myth? Legitimacy of Tamil Genocide Claim
Since independence in 1948, Tamils have claimed systematic genocide against them. The Sri Lankan Government's (SLG) goal to construct a Sinhalese Buddhist country has disenfranchised the Tamil people. Tamil protests in response to SLG's discrimination and pogroms were followed by SLG counterstrategies, giving rise to the LTTE and a 26-year war (1983–2009).
Due to the atrocities of the war, many Tamils have been internally displaced, forced to migrate, and have just disappeared. Today, a quarter of the Tamil population lives in the diaspora as refugees and migrants; and the disappeared are feared dead. Tamils’ advocacy for genocide recognition, the passage of Bill 104, and its vehement rejection by the SLG, necessitates a discussion about the legitimacy of the Tamil genocide claim. To reach a conclusion, a comparative analysis of the Tamil experience against the UN genocide definition, Stanton's 10 stages of genocide, and Rwanda’s genocide is conducted.
The research contributes to the field of peace and conflict resolution by ventilating the issues and fostering an understanding of the "other," that is, the motivations for the SLG's denial and the Tamils' demands for a genocide declaration from the international community. This paper also suggests strategies to break the impasse, find asymmetry between conflict resolution and social justice to move the Sri Lankan society towards building sustained positive peace.