Civil Society in Civil War: The Case of Sri Lanka

This article argues, using the case of Sri Lanka, that what is theoretically lumped together as 'civil society' is not uniform, neutral or necessarily pro-peace. In Sri Lanka, the civil society sphere is shaped by colonial heritage, post-colonial structures of political patronage and the growth of an NGO sector dependent on foreign funding. Civil society is geographically and ethnically divided and comprises struggles both in favour of and against a negotiated settlement to the violent conflict. While popular mobilisation in the war zone is largely controlled by the guerrilla organisation, limited spaces for dissent also exist. Civil society in Sri Lanka, as in other war-torn societies, should not be simplistically understood but be recognised as a sphere with conflicting struggles which can influence peace processes in various directions. Notes 1. Interview 25. 2. DAC, Guidelines on Conflict, Peace and Development Cooperation (Paris: DAC/OECD 1997); John Paul Lederach, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (Washington DC: US Institute of Peace Press 1997); Kumar Rupesinghe (ed.), Conflict Transformation (NY: St. Martin's Press 1995); Kumar Rupesinghe with Naraghi Anderlini, Civil Wars, Civil Peace: An Introduction to Conflict Resolution (London: Pluto 1998); Mary Kaldor, Global Civil Society: An Answer to War (Cambridge: Polity Press 2003). 3. The article is based on findings from research carried out for my PhD thesis Civil Society in Civil War: Peace Work and Identity Politics in Sri Lanka (Göteborg: Padrigu 2004), including 122 interviews carried out in Sri Lanka 1999–2002 with representatives of civil society organisations, political and religious leaders, media representatives and academics. 4. See Gordon White, 'Civil Society, Democratization and Development (I): Clearing the Analytical Ground', Democratization 1/3 (1994), pp.375–90. 5. See Jean L. Cohen and Andrew Arato, Civil Society and Political Theory (Cambridge MA/London: The MIT Press 1992); White (note 2); Kaldor (note 2); Alison van Rooy (ed.), Civil Society and the Aid Industry (London: Earthscan 1998). 6. H. Islamoglu, 'Concept and History of Civil Society' in International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, < www.sciencedirect.com /science/referenceworks/0080430767>; Kaldor (note 2) p.9. 7. Nira Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka: New Circles of Power (New Delhi: Sage 2001) p.168. 8. Vivienne Jabri, Discourses on Violence: Conflict Analysis Reconsidered (Manchester UP 1996) p.47. 9. Kaldor (note 2). 10. The Sinhalese (most of whom are Buddhists) make up 74 per cent of the population, the Tamils (who are Hindus and Christians) 18 per cent and the Muslims, or Moors, 7 per cent (according to the last all-island census from 1981). 11. See Richard Gombrich and Gananath Obeysekere, Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri Lanka (Princeton UP 1988) pp.243–55; James Brow, 'Nationalist Rhetoric and Local Practice: The Fate of the Village Community in Kukulewa' in Jonathan Spencer (ed.), Sri Lanka: History and the Roots of Conflict (London/New York: Routledge 1990). 12. Wickramasinghe (note 7) pp.76–7; Vijita Fernando and J. Henry de Mel, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Sri Lanka: An Introduction (Colombo: NGO Water Supply and Sanitation Decade Service 1991) p.6. 13. Vijita Fernando and J. Henry de Mel, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Sri Lanka: An Introduction (Colombo: NGO Water Supply and Sanitation Decade Service 1991) p.3. 14. Vijita Fernando and J. Henry de Mel, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Sri Lanka: An Introduction (Colombo: NGO Water Supply and Sanitation Decade Service 1991) p.3.; Forut, 'Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Sri Lanka (a Typology)'. Appendix 7, Forut civil society project, unpublished manuscript (Colombo: Forut 2000). 15. Jayadeva Uyangoda, 'Sri Lanka's Left: From Class and Trade Unions to Civil Society and NGOs' in Rajan Philips (ed.), Sri Lanka: Global Challenges and National Crises (Colombo: Social Scientists' Association 2001) p.203. 16. Visakha Kumari Jayawardena, The Rise of the Labor Movement in Ceylon (Colombo: Sanjiva Prakashana 1972) p.xv. 17. Forut (note 14), see also Udan Fernando, NGOs in Sri Lanka: Past and Present Trends (Nugegoda: Wasala Publications 2003). 18. Chamat Ariyadasa, 'Sri Lanka Union Battles "Peace Dividend" Reforms' (Reuters 24 Feb. 2003) < http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/030224/3/385fq.html> 19. Forut (note 14). 20. Forut, 'Capacity Building of Civil Society in the Most Conflict Affected Areas of Sri Lanka', unpublished report (Colombo: Forut 2001) p.14. 21. Forut, 'Capacity Building of Civil Society in the Most Conflict Affected Areas of Sri Lanka', unpublished report (Colombo: Forut 2001) p.22. 22. Wickramasinghe (note 7) p.75. 23. Wickramasinghe (note 7) p.94. 24. Uyangoda (note 15) p.188. 25. Kristian Stokke, 'Sinhalese and Tamil Nationalism as Post-Colonial Political Projects from "Above", 1948–1983', Political Geography 17/1 (1998), pp.83–113. 26. Interview 95. 27. Siri Hettige, 'Dilemmas of Post-Colonial Society after 50 Years of Independence: A Critical Analysis' in Siri Hettige and Markus Mayer (eds.), Sri Lanka at Crossroads: Dilemmas and Prospects After 50 Years of Independence (Delhi: Macmillan 2000). 28. Markus Mayer, 'Life Opportunities and Youth Conflict in Sri Lanka. Challenges for Regional Development Planning' in Siri Hettige and Markus Mayer (eds.), Sri Lanka at Crossroads: Dilemmas and Prospects After 50 Years of Independence (Delhi: Macmillan 2000) p.167. The National Youth Survey, carried out in 1999–2000, indicates that rural youth do not associate with village-based institutions or organisations and hardly participate in civil or political activities, or form groups among themselves. Ibid. p.162. 29. Uyangoda (note 15) p.193. 30. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, 'Sri Lanka: Civil Society, the Nation and the State-building Challenge' in Van Rooy (note 5) p.119; Wickramasinghe (note 7) pp.84–5; Jehan Perera, Charika Marasinghe and Leela Jayasekera, A People's Movement Under Siege (Ratmalana: Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha 1992). 31. Jehan Perera, 'NGOs on JVP's Firing Line Primarily Due to Support for Peace'. Article distributed by e-mail, 9 May 2005. 32. Peter Schalk, '"Unity" and "Sovereignty": Key Concepts of a Militant Buddhist Organization in the Present Conflict in Sri Lanka', Temenos: Studies in Comparative Religion 24 (1988), Iselin Frydenlund, The Sangha and Its Relation to the Peace Process in Sri Lanka, PRIO Report 2 (Oslo: PRIO 2005). 33. Interview 101. 34. Uyangoda (note 15) p.211. 35. Neil DeVotta, 'The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Associational Life, Unsocial Capital, and Illiberal Democracy in Sri Lanka'. Paper presented at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, 13 Dec. 2002, p.13. 36. See Camilla Orjuela, 'Building Peace in Sri Lanka: A Role for Civil Society?' Journal of Peace Research 40/2 (March 2003) pp.195–212. 37. Forut, 'Capacity Building of Civil Society in the Most Conflict Affected Areas of Sri Lanka' (note 20). 38. Forut, 'Capacity Building of Civil Society in the Most Conflict Affected Areas of Sri Lanka' (note 20). 39. Jonathan Goodhand, Nick Lewer and David Hulme, NGOs and Peace Building: Sri Lanka Study (Bradford/Manchester: Dept. of Peace Studies, Univ. of Bradford/Institute for Development Policy and Management, Univ. of Manchester 1999) p.21. 40. Forut, Capacity Building of Civil Society in the Most Conflict Affected Areas of Sri Lanka (note 20) p.15, field notes Nov. 2003. 41. The expansion of the LTTE court and police system to government-controlled areas in the wake of the 2002 peace process is one example of this, as is the fact that LTTE maintains close contact with civil society organisations in those areas. 42. Field notes Nov. 2002. 43. Interview 33. 44. Interview 52. 45. Each family in some LTTE-controlled areas was demanded to mobilise one person to serve as a boarder guard 10–12 days per month. 46. Field notes Nov. 2001 and Nov. 2002. 47. Interview 38. 48. Field notes April 2003, see also Univ. Teachers for Human Rights, The Plight of Child Conscripts, Social Degradation and Anti-Muslim Frenzy, Special Report no. 14 (Colombo: UTHR-J 2002) p.43. 49. See UTHR-J, 'A Tale of two Disasters and the Fickleness of Terror Politics', Information Bulletin no. 37 (2005). 50. Interview 51. 51. Field notes Nov. 2002. 52. UTHR-J (note 48) p.72. 53. The world hartal signifies a broad struggle of the masses, which causes society to come to a standstill. The first major hartal carried out in Sri Lanka was a one-day strike in 1953 protesting the taking away of rice subsidies and the rise in prices. See Wesley Muthiah and Sydney Wanasinghe (eds.), We Were Making History: Saga of the Hartal of August 1953 (Colombo: Young Socialist Publications 2002). 54. Interview 51. 55. Tamilnet, 'STF fire on demonstration – 5 killed, 15 wounded', 9 Oct. 2002 < www.tamilnet.com>. 56. Interview 63. 57. Interview 63. 58. Interview 122. 59. Field notes April 2002, UTHR-J (note 48) p.29. 60. Rajan Hoole, Daya Somasundaram, K. Sritharan and Rajani Thiranagama, The Broken Palmyra (Claremont: The Sri Lanka Studies Institute 1990) p.380. 61. Interviews 45, 53, 43. 62. Vasuki Nesiah, 'Politics of Peace Talks: Framework of Conflict Resolution', Daily Mirror, 26 Nov. 2002. 63. Simon Harris, 'The Role of Local Solidarity in Sri Lanka's Tsunami Disaster Response', Polity 2/3 (2005), pp.19–20.