Sri Lanka





HISTORY

The actual origins of the Sinhalese are shrouded in myth. Most believe that they came to Sri Lanka from northern India during the 6th century BC. Buddhism arrived from the subcontinent 300 years later and spread rapidly. Buddhism and a sophisticated system of irrigation became the pillars of classical Sinhalese civilization (200 BC-1200 AD) that flourished in the north-central part of the island. Invasions from southern India, combined with internecine strife, pushed Sinhalese kingdoms southward. The island's contact with the outside world began early. Roman sailors called the island Taprobane. Arab traders knew it as "Serendip," the root of the word "serendipity." Beginning in 1505, Portuguese traders, in search of cinnamon and other spices, seized the island's coastal areas and spread Catholicism. The Dutch supplanted the Portuguese in 1658. Although the Dutch were ejected by the British in 1796, Dutch law remains an important part of Sri Lankan jurisprudence. In 1815, the British defeated the king of Kandy, last of the native rulers, and created the Crown Colony of Ceylon. They established a plantation economy based on tea, rubber, and coconuts. In 1931, the British granted Ceylon limited self-rule and universal franchise. Ceylon became independent on February 4, 1948. Post-Independence Politics. Sri Lankan politics since independence have been strongly democratic. Two major parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have generally alternated rule.

The UNP ruled first from 1948-56 under three prime ministers - D.S. Senanayake, his son Dudley, and Sir John Kotelawala. The SLFP ruled from 1956-65, with a short hiatus in 1960, first under S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and then, after his assassination in 1959, under his widow, Sirima. Dudley Senanayake and the UNP returned to power in 1965. In 1970, Mrs. Bandaranaike assumed the premiership. A year later, an insurrection by followers of the Maoist "Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna" (JVP, or "People's Liberation Front") broke out. The SLFP government suppressed the revolt and declared a state of emergency that would last six years. In 1972, Mrs. Bandaranaike's Government introduced a new constitution, which changed the country's name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka, declared it a republic, made protection of Buddhism a constitutional principle, and created a weak president appointed by the prime minister. Its economic policies during this period were highly socialist and included the nationalization of large tea and rubber plantations.


The UNP, under J.R. Jayewardene, returned to power in 1977. The Jayewardene Government opened the economy and, in 1978, introduced a new constitution based on the French model, a key element of which was the creation of a strong presidency. President Jayewardene was elected president by parliament in 1978 and by nationwide elections in 1982. By a 1982 referendum, the life of parliament was extended by another six years. The UNP's Ranasinghe Premadasa, Prime Minister in the Jayewardene Government, narrowly defeated Mrs. Bandaranaike (SLFP) in the 1988 presidential elections. The UNP also won an absolute majority in the 1989 parliamentary elections. Mr. Premadasa was assassinated on May 1, 1993, and was replaced by then-Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga, who appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe to be Prime Minister.


The SLFP, the main party in the Peopleïs Alliance (PA) coalition, returned to power in 1994 for the first time in 17 years. The People's Alliance won a plurality in the August 1994 parliamentary elections and formed a coalition government with Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga as Prime Minister. Prime Minister Kumaratunga later won the November 1994 presidential elections and appointed her mother (former Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike) to replace her as Prime Minister. Communal Crisis. Historical divisions continue to have an impact on Sri Lankan society and politics. From independence, the Tamil minority has been uneasy with the country's unitary form of government and wary that the Sinhalese majority would abuse Tamil rights. Those fears were reinforced when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike triumphed in the 1956 elections after appealing to Sinhalese nationalism. Declaring Sinhala the country's official language - felt by Tamils to be a denigration of their own tongue - was the first in a series of steps over the following decades that appeared discriminatory to Tamils. The decades following 1956 saw intermittent outbreaks of communal violence and growing radicalization among Tamil groups. By the mid- 1970s Tamil politicians were moving from support for federalism to a demand for a separate Tamil state - "Tamil Eelam" - in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. In the 1977 elections, the separatist TULF won all seats in Tamil areas. Other groups - particularly the "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam" (LTTE) - sought an independent state by force.


In 1983, the death of 13 Sinhalese soldiers at the hands of Tamil militants unleashed the largest outburst of communal violence in the country's history. Hundreds of Tamils were killed in Colombo and elsewhere, tens of thousands were left homeless, and more than 100,000 fled to South India. Members of the TULF lost their seats in parliament when they refused to swear a loyalty oath. The north and east became the scene of bloodshed as security forces attempted to suppress the LTTE and other militant groups. Terrorist incidents occurred in Colombo and other cities. Each side in the conflict accused the other of violating human rights. The conflict assumed an international dimension when the Sri Lankan Government accused India of supporting Tamil insurgents. Indian Peace-keeping. By mid-1987, the situation had reached an apparent impasse. In an attempt to break the deadlock, Sri Lanka brought India directly into its communal dispute. Under a July 29, 1987, accord signed by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President Jayewardene, the Sri Lankan Government made a number of concessions to Tamil demands, which included devolution of power to the provinces, merger (subject to later referendum) of the northern and eastern provinces, and official status for the Tamil language. India agreed to establish order in the north and east with an Indian Peace-keeping Force (IPKF) and to cease assisting Tamil insurgents. Militant groups, although initially reluctant, agreed to surrender their arms to the IPKF. Within weeks, however, the LTTE declared its intent to continue its armed struggle for an independent Tamil Eelam and refused to surrender arms. The 50,000-strong IPKF found itself engaged in a bloody police action against the LTTE.


Meanwhile, the Government of Sri Lanka moved ahead with the promised devolution of power. By late 1988, all eight provincial council elections had been held. Further complicating the return to peace was a burgeoning Sinhalese insurgency in the south. The JVP, relatively quiescent since the 1971 insurrection, began to reassert itself in 1987. Capitalizing on opposition to the Indo-Lankan accord in the Sinhalese community, the JVP launched an intimidation campaign against supporters of the accord. Numerous UNP and other government supporters were assassinated. The government, relieved of its security burden by the IPKF in the north and east, intensified its efforts in the south. The JVP was crushed but at a high cost in human lives. From April 1989 through June 1990, the government engaged in direct communications with the LTTE leadership. In the meantime, fighting between the LTTE and the IPKF had escalated in the north. Finally, India withdrew all of its forces from Sri Lanka by May 1990, and fighting between the LTTE and the government recommenced. Both the LTTE and government forces have been accused of serious human rights violations. In January 1995, the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE agreed to a cessation of hostilities as a preliminary step in a government-initiated plan for peace negotiations. Separatist violence is largely confined to the Northeastern province, which is 6 to 8 hours by road from the capital. However, terrorist bombings directed against politicians and others have occurred in Colombo and elsewhere in the country.


Marco Polo considered Sri Lanka the finest island of its size in all the world, and you'll likely agree after exploring the country's fabled delights. What takes your fancy? Beaches? The coastal stretch south of Colombo offers palm-lined sandy expanses as far as the eye can see. Culture? Try the Kandyan dances, a procession of elephants or the masked devil dances. Ruins? You'll find enough ancient and inspiring architecture in the cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa to satisfy that inner archaeologist, we promise. And then there's the natural wealth for which Sri Lanka is rightly renowned. Head for the hill country to escape the heat of the plains, where the coast fades away to reveal gorgeous rolling hills often carpeted with tea plantations. The entire island is teeming with bird life and exotics like elephants and leopards are not uncommon. To top it all off, the people are friendly, the food is delicious and costs are low.


The civil war that has torn Sri Lanka apart since 1983 may finally find resolution, thanks to bipartisan support for peace talks by the island's main political players: President Kumaratunga's People's Alliance and Prime Minister Wickramasinghe's rival United National party. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) agreed to renew a ceasefire agreement in January 2002, while the Sri Lankan government lifted the seven-year-old embargo on LTTE-controlled areas of the island.
Despite the apparent success of the Norwegian-brokered peace talks, much of Sri Lanka is still considered quite dangerous for travelers. Areas to the north and east of Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Badulla are best avoided. The Jaffna Peninsula is basically off. Visitors traveling on major inter-city routes, particularly those linking the north and south of the island, may be searched by local and less-than-official armed militias called Home Guards. In Colombo and southern tourist resorts, theft and violent crime are often aimed at foreigners.
That said, southwestern Sri Lanka is safer now than it has been in years, and the rest of the country may re-open to tourism in the near future.


Full country name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Area: 66,000 sq km
Population: 19 million (annual growth 1.04%)
Capital city: Colombo (pop 2 million)
People: 74% Sinhalese, 18% Tamils, 7% Moor, 1% other
Language: Sinhala, Tamil, English
Religion: 69% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 8% Muslim, 8% Christian
Government: Democracy
President: Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
Prime Minister: Ranil Wickremasinghe


GDP: US$48.1 billion
GDP per head: US$2,500
Annual growth: 4.7%
Inflation: 9.3%
Major industries: Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco, rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
Major trading partners: US, UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore, India, Iran, Taiwan, Belgium, Hong Kong, China, South Korea


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