Creating Peace in Sri Lanka: Civil War and Reconciliation

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Sri Lanka, one the most promising states in Asia following independence in 1948, has been tom apart for the past fifteen years by a vicious civil war. The majority Sinhala and minority Tamils have killed each other with increasing ferocity. The Tamils, who are primarily Hindu, fear losing their identity and being overwhelmed by the majority, who are Buddhist. The Sinhala, in turn, fear that the Tamils, with the backing of their ethnic kin in the Indian province of Tamil Nadu, will destabilize and take control of the Sri Lankan government. Colonial-era rivalries and deep-rooted distrust fuel the tensions.