| I | INTRODUCTION |
Sri
Lanka, in full, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, island
republic in the Indian Ocean, lying off the southeastern tip of the Indian
subcontinent. The Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannār separate Sri Lanka from India.
The Arabian Sea lies to the west, the Bay of Bengal to the northeast, and the
Indian Ocean to the south. Colombo, situated on the western coast, is the
largest city and the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The administrative capital
is Sri Jayawardenepura (Kotte), located about 16 km (about 10 mi) east of
Colombo.
The population of Sri Lanka is about 20
million. Ethnic groups include the Sinhalese, who form the majority of the
population, and the Tamils, who form the largest minority group. Agriculture is
the largest sector of the economy in terms of employment, but manufacturing
generates the majority of export earnings. Sri Lanka has a democratic political
system, with a directly elected president as head of state.
Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms ruled the island
now known as Sri Lanka from ancient times until the 1500s, when Europeans
established colonial rule. First the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the
British colonized the island. The island was a Portuguese colony from 1517 to
1658, a Dutch colony from 1658 to 1796, and a British colony from 1796 to 1948.
The British colony, called Ceylon, gained independence in 1948. The newly
independent nation retained the name Ceylon until the 1972 constitution renamed
it Sri Lanka. Since independence Sri Lanka has maintained a democratic,
multiparty system of government. A civil war that erupted in 1983 between the
Sinhalese-dominated government and Tamil separatists, who demand the creation of
an independent Tamil nation, remains unresolved.
| II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
The island of Sri Lanka is roughly
pear-shaped. The Jaffna Peninsula forms a stemlike extension in the north. The
total area of Sri Lanka is 65,610 sq km (25,332 sq mi). The greatest length,
from north to south, is 440 km (270 mi). The greatest width, from east to west
across the island’s broad southern portion, is 220 km (140 mi). Sri Lanka’s
coastline extends a length of about 1,340 km (about 833 mi).
The land of Sri Lanka can be divided into
three geographic zones that correspond to elevation: the central highlands, the
lowland plains, and the coastal belt. The central highlands include numerous
mountains, plateaus, and valleys. Pidurutalagala, the highest point in Sri
Lanka, rises 2,524 m (8,281 ft) in the central highlands. In contrast, the
elevation of the surrounding plains ranges from 90 m (300 ft) to sea level. The
plains are broadest in the north. The coastal belt rises about 30 m (about 100
ft) above sea level. Lagoons, sand beaches, sand dunes, and marshes predominate
along the coast, although steep rocky cliffs are found in the northeast and
southwest.
| A | Rivers and Lakes |
The rivers of Sri Lanka originate in the
central highlands. From there they descend to the plains and empty into the sea.
The rivers are typically unnavigable in their higher reaches, where they flow
swiftly and turbulently through highly eroded passages to the plains below. Many
rivers descend over steep cliffs, forming spectacular waterfalls. In their lower
courses, the rivers slowly meander through flood plains and deltas.
The longest river of Sri Lanka, the
Mahaweli, traverses a course of about 330 km (about 205 mi). It flows
northeastward across the central highlands and empties into the Bay of Bengal
near the port of Trincomalee, on the eastern coast. The country’s second longest
river is the Aravi Aru, traversing about 220 km (about 135 mi) on a
northwestward course, from the central highlands to the Gulf of Mannār.
Sri Lanka has no natural lakes. Dams on the
Mahaweli and other rivers have created large reservoirs. In addition, a series
of small reservoirs called tanks dot the north central plains, storing water
during the dry season. Some of the tanks were constructed as many as 2,000 years
ago.
| B | Climate |
Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with
monsoons (large-scale wind systems that reverse direction seasonally).
Most temperature variation in the country is determined by elevation rather than
season, with cooler temperatures at higher elevations. The average monthly
temperature in the lowlands ranges from 26° to 31°C (78° to 87°F) year-round.
Temperatures at Nuwara Eliya, situated at an elevation of 1,525 m (5,000 ft) in
the central highlands, range from 13°C (55°F) in December to 20°C (70°F) in
May.
The monsoons bring two distinct periods of
heavy rainfall to Sri Lanka. From May to October the southwest monsoon brings
moisture-laden air from the Indian Ocean. From December to March the northeast
monsoon brings moisture-laden air from the Bay of Bengal.
These monsoon patterns combine with Sri
Lanka’s surface features to create two climatic zones in the country: a wet zone
in the southwest and a dry zone in the north and east. The wet zone is inundated
with rain during both monsoon seasons, with some rainfall between the monsoons
as well. The western slopes of the central highlands are the wettest area of the
country, receiving average precipitation of more than 3,810 mm (150 in) each
year.
In contrast, the dry zone usually receives
rain only during the northeast monsoon. Periods of drought are common during the
summer months. This zone has average annual precipitation of less than 1,905 mm
(75 in). The driest parts of the zone along the northwestern and southeastern
coasts receive about 1,270 mm (about 50 in) of rain each year.
| C | Natural Resources |
| D | Plants and Animals |
The natural vegetation of Sri Lanka varies
according to climatic zone and elevation. Dense evergreen rain forests are found
in the southwestern lowlands. Trees include mahogany and many varieties of palm,
including coconut, betel, and palmyra. In the central highlands, montane
evergreen forests are interspersed with grasslands. The drier evergreen forests
in the north and east contain trees such as ebony and satinwood. Thorn forests
and drought-resistant shrubs prevail in the driest areas. Along the coast,
mangrove forests border lagoons and river estuaries. Screw pines and palm trees
also grow in coastal areas. A variety of water hyacinths, ferns, acacias, and
orchids are found in many areas.
The animal life of Sri Lanka includes 88
species of mammals, 21 of which are threatened with extinction. The Asian
elephant, cheetah, leopard, and several species of monkey are endangered and
officially protected. The island’s many species of primates include the
long-tailed langur, toque macaque, and slender loris. Other mammals include the
sloth bear, several species of deer, mongoose, and wild boar. Reptiles are
numerous, with 144 known species. Some are threatened with extinction, including
all five of the island’s marine turtle species. Snakes include the cobra, viper,
and python.
Sri Lanka has one of the world’s most
diverse frog populations, with more than 100 identified species. More than 400
bird species inhabit the island, some on a migratory basis. Many are colorful,
tropical species, including the blue magpie, paradise flycatcher, flamingo, and
parrot.
| E | Environmental Issues |
Deforestation is one of the most pressing
environmental issues in Sri Lanka. In the 1920s, 49 percent of the island was
covered in forest. By 2005, the forest cover had dwindled to about 29.5 percent.
Forests have been cut to expand agricultural areas and for fuel and timber.
Deforestation has led to soil erosion, landslides, and floods.
Loss of forest habitat is the primary
threat to the survival of many animal species. National reserves and
sanctuaries, covering about 15 percent of the total land area as of 2007, have
been established for the protection of forests and wildlife. Sinharaja Forest
Reserve, which protects the island’s last extensive remnant of tropical lowland
rain forest, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988.
Water pollution is also a serious
environmental issue in Sri Lanka. Pollutants such as sewage, fertilizers,
pesticides, and toxic metals degrade the quality of water available for human
consumption. The pollutants also wash out to sea in Sri Lanka’s rivers, damaging
marine habitats. The mining of coral reefs for the lime industry has also
damaged some marine habitats of Sri Lanka.
The government of Sri Lanka has ratified
international agreements pertaining to global warming, desertification,
endangered species, hazardous wastes, law of the sea, and wetlands.
| III | THE PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA |
| A | Population |
The population of Sri Lanka is about 21.1
million (2008 estimate), yielding an overall population density of 326 persons
per sq km (845 per sq mi). However, the population density is much greater in
the southwestern and northern areas, where the majority of Sri Lankans live. The
population grew nearly 13 percent from 1990 to 2000, with an increase of about
0.9 percent in 2008. About 79 percent of the population lives in rural
areas.
| B | Principal Cities |
The largest city of Sri Lanka is Colombo,
a seaport on the western coast that serves as the country’s commercial capital.
About 1.5 million people live in the Colombo municipal area, which includes
several contiguous towns and the urban district of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. The
country’s administrative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura (Kotte), is located on the
outskirts of Colombo.
Other important urban areas include
Kandy, the capital of a Sinhalese kingdom until it was annexed by the British in
1815; the seaport of Jaffna, on the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka; the
seaport of Trincomalee, on the eastern coast; and the seaport of Galle, on the
southwestern coast. Jaffna was the country’s second largest city until an
ethnic-based civil war erupted in northern Sri Lanka in 1983. The city
subsequently lost a significant portion of its population as people fled to
escape the violence.
| C | Ethnic Groups |
The principal ethnic groups in Sri Lanka
are the Sinhalese, who form the majority, and the Tamils, who form the largest
minority. These two groups tend to be concentrated in different areas of the
country, depending on where they settled historically. Their different languages
and religions are additional sources of isolation and ethnic tensions, which
have existed for centuries. In 1983 these ethnic tensions escalated into
a civil war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and Tamil separatists,
who demanded that the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka be made an
independent Tamil nation.
The Sinhalese constitute more than 70
percent of the population. They form an even greater majority in southwestern
Sri Lanka, where their population is concentrated. They are descended from
people who began to migrate to the island from northern India about 500 bc. They speak a distinct language,
Sinhala, and traditionally practice Buddhism.
Tamils made up about 18 percent of the
population at the 1991 census. Their proportion of the population has since
declined, mostly as a result of immigration to India. Tamils speak a language
called Tamil. They traditionally practice Hinduism, although a small percentage
are Christians. Tamils originally immigrated to Sri Lanka from southern India.
Those known as Sri Lankan Tamils trace their origins to ancient migrations,
whereas the so-called Indian Tamils came as migrant workers during the 19th
century.
Muslims are considered both an ethnic and
religious group in Sri Lanka. They constitute about 8 percent of the population.
The great majority are descendants of Arab traders known as Moors who settled in
coastal areas from the 700s to the 1400s. They speak a modified
version of Tamil that includes many Arabic words. Malayan peoples, whose
ancestors came from what is now Indonesia in the 1600s, constitute a small
proportion of Sri Lanka’s Muslim population.
Other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka include
Burghers, a term used in Sri Lanka for people of mostly European (Dutch and
Portuguese) descent, and the indigenous people of the island, commonly known as
Veddas. Together, these two groups account for less than 1 percent of the
population.
| D | Languages |
Sinhala and Tamil are the official
languages of Sri Lanka. Sinhala, also known as Sinhalese, is an Indo-Aryan
language that originated from a mixture of Sanskrit dialects. Tamil is a
Dravidian language that originated in southern India. A modified version of
Tamil is spoken in some Muslim communities. English, the official language from
1833 to 1958, continues to be widely used and serves as the “link” language
between Sinhala and Tamil. In 1958 a law was passed to make Sinhala the only
official language, thereby requiring its use in all government matters. Tamils
strongly objected to the law on the grounds that it excluded them from fully
participating in civil service. The 1978 constitution made Tamil a national
language, while Sinhala remained the higher-status official language. A
constitutional amendment in 1987 elevated the status of Tamil to an official
language.
| E | Religion |
Buddhism and Hinduism were introduced
from India as early as the 3rd century bc. The Sinhalese established Buddhism
as the official religion of their kingdoms in Sri Lanka. The Tamils were already
Hindus by the time they migrated to the island in significant numbers.
The long coexistence of Buddhism and
Hinduism led to some fusion of religious elements. One of the most distinctive
traits of religion in Sri Lanka is that Buddhists and Hindus share a common
devotion to many of the same sacred sites and entities. All of Sri Lanka’s
Buddhist temples, for example, have sections for Hindu deities.
Buddhism is the predominant religion in
Sri Lanka. Its adherents, who are mostly Sinhalese, make up about 70 percent of
the population. Buddhists in Sri Lanka follow the Theravada tradition, in which
the Buddha is revered but not worshiped as a god (in contrast to the Mahayana
tradition).
The proportion of Hindus in Sri Lanka
declined from about 15 percent in 1980 to about 11 percent in 2000, due to the
immigration of many Tamils to India. Muslims and Christians each constitute
about 8 percent of the population. During the colonial period, Europeans
introduced various Christian denominations, with Roman Catholicism winning the
most conversions.
| F | Education |
Schooling is compulsory for children from
5 to 13 years of age. Education is state funded and offered free of charge at
all levels, including the university level. The government also provides free
textbooks to schoolchildren. Literacy rates and educational attainment levels
rose steadily after Sri Lanka became an independent nation in 1948. The
government gave high priority to improving the national education system and
access to education. The adult literacy rate now stands at 93 percent. The
language of instruction is either Sinhala or Tamil. English is taught as a
second language.
Sri Lanka has 13 universities, all of
which are public institutions. The largest universities are the University of
Colombo (founded in 1921; renamed in 1979), in Colombo; the University of
Peradeniya (1942), in Peradeniya, a suburb of Kandy; and the University of Sri
Jayewardenepura (1958; renamed in 1978) in Sri Jayewardenepura, just outside
Colombo. Other institutions of higher education include medical schools,
engineering schools, schools of law, and technical and vocational training
schools.
| G | Way of Life |
Sri Lankans of all ethnic groups and
religions are intensely family oriented. Although the nuclear family forms most
households, close family ties are maintained with extended family members. Large
family reunions are held during traditional festivities such as the Sinhalese
and Tamil New Year, which is celebrated in April according to the astrological
calendar.
In both Sinhalese and Tamil communities,
caste determines social position. Castes are hereditary social groups that
define an individual’s unchangeable position in society. Members of different
castes do not intermarry. The traditional practice of arranged marriages is
still common in Sri Lanka, although individual choice of marriage partner has
gained some acceptance.
The status of women has greatly improved
in Sri Lanka since 1948, mostly as a result of improved access to education and
the resulting increase in female literacy. Today, women are employed in a
variety of professions and jobs. Household chores and childcare are considered
primarily a woman’s responsibility.
Both traditional and Western styles of
dress are common in Sri Lanka. Traditional clothing for both men and women
includes long wrap-around cloths that form garments for the lower body. Women’s
garments are called sari and redda, and men’s are called sarama
or sarong. The redda is often worn with a traditional jacket called
hatte, and the sarama is worn with a collarless tunic-style shirt.
The most common food in Sri Lanka is rice
mixed with a variety of spicy meat, fish, and vegetarian curries. Rice flour is
used to make many other dietary staples, including appa (a crisp crepe),
string hoppers (steamed noodles), pittu (a steamed mixture of flour and
grated coconut), and a variety of pastries and cakes. Curd (yogurt made from
buffalo’s milk) is eaten any time of day, often sweetened with honey or palm
syrup. Fruit is commonly served at the end of a meal.
The most popular sport in Sri Lanka is
cricket, a legacy of British colonial rule. Cricket is played in both rural and
urban areas and by all ethnic groups. The Sri Lankan cricket team is highly
ranked internationally.
| IV | CULTURE |
Sri Lankans have shared a long history with
the peoples and cultures of the Indian subcontinent. From ancient times, the
proximity of Sri Lanka to the mainland exposed it to many different cultural
influences. At the same time, Sri Lanka’s insularity as an island meant that its
people modified those influences to create traditions all their own.
| A | Art and Architecture |
The ancient cities of Anuradhapura and
Polonnaruwa contain some of Sri Lanka’s most renowned architectural treasures.
Located in the north central region, these once-resplendent cities served as the
capitals of Sinhalese kingdoms from the 300s bc to the ad 1200s. The ancient cities contain the
ruins of numerous palaces and Buddhist temples, rock sculptures of the Buddha,
and Buddhist memorial mounds called dagobas (stupas).
Some of Sri Lanka’s standing Buddha rock
sculptures are colossal in proportion. Among the tallest and best preserved is
the Buddha in Aukana, located about 51 km (about 32 mi) southeast of
Anuradhapura. A free-standing sculpture hewn from solid rock, it stands 13 m (42
ft) in height, including its carved lotus-petal pedestal. The ruins of
Polonnaruwa include the rock temple of Gal Vihara, where a series of four large
Buddha sculptures—one standing, two sitting, and one reclining—were cut from a
granite ridge in the 1100s. The standing Buddha is 7 m (23 ft) tall, and the
reclining Buddha is 14 m (46 ft) long. The rock temple of Isurumuniya Vihara,
built in the 200s bc at
Anuradhapura, is renowned for its rock carving of two lovers. The temple
overlooks the Tissawewa tank, one of three ancient reservoirs in
Anuradhapura.
Many of the paintings of the ancient
kingdoms have been obliterated by the passage of time. The cave temples of
Dambulla, however, contain brilliantly colored wall paintings depicting the
arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and other historic events. The frescoes of
Sigiriya, a rock fortress built in the ad 400s, depict nonreligious images
similar in form to paintings found in the Ajanta Caves in east central
India.
Sri Lanka’s many Buddhist relics,
sculptures, and temples attest to the importance of the religion in Sri Lanka
since ancient times. Among the most revered Buddhist relics are the sacred bo
tree at Anuradhapura, dating to the 200s bc when the teachings of the Buddha were
introduced, and a tooth believed to be that of the Buddha, enshrined in the
Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth) in Kandy.
The ancient ruins of Anuradhapura,
Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, and Kandy have been designated World Heritage Sites by
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO).
| B | Music and Dance |
The Sri Lankan tradition of folk drama
includes the kolam, a masked drama, and the sokari and
nadagam, stylized dramas with song and dance. Sinhalese classical dance
includes the highly athletic Kandyan form, which originated in the central
highlands when the region was part of the kingdom of Kandy from the ad 1500s to 1815. The Kandyan
performances include representations in dance of animals and birds, as well as
stories from the Ramayana, a Sanskrit epic of ancient India. The dances are
accompanied by complex drum rhythms. Tamil classical dance includes bharata
natyam, a highly stylized form that originated in southern India. Baila, a style
of song and dance introduced by the Portuguese in the 1500s, is widely popular
in Sri Lanka.
| C | Literature |
Early Sinhalese literature was primarily
religious. Buddhist monks compiled what are considered the earliest texts of Sri
Lanka. The Mahavamsa (Great Chronicle), written in the ad 500s in Pali (the language of
Theravada Buddhism), chronicles the rise and fall of successive Sinhalese
kingdoms in Sri Lanka, beginning with the legendary colonizer of the island,
Prince Vijaya, in the 500s bc.
The development of Sinhala as a
vernacular and literary language is well illustrated in the rock fortress of
Sigiriya. From the 600s to the 1400s, visitors to the fortress created a wall of
Sinhala graffiti, scribbling nearly 1,500 pieces of prose and poetry on a highly
polished wall of rock. Poems based on the Jatakas, the stories of the lives of
the Buddha, were composed in the Sinhala language from as early as the
1200s.
Poetry flourished as the earliest literary
form in the Tamil language. After Sanskrit, Tamil is the oldest literary
language of the Indian subcontinent (see Indian Literature). This strong
Tamil literary tradition was part of the cultural heritage of Tamils who
migrated to Sri Lanka in ancient times. The earliest known Sri Lankan Tamil poet
was Eelattu Poothanthevanar, whose poems were included in the Tamil cankam
(sangam) poetry anthologies compiled in southern India before 250
ad. A distinctly Sri Lankan Tamil
literary tradition first developed in the 1940s with the works of the so-called
marumalarchi (renaissance) writers Mahakavi, A. Kandasamy, and Varadar.
The poetry of Mahakavi, in particular, helped distinguish the literature of Sri
Lankan Tamils from that of Tamils in southern India.
Sri Lankan writers established fiction as
a literary form in the 1900s. Martin Wickramasinghe was one of Sri Lanka’s first
modern Sinhalese novelists. He authored a trilogy that captured social changes
related to the end of colonialism in Sri Lanka. The novels of the trilogy were
Gamperaliya (Village Revolution; 1944), Yuganthaya (End of an Era;
1948), and Kaliyugaya (Inauspicious Era; 1957). A large body of modern
literature has developed in both the Sinhala and Tamil languages. Writers
producing poetry and fiction in English include Jean Arasanayagam, Ann
Ranasinghe, and Romesh Gunesekera. Their works examine the effects of ethnic
strife and war in people’s lives. Award-winning Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje
based his humorous semiautobiographical novel Running in the Family
(1982) on his return visit to Sri Lanka, the country of his birth and
childhood.
| D | Theater and Film |
Ediriweera Saratchandra’s Maname
(King’s Name), produced in 1956, is considered the first
modern drama in the Sinhala language. It was staged in the traditional folk
drama style known as nadagam. Political and social themes are often the
focus of contemporary dramas. Locally produced motion pictures are exclusively
in Sinhala. Tamil-language films are imported from southern India.
| E | Libraries and Museums |
The Colombo National Museum Library (1877)
houses the largest collection of Sri Lankan publications. The Department of
National Archives (1902) contains the official records of the Dutch
administration (1640-1796), the British administration (1796-1948), and the
administrative records of Sri Lanka since independence.
The National Museum of Sri Lanka has its
headquarters in Colombo, with branches in Kandy, Ratnapura, Anuradhapura, Galle,
and Trincomalee. The national museums house archaeological collections and
historical artifacts and documents of Sri Lanka. Archaeological museums are
located in Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura.
| V | ECONOMY |
Sri Lanka has experienced modest economic
growth since independence in 1948. The economy relied on agricultural exports
until the 1980s, when export-oriented manufacturing grew in importance. The
civil war in Sri Lanka has discouraged foreign investment and constrained
economic progress since the early 1980s.
The gross domestic product (GDP), the total
value of all goods and services produced, has grown at an annual rate of about 3
percent since 1948. The relatively slow growth of the population helped create a
greater per capita gain despite the modest growth of the economy. In 2006 annual
per capita income was $1,355.90.
In 1977 the government of Sri Lanka launched
an economic liberalization program designed to boost the manufacturing sector.
The program established special economic zones that attracted foreign investment
and promoted export-oriented manufacturing. The program increased exports of
manufactured goods such as garments and electronics, while also providing a new
source of employment.
In terms of GDP and export earnings, the
significance of agriculture relative to manufactured goods declined
substantially after 1977. The contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP
declined from 40 percent in 1977 to 16.5 percent in 2006. The contribution of
manufacturing rose from 12 percent in 1977 to 16 percent in the late 1980s,
where it remained through the 1990s; in 2006 it stood at 13.9 percent. In 2004
manufactured goods generated about 74 percent of export earnings, while food
product exports generated about 21 percent.
| A | Labor |
The total labor force in Sri Lanka
increased from 5.8 million in 1991 to 8.4 million in 2006. During the same
period, employment in the agricultural sector declined from 43 percent to 34
percent, while employment in the industrial sector increased from 15 percent to
23 percent. Other sectors, including services, accounted for the remainder of
employment. The unemployment rate stood at 14.7 percent in 1991. In 2004 8.5
percent of the workforce was unemployed.
Labor unions were first established in Sri
Lanka in the late 1800s. After the end of World War II in 1945, a large
proportion of the labor force was unionized. Since the economic liberalization
of the late 1970s, however, labor unions have lost membership and bargaining
power. Most trade unions in Sri Lanka are affiliated with political parties.
There are nearly 1,500 registered trade unions with a combined membership of
about 250,000.
| B | Agriculture |
Tea, rubber, and coconut are the chief
export-oriented commercial crops. Rice and a variety of tropical vegetable and
fruits are grown primarily for domestic consumption. A variety of spices also
are cultivated, including chilies, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, and
nutmeg.
Commercial crops are cultivated both in
large plantations with hired labor and in owner-operated smallholdings. In the
1990s most government-owned plantations were put under the management of private
companies. Among the commercial crops, the largest production of tea comes from
the central highland regions. Rubber cultivation is concentrated mainly in the
southwestern and western wet zone of the island. While the coconut palm grows in
most of the coastal regions, its highest concentration is in the lowlands of
northwestern Sri Lanka.
About 30 percent of the country’s total
land area is cultivated, and at least half of the cultivated area is dedicated
to the growing of rice. Rice is the staple food and primary subsistence crop in
Sri Lanka. The majority of Sri Lanka’s rice is grown in relatively small plots
of land. Beginning in the late 1970s, the construction of dams on the Mahaweli
River created a reliable supply of water for rice irrigation in the north
central dry zone. The amount of land under rice cultivation increased
substantially, and Sri Lanka nearly achieved self-sufficiency in the grain. The
annual output of rice increased from about 450,000 metric tons in the early
1950s to 3.3 million metric tons in 2006.
| C | Forestry and Fishing |
A large proportion of Sri Lanka’s remaining
forest cover is not considered commercially valuable. Estimates indicate that no
more than 20 percent of the remaining forests (including forest plantations) are
high- and medium-yield sources of timber. The majority of harvested timber is
used as firewood, which most households use for cooking.
Fishing is a traditional industry in Sri
Lanka’s coastal waters. Marine fishing accounts for almost 90 percent of the
total fish catch. Civil unrest in the country has made some areas of the coast
inaccessible to fishing, causing declines in the fishing industry in the 1980s
and 1990s.
| D | Mining |
Sri Lanka possesses a variety of
economically useful minerals such as gemstones, graphite, ilmenite (a mineral
sand), industrial clays, limestone, monazite, salt, titanium, and zircon. Local
industries producing ceramics, cement, bricks, glass, and salt are based on
extracted minerals. Sri Lanka is a leading exporter of gemstones.
| E | Manufacturing |
In the 1960s and 1970s the government of
Sri Lanka pursued an economic policy in accordance with a model called import
substitution industrialization. Under this model, the government bought
controlling interests in many manufacturing industries. Policies such as import
controls favored domestic products.
In 1977 the government embarked on an
economic liberalization program to draw foreign investment in export-oriented
industries. The program encouraged the private sector to play a dominant role.
Free-trade zones, also known as investment promotion zones, were set up to give
generous tax concessions to foreign companies. Garments, textiles, and
electronics dominate manufacturing in the free-trade zones. About 70 percent of
the factory employees are women.
In 1990 the government launched an
ambitious privatization program to transfer state-owned industries to the
private sector. Privately owned industries now manufacture such products as
steel, fertilizers, rubber, and cement.
| F | Tourism |
Sri Lanka’s tropical climate, scenic
beaches, and historical sites are prime tourist attractions. By the 1970s,
sizeable investments were devoted to the building of infrastructure for the
tourism industry, including hotels and resorts. Tourism declined after 1983 as a
result of the civil war and related security concerns. About 560,000 tourists,
mostly from Europe and India, visited Sri Lanka in 2006.
| G | Energy |
An estimated 47 percent of energy
requirements of Sri Lanka are met by noncommercial biomass energy sources. These
sources include crop residues such as coconut shells, coconut leaves, and paddy
husks. Petroleum provides about 30 percent of the country’s total energy needs,
and hydroelectricity provides about 23 percent. Since the early 1980s, the
construction of dams on the Mahaweli has made a significant contribution to the
hydroelectric power capacity. The dams generate about one-half of the country’s
total output of hydroelectric power. Sri Lanka has experienced periodic power
shortages since 1994. The immediate cause of the energy crisis was low reservoir
levels due to the failure of monsoons to bring adequate rainfall.
| H | Transportation |
Road transportation accounts for about 93
percent of the land transportation in Sri Lanka. The country has about 97,286 km
(60,451 mi) of roads. The road density is highest in the southwest, especially
in the area around Colombo. Buses are the principal mode of public
transportation.
Sri Lanka Railways operates the country’s
railroad network, which includes about 1,450 km (about 900 mi) of track. Colombo
is the node of the network, and train routes connect the main cities of all nine
provinces in the country. The railroads were developed during the British
colonial period, with the first line from Colombo to Kandy opening in 1867.
Sri Lanka has three deep-water ports, at
Colombo, Galle, and Trincomalee. Colombo handles the highest volume of cargo,
followed by Galle.
Sri Lankan Airlines is the national
airline. Founded in 1979 as Air Lanka, the airline changed its name when it came
under partial foreign ownership in 1998. Bandaranaike International Airport, the
country’s only international airport, is located in Katunayaka 35 km (22 mi)
north of Colombo.
| I | Communications |
In Sri Lanka there are 63 fixed-access
telephones for every 1,000 people, well below the world average of 100
telephones per 1,000 people. The state sector provides fixed-line telephone
services. Private companies provide cellular telephone services. The wireless
cellular network has helped alleviate the inadequate capacity of the wire-based
network. Internet access is increasing, with several Internet service providers
(ISPs) competing to provide connectivity.
Radio is a popular instrument of mass
communication in Sri Lanka. There are about 211 radio receivers per 1,000
people. Of eight radio stations operating in the country, three are government
controlled. Television was introduced in Sri Lanka in 1979. Initially the
government was the only service provider. Four independent television networks
now broadcast in the country. The government-owned network broadcasts on two
channels. There are 108 television sets per 1,000 people.
Nine daily newspapers are published in Sri
Lanka. They have a combined circulation of 530,000. A government-owned
newspaper-publishing group publishes the English-language Daily News, the
Sinhala-language Dinamina, and several other newspapers. All other
newspapers are under private, independent ownership.
| J | Foreign Trade |
In 2001 the United States was the largest
purchaser of Sri Lanka’s exports, accounting for approximately 64 percent of the
total value, while the European Union (EU) accounted for about 30 percent.
Manufactured goods made up 73.9 percent of Sri Lanka’s total exports in 2004.
When the government of Sri Lanka began to promote export-oriented manufacturing
in 1977, manufactured products accounted for only 14 percent of total exports.
Textiles and garments became the most significant single category of exports by
1986.
Asian countries are the main exporter of
goods to Sri Lanka. Together they provide about 55 percent of Sri Lanka’s total
imports. The largest volume of imports comes from India. The principal imports
are rice, wheat, sugar, petroleum, and fertilizer.
| K | Currency and Banking |
The monetary unit in Sri Lanka is the
rupee, which consists of 100 cents (103.9 rupees equal
U.S.$1; 2006 average). The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the sole bank of issue,
also acts as a financial adviser to the government and administers monetary
policy. The two state-owned banks, Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank, dominate
the banking system.
| VI | GOVERNMENT |
Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation within the
Commonwealth of Nations. Upon gaining independence from Britain in 1948, Sri
Lanka (then known as Ceylon) became a dominion within the British Commonwealth
of Nations, a loose alliance of mostly former British colonies. The head of
state was formally the British monarch, represented by a governor general.
In 1972 the country adopted a new
constitution that formally changed its name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka and
established it as a republic. An appointed president replaced the British
monarch as head of state. In 1978 Sri Lanka ratified a new constitution that
established the popular election of the president.
For all its years as an independent
country, Sri Lanka has had an active multiparty system, democratically elected
governments, and peaceful transfers of power. Universal adult suffrage has been
in place since 1931. The minimum voting age is 18.
| A | Executive |
The president of Sri Lanka is head of
state, chief executive, and commander in chief of the armed forces. The
president is directly elected to a six-year term and may serve no more than two
terms. The president appoints the prime minister and the cabinet of ministers,
all of whom must be members of the legislature.
The president has wide-ranging powers.
She or he can dismiss the prime minister or any other minister, dissolve
Parliament and call for new parliamentary elections, suspend the sitting of
Parliament for a limited period of time, and submit to a national referendum any
bill that Parliament has rejected.
| B | Legislature |
The legislature of Sri Lanka is a
unicameral (single-chamber) body called Parliament. It has 225 members; 196
members are directly elected and 29 are appointed from national party lists that
are compiled according to which parties won at least 5 percent of the vote.
Members serve six-year terms. No term limits are imposed. Members are elected
under a modified system of proportional representation. The prime minister is
traditionally the leader of the political party that obtains a majority of seats
in Parliament. If no party gains a majority, a member of Parliament who obtains
the support of a majority of members may be appointed prime minister.
| C | Judiciary |
The judicial system of Sri Lanka includes
a Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, magistrates courts, and primary
courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court. It is comprised of seven judges,
including a chief justice. The president of the republic appoints the justices
of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. No term limits are imposed for the
justices.
Under the 1978 constitution, oversight of
the judiciary is provided by a three-member Judicial Commission, comprised of
the chief justice of the Supreme Court and two other judges. The commission is
responsible for reviewing judicial appointments (except those to the Supreme
Court) and protecting the judiciary from political interference.
The laws of Sri Lanka reflect diverse
cultural influences. Criminal laws are based primarily on British law. Civil
laws are based on Roman-Dutch law. Marriage, divorce, and inheritance laws are
communal, based on Tesavalami (Tamil law), Kandyan law (Sinhalese), and Islamic
family law.
| D | Local Government |
For purposes of local government, the
country of Sri Lanka is divided into nine provinces: Western Province, Central
Province, Southern Province, Northern Province, Eastern Province, North-Western
Province, North-Central Province, Uva Province, and Sabaragamuwa Province. The
provinces are subdivided into a total of 25 districts.
In 1989 the 13th amendment to the
constitution gave more power to the provinces. Provincial councils were
established, and elections were held to elect provincial councils in all but the
Northern and Eastern provinces, where the civil war continued to be centered.
Members of the provincial councils are directly elected to serve five-year
terms. The councils possess limited powers in education, health, rural
development, social services, agriculture, security, and local taxation. Each
province is headed by a governor, who is appointed by the president.
Local government also includes district
councils, municipal councils, urban councils, and village-level councils. All
local governments have limited powers, and the president of the republic has the
power to dissolve them at will.
| E | Political Parties |
The United National Party (UNP) and the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) are the country’s two leading political parties.
Both parties are democratic socialist in orientation. Since 1948 they have
generally alternated in forming governments, often in coalition with other
parties. Governing coalitions led by the SLFP have included the United Left
Front (ULF), formed in 1968, and the People’s Alliance (PA), formed in 1994. The
People’s Alliance was later renamed the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
Other prominent political parties in Sri
Lanka include the National Heritage Party; the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress; the
Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), long the foremost Tamil political party;
the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; People’s Liberation Front), a Marxist party
with a Sinhalese base of support; the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL); and
Sihala Urumaya (SU; Legacy of Sinhalese), a Sinhalese Buddhist party. The Tamil
National Alliance (TNA) is the political arm of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE), a militant separatist Tamil organization.
| F | Social Services |
The government of Sri Lanka provides a
comprehensive set of social services, including free education, free health
care, and income assistance. Through the provision of fully state-funded
education, Sri Lanka has achieved an unusually high literacy rate for a
developing nation. The state-run health-care system includes a widespread
network of health-care facilities that provide basic services free of charge.
The health-care system has helped raise the average life expectancy in Sri
Lanka. Various income assistance programs over the years have helped address
nutritional deficiencies of the poor. An ambitious housing program launched in
the 1980s enabled people of low incomes to acquire homes.
| G | Defense |
Defense spending rose sharply after 1983,
when ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese and the Sri Lanka Tamils triggered a
protracted civil war in Sri Lanka. In 1982 the government spent U.S.$54 million
(3.1 percent of the budget) on national security; in 2000 the expenditure
amounted to U.S.$1.1 billion (17 percent of the budget). In 2001 the armed
forces comprised an army of 95,000 personnel, a navy of 18,000, and an air force
of 10,000. Paramilitary forces include the Ministry of Defense Police, which
includes an antiguerrilla security force.
| H | International Organizations |
Sri Lanka is a member of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which also includes India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives, and Bhutan. Sri Lanka is also a
member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations (UN).
| VII | HISTORY |
The first large-scale migrations from the
Indian subcontinent to the island now known as Sri Lanka began around 500 bc. Indo-Aryan people migrated from the
northern areas of the Indian subcontinent. Over time they became known as the
Sinhalese and developed a distinct language, Sinhala, based on the Sanskrit
language. Early migrations to the island also took place from south India among
Dravidian peoples, who spoke the Tamil language.
The principal source for the early history
of Sri Lanka is the Mahavamsa (Great Chronicle), written by Buddhist monks in
the 500s ad. It provides a
legendary account of the first Sinhalese ruler in the 5th century bc and documents the rise and fall of
successive Buddhist kingdoms. Later Sinhalese history is chronicled in the
Dipavamsa (Lesser Chronicle), completed in the late 1700s ad. Because the chronicles were written
to glorify Buddhism and its royal patrons, they present a relatively one-sided
narrative of events.
According to the Mahavamsa, the first
ruler of the island was Vijaya, a banished prince from northern India, whose
arrival coincided with the parinibbana (passing away) of Gautama Buddha,
the founder of Buddhism, in 483 bc. This legend helped establish the
powerful belief among the Sinhalese that they were the chosen guardians of
Buddhism.
| A | Ancient Kingdoms |
In 377 bc the Sinhalese established
Anuradhapura as the capital of their kingdom. In 250 bc Sinhalese king Devanampiya Tissa
converted to Buddhism during a missionary visit by Mahinda, son of Indian
emperor Ashoka. The Sinhalese monarch became a powerful patron of Buddhism,
firmly establishing it as the official religion of his kingdom. The art and
architecture of Anuradhapura flourished under Buddhist influence and state
patronage.
The kingdom prospered under a system of
settled agriculture. By the 1st century ad, the Sinhalese had built several
large-scale irrigation works that included a complex system of dams, reservoirs,
and canals. The irrigation works allowed them to cultivate rice and other crops
on a grand scale in the dry north central plains, where Anuradhapura was
centered.
Despite recurring invasions from south
India, Sinhalese kings held sway over Anuradhapura for several centuries. In the
late 900s, however, the Cholas (a Tamil-speaking people from south India)
conquered the capital and annexed Rajarata, the agricultural center of the
Sinhalese kingdom.
In 1070 Sinhalese king Vijayabahu I
drove the Cholas out of Sri Lanka and established a new capital at Polonnaruwa,
about 80 km (about 50 mi) southeast of Anuradhapura. The kingdom prospered until
about 1200, when it entered a period of decline marked by dynastic succession
disputes, social and economic instability, and repeated invasions from south
India. When the kingdom finally collapsed in the late 1200s, the Sinhalese
abandoned their settlements in the north central plains and migrated to the
southwest. In the north, meanwhile, a Tamil kingdom centered at Nallur (near
present-day Jaffna) in the Jaffna Peninsula expanded its influence during the
1200s and 1300s.
| B | Foreign Contacts |
Sri Lanka was known to seafarers since
ancient times. Maps that the Greek astronomer Ptolemy compiled in the 2nd
century labeled the island Tabrobane. Arab seafarers called it Serendip. From as
early as the 700s, Muslim traders called Moors established coastal trading
communities in the island. Muslim communities began to claim a significant share
of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean in the 1100s.
From about the 1400s, European maps
identified the island as Seylan, which was later anglicized to Ceylon. In the
1500s Portugal and Spain established their dominance in the maritime trade of
South and Southeast Asia. In the 1600s the Dutch emerged as the dominant
colonial power in the region, followed in the 1700s by the British.
| C | Period of Colonial Rule |
When Europeans first came to the island
of present-day Sri Lanka in the early 1500s, it was fragmented between three
local polities: two Sinhalese kingdoms, centered in Sri Jayawardenepura (Kotte)
in the southwest and Kandy in the central highlands, and a Tamil kingdom
centered in the Jaffna Peninsula.
| C1 | Portuguese and Dutch Rule |
The Portuguese decided the island of
present-day Sri Lanka, which they knew as Ceilao, was strategically important
for dominating trade in the Indian Ocean. In 1517 the Portuguese founded a fort
and trading post at Colombo. By 1619 they controlled all but the central
highlands, where the Kingdom of Kandy successfully thwarted their attempts to
seize control. The Portuguese waged a vigorous campaign to convert the people of
the island to Roman Catholicism, destroying many Buddhist and Hindu temples.
Kandy became a place of refuge for Buddhist monks and others disaffected with
Portuguese rule. Roman Catholicism became the most enduring legacy of Portuguese
colonial rule.
In the early 1600s the Dutch sought to
wrest control of the maritime spice trade from Portugal. With the help of local
leaders, the Dutch attacked Portuguese strongholds in the island, winning major
victories in 1639 and 1640. The Portuguese surrendered their last stronghold at
Jaffna in 1658. The Dutch developed a robust trade in cinnamon. They developed a
network of inland canals to transport the cinnamon and other goods to the
coastal ports. Like the Portuguese, the Dutch were unsuccessful in gaining
control of the Kingdom of Kandy. The Dutch tried with little success to supplant
Roman Catholicism with Protestantism. The most enduring legacy of Dutch rule was
the development of a well-organized judicial system based in Roman-Dutch law,
modified to some extent by Muslim and Tamil customary laws.
| C2 | British Rule |
In 1796 the British expelled the Dutch
from the island. Ceylon, as it was known to the British, officially became the
first British crown colony in 1802. Following several British military
campaigns, the Kingdom of Kandy capitulated to British sovereignty in 1815.
Although segments of the Sinhalese population rebelled in 1818 and 1848, the
British used their superior military power to ruthlessly suppress the uprisings.
The 1848 rebellion forced the colonial government to reassess some of its
policies. It repealed some taxes that had alienated Sinhalese farmers and
adopted a more conciliatory policy toward Buddhism.
In 1833 the British began to govern
the country under a single administration. Previously, the island had been
governed under administrative divisions along ethnic and cultural lines. The
British also created an economy based on plantation agriculture. The
administration took over vast areas of land in the central highlands, sold them
cheaply to British nationals, and encouraged the development of large
plantations. Tea, rubber, and coconuts became the colony’s principal exports.
When local Sinhalese refused to work in the plantations, the colonial
administration brought in large numbers of Tamils from southern India to work as
migrant laborers.
The indigenous struggle for
representative government led to some modest improvements in 1910 and 1924. In
1931 a new constitution established universal adult franchise and allowed
significantly more indigenous representation in government. However, the British
governor general and British ministers retained control over most matters.
During World War II (1939-1945) Sri
Lanka was an important base of operations in the Allied offensive against the
Japanese and a major source of rubber, foodstuffs, and other materials vital to
the war effort. Negotiations during and after the war between local leaders and
British administrators resulted in the Ceylon Independence Act of 1947. Ceylon
formally became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth of
Nations on February 4, 1948.
| D | Developments since Independence |
The constitution of independent Ceylon
was modeled on that of Britain. The nominal head of state was a governor
general, who represented the British monarch, but executive authority was
exercised by a prime minister and cabinet of ministers who were responsible to
the legislature.
| D1 | First UNP Government |
Elections for the first government of
independent Ceylon were held in 1947. Upon independence in 1948, Don Stephen
Senanayake took office as the country’s first prime minister. Prior to Ceylon’s
independence, he brought together leaders of various communities and interests
to form the United National Party (UNP). The UNP easily won the 1947 elections.
Its general ideology was liberal, pro-Western, and secular (nonreligious). It
favored economic progress through private enterprise. Economic power remained in
the hands of a small elite of mercantile entrepreneurs and landowners.
When Senanayake died in an accident in
1952, his son Dudley Senanayake succeeded him. A massive civil disobedience
movement to protest the reduction of the country’s rice subsidy compelled
Senanayake to resign in 1953. His cousin John Kotelawela replaced him as prime
minister.
Political opposition was initially
provided by two Marxist parties, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the
Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL). In 1951 Solomon Bandaranaike, minister of
local government, resigned from the cabinet and formed his own party, the Sri
Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The party was strongly nationalist and socialist.
Most importantly, it represented the interests of Sinhalese Buddhists, who
formed the majority of the country’s population.
| D2 | First SLFP Government |
The elections of 1956 swept the SLFP
to power, and Bandaranaike headed a coalition government called the People’s
United Front (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, or MEP), comprising the SLFP and a
section of the LSSP. The new SLFP-led government enacted a number of fundamental
reforms in line with its nationalist and socialist platform. Ceylon assumed a
neutral and nonaligned position in international affairs, and some industries
were nationalized. However, the government’s policies that strongly supported
Buddhist and Sinhalese cultural activity also created hostile ethnic
relations.
In 1958 the new SLFP-led government
passed the Official Language Act, which declared Sinhala the sole official
language. The law provoked widespread Tamil opposition. Represented by the
Federal Party, the Tamils began a struggle to secure official recognition of
their language, Tamil. The struggle inflamed communal dissension, and riots were
widespread in 1958. The country was plunged into ethnic turmoil and civil
strife, with widespread riots, trade union strikes, and conflicts among Buddhist
factions.
In this atmosphere of political
unrest, Bandaranaike was assassinated by an extremist Buddhist monk in September
1959. Bandaranaike’s widow, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, replaced him as leader of the
SLFP. The July 1960 elections returned the SLFP to power. Bandaranaike became
prime minister of Sri Lanka, making her the first female prime minister in the
world.
| D3 | Second SLFP Government |
The second SLFP government continued
to implement socialist reforms while promoting an even stronger pro-Buddhist
policy. To satisfy the Buddhists, all denominational schools, a majority of
which were Christian, were nationalized. The use of Sinhalese as the language of
government and the courts of law was speedily implemented in 1960.
Representatives of the Tamil-speaking minority led mass demonstrations against
the government’s language policy. To cope with the situation, the government
declared a state of emergency and curtailed Tamil political activity.
Faced with dwindling support,
Bandaranaike formed a coalition with the leftist LSSP in 1964. The SLFP’s right
wing defected to the opposition, forcing a general election in May 1965. The UNP
won a decisive victory, and Dudley Senanayake became prime minister a second
time.
| D4 | Second UNP Government |
The new UNP government enjoyed a full
five-year term in office. Senanayake pursued a policy of ethnic and religious
reconciliation. Tamils were included in the government, and their language was
given some official recognition. The government encouraged private enterprise
and eliminated restrictions on imports, resulting in some economic growth.
Leading up to the 1970 elections, the
SLFP formed the United Left Front (ULF) coalition with the Communist Party of
Sri Lanka (CPSL) and the LSSP. The ULF exploited the government’s conciliatory
policy toward the Tamils to win Sinhalese allegiance. It also attacked the UNP
government’s concessions to domestic and foreign capitalist interests.
| D5 | Third SLFP-Led Government |
In May 1970 the ULF gained a majority
in parliament, and Bandaranaike again became prime minister. Claiming a mandate
for radical change, the ULF government greatly expanded state control of trade
and industry. However, it faced a severe economic crisis caused by balance of
payments deficits, rising foreign debts, and an expensive social welfare and
food subsidy program.
In April 1971 a radical-left Sinhalese
youth movement, the Janatha Vimukhti Peramuna (JVP), staged an insurrection to
take over the government. The movement was quickly and ruthlessly suppressed by
government forces. After the attempted insurrection, the government moved
further left politically. In 1972 the government initiated land reforms with a
law that limited the size of privately owned land and nationalized acreage in
excess of the limit. In 1975 it amended the law to nationalize foreign-owned
plantations. The government maintained a state of emergency until 1977.
| D5a | Constitutional Change |
The government ratified a new
constitution in 1972. It changed the name of Ceylon to Sri Lanka, and changed
its status from a dominion to a republic. Accordingly, it abolished the position
of governor general, made the prime minister head of state, and created the
office of president as an appointed position. Bandaranaike continued as prime
minister, and William Gopallawa, the last governor general, was appointed
president.
The Tamil community objected to the
constitution’s lack of protection for the rights of minorities and its elevation
of Buddhism to the status of a protected state religion. To represent their
interests, Tamils organized the Tamil United Front (renamed the Tamil United
Liberation Front, or TULF, in 1976).
Factionalism within the governing
ULF coalition tore it apart, first with the expulsion of the LSSP in 1975 and
then with the withdrawal of the CPSL in 1977. Lacking a parliamentary majority,
Bandaranaike was forced to call general elections for July 1977.
| D6 | Third UNP Government |
The 1977 elections resulted in an
overwhelming victory for the UNP, and the party’s leader, Junius Jayewardene,
became prime minister. By this time Jayewardene had remade the UNP as a
social-democratic party with a new emphasis on state intervention to improve the
economy. The TULF campaigned on a new demand for an independent Tamil state. It
became the largest opposition party in the legislature.
| D6a | Constitutional and Economic Changes |
In October 1977 the new UNP
government amended the constitution to introduce a new presidential system of
government. A directly elected president became the country’s most powerful
official, and Jayewardene assumed the new office in February 1978. A new
constitution adopted in September incorporated the amendment. It also made both
Sinhala and Tamil the national languages of Sri Lanka.
The UNP government moved quickly to
stimulate the stagnating economy. Sri Lanka became one of the first developing
countries to adopt a program of economic liberalization in order to establish a
free-market economy, abolishing the model of a state-controlled economy. The
sweeping structural reforms ended the state’s monopoly in trade, encouraged
foreign investment, and initiated privatization of state enterprises. Helped by
high prices for tea in the world market, Sri Lanka entered a period of rapid
economic growth. The growth was, however, accompanied by increased income
inequalities and inflation.
In the 1982 elections, Jayewardene
won a second six-year term as president. The TULF abandoned its separatist
policy after negotiations with the government. Many Sri Lankan Tamils continued
to support the demand for an independent Tamil nation, however. The Tamil
separatist movement included a number of guerrilla groups who used violent
tactics to make their demands known. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
emerged as the main Tamil separatist group.
| D7 | Civil War |
In an upsurge of ethnic violence in
August 1983, Sinhalese mobs killed more than 300 Tamils and destroyed Tamil
properties. More than 100,000 Tamils fled as refugees to the southern Indian
state of Tamil Nādu. The LTTE launched a guerrilla war, violently attacking
Sinhalese and Muslim civilians, as well as government security forces in
northern and eastern Sri Lanka. Government forces responded with violent
retribution.
The Indian government became involved
in attempts to resolve the conflict. India’s predominantly Tamil southern states
provided bases and supplies for the Sri Lankan Tamil guerrillas. By the terms of
an agreement between the governments of India and Sri Lanka in July 1987, an
Indian peacekeeping force replaced Sri Lankan troops in the Jaffna Peninsula.
Other terms of the agreement included the eventual formation of a Tamil
autonomous region in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
The JVP and SLFP vehemently opposed
the agreement as an abandonment of Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity. Protesting
against the deployment of foreign troops in Sri Lanka, the JVP launched a
well-orchestrated guerrilla insurgency to destabilize the government. Despite
massive disruption by the JVP, presidential elections were held in December
1988. Ranasinghe Premadasa of the UNP won the election by a narrow margin. The
government subsequently crushed the JVP insurgency, capturing most of its
leadership.
The Indian intervention failed to
bring peace, and all Indian troops were withdrawn from Sri Lanka by April 1990.
Several major battles were fought between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE in
1991 and 1992. In May 1993 President Premadasa was assassinated during the
annual May Day parade. The government alleged the assassin was a member of LTTE,
but the LTTE denied the charge.
In November 1993 LTTE forces seized a
government military base in Pooneryn, near Jaffna. Several days later government
forces drove the rebel forces back and recovered the base. The fighting was some
of the worst between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil guerrillas, with heavy
casualties on both sides.
| D8 | Fourth SLFP-Led Government |
Following the assassination of
President Premadasa, the incumbent prime minister, Dingiri Banda Wijetunga, took
his place with the approval of Parliament. To fill the office of prime minister,
Wijetunga appointed the minister for industrial development, Ranil
Wickremesinghe of the UNP. Wijetunga then dissolved Parliament and called early
legislative elections in August 1994, ahead of the presidential election
scheduled for November, in an apparent bid to secure his nomination as the UNP’s
presidential candidate. However, a new SLFP-dominated coalition, the People’s
Alliance (PA), won a narrow victory in the legislative elections, ending 17
years of UNP dominance. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, daughter of Solomon
and Sirimavo Bandaranaike and leader of the PA, became prime minister. She
immediately began unconditional peace talks with the LTTE.
Kumaratunga was selected by the PA to
contest the presidential election in 1994. The candidate of the UNP, Gamani
Dissanayake, was assassinated just prior to the election by a suspected LTTE
suicide bomber. As a result, the government declared a state of emergency and
suspended peace talks with the LTTE. Kumaratunga won the election with 62
percent of the vote, thereby securing the presidency for the PA. Kumaratunga
appointed her mother as prime minister.
After taking office, Kumaratunga
started peace talks with the LTTE. The negotiations soon crumbled, however, and
the civil war escalated. By the end of 1995, government forces captured the city
of Jaffna, which had been held by the LTTE since 1985. By mid-1996 the
government secured control of the entire Jaffna Peninsula, but the LTTE
maintained a strong presence there. The LTTE continued to launch guerrilla
attacks on government forces in the north, while also conducting numerous
suicide bombings in Colombo and other cities that resulted in many civilian
casualties.
In October and November 1999, the LTTE
inflicted a series of defeats on the Sri Lankan army and regained control over
large areas of territory in the north that the army had previously secured. Days
before the December 1999 presidential elections, which were being held almost a
year ahead of schedule, Kumaratunga was injured in a suicide-bombing
assassination attempt attributed to the LTTE. The elections proceeded, and
Kumaratunga was reelected to a second six-year term with 51 percent of the vote.
In the 2000 legislative elections, the PA won a slim majority in Parliament.
Bandaranaike had resigned as prime minister prior to the elections. In her
place, Kumaratunga appointed a close confidante, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, and
he retained the premiership after the elections. Meanwhile, fierce fighting
continued between government forces and the LTTE guerrillas.
| D9 | Fourth UNP Government |
Faced with a possible no-confidence
vote, Kumaratunga dissolved the legislature in October 2001 and called for new
elections in December. The elections gave the UNP a majority of seats in the
legislature. The leader of the UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe, became prime minister
a second time.
The UNF government proceeded
cautiously in establishing a basis for peace talks with the LTTE. Both sides
upheld a mutual cease-fire declared in February 2002. The government and the
LTTE entered a new round of negotiations in September 2002, with the Norwegian
government mediating. Both parties expressed desire for reconciliation and
peace. The peace talks broke off in 2003, although the ceasefire remained in
place.
| D10 | Fifth SLFP-Led Government |
In parliamentary elections in March
2004, the SLFP-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won 105 of the 225
seats and named Mahinda Rajapakse the prime minister. Although it lacked an
absolute majority, the alliance was expected to form a coalition government with
a smaller party. The elections ended the rivalry that had existed when the UNP
controlled the legislature and the UPFA controlled the presidency. Because Prime
Minister Rajapakse was appointed by Kumaratunga as the leader of the alliance,
Kumaratunga was expected to emerge as an even more powerful figure, controlling
both the executive and legislative branches of government. However, new
complications were created by the strong showing of the Tamil National Alliance
(TNA), the political wing of the LTTE, which won 22 seats in Parliament.
Kumaratunga promised to seek new
peace talks with the LTTE rebels. The TNA responded to her overture by saying
peace talks should be resumed on the basis of the LTTE’s proposal for self-rule.
The LTTE threatened to resume fighting if this proposal did not form the basis
for talks. The TNA statement also demanded that the LTTE be recognized as the
sole representative of the Tamil minority. In the past Kumaratunga had rejected
both ideas. Meanwhile, the LTTE faced its own issues of internal dissent as it
fought with a breakaway faction known as the Karuna Group.
| D11 | Tsunami Disaster of 2004 |
On December 26, 2004, the world’s
most powerful earthquake in 40 years struck deep under the Indian Ocean. The
magnitude 9.0 earthquake was centered off the northwestern coast of the
Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake triggered a tsunami (massive
waves), which spread across the Indian Ocean and crashed into the coasts of 14
countries from Southeast Asia to the eastern coast of Africa. Killer waves hit
the coast of Sri Lanka about two hours after the quake. Due to the absence of a
tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean, coastal communities in the
region were not forewarned of the impending disaster.
The tsunami was the deadliest in
recorded history. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported a death
toll of more than 250,000 people as a result of the tsunami and the earthquake.
Indonesia, nearest the epicenter of the quake, suffered the largest loss of
life. Sri Lanka was the second hardest-hit country, with more than 30,000 people
reported dead or missing. High death tolls were also reported in Thailand and
India. In addition, millions of survivors were left in desperate need of food,
water, shelter, and medical care. International humanitarian organizations and
governments responded to the widespread devastation with one of the largest
relief efforts in modern history.
| D12 | Presidential Election of 2005 |
In the November 2005 presidential
election Prime Minister Rajapakse of the SLFP narrowly won the presidency,
defeating former prime minister Wickremesinghe of the UNP. Rajapakse campaigned
on a platform of economic nationalization and said he would seek to renegotiate
the peace agreement with the LTTE. He promised voters that he would not agree to
one of the LTTE’s chief demands, which called for power-sharing in the
government. Rajapakse’s campaign drew the support of the Marxist JVP and the
nationalist National Heritage Party (JHU), both of which oppose negotiations
with the LTTE. His narrow victory in the elections may have been made possible
by an unofficial boycott of the election in Jaffna, the city with the greatest
concentration of ethnic Tamils, where only 1.2 percent of 700,000 registered
voters showed up at the polls.
In December, Rajapakse named his new
cabinet, which excluded members of the JVP and JHU. Political observers said the
move was intended to provoke early parliamentary elections in which Rajapakse
hoped to increase the number of seats held by the SLFP and thereby reduce the
need for an alliance with the JVP and JHU. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the
LTTE reportedly told international truce monitors that the group was ready to
resume peace talks with the new government.
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