This Is

Abstract

The protracted conflict in Sri Lanka remains one of the world’s most intractable. The ongoing Norwegian-backed effort to resolve peacefully one of South Asia’s longest wars is, as the time of writing, bedevilled by fresh acrimony and antagonism between the Sri Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sometimes referred to as the ‘Tamil Tigers.’ Since tensions in the Tamil-dominated areas of the island erupted into open confrontation between several armed groups and the state in 1983 in the wake of the fiercest anti-Tamil rioting since independence from Britain, the fighting has grown in intensity and affected most of the Northeast. Inevitably, the origins, nature and character of the conflict are contested by the protagonists and other actors. But the two protagonists’ rationale for their actions generally falls within two predominant explanatory frameworks. The LTTE says it is spearheading an armed struggle for political independence for the Tamils as a response to institutionalised racism and violence against the Tamil people by a Sinhala-dominated state. In short, it is waging a ‘liberation struggle.’ The LTTE describes itself as a ‘national liberation movement deeply embedded in [the] people, articulating the wishes and aspirations of the Tamil nation.’1 On the other hand, describing itself as a democracy, the Sri Lankan state denounces the LTTE’s violence campaign as a challenge to its authority, unity and territorial integrity. The state