Sri+Lanka+Civil+War

Katie Anderson 2
 * The Sri Lankan Civil War**

The Sri Lankan civil war started because the Tamil minority felt that they were being discriminated against the Sinhalese made the official language of Sri Lanka their language, and there were many Tamils that wanted to rebel against the Sri Lankan government.

The main groups in the Sri Lankan Civil war are the Hindu Tamil minority and the mostly Buddhist Sinhalese. The Tamils were brought from India by the British in 1815. In the fifth century B.C. The Indo-Aryan migrants settled on the island from India and the Sinhalese turned out to be the most dominant clan on the island.
 * Who are the main groups in this conflict?**


 * What is the conflict?**The conflict is a civil war between the Tamils and Sinhalese. The Tamils are fighting back mainly because they are the minority and feel as if they are treated as if they are less important. In 1983, violence emerged when Tamils killed thirteen soldiers. Soon after, hundreds of Tamils were being killed and members of the Tamil United Liberation Front were taken out of parliament. This was the start of the long Civil War.


 * Where did the conflict take place?**This conflict took place in Sri Lanka, an island country located in South Asia. It is close to the southern coast of India. Sri Lanka is famous for it’s exports of tea, coffee, and rubber.

￼ This political cartoon shows Sri Lanka tearing up their welcome sign when the Diplomat comes to sort out the war in Sri Lanka. Basically, this political cartoon is about the country not wanting any help from any other nation or person to sort out their civil war


 * When did the conflict start?**The conflict between the Tamils and Sinhalese started brewing in 1956 when the Tamil’s began to become frustrated because the current prime minister at the time, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, declared the country’s official language as Sinhala.


 * Where is the conflict now?**On May 17, 2009, the head of the Tamil Tiger’s political wing was killed. This brought the rebels to admit defeat on the battle that had been ongoing for the last twenty five years. However, the violence is not over. On September 26,2009, a video was aired on British television. The video showed a bound and blindfolded man being shot by Sri Lankan soldiers. However, the Sri Lankan High Commission denied that the forces were killing ethnic Tamils.