country's Jaffna peninsula.
over civilians, large tea plantations exist. cent or Ine country's descedants of Arab traders Tamils Colombo.
number of demanded 'Eelam' post-independence period.
India. Sinhala then known and riots by came out for autonomy.
ween the the militant organisations. months has been basically inettective.
ver cent or me oucces or me tular Tamils THE Sri Lankan government has launched an all-out military offensive against Tamil militants in the More than 8000 government troops have been emoloved in the biggest ever raid involving land, air and sea activity. Accorang to Ine baberagon tigers or laml belani the heavy fighting has to date claimed the lives of the government aerial bombing raids have targetted residential areas.
In the following article abridged from the 8 May issue of the US socialist newsweekly, The Militant MALIK MIAH explains the background to the present campaign of state terror against the Tamils.
THE LATEST violence in Sri Lanka must be seen in the context of the struggle of the Tamil minority to end decades of ethnic discrimination in jobs, edúcation, land distribution, and other spheres of life. Sri Lanka is a tear-shaped island with a population of 16 million people. It is mostly flat or rolling except for the south-central plain where mountains and the A British colony until 1948, Sri Lanka is composed of two major ethnic groups: Sinhalese and Tamils. The Sinhalese are 75 per cent of the population, with a majority supporting the Buddhist religion. The Tamils are 18 per cent of the population, with most following the Hindu religion. There is also a smaller Tamil-speaking ethnic Muslim community - 7 per inhabitants who are The Tamils are divided between Sri Lanka Tamils (those who first migrated to the island over 1,000 years ago), and Indian Tamils who were brought to the island as labourers by the British colonialists in the 19th century to pick tea. The Sri Lankan Tamils (12 per cent of the population) are mainly concentrated in Jaffna Peninsula, the Eastern Province, and Since the 1950s a majority of Sri Lankan Tamils have favoured autonomy for the north-eastern area Since the late 19/0s a growing Tamils, especially the young. have — an independent homeland.
The roots of the current civil war go back to the During the struggle against British colonial rule both Sinhalese and Tamils fought together in the independence movement. A central demand of the struggle was to end the privileged status of English and make Sinhala and Tamil the national languages But soon after independence the main capitalist party, the United National Party (the party currently in office), pushed through parliament three anti-Tamil laws. These denied Indian Tamils their right to vote, which they had had under the British, as well as the right to citizenship. Many were told to go back to Sinhala chauvinists, led by the Buddhist clergy, pressed for a Sinhala Sri Lanka. (The country was Ceyion.) By 1956, parliament adopted the 'Sinhala-only' language law. Few Tamils speak Sinhala, and even fewer Sinhalese speak Tamil.
This chauvinistic action by parliament led to protests Tamils and other supporters of democratic rights. Even Tamil capitalist politicians From that point on, Tamil parties pressed for full equality. A fully-fledged guerrilla war, however, did not break out until 1983. After a military clash betarmy and guerrillas left 13 Sinhalese soldiers dead, anti-Tamil pogroms resulted in some 2000 Tamil deaths. Tens of thousands of Tamils fled the country and thousands of youths signed up with Since 1983 at least 5500 people have died, most of them Tamils killed by the army or 'Home Guards' — the mainly Sinhala paramilitary outfits. The Jaffna Peninsula is essentially a liberated zone under the control of the Tigers, who recently set up a parallel administration. The eight army bases are surround ed. The army's main fort in Jaffna City, for example is only accessible by helicopter gunship or sea. A government blockade of the region over the last five While the Sri Lankan government claims it is for a negotiated settlement with the rebels, its real policy has been state terrorism. Since 1985 the army has doubled its strength from 11,500 to 24,000. Nearly 15 - 5 time:
the amount spent on the armed forces 10 years ago.
The government gets military aid and training from such countries as Israel, Pakistan and South Korea Special 'anti-terrorist' training is also provided by a British security agency, Keeny Meeny Services:
Despite this fire-power, the Tamil militants continue to grow and gain support. This reflects the broad sympathy they have among the Tamil population, including an increasing number of Indian