1. Chapter 4:
•1
Essential questions:
1. What causes conflicts in multi-ethnic
societies?
2. What are the consequences of these
conflicts?
3. What are the challenges in managing ethnic
diversity?

2. Today’s agenda:
 Introduction to ethnic conflicts
 Background information about Sri Lanka
 Causes of the Sri Lankan conflict
 Recap: Pop Quiz!
 Next lesson: Consequences of the Sri Lankan
conflict

3. In 1948, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) enjoyed the
highest literacy rate in Asia. It did not have the
problem of over-population; its educational and
transportation systems were advanced. For
some years, Ceylon was a model for the world.
But, today, it is an island known for its
problems, and its reputation as a killing field
only matched by that of countries such as
Rwanda.
Adapted from a comment by an editor of a
Tamil newspaper in 2003.

4. Watch this news clip: ‘The Casualties of Sri
Lanka’s Conflict’
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ZD77iTj7zBw
 What can you infer about the conflict in Sri
Lanka?
 How far do you believe what the reporter says?

5. Why the conflict between the
Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri
Lanka?

6. •6

8. Race % of
Popn.
Living Area Religion Language
Sinhalese 81.9% Majority
everywhere,
except Jaffna
and Batticaloa
Buddhism Sinhala
Tamil 9.4% Largest group
in Jaffna &
Batticaloa,
Large
minorities in
other northern
and eastern
districts.
Hinduism Tamil
Moors 8% Mainly coastal
port cities
Islam Tamil and
Sinhala,

9. Discussion:
 Given the demographics of Sri Lanka,
what potential problems could occur?
1. Uneven race distribution throughout
SL means limited interaction between
communities—gives rise to negative
stereotypes and misconceptions
2. Racial conflict becomes territorial in
nature

10. The people
 Sinhalese are natives of Sri Lanka
 Sri Lankan Tamils are descendents of Tamils
who have been living in the country since 300
BCE
 Indian Tamils: came in 1800s with the British
colonial masters to work in tea plantations
•10

11. •11
1. Citizenship Rights
2. ‘Sinhala-Only’ Policy
3. University Admission
4. Resettlement of Population

12. •12
Citizenship Qualification in Sri Lanka
 Given only to those who were born in Sri Lanka, or
whose forefathers were born there
Result of Citizenship Qualification Policy
 Many Indian Tamils brought from India by the British to
work in Sri Lanka became stateless
 Indian Tamils not allowed to vote
 No basic citizenship rights despite contributing to
economy

13. What was done:
 India tried to help stateless Tamils by holding
talks with the Sri Lankan govt.
Results of the Talks
 Sri Lanka is to allow certain numbers of Indian Tamils
to return to India
 The rest of the Indian Tamils were to be granted Sri
Lankan citizenship
By the 1980s, this agreement was not fulfilled and
many Indian Tamils remained stateless
Indian Tamils felt neglected and upset

14. Resolution
 2003: Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian
Origin Bill passed
 Citizenship granted to any person of Indian
origin who had
 Permanently lived in SL since 1964, or
 Was descended from someone who had
permanently stayed in SL since that date

15. •15
 Many educated Tamils could enter government
service during the colonial period
 They held important jobs in the government
Two questions for you to consider:
1. Why do you think they were able to accomplish
this?
2. How do you think the Sinhalese, the majority
group in Sri Lanka, feel about this?

16. •16
Changes made after Sri Lanka gained
independence from the British
1. In 1956, Sinhala was made the only
official language of administration
2. Tamils in the government service were
given three years to learn Sinhala or be
dismissed from the job.

17. •17
Result of the policy
 Tamils were unhappy as they were now unable
to get jobs or promotions
 Organised a peaceful demonstration against the
Official Language Act
How did the Sinhalese react?
 The Sinhalese supporters disrupted the peaceful
demonstrations
 Riots occurred
 Over a hundred deaths were reported

18. •18
What happened after the riot over the
Official language Act
 Sri Lankan Prime Minister signed a pact with Tamil
leader.
Tamil was made the official language of the Tamil
minority.
Tamil was allowed to be used as a language for
administration.
However tension between the Tamils and Sinhalese
continued to increase leading to more fighting and
deaths
?

19. •19
• Tamil Language was given greater
recognition in the Sri Lankan Constitution
• Tamil was made the national language and
the language of the administration in the
northern and eastern provinces where
Tamils formed the majority.
• English was taught in school to facilitate
communication among the different racial
groups.
Tamil accepted as an official language.

20. •20
3. UNIVERSITY ADMISSION
Before 1970:
• University admission criteria was based on merit
• Examinations were held in the English language
• Sinhalese were unhappy at the equal number of
Sinhalese and Tamil students in the medical and
engineering courses, as it was not proportionate
to their numbers in the country

21. 3. University Admission
What was done after 1970:
 Several educational policies were introduced to
rectify this imbalance.
 E.g. it was compulsory for Tamil students to
score higher marks than the Sinhalese
students to enter the same courses in the
universities.

22. Minimum marks for university admission, 1971
Course Students Minimum marks
Arts Sinhalese
Tamils
187
170
Engineering Sinhalese
Tamils
227
250
Medicine and
Dentistry
Sinhalese
Tamils
229
250
Bio-science Sinhalese
Tamils
175
181
Physical
sciences
Sinhalese
Tamils
183
204

24. •24
Result of this policy:
• successful in increasing the number of Sinhalese
youth who were qualified to enter the universities.
• Percentage of Tamil students who were admitted to
the engineering courses fell significantly.
• Tamil youths unhappy and dissatisfied with the
unfair educational policies
• Difficult to qualify for admission into the university
esp. medical and engineering courses  limited
job opportunities  disillusionment with
government  supported or joined Tamil Tigers
(LTTE)

25. •25
4. Resettlement of Population
What this policy is about:
• the Sri Lankan government transferred Sinhalese
from the densely populated south-western and and
central areas into the Tamil area.
• Aim was to provide land for the landless Sinhalese
peasants to live on and to cultivate rice.
How did the Tamils react?
• They were unhappy as the arrival of the
peasants was accompanied by Buddhist monks
and the Sri Lankan Army which was mostly
Sinhalese.

26. •26
CHECKPOINT
There are 4 reasons for the conflict in Sri Lanka:
1948: Citizenship RightsCitizenship Rights—over 1 million Tamils made
‘stateless’
1950: Government-sponsored resettlementresettlement of Sinhalese
in Tamil areas began
1956: ‘Sinhala Only’‘Sinhala Only’ policy was introduced
1972: Government restricted Tamils’ admission intorestricted Tamils’ admission into
universityuniversity by raising admission criteria

27. •27
Consequences of the Sinhalese-Tamil
Conflict
Political Economic Social
•Armed conflict
•Foreign
intervention
•Unemployment
•Loss of
investments from
other countries
•Fall in no. of
tourists
•Sri Lankan
Tamils driven out
of their homeland

28. •28
1. Armed Conflict1. Armed Conflict
• The policies introduced by the Sri Lankan
government made the Tamils discriminated
• Made peaceful demands to be fairly treated by the
Sri Lankan government
• Early 1950s: Federal Party asked that Tamil areas
be recognised as a federation within the country
• By 1976 demands still not met
• New political party Tamil United Liberation Front
emerged
• The policies introduced by the Sri Lankan
government made the Tamils discriminated
• Made peaceful demands to be fairly treated by the
Sri Lankan government
• Early 1950s: Federal Party asked that Tamil areas
be recognised as a federation within the country
• By 1976 demands still not met
• New political party Tamil United Liberation Front
emerged
?

29. •29
Tamil United Liberation FrontTamil United Liberation FrontTamil United Liberation FrontTamil United Liberation Front
• Fought for a separate independent state.
• Wanted this independent state to be called
Tamil-Eelam
• Sri Lanka government rejected the idea of
a separate and independent state
• Some angry and dissatisfied Tamil youths
formed a militant group, the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
• Fought for a separate independent state.
• Wanted this independent state to be called
Tamil-Eelam
• Sri Lanka government rejected the idea of
a separate and independent state
• Some angry and dissatisfied Tamil youths
formed a militant group, the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

30. •30
Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
• With the formation of the militant group LTTE,
violence was inevitable
• LTTE were considered to be terrorists.
• They attacked Tamil members of the police
force, and Tamil politicians who rejected their
call for an independent state.
• Later, they resorted to attacking Sinhalese

31. •31
ARMED CONFLICT
• Sinhalese also showed violence towards the
Tamils repeatedly, eg. during 1956 peaceful
protest against the ‘Sinhala Only’ language
policy.
• They took part in 1983 riots
• Armed conflict has resulted in war between
LTTE and Sri Lankan government
• Cost: more than 60,000 lives
• Has lasted more than 20 years
• Still on-going

32. •32
2. Unemployment
• Riots and violence led to massive unemployment.
• Business in the conflict areas/districts slowed
down or some stopped totally.
• Many factories were closed and plantation
workers lost their jobs.
• The jobless started to take part in vandalising,
looting and burning their places of work.

33. •33
• The instability caused by the riots and violence
did not only led to massive unemployment.
• It resulted in the loss of investments as investors
lost the confidence in investing in the country.
• The economy would inevitably suffer as it needs
businesses from other countries.

34. •34
• The violent internal conflict made Sri Lanka an
unsafe place for tourists.
• As a result, tourism which was one of the income
earners for the country was damaged.
• This decrease resulted in a loss of jobs and a fall
in Sri Lanka’s earnings.
• The economy was badly affected and the country
lacked the finances needed to build up its
infrastructure

35. •35
• The conflict caught India’s attention
• India played the role of a mediator
• Mediated between the Sinhalese and
the Tamils after the 1983 riots but was
unsuccessful
• India supported the Sri Lankan Tamils
by sending supplies
• Stopped by the Sri Lankan navy
• Indian Air Force dropped supplies in
Jaffna
• Violated SL air space
?

36. •36
• India forced Sri Lanka to sign a peace
accord in July 1987.
• Both parties agreed to a ceasefire.
• The Tamil-Tigers were to surrender their
weapons to Indian peacekeeping troops.
• Jaffna was captured by the Indian
peacekeepers by force.
• Clashes between the Tigers and the Indian
peace-keeping troops occurred in the north
and east of Sri Lanka.
• 1990 India withdrew its peacekeeping force
from Sri Lanka.

37. 6. Sri Lankan Tamils driven out of their Homeland
 Caused large-scale displacement beyond its
borders
 E.g. in the 1983 riots, thousands of Tamils fled
to Tamil Nadu in South India
 Abt 65,000 Sri Lankans are still refugees in
India today

38. 6. Sri Lankan Tamils driven out of their Homeland
 Early 1990s: High Security Zones (HSZ) set up
by SL Army to keep LTTE away
 Access is controlled in HSZ
 Army occupied large parts of Tamil-dominated
areas in North and East of SL
 1995: Many Tamils had to flee their homes
when SL Army moved into Jaffna
 Many still live in overcrowded conditions

39. •39
Overview of Lesson
We have looked at the following:
1. The population compostion and distribution in Sri Lanka
2. The causes of the Sinhalese - Tamils Conflict.
Citizenship Rights
Jobs in the Government Service
University Admission
Resettlement of population
2. The consequences of the Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict

40. Causes of conflict in Northern
Ireland
Background textbook p. 111-114
Causes textbook p. 114-124

41. Diagrammatic representation ofDiagrammatic representation of
United Kingdom and theUnited Kingdom and the
Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland

42. Map of Northern Ireland and the UK
Part of the
United
Kingdom
Independent

43. Facts on Northern Ireland

44. Background: Origins of the conflict
 Before 12th
century: N. Ireland + Republic of
Ireland were ONE country (Ireland)
 Irish were Catholics
 12th
C: Ireland conquered by England
 Protestant Scottish and English settlers brought
over by Eng landlords
 Northern part of Ireland became mostly
Protestant

45.  Catholic King James II tried to defeat the
Protestants
 But failed; defeated by Protestant King William
of Orange in Battle of Boyne in 1690
 Protestants implemented Penal Laws against
Catholics
 For years, civil war raged.
 1800: Ireland part of UK
Background: Origins of the conflict

46.  Hostilities continued
 Local Irish Catholics sought limited self-govt
(Home Rule) in late 1800s
 Fighting intensified
 1900s, British lost control of southern part of
Ireland
 1921: Ireland divided into 2 separate parts
based on majority religion
Background: Origins of the conflict

47.  South: known as Irish Free State, largely
Catholic gov
 North: Northern Ireland
 1949: Irish Free State cut ties with Br and
became Republic of Ireland
Background: Origins of the conflict

48. •48
In 1993
• 1 million Protestants, mostly of Scottish
and English origin
• 600 000 Catholics, mostly descendents of
local Irish inhabitants of the island

49. •49
Government in Northern
Ireland
Since 1972
• ruled by the British parliament in London
• Secretary of State for Northern Ireland chosen by
the British Prime Minister
• finance,commerce,health and education controlled
by N Ireland government
• Foreign affairs and defence matters were in British
hands

50. •50
Causes for the Conflict between
the Protestants and the Catholics
Divided Loyalties
The Education System
Employment
Housing
Voting Rights

51. •51
• The Protestant and the Catholics are intolerant of one
another.
• Give their allegiance to different countries.
• Protestants want to continue to be part of United
Kingdom
• Fear union with Republic of Ireland
• Fear Catholics would not be tolerant of the Protestant
beliefs
What about the Catholics?

52. •52
• Catholics want N Ireland reunited with the Republic of
Ireland
• Remember persecution suffered by the Catholics during
England’s conquest of Ireland
• Distrust the Protestants
eg. Protestants still celebrate the Battle of Boyne as a mark
of Protestant dominance
What about the Catholics?

53. •53
• Education system in N Ireland deepened the rift
between the Catholics and the Protestants
• Schools in N Ireland can be divided into 3 categories:
* The Protestant Schools
* The Catholic Schools
* Mixed Schools
?

54. •54
In the Protestant Schools
• Students are taught British History, play British sport and
are loyal to Britain
In the Catholic Schools
• Students learn Irish History, play Irish sports and taught
Irish language and culture.
• See Britain as a foreign country
In Mixed Schools
• Subjects cater to both the Catholics and Protestants
• Schools run by private individuals
• Unpopular

55. •55
Results of the Educational System:
• Generations of children grow to be
distrustful of each other
• Hostility between them increases.

56. •56
• Competition for jobs
• Catholics felt there is no equal opportunity for them in
getting the jobs
• Number of Catholics engineers and civil servants was not
proportionate to their numbers in the country
• Fewer Catholics in senior positions in the public or private
sectors

57. Unemployment rate by religion and sex in 2002 to
2003, Northern Ireland

58. •58
• The provision of housing by city council- caused great
concern to the Irish
• The Councils made up of largely of Protestants
• Catholics were delayed in getting their houses
• They became frustrated as the shortage of houses meant
they have to wait for many years to own a house
• Catholics felt the provision of housing was unfair to them

59. A 1989 study on the housing situation in Northern Ireland by a
government body that promotes understanding and awareness of
the importance of human rights in Northern Ireland

60. •60
•The right to vote was a problem to the Catholics prior to
1968
•Each household was given to 2 votes while companies had
more votes depending on their sizes
•Many companies owned by Protestants- so they ended up
with more votes
• many voting districts were often drawn up to include large
proportion of Protestants
•Catholics were unhappy
?

61. •61
Since 1968, changes have been made
• due to the changes voting rights ceased to be a
problem in Northern Ireland
• everyone is entitled to one vote
• must be a British subject
• must be above 18 years old
• has to be born in Northern Ireland or
• must have lived in the United Kingdom for 7 years
• voting districts have also been redrawn to ensure
fairness

62. •62
The Troubles – From Peace
to Violence
• 1967: The Northern Ireland Civil Rights
Association (NICRA) formed
•Wanted to end discrimination against
Catholics
•Adopted non-violent methods
•Civil Rights Movement organised by NICRA
in 1968
•Marked the beginning of ‘The Troubles’
?

63. •63
• NICRA Organised marches
• Fighting broke out among Catholics,
Protestants and police
In 1969,
• the British Army was sent to Northern
Ireland to help keep peace
• Catholics welcomed their protectors
• Catholics soon lost faith in the British
Army when the army started to search
their homes and made arrests

64. •64
In Jan 1972:
• 15,000 participated in illegal peaceful civil
rights march
• British soldiers shot at protesters
• 13 civilians died and many more were
wounded
• This incident is called the ‘Bloody Sunday’
incident
• Led to great outburst of Catholic anger

65. •65
• More violence resulted between
Catholics and Protestants
• Inaction of local police
• British Army often raided Catholic
homes

66. •66
Involvement of Irish
Republican Army (IRA)
• Desperate Catholics turned to IRA
• Aimed to destroy the state and force Br to
withdraw completely through using violence
• Attacked Br soldiers
• Bombed businesses and shops belonging to
Protestants
• 1969-1993: more than 3,500 deaths
• IRA responsible for 2/3 of deaths

67. •67
Effects of Protestants–Catholic
Conflict
The conflict resulted in :
• Social segregation
• Declining economy:
Decrease in investment
Decline in tourism trade

68. •68
• Throughout 1970s to 1990s attempts were made
to resolve the conflict but attempts failed
• Peace accord was discussed in the 1990s but failed
•Good Friday Peace Agreement reached in 1998
• Peace is uncertain as there is still tension