Online | The Transitional Justice Series: A Spotlight on Sri Lanka

About the talk

For the past forty years, Sri Lanka has experienced wave after wave of political repression, political violence, and ethnic tensions between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the majority Sinhalese State. Although the 26-year-long civil war ended in 2009, ethnic tensions have remained, leading to persistent skirmishes and contentious local elections. The international community felt Sri Lanka might be able to bridge these divides by engaging in transitional justice, as a way of accounting or dealing with its violent past, and mending ties in its post-conflict society. Despite its 2015 promises to the international community to implement vast reforms to deal with its violent past, Sri Lanka’s transitional justice project has largely fallen to the wayside.

The talk will focus on how and why transitional justice has failed in Sri Lanka, and what this tells us about the role the international community has when it comes to supporting post-conflict societies. The discussion will also revolve around how the civil war has impacted Sri Lankan society, and what lies in the government’s future.

Speakers

Natasha Palansuriya (Senior Researcher, The Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka; PhD Candidate, City, University of London)
Dr Madura Rasaratnam (Lecturer in Comparative Politics, City, University of London)

Chair

Matilde Masetti Placci (Moderator, UCL South Asian Legal Forum)

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