Learning from the Sri Lankan conflict
Like Pakistan, the island state of Sri Lanka is suffering from a costly conflict. And as Islamabad is now attempting, Colombo has been alternatively trying peaceful and military means to restore peace to a country often described by its proud citizens as paradise on earth.
The results of the strategies adopted by successive governments in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka have been mixed. Dominated by the majority Sinhalese ethnic group, the Sri Lankan governments headed by different political parties have tried every means – military and political, appeasement and carrot and stick, even divide and rule - to resolve the conflict and keep the country united.
Parties have won elections by promising peace and then military victory. There is still no durable peace and military success isn't round the corner. But trust the politicians and they would invent a new idea and coin another slogan to win yet another poll.
During a recent visit to Sri Lanka, those of us coming from Pakistan felt it was a familiar place with all the roadblocks in sensitive parts of Colombo and heightened security even in tourist destinations such as Kandy and Galle. Pakistanis have become used to such high levels of security due to the rising incidence of terrorist attacks in recent years but Sri Lankans have been experiencing this since the 1980s.
Read more,
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=122287
The results of the strategies adopted by successive governments in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka have been mixed. Dominated by the majority Sinhalese ethnic group, the Sri Lankan governments headed by different political parties have tried every means – military and political, appeasement and carrot and stick, even divide and rule - to resolve the conflict and keep the country united.
Parties have won elections by promising peace and then military victory. There is still no durable peace and military success isn't round the corner. But trust the politicians and they would invent a new idea and coin another slogan to win yet another poll.
During a recent visit to Sri Lanka, those of us coming from Pakistan felt it was a familiar place with all the roadblocks in sensitive parts of Colombo and heightened security even in tourist destinations such as Kandy and Galle. Pakistanis have become used to such high levels of security due to the rising incidence of terrorist attacks in recent years but Sri Lankans have been experiencing this since the 1980s.
Read more,
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=122287
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