Understanding Effects of formulated heritage in a post-conflict scenario: Sri Lanka as a Case Study

Sri Lanka Aswini Raveendran, Sreeparna Mitra, Swarna Selvarajhan & Shantanu Raut |Urban Heritage: Theorise, Reflect and Speculate | Prof. Pratyush Shankar

LOCATION AND CONTEXT

Small island country located in Indian Ocean

Estimated population - 21,670,000

Capital City - Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

LOCATION AND CONTEXT

Known as Ceylon until 1972.

The name is still know globally because of the Ceylon Tea

“The tear drop of Indian ocean” because of its shape and location

“The pearl of the Indian Ocean” because of its natural beauty.

LOCATION AND CONTEXT

Sinhala

Tamil

Official Languages Ethnic Diversity

ENGLISH is a recognised language

HISTORICAL TIMELINE

Arrival of Sinhalese from the mainland of Indian subcontinent

1815 AD

200 BC --

600-500 BC

● ●

Arrival of Tamils, for trade and invasion.

The land occupied later became Tamil Eelam.

● ● ●

Fall of Kandyan Kingdom Ceylon falls under the British Tamils from the Indian subcontinent were brought in by the British to work in the Tea and Coffee plantations.

HISTORICAL TIMELINE 1948 AD

1970 AD

1972 AD

Tamil Eelam

Gained independence as Dominion of Ceylon

Beginning of the Tamil separatist movement

Renamed as "Republic of Sri Lanka" Then to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" in 1978

CIVIL WAR TIMELINE - Sinhala vs Tamil 1956 AD

● ● ●

First Ceylonese riot Sparked by the ‘Sinhala Only Act’ Killing 150

1976 AD

Initiation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

1983 AD

● ● ● ● ●

As a response to LTTE’s ambush.

400-3000 killed 150,000 became homeless Considered as the start of the Civil War Sparked the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

CIVIL WAR TIMELINE - Sinhala vs Tamil 1995-2001 AD

● ●

Beginning of ‘3rd Eelam War’ Multiple attacks from both sides

2002 -2006 AD

● ●

Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tiger rebels sign a Norwegian-mediated ceasefire.

In 2006, the LTTE bombed a military base. Triggering a chain of events.

2008 AD

● ●

Government pulls out of 2002 ceasefire agreement.

Start of large scale retaliation.

CIVIL WAR TIMELINE - Sinhala vs Tamil - 2009 AD

● ● ● ●

A ‘No Fire’ zone became the mass killing field The safe zone was said to house as much as 250,000 civilians.

The death toll is said to be as high as 75,000(apx accounted number), with several thousands missing.

Mullivaikkal Massacar aka the War without Witness

CIVIL WAR TIMELINE - Sinhala vs Tamil - 2009 AD

1

3

2

4

Effects of formulated heritage in a post-conflict scenario: Sri Lanka as a Case Study

REASONS FOR CHOOSING SRI LANKA: Recent post-conflict region Curating of a biased post-conflict dialogue (Highlight the conflict related tourism) Window of opportunity for possible post-conflict reconciliation

Region of focus: Northern conflict Region ( Mullivaikal & Jaffna district )

EFFECTS OF FORMULATED HERITAGE IN A POST-CONFLICT SCENARIO: SRI LANKA AS A CASE STUDY

Defining Heritage: ‘Heritage is a cultural treasure as well as a communicator that connects the past to the present. It is a system of symbols for conveying messages about the past to those who live at present.’

(Bandara, 2011) ‘Cultural heritage is as much a construction of the present as it is an interpretation of the past’ (Wickramasinghe, 2013)

EFFECTS OF FORMULATED HERITAGE IN A POST-CONFLICT SCENARIO: SRI LANKA AS A CASE STUDY

Formulated heritage: The efforts of an ethnic minority group, since the birth of Sri Lanka, to access their rights undeniably forms an important part of Sri Lanka’s national history and heritage (role of a cultural treasure and communicator of past events).

Constructing a hegemonic discourse can be considered as ‘formulated’ heritage (Wickramasinghe, 2014)

Monuments and sites are thus being invested with new meanings, a phenomenon that existed in the past but that has been infused with a new urgency in a post-conflict situation where power relations between communities are being redefined.

(Wickramasinghe, 2014)

POST-CONFLICT SCENARIO- WAR MEMORIAL

Jaffna Elephant pass Visuvamadu

Kilinochchi

Puthukkudiyirupp u A9

A35

Mullivaikal

‘Capitalising on the fascination for a country’s war ridden past is nothing unique.But the Sri Lankan commemoration is different: it centers on the military and does not even engage with the civilian losses suffered by Sinhalese, let alone by the Tamils’ (Kim Wall, Vice, 2014)

Sha Lanka, a company that specialises in tours in Sri Lanka, has specialized tour over seven days and nights identified as the ‘Battle Field Tour’ especially meant for tourist. ( Perera,2016) https://www.yamu.lk/blog/war-tourism/

LTTE bunker

PORTRAYAL OF A STRONG OPPOSITION ‘In showing how strong the LTTE were, the government appears stronger in defeating them. In order for the government victory to be worthy of praise, in other words, the LTTE must be shown to have been worthy opponents. This victory/defeat narrative resurfaces repeatedly throughout the memorial.

(Hyndman and Amarasingam, 2014)

Farah III

LTTE ships in war museum

Destroyed Water Tank by LTTE

PORTRAYAL OF A ONE SIDED ANNIHILATION As the Ministry of Defence website (2010) states,“LTTE Terrorists had destroyed the water tank that supplied water to the whole Kilinochchi area.Water being one of the basic human needs of civilians particularly in the dry zone areas, the LTTE has once again demonstrated its callous disregard for the needs of the Tamil civilians.�

(Hyndman and Amarasingam, 2014)

Vehicle graveyard

Victory monument at PTK

GLORIFICATION OF VICTORY The Sri Lankan state’s power to narrate the war and characterize the opposition is an expression of “triumphalist nationalism” and is a selective remembering of war.

However subtle or limited the scale and number of landmarks, examination of those that do exist in post-conflict landscapes can provide important indicators of past and present political and social relationships .

Gamini Kalaratna Monument

Victory Monument

LTTE Swimming Pool

CALUMNY OF LTTE ‘The argument is clear: the LTTE was holding civilians “hostage” for their own selfish ends, while the leadership and their families were living in the lap of luxury’

Velupillai Prabhakaran’s family photos

( Hyndman and Amarasingam, 2014)

Velupillai Prabhakaran’s Bunker

A statue put up in May 2016 remembers victims and survivors of the final battles in Mullivaikkal

Red brick monument in Kokkadichcholai, Batticaloa district, records the names of more than 200 Tamil civilians killed in separate massacres by Sri Lankan security forces

NOT A PART OF THE TOURISM

Tamil memorial in Mullivaikkal remembering the many Tamil civilians killed in the final battles between the military and the Tamil Tigers https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka/picturing-sri-lankas-undeadwar

Therefore, we argue that these war memorials can be considered as formulated heritage.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FORMULATED HERITAGE: 1. Adversely affect minority group

dominant heritage discourse to date establishes and constrains indigenous and minority communities into themes of marginality and victimhood, often overlooking their potential agency (Saldin, 2017) ‘but serves as a reminder that a similar threat could reemerge if the country and leaders are not careful’ (Amarasingam and Hyndman, 2014) ‘has witnessed an escalation in violence against other ethno-religious minorities’ (Saldin, 2017)

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/410/cpsprodpb/8DD8/production/_87521363_029621656-

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FORMULATED HERITAGE:

2.Energise nationalist sentiments further

‘what is memorialised comes to serve the purposes of majoritarian nationalism and its political agendas’ (Hyndman and Amarasingam, 2014)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81va%E1%B9%83s

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FORMULATED HERITAGE: 3. Causes polarisation and leads to tensions

‘polarised ethno-religious identities, often pivoting on a perpetrator- victim dichotomy’ (Saldin, 2017)

‘re-escalation of heritage-centric ethnic tensions in the postwar period’ (Saldin, 2017)

‘tourism industry creates new inequality and is further increasing the conflict’ (Mangalassery, 2010)

https://www.telesurenglish.net/__export/1432853507862/sites/telesur/img/news/2015/05/28/lankan-

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FORMULATED HERITAGE:

4.Obstacle to reconciliation ‘identified heritage contestation between different ethnic groups as an obstacle to the path of reconciliation.’ (LLRC, Government of Sri Lanka, 2011)

‘Once the worth of their respective pasts is identified and recorded as meaningful to the Tamils and Sinhalese, then and perhaps, only then, the respective protagonists may be able to discard their battles over history and address their contemporary differences’ (Roberts, 2011)

https://www.greenleft.org.au/sites/default/files/styles/new_large/public/public_files/tamil_2009_vavuniya_kathikamr_refugees.jpg?

CURRENT STAKEHOLDERS

Tamil Community

Sri Lankan Government

Provincial Government

Local Government

Sri Lankan Military

Majoritarian Community & Tourists

Sri Lankan Government

Provincial Government

Ministry of Tourism & Aviation

Sri lankan Military

Local Government

Private Sector

IDEAL STAKEHOLDER RELATION

Social Stability

Majoritarian Community

Local & International NGO

Tamil Community

Community & Religious Leaders

International Media

Orga.

Tourists

POLICIES & PROPOSAL

POLICY

Ministry of Tourism & Aviation

Inclusive post-conflict Heritage preservation policies, sensitive to cultural diversity

POLICY

Sri Lankan Governme nt

Ministry of Tourism & Aviation

Inclusive post-conflict Heritage preservation policies, sensitive to cultural diversity

POLICY

Sri Lankan Governme nt

Ministry of Tourism & Aviation

Inclusive post-conflict Heritage preservation policies, sensitive to cultural diversity

Internation al Orga.

(UNESCO)

MINORITY MEMORIAL

Media

Tamil Community

Internationa l Orga.

Local & Internationa l NGO

MINORITY MEMORIAL Ministry of Tourism & Aviation

Media

Tamil Community

Internationa l Orga.

Local & Internationa l NGO

CONCLUSION Continuing to flag Sinhala-Buddhist traditions as the basis of the nation’s patriotism, a practice that may not lead to reconciliation in a post-conflict scenario Acknowledge and celebrate multi-religious, multicultural social fabric to attract greater inflow of tourists (20% GDP) and develop feelings of collective ownership and responsibility of tourism among all communities.

References Mangalassery, S. 2010. ‘’After the Civil War - Sri Lanka relies on Tourism.’’ Tourism Watch. https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/focus/after-civil-war-sri-lanka-relies-tourism Roberts, M. 2001. “The Burden of History: Obstacles to Power Sharing in Sri Lanka.” Contributions to Indian Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1177/006996670103500104.

Saldin, Melathi. 2017. “Heritage as Resilience: The Role of Minority Communities in Post-War Sri Lanka.” 19th ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium - Heritage and Democracy.

Sasanka Perera, Warzone Tourism in Sri Lanka: Tales from Darker Places in Paradise . New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2016, pp. 256, INR 750.

ISBN: 9351509222.

Wickramasinghe, N. 2013. ‘‘Producing the Present: History as Heritage in Post-War Patriotic Sri Lanka’’, Economic and Political Weekly, 48 (43),, pp. 91-100 Hyndman,Jennifer and Amarnath Amarasingam,2014.” Touring ‘Terrorism’: Landscapes of Memory in Post-War Sri Lanka”.Centre for Refugee studies: York University. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264499387_Touring_Terrorism_Landscapes_of_Memory_in_Post-War_Sri_Lanka

W. Alejandro Sanchez Nieto, 2008: A war of attrition: Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers, Small Wars & Insurgencies, Peter Wonacott, 2009, The Wall Street Journal: Sri Lankan Army Corners Rebels: Refugee Camps Swell as Tamils Lose Ground; Resentment Clouds Peace Prospects The Commonwealth: Sri Lanka BBC: Sri Lanka Profile

සසතතය

நன்றற

Thank you