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
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நன்றற
Thank you