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PEACE AUDIT 2006 Supporting an Enabling Environment for Peace in Sri Lanka Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies Part 1 Published by: Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies 86, Rosmead Place, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. Tel/fax: (94-11) 4610943/4; web: www.humanitarian-srilanka.org The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies is an association of agencies functioning as a network of humanitarian agencies in Sri Lanka. CHA, over the past eight years has developed into a full-fledged secretariat with its own specific capabilities. Its comparative advantages are: being a network having an excellent tool to disseminate information; and weight in discussions and in lobbying due to its large membership and linkages both local and overseas. © Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies First published: September 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photo-copying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies. It is distributed on the understanding that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be sold, lent, hired or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the CHA. Cover designed by: “Ozhone” Printed by: Design Systems, Colombo 10. Tel: 011 4936823 ISBN 955-1041-24-0 ii Foreword Part 1 his report, titled ‘Peace Audit 2006 - Supporting an Enabling Environment for Peace in Sri Lanka’, is a study aimed at contributing to the creation of conflict sensitive capacity of humanitarian and de T velopment actors in Sri Lanka and is presented as a sequel to the Peace Audit CHA conducted in 2004. Humanitarian and development agencies in Sri Lanka have a major role to play in the road to peace and development of the country. This report will no doubt assist and prove to be a valuable tool in understanding the dynamics of the prevailing situation in the island. The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies believes in total commitment and support for the facilitation of such humanitarian and development work and supports best practices and standards at all times. As an organization, we and our members and partners have a responsibility to reach the deprived and disadvan- taged of this country, along with the need to work consciously ‘in’ and actively ‘on’ conflict, rather than ‘around’ conflict (which means avoiding conflict and dealing as if there were no conflict). This in turn leads to a requirement of shared understanding of the context in the districts, in order to respond effectively, coordinated, and to ‘do no harm’. It is also important to build on the previous experience of CHA, such as the PCIA, Resource Pack and Trainer Manual Conflict Sensitivity and the Peace Audit 2003. This report has been put together, complementing strategic conflict assessments in adding a more detailed district view on issues of peace and conflict. It is relevant to humanitarian and development agencies in the mentioned areas and has three main parts: oDistrict based Peace and Conflict Assessments providing information on the situation of peace and conflict, its dynamics and scenarios. oAn analysis of agencies’ experiences and challenges of conflict sensitive programming. oA survey on local methods of conflict mitigation. We hope that this Peace Audit report will be useful for agencies to make informed decisions on humanitarian and development assistance, and gear our efforts further towards mitigating conflict and promoting peace through our interventions. Jeevan Thiagarajah Executive Director iii Peace Audit 2006 Part 1 We acknowledge the support of the World Bank’s Post Conflict Fund (PCF) for this initiative. iv Executive Summary Acknowledgements Part 1 he Peace Audit 2006, published by the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) is the second issue in the series of peace audits conducted by CHA. The publication is primarily an Audit T of the current peace and conflict situation in the country, which helps the various interested stake- holders to view and understand the policy and practical dynamics with a district focus. CHA as a national service provider leads in publishing and disseminating information widely as part of the services of the Consortium. We appreciate and acknowledge a host of individuals and institutes who made this audit possible. Our gratitude goes to all those who spared their precious time for us on our interviews and who contributed information to our questionnaires. We also thank our District Officers from the relevant districts and other Peacebuilding Partner-organisations who coordinated the audit work in three districts where CHA officers are not present. We also appreciate the support extended by the Research Assistants in all 12 districts. We also acknowledge and thank the Advisory Committee comprising Nina Kataja, Markus Meyer, Jehan Perera and Joe Williams for their support. Much appreciation and thanks are extended to Suren Raghavan (for editing the English report) S.I. Keethaponcalan and Maneesha Pasquel (for editing the Tamil and Sinhala reports). Thanks go to Menika Van der Poorten, our translator and all CHA Staff members who helped us in numerous ways in the publication process. We also thank Design Systems for overall support in the printing and designing the publication. Special thanks go to the World Bank’s, Post Conflict Fund for their support for this initiative. Peace Audit Team Nilanga Abeysinghe Denis Dressel Fareeha Jaleel Shantha Kulatunga Kandiah Sarveswaran and Minna Thaheer. v Peace Audit 2006 Part 1 vi Executive Summary Part 1 Page No Part 1 • Executive Summary 3 • Introduction 7 • Conflict Sensitivity in Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Work 10 • Critical Issues, Implications and Recommendations 18 • Local Methods of Conflict Mitigation / Resolution 23 Part 2 • Peace Audit Districts 33 Ampara District 35 Anuradhrapura District 41 Badulla District District 48 Batticaloa District 52 Galle District 58 Jaffna District 64 Mannar District 70 Matara District 77 Nuwara Eliya District 83 Puttalam District 88 Trincomalee District 95 Vavuniya District 102 Annexures • Timeline of Events October 2005 – June 2006 111 • Research Methodology 115 • Examples of Local Methods of Conflict Resolution / Mitigation 121 • Bibiliography 122 vii Peace Audit 2006 Part 1 viii Executive Summary Acronyms Part 1 AGA Assistant Government Agent CA Conflict Analysis CBO Community Based Organization CCR Center for Conflict Resolution CFA Cease Fire Agreement CHA Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies CS Conflict Sensitivity DFID Department For International Development DNH Do No Harm DS Divisional Secretariat EPDP Eelam People’s Democratic Party EPRLF Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front EU European Union FEWER Forum on Early Warning and Early Response GA Government Agent GoSL Government of Sri Lanka GN Grama Niladhari HSZ High Security Zone ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDP Internally Displaced Person IDRC International Development Research Center IGOs Inter-Governmental Organizations IGP Inspector General of Police INGOs International Non-Governmental Organizations JHU Jathika Hela Urumaya (National Sinhala Heritage) JM Joint Mechanism JVP Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna KKS Kankesanthurai LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam MC Municipal Council MoU Memorandum of Understating MP Member of Parliament PCA Peace and Conflict Assessment PCIA Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment P-TOMS Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure ix Part 1 RAs Research Assistants SCOPP Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process SLA Sri Lanka Army SLFP Sri Lanka Freedom Party SLMC Sri Lanka Muslim Congress SLMM Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission SLN Sri Lanka Navy STF Special Task Force TEC Tsunami Evaluation Coalition TELO Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization TMVP Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal TNA Tamil National Alliance TRO Tamil Rehabilitation Organization UK United Kingdom UNF United National Front UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees WB World Bank x Part 1 Part 1 Peace Audit 2006 Part 1 2 Executive Summary Executive Summary Part 1 he 12 Districts’ Peace Audit report pre protracted conflict and its dynamics at work. The sented here gives an insight into and re underlying economic conditions and the all perva- T flects the inner dynamics of the prevailing sive scarcity of resources and the perennial attempts conditions for peace in the districts, especially amidst at sharing them in an ‘equitable’ manner remain the the grassroots and local actors that have an impact overarching issues in the path to peace. This is a fea- at a national level. ture common to all districts, not only to the North- east but also to the South and the midlands as well. The Peace Audit Report overall, attempts to make The prevailing conditions for peace in the 12 dis- general observations of events in 12 distinct district trict audits that we observe here have all the neces- specific situations and tries to highlight features of sary ingredients for an opportunity for constructive intractability in these cases that impact on the na- engagement for peace. tional level conflict. This audit also brings to light ‘trigger’ factors that need to be addressed through Examining the turn of events in the districts and as- careful preventive measures. The study also ob- sessing the environment for peace, there are many serves features that help create ‘windows of oppor- opportunities for preventive diplomacy measures tunities’1 for conflict resolution in the face of these

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