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The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka

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The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka In the Shadow of a Cease-fire: The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka by Chris Smith October 2003 A publication of the Small Arms Survey Chris Smith The Small Arms Survey The Small Arms Survey is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. It is also linked to the Graduate Institute’s Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies. Established in 1999, the project is supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and by contributions from the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It collaborates with research institutes and non-governmental organizations in many countries including Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Small Arms Survey occasional paper series presents new and substantial research findings by project staff and commissioned researchers on data, methodological, and conceptual issues related to small arms, or detailed country and regional case studies. The series is published periodically and is available in hard copy and on the project’s web site. Small Arms Survey Phone: + 41 22 908 5777 Graduate Institute of International Studies Fax: + 41 22 732 2738 47 Avenue Blanc Email: [email protected] 1202 Geneva Web site: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org Switzerland ii Occasional Papers No. 1 Re-Armament in Sierra Leone: One Year After the Lomé Peace Agreement, by Eric Berman, December 2000 No. 2 Removing Small Arms from Society: A Review of Weapons Collection and Destruction Programmes, by Sami Faltas, Glenn McDonald, and Camilla Waszink, July 2001 No. 3 Legal Controls on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Southeast Asia, by Katherine Kramer (with Nonviolence International Southeast Asia), July 2001 No. 4 Shining a Light on Small Arms Exports: The Record of State Transparency, by Maria Haug, Martin Langvandslien, Lora Lumpe, and Nic Marsh (with NISAT), January 2002 No. 5 Stray Bullets: The Impact of Small Arms Misuse in Central America, by William Godnick, with Robert Muggah and Camilla Waszink, November 2002 No. 6 Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia, by Spyros Demetriou, November 2002 No. 7 Making Global Public Policy: The Case of Small Arms and Light Weapons, by Edward Laurance and Rachel Stohl, December 2002 No. 8 Small Arms in the Pacific, by Philip Alpers and Conor Twyford, March 2003 No. 9 Demand, Stockpiles, and Social Controls: Small Arms in Yemen, by Derek B. Miller, May 2003 No.10 Beyond the Kalashnikov: Small Arms Production, Exports, and Stockpiles in the Russian Federation by Maxim Pyadushkin, with Maria Haug and Anna Matveeva, August 2003 No. 11 In the Shadow of a Cease-fire: The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka, by Chris Smith, October 2003 Occasional Paper No. 11 Small Arms Survey The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka Contents Acronyms and abbreviations v About the author vi Acknowledgements vi Summary vii I. Background and context 1 Map 1 Conflict areas in Sri Lanka 4 Map 2 Key Tamil diaspora communities in the world 7 II. SALW and sources of supply and support in the north and east 10 Map 3 Trafficking routes to Sri Lanka 12 III. SALW and sources of supply and support outside the theatre of conflict 15 iii IV. The social and humanitarian cost and impact of illegal SALW in the north and east 20 Map 4 Sri Lanka IDP returnee movements 22 Jaffna 23 Trincomalee 28 Batticaloa 30 The Vanni 32 V. The social and humanitarian cost and impact of illegal SALW beyond the theatre of conflict 34 Conclusion 40 Annexes 42 Bibliography 45 Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper No. 11 Chris Smith iv © EPA European Press Agency Press European © EPA Internally displaced children in a camp in north-western Sri Lanka. Occasional Paper No. 11 Small Arms Survey The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka Acronyms and abbreviations BJP Bharatiya Janata Party CFA Cease-fire Agreement EPDP Eelam People’s Democratic Party EPRLF Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front GDP gross domestic product GIS Geographic Information Systems GPMG general-purpose machine gun ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDP internally displaced person IPKF Indian Peacekeeping Force JVP Janata Vimikthi Peramuna LMG light machine gun LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam MSF Médecins Sans Frontières NORAID Irish Northern Aid PLOTE People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam RAW Research and Analysis Wing SALW small arms and light weapons v SIPRI Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SLA Sri Lankan Army SLR self-loading rifle LKR Sri Lankan rupees TNA Tamil National Army USD United States dollars UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund VVT Velvettiturai Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper No. 11 Chris Smith About the author Dr Chris Smith is the Director of the Centre for South Asia Studies and Consultant Director of the International Policy Institute, both at King’s College, London. He has previously held posts at the Institute of Development Studies and the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex and the United Nations University in Delhi. He has held visiting fellowships at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales, the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, Geneva, and the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, DC. Chris Smith has published on a range of issues relating to South Asian security, especially the prolif- eration of illegal weapons in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He has also undertaken field research on illegal arms proliferation in southern Africa and Albania. His most recent book, India’s Ad Hoc Arsenal, was published by SIPRI in 1996. vi Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Keith Krause, Peter Batchelor, and Robert Muggah at the Small Arms Survey for their help and support over the duration of this project and for the rare opportunity to con- duct detailed field research and to Estelle Jobson and Alex Potter for their editorial input. Vick Arnò and Nicoletta Forni of Latitudesign we thank for doing the design and layout. The Small Arms Survey also provided generous funding to permit this project to move forward. Ms Rashmi Singh provided timely research towards the end of this project. Over the course of this project, the author interviewed countless people in Sri Lanka to ascertain their views and to provide information on the humanitarian impact of illegal weapons. Without exception, they were helpful and concerned. Without their insights and their help in tracking down information and data, this project would not have been possible. Occasional Paper No. 11 Small Arms Survey The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka Summary Sri Lanka appears to be entering the final chapter of the 20-year civil war between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Although it may be too early to assess, and the peace process is currently stalled, it does seem that the LTTE is more serious about a sustained peace process than at any time since the violence erupted in 1983.1 The LTTE has proved extremely adept at trawling the international black market for illegal small arms and light weapons (SALW) and even more proficient at moving equipment from distant locales into the north-east of the island. The LTTE has also acquired significant supplies of weapons from stockpiles abandoned by the government forces. The LTTE has benefited from massive remittances and assistance from Tamil sympathizers across the world. The global availability and acquisition of illegal SALW since the end of the Cold War has allowed the LTTE to develop into a formidable fighting force, capable at one stage—albeit fleetingly—of becoming a conventional force equal almost in size and shape to the Sri Lankan Army deployed in the north and east of the country. Steady and dependable flows of illegal weapons into LTTE hands have significantly elongated this violent conflict. Consequently, many lives have been lost—some 65,000 before the Cease-fire Agreement (CFA) vii came into force. Also, the humanitarian impact has been considerable, especially in the internally dis- placed person (IDP) camps in the Jaffna peninsula and the Vanni. Some parts of the country have lost two decades of development since the outbreak of war. Lives as well as livelihoods have been devastated. The situation in the IDP camps is mixed. In the Jaffna peninsula, the humanitarian impact has been much greater than along the eastern coast. Though most of the IDPs are surviving, some camps are characterized by extreme poverty and deprivation. However, the camps do not appear to be locations where weapons are either hidden or traded. Yet, clearly, the flow of weapons into the zone of conflict is related to the adverse humanitarian conditions that exist, particularly in the IDP camps. As the peace process continues apace, the IDP camps are beginning to break up and IDPs are return- ing to their towns and villages. However, the north-east now faces a major threat from unexploded ordnance and landmines, both of which are bound to claim further lives and casualties in the coming months. Other parts of Sri Lanka, beyond the zones of conflict, are also beginning to feel the effects of illegal SALW. A major source of concern is the growing number of soldiers deserting from the army, where morale is extremely low due to the efficacy of the LTTE as a fighting force.
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