RESTRICTED INTRODUCTION 1. Sri Lanka had been under the colonial rule since 1505 / and the political leaders of Sinhala / Tamil and Muslim communities fought together to win independence in 1948 O However / with the introduction of constitutional changes in 1956 / Tamils who had remained benefitted through the previous colonial governing system / became disheartened O They were no longer ready to accept the changes / made to the constitution that marked a significant shift in both governance and administration O 2. With the advancement of time / a radical segment of the Tamil community / motivated by some extremist Tamil politicians with egoistic motives / embarked on a drive, demanding a disproportionately greater share in the governance / and administration in the Country O 1 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 3. Those differences gradually led to development of tension between two major communities O However / their reasonable demands were considered / and granted by successive governments O Notwithstanding / all efforts taken by respective governments that came in to power / to integrate all communities under a unitary state / a section of misled Tamils continued to whip up separatist sentiments / which ultimately turned to be an armed struggle against the government of Sri Lanka / where they went on fighting to secure / over 1/3 of the country’s land mass for 14% population O 4. Other than a few isolated incidents that took place / Jaffna by and large, remained peaceful until 1983 / during which / civilian life, prospered with a sound economy / based on agriculture, trade and fishery O Jaffna, being Island’s one epicenter of education / with several privileged government and private schools like in Colombo / continued to produce scholars and intellectuals 2 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED to the nation / until peace was threatened by those anti government activists O Killing of 13 soldiers in Jaffna in 1983 / marked the beginning of a new culture of violence O This cowardly act of terrorism / was the first ever incident of violence / against the state military forces by Tamil militants since independence O This particular incident provoked factions of Sinhalese in the South O As a result / a series of unfortunate incidents took place across the country O Alienated Tamils fled the island, seeking asylum abroad O Relations between the North and South became perturbed and constrained O 5. Meanwhile / Tamil Tigers / a separatists movement / fuelled by certain foreign powers / Tamil Diaspora / and some NGOs and INGOs / gained momentum until it grew up to be strong enough to capture / and hold a sizable area in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country O During the LTTE control of the Northern part of the country / transportation between North and South / came to a total 3 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED stand still after the YAL DEVI / the life line of Jaffna was attacked / and destroyed by the LTTE on 09 June 1985 O Since a part of the Main Supply Route too came under LTTE control / civilians’ movements by road crippled O The government had to provide transport for the civilians / mostly through air and sea O 6. Successive governments made every possible effort to solve the conflict politically / by negotiating with LTTE bilaterally / and at times / even with mediation of a third party or a facilitator O However / all such efforts were proved to be futile O 1985 - Thimpu talks (J R Jayawardhane Government) 1987 - Indo-Lanka accord (J R Jayawardhane Government) 1989 - Peace talks (R Premadasa Government) 1994 - Peace talks (CBK Government) 4 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 2002 - CFA with Norwegian mediation (by then PM Ranil Wickramasinghe) 2005 - Peace talks (Present Government) 7. The LTTE / for reason best known to them / demanded ceasefire, prior to all those peace talks / which were complied with by all successive governments O But the LTTE abused the opportunities offered / and instead / strengthened their fighting power until they became a formidable guerilla force O However / the government forces continued to hold a few military bases in the Jaffna peninsula O 8. Having failed to achieve a negotiated political solution for the issue / the government was finally compelled to launch a military operation to liberate Jaffna in 1995 / with a view to restoring law and order O Since then, the life in Jaffna peninsula has remained peaceful / 5 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED except a few occasional and isolated incidents that occurred O 9. The peninsula since then / had remained under government administration O Due to its strategic and geo political significance / an adequate military force was deployed to defend the liberated territory O 10. The 30 Year long separatist war came to a successful end in May 2009 / with the defeat of LTTE terrorists O Unwavering leadership of His Excellency the President / and unified effort of all the forces well coordinated by determined Defence Secretary / with the support of entire peace loving population of the country / opened the door to a newer and mostly unfamiliar peaceful environment O Post conflict responsibilities of the soldier / appeared to be more complex and complicated than ever before O SHORT FILM ON JAFFNA 6 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 11. Overnight transformation of the image of the soldier from the ‘fighter’ to ‘protector’ / was thought to be necessary but crucial O Projection of the soldier as the ultimate guardian in the minds of Jaffna population / was considered to be the foundation stone for confidence building O It was not an easy task to transform / and assign the new responsibility of social reconstruction and nation building for those / who were trained as skilled soldiers O Mindset of soldiers, who fought a war for three decades / had to be transformed to identify mere basic needs of Jaffna population / and help them improve their quality of life O Changing of the role of a warrior to be a protector cum facilitator / helped our soldier to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil community O Making a leap forward in Civil Affairs / Security Force Headquarters Jaffna opened a Civil Affairs and Public Relations Office / in the Jaffna town on 09th March 2010 / and this office is open to civilians for 24 hours O The new office earned the trust of civilians with a short span / and 7 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED became famous as the “Public Relations Office” / where people could meet Army officers to seek relief for their grievances O 12. As the new concept took root / the Army was seen as their caretakers O Guard points were converted to be aid points / weapon emplacements and detachments were transformed to be CIMIC offices / citizen committees were re designated as development committees / and with all that / a comprehensive and sustainable plan was designed / and executed for social reintegration and nation building O Army played a vital role in the multi-pronged approach / to achieve sustainable peace in the aftermath of the war O With view to further fostering interactions between Army and civil communities / Security Forces Headquarters opened a website / www.cimicjaffna.lk / through which / effective communication was made quickly possible O Incumbent Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya commissioned the new website / which, on the other hand / helped the 8 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED Army deny misinformation, disseminated by interested elements both here and abroad / while presenting the ground realities O 13. Jaffna society comprised of a population over 500,000 people of diverse religious / social / ethnic and cultural backgrounds too were needed to be transformed to accept the change O People, who were hopeless and helpless / needed to be encouraged to a newer lifestyle / masses, who were mislead and misguided were needed to be reoriented / segments, that were waiting to welcome the creation of a separate state / were needed to be motivated to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state O Younger generation that grew up in a lawless environment / was needed to be disciplined in the name of the social harmony O Ex- LTTE combatants and sympathizers / who suffered the humiliation of defeat were / needed to be rehabilitated, 9 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED encouraged and integrated into the mainstream as productive citizens O 14. Understanding the ground reality / fathoming the burning needs of different segments of society / identifying and respecting the existing social hierarchy / with a proper understanding of socio-cultural structure to address the needs of the majority / were identified as the crucial factors that are essential for the success of the CIMIC programmes O 15. Resources necessary for community support projects / were found as prompt allocations from government sources / contribution of officers and soldiers / donations from well wishers and at times / through personal contacts with friends O 16. Identified critical needs of the society / were timely attended to by the Army O 10 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED De-mining activities Shelter and livelihood development needs. Educational Field. Health and hygiene. Livelihood facilities for rehabilitated ex-combatants. Religious, social and cultural reintegration. Sports and leisure activities. Needs of differently able people and women headed families. 11 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED Such needs were separately dealt with care / under a centrally controlled mechanism / maintaining very high tempo and with precise consistency O No sooner peace was ushered to the country / His Excellency the President appointed a Presidential Task Force / with President’s