Sri Lanka has rejected a call to allow Indian fishermen to fish in Lankan waters on a permit system for three years, days ahead of a meeting in Delhi to find an amicable solution to the contentious fishing issue.
“A group of construction workers who were laying water pipes stumbled across and unmarked mass grave in the North-Western town of Mannar. This is what has happened so far, and a bit of background.”
source: www.therepublicsquare.com
The post-war context has witnessed a number of inter-community disputes in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, which continue to be sources of tension and suspicion.
In Mannar district, two of the more high profile disputes have been in Sannar (Manthai West DS) and Uppukulam (Mannar DS), pitting the Tamil community against the Muslim community. This report by CPA examines the dynamics of these two disputes in order to highlight the dangers of not resolving such disputes, not just at the local level but also in terms of ethnic relations at the district level.
The report also discusses practicable measures to address the competing demands on the one hand and the underlying relationship between the communities on the other. As these cases make clear the failure to address these disputes can thwart the efforts of war-affected communities building their lives back and can undermine trust-building and coexistence in the post-war context.
This report is part of CPA’s work that addresses key post-war issues including land, displacement and durable solutions, coexistence and reconciliation.
Download it as a PDF here, or read it online here. You can also read it in full below.
We would like to share the link toward dbsjeyaraj.com blog which published the English translation of the document sent by the Mannar GA to Industries Minister Rishad Bathiudeen highlighting the background to the Mannar incident (Issues relating to fishermen settled in Thottaveli and tying boats belonging to them at the pier.) that started in 2002.
http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/8749
