RECONCILIATION IN POST-CONFLICT SRI LANKA: AN INSIDE PERSPECTIVE OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PEACEBUILDING PROGRAMMES

Abstract

Since the civil war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009, governments have implemented a variety of programmes to advance the process of reconciliation. However, after 13 years of that victory, Sri Lanka is still struggling to acquire reconciliation in the country and it appears far off. So, it is questionable that though there are lots of institutes and programs to implement reconciliation within the country, why Sri Lanka has yet failed to acquire it. Accordingly, the overall objective of the research was to investigate the effectiveness of the peacebuilding mechanism adopted by Sri Lanka, 2009-2020. Overall, this research is qualitative in nature and both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were collected by experts via structured interviews and the purposive sampling method was used. The secondary data were collected using various journal articles, governmental and non-governmental reports, legal reports, websites, and books. Also, the study has utilized content analysis and a descriptive narrative to analyze the findings. This study will be significant especially for academics and policymakers as it fulfilled the knowledge gap in the areas of conflict transformation and reconciliation. Also, this study will aid with useful observations and conclusions to our society or to any other society engaged in a reconciliatory process in a post-conflict situation in adopting the right practice along with the right standards. Also, despite multiple peacebuilding efforts by the government, the move towards peacebuilding progammes in Sri Lanka remains ineffective.