Conflict and Confusion in Sri Lanka

That the party's pursuit of Eelam was to be nonviolent was of little consequence to most Sinhalese. Tamil youth, growing increasingly disenchanted with their political elders, began an armed struggle for Tamil Eelam. Out of their ranks materialized a half dozen different militant organizations, all professing to follow some form of Marxism. The emergence of these groups reinforced the worst fears of the Sinhalese majority - that Tamils would try to destroy Sri Lanka and bring millions of their Tamil cousins from India along with them in this struggle. From December 1986 through May 1987, the Sri Lankan government dramatically escalated its attacks against militant Tamil strongholds and blockaded supplies into their areas. Tamil communities in the north grew desperate for food and other basic commodities. Then, in early June 1987, a dramatic turn of events took place: the Indian government began to air-drop food into the northern Tamil areas. This blatant intervention presented the [Junius Jayewardene] government with basically two risky options: (1) chance Indian military involvement on the side of the Tamils by escalating the military strategy against Tamils in the north or (2) agree to let India enforce an agreement that would dismantle the Tamil militants but yield significant political concessions to them. Widespread international criticism of Jayewardene's previous policies perhaps contributed to his decision to co-opt India with the latter course. (1). Political rights are being returned to those plantation Tamils, who are not being sent to India through current bilateral resettlement agreements. It is interesting to note that the plantation Tamil leadership does not necessarily espouse the same politics of the much larger grouping of "Sri Lanka" Tamils, who, like the Sinhalese, have lived on the island for millenia. This is due in part to the fact that most Sri Lankan Tamils voiced concerns for plantation Tamils, a most impoverished and exploited people in Ceylon, only after it was evident that their disenfranchisement would enhance Sinhalese voting power.