ABSTRACT
Sri Lankas ethnic conflict has manifested itself at various levels, and the sociological and ecological degradation has been no less devastating in its impact than the political and military fall-out. For wars, whatever their degree of intensity, destabilise institutions, affect human relations and destroy and damage the physical environment. The Jaffna peninsula itself, and other towns on the periphery considered to be cradles of Tamil culture, resemble European cities after the Second World War. In May 1987, however, when the Sri Lankan forces launched Operation Liberation to take control of the rebel stronghold of northern Jaffna, India stepped in, called a halt to the operation and, in July, in a dramatic turn of events, brokered a peace pact with the Sri Lanka government to end the conflict. The strongly cohesive Tamil community is now scattered in many lands. Some follow rigidly Marxist ideologies while others find comfort in Tamil nationalism.
