ABSTRACT
By 2008, efforts towards a negotiated peace had collapsed completely and Sri Lanka was once again at war. What had been a bloody ‘shadow’ war had now become an openly declared military battle. Unsurprisingly, when the Sri Lankan government officially abrogated the Ceasefire Agreement in January 2008, the phrase ‘peace process’ was dropped from political discourse. International actors were scorned by the government and the LTTE for working explicitly on peacebuilding or for decrying human rights abuses. This was a familiar scenario for Sri Lanka, echoing the ‘war for peace’ strategies of the past.1
