ABSTRACT
Sri Lanka's 26-year-long ethnic civil war ended dramatically in an outright military victory for government in mid-May 2009. This chapter outlines important characteristics and dynamics of the conflict to underscore its complexity and the challenges to peacemaking. It examines the current debate on autonomy and the unitarian vision of the Rajapaksa Government. The chapter makes a reality check on the nature of the autonomy solution that the post-war Sri Lankan state possibly offers to alienated ethnic minorities. The fundamental sources of the conflict in Sri Lanka can be traced to a specific historical context of the evolution of a multi-ethnic society under a monoethnic state. There are multiple stakeholders in the Sri Lankan conflict; they are deeply divided, not only along ethnic lines, but also politically. The 1983 anti-Tamil riots dramatically changed the dynamics of the conflict. The provincial council system has been a political exercise in creating a limited autonomy structure as part of conflict resolution.
