Involuntary Displacement and Resettlement — Policy and ... - CEPA

the different parties, and recognising all their needs in doing so. Many of thepartners who contributed to the study from the district, and many otherswho were involved in the sharing of the study results, recognise the need tobe sensitive to different group needs and to mitigate conflict by being seennot to discriminate. Despite this renewed recognition of the depth and thebreadth of need in the district, other development institutions seek tosupport one group over the other, contributing to the tension in the district.Peace CommitteesOther informal structures were created by communities to intervene in theconflicts. Often these special peace committees were made up of localreligious and community leaders. Their resolutions were accepted by theparties to the disputes and their recommendations were heeded by the widercommunity. Puttalam has a tradition of peace committees forming, ‘resolving,then dissolving’. These structures were by far the most effective at dealingwith local disputes. They grew out of the communities themselves toresolve their disputes. They understood the identities and their dynamics,and sought common ground between conflicting parties. The study stronglyrecommends this system as a practice and a template for other communitieswho seek to manage difficult situations. The study recommends further thatnew structures do not replace these bespoke committees but rather workthrough them for acceptable community solutions to their problems.3.2 Keeping Peace − Maintaining Peace Over TimeThe study found that disputes and violence do take place in Puttalam despitethe external appearance of it being a peaceful district. The existence ofconflict has also led to the creation of different local mechanisms for dealingwith conflict and maintaining a relative peace. Despite the challengesoutlined above, their relative success can be built on. The study also foundsignificant commitment among local individuals, community representativesand community organisations to deal with conflict positively. In contrast, thestudy also found others who sought to inflame conflict in order to bolstertheir political support and maintain their powerbase. These individuals andgroups prevent many of the conflicts examined from being permanently andcomprehensively resolved.122