Confronting the Complexity of Loss

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Acknowledgements The author and the Law & Society Trust (LST) wish to thank Kasun Chamara Munasinghe, Mathini Vigneswaran and Vigitha Renganathan for their invaluable commitment and courage in conducting interviews and focus group discussions within a challenging, and often dangerous environment. We also thank Donald Reegan, Subhashini Abeysinghe, and Surekha Samarasena for their support during the training of field researchers. We are indebted to Mala Liyanage (former Executive Director of LST), Dr. Nimal Gunatilleke, Dylan Perera, Sanjayan Rajasingham and Rasika Mendis for their useful comments and observations on previous drafts. Above all, we thank the 45 participants who displayed incredible resolve and sincerity in coming forward to tell their stories and share their views with us. We dedicate this study to these participants and others like them, some of whom remain voiceless. iii
Introduction Background to the Study Historical and contemporary narratives often shape the manner in which a society confronts violence and loss, and the questions of truth, memory and justice that consequentially emerge. The Eighteenth Century revolutions and subsequent anti-slavery movements in Europe and North America contributed towards the development of a liberal-democratic ideology rooted in liberty and justice. Less than two centuries later, two World Wars prompted discourses on international justice and galvanised universal human rights norms. These discourses also grappled with the contradictions of colonialism and the injustices that often lingered in its aftermath. The post-World War era accordingly witnessed a spate of independence struggles in the Global South, which shaped conceptions of rights and justice in those societies. Meanwhile, in Latin America, a recent history of gross injustices under military dictatorships led to remarkable grassroots demands for truth and justice. African experiences, including the antiapartheid struggle in South Africa and the Rwandan Genocide, have also contributed significantly to the global discourse on transitional justice. In Sri Lanka, we are yet to fully understand the level to which concepts such as truth, memory and justice permeate the public consciousness. This is particularly true of the discourse on transitional justice. Truth telling and justice projects have emerged sporadically, ranging from initiatives to inquire into disappearances in the 1990s to the recent call for accountability in response to wartime atrocities. Meanwhile, contemporary Sri Lankan discourse on transitional justice has produced a curious narrative on what the ‘Sri Lankan’ version of transitional justice looks like. Certain elements within the Sri Lankan state promoted this narrative, which now finds support even amongst a limited group of scholars. The narrative first seeks to dichotomise the idea of justice into ‘retributive’ and ‘restorative’ forms. It then proceeds to define the Sri Lankan approach to restorative justice further by contending that ‘tolerance’, ‘forgiveness’ and ‘leniency’ form the uniquely Sri Lankan approach to dealing with violence and loss. 1 In Politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice, 2 Ifi Amadiume and Abdullahi An-Na’im ask: why are we not learning lessons from the past? The question is raised in the context of repeated conflict in Africa; but the same could be asked of Sri Lanka. Despite recurring violence, the country has been unable to learn from its history and develop an effective approach to combat impunity and prevent violence. This study is an exploratory exercise that attempts to understand the attitudes of victims and survivors towards truth, memory and justice. 3 The study does not seek to reach any 1 See the concluding part of this study for an analysis of this narrative. 2 Ifi Amadiume & Abdullahi An-Na’im, Politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice (2000). 3 The term ‘victim’ alone may be inadequate to capture the complexities inherent in how a person who has experienced violence and loss defines him or herself. The term ‘survivor’ alone may also fall short of capturing these complexities. Thus, throughout this study, the terms ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’ are used together and, at times, interchangeably. 1
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evident amongst many participants.
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There should be mutual understandin
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Sri Lanka’s own religious traditi
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programmes have also explained the
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esponsibility often shaped the exte
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easons that led, through massive or
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Deegalle, M., ‘Is Violence Justif
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OHCHR, Promoting reconciliation and
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Annexes Interview Participants No.
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Lost property due to riots in Aluth
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If you observe that the interviewee
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