COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
Abstract 2010, Chapter II, tables 2.10 - 2.11, accessed on 1 June 2011) 292 , based on a
total population of 18,797,257, stated that the population comprises: Sinhalese (82 per
cent), Sri Lankan Tamil (4.3 per cent), Indian Tamil (5.1 per cent), Moor/Muslim (7.9 per
cent), Burgher (0.2 per cent), Malay (0.3 per cent), Sri Lankan Chetty (0.1 per cent) and
other (0.1 per cent) (figures from the 2001 census). However, data from Jaffna, Mannar,
Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts [areas in northern
and eastern Sri Lanka where Tamils are concentrated] in which the 2001 census
enumeration was not completed were not included. The U.S. State Department (USSD),
Background Note: Sri Lanka 293 , last updated on 6 April 2011 reported that Tamils were
18 percent of the overall population.
18.02 Jane‘s Sentinel Country Risk Assessments, Country Report, Sri Lanka 294 (accessed on
3 February 2012) observed:
―…the tension in relations between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils has been the
most prominent political trend in Sri Lanka since independence (1948)…In contrast to
the confrontational strategies of Sri Lankan Tamils, the Muslims and Indian Tamils
adopted political stances of 'qualified collaboration' with one or the other of the main
Sinhalese-dominated political parties.
―Language and religion are the main ingredients of ethnic identity in Sri Lanka. The
mother tongue of the Sinhalese is Sinhala. Approximately 93 per cent of Sinhalese are
Buddhists, almost all embracing the Theravada (Lesser Vehicle) school, although this is
divided into three doctrinal schools, established in the 18th and 19th centuries. The
overwhelming majority of Tamils speak Tamil and are Saivite (Shiva-worshipping)
Hindus. Caste distinctions are a significant factor in Tamil politics, rooted in the
dominance of the land-owning Vellalar caste from the colonial period onwards at the
expense of the warrior Karaiyar caste whose members gravitated more easily towards
the cause of separatism in the 1970s. In addition, important cultural distinctions,
including different caste practices, exist between Northern and Eastern Tamils. Most
Muslims are Tamil-speaking but they resisted being co-opted into the Tamil nationalist
project during the civil war. The overwhelming majority are Sunni of the Shafii school of
jurisprudence although small numbers of Shia Muslims exist. The Christian segment of
the population - about seven per cent of the total - consists of both Sinhalese as well as
Tamils in roughly equal proportions.‖ 295
292
Sri Lanka Department for Census and Statistics, Statistical Abstract 2010 – Chapter II (Population),
Table 2.10 http://www.statistics.gov.lk/abstract2010/chapters/Chap2/AB2-10.pdf and 2.11
http://www.statistics.gov.lk/abstract2010/chapters/Chap2/AB2-11.pdf date accessed 1 June 2011
293
U.S. State Department (USSD), Background Note: Sri Lanka, lat updated 16 April 2011
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5249.htm date accessed 7 June 2011
294
Jane’s Sentinel Country Risk Assessments, Country Report, Sri Lanka, Internal Affairs, 17 January
2012
http://sentinel.janes.com/docs/sentinel/SASS_country.jsp?Prod_Name=SASS&Sent_Country=Sri%20La
nka& [subscription only] accessed on 3 February 2012
295
Jane’s Sentinel Country Risk Assessments, Country Report, Sri Lanka,
http://sentinel.janes.com/docs/sentinel/SASS_country.jsp?Prod_Name=SASS&Sent_Country=Sri%20La
nka& [subscription only] accessed on 3 February 2012, Demography, 19 October 2011
122 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.