Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect: Politics, ethnicity and genocide PDF
Preview Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect: Politics, ethnicity and genocide
Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect This book provides a study of the war by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to create a separate state in Sri Lanka. It examines the ways in which this war should, in principle, have invoked ‘responsibility to protect’ principles, as well as the political, legal and practical problems involved and, ultimately, why the international community failed to act. Over the years there have been several events, including those in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Darfur and Kosovo, that have led the international community to accept a responsibility to protect. However, despite its overwhelm- ing preliminary endorsement, the principles of this concept are still not universally sanctioned and there are some strong international opponents, including some countries that were initial signatories of the convention. By considering the example of Sri Lanka, the text focuses on what conditions could satisfy or demand the application of responsibility to protect. It further presents a case as to why this conflict was, and may still be, the normative respon- sibility of the international community. Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect will be of great interest to students of South-East Asian politics, human rights, international law, ethnic conflict, security studies and IR in general. Damien Kingsbury is Professor at the School of International and Political Studies, Deakin University, Melbourne. He is the author and editor of a number of books and numerous journal articles on political and security matters. Asian Security Studies Series Editors: Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University, Bloomington and Andrew Scobell, US Army War College Few regions of the world are fraught with as many security questions as Asia. Within this region it is possible to study great power rivalries, irredentist conflicts, nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation, secessionist movements, ethnoreligious conflicts and inter-state wars. This book series publishes the best possible scholar- ship on the security issues affecting the region, and includes detailed empirical studies, theoretically oriented case studies and policy-relevant analyses as well as more general works. China and International Institutions Alternate paths to global power Marc Lanteigne China’s Rising Sea Power The PLA Navy’s Submarine Challenge Peter Howarth If China Attacks Taiwan Military strategy, politics and economics Edited by Steve Tsang Chinese Civil–Military Relations The transformation of the People’s Liberation Army Edited by Nan Li The Chinese Army Today Tradition and transformation for the 21st century Dennis J. Blasko Taiwan’s Security History and prospects Bernard D. 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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kingsbury, Damien. Sri Lanka and the responsibility to protect: politics, ethnicity and genocide/ Damien Kingsbury. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Sri Lanka—History—Civil War, 1983–2009. 2. Humanitarian intervention—Sri Lanka. 3. Humanitarian intervention—Philosophy. I. Title. KZ6795.S65K56 2011 954.9303′2–dc23 2011024492 ISBN13: 978–0–415–58884–3 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–80434–6 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Prepress Projects Ltd, Perth, UK Contents Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 1 The meaning, theory and application of R2P 13 2 The politics of ethnicity 47 3 The war in Sri Lanka 63 4 Cultural dominance, genocide and crimes against humanity 82 5 Sri Lanka and international law 94 6 Opposition to R2P 114 7 Geo-strategic factors, R2P and Sri Lanka 130 8 Conclusion 142 Notes 154 References 158 Index 173 Acknowledgements I would like to extend my gratitude for the assistance I have received in the writ- ing of this book from a number of friends and colleagues. In particular, I would like to thank David Feith, Jay Maheswaran and Murugesu Paramanathan for the information, advice, support and assistance they have each offered me, as well as extending my thanks to the Tamil community of Australia for their warmth and generosity. As an extension of this, I would also like to thank those Tamils of Jaffna and the Vanni who showed me such hospitality during my visit in 2006. They demonstrated what might be possible should the people of Tamil Eelam again achieve the opportunity to be responsible for their own affairs. Finally, and in particular, I would like to thank my friend, colleague, comrade and wife, Rae, for her love, support and encouragement in the writing of this book and a great deal else. Rae and I came together over issues of injustice, and this remains at the core of our shared values, commitment and work. I would also like to acknowledge the support provided by Deakin University in allowing me time to research and write this book, and other related work. Finally, I acknowledge the financial support of the Australia Research Council for the awarding of grants that, although not on this subject in particular, have greatly assisted with my broader understanding of the role and responsibility of the inter- national community in conflict and post-conflict environments.
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