March 2002

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Avoiding a Generation of Terrorism: Lessons from Sri Lanka

Sharif Abdullah is the founder of the Commonway Institute, www.commonway.org

Full version of this article at the website, or on request.

About a month after the World Trade Towers fell, the Tamil Tigers attacked and blew up a fuel ship in Jaffna Harbor, a successful suicide attack in one of the most heavily defended waterways on the island of Sri Lanka. You probably didn't hear about it. Sri Lanka is a world where suicide bombings are so routine they don't make a ripple in the international news.

The Sri Lankan government has been fighting "terrorists" for almost two decades, with no end in sight. On the other hand, the American "war on terrorism" is only a few months old. Can the US head off twenty years of bloody suffering by looking for lessons in Sri Lanka?

From India and Pakistan: The First Fifty Years, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999

My reason for being in Sri Lanka is simple: I want to help stop the debilitating war that is sapping the vitality and civility of an otherwise beautiful island. I do this through the application of the philosophy of Inclusivity, a search for a "third way" solution that does not support either party to the current struggle. I work with Sarvodaya, a 40-year-old organization based on Gandhian and Buddhist principles.

In my time in Sri Lanka, I've learned a few things that can be applied to the US's new "war on terrorism."

The war could go on forever.

Armed conflicts can last for generations. The longest 'hot' war of modern times is the conflict in Angola--45 years, with no end in sight. The military standoff in Korea is also multi-generational.

Sri Lanka: Terrorist attacks have become so routine they simply aren't news anymore. Each attack further reduces the vitality of the island and its inhabitants. Politicians meet each new attack with words of outrage and promises of retribution. However, for most Sri Lankans, raised for a full generation on daily doses of terrorism and violence, the ongoing cricket matches are more newsworthy than unending stories of horror and retribution.

USA: Airplanes, skyscrapers, anthrax, bridges, federal buildings, alerts--attacks and rumors of attacks are becoming so prevalent that many people are already turning off and going numb. This trend will continue; the public will become more numb as more terrorist attacks occur.

Lesson: Violence never resolves anything. At some point, people will stop shooting at each other and start talking to each other. Nonviolent dialogue is the only proven way to resolve conflict.

The two sides are fighting vastly different "wars," based on vastly different views of reality.

Because the wars are different, the standards of "winning" are different. The fighting goes on for decades, with both sides claiming victories.

Sri Lanka: The government sees itself fighting a war against a handful of terrorists who are trying to destroy the government. The Tigers see themselves leading a movement for national liberation against a Sinhalese government that wants to exterminate the Tamil ethnic group. Each side sees itself as the victim and the other as the perpetrator of violence.

USA: The government sees itself fighting a war against a handful of terrorists who are threatening the American way of life. The Al Qaeda group sees itself fighting a war against foreign invaders in its homeland. Each sides sees itself as the victim and the other as the perpetrator of violence.

Lesson: A "third way" position (beyond government and insurgent positions) must be developed and articulated. This "third way" must look at reality from the point of view of the people, not the advocates of violence.

What each side says about the other is true. What it says about itself is not.

Both sides commit atrocities. Each justifies its actions while vilifying the actions of the other. Because of anger, history, and psychological filters, the two sides cannot see or hear each other. Each seems unreasonable, "evil," to the other.

Sri Lanka: The government always refers to the Tamil Tigers as "terrorists," and stresses their unprovoked attacks on unarmed civilian populations--Sinhalese, Muslim, and Tamil--as well as their use of suicide attackers and child soldiers. The Tigers refer to the government as oppressors, and stress the military's well-documented record of "disappearances" and other violations of human rights.

USA: The US government refers to Al Qaeda as "terrorists" and "evildoers" and stresses their unprovoked attacks on unarmed civilian populations. Al Qaeda refers to the US government as invaders and oppressors and "evildoers." They stress the military's occupation of Muslim land and the hundreds of thousands of Muslim deaths at the hands of the American military. Each claims that God is on its side.

Lesson: Articulate the "third way" position that is against violence, not against either of the parties to the conflict. Help both sides understand that their actions are part of the problem, and that all sides, including "the enemy," are parts of the solution.

Extremists on both sides gain from conflict. As long as they gain power, the conflict will continue.

Sri Lanka: Simply follow the money and the power. People on both sides of the conflict benefit financially from arms sales and from the insecurity that comes from war hysteria. The Tigers get stronger with every human rights violation by the government and military. The hard-liners in the government and military gain power with every Tiger suicide attack.

USA: Simply follow the money and the power. Arms merchants on both sides benefit from the war. Both the US government and Al Qaeda have gained power and prestige in their respective spheres of influence. If the US kills bin Laden, he will become an international martyr; if not, he will become an international hero. Either way, his power is enhanced.

Lesson Isolate the extremists. Do not allow extremists on either side to dictate the dialogue on war and peace. Research and publicize who benefits from conflict. Understand that the purpose of violence is polarization and separation--refuse to be separated from "the Other."

Whose Lessons?

These lessons are not for George Bush, Osama bin Laden, or any other party to conflict. People who use violence tend to stay locked in that way of thinking. As Voltaire said, "If you only have a hammer, you tend to see all of your problems as nails."

The lessons are for all of us who seek fundamentally different ways to handle and resolve our issues. The lessons are for those of us who will be the leadership of the next generation.

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