Abstract:
Although it has been reported that the civil war which was prevailed
for nearly three decades in Sri Lanka is over, the scholarly studies in
the field have highlighted that even after around 11 years, the post-war
reconciliation process in Sri Lanka is still facing numerous challenges.
This study was conducted to investigate the factors that contribute to
the hindrance of the reconciliation process between Sinhala and Tamil
ethnic communities in Sri Lanka. The study employed a mixed-method
approach where both the qualitative and quantitative data were
gathered and analyzed. The literature review of the study is directed to
place the study on a theoretical foundation based on sustainable
reconciliation. Primary data were collected from a sample of both
Sinhala and Tamil ethnic communities that were directly affected by the
civil war. The gathered data were triangulated by verifying from various
sources including key informant interviews and records of events. Data
analysis were done through the thematic method. Qualitative data were
analyzed using explanatory and content analysis methods while the
quantitative data were analyzed using simple statistical calculations
such as means and percentages. The findings of the study highlighted
that the ethnic reconciliation process in Sri Lanka is facing challenges
mainly due to lack of understanding of each other, inadequacy of
political will to sort out the issue and socio-cultural factors including
psychological factors that have not been solved for a long time.
