Defining Reconciliation
Samatha Mallempati
RECONCILIATION IN SRI LANKA: VOICES FROM THE FORMER WAR ZONES by Minna Thaheer International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, 2015, 178 pp., Price not stated
February 2015, volume 39, No 2

Reconciliation in post-war scenario is a complex process which involves genuine efforts by multiple stakeholders, not just the state to build a peaceful society. Sri Lanka is an example of how restricted reconciliation processes did not result in any tangible benefits to the communities affected by prolonged ethnic conflict. Therefore, this book is an attempt to go beyond conventional understanding of reconciliation (top down approach) propagated by the government and international and national agencies involved in reconciliation process in Sri Lanka by directly bringing in to limelight perceptions of affected the Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese communities in the former war zones of North and East about reconciliation.

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