Paths Toward Peace

Paths Toward Peace – A Sri Lankan Example for Post-Conflict Societies

by Mark Frazier
 
As the 21st Century unfolds, people around the world are awakening to a growing danger. Religious and tribal movements are harvesting anger against abuses of power by failing states, predatory rulers, local warlords, and perceived advances by crusading empires. These trends, if  unchecked, may assure further catastrophes in coming years as new technologies make it easier for haters to kill. 

Developed countries have a vital stake in finding effective ways to meet this threat. Yet wars, occupations, and expansion of state powers risk further inflaming passions and eroding the foundations of civil society. An alternative vision and course of action is needed – one that offers practical paths for large numbers of people across ethnic and religious lines to build stakeholdings  in a peaceful and prosperous future.

New paths toward this end are now under development in Sri Lanka. A South Asian country with  about 18 million residents, it has been riven since the early 1980's by one of the world's most bitter  and protracted civil wars, costing more than 60,000 lives and billions of dollars. Once known as a world leader in terror, suicide bombings, and assassinations, Sri Lanka since early 2002 has made a remarkably decisive turn towards peace. Although the transition is not yet complete or assured, its progress gives grounds for hope in other troubled areas of the world.