Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Countering Terrorism in Sri Lanka

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Global Counterterrorism Policy

  • 2304 Accesses

Abstract

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was formed in 1976 in response to the growing ethnic and political tensions between minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese in the northern and eastern areas of Sri Lanka, had threatened the legitimacy of the Sri Lankan government. As a response to this armed conflict, the counterterrorism strategies of Sri Lanka continually adapted to the evolving terrorist tactics. The Sri Lankan government finally subdued the LTTE in 2009. The main counterterrorism strategies of Sri Lanka are (1) effective sharing of intelligence between countries in the fight against terrorism; (2) better intelligence efforts by the Sri Lankan military forces; and, (3) continuous intelligence data gathering to counter efforts of various organizations to revive terrorist activities in Sri Lanka. It expands the strategy through a collective and consistent effort based on all elements of national power.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bhattacharji, P. (2009). Liberation tigers of Tamil Eela (Sri Lanka, separatists). US: Backgrounder, Council on Foreign Relations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, J. (2010, April 4). Tamils want an end to Sri Lanka discrimination after election. Guardian.co.uk |The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/04/sri-lanka-elections-tamil-minority. [Accessed: December 20, 2015].

  • Clinton, H. (2010). Common themes in terrorist attacks, U.S. Department of State Web site, under “2010 Secretary Clinton Remarks”. http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/03/139285.htm [Accessed: December 25, 2015].

  • Crenshaw, M. (2010). Terrorism in Context. US: Penn State Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Votta, N. (2009). The liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam and the lost quest for separatism in Sri Lanka. Asian Survey, 49(6), 1021–1051.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunaratna, R. (1994). Indian intervention in Sri Lanka, the role of India’s intelligence agencies, (p. 89). Colombo: South Asian Network on Conflict Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunaratna, R. (2001). International dimensions of the Sri Lankan conflict: Threat and response. Colombo: Marga Monograph Series on Ethnic Reconciliation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumaratunga, C. (2000, August 3). Introducing the constitution reform bill: Speech by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in Parliament. South Asia Terrorism Portal. Available from: http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/document [Accessed: December 25, 2015].

  • Kumaratunga, C. (2001, January 8). Address delivered to the people of Jaffna and the north by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. South Asia Terrorism Portal. Available from: http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/document/papers/jaffna_address_by_chandrika_kumaratunga.htm [Accessed: December 23, 2015].

  • Meyerke, G. (2008). Death by a thousand cuts: Protracted insurgency in Kashmir and Sri Lanka. Phd Thesis, University of Virginia, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mussarat, J., & Choudhry, I. (2013). Role of SAARC for countering terrorism in South Asia. South Asian Studies, 28(2), 389–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Balance, E. (1989). The cyanide war: Tamil insurrection in Sri Lanka, (p. 26). London: Brassey’s.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pape, R. (2005). Dying to win: The strategic logic of suicide terrorism. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peiris, G. H. (2009). Twilight of the tigers: Peace efforts and power struggles in Sri Lanka, (p. 24). New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Perera, U. (2012). Defeating terrorism through a politico-military strategy: The Sri Lankan experience. Masters Thesis, US Army War College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajapaksa, G. (2013a, April 14). Counter-terrorism: Learning from the Sri Lankan experience. Colombo Telegraph [Online]. P. 2. Available from: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/counter-terrorism-learning-from-the-sri-lankan-experience/. [Accessed: December 26, 2015].

  • Rajapaksa, G. (2013b). Sri Lanka’s national security. Prism: A Journal of the Center for Complex Operations, 4(4), 139–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajapaksa, M. (2009, May 19). President’s speech to parliament on the defeat of the LTTE. South Asia Terrorism Portal. Available from: http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilank. [Accessed: December 18, 2015].

  • Ramakrishna, K. (2011). From virtual to violent: Preliminary conceptual explorations of religious radicalisation in youth. In R. Ramli (Ed.), Youth and terrorism: A selection of articles. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • SAARC convention on suppression of terrorism. (1987). [Online]. Available from: http://www.ipcs.org/project/countering-terrorism-building-a-common-approach-in-saarc-25.html [Accessed: December 26, 2015].

  • Sageman, M. (2004). Understanding the terror networks. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Samy, N. (1996). Tigers of Sri Lanka, from Boys to Guerrillas, (pp. 6). Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Bookshop.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senaratne, J. (1997). Political violence and the state, 1977–90: Riots, Insurrections, counter-insurgencies, foreign intervention. Amsterdam: VU University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • South Asia Terrorism Portal. (2009). Available from: htpp://satp.portal.

  • Staniland, P. (2012). Between a rock and a hard place: Insurgent fratricide, ethnic defection, and the rise of pro-state paramilitaries. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 56(2), 16–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. (2008). Counterterrorism strategies: Successes and failures of six nations/how states fight terrorism: Policy dynamics in the west. Naval War College Review, 61(1), 134–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thambiah, S. (1986). Sri Lanka ethnic fratricide and the dismantling of democracy, (p. 67). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • The history of the Tamil Tigers. (2009, April 28). Al Jazeera, p. 17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tozzi, F., (2010). How to kill a tiger: Measuring Manwaring’s paradigm against Sri Lanka’s counterinsurgency strategy. Master of Arts Thesis, Georgetown University.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN Security Council Resolution 1566. (2004). Definition of terrorism. New York: UN Security Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, B. (2011). Sri Lanka: Background and US relations (CRS Report RL31707). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Volkan, V. (2003). Large-group Identity, societal regression and leader-follower relationships. Presented at “Traumatized Societies” at the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction. US: University of Virginia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Volkan, V. (2006). Killing in the name of identity: A study of bloody conflicts. US: Pitchstone Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldman, A. (2003, January 14). Masters of suicide bombing: Tamil guerrillas of Sri Lanka. The New York Times [Online], p. 4. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/14/world/masters-of-suicide-bombing-tamil-guerrillas-of-sri-lanka.html?pagewanted=all. [Accessed: December 28, 2015].

  • Warnapala, W. (1994). Ethnic strife and politics in Sri Lanka an investigation into demands and responses, (p. 26). New Delhi: Navrang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warrier, S. (2009, January 23). The Sri Lankan army has damaged the LTTE’s military invincibility. Retrieved from http://specials.rediff.com.

  • Wickmarasinghe, N. (2009). Sri Lanka in 2008: Waging war for peace. Asian Survey, 49(1), 59–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines

    Amparo Pamela H. Fabe

Authors
  1. Amparo Pamela H. Fabe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amparo Pamela H. Fabe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of International Studies, University of Trento, Trento, Trento, Italy

    Scott Nicholas Romaniuk

  2. Department of Political Science and International Studies, McDaniel College , Westminster, Maryland, USA

    Francis Grice

  3. Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Catania, Italy

    Daniela Irrera

  4. DefenceReport, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

    Stewart Webb

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Fabe, A.P.H. (2017). Countering Terrorism in Sri Lanka. In: Romaniuk, S., Grice, F., Irrera, D., Webb, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Counterterrorism Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55769-8_29

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation