Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution [Paperback]

R.B. Herath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2006

This book is a frank reflection on the history and politics of Sri Lanka that has produced its current tragic ethnic crisis. It is the first book on the subject to help the reader fully understand the historic context of the crisis, discover hidden factors that influence it, and see a peaceful way to resolve it with a new democratic model of governance. The basic principles of the model are universally applicable to all countries enduring similar ethnic crises.

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About the Author

The author was born and raised in Sri Lanka. He was a toddler when the country gained independence in 1948. He grew up amidst the changes that shaped the country to what it is today. He was always concerned about the future of the country, and contributed towards reducing ethnic divisiveness among its people. He did this first as a student leader in his high school and university days, and later as an active participant in national politics. In October 1979, he co-founded and led a democratic political party in Sri Lanka by the name Podujana Party (meaning Peoples' party) with a vision of 'One Lanka - One Nation, One Nation - One Family.' This political party prepared for the general election scheduled for 1983. This election, however, did not take place; the incumbent government postponed it to 1989. Meanwhile, the LTTE turned the ethnic crisis of the country into a separatist war in 1983, taking control of its democratic political process. In the aftermath of the commotion that followed, the author left the country in 1984. He now lives in Canada.

The author has published three books on Sri Lankan topics before, one in English and the other two in Sinhalese, a vernacular language of Sri Lanka. The author wrote these books after a constitutional change in the country, renaming it as The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The book in English, Democratic Socialism, discusses the pre-requisites of democracy. One of the books in Sinhalese, Sri Lanka Desapalanaya, Ayanna, Aayanna, Eyanna, Eeyanna (translation reads as A, B, C, D of Sri Lankan Politics) analyses the contemporary political system of Sri Lanka. The other, Desappremayen Odavadiwa Darudariyanta Kavivalinma Liyu Lipiyak (translation reads as A Letter to Our Children in Poems Written through Patriotism) is a book of poems. It gives a message of mutual respect, love and unity to the children of Sri Lanka in a child's diction. The government of Sri Lanka purchased a number of copies of this book for distribution among its schools and municipal libraries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553697936
• ISBN-13: 978-1553697930
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,772,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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