10th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film
Festival 2014
FOCUS ON SRI LANKA
Through the Looking Glass
Post-Conflict Sri Lanka and its Dilemmas
A Panel
Discussion with Anomaa Rajakaruna
(Filmmaker), Sumathy Sivamohan (Academic and Filmmaker), Leena Manimekalai
(Filmmaker), Priya Thangarajah (Activist)
4.30pm on 6 March,
2014
Kamladevi Complex,
India International Centre
In May 2009, the 30 year civil war between the Sri Lankan State
and the Tamil rebels got over. While the bloodshed, killings and disappearances
may have been put to an end, Sri Lanka is going through the painful
ramifications of a post-conflict society, where the wounds are both physical
and psychological. The challenges that face the Sri Lankan society today exist
at various levels—psychological, social, economic and political. Efforts are
being made to rebuild the war-torn economy, especially in the northern part of
the countrywhich bore the brunt of the war. It has not been an easy
process. While there has been a move
towards decentralization of powers of the Sri Lankan State with the holding of
the provincial elections in September 2013, what this actually means for the
democratic process is something that one will have to wait and watch. Along
with this, the effort of ‘integration’ between the Tamils, Muslims and the Sinhalese
has its own fallouts. The rise of the right-wing “Buddhu Bala Sena” which has
been calling for a ban on halal certification, is driving a wedge in the
fragile peace that exists between different communities.
In this context, what this panel seeks to addressare the everyday
challenges that the Sri Lankan society is currently facing. How does a war-torn
country pick itself up and move on, but do it in a way that does not violate
democratic processes? What are the psychological impacts of this war on a
generation whose only political reference point was the ethnic strife? How do
various ethnic communities learn to co-exist, especially in the context of the
rise of right-wing Buddhist nationalism? And as importantly, how has the
post-conflict situation affected women? These are some of the questions that
this panel will delve into. It will not only attempt to discuss the sites of
strife and violence that plague the Sri Lankan society today, but imagine what
the way forward could be.
