Sri Lanka Web Links

Below are links by topical categories to resources primarily in English providing information generally on conflict in Sri Lanka. For related web links, see Terrorism/Counterterrorism: Web Links [1], U.S. Human Rights Policy: Web Links [2] and Regional Resources: Asia [3]. For more USIP resources see Sri Lanka [4].

• General Resources [5]
• Government Agencies and International Organizations [6]
• Maps and Guides [7]
• Media and News Sources [8]
• Selected Documents and Political Resources [9]

General Resources

The sites below collect links to other Internet resources which describe the background, history and current events in Sri Lanka.

• INCORE guides to Internet sources on conflict and ethnicity: Sri Lanka [10]
  A selective list of annotated links to news sources, articles and documents, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), maps, general sources, etc. from the Initiative on Conflict Resolution & Ethnicity, a joint project of the University of Ulster and the United Nations University.
• South Asia Terrorism Portal: Sri Lanka [11]
  This web site has information on terrorism specific to six countries in South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and an overview of the region as a whole. The Sri Lankan entry contains a current assessment of the situation, descriptions of terrorist groups [12], a timeline of events [13], and several full text documents [14], including speeches, statements, agreements, proposals and acts, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979 [15], among others.
• Sri Lanka: WWW virtual Library [16]
  Sri Lanka WWW Virtual Library is a part of the South Asia WWW Virtual Library [17] and Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library [18]. It contains numerous links in several categories, including latest news and updates [19], politics and ethnic conflicts [20] (which contains links to full-text documents) and international relations, Sri Lankan associations and NGOs [21].
  [22]

Government Agencies and International Organizations

Amnesty International

• Amnesty International: Sri Lanka [23]
  This document library section of the web site for Amnesty International On-line [24] contains current news stories and the annual report entries for Sri Lanka from 1997 to the current 2001 report.

Human Rights Watch

• Human Rights Watch: Sri Lanka [25]
  This section of the web site for Human Rights Watch [26] contains pubications and the world report entries for Sri Lanka from 1998 to the current 2001 report.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) [27]
  Web site of SAARC includes an overview of the organization and membership, its charter, profile, newsletter, magazine, summit declarations and other documents.

Sri Lanka

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs [28]
  Web site includes foreign policy statements, press releases, Sri Lanka news updates, a Tamil newsletter [29] in PDF (requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader [30] to view), and other publications.
• Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka [31]
  Web site of the government of Sri Lanka contains pages for the president, prime minister, parliament and ministries, as well as news updates, editorials and publications and contact information. It includes a Constitution bill [32] from August 2000 and links to several related web sites.

United Nations

• Reliefweb: Sri Lanka: The Latest [33]
  ReliefWeb [34], a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has the latest news and "humanitarian response information on current emergencies and countries of concern" in its section on complex emergencies [35]. Documents and related links are organized by by country [36] with a map center [37], site map and search capability. A related web site on refugees and internally displaced persons is the IDP Global Project [38] with a web page on IDPs in Sri Lanka [39].
• UNHCR: Country of Origin and Legal Information [40]
  The web site for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has databases for country of origin and legal information documents and reports. Pull-down menus allow selection by country and/or subject and a specific search engine feature is also provided. Each country compilation includes links to country reports, legal documents, news and maps.
• United Nations Human Rights Website: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [41]
  The web site organizes documents into searchable databases by treaty bodies [42] (six monitoring commissions) and charter-based bodies [43] (including General Assembly and Security Council), with ability to search by country [44], mandate [45], subject [46], year, symbol number and body. Documents concerning Sri Lanka from the UN special rapporteurs, working groups and commissions can be accessed through a search by country.

United States

• Sri Lanka: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2000 [47]
  Extensive report from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State. Reports for previous years [48] are available online from 1993.
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): Office for Transition Initiatives (OTI): Sri Lanka [49]
  The web page for USAID-OTI for Sri Lanka contains a brief description of past activities in Sri Lanka. It includes a link to the main page [50] for OTI and for additional information on USAID assistance [51] for Sri Lanka.
• U.S. Department of State - Bureau of South Asian Affairs [52]
  U.S. Department of State's site has basic information for Sri Lanka [53] and other countries in South Asia, including a map, list of officials and background notes.

World Bank

• The World Bank in Sri Lanka [54]
  Web site is part of the regional focus on South Asia [55], one of several regions listed. It includes an overview of World Bank programs and projects in Sri Lanka, with sections on news and events, data and publications, and related web links.
  [22]

Maps and Guides

• Sri Lanka: CIA World Factbook [56]
  Country information covers the geography, people, economy, government, and infrastructure. Includes a map.
• Sri Lanka Maps [57]
  Maps from the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection of the University of Texas at Austin. These maps, produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and other sources, include country, city, regional and historical maps.
• Reliefweb: Sri Lanka [58]
  Regional and thematic maps from the UN's ReliefWeb covering Sri Lanka.
• Your Nation [59]
  An interactive database with information derived from the CIA World Factbook, Your Nation allows the user to compare or rank statistics for any two countries or display a statistical summary for an individual country. Settings are customizable.
  [22]

Media and News Sources

• BBC News | South Asia | Sri Lanka: an unwinnable war? [60]
  Part of the BBC In Depth series, this article from April 27, 2000 links to other stories and profiles for background on the general election and the conflict in Sri Lanka.
• OneWorld.Net: Sri Lanka [61]
  Current news stories and analysis on Sri Lanka contributed by One World partners.
• Spotlight on Sri Lanka [62]
  An Infoscope weekly newsclipping service with news from major newspapers worldwide, as well as from Sri Lanka. The web site also includes back issues [63] available from July 1996 and a daily mailing list for Sri Lankan news and events via e-mail subscription.
• Sri Lanka News Web [64]
  Several links to Sri Lankan and international news outlets with news on Sri Lanka, including radio, TV, newspapers and wire services, as well as wire service news reports.
• TamilNet [65]
  Web site of current news reports, features and an archive of articles on issues concerning the Tamil people, with stories in English and Tamil [66].
• Yahoo News: Full Coverage: Sri Lanka News [67]
  Numerous links to news sources, stories from various wire services, reports in audio and video, and related web sites for Sri Lanka.
  [22]

Selected Documents and Political Resources

• Agreement on a ceasefire between the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [68]
  Text of the ceasefire, announced by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, February 22, 2002. Part of the United States Institute of Peace Library's Peace Agreements Digital Collection.
• Demanding Sacrifice: War and Negotiation in Sri Lanka [69]
  The online edition of volume 4 (August 1998) of Accord: an International Review of Peace Initiatives from Concilation Resources [70] includes a chronology [71], a description of key actors in the ethnic/national crisis [72], analysis and selected texts [73] from the 1994-95 negotiations process.
• The Humanitarian Crisis in Sri Lanka: A Joint Statement and Call for Action by Non-Governmental Organisations [74]
  Statement issued May 6, 2000 and one of several media releases on Sri Lanka [75] from the Asian Human Rights Commission [76].
• Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) [77]
  Web site of the JVP Sri Lanka, with photos, news, election information, history, activities and a link to JVP international.
• Kathmandu Declaration on the Use of Children as Soldiers [78]
  Statement issued by government and organization participants at the Asia-Pacific Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers, held in Kathmandu, in the Kingdom of Nepal, from May 15-18, 2000.
• Political Resources on the Net: Sri Lanka [79]
  Links to information on elections, various political parties and organizations, news and general resources for Sri Lanka.
• Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) [80]
  Web site of the political party, with a chronology of the party, lists of leaders, officials, and policy statements.
• Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) [81]
  Web site of the political party, with background information, objectives, achievements and constitution of the party.
• Tamil Eelam Home Page [82]
  Web site of the Tamil Eelam nation and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), with background information, news, analysis and other media.
• United National Party [83]
  Web site of the political party, with contact information, a manifesto for the party, a section on elections and the People's Alliance [84] and related web links.

Updated: February 25 2002