Peacebuilding

MLL’s vision of peace is a fair society where all Sri Lankans can live together safely and achieve their own self-fulfilment.

Why are peacebuilding activities necessary?

After the end of the civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka finally started to see some ‘buds’ of peace. However, as almost 10 years have passed since the end of the civil war, the Northern Province, the main battleground of the civil war, is still underdeveloped. The economic gap with the Western Province, where the capital is located, has been widening.

New ethnic conflicts are also emerging after the civil war. During the civil war, the conflict was between the Sri Lankan government and the rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). On the contrary, the new conflict is characterised by the Sinhala and Muslim communities. Sri Lanka has experienced a civil war for about 30 years, but the latest sparks of conflict have been smouldering in recent years. Therefore, it is imperative that all Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people join and work together towards lasting peace.

In this context, we are undertaking peacebuilding activities through the cultivation of herbal plants in Sri Lanka. ‘Peacebuilding’ is internationally recognised as ‘action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict’, according to Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s ‘An Agenda for Peace (1992).’ Based on this concept, we are committed to preventing the re-emergence of conflict in Sri Lanka through grassroots activities. MLL shall connect communities divided by the prolonged war and create a space for Sri Lankans of all ethnicities and religions to live in harmony.

What is peace?

MLL’s vision of peace is a fair society where all Sri Lankans can live together safely and achieve their own self-fulfilment.

We believe that self-fulfilment requires three things: ability, motivation and opportunity. Ability and motivation are personal factors, while opportunity is hindered by various social factors, such as the five social factors: conflict, poverty, disaster, health and education. We would not achieve self-fulfilment in any conditions: if an armed conflict existed, if we were poor and had no food, if a disaster occurred, if we were unhealthy, and if we were not adequately educated. On the contrary, even our lives are constantly threatened under such conditions, and we have no hope for tomorrow.

MLL focus not only on peace in the narrow definition of the absence of physical violence, such as armed conflicts, but also on peace in the broader definition of the absence of structural violence embedded in the social foundation. MLL shall work with a range of peace actors, including international organisations, governments, companies and civil societies, to contribute to peace in Sri Lanka.