Sri Lanka

Our Approach

A bloody civil war had been going on since 1983, and its end in 2009 did not resolve the tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese, but rather exacerbated many problems. Our aim is to come to terms with this period, which was marked by massacres on both sides, executions and massive human rights violations. Since 2009, there has been no public discussion about the civil war in Sri Lanka, nor has there been a real dialogue with the Tamils.

The Maatram Foundation, which has also been supported by KURVE Wustrow since 2016, considers this a permanent problem for peace in Sri Lanka. For example, the construction of Buddhist temples in the Hindu-influenced Tamil areas in the north and east of Sri Lanka continues unabated, which is seen by Tamil critics as a state-sponsored attack on Tamil culture. Muslims once displaced by the LTTE because of their alleged proximity to the central government are returning to the Tamil areas, where they are now demanding more land for themselves because of their "population growth", thus reviving old tensions.

More from the Projects

Illustration Artikel Wolfgang Labuhn "Die Hände reichen für einen Wechsel"

No public discussion about the civil war

An Article by journalist Wolfgang Labuhn: "Joining Hands for Change". About the work of our partner organisation "Maatram Foundation".

Illustration Artikel Jutta Sommerbauer „Von Dokumentation bis Dialog"

Recognition of the suffering of others

Artikel der Journalistin und Politikwissenschaftlerin Jutta Sommerbauer: „Von Dokumentation bis Dialog“. Über unseren Dealing with the Past-Ansatz und die Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit durch „Maatram Foundation“ in Sri Lanka.

SP profile

Violence against foreigners increased in Berlin and surrounding

A portrait of our peace expert Singham in "Peace Counts". He enters his home country while the war is still raging.  He comes from Berlin, where he lived for 15 years. He is known as a political activist and brilliant persuader.  He has a German passport, a German wife, a house in Kreuzberg "with an underground station, wholemeal bread and old-age insurance". In 1995 he decided to go back. Had he gone mad?

Our Partner in the Region:

The Centre for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation (CPBR) was established in 2002. Over the past 20 years, the NGO has expanded to all parts of the country, with peacebuilding and conflict transformation as its essence.

Das Social Economic & Environmental Developers (SEED) was founded in 1996 as a non-profit non-governmental organisation (NGO) and operates in the Vavuniya district in northern Sri Lanka. They support the resettlement process for people who were displaced during the war years and are now seeking a new start in their home communities.

You want to become a peace worker?

Project Details at a Glance

Title:

"Strengthening the participation of civil society in dealing with the past

International Peace Worker:

1 regional coordinator and 3 international peace workers

Contact Person

Jessica Belke

lwevelsiep [at] kurvewustrow [dot] org (jbelke(at)kurvewustrow.org)

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