Recovering from the man-made tsunami in Sri Lanka

Wednesday, April 6, 2011, By News Staff

Everyone knows about the ravages of the 2004 tsunami in Asia. But few realize that the little-publicized, 30-year-long armed conflict in Sri Lanka between the government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam caused more damage and took more lives than were lost in the tsunami—more than 100,000 people were killed during the armed conflict, which ended in 2009.

On Tuesday, April 12, the Maxwell School‘s South Asia Center will sponsor an event to encourage the ongoing reconciliation process between the two sides. Professor Lou Kriesberg, Maxwell Professor of Social Conflict Studies, will moderate a dialogue between Dr. P. Kohona, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United Nations, and Dr. K. Arulanantham, a representative of the U.S. Tamil Political Action Council. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. in 060 Eggers Hall, with a reception in 341 Eggers following the program. All are welcome to attend or watch the event live at http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/live.