Do you agree that foreign intervention is more important than economic impact on Sri Lankan government’s desire for peace agreement? Explain your answer

Foreign intervention by India helped to promote peace in Sri Lanka. But this is not the only reason. Economic impact of the conflict is very negative and has caused loss of foreign investment.This has also contributed to the Sri Lanka government's desire for peace.

The Sinhalese-Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka attracted the attention of its neighbour, India. It sent its Foreign Minister to Sri Lanka to mediate in a dialogue between the Sinhalese and the Tamils.

India’s intervention was a serious violation of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. This is because Sri Lanka is an independent country and she had been forced into certain actions by India against its own wishes, showing that it is not totally in control of its own future. For example, in 1987, the Sri Lankan government was forced by India to sign a peace accord with the LTTE. When the peace accord was broken because the LTTE did not surrender their arms, the Indian government ordered Indian troops into Sri Lanka for peacekeeping. This move resulted in even more violence in the country and prolonged the armed conflict. The Sri Lankan government also felt that it has lost complete independence to act on its own, and thus cease to be in control of its own fate.

All these consequences could have caused the Sri Lankan government to deepen its desire for peace agreement as it hope to regain it independence. In its intervention, the Indian government has also sent its Foreign Minister to Sri Lanka to mediate in the dialogue between the Sinhalese and the Tamils. Although the dialogue failed to end the conflict, it has helped to promote peace by forcing the two sides to discuss their problems.

In the riots and armed struggles caused by the conflict, many people are killed. Those killed are usually breadwinners of families, plunging them into poverty and starvation. The ensuing riots and terrorism also resulted in the destruction of factories and businesses, effectively causing even more unemployment. This vicious cycle of poverty is made worse by the loss of investments from other countries as in times of instability, investors from other countries may not have the confidence to invest in the country. Foreign investment dropped from US$66 million in 1982 to US$39 million in 1983, and a further decline to US$22 million in 1986.

Tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s major income earners, was also seriously damaged by the violent internal conflict. Tourist arrivals steadily decreased after the July 1983 riots. This resulted in a loss of jobs and a fall in foreign exchange earnings. This in turn, affected the economy adversely. There were also lesser funds to develop amenities and facilities for the people, such as transport and housing.

All the above consequences of the conflict have affected the economy of Sri Lankan negatively and thus increased Sri Lankan government’s desire for peace agreement.

Ultimately there is no single reason that can explain sufficiently the reason why the Sri Lanka government has the desire for peace. Both reasons contributed to the peace process. With India's intervention, the Sri Lanka government realised that if it does not work for peace then India may take matters into their own hands and force a peace settlement. At the same time, the continued conflict has hinder economic growth and development and the government knows that only when there is peace will there be development. Therefore both reasons has contributed to the desire for peace.

(Note from the Ess You must show how the two factors are dependent on each other and therefore both have equal impact on Sri Lankan government for peace agreement.)

How far did resettlement of the Sinhalese to the Tamil areas caused the conflict in Sri Lanka? Explain your answer.

Issue : Reasons for the conflict in Sri Lanka

Given Factor : Resettlement of Sinhalese to the Tamil areas

Alternative Factor :
Citizenship rights
Official Language Act

Rank:

The conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils has existed since 1948. This is because the Tamils feel that the Sinhalese-dominated government has been unfair to them in various ways.

.g. The government implemented a policy to provide land for the poor Sinhalese peasants. These peasants were transferred from the densely-populated south western and central areas into Tamil areas. However, the Buddhists monks and the Sri Lankan Army came with the other Sinhalese to the Tamil areas to occupy the land. This caused unhappiness because the Tamils now have to compete with the Sinhalese peasants for land as well as jobs and sales of their products. They thus resented the government and began to oppose the government. Many gave their support to the Tamil Tigers in their opposition against the government and this gave rise to the conflict. There was also resentment against the monks and the Sri Lankan Army and this worsened the relationship between the Tamils and the Sinhalese, increasing the tension and the hostility. Therefore resettlement of the Sinhalese to the Tamil areas caused the conflict in Sri Lanka but it is not the only reason.

For example, in 1948, Sri Lanka granted citizenship to only those who were either born in Sri Lanka or those whose fathers and grandfathers are born there. As a result many Indian Tamils found themselves stateless. Though India tried to help them solve this problem, many Indian Tamils continued to remain stateless in the late 1980s. This caused them to be very unhappy as despite their contribution to the economy, they were not given citizenship rights like voting. They thus supported the Tamil Tigers in their opposition against the government and this caused the conflict. Therefore citizenship rights also contribute to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Under the British rule the language of administration was English and the Tamils held powerful jobs in the government service because of their good command of English which the Sinhalese did not learn well. However, when the 1956 Official Language Act was passed, Sinhalese became the language of administration. The Tamils held a peaceful demonstration which was however disrupted by the supporters of the Sinhala language. This upset the Tamils as they found that they were unable to secure jobs or be promoted in the government service. They also concluded that peaceful means might not work and that violence might be the answer to the problem. Hence they supported the Tamil Tigers and this caused the conflict. So this is yet another reason that contribute to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

The conflict between Sri Lanka has been going on for a very long time. Citizenship rights used to be an important issue but has now became a secondary concern as in 2003, the Sri Lanka passed a bill that grant citizenship rights to the Tamils. Similarly the Official Language Act that brought about so much unhappiness has been partly resolved. This is because the Sri Lanka government has granted greater recognition to the Tamil language by declaring it the national language, the language of administration in the norther and eastern provinces as well as an official language. Therefore these two factors are no longer the most important causes for the conflict as the Sri Lanka government has made effort to resolve the issue.

However, the resettlement of the Sinhalese to the Tamil areas has not been resolved. This resentment that the Tamil feel over the issue of resettlement has continued to contribute to the conflict. Therefore, this resentment is the most important reason for the causes of the conflict.

(Note from the Ess :The answer should not only provide the reasons why it is the most important factor and but also the reasons why the other two factors are not as important or show a correlation between the three factors.

Award 11 marks for explaining why one factor is the most important factor and why one other factor is not as important and 12 marks for explaining why one factor is the most important and why 2 other factors are not as important.)

(Note from the Ess : This answer is obtained from the specimen papers and mark schemes from the University of Cambridge International Examinations and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. Draw your own inference)

Here are three ways in which Singapore can deter aggressors:
it citizen armed force
its defence industry
military co-operation

Which of these is a better way of deterring aggression? Explain your answer.

Issue: Better ways to deter aggressor.

Given factors
i. it citizen armed force
ii. its defence industry
iii. military co-operation

Rank: Both i and ii are equally important as we cannot depend on anyone else for our defence.
Military co-operation is a secondary consideration as today's friends can become tomorrow's enemy.

Singapore is a small country and so the opportunity to attract aggressors is higher as they may think that it is easy to conquer Singapore. Therefore Singapore must have effective and several ways to deter aggressors. She cannot just depend on one deterrence alone. Deterrence refers to measures taken by countries to prevent and protect themselves from threats.

Singapore has a citizen armed forced. In 1967, National Service was introduced and all males over 18 have to do it. This mean they all have military training.

The citizen armed force is an effective way of deterring aggressors. National Services ensures that all able-bodied males receive military training, and even after they have finished their full-time NS, they get more training over the next thirteen years. So in addition to its small regular armed forces, Singapore has a large pool of people who are ready to fight if needed, which means that it is militarily self-reliant, so anyone thinking of attacking us would definitely have to think twice. Therefore having a citizen armed force is one way to deter aggression.

However, Singapore's defence industry is also an important deterrent. We do not want to have to depend on other people for our weapons.We need to be able to make the kinds of equipment that are suitable for our purposes, and to upgrade our equipment like our F5-E fighter jets. Our enemies will then know that whatever happens our forces will be well equipped and will be a formidable opposition to them if they try to attack.

By having a citizen force that has the latest equipments, we would have built up a strong defence force and so it is an effective way of deterring aggression.

However, apart from building up a strong defence force within the country, Singapore also develop friendly ties with the armed forces of other countries. This is done mainly through bilateral and multilateral military agreements, joint military exercises, training programmes and participation in the UN peace mission. These training activities increase cooperation and strengthen ties among the participating countries. In this way, there will be less opportunity for Singapore to come in conflict with other countries which will help to reduce the number of potential aggressors.

Ultimately, having a citizen armed force and having a country's own defence industry are essential and equally important. This is because either one on its own would not be of much use. It is important for Singapore to be self-reliant in both manpower and resources for defence. Having Singapore as soldiers and having Singapore's own weapons will ensure that we have an effective defence force to deter aggression.

Promoting military cooperation plays a secondary and supportive role in deterring aggression because if a country wish to attack Singapore, it will not really take into consideration the past good relationship that it has with Singapore.

To what extent is Singapore's membership of ASEAN due to its wish to promote economic development in the region? Explain your answer.

Issue: Reasons for Singapore to join ASEAN

Given Factor : To promote economic development
Alternative Factor: To promote regional peace and security

Rank:
Primary reason : To promote regional peace and security

Secondary reason : to promote economic development.
There must be peace and prosperity in ASEAN before economic development can take place.

The aims and purposes of the ASEAN are: (1) to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and (2) to promote regional peace and stability.

ASEAN promotes trade between members and encourages outside countries like Japan to invest in the region. Singapore wants to promote economic development in the region because this will increase trade and other forms of economic partnerships, which means there will be more jobs and increase prosperity. An international organization like ASEAN can help countries work together and encourage other countries to invest in the region, so clearly Singapore will want to be a member.

However, this is not the only reason why Singapore is a member of ASEAN.It is really about helping the neighbouring countries in matters of common interest. For example, when the haze situation affected some Southeast Asian countries in 1997, Singapore helped Indonesia in monitoring forest fires through the use of satellite images. By helping Indonesia, Singapore has establish good diplomatic relationship with her neighbours. In this way, regional peace and security can be maintained and even strengthen.

However economic factors and the need to get along with your neighbours are equally important. It stands to reason that if you are enemies with a country, then you will not want to trade with them. So Singapore's membership of ASEAN is not just for one reason. If there is co-operation and friendship between nations on diplomatic matters,then they will be more inclined to share economic interest. Therefore Singapore's membership in ASEAN is due to the twin reason of promoting economic development and regional peace and security.