Violent History and The Future of Sri Lanka

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After decades of civil war, Sri Lanka is a war torn nation on a path for rebuilding and establishing itself on the world stage. Senior Enlisted leaders should be familiar with Sri Lanka, because of the diplomatic, military, and economic relationship Sri Lanka has with the United States. This paper will discuss the background, government, strategic importance, and the future direction of Sri Lanka.
Background
The country of Sri Lanka is located in Southern Asia 18 nautical miles to the south east of the southern tip of India. It is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean and with an area of 25,332 square miles is slightly larger than West Virginia. The island’s landscape consists of 832 miles of sandy beaches extending to rolling plains, a central mastiff (mountain mass) and flat low lands. Sri Lanka’s territorial seas are the standard 12 nautical miles with a contiguous zone extending to 24 nautical miles. (world factbook)
The population of Sri Lanka is over 20 million. The Sri Lankan Department of Census and Statistics categorizes the population into five major ethnic groups: the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Moors, Sri Lankan Tamil, Indian Tamil, and others. The Sinhalese are the predominant ethnic group in the country consisting of 82% of the population. (Census). Interestingly enough, Sri Lankans judge the ethnic background of its people simply by the color of their skin, facial features, and the primary language spoken from birth. The official language of Sri Lanka is Sinhala; however, the government gives recognition to both Sinhala and Tamil as the national languages of Sri Lanka. Under Sri Lankan constitutional law, English is the language to bridge communications between its people and the world. (World Factbook) ...

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