CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Lecamwasam, Nipunika Oshadhie |
|---|---|
| Title | Politics of Truth: Memory, Transitional Justice and Victimhood in Sri Lanka |
| Summary | This thesis explores the contested nature of truth and memory in Sri Lanka’s transitional justice debate. It engages in the case study of the Tamil political enterprise of memory creation. Implications political projects can have on transitional justice is thus examined using an explanatory research design and qualitative methods. Using Jacoby’s theory of victimhood, it analyzes in detail how victimization of Tamils progressed into victimhood, thus shaping collective identity along political lines. Analyzing this narrative is important in search for appropriate mechanisms of transitional justice in the heavily polarized Sri Lankan society. The thesis argues that truth should be established objectively to the furthest possible extent by exploring a multitude of the existing narratives. It concludes that addressing the Tamil narrative is central to any meaningful process of transitional justice in Sri Lanka. The thesis also proposes a combination of mechanisms of retributive and restorative justice. It emphasizes on the timing factor of criminal justice: given the sensitivity of the situation, it cannot be the first mechanism to apply, but should not be delayed for too long either. Most importantly, the thesis calls for a societal reckoning with its criminal past by opening up one-sided ethno-national narratives. |
| Supervisor | Dimitrijevic, Nenad Milos |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/lecamwasam_nipunika.pdf |
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