Conflict and fragile governance present enormous challenges for development and security in Asia. In places where violence is widespread and government ceases to function, the pace of development falls dramatically and conditions can deteriorate to extreme levels. Conflicts often include disaffected minorities or marginalized populations at odds with the central government and political establishment. Other elements that can heighten conflicts include limitations on local identity and culture, a lack of accounting for past abuses, and poor access to justice and security.

The Asia Foundation has a long history of working in fragile or conflict-prone areas, including in Afghanistan, Mindanao (Philippines), Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Aceh (Indonesia), Southern Thailand, and Timor-Leste. Our long-term presence and extensive networks allow us to interact with key actors and support programs in highly challenging and sensitive environments.  Watch the slideshow.

Special to In Asia

A constable, his uniform freshly pressed, sits elbow to elbow with more than a dozen local residents in a loud, airless office in Pussellawa, a high-altitude hamlet nestled among the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka’s diverse Kandy district.

“We’re limited,” he says. “The area we have to cover is big. We don’t have enough vehicles, and there are not always proper roads.”

This is an unusual admission here in this small, hardscrabble working-class town of mostly estate Tamils, or anywhere in Sri Lanka, where an inherited colonial legacy of rigid, formal police training has long emphasized weapons and checkpoints, not open, constructive conversation.

Language is also an issue. Local police units here, and throughout this island nation typically speak Sinhala, not Tamil. A recent survey conducted door to door here by a local organization and partner of The Asia Foundation found that, because of the language barrier, a significant percentage of Tamils feel nervous or afraid when making a complaint at a police station, or do not report crimes at all. “People [Tamils] still don’t know what will happen to them if they make a complaint,” says Santha Deepalal, of The Asia Foundation.  (A related program developed by The Asia Foundation and the Official Languages Department has trained police officers in Tamil.)
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By Kim McQuay

There is an instant before the start of a large event when, with logistical arrangements set and the agenda fine tuned, attention shifts to participants. One draws a breath and wonders what the chemistry of personalities, perspectives, and experience will yield. So I reflected at the start of last week’s regional conference on the role of leaders of influence in national development efforts in Dhaka. Over 80 participants representing 14 South, Southeast, and Central Asian nations sat in country teams, a human landscape of traditional white and saffron robes, capes, and headscarves, elegant saris and shalwar kameez, colorful batiks, and jackets and ties. Microphones crackled to life from the podium, and the session began.

Convened by The Asia Foundation and USAID, the conference provided a forum where those gathered could share views and experience drawn from different country contexts and working environments.
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Upon their return from the Leaders of Influence (LOI) regional conference in Dhaka March 21-24 that convened over 80 participants from 14 countries, In Asia spoke with Rosita MacDonald, program officer for The Asia Foundation’s Governance, Law, and Civil Society program, and Russell Pepe, chief of party for the LOI program in Bangladesh, on what they heard.

Q: Was there a sense from conference participants that progress has been made since U.S. President Obama’s much-heralded Cairo speech last year in which he declared the U.S.’s commitment to reengage with the Muslim community?

Rosita MacDonald: There was a lot of talk from the U.S. delegation about the shift to enhanced engagement with the Muslim community as well as with other religious communities. This point was acknowledged by several of the delegates, but they also made the point that the U.S. needs to be more effective in its public diplomacy efforts in Asia and to highlight tangible examples of engagement with, and support for, the Muslim world. There is optimism to be sure, but still a lot of uncertainty as to what this “engagement” actually involves and how deep it runs.

Russell Pepe: Participants were encouraged by President Obama’s speech, but several also expressed a need to see more concrete actions. LOI was cited as a very good example of how the U.S. can support a wider engagement with the Muslim community, and can effectively build bridges between different faiths and secular groups.
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When President Obama declared in his Cairo speech last year “Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments, community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life,” a new sense of optimism charged those dedicated to building bridges between the two communities.

In direct response to President Obama’s call for greater engagement and his Global Engagement Initiative in which the United States has committed to work with Muslim-majority countries to advance democracy and development, USAID and The Asia Foundation convened a regional conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 21-24 that attracted nearly 70 religious and traditional leaders from 14 countries to candidly exchange views and ideas on the critical role that “leaders of influence” play in promoting positive change in their communities and the power they have to affect national development.
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By Bulbul Gupta

As Haiti began to recover from the devastating January 12 earthquake that left over 200,000 dead and destroyed the livelihoods of millions of families, another even-stronger 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile February 27, leaving nearly 500 dead, and over 1.5 million displaced. Last Thursday, March 4, another earthquake hit Taiwan, followed by another smaller, yet destructive, earthquake that shook eastern Turkey on Monday.

In the aftermath of such disasters, food, water, and shelter are the most important concerns. But medium-to-longer-term recovery planning is crucial, especially in places like Haiti, where millions of people struggle to find ways to reclaim their lives. As debilitating as the immediate circumstances are in Haiti, creating opportunities for people to work again is not only necessary for family survival, but also for the psychosocial recovery that is critical to rebuilding communities in the longer-term.
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By Nilan Fernando and Maria Merla Aquino

Although the civil war in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province ended in May 2009, decades of armed conflict have damaged the relationship between state and civil society, between the government and the governed.

Because of the war, elections for municipal councils, urban councils, and pradeshiya sabhas (local authorities that mostly govern in rural areas) in the North have been few and far between. Nevertheless, administrative staff of these local authorities remained in place and – despite limited capacity and resources – worked to provide necessary services for a semblance of local governance; but clearly much has been neglected. With the war’s end, the Province is beginning to recover. The first local authority elections since the war ended were held in 2009 for the Jaffna Municipal Council (won by the government party, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance) and the Vavuniya Urban Council (won by the Tamil National Alliance). It was the first election to the Jaffna MC since 1998 and the first election to the Vavuniya UC since 1994. Elections for the 32 other local councils in the North as well as for the provincial council are likely be held in late 2010.
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By Nilan Fernando

Sri Lanka’s presidential election will be held on January 26, 2010. The race has been more competitive than people expected. The incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), elected in 2005, is battling for a second term against the former army chief, General Sarath Fonseka, who together with the president and his defence secretary defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 and ended Sri Lanka’s three-decade-long civil war.

General Fonseka entered the race in early December as a joint opposition candidate bearing a grudge against the president and defence secretary after feeling personally slighted by them after the war. Fonseka was encouraged to run by Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the main opposition party the United National Party (UNP), because his own chances of winning were slim. Mr. Wickremesinghe is hindered by the fact that he was the architect of the unsuccessful peace process with the LTTE from 2002 to 2004. The peace process is so discredited and Mr. Wickremesinghe so closely associated with it that a Wickremesinghe-led UNP could not hope to mount a serious challenge to the popular war president. Opposition leaders were grateful that Fonseka was available, none more than Mr. Wickremesinghe.

A campaign poster for the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Photo by Karl Grobl.

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By Marion Staunton and Mihiri Ferdinando

May 2009 marked the end of Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil conflict that left thousands dead and many more displaced from the fighting. Most of those affected, both Tamil and Sinhalese, come from the ranks of the poor. While large numbers of those displaced begin to make their way back home and the nation readies for a presidential election, much work needs to be done to heal the wounds inflicted from the trauma that communities have endured.

In any endeavor to rebuild a nation, a society’s emotional well-being is critical to ensure a healthy population, especially one that has experienced suffering of such magnitude as in Sri Lanka. To help communities affected by conflict-related violence, The Asia Foundation is partnering with two local NGOs on a program called RESIST, or “Reducing the Effects & Incidents of Trauma,” which helps increase access to psychosocial services. The partners are the Family Rehabilitation Centre (FRC) and Shanthiham (The Association for Health and Counselling).

Services are available in seven districts in the north and east regions, including Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara.

Many of Sri Lanka's displaced families have only recently returned to their homes, such as this Tamil woman and child from the Batticaloa district in the east. (Photo by Karl Grobl.)

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By Anila SK

Kurunegala, the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northwestern province, derives its name from an elephant-shaped rock, reaching 316 meters at an altitude of 116 meters above sea level. Situated 94 kilometers from Colombo, the region is known for its huge, rocky outcrops that charm visitors with their resemblance to different animal shapes.

Its proximity to a number of famous sights and its temperate climate also makes Kurunegala a prominent transit town for travelers, especially tourists. An estimated 100,000 people travel through Kurunegala daily, far surpassing the town’s resident population of 40,000.
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