Forgotten Experiences of Up-country Tamil Women in Transitional Justice Transparency International Sri Lanka, have conducted research, consultations, discussions, and dialogues on transitional justice among different ethnic and social groups. The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) has conducted regional consultations and documented the views of the general public on transitional justice (ICES, 2015). One consultation was held in Nuwara Eliya during which it was claimed that 3,000 Up-country Tamils were killed in the 1983 riots, and that Up-country Tamils were affected by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) uprising in the late 1980s, the Bindunuwewa massacre, and other violent episodes. A notable fact is that women’s concerns, issues, and experiences were documented at the consultations in other regions, such as Jaffna, Trincomalee, and Galle, but not in Nuwara Eliya. Women researchers have consulted women who are directly and indirectly affected by armed conflict and documented their experiences. Saroor and Saavedra (2017) have conducted individual interviews, focus group discussions, and workshops among 53 activists and 61 survivors of various forms of violence in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Their purpose is to provide the perspective of women who are particularly affected by the conflict and to provide women’s perspectives on transitional justice mechanisms applicable to women. However, this study too does not include Up-country Tamil women in the scope of research. This illustrates how Up-country Tamil women’s issues related to the ethnic conflict are not included in mainstream discussion in Sri Lanka. The other issue that arises from this omission is how it was determined that the Tamil women of the Up-country were unaffected by the conflict or spared some of the issues faced by 59

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