It soon became clear the deal suited no one. The LTTE complied in-
itially but ended up in battle with the IPKF when it refused to disarm.
Opposition to the Indians also came from the Sinhalese, a revived JVP
and sections of the sangha (community of Buddhist monks and nuns),
leading to violent demonstrations.
In 1987 the JVP launched a second revolution with political murders
and strikes, and by late 1988 the country was terrorised, the economy
crippled and the government paralysed. The army struck back with a
ruthless counter-insurgency campaign. The insurrection was put down,
but not before tens of thousands died.
By the time the Indian peacekeepers withdrew, in March 1990, they
had lost more than 1000 lives in just three years. But no sooner had they
left than the war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government
escalated again. By the end of 1990 the LTTE held Jaffna and much of
the North, although the East was largely back under government control.
In May 1991 Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber; it was
blamed on the LTTE, presumably in retaliation for consenting to the
IPKF arrangement.The 2002 Ceasefire
Although most Tamils and Sinhalese longed for peace, extremists on
both sides pressed on with war. President Premadasa was assassinated
at a May Day rally in 1993. The LTTE was suspected but never claimed
responsibility. The following year, the People’s Alliance (PA) won the par-
liamentary elections; its leader, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga,
the daughter of former leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike, won the presiden-
tial election. The PA had promised to end the civil war, but the conflict
continued in earnest.
In 2000 a Norwegian peace mission brought the LTTE and the govern-
ment to the negotiating table, but a ceasefire had to wait until after the
December 2001 elections, which handed power to the UNP. Ranil Wick-
remasinghe became prime minister, and economic growth was strong
while peace talks appeared to progress. Wickremasinghe and President
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, however, were from different
parties, and circled each other warily until 2003, when Kumaratunga dis-
solved parliament and essentially ousted Wickremasinghe and his UNP.
In 2002, following the Norway-brokered ceasefire agreement, a careful
optimism reigned. In the North, refugees, internally displaced persons
and long-absent émigrés began to return, bringing an economic boost
to devastated Jaffna. Nongovernmental organisations started tackling,
among other things, an estimated two million land mines.
But peace talks stumbled, and the situation was ever more fraught.
Accusations of bias and injustice were hurled from all sides. In OctoberAt least one
million land
mines were laid
during Sri Lankan
hostilities in the
1990s. Efforts to
clear the mines
have meant
that thousands
of displaced
people have been
resettled.Anil’s Ghost, by
Booker prize–
winner Michael
o ndaatje, is a
haunting novel
about human
rights amid
the turmoil of
late-20th-century
Sri Lanka. The
book has received
international
commendation
and some local
condemnation.1970s
Young Tamils begin
fighting for an inde-
pendent Tamil state
called Eelam (precious
Land) in Sri Lanka’s
north. The Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) emerge as the
strongest group.1979
Sri Lanka enacts the
p revention of Terrorism
Act. police may detain
for up to 18 months
anyone thought to
be connected with
unlawful activities. The
Act is still in effect.1981
Jaffna’s Public Library,
home to many ancient
Tamil works and a sym-
bol of Tamil culture and
learning, is burnt down
by Sinhalese mobs,
galvanising the Tamil
separatist movement.1983
The ambush of an
army patrol near Jaffna
ignites widespread
ethnic violence. up
to 3000 Tamils are
estimated killed by
Sinhalese rioters in
what is now known as
Black July.History
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