2003 the US listed the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Some
believed this to be a positive move; others saw it as an action that would
isolate the LTTE, causing further strain and conflict. In early 2004 a split
in LTTE ranks added a new dynamic, and with killings, insecurity, accu-
sations and ambiguities, the Norwegians left. At that stage almost all of
Sri Lanka, including most of the Jaffna peninsula, was controlled by the
Sri Lankan government. The LTTE controlled a small area south of the
Jaffna peninsula and pockets in the East, but it still had claims on land in
the Jaffna peninsula and in the island’s northwest and northeast.
After the Tsunami
An event beyond all predictions struck on 26 December 2004, affecting
not only the peace process but also the entire social fabric of Sri Lanka.
As people celebrated the monthly poya (full moon) festivities, the waves
of a tsunami cast their fury, killing 30,000 people and leaving many more
injured, homeless and orphaned. Initial optimism that the nation would
come together in the face of catastrophe soon faded into arguments over
aid distribution, reconstruction, and land tenure and ownership.
Meanwhile Kumaratunga, seeking to extend her presidential term,
sought to alter the constitution. Thwarted by a Supreme Court ruling,
presidential elections were set for 2005. Among the contenders, two can-
didates were the most likely victors – the then prime minister, Mahinda
Rajapaksa, and opposition leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe. With an LTTE
voting boycott, Rajapaksa narrowly won. The LTTE’s motives for the boy-
cott were unclear, but their actions cost Wickremasinghe an expected
180,000 votes and the presidency and, perhaps, a better chance at peace.
President Rajapaksa pledged to replace Norwegian peace negotiators
with those from the UN and India, renegotiate a ceasefire with the LTTE,
reject Tamil autonomy and refuse to share tsunami aid with the LTTE.
Such policies didn’t auger well for future peace. Meanwhile LTTE leader
Prabhakaran insisted on a political settlement during 2006, and threat-
ened to ‘intensify’ action if this didn’t occur. Tensions were high, and
again Sri Lanka was perched on a precipice. Killings, assaults, kidnap-
pings and disappearances occurred on both sides, and commentators
predicted the worst.
The End of the War
An Elusive Ceasefire
Another ceasefire was signed in early 2006, but cracks soon appeared
and by mid-year the agreement was in tatters. Major military operations
by both sides resumed in the north and east, and a wave of disappear-
ances and killings in 2006 and 2007 prompted human-rights groups
and the international community to strongly criticise all belligerents. By
The 2004 Indian
o cean tsunami
killed more than
225,000 people
in 14 countries.
The waves, which
were in some
places more than
30m tall, travelled
as far as the East
African coast.TSUNAMI
July 1987
An accord is signed,
with India’s involve-
ment, granting
Tamils an autono-
mous province in the
country’s north, but
disagreements over its
implementation prevent
it from going into effect.
1987
Government forces
push the LTTE back into
Jaffna. An Indian Peace
Keeping Force (IpKF)
attempts to establish
stability, but is also
dragged into conflict
with the LTTE.1987–89
The JVp launches a
second Marxist insur-
rection, and attempt
a Khmer Rouge–style
peasant rebellion in
the countryside. When
the uprising is finally
crushed, up to 60,000
people have died.1991
A Black Tiger (an
LTTE fighter trained in
suicide missions) kills
former Indian prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi,
presumably to protest
the I pKF, in the world’s
first female suicide
bombing.HistoryA
F
TER
(^) THE
T
S
u
NA
MI