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Timeline: A nation divided
November 9, 1994: The People's Alliance (PA), headed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), wins the general election. Its leader, Kumaratunga, is elected president later in the year. Kumaratunga promises to end a decades-old civil war with the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) separatists. By year's end a ceasefire holds in the north and east. April 19, 1995 : The Tigers shatter the ceasefire by resuming a vicious bombing campaign after peace talks with the government collapse. But the government retaliates, driving the LTTE out of Jaffna in the most bitter battle seen in the conflict. 1996: Strong guerilla tactics leaves government troops overwhelmed. February 14, 1997: On the 49th anniversary of national independence, government troops launch an offensive against Tamil separatists aiming to open a land route to the Jeffna peninsula. December 20, 1999: Kumaratunga is wounded in a failed bomb-assassination attempt during an election rally. She is later re-elected as president. October 10, 2000: The ruling PA party, led by Kumaratunga, wins the most votes in the general election but fails to secure a majority government The National Unity Alliance and the Eelam People's Democratic Party agree to form a coalition. April 25, 2001: A unilateral rebel ceasefire ends incurring losses on both sides. (Full story)
June 20, 2001: The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress withdraws support for Kumaratunga's ruling party, leaving a dent in her majority. June 22, 2001: Sri Lanka's main opposition, the United National Party presses for a no-confidence motion against Kumaratunga's government. July 2, 2001: In a strongly worded statement, the Sri Lankan government says the only way to end the country's long running Tamil insurgency is full-scale war. July 11, 2001: Kumaratunga suspends parliament for two months, leaving Sri Lankans pondering the political future of their war-wracked country. September 16, 2001: Tamil Tiger guerillas attacked a ship carrying 1,200 soldiers, six guerillas were killed and 40 soldiers were wounded. October 29, 2001: A bomb attack ripped through the capital Colombo killing three people, it may have been aimed at Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, officials said. October 30, 2001: A Tamil Tiger suicide boat packed with explosives struck an oil tanker off the northern tip of Sri Lanka on Tuesday, setting the ship on fire. December 7, 2001: The opposition United National Party won a general election, yet the party fell just shy of an absolute majority. December 17, 2001: First session of the country's new parliament's starts, its main task -- to quell mounting unrest in the south Asian nation. December 25, 2001: A ceasefire in the civil war is declared. (Full story) December 26, 2001: Sri Lanka's prime minister formally asks the Norwegian government to resume its role as facilitator in the peace process. January 10, 2002: A Norwegian delegation arrives in Sri Lanka to aid in peace talks between the government and Tamil Tigers. (Full story) January 15, 2002: The Sri Lankan government eases a 20 year economic embargo against the Tamil Tigers. January 20, 2002: Tamil Tigers extend a unilateral cease-fire for a further month. February 21, 2002: Fighting breaks out between the Sri Lankan navy and Tiger Tamils in the seas off northeast Sri Lanka.
February 22, 2002: The government and Tamil Tiger rebels sign an open-ended cease-fire accord. (Full story) March 9, 2002: A grenade explodes at an election rally for the governing United National Fever, killing at least four people and wounding 20. March 14, 2002: Sri Lanka's prime minister visits the northern Tamil city of Jaffna, the first such visit in two decades. (Full story) March 25, 2002: Exiled Tamil leader, Anton Balasingham, returns home to Sri Lanka after three years in self-imposed exile. April 8, 2002: The 'highway of death', linking northern Tamil heartland and the rest of the country, is reopened by the military and Tigers. April 10, 2002: Tamil Tigers leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, addresses his first news conference in 15 years. (Full story) May 21, 2002: Face-to-face talks are held between government officials and Tamil Tiger rebels for the first time in seven years. July 24, 2002: Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe meets with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington to seek support in bringing peace to his country. (Full story) August 13, 2002: The Sri Lankan government agrees to grant the Tamil tigers access to a sea passage between key bases in the north and east of the country, a key concession seen as a major breakthrough in the peace process. (Full story) September 16, 2002: Historic peace talks between Sri Lanka and Tamil Tiger rebels begin with the two sides meeting for the first direct talks in seven years in Sattahip, Thailand. December 6, 2002: The Tamil Tigers formally commit themselves to autonomy in a federal system in an undivided Sri Lanka, while the government says it is willing to concede "a substantial measure of autonomy to the Tamils." January 4, 2003: Days before a fourth round of talks, the Tamil rebels harden their position against calls to disarm in exchange for allowing refugees to return to army-controlled areas. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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