TIMELINE OF THE ETHNIC CONFLICT IN SRI LANKA: 5 BC – To Date
5 BC – Indo – Aryan migrants from Northern India settle on the island; the Sinhalese
emerge as the most powerful of the clans.
3 BC – Beginning of Tamil migration from India.
1505 – The Portuguese first arrive in what marks the beginning of growing arrival of
western powers on the island.
1815 - The British become first European power to win control over the whole island,
known as Ceylon. Start bringing in Tamil labourers from southern India to work tea, coffee
and coconut plantations.
1833 – English is declared the official language.
February 4th 1948 - Ceylon gains full independence.
Sinhala nationalism
1949 - Indian Tamil plantation workers disenfranchised
1956 - Solomon Bandaranaike starts Sinhalese nationalism. Sinhala is declared official
language. More than 100 Tamils killed in widespread violence after Tamil parliamentarians
protest at new laws.
1958 - Anti-Tamil riots leave more than 200 people dead. Thousands of Tamils displaced.
1959 - Bandaranaike assassinated by a Buddhist monk. Succeeded by his widow, Sirimavo
Bandaranaike (who also happens to be the world’s first female Prime Minister) who
continues nationalization programme.
1965 - Opposition United National Party wins elections and attempts to reverse
nationalization measures.
1970 - Sirimavo Bandaranaike returns to power and extends nationalization programme.
Ethnic tensions
1972 - Ceylon changes its name to Sri Lanka and Buddhism given primary place as
country's religion, further antagonizing Tamil minority.
1976 - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formed as tensions increase in Tamildominated areas of north and east.
1977 - Separatist Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) party wins all seats in Tamil areas.
Anti-Tamil riots leave more than 100 Tamils dead.
1981 Sinhala policemen accused of burning the Jaffna Public Library, causing further
resentment in Tamil community.
1983 - 13 soldiers killed in LTTE ambush, sparking anti-Tamil riots leading to the deaths of
an estimated several hundred Tamils. This period is also known as “Black July”. Start of
what Tigers call "First Eelam War".
1985 - First attempt at peace talks between government and LTTE fails.
1987 - Government forces push LTTE back into northern city of Jaffna. Government signs
accords which created new councils for Tamil areas in the North and East and they also
reached an agreement with India on the deployment of Indian peace-keeping force.
1988 - Left-wing and nationalist Sinhalese JVP begins campaign against Indo-Sri Lankan
agreement.
1990 - Indian troops leave after getting bogged down in fighting in north. Violence between
Sri Lankan army and separatists escalates. "Second Eelam War" begins.
Thousands of Muslims are expelled from northern areas by the LTTE.
1991 - LTTE implicated in assassination of Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi in southern India.
1993 - President Premadasa by LTTE suicide bomber.
1994 - President Kumaratunga comes to power pledging to end war. Peace talks opened
with LTTE.
1995 - "Third Eelam War" begins when rebels sink naval craft.
1995-2001 - War rages across north and east. Tigers bomb Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist
site. President Kumaratunga is wounded in a bomb attack. Suicide attack on the
international airport destroys half the Sri Lankan Airlines fleet.
2002 - Government and LTTE rebels sign a Norwegian-mediated ceasefire.
De-commissioning of weapons begins; the road linking the Jaffna peninsula with the rest of
Sri Lanka reopens after 12 years; passenger flights to Jaffna resume. Government lifts ban
on Tamil Tigers. Rebels drop demand for separate state. This marked a milestone in the Sri
Lankan Peace Talks as it brought the war torn island to a peaceful standstill. Children who
were born after the war had commenced in the 80’s were finally able to visit places that
would otherwise be deemed too dangerous such as Trincomalee and Batticola. It shed a ray
of light upon Sri Lankans, both at home and abroad. Unfortunately, the ray of light fast
disappeared
2003 Tigers pull out of talks. Ceasefire holds.
2004 March - Renegade Tamil Tiger commander, known as Karuna, leads split in rebel
movement and goes underground with his supporters. Tiger offensive regains control of the
east.
2004 July - Suicide bomb blast in Colombo - the first such incident since the signing of the
ceasefire.
2004 December - More than 30,000 people are killed when massive waves, generated by a
powerful undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, devastate coastal communities.
2005 June - Row over deal reached with Tamil Tiger rebels to share nearly $3bn in tsunami
aid among Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.
2005 August - State of emergency after Sri Lankan foreign minister, Lakshman
Kadiragamar (A Tamil himself) is killed by a suspected Tiger assassin.
2005 November - Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime Minister at the time, wins presidential
elections. Most Tamils in areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers do not vote.
2006 February - Government and Tamil Tiger rebels declare their respect for the 2002
ceasefire at talks in Geneva.
2006 April - Explosions and rioting in Trincomalee, in the north-east, leave 16 people dead.
Police blame Tamil Tiger rebels for the blasts, which come amid a marked escalation in
deadly violence.
Suicide bomber attacks the main military compound in Colombo, killing at least eight
people. The military launch air strikes on Tamil Tiger targets.
2006 May - Tamil Tiger rebels attack a naval convoy near Jaffna. International monitors
describe the deadly attack as a "gross violation" of the 2002 ceasefire.
2006 June - 64 people are killed in a mine attack on a bus in Anuradhapura district. Days
later, more than 30 people are killed in a land and sea battle between government forces
and Tamil Tiger rebels.
2006 August - Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces clash in the north-east. It is the
worst fighting since the 2002 ceasefire. Hundreds of people are killed and the UN says tens
of thousands have fled their homes.
2006 September - The government says it has pushed Tamil Tiger rebels from the mouth of
strategic Trincomalee harbour. This is seen as the first major capture of enemy territory by
either side since a 2002 ceasefire.
2006 October - A suicide bomber attacks a military convoy, killing more than 90 sailors.
Tamil Tigers attack a naval base in Galle, the southern city frequented by tourists.
Peace talks resume in Geneva but fail.
2007 January - After weeks of heavy fighting the military says it has captured the Tamil
Tiger stronghold of Vakarai, in the east. Tens of thousands of civilians flee the area.
President Mahinda Rajapakse's government secures a long-elusive parliamentary majority
after 25 opposition MPs defect to its ranks.
Italian and US ambassadors are slightly hurt as rebels shell a delegation of diplomats
touring eastern areas.
2007 March - Government troops claim continuing success in clearing eastern coastal areas
of rebels. Thousands of civilians flee the fighting.
Tamil Tigers launch their first confirmed air raid, hitting a military base next to the
international airport.
2007 April - Two international airlines suspend flights to Sri Lanka following another air raid
by Tamil Tigers.
2007 May - Tourism slumps because of fighting.
2007 June - Police force hundreds of Tamils out of the capital, citing security concerns, but
a court orders an end to the expulsions.
2007 July - Government declares it has driven rebels from Thoppigala - their last jungle
stronghold in the east.