Sri Lanka: Conflict Timeline.

1796: Britain begins to take over the island of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon).

1815: Britain conquers the Kingdom of Kandy, and begins bringing Tamil labourers from India to work on tea, coffee and coconut plantations.

1833: The whole island is united under British administration.

1931: The right to vote is granted and power sharing with a Sinhalese cabinet is introduced.

1948: Ceylon gains independence. Ceylon Citizenship Act is passed which effectively makes over 700,000 Indian-origin Tamil plantation workers stateless.

1956: On the back of a wave of Sinhalese nationalism, Solomon Bandaranaike leads the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) to a landslide victory in the presidential elections. Sinhala is made the official language of Sri Lanka. Over 100 Tamils are killed in widespread violence protesting the new laws.

1958: Over 200 people are killed in anti-Tamil violence, thousands of Tamils displaced.

1959: Bandaranaike is assassinated by a Buddhist monk and succeeded by his widow, Srimavo.

1964: Sirima-Shastri pact between Ceylon and Indian produces an agreement that would give 525,000 Tamils Indian citizenship.

1971 (Apr): An attempted uprising by the People’s Liberation Front – a Sinhalese Marxist group led by students and activists – is thwarted.

1972: Ceylon changes its name to Sri Lanka (Sinhala for ‘resplendent land’), and a new constitution gives prominence to Buddhism and the Sinhala language, making them the official religion and language respectively, causing further antagonism among the Hindu Tamil Population. Vellupillai Prabhakaran forms the Tamil New Tigers, which begin perpetrating small scale attacks.

1975: Alfred Duriappah, the Mayor of Jaffna, is shot and killed by members of the Tamil New Tigers. This is the first such political assassination by Tamil separatists.

1976: Led by Prabhakaran, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is formed amongst increasing tensions in Tamil majority areas in north and east Sri Lanka. Tamil politicians pass the ‘Vaddukodai Resolution’ pledging the establishment of an independent Tamil state.

1977: In the general election, the separatist Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) party wins all seats in Tamil areas, leading to anti-Tamil riots that leave more than 100 Tamils dead.

1978: A new Sri Lankan government passes the country’s second constitution, which recognises Tamil as a national language.

1979: The Prevention of Terrorism Act is introduced, granting extensive powers to Sri Lankan security forces to stop the growing conflict in the north. Important safeguards against human rights abuses are removed and mass arrests of Tamil youth begin.

1981: Sinhala policemen are accused of burning the Jaffna Public Library, causing further resentment in Tamil community. In October Tamil insurgents shoot dead two Sri Lankan soldiers.

1982 (November): The first LTTE member is killed by Sri Lankan forces.

1982: India informs Sri Lanka that it no longer considers the Tamil repatriation agreements binding, with 86,000 applications still pending.

1983: An LTTE ambush kills 13 Sri Lankan soldiers, sparking two days of anti-Tamil riots across the country that cause the deaths of hundreds of Tamils, and causing more than 100,000 to flee to India. Parliament passes laws banning calls and support for a separate Tamil state. The riots turned simmering ethnic tensions into an open civil war and a period the Tigers refer to as the ‘First Eelam War’.

1985: The first attempt at peace talks between the government and LTTE fails in Bhutan. In May, Tamil militants attack the city of Anuradhapura – the ancient capital and Buddhist holy city – killing over 140 Sinhalese civilians. One of the worst attacks of the conflict.

1986 (May): Tamil Tigers bomb an Air Lanka plane in Colombo, killing 16 people.

1987 (Apr): An LTTE car bomb at a bus stop in Colombo kills 113 people, and a shooting in Trincomalee kills 127.

1987 (May-Aug): The government launches Operation Liberation, which pushes the LTTE back into Jaffna – leading to over 1,000 deaths and 2,000 arrests. The signing of the Indo-Lankan Peace Accord (ISPA) leads to the beginning of Indian mediated peace talks, and eventually seeing LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran attend talks in India. The peace talks see the Sri Lankan government granting some autonomy to Tamil dominated areas, and around 50,000 Indian troops arrive in Jaffna as peacekeepers to disarm the LTTE and enforce the peace deal. Although initially the LTTE began to disarm, the deal soon broke down and fighting between the LTTE and Indian forces begins.

1988-1990: The Sinhalese Peoples Liberation Front (JVP) begins their second armed insurrection in protest against the presence of Indian troops in Sri Lanka. Estimates vary, but it is believed between 17,000 and 60,000 people are killed or ‘disappeared’ in the ensuing conflict.

1990: As Indian troops are forced to leave Sri Lanka, violence between the government and Tamil separatists escalates. The LTTE begins to attack the Muslim population, over 75,000 are evicted from northern Tamil areas, and it is estimated over 1,000 are killed in the east. The beginning of the ‘Second Eelam War’.

1991: The LTTE are accused of the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

1993: An LTTE suicide bomber kills President Premadasa.

1994: A new government led by Chandrika Kumaratunge renews peace talks with the LTTE.

1995: The peace talks end abruptly, and the ‘Third Eelam War’ begins with the sinking of a Sri Lankan naval vessel by the LTTE. The conflict intensifies, and thousands are killed.

1997: The USA designates the LTTE a terrorist organisation.

1998: 13 people are killed in a LTTE suicide bombing at the Temple of the Tooth – the holiest Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka.

1999: A key Tamil MP in the peace talks – Neelan Thiruchelvan – is killed by an LTTE suicide bomber. President Kumaratunge survives a bombing at an election rally in Colombo.

2000: The Norwegian government offers to mediate between the government and the LTTE.

2001: An LTTE attack on Bandaranaike International Airport destroys half of the Sri Lankan Airlines fleet, as well as a number of air force fighter jets. Ranil Wickremesinghe becomes Prime Minister, followed quickly by an LTTE ceasefire which declares it wishes to pursue peace talks with the new government.

2002: The government and LTTE sign the Norwegian-mediated permanent ceasefire. Weapons decommissioning begins, the A9 Highway – the only land link between the Jaffna Peninsula and the rest of Sri Lanka – reopens, and passenger flights between Jaffna and the rest of the country resume.

2003 (Apr): The LTTE pull out of peace talks, arguing too little is being done to rebuild war-damaged Tamil areas, but the ceasefire holds.

2004 (July): The first suicide bomb since 2001 explodes in Colombo.

2004 (Dec): The Indian Ocean tsunami kills around 35,000 people, both Sinhalese and Tamil communities are affected.

2005 (Aug): State of emergency declared after foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar is killed by a suspected Tiger assassin.

2005 (Nov): The presidential election is won by Mahinda Rajapaksa. The poll is boycotted by Tamils.

2006 (Feb): The government and LTTE agree to respect the 2001 ceasefire agreement.

2006 (Apr): The conflict begins to escalate again. Government air strikes begin in Tamil controlled areas after a suicide bomber kills nine civilians, and injures the army chief, Sarath Fonseka, in an attack on the main military compound in Colombo.

2006 (Jun-Jul): The LTTE demands EU peace monitors withdraw, after they list the group as a terrorist organisation. The government begins to move into rebel territory.

2006 (Aug): Attempts to begin peace talks in Geneva fail, and the A9 Highway closes again.

2006 (Nov): Natarajah Raviraj, a leading Tamil MP is killed in Colombo. The LTTE state they see no reason to fight for anything less than full independence.

2006 (Dec): The Prevention of Terrorism Act is reinstated.

2007 (Mar): LTTE launch an airstrike using light aircraft against a government air base.

2007 (June): Citing security concerns, hundreds of Tamils are forced out of Colombo by police.

2008 (Jan): The government officially withdraws from the 2002 ceasefire agreement.

2008 (Mar): An international panel brought in by the government to monitor alleged human rights abuses – the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons – leaves the country, claiming its work is hampered by the government.

2008 (Jun): The military announce they have claimed a major LTTE naval base in Vidattaltivu.

2009 (Jan): The government captures the town of Kilinochchi, held for ten years by the Tamil Tigers, and serving as their de-facto capital. President Rajapaksa declares victory is inevitable and urges the rebels to surrender.

2009 (Feb): The conditions of thousands of civilians trapped in the battle zone begins to raise international concern, and calls for a temporary ceasefire are made.

2009 (Mar): Former rebel leader Colonel Karuna becomes the Minister for National Integration and Reconciliation. Whilst Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, accuses both sides of war crimes.

2009 (May): The government declares victory of the rebels as the last parts of LTTE controlled areas are captured. The military claim rebel leader Prabhakaran was killed by special forces whilst attempting to flee the fighting.

2009 (Aug): The first post-conflict elections are held in the north.

2010 (Jan): In the first presidential elections since the end of the civil war Rajapaksa is re-elected with 57 per cent of the vote, with Fonseka, his main opponent, on 40 per cent.

2010 (Feb): President Rajapaksa dissolves the parliament for April elections.

2010 (Apr): President Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition wins the parliamentary elections with a landslide victory.

2010 (Sep): The Parliament approves a constitutional change allowing the President to seek an unlimited number of terms.

2011 (Feb): Thousands rallied in Colombo 8 February to mark the one-year anniversary of detention of opposition leader Sarath Fonseka.