Peace talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government during the Sri Lankan Civil War

Peace talks were held between the Government of Sri Lanka and Tamil militant groups, primarily the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), during different phases of the Sri Lankan Civil War from the first attempt in 1985 to the last one in 2006, with the aim of negotiating peaceful end to the civil war.

Thimpu (1985)

See also: Thimpu principles

The first talks between Tamil militants, politicians, and the Sri Lankan government took place in Thimphu, Bhutan, from July to August 1985, facilitated by the Government of India. The Sri Lankan government delegation consisted of H. W. Jayewardene, Justice Mark Fernando, H. L. de Silva, and S. L. Gunasekara. The Tamil delegation consisted of representatives from the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), LTTE, People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), and Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) that included A. Amirthalingam, T. Sivasithamparam, Uma Maheswaran, Douglas Devananda, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and Sri Sabaratnam.

On 8 July, the government presented its proposal for draft legislation for the devolution of power, which the Tamil delegation rejected. They presented four demands on 13 July, which were called the Thimpu principles. The government accepted the last one of these, which was the right to citizenship and the fundamental rights of all Tamils; it rejected the other three on the basis that recognition of a Tamil nation, homeland, and right for self-determination would violate Sri Lanka's sovereignty. The talks broke down on 18 August, after neither side compromised.[1]

Indian-led Peace Initiative (1987–1990)

Main articles: Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War and Indian Peace Keeping Force

The Government of India took direct involvement in ending the Sri Lankan Civil War through mediation, peacekeeping, and political agreements from 1987 to 1990. India's hitherto indirect involvement changed in June 1987 with its Operation Poomalai in response to the Sri Lankan Government's Operation Liberation, which led to the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on 29 July 1987. Under the accord, the Sri Lankan Government agreed to a mechanism for the devolution of power to the provinces and confined its troops to barracks in the Northern and Eastern provinces. The Indian Government agreed to deploy peacekeepers to oversee the disarmament of the Tamil rebels.

The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) began arriving in Sri Lanka in July with the mandate to "guarantee and enforce the cessation of hostilities", while the Sri Lankan military withdrew to their bases or were redeployed to the south of the island to deal with the JVP insurrection. In keeping with the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, the Sri Lankan Government had the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987 passed in Parliament on 14 November 1987, establishing a new system of provincial government with the aim of devolution of power to the provinces.[2][3]

Initially welcomed by the Tamils, the IPKF soon clashed with the LTTE after the group refused to disarm. From late 1987 onwards, heavy fighting ensued with India deploying over 70,000 troops at its peak.[4] On 13 July 1989, Tamil Nationalist leaders A. Amirthalingam and V. Yogeswaran were assassinated in Colombo. Although casualties among the IPKF mounted, and calls for the withdrawal of the IPKF from both sides of the Sri Lankan conflict grew, Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi refused to remove the IPKF from Sri Lanka until his defeat in Indian parliamentary elections in December 1989. The new prime minister V. P. Singh ordered the withdrawal of the IPKF, and their last ship left Sri Lanka on 24 March 1990.[5][6][7][8] In June 1990, the LTTE and Sri Lankan government resumed hostilities, marking the beginning of Eelam War II.[9]

Colombo (1989–1990)

See also: 1990 massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers

Following the 1988 Sri Lankan presidential election, the newly elected President Ranasinghe Premadasa declared a unilateral ceasefire in April 1989 and initiated high-level peace talks at the Hilton Colombo on 4 May 1989; in June the LTTE declared a ceasefire with the government. Minister A. C. S. Hameed led the government group, while the LTTE group was led by its political wing leader Yogaratnam Yogi, its theoretician Anton Balasingham, and his Australian-born wife, Adele. During the peace talks, the LTTE attended an All Party Conference in Colombo and convinced President Premadasa to help them fight the Indian-installed TNA. In turn, President Premadasa provided the LTTE with a stock of weapons and money.[1]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that fighting between the LTTE and the IPKF continued during the peace talks. Both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government demanded the withdrawal of Indian troops. When the Indian Government began to withdraw its troops, the HRW noted that the LTTE took over policing in the Northeast, collecting taxes, established checkpoints, and began a systematic extermination of rival Tamil groups that had been supported by the IPKF. Following the withdrawal of the IPKF in March, the LTTE demanded that fresh elections be conducted for the North-East Provincial Council after its Chief Minister Annamalai Varadaraja Perumal from the Indian-backed Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front declared an independent Eelam, resulting in President Premadasa dissolving the Provincial Council. The LTTE also demanded the repeal of the Sixth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution which bars political groups from advocating separation. HRW reported that the LTTE broke the ceasefire when it opened fire on a military convoy that disobeyed an order to stop, killing a corporal on 8 June 1990.[10] On 10 June, the LTTE massacred hundreds of police officers who were ordered to surrender to them,[11] which resulted in the government declaring war, marking the beginning of Eelam War II[10] after—according to the University Teachers for Human Rights—a last-ditch attempt by Hameed in Jaffna failed when the LTTE refused to engage on the second day.[12]

Jaffna (1994–1995)

See also: Bombing of SLNS Sooraya and SLNS Ranasuru

The next round of peace talks took place following the 1994 Sri Lankan presidential election, in which the election of President Chandrika Kumaratunga resulted in a change of the ruling party.[1] Kumaratunga and her late husband Vijaya Kumaratunga were invited by the LTTE to Jaffna in 1986.[13] After being elected as Prime Minister in August 1994, Kumaratunga relaxed restrictions on the embargo on the transport of essential goods to LTTE-controlled areas in the North.[14] In October 1994, peace negotiations began with K. Balapatabendi, the Presidential Secretary, leading the government delegation and LTTE political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan leading the LTTE delegation in Jaffna.[1]

On 8 January 1995, the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government agreed to a cessation of hostilities and more rounds of talks in Jaffna. The flow of supplies to the North, which had been previously banned, eased and plans were drawn out for a program of reconstruction to revive the war-ravaged economy in the area. The LTTE demanded from the government a relaxing of restrictions on the transport of supplies to areas under its control and the removal of a major military base. The Sri Lankan military objected and the government hesitated. This, and delays in getting requested supplies, were seen by the LTTE as a lack of commitment by the government, which they accused of sending a low-level delegation compared to the last round of talks and claimed that President Kumaratunga was a captive of the Sri Lankan military. Howard B. Schaffer, a former US ambassador, states that the LTTE decided to withdraw from peace talks by carrying out a Pearl Harbor-type surprise attack on 19 April on the Sri Lankan naval base at Trincomalee, sinking two navy gunboats without providing 72 hours' notice of withdrawing from the ceasefire. Schaffer states that the LTTE used the peace talks to stock up in the North and strengthen its weakened forces in the East, while the Sri Lankan government had suspended military procurements, forcing it to scramble to respond with the start of Eelam War III.[14]

Norwegian peace process (2002–2006)

See also: Interim Self Governing Authority and Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission

A new Norwegian-led peace process was initiated in early 2002 following a change of the ruling party in the 2001 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, in which Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected Prime Minister.

Further reading

  • Conciliation Resources (Accord), Owning the peace process: Public participation in peacemaking, Chronology 1983–1998.
  • Amnesty International, Sri Lanka: A Human Rights Crisis, 1991.
  • Human Rights Watch, World Report 1990: Sri Lanka.
  • University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), selected reports on 1989–1990.
  • Adele Balasingham’s The Will to Freedom.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Peace that the LTTE spurned". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  2. ^ Hashim, Sami F. (2013). The War in Northern Sri Lanka: Indian and Pakistani Intervention. Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ "Sri Lanka in 1990: The Ethnic Strife Continues". Asian Survey. JSTOR. 1991. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  4. ^ Subramanian, Narasimhan (1989). "The IPKF in Sri Lanka". Asian Survey. 29 (4): 402–419. doi:10.2307/2644773.
  5. ^ "FORCE OF INDIAN SOLDIERS ENDS SRI LANKAN MISSION". The Washington Post. 25 March 1990. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  6. ^ "India, Stymied, Pulls Last Troops From Sri Lanka". 25 March 1990. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  7. ^ "rediff.com: The IPKF in Sri Lanka, 10 years on". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  8. ^ Ram, Urmila Phadnis (1990). "India's Involvement in Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict". Asian Survey. 30 (3): 270–285. doi:10.2307/2644790.
  9. ^ Sri Lanka: A Human Rights Crisis (Report). Amnesty International. 1991.
  10. ^ a b "Human Rights In Sri Lanka" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 1991.
  11. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (23 July 1990). "Sri Lanka Displays Killing Site of 200 Police Officers Believed Slain by Rebels". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Welcome to UTHR, Sri Lanka". www.uthr.org. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  13. ^ "How Tiger "Col" Kittu Disappointed Vijaya Kumaratunga and Deceived Lalith Athulathmudali". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  14. ^ a b Schaffer, Howard B. (1996). "Sri Lanka in 1995: A Difficult and Disappointing Year". Asian Survey. 36 (2): 216–223. doi:10.2307/2645820. ISSN 0004-4687.
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