01-08-2006, 03:05 AM
<b>CHRONOLOGY-War and peace: S.Lanka's civil war</b>
07 Jan 2006 04:21:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels attacked and sank a small naval boat before dawn on Saturday in the latest in a series of attacks on the military that have raised fears of a return to a two-decade civil war.
Following is a chronology of key incidents in Sri Lanka's civil war, in which over 64,000 people have been killed since it erupted after an anti-Tamil riot in 1983.
1983-84
India trains and funds Tamil groups, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting for a separate Tamil state in the island's north and east.
1987
July - India and Sri Lanka sign pact creating regional councils to give Tamils in the northeast limited autonomy. Indian troops arrive to enforce the pact that was endorsed by the LTTE and other Tamil rebel groups. Indian presence eventually grows to more than 100,000.
Oct - The LTTE reneges on the accord and begins three years of battles that kill more than 1,000 Indian troops.
1988
Dec - Ranasinghe Premadasa is elected president after promising to send Indian troops home and begin talks with LTTE.
1990
June - Talks fail as LTTE overruns police stations in east.
1991
May - Suspected Tiger suicide bomber kills former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
1993
May - Premadasa is killed by a LTTE suicide bomber.
1995
Jan - Government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and rebels agree to stop fighting and talk.
April - Truce ends when rebels blow up two navy vessels.
1996
Jan - Tiger suicide bombers blow up central bank building, killing more than 100 and wounding about 1,400.
1997
Oct - United States declares LTTE a terrorist group. LTTE bombs World Trade Centre in Colombo, killing 15.
1998
Jan - Sri Lanka outlaws the LTTE after suicide attack on country's holiest Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth.
1999
Dec - Kumaratunga survives LTTE suicide bomb attack, loses one eye, spurring a sympathy vote analysts say helped her win reelection two days later.
2000
May - Erik Solheim, Norway's special envoy for peace, begins talks with Sri Lankan leaders.
2002
Feb - Government and LTTE sign Norwegian-brokered ceasefire, laying groundwork for direct peace talks.
Dec - Tigers give up demand for a separate state and agree to work with government toward devolution of power.
2003
April - Tigers pull out after six rounds of talks, saying not enough done to rebuild war-hit Tamil areas.
2005
Aug - Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar assassinated by suspected rebel snipers.
Nov - Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse elected president after Tigers torpedo chances of candidate seen best placed to reach peace deal by enforcing boycott.
Dec - Mine attacks by suspected Tigers kill 39 soldiers.
2006
Jan - Suspected Tigers attack and sink a small naval boat.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL130687.htm
07 Jan 2006 04:21:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels attacked and sank a small naval boat before dawn on Saturday in the latest in a series of attacks on the military that have raised fears of a return to a two-decade civil war.
Following is a chronology of key incidents in Sri Lanka's civil war, in which over 64,000 people have been killed since it erupted after an anti-Tamil riot in 1983.
1983-84
India trains and funds Tamil groups, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting for a separate Tamil state in the island's north and east.
1987
July - India and Sri Lanka sign pact creating regional councils to give Tamils in the northeast limited autonomy. Indian troops arrive to enforce the pact that was endorsed by the LTTE and other Tamil rebel groups. Indian presence eventually grows to more than 100,000.
Oct - The LTTE reneges on the accord and begins three years of battles that kill more than 1,000 Indian troops.
1988
Dec - Ranasinghe Premadasa is elected president after promising to send Indian troops home and begin talks with LTTE.
1990
June - Talks fail as LTTE overruns police stations in east.
1991
May - Suspected Tiger suicide bomber kills former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
1993
May - Premadasa is killed by a LTTE suicide bomber.
1995
Jan - Government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and rebels agree to stop fighting and talk.
April - Truce ends when rebels blow up two navy vessels.
1996
Jan - Tiger suicide bombers blow up central bank building, killing more than 100 and wounding about 1,400.
1997
Oct - United States declares LTTE a terrorist group. LTTE bombs World Trade Centre in Colombo, killing 15.
1998
Jan - Sri Lanka outlaws the LTTE after suicide attack on country's holiest Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth.
1999
Dec - Kumaratunga survives LTTE suicide bomb attack, loses one eye, spurring a sympathy vote analysts say helped her win reelection two days later.
2000
May - Erik Solheim, Norway's special envoy for peace, begins talks with Sri Lankan leaders.
2002
Feb - Government and LTTE sign Norwegian-brokered ceasefire, laying groundwork for direct peace talks.
Dec - Tigers give up demand for a separate state and agree to work with government toward devolution of power.
2003
April - Tigers pull out after six rounds of talks, saying not enough done to rebuild war-hit Tamil areas.
2005
Aug - Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar assassinated by suspected rebel snipers.
Nov - Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse elected president after Tigers torpedo chances of candidate seen best placed to reach peace deal by enforcing boycott.
Dec - Mine attacks by suspected Tigers kill 39 soldiers.
2006
Jan - Suspected Tigers attack and sink a small naval boat.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL130687.htm
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