An island nation located off the southern coast of India in the Indian Ocean

Before 1972 was known as Ceylon Currently know as the Democratic Socialist

Republic of Sri Lanka Main religions are Buddhism and Hinduism

with Islam and Christianity in the minority Two main ethnicities are Sinhalese and

Tamil Main exports are tea, coffee, coconuts,

rubber, and cinnamon

Individual Level

State Level Systemic Level

Proximate •Mahinda Rajapakse

•Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam guerilla tactics•Offense of Sri Lankan Armed Forces

•2004 Tsunami

Remote •Rajiv Ghandi•President Junius Jayewardene

•Civil society division and party power struggles•Sinhala Only Act and Consitution

•Colonial heritage•Western movements

In 1517 the Portuguese set up the first fort city

In 1638 the Dutch gained some control and by 1660 had full control

In 1802 the British absorbed Sri Lanka from the Dutch

Gained Independence peacefully in 1948 from British

1802 Baptist Mission 1880’s Young Men and Women’s

Christian Associations and Salvation Army

Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindu backlash organizations such as Muslim Education Society, Maha Bodi Society, and the Young Men’s Buddhist Association

1900’s Boy Scout and Girl Guide Association, the Rotary of Colombo, and the Red Cross Society

Under British Rule the official language was English

Formally know as the Official Language Act Passed in 1956 and made Sinhala the only

official language of Sri Lanka Sinhala was spoken by 70% of the population Under Britain the Sinhalese thought Tamils

were privileged and this is an assertion of the majority rights

Also seen as a distancing of colonial past In constitutions of 1972 and 1978 also

granted “the foremost place” to Buddhism

The 7th Prime Minister of India Early 1985 Gandhi declared opposition to Tamil Eelam Gandhi refused to withdraw the Indian

Peace Keeping Force until he resigned they remained in Sri Lanka

The operation killed over 1,100 Indian Soldiers and 5,000 Tamils

In August 1985 Gandhi attempted to help Tamils negotiate with the Sri Lankan government on Tamil Eelam

Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 by a Tamil suicide bomber

First President of Sri Lanka Only after the 1977 Riots did he

lift the policy of standardization for university admission  for Tamils

He passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 1979 which gave police the power of arrest

Jayewardene and  Rajiv Gandhi constructed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord to weaken and demobilize the Tamil and give them a region of control

In December 2004 the tsunami initially created peace and unity between ethnic groups

Political, Military, and NGO’s took over relief efforts and influx of foreign aid

2006 Sri Lankan Armed Forces launched an offensive attack on the Tamil Tigers

Founded in May 1976 its goal is to form a separate Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka

India originally helped the LTTE with material support until Rahjiv Gandhi

Training occurs in the Middle East, India (Tamil Nadu), and Sri Lanka

In 2001, the LTTE dropped its demand for a separate state and instead it stated that they would settle for a

form of regional autonomy In March 2002, both sides signed

an official Ceasefire Agreement (CFA)

The 6th and current President In 2006 the government demanded

to abrogate the ceasefire agreement, stating that the only possible solution to the ethnic conflict was military solution, and that the only way to achieve this is by eliminating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil

On January 2, 2009 Rajapaksa, announced that the Sri Lankan troops had captured Kilinochchi, the city which the LTTE had used for over a decade as its administrative capital

The entire Jaffna peninsula was captured by the Sri Lanka Army by January 14, 2009

President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared military victory over the Tamil Tigers on May 16, 2009 after 26 years of war

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