Sri Lanka

Abstract

On 22 February 2002, after more than 25 years of armed conflict, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government signed a ceasefire agreement. The two sides began talks, and there were genuine hopes that the peace process might resolve the long-standing separatist conflict through peaceful negotiations. However, peace talks soon stalled over fundamental political disagreements, and by late 2005 the peace process had effectively broken down. There were various contacts between different parties during 2002, but formal peace talks began on 16 September 2002 in Sattahip in Thailand between a government delegation headed by G. L. Peiris, a lawyer, and Anton Balasingham, a London-based negotiator, who had long-standing, close connections with LTTE leader, Prabhakaran. Non-governmental organisations were constantly subject to LTTE controls or were persuaded to channel their aid through the LTTE’s development wing, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation.