SRI LANKA

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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (known as Ceylon before 1972) is an island nation in South Asia, located about 31 kilometers (18½ mi) off the southern coast of India. Originally known as Heladiva, it is home to more than 20 million people.

Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia and has been a centre of Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times. The indigenous Sinhela (Hela) form the majority of the population (74%) with Tamils forming the largest ethnic community. Other ethnic communities include the Muslim Moors and Malays as well as Burghers. Traditionally famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, rubber and coconuts, Sri Lanka today boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage make it a world famous tourist destination.

After over two thousand years of rule by local kingdoms, parts of Sri Lanka were colonised by Portugal and the Netherlands from 1505 to the 17th century, in 1815 the British Empire gained control over the whole island. Independence was granted by the British after peaceful negotiations in 1948. Since then Sri Lanka has enjoyed a stable democracy and continuous economic progress, despite the current conflict between the Sri Lankan government and a separatist militant group known as the LTTE.

In the early 1980s, the island's peace and stability was shattered by a militant group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam (LTTE). The aspirations of the LTTE include a separate State for the ethnic Tamil community. The aspirations of the indigenous Sinhela include the preservation of the unitary State for their right of self-determination and argue further that a Tamil State already exits in Tamil Nadu. In pursuit of their cause, the LTTE gained notoriety in the world as the first exponents of suicide bombings. The LTTE has also claimed responsibility for many political assassinations including that of Ranasinghe Premadasa (President of Sri Lanka) and Rajiv Gandhi (Prime Minister of India). The LTTE has also been widely condemned for recruiting child soldiers and the use of landmines. Recognised as a terrorist organisation by many countries, the LTTE is now proscribed by the European Union, Canada and the U.S.A. Since the early 80's, this conflict for a separate state has claimed over 65,000 lives and halted the development of the country, especially in the north and east. A tentative ceasefire in 2002 restored a relative peace to the island as the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE engaged in diplomacy under the mediation of Norway.

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