Indo-Sri Lanka Accord

Indo-Sri Lanka Accord
ContextSri Lankan Civil War
Signed29 July 1987; 37 years ago (1987-07-29)
LocationColombo, Sri Lanka
Signatories
Parties
Languages

The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act of 1987. Under the terms of the agreement,[1][2] Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the provinces, the Sri Lankan troops were to be withdrawn to their barracks in the north and the Tamil rebels were to surrender their arms.[3][4]

Importantly however, the Tamil groups, notably the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (which at the time was one of the strongest Tamil forces), had not been made party to the talks and initially agreed to surrender their arms to the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) only reluctantly. Within a few months however, this flared into an active confrontation. The LTTE declared their intent to continue the armed struggle for an independent Tamil Eelam and refused to disarm. The IPKF found itself engaged in a bloody police action against the LTTE. Further complicating the return to peace, a Marxist insurgency began in the south of the island.

  1. ^ M. L. Marasinghe (1988). Ethnic Politics and Constitutional Reform: The Indo-Sri Lankan Accord. International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 37, pp 551–587 doi:10.1093/iclqaj/37.3.551
  2. ^ "Asia Times: SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY Chapter 35: Accord turns to discord". www.atimes.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2002.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ New Delhi & the Tamil Struggle. The Indo Sri Lanka Agreement. Satyendra N. Tamil Nation[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Text of the Peace accord.Tamil Nation[permanent dead link]