ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the emergence of Tamil militancy and specifically focuses on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This is done because the activities and actions of the LTTE, which is one of the parties to the conflict, have remained obscure in comparison to those of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The chapter discusses third party intervention. The conflict in Sri Lanka underwent cyclical periods of relative peace and negotiations, followed by an escalation of violence. The periods in which the conflict escalated are commonly called the Eelam War I', II', and III'. A National Conference of Political Parties to arrive at a negotiated settlement to the conflict was summoned by President Jayawardena in June 1986. The government's war for peace strategy was in tatters due to its inability to crush the LTTE, which increased its military strength and sophistication as the war proceeded. This phase of the conflict reached hitherto unseen ferocity and destruction.
