Sri Lanka Timeline - Year 2001

January 2	The Defence Ministry announces in a press release that 777 LTTE rebels have been killed and 246 injured since October 2000, in the Jaffna peninsula. 268 troops, too, were also killed during this period.
January 5	Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar says in New Delhi that the LTTE's cease-fire offer is a 'publicity stunt' amied at impeding the clearing of the Jaffna Peninsula by government forces, as well as drawing the sympathy of international audience.
January 8	President Chandrika Kumaratunga, in a televised address, rejecting the LTTE's cease-fire offer says her government would call for a cease-fire if the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) agreed to sit at the negotiating table and that a ceaee-fire could be agreed upon anly throuh negotiations.
January 9	Anandasangary, Vice President, TULF asks the government to stop the war and commence talks with the LTTE. Separately, representatives of several Tamil groups call on the Dutch Ambassador in Colombo and ask him to use his 'good offices' to make the government reciprocate the LTTE's cease-fire offer.
January 10	Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim arrives in Colombo on a four-day visit meets the Indian High Commissioner and seeks to address India's sensitivity towards Western third party mediation in the 18 year old ethnic conflict.
January 12	Sri Lanka-United States Extradition Treaty comes into force.
January 13	Solheim meets President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirganar. Discussions centre around taking the peace process further ahead. Reports say, Solheim would also meet the LTTE 's London-based leaders and return to Sri Lanka for further consulattions.
January 14	Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake says the morale of the troops is very high and asserts that no foreign country could 'pressurise' his government to declare a cease-fire.
January 15	Foreign Minister Kadirgamar, opining that there was no hurry to declare a cease-fire with the LTTE, says the government would have to carefully assess the 'genuineness' of the LTTE's cease-fire offer, especially beacuse the LTTE had, in the past, scuttled peace talks when it suited them.
January 16	Government troops launch fresh offensives, Operation Kinihara IX, with the strategic objective of re-capturing the Elephant Pass that had been lost to the rebels in 2000. 42 persons killed on the first day. LTTE announces it had made 'a strategic withdrawal' from the areas around Jaffna town.
January 17	Troops capture from the LTTE strategically important areas, including Ponnar and Avarkadu, Southeast of Kilali and Eluthumadduval. Over 100 killed and 300 injured, on both sides, in the clashes for these areas. Over 10,000 students, residents and representatives of civil organisations in Jaffna stage a demonstration urging the government to reciprocate the LTTE's Christmas cease-fire offer and commence negotiations with the rebels.
January 18	Representatives of seven Tamil political parties including the TULF), the ACTC), the National Workers Congress (NWC) and the TELO call on the Ambassadors of Norway and the European Union and urge them to impress upon the government to reciprocate the LTTE's cease-fire offer.
January 19	LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham says in London, "If the government seeks a military option and continues the current offensive operation we will not extend our self-imposed cessation of hostilities... We will consider peace options only when we establish the status quo on the ground by pushing back the government troops to their previous positions."
January 20	Military spokesperson Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne says in Colombo, the LTTE's cease-fire offer is 'bogus and meaningless". Jaffna University Students' Union Secretary S. Thivian, in an interview to the Sunday Observer denies that the student body was is a stooge in the hands of the LTTE. and adds the people of Jaffna are looking forward to restoration of peace and, hence, want the government to negotiate with the rebels.
January 21	Sri Lankan Air Force Jets raid an LTTE camp in Sorampattu, 8.5 km North of Elephant Pass and raze it to the ground. Interpol issues a red corner Most Wanted Person notice for the arrest of LTTE leader Prabhakaran.
January 23	LTTE announces the extension of its Christams 2000 cease-fire by another month. The Sri Lankan Army says 1,220 LTTE rebels have been killed and another 1,250 injured in clashes in Jaffna peninsula since September 2000.
January 24	Government rejects cese-fire extension. 'The government's stand on the cease-fire does not change’, a government release says, and reiterates that the rebels 'must come to the negotiating table along with a durable, concrete political solution’.
January 26	An 11-member Tamil coalition, including the TULF, the TELO and the ACTC says, "We cannot continue to believe that we can get a political solution from the Sri Lankan government". Batticaloa University students express resentment, at the government's rejection of the cease-fire and its extension, through sporting black bands around their arms.
January 28	Sri Lankan Air Force jet ombards a 'key' LTTE base north of Morawewa, Trincomalee District.
January 31	Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera retires after 34 years of distinguished service. Gen. Perera is widely remembered for successfully blocking the LTTE's attempts to capture Jaffna town in the year 2000. Army spokesperson Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne says the LTTE killed 296 civilians and injured another 740 in the year 2000.
February 1	Norwegian peace envoy Erick Solheim calls on President Chandrika Kumaratunga and also meets the Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremasinghe. Solheim discusses measures to kick-start the peace process.
February 4	President Kumaratunga says, in her Independence Day address, "We are willing to enter negotiations to find a solution which will enable all the people of our country to be united and to live with equality and honour".
February 9	The Right-wing Sinhala Urumaya denounces the role of Norway in brokering the peace process in Sri Lanka.and criticises the government for playing into the hands of a 'neo-capitalist' country.
February 10	Jaffna University Students' Union President K. Arnold says his colleagues are conducting a signature campaign to impress upon the British government not to impose a ban on the LTTE.
February 11	President Kumaratunga brushes aside the LTTE's contention that British proscription would hamper the peace process.
February 13	Pakistan announces an aid of US$ 20 million to Sri Lanka to procure ‘vital arms’ for its war effort against the LTTE.
February 14	Jaffna University's Vavuniya Campus students allege, security forces' action has put a halt to their campaign against a possible proscription of the LTTE in the UK.
February 16	Tamil groups hold a large demonstration in Batticaloa district and urge Britain not to proscribe the LTTE. The Opposition United National Party (UNP) levels the criticism that the government itself was unclear about its policy towards the LTTE
February 17	A female suicide cadre of the LTTE swallows a cyanide capsule and ends her life soon after security forces apprehend her.
February 19	British Anti-Terrorism Act comes into force, but the LTTE has not been immediately proscribed.
February 20	LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham and Norwegian peace envoy Eric Solheim met in London andd discuss the likely implications if Britain were to proscribe the LTTE. The LTTE alleges that government commandos laid an ambush on the vehicle carrying top-LTTE leaders, who were returning after attending an inter-religious meeting in Madhu, in the LTTE-controlled Vanni. The LTTE leaders, however, escaped unhurt.
February 21	The Inter Religious Alliance for National Unity (IRAFNU) says LTTE leaders had assured its delegation at a meeting in Madhu, on February 18, that they would lay down arms and would live within a united Sri Lanka if conditions were created for the Tamils to live in dignity and freedom in any part of Sri Lanka.
February 22	LTTE announces second extension of the unilateral Christmas 2000 cease-fire, due to expire on February 24, by another month. President Chandrika Kumaratunga arrives in New Delhi to brief Indian leaders on her government s’ proposals for devolution of powers to the regions.
February 24	A visiting delegation of the Parliament of the European Union expresses full support to the peace process with Norwegian mediation.
February 26	President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in an interview to television channel that peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could begin within the next two months.
February 28	LTTE proscribed in the United Kingdom, along with 20 other terrorist organisations, under the new Terrorism Act 2000 that came into force a few days earlier, on February 19.
March 1	Air Force jets bombard and destroy LTTE barracks in Iyakachchi, 4km north of Eelephant Pass. Sources claim the Charles Anthony Brigade is housed there.
March 2	Foreign Minister lakshman Kadirgamar discloses thar negotiations are on with Australia, France and Norway to secure the LTTE's proscription in those countries.
March 4	Norwegian peace envoy Eric Solheim arrives in Colombo on a third visit in the year 2001.
	India’s High Commissioner in Colombo, Gopal Krishna Gandhi visits the Chavakachcheri sector . Holds discussions with the Mayor of Jaffna, TULF Members of Parliament, top government officials and military top brass.
March 5	Reports said Solheim met President Kumaratunga and held consultatins on a host of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) that could be instituted between the LTTE and government forces. Solheim also met Opposition Leader Wickremasinghe and Indian High Comissioner Gopal Gandhi.
March 6	United States Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Ashley Wills visits Jaffna peninsula and attends a meeting with the Government Agent for Jaffna.. Also, top army officers brief him at the Palaly military base. Wills says his country is opposed to idea of a separate Eelam and adds that the LTTE is a terrorist organisation, besides not being the sole representative of the Tamil people on the island.
March 8	Sri Lanka unveils SLR 75 billion defence budget for the year 2001.
March 12	President Kumaratunga appoints Justice P.H.K. Kulatilaka to inquire into the Bindunuwewa Rehabilitation Camp massacre in which several Tamils were allegedly lynched to death on October 25, 2000.
March 14	British House of Commons approves the newly prepared list of terrorist orgamisations that would be proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2001.
March 17	India's External Affairs Ministry said Norwegian Peace Envoy Eric Solheim called on External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh as well as Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer and apprised them both of the progress of the peace process in Sri Lanka.
March 18	Army sources said an estimated 4,000 deserters returned to their respective regiments during the amnesty period that concluded on March 9.
	LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran inaugurates 'Kangaroo Courts' in the Wanni.
March 19	Opposition Member of Parliament representing Jaffna, Thiyagarajah Maheswaran accuses in Parliament that Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has betrayed the Tamil people for keeping his post.
March 21	LTTE's Sea Tigers attack two Dovra class fast attack craft of the Sri Lankan Navy, damaging one and capturing another. More than 15 naval personnel killed.
	Air Force F jets and Naval bpats bombard coastal vilages in north-eastern Mullaithivu district killing four persons and injuring 11 more.
March 22	LTTE announces that the Christmas Cease-fire it had declared in 2000 would be extended by another month till April 24.
March 23	Air Force jets raid and destroy the ‘Beirut Base’ of the LTTE, 35 km west of Batticaloa. 30 LTTE rebels killed in the raid.
March 24	TULF Secretary General R. Sampanthan says, "The Sri Lankan government can be no longer unconcerned with the safety and security and well being of the Tamil people, particularly when (the LTTE), has extended its unilateral cease-fire for another month... The safety, security and the well being of the Tamil people must no longer be subordinated to the exigencies of military strategies."
	TULF, ACTC, TELO, EPRLF resolve at a meeting in Colombo to urge the international community to recognize the "Tamils’ right to self determination".
March 28	British House of Lords gives its consent to the Terrorism Act 2000, (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2001.
April 2	Thousands of Tamil Diaspora demonstrate outside the Un Offices in Geneva and demand the international community to exert pressure upon the Sri Lankan government to sit at the negotiating table with the LTTE. The gathering also passes a resolution on a political solution on Tamil homeland, self-determination and nationhood, and expresses ‘dismay’ at the UK proscribing the LTTE.
April 4	Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar assures Parliament that the government would be in a better position by end-April to make a statement on the status of the peace process with the LTTE.
April 7	LTTE Political-wing leader Tamil Chelvan informs the goernment thorugh Eric Solheim that lifting the ban on the LTTE and reciprocating the rebels' cease-fire offer are essential if the LTTE is to participate in any negotiations for peace.
April 10	Air Force jets destroy an LTTE camp in Muhamalai and a Sea Tigers base in Pooneryn.
April 12	Army Chief of Staff Major General Neil Dias' services extended, on the day he was due to retire.
April 13	The fide-day cease-fire announced by the government comes into force.
April 15	Army, LTTE trade charges of cease-fire violation in several sectors.
April 17	Pro-tamil sources disclose that LTTE chief negotiatior Anton Balasingham said in an interview that thir-party involvement even after peace negotiations commence is necessary given the history of mistrust between the LTTE and government.
April 19	Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Secretary General Rajavarothiam Sampanthan urges visiting US Counsel, International Relations Committee, US Congress, Adolf Franco, to make the US exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to end the war and commence negotiations with the LTTE.
April 22	TELO, TULF and EPRLF leaders denounce Prime Minister Wickremanayake's April 20-statement that not talks but war with the rebels is the only way to find a solution to the protracted ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
April 23	The LTTE announced from its headquarters in Wanni that there would be no further extension of its unilateral cease-fire.
April 25	Sri Lankan Army launches Operation Agni Khiela to expand its control over the Jaffna peninsula. In all, more than 100 killed, 300 wounded on the first day itself.
April 29	Media reports quoting the Sri Lankan Army say Operation Agni Khiela has been wound up. Government troops siffer major reverses during the Operation. Giving the final tally of troops casualties, the Army said 187 personnel were killed while another 860 were wounded in the four-day Operation. The LTTE lost 200 cadres while 400 more were wounded, the Army calimed. The LTTE, on the other hand, maintained that 2400 troops were injured during the clashes.
April 30	LTTE violated its unilateral cease-fire on 224 occasions, says government.
May 1	Operation Agni Khiela 'seriously undermined the peace-process", the LTTE alleges in a statement from its headquarters in the Wanni.
May 1	President Chandrika Kumaratunga, in a satellite address to the people of Jaffna, says she has not given up efforts to find a political solution to the protracted ethnic conflict and adds that talks with the LTTE have been delayed as the latter came up with, and insisted on, fresh demands. We shall ‘explore all avenues to induce the LTTE to come to talks', the President says.
May 7	The Army says 13 LTTE cadres, including six women, killed in separate clashes.
May 10	Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar requests Norway to renew the peace process on an urgent basis. LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham denies there was an agreeemtn between the government and the LTTE on various issues, beifre the peace talks are to commence. It is 'reckless and premature', he says, in response to a staement by Kadirgamat that such an an undedrstandig has been reached.
May 11	The LTTE's clandestince Voice of Tigers Radio claims the rebels had killed 12 troops in Sungawil, Polonnawura district, in an ambush.
May 12	The moderate TULF urges both the Ruling People’s Alliance and the Opposition UNP to do everything possible to initiate peace talks that would find a solution to the protracted ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Critics question the timing of the plea by the TULF.
May 15	Norwegian peace envoy Eric Solheim arrives in Colombo to revive the peace process. He is scheduled to meet the President and several political leaders. Besides, plans are also drawn for a meeting with the LTTE's political-wing chief Tamil Chelvan, on May 16-17.
May 16	Tamil Chelvan's convoy hit by a claymore mine while he is on his way in the Wanni to meet Solheim. Chelvan escapes death.
May 17	Tamil Chelvan informs Solheim at the meeting in Mallavi in the Wanni that lifting the proscription is an 'essential pre-requisite' if talks were to commence.
May 21	Solheim goes to the US to discuss with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage the status of the peace process, the Sri Lankan media says. Troops raid LTTE bunkers in the Muhamalai general area and kill 10 cadres.
May 22	LTTE rebels set off a claymore mine blast, in the Thambalagamuwa general area, 40km away from Trincomalee, and kill 10 naval personnel, while 17 more are wounded.
May 24	TULF Senior Vice President Ananadasangaree and Secretary General Sampanthan urge the government to lift the proscription on the LTTE.
May 25	All Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (ACTU) Batticaloa branch President S.Tharmarajan says at a rally, "The war should be stopped. Tamil Students and teachers are suffering immensely because of this conflict. The Tamil people's right of self determination and their traditional homeland should be recognised."
May 26	Government refuses to consider the pleas by the LTTE and other sections on lifting the proscription. Also, ethnic-Tamil Cabinet Minister and EPDP President Douglas Devananda declares proscription is no impediment to the LTTE to participate in the peace talks.
May 28	Senior PLOTE member Arunthavarajah Thamilvasan shot dead in Mannar.
June 1	Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremasinghe calls on India’s Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, in New Delhi.
June 3	Addressing the general public, President Kumaratunga says LTTE leader Prabhakaran "of late, has begun to place ludicrous conditions before the commencement of peace talks", and adds that the ban on the LTTE would stay.
June 4	14 LTTE rebels killed in an attack by trops on a rebel main base at in Ampara, at Kanjikudichiaru near Akkaraipattu. 19 more rebels killed a day later, in separate incidents across the warn torn areas.
June 7	Sri Lanka observes its second Annual War Heroes Day, Ranaviru Divasu and pays homage to fallen security force personnel in the protracted ethnic conflict. Reports say that Norwegian Foreign minister Thorbjørn Jagland is due to arrive in Colombo on this day, upon the Presidents' request, to review the peace process in the island.
June 8	General amnesty granted to Navy deserters expires.
June 9	Soldier killed, six more wounded in LTTE mortar shelling in Eluthamadduval.
June 10	LTTE expresses displeasure at the government unilaterally side-lining Norwegian special envoy Eric Sloheim from the peace process.
June 11	The Special Media Information Center (SMIC) says the government is committed to the peace process and refutes the suggestion by Catholic Bishops that it is keen on a military solution. It is the LTTE that is insincere, the SMIC says.
June 13	Ethnic Affairs and National Integration Minister Athauda Seneviratne said, that a Presidential Truth Commission would soon be formed to probe the ‘vital aspects’ of the 1983 ethnic riots in the country. The modalities and terms of reference of the Commission are being formulated. The Commission will have the power to great amnesty, much as South Africa’s Truth a Reconciliation Commission had.
June 13	Nizam, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) political wing leader for Batticaloa and Ampara districts killed in a claymore mine explosion near Batticaloa. Pro-Tamil sources suspect the role of the Army in the killing.
June 19	The EPRLF observes Martyr’s Day to commemorate the assassination by the LTTE of its leader Padmanbha and 13 others, in the southern Indian metropolis of Chennai (Madras), in the year 1990.
June 22	The opposition UNP and two Tamil political parties –– TULF and the ACTC submit a motion of no confidence against the Ruling People's Alliance government
June 25	LTTE targets a bus ferrying government troops with a claymore mine in Madduvil North, near Jaffna, killing six troops and injuring 20 more.
June 27	LTTE rebels ‘execute’ two youths in Mullamunai accusing them of being inforners.
June 29	Sea Tigers (naval wing of the LTTE) deputy chief Kanagiamaran alias Anthony Johnson killed in land mine explosion in Nachchikuda, near Mannar. Sri Lankan Air Force attacks pre-identified Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) logistics and training bases in Pooneryn and Nagarkovil.
July 1	Sri Lankan Air Force jets destroy several rebel installations, including two communication towers in Pooneryn to pre-empt a possible LTTE attack on Jaffna.
July 3	LTTE now proscribed under Section 27 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1979. The Emergency, under which the proscription of the LTTE was in force, expires on midnight July 3. Media reports quoting intelligence reports speak of a rift within the LTTE. While a faction led by Thamilchelvam suggests pursuing the peace initiative, the other led by Pottu Amman, Karuna and Jayam, however, asserts on a military solution to the ethnic problem. LTTE warns that ‘peace initiatives would be irreparably damaged if the government continued with its intense aerial and artillery bombardment against the LTTE positions in Jaffna’.
July 5	12 LTTE cadres killed in an attack by troops on LTTE base near Mannar. LTTE observes Black Tigers Day. Black Tigers are members of the LTTE's crack commando unit who participate in suicide missions.
July 11	Parliament prorogued from midnight July 10. Government says a countrywide referendum would be held on August 21, 2001 to effect constitutional changes.Voters at the referendum would have to answer the question: Are you in agreement with the proposal that the "country needs a new Constitution which is a nationally important and an essential requirement?"
July 15	Media reports quting the Army say 37 LTTE rebels have defected in the year 2001.
July 16	Army truck ferrying soldiers proceeding on leave from Muhamalai comes under claymore mine attack killing one and injuring eight troops.
July 18	Air Force jets attack a group of LTTE Sea Tigers vessels off Mullaithivu.
July 19	LTTE rebels lay an ambush and kill four women security personnel in Sithamaparapuram, near Vavuniya. Fr. Basil Wickremasinghe discloses that 300 Catholic Missionaries would march into Wanni to meet LTTE leaders and persuade them to pursue peace talks.
July 20	Preisdent Kumaratunga says a ‘new’ Constitution would be presented before the people by November 2001, after taking the opinion of all sections, including the clergy, the minorities, minor political parties and intellectuals. She says, "The country needs a new constitution to pave the way for economic development and to end the war, thus ensuring permanent peace in the country." Presidential Commission constituted to probe the nature, causes and extent of gross violations of human rights and damage, or destruction of properties, committed in the course of the ethnic violence during the period 1981-1984, with special reference to the July 1983 race riots. The Commission will go into the worst incidence of ethnic violence committed in the recent history of Sri Lanka, including the destruction of the Jaffna Library in 1981, and make recommendations to prevent such recurrence. Carol Bellamy, Director General of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), criticises the LTTE for not keeping up its 1998 promise of not recruiting child soldiers.
July 24	A hand-picked squad of 21 LTTE rebels attack the Airforce base in Katunayake and the Bandaranaike International Airport, on the outskirts of Colombo. Eight military aircraft, including Kifr jets, and six Airbus passenger aircraft destroyed or damaged in the attack. 14 LTTE rebelas and seven security force personnel killed, while 12 more are wounded in the attack. Air Force launches strikes in the Nagarkovil general area to pove that it is combat ready. Opposition parties ask President Kumaratunga to reconvene Parliament and discuss the security situation in the country.
July 27	TULF Member of Parliament from Jaffna, Mavai Senathirajah says in Vavuniya, "The Liberation Tigers (of Tamil Eelam-LTTE) are fighting for the freedom of the Tamil people. They should continue their armed struggle until the Tamil people are liberated".
July 28	Air Force jets raid LTTE Sea Tiger (naval wing of the LTTE) base in the Chalai general area, near Mullaithivu.
July 30	President Kumaratunga briefs Colombo-based foreign diplomats on the security situation in the country following the July 24-attack on the Katunayake airbase and Bandaranaike International Airport, as well as on the proposed referendum on constitutional changes.
August 3	Media reports say Court of Appeal has reserved its judgement till August 10 in a group of 13 cases relating to the referendum on constitutional reforms due on August 21, 2001. The petitioners (a) challenged the Presidential order on holding a referendum and sought a writ of certiorari quashing of the order; and (b) sought a writ of prohibition banning the Election Commission from holding the referendum.
August 4	Eight Air Force personnel injured in Poovarasakulam near Vavunia, in a claymore mine attack on their truck. Also the Air Force bombards several LTTE targets in Koonativu and in Trincomalee South.
August 5	Army and police conduct searches at TELO and EPRLF camps in Vavuniya and it suburbs following clashes between the two groups, which erupted after a faction in the EPRLF allegedly abducts TELO cadres.
August 7	Air Force jets raid the LTTE's Jim Kelley training base in the Thoppigala jungle, near Batticaloa, kiling nine and injuring 17 more. A day earlier, Kifr jets attack LTTE bunker line in Pallai.
August 9	State-run Daily News claims LTTE's plan to move International Secretariat to Paris derailed after France declined to let six top functionaries to permission to eneter the country. Air Force jets bombard LTTE base in Kudarappu, near Nagarkovil . Seven rebels killed in Palai area in an air raid, a day earlier.
August 12	Government troops conduct house-to-house search and detain more than 500 persons in Dehiwala, a Colombo suburb. Most let-off subsequently.
August 13	Sri Lankan Minister for Christian Religious Affairs Fernandopulle goes to rebel-held area in nothern Wanni and meets LTE leaders, who tell him that the LTTE is fighting to live in 'peace and dignity'.
August 14	Air Force Kifr bombard and destroy a communication tower of the LTTE at Chempianpattu, near Nagarkovil. In the same area, a Sea Tiger Base in Vathirayan is destroyed in another aerial attack
August 15	Air Force jets raid and destroy LTTE fortifications in Pallai, near Kodikamam..
August 16	LTTE lays an ambush on a naval route clearing patrol in the Kallarawa general area near Trincomalee, killing three naval personnel and losing four cadres.
August 17	Air Force Kifr jets destroy LTTE base in Thoppigala near Batticaloa.
August 19	Air Froce jets pound LTTE base in Puthukkudiyiruppu near Mullaithivu.
August 20	LTTE cadres attack main police station in Central Camp, 35km away from Batticaloa and kill at least 15 militarily trained police personnel. 17 more are injured.
August 22	LTTE sets off an explosion inside a passenger bus at Periyakulam, 10km away from Trincomalee injuring 18 persons
August 23	Government troops foil LTTE attempt to overrun the strategic Kokkutuduwai Army Camp, 17km away from Pulmoddai.
August 25	Media reports quote Chief of Defence Staff [CDS] General Rohan de S. Daluwatte and say that the Army has been improving defences in the Jaffna peninsula on a priority basis apprehending LTTE would launch a fresh offensive to regain Jaffna town.
August 26	Army conducts 'limited clearing operation' ahead of the forward defence line in the Muhamalai and Kilaly general areas. LTTE says, it was, in fact, 'heavy fighting', and troops were repulsed.
August 27	Govermnment-Opposition UNP talks begin to explore the possibility of a power sharing arrangement.Preceding the talks, many government proposals ran into rough weather in Parliament, including its constitutional reforms proposal. The UNP also threatens to vote the government out, if it is not accommodated..
August 28	Government UNP talks reach a dead-end.
August 29	Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar announces in Colombo that the government is willing to negotiate a mutually agreed cease-fire with the LTTE.
August 30	LTTE ideologue and chief negotiator Anton Balasingham rejects truce offer saying that, "The LTTE is not prepared to enter into negotiation with a corrupt, inefficient, unstable government which does not have a majority in Parliament... Peace talks are not a crisis management exercise to be invoked at the pleasure of a government which is on the verge of collapse... The LTTE is not naive to jump on a sinking ship." Air Force Kfir jets bombard LTTE targets in Sorampattu near Elephant Pass.
August 31	Government opens talks with JVP in the aftermath of talks with the UNP failing. The talks with the JVP focus on demands relating to reconvening Parliament, cancellation of the Referendum, establishment of five independent commissions for police and elections, etc. Other issues addressed include judiciary, public service and media, reduction of Cabinet strength to 20 and general elections under a probationary government after one year.
September 3	Naval patrol detects and destroys LTTE Sea Tigers boat killing two cadres off-Trincomalee.
September 5	PA, JVP sign an agreement that adds, in effect, to the government's strength in Parliament, though it restricts the government's freedom in many ways.
September 6	Unidentified miscreants hurl grenades at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Muttur near Trincomalee. Senior, influential Buddhist clerics––the Mahanayake Theras of Malwatte and Asgiriya -- bless the PA-JVP agreement.
September 10	LTTE says PA-JVP agreement is a blow to the (already floundering) peace process because one of the clauses strictly forbids any discussions on proposals relating to the solution to the Tamil national question. LTTE chief negotiator Balasingham says, "Is there any meaning and purpose in entering into a peace process if we cannot discuss any proposals for a negotiated settlement? The truth is that the PA-JVP agreement has made the peace talks an impossible task."
September 11	Draft Bill (17th Constitution Amendment) to provide for establishing independent commissions on Public Services, Judicial Services, Elections, and Police prepared. Bill to be tabled in Parliament on September 24.
September 12	Six woman LTTE cadres killed in an ambush laid by troops in the Lindugala general area, 11km away from Arlaganwila.
September 14	President Chandrika Kumararunga administers oath of office to new, reduced Cabinet as per the agreement with the JVP.
September 16	Sea Tigers attack naval troops off-Point Pedro, sinking two Dovra class boats and damaging two more. 15 naval troops. 10 Sea tigers cadres killed in the incident
September 18	LTTE communications expert killed in claymore mine blast near Batticaloa.
September 20	Troops attack a bunker of women cadres of the LTTE and kill two.
September 22	Reports say Parliament to debate on 17th Amendment Bill on September 24.
September 23	30 Sea Tigers cadres killed, four LTTE boats destroyed in clashes off-Mullaithivu.
September 24	Media reports say LTTE - Al Qaeda links under inveatigation. Parliament passes the Constitution 17th Amendment bill. 15 Tamil members, representing TULF and TELO walk out in protest before the bill is put to vote.
September 26	Senior LTTEleader and self-styled Colonel, Vaithyalingam Swarnalingam alias Shankar, who is also a qualified engineer and pilot, killed in a claymore mine blast in Oddusudam.
October 1	Foreign Ministry welcomes the United Nations Security Council resolution on terrorism as historic and the most far-reaching yet to combat terrorism. The Foreign Ministry also says it would in all likelihood "establish an internal Inter Ministerial Committee to liase with the UN Security Council Committee", that has been constituted. The Security Council resolution asked member states, among other things, to ‘prevent and suppress financing of terrorism, freeze funds owned or controlled directly or indirectly by terrorist groups and deny both passive and active support to terrorists by eliminating the supply of weapons. The number of LTTE cadres surrendered in the year 2001 rises to 45 with one more LTTE dissenter handing himself over to the authorities near Polonnaruva.
October 5	25 Sea Tigers, naval cadres of the LTTE, killed in confrontations at sea off Mullaithivu. Two LTTE boats destroyed and two more damaged. United States re-designates LTTE as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) for a third consecutive two-year period. The LTTE was earlier designated FTO in 1997 and again in 1999.
October 7	TULF decides to support the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition UNP against the government.
October 8, 2001	S. B.Dissanayake, former Cabinet Minister, removed from the post of General Secretary of the SLFP. All-party meet chaired by Speaker Anura Bandaranaike decides to take up the UNP-sponsored no trust move on October 11, Thursday.
October 9	LTTE rebels attack an Air Force detatchment at Velverikulam, 10km north west of Trincomalee. Air Force personnel repulse the attack, but suffer four casualties.
October 10	CWC chief and leader of the Indian Tamils, Arumugam Thondaman quits Cabinet. Nine People's Alliance (PA) Members of Parliament defect to the Opposition reducing the PA government to a minority ahead of the crucial no-trust vote. President Kumaratunga dissolves Parliament and calls for countrywide polls on Decemebr 5. New House to be convened on January 1, 2002.
October 18	LTTE Deputy political leader Karikalan sustains minor injuries in a claymore mine attack on his vehicle carried out allegedly by the Sri Lankan Army in LTTE controlled area, at Palugamam, near Batticoloa. LTTE cadre surrenders in the Mankeni general area, 38km away from Batticaloa, taking the total number of LTTE surrenders in the year 2001 to 46.
October 21	Sri Lankan Navy attacks five LTTE flotilla in the waters off-Mullaithivu. 20 LTTE cadres either killed or injured in the clashes and three vessels destroyed, while two more are damaged. But, LTTE admits only to the loss of two majors, including one from the Black Sea Tigers, two lieutenants and a captain.
October 24	Seven Army personnel, including a Lieutenant Colonel, killed and another injured in a claymore mine blast in Nelliyadi, Jaffna peninsula.
October 30	Suicide squad of the Sea Tigers attacks and destroys an oil tanker, mt Silk Pride, 12 nautical miles north of Point Pedro. Three Navy personnel and four Sea Tigers killed. LTTE rebels kill 11 policemen in an attack on their post two kilometers away from Muttur, near the 64th milepost. Nine more policemen and six troops wounded.
November 2	Two armed cadres of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) shot dead by unidentified armed-men at Poonthoddam in Vavuniya.
November 3	A newspaper report claims that 13,379 civilians were killed in Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts, between 1990 and ’99 due to internal war and the economic embargo imposed by the government on LTTE-controlled areas.
November 8	13 LTTE rebels killed in an ambush in the Omanthai general area, 23km away from Vavuniya. For the first time, Canada names LTTE as a terrorist organisation. The notification is issued by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions of Canada and includes names of 83 organisations.
November 12	President Chandrika Kumaratunga, while releasing the election manifesto of her People’s Alliance coalition, categorically rules out lifting the proscription imposed on the LTTE for talks to commence.
November 15	Three Army intelligence personnel and a civilian killed while eight more are wounded in a suicide bomb attack at a high security zone in Batticaloa. The intelligence unit is reportedly responsible for the deep penetration strikes in the LTTE held hinterland of the district. LTTE rebels abduct the Vakarai Divisional Secretary, a government official, from his office, 28km north of Valachchenai
November 16	Former Speaker Anura Bandaranaike alleges that a secret understanding had been reached between the United National Party (UNP) and certain Tamil political parties having the belssings of the LTTE. He says statements by Tamil leaders P Joseph and R Sampanthan and the manifesto of the Tamil National Alliance are "more than a clear indicator of the close and deadly links between … [the UNP] and the LTTE.
November 18	Senior Buddhist monk and chief priest of Sripura, Ven.Pihimbiyagolle Dhammaloka killed in a claymore mine blast while three others, including two clerics, wounded when their vehicle hit a claymore mine at Konamariyawa.
November 21	President Chandrika Kumaratunga says at an election rally, in Hanguranketha, that her government would fight the LTTE till they were "exterminated" and adds it is necessary if the neglected rights of the Tamil people were to be fulfilled and re-established. Emphasizing her government’s determination to wipe out the LTTE, the President says, "… We are determined more than at any time in our struggle to wipe out terrorism and we will continue to wage war against the Tigers to a logical conclusion".
November 23	Former Speaker Anura Bandaranayake says United National Party (UNP) leader Jayalath Jayawardena could be charged for treason as he reportedly to have conversed with an unnamed LTTE cadre and the contents of the conversation has grave implications for the country’s security. During the alleged conversation, they reportedly planned to rig the forthcoming parliamentary elections and also discussed a strategy to be adopted with the LTTE.
November 26	Media reports claim security forces pre-empted the plot to assassinate Mahaweli Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Maithripala Sirisena at an election meeting.
November 27	LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, in his Annual Heroes’ Day speech, urges the majority Sinhala community to reject racist forces committed to militarism and war and to offer justice to the Tamil people to bring about peace, ethnic reconciliation and economic prosperity to the island. He says the Tamil people wanted to live in their traditional lands with peace and dignity, determining their own political and economic life and observes that this "…is the basic political aspiration of the Tamil people. This is neither separatism nor terrorism. It does not constitute a threat to the Sinhala people." He also expresses regret and dismay at several world governments terming the LTTE as a terrorist organisation.
November 30	Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake says at an election rally in Homagama, if the People’s Alliance (PA) coalition is returned to power, the government would wipe out the LTTE within three months. He also alleges that four Tamil Parties that have formed the Tamil National Alliance are "representing the LTTE and catering to its interests."
December 5	Countrywide polls held to elect representatives for the 12^th Parliament. The final tally of seats won in the elections are UNP – 89; PA – 62; Janatha Vimumkti Peramuna (JVP) – 12; Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – 14; SLMC – 5; Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) – 2; and the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE)– 1.
December 8	New reports say the LTTE is preparing to start peace talks with the government as early as in January 2002, and has therefore suspended major attacks on government troops in order not to jeopardize the likelihood of talks.
December 9	Ranil Wickremasinghe sworn in Prime Minister.
December 10	Representatives of the ruling United National Party (UNP) and the opposition People’s Alliance (PA) meet to consider matters of ‘national concern’, including the peace process and agree to meet frequently.
December 12	New Cabinet sworn in. Former Attorney General Tilak Marapone appointed Defence Minister, Tyronne Fernando gets Foreign Affairs while K N Choksy gets Finance portfolio. R. Sampanthan and V. Anandasangaree, newly elected Members of Parliament belonging to the Tamil National Alliance, urge Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Gopalkrishna Gandhi to impress upon the new government that the LTTE be de-proscribed. Saying peace talks should be held only the after the de-proscription, they also declare that the LTTE is the sole representative of the Tamil people.
December 13	Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando says peace process would be revived soon and adds that India would be given a major role, which he says, "is a must".
December 18	Prime Minister Wickremasinghe addresses Cabinet colleagues and says three committees would be formed to take the peace process further, the UNP discloses in a press release. It also says one committee would advise the Prime Minister on the political solution, another would prepare the ground for the negotiations and a third, whose membership would include a cross section of the society, will explore alternative solutions. Foreign Minister Fernando says government is prepared for "unconditional talk s wit the rebels.
December 19	LTTE announces from its headquarters in Wanni that it would observe a month-long cease-fire beginning December 24 midnight, Christmas eve. The government welcomes the move.
December 21	Government reciprocates the LTTE’s cease-fire offer and announces a similar gesture. Australia bans LTTE.
December 24	Prime Minister Wickremasinghe meets his Indian counterpart Vajpayee. The latter assures Wickremasinghe of India’s complete support to the effort to re-start the peace process.
December 25	No cease-fire violations reported on the first day, as the cease-fire came into force at midnight December 24.
December 26	Peace talks with the LTTE shall commence anytime from March 2002, and the economic embargo on LTTE-controlled areas (uncleared areas) ahall be lifted from January 15, the Prime Minister annouces.
December 27	Prime Minister Wickremasinghe formally requests Norway to facilitate peace talks with the LTTE. People's Alliance announces complete support to the governmet's peace moves. LTTE visits some among the vilages in Batticalo that are under the control of the government.