Timeline of events under "Peace initiatives" issue
A delegation including the Secretary to the President leaves for Jaffna to initiate negotiations.
Two peace delegations, one led by the Anglican Bishop of Colombo Rev. Kenneth Fernando and the other led by the Sarvodaya Leader A.T. Ariayaratne, visit Jaffna.
Muslim Justice Minister Hameed and the LTTE leader, V. Prabhakaran, hold talks.
President Premadasa holds talks with the LTTE.
The amendment included provisions for the establishment of a system of Provincial Councils, including in the North East. The amendment incorporated the provisions of the Official Languages Act 1987 declaring Tamil as an official language of Sri Lanka.
All Party Conference to resolve the ethnic crisis begins.
The Thimpu peace talks fail over allegations of ceasefire violations and counter allegations.
The first attempt at peace talks between the government of Sri Lanka and various Tamil groups: the 'Thimpu talks' are initiated by the Indian government. The government lifts the eight month long night curfew in the Northern Province.
Parthasarathi, the special emissary of the Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, arrives in Colombo for talks on the ethnic issue. The talks culminate in the 'Parthasarathy Proposals'.
The UNP attempts to reverse nationalistic measure. The agreement is signed between Dudley Senanayake and S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, pledging to make Tamil the language of administration and courts in the North East, establish District Councils and give priority to Tamils when granting land in resettlement schemes in the North East.
Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act. No. 28: an attempt to mitigate the impact of the ‘Sinhala Only Act': allows for the use of Tamil in education, public service entrance exams and administration in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
Talks between S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and leaders of the Federal Party: the 'Bandaranaike–Chelvanayagam Pact' is signed, pledging to devolve state power through regional councils, to recognise Tamil as a national minority language and to slow Sinhalese resettlement in the North East.
