Sri Lanka fails to keep its seat on the UN Human Rights Council, following strong lobbying from pressure groups.
President Rajapakse's United People's Freedom Alliance, running in a coalition with the breakaway LTTE faction known as the TMVP (formerly 'Karuna faction'), wins control of the Eastern Provincial government.
In response to the fundamental rights application filed in connection with the mass scale eviction of Tamils from Colombo that took place on the 7 June 2007, the Supreme Court orders that future evictions should not take place unless in accordance with the law and with a judicial order.
At least 25 civilians are killed and more than 40 injured when a suspected Tamil Tiger bomb is detonated on a commuter bus travelling from Piliyandala to Kahapola, on the outskirts of Colombo.
The LTTE reports that Rev. Fr. Karunaratnam, chairperson of the North East Secretariat for Human Rights (NESHOR), was killed in a claymore mine allegedly detonated by government soldiers.
A suicide bomb blast kills Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. The military blamed the attack on the LTTE and said that 10 people were killed and 25 injured by the explosion.
Sri Lankan rights group University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) finds state security forces responsible for murder of 17 Action Contre La Faim (ACF) aid workers.
According to the Defence Ministry, over 2,500 LTTE cadres have been killed by the military since 1 January 2008, and more than 7,200 Tigers have been killed since December 2005.
The Thamil Makkal Vidudal Puligal (TMVP) party wins 72 of 101 seats on nine local councils, the first elections in Eastern Sri Lanka for 14 years. For the municipal council of Batticaloa, the TMVP - contesting the elections under the banner of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) - secured 11 of its 19 seats after obtaining 53.77 percent of the 26,331 valid votes.
Courtesy of the Lake House
TNA parliamentarian for the Jaffna District, K. Sivanesan is killed in a claymore mine explosion.
The International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), established to oversee the government's Commission of Inquiry into serious human rights cases, resigns.
The Supreme Court dismisses a petition seeking postponement of elections to the local bodies in Batticaloa.
20 civilians, including 11 children, are killed and 14 others injured in a claymore mine attack of a bus near the Madhu shrine, in LTTE-controlled north-western Mannar district. The LTTE blamed the attack on the 'Deep Penetration Unit (DPU)' of the Sri Lanka military; the military denied any involvement.
The All Party Representative Committee (APRC) unveils its power sharing proposals after 63 sessions carried out over 18 months.
The ruling UPFA coalition sign an agreement with the TMVP (formerly the Karuna Faction - now known as the Pillaiyan Faction) to contest the local government elections in the Eastern Province together.
