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About Sri Lanka About Sri Lanka Nestling off the southern tip of India, the tropical island of Sri Lanka has beguiled travellers for centuries with its palm-fringed beaches, diverse landscapes and historical monuments. But for nearly two decades, the island was scarred by a bitter civil war arising out of ethnic tensions. Known as "Serendip" to Arab geographers, it was to fall under Portuguese and Dutch influence and finally came under British rule when it was called Ceylon. The island has a long-established Tamil minority in the north and east. The British also brought in Tamil labourers to work the coffee and tea plantations in the central highlands, making the island a major tea producer. But the majority Buddhist Sinhalese community resented what they saw as favouritism towards the mainly-Hindu Tamils under British administration. The growth of a more assertive Sinhala nationalism after independence fanned the flames of ethnic division until civil war erupted in the 1980s between Tamils pressing for self-rule and the government. Most of the fighting took place in the north. But the conflict also penetrated the heart of Sri Lankan society with Tamil Tiger rebels carrying out devastating suicide bombings in Colombo in the 1990s. The violence killed more than 60,000 people, damaged the economy and harmed tourism in one of South Asia's potentially prosperous societies. A ceasefire and a political agreement reached between the government and rebels in late 2002 raised hopes for a lasting settlement. Though both sides have by and large observed the truce, Norwegian-brokered peace talks stalled in 2003. Sri Lanka suffered its worst disaster in late 2004 when giant waves generated by an undersea earthquake off Indonesia swept ashore, killing more than 30,000 people and devasting swathes of the coast. • Population: 19.4 million (UN, 2005)
President: Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapakse, prime minister at the time of his election, won the November 2005 presidential poll by a narrow margin. His main rival was the opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Mahinda Rajapakse has signalled a tough stance against rebels Mr Rajapakse enjoyed the backing of Marxist and Buddhist parties in the government; he also benefited from an extremely low turnout by Tamils in the north and east. He inherited a troubled economy and a faltering peace process. During campaigning he promised to take a hard line in any peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels and said he would seek direct talks with the group's leader. Mr Rajapakse, a Buddhist lawyer, became premier in 2004, heading a heavily-polarised parliament. He served under Chandrika Bandaranaike-Kumaratunga, president since 1994. She had been a strong advocate of economic liberalisation while in office. But government rifts slowed the pace of change. Her coalition was also divided over the Tamil peace process. The former president pursued a twin-track approach during the civil war, trying to offer the Tamil rebels some form of autonomy while seeking the upper hand on the battlefield. However, she accused the government of making too many concessions to the rebels in the course of the peace process. Tensions over the process led to a bitter power struggle with the then prime minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe, in 2003. • Prime minister: Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
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