History of the Conflict

Since 1948, Eelam Tamils have faced systematic discrimination by the Sri Lankan state — including the 1948 and 1949 Citizenship Acts that rendered many Tamils stateless, the 1956 "Sinhala Only" language act, and repeated state-organized violence against Tamil civilians, most notably the anti-Tamil pogrom of Black July 1983.

These decades of discrimination and violence gave rise to an armed struggle for Tamil self-determination that lasted until May 2009, when the Sri Lankan military brought the conflict to a violent end in the Mullivaikkal area of the Vanni region. IDCTE was founded by young Eelam Tamils in the diaspora who grew up in the shadow of this history, and who continue to press for accountability for what happened — and for a just, political resolution to the underlying conflict.

This page is a starting overview. IDCTE will expand it with a more detailed timeline.