The Thimpu principles or Thimpu Declaration were a set of four demands put forward by the Sri Lankan Tamil delegation at the first peace talks undertaken regarding the Sri Lankan civil war. In July–August 1985 the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

organised peace talks in

Thimphu Thimphu (; ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's '' dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replac ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

aimed at bringing an end to the Sri Lankan civil war between

Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. ...

and the government of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The declaration made by the Tamil delegation at

, in response to a government proposal, has come to be known as the Thimpu Declaration or Thimpu principles.

Introduction

The Sri Lankan government delegation consisted of Hector Jayawardene (

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Junius Jayewardene's brother), three

lawyers A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

, and an attorney. The

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

delegation consisted of representatives from the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS),

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

(LTTE), People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE),

Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is a Sri Lankan Tamil political party and former militant group. Initially, the TELO campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in northeastern Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1987, until ...

(TELO) and Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). The Sri Lankan government delegation proposed draft legislation for

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

of power but this was rejected by the

delegation.Peace and Conflict Timeline, 8 July 1985
/ref> On 13 July the

delegation responded, issuing the Thimpu Declaration with four key demands (the cardinal principles). The four cardinal principles became known as the Thimpu principles.

Thimpu Declaration

The declaration stated:Tamil Nation, The Thimpu Talks - The Thimpu Declaration
/ref> The Sri Lankan government rejected all but the last principle as they violated

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

. The peace talks collapsed on 18 August due to the intransigence of both delegations.The Thimpu Talks: 1985 Sinhala-Tamil Conflict and the Indian Factor (via Tamil Nation)
/ref>

References

{{Reflist 1985 documents 1985 in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil politics India–Sri Lanka relations Indian Peace Keeping Force Foreign intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war

Introduction

Thimpu Declaration

See also

References