This was due to the availability of western style education provided by American missionaries and others in the Tamil dominant Jaffna Peninsula.

[citation needed] In 1987 the government of Sri Lanka and India entered into an agreement and invited the Indian Army to be used as peacekeepers.

Eventually the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) came into conflict with one of the rebel groups namely the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

[citation needed] But the LTTE after removing most of its fighting cadres south of the peninsula maintained a steady barrage of typical guerilla style attacks throughout 1988 and 1989.

The statement by the Chief Minister of the North East Mr. Varadarajaperumal dismissed the local media reports as exaggerations.