The Tamil-Sinhalese conflict colors all political debate. In 1983, civil war erupted between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers) and the government. The LTTE wants an independent state in the north and east. The government is committed to keeping Sri Lanka unified and has resisted federalism. The most recent peace efforts collapsed in 1990 and were followed by an army campaign in which 10,000 died. On 1 May 1993, President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated. In 1993 and 1994 the army, which is growing in political influence, captured significant ltte towns in the Jaffna Peninsula.
