Denial of fundamental rights and freedoms since independence is the source of the sufferings of the Tamil speaking people of Sri Lanka. Discrimination and escalation of violence against Tamils led to demands for autonomy for the Tamil rights which was denied by successive governments. A negotiated settlement to the conflict was the desire of the Tamils, but talks with the majority community for over a period of 25years provided fruitless. While violence against Tamils increased in intensity, Sri Lankan governments gave greater impetus to discrimination and sought to make Tamils a minority in their own areas by planned Sinhalese colonisation.