events
Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries attempt to overthrow the Maldivian government. At President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's request, the Indian military suppresses the rebellion within 24 hours.
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Country in South Asia
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 peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Tamils
Dravidian ethnic group
The Tamils, also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is one of the longest-surviving classical languages, with over…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Mercenary
Soldier who fights for hire
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1988 Maldives coup attempt
Coup attempt thwarted with Indian assistance
The 1988 Maldives coup d'état attempt was by a group of Sri Lankans and Maldivians led by businessman Abdullah Luthufee and assisted by armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organization from Sri Lanka, the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Maldives
Island country in South Asia
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres from the Asian continent's mainland. The…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
President of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Transport from 1977 to 1978, and as the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)