Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
| Background |
| Origins of the Civil War |
|
• Origins of the Civil War |
| LTTE |
|
• LTTE • Attributed Terrorist attacks • Child Soldiers |
| Major figures |
|
• Mahinda Rajapakse |
| Indian Involvement |
|
• Operation Poomalai |
| See also |
|
• Military of Sri Lanka |
Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka to create an independent Tamil Eelam.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
These groups arose due to the failure of the traditional non-violent political protest of the Tamil elites to secure fair settlement from the national government for the alleged grievances of the Tamil minority and the increasing racist vehemence and violence of the Sri Lankan state against its minority Tamil people. Tamil militants in general were referred as potiyal (our boys) or puliyal (tigers) by the local Tamils. The Sri Lankan state has always referred to them in the Sinhala language as Thrasdavadi or extremists or terrorists.
[edit] Distinguishing characteristics
The distinguishing characteristics were the sheer number of groupings formed essentially within the Jaffna peninsula which prior to 1983 had just over a million people. Many, but not all, were Marxist in orientation. Most were seen by neighboring powers such as India as a means to control the foreign policy initiatives of then pro-western Sri Lankan government. Hence the numerous groups were easy pickings for foreign intelligence agencies to infiltrate and control, most notably India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
Many of the groups were backed primarily by members of a particular caste. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, for instance, drew largely from the Karaiyar caste, while the PLOTE drew from the dominant Vellala caste. The fighting between the groups that later emerged can be considered a form of caste violence.[citation needed]
[edit] Internecine conflicts
Even at an early stage, one could notice the efforts by the leadership of the largest group, the LTTE, to deploy violence and murder to control the mushrooming of groups. This culminated in bloody internal warfare in the mid-1980s. The LTTE deployed extreme violence against many of the other groups, decimating them. By the mid-1990s, the LTTE was left as the only non state actor fighting on behalf of the Sri Lankan Tamil people. It had to deal with reduced manpower, and the enmity of many Tamils who had supported the other groups, some of whom allied themselves with the Sinhalese-dominated government.
Some of the groups have remained active as democratic political parties. Some of these have joined the Tamil nationalist TNA. Others are allied with the Sri Lankan government either as paramilitaries or as influential political parties.
[edit] Student organizations
- TSL – Tamil Students League [Tamil Manavar Peravai] (1970), founded by Ponnuthurai Satyaseelan. See also, TYL.
- TYL – Tamil Youth League [Tamil Ilaignar Peravai] (1973), the progenitor of Eelam Tamil militancy.
- GUES – General Union of Eelam Students, part of EROS and forerunner of EPRLF.
[edit] Major groups
- LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - Only remaining armed Tamil nationalist group.
- EPRLF Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front - Part of TNA.
- EPDP Eelam People's Democratic Party - Pro-government group and a political party accused of being a paramilitary.[1]
- TELO Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization - Once decimated by the LTTE, part of TNA.
- PLOTE People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam - Minor standalone political party accused of being a paramilitary. PLOTE, unlike others, vehemently denies this.
- ENDP Eelam National Democratic Front - Created with the help IPKF now active in India in refugee settlements in Orissa.
- EROS Eelam Revolutionary Organisers - Part of LTTE.
- TMVP LTTE splinter group, pro-government group accused of being a para-military.
- ICMM - Indo Ceylon Merger Movement (Inththiya Ilanggai Innaippu Iyakkam). (1971-1980)
- TNT - Tamil New Tigers (Puthiya Thamil Pulikal). (1972-1978) part of LTTE
- TLO - Tamil Liberation Organization. (1974-1978)
[edit] Militant fronts
- Upsurging People's Force Considered to be a front of LTTE.
- Ellalan Padai - Considered to be a front of LTTE.
- Ravanan Padai - Considered to be a front of LTTE.
[edit] Political front parties
- TSK – Tamilar Suya-Aadchi Kazhakam (1969), of V. Navaratnam; a splinter group of ITAK.
- ETOM – Eela Thamilar Ottrumai Munnani (1960), of C.Suntheralingam; a one-person band, which became a minor constituent of the TULF.
- DPLF – Democratic People's Liberation Front, the political wing of PLOTE, of D.Siddarthan.
- PFLT – People's Front of Liberation Tigers (1989), now defunct political party of the LTTE.
- ENLF – Eelam National Liberation Front (1985-1986), a short-lived union of the LTTE, EROS, TELO and EPRLF. LTTE wiggled out of this union.
- TELF – Tamil Eelam Liberation Front (1982), of S.C. Chandrahasan, M.K. Eelaventhan, journalist Kovai Mahesan and Dr. S.A. Tharmalingam; a splinter group of the TULF.
- ENDLF – Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (1987), a group created by RAW from PLOTE, EPRLF and TELO.
[edit] Minor groups
- ELDF – Eelam Liberation Defence Front.
- ELO – Eelam Liberation Organisation (1975).
- ELT – Eelam Liberation Tigers.
- EM – Eagle Movement, of Gnanavel.
- ERCP – Eelam Revolutionary Communist Party.
- GATE – Guerrilla Army of Tamil Eelam.
- NLFTE – National Liberation Front of Tamil Eelam, which according to Taraki, was a small but influential Maoist group based largely in Jaffna, which "drove down the road to perdition by splitting hairs over the question of whether it should first build an armed wing or a mass political movement."
- PLFT – People's Liberation Front of Tamil Eelam, a splinter group of NLFTE.
- PLA – People's Liberation Army, the military wing of EPRLF, Led by current EPDP leader Douglas Devananda. Important achievement of the PLA was the 1984 kidnapping of American couple Stanley and Mary Allen from Columbus, Ohio, in Jaffna.
- PLP – People's Liberation Party.
- RCG – Red Crescent Guerrillas.
- RELO – Revolutionary Eelam Liberation Organisation.
- RFTE – Red Front of Tamil Eelamists. (1984)
- RW – Revolutionary Warriors.
- SRSL – Socialist Revolutionary Social Liberation
- TEA – Tamil Eelam Army (1983), of Panagoda Maheswaran.
- TEC – Tamil Eelam Commando.
- TEDF – Tamil Eelam Defence Front.
- TEEF – Tamil Eelam Eagles Front.
- TELA – Tamil Eelam Liberation Army (1982) of Oberoi Thevan; a splinter group of TELO. After the assassination of Thevan in 1983 by the LTTE, TELA was absorbed by PLOTE.
- TELC – Tamil Eelam Liberation Cobras (1983), a short-lived Batticaloa-based group. As per Taraki, "It was widely known as the Cobra Army (Naaha Padai)".
- TELE – Tamil Eelam Liberation Extremists, which Taraki identified as "led by one 'TELE Jegan.' He was shot dead by the LTTE.
- TELG – Tamil Eelam Liberation Guerrillas.
- TENA – Tamil Eelam National Army (1983), of Amirthalingam Baheerathan.
- TERO – Tamil Eelam Revolutionary Organisation, of Sudan Ramesh; a splinter group of TELO.
- TERPLA – Tamil Eelam Revolutionary People's Liberation Army, of Thangarasa.
- TESS – Tamil Eelam Security Service.
- TLO – Tamil Liberation Organisation (1969), the progenitor of TELO.
- TNC – Tamil National Council (1989).
- TNT – Tamil New Tigers (1972-1976); renamed the LTTE.
- TPCU – Tamil People's Command Unit.
- TPDF – Tamil People's Democratic Front.
- TPSF – Tamil People's Security Front.
- TPSO – Tamil People's Security Organisation.
- TEBM – Tamil Eelam Blood Movement.
[edit] See also
- Black July pogrom that lead to the civil war
- Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war
- Sri Lankan civil war
- State terrorism in Sri Lanka
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- List of Tamil militant groups
- Sri Lanka, history of terrorism
- Association of Sri Lankan Muslims with militant groups
- Role played by the Congress(I) and the AIADMK in supporting the activities of Sri Lankan Tamil militants
- Amnesty International names groups involved in the slaughter of minority Tamils
