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115-474: Weli Oya was traditionally known as Manal Aru before the launch of government Sinhala colonization programs and the 1984 Manal Aru massacres , where the Tamil population was progressively driven out. A body of running water moving to a lower level in a channel on land is called Manal Aru in Tamil. It is hemmed between Anuradhapura, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee and Vavuniya Districts. It is called the "border village" (s) since

230-584: A secular one with principal emphasis on prohibition of discrimination and protection of all communities. Due to its military victories, policies, call for national self-determination and constructive Tamil nationalist platform, the LTTE was supported by major sections of the Tamil community. Based on the survey of the Jaffna population by the BBC and Reuters journalists, a U.S. diplomatic cable from 1994 stated that support for

345-536: A bank ( Bank of Tamil Eelam ), a radio station (Voice of Tigers) and a television station (National Television of Tamil Eelam). In the LTTE-controlled areas, women reported lower levels of domestic violence because "the Tigers had a de facto justice system to deal with domestic violence." The United States Department of State Human Rights Reports have described LTTE's governance as an authoritarian military rule, denying

460-534: A certain degree of regional autonomy in the Tamil areas, with Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) controlling the regional council and called for the Tamil militant groups to surrender. India was to send a peacekeeping force, named the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), part of the Indian Army , to Sri Lanka to enforce the disarmament and to watch over the regional council. Although

575-644: A controversy the Sinhalese were ejected from the east and resettled along a line from Padaviya to Nedunkerny in the north, in the Mullaitivu district with jungles being cleared and new roads being opened from Padaviya to Dollar Farm, Kumbakarnan Malai, Ariyakundam, Kokkuchchankulam, Kokkuttoduwai and Veddukkan malai. The project was done with the resources and vehicles of the Army, Agrarian Services, Illmenite Corporation, Tobacco Corporation and Petroleum Corporation. Despite its scale

690-408: A cyanide capsule to commit suicide in case of capture. The LTTE operated a systematic and powerful political wing, which functioned like a separate state in the LTTE controlled area. In 1989, it established a political party named People's Front of Liberation Tigers , under Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja alias Mahattaya. It was abandoned soon after. Later, S. P. Thamilselvan was appointed the head of

805-461: A district quota as a parameter within each language. A student named Satiyaseelan formed Tamil Manavar Peravai (Tamil Students League) to counter this. This group comprised Tamil youth who advocated the rights of students to have fair enrolment. Inspired by the failed 1971 insurrection of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna , it was the first Tamil insurgent group of its kind. It consisted of around 40 Tamil youth, including Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran (later,

920-422: A few Tamils and soldiers shot them dead. Youths were lined up and shot. Women were also raped. On the third day, 4 December, residents of Thenaimarawadi began their journey to safety; they walked through the forest for four days and reached Mulliyavalai in the Mullaitivu district. They built temporary sheds and stayed there. They named their new settlement Ponnagar meaning Golden Town. They have lived there for

1035-497: A flood of refugees, India intervened directly in the conflict for the first time by initially airdropping food parcels into Jaffna . After negotiations, India and Sri Lanka entered into the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord . Though the conflict was between the Tamil and Sinhalese people, India and Sri Lanka signed the peace accord instead of India influencing both parties to sign a peace accord among themselves. The peace accord assigned

1150-631: A former senior intelligence leader are trying to revive the organisation among the Tamil diaspora . Subsequently, in May 2011, Nediyavan, who advocates an armed struggle against the Sri Lankan state, was arrested and released on bail in Norway, pending further investigation. The LTTE was viewed as a disciplined and militarised group with a leader of a significant military and organisational skills. Three major divisions of

1265-437: A government in its territory, providing state functions such as courts, a police force, a human rights organisation, and a humanitarian assistance board, a health board, and an education board. However, the court system, composed of young judges with little or no legal training had operated without codified or defined legal authority, and essentially operated as agents of the LTTE rather than as an independent judiciary. It ran

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1380-520: A guarantee of safety. On 17 May 2009, LTTE's head of the Department of International Relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan conceded defeat, saying in an email statement, "this battle has reached its bitter end". With the end of the hostilities, 11,664 LTTE members, including 595 child soldiers surrendered to the Sri Lankan military. Approximately 150 hardcore LTTE cadres and 1,000 mid-level cadres escaped to India. The government took action to rehabilitate

1495-734: A member of World Tamil Coordinating Committee of the United States and later, the accountant of LTTE. He worked at the North Korean embassy in Bangkok since late 1997. LTTE had nearly 20-second-hand ships, which were purchased in Japan, and registered in Panama and other Latin American countries. These ships mostly transported general cargo, including paddy, sugar, timber, glass, and fertilizer. But when an arms deal

1610-696: A new division called the Weli Oya Divisional Secretariat (the Sinhalese equivalent of the Tamil term "Manal Aru") was carved in the southern parts of the Mullaitivu district. Today the majority of the population in the area is Sinhalese while Tamils have been systematically denied any claim to their lands. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE ; Tamil : தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் , romanized:  Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ , Sinhala : දෙමළ ඊලාම් විමුක්ති කොටි සංවිධානය , romanized:  Demaḷa īlām vimukti koṭi saṁvidhānaya ; also known as

1725-419: A powerful international wing called the "KP branch", controlled by Selvarasa Pathmanathan , "Castro branch", controlled by Veerakathy Manivannam alias Castro, and "Aiyannah group" led by Ponniah Anandaraja alias Aiyannah. During its active years, the LTTE had established and administered a de facto state under its control, named Tamil Eelam with Kilinochchi as its administrative capital, and had managed

1840-438: A separate organisation named Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) to campaign for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam . These groups, along with another prominent figure of the armed struggle, Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran, were involved in several hit-and-run operations against pro-government Tamil politicians, Sri Lanka Police and civil administration during the early 1970s. These attacks included throwing bombs at

1955-457: A separate state . They had no faith in any sort of political solution. Thus the TULF and other Tamil political parties were steadily marginalized and insurgent groups emerged as the major force in the north. During this period of time, several other insurgent groups came into the arena, such as EROS (1975), TELO (1979), PLOTE (1980), EPRLF (1980) and TELA (1982). LTTE ordered civilians to boycott

2070-511: A substantial amount of weapons from RAW and from Lebanon, Cyprus, Singapore, and Malaysia-based arms dealers. LTTE received its first consignment of arms from Singapore in 1984 on board the MV Cholan , the first ship owned by the organisation. Funds were received and cargo cleared at Chennai Port with the assistance of M. G. Ramachandran , the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu . In November 1994,

2185-703: A union between LTTE, the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF). TELO usually held the Indian view of problems and pushed for India's view during peace talks with Sri Lanka and other groups. LTTE denounced

2300-538: A well-developed military wing that included a navy, an airborne unit , an intelligence wing, and a specialised suicide attack unit . The LTTE popularised and perfected the use of a suicide vest as a weapon, a tactic now used by many current militant organisations. The LTTE gained notoriety for using women and children in combat and carrying out a number of high-profile assassinations , including former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993. Consequently,

2415-401: Is an ancient Tamil village in the north of Trincomalee district. It lies close to Padaviya. The village was neglected by the state and its inhabitants were harassed by Sinhala colonists who wanted to grab their farmland. People of the village received a message that, unless they left the village immediately, they would be attacked by the Sinhalese. N.Vijayaratnam in his book 'Manal Aru' describes

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2530-568: Is called Manal Aru in Tamil. A total of 13,288 Tamil families living in 42 villages for generations including Kokkulai Grama Sevakar Division (1516 Tamil families), Kokku –Thoduvai Grama Sevakar Division (3306 Tamil families), Vavunia North Grama Sevakar Division (1342 Tamil families), Other Divisions of Mullaitivu District including Naiyaru and Kumulamunai ( 2011 Tamil families). These Traditional Tamil farming villages interspersed with small and large farms owned by Tamils or held on long lease by Tamil-owned business enterprises. The lease for 99 years

2645-534: The 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom as one of the factors that led him to militancy. In 1975, he assassinated the Mayor of Jaffna , Alfred Duraiappah , in revenge for the 1974 Tamil conference incident . The LTTE was subsequently founded in 1976 as a reaction to the Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 which prescribed Buddhism as the primary religion of the country, and Sinhala language its national language. The LTTE

2760-528: The 1983 Anti-Tamil pogrom in which more than 3000 Tamils were murdered and hundreds of thousands were forced to flee the island. The Yan Oya settlement was one such, aimed at breaking the territorial contiguity of Tamil Eelam , the traditional homeland of Sri Lankan Tamils, between Trincomalee and Mullaitivu. The Yan Oya settlement scheme was administered by the Sri Lankan minister of Sinhala ethnicity Lalith Athulathmudali backed by President J.R. Jayewardene . In November 1984, alleging Tamils as terrorists,

2875-468: The Central Bank bombing in 1996. Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia remained the most trusted outposts of LTTE, after India alienated it following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Since late 1997, North Korea became the principal country to provide arms, ammunition, and explosives to the LTTE. The deal with North Korean government was carried out by Ponniah Anandaraja alias Aiyannah,

2990-514: The Eastern Province . Fighting continued throughout the 1990s, and was marked by two key assassinations carried out by the LTTE: those of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993, using suicide bombers on both occasions. The fighting briefly halted in 1994 following the election of Chandrika Kumaratunga as President of Sri Lanka and

3105-562: The Jaffna peninsula . Notices were issued to the effect that all remaining Tamil insurgents join the LTTE in Jaffna and in Madras , where the Tamil groups were headquartered. With the major groups including the TELO and EPRLF eliminated, the remaining 20 or so Tamil insurgent groups were then absorbed into the LTTE, making Jaffna an LTTE-dominated city. Another practice that increased support by Tamil people

3220-625: The Special Task Force . Although the scheme covered four districts, administration was handled from the Sinhalese dominated Anuradhapura district. The scheme aroused much anger amongst the Tamils. Today the area is almost exclusively Sinhalese. 1984 Manal Aru massacres The Manal Aru massacres of 1984 refers to a series of massacres of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan military across numerous traditional Tamil villages in

3335-571: The Sri Lanka Army to clandestinely hand over arms consignments to the LTTE to fight the IPKF and its proxy, the Tamil National Army (TNA). These consignments included RPGs, mortars, self-loading rifles, Type 81 assault rifle , T56 automatic rifles , pistols , hand grenades , ammunition, and communications sets. Moreover, millions of dollars were also passed on to the LTTE. The last members of

3450-535: The Tamil Tigers ) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka . The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the northeast of the island in response to violent persecution and discriminatory policies against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese -dominated Sri Lankan Government . The leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran , cited

3565-637: The Tune Hotel , in downtown Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia. Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence alleges that Perinpanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan of the Tamil Eelam People's Alliance (TEPA) in Norway , Suren Surendiran of British Tamils Forum (BTF), Father S. J. Emmanuel of Global Tamil Forum (GTF), Visvanathan Rudrakumaran of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and Sekarapillai Vinayagamoorthy alias Kathirgamathamby Arivazhagan alias Vinayagam,

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3680-566: The international waters . LTTE's last shipment of weapons was in March 2009, towards the end of the war. The merchant vessel Princess Iswari went from Indonesia to North Korea under captain Kamalraj Kandasamy alias Vinod, loaded the weapons and came back to international waters beyond Sri Lanka. But due to the heavy naval blockades set up by the Sri Lankan Navy, it could not deliver

3795-464: The 1970s, initial non-violent political struggle for an independent Tamil state was used as justification for a violent secessionist insurgency led by the LTTE. In the early 1970s, the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike introduced the policy of standardisation to curtail the number of Tamil students selected for certain faculties in the universities. In 1972, the government added

3910-493: The Army. On 23 July 1983, the LTTE ambushed the Army patrol Four Four Bravo in Thirunelveli , Jaffna and killed thirteen soldiers. The ambush provided the pretext for the pre-planned Black July pogrom to be unleashed against the Tamil community in which 3,500-4,000 Tamils were killed. Before the pogrom the LTTE had only 30 full-time members. Subsequently, thousands of outraged Tamil youths joined Tamil militant groups to fight

4025-466: The IPKF, which was estimated to have had a strength of well over 100,000 at its peak, left the country in March 1990 upon the request of President Premadasa. Unstable peace initially held between the government and the LTTE, and peace talks progressed towards providing devolution for Tamils in the north and east of the country. A ceasefire held between LTTE and the government from June 1989 to June 1990, but broke down as LTTE massacred 600 police officers in

4140-460: The IPKF. The LTTE's political leader for Jaffna peninsula Thileepan died during a hunger strike directed at the Indian government after it had failed to meet his demands; and on 5 October 12 LTTE cadres detained by the Sri Lankan Navy committed suicide when the Sri Lankan Army attempted to take them to Colombo for interrogation after the IPKF refused to intervene and secure their release under

4255-565: The Indian Army, and launched its first attack on an Indian army rations truck on 8 October, killing five Indian para-commandos who were on board by strapping burning tires around their necks. The government of India stated that the IPKF should disarm the LTTE by force. The Indian Army launched assaults on the LTTE, including a month-long campaign, Operation Pawan to win control of the Jaffna Peninsula. The ruthlessness of this campaign, and

4370-583: The Indian army's subsequent anti-LTTE operations, which included civilian massacres and rapes made it extremely unpopular among many Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Indian intervention was also unpopular among the Sinhalese majority. Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa pledged to withdraw IPKF as soon as he was elected president during his presidential election campaign in 1988. After being elected, in April 1989, he started negotiations with LTTE. President Premadasa ordered

4485-529: The Kokkilai massacre of Sinhalese, Sinhalese mobs led by soldiers invaded the village of Thennamarawadi variety of weapons, knives, axes, crowbars, clubs and guns. About 200 families lived in Thenaimarawadi at that time. They fled into the forest. The mob set fire to their huts and destroyed everything they could lay their hands on. The mob returned again the next day. They searched the forest for Tamils. They caught

4600-547: The LTTE abandoned its positions on the Jaffna peninsula to make a last stand in the jungles of Mullaitivu , their last main base. The Jaffna Peninsula was captured by the Sri Lankan Army by 14 January. On 25 January 2009, SLA troops "completely captured" Mullaitivu town, the last major LTTE stronghold. President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared military victory over the Tamil Tigers on 16 May 2009, after 26 years of conflict. The rebels offered to lay down their weapons in return for

4715-740: The LTTE admitted defeat on 17 May 2009. Prabhakaran was killed by government forces on 19 May 2009. Selvarasa Pathmanathan succeeded Prabhakaran as leader of the LTTE, but he was later arrested in Malaysia and handed over to the Sri Lankan government in August 2009. Eelam War IV had commenced in the East. Mavil Aru came under the control of the Sri Lanka Army by 15 August 2006. Systematically, Sampoor , Vakarai , Kanjikudichchi Aru and Batticaloa also came under military control. The military then captured Thoppigala,

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4830-525: The LTTE leadership. In 2002, the LTTE dropped its demand for a separate state, instead demanding a form of regional autonomy. Following the landslide election defeat of Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickramasinghe coming to power in December 2001, the LTTE declared a unilateral ceasefire. The Sri Lankan Government agreed to the ceasefire, and in March 2002 the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) was signed. As part of

4945-517: The LTTE raided the Kent and Dollar farms and massacred the Sinhalese there. The day after, the LTTE killed fishermen 11 Sinhalese at Kokkilai. In response to the massacres, S. L. Gunasekara and Davinda Senanayake issued a report that recommended the increased militarization of the colonies. The government implemented the recommendation by increasing army presence in Weli Oya, but the LTTE continued attacking

5060-518: The LTTE regained control of these areas, which culminated in the capture in April 2000 of the strategically important Elephant Pass base complex, located at the entrance of the Jaffna Peninsula, after prolonged fighting against the Sri Lanka Army. Mahattaya , a one-time deputy leader of LTTE, was accused of treason by the LTTE and killed in 1994. He is said to have collaborated with the Indian Research and Analysis Wing to remove Prabhakaran from

5175-483: The LTTE should take direct responsibility for the collapse of the talks. Rifts grew between the government and LTTE, and resulted in a number of ceasefire agreement violations by both sides during 2006. Suicide attacks, military skirmishes, and air raids took place during the latter part of 2006. Between February 2002 to May 2007, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission documented 3,830 ceasefire violations by

5290-472: The LTTE succeeded in atomising the community. It took away not only the right to oppose but even the right to evaluate, as a community, the course they were taking. This gives a semblance of illusion that the whole society is behind the LTTE." After meeting with the Tamil civil society in Jaffna in 2001, Jehan Perera, the executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, observed that fear

5405-521: The LTTE was designated as a terrorist organisation by 33 countries, including the European Union , Canada , the United States , and India . Over the course of the conflict, the LTTE frequently exchanged control of territory in the north-east with the Sri Lankan military, with the two sides engaging in intense military confrontations. It was involved in four unsuccessful rounds of peace talks with

5520-507: The LTTE was able to purchase 60 tonnes of explosives (50 tonnes of TNT and 10 tonnes of RDX ) from Rubezone Chemical plant in Ukraine , providing a forged Bangladeshi Ministry of Defence end-user certificate . Payments for the explosives were made from a Citibank account in Singapore held by Selvarasa Pathmanathan. Consignment was transported on board MV Sewne. The same explosives were used for

5635-444: The LTTE was an avowedly secular organisation; religion did not play any significant part in its ideology. Prabhakaran criticised what he saw as the oppressive features of traditional Hindu Tamil society, such as the caste system and gender inequality . The LTTE presented itself as a revolutionary movement seeking widespread change within Tamil society, not just independence from the Sri Lankan state. Therefore, its ideology called for

5750-644: The LTTE was fairly strong among the Jaffna population who admired the discipline of the LTTE's administrative service, and that majority of Jaffna residents would choose the LTTE over the Sri Lankan Army given the choice. According to the assessments by independent observers, the LTTE administration of justice gained "significant social acceptance", and its courts were broadly seen as "more efficient, less expensive, and less vulnerable to corruption than their Sri Lankan counterparts." The LTTE police force also had "a high degree of legitimacy" among Tamil civilians who viewed it as "an uncorrupt and important stabilizing factor in

5865-641: The LTTE were the military, intelligence, and political wings. The military wing consisted of at least 11 separate divisions including the conventional fighting forces, Charles Anthony Regiment and Jeyanthan Regiment ; the suicide wing called the Black Tigers ; naval wing Sea Tigers , air-wing Air Tigers , LTTE leader Prabhakaran's personal security divisions, Imran Pandian regiment and Ratha regiment; auxiliary military units such as Kittu artillery brigade, Kutti Sri mortar brigade, Ponnamman mining unit and hit-and-run squads like Pistol gang. Charles Anthony brigade

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5980-495: The LTTE's escalation of intermittent conflict into a full-scale nationalist insurgency began, which started the Sri Lankan Civil War . By this time, the LTTE was widely regarded as the most dominant Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. It also emerged as among the most feared guerrilla forces in the world. Initially starting out as a guerrilla force, the LTTE increasingly came to resemble conventional armed forces with

6095-474: The LTTE, with respect to 351 by the security forces. Military confrontation continued into 2007 and 2008. In January 2008 the government officially pulled out of the Cease Fire Agreement. In the most significant show of dissent from within the organisation, a senior LTTE commander named Colonel Karuna ( nom de guerre of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan) broke away from the LTTE in March 2004 and formed

6210-641: The Mahaweli ‘L’ zone. The land was officially renamed Weli Oya on April 16, 1988. After the defeat of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority recommenced Sinhala colonisation in the Manal Aru area, as part of the Weli Oya project of the Mahaweli L-zone, which covered the districts of Mullaitivu , Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Anuradhapura. Sinhalese were settled in traditionally Tamil land, given land, money to build homes and security provided by

6325-540: The Manal Aru region which spans across the Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts. The motive behind the massacres was to drive out the local Tamil population from their villages, in order to replace them with thousands of Sinhala settlers . Over the period from 1 December 1984 till 15 December 1984 the area surrounding the region that connects Mullaitivu to Trincomalee saw three well planned massacres, property destruction and forced eviction of Tamils from this region by

6440-497: The North and East which it controlled. The ISGA was to be entrusted with powers such as the right to impose law, collect taxes and oversee the rehabilitation process until a favourable solution was reached after which elections would be held. The ISGA would consist of members representing the LTTE, GoSL and the Muslim community . According to the proposal, this LTTE administration intended to be

6555-421: The Sinhalese and Tamil populations are alleged to have created the background of the LTTE. Post-independent Sri Lankan governments attempted to reduce the increased presence of the Tamil minority in government jobs, which led to ethnic discrimination, seeded hatred and division policies including the " Sinhala Only Act " and anti-Tamil riots , which gave rise to separatist ideologies among many Tamil leaders. By

6670-557: The Sri Lankan government and at its peak in 2000, the LTTE was in control of 76% of the landmass in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran headed the organisation from its inception until his death in 2009. Between 1983 and 2009, at least 100,000 were killed in the civil war , of which many were Sri Lankan Tamils. 800,000 Sri Lankan Tamils also left Sri Lanka for various destinations, including Europe, North America, and Asia. Historical inter-ethnic imbalances between

6785-987: The Sri Lankan government, in what is considered a major catalyst to the insurgency in Sri Lanka. In reaction to various geo-political and economic factors, from August 1983 to May 1987, India, through its intelligence agency the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), provided arms, training and monetary support to six Sri Lankan Tamil insurgent groups including the LTTE. During that period, 32 camps were set up in India to train these 495 LTTE insurgents, including 90 women who were trained in 10 batches. The first batch of Tigers were trained in Establishment 22 based in Chakrata , Uttarakhand. The second batch, including LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman , trained in Himachal Pradesh . Prabakaran visited

6900-458: The Sri Lankan military. The result was that the Tamil people who were expelled remain permanently uprooted from their land, and a Sinhala colony called Weli Oya was formed in their place. The Mullaitivu and Trincomalee Districts were dotted with what have been traditional Tamil farming and fishing villages for generations. It was interspersed with small and large farms owned by Tamils or held on long lease by Tamil-owned business enterprises. Among

7015-422: The Sri Lankan troops had captured Kilinochchi , the city which the LTTE had used for over a decade as its de facto administrative capital. On the same day, President Rajapaksa called upon LTTE to surrender. It was stated that the loss of Kilinochchi had caused substantial damage to the LTTE's public image, and that the LTTE was likely to collapse under military pressure on multiple fronts. As of 8 January 2009,

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7130-588: The Superintendent of Police in Vauvuniya Arthur Herath raided and drove away the residents of Kent and Dollar Farm. Subsequently, Sinhala ex-convicts and prisoners were settled there. The settlement of prisoners was used to further harass Tamils into leaving the area. The Sinhalese settlers admitted that young Tamil women were abducted, brought there and gang-raped, first by the security forces, next by prison guards and finally by prisoners. On November 30,

7245-525: The TELO view and claimed that India was only acting on its own interest. As a result, the LTTE broke from the ENLF in 1986. Soon fighting broke out between the TELO and the LTTE and clashes occurred over the next few months. As a result, almost the entire TELO leadership and at least 400 TELO militants were killed by the LTTE. The LTTE attacked training camps of the EPRLF a few months later, forcing it to withdraw from

7360-498: The Tamil militant organizations did not have a role in the Indo-Lanka agreement, most groups, including EPRLF, TELO, EROS, and PLOTE, accepted it. LTTE rejected the accord because they opposed EPRLF's Varadaraja Perumal as the chief ministerial candidate for the merged North Eastern Province . The LTTE named three alternate candidates for the position, which India rejected. The LTTE subsequently refused to hand over their weapons to

7475-506: The TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (later Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal ), amid allegations that the northern commanders were overlooking the needs of the eastern Tamils. The LTTE leadership accused him of mishandling funds and questioned him about his recent personal behaviour. He tried to take control of the eastern province from the LTTE, which caused clashes between the LTTE and TMVP. The LTTE suggested that TMVP

7590-458: The Tiger stronghold in Eastern Province on 11 July 2007. IPKF had failed to capture it from LTTE during its offensive in 1988. Sporadic fighting had been happening in the North for months, but the intensity of the clashes increased after September 2007. Gradually, the defence lines of the LTTE began to fall. The advancing military confined the LTTE into rapidly diminishing areas in the North. Earlier, on 2 November 2007, S. P. Thamilselvan , who

7705-410: The accord. Major General Harkirat Singh J.N.Dixit and Depinder Singh were against handing over the LTTE cadres to the Sri Lankan Army but due to orders from New Delhi they agreed. The LTTE walked out of the accord after the mass suicide. Harkirat Singh blamed the diplomats and the Army headquarters for the turn of events leading to the conflict. Thus LTTE engaged in military conflict with

7820-460: The agreement, Norway and other Nordic countries agreed to jointly monitor the ceasefire through the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission . Six rounds of peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE were held, but they were temporarily suspended after the LTTE pulled out of the talks in 2003 claiming "certain critical issues relating to the ongoing peace process". In 2003 the LTTE proposed an Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA). This move

7935-417: The apprehended cadres, there had been about 700 hardcore members. Some of these cadres were integrated into the State Intelligence Service to tackle the internal and external networks of LTTE. By August 2011, the government had released more than 8,000 cadres, and 2,879 remained. After the death of LTTE leader Prabhakaran and the most powerful members of the organisation, Selvarasa Pathmanathan (alias KP )

8050-423: The attack, the European Union proscribed the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. A new crisis leading to the first large-scale fighting since signing of the ceasefire occurred when the LTTE closed the sluice gates of the Mavil Oya ( Mavil Aru ) reservoir on 21 July 2006, and cut the water supply to 15,000 villages in government controlled areas. This dispute developed into a full-scale war by August 2006. After

8165-475: The breakdown of the peace process in 2006, the Sri Lankan military launched a major offensive against the Tigers, defeating the LTTE militarily and bringing the entire country under its control. Human rights groups criticised the nature of the victory which included the internment of Tamil civilians in concentration camps with little or no access to outside agencies. Victory over the Tigers was declared by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 16 May 2009, and

8280-506: The ceasefire agreement, stating that the ethnic conflict could only have a military solution, and that the only way to achieve this was by eliminating the LTTE. Further peace talks were scheduled in Oslo , Norway, on 8 and 9 June 2006, but cancelled when the LTTE refused to meet directly with the government delegation, stating its fighters were not being allowed safe passage to travel to the talks. Norwegian mediator Erik Solheim told journalists that

8395-609: The ethnic problem has been solved. LTTE had developed a large international network since the days of N. S. Krishnan, who served as its first international representative. In the late 1970s, TULF parliamentarian and opposition leader A. Amirthalingam provided letters of reference for fundraising, and V. N. Navaratnam , who was an executive committee member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), introduced many influential and wealthy Tamils living overseas to Tamil insurgent leaders. Navaratnam also introduced LTTE members to

8510-749: The ethnic riots of 1983, attempts to raise funds for a sustaining military campaign were not realised. It was the mass exodus of Tamil civilians to India and western countries following the Black July ethnic riots, which made this possible. As the armed conflict evolved and voluntary donations lessened, LTTE used force and threats to collect money. LTTE was worth US$ 200–300 million at its peak. The group's global network owned numerous business ventures in various countries. These include investment in real estate, shipping, grocery stores, gold and jewellery stores, gas stations, restaurants, production of films, mass media organisations (TV, radio, print), and industries. It

8625-526: The events: The next moment the people gathered the few movables they possessed in cloth bundles and ran into the surrounding jungle. They waited there the whole of the night. They first heard gunshots from the direction of the village. Then they saw flames jump up. With burning hearts, they walked towards Mullaitivu and joined refugee camps. The young, boys and girls joined the LTTE and fought along with them to liberate their villages. They are yet to succeed. But they are determined to succeed. In retaliation for

8740-602: The first and the second batch of Tamil Tigers to see them training. Eight other batches of LTTE were trained in Tamil Nadu. Thenmozhi Rajaratnam alias Dhanu, who carried out the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and Sivarasan—the key conspirator were among the militants trained by RAW, in Nainital , India. In April 1984, the LTTE formally joined a common militant front, the Eelam National Liberation Front (ENLF),

8855-438: The first female member of the LTTE, were prominent members of the TULF youth wing. Maheswaran was the secretary of TULF Tamil Youth Forum, Colombo branch. Amirthalingam introduced Prabhakaran to N. S. Krishnan, who later became the first international representative of LTTE. It was Krishnan who introduced Prabhakaran to Anton Balasingham , who later became the chief political strategist and chief negotiator of LTTE, which split for

8970-460: The first time in 1979. Uma Maheswaran was found to be having a love affair with Urmila Kandiah, which was against the code of conduct of LTTE. Prabhakaran expelled him and Maheswaran formed People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) in 1980. In 1980, Junius Richard Jayewardene 's government agreed to devolve power by the means of District Development Councils upon the request of TULF. By this time, LTTE and other insurgent groups wanted

9085-714: The government recommended the militarization of settlements in the area, and the government complied. The UTHR reported that the Weli Oya colonization scheme was only a ploy by the military to use civilians as "both bait and human shields against the LTTE." Two Sinhalese clergymen characterized it as an "unwanted provocation" by the state and as a legitimate military target. Following the massacres of Sinhalese, Tamil families were living in 42 villages for generations were asked to vacate their homes and farmlands within 48 hours or face eviction by force in case of default. The military went around these villages in armored trucked and made loud announcement over public address systems mounted on

9200-642: The incident. Sivakumaran committed suicide on 5 June 1974, to evade capture by Police. On 27 July 1975, Prabhakaran assassinated Duraiyappah, who was branded as a "traitor" by TULF and the insurgents alike. Prabhakaran shot and killed the Mayor when he was visiting the Krishnan temple at Ponnalai. The LTTE was founded on 5 May 1976 as the successor to the Tamil New Tigers. Uma Maheswaran became its leader, and Prabhakaran its military commander. A five-member committee

9315-462: The large farms were: Navalar farm, Ceylon Theatres farm, Kent farm, Railway Group Farm, Postmaster Group Farm and Dollar Farm. Kent and Dollar farms were later used to rehabilitate the hill country victims of the 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom . Throughout the 1980s the Sri Lankan government conspired many schemes to grab the lands of Tamils, and settle them with Sinhalese people . The deliberate and coordinated attacks on Tamil villages, however began after

9430-686: The leader of the Sivakumaran group), K. Pathmanaba (one of the founder members of EROS ) and Velupillai Prabhakaran , an 18-year-old youth from Valvettithurai (VVT). In 1972, Prabhakaran teamed up with Chetti Thanabalasingam, Jaffna to form the Tamil New Tigers (TNT), with Thanabalasingham as its leader. After he was killed, Prabhakaran took over. At the same time, Nadarajah Thangathurai and Selvarajah Yogachandran (better known by his nom de guerre Kuttimani) were also involved in discussions about an insurgency. They would later (in 1979) create

9545-467: The local government elections of 1983 which TULF contested. Voter turnout became as low as 10%. Thereafter, Tamil political parties were largely unable to represent the Tamil people as insurgent groups took over their position. Following a Sri Lankan Army ambush in Meesalai in which two LTTE members were killed including its military commander Seelan , the LTTE sought revenge by launching its first attack on

9660-802: The members of Polisario Front , a national liberation movement in Morocco, at a meeting held in Oslo , Norway. In 1978, during the world tour of Amirthalingam (with London-based Eelam activist S. K. Vaikundavasan), he formed the World Tamil Coordinating Committee (WTCC), which was later found to be an LTTE front organisation. The global contacts of LTTE grew steadily since then. At the height of its power, LTTE had 42 offices worldwide. The international network of LTTE engages in propaganda, fundraising, arms procurement, and shipping. There were three types of organisations that engage in propaganda and fund raising—Front, Cover, and Sympathetic. Prior to

9775-570: The onset of peace talks, but fighting resumed after LTTE sacked two SLN gunboats on 19 April 1995. In a series of military operations that followed, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces recaptured the Jaffna Peninsula. Further offensives followed over the next three years, and the military captured large areas in the north of the country from the LTTE, including areas in the Vanni region , the town of Kilinochchi , and many smaller towns. From 1998 onward,

9890-413: The past 20 years. Colonization and forced eviction attempts in traditional Tamil fishing villages by the Sri Lankan military following a landmine explosion in which several soldiers were killed culminated in to a series of massacres that killed hundreds of Tamils which included 31 women and 21 children. The Tamil community from this region never returned to its original prosperity. Similar treatment

10005-401: The people under its authority the right to change their government, infringing on their privacy rights, routinely violating their civil liberties, operating an unfair court system, restricting freedom of movement and severely discriminating against ethnic and religious minorities. In 2003, the LTTE issued a proposal to establish an Interim Self-Governing Authority in the eight districts of

10120-620: The political wing. He was also a member of the LTTE delegation for Norwegian brokered peace talks. After the death of Thamilselvan in November 2007, Balasingham Nadesan was appointed as its leader. Major sections within the political wing include International peace secretariat, led by Pulidevan, LTTE Police, LTTE court, Bank of Tamil Eelam , Sports division and the "Voice of Tigers" radio broadcasting station of LTTE. LTTE used female cadres for military engagements. Its women's wing consisted of Malathi and Sothiya Brigades. The LTTE also controlled

10235-444: The primary basis of its ideology. LTTE claimed to strive for a democratic , secular state that is based on socialism . Its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was influenced by Indian freedom fighters such as Subhas Chandra Bose . The organisation denied being a separatist movement and saw itself as fighting for self-determination and restoration of sovereignty in what it recognised as Tamil homeland. Although most Tigers were Hindus,

10350-454: The project began suddenly without the knowledge of either the residents or Government Agents of Vavuniya or Mullaitivu including AGAs Land Officers. Following the eviction of Indian Tamil farmers by the police and violence against neighboring Tamil villagers by the Sinhalese settlers, the LTTE attacked the Kent and Dollar Farm settlement at Weli Oya, killing 62. The next day, the LTTE massacred 11 Sinhalese at Kokkilai . A consequent report to

10465-436: The recapture of the North and East by Government forces, the land border between Mullaitivu District and Trincomalee District were once again colonized with Sinhalese settlers in what were traditionally Tamil lands. Sinhalese were settled in traditionally Tamil land, given land, money to build homes and security provided by the Special Task Force . As a result, the demographics of the region had been significantly altered and

10580-462: The region." A survey carried out by the Centre for Policy Alternatives in 2002 from a sample of 89 Sri Lankan Tamils found that 89% regarded the LTTE as their sole representatives. However, University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) , a local human rights NGO that that has been accused of anti-LTTE bias by some critics, claimed that "by combination of internal terror and narrow nationalist ideology

10695-406: The removal of caste discrimination and support for women's liberation. Prabhakaran described his political philosophy as " revolutionary socialism ", with the goal of creating an " egalitarian society ". However, by 2002 with the shift in geopolitical climate, Prabhakaran endorsed "open market economy", but he pointed out that the question about the proper economic system can be considered only after

10810-433: The residence and the car of SLFP Jaffna Mayor, Alfred Duraiyappah , placing a bomb at a carnival held in the stadium of Jaffna city (now "Duraiyappah stadium") and Neervely bank robbery. The 1974 Tamil conference incident during which intervention by Sri Lankan police resulted in 11 dead also sparked the anger of these militant groups. Both Sivakumaran and Prabhakaran attempted to assassinate Duraiyappah in revenge for

10925-688: The settlements. On 03.12.1984, Sri Lankan military rounded up Manal Aru area and fired randomly at the civilians. Civilians from Manal Aru were chased away by the Sri Lankan military and their houses were set on fire. People who have lived in the villages for generations were thus displaced. Many civilians were killed including women and children. Hundreds of families were displaced from these areas. Sinhalese were settled in these villages later. Army officers either visited or sent messages to village elders informing them of an impending attack on their villages and advised them to leave. They also used harassment - theft, assault, kidnapping and rape. The harassment

11040-471: The surrendered cadres under a National Action Plan for the Re-integration of Ex-combatants while allegations of torture, rape, and murder were reported by international human rights bodies. They were divided into three categories; hardcore, non-combatants, and those who were forcibly recruited (including child soldiers). Twenty-four rehabilitation centres were set up in Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Vavuniya. Among

11155-458: The territory north of Weli Oya was previously under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam . In 2012, there were 18 villages in Weli Oya, comprising 3,336 families and 11,189 people, over 99% being of Sinhalese ethnicity. This area was known as Manal Aru . Manal in Tamil means sand, Aru in Tamil means river. A body of running water moving to a lower level in a channel on land

11270-604: The trucks. The military also announced the government has cancelled the 99 years lease in respect of the lands given to 14 Tamil entrepreneurs. There were also a series of massacres and enforced disappearances of hundreds of Tamil civilians by the security forces around this area during this time. The traditional Tamil region known as Manal Aru named as Weli Oya (Manal in Tamil translated into Sinhalese becomes Weli; Aru in Tamil translated into Sinhalese Oya) in Sinhala by an extra ordinary gazette notification dated 16 April 1988. Weli Oya

11385-693: Was LTTE's members taking an oath of loyalty which stated LTTE's goal of establishing a state for the Sri Lankan Tamils. LTTE members were prohibited from smoking cigarettes and consuming alcohol in any form. LTTE members were required to avoid their family members and avoid communication with them. Initially, LTTE members were prohibited from having love affairs or sexual relationships as it could deter their prime motive, but this policy changed after Prabhakaran married Mathivathani Erambu in October 1984. In July 1987, faced with growing anger among its own Tamils and

11500-501: Was also appointed. It has been stated that Prabhakaran sought to "refashion the old TNT/new LTTE into an elite, ruthlessly efficient, and highly professional fighting force", by the terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna . Prabhakaran kept the numbers of the group small and maintained a high standard of training. The LTTE carried out low-key attacks against various government targets, including policemen and local politicians. Tamil United Liberation Front leader Appapillai Amirthalingam , who

11615-605: Was also in control of numerous charitable organisations including Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation , which was banned and had its funds frozen by the United States Treasury in 2007 for covertly financing terrorism. Arms Procurement and shipping activities of LTTE were largely clandestine. Prior to 1983, it procured weapons mainly from Afghanistan via the Indo-Pakistani border . Explosives were purchased from commercial markets in India. From 1983 to 1987, LTTE acquired

11730-481: Was approved of by the international community but rejected by the Sri Lankan President. The LTTE boycotted the presidential election in December 2005. While LTTE claimed that the people under its control were free to vote, it is alleged that they used threats to prevent the population from voting. The United States condemned this. The new government of Sri Lanka came into power in 2006 and demanded to abrogate

11845-677: Was backed by the government, and the Nordic SLMM monitors corroborated this. It was later revealed that UNP Member of Parliament Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana had played an important role in the defection of Colonel Karuna from the LTTE to the Government. Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected as the president of Sri Lanka in 2005. After a brief period of negotiations, LTTE pulled out of peace talks indefinitely. Sporadic violence had continued and on 25 April 2006, LTTE tried to assassinate Sri Lankan Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka . Following

11960-449: Was finalized, they travelled to North Korea, loaded the cargo and brought it to the equator, where the ships were based. Then on board merchant tankers , weapons were transferred to the sea of Alampil , just outside the territorial waters in Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone . After that, small teams of Sea Tigers brought the cargo ashore. The Sri Lanka Navy , during 2005–08 destroyed at least 11 of these cargo ships belonged to LTTE in

12075-415: Was followed by direct onslaught. Another instance of the harassment of the Tamils was the massacre at Othiyamalai during the succeeding months where more than 25 Tamils were killed by the army. TULF representatives who took part in the Indian brokered APC talks raised the events in Manal Aru with the government. They were told that the Sinhalese were being settled as part of a security cordon. Amarivayal

12190-519: Was granted by the government in 1965. The extent of individual holdings varied from ten to fifty acres. Business concerns held large farms and 16 of them were a thousand acres and more. Among the large farms were: Navalar farm, Ceylon Theatres farm, Kent farm, Railway Group Farm, Postmaster Group Farm and Dollar Farm. After settlements inhabited by ethnic Sinhalese near Maduru Oya Basin in Vadamunai, Eastern Province began to encroach on state land creating

12305-534: Was in 1977 elected as the Opposition leader of Sri Lanka Parliament , clandestinely supported the LTTE. Amirthalingam believed that if he could exercise control over the Tamil insurgent groups, it would enhance his political position and pressure the government to agree to grant political autonomy to the Tamils. Thus, he provided letters of reference to the LTTE and to other Tamil insurgent groups to raise funds. Both Uma Maheswaran (a former surveyor ) and Urmila Kandiah,

12420-485: Was involved in attacks on government targets, policemen and local politicians and moved on to armed clashes against the armed forces . Oppression against Sri Lankan Tamils continued by Sinhalese mobs, notably during the 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom and the 1981 burning of the Jaffna Public Library . Following the week-long July 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom carried out by Sinhalese mobs, that came to be known as Black July ,

12535-410: Was its sole first generation leader left alive. He assumed duty as the new leader of LTTE on 21 July 2009. A statement was issued, allegedly from the executive committee of the LTTE, stating that Pathmanathan had been appointed leader of the LTTE. 15 days after the announcement, on 5 August 2009, a Sri Lankan military intelligence unit, with the collaboration of local authorities, captured Pathmanathan in

12650-546: Was meted out to numerous traditional villages in the Batticaloa, Ampara, Vavunia and Mannar districts. In December 1984, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam reprised these colonization attempts by attacking these newly established colonies in North-East which were heavily protected by Sri Lankan military and Sri Lankan Home Guards who had earlier ethnically cleansed the native Tamil population from these villages. Following

12765-400: Was not the only factor that impelled civic groups in Jaffna to speak in favour of the LTTE but that the Jaffna people had recognized the LTTE's military strength and pragmatically accepted it as the main player in achieving a negotiated settlement. The LTTE was a self-styled national liberation organisation with the primary goal of establishing an independent Tamil state. Tamil nationalism was

12880-575: Was proclaimed the 26th District of Sri Lanka. Manal Aru was lies north of the Sinhala colonization scheme of Padavia and from 1987, this administrative division was part of Pathaviya and was brought under the Anuradhapura administrative district. Settlements in the Manal Aru began in 1984 as a dry zone farmer colony under the land Commission, but it was later acquired by the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Economic Agency in 1988 and declared as

12995-578: Was the first conventional fighting formation created by LTTE. Sea Tiger division was founded in 1984, under the leadership of Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan alias Soosai. LTTE acquired its first light aircraft in the late 1990s. Vaithilingam Sornalingam alias Shankar was instrumental in creating the Air Tigers. It carried out nine air attacks since 2007, including a suicide air raid targeting Sri Lanka Air Force headquarters, Colombo in February 2009. LTTE

13110-541: Was the head of the rebels' political wing, was killed during another government air raid. On 2 January 2008, the Sri Lankan government officially abandoned the ceasefire agreement. By 2 August 2008, LTTE lost the Mannar District following the fall of Vellankulam town. Troops captured Pooneryn and Mankulam during the final months of 2008. On 2 January 2009, the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa , announced that

13225-418: Was the only rebel organisation to have an air force. LTTE intelligence wing consisted of Tiger Organisation Security Intelligence Service aka TOSIS, run by Pottu Amman, and a separate military intelligence division. The LTTE cadres were required to follow a strict code of conduct which included prohibition on smoking and consumption of alcohol, with sexual relationships also being regulated. Each member carried

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