Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam | |
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தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் දෙමළ ඊලාම් විමුක්ති කොටි සංවිධානය | |
![]() LTTE emblem | |
Also known as | Tamil Tigers; LTTE |
Leader | Velupillai Prabhakaran † |
Foundation | 1976 |
Dates of operation | 5 May 1976 | –18 May 2009
Country | Sri Lanka |
Motives | Creation of an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the Northern Province and the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka |
Ideology | Tamil nationalism Left-wing nationalism Revolutionary socialism Egalitarianism Secularism Anti-imperialism Separatism |
Status | Inactive. Militarily defeated in May 2009. |
Size | 18,000, as of 2004, excluding divisions.[1] |
Annual revenue | US$300+ million prior to the military defeat.[2][3] |
Means of revenue | Contributions from Tamil diaspora (mostly voluntary, sometimes coerced), overseas investments[4] and taxation under LTTE-controlled areas.[5] |
Battles and wars | Sri Lankan Civil War |
Flag | ![]() |
Website | Official website (Now defunct) |
Part of a series on |
Sri Lankan Tamils |
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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 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[6] in response to violent persecution and discriminatory policies against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan Government.[7]
Its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran cited violent incidents of the 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom during his childhood 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.[8][9][10] The LTTE 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,[11] the LTTE's escalation of intermittent conflict into a full-scale nationalist insurgency began, which started the Sri Lankan Civil War.[12] 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.[13]
Initially starting out as a guerrilla force, the LTTE increasingly came to resemble conventional armed forces with a well-developed military wing that included a navy, an airborne unit,[14] 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.[15][16][17][18] The LTTE gained notoriety for using women and children in combat[19] 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, the LTTE was designated as a terrorist organisation by 33 countries, including the European Union, Canada, the United States, and India.[20][21]
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 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.[22] Prabhakaran headed the organisation from its inception until his death in 2009.[23] Between 1983 and 2009, at least 100,000 were killed in the civil war, of which many were Sri Lankan Tamils.[24][25] 800,000 Sri Lankan Tamils also left Sri Lanka for various destinations, including Europe, North America, and Asia.[26]
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