SUMMARY
LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Thamil Eelam Viduthalai Puligal) is a separatist rebel group operating out of the North and East territories of the island state of Sri Lanka. The organisation was formed in 1976, evolving from an earlier group named Tamil New Tigers (formed in 1972), and had the expressed goal of forming an independent homeland for Tamils in Sri Lankas North and East . Ideologically the group is predominantly nationalist (Tamil), but with a leaning towards socialism.
At the time of establishment LTTE was a small group, comprising only maybe 50 active members. The organisation however grew rapidly over the years, having its base in the dense jungles of the Jaffna peninsula in the North, and later in the jungles of the Northeast. In 1985 LTTE entered into an operative alliance with three other Tamil opposition groups - EPRLF, TELO and EROS - forming the Eelam National Liberation Front. LTTE however left this coalition in mid-1986, and instead began to devour its Tamil political rivals by force, giving rise to a series of non-state conflicts . The year 1987 saw the establishment of the Black Tigers unit, the elite suicide bombers of the LTTE fighting force. After a series of bloody struggles in the 1980s, 1995 and 2000 LTTE established a de facto state in northern Sri Lanka, as well as in some parts of the islands east, whilst continuing to crack down hard on Tamil dissenters, other armed Tamil groups, the civilian population and government informers.
At its inception LTTE, and other Tamil rebel groups, received support from the state of India, which provided arms and training for the Tigers, as well as safe havens for guerrillas and operatives in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Such support however ceased after the deployment of the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) in northern Sri Lanka in 1987 and the assassination of former Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. LTTE has also received extensive financial support from large Tamil diasporas in northern Europe and North America. The group has also been accused of having contacts with Palestinian groups, such as the PFLP, conducting training in, for instance, Lebanon. There also exists/have existed alleged links to Indian armed groups in Assam, Naga and Manipur.
Since its inception LTTE has been led by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, who personally rules the entire organisation with an iron fist. Another prominent member was Anton Balasingham, LTTEs theoretician and chief negotiator, who died of an illness in 2006. Whilst Balasingham operated out of London, Prabhakaran leads a reclusive life somewhere in the jungles of northern Sri Lanka, in Tiger-held territory.
The intrastate conflict between the government and LTTE was officially declared to be over in May 2009, with reportedly almost the entire political and military leadership of LTTE having been killed during the final phases of the war, including the leader, Prabhakaran. In the preceding months, heavy fighting took place between the government army and LTTE. At the same time, LTTE also perpetrated one-sided violence against civilians. There were several reports claiming that LTTE fired at civilians who tried to leave LTTE-controlled territory in the Mullaitivu district, killing a large number of civilians. Since the war was declared to be over, there has been no reports of renewed LTTE one-sided violence against civilians.
LTTE has been involved in the intra-state, non-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
