Bibliography

Works Cited
(2009). Tamil Tigers. Retrieved November 6, 2010, from US Department of State: http://www.state.gov

(2007). Tamil Tigers. Retrieved November 6, 2010, from Mahalo: http://www.mahalo.com

(2010). Tamil Tigers. Retrieved November 6, 2010, from Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.com

Mail Foreign Service, (2009). Unstoppable Sri Lankan Army Closes is on Tamil Tigers. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from : www.dailymail.co.uk/news

Bell , S. (2009, May 18). Biography: Velupillai Prabhakaran. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from National Post: www.nationalpost.com

(2009, May 21). Prabhakaran. Retrieved November 8, 2010, from The Economist: http://www.economist.com

(2010). Sri Lanka Timeline. Retrieved November 8, 2010, from BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk

(2005). Tamil Eelam. Retrieved November 8, 2010, from : http://flagspot.net

(2001). LTTE. Retrieved November 8, 2010, from Satp: http://www.satp.org

(2009). Sri Lanka: Tamil Tigers Forcibly Recruit Child Soldiers. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org

(2009, May 10). Tamil Protestors Close Toronto Highway. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from CNN: www.cnn.com

(2010, August 12). Tamil Tigers Entry Into Canada Feared. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from Times of India: http://www.timesofindia,indiatimes.com

(2008). Child Soldiers of LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists in Sri Lanka. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from SPUR - Society for Peace, Unity, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka: http://www.spur.asn.au

Relates to Nationalism

The situation between the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers relates to nationalism because people want to feel safe and secure in their own country, but when their are extremist groups fighting the military and a civil war occurring it is hard to feel safe. Couples want to be able to raise their children without having to worry about violence and negative exposure to situations in their country. Also, the LTTE created a bad reputation for Sri Lanka, because other countries may base first impressions on the civil war and suicidal bombings that occurred, instead of basing their opinions on what Sri Lanka has to offer as a nation.

Sri Lanka Pictures

Sri Lankan homes after war

Sri Lanka map

Sri Lankan children

What extent is it justified?

It is believed that the actions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam should be justified to a small extent. Although they were trying to stand up for what they believe in, the manner in which they responded to the situation was absolutely brutal. Many people died who deserved to live, families had to grow up in war torn areas, and children were exposed to great amounts of violence. On top of this, many family were either evacuated or displaced from their homes, and in some cases even lost family members. For one group to gain so much control of a country is absolutely astonishing!

Some may say it is extremely unjustifiable because it takes a lot of work to get a whole government military involved. Clearly, the Sri Lankan Civil War was based on ongoing events throughout the years, and did not happen over night. For a group to feel the need to act out that badly is repulsive, and there would have been much healthier and safe options in which they could have proved their points. In many cases, violence is not the answer, but the Tamil Tigers failed to grasp that concept. The worst part is that the LTTE did not even win their land claims after the civil war ended, therefore sending them back to the exact same situation that originally caused all the brutality of Sri Lanka in the first place.

In other words, the Tamil Tiger rebels completely changed a country, and caused grief and fear all over the world. They left many negative legacies behind, and now have to face the punishments and grief of all their actions. It is unfortunate that the country of Sri Lanka had to go through such tough and devastating times.

Current Status

Since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by the Sri Lankan army, the rebel group has been more of a non-event. After their defeat, the Tamil Tigers stated, "[We] have decided to silence our guns". Currently, the LTTE has no power in Sri Lanka, and the country is starting to have more order from the government. There are still some crimes committed by former LTTE members, but not hardly as bad as before. At the moment, Sri Lanka is making sure that the LTTE does not regroup and act out again, as well as trying to build up a good name and good reputation for the country and its people. Families that were exposed to high amounts of violence or displaced from their homes are working on creating a 'new life' in regards to housing, family life, jobs, etc. As well, there have been no recent new stories of the Tamil Tigers either.

Predictions

In the future, it is predicted that the LTTE will not have an uprising again. Although they gained a lot of support, followers, and power through out the Sri Lankan Civil War, they also lost a lot of respect around the world. One may argue that with the loss of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and loss of the war, the rebel group has fallen apart. Also, by being recognized as a terrorist group and banned from over 30 countries, the Tamil Tiger rebellions will have even more issues to deal with, such as traveling to and from different countries and getting jobs. Also, many citizens will have to learn how to live their own life, even after the loss of parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other significant others in the fight.

With all of the mentioned above, that is not to say that the separationists of LTTE will never act out again. Chances are that the members who are still unhappy with their nation will act out and commit crimes, just not in as large of a manner as before.

Hopefully Sri Lanka can learn from this experience and move forward to create a stronger nation and perhaps new government laws and policies. The Sri Lankan army learned a lot from the experience, and could base war strategies and training around the violence and bloodshed they dealt with almost daily. It can also help prepare the country if another rebel incident breaks out in the future. Also, some believe that the Sri Lankan government may be able to create some type of contract or treaty, giving people in the North and East of Sri Lanka more control of their own affairs. By doing so, people living in those areas may feel as though they do have an independant state.

Sri Lanka flag

In the News Around the World

• November 4th, 2010 - LTTE member arrested in Germany. A 35 year old German man was arrested in November 4th, 2010 at Dusseldorf Airport. He was being deported from Madagascar back to Germany. Due to privacy laws his name has not yet been released. This man worked with the German branch of the LTTE, from 2005 until 2009. Being a member of a terrorist group, such as the Tamil Tigers, is against the law in Germany, and therefore the 35 year old man is now being held in custody. 

Relations to Canada

• In 2006, Canada labeled the LTTE as a terrorist organization, and banned them from entering Canada. 

• Thursday, August 24th, 2006 - 2 Canadian men were arrested for supposedly buying weapons for the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. The men were Ramanan Mylvaganam (29 years old) and Piratheepan Nadarajah (30 years old). Ramanan was arrested in Mississauga but was tried in a Canadian court room. Piratheepan, however, was arrested in Toronto that same night.

• May 11th, 2009 - Members of the Tamil community in Toronto protested the civil war occuring in Sri Lanka, by blocking the Gardiner Expressway (a major highway in Toronto). There was close to 1000 protestors there. 

• August 12th, 2010 - A ship that was carrying 250 Sri Lankan Tamils ( including Tamil Tiger members) made Canada fear its entrance in Vancouver. It was alarming to Canadians for a few reasons. First of all, the LTTE is banned from Canada and members are not allowed to enter Canada under any circumstances. 

Child Soldiers

Point of Views

Although the whole issue concerning the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government is very sad, many countries across the world have different views and perspectives on the tactics being used and the way in which many events are being carried out. One issue which has various perspectives is the use of child soldiers.

• The use of child soldiers by the Tamil Tiger rebel group is a very controversial issue around the world. The LTTE was known to have over 3000 child soldiers. They gained these child soldiers by either threatening their families, or abducting the children and forcing them into armed fighting. If a child tried to run away from their training camp, they would be beaten in front of all the other children and then forced to start training again. 

Pictures

Tamil Tigers

Sri Lankan soldiers

Refugees

Sri Lankan Civil War

The Sri Lankan Civil War, also known as the Eelam War, was a violent fight between the rebel Tamils and the Sri Lanka government (particularly their military). The main reason they were fighting, was because Tamil seperationists (LTTE) wanted their own independent Tamil Eelam state.  This brutal war started on July 13th, 1983, and it ended in May of 2009 when the Tamil Tigers were defeated by the Sri Lankan military. Through out the course of this war, 4 peace talks were negotiated, but all failed. Many friece confrontations also occured between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army. Through out the course of almost 30 years if fighting and violence, it is estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 people were killed in this war. Unfortunately, the majority of the people killed were innocent people, who deserved to live.

Protest of Tamils - trying to raise awareness of the genocide.

Sri Lankan Civil War Map

The rust coloured section shows the land that the LTTE wanted their own individual state. The Sri Lankan Civil War was mostly a land issue, as shown above. 

Colonel Soosai

Colonel Soosai was born October 16th, 1963, under the name of Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan. In 1981 he joined the Tamil Tigers and became the leader of the Sea Tigers in 1984. On May 18th, 2009, Colonel Soosai was hit by a rocket while sitting in a van after he took a 2 hour flight, and passed away.

Colonel Soosai

Structure of the LTTE

The LTTE established their own military which has some main branches in it. These branches include a suicide unit (Black Tigers), a sea wing (Sea Tigers), and an air wing force ( Tamil Eelam Air Force or Air Tigers).

• The naval force, which is also known as the Sea Tigers, was founded in 1981 and was lead by Colonel Soosai. Under his control, 29 small boats and 1 freighter boat were either hijacked or sunk. 

• The Black Tigers are considered to be one of the most deadliest and most effective suicide groups in the whole world. The assassinations of Rajiv Gandhi and Ranasinghe Premadasa, as well as the Colombo Airport bombing were done by members of the Black Tigers.

• The air force, led by Velupillai Prabhakaran's son Charles Anthony, revealed their existence in May of 2007 after an attack where 'rockets' were fired from an LTTE jet. They have made numerous attacks on Colombo in particular. 

Lakshman Kadirgamar

Lakshman Kardirgamar was the foreign minister of Sri Lanka from from 1994 - 2001, and April 2005 until his assassination in 2005. He made many efforts to try and have the LTTE banned internationally. Unfortunately, on August 12th, 2005, Lakshman was assassinated by Tamil Tiger snipers. He was shot twice in the head, once in the neck, and once in his body as he was climbing out of his swimming pool. The suspects of Lakshman's murder were all held in custody for 2 years, before being released.

Lakshman Kardirgamar 

Key Events

• 1995 - LTTE rebels sink a naval craft
• 1998 - attack on the holiest Budhist shrine (which was also a UNESCO world heritage site). The shrine was located in Kandy (the centre of Sri Lanka) and there were 8 deaths in total.
• 2001 - suicide attack on Colombo International Airport. 16 people died and many were injured. Also, half of the commercial airlines were damaged and a few stored military jets. 

• 2004 - another suicide bombing incident in Colombo. This is was the most recent suicide bombing since the attack on the Colombo airport. 
• 2005 - foreign affairs minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar assassinated by a Tamil Tiger on April 12th. He was shot with a sniper.
• 2007 - Tamil Tigers launched their first air raid. 
• 2009 - a hospital was shelled multiple times leaving 9 people dead and many injured/wounded. This happened on February 2nd. 
• 2009 - May. LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed during fighting. 

Rajiv Gandhi and Ranasinghe Premadasa

Premadasa

Gandhi

Assassinations

The Tamil Tigers were responsible for more than 24 political assassinations. Two majors deaths are as follows:

• The first major assassination was the murder of the 7th Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. He was assassinated by an LTTE female suicide bomber, named Thenmozhi Rajaratnam. She met Rajiv at a public meeting, and bent down to touch his feet (a sign of respect amongst Indians). At this point, her explosive belt (which was hidden under her dress), set off an explosion, killing many. He was killed on May 21st, 1991.
• The second major assassination was the murder of the Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa. He, like Rajiv, was killed by a suicide bomber too. He was killed during a May day rally, on May 1st, 1993. 

Tamil Eelam Flag Symbolism

The tiger was chosen by the Tamil Tiger leader to show the heroism of the Tamils. It also symbolizes traits that were needed in the Tamil Tiger movement such as bravery, aggression, and ambition. The yellow on the flag represents the fighting is based on humanity and honesty, whereas the red represents equality and social justice. The black in the flag stands for death, destructions, and hardships. 

The tiger in the middle looks as though he is struggling to 'pounce' just the same way the Tamils are struggling to get their freedom. The ring of knives and ammunition show that is is difficult, because there are many armed forces involved.  

Velupillai Prabhakaran

Velupillai Prabhakaran was the founded and leader of the Tamil Tigers. He was born November 26th, 1954 and died May 19th, 2009. 

As a leader, Velupillai was impressive. He led many attacks and would severely break the the law in order to try to achieve an independent state for the Tamil people. One main event Velupillai is known for is leading a civil war, which lasted for 26 years in the country or Sri Lanka. He was able to raise money through criminal activity, such a robbery, which would be used to purchase weapons. Velupillai even created his own army composed of a naval unit, air force unit, and a land combat force. At one point in his 'career', he even had 1/3 of Sri Lanka under his control. 

Backgound Information of Tamil Tigers

The Tamil Tigers - also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - were founded in 1976, by Velupillai Prabhakaran. They are based in Northern Sri Lanka, and are fighting for an independent state in Northern and Easter Sri Lanka. This group has over 10,000 members and has carried out numerous attacks. They are a very well-developed militia. Due to these violent attacks, the Sri Lankan Civil War broke out. This was fought between the rebel Tamils and the Sri Lankan government. Not only is Sri Lanka affected by this movement, but also over 32 countries view the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization. Some of these countries include India, Canada, and the United Kingdom.