5 things you need to know about the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

TWO DAP assemblymen, G Saminathan and P Gunasekaren were recently arrested for alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Here are five things you need to know about the Sri Lankan insurgent group.

What is the LTTE?

The LTTE, or more popularly known as the Tamil Tigers, is a separatist militant group that aims to establish an independent Tamil state called Eelam in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka. The group played a significant role in Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war and is reported to have pioneered the usage of suicide vests in militant attacks.

What led to the formation of the LTTE?

During Sri Lanka’s colonial period, British administrators implemented a divide-and-rule policy that allowed the Tamil minority to enjoy certain advantages over the Sinhalese majority. Once Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, the new Sinhalese-majority government began to pass a range of laws that openly discriminated against the Tamils. Velupillai Prabhakaran, a Tamil nationalist from Jaffna, founded the LTTE in 1975 in response to these ethnic tensions.

What was the impact of LTTE’s attacks in Sri Lanka?

The LTTE carried out over 200 suicide bombings over the course of its history, resulting in over an estimated 70,000 civilian deaths.

Is the LTTE still active today?

LTTE’s chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, publicly admitted defeat on 17 May 2009 and confirmed the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran just over a week later, thereby marking the end of Sri Lanka’s longstanding civil war. While the LTTE’s attacks have been greatly reduced since then, the terrorist group still remains on major international watchlists, including those of the UK, US and European Union. The terrorist organization is also believed to still maintain an international network of sympathizers and financial support.

Where are most LTTE members today?

After the end of the civil war, approximately 11,000 former LTTE fighters were placed into state-sponsored rehabilitation programs in Sri Lanka. The former detainees were reportedly released in batches beginning in 2010, but the full extent of this process has been disputed by international human rights groups.