MDMK challenged the Central Government's ban on LTTE claiming that no valid cause exists or been shown by governments to sustain the notification.Unfortunately, LITTE activities are associated with Tamil Identity. I have been talking to the Tamils ha

MDMK
 challenged the Central Government's ban on LTTE claiming that no valid
cause exists or been shown by governments to sustain the
notification.Unfortunately, LITTE activities are associated with Tamil
Identity. I have been talking to the Tamils having sympathy with LITTE
who base their logic on the fact that Tamils in Srilanka as well as the
Tamil refugees in India are Persecuted most.You may not find any vocal
supporter of Government of India Incs policy on the Tamil Problem in
Srilanka. In fact, India remains a silent spectator of the developments
in Tamil Majority Sri Lankan areas and Never does voice against the
persecution of the Tamil People there. We may feel the impact as Indian
stance on the Persecution in erstwhile Pakistan and Bangladesh is quite
Identical. India as a Nation Never did address the Problem of Refugee
Influx from either Sri Lanka or East Bengal for last Six decades.
Nevertheless, the Apathy against the Tamil as well Bengali Refugees are
quite identical as the Ruling hegemony has the Basic Brutal Instinct to
kill the aboriginal communities in their plight as refugees!


Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - FIVE Hundred  Thirty Nine

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/

New video evidence of alleged Sri Lankan war crimes requires UN investigation

Posted: 09 December 2010 Video footage allegedly showing evidence of war crimes by Sri Lankan soldiers in the closing days of the war against members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) underlines the need for an independent investigation by the United Nations, Amnesty International has said this evening. Footage aired on this evening's Channel 4 News allegedly reveals new details about the location, date and time of the events, the military units involved in the incident and the identity of at least one victim. The Channel 4 video was allegedly filmed in northern Sri Lanka in May 2009 and appears to show Sri Lankan soldiers executing prisoners.  A portion of the five-minute video was aired last week, but the remainder was considered too graphic. Channel 4 released a similar, but shorter, video segment in August 2009.

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19136

India »

SamayLive

Bihar to abolish legislators' fund

Economic Times - ‎1 hour ago‎

PATNA:
In a bold step, the Bihar cabinet on Friday decided to abolish the
legislators annual fund of Rs.1 crore, officials said. "The cabinet has
decided in principle to abolish the legislators 'fund, popularly known
as MLAs' Fund ," Cabinet Secretary ...

Biharis are endowed with intellectual understanding, says Nitish Kumar Daily News & Analysis
Nitish Govt. in Bihar to scrap fund allocation for MLAs, MLCs Sify
Central Chronicle - Sify
all 18 news articles »
हिंदी मेंEmail this story

Oneindia

Opposition slams Jairam's new climate formula

The Hindu - Priscilla Jebaraj - ‎24 minutes ago‎

Political
opponents are seeing red over Minister of State for Environment and
Forests Jairam Ramesh's departure from India's long-standing climate
change policy at the United Nations summit in Cancun, where he said all
countries must take on binding ...

Video: Jairam's faux pas at Cancun NewsX
India reworks its stand after Ramesh statement Hindustan Times
BBC News - Bloomberg - Oneindia - The Australian -Wikipedia: 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
all 248 news articles »
हिंदी मेंEmail this story

The Hindu

SC upholds 'rotten' remark against Allahabad HC

Hindustan Times - ‎11 hours ago‎

PTI
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld its controversial remarks that
something was "rotten" in the Allahabad high court where the "uncle
judges syndrome" was rampant and needed cleansing.

Apex court won't expunge barb against Allahabad High Court Sify
Introspect rather than reacting – SC to Allahabad High Court Law et al. News
The Hindu - NetIndian - Indian Express - NDTV.com

Business »

Reuters India

Will announce with 2G pricing recommendations by Dec-end: Trai

Economic Times - ‎3 hours ago‎

NEW
DELHI: Amid a controversy over pricing of telecom radiowaves, sectoral
regulator Trai today said it will come out with recommendations on a new
mechanism linking 2G spectrum prices to the winning bids received under
the recent auction of 3G ...

2G Scam | Trai wants 38 licences to be cancelled Livemint
India's Telecommunications Regulator Recommends Cancelation of 38 Licenses Bloomberg
CIOL - Total Telecom - Press Information Bureau (press release) -Developing Telecoms (press release)
all 40 news articles »Email this story

The Hindu

Industrial growth surges to 10.8% in October

The Hindu - ‎25 minutes ago‎

According
to the IIP (Index of Industrial Production) data released here on
Friday, the main driver of robust industrial growth in October this year
was the manufacturing sector.

Consumer durables power industrial output growth to 10.8% in OctHindustan Times
Industrial output growth back in double digits at 10.8% in Oct Daily News & Analysis
Wall Street Journal - Myiris.com - Economic Times - Times of India
all 92 news articles »Email this story

Moneycontrol.com

ICICI Bank, RIL scrips rally on BSE

Economic Times - ‎18 minutes ago‎

MUMBAI:
Defying five days of lull on Dalal Street, ICICI Bank today made a
smart comeback, surging nearly 6 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE), amid heavy buying.

Sensex, Nifty fall 2.3% this week; Bankex crashes 7.5% Moneycontrol.com
Short cover sees Sensex bounce back in style Deccan Herald
Sify - Business Standard - Reuters
all 146 news articles »
हिंदी में
BOM:532174 - NSE:ICICIBANK - BOM:500325

50 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants rounded up

The Nation - ‎Dec 7, 2010‎
Police rounded up 50 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants in Bangkok early Wednesday and suspected members of theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were ...
100 Sri Lankans arrested for illegal entry to kingdom Thai News Agency MCOT
all 13 news articles »Email this story

Daily Mail

New video evidence of alleged Sri Lankan war crimes requires UN investigation

Amnesty International UK - ‎Dec 9, 2010‎

... of the war against members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) underlines the need for an independent investigation by the United Nations, ...

WikiLeaks and Sri Lanka: Who are the real criminals? Sri Lanka Guardian

Sri Lanka: Army Unit Linked to Executions ReliefWeb (press release)

Sri Lanka 'war crimes' video: woman's body identified Channel 4 News

Xinhua

all 253 news articles »Email this story

Online - International News Network

Sri Lanka rules out defence pact with Pakistan

Daily News & Analysis - ‎Dec 7, 2010‎

Gotabhatya told the Sri Lankan daily that his rother's government had not entered into any DCA during the fighting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ...

Lanka: UNP deputy leader for war crimes probe Express Buzz

ZARDARI IN SRI LANKA: Counter-Balancing India Daily Mirror

Fingers point at Karu Jayasuria for treason Asian Tribune

Daily Pioneer - Rupee News

all 72 news articles »Email this story

Oneindia

Video shows Army killing LTTE members; SL defends

Oneindia - ‎Dec 2, 2010‎

... British news channel, Channel 4 News, for the release of videos showing Sri Lankan army executing Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) supporters. ...

TV anchor among naked men, women 'killed' by Sri Lanka soldiers on video Indian Express

Sri Lanka rejects war crimes video, UN calls for probe Sify

all 58 news articles »Email this story

Madras HC directs MHA to file reply on LTTE ban

Law et al. News - ‎Nov 24, 2010‎
... on a writ petition challenging the order of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal upholding the ban onLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). ...
Tribunal's order confirming ban on LTTE challenged Hindustan Times
Sri Lanka probes mass killing of soldiers by rebels People's Daily Online
Banyan: One country, two nations The Economist
Lankaweb - Asian Tribune
all 45 news articles »Email this story

Tamil activists seek arrest of Rajapaksa during Britain visit over last year's ...

Sify - ‎Nov 30, 2010‎
... crimes and human rights violations' during the last phase of combat between the government and theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last year. ...
Video: Wikileaks : Colombo committed war crimes NewsX
Sri Lanka slams Oxford Union for cancelling president's talk AFP
WHAT RAJAPAKSA COULD PULL OFF IN SRI LANKA Saudi Gazette
The Australian - allvoices
all 861 news articles »Email this story

Second term

Deccan Herald - ‎Nov 23, 2010‎
Unlike his first term, which was dominated by the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Rajapaksa's second term is expected to focus on ...
Krishna to take up Tamil issue, targeting of Indian fishermen during Sri Lanka ... Tehelka
India nudges Sri Lanka on devolution of powers to Tamil community Livemint
Krishna to visit Sri Lanka The Hindu
Indian Express - BusinessWeek
all 351 news articles »Email this story

Freaky Gossip

Memory and loss

BBC News - Swaminathan Natarajan - ‎Nov 27, 2010‎

And no-one knows what has happened to the records scrupulously kept by the Liberation Tigersof Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are thought to have financially ...

"India will help revive livelihood of war-affected Tamils" The Hindu

Indian FM wraps up Sri Lankan trip Global Times

all 202 news articles »Email this story

Fund Shortfall Slows Post-War Development

Inter Press Service - Amantha Perera - ‎9 hours ago‎
... had been under the Sri Lankan government's full control since mid-2007 after it drove the Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam (LTTE) out of the region. ...

The Regions

USAID (press release) - ‎Dec 7, 2010‎
... than two decades between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government, and by limited access to resources such as water. ...

1. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Sinhala: දෙමල ඊලාම් විමුක්ති කොටි සංවිධානය, ISO 15919: demala īlām vimukti koṭi ...

3. History - Links to other designated ... - Assassinations - Suicide bombings

4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam - Cached - Similar

5. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Terrorist Group of Sri Lanka

6. Presents a brief profile of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTTE), one of the most formidable terrorist organisations in the world that has been ...

7. www.satp.org/tracking/Goto.asp?ID=24 - Cached - Similar

8. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (aka Tamil Tigers) (Sri Lanka ...

9. 20 May 2009 ... A profile of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist terrorist group that seeks an independent state in areas in Sri Lanka ...

10. www.cfr.org/.../liberation_tigers_of_tamil_eelam_aka_tamil_tigers_sri_lanka_separatists.html - Cached

11. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) World Tamil Association ...

12. Description,
    activities, strength, area of operation and external aid. Links to
    additional resources. From the Federation of American Scientists. USA.

13. www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ltte.htm - Cached - Similar

14. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) / World Tamil Association ...

15. Tamil rebels began an armed uprising in 1983, after they complained of discrimination against the minority Tamil community.

16. www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/ltte.htm - Cached - Similar

17. Tamil.Net

18. 9 Dec 2010... who laid down their lives for the cause of the liberation of Tamil Eelam. ..... 1997 Dec 10 23:59 Seven Tigers killed in Vanni clashes ...

19. www.tamilnet.com/ - Cached - Similar

20. Eelam Web

21. News and articles about the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict.

22. www.eelamweb.com/ - Cached - Similar

23. Tamil Tigers - The New York Times

24. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan rebel group led by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, began fighting for a separate Tamil homeland ...

25. topics.nytimes.com › Times Topics › Organizations › L - Cached - Similar

26. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

27. The
    LTTE has engaged in a long and bloody war against Sri Lankan military
    forces, causing tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties.

28. www.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/liberation_tigers_te2.asp - Cached - Similar

29. Videos for tamil liberation tigers

    * BBC Documentary:Liberation Tigers of Tamil... 10 min - 29 Apr 2008 Uploaded by TamilSquad youtube.com

    * LTTE :: Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam ( LTTE ) 8 min - 12 Feb 2007 video.google.com

30. 
    

31. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Facts, information, pictures ...

32. Get information, facts, and pictures about Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at Encyclopedia.com. Make research projects and school reports about Liberation ...

33. www.encyclopedia.com/.../Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam.aspx - Cached

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Ban
on Litte is never a headache for mainstream Politics in Delhi or
Chennai as Telecom 2G Spectrum, Corrupt Ex Minister Raja and
Parliamentary logjam have engaged them most. Karunanidhi and Jailalita
do eye on the political equations in New Delhi linked with the electoral
equation in the imminent State  Assembly elections.Reiterating her
demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G
spectrum allotment, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday said DMK
leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was blackmailing the
Congress on the issue.Referring to Karunanidhi's speech at a movie
function in Chennai, Jayalalithaa said: "Karunanidhi used the platform
of this function to make an impassioned public defence of A. Raja, the
prime perpetrator of the Rs.1,76,379 crore spectrum scam. By making an
odious comparison with a mythological story, he sought to make out that
Raja alone could not have perpetrated a scam of such enormity on his
own."

MDMK
 challenged the Central Government's ban on LTTE claiming that no valid
cause exists or been shown by governments to sustain the notification.

Unfortunately,
LITTE activities are associated with Tamil Identity. I have been
talking to the Tamils having sympathy with LITTE who base their logic on
the fact that Tamils in Srilanka as well as the Tamil refugees in India
are Persecuted most.You may not find any vocal supporter of Government
of India Incs policy on the Tamil Problem in Srilanka.

In
fact, India remains a silent spectator of the developments in Tamil
Majority Srilankan areas and Never does voice against the persecution of
the Tamil People there.

We may feel the impact as Indian stance on the Persecution in erstwhile Pakistan and Bangladesh is quite Identical.

India as a Nation Never did address the Problem of Refugee Influx from either Srilanka or East Bengal for last Six decades.

Nevertheless,
the Apathy against the Tamil as well Bengali Refugees are quite
identical as the Ruling hegemony has the Basic Brutal Instinct to kill
the aboriginal communities in their plight as refugees!

Police
rounded up 50 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants in Bangkok early Wednesday
and suspected members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
were believed to be among them, police said.
The
Sri Lankans were rounded from rented rooms on Soi Phermsin off Phahol
Yothin Road in Bang Khen. They were sent to the Immigration Bureau for
questioning.

The
Convener of All India Refugee Co Ordination Committee Dr Subodh Biswas
called me today from Nagpur where the SC OBC Bengali refugees in
Maharashtra were demonstrating on the state Assembly in Nagpur in
session as they were pressing their long pending demands.


I also talked to other refugee leaders in Nagpur.They would come over
to Kolkata to join the Demonstration by Matua Mahasangh scheduled on
28th December demanding citizenship for Bengali Refugees!


I also talked to the Feature Editor of Hindi Lokmat there. Maharashtra
media or media anywhere outside Bengal publishes our problems and news.

But Bengali media NEVER does spend single inch space for the SC OBC Refugees. such is the persecution.

It
is strange that DMK and AIDMK, both factions of Dravid movement do
encash the Tamil Problem in Srilanka but they do not stand the Tamil
refugees neither in Tamilnadu or outside Tamilnadu.It is the same
experience we do share with Tamil Refugees.

Our
IT friend Debojit had been in Coimbtore for Two years and he confirmed
that Bengali refugees have been resettled in Nilgiri district as coolies
in the Tea Gardens or Coffee gardens.

The
Bengali SC OBC refugees of agrarian roots had to suffer the same
destiny but my Father late Pulin babu led a movement against this in
1952, in Siliguri. The attempt was aborted in Bengal but it was executed
in Tamilnadu.

We
were trapped by Travel Agency despite the warnings we got from our co
passengers in Guruvayur Express.An auto driver just lured us for
economic lodging. He got us in the office of a Gujrati travel agency
which offered a package of lodging and travelling altogether and we were
trapped.

The same day when we had to go and return from Rameshwaram, we did know that the stay in the lodge was meant for just a day.

We had to vist Rameshwaram with our Lugage by the bus and had to get another Bus for Kanyakumari same night.

It disturbed our original programme to base in Madurai, which speaks Pure Tamil.

Since
we had to travel long and Sabita tends to become indisposed during
travelling by road however short may be it, I tried to avoid extra
travelling and did not connect to my contacts in Madurai.

We
simply visited Meenakshipuram Temple in the night which took very
long.Because the Iyer and Iyenger Brahamin bypassed the que and offered
their prayings. Others were allowed Darshan only. The Brahamins are
branded with white or yellow lines on their forhead.

But could not see anything elese in Madurai.Neither we could visit Tanjavur.

It
was mandatory to stay some time in Rameshwaram,Ramnathpuram, Madurai
and Tanjavur to feel not only the Tamil Refugee Problem but for locating
Bengali refugees there.

We
talked to groups of tourists coming from Rajsthan, Maharashtra,Gujrata
and North India who had been similarly trapped by the Travel agencies
and got disturbed their tour schedule.


Advocate Pratiksha Tiwari and her family from Kalyan, Maharashtra
accompanied us in the City Tour in Chennai. Sabita spotted her in
rameshwaram once again. We travelled together in the same bus to
Kanyakumari. We had long hours of intimate interactions as Pratiksha
originally belongs to Allahabad.


We also met the additional SP Shekhar from Ranchi,Jharkhand, who
belongs to Dehradun and his wife hailing from Dhanbad in Rameshwaram. It
was a nice meeting.

Last
month, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal, headed by Justice
Vikramjit Sen, had passed an order confirming Central government's
notification, banning LTTE.

MDMK General secretary Vaiko also attended tribunal during examinations of witnesses here and in Udhagamandalam.

He
said that he had submitted before the Tribunal that no valid cause
exists or been shown by governments to sustain the notification.

The
tribunal rejected Vaiko's submissions and stated there is sufficient
material and cause to declare LTTE an Unlawful Association and confirmed
the Centre's declaration.

Vaiko
in his petition contended that no activity either by LTTE or so called
pro-LTTE organisations or LTTE sympathisers has taken place in Tamil
Nadu or in any part of India, propagating establishment of a separate
homeland (Tamil Eelam) for all Tamils, including Tamils living in India.

"To
state that speeches supporting the cause of LTTE's object for a
separate homeland (Tamil Eelam) for all Tamils threatens the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of India is without any acceptable basis," he
said in his petition.

LTTE
was declared first an Unlawful Association by a notification on May 24,
1992 and thereafter has been extended periodically by subsequent
notifications. All the declarations were confirmed by the Tribunal,
constituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Central team to visit TN in 10 days

Top
officials from the Centre are likely to visit the rain-ravaged
districts in Tamil Nadu within the next 10 days to assess the damage
caused to standing crops as well as public property.

The
State government on Thursday sent a detailed report about the damages
caused by rains, seeking rs 1,607 crore as financial assistance from the
National Calamity Relief Fund.

In
2008, when the State faced huge losses due to the monsoon havoc, Rs
3,789 crore was sought as assistance from the Centre.  However, even
after a team from the Centre visited Tamil Nadu in December 2008 and
gave hope for a higher grant, the Central government allocated a very
meager amount as assistance.

This
year, 203 people have lost their lives, while 3.20 lakh houses and
48,000 hutments were affected by floods. While standing crops in 15 lakh
acres got submerged in rain water, 5,068 cattle perished.  The State
government has allocated `500 crore for immediate relief measures.

MK hits out at Jaya:
 Taking exception to the remarks of AIADMK general secretary J
Jayalalithaa that he and all his Cabinet colleagues took part in a
cinema function forgetting the woes of the rain-affected people, Chief
Minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday said that Jayalalithaa's outburst
against him showed that she could not stomach VIPs congratulating him.

Writing
for Murasoli, the DMK chief said only six ministers took part in the
cinema function and they too had left for their respective districts
immediately after the event was over to monitor relief works.

Karunanidhi
also contested the statement of Jayalalithaa that the DMK government
had paid only a scant regard for relief works.  

Recalling
the successive review meetings chaired by him to oversee the rain
situation almost on a daily basis, he said top officials were deputed to
rain-hit districts and a detailed report had been sent to the Centre
seeking assistance.

On
Jayalalithaa's charge that he was trying to blackmail the Congress in
the 2G Spectrum issue, Karunanidhi said as usual, the AIADMK leader was
trying to create a rift between the Congress and the DMK and she would
not succeed in her attempt.

Day after CBI raids, Karuna sings paeans to AICC

CHENNAI:
A day after CBI and income tax sleuths conducted extensive raids in the
houses of former Union Minister A Raja in connection with the 2G
spectrum scam, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday sang paeans to
UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on her 66th birthday
by hailing her "dynamic guidance" in providing good governance at the
Centre.

The
DMK chief, in his greeting message sent to Sonia Gandhi, said she has
been proving to the nation that she was a "historic light of sacrifice,
guiding the destiny of the country."

"People
of Tamil Nadu have great love, affection and respect for the
Gandhi-Nehru family. By your concern and continuous work for the welfare
of the people, you have enhanced their love and support to the alliance
headed by you," he said and recalled that she has been resolving the
problems of the masses.

"One
behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, I convey our sincere wishes to you
for a very long life of happiness and contentment," Karunanidhi said.

Meanwhile,
a team of DMK leaders and MPs led by party's parliamentary party leader
T R Baalu called on Sonia at her residence in New Delhi and conveyed
Karunanidhi's greetings to her. Those who called on her included Union
minister Dayanidhi Maran, MPs Kanimozhi, N Siva, T K S Elangovan, K P
Ramalingam, T M Selvaganapathy, A A Jinnah, Helen Davidson and Vasanthi
Stanley.

In
Chennai, Congress leaders and workers offered prayers and distributed
welfare assistance to the poor and needy to mark Sonia's birthday. Tamil
Nadu Congress president K V Thangkabalu along with party's chief whip
Peter Alphonse and J M Haroon, MP, led the workers to offer prayers on
at the Santhome church, Parthasarathy temple, Triplicane and Mount Road
dargha.

Congress
workers then distributed free food packets, note books to students,
cloths to the needy and tricycles to the differently-abled.

Raja is now AIADMK's punching-bag

The
AIADMK said on Thursday the DMK would be voted out in next year's
assembly elections as people had seen the "face of 2G corruption" on TV
sets given free by the state government. The party will portray, in its
election campaign, former telecom minister A Raja as the chief priest of
"corruption"
for
his alleged role in the spectrum scam. Union fertiliser and chemicals
minister MK Alagiri, who is chief minister M Karunanidhi's son, comes
next for reportedly running a parallel government from Madurai.

AIADMK
general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Thursday spent half of her
hour-long speech in Chennai railing against Alagiri. But her ultimate
rival is still Karunanidhi, who is also the DMK chief.

Jayalalithaa,
who is now packing her "corruption" punch, wants all beneficiaries of
kickbacks in the 2G spectrum scam questioned, implying that Raja was not
the only player in the game.

Senior
AIADMK leader and former state finance minister C Ponnaian told HT on
Thursday: "We need not even campaign, the television media has done it.
The doings of Raja have gone to every nook and corner of the state, and
people are watching it on the free television given to them by the
government."

"Raja is a small fry and the main culprit is Karunanidhi, who is presiding over a corrupt regime."

After
three successful rallies in Trichy, Coimbatore and Madurai, the AIADMK
is taking its campaign to the grassroots as far as possible. On
Saturday, the party will hold a protest programme in Cuddalore and there
the municipality's corruption will be highlighted.

There would be bigger rallies from January or early February, party sources said.

Black flags hoisted in ten villages

Black
flags have been hoisted over two thousand and odd houses in Erode by
people as a mark of protest. "The people in ten villages are demanding,
among others, that government take steps to repair roads affected in the
rains," people said. The people belong to the villages of 46 Pudur,
Ramnagar,Kamarajnagar, EB Nagar, KAS Nagar, Karumparai,
Periyachettipalayam, Indiannagar, Ganapathynagar and Vellalapalayam.For
the past ten days, the area experienced very heavy rain and the roads
were affected badly.

The
villagers said, "because of the bad state of roads the town bus and
mini bus services have been suspended for the past one week." Further,
the other vehicular traffic was also affected.

Revenue Officials told the villagers that Rs 1.75 lakh had been sanctioned for road laying work.

But the villagers demanded a written statement and continued the protest.

TN flouts norms to allot prime land

After
Maharashtra and Karnataka, land scam hits Tamil Nadu. Like in
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu also saw influential people — especially those who
were close to the ruling DMK —allegedly cornering prime residential
plots using the chief minister's discretionary quota. Information
obtained through an RTI
query
revealed that land was allotted to a sitting judge of the Madras High
Court, a retired high court judge, kin of a state minister, some DMK and
Congress MLAs and a top Intelligence official, among others, allegedly
violating norms.

As
many as 293 allotments were made from 2001 to 2008 under the chief
minister's discretionary quota. And a majority of these were doled out
to people masquerading as social workers.

An
RTI activist, Gopala Krishnan, who blew the lid on the scam, said the
allotments were made by Tamil Nadu Housing Board, which was supposed to
help create housing for those who do not own a flat, a house or a plot.

According
to the TNHB norms, 15% of the TNHB land bank can be allotted under the
discretionary quota to people belonging to 15 categories, such as
widows, physically challenged people, social workers, eminent people in
science, arts, literature and sports, government servants with
unblemished service record and freedom fighters.

Krishnan told HT: "We are not questioning that. What we are questioning is how norms were flouted to make the allotments."

He said there were instances where a few people were allotted more than one plot in their names or their relatives' names.

For
that, he said norms were changed or applications were manipulated to
overlook false declarations or certificates. In some cases, municipal
councilors and even tehsildars — the lowest revenue officials — issued
certificates, asserting that the candidate was an 'eminent social
worker'.

Housing board officials, however, maintain that all allotments were made strictly according to rules.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/TN-flouts-norms-to-allot-prime-land/H1-Article1-635675.aspx


Family puts DMK boss Karunanidhi in a fix over Raja
Shekhar Iyer, Hindustan Times

DMK
patriarch M Karunanidhi was in two minds on a day the CBI carried out
raids on residences of former telecom minister A Raja in connection with
the 2G scam. Under pressure from two sides in his family, Karunanidhi
has, hitherto, defended Raja to the hilt, said, "If Raja is found
guilty, we will
related stories act against him without any hesitation."

But,
he added, "Raja has done no wrong. We will continue to support him.
Raja is not accused until CBI completes its probe and he is proved
guilty."

"We are ready for JPC on spectrum allocation issue if the probe also brings within its ambit scams during NDA rule."

Asked
whether he had "blackmailed" the Congress on the scam, as alleged by
his rival, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, he shot back, "I never indulge in
blackmailing like others."

Other
DMK leaders saw Karunanidhi's statement as a result of pressure from
his sons - union minister MK Alagiri and deputy chief MK Stalin -and
brothers Kalanidhi and Dayanidhi Maran. They want Raja stripped of all
posts to save the DMK in the assembly polls in May next year. Their
argument is the alliance with Congress can be saved if Raja is axed.

On
the other hand, Karunanidhi's daughter, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and
her mother Rajathi, who are close to Raja, are pushing for his case.
Ever since his resignation, they have ensured Karunanidhi defends Raja,
playing the Dalit card to support him, sources said.

Political
analysts in Chennai saw "subtle" hints of a change in Karunanidhi's
approach. Speculations had been rife within the party of an imminent
action of stripping Raja of the two party posts - as propaganda
secretary and secretary of Perambulur district unit.

Professor
P Kanagaraj of Government Arts College, Coimbatore opines the DMK may
be willing to sacrifice Raja in the overall interests of the party. It
is unlikely the DMK-Congress alliance would snap, he felt, as "electoral
arithmetic favours the alliance".

(With inputs from KV Lakshmana, Chennai)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Family-puts-DMK-boss-Karunanidhi-in-a-fix-over-Raja/H1-Article1-636053.aspx

Madras High Court Advocates protest against the Centre's Move

Several
advocates, including those belonging to the Madras High Court
Advocates' Association in Chennai on friday boycotted courts protesting
against the Centre's proposed Legal Practitioners Bill 2010. Lawyers
belonging to MHCAA, Women Lawyers Association and others shouted slogans
in front of the
High Court building and urged the Centre to drop the move.

"We
strongly oppose the Bill as it dilutes the power of Bar Council. If the
Centre wants, it can amend the present Advocates Act 1961," MHCAA
president R C Paul Kanagaraj told reporters.

The
Association had passed a resolution asking advocates to abstain from
work in courts and tribunals in Tamil Nadu as mark of protest.

The courts were functioning with thin attendance of lawyers.

ZARDARI IN SRI LANKA: Counter-Balancing India

By B. Raman

President
Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan visited Sri Lanka from November 27 to 30,
2010, at the invitation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Among those who
accompanied him were Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the Pakistani Foreign
Minister, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, his Defence Minister, and Saleem
Mandviwala, Chairman of the Investment Board of the Government of
Pakistan. He was also accompanied by a delegation of Pakistani
businessmen.

In
an article on the visit titled "A new dawn in Pak-Lanka ties", the
"Daily Times" of Lahore said on December 6: "In the past, Pakistan
helped the Sri Lankan state for three reasons. First, increasing
Pakistan's ability to participate in South Asian politics and posing
itself as a counter-balance to India. Second, increasing its value in
the region. Third, fighting Tamil militant forces, which are considered a
product of Indian intelligence agencies."

Pakistan's
value for Sri Lanka in the past came from its willingness to supply
heavy equipment such as multi-barrel artillery guns and shells to the
Sri Lankan Army for use against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE). It also helped the Sri Lankan Air Force in the servicing of its
aircraft used against the LTTE. The heavy military equipment supplied by
Pakistan and China helped the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in their
operations against the LTTE.

The
two leaders are reported to have agreed to enhance intelligence-sharing
in matters relating to terrorism. Zardari reportedly offered to  train
Sri Lankan police and other security officials in counter-terrorism.

Sri
Lanka has entered the post-insurgency reconstruction period and is in
need of assistance for economic re-construction. Pakistan, whose economy
is in a bad shape, is not in a position to help Sri Lanka either
financially or through other means. One of the purposes of Zardari's
visit was to explore the possibility of Pakistan being associated with
some of the reconstruction projects of China in Sri Lanka----one of the
examples of such association being China buying from Pakistan its
requirement of cement for its projects in Sri Lanka. Qureshi told
Pakistani pressmen that China-Sri Lanka relations were gaining strength
and this would be good for the benefit of the three countries. The idea
of Pakistan and China co-operating in jointly assisting South Asian
countries has also been taken up by Islamabad in respect of Afghanistan.
Islamabad sees it as a way of counter-balancing Indian influence in Sri
Lanka and Afghanistan.
http://print.dailymirror.lk/opinion1/29321.html

Links to foreign intelligence agencies part of Radia investigation

A Vaidyanathan, Updated: December 10, 2010 22:47 IST
New Delhi:  The government has told the Supreme Court that it authorized the tapping of PR executive Niira Radia's phone.

The
government's response was filed by the Ministry of Finance.  It said
that the process of tapping Radia's phone began on August 19, 2008 after
a complaint received by the Finance Minister on November 16, 2007.

The
affidavit states, "15 telephone lines including cell phones and SMSs of
Radia and her associates were intercepted after the finance minister in
November 2007 had received a complaint that the lobbyist had within a
short span of nine years built up a business empire worth Rs. 300 crore
and she was an agent of foreign intelligence agencies and was indulging
in anti-national activities."

The
Finance Ministry then sought the Home Ministry's clearance to tap
Radia's phone lines. 5800 phone calls  were tapped during two periods:
120 days in 2008 and 60 days during 2009.Rediff.comTwitterNDTV SocialLive MessengerGmail BuzzPrint

Niira
Radia's firm - Vaishnavi Corporate Communications - has denied the
charges and said she has never indulged in anti-national activities.

The
affidavit submitted today also states that the tapes were not leaked by
the Income Tax Department. The government has also said that while the
leak should be investigated, it cannot stop the media from publishing
transcripts of the conversations on the leaked tapes.

Some
of those conversations with politicians, industrialists and others have
been leaked to the media and have been reported on widely.

Rata
Tata, who is one of Radia's biggest clients and was on the leaked
tapes, had last month filed a case against the government in the Supreme
Court on the grounds that the leaked tapes encroached upon his right to
privacy.   

Tata
said that while he had no objection to any investigation by the
government, his conversations with Radia that were made available to the
public were of a personal nature and are irrelevant to charges like tax
evasion and foreign exchange violations, which are among the reasons
why Radia's phone was allegedly tapped from 2008-2009.

The
tapes are also being used by the CBI to investigate the details of the
2G scam. Believed to be India's largest-ever scam, it saw 2G spectrum
being given at what are described as inexplicably low prices by former
Telecom Minister A Raja to companies who were later found to be
ineligible by experts.

For NDTV Updates, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook

Story first published:
December 10, 2010 17:10 IST

Tags: 2G spectrum scam, niira radia, radia tapes, Ratan Tata

• Also See

Comments: Read|Post

• Ratan Tata is not a judge, says BJP
• Rajeev Chandrasekhar replies to Tata's letter
• CBI seizes 3 diaries from A Raja's Delhi home
• Ratan Tata's response on 2G allegations
• 2G spectrum scam: Will aides nail Raja in CBI grilling?

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/links-to-foreign-intelligence-agencies-part-of-radia-investigation-71823?cp

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-- 

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (August 2010)

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The official emblem of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Dates of operation	May 5, 1976 – May 18, 2009
Leader	Prabhakaran (Died in May 2009)
Motives	The creation of a separate Tamilstate in the north and east of Sri Lanka
Active region(s)	Norway and others[1]
Ideology	Tamil nationalism Marxism Socialism
Notable attacks	Central Bank bombing,Palliyagodella massacre, Dehiwala train bombing and Rajiv Gandhi Assassination.
Status	Proscribed as a terrorist organization by 32 countries.[2]
Annual revenue	$300 Million
Means of revenue	Donations from expatriate Tamils, Extortion[3] Shipping, Sales of weapons, Taxes under LTTE controlled areas, Bank of Tamileelam

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Sinhala: දෙමල ඊලාම් විමුක්ති කොටි සංවිධානය, ISO 15919: demala īlām vimukti koṭi saṁvidhānaya) (Tamil: தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், ISO 15919: tamiḻ īḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ; commonly known as the LTTE or the Tamil Tigers) is a separatist organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist campaign that sought to create Tamil Eelam, an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.^[4] This campaign evolved into the Sri Lankan Civil War, which was one of the longest running armed conflicts inAsia until the LTTE was defeated by the Sri Lankan Military in May 2009.^[5][6]

At the height of their power the Tigers possessed a well-developed militia and carried out many high profile attacks including the assassinations of several high-ranking Sri Lankan and Indian politicians including Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993, and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.^[7] The Tigers pioneered the use of suicide belts,^[8] and used light aircraft in some of their attacks.^[9] They are currently proscribed as a terrorist organizationby 32 countries (see list of countries), but have extensive support amongst the Tamil diaspora in Europe and North America, and amongst some Tamils in India.^[10][11] Since its inception, and until his death, LTTE founder, Velupillai Prabhakaran headed the organization.

Over the course of the conflict, the Tamil Tigers frequently exchanged control of territory in north-east Sri Lanka with the Sri Lankan military, engaging in fierce confrontations in the process. They were also involved in peace talks to end the conflict four times, each time unsuccessfully. At the start of the final round of peace talks in 2002, they had a 15,000 km² area under their control. However, after the breakdown of the peace process in 2006, the Sri Lankan military launched a major offensive against the Tigers, bringing the entire country under their control and defeating the LTTE militarily. Victory over the Tigers was declared by Sri Lankan PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa on May 16, 2009,^[12] and the LTTE admitted defeat on May 17, 2009.^[13]Prabhakaran was subsequently killed by government forces on May 19, 2009. Selvarasa Pathmanathan took over the leadership, however he was arrested, and interrogated by the Sri Lankan authorities.^[14]

Contents  [hide] 1 History 1.1 Founding 1.2 Rise to power 1.3 IPKF period 1.4 After IPKF 1.5 2001 ceasefire 1.6 Dissension 1.7 Military defeat 1.8 Continued operations 2 Links to other designated terrorist organizations 2.1 LTTE tactics in other terrorist organizations 3 Assassinations 4 Suicide bombings 5 Human rights violations 5.1 Attacks on civilians 5.2 Child soldiers 5.3 Ethnic cleansing 6 Proscription as a terrorist group 7 Criminal activities 7.1 Sea piracy 7.2 Arms smuggling 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

[edit]History

[edit]Founding

See also: Sri Lankan civil war

See also: Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war

The LTTE was founded on May 5, 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran, as a successor to the Tamil New Tigers, a militant group most notable for the assassination of the Mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiyappah in 1975.^[15] Prabhakaran sought to "refashion the old TNT/new LTTE into an elite, ruthlessly efficient, and highly professional fighting force",^[15] which, as terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna notes, he did by "keeping [his] numbers small, maintaining a high standard of training, [and] enforcing discipline at all levels".^[16] According to the Indian media news channel CNN-IBN, the LTTE's main members including Prabhakaran were trained and funded by the Indian Army and Indian intelligence agency RAW which attracted many supporters among disenchanted Tamil youth. The LTTE assassinated the Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for bringing in the IPKF to forcefully disarm the LTTE.^[17] The LTTE carried out low-key attacks against various government targets, including policemen and local politicians.

The LTTE carried out their first major attack on July 23, 1983 when they ambushed a Sri Lanka Army troop transport outside Jaffna. 13 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in the attack, leading to the Black July riots against the Tamil community of Sri Lanka. The subsequent anger amongst the Tamil community resulted in numerous Tamil youths joining Tamil militant groups to fight the Sri Lankan government, in what is considered start of the insurgency in Sri Lanka.^[18]

[edit]Rise to power

Initially, LTTE operated in cooperation with other Tamil militant groups which shared their objectives, and in April 1984, the LTTE formally joined a common militant front, the Eelam National Liberation Front (ENLF), a union between LTTE, the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization(TELO), the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and theEelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF).^[19]

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 the TELO view and claimed that India was only acting on its own interest. As a result in 1986, the LTTE broke from the ENLF. Soon fighting broke out between the TELO and the LTTE and clashes occurred over the next few months.^[20][21] As a result almost the entire TELO leadership and many of the TELO militants were killed by the LTTE.^[22][23][24] The LTTE attacked training camps of the EPRLF a few months later, forcing it to withdraw entirely from the Jaffna peninsula.^[19][22]

The LTTE then demanded that all remaining Tamil insurgents join the LTTE. Notices were issued to that effect in Jaffna and in Madras, India where the Tamil groups were headquartered. With the major groups including the TELO and EPRLF eliminated, the remaining Tamil insurgent groups, numbering around 20, were then absorbed into the LTTE, making Jaffna an LTTE-dominated city.^[22]

LTTE's practice such as wearing a cyanide vial for consumption if captured appealed to the Tamil people as dedication and sacrifice. Another practice that increased support by Tamil people was LTTE's practice of taking an oath of loyalty which stated LTTE's goal of establishing a state for the Sri Lankan Tamils.^[20][25]

In 1987, LTTE established the Black Tigers, a unit of LTTE responsible for conducting suicide attacks against political, economic and military targets,^[26] and launched its first suicide attack against a Sri Lanka Army camp, killing 40 soldiers.

The LTTE members are probhibited to smoke cigarattes and consume alcohol in any form. The LTTE members must also refrain from their family members and hence forth, no communication must be maintained between them. They are also prohibited from having sexual intercourse from anyone apart from their spouse. The last rule was effected by Prabhakaran as a result of an earlier situation of an immoral relationship between two senior LTTE cadres which almost lead to a rift in the organisation.^[27]

[edit]IPKF period

Main article: Indian Peace Keeping Force

In 1987, faced with growing anger among its own Tamils, and a flood of refugees,^[19] India intervened directly in the conflict for the first time by initially airdropping food parcels into Jaffna. After subsequent 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 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 lay down their arms. 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.^[28][29]

Although the accord was signed between the governments of Sri Lanka and India, and the Tamil militant groups did not have a role in the agreement,^[20] most Tamil militant groups accepted it.^[30] But the LTTE rejected the accord because they opposed the candidate, who belonged to the EPRLF, for chief administrative officer of the merged Northern and Eastern provinces.^[29] Instead, the LTTE named three other candidates for the position, which India rejected.^[30] The LTTE subsequently refused to hand over their weapons to the IPKF.^[20]

Thus LTTE found itself engaged in military conflict with the Indian Army, and launched its first attack on an Indian army rations truck on October 8, killing five Indian para-commandos who were on board by strapping burning tires around their necks.^[31] The government of India decided that the IPKF should disarm the LTTE by force,^[31] and the Indian Army launched number of assaults on the LTTE, including a month-long campaign dubbed Operation Pawan to win control of the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE. The ruthlessness of this campaign, and the Indian army's subsequent anti-LTTE operations made it extremely unpopular among many Tamils in Sri Lanka.^[32][33]

[edit]After IPKF

The Indian intervention was also unpopular among the Sinhalese majority, and the IPKF became bogged down in the fighting with the Tamil Tigers for over 2 years, experiencing heavy losses. The last members of the IPKF, which was estimated to have had a strength of well over 50,000 at its peak, left the country in 1990 upon the request of the Sri Lankan government. A shaky 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.^{[citation needed]}

Fighting continued throughout the 1990s, and was marked by two key assassinations carried out by the LTTE, that of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993, using suicide bombers in both occasions. The fighting briefly halted in 1994 following the election of Chandrika Kumaratunga as President of Sri Lanka and the onset of peace talks, but fighting resumed after LTTE sunk two Sri Lanka Navy boats in April 1995.^[34] In a series of military operations that followed, the Sri Lanka Army re-captured the Jaffna peninsula, the heartland of Tamils in Sri Lanka.^[35] Further offensives followed over the next three years, and the military captured vast areas in the north of the country from the LTTE, including area in the Vanni region, the town of Kilinochchi and many smaller towns. However, from 1998 onward the LTTE hit back, regaining control of these areas. This culminated in the capture of the strategically important Elephant Pass base complex, located at the entrance of the Jaffna Peninsula, in April 2000, after prolonged fighting against the Sri Lanka Army.^[36]

Mahattaya, a one-time deputy leader of LTTE, was accused of treason by the LTTE and killed in 1994.^[37] He is said to have collaborated with the Indian Research and Analysis Wing to remove Prabhakaran from the LTTE leadership.^[38]

[edit]2001 ceasefire

An LTTE bicycle infantry platoon north of Kilinochchi in 2004

In 2001, the LTTE dropped its demand for a separate state. Instead, it stated that a form of regional autonomy would meet its demands.^[39] Following the landslide election defeat of Kumaratunga and the coming to power of Ranil Wickramasinghe in December 2001, the LTTE declared a unilateral ceasefire.^[40] The Sri Lankan Government agreed to the ceasefire. In March 2002, both sides signed an official Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). As part of the agreement, Norwayand the other Nordic countries agreed to jointly monitor the ceasefire through the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.^[41]

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".^[42][43]

In 2003, the LTTE proposed an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). This move was welcomed by the international community, but rejected by the Sri Lankan President.^[44]

In December 2005, the LTTE boycotted the 2005 presidential election. 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 act.^[45][46]

The new government of Sri Lanka came into power in 2006 and demanded to abrogate the ceasefire agreement, stating that the only possible solution to the ethnic conflict was military solution, and that the only way to achieve this is by eliminating the Liberation Tigers of Tamila.^[47]Further peace talks were scheduled in Oslo, Norway, on June 8 and 9, 2006, but canceled 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 the LTTE should take direct responsibility for the collapse of the talks.^[48]

Rifts grew between the government and LTTE, and resulted in a number of ceasefire agreement violations by both sides during 2006. Suicide attacks,^[49] military skirmishes and air raids took place during the latter part of 2006.^[50][51] Military confrontation continued into 2007 and 2008. On January 2008, the government officially pulled out of the Cease Fire Agreement.^[52]

[edit]Dissension

See also: Colonel Karuna

In the biggest show of dissent from within the organization, a senior LTTE commander named Colonel Karuna (nom de guerre of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan) broke away from the LTTE in March 2004 and formed the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal amid allegations that the northern commanders were overlooking the needs of the eastern Tamils. The LTTE leadership accused him of mishandling of funds and questioned him about his recent personal behavior. He tried to take control of the eastern province from the LTTE, which caused clashes between the LTTE and TEMVP. The LTTE has suggested that TEMVP was backed by the government,^[53] and the Nordic SLMM monitors have corroborated this.^[54]

[edit]Military defeat

Main article: 2008–2009 Sri Lankan Army Northern offensive

On January 2, 2009, the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced that the Sri Lankan troops had captured Kilinochchi, the city which the LTTE had used for over a decade as its de facto administrative capital.^[55][56][57] It was stated that the loss of Kilinochchi had caused a substantial dent in the LTTE's image.^[56] It was also stated that after the fall of Kilinochchi the LTTE was likely to collapse soon under unbearable military pressure on multiple fronts.^[58] As of January 8, 2009, the LTTE was abandoning its positions on the Jaffna peninsula to make a last stand in the jungles of Mullaitivu, their last main base.^[59] The entire Jaffna peninsula was captured by the Sri Lanka Army by January 14.^[60] On January 25, 2009 SLA troops "completely captured" Mullaitivu town, the last major LTTE stronghold.^[61]

Top LTTE leader Cheliyan, the second-in-command of the Sea Tigers, was killed in Kariyamullivaikkal on May 8, 2009 dealing another blow to the organization.^[62] The Sri Lankan Government accused the LTTE of causing a human disaster by trapping civilians in the shrinking area under their control.^[63] With the LTTE on the brink of defeat, the fate of their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran remained uncertain.^[64] On May 12, 2009 the BBC reported that the LTTE was now clinging to 840 acres (3.4 km²) of land near the town of Mullaitivu, which is roughly the same area as New York City's Central Park.^[65]

U.N. secretary General Ban Ki Moon appealed to the LTTE that children should not be held hostage, recruited as child soldiers or put in harm's way.^[66] Claude Heller of United Nations Security Council said 'We demand that the LTTE immediately lay down arms, renounce terrorism, allow a UN-assisted evacuation of the remaining civilians in the conflict area, and join the political process.' The council president, speaking on behalf of the 15 members, also said they 'strongly condemned the LTTE, a terrorist organisation, for the use of civilians as human shields and for not allowing them to leave the area'.^[67] On May 13, 2009 the UN security council condemned the LTTE again and denounced its use of civilians as human shields and urged them to acknowledge the legitimate right of the government of Sri Lanka to combat terrorism by laying down their arms and allowing the tens of thousands of civilians to leave the conflict zone.^[68] On May 14, 2009 The United Nations acting representative for Sri Lanka, Amin Awad, said that 6,000 civilians had fled or were trying to flee, but that LTTE was firing on them to prevent them from escaping.^[69]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared military victory over the Tamil Tigers on May 16, 2009 after 26 years of conflict.^[70] On the same day for the first time in their long struggle against the Sri Lankan government, the rebels were offering to lay down their weapons in return for a guarantee of safety.^[71] Sri Lanka's disaster relief and human-rights minister Mahinda Samarasinghe stated 'The military phase is over. The LTTE has been militarily defeated. Now the biggest hostage rescue operation in the world has come to a conclusion, The figure I have here is since 20 April, 179,000 hostages have been rescued.'^[72]

On May 17, 2009, LTTE official Selvarasa Pathmanathan conceded defeat, saying in an email statement "This battle has reached its bitter end". Several LTTE fighters committed suicide when they became surrounded.^[73] On May 18, it was confirmed that the LTTE leaderVelupillai Prabhakaran had been killed along with several other high ranking Tamil officials. State run television interrupted its regular programming and a government information department sent a text message to cell phones across the country with the news.

[edit]Continued operations

In 2010 elements of the LTTE have been trying to re-consilidate the organization by raising money from the Tamil diaspora.^[74]

[edit]Links to other designated terrorist organizations

This section relies to heavily on one Westminster Journal article (a source which appears non-neutral). For example, from the Westminster Journal, "the Westminster Journal seeks to perform a witch hunt but using 21st Century tools of evidence gathering and blatant proof. Sure we will be blamed for McCarthyism. Well, someone's got to do it". Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations to additional sources. (August 2010)

A Council on Foreign Relations article by Preeti Bhattacharji stated, "the secular nationalist LTTE currently has no operational connection with al-Qaeda, its radical Islamist affiliates, or other terrorist groups".^[75] The group may still interact with other terrorist organizations through illegal arms markets in Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia."^[76]

As early as the mid-1970s, LTTE rebels were known to have trained members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in SouthernLebanon, where concepts of suicide bombings, taxation, and war memorials were imparted to PFLP fighters.^[77]

As late as 1998, the Tigers clearly stated:

... the LTTE has resolved to work in solidarity with the world national liberation movements, socialist states, and international working class parties. We uphold an anti-imperialist policy and therefore we pledge our militant solidarity against western imperialism, neo-colonialists, Zionism, racism and other forces of reaction.^[77]

The Westminster Journal further states:

Intelligence agencies are well aware that the LTTE was involved in the 1990s in training the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) both of which are closely linked to al-Qaeda. In 1995 and 1998, an LTTE combat tactician and an LTTE explosives expert accompanying groups of al-Qaeda Arabs was recorded training members of MILF. In 1999, an LTTE combat tactician accompanying a group of al-Qaeda Arabs was recorded training members of the ASG. At the apparent behest of al-Qaeda, the LTTE is recorded training members of Al Ummah (An Islamic terrorist group formed in India in 1992, believed to be responsible for bombings in southern India in 1998) in Tamil Nadu, India.^[77]

The Times of India, in a 2001 article, highlights an alleged nexus between al-Qaeda and the LTTE, and claims that "[al-Qaeda links with the LTTE] are the first instance of an Islamist group collaborating with an essentially secular outfit".^[78] Additionally, the US-based research organisation "Maritime Intelligence Group" said the Indonesian group Jemaah Islamiya, which has known links to al-Qaeda, had been trained in sea-borne guerrilla tactics by LTTE Sea Tiger veterans.^[77]

"Norwegians Against Terrorism", a one-man band led by convicted murderer Falk Rune Rovik,^[79][80] further described how the Tamil community in Norway, at the behest of the LTTE, sold fake and stolen Norwegian passports to al-Qaeda members.^[77] The LTTE itself acquired a fake passport for Ramzi Yousef, convicted mastermind of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in New York.^[77]

[edit]LTTE tactics in other terrorist organizations

Some of LTTE's attacks in Sri Lanka have similarities to attacks by other proscribed groups. Some examples are:

• The similarities between previous LTTE attacks against Sri Lanka Navy ships and the al-Qaeda attack on the USS Cole which killed 17US Navy sailors.^[81] The incident has raised suspicions of connections between the two groups. The "Maritime Intelligence Group" based in Washington DC claims to have unearthed substantial evidence that the LTTE trained Indonesian Islamists in the technique of maritime suicide bombings. The group, linked to al-Qaeda, is believed to have then passed the technique it learned from the LTTE to al-Qaeda itself.^[77]
• The website "South Asian Terrorism Portal" claimed that the LTTE provided forged passports to Ramzi Yousef, who was one of the planners of the first attack against the World Trade Center in New York in 1993.^[82] The allegation has been backed by the Westminster Journal as well.^[77]
• The website "South Asian Terrorism Portal" also states that there are increasing intelligence reports that the LTTE was smuggling arms to various terrorist organizations, including Islamic groups in Pakistan and their counterparts in the Philippines,^[82] using their covert smuggling networks. The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies found that LTTE was building commercial links with al-Qaeda and other militants in Afghanistan, and that several cadres were spotted in Afghan militant camps.^[77][83][84]
• Falk Rovik, a convicted murderer,^[80] accused the LTTE of stealing Norwegian passports and selling them to al-Qaeda in Algeria to earn money to buy weapons. He further alleged that funds from Government of Norway had been inadvertently diverted to the LTTE.^[85][86]
• India's National Security Adviser, M K Narayanan, alleges that LTTE raises money by smuggling narcotics. A recent arrest of LTTE operatives in Colombia corroborates this claim.^[77]
• According to an "anti-LTTE" website, Glen Jenvey, a former employee of the government of Sri Lanka and a specialist on international terrorism, claimed that al-Qaeda has copied most of its terror tactics from the LTTE^[87] He highlighted the LTTE as the mastermind that sets the pattern for organizations like al-Qaeda to pursue. The Maritime Intelligence Group in Washington DC even states that al-Qaeda learned the tactic through LTTE contacts teaching Indonesians the methods.^[88]
• According to Asian Tribune, attacks on civilians in buses and trains in Sri Lanka were copied in the attack on public civilian transport during July 2005 bombings in London.^[87]

[edit]Assassinations

Main article: List of assassinations of the Sri Lankan Civil War

The LTTE has been condemned by various groups for assassination of political and military opponents. The victims include Tamil moderates who coordinated with Sri Lanka Government, Tamil paramilitary groups assisting Sri Lankan Army. The assassination of the Sri Lankan president, Ranasinghe Premadasa, is attributed to LTTE. The 7th Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated by an LTTE female suicide bomber Thenmozhi Rajaratnam on 21 May 1991.

LTTE sympathizers justify some of the assassinations by arguing that the people attacked were combatants or persons closely associated with Sri Lankan military intelligence. Specifically in relation to the TELO, the LTTE has said that it had to perform preemptive self-defencebecause the TELO was in effect functioning as a proxy for India.^[89]

[edit]Suicide bombings

Main article: Black Tigers

The LTTE have employed the use of concealed suicide vests.^[90] According to Jane's Information Group, between 1980 and 2000, the LTTE carried out 168 suicide attacks causing heavy damage on economic and military targets.^[91]

Many of these attacks have involved military objectives in the north and east of the country, although civilians have been targeted on numerous occasions, including during a high profile attack on Colombo's International Airport in 2001 that caused damage to several commercial airliners and military jets, and killed 16 people.^[92] The LTTE was also responsible for a 1998 attack on the Buddhist shrine, andUNESCO world heritage site, Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy that killed 8 worshipers. The attack was symbolic in that the shrine, which houses a sacred tooth of the Buddha, is the holiest Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka.^[93] Other Buddhist shrines have been attacked, notably the Sambuddhaloka Temple in Colombo that killed 9 worshipers.^[94]

Relatively speaking, there have been fewer operations in the south where most of the Sinhalese live, including the capital Colombo, although such attacks have often engaged high-profile targets and attracted much international publicity as a result.^[95]

The LTTE's Black Tigers has been attributed with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed in 1991 using a prototype suicide vest, and Ranasinghe Premadasa, assassinated in 1993.^[91]

[edit]Human rights violations

The United States Department of State states that its reason for banning LTTE as a proscribed terrorist group is based on allegations that LTTE does not respect human rights and that it does not adhere to the standards of conduct expected of a resistance movement or what might be called "freedom fighters".^{[96][97][98][99]} The FBI has described the LTTE as "amongst the most dangerous and deadly extremist outfits in the world".^[100] Other countries have also proscribed LTTE under the same rationale. Numerous countries and international organizations have accused the LTTE of attacking civilians and recruiting children.^[91]

[edit]Attacks on civilians

Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE

The LTTE has launched attacks on civilian targets several times. Notable attacks include the Aranthalawa Massacre,^[101] Anuradhapura massacre,^[102] Kattankudy mosque massacre,^[103] the Kebithigollewa massacre^[104] and the Dehiwala train bombing.^[105] Civilians have also been killed in attacks on economic targets, such as the Central Bank bombing.^[105][106]

[edit]Child soldiers

Main article: Militant use of children in Sri Lanka

The LTTE has been accused of recruiting and using child soldiers to fight against Sri Lankan government forces.^{[107][108][109]} The LTTE was accused of having up to 5,794 child soldiers in its ranks since 2001.^[110][111]

Amid international pressure, the LTTE announced in July 2003 that it would stop conscripting child soldiers, but both UNICEF^[112][113] andHuman Rights Watch^[114] have accused it of reneging on its promises, and of conscripting Tamil children orphaned by the tsunami.^[115]However, since 2007, the LTTE has claimed that it will release all of the recruits under the age of 18 before the end of the year. On 18 June 2007, the LTTE released 135 children under 18. UNICEF, along with the United States, states that there has been a significant drop in LTTE recruitment of children, but claims that 506 child recruits remain under the LTTE.^[116] A report released by the LTTE's Child Protection Authority (CPA) in 2008 reported that less than 40 soldiers under age 18 remained in its forces.^[117] However in 2009 a Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations said the Tamil Tigers "continue to recruit children to fight on the frontlines", and "use force to keep many civilians, including children, in harms way".^[118]

The LTTE argues that instances of child recruitment occurred mostly in the east, under the purview of former LTTE regional commanderColonel Karuna. After leaving the LTTE and forming the TMVP, it is alleged that Karuna continued to forcibly kidnap and induct child soldiers.^[119][120] Its official position is that earlier, some of its cadres erroneously recruited volunteers in their late teens.^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Ethnic cleansing

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (February 2009)

Main article: Expulsion of Muslims from the Northern province by LTTE

The LTTE is responsible for forcibly removing, or "ethnically cleansing",^[121][122] Sinhalese and Muslim inhabitants from areas under its control, and using violence against those who refuse to leave. The evictions happened in the north in 1990, and the east in 1992. Tamil sources openly state:

Islam, however, is not being practiced presently [In Tamil Eelam], as the Muslims have been asked to leave the Tamil Eelam territory until the independence of Tamil Eelam. The Muslims supported the aggressive Sri Lankan Sinhala and Muslim Military against the freedom of Tamil Eelam.^[123]

Ironically, however, Muslim and Tamil communities in the North of Sri Lanka had participated together in the early days of the Tamil movement, and Muslim ironmongers in Mannar fashioned weapons for the LTTE, and local Tamil leaders were disturbed at the LTTE's call for the eviction of Muslims.^[124] However, as Tamil intellectuals began viewing Muslims as outsiders, rather than a part of the Tamil nation as they had been referred to previously, the LTTE undertook its anti-Muslim campaigns.

In its 1976 Vaddukodai Resolution, LTTE condemns the Sri Lankan government for, as it claimed, "unleashing successive bouts of communal violence on both the Tamils and Muslims."^[125] In 2005, the "International Federation of Tamils" claimed that the Sri Lankan military purposefully stoked tensions between Tamils and Muslims, in an attempt to undermine Tamil security.^[126] As Tamils turned to the LTTE for support, the Muslims were left with the Sri Lankan state as their sole defender, and so in the eyes of the LTTE, the Muslims had legitimized the role of the state, and were thus viewed as Sri Lankans.^[126]

Beginning in 1985, the LTTE forcibly occupied 35,000 acres (140 km²) of Muslim-owned farmland in the north of Sri Lanka, before systematically evicting the Muslims from areas under LTTE control.^[127]

Although anti-Muslim pogroms had occurred in the north and east of Sri Lanka since 1985, the LTTE embarked on a campaign to expel Muslims from the North in 1989. The first eviction notice was sent to the Muslims of Chavakacheri on October 15, 1989, after the LTTE entered the local mosque and threatened Muslims a few weeks earlier.^[124] Afterward, the houses of evicted Muslims were ransacked and looted.^[124] On October 28, 1989, the Muslims of Mannar, in the North of Sri Lanka, were told,

"All Muslims living in Mannar island should leave by 28 October. Before leaving, they must seek permission and clearance at the LTTE Office. The LTTE will decide their exit route."^[124]

The deadline was extended by four days after pleas from local Tamil Catholics, who were left to look after many Muslims' property in anticipation of looting by the Sri Lankan army – although the Catholics themselves were later robbed by the LTTE of both their own, and the Muslims' property.^[124] On the 28th, while Muslims were preparing to leave, the LTTE barred Hindus from entering Muslim villages and dealing with them. The areas were reopened on the November 3, after Muslims had been packed onto the boats of Muslim fishermen and sent southwards along the coast.^[124]

After a lull in ethnic cleansing, the LTTE on August 3, 1990, sealed off a Shiite mosque in Kattankady, the Meera Jumma and Husseinia, and opened fire through the mosque's windows, leaving 147 Muslim worshipers dead, out of 300 gathered for Friday prayers.^[128] Fifteen days later, LTTE gunmen shot dead between 122 and 173 Muslim civilians in the town of Eravur^[128][129]

Ethnic cleansing culminated on October 30, 1990 when the LTTE forcibly expelled the entire Muslim population of Jaffna. LTTE commanders from the east announced at 7:30 A.M. that all Muslims in Jaffna were to report to Osmania stadium, where they were to be addressed by two LTTE leaders, Karikalana and Anjaneyar.^[124] After listening to the leaders denigrate Muslims for allegedly attacking Tamils in the east, the leaders explained to the community that they had two hours to evacuate the city.^[130] The community was released from the stadium at 10 A.M., and by noon, and were only allowed to carry 500 rupees, while the rest of their possessions were seized by the LTTE after they were forced to report to LTTE checkpoints upon exiting Jaffna.^[124]

In total, over 12,700 Muslim families, roughly 75,000 people, were forcibly evicted from LTTE-controlled areas on the Northern Province.^[131]

In 1992, the LTTE embarked on a campaign to create a contiguous Tamil Hindu-Christian homeland that stretched from the North of Sri Lanka, and downwards along the Eastern Coast. A large Tamil-speaking Muslim population inhabited a narrow strip of land between the two entities, and so a pattern of "ethnic cleansing" emerged in Eastern Sri Lanka, as was already done in the North. "The LTTE unleashed violence against the Muslims of Alinchipothanai and killed 69 Muslim villagers. This led to a retaliatory violence against the Tamils in Muthugala, where 49 Tamils were killed allegedly by the Muslim Home guards."^[132] Later in the year, the LTTE attacked four Muslim villages (Palliyagodalla, Akbarpuram, Ahmedpuram and Pangurana) and killed 187 Muslims.^[132] The Australian Muslim Times later commented on 30 October 1992: "The massacres, eviction and the atrocities by the Tamil Tigers are carried out in order to derive the Muslim Community from their traditional land in the Eastern province as they have done it in the northern province and then set up a separate state only for Tamils".^[132]

In 2002, the LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran had formally apologized for the expulsion of Muslims from the north and asked the Muslims to return. Some families have returned and re-opened the Osmaniya College and two mosques are functioning now.^{[citation needed]} Since the apology, TamilNet, which is widely seen as an LTTE mouthpiece, has featured numerous stories of Muslim civilians coming under attack from Sinhalese forces.^[133]

During the summer of 1990, the LTTE killed over 370 Muslims in the North and East of Sri Lanka in 11 mass killings^[132] The LTTE is also accused of organizing massacres of Sinhala villagers who settled in the Northeast under the dry lands policy.^{[134][135][136]}

[edit]Proscription as a terrorist group

32 countries have listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization.^[137][138] As of January 2009, these include:

• India (since 1992)^[139]
• United States (designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Department of State since October 8, 1997. Named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) since November 2, 2001)^[140][141]
• United Kingdom (designated as Proscribed Terrorist Group under the Terrorism Act 2000 by the Home Secretary since 2000)^[142]
• European Union (since 2006; 27 countries)^[143]
• Canada (since 2006)^[144] Canada does not grant residency to LTTE members on the grounds that they have participated in crimes against humanity.^[145]
• Sri Lanka (from January 1998 to September 4, 2002,^[146] and again from January 7, 2009)^[147]

The first country to ban the LTTE was its early ally, India. The Indian change of policy came gradually, starting with the IPKF-LTTE conflict, and culminating with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. India opposes the new state Tamil Eelam that LTTE wants to establish, saying that it would lead to Tamil Nadu's separation from India though the leaders of Tamil Nadu are opposing it. Sri Lanka itself lifted the ban on the LTTE before signing the ceasefire agreement in 2002. This was a prerequisite set by the LTTE for the signing of the agreement.^[148][149]

The European Union banned LTTE as a terrorist organization on May 17, 2006. In a statement, the European Parliament said that the LTTE did not represent all the Tamils and called on it to "allow for political pluralism and alternate democratic voices in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka".^[150]

[edit]Criminal activities

One factor that has greatly benefited the LTTE has been its sophisticated international support network. While some of the funding obtained by the LTTE is from legitimate fund raising, a significant portion is obtained through criminal activities, extortion among Tamil diaspora,^[151][152] involving sea piracy, human trafficking, drug trafficking and gunrunning.^{[153][154][155][156]}

[edit]Sea piracy

The LTTE has been accused of hijacking several vessels and ships in waters outside Sri Lanka, including the Irish Mona (in August 1995),Princess Wave (in August 1996), Athena (in May 1997), Misen (in July 1997), Morong Bong (in July 1997), MV Cordiality (in September 1997), Princess Kash (in August 1998) and MV Farah III (December 2006). The MV Sik Yang, a 2,818-ton Malaysian-flag cargo ship which sailed from Tuticorin, India on May 25, 1999 was reported missing in waters near Sri Lanka. The ship with a cargo of bagged salt was due at the Malaysian port of Malacca on May 31. The fate of the ship's crew of 15 is unknown. It is suspected that the vessel was hijacked by the LTTE and is now being used as a Phantom vessel. Likewise the crew of a Jordanian ship, MV Farah III, that ran aground near LTTE-controlled territory off the island's coast, accused the Tamil Tigers of risking their lives and forcing them to abandon the vessel which was carrying 14,000 tonnes of Indian rice.^[157]

[edit]Arms smuggling

The LTTE members operated a cargo company called "Otharad Cargo" in the United Arab Emirates. There are reports that the LTTE metTaliban members and discussed the Sharjah network, which existed in the Sharjah emirate of the United Arab Emirates. The Sharjah network was used by Victor Bout, an arms-smuggling Russian intelligence agent, to provide Taleban with weapons deliveries and other flights between Sharjah and Kandahar. Otharad Cargo reportedly received several consignments of military hardware from the Sharjah network.^[158][159]

The Mackenzie Institute claimed that one of LTTE's secretive international operations is the smuggling of weapons, explosives, and "dual use" technologies. The part of the LTTE responsible for these activities is nicknamed "KP Branch", taking the initials of its high level operative, Kumaran Padmanathan. The workers for the KP Branch are from outside the fighting wing of the LTTE, since the identities of those fighters are recorded and available to law enforcement and counter-intelligence agencies by India's Research and Analysis Wing, who had helped train many Tiger cadres in the early 1980s. The KP Branch operates secretively by having the minimum connection possible with the LTTE's other sections for further security. It hands over the arms shipments to a team of Sea Tigers to deliver them to the LTTE-dominated areas.^[160]

The Mackenzie Institute further claimed that in order to carry out the activities of international arms trafficking, the LTTE operates its own fleet of ocean-going vessels. These vessels only operate a certain period of time for the LTTE and in the remaining time they transport legitimate goods and raise hard cash for the purchase of weapons. The LTTE initially operated a shipping base in Myanmar, but was forced to leave due to diplomatic pressure. To overcome this loss, a new base has been set up on Phuket Island, in Thailand.^[160]

Furthermore, The Mackenzie Institute claimed that the most expertly executed operation of the KP Branch was the theft of 32,400 rounds of 81 mm mortar ammunition purchased from Tanzania destined for the Sri Lanka Army. Being aware of the purchase of 35,000 mortar bombs, the LTTE made a bid to the manufacturer through a numbered company and arranged a vessel of their own to pick up the load. Once the bombs were loaded into the ship, the LTTE changed the name and registration of their ship. The vessel was taken to Tiger-held territory in Sri Lanka's north instead of transporting it to its intended destination.^[160]

Western countries are the main territory for fund raising activities of the LTTE. The money raised from donations and enterprises are transferred into bank accounts of the Tigers and from there to the accounts of a weapons broker, or the money is taken by KP operatives themselves. LTTE's need for resources is mostly fulfilled by the Tamils who reside outside Sri Lanka. In 1995, when the LTTE lost Jaffna, its international operatives were ordered to increase, by 50%, the amount raised from Tamils outside the island.^[160]

[edit]See also

• Notable assassinations of the Sri Lankan Civil War
• Black July
• Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
• Military use of children in Sri Lanka
• List of attacks attributed to the LTTE
• 2009 World Tamil protests
• Eelam war

[edit]References

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[edit]Further reading

• Balasingham, Adele. (2003). The Will to Freedom - An Inside View of Tamil Resistance. Fairmax Publishing Ltd. 2nd ed. ISBN 1-903679-03-6.
• Balasingham, Anton. (2004). War and Peace - Armed Struggle and Peace Efforts of Liberation Tigers. Fairmax Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-903679-05-2.
• de Votta, Neil. (2004) Blowback: Linguistic Nationalism, Institutional Decay, and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4924-8.
• Gamage, Siri and I.B. Watson (Editors). (1999). Conflict and Community in Contemporary Sri Lanka - 'Pearl of the East' or 'Island of Tears'?. Sage Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-7619-9393-2.
• Hansard Australia. (2006). Commonwealth of Australia Parliamentary Debates. Senate Transcript for 16 June 2006.
• Hellmann-Rajanayagam, D. (1994). The Groups and the rise of Militant Secessions, in Manogaram, C. and Pfaffenberger, B. (editors). The Sri Lankan Tamils. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-8133-8845-7.
• "Child Soldier Use 2003: A Briefing for the 4th UN Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict". Human Rights Watch. January 2003. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
• La, J. 2004. Forced remittances in Canada's Tamil enclaves, Peace Review 16:3. September 2004. pp. 379–385.
• Narayan Swamy, M. R. (2002). Tigers of Lanka: from Boys to Guerrillas. Konark Publishers; 3rd ed. ISBN 81-220-0631-0.
• Pratap, Anita. (2001). Island of Blood: Frontline Reports From Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Other South Asian Flashpoints. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-302906-9.

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Tamil sites

• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
• Tamilnet
• Tamil Eelam News

Sri Lanka Government sites

• Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence Map showing extent of area controlled
• Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence LTTE in Brief

International Organizations

• TAMING THE TAMIL TIGERS
• LIBERATION TIGERS OF TAMIL EELAM'S (LTTE) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS - A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS
• Council on Foreign Relations background information on the Tigers
• International Crisis Group, an advocacy group, has information on the conflict.
• Tamil Tigers U-Boat force

International Press

• Mexico Refuses to give Legitimacy to the LTTE by Dushy Ranetunge, Asia News Network, April 19, 2009
• Sri Lankan Civilians Trapped by Tamil Tigers 'Last Stand' By Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, May 3, 2009
• Guerrilla Tactics - How the Tamil Tigers Were Beaten in an 'Unwinnable' War by Jeremy Page, The Times, May 19, 2009

Categories: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam | European Union designated terrorist organizations | Government of India designated terrorist organizations | Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States government | Organizations established in 1976 | 1976 establishments in Sri Lanka

India – Sri Lanka relations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Indo-Sri Lankan relations
India	Sri Lanka

Bilateral relations between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of India have been generally friendly, but were controversially affected by the Sri Lankan civil war and by the failure ofIndian intervention during the war. India is the only neighbour of Sri Lanka, separated by the Palk Strait; both nations occupy a strategic position inSouth Asia and have sought to build a common security umbrella in theIndian Ocean.^[1]

The two largest ethnic groups of Sri Lanka are Sinhala and Tamil.

Contents  [hide] 1 Development of bilateral relations 2 Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war 3 Commercial ties 4 Fishermen Issue 5 Development Cooperation 6 External links 7 References

[edit]Development of bilateral relations

India and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations when the latter gained its independence in 1948. Both nations proceeded to establish extensive cultural, commercial, strategic and defence ties to establish a common sphere of influence in the region, adopting non-alignment to control Western and Soviet influence.^[2] The close relationship between the then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then-Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike led to the development of strong bilateral relations.^[2] In 1971, Indian armed forces helped squash aCommunist rebellion against the Sri Lankan government.^[1]

[edit]Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war

Main articles: Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War, Indian Peace Keeping Force, Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, and Operation Poomalai

In the 1970s-1980s, private entities and elements in the state government of Tamil Nadu were believed to be encouraging the funding and training for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist insurgent force.^[2][3].In 1987, faced with growing anger amongst its own Tamils, and a flood of refugees,^[4] India intervened directly in the conflict for the first time after the Sri Lankan government attempted to regain control of the northern Jaffna region by means of an economic blockade and military assaults, India supplied food and medicine by air and sea. After subsequent negotiations, India and Sri Lanka entered into an agreement. The peace accord assigned 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 lay down their arms. Further India was to send a peacekeeping force, named the IPKF to Sri Lanka to enforce the disarmament and to watch over the regional council.^[2][5][6][7]

Even though the accord was signed between the governments of Sri Lanka and India, with the Tamil Tigers and other Tamil militant groups not having a role in the signing of the accord^[8], most Tamil militant groups accepted this agreement,^[9] the LTTE rejected the accord because they opposed the candidate, who belonged to another militant group named Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), for chief administrative officer of the merged Northern and Eastern provinces^[6]. Instead the LTTE named three other candidates for the position. The candidates proposed by the LTTE were rejected by India.^[10] The LTTE subsequently refused to hand over their weapons to the IPKF.^[8]

The result was that the LTTE now found itself engaged in military conflict with the Indian Army, and launched their first attack on an Indian army rations truck on October 8, killing five Indian para-commandos who were on board by strapping burning tires around their necks.^[11] The government of India then decided that the IPKF should disarm the LTTE by force,^[11] and the Indian Army launched number of assaults on the LTTE, including a month-long campaign dubbed Operation Pawan to win control of the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE. When the IPKF engaged the LTTE, the then president of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa, began supporting LTTE and funded LTTE with arms^[6]. During the warfare with the LTTE, IPKF was also alleged to have made human rights violation against the civilians. Notably, IPKF was alleged to have perpetrated Jaffna teaching hospital massacre which was the killing of over 70 civilians including patients, doctors and nurses.^[12] The ruthlessness of this campaign, and the Indian army's subsequent anti-LTTE operations made it extremely unpopular amongst many Tamils in Sri Lanka.^[13][14]. The conflict between the LTTE and the Indian Army left over 1,000 Indian soldiers dead.^[1][2]

The Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, which had been unpopular amongst Sri Lankans for giving India a major influence, now became a source of nationalist anger and resentment as the IPKF was drawn fully into the conflict. Sri Lankans protested the presence of the IPKF, and the newly-elected Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa demanded its withdrawal, which was completed by March 1990.^[2]. on May 21, 1992, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated and the LTTE was alleged to be the perpetrator. As a result India declared the LTTE to be a terrorist outfit in 1992. Bilateral relations improved in the 1990s and India supported the peace process but has resisted calls to get involved again.^[15]India has also been wary of and criticised the extensive military involvement of Pakistan in the conflict, accusing the latter of supplying lethal weaponry and encouraging Sri Lanka to pursue military action rather than peaceful negotiations to end the civil war.^[16]

[edit]Commercial ties

India and Sri Lanka are member nations of several regional and multilateral organisations such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme, South Asian Economic Union and BIMSTEC, working to enhance cultural and commercial ties. Since a bilateral free trade agreement was signed and came into effect in 2000, Indo-Sri Lankan trade rose 128% by 2004 and quadrupled by 2006, reaching USD 2.6 billion.^[17][18] Between 2000 and 2004, India's exports to Sri Lanka in the last four years increased by 113%, from USD 618 million to $1,319 million while Sri Lankan exports to India increased by 342%, from $44 million to USD $194 million.^[17] Indian exports account for 14% of Sri Lanka's global imports. India is also the fifth largest export destination for Sri Lankan goods, accounting for 3.6% of its exports.^[17] Both nations are also signatories of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Negotiations are also underway to expand the free trade agreement to forge stronger commercial relations and increase corporate investment and ventures in various industries.^[18] The year 2010 is predicted to be the best year for bilateral trade on record, with Sri Lanka's exports to India increasing by 45% over the first seven months of the year^[19]

India's National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) is also scheduled to build a 500 MW thermal power plant in Sampoor (Sampur). The NTPC claims that this plan will take the Indo-Srilankan relationship to new level.^[20]

[edit]Fishermen Issue

There have been several incidents of firing on Indian fishermen fishing in Palk Bay.Indian Government has always taken up the issue of safety of Indian fishermen on a priority basis with the Government of Sri Lanka. Presently there is no bona fide Indian fisherman in the Sri Lankan custody. A Joint Working Group (JWG) has been constituted to deal with the issues related to Indian fishermen straying in Sri Lankan territorial waters, work out modalities for prevention of use of force against them and the early release of confiscated boats and explore possibilities of working towards bilateral arrangements for licensed fishing. The JWG last met in Jan 2006.

[edit]Development Cooperation

India is active in a number of areas of development activity in Sri Lanka. About one-sixth of the total development credit granted by GOI is made available to Sri Lanka.

Lines of credit: In the recent past three lines of credit were extended to Sri Lanka: US$ 100 million for capital goods, consumer durables, consultancy services and food items, US$ 31 million for supply of 300,000 MT of wheat and US$ 150 million for purchase of petroleum products. All of these lines of credit have been fully utilized. Another line of credit of US$ 100 million is now being made available for rehabilitation of the Colombo-Matara railway.

A number of development projects are implemented under 'Aid to Sri Lanka' funds. In 2006-07, the budget for 'Aid to Sri Lanka' was Rs 28.2 Crs.

Small Development Projects: A MoU on Cooperation in Small Development Projects has been signed. Projects for providing fishing equipments to the fishermen in the East of Sri Lanka and solar energy aided computer education in 25 rural schools in Eastern Sri Lanka are under consideration.

Health Projects: We have supplied medical equipments to hospitals at Hambantota and Point Pedro, supplied 4 state of the art ambulances to the Central Province, implemented a cataract eye surgery programme for 1500 people in the Central Province and implemented a project of renovation of OT at Dickoya hospital and supplying equipment to it.

The projects under consideration are: Construction of a 150-bed hospital at Dickoya, upgradation of the hospital at Trincomalee and a US$ 7.5 million grant for setting up a Cancer Hospital in Colombo.

Education Projects: Upgradation of the educational infrastructure of the schools in the Central province including teachers' training, setting up of 10 computer labs, setting up of 20 e-libraries (Nenasalas), Mahatma Gandhi scholarship scheme for +2 students and setting up of a vocational training centre in Puttalam. India also contributes to the Ceylon Workers Education Trust that gives scholarships to the children of estate workers.

Training: A training programme for 465 Sri Lankan Police officers has been commenced in Dec 2005. Another 400 Sri Lankan Police personnel are being trained for the course of 'Maintenance of Public Order'.

[edit]External links

• Common gods, shared values thread India, Sri Lanka together

[edit]References

1. ^ ^a b c India's Sri Lankan scars
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} India - Sri Lanka
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ "Tamil Militant Groups". Sri Lanka: A Country Study. 1988. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
5. ^ The Peace Accord and the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Hennayake S.K. Asian Survey, Vol. 29, No. 4. (April 1989), pp. 401-415.
6. ^ ^a b c Stokke, K.; Ryntveit, A.K. (2000). "The Struggle for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka". A Journal of Urban and Regional Policy 31(2): 285–304. doi:10.1111/0017-4815.00129.
7. ^ Weisman, Steven R. (5 June 1987). "INDIA AIRLIFTS AID TO TAMIL REBELS". STEVEN R. WEISMAN (New York Times). Retrieved 2010-05-05.
8. ^ ^a b Hellmann-rajanayagam, D. (1994). The Tamil Tigers: Armed Struggle for Identity. Franz Steiner Verlag.
9. ^ O'Ballance, 91
10. ^ O'Ballance, p.94
11. ^ ^a b O'Ballance, p.100
12. ^ Somasundaram, D. (1997). "Abandoning jaffna hospital: Ethical and moral dilemmas". Medicine, Conflict and Survival 13 (4): 333–347. doi:10.1080/13623699708409357.
13. ^ "Statistics on civilians affected by war from 1974 - 2004".NESOHR. Retrieved 2007-01-30.^{[dead link]}
14. ^ "History of the Organisation". University Teachers for Human Rights.
15. ^ India rules out Sri Lanka help
16. ^ The Pakistani muscle behind Colombo
17. ^ ^a b c FTA pushes up India, Lanka Trade by 128%
18. ^ ^a b India, Sri Lanka aim to Broaden Free-Trade Agreement
19. ^ [September%2023%202010 Sri Lanka's exports to India increase by 45% - Indian High Commissioner] Sunday Observer - September 23, 2010
20. ^ India's Sri Lanka power project runs into Tamil storm

[show] v • d • e  Foreign relations of India

[show] v • d • e  Foreign relations of Sri Lanka

Categories: India – Sri Lanka relations

Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Indian Intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War
Part of the Sri Lankan civil war
Date 1987 - 24 March 1990 Location Sri Lanka Result Withdrawal of the IPKF from Sri Lanka,Civil war continues. Tactical victory for Government of Sri Lanka.
Belligerents
Indian Peace Keeping Force  Military of Sri Lanka	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Casualties and losses
IPKF: 1,000+ killed Sri Lanka: 26 Killed ; 578 Wounded	LTTE: 1,300+ killed

[show] v • d • e Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War

[show] v • d • e Sri Lankan Civil War

Sri Lankan Civil War 1983 - 2009
Background
Sri Lanka · History of Sri Lanka
Origins of the Civil War
Origins of the Civil War ·Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism ·Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism ·Riots · Black July
Main phases
Eelam War I ·Indian intervention ·Eelam War II · Eelam War III ·Eelam War IV
LTTE
LTTE · Black Tigers · Attacks ·Expulsion of Muslims ·Suicide bombings
Military of Sri Lanka
Military · Civilian attacks · Army ·Navy · Air Force · Police ·Home Guards · LRRP · STF
Major leaders
M. Rajapaksa · V. Prabhakaran ·C. Kumaratunga ·A. Balasingham ·J. R. Jayewardene · Karuna
Indian involvement
Operation Poomalai ·Indo-Sri Lanka Accord ·Indian Peace Keeping Force ·Operation Pawan ·Rajiv Gandhi · RAW
Militant & paramilitary groups
Tamil militant groups (List) ·ENDLF · ENLF · EPDP · EPRLF ·EROS · PLOTE · TELO · TMVP
Other
Battles · Casualties ·War crimes · State terror ·Human rights ·Disappearances · Child soldiers · Assassinations · Protests(Canada)
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Main article: Sri Lankan Civil War

The Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War was the deployment of theIndian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka intended to perform a peacekeeping role. The deployment followed the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord between India and Sri Lanka of 1987 which was intended to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between militant Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists, principally the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and theSri Lankan military.

The original intention was the Indian Peace Keeping Force would not be involved in large scale military operations. However, after a few months, the Indian Peace Keeping Force engaged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a series of battles. During the two years in which it was deployed, the IPKF fought numerous battles against the LTTE. The IPKF began withdrawing in 1989, and completed the withdrawal in 1990.

Contents  [hide] 1 The Indian intervention 1.1 Conflict with the LTTE 1.1.1 Operation Pawan 1.1.2 The Jaffna University Helidrop 1.2 Withdrawal from Sri Lanka 2 References

[edit]The Indian intervention

India became involved in the Sri Lankan Civil War in the 1980s for a number of reasons, including its leaders' desire to project India as the regional power in the area and worries about India's own Tamils seeking independence. The latter was particularly strong in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where ethnic kinship led to strong support for independence for Sri Lankan Tamils. Throughout the conflict, the Indian central and state governments have supported both sides in different ways. Beginning in the 1980s, India, through its intelligence agency R&AW, provided arms, training and monetary support to a number of Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups, including the LTTE and its rival Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO)^{[citation needed]}. The LTTE's rise is widely attributed to the initial backing it received from R&AW. It is believed that by supporting different militant groups, the Indian government hoped to keep the Tamil independence movement divided and be able to exert overt control over it.^[1]

India became more actively involved in the late 1980s, and on June 5, 1987, the Indian Air Force airdropped food parcels to Jaffna while it was under siege by Sri Lankan forces. At a time when the Sri Lankan government stated they were close to defeating the LTTE, India dropped 25 tons of food and medicine by parachute into areas held by the LTTE in a direct move of support toward the rebels.^[2] Negotiations were held, and the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed on July 29, 1987, by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Jayewardene. Under this accord, the Sri Lankan Government made a number of concessions to Tamil demands, including a devolution of power to the provinces, a merger—subject to later referendum—of the Northern and the Eastern provinces into the single province, and official status for the Tamil language (this was enacted as the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka). India agreed to establish order in the North and East through a force dubbed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), and to cease assisting Tamil insurgents. Militant groups including the LTTE, although initially reluctant, agreed to surrender their arms to the IPKF, which initially oversaw a cease-fire and a modest disarmament of the militant groups.

The signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord, so soon after JR Jayawardene's declaration that he would fight the Indians to the last bullet, led to unrest in south. The arrival of the IPKF to take over control of most areas in the North of the country enabled the Sri Lanka government to shift its forces to the south (in Indian aircraft) to quell the protests. This led to an uprising by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in the south, which was put down bloodily over the next two years.

[edit]Conflict with the LTTE

While most Tamil militant groups laid down their weapons and agreed to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict, the LTTE refused to disarm its fighters.^[3] Keen to ensure the success of the accord, the IPKF then tried to demobilize the LTTE by force and ended up in full-scale conflict with them. The three year long conflict was also marked by the IPKF being accused of committing various abuses of human rights by many human rights groups as well as some within the Indian media. The IPKF also soon met stiff opposition from the Tamils.^[4][5]

[edit]Operation Pawan

Main article: Operation Pawan

Operation Pawan was the codename assigned to the operations by the Indian Peace Keeping Force to take control of Jaffna from the LTTE in late 1987 to enforce the disarmament of the LTTE as a part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord. In brutal fighting that took about three weeks, the IPKF took control of the Jaffna Peninsula from the LTTE rule, something that the Sri Lankan army had then tried and failed to achieve for several years. Supported by Indian Army tanks, helicopter gunships and heavy artillery, the IPKF routed the LTTE. But this victory came at a price, as the IPKF lost around 214 soldiers.^[6]

[edit]The Jaffna University Helidrop

Main article: Jaffna University Helidrop

The Jaffna University Helidrop was the first of the operations launched by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) aimed at disarming theTamil Tigers (LTTE) by force and securing the town of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the opening stages of Operation Pawan during the active Indian mediation in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Mounted on the midnight of 12 October 1988, the operation was planned as a fast heliborne assault involving Mi-8's of the No.109 HU, the 10th Para Commandos and a contingent of the 13th Sikh LI. The aim of the operation was to capture the LTTE leadership at Jaffna University building which served as the Tactical Headquarters of the LTTE, which was expected to shorten Operation Pawan, the battle for Jaffna. However, the operation ended disastrously, failing to capture its objectives -owing to intelligence and planning failures. The helidropped force suffered significant casualties, with nearly the entire Sikh LI detachment of twenty nine troops falling to a man, along with six Paracommandos falling in battle.

[edit]Withdrawal from Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan nationalist sentiment led many Sinhalese to oppose the continued Indian presence in Sri Lanka. These led to the Sri Lankan government's call for India to quit the island, and they allegedly entered into a secret deal with the LTTE that culminated in a ceasefire. The LTTE and IPKF continued to have frequent hostilities, and according to some reports, the Sri Lankan government even armed the rebels in order to see the back of the Indian forces.^[7] Although casualties among the IPKF mounted, and calls for the withdrawal of the IPKF from both sides of the Sri Lankan conflict grew, Gandhi refused to remove the IPKF from Sri Lanka. However, following his defeat in Indian parliamentary elections in December 1989, the new prime Minister V. P. Singh ordered the withdrawal of the IPKF, and their last ship left Sri Lanka on March 24, 1990.

[edit]References

1. ^ Asia Times Who's behind the LTTE split?.
2. ^ Weisman, Steven R. (5 June 1987). "India airlifts aid to tamil rebels". STEVEN R. WEISMAN (New York Times). Retrieved April 9, 2010.
3. ^ "Tamil rebels abduct 2 rivals, Sri Lankan military says". Associated Press. 12 December 2006.
4. ^ Balasingham, Adele. (2003) The Will to Freedom - An Inside View of Tamil Resistance. Fairmax Publishing Ltd, 2nd ed. ISBN 1-903679-03-6.
5. ^ NorthEast Secretariat report on Human rights 1974 - 2004 (see Further Reading section).
6. ^ Operation Pawan. The Battle for Jaffna.
7. ^ Dissanayaka, T.D.S.A.: "War or Peace in Sri Lanka, Volume II", p. 332. Swastika (Pvt.) Ltd., 1998.

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Sri Lankan Tamils in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sri Lankan Tamils in India

Notable Sri Lankans in India V. Kanakasabhai, Arumuka Navalar, Balu Mahendra
Total population
Hundreds of Thousands
Regions with significant populations
Tamil Nadu ~123,000 [1][2][3] Kerala[4] ~7000 [5] Pondicherry ~500 [6] Karnataka ~35,000 [5]
Languages
Tamil, Sinhala, English
Religion
Hindu (Saivite), Christian, Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Sri Lankan, Indian Tamils, Malayalis, Dravidian

Sri Lankan Tamils in India mainly refer to Tamil people of Sri Lankan origin in India and non resident Sri Lankan Tamil. They are partly who migrated to India and their descendants and mostly refugees from Sri Lanka because of the recently concluded Sri Lankan Civil War. In general socio economically they are living below poverty line, except few people who settled in India during early times, rich businessmen, and professionals. In Tamil Nadu they are also known as Ceylon Tamils or Jaffna Tamils, and in Kerala the Sri Lankan Tamils call themselves Elavar after a corruption of the term Ezhava, a caste in Kerala.^[4]

Contents  [hide] 1 History 1.1 Early arrivals 1.2 Sri Lankan refugees 2 Demographics 3 Refugees 3.1 The Camps 4 Prominent People 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit]History

[edit]Early arrivals

During 19th century and early 20th century some Sri Lankan Tamils especially from Jaffnamigrated or settled in India for various reasons such as education, employment in the British Indian government, business and other reasons. Most notable among them were Hensman family, who are migrated to Chennai from Jaffna during late 19th century.

[edit]Sri Lankan refugees

The Sri Lankan refugees arrived in Tamil Nadu in four waves. The first wave on 24 July 1983, afterBlack July, to the 29 July 1987 up until the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, 134,053 Sri Lankan Tamils arrived in India. The first repatriation took place after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987 and between 24 December 1987 and 31 August 1989, 25,585 refugees and non-camp Sri Lankan nationals returned to Sri Lanka. The second wave began with the start of Eelam War II after 25 August 1989, where 122,000 Sri Lankan Tamils came to Tamil Nadu. On 20 January 1992, after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi 54,188 refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Sri Lanka, until March 1995. Eelam War III commenced in April 1995 starting the third wave or refugees. By 12 April 2002, nearly 23,356 refugees had come to Tamil Nadu. The flow of refugees had stopped in 2002 because of the cease fire agreement.^[7]

[edit]Demographics

Tamils distribution in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Tamils in India number in the hundreds of thousands, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, the closest state to Sri Lanka and the easiest to get to. There is also a considerable amount in the state of Kerala with around 700 refugee families.^[1][8] There are also a number of Sri Lankan Tamils in the eastern regions of Orissa, Karnataka and Puducherry.

Highest number of Sri Lankan Tamil families living in KK Nagar, Thuvakudi in Trichirapalli,Neelankarai, Valasaravakkam in Chennai, Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari, R.S puram, Valparai inCoimbatore.

[edit]Refugees

The Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu have three different kinds of shelter. The first is the camp refugees or those who took shelter in camps mostly located in the rural areas. They were sent from the Mandapam transit camp to different locations. The second group is non-camp refugees are those living in tented house with relatives and friends without any assistance from the government. Nearly fifty thousand refugees lived outside camps; most of them are staying in big cities. The third group consisted of those who supposedly posed security threats since they were involved in subversive activities in Sri Lanka. They were sent to special camps where they had to live under constant surveillance. These special camps came into existence in 1991.

[edit]The Camps

When the first wave of refugees entered India in 1983, they were divided into three groups. Besides the camp and noncamp refugees, there were the militants in special camps.The Government of Tamil Nadu had to welcome the refugees in the emergency situation. The Indian government did not like to send the refugees to other states because of the language barriers. India's continued refusal to sign protocols and also the ban on NGOs prevent any international help from reaching the refugees. There are nearly 80,000 refugees 132 camps in Tamil Nadu and one in Orissa. All refugee camps are registered. This entitles them to government assistance-cash, shelter, health facilities, clothing and provision of essential items. The refugees from Sri Lanka have been the recipients of one of the most advanced systems of education in the world, but since 1991, this privilege has been withdrawn.

Refugees also have strict restrictions on their freedom of movement and are treated with some degree of suspicion by the Indian government. It is due to assassination of former Indian Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 by a suspected member of the LTTE. After that some refugee camps were moved away from coastal areas to isolated interior regions of Tamil Nadu state so as to prevent contact amongst the refugees belonging to different camps^[9]. Refugees also have strict restrictions on their freedom of movement and are treated as third grade citizens. If any one disobey the rules may have their monthly stipend and rations cut off as punishment. As India has not signed the international convention for refugees, the plight of the Sri Lankan refugees in India is not brought to the scrutiny of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and no other major human rights organization has taken note of the suffering of the Tamils languishing in the "special camps" in India.

Militant Refugees

Militant leadership has always been elitist and there is a clear line of distinction between them and the mass of refugees. The leadership drew its support and recruited its forces from the refugee camps. These camps no longer exist. They were all dosed down after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, but their legacy continues to haunt the refugees.

Noncamp Refugees

These are the refugees who do not receive financial assistance from the government. They are mostly rich businessmen and professionals. They also include a small number of near destitute young men who are in India to escape from being recruited by the militants. Most of the Sri Lankan Tamils lives in the pockets of Chennai, Trichy and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Trivandrum, Punalur in Kerala.

Recent Developments

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr.M.Karunanidhi assured that the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in and outside the camps would be granted Indian citizenship soon. Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has backed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's call to give Indian citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India^[10].

[edit]Prominent People

• V. Kanakasabhai
• Balu Mahendra
• J.E. Hensman^[11]
• Raibahadur Williamspillai^[12]
• Paul M. Jayarajan aka Marcus Jayarajan Paul^[13]
• E. M. V. Naganathan
• H.S. Hensman^[11].
• J. P. Chandrababu

[edit]See also

• Sri Lankan Tamil people
• Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
• List of Sri Lankan Tamils in India
• Sri Lankans in India
• Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka

[edit]References

1. ^ ^a b http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers29%5Cpaper2857.html
2. ^ http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rog3=IN&rop3=109305
3. ^ http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Lankan+Tamils+in+TN+going+home+soon&artid=Dol4hTJ/xqM=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&SEO=lanka,+tamils,+IDPs,+TN,+tamil+nadu&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==
4. ^ ^a b http://www.rediff.com/news/apr/14lanka.htm
5. ^ ^a b http://sundaytimes.lk/100110/News/nws_80.html
6. ^ http://www.pucl.org/Topics/International/2006/refugees-srilanka-report.html
7. ^ http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/11/focus-on-sri-lankan-tamil-refugees.html
8. ^ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/close-watch-on-sri-lankan-repatriates-in-kerala_100195852.html
9. ^ http://www.ujaen.es/huesped/rae/articulos2007/acharya0907.pdf
10. ^ http://blog.taragana.com/law/2009/09/28/give-indian-citizenship-to-tamil-refugees-ravi-shankar-13200/
11. ^ ^a b http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/03/29/stories/2004032900220300.htm
12. ^ http://www.ceylontamils.com/search/family.php?individualID=11174
13. ^ http://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk/Handlist_J.htm

• Refugee Studies Centre (1996-01-01). Srilankan Tamil refugees in India : a journey without end. INDIA: Refugee Studies Centre.
• Refugee Studies Centre (Rejiigw, Vol. 13, No. 3 (June 1993)). Srilankan Tamil refugees in India. INDIA: Refugee Studies Centre.

[edit]External links

• Sri Lankan Tamil refugees stage hunger strike
• OFERR
• Sri Lankan refugees

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Palash Biswas