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Velupillai Prabhakaran

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Velupillai Prabhakaran (Tamil: வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; born November 26, 1954), was the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militant organization that seeks to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

He was wanted by Interpol for terrorism, murder, organized crime and terrorism conspiracy.[1]

Although during an interview he stated that the LTTE are not yet ready to give up the demand for an independent state, he had suggested that this may be a possibility once the "Tamil homeland, Tamil nationality and Tamil right to self-determination" are politically recognized and accepted.

Spelling of the name

There are different approaches to render his name in Latin script, which appear very different at first sight. The most straightforward option is a transliteration according to the National Library transliteration scheme. Given that the name is வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன் in Tamil, this yields Vēluppillai Pirapākaran. People unfamiliar with this transliteration model tend to mispronounce the name, which is why outside academia, a more phonetic rendering (a transcription) is often found. The pronunciation of the name is [ʋeːlʊppɨllaəppɨraːbaharan]. This is approximated in a spelling based on English conventions by "Pirapakaran", "Pirapaharan" or "Pirabaharan". A third option is to trace the history of the name back to its origins in Sanskrit, and then apply the National Library transliteration rules. This gives the version most often used in Western media, namely "Prabhakaran". In Tamil, there is no contrast in voicing or aspiration of stops, so for Tamils it is not immediately obvious why they should care about the difference between p and bh in Sanskrit, when this is not important in their language.

Biography

Velupillai Prabhakaran was born in the northern coastal town of Velvettithurai. A Hindu[citation needed] by birth, he joined the student group TIP, during the standardization debates.[2] In 1972 Prabhakaran founded an organization named Tamil New Tigers (TNT)[3] which was a successor to many initial organizations that protested against the post colonial political direction of the country that pitted the minority Sri Lankan Tamils against the majority Sinhalese people.[Political situation]

In 1975, after becoming heavily involved in the Tamil movement, he carried out his first political murder against the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, by shooting him at point blank range while he was about to enter the Hindu temple at Ponnaalai. The assassination was in response to the 1974 Tamil conference incident, and the Tamil radicals had blamed Alfred Duraiappah,[4] because he backed the then Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) implicated in the violence as well as for allegedly betraying the Tamil nationalist sentiments in the Jaffna peninsula.[5]

On May 5, 1976, the TNT was renamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers.[6]

Religion is not a major factor in his philosophy or ideology, but there the LTTE can be characterized as anti-Buddhist.[7] The LTTE is also an organization that does not cite any material from religion or religious texts in any of its ideological documents and propaganda but are driven only by the idea of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism and considers it as the only single-minded approach and inspiration towards the attainment of an independent Tamil Eelam.

For instance, Hindus traditionally cremate their dead, but LTTE fighters are buried. Prabhakaran named his son Charles Anthony, after one of his most trusted associates, Charles Lucas Anthony, alias Seelan, who was killed in 1983.

Personal life

Little is known of Prabhakaran's personal life, either from his interviews or from cited media sources, although it is widely known that he is married to Mathivathani Erambu.[6] Their marriage was held in Tirupporur, near Madras (now Chennai) on 1 October 1984. They have a daughter (Duwaraka) and two sons, Charles Anthony and Balachandran. Their whereabouts are not known, but it is widely believed that they are not in Sri Lanka.[6]

Press conference at Killinochchi

Prabhakaran's first and only major press conference was held in Killinochchi on 10 April 2002. [8] It was reported that more than 200 journalists from the local and foreign media attended this event, and they had to go through a 10-hour security screening before the event[8] in which Anton Balasingham introduced the LTTE leader as the "President and Prime minister of Tamil Eelam."

A number of questions were asked about LTTE's commitment towards the erstwhile peace process and Prabhakaran and Dr. Anton Balasingham jointly answered the questions.

Answering a question from one of the reporters Prabhakaran said that he has instructed the LTTE cadres to kill [Prabhakaran] if he compromised on the goal of independent state. [8]

Repeated questions of his involvement in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination were only answered in a sober note by both Balasingham and Prabhakaran. They called it a "tragic incident" ("Thunbiyal Chambavam", as quoted in Tamil) and they requested the press "not to dig into an incident that happened 10 years ago."

During the interview he stated that the right condition has not risen to give up the demand of Tamil Eelam. He further mentioned that "There are three fundamentals. That is Tamil homeland, Tamil nationality and Tamil right to self-determination. These are the fundamental demands of the Tamil people. Once these demands are accepted or a political solution is put forward by recognising these three fundamentals and our people are satisfied with the solutions we will consider giving up the demand for Eelam." He further added that Tamil Eelam was not only the demand of the LTTE but also the demand of the Tamil people. [8]

Prabhakaran also answered a number of questions in which he reaffirmed their commitment towards peace process, quoted "We are sincerely committed to the peace process. It is because we are sincerely committed to peace that we continued a four month cessation of hostilities" and was also firm in de-proscription of the LTTE by Sri Lanka and India, "We want the government of India to lift the ban on the LTTE. We will raise the issue at the appropriate time."

Prabhakaran also insisted firmly that only de-proscription would bring forth an amenable solution to the ongoing peace process mediated by Norway: "We have informed the government, we have told the Norwegians that de-proscription is a necessary condition for the commencements of talks."[9][10]

Philosophy and ideology of Prabhakaran

Prabhakaran has not expressed an all encompassing systematic philosophy or ideology as such, but has declared his ideology to be driven by 'Revolutionary socialism and the creation of an egalitarian society'. He joined the Tamil nationalist movement in his youth and quickly established himself as a strong willed militant leader by founding LTTE. His rare interviews, his annual Tamil Eelam Heroes Day speeches, and the policies and actions of the LTTE can be taken as indicators of Prabhakaran’s philosophy and ideology. The following are important areas when considering philosophy and ideology of Prabhakaran.

Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism

Prabhakaran’s source of inspiration and direction is Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism[Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism]. His stated and ultimate ideal is to get Tamil Eelam recognised as a nation as per the U.N. Charter that guarantees the right of a people to political independence[11] which has been given in their official web page. The LTTE also proposed the formation of an Interim Self Governing Authority during Peace Negotiations in 2003.

Militarism of the LTTE

As per his own views, Prabhakaran has explicitly stated that an armed struggle is the only way to resist asymmetric warfare, in which one side, that of the Sri Lankan government, is armed and the other comparatively unarmed. He argues that he chose military means only after observing that non–violent means have been ineffectual and obsolete, especially after the Thileepan incident. Thileepan, a colonel rank officer adopted Gandhian means to protest against the IPKF killings by staging a fast unto death from 15 September 1987 and by abstaining from food or water till 26 September, he died in front of thousands of Tamils who had come there to fast along with him. This further strengthened Prabhakaran's resolve that peaceful protests would either be ignored or crushed but never heard.[12].

Modus Operandi

Prabhakaran is widely reported to have operated in India, primarily in Tamil Nadu prior to 1990s.

Sri Lankan Army Commander Sarath Fonseka alleged that he has fled Sri Lanka to a foreign country following subsequent to the run of Sri Lankan military victories in 2009[13] Malaysia's police force was put on alert on reports that he had either fled there or to Thailand.[14]

Criminal indictments

Velupillai Prabhakaran has been wanted by Interpol and many other organizations since 1991 for terrorism, murder, organized crime and terrorism conspiracy.[1] He has been issued a death warrant[15] by the Madras High Court in India for plotting the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May, 1991 and in 2002 Judge Ambepitiya issued an open warrant to arrest him in connection with the 1996 Central Bank Bombing.[16] The judge found him guilty on 51 counts and sentenced him to 200 years in prison.

Notes

  • ^ Political situation: Sri Lanka’s nation-building program became intimately linked with a Sinhalisation of the state directive.[17] One form of extremism and violence led to the other and by 1970's there were some minority radical Tamil youth who were legitimizing terrorist attacks against the state as a response to alleged state violence. [18]
  • ^ Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism is expressed in the political desire by some to form an independent nation state called Tamil Eelam for the minority Sri Lankan Tamil people. Both moderate TULF and TNA and militant groups such as LTTE, EPRLF, PLOTE, EPDP etc have expressed such political goals either in the past or now.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Wanted: VELUPILLAI, Pirabhakaran". Interpol. 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-10-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Interpol" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Heilmann-Rajanayagam 1994: 37
  3. ^ Heilmann-Rajanayagam 1994: 38
  4. ^ Welcome to UTHR, Sri Lanka
  5. ^ Asia Times: Sri Lanka: The Untold Story
  6. ^ a b c Asian Triune Health Profile of Prabakaran
  7. ^ Heilmann-Rajanayagam 1994: 69
  8. ^ a b c d The Hindu : Time not ripe to give up Eelam goal: Prabakaran
  9. ^ Assignment Colombo at page xv(15), ISBN 81-220-0499-7, published by Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd, delhi
  10. ^ Wages of Sin by Sl Gunasekera
  11. ^ UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  12. ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1806875,001302310000.htm
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=Cricket&id=1402909b-6e90-41a2-bef7-f685c8becfb9&&Headline=Malaysia+sounds+alert+for+LTTE+chief+Prabhakaran
  15. ^ Sri Lanka Monitor
  16. ^ LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists Bomb Central Bank in Sri Lanka killing 58 Civilians
  17. ^ "The Failure of State Formation, Identity Conflict and Civil Society Responses - The Case of Sri Lanka" (PDF). Brad.edu. 1999. Retrieved 2006-04-16. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "How it Came to This – Learning from Sri Lanka's Civil Wars By Professor John Richardson" (PDF). paradisepoisoned.com. Retrieved 2006-03-30.
  19. ^ Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, By Professor A. Jeyaratnam Wilson Publisher: University of British Columbia Press (March 2000) (ISBN 1-850-65338-0)

Further reading

  • Rajan Hoole. (2001) 'The Arrogance of power ', UTHR(J), Colombo.
  • Pratap, Anita. Island of Blood: Frontline Reports From Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Other South Asian Flashpoints (2001).
  • Heilmann-Rajanayagam, Dagmar (1994). The Tamil Tigers: Armed Struggle for Identity. Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner Verlag.

External links

Interviews and speeches

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