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The D.B.S.Jeyaraj Column
LTTE at 32: Whither the LTTE?
Prabhakaran has risked the entire existence of the Tamil people as a vibrant ethnicity in Sri Lanka for the elusive goal of Tamil Eelam It is an all or nothing gamble for him
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Thirty-two years ago, on May 5, 1976, around 40-50 Tamils met clandestinely at a secret location in the
Jaffna peninsula and formed themselves into an organisation called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Umamaheswaran became its Leader. Prabhakaran was made Military Commander. A five-member committee was appointed to control and coordinate the new movement. Both Umamaheswaran and Prabhakaran were members of this committee.
Their objective was unambiguously clear. The LTTE goal was to establish an independent state called Tamil Eelam in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. A revolutionary armed struggle relying on guerrilla warfare was to be waged against the Sinhala-dominated Sri Lankan state.
The beginning
Nine days later, on May 14, the newly-formed Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) passed a resolution at Vaddukkoddai demanding Tamil Eelam a separate state for the Tamils of Sri Lanka.
In July 1977, the TULF contested the Parliamentary elections on a secessionist platform. The TULF said in its manifesto that the elections were a referendum and that votes for the party meant a mandate for Tamil Eelam.
The TULF swept the polls in the Tamil majority electorates of the north east, winning 18 seats. TULF General Secretary Appapillai Amirthalingam became Leader of the Opposition.
The goals of the TULF and LTTE were the same on paper. In practice, the relatively moderate TULF was prepared to compromise and eventually agreed to the District Development Councils as an alternative to Tamil Eelam.
The militant youths referred to as `Boys` did not agree with this and continued to pursue their goal of Tamil Eelam through violent methods.
The anti-Tamil pogrom of July
1983 was a watershed that brought moderate and militant Tamils together temporarily.
Meanwhile, the LTTE split in two. A large number of members broke away under the leadership of Umamaheswaran and formed the People`s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). Some like Nagarajah, Aiyer, etc., went their own way.
Only a handful of the original LTTE members remained loyal to Prabhakaran. A frustrated Prabhakaran went away to
India and stayed there for a while. In his absence, a triad comprising Seelan, Mahathaya and Ragu `managed` the LTTE in Sri Lanka.
At one point the LTTE, with its depleted ranks, began working together with the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) led by Thangathurai and Kuttimani.
There was a time when Prabhakaran wanted to merge the LTTE remnants under him with the TELO and form a new organisation. This, however, did not happen.
The arrests of TELO leaders Thangathurai, Kuttimani and Jegan by the Navy in 1981 brought an end to TELO-LTTE cooperation.
Fight for Tamil Eelam
The LTTE began functioning independently under Prabhakaran, who was both its Leader and Military Commander. Later Charles Anthony, alias Seelan, became Military Chief.
By July 1983, the LTTE cadre numbered 30. There were 23 fulltime members and seven part-timers. There were also many `helpers` of all ages from different walks of life.
The LTTE killed 13 soldiers through a landmine at Thirunelvely on July 23, 1983. This resulted in the 1983 anti-Tamil violence. There was a spontaneous `rush` by Tamil youths to join the militant movements and fight for Tamil Eelam. India began training and arming the movements.
The struggle for Tamil Eelam itself underwent many bizarre twists and peculiar turns. There was internecine warfare among the movements. The LTTE became the dominant Tamil group.
The Indo-Lanka Agreement of July 29, 1987 caused a sea change in Tamil politics. Except for the LTTE, all other Tamil parties and organisations accepted it and opted to give up the Tamil Eelam struggle and accept devolution provided under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The LTTE also agreed initially, surrendered some arms and even accepted a monthly payment of money from New Delhi as an `incentive` in the early stages. The Tigers, however, changed track soon and resumed hostilities, daring to take on the Indian Army.
The past years have seen many rounds of peace talks between the LTTE and different governments in Colombo. None of them succeeded and the country suffers endless war interspersed with temporary spells of no war.
In the meantime, the LTTE has achieved tremendous `growth` in certain aspects. The double-digit membership of 1983 is in five digits today. The LTTE is a transnational entity today with front organisations among the widespread Tamil diaspora.
From 1990, the LTTE has succeeded in keeping under its control sizeable parts of the north east. The area of this de facto state has fluctuated periodically.
Sphere of LTTE control
Tiger territory has increased and decreased according to the fortunes of war. Yet there has always been a sphere of LTTE control.
Within this LTTE area, the Tigers have set up structures like police stations, courts, inland revenue offices, TV, radio, film unit, newspapers, banks, immigration and emigration offices, business ventures, farms, etc. The Tigers have even drafted their own laws.
Militarily, the LTTE has grown. They have infantry brigades, women`s brigades, commando units and specialised divisions for laying mines, sniping, firing mortars and artillery, resisting tanks and armoured cars, etc.
The Tigers also have a naval wing known as Sea Tigers and a fledgling air wing called Air Tigers. The LTTE has many marine vessels and a limited number of small aircraft.
The LTTE also has an elaborate overseas network with the Tamil diaspora as its base. There are multiple media organs engaging in propaganda and myriad activists raising funds. The Tigers have the capacity to organise mass demonstrations at short notice in many Western cities.
The LTTE also runs many commercial enterprises in several countries both West and East. They also have a fleet of ships transporting arms acquired overseas to the north of Sri Lanka.
In short, the LTTE`s growth in the past 25 years has been phenomenal. It is perhaps the only enterprise run `for, of and by` the Tamil people in Sri Lanka that has registered a `success` of this magnitude after July 1983.
Scorched earth policy
This successful growth has come at immense cost to the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. Vertically the LTTE may have gone up, but horizontally the Sri Lankan Tamils have gone down. This is the unpleasant and inconvenient truth that the LTTE and acolytes often deny and do not like to hear.
World War I was only four years long, from 1914 to 1918. World War II was six years, from 1939 to 1945. This war for Tamil Eelam has gone on for decades and decades with an intensity and ferocity that has debilitated the Tamil people immensely.
The Tamil areas have undergone a staggered `scorched earth policy,` cunningly implemented in phases by different regimes. Death, injury, destruction, displacement, etc., are part of daily life.
Fishing has dwindled. Agriculture has diminished. Industry is virtually nonexistent. The economy has decayed and unemployment is rampant. Single parent families, widows, orphans, etc., are widely prevalent.
Education, the mainstay of Tamils, has suffered considerably. Many schools do not function. Hospitals are run down. People are displaced from their homes under the pretext of setting up security zones.
The quality of life has gone down. Infant mortality rates, malnutrition, stunted growth, etc., are areas where Tamils in the north east are affected more.
The social fabric of Tamil society is torn badly, cultural life is shrinking, values are being brutalised, and ethical codes are crumbling. These are the effects of long-term war on a small, powerless people.
Demographical impact
The worst impact has been on demography. Tamils have left the country in very large numbers. Equally large numbers have moved to areas outside the north and east. Only 42% of Sri Lankan Tamils are said to be living in the north east now.
Some years ago at a seminar in Colombo, retired Indian Judge V. Krishna Iyer stated that Tamils be given full autonomy. Former
Central Bank Governor N.U. Jayewardena wrote to the newspapers in response.
N.U. made three observations. Firstly, he said the Sri Lankan population would stabilise to zero growth in 2025. Secondly, he said that the high rates of Tamils leaving the country indicated that the Tamils would only be 1.9 % in 2025. Thirdly, he said that 1. 9% was a manageable minority that need not be given autonomy.
Thanks to comparatively higher educational standards and social problems like dowry, late marriages, aversion to female children, etc., the Tamil birth rate has been on the decline even before 1983.
Census figures of 1963, 1971 and 1981 show gradual decrease percentage wise. If a proper census is taken now, the Tamil population percentage would be much less. It may not be 1.9 % as N.U. said, but it could certainly be le...
