Velupillai Prabhakaran

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Velupillai Prabhakaran

Picture issued by Interpol in there website
Born Velupillai Prabhakaran
26 November 1954
Velvettithurai
Residence unknown (possibly jungles of nothern Sri Lanka)
Other names Pirabaharan or as Thambi
Occupation Leader of LTTE
Political party Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Religious belief Hindu
Spouse Mathivathani Erambu
Children two

Sri Lankan Conflict
Background

• Sri Lanka • History of Sri Lanka
Origins of the Civil War

• Origins of the Civil War
• Black July • Human Rights Issues • Riots and pogroms
• Attributed State terrorism
• Prison massacres
• Tamil militant groups
LTTE

• LTTE • Attributed Terrorist attacks • Child Soldiers
• Attributed assasinations
• Notable Attacks • Expulsion of Muslims from Jaffna
Major figures

• Mahinda Rajapakse
• Velupillai Prabhakaran
• Karuna Amman
• Sarath Fonseka
Indian Involvement

• Operation Poomalai
• Indo-Sri Lanka Accord
• Indian Peace Keeping Force
• Rajiv Gandhi • RAW
See also

• Military of Sri Lanka
• TMVP • EPDP
• Notable assassinations

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Velupillai Prabhakaran (Tamil: வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; born November 26, 1954), sometimes referred to as V. Prabhakaran or Pirabaharan or as Thambi,[attribution needed] was born in the northern coastal town of Velvettithurai, Sri Lanka to Thiruvenkadam Velupillai and Vallipuram Parvathy.[citation needed] At the age of 18, he founded the organisation now known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and is currently its leader. LTTE is a militant organization fighting for Tamil self-rule in North-East Sri Lanka, and claims to represent the Tamil people against state-sponsored terrorism in Sri Lanka. Velupillai Prabhakaran also claims to be the head of the state of Tamil Eelam which is not recognized by the international community but is also not a region under the territorial and administrative control of the Sri Lankan government.[original research?]

Velupillai Prabhakaran is currently wanted by Interpol for terrorism, murder, organized crime and terrorism conspiracy.[1]

While during an interview he stated that LTTE are not yet ready to give up the demand for an independent state, he has suggested that this may be a possibility once the "Tamil homeland, Tamil nationality and Tamil right to self-determination" are politically recognised and accepted.[original research?]

Contents

[edit] Biography

In 1972, at the age of 18, Velupillai Prabhakaran founded an organization named Tamil New Tigers (TNT) which was a successor to many initial organizations that protested against the Sinhala majority. These groups were unhappy because after Independence, the democratic will of Sri Lanka alienated these groups. These groups had been used to being treated as "special" by the British and were kind of shocked that democracy worked against their smaller population. They thus sought to split the country into small communalist plots based on race. Prabhakaran's criminal gang quickly started carrying out with small acts of violence. While the Sri Lankan government backed the democracy, it also provided military assistance in the newly settled Sinhala areas in the North east for the protection of the Sri Lankan citizens.[citation needed]

In 1975, after becoming heavily involved in the Tamil movement, he plotted the first political murder of the LTTE by murdering the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, by shooting him at a point blank range when he was about to enter the Hindu temple at Punnelary. It was a vile act of violence which gave them the brand LTTE and it is widely acknowledged to be an act of revenge protesting the death of nine civilians[citation needed] who had come to attend the World Tamil Conference, which was held in the city of Jaffna. Assistant Superintendent of Police Chandrasekera, led a truckload of more than 40 anti-riot police to the scene.[citation needed] Their unheralded arrival ended in the chaotic disruption of the ceremony. More than 50 others were injured in the 1974 Tamil conference incident and the LTTE blamed Alfred Duraiappah[1] to have backed the then SLFP (SriLanka Freedom Party) party and betraying the majority Tamil sentiments in the Jaffna peninsula. [2]

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

[edit] Criminal indictment

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 [3] by the Chennai 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[4]. The judge found him guilty on 51 counts and sentenced him to 200 years in prison [5][6]. There are also multiple warrants against him for the murder of the then President Premadasa.[7]

[edit] Personal life

There are not many insights onto 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 [8]. Their marriage was held in Tirupporur, near Chennai on 1 October 1984. They have a daughter named Duwaraka, and a son named Charles Anthony and another son named Balachandran. Their whereabouts are not known, but it is widely speculated that they are not in Sri Lanka[9].

Prabhakaran studied up to 5th grade and dropped out . He is also known to suffer from a number of stress and fatigue related syndromes such as blood pressure, diabetes, and also TIA, the medical term for Transient ischemic attack. [10]

It is widely known that Prabhakaran is a television addict and that Eric Solheim gifted him a 6 foot television set [11].

[edit] Sunday interview

In 1984, the Indian newsmagazine Sunday featured an interview with Prabhakaran in its March 11-17 issue. The interviewer was Anita Pratap[12], then a rookie journalist covering the Sri Lanka conflict. Prabhakaran would later offer her many more interviews, allowing Pratap to bring him and his motivations to life. She documented her insights into the conflict in her book Island of Blood: Frontline Reports From Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Other South Asian Flashpoints (2001).

Beyond the obvious publicity that followed, the cover photograph was the first picture of Prabhakaran that the Sri Lankan authorities had even seen.[2] Before the publication, authorities had been using a childhood picture found in a family album.[2]

Though he does not give too many interviews, some of his interviews point to his ideologies and also perspectives on various issues pertaining to Eelam and the struggle for independence.[citation needed]

[edit] Press conference at Killinochchi

Prabhakan's first and only major [13] was held in Killinochchi on 10 April 2002. 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 for security reasons[14] 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 about Prabhakaran's statement to "shoot him if he give up the demand for Tamil Eelam", he replied that "That statement stands"

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" ("Thuyariyal 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, he is not yet willing to give up their demand for a separate state, but also mentioned as quoted 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."

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".

Late JN Dixit, a prominent diplomat, who served as the Indian ambassador in Sri Lanka during 1980's, had questioned Prabhakaran's desire for peaceful negotiations, and stated in his famous book, Assignment Colombo, that "Prabhakaran would never give up his demand for eelam whatever interim tactical negotiating postures are adopted by the LTTE to cope with the pressures under which they are operating".[3][4]

[edit] Personality cult

Velupillai Prabhakaran has been accused, by the opposition parties, of building the LTTE around a personality cult. Quoting Dumeetha Luthra, BBC reporter from Trincomalee in one of her articles about the Tamil Tigers, "He is called the great leader and his picture is everywhere in rebel held areas. Religion is banned, as is alcohol and smoking. By claiming to be the sole representatives of Tamil people, he has steeped the entire culture into one of self-sacrifice and martyrdom. Many Tamils see the Tigers as a necessary evil".[5]

Those who wish to join the LTTE Black Tiger suicide squad have to write Prabhakaran a letter of application. Before they carry out their suicide missions they are granted a personal meal with him.[5]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Caste

Prabhakaran is a member of relatively lower Karaiyar caste in the Caste system in Sri Lanka. His grandfather was the builder/owner of a local Hindu Siva temple, hence the ritual position of his family was very high within his native town.[citation needed] Nevertheless LTTE strongly opposes caste,[citation needed] and its leadership consistently has members from all castes, with a strong presence of lower castes. Moreover, LTTE aligns itself with lower or middle caste political parties of Tamil Nadu, such as Dalit Panthers (DP), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK).[citation needed] However, LTTE does not antagonize the upper castes, and does not use caste as its orientation framework, rather it uses Tamil nationalism to delegitimize caste. Prabhakaran's contribution to delegitimization of caste within Sri Lankan Tamil society is instrumental.[citation needed]

[edit] Religion

Prabhakaran is a born Hindu, but as a person heading an organization with people from many backgrounds he has never explicitly used or stated religion, or adherence to any form of worship, in any of his doctrines or speeches.[citation needed] However, religion is not a factor in his philosophy or ideology. 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 Tamil nationalism and considers it as the only single-minded approach and inspiration towards the attainment of an independent Tamil Eelam[citation needed]. All LTTE ceremonies are secular, rooted in ancient Tamil customs, or seek to incorporate multi-religious elements[citation needed]. For instance, Hindus traditionally cremate their dead, but LTTE fighters are buried, according to the old Tamil custom of burying the warriors. Also, LTTE has an overwhelming support of the minority Sri Lankan Tamil Christians and the Church[citation needed], and a number of leading LTTE officers are Christians[citation needed]. Prabhakaran named his son Charles Anthony, a Christian name, after one of his most trusted associates, Charles Lucas Anthony, alias Seelan, who was killed in 1983.[citation needed]

[edit] Tamil nationalism

Prabhakaran’s source of inspiration and direction is Tamil nationalism. His stated and ultimate ideal is to get Tamil Eelam recognized as a nation as per the U.N. Charter that guarantees the right of a people to political independence[15] which has been given in their official webpage. The LTTE had also proposed a LTTE proposal for an Interim Self-Governing Authority. just before the onset of the ceasefire.

[edit] Militarism of the LTTE

As per his own views, Prabhakaran has explicitly stated that an armed struggle is the only way to resist an 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 August 1987 and by abstaining from food or water till 27 August, he passed away in front of thousands of Tamils who had come there to fast along with him. This further strengthened Prabahakaran's resolve that peaceful protests would either be ignored or crushed but never heard [16].

[edit] Economic system

The LTTE has little manufacturing apart from cottage industries. However the LTTE collects taxes from the Tamils living in areas under LTTE control which has its own transport system called 'Eelam Pokkuvaratthu kazhagam' (Eelam transport organization) [17] and also many other supplementary revenue means including fishing. The LTTE also collects money from the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

It has network of arm manufacturing sites in side rebel held vanni.[citation needed]

Individual LTTE members and sympathisers have been noted to smuggle drugs worldwide to raise funds for the LTTE, and the LTTE is reported to have close ties with drug traffiking networks in Burma [18].

[edit] Modus Operandi

Prabhakaran is widely reported to have operated in India, primarily in Tamil Nadu prior to 1990s[citation needed]. Since his return to Sri Lanka, he has not traveled abroad[citation needed].

Prabhakaran is accused of the violent suppression of other Tamil groups seeking eelam and critics of the LTTE. Appapillai Amirthalingam the founder of the Tamil United Liberation Front was assassinated by the LTTE is 1989. EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda has been a regular target of LTTE assassination squads having survived nearly half a dozen assassination attempts [19]. He is also accused of ordering the assassination of the prominent Tamil academic and former Tamil United Liberation Front member Neelan Thiruchelvam.

The LTTE was also accused of the failed assassination by bombing of the Pakistan high commissioner to Sri Lanka Bashir Wali Mohamed, who was returning from a function to celebrate Pakistan's Independence Day, on August 14 2006 [20]. Pakistan is one of Sri lanka's main arms suppliers.

From the ongoing peace initiatives and a moderately belligerent stance, it can be inferred that LTTE as an organization seeks legitimacy from the international community and yet finds itself hampered by the restrictions that substantial engagements seem to bring because of ongoing conflict[citation needed].

Ever since Jaffna was lost to the Sri Lankan army in 1995, following the government offensive called Operation Jayasikuru, Kilinocchi and Mullaitivu serve as makeshift capitals of the areas of Sri Lanka under LTTE control.

The LTTE's former longest-serving regional military commander Colonel Karuna who broke away from the LTTE in 2004 claimed that Prabhakaran discriminated against the lives of his eastern fighters during the wars causing them to be killed on the battlefields of the Vanni. He additionally claimed that Prabhakaran has given up the demand for Tamil Eelam, instead demanding a federal system and internal self-determination [21]. He was also critical of Prabhakarans failure to share power, and alleged that Prabhakaran was acting according to the influence of Pottu Amman.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Wanted: VELUPILLAI, Prabhakaran. Interpol (2006-10-04). Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
  2. ^ a b Sabaratnam, T. (2004-12-10). Pirapaharan, Chapter 28 (Volume 2). Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
  3. ^ Assignment Colombo at page xv(15), ISBN 81-220-0499-7, published by Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd, delhi
  4. ^ Wages of Sin by Sl Gunasekera
  5. ^ a b Discipline, death and martyrdom (2006-06-09). Retrieved on 2006-10-20.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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