Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy
Encyclopedia
Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy (November 3, 1938 - December 12, 2006) was one of the founder member of the Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students
a Tamil militant group from Sri Lanka
and a noted Marxist-Leninist political leader .
in the Jaffna
peninsula
in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated north of Sri Lanka. He migrated to the United Kingdom
when Sri Lanka was in the midst of its early stages of its ethnic conflict
.
Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS) was founded on January 3, 1975, at Wandsworth
, London
, in the residence of Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy. It was led by a unified command of three persons: Ratnasabapathy, Shankar Rajee and Velupillai Balakumar. EROS through its contacts with PLO sent many people including one Arul Pragasam
who became a leader of EROS to be trained in guerilla tactics in Lebanon
.
It was later alleged that it was George Habash
's PFLP not the PLO that trained the early batch of Tamil militants from Sri Lanka. He contested the parliamentary elections in 1989 and was elected to the Sri Lankan Parliament along with nine other members of EROS, but later resigned.
Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students
The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students , also known as the Eelam Revolutionary Organisers, is a former Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. Most of the EROS membership was absorbed into the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1990. The rump, which continues to use the EROS name, has...
a Tamil militant group from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and a noted Marxist-Leninist political leader .
Biography and political career
He was born in a small town called InuvilInuvil
Inuvil is a small village in Northern Sri Lanka. It is situated along the KKS main road, Jaffna district. The area is mainly populated by people who speak a form of Tamil .-People :...
in the Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated north of Sri Lanka. He migrated to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
when Sri Lanka was in the midst of its early stages of its ethnic conflict
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
.
Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS) was founded on January 3, 1975, at Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in the residence of Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy. It was led by a unified command of three persons: Ratnasabapathy, Shankar Rajee and Velupillai Balakumar. EROS through its contacts with PLO sent many people including one Arul Pragasam
Arul Pragasam
Arul Pragasam is a Tamil activist and former revolutionary from Jaffna who had a part in forming the group Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students during the Tamil independence movements to secure an independent Tamil Eelam. Arulpragasam graduated in Engineering from the Peoples' Friendship...
who became a leader of EROS to be trained in guerilla tactics in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
It was later alleged that it was George Habash
George Habash
George Habash also known by his laqab "al-Hakim" was a Palestinian nationalist. Habash, a Palestinian Christian, founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which pioneered the hijacking of airplanes as a Middle East militant tactic...
's PFLP not the PLO that trained the early batch of Tamil militants from Sri Lanka. He contested the parliamentary elections in 1989 and was elected to the Sri Lankan Parliament along with nine other members of EROS, but later resigned.
Reactions
In a tribute to Mr. Ratnasabapathy, the Tamil Information Center (TIC) in London said:See also
- Sri Lankan civil warSri Lankan civil warThe Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
- Human Rights in Sri LankaHuman rights in Sri LankaMajor human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States Department of State and the European Union, have expressed concern about the state of human rights in Sri Lanka. Both the government of Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of...
- State terrorism in Sri LankaState terrorism in Sri LankaVarious non-governmental organizations and individuals have accused the Sri Lankan government of committing state terrorism. These claims allege that much of the Sri Lankan government's handling of insurgent groups dating from 1956, including the civil war against Tamil militant groups and the...
- Black JulyBlack JulyBlack July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
pogrom