List of Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
Encyclopedia
Following is a list of Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups.
Student organizations
- TSL – Tamil Students League [Tamil Manavar Peravai] (1970), founded by Ponnuthurai Satyaseelan. See also, TYL.
- TYL – Tamil Youth League [Tamil Ilaignar Peravai] (1973), the progenitor of Eelam Tamil militancy.
- GUES – General Union of Eelam Students, part of EROS and forerunner of EPRLF.
Major groups
- LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - was the only remaining armed Tamil nationalistSri Lankan Tamil nationalismSri Lankan Tamil nationalism is the conviction of the Sri Lankan Tamil people, a minority ethnic group in the South Asian island country of Sri Lanka , that they have the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community. This idea has not always existed...
group, after successfully liquidating other groups. LTTE was defeated militarily by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May 2009.The leader was V.Prabakaran - EPRLF Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front - a part of the TNATamil National AllianceThe Tamil National Alliance is a powerful minority Sri Lankan Tamil political alliance in Sri Lanka. It was formed as an amalgamation of moderate Tamil parties as well as number of former rebel groups...
.The leader was K.Padmanaba - EPDP Eelam People's Democratic Party - pro-government group and a political party accused of being a paramilitary The leader is Douglas Devananda http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGASA370142006
- TELOTeloTelo is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. This woreda has its origins in the province Chetta of the former Kingdom of Kaffa. A triangle-shaped sub-unit of the Keficho Shekicho Zone, Telo is bordered on the west by Decha, at the northwest...
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization -once decimated by the LTTE, part of TNA The leader was Sri Sabaratnam - PLOTE People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam - a minor standalone political party accused of being a paramilitary; the PLOTE, unlike other groups, vehemently denies this. The leader was Uma Maheswaran
- ENDLF Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front - created with the help of the IPKF, now active in India in refugee settlements in OrissaOrissaOrissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. The leader was Paranthan Rajan - EROSEelam Revolutionary Organisation of StudentsThe 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...
Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students - largely active in the 1970s and 1980s.The leader was V.balakumar - TMVPTamilEela Makkal Viduthalai PulikalTamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal , previously known as the "Karuna Group", is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was formed by Karuna Amman, a former leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, after he defected from the organization in 2004...
- a LTTE splinter group, a pro-government group accused of being a para-military organization - ICMM - Indo Ceylon Merger Movement (Inththiya Ilanggai Innaippu Iyakkam). (1971-1980)
- TNTTamil New TigersThe Tamil New Tigers was a militant Tamil organization founded by Velupillai Prabhakaran on May 22, 1972. The group was composed of a few close associates of Prabhakaran, who was 17 years old when he founded the group...
- Tamil New Tigers (Puthiya Thamil Pulikal). (1972-1976) predecessor to LTTE - TLO - Tamil Liberation Organization. (1974-1978)
Militant fronts
- Upsurging People's ForceUpsurging People's ForceThe Upsurging People's Force is a militant group in Sri Lanka. The group was unknown until February 2006, when it claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Sri Lankan army and navy cadre in the north and east of Sri Lanka in December 2005 and January 2006...
- active in the North in the early 2000s. - Ellalan Padai - A front organization of LTTE.
- Ravanan Padai - Considered to be a front of LTTE.
- Senan Padai - Considered to be a front of LTTE splinter group Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Pulikal. Officials of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Pulikal have denied any connections.
- Seerum Padai - A shadowy group calling itself Seerum Padai claimed responsibility for murder of Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
N. Raviraj. The LTTE spinter group TMVP has claimed no connections with it. - People's Liberation Army - Supposed new Sri Lankan militant group operation in Eastern Province, Sri LankaEastern Province, Sri LankaThe Eastern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...
Political front parties
- TSK – Tamilar Suya-Aadchi Kazhakam (1969), of V. Navaratnam; a splinter group of ITAK.
- ETOM – Eela Thamilar Ottrumai Munnani (1960), of Chellappah SuntharalingamChellappah SuntharalingamChellappah Suntharalingam was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Member of Parliament and government minister. Suntharalingam was one the first proponents of an independent Tamil state.-Early life:...
; became a minor constituent of the TULF. - DPLF – Democratic People's Liberation Front, the political wing of PLOTE, of D.Siddarthan.
- PFLT – People's Front of Liberation Tigers (1989), now defunct political party of the LTTE.
- ENLF – Eelam National Liberation Front (1985-1986), a short-lived union of the LTTE, EROS, TELO and EPRLF. LTTE wiggled out of this union.
- TELF – Tamil Eelam Liberation Front (1982), of S.C. Chandrahasan, M.K. Eelaventhan, journalist Kovai Mahesan and Dr. S.A. Tharmalingam; a splinter group of the TULF.
- ENDLF – Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (1987), a group created by RAW from PLOTE, EPRLF and TELO.
Minor groups
- ELDF – Eelam Liberation Defence Front.
- ELO – Eelam Liberation Organisation (1975).
- ELT – Eelam Liberation Tigers.
- EM – Eagle Movement, of Gnanavel.
- ERCP – Eelam Revolutionary Communist Party.
- GATE – Guerrilla Army of Tamil Eelam.
- NLFT – National Liberation Front of Tamileelam, which according to Taraki, was a small but influential Maoist group based largely in Jaffna, which "drove down the road to perdition by splitting hairs over the question of whether it should first build an armed wing or a mass political movement."
- PLFT – People's Liberation Front of Tamil Eelam, a splinter group of NLFTE.
- PLA – People's Liberation Army, the military wing of EPRLF, Led by current EPDP leader Douglas Devananda. Important achievement of the PLA was the 1984 kidnapping of American couple Stanley and Mary Allen from Columbus, Ohio, in Jaffna.
- PLP – People's Liberation Party.
- RCG – Red Crescent Guerrillas.
- RELO – Revolutionary Eelam Liberation Organisation.
- RFTE – Red Front of Tamil Eelamists. (1984)
- RW – Revolutionary Warriors.
- SRSL – Socialist Revolutionary Social Liberation
- TEATamil Eelam ArmyThe Tamil Eelam Army is a defunct Tamil separatist group in Sri Lanka. It was founded by Panagoda Maheswaran. It was implicated in a bomb attack against a Sri Lankan airlines at Madras airport in India. It was disbanded after that incident.-See also:...
– Tamil Eelam Army (1983), of Panagoda MaheswaranPanagoda MaheswaranPanagoda Maheswaran is a Sri Lankan Tamil militant who founded and led the Tamil Eelam Army. He studied chemical engineering from the University of London and was an expert in explosives. His name Panagoda came as he was jailed in Panagoda Cantonment in the outskirts of Colombo, whence he made an...
. - TEC – Tamil Eelam Commando.
- TEDF – Tamil Eelam Defence Front.
- TEEF – Tamil Eelam Eagles Front.
- TELA – Tamil Eelam Liberation Army (1982) of Oberoi Thevan; a splinter group of TELO. After the assassination of Thevan in 1983 by the LTTE, TELA was absorbed by PLOTE.
- TELC – Tamil Eelam Liberation Cobras (1983), a short-lived Batticaloa-based group. As per Taraki, "It was widely known as the Cobra Army (Naaha Padai)".
- TELE – Tamil Eelam Liberation Extremists, which Taraki identified as "led by one 'TELE Jegan.' He was shot dead by the LTTE.
- TELG – Tamil Eelam Liberation Guerrillas.
- TENA – Tamil Eelam National Army (1983), of Amirthalingam Baheerathan.
- TERO – Tamil Eelam Revolutionary Organisation, of Sudan Ramesh; a splinter group of TELO.
- TERPLA – Tamil Eelam Revolutionary People's Liberation Army, of Thangarasa.
- TESS – Tamil Eelam Security Service.
- TLO – Tamil Liberation Organisation (1969), the progenitor of TELO.
- TNC – Tamil National Council (1989).
- TNTTamil New TigersThe Tamil New Tigers was a militant Tamil organization founded by Velupillai Prabhakaran on May 22, 1972. The group was composed of a few close associates of Prabhakaran, who was 17 years old when he founded the group...
– Tamil New Tigers (1972-1976); renamed the LTTE. - TPCU – Tamil People's Command Unit.
- TPDF – Tamil People's Democratic Front.
- TPSF – Tamil People's Security Front.
- TPSO – Tamil People's Security Organisation.
- TEBM – Tamil Eelam Blood Movement.