The Tamil Tigers were heavily impacted by and impacted the Sri Lankan government as majority of their battles were fought between the two. The government was the Tamil Tigers main target was the government as they were the only ones who could provide the Tamil Tigers and the Tamil people of Sri Lanka with the demands that they needed to earn their rights and deserved fairness in the nation. Not only that but there were divisions in the Tamil Tiger ranks devoted to negotiations with the government meaning that the Tamil Tigers had forces on the battle field and in their government. The Tamil Tigers heavily influenced the media forcing them to manipulate what both the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government both said, though with the Tamil society being the racial minority, being only 10-15% of the Sri Lankan population. It was because of this, the Sri Lankan government seemed more “good” against the Tamil Tigers appearing to be the “enemy of Sri Lanka”. This made political involvement of the Tamil Tigers into the Sri Lankan government incredibly difficult as they were constantly misheard by the media while the Sri Lankan government was praised for their war efforts and goal to exterminate the Tamil Tigers terrorist force. Despite all this negative stigma surrounding the Tamil Tigers they managed to pull through and announce multiple negotiation meetings, though unsuccessful, they still managed to convey their message to the government and to the public through several forms of media. The Tamil Tigers were masters of warfare but also had the knowledge to form tactics to prove their message to even the highest leaders of the Nation.
TIME.com,. (2009). Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015, from http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1869501,00.html
Time magazines article explaining their knowledge of the Tamil Tigers presents basic facts on the groups action and history, this being a valuable source for historians finding a place to start their research. Kate Pickert, the author, displays the Tamil Tigers weapons being suicide bombing and significant events that have occurred to reach the terrorist groups goals. The source then goes onto explain how the Sri Lankan government has reacted to the Tamil Tigers and describes their onslaught against the Tamil Tigers in the last three paragraphs of the article. The article provides a lot of relevant information towards the Tamil Tigers and the acts the organisation committed making this a relevant source to be used by historians studying the Tamil Tigers. Encyclopedia Britannica,. (2015). Tamil Tigers | revolutionary organization, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 6 September 2015, from http://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil-Tigers In the source Tamil Tigers Revolutionary organization, relevant information is available right from the start. The text brings up the Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and gives background information on the origin and initial ideology that were the core pieces to the terrorist group. In the third paragraph the article engages the audience with the acts of terrorism the Tamil Tigers have caused. Such were the suicide bombings and assassinations of political leaders and high ranked government officials. The source is relevant to those studying the acts of fear and the mass killings the Tamil Tigers committed as it contains solid information. Marsh, D. (2015). The Tamil Tigers and their quest for an independent homeland in Sri Lanka. Theglobalstate.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015, from http://theglobalstate.com/history/the-tamil-tigers-and-their-quest-for-an-independent-homeland-in-sri-lanka/ The Tamil Tigers and their quest for an independent homeland in Sri Lanka written by Denali Marsh, gives an insight to the reader of the Tamil persecution in Sri Lanka. The source explains a basic overview of Tamil culture and gives statistics on the amount of Tamil people compared to the rest of Sri Lanka's population. Later on the source leads into the origin of the Tamil Tiger terrorist group and their ideology. In the following paragraphs events that occurred are set in a chronological order. Though the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) did not achieve their destined goals they got incredibly close to crippling the Sri Lankan government into meeting their demands. The Tamil Tigers started off as a small discussion group between small group of people, one being Velupillai Prabhakaran, the terrorist organization’s leader and founder. Over time recruitments began when they spread their message of the unfair treatment of Tamil residents in Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran realized that his group of leaders and recruits was not enough to convey their message to the Sri Lankan government let alone attain their attention. The Tamil Tigers decided to take matters into their own hands and began to plan assassinations of high ranked generals are government leaders. This aggressive tactic raised the eyebrow of the Sri Lankan government as they started to become paranoid of who would be next. This tactic of suicide bombing meant no survivor could be interrogated and information could not fall into the “wrong hands.” This sparked the civil war with multiple more street raids breaking out as the Tamil Tigers fended off the onslaught of the Sri Lankan governments power. Plans for negotiations were made but denied by the Sri Lankan government as they realized how major the Tamil Tigers were as a problem and could not risk having such a large factor being played out in the country. This tactic of achieve their goals through inflicting fear and paranoia conveys their message in an incredibly aggressive way, effective but incredibly risky. It is risky in the terms that it is almost guaranteed that a war will break out meaning the loss of many numerous amounts of lives.
Ambika Kaushik, T. (2015). Sri Lankan Civil War: What If the Tamil Tigers Weren't Labelled as 'Terrorists'?. The Diplomat. Retrieved 5 September 2015, from http://thediplomat.com/2015/07/sri-lankan-civil-war-what-if-the-tamil-tigers-werent-labelled-as-terrorists/ Tamil people contributed to about 10-15% of the Sri Lankan population. It was this racial minority aspect of Sri Lanka’s population where discrimination occurred and with this game unfair treatment of the Tamil residents of Sri Lanka. This was the reason why the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) was established. Their ideology of Tamil people having their own island and state meant that the culture wouldn’t be forgotten and could thrive independently without falling under the discriminative laws of the Sri Lankan government. A nasty effect of the Tamil Tigers establishment and its acts of terror against the Sri Lankan government and Sri Lanka as a nation itself was that it created an even worse stigma for the Tamil society further. This pushed discrimination to an all time high with executions of innocent lives being conducted on ordinary streets in towns and ally ways. As a result, the Tamil Tigers were even more determined to get their rightful safe and fair spot in the nation of Sri Lanka. Another reason was independence. The Tamil community knew that even if they got their land they would be treated under the laws of the Sri Lankan, heavily against Tamil people, government and the Tamil Tigers and the Tamil people knew all there efforts were worthless if they lived by the rules of those that were unbalanced. This demand for independence was another reason to anger the government and ruled out the action of negotiating and resulted in the civil war. All of this may have been avoided if the government of Sri Lanka provided the Tamil population of the nation with their deserved land allowing them to thrive, but instead the war sparked and an enormous amount of lives were lost.
Satp.org,. (2015). Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Terrorist Group of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2015, from http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/terroristoutfits/LTTE.HTM Museums act as a gateway to the past, allowing all participants to step back in time to an era where they can learn about how the world evolved to what it is now. Museums are essential to the youth especially as it educates them on their past and their ancestors. Museums serve also as entertainment for all ages with kids looking with awe at dinosaur fossils while an older generation may look down and learn about significant events such as the stolen generation and the Holocaust. The Louvre located in Paris, France is a perfect example of a historical museum. Taking a look at its virtual tour we can navigate through the art exhibits ranging from historical art made by the earliest artists to more recent art falling under the abstract genre. The museum is dedicated to visual arts and presents this theme thoroughly and provides a clear visual representation of what art was and is now to anyone who enters the Louvre. Fun for people of all ages whether they are an artist or just someone with a creative mind. The Louvre’s exhibitions have inspired me to construct my museum exhibition in a similar fashion with the spotlight on the item that I showcase with relevant information placed under and around the actual item within the exhibition to not only give the audience a visual of the item but also some background information. This will give the reader some insight to the exhibition and the history surrounding the object I choose to showcase. The choice of colour of the back ground will contrast the exhibition to make the object stand out more, similar to the Louvre’s simple white marble background contrasting the artworks boasting different shades of colours.
Terrorism is an incredibly delicate topic. The smallest agitation in its agreement can cost an enormous amount of lives. Within the battlefield in which Sri Lankan government on one side and on the other the Tamil Tigers. The Tamil Tigers fought for the idea of their own island or land in which Tamil culture could thrive and grow independently, something, which sounds reasonable. The Sri Lankan government's initial hesitation caused the spark in the Tamil Tigers who began assassinating important Sri Lankan government leaders. This sparked the civil war that struck Sri Lanka. As a result of the battles beginning, the government spread propaganda, persuading the people of Sri Lanka to consider the Tamil Tigers. This is one of the worst ways to respond to terrorist threats as it aggravates the included group. Endless innocent lives were lost in a disappointing attempt to win back freedom of the people. A more safer response would have been to negotiate the terms and conditions that the representatives of the Tamil society which was the Tamil Tigers proposed to come to an agreement and settle the feud saving countless lives and making the nation a lot safer for those who called it home. Unfortunately for the Tamil Tigers the Sri Lankan government rose to the top claiming their leader dead and exterminating any living Tamil Tiger post war veterans to leave their story in the past to be forgotten by the people of Sri Lanka. Many historians have considered this method of counter-terrorism as brutal as the aspect of a negotiation was rejected when the opportunity was cast. If the Sri Lankan government wasn’t in its corrupted state when the civil war broke out maybe things would have changed but the method that matters were handled with were unacceptable and shows how desperate the Sri Lankan power was for power, to the point where they derived its own home culture from its deserved spot in society.
Velupillai Prabhakaran was born on the 26th of November in 1954. He was the leader of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) and founded the terrorist group in 1976. His demise was brought on the 19th of May in 2009. His death was significant as it marked the immediate end of the civil war that shook Sri Lanka. The way he died was not one he anticipated. The end occurred while he was fleeing in an armored vehicle with some other highly ranked lieutenants. The vehicle was surprised with cease fire killing 17 Tamil Tiger leaders Velupillai Prabhakaran himself. The war, started by Prabhakaran’s group lasted 33 years fought for the rights to earn an independent land for the Tamil community. He was significant as the leader of the Tamil Tigers as he led the group into the war that raged against the Sri Lankan government. He was an incredibly loyal man to his cause ensuring he and all members of the Tamil Tigers wore cyanide capsules around their necks in case they were captured, they could end their lives. In all photos of Prabhakaran a cyanide capsule can be seen around his neck. During his reign as leader of the Tamil Tigers, approximately 70,000 people were killed creating controversy with the public arguing if he was a saviour or enemy.
TIME.com, (2009). Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. [online] Available at: http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1899590-1,00.html [Accessed 25 Aug. 2015]. The Tamil Tigers originated in Sri Lanka, forged out of its corrupt remains. With the government being against the survival of Tamil societies, The Tamil Tigers fought for the ideology of the Tamil community having its own land where it could thrive, in turn allowing Sri Lanka to be more populated with people from Tamil backgrounds. Being regarded as one of the most ruthless organisations they performed many attacks to achieve their goals. With the broken government it made the chances of a rebel group more likely. The group can be considered a socialist group as funding for a Tamil community was in the eyes of their leader. Thiruvenkadam Velupillai Prabhakaran. At the time Sri Lanka was corrupt with civil war. The government of the nation was in constant fear of the Tamil Tigers attacks especially their suicide assassinations on political leaders. The terrorist group perfected the art of using these suicide bombers, majority of volunteers being female. The terrorist group was formed to protect and nourish the culture of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. The ideas were developed when the leader of the Tamil Tigers realised how corrupt and bias the government was in the way that Tamil culture was treated and decided to form a band to get back at the government and to bring justice to the topic of how the Tamil people of Sri Lanka should be treated. The band eventually grew as people requested to join in hopes of defending their heritage and recruitments were taken In, trained and armed ready to fight the civil war that would define what the future of Tamil culture would be. It all begun in 1948 when Sri Lanka declared independence from Britain. Riots broke out run by Sinhalese people. The LTTE became one of the only groups forged to fight for Tamils rights and existence. Although there were many rebel groups that attacked the Tamil Tigers, they fought back slowly killing their leaders and moving onto political leaders. By assassinating these important factors in the countries well being, the terrorist group's name was spread incredibly quickly. This made any participants in the acts of the Tamil Tigers targets for the government. The Tamil Tigers were spread into two segments, the military and political aspects of conveying their message. The military segment focused on acts of terror and warfare while the political aspect of the terrorist groups focused on a less aggravated method of conveying their message of rights and fixing laws. They did this through several Television and radio broadcasts and spread news about how corrupt the Sri Lankan justice system and its police security facilities were thus changing people's minds on who to follow in the upcoming civil war that Sri Lanka would face.
Aljazeera.com,. 'The History Of The Tamil Tigers'. N.p., 2009. Web. 24 Aug. 2015. Encyclopedia Britannica,. 'Tamil Tigers | Revolutionary Organization, Sri Lanka'. N.p., 2015. Web. 24 Aug. 2015. (http://www.theguardian.com) In this primary source we see a picture of the LTTE terrorist group selecting children to join th rebel fighters in the war against the Sri Lankan government. In the background, children lucky enough to not be chosen look on at the youth of their village who have been chosen to fight the battles and join the ranks of the Tamil Tigers. The young child in the centre, being the focal point of the picture has a distinguished look of anxiety and fear, maybe because the child knows how horrible the crimes the LTTE committed were. This picture is incredibly useful to those learning about the Tamil Tigers especially those learning about how young kids were involved as it shows a visual representation of the selection of children to join the terrorist group. (http://www.theguardian.com) This picture, taken in 2009 of Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers supporters cheering on as the terrorist group made claims of "breeding fiercer creatures is a powerful picture as it shows the dedication of the supporters who helped aid the battle against the Sri Lankan government in hopes of the requests the Tamil Tigers organization made to receive its own land and to let the Tamil culture thrive. The picture is taken on an ordinary street in Sri Lanka and features a road block made of supporters cars and they themselves standing and marching waving the Sri Lankan flag high above their heads in spirit to raise awareness of the Tamil Tiger's cause and in hopes to gain more supporters. These protests also took place when the Tamil Tigers struck a major blow against the Sri Lankan government to show the true dedication the supporters of the terrorist group had within their hearts. The Tamil Tigers are a terrorist group focused for political reasons. my focus question is "what were the political aims of the Tamil Tigers, what they achieved and what ended the organisation". I will be answering this question through the aid of these four sub questions;
1) "how did the Tamil Tigers achieve their goals and what tactics did they use" The Tamil Tigers were supreme strategists using assassination of key political members such as Rajiv-Gandhi were effective ways at getting the governments attention to yield to their demands of their own state. Though the group used drug dealing and bank robberies to fund their exploits of achieving their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran goals. During the 1970s the terrorist group used more practical and public approaches waging street wars, one of such led to the death of 13 military soldiers by the Tamil Tiger guerrillas. A 1992 attack killed 10 high ranking war officers which put the Tigers high up on the governments hit list. War technology such as suicide bombings became a signature strategy by the Tamil Tigers as no one had seen anything like it. The true determination of the Tigers proved that they chose to lose their life to reach their ideology. (http://www.britannica.com) 2) "why did the Tamil Tigers want a separate state" The Tamil Tigers motive of having an island which would allow the growth if Tamil culture that would also be safe was an idea focused for the good of the Tamil community. With the domination of other cultures in both northern and southern Sri Lanka, the Tamil race was dying out as mass executions were bring held out and the government trying to eliminate the race from Sr Lanka's array of culture. By having its own state, the culture could thrive on its own, thus maintaining the history of Tamil people. (http://content.time.com) 3) "what were the Tamil Tiger's motives and ideas" The Tamil Tigers believed in Tamil Nationalism, separatism and socialism. Tamil Nationalism is the belief of having a unified culture in the country, in the Tamil Tigers case, having Tamil the central culture where everyone would be as one, rather than divided into different cultures each with their own conflicts. Separatism is when a culture is divided being its own, having its own government and laws/regulations. By having their own state, the Tamil Tigers could uphold their goal in nurturing the Tamil culture. Socialism would include sharing the economy between Sr Lanka and the Tamil state. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org) 4) "the political aspect of the Tamil Tigers" The political aspect of the Tamil Tigers was a harsh topic as majority of the ties between the Sri Lankan government ended in the death of a political member. Such deaths can be seen through the following; Rajiv-Gandhi and Ranasinghe Premadasa. By targeting key members of the government, the Tamil Tigers became a major problem which in turn meant the government had to focus on either dealing with the organisation or giving into their demands. ( http://www.britannica.com) |
Mathuran StephenSchool student studying the history behind the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) Archives
September 2015
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