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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers or the Ellalan Force, is a Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla organization founded in 1976 that has sought to establish an independent state, called Tamil Eelam, in the north-east of Sri Lanka.
Their leader is Velupillai Prabakharan. LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organization by several countries including USA, Britain, India, Australia and Malaysia.
The LTTE used to have sympathy from the people of Tamil Nadu who viewed them as fighting against the discrimination of Sri Lankan Tamils by the majority Sinhalese. This changed in 1991 with the assasination of then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by an LTTE suicide bomber.
Since late 2001 there has been a cease fire, and the LTTE is seeking political and economic autonomy for Tamils within a one-state solution. However, some accuse LTTE of using the ceasefire to build up its forces. It has been also accused of abducting school children and killing political rivals in the Eastern region during the last two years.
See Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka
External links
- Information on LTTE from a U.S. Department of State publication
- A perhaps "official" LTTE website
- Interpol warrant on LTTE leader