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Thiruvenkadam Velupillai Prabhakaran (Template:Lang-ta; November 26, 1954

was the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE or the Tamil Tigers), a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka. For over 25 years, the LTTE waged a violent secessionist campaign in Sri Lanka that led to it being designated a terrorist organization by 32 countries. Prabhakaran was wanted by Interpol for terrorism, murder, organized crime and terrorism conspiracy. He also had arrest warrants against him in Sri Lanka and India.

Founded in 1976, the LTTE rocketed to prominence in 1983 after they ambushed a patrol of the Sri Lanka Army outside Jaffna, resulting in the deaths of 13 soldiers. This ambush, along with the subsequent rioting which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Tamil civilians, is generally considered the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War. After years of fighting, including the unsuccessful intervention of the Indian Army, the conflict was halted after international mediation in 2001. By then, the Tamil Tigers controlled large swaths of land in the north and east of the country, running virtually a mini-state with Prabhakran serving as its unquestioned leader. Peace talks eventually broke down, and the Sri Lanka Army launched a military campaign to defeat the Tamil Tigers in 2006. . It was alleged that his 12-year old son was executed a short time later.

Early life

Prabhakaran’s father Veluppillai was born in Valvettithurai, Jaffna. Velupillai Prabhakaran was born in the northern coastal town of Velvettithurai on November 26, 1954, to Thiruvenkadam Velupillai and Vallipuram Parvathy. Thiruvenkadam Velupillai was the District land Officer in the Ceylon Government Angered by what he saw as discrimination against Tamil people by successive Sri Lankan governments, he joined the student group TIP during the standardization debates. In 1972 Prabhakaran founded the Tamil New Tigers (TNT) which was a successor to many earlier organizations that protested against the post-colonial political direction of the country, in which the minority Sri Lankan Tamils were pitted against the majority Sinhalese people.

In 1975, after becoming heavily involved in the Tamil movement, he carried out the first major political murder by a Tamil group, assassinating the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, by shooting him at point-blank range when he was about to enter the Hindu temple at Ponnaalai. The assassination was in response to the 1974 Tamil conference incident, for which the Tamil radicals had blamed Duraiappah, because he backed the then ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Tamil Tigers

Founding of the LTTE

In the early 1970s, United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike introduced the Policy of standardization to rectify the low numbers of Sinhalese being accepted into university in Sri Lanka. A student named Satiyaseelan formed Tamil Manavar Peravai (Tamil Students League) to counter this biased move. This group comprised Tamil youth who advocated the rights of students to have fair enrollment. Inspired by the failed 1971 insurrection of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, it was the first Tamil insurgent group of its kind. It consisted of around 40 Tamil youth, including Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran (later, the leader of the Sivakumaran group), K. Pathmanaba (one of the founder members of EROS) and Velupillai Prabhakaran, an 18 years old youth from single caste oriented Valvettithurai (VVT). In 1972, Prabhakaran teamed up with Chetti Thanabalasingam, Jaffna to form the Tamil New Tigers (TNT), with Thanabalasingham as its leader. After he was killed, Prabhakaran took over. At the same time, Nadarajah Thangathurai and Selvarajah Yogachandran (better known by his nom de guerre Kuttimani) were also involved in discussions about an insurgency. They would later (in 1979) create a separate organization named Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) to campaign for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam. These groups, along with another prominent figure of the armed struggle, Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran, were involved in several hit-and-run operations against pro-government Tamil politicians, Sri Lanka Police and civil administration during early 1970s. These attacks included throwing bombs at the residence and the car of SLFP Jaffna Mayor, Alfred Duraiyappah, placing a bomb at a carnival held in the stadium of Jaffna city (now "Duraiyappah stadium") and Neervely bank robbery. 1974 Tamil conference incident also sparked the anger of these militant groups. Both Sivakumaran and Prabhakaran attempted to assassinate Duraiyappah in revenge for the incident. Sivakumaran committed suicide on 5 June 1974 to evade capture by Police. But on 27 July 1975, Prabhakaran was able to assassinate Duraiyappah, who was branded as a "traitor" by TULF and the insurgents alike. Prabhakaran himself shot and killed the Mayor when he was visiting the Krishnan temple at Ponnalai

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

Religion was not a major factor in his philosophy or ideology, indeed the ideology of the Tamil Tigers emerged from Marxist-Leninist thought, and was explicitly secular. Its leadership professed opposition to religion. Their focus was on a single-minded approach toward the attainment of an independent Tamil Eelam.

Prabhakaran's first and only major press conference was held in Killinochchi on April 10, 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 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.

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" ("Thunbiyal Chambavam", as quoted in Tamil) they requested the press "not to dig into an incident that happened 10 years ago."

During the interview he stated that the right condition has not risen to give up the demand of Tamil Eelam. He further mentioned 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." He further added that Tamil Eelam was not only the demand of the LTTE but also the demand of the Tamil people.

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" 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."

Philosophy and ideology

Prabhakaran was fascinated by Napoleon and Alexander the Great. He was also highly influenced by Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, the de facto national heroes of India who were involved in armed struggle against the British Empire for the liberation of India. Prabhakaran never developed a systematic philosophy, but did declare that his goal was '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 the 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 the philosophy and ideology of Prabhakaran.

Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism

Prabhakaran’s source of inspiration and direction was Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism. His stated and ultimate ideal was to get Tamil Eelam recognised as a nation as per the U.N. Charter that guarantees the right of a people to political independence. The LTTE also proposed the formation of an Interim Self Governing Authority during Peace Negotiations in 2003. Former Tamil guerrilla and politician Dharmalingam Sithadthan has remarked that Prabhakaran's "dedication to the cause of the Tamil Eelam was unquestionable, he was the only man in Sri Lanka who could decide if there should be war or peace." Prabhakaran was also called "Karikalan" for his bravery and his administration (Karikalan refers to a famous Chola king who ruled around 270 CE.)

Militarism of the LTTE

Prabhakaran explicitly stated that an armed struggle is the only way to resist asymmetric warfare, in which one side, that of the Sri Lankan government, is armed and the other comparatively unarmed. He argued 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 September 15, 1987, and by abstaining from food or water till 26 September, when he died in front of thousands of Tamils who had come there to fast along with him. This further strengthened Prabhakaran's resolve that peaceful protests would either be ignored or crushed but never heard.

Tactically, Prabhakaran perfected the recruitment and use of suicide bomber units. His fighters usually took no prisoners and were notorious for assaults that often left every single enemy soldier dead. Interpol described him as someone who was "very alert, known to use disguise and capable of handling sophisticated weaponry and explosives."

Modus operandi

Sri Lankan Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka alleged that he had fled Sri Lanka to a foreign country subsequent to the run of Sri Lankan military victories in 2009. Malaysia's police force was put on alert on reports that he had either fled there or to Thailand.

=Death

Criminal indictments

Velupillai Prabhakaran has been wanted by Interpol and many other organizations since 1991 for terrorism, murder, organized crime and terrorism conspiracy. He has been issued a death warrant by the Madras 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. The judge found him guilty on 51 counts and sentenced him to years in prison.

Personal life

The Asian Tribune has reported that Prabhakaran was married to Mathivathani Erambu on October 1, 1984. and she, along with their mother, their daughter (Duvaraga) and two sons, Charles Anthony and Balachandran were not in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka military sources stated that they had recovered the corpse of Charles Anthony. A senior Sri Lankan minister later informed that the Sri Lanka Army had also found the bodies of Prabhakaran's younger son Balachandran, wife Mathivathani, and his daughter Duvaraga. However, the military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara later stated that there was no information about the whereabouts of the remaining members of the Prabhakaran's family. “We have not found their bodies and have no information about them,” he said. Yet, it is thought that the entire Prabhakaran's family actually has been wiped out; the bodies of Madhivadhany, Duvaraga and Balachandran reportedly were found in a bushy patch about 600 meters away from where Prabhakaran’s body was found. It is now believed that his 12 year old son was executed.

Velupillai Prabhakaran's parents, Thiruvenkadam Velupillai and Parvathi, both in their 70s, were found in the Menik Farm camp for displaced people near the town of Vavuniya. The Sri Lankan military and the government gave public assurances that they would not be interrogated, harmed or ill treated.

See also

• Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran
• Nadarajah Thangathurai
• Selvarajah Yogachandran
• LTTE Commanders

References

1. Mcrae, Callum (2013-02-19). "The Killing of a Young Boy". The Hindu. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
2. "First Political Assassination Of Prabhakaran". Lankapuwath. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
3. "Profile of Velupillai Prabhakaran". Lankapuwath. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
4. Chellamuthu Kuppusamy. பிரபாகரன்: ஒரு வாழ்க்கை / Prabhakaran: Oru Vaazhkai. New Horizon Media. p. 28. ISBN 978-81-8493-039-9.
5. Heilmann-Rajanayagam, Dagmar (1994). The Tamil Tigers: Armed Struggle for Identity. Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 37–38.
6. Sunil Bastian (September 1999) The Failure of State Formation, Identity Conflict and Civil Society Responses – The Case of Sri Lanka. Working Paper 2, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford
7. How it Came to This – Learning from Sri Lanka’s Civil Wars. paradisepoisoned.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-22.
8. "Welcome to UTHR, Sri Lanka". Uthr.org. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
9. "Asia Times: Sri Lanka: The Untold Story". Atimes.com. 2002-01-26. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
10. ^ "Health card of Prabakaran is not so rosy as it ought to be".
11. Bermana, Eli (2008). "Religion, terrorism and public goods: Testing the club model". Journal of Public Economics. 92 (10–11): 1942–1967. doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.03.007. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
12. Pape, Robert (2006). Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-7338-9.
13. Laqueur, Walter (2004). No end to war: terrorism in the twenty-first century. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-1656-X.
14. ^ "The Hindu: Time not ripe to give up Eelam goal: Prabakaran". The Hindu. 2002-04-11. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
15. Assignment Colombo at page xv(15), ISBN 81-220-0499-7, published by Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd, delhi
16. S. L. Gunasekara (2002). The wages of sin. Sinhala Jathika Sangamaya. ISBN 978-955-8552-01-8.
17. Lawson, Alastair (2009-05-18). "UThe enigma of Prabhakaran". .bbc.co.uk.
18. "UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". Hrweb.org. 1994-07-07. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
19. ^ 'Sun God's' Life of War. Straits Times, May 18, 2009
20. "Tamil Tiger head may have fled Sri Lanka – army chief". Reuters. 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
21. "Malaysia sounds alert for LTTE chief Prabhakaran". Hindustan Times. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
22. "Wanted: VELUPILLAI, Prabakaran". Interpol. 2006-10-04. Archived from the original on September 3, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-06.
23. "Rajiv murder suspects sentenced to death". Brcslproject.gn.apc.org. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
24. "LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists Bomb Central Bank in Sri Lanka killing 58 Civilians". Spur.asn.au. 1997-10-17. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
25. "Prabhakaran's son killed: Sri Lanka military". The Times Of India. 2009-05-18. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
26. "Prabhakaran's family found dead". The Times Of India. May 21, 2009.
27. Dianne Silva (May 22, 2009). "Prabhakaran's body cremated". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 2009-06-18.
28. "Last days of Thiruvenkadam Veluppillai Prabhakaran". Daily Mirror. May 23, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-06-21.
29. The Independent, 19 February 2013
30. Lawson, Alastair (2009-05-28). "Tamil Tiger chief's parents found (BBC News)". Retrieved 2010-01-06.

Further reading

• Rajan Hoole. (2001) 'The Arrogance of power ', UTHR(J), Colombo.
• Pratap, Anita. Island of Blood: Frontline Reports From Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Other South Asian Flashpoints (2001).
• Chellamuthu Kuppusamy (2009). Prabhakaran - The Story of his struggle for Eelam. New Horizon Media Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-81-8493-168-6. {{cite book}}: External link in |author= (help)
• Chellamuthu Kuppusamy (2008). பிரபாகரன்: ஒரு வாழ்க்கை. New Horizon Media Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-81-8493-039-9. {{cite book}}: External link in |author= (help)

External links

• United States Pacific Command Assessment of Prabhakaran
• BBC Profile – The enigma of Prabhakaran
• BBC News Report – Reclusive Tamil rebel leader faces public (2002)
• The Pirabaharan Phenomenon
• Final Showdown for Tamil Tiger Chief Prabhakaran The Times of India, April 23, 2009
• Claims of Massacre as Tamil Tiger Leaders Die by Robert Bosleigh, The Times, May 19, 2009

Interviews and speeches

• Veluppillai Prabhakaran's interviews
• A short assorted list of his interviews
• Prabakaran in First Person – T.S. Subramanian – April 2002 – Press Meet

v t e Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009)
Origins	Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism Sinhala Only Act 1956 1958 Vaddukoddai Resolution 1977 1981 Burning of Jaffna Library Black July
Combatants	Sri Lanka Army (LRRP) Navy Air Force Police Special Task Force Home Guards Attacks on civilians Assassinations LTTE Divisions Air Tigers Sea Tigers Black Tigers Attacks in the 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Assassinations Suicide bombings Other militants (list) ENDLF ENLF EPRLF EROS PLOTE TELO  India Indian Peace Keeping Force Paramilitary groups EPDP TMVP
Phases	Eelam War I Indian intervention Eelam War II III IV Eastern / Northern theatres
Major battles	Kokkilai Vadamarachchi Poomalai Pawan Jaffna University Helidrop Balavegaya 1st Elephant Pass Pooneryn Riviresa 1st Mullaitivu Weli Oya Sath Jaya Vavunathivu Jayasikurui Thandikulam–Omanthai 1st Kilinochchi Oddusuddan A-9 highway 2nd Elephant Pass Bandaranaike Airport attack Point Pedro Jaffna Thoppigala Vidattaltivu 2nd Kilinochchi 2nd Mullaitivu Puthukkudiyirippu
Major events	Air Lanka Flight 512 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord Expulsions from Northern province Assassination of Lalith Athulathmudali Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi Assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa Temple of the Tooth attack Lionair Flight 602 Bandaranaike Airport attack Expulsions from Colombo 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo
Leaders	Sri Lanka Military Army Tissa Weeratunga Nalin Seneviratne Hamilton Wanasinghe Cecil Waidyaratne G. H. De Silva Rohan Daluwatte Srilal Weerasooriya L. P. Balagalle Shantha Kottegoda Sarath Fonseka Navy Asoka de Silva H. A. Silva Clancy Fernando D. A. M. R. Samarasekara H. C. A. C. Thisera Daya Sandagiri Wasantha Karannagoda Air Force Dick Perera Andibuduge Fernando Makalandage Gunawardena Oliver Ranasinghe Jayalath Weerakkody Donald Perera Roshan Goonetileke Civilian J. R. Jayewardene Ranasinghe Premadasa Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Chandrika Kumaratunga Mahinda Rajapaksa LTTE Militant Velupillai Prabhakaran Pottu Amman Soosai Karuna Amman Political Selvarasa Pathmanathan Anton Balasingham S. P. Thamilselvan India Military Harkirat Singh Ashok K. Mehta Kulwant Singh Depinder Singh Dalvir Singh Krishnaswamy Sundarji Civilian R. Venkataraman Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Jyotindra Nath Dixit J. Jayalalithaa M. Karunanidhi Vaiko
Aftermath	Genocide Films NPC resolution LLRC Reactions (Protests) Remembrance Day UN Panel on Accountability War crimes Chemical weapons
Related topics	Casualties Assassinations Massacres Child soldiers Disappearances Office on Missing Persons Human rights Popular culture Terrorism Non-state State PTA Sexual violence Sixth Amendment Thirteenth Amendment 1988 Maldives coup attempt 1987–1989 JVP insurrection
Sri Lankan civil war at Wiktionary    Source texts at Wikisource    Textbooks at Wikibooks   Images and media at the Commons    Quotations at Wikiquote    News stories at Wikinews

Template:Persondata

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• 2009 deaths
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