Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam Research Articles

Islamic Identity Formation, Madrasas, and Muslims in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Muslims form a small (less than 10% of the population) but peaceful community within Sri Lanka’s ethnopolitical landscape. However, the rise of intolerance against the non-mainstream schools of thought, such as Sufism, and violent movements among Muslims as a defensive mechanism during the Sri Lanka government’s war against the Tamil Tigers and after the war in 2009, mainly against Sinhala-Buddhist targets, radically questioned the peaceful nature of Sri Lankan Muslims. This paper attempts to provide some notes on (a) Sri Lanka Muslim elites’ quest for identity formation by intensely resorting to the Islamic faith and values and rejecting the Tamilian identity among Muslims whose mother is mainly Tamil, and (b) the growth of Islamic seminaries among Sri Lankan Muslims or ‘Moors’ as a result of the elites’ construction of Islamic identity for Sri Lankan Muslims. The paper uses both primary and secondary sources to understand the complex ethnoreligious development among Muslims. Apart from a literature review, interviews of former Madrasa students through zoom between October and November 2020 provided inside perspectives about the goals and global views of Madrasas.

The Position of Women in the Military: Ethnic Tamil Female Combatants in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

This paper discusses various factors behind the ethnic Tamil women who decided to join the terrorist militia group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in the northern and southeastern parts of Sri Lanka. In this discussion it is known that there are three factors that affect the decision of Tamil women ​​to join the LTTE, namely: first, the existence of the Tamil community as an ethnic minority. Second, the occurrence of mass sexual violence and abuse among Tamil women, perpetuated by the Sri Lanka’s majority ethnic group. Finally, the decision of Tamil women to join LTTE is due to the pressure that structurally and culturally appears in communities in conflictual areas. Through these three factors, Tamil women ​​then chose to leave their comfort zone and reconstructed their identity by joining the LTTE terrorist militia group. In this case, the involvement of female LTTE combatants in Sri Lanka is not only an attempt to eradicate negative views regarding femininity through military activities, but also a symbol of successful self-liberalization from the practice of gender oppression in conflict situations

Beyond Liberal Peace in Sri Lanka: Victory, Politics, and State Formation

In 2009, the war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ended through a military victory for the government. Features of the post-war peace—including persistent militarization, strengthened nationalism, and communal violence—have commonly been attributed to a failed attempt at liberal peacebuilding followed by an authoritarian backlash. In contrast, this study shows how the post-war peace has been shaped by historical processes of state formation aimed at consolidating the Sri Lankan state. The article takes a long-term approach to analysing peace in Sri Lanka through the lens of state formation. The analysis centres on four key aspects: (1) post-war security, (2) state–minority relations, (3) socio-economic aspects, and (4) electoral politics. We conclude that there are currently few signs of any substantial state reform that would accommodate the continuous demand for social justice and minority rights that has spurred violent conflicts in Sri Lanka.

Vulnerable Sovereignty

Until its defeat in 2009, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled numerous civil institutions in the north and east of Sri Lanka. However, the Hindu temples within these territories managed to maintain their autonomy. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Sri Lanka, I contend that central to this paradox was contestation over who had the power to govern the life and death of Tamil subjects. Revisiting the anthropology of sovereignty, I propose an alternative idiom of sovereignty: a vulnerable sovereignty emerging with Hindu deities and based on interdependency and coexistence. I stress that vulnerability does not necessarily make the deities powerless but is the point where the sovereign deity reasserts its power. Finally, I contend that, faced with this idiom of sovereignty, the LTTE learned to embody its logic in its relation with the deities. I argue, thus, that sovereigns can also be thought of outside the notion of absolute sovereign power, bare life, and biopower and instead as sites of vulnerability.

Accommodating Minorities into Sri Lanka’s Post-Civil War State System: Government Initiatives and Their Failure

Many observers view the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 as a significant turning point in the protracted ethnic conflict that was troubling Sri Lanka. The armed struggle and the consequences of war have encouraged the state and society to address the group rights of ethnic minorities and move forward towards state reconstitution. The Tamil minority and international community expect that the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) must introduce inclusive policies as a solution to the ethnic conflict. They believe the state should take measures to avoid another major contestation through the lessons learned from the civil war. The study is a qualitative analysis based on text analysis. In this backdrop, this paper examines the attempts made for the inclusion of minorities into the state system in post-civil war Sri Lanka, which would contribute to finding a resolution to the ethnic conflict. The study reveals that numerous attempts were made at various periods to introduce inclusive policies to achieve state reconstitution, but those initiatives failed to deliver sustainable peace. The study also explores problems pertaining to contemporary policy attempts.

Strong state and weak minority in post-civil war Sri Lanka: A study based on state-in-society approach

This study aims to analyze the strong state of Sri Lanka that emerged after the civil war during the regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was the leading Tamil militant social force, which was waging war against the government to form a separate state in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka. The government ended both the separatist struggle of the LTTE and the civil war in May 2009 by winning a major military victory. This study is a qualitative analysis based on text analysis and field interviews, supplemented with limited observations. The study reveals that the state introduced enhanced security measures to avoid possible LTTE regrouping and re-commencement of violence in the country. The state also attempted to fragment minority parties to weaken the state reconstitution process through penetration and regulation of the social order.

The End of Sri Lanka’s Civil War and the Fall of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE): A Critical Analysis of the Contributed Factors to the Defeat of the LTTE

Sri Lanka came to the international limelight through the backdrop of its undesirable war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that lasted over three decades. The LTTE was formed as a social force, and then it transformed as a leading armed movement to forward their decades-long quest to set up a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka. The government ended the LTTE’s secessionist struggle in May 2009 after a lengthy and bloody battle. Several national and international factors played a crucial role in ending the civil war sooner. The study used a qualitative method of inquiry to explore the key factors that led to the fall of the LTTE, a vigorous armed movement that attempted to set up a separate state in the Island of Sri Lanka. The findings show that strong political leadership, fortified security forces, implementing sophisticated national security strategies, the split of the LTTE and the global war on terrorism are the major factors that had a significant impact and contributed in the LTTE being defeated in 2009.

State Reluctance towards Inclusive Policies in Post-Civil War Sri Lanka

This study aims to identify the factors preventing the state from responding in a manner that will avoid future conflict in post-civil war Sri Lanka. After the government ended the separatist struggle of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by bringing the civil war to an end in May 2009, the protracted and destructive 30-year war presented an opportunity for both state and society to learn many useful lessons from the long war. These lessons could have enabled the government to reconstitute the state as an inclusive institution, one in which minorities could also participate to ensure just and equitable development for all Sri Lankans. This study uses a qualitative research approach that involves analysis of critical categories. Findings of this study offer some crucial insights about Sri Lanka’s ethnic politics, particularly, the various factors have influenced the state to avoid inclusive policies. The key factor is the dilemma of post-independent political culture or traditions amongst ruling elites resulted in the avoidance of inclusive policies. This study also reveals some other factors that contestations between different social forces within society, within the state, and between the state and society still prevail in Sri Lanka, hampering the institution of inclusive policies. Further, the paper highlights the failure of India and the International Community to pressurize the state of Sri Lanka to introduce inclusive mechanisms due to international power balance (China factor).

Arbitrary Detention in Malaysia: Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act 2012

Abstract Legislative erosion of basic human rights is not uncommon in Southeast Asia. The Malaysian government’s recent detention of 12 people under Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act 2012 for their alleged links to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has renewed extensive calls from civil society groups for its total repealment. It targets security offenses by creating the powers of arrest without warrant followed by pre-charge detention for up to 28 days. It also removes the courts’ exclusive authority of adjudicating bail applications. To evaluate its value and relevance, this article reviews its fundamental operation and specifically looks at how the courts have attempted to interpret its most controversial provision. This article in the end suggests that while there is clearly the need for reforms, the main focus has to be on implementing safeguards that can help avert its misuse while also cautioning against its broad ambit.

An intersectional approach to the understanding of patterns of marginalisation among ex-combatants with disabilities in Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT Based on 30 life history interviews with former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), this article analyses the particular challenges ex-combatants with disabilities face when returning to civilian lives. Moreover, it uses an intersectional approach to explore how disability intersects with gender and geographic location to generate specific patterns of marginalisation for different groups of disabled ex-combatants. Findings demonstrate the lack of attention paid to the specific needs of disabled ex-combatants by post-conflict policies which, combined with cumbersome procedures and favouritism in the selection of beneficiaries, have left ex-combatants dependent on family networks for livelihood assistance. This dependency exacerbates prejudices against and the social isolation of disabled ex-combatants and detrimentally affects their self-esteem. Furthermore, the article shows how disability and gender intersect to generate additional forms of discrimination resulting from increased social stigma, patriarchal attitudes and the exposure to different forms of abuse, as well as how differences in terms of communal support network, the density of ex-combatant populations and political attitudes generate spatial variation in patterns of social and economic marginalisation.

A GIS-Based Road-Mapping Network for Responding to Future Terrorist Activities in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The contemporary world has been moving to a new direction where anti-terrorist strategies are adopted intelligently to confront new challenges of global terrorism. Sri Lanka experienced a brutal terrorist attack again just recently after a decade of the total defeat of one of the dangerous terrorist organizations in the World, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in 2019. The LTTE demanded the Northern and Eastern provinces. Colombo had been a major vulnerable location and the LTTE had been frequently carrying out attacks against civilian targets, key politicians, government officials, military installations, as well as economic and commercial targets for about three decades. This paper therefore focuses on the applicability of GIS-based road-mapping analysisto respond to future terrorist activities based on the previous experience of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka. Based on the methodology used in this study, 29 GN Divisions of Colombo DSD were selected as research sites and network, and hotspots analysis were then employed. Research results revealed that there were approximately 97 vulnerable locations at marginalized spaces. Distance from security installation to vulnerable location ranges from 0.8 km to 2.4 km. Average responding time to any adversary action varies from 3 to 5 minutes. Junctions within the 400 m to 500 m distance from all vulnerable locations in the study area were identified as suitable road blocking points. Six GNDs were identified as major potential areas for terrorist activities. Petta and its neighboring wards seem to be the most vulnerable locations for terrorist activities in the future. Based on the accurate information from particular areas, terrorist activities can be monitored and prevented by this risk and emergency management road network system.

Nationalism, Caste-blindness and the Continuing Problems of War-Displaced Panchamars in Post-war Jaffna Society

This article tries to unpack why subaltern caste groups in Jaffna society have failed to end their displacement and move out of the IDP camps many years after the end of war between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Using both quantitative and qualitative data from the affected communities the paper argues that the interplay among ethnicity, caste and social class and ethnic-biases and caste-blindness of state policies and Sinhala and Tamil politics largely informed by rival nationalist perspectives are among the underlying causes of the prolonged IDP problem in the Jaffna Peninsula. In search of an appropriate solution to the intractable IDP problem in post-war Sri Lanka, the paper calls for increased participation of subaltern caste groups in political decision making and policy dialogues, release of land in high security zones for affected IDPs wherever possible and provision of adequate incentives for remaining IDPs to move to alternative locations arranged by the state in consultation with the IDPs and members of neighbouring communities where the IDPs cannot possibly go back to their original sites.

State-Minority Contestations in Post-colonial Sri Lanka

This research focuses on the issue of state-minority contestations involving transforming and reconstituting each other in post-independent Sri Lanka. This study uses a qualitative research method that involves critical categories of analysis. Migdal’s theory of state-in-society was applied because it provides an effective conceptual framework to analyse and explain the data. The results indicate that the unitary state structure and discriminatory policies contributed to the formation of a minority militant social force (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – The LTTE) which fought with the state to form a separate state. The several factors that backed to the defeat of the LTTE in 2009 by the military of the state. This defeat has appreciably weakened the Tamil minority. This study also reveals that contestations between different social forces within society, within the state, and between the state and society in Sri Lanka still prevail, hampering the promulgation of inclusive policies. This study concludes that inclusive policies are imperative to end state minority contestations in Sri Lanka.

State-Minority Contestations in Post-colonial Sri Lanka

Abstract This research focuses on the issue of state-minority contestations involving transforming and reconstituting each other in post-independent Sri Lanka. This study uses a qualitative research method that involves critical categories of analysis. Migdal’s theory of state-in-society was applied because it provides an effective conceptual framework to analyse and explain the data. The results indicate that the unitary state structure and discriminatory policies contributed to the formation of a minority militant social force (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – The LTTE) which fought with the state to form a separate state. The several factors that backed to the defeat of the LTTE in 2009 by the military of the state. This defeat has appreciably weakened the Tamil minority. This study also reveals that contestations between different social forces within society, within the state, and between the state and society in Sri Lanka still prevail, hampering the promulgation of inclusive policies. This study concludes that inclusive policies are imperative to end state minority contestations in Sri Lanka.

Post-War Religious Violence, Counter-State Response and Religious Harmony in Sri Lanka

Abstract Sri Lankan military forces and government authorities have succeeded to counter measure terrorism by defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). However, their initiatives and efforts to restore peace and harmony among different ethno-religious groups in the post-war context are highly complex. The additional space given to the reemergence of radical religious groups has negatively influenced the process of fostering religious tolerance and harmony, which have been maintained for centuries in the country. Ethno-religious minorities became the major targets of religious hatred and violent attacks. At both the societal and political platforms, majoritarian religious sentiments and discourse have established a dominant presence in opposing the existence and practice of the religious fundamentals of minorities. This study has attempted to investigate the nature and impact of majoritarian religious violence in post-war Sri Lanka, as well as the efforts made by the government authorities to control them in order to foster religious tolerance and harmony in the country. This study argues that religious violence under the shadow of religious nationalism has been promoted by many forces as a mechanism by which to consolidate a majoritarian ethno-religious hegemony in the absence of competing ethnic-groups context in post-war Sri Lanka. In many ways, state apparatuses have failed to control religious violence, maintain religious tolerance and inter-religious harmony, particularly of accommodating minorities in nature. The study concludes that the continuous promotion of majoritarian religious hegemony through anti-minority religious hatred and violence would further promote religious intolerance and radicalism challenging the establishment of religious harmony in the country.

The Easter Sunday Bombings and the Crisis Facing Sri Lanka’s Muslims

This paper primarily examines the Easter Sunday bombing plotted and executed by a group of Sri Lankan Muslims and post-war Sri Lankan conditions among Sri Lankan Muslims, also known as Moors. The article will attempt to argue that (a) the post-war violence and organized Islamophobia among non-Muslim communities in general and the Sinhalese in particular increased fears and distrust among Sri Lankan Muslims in general; and (b) state concessions to Muslim political leaders, who supported successive Sri Lankan ruling classes from independence through the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, have meant an isolation of the community from the other two main ethnic communities. The concessions that the Muslim community has won actively helped the Muslim community to be proactive in its religious practices and thus paved the way for exclusive social and political choices. The rise of Islamic movements and mosques in the post-1977 period galvanized Muslims. In time this isolation has been reinforced by socio-religious revival among Muslims whose ethnic identity has been constructed along the lines of the Islamic faith by Muslim elites. Despite this revival it has been clear that the Muslim community has been reluctant to use Islamic traditions and principles for peace building, which could have helped to ease tensions, brought about by the 30-year-old ethnic conflict. Finally, some pragmatic ways to ease tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in the greater discipline of conflict resolution are explored using traditions within Islam.

The Easter Sunday Bombings and the Crisis Facing Sri Lanka's Muslims

This paper primarily examines the Easter Sunday bombing plotted and executed by a group of Sri Lankan Muslims and post-war Sri Lankan conditions among Sri Lankan Muslims, also known as Moors. The article will attempt to argue that (a) the post-war violence and organized Islamophobia among non-Muslim communities in general and the Sinhalese in particular increased fears and distrust among Sri Lankan Muslims in general; and (b) state concessions to Muslim political leaders, who supported successive Sri Lankan ruling classes from independence through the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, have meant an isolation of the community from the other two main ethnic communities. The concessions that the Muslim community has won actively helped the Muslim community to be proactive in its religious practices and thus paved the way for exclusive social and political choices. The rise of Islamic movements and mosques in the post-1977 period galvanized Muslims. In time this isolation has been reinforced by socio-religious revival among Muslims whose ethnic identity has been constructed along the lines of the Islamic faith by Muslim elites. Despite this revival it has been clear that the Muslim community has been reluctant to use Islamic traditions and principles for peace building, which could have helped to ease tensions, brought about by the 30-year-old ethnic conflict. Finally, some pragmatic ways to ease tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in the greater discipline of conflict resolution are explored using traditions within Islam.

The Strategic Use of Emotions in Recruitment Strategies of Armed Groups: The Case of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

What role do emotions play in recruitment strategies employed by armed groups? I argue that armed groups use “emotion work” – the effort to evoke or shape emotions – to recruit new fighters, trying to appeal not only to peoplès self-interest or reason but to their values and normative judgements. I use data from 30 interviews with former members of the LTTE to show that emotions were a central element of their recruitment strategy. To analyze the role of emotions in recruitment, I build on social movement theory and the sociology of emotions and propose an analytical framework linking different types of collective action frames with different emotions they provoke and the mechanisms through which they facilitate recruitment.

Island journeys: fisher itineraries and national imaginaries in Colombo

ABSTRACTThis paper explores questions of mobility, ethnicity and spatial imaginaries in Sri Lanka through the experiences of fishermen in Mutuwall, a neighborhood of Colombo. While scholars of Sri Lanka have explored the historically contingent nature of Sri Lanka’s island-identity, this paper engages with the contemporary construction of island-ness through ethnographic fieldwork with twenty-first century residents of the city. Through fishers’ accounts of their pre-war itinerant lifestyles and their experiences living in the coastal High Security Zone during the civil conflict, this essay juxtaposes the free movement of fishers before the war with the heavily restricted movement they experienced at the height of the tensions between the Sri Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Fisher itineraries can be understood as dovetailing with state imaginaries of island-wide sovereignty even as they challenge it by describing subaltern movement through space. Ultimately, this paper suggests the importance of contemporary modes of ‘doing’ Indian Ocean studies.

Terrorism Redefined: The Place of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979 in Post-War Sri Lanka

This paper explores the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979 by the Government of Sri Lanka in their war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), including discussions on the use of international humanitarian law (IHL) on non-state actors in time of armed conflict, the definition of terrorism, and both domestic and international law reform efforts.