02-05-2006, 11:38 PM
<img src='http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/3981/leader1a6fw.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Leader of the LTTE
<b>General Information about Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an tear shaped island located at the southern most tip of India. It is separated from the Indian subcontinent at its narrowest point by 22 miles of sea called Palk Strait. It lies between six and ten degrees north of the Equator, and on the longitude of 79 to 81 degrees east. Its total area is 25,332 square miles comprising Sri Lanka 18,042 and Tamil Eelam 7,290 sq miles. The total population is 17,103,000, according to latest population statistics (1991), consisting of 12,656,000 Sinhalese, 3,113,000 Tamils, 1,214,000 Muslims (mostly Tamil speaking) and others 120,000. </b>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>Discrimination Against Tamils by Sri Lanka</span>
1948 - State Sponsored Settlement of Sinhalese in Tamil Areas Begins.
</b><img src='http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/1898/coloni910ll.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Thousands of Sinhalese settlers were moved in traditional Tamil homelands. Tamils were not opposed to individual migration but only to large scale government colonization schemes which change the ethnic composition of an area. Whole villages were emptied and driven out by the Sri Lankan Army and turned into refugees dependent on the government for dry rations. Sinhalese settlers were offered for free the homes and lands of Tamils who used to live in these villages. They were also armed by the government.
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1950 - Over One Million Tamils Lost Their Sri Lankan Citizenship. </span>
"Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality..."
Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/2295/planta113ko.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'> [b]Generations of estate Tamils have lived in Sri Lanka for more than a 115 years. In 1948, at independence, the Tamils had 33% of the voting power in the legislature. Upon the disenfranchisement of the estate Tamils (in 1950), however, this proportion dropped to 20%. The Sinhalese obtained more than a 2/3 majority in the Parliament, making it impossible for Tamils to exercise an effective opposition to Sinhalese policies affecting them.</b>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1956 - 'Sinhala Only' Act Was Introduced.</span>
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1031/protes310xg.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'><img src='http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/1673/protes114zt.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]English was removed from its status as the official language and Sinhala was made the official language of Sri Lanka. All government employees were required to be fluent in Sinhala. Most Tamils who worked for the government lost their jobs. Government administration was offered only in Sinhala, even in areas where 99% of the population was literate in Tamil. The Tamil Federal Party led a group Tamil volunteers and staged a sit down Satyagraha, (peaceful protest) of the kind popularized by Mahatma Gandhi in the days of the Indian freedom struggle, in Colombo. This protest was broken up by armed Sinhalese gangs, while Sinhalese policemen stood by and watched. Some protestors were through into nearby Beira Lake. Riots then broke out through out Sri Lanka where Tamils were assaulted, homes, shops and property burned. Armed Sinhalese settlers in the Northern and Eastern province attacked neighboring Tamil villages. In 1956, 150 Tamils were murdered. The violence continued for two more years. In 1958 another 150-200 Tamils were murdered, thousands more were assaulted and Tamil property looted. Over 25,000 Tamil refugees were relocated to the North. As peaceful protests against discrimination continued in 1961 the Sri Lankan Army attacked hundreds of men and women in Jaffna.
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1972 - Sri Lanka Denies Access to University Education to Tamils</b>.</span>
<b>"Everyone has the right to education... higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit"</b>
Article 26.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
<b>In 1970 Sri Lanka banned the importing of Tamil films, books, magazines, journals, etc. from Tamil Nadu, India. Sri Lanka also proscribe the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham and the Tamil Youth League. Culturally, the Tamil people were cut off from Tamil Nadu. Foreign exchange for the long established practice of Tamil students going to India for university education stopped. Equally, examinations for external degrees from the University of London were abolished. Having thus cut off Tamil students from their traditional educational opportunities, Sri Lanka government introduced various restriction on Tamil education. Tamil students were required to gain a higher mark on their entrance exam as their Sinhalese counterparts. The government then brought in district quotas. This effectively based university entrance on race. Less than 15% of university seats were available for Tamils. </b>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>University Admission's Test Pass Marks </span>
<img src='http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7914/edit2006020525tm.png' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1977 - Tamils Vote for Eelam </span>
Tamils overwhelming voted for the Tamil United Liberation Front and Eelam. The TULF was a coalition of Tamils parties who campaigned on a platform for the establishment of a separate state for Tamils called Eelam.
1979 - Tamil Resistence Met With State Terrorism
[b]"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile"</b>
Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
<b>No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" </b>
Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
"On the 11th of July 1979..
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1981 - Destruction of the Jaffna Public Library</span>
<img src='http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/9159/jaffnalibrarysm0kv.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]The Remains of the Jaffna Public Library, 2001 A large group of 200 Sinhalese Policewent on rampage on the nights of May 31 to June 2 burning the market area of Jaffna, the office of the Tamil Newspaper, the home of the member of Parliament for Jaffna, the Jaffna Public Library and murder four people. The destruction of the Jaffna Public Library was the incident which appeared to cause the most distress to the people of Jaffna. The 95,000 volumes of the Public Library destroyed by the fire included numerous culturally important and irreplaceable manuscripts. Sparatic violence continued where the Sri Lankan Army and Police would assault, loot, and vandalize Tamils and their property in the North and Eastern Provinces.
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1983 - Genocide</span>
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/7467/tic46a13jk.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'><img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3899/tic36a14uj.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
The fourth week of July 1983 (23 29) witnessed the worst violence and blood shed in Sri Lanka. During the week, Sri Lankan state orchestrated violence that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 Tamils; over a billion dollars worth of Tamils' property were destroyed. More than a hundred thousand Tamils were made destitute. The government of Sri Lanka itself systematically planned and executed the atrocities against the Tamils. The government provided the rioters with voters' list to identify the homes of the Tamils. Once the Tamil homes were identified the occupants were either hacked or burnt to death, and the properties were plundered. In Colombo, 53 political prisoners were massacred inside a high security prison. None of the perpetrators of these barbaric atrocities were ever brought to Justice.
Militant Groups
[b]From 1948 to 2002 there have been a approximately of 38 militant groups who have at one time or another fought for Tamil Eelam's independence. This number includes the better known groups such as the LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,
Some of these groups disbanded or were defeated by the Sri Lankan Army, others consolidated themselves with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Some joined the Sri Lankan Government as armed mercenaries and terrorized the people that they were supposed to be fighting for. Currently only the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, are actively involved on a military front, in defense of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/5923/lktamtg5kc.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'> Tamil Eelam flag </b></span>
<b>The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was formed in 1976 under the name New Tamil Tigers. But they did not actively fight the Sri Lankan army until 1979. This was when the Sinhalese Sri Lankan army's occupation of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the state terrorism let loose on the people became unbearable. Hostility began to grow and the emotional division between the Sinhalese and the Tamils became more acute. Groups of highly organized young Tamil militants, emerged to confront the government terrorism by bearing arms. The LTTE chose the name ``Tigers`` because Sinhala history has the lion as their national symbol. In the jungle of civil war it is a struggle between the Sinhalese Lion and the Tamil Tiger. The Sinhalese pride in the lion as their nation symbol goes as far as to include the lion as the prominent feature of the Sri Lankan flag.</b>
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/873/lk19484mv.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>Sri Lankan flag </b></span>
<b>The Sri Lankan flag has is one of the representations of the Sinhalese national domination of the Tamil people. It is made up of three sections dividing the flag (and the country) by race. The green represents the Muslim population because their religious colour is green. The orange beside the green represents the Tamil population because orange is the Hindu religious colour. The biggest section and their one containing their national symbol is the red representing the Buddhist Sinhalese population. Sri Lanka's policy of racist division is extends all the way from its national flag, which disproportionately represents its people, to the fact that all citizens must carry Identity Cards at all times. These identity card state not only your name, age and picture but also your race. Other documents such as your Birth Certificate must bear your race, that of your parents and grandfather....</b>
நன்றி:
http://www.tamiltigers.net/history/history.html
Leader of the LTTE
<b>General Information about Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an tear shaped island located at the southern most tip of India. It is separated from the Indian subcontinent at its narrowest point by 22 miles of sea called Palk Strait. It lies between six and ten degrees north of the Equator, and on the longitude of 79 to 81 degrees east. Its total area is 25,332 square miles comprising Sri Lanka 18,042 and Tamil Eelam 7,290 sq miles. The total population is 17,103,000, according to latest population statistics (1991), consisting of 12,656,000 Sinhalese, 3,113,000 Tamils, 1,214,000 Muslims (mostly Tamil speaking) and others 120,000. </b>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>Discrimination Against Tamils by Sri Lanka</span>
1948 - State Sponsored Settlement of Sinhalese in Tamil Areas Begins.
</b><img src='http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/1898/coloni910ll.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Thousands of Sinhalese settlers were moved in traditional Tamil homelands. Tamils were not opposed to individual migration but only to large scale government colonization schemes which change the ethnic composition of an area. Whole villages were emptied and driven out by the Sri Lankan Army and turned into refugees dependent on the government for dry rations. Sinhalese settlers were offered for free the homes and lands of Tamils who used to live in these villages. They were also armed by the government.
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1950 - Over One Million Tamils Lost Their Sri Lankan Citizenship. </span>
"Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality..."
Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/2295/planta113ko.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'> [b]Generations of estate Tamils have lived in Sri Lanka for more than a 115 years. In 1948, at independence, the Tamils had 33% of the voting power in the legislature. Upon the disenfranchisement of the estate Tamils (in 1950), however, this proportion dropped to 20%. The Sinhalese obtained more than a 2/3 majority in the Parliament, making it impossible for Tamils to exercise an effective opposition to Sinhalese policies affecting them.</b>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1956 - 'Sinhala Only' Act Was Introduced.</span>
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1031/protes310xg.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'><img src='http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/1673/protes114zt.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]English was removed from its status as the official language and Sinhala was made the official language of Sri Lanka. All government employees were required to be fluent in Sinhala. Most Tamils who worked for the government lost their jobs. Government administration was offered only in Sinhala, even in areas where 99% of the population was literate in Tamil. The Tamil Federal Party led a group Tamil volunteers and staged a sit down Satyagraha, (peaceful protest) of the kind popularized by Mahatma Gandhi in the days of the Indian freedom struggle, in Colombo. This protest was broken up by armed Sinhalese gangs, while Sinhalese policemen stood by and watched. Some protestors were through into nearby Beira Lake. Riots then broke out through out Sri Lanka where Tamils were assaulted, homes, shops and property burned. Armed Sinhalese settlers in the Northern and Eastern province attacked neighboring Tamil villages. In 1956, 150 Tamils were murdered. The violence continued for two more years. In 1958 another 150-200 Tamils were murdered, thousands more were assaulted and Tamil property looted. Over 25,000 Tamil refugees were relocated to the North. As peaceful protests against discrimination continued in 1961 the Sri Lankan Army attacked hundreds of men and women in Jaffna.
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1972 - Sri Lanka Denies Access to University Education to Tamils</b>.</span>
<b>"Everyone has the right to education... higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit"</b>
Article 26.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
<b>In 1970 Sri Lanka banned the importing of Tamil films, books, magazines, journals, etc. from Tamil Nadu, India. Sri Lanka also proscribe the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham and the Tamil Youth League. Culturally, the Tamil people were cut off from Tamil Nadu. Foreign exchange for the long established practice of Tamil students going to India for university education stopped. Equally, examinations for external degrees from the University of London were abolished. Having thus cut off Tamil students from their traditional educational opportunities, Sri Lanka government introduced various restriction on Tamil education. Tamil students were required to gain a higher mark on their entrance exam as their Sinhalese counterparts. The government then brought in district quotas. This effectively based university entrance on race. Less than 15% of university seats were available for Tamils. </b>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>University Admission's Test Pass Marks </span>
<img src='http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7914/edit2006020525tm.png' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1977 - Tamils Vote for Eelam </span>
Tamils overwhelming voted for the Tamil United Liberation Front and Eelam. The TULF was a coalition of Tamils parties who campaigned on a platform for the establishment of a separate state for Tamils called Eelam.
1979 - Tamil Resistence Met With State Terrorism
[b]"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile"</b>
Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
<b>No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" </b>
Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
"On the 11th of July 1979..
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1981 - Destruction of the Jaffna Public Library</span>
<img src='http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/9159/jaffnalibrarysm0kv.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]The Remains of the Jaffna Public Library, 2001 A large group of 200 Sinhalese Policewent on rampage on the nights of May 31 to June 2 burning the market area of Jaffna, the office of the Tamil Newspaper, the home of the member of Parliament for Jaffna, the Jaffna Public Library and murder four people. The destruction of the Jaffna Public Library was the incident which appeared to cause the most distress to the people of Jaffna. The 95,000 volumes of the Public Library destroyed by the fire included numerous culturally important and irreplaceable manuscripts. Sparatic violence continued where the Sri Lankan Army and Police would assault, loot, and vandalize Tamils and their property in the North and Eastern Provinces.
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>1983 - Genocide</span>
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/7467/tic46a13jk.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'><img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3899/tic36a14uj.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
The fourth week of July 1983 (23 29) witnessed the worst violence and blood shed in Sri Lanka. During the week, Sri Lankan state orchestrated violence that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 Tamils; over a billion dollars worth of Tamils' property were destroyed. More than a hundred thousand Tamils were made destitute. The government of Sri Lanka itself systematically planned and executed the atrocities against the Tamils. The government provided the rioters with voters' list to identify the homes of the Tamils. Once the Tamil homes were identified the occupants were either hacked or burnt to death, and the properties were plundered. In Colombo, 53 political prisoners were massacred inside a high security prison. None of the perpetrators of these barbaric atrocities were ever brought to Justice.
Militant Groups
[b]From 1948 to 2002 there have been a approximately of 38 militant groups who have at one time or another fought for Tamil Eelam's independence. This number includes the better known groups such as the LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,
Some of these groups disbanded or were defeated by the Sri Lankan Army, others consolidated themselves with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Some joined the Sri Lankan Government as armed mercenaries and terrorized the people that they were supposed to be fighting for. Currently only the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, are actively involved on a military front, in defense of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/5923/lktamtg5kc.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
[b]<span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'> Tamil Eelam flag </b></span>
<b>The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was formed in 1976 under the name New Tamil Tigers. But they did not actively fight the Sri Lankan army until 1979. This was when the Sinhalese Sri Lankan army's occupation of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the state terrorism let loose on the people became unbearable. Hostility began to grow and the emotional division between the Sinhalese and the Tamils became more acute. Groups of highly organized young Tamil militants, emerged to confront the government terrorism by bearing arms. The LTTE chose the name ``Tigers`` because Sinhala history has the lion as their national symbol. In the jungle of civil war it is a struggle between the Sinhalese Lion and the Tamil Tiger. The Sinhalese pride in the lion as their nation symbol goes as far as to include the lion as the prominent feature of the Sri Lankan flag.</b>
<img src='http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/873/lk19484mv.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
<b><span style='font-size:25pt;line-height:100%'>Sri Lankan flag </b></span>
<b>The Sri Lankan flag has is one of the representations of the Sinhalese national domination of the Tamil people. It is made up of three sections dividing the flag (and the country) by race. The green represents the Muslim population because their religious colour is green. The orange beside the green represents the Tamil population because orange is the Hindu religious colour. The biggest section and their one containing their national symbol is the red representing the Buddhist Sinhalese population. Sri Lanka's policy of racist division is extends all the way from its national flag, which disproportionately represents its people, to the fact that all citizens must carry Identity Cards at all times. These identity card state not only your name, age and picture but also your race. Other documents such as your Birth Certificate must bear your race, that of your parents and grandfather....</b>
நன்றி:
http://www.tamiltigers.net/history/history.html