Velupillai Prabhakaran

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Velupillai Prabhakaran ( Tamil : வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன் , Vēluppiḷḷai Pirapākaraṉ , [ ˈʋeːlɯpːɨɭːɛi̯ prəˈbɑːɦərən ]; born November 26, 1954 in Valvettithurai , Ceylon ; † May 18, 2009 in Sri Lanka) was the leader of the Liberation Eel Tigers of the 1970s until 2009 (LTTE), a paramilitary organization that fought for the independence of the Tamil- dominated north and east of Sri Lanka .

According to his own statements, Prabhakaran pursued the establishment of a socially just state, whose society was not based on the traditional Sri Lankan caste system and included equal rights for all citizens, especially women. His military tactics also included the use of suicide bombers . Prabhakaran has been sought internationally by organizations such as Interpol ; he is accused of terrorism , organized crime, crimes against humanity and the use of child soldiers .

Life

youth

Prabhakaran was born the son of an official and a member of a low fishing caste. His parents were devout Hindus and followers of Mahatma Gandhi's Ahimsa teachings. But when he read books he felt more drawn to Napoleon and Alexander the Great, and he also referred to the Indian nationalist leaders Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh as role models. Velupillai Prabhakaran witnessed violence against Tamils ​​when he was young. He took an early interest in politics. He was also shaped by his tutor Venugopal Master. This took the view that the Tamils ​​in the north and east were a separate nation with its own culture and history and had their own kingdoms in the past . It was the British colonial rulers who united the Sinhalese and Tamils ​​into one country by force. The current Tamil political leadership would lead the Tamils ​​into slavery and eventual extermination. Nowhere would parliamentary democracy have successfully resolved ethnic conflicts. The Sri Lankan parliament only represents the aspirations of the Sinhalese majority. Tamil freedom can only be enforced against the armed Sinhalese majority by force of arms. Venugopal Master itself was influenced by Suntheralingam and Navaratnam, who from 1969 were the first to call for a Tamil state of their own, " Tamil Eelam ".

Prabhakaran subscribed to Tamil nationalism and separatism. He increasingly developed the desire and the idea of ​​waging an armed struggle for the establishment of an independent Tamil state. At the age of 14 he joined together with other older youth for the armed struggle to form the "Tamil Liberation Organization" (TLO). The group experimented with homemade bombs and, as was customary at the time, made some of their own weapons and ammunition. Prabhakaran was active in several different groups.

Founder and leader of the "Tamil Tigers"

In 1972, at the age of 18, he founded the organization "Tamil New Tigers" (TNT). As a symbol of his group he chose the tiger, symbol of the ancient Tamil Chola kingdom . On September 17, 1972, the TNT bombed a festival in Jaffna under the auspices of the army and police. This should be understood as a warning to the government and a wake-up call to moderate Tamil politicians to take better care of the concerns of the Tamil people. When he was about to be arrested six months later, Prabhakaran went underground. Due to the associated problems, he went to Tamil Nadu, India, with others .

In 1974 he returned to Sri Lanka with new colleagues. The group committed other violent acts. Prabhakaran shot and killed the mayor of Jaffna on July 27, 1975 together with three fighters. On the basis of a single surviving photo, a more intensive search for him began. The attack on the mayor brought new recruits to the movement. So that his 'Tigers' would not be perceived by many as an armed resistance group and the group would concentrate on the independence of Tamil Eelam, he renamed it in May 1976 to ' Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ' (LTTE). A five-member central committee was created within the LTTE. Prabhakaran was elected military and political leader.

Prabhakaran stated that the goal of his separatism was the establishment of a socially just state, whose society was not based on a caste system and included the equality of all citizens, especially women. In his own ranks, he propagated the emancipation of women , which for him included the participation of women in the armed struggle. Prabhakaran had been married to Mathivathani Erambu since 1984. The marriage resulted in three children, a daughter and two sons.

The rebel movement, which had been weakened until 2009, was encircled in May of that year after the Sri Lankan military had gained ground . At first nothing was known about Prabhakaran, who swore he would never be caught alive and always wore a cyanide capsule around his neck in this case . Among other things, it was suspected that he had committed suicide to avoid imprisonment. The Sri Lankan Army said he was shot dead on May 18, 2009 while trying to escape. The LTTE confirmed the death of its leader a few days later.

The fate of the family

After the body of Prabhakaran's eldest son Charles Anthony (* 1985) was found on May 18, 2009, the army announced the death of the entire family a few days later.

In February 2013, pictures appeared showing Prabhakaran's 12-year-old son Balachandran, first alive in the custody of the army and shot two hours later , lying on the ground. According to forensic experts, the first shot was fired at close range, so that an execution must be assumed.

literature

  • Kuppusamy, C. (2009). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  • Narayan Swamy, MR (2003). Tigers of Lanka. Colombo: Vijatha Yapa Publ.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frances Harrison: Analysis: Sri Lanka's child soldiers . In: BBC News , January 31, 2003. 
  2. ↑ Prabhakaran , The Economist, May 21, 2009
  3. ↑ Velupillai Prabhakaran , The Telegraph, May 24, 2009
  4. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: pp. 7-24). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  5. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: 24). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  6. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: pp. 24-25). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  7. ↑ , C. (2009: pp. 7-31). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  8. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: pp. 27-34, 43-52). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  9. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: pp. 48-50). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  10. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: pp. 57-63). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  11. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: pp. 64-66). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  12. ↑ Kuppusamy, C. (2009: 67). Prabhakaran - the story of his struggle for Eelam. Chennai, India: Oxygen Books.
  13. ↑ Peter Schalk: The doctrine of the Liberation Tigers Tamiḻī vonams of self-destruction through divine asceticism. Submission of the source Reflections of the Leader (talaivariṉ cintaṉaikaḷ), Uppsala 2007, pp. 41–45, 47–48.
  14. ↑ Report on www.asiantribune.com (2006)
  15. ↑ NZZ Online, Sri Lanka celebrates victory over the rebels, May 17, 2009
  16. ↑ www.spiegel.de, Army declares fighting with rebels over, May 18, 2009
  17. ↑ BBC NEWS, Tamil Tigers admit leader is dead, May 24, 2009
  18. ↑ The Times of India, News of Prabhakaran's Elder Son Death, May 18, 2009
  19. ^ The killing of a young boy. The Hindu, February 19, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Prabhakaran, Velupillai
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sri Lankan rebel leader
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Valvettithurai
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 2009
Place of death Sri Lanka