TWO DAP assemblymen, G Saminathan and P Gunasekaren were recently arrested for alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Here are five things you need to know about the Sri Lankan insurgent group.
What is the LTTE?
The LTTE, or more popularly known as the Tamil Tigers, is a separatist militant group that aims to establish an independent Tamil state called Eelam in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka. The group played a significant role in Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war and is reported to have pioneered the usage of suicide vests in militant attacks.
What led to the formation of the LTTE?
During Sri Lanka’s colonial period, British administrators implemented a divide-and-rule policy that allowed the Tamil minority to enjoy certain advantages over the Sinhalese majority. Once Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, the new Sinhalese-majority government began to pass a range of laws that openly discriminated against the Tamils. Velupillai Prabhakaran, a Tamil nationalist from Jaffna, founded the LTTE in 1975 in response to these ethnic tensions.
What was the impact of LTTE’s attacks in Sri Lanka?
The LTTE carried out over 200 suicide bombings over the course of its history, resulting in over an estimated 70,000 civilian deaths.
Is the LTTE still active today?
LTTE’s chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, publicly admitted defeat on 17 May 2009 and confirmed the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran just over a week later, thereby marking the end of Sri Lanka’s longstanding civil war. While the LTTE’s attacks have been greatly reduced since then, the terrorist group still remains on major international watchlists, including those of the UK, US and European Union. The terrorist organization is also believed to still maintain an international network of sympathizers and financial support.
Where are most LTTE members today?
After the end of the civil war, approximately 11,000 former LTTE fighters were placed into state-sponsored rehabilitation programs in Sri Lanka. The former detainees were reportedly released in batches beginning in 2010, but the full extent of this process has been disputed by international human rights groups.
Hannah Khaw
Thu Oct 10 2019
The terrorist organization is also believed to still maintain an international network of sympathizers and financial support.
U Mobile buka kedai pertama di Sabah
Kedai pertama U Mobile di Sabah terletak di Imago Shopping Mall dan menawarkan pelbagai perkhidmatan seperti talian pra bayad dan pasca bayar U Borneo.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Nahas helikopter Lumut: Presiden Turkiye ucap takziah kepada keluarga anggota, Malaysia - Anwar
Presiden Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan mengutuskan ucapan takziah kepada keluarga 10 wira negara yang terkorban dalam nahas helikopter TLDM di Lumut, Perak.
Kertas Kabinet wujud sektor industri sukan dibentang dalam tempoh sebulan - Hannah
Kertas Kabinet berkenaan usaha mewujudkan sektor industri sukan dijangka dibentang kepada Jemaah Menteri dalam tempoh sebulan.
MoU PBS dan STAR elak pertembungan calon dalam PRN Sabah
Ketua Penerangan Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), Datuk NIzam Abu Bakar Titingan berkata MoU antara PBS dan STAR bagi mengelakkan kehilangan kerusi sepertimana yang berlaku dalam PRN16.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
PRK KKB: GPS tidak akan terlibat kempen - Fadillah
Ketua Whip GPS yang juga Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof mengesahkan gabuingan itu tidak akan terlibat dalam kempen PRk Kuala Kubu Bharu.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
1,000 peluang pekerjaan bakal dinikmati penduduk Tongod
Sebuah kilang simen bernilai RM1.2 bilion akan dibina di Penangah, Tongod, Sabah sekali gus mewujudkan 1,000 peluang pekerjaan baharu.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Bahan keperluan utama industri kini ada di Sabah
Menteri Pembangunan Perindustrian dan Keusahawanan Sabah, Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe berkata, dengan pembukaan kilang simen itu, satu lagi bahan keperluan utama industri bakal diwujudkan di Sabah.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Peruntukan RM60 juta untuk bina semula SMK Sebuyau
Premier Sarawak, Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg berkata, kerajaan negeri akan mengambil-alih projek berkenaan yang telah diluluskan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Ke-11 (RMK-11), namun tertangguh akibat kekangan peruntukan.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Kerajaan serius selesaikan isu industri minyak sawit - Johari
Kerajaan serius dalam usaha meleraikan isu membabitkan industri minyak sawit negara yang boleh memberi impak sekiranya tidak ditangani.
Gitar John Lennon dilelong RM3.81 juta
Sebuah gitar akustik yang lama hilang milik anggota The Beatles, John Lennon ditemui semula dan akan dipamerkan serta dilelong di New York City.