The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a Tamil militant organisation that was based in northeastern Sri Lanka. Its aim was to secure an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east in response to the state policies of successive Sri Lankan governments that were widely considered discriminative towards the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, as well as the oppressive actions—including anti-Tamil pogroms in 1956 and 1958—carried out by the majority Sinhalese.
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a civil war fought in the island country of Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, there was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Velupillai Prabhakaran led Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north and the east of the island due to the continuous discrimination against the Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan Government, as well as the 1956, 1958 and 1977 anti-Tamil pogroms and the 1981 burning of the Jaffna Public Library carried out by the majority Sinhalese mobs, in the years following Sri Lanka's independence from Britain in 1948. After a 26-year military campaign, the Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009, bringing the civil war to an end.
Sri Lankan Tamils, also known as Eelam Tamils, Ceylon Tamils or simply Tamils, are members of the Tamil ethnic group native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Province and are in the minority throughout the rest of the country. 70% of Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka live in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
Major human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States Department of State and the European Union, have expressed concern about the state of human rights in Sri Lanka. British rule in Ceylon, the government of Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as well as various other paramilitaries and marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) rebels are accused of violating human rights. Although Sri Lanka has not officially practiced the death penalty since 1976, there are well-documented cases of state-sponsored 'disappearances' and murders.
The 1990 Batticaloa massacre, also known as the Sathurukondan massacre, was a massacre of at least 184 minority Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, including infants, from three villages in the Batticaloa District by the Sri Lankan Army on September 9, 1990. Although the government instituted two investigations, no one was ever charged.
The expulsion of the Muslims from the Northern province was an act of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Tamil militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organisation in October 1990. Due to increasing tensions between the Muslims (Moors) and Tamils in the North Sri Lanka and the Muslim opposition to the creation of a Tamil homeland, the LTTE forcibly expelled the 72,000 strong Muslim population from the Northern Province.
The Kattankudy Mosque Massacre was the killing of over 147 Muslim men and boys on the 3rd of August 1990. Around 30 armed Tamil militants raided four mosques in Kattankudy where over 300 people were prostrating in Isha prayers. The Sri Lankan Government accuses the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of committing the crime. The attack is widely attributed to LTTE, who denied their involvement in the massacre, and have never retracted that denial.
The South Eastern University of Sri Lanka is a public university in Oluvil in Sri Lanka. Established in 1995 as a university college, it became a full-fledged university in 1996. Like all public universities in Sri Lanka, SEUSL receives the bulk of its funding from the University Grants Commission (UGC), part of the Ministry of Higher Education in Colombo. The UGC and the central government therefore exert a great deal of control over SEUSL.
Local elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 August 2009 for two local councils in the north of the country: Jaffna Municipal Council and Vavuniya Urban Council. They were the first elections held in the country since the government declared victory in the 26-year-old civil war on 18 May 2009. They were also the first local elections held in the Northern Province in more than 11 years. Both towns had been under government control for many years. The government won the Jaffna Municipal Council contest by securing 13 of the 23 seats. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won the Vavuniya Urban Council contest by securing 5 of the 11 seats. Turnout was very low in Jaffna (22%) but it was better in Vavuniya (52%).
Mohammed Hussain Mohammed Ashraff was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician, government minister and founder/leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.
Veeramunai is a rural village in the Ampara District situated within the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Most of the residents are minority Sri Lankan Tamils and are farmers. According to local chronicles, Veeramunai was founded by early Mukkuva settlers in a medieval feudal division called Nadukadu during the pre colonial period. Feudal lords known as Vanniar resident in the village controlled large swaths of farm land around the village and the region. These farm holdings led to considerable conflicts with residents of a demographically larger nearby town of Sammanthurai. Most residents of Sammathurai were exclusively members of the Sri Lankan Muslim minority. In 1954, a mob from Sammanthurai burned down Veeramunai after a local conflict. About 75% of the villagers left Veeramunai as refugees and setup satellite settlements like Malwattai, Kanapathipuram and Veerachcholai away from Sammanthurai. Veeramunai land holdings were eventually sold to the residents of Sammanthurai thus the village reduced in size and population considerably. During the 1990s life was affected by the insurgency and counter insurgency operations during the Sri Lankan civil war. Members of the village were also present within the Hindu temple at Veeramunai as refugees when it was attacked by Home Guards from Sammanthurai on August 12, 1990 resulting in the death of 55 civilians. Subsequently the village was resettled by returning refugees.
M. A. Abdul Majeed was a Sri Lankan politician, Member of Parliament and deputy minister.
Sammanthurai, is a town in Ampara District of Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Sammanthurai situated at 7°22′0″N81°48′0″E, is 4.8 km west of the Bay of Bengal coast. It lies between the towns of Ampara and Karaitivu along the A31 road. It is surrounded by paddy fields and it is renowned for its rice paddies and its inner harbour from ancient times.
Batticaloa region (Tamil: மட்டக்களப்புத் தேசம் Maṭṭakkaḷapput tēcam; also known as Matecalo; Baticalo; in Colonial records, was the ancient region of Tamil Settlements in Sri Lanka. The foremost record of this region can be seen in Portuguese and Dutch historical documents along with local inscriptions such as "Sammanthurai Copper epigraphs" written on 1683 CE which also mentions about "Mattakkalappu Desam". Although there is no more the existence of Batticaloa region today, the amended term "Batti-Ampara Districts" still can be seen in the Tamil print media of Sri Lanka.
Uduma Lebbe Mohamed Mohideen was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician, Member of Parliament and deputy minister.
Veerachcholai is a rural village in the Ampara District within the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Most residents are Sri Lankan Tamilians, a minority and are farmers.
