Ayy in elective history our multi-modal assignment was a news report on some terrorist organisation, and my group chose the Tamil Tigers. Lemme bring that up:
And now… a tragedy. Between 3:30 and 8:30 am this morning, the 24th of July 2001, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, known colloquially as the Tamil Tigers, blew up 26 aircraft originating from the Bandaranaike Airport in western Sri Lanka.
Authorities have identified the 14 perpetrators as members of the elite suicide commando unit of the LTTE known as the ‘Black Tigers’. They have successfully destroyed 26 aircraft including commercial and military vehicles in 5 hours, leaving 7 people killed and 12 injured.
This attack aimed to expose the shaky foundations on which the country's national security structure was founded. It will inevitably lead to the government's capacity to develop intelligence, forecast threats, and protect its critical infrastructure to be questioned.
It is to be made clear that the ‘Black Tigers’ are no amateurs, this was a planned and deliberate attack that took months of preparation to achieve. In fact, the LTTE are pioneers in their method of suicide attacks. Of all the terrorist groups in the world, they were the first insurgent organisation to use concealed explosive belts and vests in their operations. All soldiers of the LTTE carry a suicide pill around their necks to escape captivity and torture by enemy forces. This method of suicide bombing has been hitherto copied by terrorist groups in Pakistan, Afganistan, Iraq and other countries. It can only be assumed that the LTTE will remain a major threat within the near future.
For the viewers unaware, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or ‘LTTE’ are a militant organisation fighting for the creation of the independent Tamil state of Eelam in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.
This has been an ongoing conflict since the establishment of the Sinhalese Buddhist Government of Sri Lanka in 1948 after the British occupation ended. The Tamil citizens found themselves the targets of institutional discrimination instigated by the Sinhalese authorities and the government. This discrimination and violence against the Tamil citizens lead to a calling for an independent state and for an organisation to protect their rights.
And so the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam filled the void of Tamil protection and became a voice for the voiceless. The organisation was and still is led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, a passionate citizen who saw the discrimination his people faced and decided to do something about it.
This may sound like a noble cause, however, the question facing the world today is ‘is it really worth it?’ Today’s attack is not one of a kind, the LTTE were responsible for the assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka in May 1993, as well as the suicide attack on the central bank of Colombo that killed 100 people in January 1996. These increasingly violent attacks are not sustainable and today's attack, one of the worst aviatory attacks in modern history, is only a taste of what's to come. |