LTTE Black Tiger

The Black Tigers are special wing of the LTTE who compose of specially selected and trained LTTE soldiers whose missions give them little chance of survival. The Black Tigers may even commit suicide if needed in order to complete their mission. They are considered to be one of the most lethal and effective suicide groups in the world. More than 330 Black Tigers have died in various actions on land and sea, almost all in Sri Lanka. [ [http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070708/Columns/sitreport.html A total of 322 Black Tigers have been killed in action from Captain Miller's death in 1987 until 30th June 2007, according to the Tamileelam Heroes Secretariat in Vanni.] ] The Black Tigers have been attributed with the assassination of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

History

The first Black Tiger was Vallipuram Vasanthan, who drove a small truck laden with explosives into a Sri Lanka Army camp in Nelliady, Jaffna peninsula, on 5 July 1987, killing himself and between 39-100 Sri Lankan soldiers. Immediately after the attack, regular LTTE cadres followed up, overwhelming the stunned SLA soldiers. This single attack was hugely effective, and proved vital in the dismantling the Sri Lankan Army’s operation – dubbed Operation Liberation cite book | author = Gambetta, D. | year = 2005
title = Making sense of suicide missions | publisher = Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press | isbn = 9780199276998 | pages = 50] .

During the earlier phase of the Tamil Tigers’ military session it did not posses heavy conventional weapons that were required to attack large camp camps. To mount such an attack, costly weaponries such as artillery pieces, missiles, and fighter-bombers would have been needed – weapons that were not affordable by the LTTE. As a result, they decided to create a special wing, of Asymmetric warfare, in order to compensate for the lack of conventional weaponscite journal
author = Schalk, P.
year = 1997
title = Resistance and Martyrdom in the Process of State Formation of Tamililam
journal = Martyrdom and Political Resistance
pages = 61-83] cite book | author = Gambetta, D. | year = 2005
title = Making sense of suicide missions | publisher = Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press | isbn = 9780199276998 | pages = 52] . Consequently, it is not the act itself—killing by suicide—that is the Black Tigers' original or even main aim, but the military impact of the act and it’s strategic consequencescite book | author = Gambetta, D. | year = 2005
title = Making sense of suicide missions | publisher = Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press | isbn = 9780199276998 | pages = 52] .

Notably, Black Tiger are attributed with the suicide bombing that killed late Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi, along with 16 bystanders, and late Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa along with 23 bystanders. They have also been attributed with an attempted assassination of the Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who survived the attack but lost an eye.

Recruitment

Black Tigers are drawn from the regular ranks of the LTTE and they write request letters to Pirabakaran requesting to be selected. According to the LTTE, Pirabakaran then goes through the applications, looking at the applicant's particular skills, the kinds of missions he or she has been involved in, their motivations and their family situation. Are they an only son or daughter? Do they have dependents? All these things are considered, after which the applicant is told whether he can become a Black Tiger. Furthermore, they also claim that a deep humanitarianism is very necessary—a love of others, for the people—to become a Black Tiger.cite journal
author = De Figueiredo Jr, R.J.P. | coauthors = Weingast, B.R. | year = 2001
title = Vicious Cycles: Endogenous Political Extremism and Political Violence. Institute of Governmental Studies Working Paper, 2001-9
journal = University of California, Berkeley] . Once someone is selected to be in the Black Tigers, they are thought to go through 6 months of arduous training which is devoted to building up mental strength and honing the specific skills for particular kinds of operation. For seaborne missions, for example, Black Sea Tigers must presumably master various maritime skills, as divers must learn to use breathing apparatus. Much training presumably develops the same discipline of body and mind required by an elite professional soldier as in any unit of this sort anywhere in the world. This mental preparation is crucial if one is to wait to be called on for a mission perhaps quite some time in the future, specially in the LTTE because the emphasis on personal discipline is very strong throughout the LTTEcite book | author = Gambetta, D. | year = 2005
title = Making sense of suicide missions | publisher = Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press | isbn = 9780199276998 | pages = 62] . The extensive training of their suicide units separates the Black Tigers from other suicide bombers around the world.

Black Tigers today

The Black Tigers are believed to be the most effective unit of its kind in the world, as with the rest of the LTTE, it is also secular. Till date, the Black Tigers have carried out 100-200 missions. The Black Tigers operate in three distinct ways: conventional combat (land and sea), guerrilla attacks, and targeted assassinations or bombings. The majority of these attacks have involved military objectives in the north and east of the country. Relatively speaking, there have been fewer operations in the south where most of the Sinhalese live, especially in the capital Colombo, although such attacks have often engaged high-profile targets and attracted much international publicity as a result. cite book | author = Gambetta, D. | year = 2005
title = Making sense of suicide missions | publisher = Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press | isbn = 9780199276998 | pages = 60-70] .

After their death the cadres families are cared for by the LTTE and the cadre's photo is listed in the "Black Tigers Day" commemoration.

References

Further reading

*Balasingham, Anton. (2004) "War and Peace - Armed Struggle and Peace Efforts of Liberation Tigers", Fairmax Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-903679-05-2
*Narayan Swamy, M. R. (2002) "Tigers of Lanka: from Boys to Guerrillas", Konark Publishers; 3rd ed. ISBN 81-220-0631-0
*Pratap, Anita. (2001) "Island of Blood: Frontline Reports From Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Other South Asian Flashpoints". Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-200366-2
*de Votta, Neil. (2004) "Blowback: Linguistic Nationalism, Institutional Decay, and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka." Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-4924-8
*Pape, Robert A. (2005) "Dying to Win : The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism". Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6317-5
*Sri Kantha, Sachi (2005) "Pirabhakaran Phenomenon", Lively COMET Imprint, ISBN 1-57087-671-1

External links

* [http://ttnet.netfast.org/photos/black_tigers.html Photo Gallery of Black Tigers from tamiltigers.net]
* [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1193862,00.html/ How LTTE select and train its suicide bombers, from Time]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2516263.stm BBC online on LTTE Black Tigers]
* [http://www.ipcs.org/Terrorism_articles2.jsp?action=showView&kValue=198&status=article&mod=a IPCS on Black Tigers]
* [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FG10Df03.html Asian Times on Black Tigers]
* [http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7752_1740234,004100180006.htm Hindustan Times correspondent PK Balachandran on LTTE Black Tigers]