Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam is an area consisting of the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka which many Tamils want to establish as an independent state, or at least have recognized as their national homeland. They also want significant local power, to protect against discrimination experienced at the hands of the Sinhalese in the first decades of Sri Lankan independence.The concept of Eelam or homeland was proposed by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in 1976. TULF was a coalition of Tamil parties who campaigned in the 1977 elections for an independent state for Tamils in Sri Lanka. In the 1977 elections the TULF was elected to parliment from the northern and eastern provinces. The government of Sri Lanka banned the TULF from parliament for advocating an independent state for Tamils. A number of militant groups then emerged fighting for an independent state.
For more history, see Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
From 1948 to 2002 there have been approximately 38 militant groups who have at one time or another fought for the Tamil Eelam's independence. This number includes the better known groups such as the LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers,'TELO - Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, EPRLF - Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front, PLOTE - People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam, EROS - Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students, and also lesser know groups such as TEA - Tamil Eelam Army, FTA - Ilankai Freedom Tamil Army, SRSL - Socialist Revolutionary Social Liberation.
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