Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Tamil Tigers
Are the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka a terrorist group, guerrilla fighters, or insurgents? I have always thought they were terrorists, but after reading an article found on Reuters at http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSCOL560, I am less convinced. The author of the article stated that Sri Lankan troops have recently captured a portion of rebel-held territory in Sri Lanka and killed over 30 Tigers in open military confrontations. According to the article, the Tamil Tigers want to create an independent state in north and east Sri Lanka. Because the Tigers are fighting for territory in Sri Lanka in organized military units, wouldn't they be considered guerrilla fighters? Do the Tigers use a lot of propaganda, and if so, would they be considered insurgents? I don't know that much about the Tamil Tigers, so comments about their organization would be interesting. Any ideas?
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4 comments:
From reading your article it sounds like the Tigers are more of a guerilla group than a terrorist organization. However, I don't think that obtaining land as a goal necessarily prevents a group from being considered a terrorist organization. One of the goals of many terrorist groups is to obtain land (for example, Israel), and they use terror to accomplish this goal. It is difficult to think of something other than land that a terrorist organization would ultimately want. Power comes from controlling at least some area of land.
after reading this article, i can see how you would be able to consider the Tamils a guerrilla organization based on their desire to attain and hold territory. but something that we touched on briefly today, and something we have talked about in pro. Payne's 378 class is that guerrillas do not usually attack non-combatants or non-military types. this is due to their organization and their goal of attaining legitimacy through a expulsion of the enemy troops. it seems that this is not on the agenda for the Tamils, esp since they have killed the PM and detonated other bombs in public areas.
and as a side note, they were the real inventors, or at least the first real perpetrators, of suicide bombing, something that guerrillas do not participate in.
I think that it would be better to classify them as insurgents, yeah they use Guerrilla tactics, but asymmetric warfare is a key to insurgency. Their focus is mostly on their freedom from Sri Lanka, motive would be a major decider in my book on the difference between guerrillas and insurgents. A guerrilla is trying to further his nation's doctrine where as an insurgent is moving towards freedom, possibly through guerrilla tactics. I think that they would not be terrorists since the work they have done is focused on their nation and those who support it, not a general infliction of fear such as would be associated with terrorism on a large scale. With the Tigers wouldn't that make them insurgents and neither terrorists or guerrillas?
Despite the fact that the military unit did initiate this attack I would still classify the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group. While they may have "pure" intentions by wanting land and independence, they are going about it in the absolute wrong way, the level of violence and the targets of their violence would classify them in the category of terrorists. They are targeting not only military but also government leaders and are often causing innocent civilians to be harmed in the process.
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