Word: prabakaran
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Tiger Leader Velupillai Prabakaran, 32, caused problems from the beginning. Although the Sri Lankan army promptly returned to the barracks under the terms of the pact, the Tigers kept the bulk of their weapons and used them to deadly effect. Within six weeks of the pact's signing, Prabakaran's forces had murdered more than 150 members of rival Tamil groups. Last month, using his arms as a bargaining chip, Prabakaran won a major concession from the Sri Lankan government in Colombo: the Tigers were given control of a majority of seats on the interim council. But after promising "full...
Meanwhile, 13 Tiger guerrillas, including three of Prabakaran's most trusted lieutenants, committed suicide by swallowing cyanide following their capture by the Sri Lankan navy two weeks ago. According to a Sri Lankan official, the deaths made Prabakaran "lose control" of himself. In a series of terrorist attacks, mainly in the east, the Tigers killed 170 civilians belonging to the country's Sinhalese majority. In addition, 27 Sri Lankan soldiers and policemen died at the hands of the rebels...
...Indians tightened their grip on Jaffna, Prabakaran appealed to Gandhi for a cease-fire to "negotiate matters." Gandhi, however, has apparently stopped listening. Instead, he sent some 1,000 Indian reinforcements to the island in preparation for a final assault. Prabakaran and his men showed every sign of resisting to the end. But as one Sri Lankan intelligence officer observed with much satisfaction, it will be "only a matter of time before the Indians smash...
...moment of anger and frustration for Vellupillai Prabakaran, leader of Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas. Speaking before some 70,000 members of the country's Tamil minority on the grounds of a Hindu temple in the Jaffna peninsula, the rebel leader promised that his 3,500 followers would hand over their arms to Indian peacekeeping forces that had started streaming into the north and east of the country five days earlier. The vast assembly cheered in approval, barely listening as Prabakaran added bitterly, "We do not accept this accord. But, because India is a powerful country...
Gandhi tried to persuade the Tigers to sign the pact, but to no avail. An Indian air force helicopter picked up Tiger Chief Prabakaran in Jaffna two weeks ago and brought him to India. During three days of discussions in New Delhi, including a meeting with Gandhi, the Tiger leader refused to go along, arguing that his fighters would not be safe without their weapons once Indian forces departed. Watched by paramilitary guards, Prabakaran remained confined to his room at the government-owned Ashok Hotel while the treaty was being initialed in Colombo. The Tiger leadership and several smaller rebel...