Tamil Eelam Liberation Army
Encyclopedia
The Tamil Eelam Liberation Army was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel group. TELA was originally the military wing of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization is an Eelam Tamil organisation campaigning for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka. The TELO was originally created as a militant group, and functioned as such until 1986, when most of its membership was killed in a...

, but split away from TELO in 1982.

Early period

TELA was founded by Thangathurai at a meeting in a temple in Thondamanaru in September 1977, alongside with the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization is an Eelam Tamil organisation campaigning for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka. The TELO was originally created as a militant group, and functioned as such until 1986, when most of its membership was killed in a...

 (TELO). TELA was to function as the military wing of the movement, whilst TELO would be its political wing. Thangathurai had modelled this set-up based on the Provisional IRA-Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

. In its early phase, TELA gained a notable presence in the Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...

 area. It was, alongside the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...

, the largest Tamil militant group in the area.

Split from TELO

In 1982, after the prison massacre of the TELO leadership, TELA broke loose from TELO and began functioning as a separate political faction. After the split, TELA was led by Kulasegaram Devasegaram (aka 'Oberoi Devan', a nickname he obtained after planting a bomb in the Oberoi
Oberoi
Oberoi is a Khatri / clan .-History:Oberoi is a prominent Khatri surname found in India's Punjab state. They are a north Indian community that originated in the Potohar Plateau of Punjab. This region is historically connected with the composition of the Vedas and classics like the Mahabharata and...

 luxury hotel in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

). Devasegaram had a feud with Prabhakaran (who was then in the TELO), which had resulted in the split. At this point, TELA became known for a series of attacks on government property.

Devasegaram was assassinated in August 1983, soon after the split. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...

 (LTTE) was blamed for the killing of Devasegaram and soon afterwards TELA aligned itself with the archrival of LTTE, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam
People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam
The People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam is a former Tamil militant group. It is currently a pro-government paramilitary group and political party. PLOTE's political wing is known as the Democratic People's Liberation Front.-Origins:...

.

Internal disarray

After the killing of TELA leader Castro, splits and internal feuds appeared within the organization. The group was divided into two factions, one led by Rajan and another led by Senthil. Followers of the two groupings began killing each other. PLOTE sided with the Senthil faction. The links between PLOTE and TELA and the animosity between TELA and LTTE, eventually resulted in the breakdown of the talks between PLOTE and the Eelam National Liberation Front
Eelam National Liberation Front
The Eelam National Liberation Front was a short-lived umbrella organisation for leading Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups.-Formation:In April 1984 M...

. ENLF was a coalition of Tamil militant groups (TELO,EROS,EPRLF including LTTE). PLOTE insisted that the Senthil faction of TELA ought to be included in ENLF alongside with PLOTE, a demand that the LTTE refused to accept.
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