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|+<big><big>'''Tamil Eelam''' / '''தமிழ் ஈழம்''' / '''tamiḻ īḻam'''</big></big>
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| align=center width=148 | ]
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| align=center colspan=2 | ]:
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| ''']'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
| ] '']'' quasi-independent state
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| ''']'''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
| ] (''de facto'' official)<br>]
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| ''']'''
| ]
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| '''President'''
| ]<ref name=thehindu>http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/04/11/stories/2002041103800100.htm</ref>
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| ''']'''<br>(from ])
| ''No official declaration''<br>&nbsp;
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| ''']'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|19,509 ] '''claimed'''<ref>Area calculated from , including all districts of North Eastern Province and Puttalam District in North Western Province.</ref><br>6,600–9,750 km² '''administered'''<br>(40–50% of claimed area)
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| ''']'''<br>(of&nbsp;claimed&nbsp;area)
| 3,162,254 (])<ref>According to the , for all districts of North Eastern Province and Puttalam District in North Western Province.</ref>
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| ] <small>(LKR)</small>
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'''Tamil Eelam''' (]: தமிழ் ஈழம், ''tamiḻ īḻam'') is the name given by the ] (LTTE), to the independent ] to which they aspire in the ] portions of the ] of ]. ''Ilaṅkai'' (இலங்கை) and ''Īḻam'' (ஈழம்) are both Tamil names for the entire island.

Tamil Eelam is only recognized as an ] by the LTTE. The LTTE administers around 40 to 50% of the land claimed for Tamil Eelam. These include the entire ]s of ] and ], most of ], ] and ] districts and parts of ] and ] districts.

The portion of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka under the control of the LTTE is run as a ] quasi-independent state, with its own ],<ref></ref> ] force,<ref></ref> ], ] (the ]), ],<ref></ref> ], and a ],<ref></ref> although these institutions are not formally recognized by the ]. It is dependent on electricity and commodity supplies from the government held area through the A9 highway. It does not have its own currency and uses the Sri Lankan ]. The LTTE has often accused the government of imposing embargos on essential goods, causing distress to the civilians. It does not have its own airport and foreign travellers must go through the ].

==Central issue==
The concept of Eelam or homeland is a central issue in the ] that has been under way for more than two decades. It was first proposed by the ] (TULF) in 1976. The 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 parliament from the northern and eastern provinces. In order to counter separatist tendencies, the government added a new clause to the constitution in 1978 requiring all MPs to pledge allegiance to the unity of the state, which resulted in the boycott of the parliament by the TULF. A number of militant groups then emerged fighting for an independent state.]

As used by both the TULF and the militant groups, ''Tamil Eelam'' has only referred to the northeasterly portions of ] (principally, the districts of ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] claimed by Tamils as being their traditional homeland. Some of the early militant groups such as the ], however, adhered to a wider concept of ''Eelam'', by which they meant all parts of the island of Sri Lanka with a Tamil majority, including the upcountry districts with an ] majority, traditionally part of the ] heartland.
For all practical purposes today, though, the demand for an independent state is limited to the northern and eastern provinces.

]

From 1948 to 2002 there have been approximately 38 ] who have at one time or another fought for Tamil Eelam's independence. This number includes the better known groups such as the LTTE (also known as the '''Tamil Tigers'''), ] (TELO), ] (EPRLF), ] (PLOTE), ] (EROS), and also lesser-known groups such as ] (TEA), Ilankai ] (FTA), and ] (SRSL).

==See also==
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==External links==
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==References==
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Revision as of 05:52, 30 November 2006