The following is a list of notable people assassinated by the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, commonly known as Tamil Tigers or as LTTE.[1][2]
The LTTE was a militant organisation that was based in northern Sri Lanka, which
fought for a separate
Tamil state in the
north and
east of
Sri Lanka between 1983 and 2009.[3] The LTTE was decisively defeated by the
Sri Lankan Military in May 2009 and it has been banned by 33 countries, including the
United States,
United Kingdom,
Canada,
India,
Malaysia,
Sri Lanka and the 27 member nations of the
European Union.[4] At the height of its power, the LTTE possessed a well-developed militia and carried out many high-profile attacks, including the assassinations of an Indian prime minister, Sri Lankan president and several other high-ranking Sri Lankan politicians.[5][6][7][8] Some of the notable people who survived the assassination attempts of LTTE, are also included at the bottom of this list.
Lalith Athulathmudali – Former Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Trade, National Security, Agriculture, Education and Deputy Minister of Defence;
DUNF MP[11][a]
Gamini Dissanayake – UNP presidential candidate; Leader of the Opposition; Former Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Irrigation, Power, Highways, Land, Land Development, Plantation Industries, Mahaweli and Mahaweli Development; Former Chairman of the
Sri Lanka Cricket Board;
UNP MP[8][13]
Ranjan Wijeratne – Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Foreign Affairs, Plantation Industries and Minister of State for Defense; UNP MP[8][14]
Lakshman Kadirgamar – Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka; Prominent Tamil diplomat; lawyer;
SLFP MP[15][16]
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle – Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Highways & Road Development; Chief Government Whip of the Parliament of Sri Lanka; SLFP MP[17]
Major General
Percy Fernando – Former Deputy General Officer Commanding, 54 Division, Sri Lanka Army[35]
Major General
Ananda Hamangoda – Former Brigade Commander, 51-2 Brigade, Sri Lanka Army[36]
Major General Susantha Mendis – Former Brigade Commander, 51-4 Brigade[37]
Major General
Janaka Perera – Former Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, Former High Commissioner to Australia & Ambassador to Indonesia, Former opposition leader of the
North Central Provincial Council[38]
Rear Admiral Mohan Jayamaha – Former Commander, Northern Naval Area, Sri Lanka Navy[39][b]
^
abcOther sources blame Jayamaha, Kobbekaduwa and Wimalaratne's assassinations on the
Army.[30]
^The
Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front, an offshoot of PLOTE, claimed responsibility for Maheswaran's assassination.[61] Other independent sources blame Maheswaran's assassination on disgruntled members of PLOTE.[62][63]
^Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 58: Premadasa indicted".
Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 12 October 2002.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^
abRajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 39: Amirthalingham eliminated".
SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY. Archived from the original on 15 May 2002.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 52: President blamed for assassinations".
Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 22 February 2003.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^"Asia Times". Archived from the original on 25 October 2002. Retrieved 17 December 2014.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 36: Indians rule the roost".
Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 27 April 2002.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 39: Amirthalingham eliminated".
Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 15 May 2002.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)