| Tamil United Liberation Front தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி |
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| Leader | Rajavarothiam Sampanthan |
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| Founded | May 4, 1972 |
| Ideology | Tamil Nationalism |
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| Sri Lankan Tamil people ஈழத் தமிழர்
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The Tamil United Liberation Front (Tamil: தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி, Sinhala: ද්රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ) is a political party in Sri Lanka which seeks independence for the Tamil-populated areas of Sri Lanka.
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Formation
On May 4, 1972 several Tamil political groups, including the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, formed the Tamil United Front (TUF). The Federal Party joined the TUF in 1976. The TUF changed its name to the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and adopted a demand for an independent state to be known as the "secular, socialist state of Tamil Eelam".
1977 Parliamentary General Election
In the first general election contested by the TULF, the 21 July 1977 election in which the UNP won by a landslide, the TULF won 6.40% of the popular vote and 18 out of 168 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament, including all 14 seats in the Northern Province.
Votes and seats won by TULF by electoral district
| Electoral District | Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF MP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 26,648 | 24.70% | 1 | 171.15% | Chelliah Rajadurai |
| Chavakachcheri | 20,028 | 63.27% | 1 | 85.65% | V. N. Navaratnam |
| Jaffna | 16,251 | 56.62% | 1 | 82.32% | Vettivelu Yogeswaran |
| Kalkudah | 12,595 | 43.07% | 0 | 86.02% | |
| Kalmunai | 7,093 | 27.38% | 0 | 89.86% | |
| Kankesanthurai | 31,155 | 85.41% | 1 | 83.08% | Appapillai Amirthalingam |
| Kayts | 17,640 | 64.05% | 1 | 75.72% | K.P. Ratnam |
| Kilinochchi | 15,607 | 73.42% | 1 | 79.71% | Veerasingham Anandasangaree |
| Kopay | 25,840 | 77.20% | 1 | 80.03% | S. Kathiravelupillai |
| Manipay | 27,550 | 83.99% | 1 | 79.28% | Visvanathan Dharmalingam |
| Mannar | 15,141 | 51.58% | 1 | 92.40% | P.S. Soosaithasan |
| Mullaitivu | 10,261 | 52.36% | 1 | 79.34% | X.M. Sellathambu |
| Mutur | 7,520 | 27.00% | 0 | 91.65% | |
| Nallur | 29,858 | 89.42% | 1 | 83.05% | Murugesu Sivasithamparam |
| Paddirippu | 15,877 | 49.17% | 1 | 89.92% | P. Ganeshalingam |
| Point Pedro | 12,989 | 55.91% | 1 | 81.66% | Kathiripillai Thurairatnam |
| Pottuvil | 23,990 | 26.97% | 1 | 179.02% | M. Kanagaratnam |
| Puttalam | 3,268 | 10.52% | 0 | 83.58% | |
| 8,615 | 34.65% | 0 | 91.04% | ||
| Trincomalee | 15,144 | 51.76% | 1 | 81.78% | Rajavarothiam Sampanthan |
| Udupiddy | 18,768 | 63.44% | 1 | 80.05% | T. Rasalingam |
| Vaddukoddai | 23,384 | 70.18% | 1 | 81.90% | T. Thirunavukarasu |
| Vavuniya | 13,821 | 59.02% | 1 | 82.31% | T. Sivasithamparam |
| Total | 399,043 | 6.40% | 18 | ||
| Source:[1] | |||||
The TULF became the official opposition as result of the rout of the SLFP. The TULF's success would lead to riots in which hundreds of Tamils were murdered by Sinhala mobs.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the TULF was frequently blamed by nationalist Sinhalese politicians for acts of violence committed by militant groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In fact, the TULF represented an older, more conservative generation of Tamils that felt independence could be achieved without violence, more rival than ally to youth groups like the LTTE who believed in armed conflict.
In October 1983, all the TULF legislators, numbering sixteen at the time, forfeited their seats in Parliament for refusing to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state in accordance with the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
During the 1980s, the LTTE began to see the TULF as a rival in its desire to be considered the sole representatives of the Tamils of the north and east. Over the next two decades, the LTTE has assassinated several TULF leaders, including Appapillai Amirthalingam and Neelan Thiruchelvam.
1989 Parliamentary General Election
The TULF formed an alliance with the three Indian backed paramilitary groups, Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), to contest the 15 February 1989 election. The alliance won 3.40% of the popular vote and 10 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by TULF / ENDLF / EPRLF / TULF alliance by electoral district
| Electoral District |
Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF / ENDLF / EPRLF / TELO MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 55,131 | 35.49% | 3 | 71.74% | Prince Gunarasa Casinader (EPRLF) Govinthan Karunakaram (TELO) Thambimuthu Samuel Pennington Thevarasa (EPRLF), murdered 11 May 1990 Joseph Pararajasingham (TULF), from 1990 (replaces Sam Thambimuthu (EPRLF)) |
| Digamadulla | 43,424 | 20.32% | 1 | 80.41% | Jeyaratnam Thiviya Nadan (EPRLF) |
| Jaffna | 60,013 | 25.02% | 3 | 40.50% | Kandiah Navaratnam (EPRLF) Kandaiah Premachandran (EPRLF) Ganeshankari Yogasangari (EPRLF), murdered 19 June 1990 |
| Vanni | 17,271 | 39.99% | 2 | 30.53% | Raja Kuhaneswaran (TELO) Anthony Emmanuel Silva (EPRLF) |
| National List | 1 | Appapillai Amirthalingam (TULF), murdered 13 July 1989 Somasundaram Senathirajah (replaces Appapillai Amirthalingam) |
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| Total | 188,593 | 3.40% | 10 | 63.6% | |
| Sources: [2][3] | |||||
1994 Parliamentary General Election
In the 16 August 1994 election in which the People's Alliance alliance led by Chandrika Kumaratunga came to power after 17 years of UNP rule, the TULF won 1.60% of the popular vote and 5 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by TULF by electoral district
| Electoral District |
Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 76,516 | 43.95% | 3 | 66.47% | Joseph Pararajasingham Pon Selvarasa K. Thurairasasingham |
| Trincomalee | 28,380 | 23.66% | 1 | 65.15% | Thangathurai Arunasalam |
| National List | 1 | Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam, murdered 29 July 1999 Somasundaram Senathirajah, from August 1999 (replaces Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam) |
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| Total | 132,461 | 1.60% | 5 | 76.23% | |
| Sources: [4][5] | |||||
2000 Parliamentary General Election
In the 10 October 2000 election in which the People's Alliance alliance led by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake retained to power, the TULF won 1.23% of the popular vote and 5 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament. Votes and seats won by TULF by electoral district
| Electoral District |
Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 54,448 | 29.20% | 2 | 71.74% | Joseph Pararajasingham Nimalan Soundaranayagam |
| Jaffna | 32,852 | 27.59% | 3 | 21.32% | Veerasingham Anandasangaree Somasundaram Senathirajah Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah |
| Trincomalee | 14,090 | 10.58% | 0 | 68.52% | |
| Vanni | 4,643 | 5.58% | 0 | 42.13% | |
| National List | 0 | ||||
| Total | 106,033 | 1.23% | 5 | 75.62% | |
| Sources: [6][7][8] | |||||
2001 Parliamentary General Election
The TULF contested the 5 December 2001 election as a part of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) coalition. The TNA led by Rajavarothiam Sampanthan won 3.9% of the popular vote and 15 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by TNA by electoral district
| Electoral District |
Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TNA MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 86,284 | 48.17% | 3 | 68.20% | Gnanamuttu Krishnapillai (ACTC) Joseph Pararajasingham (TULF) Thambiraja Thangavadivel (TELO) |
| Colombo | 12,696 | 1.20% | 0 | 76.31% | |
| Digamadulla | 48,789 | 17.41% | 1 | 82.51% | Chandranehru Ariyanayagam (TULF) |
| Jaffna | 102,324 | 54.84% | 6 | 31.14% | V. Anandasangaree (TULF) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam (ACTC) Nadarajah Raviraj (TULF) Somasundaram Senathirajah (TULF) M.K. Shivajilingam (TELO)) Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy (ACTC) |
| Trincomalee | 56,121 | 34.83% | 1 | 79.88% | Rajavarothiam Sampanthan (TULF) |
| Vanni | 41,950 | 44.39% | 3 | 46.77% | Amirthanathan Adaikalanathan (TELO) Sivasakthi Ananthan (EPRLF) Irasa Kuhaneswaran (TELO) |
| National List | 1 | Murugesu Sivasithamparam (TULF), died 5 June 2002 Kathirgamathamby Thurairetnasingam (TULF) (replaces Murugesu Sivasithamparam) |
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| Total | 348,164 | 3.88% | 15 | 76.03% | |
| Sources: [9][10] | |||||
2004 Parliamentary General Election
The TULF contested the 2 April 2004 election as a part of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) coalition. The TNA led by Rajavarothiam Sampanthan won 6.9% of the popular vote and 22 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by TNA by electoral district
Split
TULF President Veerasingham Anandasangaree, a critic of the Tamil Tigers, left the Tamil National Alliance when it took a pro-Tamil Tigers stance at the 2004 general election. He and some other TULF members have set up a TULF splinter group that has fought against the TNA at local elections. Most TULF members however remain within the TNA.
References
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1989%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF.
- ^ D. B. S. Jeyaraj (1 January 2006). "The benign parliamentarian from Batticaloa". TransCurrents. http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/index.php/archives/category/transcurrents/page/24/.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1994". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1994%20GENERAL%20ELECTION-SM01.PDF.
- ^ "Senathirajah - new TULF MP". The Island, Sri Lanka. 15 August 1999. http://lakdiva.com/island/i990815/news.htm.
- ^ "Parliamentary General Election 10.10.2000, Final District Results". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/District2000/district2000.html.
- ^ "EPDP gets four seats in Jaffna". TamilNet. 11 October 2000. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=5487.
- ^ "Pararajasingham elected on final count". TamilNet. 11 October 2000. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=5488.
- ^ "Parliamentary General Election 2001, Final District Results". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/District2001/district2001.html.
- ^ "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Legislative Elections of 6 December 2001". Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive. http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/s/srilanka/srilanka20012.txt.
- ^ "Parliamentary General Election 2004, Final District Results". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/District2004/district2004.html.
- ^ "Directory of Members". The Parliament of Sri Lanka. http://www.parliament.lk/directory_of_members/ListMembers.do.
- ^ "Members of Parliament representing TNA". Tamil National Alliance. http://www.tamilalliance.net/index.php?page=mps&hl=en.
- ^ "TNA to get five seats in Vanni". TamilNet. 3 April 2004. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=11659.
- ^ "Jaffna student leader gets most preferential votes". TamilNet. 3 April 2004. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=11660.
- ^ "TamilNet Batticaloa correspondent elected TNA MP". TamilNet. 3 April 2004. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=11661.
- ^ "Trinco GA, Police commended for violence free elections". TamilNet. 4 April 2004. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=11664.
- ^ "Batticaloa-Amparai TNA MPs to meet Thamilchelvan". TamilNet. 19 April 2004. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=11776.
- ^ "Parliament meets Tuesday, one SLMC MP crosses over to govt. bench". TamilNet. 18 May 2004. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=12026.
- ^ "Chandrakanthan sworn in as TNA national list parliamentarian". TamilNet. 27 September 2006. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=19732.
- ^ "New TNA parliamentarian takes oath". TamilNet. 30 November 2006. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=20447.
- ^ "Two new parliamentarians sworn in". TamilNet. 9 April 2008. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=25253.
- ^ "New TNA MP for Ampaa'rai district sworn in". TamilNet. 12 June 2009. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29583.
External links
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