April 21, 1987: April 21, 1987: A car bomb explodes in a major market in Colombo. It is thought that the LTTE collaborated with EROS to execute this attack (113 killed, over 200 injured). [1]
Updated
August 5, 2013
Narrative Summary
The Eelam
Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), also referred to as the Eelam
Revolutionary Organizers, was one of the original Tamil militant groups
fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in
London in 1975, the Marxist group emerged as one of the “Big Five” Tamil groups
in the 1980s due, in part, to Indian assistance. The other “Big Five” groups
were the LTTE, TELO, EROS, and PLOTE. Of these groups, EROS was the smallest
and least radical.
In the mid-1970s,
EROS established close ties with other revolutionary groups, such as the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and African National Congress (ANC). A
number of EROS and LTTE operatives traveled to Lebanon during this period to
train at PLO camps. By 1976, the group had cooperated with the LTTE on a number
of initiatives, and the two groups frequently trained together at the same
sites. In 1979, a faction of the group broke away to form the EPRLF, due to
internal disagreements between the group’s London-based and Jaffna-based
leadership.
In 1983, the group
developed ties with RAW, the external unit of the Indian Intelligence Services.
Towards the end of 1985, the group, along with TELO, PLOTE, and EPRLF, began to
decline as they succumbed to pressure from the Indian government to downscale
their operations and attacks by the LTTE. After the withdrawal of the Indian
Peace Keeping Force (IPK) in 1990, a large faction of EROS broke away to join
the LTTE, effectively disbanding the group. From there, EROS transitioned into
a minor political party and several of its members were elected to the Sri
Lankan parliament in 1989.
Leadership
Eliyathamby
Ratnasabapathy, Shankar Rajee, and Velupillai Balakumar founded the Eelam
Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS) in London on January 3, 1975. These three men
were from the Karaiyar caste. [2]
Ratnasabapathy
was a Tamil activist and influential Sri Lankan Marxist thinker. In 1975,
Ratnasabapathy, Balakumar, and Rajee founded EROS in Ratnasabapathy’s London
apartment. [3]
In 1989, Eliyathamby
Ratnasabapathy and 12 other EROS members joined the Sri Lankan parliament for a
brief period, although Ratnasabapathy late resigned. [4]
Ratnasabapathy died in late 2006. Shankar Rajee, one of the original
co-founders of EROS, was the leader of the groups’ military wing and developed
links with several revolutionary groups, such as the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) and former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. [5]
Rajee died in 2005. [6]
Velupillai Balakumar, also known as Balakumaran was one of the leaders and
co-founders of EROS. Following the withdrawal of the Indian Peace Keeping Force
(IPKF) in 1990, Balakumar split from EROS to join the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) along with his supporters. [7] Balakumar
was believed to be a close advisor to Prabhakaran, the former leader of the
LTTE. Balakumar is also famous for his strict Marxist beliefs. Balakumar was
briefly involved in politics and served for a short period as a member of Sri
Lanka’s parliament. [8]
His current status is unknown. Following the military’s defeat of the LTTE in
May 2009, the Sri Lankan government reported that Balakumar, along with other
senior LTTE commanders, had been taken into government custody. [9]
Velupillai Balakumar (January 3, 1975 to 1990): Former leader and co-founder of EROS that split from the group in the late 1980s to join the LTTE. [10]
Shankar Rajee (January 3, 1975 to May 11, 2005): Co-founder of EROS and leader of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), a group that split off from EROS in 1979. [11]
Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy (January 3, 1975 to December 12, 2006): Original founder of EROS in London and prominent Marxist thinker.[12]
Ideology & Goals
Marxist
Separatist
Like other Tamil
militant groups, EROS was fighting for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka’s
Tamil Hindus in Northern Sri Lanka. EROS, however, as one of the oldest
militant groups, had a stricter grounding in Marxist thought and advocated for
a Marxist-style revolution and a mass-based approach to Tamil independence.
Unlike the LTTE, their focus was on the spread of socialist ideology and
obtaining widespread local support, not the militarization of their forces.
[13]
EROS also disagreed with the LTTE on the potential boundaries of a future,
independent state of Eelam for Sri Lanka’s Tamils. EROS, along with the EPRLF,
envisioned a larger area for Eelam that would include Sri Lanka’s central
highland areas. These areas were populated primarily by Indian plantation
workers that EROS viewed as an essential part of the “proletariat.” [14]
Size Estimates
1986: 1,750 cadres (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)[15]
Resources
Despite their
relatively small size, EROS was well armed and their arsenal included
rocket-propelled grenade (RPGs), liquefied petroleum gas (LPGs), and AK-47s.
[16]
EROS members were recruited mainly from the Batticaloa and Amparai districts in
Eastern Sri Lanka. [17]
External Influences
After the start of
the First Eelam War in 1983, EROS established close ties with RAW, the external
unit of the Indian Intelligence Services. Soon thereafter, EROS members began
training at Indian camps. [18]
Geographical Locations
Historically, EROS
has been more active in Eastern Sri Lanka than in Jaffna, although they
conducted numerous political protests and non-violent activities here. As the
conflict with the government intensified in the 1980s, EROS carried out a
number of attacks in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. Part of EROS’ leadership was
based in London; its operations, however, were exclusively conducted within Sri
Lanka. [19]
Targets & Tactics
While the EROS did
conduct one high profile kidnapping in early 1986, this strategy ultimately
proved unsuccessful. Instead, EROS mainly targeted sites of economic
importance, as one of their major strategies was to sabotage the Sri Lankan
economy and deter investors. For example, in 1984, EROS bombed an oil pipeline
north of Colombo. [20] Other notable targets
include the Katunayake International Airport in Colombo, the Central Telegraph
office in Colombo, and several major markets in Colombo. [21]
Political Activities
In 1989, after first
boycotting the parliamentary elections, 10 of EROS’ leaders joined the Sri
Lankan parliament, signaling the end of EROS’ military activities and its
rebirth as a political party. According to Ratnasabapathy, the founder of EROS,
“[EROS] came here today in the hope of using Parliament as a forum to propagate
on behalf of the Tamil people, although we do not think Parliament can resolve
the ethnic problems of this country.” [22]
Major Attacks
It is reported that
from 1986-1987, at least 400 people were killed in terrorist attacks
perpetrated by EROS. [23]
January 28, 1984: EROS detonates a bomb at the Hotel Oberoi in Colombo where the government is holding a meeting to discuss future negotiations with Tamil militant groups. (Unknown).[24]
October 1984: EROS bombs an oil pipeline north of Colombo. (Unknown).[25]
April 25, 1985: Bombing of Army Headquarters in Colombo (Unknown).[26]
November 12, 1985: Bombing of inner-city train in Colombo. (Unknown).[27]
January 17, 1986: EROS members kidnap British journalist Penelope Willis from Mullaitivu and accuse her of being a British spy working alongside the Sri Lankan government. Willis is released on February 18th, 1986 after negotiations between British diplomats, EROS, and the International Red Cross. (0 killed).[28]
May 3, 1986: EROS bombs an Air Lanka Tristar Jet at Katunayake International Airport in Colombo. Seventeen of the twenty-one victims killed were foreigners (21 killed, 41 wounded).[29]
May 3, 1986: Bombing of Central Telegraph Office in Colombo. This attack was carried out on the same day as the bombing at Katunayake airport. (14 killed).[30]
April 21, 1987: A car bomb explodes in a major market in Colombo. It is thought that the LTTE collaborated with EROS to execute this attack. (113 killed, 200+ wounded).[31]
Relationships with Other Groups
Soon after its
formation, EROS began cultivating ties with other revolutionary movements
around the world, specifically the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
EROS’ leaders in London quickly developed a relationship with Syed Hameed, the
PLO’s representative in the UK. Hameed susbsequently organized training for
EROS and LTTE cadres in Lebanon. [32]
Between 1976-1986, the PLO trained around 150 Tamil militants. [33]
EROS had a
constantly changing relationship with the other “Big Five” Tamil militant
groups operating in the 1980s. Initially, EROS and the LTTE formed an alliance
when, in 1976, they agreed to use EROS-run training camps in Vavuniya as the
main military training site for both groups. [34]
In the mid-1980s, however, tensions began to rise between the LTTE and EROS, as
the LTTE undertook a systematic campaign to eliminate what is deemed as the
more moderate Tamil groups, including TELO, PLOTE, EPRLF, and EROS. After the
withdrawal of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1990, EROS leader V.
Balakumaran broke away from EROS with his supporters to join the LTTE,
effectively disbanding the group. [35]
In 1979, a faction
of EROS broke away to form the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front
(EPRLF). [36]
The faction, led by former EROS leaders Suresh Premachandran, Douglas
Devananda, and others, split from EROS because of a growing rift between the
group’s leaders in London and Jaffna. By the mid-1980s, the EPRLF had surpassed
EROS. [37]
In 1985, EPRLF, TELO, TULF, and the LTTE joined forces to form the Eelam National Liberation Front (ENLF)
to participate in the Thimphu Talks brokered by India. The group, however, was
short-lived; in 1986, relations between the groups deteriorated as the EPRLF,
TELO, and EROS loosened their demands on the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE
undertook a campaign to eliminate these more ‘moderate’ groups. [38]
PLOTE was not included.
Community Relationships
EROS was one of the
first and only groups to develop a relationship with Eastern Sri Lanka’s
Muslims, which constitute the second largest ethnic group in the region after
the Tamils. [39]
References
^ Bandarage, Asoka. The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka: Terrorism, Ethnicity, and Political Economy. New York: Routledge, 2009.
^
Samaranayaka, Gamini. Political Violence in Sri Lanka, 1971-1987. New Delhi:
Gyan Publishing House, 2008.