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> Liberation struggle or terrorism? The politics of naming the LTTE -
Suthaharan Nadarajah, Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah
Liberation struggle or terrorism?
The politics of naming the LTTE
Suthaharan Nadarajah, Dhananjayan
Sriskandarajah
Third World Quarterly, Volume 26, Issue 1 February 2005
Abstract
This article examines the politics of naming in
one of the longest-running and most intractable conflicts in the
world: that between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (ltte)
and the Sri Lankan state. While the narratives presented by the
ltte and the state in support of their respective positions are
complex and range across a number of issues, this paper is
primarily concerned with the politics of the 'terrorist' label
as applied to the ltte. In particular, it examines how the
characterisation of the conflict as a form of terrorism has
affected its evolutionary course. While the Sri Lankan state has
deployed the language of terrorism to further its strategic aims
in both the domestic and international spheres, the label has
not necessarily impeded the growth of the ltte's military
capability but has, by denying the ltte international
legitimacy, undermined the organisation's stated political
project - Tamil self-determination. The article also outlines
the contradictions between prevailing international attitudes to
terrorism and the conduct of key international actors with
regard to the protagonists in Sri Lanka and demonstrates how the
sustained rhetoric of terrorism has become a serious impediment
to reaching a permanent resolution of the conflict.
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