View source for Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
| native_name      = '''ஈழமக்கள் புரட்சிகர விடுதலை முன்னணி'''<br>ඊලාම් ජනතා විප්ලවවාදී විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
| lang1            = Tamil
| colorcode        = Red
| founder          = [[K. Pathmanabha]]<br>[[Suresh Premachandran]]
| leader1_title    = Secretary
| leader1_name     = [[Suresh Premachandran]] (Suresh wing)
| founded          = 1980
| split            = [[Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students|EROS]]
| position         = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]]
| headquarters     = 85/9 Pokuna Road, Hendala, [[Wattala]] (Suresh wing)<br />15C Summit Flats, Keppetipola Mawatha, [[Colombo]] 07 (Padmanaba wing)
| ideology         = {{Nowrap|[[Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism|Tamil nationalism]]<br>[[Secularism]]}}
| national         = [[Tamil People's National Alliance|TPNA]] (Suresh wing)<br />[[Democratic Tamil National Alliance]] (Padmanaba wing)
| symbol           = Flower (Suresh wing)<br />Candle (Padmanaba wing)
| website          = [https://www.facebook.com/p/EPRLF-100068980996955/ (suresh wing)]
| country          = Sri Lanka
}}
The '''Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front''' (EPRLF) is a series of [[Sri Lanka]]n political parties and a former [[Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups|militant separatist group]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tamil Militant Groups |url=http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/72.htm |website=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=21 March 2021 |location=Washington, D.C., U.S.A.}}</ref>

==Militant separatists==
The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by [[K. Pathmanabha]] (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Suresh Premachandran and Varatharajah Perumal as a breakaway faction of the [[Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sangam.org/taraki/articles/2006/05-05_LTTE_30th.php?uid=1720|title=Celebrating the LTTE's 30th Anniversary|last=Sri Kantha|first=Sachi|date=5 May 2006|publisher=Ilankai Tamil Sangam|access-date=14 December 2009}}</ref>

In 1982 the EPRLF formed a military wing, ''People's Liberation Army'', headed by [[Douglas Devananda]]. The PLA is believed to have received military training by the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]].

In early 1986 disputes amongst the EPRLF leadership led to it splitting into two factions: ''EPRLF (Ranjan)'' and ''EPRLF (Douglas)''.

In late 1986 the [[Tamil Tigers]] attacked the EPRLF, inflicting heavy losses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uthr.org/Reports/Report1/Appendix1.htm|title=The Snares of Violence|publisher=[[University Teachers for Human Rights]]|access-date=14 December 2009}}</ref> Many of its cadres were killed or taken prisoner and its camps and weapons were seized by the Tigers. Douglas Devananda was blamed for the debacle.

In 1987 the ''EPRLF (Douglas)'' faction formally split from the EPRLF. It initially formed the [[Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front]] with a breakaway faction of the [[People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam]] led by Paranthan Rajan, but later transformed itself into the [[Eelam People's Democratic Party]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS_ARCHIVES/Jeyaraj_11_22_01.htm|title=The Douglas Devananda phenomenon|last=DBS Jeyaraj|author-link=|date=22 November 2001|publisher=The Sunday Leader, Sri Lanka|access-date=14 December 2009}}</ref>

==Political party==
After its military defeat by the Tamil Tigers the EPRLF transformed itself into political party and allied itself with the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] (IPKF) who were occupying much of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka.

The EPRLF's first foray into politics came in the flawed [[November 1988 Sri Lankan Provincial Council elections|1988 provincial council elections]]. With the assistance of IPKF the EPRLF secured 41 of the 71 seats on the [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North Eastern Provincial Council]].<ref>{{cite magazine |date=December 1988 |title=Election Results |magazine=[[Tamil Times]] |volume= VIII |issue= 1 |page=4 |issn=0266-4488 }}</ref> On 10 December 1988 [[Annamalai Varadaraja Perumal|Varatharajah Perumal]] became the first Chief Minister of the North Eastern Provincial Council.<ref>{{cite web |author=K T Rajasingham |title=Sri Lanka" The Untold Story |url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD20Df03.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020427122344/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD20Df03.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=27 April 2002 |date=20 April 2002|publisher= Asia Times |access-date=28 June 2009}}</ref>

The EPRLF formed an alliance with the [[Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front]], [[Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization]] and [[Tamil United Liberation Front]] to contest the [[1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|1989 parliamentary elections]]. The alliance won 188,593 votes (3.40%), securing 10 of the 225 seats in [[Parliament of Sri Lanka|Parliament]]. 7 of the 10 alliance MPs were from the EPRLF.

On 1 March 1990, just as the IPKF were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Varatharajah Permual moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council [[Declaration of independence|declaring]] an [[Independence|independent]] [[Tamil Eelam|Eelam]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Shamindra Ferdinando |title=I'm no traitor, says Perumal |url=http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/features/20000912no_traitor.htm |date=10 September 2000 |publisher=Sunday Island, Sri Lanka |access-date=28 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501173226/http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/features/20000912no_traitor.htm |archive-date=1 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Ranasinghe Premadasa|President Premadasa]] reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province. The EPRLF's leadership fled to [[Madras]] (now [[Chennai]]), [[India]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=T.S.|last=Subramanian|date=15 November 1997|title=PADMANABHA MURDER CASE: End of a trial|magazine=Frontline|publisher=[[The Hindu]]|volume=14|issue=23|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1423/14231260.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028144049/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1423/14231260.htm|archive-date=28 October 2008}}</ref>

On 19 June 1990 the Tamil Tigers [[Padmanabha murder case|attacked]] an EPRLF meeting in Madras, murdering thirteen EPRLF members including leader K. Padmanaba, [[Jaffna Electoral District|Jaffna District]] MP [[G. Yogasangari]] and former [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North Eastern Province]] Finance Minister P. Kirubakaran.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=T.S.|last=Subramanian|date=14 August 1999|title=SRI LANKA: Chronicle of murders|magazine=Frontline|publisher=[[The Hindu]]|volume=16|issue=17|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1617/16171020.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709205128/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1617/16171020.htm|archive-date=9 July 2010}}</ref>

In 1997, after the [[Military of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan military]] had recaptured the [[Jaffna peninsula]] from the Tamil Tigers, the EPRLF re-opened its [[Jaffna]] office.<ref name="UTHR">{{cite web|url=http://www.uthr.org/Statements/Subathiran.htm|title=The Murder of T. Subathiran : Sri Lanka's End Game|date=15 June 2003|publisher=[[University Teachers for Human Rights]]|access-date=14 December 2009|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192209/http://www.uthr.org/Statements/Subathiran.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> It took part in the [[1998 Sri Lankan local government elections|1998 local elections]] held in the peninsula and was able to win 13,140 votes (14.35%), winning 25 seats across 11 local councils.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election commissioner releases results |url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=814 |date=30 January 1998|publisher= [[TamilNet]] |access-date=4 July 2009}}</ref>

The party broke into two factions in 1999 when its General Secretary [[Kandaiah Premachandran|Kandaiah "Suresh" Premachandran]] made a deal with the Tamil Tigers.<ref name="UTHR"/> The majority of the party formed the ''EPRLF (Varathar) wing'' under the leadership of Varatharajah Perumal whilst the rest formed the ''EPRLF (Suresh) wing'' under the leadership of Suresh Premachandran.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=DBS Jeyaraj|author-link=|date=5 July 2003|title=The killing spree|magazine=Frontline|publisher=[[The Hindu]]|volume=20|issue=14|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2014/stories/20030718006713000.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516161734/http://hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2014/stories/20030718006713000.htm|archive-date=16 May 2011}}</ref> Crucially Suresh had control of most of the EPRLF's assets as well as its name (as registered with the Sri Lankan Department of Elections).<ref name="UTHR"/>

===Suresh wing===
The ''Suresh wing'' joined other pro-Tamil Tiger parties in 2001 to form the [[Tamil National Alliance]] (TNA).

====2001 Parliamentary General Election====
{{Tamil National Alliance 2001 parliamentary election results}}

====2004 Parliamentary General Election====
{{Tamil National Alliance 2004 parliamentary election results}}

====2010 Parliamentary General Election====
{{Tamil National Alliance 2010 parliamentary election results}}

===Varathar wing / Padmanaba wing===
The ''Varathar wing'' has restyled itself as the ''Padmanaba wing'', after its murdered leader. It is registered as a political party with the Sri Lankan Department of Elections under the name of ''Padmanaba Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pp.html |title=Political Parties |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |access-date=14 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805182845/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pp.html |archive-date=5 August 2012 }}</ref> In 2008 it joined with other anti-Tamil Tiger parties to form the [[Tamil Democratic National Alliance]] (later restyled [[Democratic Tamil National Alliance]]) to contest provincial and local elections.

The wing's de facto leader (Varatharajah Perumal is in exile in India) Kandiah "Robert" Subathiran was murdered on 14 June 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=9205&catid=13|title=EPRLF Varathar wing senior member shot dead in Jaffna|date=14 June 2003|publisher=[[TamilNet]]|access-date=14 December 2009}}</ref> The wing's current General Secretary (and de facto leader) is Thirunavukkarasu Sritharan (Sridharan).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sundaytimes.lk/070826/News/nws1.html|title=Government sidelines Karuna, promotes new front in East|last=Kamalendran|first=Chris|date=26 August 2007|publisher=Sunday Times, Sri Lanka|access-date=14 December 2009}}</ref>

==Paramilitary group==
There have been repeated allegations that various factions of the EPRLF, despite their claim to have given up violence, operate armed wings which have worked with the IPKF and [[Sri Lankan Army]]. A group composed of former EPRLF cadres known as ''Razeek Group'' works along with the [[Sri Lankan Army]] as a [[paramilitary]] group in activities against the Tamil Tigers in the [[Batticaloa]] region. They have also been accused of indulging in massacres, kidnappings and torture <ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070617155002/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1613/16130550.htm Another human bomb<!-- Bot generated title -->]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.eprlfnet.com/ EPRLF (Padmanaba wing)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006054150/http://www.eprlfnet.com/ |date=6 October 2015 }}

{{Sri Lankan political parties}}
{{Sri Lankan Civil War}}
{{Sri Lankan Tamil people}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front| ]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil nationalist parties]]
[[Category:Political parties in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Tamil Eelam]]
[[Category:Foreign intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war]]
[[Category:Indian Peace Keeping Force]]
[[Category:Paramilitary organisations based in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:1980 establishments in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1980]]