S. P. Thamilselvan

SP Thamilselvan ( Tamil: .. சு ப தமிழ்ச்செல்வன்; born August 29, 1967 in Chavakacheri; † November 2, 2007 in Kilinochchi ) was the leader of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) and the second highest man of the LTTE leadership. He belongs to the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka, and died in an air strike by Sri Lankan Air Force.

Life

Suppayya Paramu Thamilselvan joined the liberation movement of the LTTE in 1983, shortly after the anti - Tamil riots ( Black July), at and for a time was the personal bodyguard of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. He received military training with other LTTE fighters in Tamil Nadu, India. He was the field commander of Jaffna during the IPKF intervention in the late 1980s and played a key role in the conquest of the "Elephant Pass" (one of the largest military complexes in the north).

The former LTTE fighters moved in 1993 into the political wing after he was wounded on the field on the leg. SP Thamilselvan was regarded as the face of the rebels and led by Anton Balasingham during the ceasefire negotiation talks with Sri Lanka and many western countries. He was considered a close confidant of the rebel leader. After his death, the highest award was a Brigadier, which could be reached in the LTTE awarded.

At his funeral in Vanni more than 25,000 people took part, including the Tamil National Alliance was represented. At his death, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi himself has written and published a poem of mourning.

SP Thamilselvan was married and had a son and a daughter.