Tamil United Liberation Front தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி ද්රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ | |
|---|---|
| Leader | V. Anandasangaree |
| Secretary | K. K. Kanagarajah |
| Founder | S. J. V. Chelvanayakam G. G. Ponnambalam Savumiamoorthy Thondaman |
| Founded | 4 May 1972 (53 years ago) (1972-05-04) |
| Merger of | |
| Preceded by | Tamil United Front |
| Headquarters | 5/3A Wijayaba Mawatha, Kalubowila,Dehiwala |
| Ideology | Tamil nationalism |
| Election symbol | |
Rising Sun | |
| Website | |
| tulf | |
TheTamil United Liberation Front (TULF;Tamil:தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி,romanized: Tamil Onrupattatu Viduthulai Munnai,Sinhala:ද්රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ,romanized: Dravida Eksath Vimukthi Peramuna) is a political party inSri Lanka.
On 4 May 1972, several Tamil political groups, including the Federal Party (ITAK), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), and All Ceylon Tamil Congress formed the Tamil United Front (TUF) under the joint leadership of S.J.V. Selvanayagam, S. Thondaman, and G.G. Ponnambalam. The TUF changed its name to Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and adopted the demand for an independent state to be known as the "secular, socialist state ofTamil Eelam". The CWC declined to support the newly formed TULF.
In the first general election contested by the TULF, the1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, in which theUNP won by a landslide, the TULF won 6.40% of the popular vote and 18 out of 168 seats in theSri Lankan parliament, including all 14 seats in theNorthern Province.
Votes and seats won by the TULF by electoral district
| Electoral District | Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF MP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 26,648 | 24.70% | 1 | 71.15% | Chelliah Rajadurai |
| Chavakachcheri | 20,028 | 63.27% | 1 | 85.65% | V. N. Navaratnam |
| Jaffna | 16,251 | 56.62% | 1 | 82.32% | V. 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% | A. Amirthalingam |
| Kayts | 17,640 | 64.05% | 1 | 75.72% | K. P. Ratnam |
| Kilinochchi | 15,607 | 73.42% | 1 | 79.71% | V. Anandasangaree |
| Kopay | 25,840 | 77.20% | 1 | 80.03% | S. Kathiravelupillai |
| Manipay | 27,550 | 83.99% | 1 | 79.28% | V. 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% | M. Sivasithamparam |
| Paddirippu | 15,877 | 49.17% | 1 | 89.92% | P. Ganeshalingam |
| Point Pedro | 12,989 | 55.91% | 1 | 81.66% | K. Thurairatnam |
| Pottuvil | 23,990 | 26.97% | 1 | 179.02% | M. Kanagaratnam |
| Puttalam | 3,268 | 10.52% | 0 | 83.58% | |
| Sammanthurai | 8,615 | 34.65% | 0 | 91.04% | |
| Trincomalee | 15,144 | 51.76% | 1 | 81.78% | R. 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 a result of the rout of theSLFP. The TULF's success would lead toriots in which hundreds ofTamils were murdered bySinhalese mobs.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the TULF was frequently blamed by nationalistSinhalese politicians for acts of violence committed bymilitant groups such as theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In fact, the TULF represented an older, more moderate generation of Tamils that felt independence could be achieved without violence, unlike 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 representative of the Tamils of the north and east. Over the next two decades, the LTTE assassinated several TULF leaders, includingA. Amirthalingam andNeelan Thiruchelvam.
The TULF formed an alliance with the three Indian-backedparamilitary groups,Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF),Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), andTamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), to contest the1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election. The alliance won 3.40% of the popular vote and 10 out of 225 seats in theSri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by the TULF / ENDLF / EPRLF / TULF alliance by electoral district
| Electoral District | Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF / ENDLF / EPRLF / TELO MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampara | 43,424 | 20.32% | 1 | 80.41% | Jeyaratnam Thiviya Nadan (EPRLF) |
| Batticaloa | 55,131 | 35.49% | 3 | 71.74% | Prince Gunarasa Casinader (EPRLF) G. Karunakaran (TELO) Thambimuthu Samuel Pennington Thevarasa (EPRLF), murdered 11 May 1990 Joseph Pararajasingham (TULF), from 1990 (replaces Sam Thambimuthu (EPRLF)) |
| Jaffna | 60,013 | 25.02% | 3 | 40.50% | Kandiah Navaratnam (EPRLF) Suresh 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 | A. Amirthalingam (TULF), murdered 13 July 1989 Mavai Senathirajah (replacesA. Amirthalingam) | |||
| Total | 188,593 | 3.40% | 10 | 63.6% | |
| Sources:[2][3] | |||||
In the1994 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, in which thePeople's Alliance, led byChandrika Kumaratunga, came to power after seventeen years ofUNP rule, the TULF won 1.60% of the popular vote and 5 out of 225 seats in theSri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by the TULF by electoral district
| Electoral District | Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 76,516 | 43.95% | 3 | 66.47% | Joseph Pararajasingham P. Selvarasa K. Thurairajasingam |
| Trincomalee | 28,380 | 23.66% | 1 | 65.15% | A. Thangathurai |
| National List | 1 | Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam, murdered 29 July 1999 Mavai Senathirajah, from August 1999 (replacesDr. Neelan Tiruchelvam) | |||
| Total | 132,461 | 1.60% | 5 | 76.23% | |
| Sources:[4][5] | |||||
In the2000 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, in which thePeople's Alliance, led byRatnasiri Wickremanayake, retained power, the TULF won 1.23% of the popular vote and 5 out of 225 seats in theSri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by the 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% | V. Anandasangaree Mavai Senathirajah S. 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] | |||||
In the first parliamentary election contested by theTamil National Alliance, the5 December 2001 election, the TNA led byRajavarothiam Sampanthan won 3.88% of the popular vote and 15 out of 225 seats in theSri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by TNA by electoral district
| Electoral District | Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TNA MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampara | 48,789 | 17.41% | 1 | 82.51% | A. Chandranehru (TULF) |
| Batticaloa | 86,284 | 48.17% | 3 | 68.20% | G. Krishnapillai (ACTC) Joseph Pararajasingham (TULF) Thambiraja Thangavadivel (TELO) |
| Colombo | 12,696 | 1.20% | 0 | 76.31% | |
| Jaffna | 102,324 | 54.84% | 6 | 31.14% | V. Anandasangaree (TULF) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam (ACTC) Nadarajah Raviraj (TULF) Mavai Senathirajah (TULF) M. K. Shivajilingam (TELO) A. Vinayagamoorthy (ACTC) |
| Trincomalee | 56,121 | 34.83% | 1 | 79.88% | R. Sampanthan (TULF) |
| Vanni | 41,950 | 44.39% | 3 | 46.77% | Selvam Adaikalanathan (TELO) Sivasakthy Ananthan (EPRLF) Irasa Kuhaneswaran (TELO) |
| National List | 1 | M. Sivasithamparam (TULF), died 5 June 2002 K. Thurairetnasingam (TULF) (replacesM. Sivasithamparam) | |||
| Total | 348,164 | 3.88% | 15 | 76.03% | |
| Source:"Parliamentary General Election 2001, Final District Results". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. | |||||
TULF PresidentV. Anandasangaree, a critic of theTamil Tigers, left theTamil National Alliance when it took a pro-Tamil Tigers stance in the2004 general election. Anandasangaree gained control of the TULF after a legal battle, forcing the TULF members who wanted to remain in the TNA to resurrect theIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, which is now a constituent party of the TNA.
The legal battle over the control of the TULF meant that the party, led by V. Anandasangaree, contested as anindependent group and only in one electoral district in the2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, winning 0.06% of the popular vote and no seats in theSri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by the TULF by electoral district
| Electoral District | Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaffna | 5,156 | 1.82% | 0 | 47.38% | |
| Total | 5,156 | 0.06% | 0 | 75.96% | |
| Source:"Parliamentary General Election 2004, Final District Results". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived fromthe original on 7 January 2009. | |||||
In the2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, in which theUnited People's Freedom Alliance, led byMahinda Rajapaksa, retained power, the TULF led, by V. Anandasangaree, won 0.11% of the popular vote and no seats in theSri Lankan parliament.
Votes and seats won by the TULF by electoral district
| Electoral District | Votes | % | Seats | Turnout | TULF MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batticaloa | 4,424 | 2.45% | 0 | 58.56% | |
| Colombo | 834 | 0.09% | 0 | 65.03% | |
| Jaffna | 2,892 | 1.95% | 0 | 23.33% | |
| Vanni | 1,073 | 1.00% | 0 | 43.89% | |
| Total | 9,223 | 0.11% | 0 | 61.26% | |
| Source:"Parliamentary General Election – 2010". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived fromthe original on 14 April 2010. | |||||
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