Swallow poison rather than be arrested is LTTE's credo

This Tiger got his first taste of blood at the age of 19. On July 27, 1973 Velupillai Pirabhakaran levelled his gun at A. Duraiappa, the Tamil mayor of Jaffna and shot to kill, beginning one of the most remarkable careers in the international history of guerrilla warfare. This led to the evolution of a militant organisation whose 10,000-odd armed members swear loyalty to none else than their commander, a wise old veteran at 37, and prefer to swallow cyanide rather than be taken captive.

Born in a fisherman's family of the backward Karaivarar caste in Velvettithurai, widely known as the smugglers' village in Jaffna peninsula, Pirabhakaran was brought up on a steady dose of stories about the glory of Tamil history and so impressed was he, that later he often compared himself to the legendary Chola king, Karikalan.

At 16, he dropped out of school to launch his Tamil New Tigers (TNT). The choice of that acronym was to prove prophetic as the Tigers grew to become the most consummate explosives experts in the shadowy world of international terrorism.

After ostensible unity, Pirabhakaran had Sri Sabaratnam of TELO and Padmanabha of EPRLF eliminated, while Balakumar of EROS is now believed to be under house arrest by LTTE in Jaffna.

From TNT to RDX has been a chequered history for the Tigers. In the quest for supremacy that began nearly eight years ago, Pirabhakaran's men have devoured the frontline leadership of all the other major Tamil guerrilla groups to emerge the unchallenged rulers of the Jaffna peninsula barring a few enclaves that still remain under the Sri Lankan Army.

The Tigers' high motivation is baffling, since the movement lacks religious or ideological content. In fact much of the initial inspiration for separatism came from Christian pastors in a Hindu majority ethnic group. On ideology, Tamil groups which began as leftists, have shown an amazingly practical ambidexterity.

Former Sri Lankan defence minister Lalith Athulathmudali, who led a bloody war against the LTTE, ascribes it to Pirabhakaran's effective articulation ofNaangal Tamilar (we are Tamil) kind of pride. His personal charisma and mystique has convinced cadres of the ultimate inevitability of Eelam.

Pirabhakaran picks his recruits young, predominantly in the 12-13 range. These children are already aware of hardship, and the atrocities of Sri Lankan soldiers. Training is completed by an oath of personal loyalty to Pirabhakaran and the gift of a cyanide capsule to the new guerrilla on his behalf. The credo of the Pirabhakaran cult is not death-or-glory. It seems to be death-and-glory.

Less than three months ago some LTTE boys rammed a truck loaded with explosives into the Sri Lankan Army camp at Mankulam, paving the way to a total Tiger victory. The first suicide attack was reported in 1984 when guerrillas in a jeep loaded with explosives drove into the Chavakacheri police station near Jaffna, killing 29.

Pirabhakaran has been publicity shy and has rarely opened up to researchers or journalists. But supposedly he opted for the cyanide cult in 1974 when Sivakumaran, a young Tamil activist, became the first to swallow poison rather than be arrested. Glorification of death became the LTTE's credo from then on, building up today into the cadres' rather casual attitude to death - the enemy's or their own.

The 3,000-strong women's wing is equally motivated. Skilled in close combat, they form a part of the LTTE'S suicide squad, the Black Tigers. Adele Balasingham, 41, the Australian wife of LTTE ideologue Anton, is the unofficial head of the women's wing. She also edits the official LTTE organ,Voice of Tigers.

The LTTE works in tight horizontal compartments with very few vertical links and thus little is known about its structure and operations. The fact that almost all its senior leaders including Pirabhakaran hail from Velvettithurai has led to the group being branded as a 'mafia' set-up by rivals.

The more than 3,000 full-time women activists of the LTTE display the same motivation, power and commitment as their male counterparts and have an equal share in guerrilla operation.