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 Velupillai Prabhakaran, demanded absolute loyalty and sacrifice and cultivated a cult-like following. Internal dissent was not tolerated; those suspected of working or cooperating with the Government were labelled traitors and often killed. LTTE violence directed against Tamils caused deep fear and suspicion within the Tamil community.

32. The LTTE pioneered modern suicide bombing, which it used against military, political and civilian targets. LTTE suicide bombers, both men and women, were responsible for the deaths of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (1991) and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa (1993) as well as numerous Sri Lankan ministers and members of parliament, and moderate Tamil political leaders. It also carried out suicide attacks, often with large numbers of civilian casualties, on economic and religious targets. The LTTE pursued exclusionary politics, expelling Muslims from their homes in the north in 1990 and massacring Sinhalese and Muslims living in villages bordering areas it controlled. Violence, threats and fear were increasingly used by the LTTE to control the Tamil population. The LTTE was also known for its forced recruitment and use of child soldiers, including boys and girls. Its tactics led to the organization’s proscription in numerous countries, including Canada, the European Union, India, the United Kingdom and the United States; its proscription intensified after 11 September 2001.

33. From the 1990s until May 2009, the LTTE controlled large parts of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, the exact contours of which shifted over time as Government forces and the LTTE vied for territorial control. It operated and sought to project itself as a de facto State. To this end, the LTTE developed a well-structured international strategy and, in the territory it controlled, established its own police, jails, courts, immigration department, banks and some social services. It also developed a sophisticated military, with ground, air and naval capacities, and used both guerrilla and conventional tactics, supported by an extensive intelligence apparatus.

34. The Sri Lanka Tamil diaspora, with a population of close to one million scattered across the globe, has grown since the 1980’s, as large numbers of Tamils sought refuge abroad from violence and repression by the State, while others sought better economic opportunities. The diaspora has played a crucial role throughout the war, with segments providing uncritical support to the LTTE, through crucial funding and advocacy, consistently denying any wrongdoing by the LTTE throughout the conflict. Not all support has been voluntary, however. The LTTE extended its tactics, including extortion, beyond the shores of Sri Lanka, into countries with large numbers of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, using these to impose its narrative of the Tamil aspiration for a homeland and the means for achieving it. It was also intolerant of any criticism and allowed no space for the voices of victims of LTTE violence.

B. Erosion of the rule of law and human rights

35. Sri Lanka’s 1978 Constitution asserts the unitary nature of the State and vests extensive, centralized powers in an executive president, who serves as Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; in addition the President may head any ministry at his or her discretion. Currently, President Mahinda Rajapaksa heads five ministries: Defence, Finance and Planning, Ports and Aviation, Transport, and Highways.