On September 4, the government captured the town of Sampur from the Tigers. Sampur overlooks the port of Trincomalee, the deepest natural seaport in the world. The Tigers control a large portion of the northern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka, an island nation located just southeast of India.

The government of Pakistan has provided substantial military aid to the Sri Lankan rulers. The government of India, which in 1987 sent thousands of troops there to enforce a “peace settlement,” has refused to provide military assistance in the current battle.

Pakistan’s interior ministry secretary, Kamal Shah, told a group of Sri Lankan journalists in early September that the Pakistani government is ready for “enhanced and intensified” military cooperation between the two countries. Some 200 Sri Lankan officers train at Pakistani military institutions each year. In addition, intelligence officials in India have said that Pakistani air force officers have been advising the Sri Lankan army in its air campaign against the Tigers.

“Sri Lanka represents a wonderful opportunity” for the rulers of Pakistan to “undermine India’s influence in South Asia,” stated an August 31 Strategic Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor) article. The government of Pakistan has been supplying weapons to the Sri Lankan regime in its offensive against the Tamil Tigers, Stratfor reported. Stratfor, a private “think tank” describes itself as providing for a fee “global intelligence, analysis, and forecasting” to businesses, government agencies, and others.

Tamils make up about 18 percent of Sri Lanka’s population, while 74 percent in the former British colony are Sinhalese. In the 19th century London introduced large numbers of Tamils into the colonial administration. At the same time, the British colonialists built large tea plantations on lands previously belonging to Sinhalese peasants, and brought Tamils from southern India to work there as virtual slaves. Such moves fostered divisions among working people and enabled the colonial masters to maintain control of the country.

Since the island nation won its independence in 1948, successive administrations have sought to keep working people divided along national lines. In the last 40 years especially, the Sri Lankan government has passed laws to institutionalize the national oppression of the Tamil people, including the denial of language rights and discrimination in employment and university admissions.

A civil war broke out in 1983 between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. At that time, the Tigers were calling for an independent Tamil state. In 2002, the group instead began calling for provincial autonomy in Tamil-dominated areas.

The Tigers organize air and naval wings, known as the Air Tigers and Sea Tigers. The Sea Tigers, with an arsenal that reportedly includes speedboats, mini-submarines, and satellite communications technology, pose a significant military challenge to the Sri Lankan navy. More than 65,000 people have been killed in the civil war since 1983.  
 
 
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