ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the dynamics and the modus operandi of highly resilient irredentist movements, as represented by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, and the manner in which these dynamics challenge the capacities of inadequately constructed or weak states. The LTTE gradually emerged as the most powerful force in Jaffna. The riots were a reaction by a section of the Sinhala community against the Tamil community in response to the land mine blast and an ambush by the LTTE that killed thirteen Sinhala soldiers in Jaffna, the worst in a the series of riots since independence. Aside from their own grievances, Tamil youth were inspired toward insurgency by left-wing militant movements among the Sinhala population, particularly the Marxist uprising of April 1971. The binding factor of ethnicity was exploited by the militants and the transnational Tamil network to the maximum, whereby the actions of the security forces were interpreted as genocide of the Tamil people.
