On the left is the flag of the Tamil Eelam. On the right is the flag of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a.k.a., the Tamil Tigers.
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| Flag of Tamil Eelam |
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| Flag of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
If Tamils who support the Tamil Eelam say that the flag represents the Tamil Eelam and not the Tamil Tigers, then it represents the Tamil Eelam and not the Tamil Tigers.
Yes, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam created and use the Tamil Eelam flag. It makes sense, since they support the Tamil Eelam. However, not everyone who supports the Tamil Eelam supports the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The Liberation Tigers of Eelam supporters are a proper subset of Tamil Eelam supporters.
A – Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supporters
B – Tamil Eelam supporters
If you are a news reporter covering a protest, your job is to report the what is happening in the protest, not insert your dubious opinion of questionable value in a soundbite by calling Tamil protesters “Tamil Tiger” supporters, or casually referring to the flags as “Tamil Tiger flags”. If you want to make that kind of argument, then you should have become a political pundit.
Even if it was true that all Tamil Eelam flags are Tamil Tiger flags, then it would not be inaccurate to report the flags being flown as “Tamil Eelam flags”.
Report the news, not your opinion.
Related links:
Restructure! 
May 16, 2009 at 12:34 pm
While the flags may be separate, the only means towards a separate eelam has been supporting a terrorist cause. Instead of focusing on superficial differences between banners, look at what they’re advocating for. Ripping off their own part of an island, when, in the past, they have ethnically cleansed their own areas leaves a lot of room open for more terrorism.
May 17, 2009 at 11:29 am
LTTE not represent all tamils, few pro-LTTE try take all tamils part of terrorist group. Please limilted all to Sri Lankan tamils. Most of them are uneducated. survey from illigal activiests. . This flag represent those.
May 17, 2009 at 11:56 am
Sri Lankan Tamil Canadians protest to bring genocide to the attention of other Canadians, which by itself is quite impressive, considering how apathetic North Americans are about genocide occurring in non-Western countries. However, the whole message about genocide awareness is lost when mainstream news distorts their message into a rally for the LTTE.
There is already concern in Canada that visible minorities are less politically active than white Canadians, which supposedly indicates a lack of integration. When a visible minority group is politically active and works hard to promote genocide awareness, these efforts are dismissed as bringing “third world” issues to Canada.
When white Canadians protest genocide occurring in developing countries, they are seen as good, self-sacrificial people who are helping the world. When non-white Canadians protest genocide occurring in developing countries, they are seen as bad, selfish people who are disruptive to Canada.
May 19, 2009 at 11:04 am
Interesting, I did not know this. I thought there was only one tiger flag. But I did some research and realise that the Tamils were protesting in support of a seperate homeland (Eelam), and not the LTTE.
May 28, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Stop messing with Toronto. The Tamils can take their fight to Ottawa. The federal government is there. Provincial governments do not make policy outside the provincial border. Stop disrupting the running of a provincial government to get your selfish agenda onto the federal government table. Go to Ottawa. Thanks! This is the Canadian way! Complain, wait, complain more, complain, wait, give up.
May 28, 2009 at 10:01 pm
KC Domanskia,
We, Canada, have a parliament made up of local MPs. Canada is a parliamentary democracy, not a presidential system like the United States.
May 30, 2009 at 9:37 pm
@jose The liberation movement was peaceful throughout the sixties and seventies. It was only after 83 that most of the Tamils began supporting the armed struggle.
Before that the peaceful protesters in support of the separate state was violently and lethally suppressed by government backed rioters.
In 1977, when a peaceful pro-independence party became the main parliamentary opposition there was widespread retributive killings and riots against Tamils.
The armed insurrection was the final resort.
@Restructure: is it actually genocide? Of course there are widespread human rights abuses, but I don’t think there is enough evidence to call it genocide. I don’t want to be in a place when there is actual genocide going on and no one believes us because we’ve become the people who cried wolf.
May 30, 2009 at 11:08 pm
The hidden massacre: Sri Lanka’s final offensive against Tamil Tigers (May 29, 2009):
If a government thinks that killing a hundred thousand innocent people of a different ethnic group is worth it if they get the bad guys, the result is similar to genocide. There were also anti-Tamil pogroms sponsored by the SL government in 1983. It’s hard to believe that there is no element of racism in the SL army’s systematic killing of Tamils.
The technical definition of genocide requires “intent”, but I think that the effects of an agent’s action are more important than the agent’s intent. In any case, I don’t see how calling it a “genocide” based on the effects and without knowing the SL government’s “mind” is crying wolf. If a hundred thousand people of a specific ethnic group were targetted and it wasn’t intentional (because, say, their lives just didn’t count to begin with), then should we take it less seriously?
June 12, 2009 at 9:55 am
Umm, there’s a tiger on it, but it’s not a tiger flag?
June 12, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Technically, it’s a “tiger” flag, but it’s not an LTTE flag.
October 23, 2009 at 12:31 am
first all stop your non-sense by talking about the flag. We’ve a lot of works to achieve the goal ” EELAM “. The LTTE had a lot of mistakes but the only group who tried to separate our country from sri lanka. We’ve no unity, some bloody tamilans spend their time in talking unwanted but separate our people. why don’t you think to work together? In INDIA, Gandhi and NETHAJI BOSE also the freedom fighters. They don’t neglect NETHAJI as a terrorist. Better we stop our bloody talks, and form the group to work together. Sorry, if my words hurt anyone. sorry again
November 11, 2009 at 5:40 am
EELAM MALARUM NAAL ENDRO?
December 16, 2009 at 1:36 am
Eezham has already born. If not why is there so much buzz about Eezham going in.
Why is SL govt. continuously repeating there is no Eezham, if there really is no Eezham. :)
The more people talk about Eezham (either against it or supporting it), they are assuring that Eezham is real.
http://www.eezham300.blogspot.com/
December 24, 2009 at 5:41 pm
The tamils in Srilanka have had suffered enough by the politicians and the freedom fighters,of a divisive policy.Lets start a new era as one SriLankans.
February 11, 2010 at 10:40 pm
that is bullshit…..as a thamilan dont try getting cute and think everyones gonna beilev this nonsense…..almost every ltte protest at prabhakarans meetings had that…Here are the facts………..1977 the tiger symbol was created and in 1990 THE TIGERS claimed that without the writing it is national and with it is movement …however the flag was initiated by THE TIGERS ( LTTE) and still represents everything LTTE was. Lastly how could tamil eelam have a national flag …. ITS NOT A NATION….it was sections of land that tigers controlled but theres no such thing as TAMIL EELAM …. its only a vision, and a seperaist one at that. Enough with the war , with the seperation, might be hard to believe but the sighalese and tamils back home get along fine with exceptions but every country has their moinor extremists….its the tamils in other countries who are still barkin…just in this case there barkin up the wrong tree…..unity ppl…common , we had enough war. Go together as sighalese and tamil and ask canada or england or something to take action … might actually work.
August 13, 2010 at 4:04 am
EALAM MALARUM NAAL Itho…….
Hi friends,
I was happy seeing both the flags, I have great respect for the LTTE flag and the flag of Tamil Ealam…To be true they are the spirit…… Spirit of our own people….. It is our nation and we have the right…..
people who can they do it and the one who can not do it never do it….
Our Tamil natinal Leader has proved it, and he has contributed and he WILL continue to contribute…..
Soon we will have the freedon fight and Our leader will lead us together people who opposed will walk with him.
I wonder what will the fools tell when our Leader comes back to the battle…….. Will they accept him as a savour ( of course he is our saviour ) will the christians accept him as GOD and what will happen to the fools who believed that our leader was shot dead…
I dont think they will have any answer for this….
SOON the Tigers will defeat the Lions and we will have freedom and it will come true SOON……Very SOON…
The foolish Srilankan government had accepted that Pottu Amman is alive and healthy …..It is said that he was shot deed with the leader of Liberation Tigers
No ealam without LTTEs and No gain without pain…
Liberation can only be attained after the pain…
EALAM Elum……
August 14, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I think canada should send more white canadian soldiers to places like sri lanka to risk their lives!
Im sure the people of places like sri lanka , somalia, rawanda,lebanon, would help white canadians if the roles were reversed. yeah right!
And i use the term white canadian army as that is what it is!
It seems only white people in canada step up to protect.
If we ever had conscription, all the ethnics would flee back to their homelands and come back when it was safe!
These types will just use canada and never give back
August 14, 2010 at 1:55 pm
also they should send those boat people packing,
all except the good looking women!