For the first time in nearly 15 years, Tamil Tiger supporters in the West are set to gather in Basel, Switzerland, to publicly acknowledge the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The event, coordinated by ex-LTTE leaders and diaspora figures from the UK, Switzerland, and Australia, challenges years of denial and fundraising campaigns based on claims he was still alive.
A group of former Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan Tamils living across Western Europe is planning a public gathering on August 2 in Basel, Switzerland, to officially acknowledge the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
This event, reported by Indian website federal.com, marks the first public admission by supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that their leader, killed nearly 15 years ago during Sri Lanka’s civil war, is indeed dead.
For years, many in the Tamil diaspora denied Prabhakaran’s death. Some individuals even exploited this narrative, allegedly collecting significant funds from Tamils living abroad under the guise that the LTTE leader was still alive and planning a return.
The acknowledgment comes under the coordination of a new group named the ‘Prabhakaran Memorial Uprising Forum’. According to reports, this forum is led primarily by ex-LTTE figures now based in Britain, Switzerland, and Australia. Other diaspora members have also joined in organizing the gathering.
This move signals a major shift among long-time LTTE sympathizers, who have avoided publicly recognizing Prabhakaran’s death until now. The gathering in Basel may mark the beginning of a more open dialogue within the diaspora about the past and future of Tamil political movements.
