Taraki Sivaram or Dharmeratnam Sivaram was a popular Tamil journalist of Sri Lanka. He was kidnapped by four men in a white van on 28 April 2005, in front of the Bambalapitya police station. His body was found the next day in the district of Himbulala, near the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He had been beaten and shot in the head.
Letter in Sinhala sent regarding Taraki's murder allegedly claiming responsibility
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a civil war fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north-east of the island, due to the continuous discrimination and violent persecution against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka government.
Seven pillars surround the site of the blast, at the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial in Sriperumbudur
Improvised armoured bulldozer used by the LTTE in the operation Aakaya Kadal Veli, also known as the First Battle of Elephant Pass (1991), one of the major battles. This bulldozer was destroyed by Cpl. Gamini Kularatne. Today it stands on display as a war memorial.
LTTE Sea Tiger boat patrolling during the peace
Photo release by the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation dipicting civilians being displaced as a result of the Sri Lanka Army's military offensive. January 2009.