Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan (; 16 October 1963 – 18 May 2009), also known by his ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

'', Colonel Soosai, was the head of the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

Personal life

Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan was married to Sathyadevi, the younger sister of Lieutenant Shankar. They had three children named Sindhu, Madhi and Shankar. Shankar, their youngest child, was killed in a boating accident on July 18, 2007. Soosai did not spend much time with his family due to his duties as head of the Sea Tigers but was very fond of his children. The family were big cricket fans and were supporters of Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. On 14 May 2009 Sathyadevi and her two children fled the warzone, boarding a boat in an attempt to escape to

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, in India. Soosai refused to escape with his family, wanting to die fighting for the LTTE. The family's boat was intercepted at sea by the

Sri Lankan Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

as they attempted to flee. Satyadevi was identified as Soosai’s wife by a Sea Tiger who surrendered to the Navy. She was detained separately with her children and interrogated. The family was detained within the Navy camp premises in Trincomalee and subsequently released. They currently live in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

under certain government restrictions. Sathyadevi later gave an interview to “The Nation” English Weekly, published in Colombo, where she recounted some of her experiences during the war.

LTTE

Soosai joined the LTTE in 1981 after the Burning of the Jaffna Public Library. He was one of the LTTE's original 30 members. When the war broke out following the Black July pogrom, Soosai was among the first batch of Tiger recruits who received training in North India. He was then appointed area commander for Vadamarachchi under Jaffna District commander Colonel Kittu. He served in this position during the army's Vadamarachchi Operation and played a crucial role in countering it.

References

{{Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 1963 births 2009 deaths Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Sri Lankan rebels People from Jaffna District

Personal life

LTTE

Further reading

See also

References