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50-482: In April 1984 M. Karunanidhi invited the leaders of the five leading Tamil militant groups, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), for talks aimed at uniting the groups. K. Pathmanabha (EPRLF), V. Balakumaran (EROS) and Sri Sabaratnam (TELO) accepted

100-703: A KGB intelligence agent in place, who in 1975 received arms for the movement directly from Soviet sources in a nighttime transfer in the Sea of Aden. The PFLP joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the umbrella organization of the Palestinian national movement, in 1968, becoming the second-largest faction after Yassir Arafat 's Fatah . In 1974, it withdrew from the PLO Executive Committee (but not from

150-671: The 1989 parliamentary elections . The alliance won 188,593 votes (3.40%), securing 10 of the 225 seats in Parliament . 7 of the 10 alliance MPs were from the EPRLF. On 1 March 1990, just as the IPKF were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Varatharajah Permual moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council declaring an independent Eelam . President Premadasa reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving

200-810: The Al-Aqsa Intifada . See #Armed attacks of the PFLP below. In 1967, Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) broke away from the PFLP. In 1968, Ahmed Jibril broke away from the PFLP to form the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC). In 1969, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) formed as a separate, ostensibly Maoist , organization under Nayef Hawatmeh and Yasser Abd Rabbo , initially as

250-623: The EPRLF (Varathar) wing under the leadership of Varatharajah Perumal whilst the rest formed the EPRLF (Suresh) wing under the leadership of Suresh Premachandran. Crucially Suresh had control of most of the EPRLF's assets as well as its name (as registered with the Sri Lankan Department of Elections). The Suresh wing joined other pro-Tamil Tiger parties in 2001 to form the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). In

300-848: The Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front with a breakaway faction of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam led by Paranthan Rajan, but later transformed itself into the Eelam People's Democratic Party . After its military defeat by the Tamil Tigers the EPRLF transformed itself into political party and allied itself with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) who were occupying much of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. The EPRLF's first foray into politics came in

350-465: The Jaffna peninsula from the Tamil Tigers, the EPRLF re-opened its Jaffna office. It took part in the 1998 local elections held in the peninsula and was able to win 13,140 votes (14.35%), winning 25 seats across 11 local councils. The party broke into two factions in 1999 when its General Secretary Kandaiah "Suresh" Premachandran made a deal with the Tamil Tigers. The majority of the party formed

400-726: The Jordanian Popular Democratic Unity Party . From its foundation, the PFLP sought superpower patrons, early on developing ties with the Soviet Union , the People's Republic of China , and, at various times, with regional powers such as Syria , South Yemen , Libya , North Korea , and Iraq , as well as with left-wing groups around the world, including the FARC and the Japanese Red Army . When that support diminished or stopped, in

450-829: The Palestinian Liberation Army , the ANM established Abtal al-Audah (Heroes of the Return) as a commando group in 1966. After the Six-Day War of June 1967, ANM merged in August with two other groups, Youth for Revenge and Ahmed Jibril 's Syrian-backed Palestine Liberation Front , to form the PFLP, with Habash as leader. Three other independent groups, namely Heroes of the Return, the National Front for

500-647: The Right of Return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes in pre-1948 Palestine , or the use of the liberation of Palestine as an impetus for achieving Arab unity – reflecting its beginnings in the Pan-Arab ANM. It opposed the Oslo Accords and was for a long time opposed to the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict , but in 1999 came to an agreement with

550-590: The Tamil Democratic National Alliance (later restyled Democratic Tamil National Alliance ) to contest provincial and local elections. The wing's de facto leader (Varatharajah Perumal is in exile in India) Kandiah "Robert" Subathiran was murdered on 14 June 2003. The wing's current General Secretary (and de facto leader) is Thirunavukkarasu Sritharan (Sridharan). There have been repeated allegations that various factions of

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600-545: The Tamil National Alliance led by Rajavarothiam Sampanthan won 6.84% of the popular vote and 22 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament . Votes and seats won by TNA by electoral district In the 2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election , in which the United People's Freedom Alliance , led by Mahinda Rajapaksa , retained power, the Tamil National Alliance , led by Rajavarothiam Sampanthan , won 2.9% of

650-675: The West Bank and Gaza Strip . At that time (1993–96) the popularity of Hamas was rapidly increasing in the wake of their successful strategy of suicide bombings devised by Yahya Ayyash ("the Engineer"). The dissolution of the Soviet Union together with the rise of Islamism —and particularly the increased popularity of the Islamist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad —disoriented many left activists who had looked towards

700-536: The ' Guevara view' of the ' revolutionary human being ' ", Habash told Cooley. "A new breed of man had to emerge, among the Arabs as everywhere else. This meant applying everything in human power to the realization of a cause." The ANM formed underground branches in several Arab countries, including Libya , Saudi Arabia and Kuwait , then still under British rule. It adopted secularism and socialist economic ideas, and pushed for armed struggle. In collaboration with

750-474: The ENLF. The objectives of the ENLF were: The ENLF members agreed to coordinate armed activities against the Sri Lankan armed forces ; unify propaganda conducted in foreign countries; and create a unified body to administer the funds collected from individuals and institutions. In early 1985 Prabhakaran changed his mind about the ENLF and decided to join. On 10 April 1985 senior members of the ENLF and LTTE met at

800-531: The EPRLF leadership led to it splitting into two factions: EPRLF (Ranjan) and EPRLF (Douglas) . In late 1986 the Tamil Tigers attacked the EPRLF, inflicting heavy losses. Many of its cadres were killed or taken prisoner and its camps and weapons were seized by the Tigers. Douglas Devananda was blamed for the debacle. In 1987 the EPRLF (Douglas) faction formally split from the EPRLF. It initially formed

850-558: The EPRLF, despite their claim to have given up violence, operate armed wings which have worked with the IPKF and Sri Lankan Army . A group composed of former EPRLF cadres known as Razeek Group works along with the Sri Lankan Army as a paramilitary group in activities against the Tamil Tigers in the Batticaloa region. They have also been accused of indulging in massacres, kidnappings and torture Popular Front for

900-556: The Hotel Presidency, Madras. Those attending the meeting were: LTTE — Prabhakaran, Rajanayagam and Anton Balasingham ; EPRLF — Pathmanabha, Kulasegaran and Ramesh; EROS — Balakumaran and Muhilan; TELO — Sri Sabaratnam and Mathi. After the meeting a statement was issued: The Eelam National Liberation Front and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have decided to work together to take forward the freedom struggle of

950-587: The Lebanon-based Hezbollah . The PLO's agreement with Israel in September 1993, and negotiations which followed, further isolated it from the umbrella organization and led it to conclude a formal alliance with the Iranian backed groups. As a result of its post-Oslo weakness, the PFLP has been forced to adapt slowly and find partners among politically active, preferably young, Palestinians in

1000-436: The Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( PFLP ; Arabic : الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين , romanized :  al-Jabha ash-Shaʿbīyya li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn ) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash . It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization ,

1050-552: The Liberation of Palestine, and the Independent Palestine Liberation Front, also met with Habash to form the PFLP. By early 1968, the PFLP had trained between one and three thousand guerrillas . It had the financial backing of Syria , and was headquartered there, and one of its training camps was based in as-Salt , Jordan . In 1969, the PFLP declared itself a Marxist–Leninist organization, but it has remained faithful to Pan-Arabism , seeing

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1100-534: The PDFLP. In 1972, the Popular Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Palestine was formed following a split in PFLP. The PFLP had a troubled relationship with George Habash's one-time deputy, Wadie Haddad , who was eventually expelled because he refused orders to stop attacks and kidnapping operations abroad. Haddad has been identified in released Soviet archival documents as having been

1150-559: The PFLP boycotts participation in the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian National Council . The PFLP grew out of the Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab , or Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), founded in 1953 by George Habash , a Palestinian Christian from Lydda . In 1948, 19-year-old Habash, a medical student, went to his home town of Lydda during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to help his family. While he

1200-449: The PFLP decided to support the independent Palestinian National Initiative 's candidate Mustafa Barghouti , who gained 19.48% of the vote. In the municipal elections of December 2005 it had more success, e.g. in al-Bireh and Ramallah , and winning the mayorship of Bir Zeit . There are conflicting reports about the political allegiance of Janet Mikhail and Victor Batarseh , the mayors of Ramallah and Bethlehem ; they may be close to

1250-736: The PFLP for its pro- Assad stance with an increase in financial and military assistance. The PFLP has been accused by Israel of diverting European humanitarian aid from Palestinian NGOs to itself. Following the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004, the PFLP entered discussions with the DFLP and the Palestinian People's Party aimed at nominating a joint left-wing candidate for the Palestinian presidential election to be held on 9 January 2005. These discussions were unsuccessful, so

1300-772: The PFLP without being members. The PFLP participated in the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006 as the "Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa List". It won 4.2% of the popular vote, winning three of the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council . Its deputies are Ahmad Sa'adat , Jamil Majdalawi , and Khalida Jarrar . In the lists, its best vote was 9.4% in Bethlehem , followed by 6.6% in Ramallah and al-Bireh , and 6.5% in North Gaza . Sa'adat

1350-731: The PLO leadership regarding negotiations with the Israeli government . However, in May 2010, PFLP general secretary Ahmad Sa'adat called for an end to the PLO's negotiations with Israel, saying that only a one-state solution was possible. In January 2011, the PFLP declared that the Camp David Accords stood for "subservience, submission, dictatorship and silence", and called for social and political revolution in Egypt . In December 2013,

1400-715: The PLO) to join the Rejectionist Front following the creation of the PLO's Ten Point Program , accusing the PLO of abandoning the goal of destroying Israel outright in favor of a binational solution , which was opposed by the PFLP leadership. It rejoined the executive committee in 1981. In December 1993 PFLP withdrew from the PLO and became one of the ten founding members of the Damascus-based Alliance of Palestinian Forces , eight of which had been members of

1450-696: The PLO, which was opposed to the Oslo Accords process. PFLP withdrew from APF in 1998. Currently, the PFLP is boycotting participation in the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian National Council . In December 2009, around 70,000 supporters demonstrated in Gaza to celebrate the PFLP's 42nd anniversary. After the occurrence of the First Intifada and the subsequent Oslo Accords the PFLP had difficulty establishing itself in

1500-560: The Palestinian struggle as part of a wider uprising against Western imperialism , which also aims to unite the Arab world by overthrowing " reactionary " regimes. It published a magazine, al-Hadaf (The Target, or Goal), which was edited by Ghassan Kanafani . The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and aircraft hijackings , including on non-Israeli targets. Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades also claimed responsibility for several suicide attacks during

1550-461: The Soviet Union, and has marginalized the PFLP's role in Palestinian politics and armed resistance. However, the organization retains considerable political influence within the PLO, since no new elections have been held for the organization's legislative body, the PNC . The PFLP developed contacts at this time with Islamic fundamentalist groups linked to Iran  – both Palestinian Hamas, and

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1600-519: The Tamil militant groups was widely welcomed by supporters of the Tamil independence movement. In February 1986, the LTTE pulled out of the ENLF. By April 1986, the ENLF had become defunct. Eelam People%27s Revolutionary Liberation Front The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group . The EPRLF

1650-489: The Tamil-speaking people of Eelam...The emergence of unity among these four freedom movements that have adopted the path of armed revolution is a significant event in the history of the freedom struggle of the Tamil people. This unity, a turning point in the freedom struggle of the Tamil people of Eelam, has helped the consolidation of the revolutionary forces and coordinates and strengthens the armed struggle. We expect

1700-701: The West Bank and Gaza, in order to compensate for their dependence on their aging commanders returning from or remaining in exile. The PFLP has therefore formed alliances with other leftist groups formed within the Palestinian Authority , including the Palestinian People's Party and the Popular Resistance Committees of Gaza. In 1990, the PFLP transformed its Jordan branch into a separate political party ,

1750-488: The first parliamentary election contested by the Tamil National Alliance , the 5 December 2001 election , the TNA led by Rajavarothiam Sampanthan won 3.88% of the popular vote and 15 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament . Votes and seats won by TNA by electoral district In the 2 April 2004 parliamentary election in which the United People's Freedom Alliance alliance led by President Kumaratunga came to power,

1800-531: The flawed 1988 provincial council elections . With the assistance of IPKF the EPRLF secured 41 of the 71 seats on the North Eastern Provincial Council . On 10 December 1988 Varatharajah Perumal became the first Chief Minister of the North Eastern Provincial Council. The EPRLF formed an alliance with the Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front , Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and Tamil United Liberation Front to contest

1850-761: The formation of the ENLF: Realizing that unity among the liberation movements is essential to take forward the freedom struggle of the people of Tamil Eelam , the leaders of the Eelam Progressive Revolutionary Liberation Front, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and Eelam Revolutionary Organization have decided to form a united front and name it Eelam National Liberation Front. Although the ENLF members would work together to achieve their common aim they would each maintain their own distinct identity. Other major liberation groups i.e., LTTE and PLOTE, were invited to join

1900-586: The group has participated in the Israel-Hamas war (2023-present) alongside Hamas and other allied Palestinian factions . It has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States , Japan , Canada , and the European Union . Ahmad Sa'adat , who was sentenced in 2006 to 30 years in an Israeli prison, has served as General Secretary of the PFLP since 2001. As of 2015 ,

1950-544: The invitation but Velupillai Prabhakaran (LTTE) and Uma Maheswaran (PLOTE) did not. Shortly afterward EPRLF, EROS and TELO formed the Eelam National Liberation Front. The inaugural meeting of the ENLF was held at the EPRLF's office in Madras (now Chennai) and Ramesh of the EPRLF was elected the secretary. After the meeting Pathmanabha, Balakumaran and Sri Sabaratnam issued a statement announcing

2000-427: The largest being Fatah . The PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It does not recognize Israel and promotes a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . The military wing of the PFLP is called the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades . The PFLP pioneered armed aircraft-hijackings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. More recently,

2050-418: The late 1980s and 1990s, the PFLP sought new allies and developed contacts with Islamist groups linked to Iran , despite the PFLP's strong adherence to secularism and anti-clericalism . The relationship between the PFLP and the Islamic Republic of Iran has fluctuated – it strengthened as a result of Hamas moving away from Iran due to differing positions on the Syrian Civil War . Iran rewarded

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2100-408: The news about the unity among the armed movements would gladden and enthuse the people who are enduring army atrocities and hardships and intensify their determination and resolve to march on the path of freedom. The objectives of the ENLF were revised to: The ENLF members agreed to make joint political decisions and to coordinate military actions against the Sri Lankan armed forces. The unity amongst

2150-445: The popular vote and 14 out of 225 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament . Votes and seats won by the TNA by electoral district The Varathar wing has restyled itself as the Padmanaba wing , after its murdered leader. It is registered as a political party with the Sri Lankan Department of Elections under the name of Padmanaba Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front . In 2008 it joined with other anti-Tamil Tiger parties to form

2200-435: The provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province. The EPRLF's leadership fled to Madras (now Chennai ), India . On 19 June 1990 the Tamil Tigers attacked an EPRLF meeting in Madras, murdering thirteen EPRLF members including leader K. Padmanaba, Jaffna District MP G. Yogasangari and former North Eastern Province Finance Minister P. Kirubakaran. In 1997, after the Sri Lankan military had recaptured

2250-410: The rest of the Arab world" and identified "the main reason for [Palestinians'] defeat" as triumph of "the scientific society of Israel" over "our own backwardness in the Arab world"; because of this, he "called for the total rebuilding of Arab society into a twentieth-century society" and a "scientific and technical renaissance in the Arab world". The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit. "[We] held

2300-435: The same rights as any minority. The PFLP declared that its goal was to "create a people's democratic Palestine, where Arabs and Jews would live without discrimination, a state without classes and national oppression, a state which allows Arabs and Jews to develop their national culture." The PFLP platform never compromised on key points such as the overthrow of conservative or monarchist Arab states like Morocco and Jordan,

2350-442: Was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Suresh Premachandran and Varatharajah Perumal as a breakaway faction of the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students . In 1982 the EPRLF formed a military wing, People's Liberation Army , headed by Douglas Devananda . The PLA is believed to have received military training by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . In early 1986 disputes amongst

2400-411: Was formed in the late 1960s the PFLP supported the established line of most Palestinian guerrilla fronts and ruled out any negotiated settlement with Israel that would result in two states between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea . Instead, George Habash in particular, and various other leaders in general advocated one state with an Arab identity in which Jews were entitled to live with

2450-573: Was sentenced in December 2006 to 30 years in an Israeli prison. At the PFLP's Sixth National Conference in 2000, Habash stepped down as General Secretary. Abu Ali Mustafa was elected to replace him, but was assassinated on 27 August 2001 when an Israeli helicopter fired rockets at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah. After Mustafa's death, the Central Committee of the PFLP on 3 October 2001 elected Ahmad Sa'adat as General Secretary. He has held that position, though since 2002 he has been incarcerated in Palestinian and Israeli prisons. When it

2500-563: Was there, the Israel Defense Forces attacked the city and forced most of its civilian population to leave in what became known as the Lydda Death March . They marched for three days without food or water until they reached the Arab armies' front lines, leading to the death of his sister. Habash finished his medical education in Lebanon at the American University in Beirut , graduating in 1951. In an interview with US journalist John K. Cooley , Habash argued for viewing "the liberation of Palestine as something not to be isolated from events in

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