Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

388 • LIBERATION TIGERS OF TAMIL EELAMimposed silence on Leonardo Boff, the leading liberation theologianin Brazil, for his alleged criticism of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.On the eve of Pope Benedict’s visit to Brazil in May 2007, it wasestimated that more than one million Brazilians were involved inBible studies and around 80,000 base communities were sponsoredby advocates of liberation theology (Larry Rohter, “As Pope Headsto Brazil, a Rival Theology Persists,” Der Spiegel, 7 May 2007).More recently the issue of liberation theology surfaced during the2008 U.S. presidential election campaign when opponents of SenatorBarack Obama (Democrat, Illinois), the Democratic Party nominee,criticized him for his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastorof the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, who preacheda variant known as black liberation theology, viewed by many as incitinganimosity toward American whites and antipatriotic attitudes.In late April 2008 Senator Obama publicly dissociated himself fromRev. Wright, who had continued to make controversial statementseven after his retirement as pastor of Trinity Church in March 2008,and resigned his membership in Trinity Church on 31 May 2008.LIBERATION TIGERS OF TAMIL EELAM (LTTE). The LTTE is aTamil ethnonationalist group in Sri Lanka that has been seeking since1983 to create a separate state for the minority Tamils in the northernand eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, areas in which they outnumber theSinhalese, who form the majority of the Sri Lankan population. TheLTTE enjoyed material and moral support from Tamil Nadu State inIndia, but this support ended when the Indian government sent in itsIndian Peacekeeping Force upon official Sri Lankan request in 1987.The LTTE has been listed as a terrorist group by Great Britain, India,the United States, and some 30 other nations. Nonetheless, during thelast decade, the LTTE expanded its forces to levels estimated at 8,000to 16,000 militants, launched operations of its Sea Tigers naval branchin 1984 and then an aerial branch in 2007, and developed its overseasintelligence and covert fund-raising apparatus. Despite both internationaldiplomatic efforts and increased Sri Lankan security efforts, theLTTE remained one of the most effective and ruthless insurgent groupsin South Asia over the past three decades.The LTTE engage in armedattacks on Sri Lankan security forces as well as terrorism against nonseparatistTamils and members of rival Tamil radical groups. Whilethe group was founded in 1972, it began its first terrorist attacks in