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[[Image:Extent of territorial control in sri lanka.png|right|thumb|180px|Li riparti di Sri Lanka cuntrullati dî LTTE chi fannu parti dû ''Tamil Eelam''. Si vidi li soi ''status'' lu [[Dicèmmiru 2005]]: li banni russi vennu cuntrullati dî LTTE; li banni aranciuna vennu cuntrullati 'n parti dî LTTE, e 'n parti dû cuvernu sri lankanu; e li banni giarni vennu cuntistati dî LTTE]]
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[[Image:Extent of territorial control in sri lanka.png|right|thumb|180px|Li riparti di Sri Lanka claimed by LTTE as parts of Tamil Eelam, with their status as of December 2005: red areas under LTTE control; orange areas partially LTTE, partly Sri Lankan government; yellow areas claimed but not controlled]]
'''Tamil Eelam''' ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: தமிழ் ஈழம், ''tamiḻ īḻam'') isè thelu namenomu givenassignatu bydû Tamilspòpulu tamil, toô thestatu independentchi [[state]]iddi tohannu whichaddicchiaratu theyndipinnenti aspire in thentâ [[North EasternPruvincia ProvinceNord-est, Sri Lanka|NorthernPruvincia and EasternNord-est]] portionsdi ofl'ìsula the [[island]] ofdi [[Sri Lanka]]. ''Ilaṅkai'' (இலங்கை) ande ''Īḻam'' (ஈழம்) aresunnu bothtutti Tamildui namesnoma forTamil thepi entiretutta islandl'ìsula.
Tamil Eelam isveni onlyricanusciutu recognizedcomu asnu anstatu [[independentndipinnenti state]]sulu bydî [[LTTETigri di Libbirazzioni di Tamil Eelam]] (LTTE, o Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam pi ngrisi). Li [[LTTE]] controlcuntròllinu aroundntra 40 toa 50% of thedâ landterra claimedcuntistata bydû Tamil Eelam. TheseStamu includeparrannu thedî entireriparti [[district]]s ofdi [[Kilinochchi]] ande [[Mullaiththeevu]], mostla ofmaggiur parti dî riparti di [[Mannar]], [[Batticaloa]] and e[[Vavuniya]] districtse andcerti partsparti ofdî riparti di [[Trincomalee]] and [[Amparai]] districts.
Li banni dû nord e dû livanti dâ Sri Lanka chi vennu cuntrullati dî LTTE cumprènninu nu statu quasi-ndipinnenti, chi havi li soi [[curti]], [[pulizzìa]], forzi armati, navi, forza d'apparecchi, e puru na banca cintrali. Ma st'organizzazzioni nun sunnu ricanuscitui dû cuvernu sri lankanu. Nun hannu lu sò ariuportu stissu e dunca chiddi chi viàgginu fora di terra hannu usari l'ariuportu di [[Colombo]].
The portion of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka under the control of the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] (LTTE) is run as a [[de facto]] quasi-independent state, with its own [[supreme court]], [[police]] force, [[army]], [[navy]], [[air force]], [[intelligence agency]], and even a [[central bank]], although these institutions are not formally recognized by the Sri Lankan government. It is dependent on electricity and commodity supplies from the government held area through the [[A9]] highway. It does not have its own currency and uses the Sri Lankan [[rupee]]. The LTTE has often accused the government of imposing embargos on essential goods, causing distress to the civilians. It does not have its own airport and foreign travellers must go through the Colombo airport.
==Central issue==
The concept of Eelam or homeland is a central issue in the [[Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan conflict]] that has been under way for more than two decades. It was first proposed by the [[Tamil United Liberation Front]] (TULF) in 1976. TULF was a coalition of Tamil parties who campaigned in the 1977 elections for an independent state for Tamils in Sri Lanka. In the 1977 elections the TULF was elected to parliament from the northern and eastern provinces. In order to counter separatist tendencies, the government added a new clause to the constitution in 1978 requiring all MPs to pledge allegiance to the unity of the state, which resulted in the boycott of the parliament by the TULF. A number of militant groups then emerged fighting for an independent state.[[Image:Tamil_eelam_stamp.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A stamp which was issued by one of the militant groups in the early 1980s.]]
As used by both the TULF and the militant groups, ''Tamil Eelam'' has only referred to the northeasterly portions of [[Sri Lanka]] (principally, the districts of [[Jaffna]], [[Kilinochchi]], [[Mullaitivu]], [[Mannar]], [[Puttalam]], [[Trincomalee]], [[Vavuniya]], [[Batticaloa]] and [[Amparai]] claimed by Tamils as being their traditional homeland. Some of the early militant groups such as the [[EPRLF]], however, adhered to a wider concept of ''Eelam'', by which they meant all parts of the island of Sri Lanka with a Tamil majority, including the upcountry districts with a Plantation Tamil majority, traditionally part of the Sinhalese heartland.
For all practical purposes today, though, the demand for an independent state is limited to Tamil Eelam, and particularly the northern and eastern provinces.
[[Image:LTTECoin.jpg|right|thumb|180px|A token issued by the LTTE and its limited postal services.]]
==Viditi puru:==
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