Tamil United Liberation Front
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Tamil United Liberation Front
தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி ද්රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ |
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| Leader | V. Anandasangaree |
| Secretary | K. K. Kanagarajah |
| Founder | S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, G. G. Ponnambalam, Savumiamoorthy Thondaman |
| Founded | May 4, 1972 |
| Merger of | All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, Ceylon Workers' Congress |
| Preceded by | Tamil United Front |
| Headquarters | 5/3A Wijayaba Mawatha, Kalubowila, Dehiwala |
| Ideology | Tamil Nationalism |
| Election symbol | |
Rising Sun
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The Tamil United Liberation Front (Tamil: தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி, Sinhalese: ද්රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ) is a political party in Sri Lanka which seeks independence for the Tamil-populated areas of Sri Lanka.
On May 4, 1972 several Tamil political groups, including the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, formed the Tamil United Front (TUF). The Federal Party joined the TUF in 1976. The TUF changed its name to the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and adopted a demand for an independent state to be known as the "secular, socialist state of Tamil Eelam".
In the first general election contested by the TULF, the 21 July 1977 election in which the UNP won by a landslide, the TULF won 6.40% of the popular vote and 18 out of 168 seats in the Sri Lankan parliament, including all 14 seats in the Northern Province.
Votes and seats won by TULF by electoral district
The TULF became the official opposition as result of the rout of the SLFP. The TULF's success would lead to riots in which hundreds of Tamils were murdered by Sinhala mobs.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the TULF was frequently blamed by nationalist Sinhalese politicians for acts of violence committed by militant groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In fact, the TULF represented an older, more conservative generation of Tamils that felt independence could be achieved without violence, more rival than ally to youth groups like the LTTE who believed in armed conflict.
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