Reframing 1990: Expulsion or Strategic Protection? Reassessing the LTTE’s Northern Evacuation of Sri Lankan Moors

Abstract

 

The 1990 expulsion of approximately 70,000 Sri Lankan Moors (Muslims) from the Northern Province by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has often been mischaracterized as an act of ethnic cleansing. This article challenges that portrayal, instead framing it as a strategic defensive measure aimed at preventing further massacres of Eelam Tamils during a volatile period marked by collaboration between certain Muslim militia groups and the Sri Lankan military. Using a combination of historical analysis, field research, and conflict theory, this article argues for a more complex, ethically grounded interpretation of the LTTE’s actions—one that foregrounds both Tamil security concerns and the structural violence perpetrated by the Sri Lankan state.

1. Introduction: Beyond Binary Narratives

Academic and journalistic discourse on Sri Lanka’s civil war often presents ethno-political events in binary moral terms, neglecting deeper historical currents and asymmetric power structures. Among the most misunderstood episodes is the 1990 expulsion of Sri Lankan Moors from the Northern Province. This event has been widely labelled as “ethnic cleansing” by international observers. However, few have examined the preceding context of targeted Tamil massacres, paramilitary activity, and shifting allegiances that compelled the LTTE to act as it did.

2. Historical Context: 1988–1990 Eastern Massacres

Between 1988 and 1990, the Eastern Province witnessed systematic attacks on Tamil Hindus carried out by the Sri Lankan Army, often with the support of certain Muslim Home Guards (Oorkaavarpadai). At least 15 Tamil-majority villages were destroyed; temples were desecrated; and entire families were driven from their ancestral lands.

This violence, which remains largely undocumented in mainstream global discourse, demographically re-engineered the Eastern Province, shrinking the Tamil Hindu presence while facilitating Muslim and military settlement. Many Tamils remember this as an undeclared phase of ethnic cleansing, masked behind “counter-terrorism” rhetoric.

3. The 1990 Expulsion: Strategic Relocation or Sectarian Purge?

Against this backdrop, the LTTE’s decision to evacuate 70,000 Sri Lankan Moors from the North was not born of religious hatred but emerged as a defensive reaction to the intelligence reports and ground-level experiences of Tamil civilians in the East. The move aimed to prevent military infiltration, curb inter-communal tension, and safeguard Tamil civilians from internal betrayal during an existential war.

Importantly, the LTTE did not massacre the Muslim population, nor did it permanently erase their claims to land. Rather, the movement facilitated their safe exit, and in later years, under peace talks, publicly apologised for the action.

4. Return and Resettlement: What Happened Post-2004?

During the 2002–2004 peace process, LTTE formally allowed Muslim families to return to the North, signalling reconciliation and recognition of shared regional histories. However, post-2009, after the LTTE's defeat, state-enabled land grabs occurred—not by Tamil actors, but by Sinhala Buddhist settlers and certain Muslim political groups, particularly in areas such as Wilpattu Forest Reserve and from Vavuniya to Mullaitivu.

These were not "resettlements" but demographic encroachments, often facilitated by Sri Lankan military and political patronage. The irony is profound: while Tamil civilians remain displaced and militarised, state-favoured Muslim and Sinhala groups have expanded their settlements with minimal resistance from the international community.

5. Post-war Amnesia and Political Opportunism

It is deeply troubling that some Muslim political leaders now invoke the 1990 expulsion as a one-dimensional crime, ignoring both the protective intent behind the LTTE’s actions and the long history of Tamil-Muslim cooperation that preceded colonial manipulations.

Instead of advocating for shared healing, these voices weaponize selective memory, often aligning with Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarian politics that perpetuate structural Tamil marginalisation. This is a painful betrayal for Tamils who—despite differences—never denied the right of Muslims to live in Eelam, and even advocated for joint resistance against Sinhala supremacist oppression.

6. Ethical Reframing: Was It Ethnic Cleansing or Prevention of Genocide?

From an ethical standpoint, what occurred in 1990 was not an act of annihilation, but a strategic withdrawal of a vulnerable population from a conflict zone, in the hope of avoiding communal war. In fact, had the LTTE not taken this difficult step, it is plausible that Sri Lankan Moors would have faced massacres by the Sri Lankan state in the guise of counter-insurgency.

As such, it is time to reframe the LTTE’s action not as ethnic cleansing, but as conflict-era population protection—flawed, yes, but far more nuanced than popular media accounts suggest.

7. Conclusion: Truth, Memory, and Historical Responsibility

The Tamil struggle has always been for truth, autonomy, and survival. The 1990 expulsion must be remembered not in isolation, but as part of a broader trajectory of betrayal, structural genocide, and failed coexistence. For real reconciliation, there must be room for complex truths—not just politically convenient narratives.

“நன்றி மறப்பது நன்றன்று – Forgetting gratitude is not virtuous.”

When entire communities fail to recognise who shielded them from destruction, and instead side with the very architects of ethnic violence, they betray not just their protectors, but also historical integrity.

Fact-Check & Source Notes

Primary Sources: Oral testimonies from 1988–1992 Eastern Tamil survivors, interviews conducted in Batticaloa, Vaharai, and Trincomalee (2019).

Secondary Sources:

• Hoole, R. (2001). Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power.

• UTHR (J) Reports (1990–2003).

• Frerks, G., & Klem, B. (2005). Dealing with Diversity: Sri Lankan Peace Processes.

• International Crisis Group (2007, 2024).

• T. Thangarajah, (2002). “Ethnicisation of the State and the Politicisation of Ethnicity.”

• LTTE Statements: 2002–2004 peace process documentation and public apology issued via Muslim-Tamil Peace Secretariat.

• Balasubramaniam, B. (2025). Reframing 1990: Expulsion or Strategic Protection? Reassessing the LTTE’s Northern Evacuation of Sri Lankan Moors. Small Drops Research.

By Balananthini Balasubramaniam (Nila Bala)

Human Rights Advocate | Researcher on Postcolonial Ethnic Politics | Eelam Tamil Scholar

© 2025 Small Drops. All Rights Reserved.

(Disclaimer: Images are AI generated and are used for representational purposes only)

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