”Red Death is Better Than a Black Life”: The Legitimation of Suicide Missions and Political Violence in the Lebanese Hizballah and the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers

This doctoral dissertation examines the legitimation of violence, particularly suicide bombings, in the Lebanese Hizballah and Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers (LTTE). The Shiite Hizballah was founded in the early 1980s to resist the Israeli occupation. It continues to operate actively both as a political party and as an armed organization. The Tamil Tigers organization, founded in the 1970s by Velupillai Prabhakaran, fought for 30 years to establish an independent Tamil Eelam in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The civil war ended in 2009 when the organization was defeated.

Suicide bombing is one of the most destructive “inventions” in the history of terrorism. The primary goal of the perpetrator is not self-destruction but the death of others. The organizations carrying out the attacks pursue political objectives. Hizballah and the Tamil Tigers were among the first organizations to begin using suicide bombings as a tool in their resistance.

This study utilizes material produced by organizations labeled as terrorist, data which has been relatively underused in terrorism research. In line with the principles of critical terrorism studies, the research gives a voice to the organizations themselves, aiming to understand their activities from their own perspective without neglecting the historical context. The material consists of speeches, statements and interviews by and of the leaders of the organizations, which are analyzed through critical discourse analysis. To enhance the understanding of context, the research questions are approached through concepts. These include the justification of violence, enemy images, asymmetric warfare, suicide and martyrdom. Suicide bombings from the perspective of the individual, the organization and the community are discussed in a separate chapter.

Violence should be studied as part of a movement, not as a separate phenomenon. The empirical chapters first outline the identity, politics and attitudes towards violence and armed struggle in Hizballah and the Tamil Tigers. Then, thoughts about allies and enemies are explored, followed by an identification of the specific features of martyrdom from the organization's perspective, and a description of the culture of death created in communities supporting suicide bombings. The final chapter brings together the views of Hizballah and the Tamil Tigers, allowing us to uncover similar legitimizing discourses in the rhetoric of two organizations with very different cultural, historical and religious backgrounds.

The defensive discourse proved to be the most dominant. Both organizations saw their struggle as self-defense, a justified resistance against colonialism and occupation. Violence was seen as a necessary means to resist a superior enemy. The organizations felt that the enemy itself justified the violence against them.

Nationalist discourse. Nationalism manifested in the conflicts in different ways: Hizballah focused on resisting foreign occupation, while the Tamil Tigers, who were citizens of Sri Lanka, positioned themselves against their own state. Narratives about the Tamils' right to their own land and the Muslims' right to be liberated from occupation became part of “everyday nationhood.”

Religious discourse. Hizballah utilized jihad to justify violence, but its religious rhetoric remained fairly moderate. The demand for an Islamic state faded, but the liberation of Palestine remained central. In the Tamil Tigers, religion did not play a significant role and nationalism replaced religion as the basis for legitimation.

Legality discourse. The term “legal right” was used frequently, but its meaning remained unclear. Hizballah distrusted international agreements and considered negotiations unequal. The central question for it became the existence of Israel and the situation of Palestinian refugees. The Tamil Tigers appealed to human rights and sought support from the international community, accusing Sri Lanka of discrimination and genocide against Tamils. Both organizations firmly held onto their right to arm themselves.

Suffering discourse. Collective traumas emerged from both history and recent events. The LTTE highlighted its suffering experiences more than Hizballah, although detailed case descriptions were rare in both organizations' material. On the one hand, there was a desire to end suffering but on the other, suffering was turned into a resource that brought final victory closer.

Terrorism discourse. Both organizations felt the label of terrorist organization to be unjust. Hizballah did not focus on defining its relationship to terrorism but emphasized the terrorist acts of its opponents. The LTTE highlighted state terrorism as early as in the 1980s. After the 9/11 attacks, both sought to distance themselves from the war on terrorism and attacks on civilian targets. The LTTE also actively sought to create a more peaceful counter-discourse.

The martyrdom discourse intertwined with all the previous discourses. Martyrdom was active and systematic, a tool of political struggle within the organizations. Suicide bombings were carried out under the ideal of martyrdom and were seen as a gift to the community. The community remained in debt to the martyrs and the organization's task was to keep the martyrs “alive.” In such a “culture of death,” the perpetrators of suicide bombings were revered as heroes, their actions glorified and given moral justification, which was reinforced through speeches, ceremonies and celebratory days. The blood of the martyr was considered more valuable than anything else. Red death was better than a black life.