Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan

Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan (; 16 October 1963 – 18 May 2009), also known by his nom de guerre, Colonel Soosai, was the head of the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Personal life

Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan was married to Sathyadevi, the younger sister of Lieutenant Shankar. They had three children named Sindhu, Madhi and Shankar. Shankar, their youngest child, was killed in a boating accident on July 18, 2007. Soosai did not spend much time with his family due to his duties as head of the Sea Tigers, but was very fond of his children. Satyadevi was identified as Soosai’s wife by a Sea Tiger who surrendered to the Navy. She was detained separately with her children and interrogated. The family was detained within the Navy camp premises in Trincomalee and subsequently released. They currently live in Trincomalee under certain government restrictions. Sathyadevi later gave an interview to “The Nation” English Weekly, published in Colombo, where she recounted some of her experiences during the war.

Eelam War Soosai joined the LTTE in 1981 after the Burning of the Jaffna Public Library. He was one of the LTTE's original 30 members. When the war broke out following the Black July pogrom, Soosai was among the first batch of Tiger recruits who received training in North India. He was then appointed area commander for Vadamarachchi under Jaffna District commander Colonel Kittu. He served in this position during the Sri Lankan Army's Vadamarachchi Operation and played a crucial role in countering it.