They are fighting against the Government of Sri Lanka for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka called Tamil Eelam . The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( , ISO 15919 : tamiá '' Ä `` á '' a viá utalaip pulikaá ; commonly known as the LTTE or the Tamil Tigers ) was a separatist organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka . Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran , it waged a secessionist campaign that sought to create Tamil Eelam , an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Eelam Tamils , who are native to Sri Lanka , and for Tamils of Indian origin .