The connection between MIA and the Tamil Tigers goes much deeper than she just uses a tiger image in videos and art. I don't think she supports them, but the question is not so easy to dismiss.

Her first album was called Arular, which was named after her father - who was a member of a Sri Lankan liberation group that had ties to the Tamil Tigers.

I know she has spoken out against them but with using lyrics like "Like the PLO, I don't surrender" and "I've got the bombs to make you blow" and with her family connection, the question becomes a lot more interesting. Good for her for not embracing them but that doesn't mean anyone who asks the question is committing defamation.

EDIT: I originally said that her father was reportedly a Tamil Tiger, which was my recollection when Arular came out but I couldn't find anything to corroborate that - although it did seem to be everywhere at the time.

M.I.A has apparently responded to the accusations, as noted on P4K.
IGshr*e

Chris, as part of Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students, he had possible ties to LTTE.

I guess I see it less as him asking the question and more of him accusing. And these accusations involve some pretty graphic videos which play upon people's emotions. When you tie in visually graphic videos with "Paper Planes" in the background, that's all anyone's going to think about anytime they hear that song.

Yes I think it's a relevant thing to point out, but I think it was done inappropriately. Do it on a blog. Heck, even buy a URL. If you consider the fact Kala came out over a year ago, and Arular came out three and a half, and the fact she's been using the tiger image in her artwork for a good part of a decade, it looks more like he's targeting M.I.A. at the height of her career for selfish reasons than anything else.

It's sort of like that "Coldplay stole our melody" fiasco that was on YouTube a few months ago. The band who posted the video had a pretty shoddy case, but since it was constantly talked about, they were the ones getting all the publicity regardless of their argument's legitimacy. Now DeLon's all over the blogosphere, riding on the coattails of MIA via his mudslinging.

Maybe using terrorist imagery for artist purposes is a little tacky, but isn't that what she lived with growing up? She's pulling things in from experience and then adding a little wit to them. What about all the gangsta rap who pull things from the community and culture? They talk about killing people, guns, drugs, etc. Maybe the gang culture doesn't equal the terrorism culture, but just because you borrow from something doesn't mean you are that something.

OK, now I found the piece that influenced my thinking back in 2005 on this issue. It was in the Village Voice and written by Robert Christgau (thanks P4k!) and really is does a good job of explaining where this comes from. He writes:

Her father, Arul Pragasam a/k/a Arular, joined the Tigers from the more conciliatory EROS group. He has never lived with her and hasn't seen her since 1995. Extensive online and library research revealed only scant reference to Arular, but he's definitely an LTTE big shot. Circa 1976 he trained with the PLO in Lebanon, where he took advantage of his engineering degree to become an explosives expert. Wonder whether he designed any jackets.

Sinhalese depredations have been atrocious. But my reading suggests that more Sri Lankan Tamils want equality than want Eelam, and from this distance I'm not pro-LTTE. Hence I strongly advise fellow journalists to refrain from applying "freedom fighter" and other cheap honorifics to M.I.A.'s dad. But I also advise them to avoid the cheaper tack taken in last week's Voice by Simon Reynolds: "Don't let M.I.A.'s brown skin throw you off: She's got no more real connection with the favela funksters than Prince Harry." Not just because brown skin is always real, but because M.I.A.'s documentable experience connects her to world poverty in a way few Western whites can grasp. Moreover, beyond a link now apparently deleted from her website to a dubious Tamil tsunami relief organization, I see no sign that she supports the Tigers. She obsesses on them; she thinks they get a raw deal. But without question she knows they do bad things and struggles with that. The decoratively arrayed, pastel-washed tigers, soldiers, guns, armored vehicles, and fleeing civilians that bedeck her album are images, not propaganda—the same stuff that got her nominated for an Alternative Turner Prize in 2001. They're now assumed to be incendiary because, unlike art buyers, rock and roll fans are assumed to be stupid.

I was posting the second comment before I saw Jon's but I do also think that DeLon is a hack that is trying to ride the coattails of her fame - and yes it is quite suspicious that he is doing this to boost his own image.

I was just saying that the issue is a little less cut-and-dry than I thought your post implied it was.

Yeah, i apparently forgot to include that whole father figure connection into the piece... Hooray from shoddy journalism in America! I'm glad P4k posted that Village Voice article, which pretty much reinforces my argument "why bring this up now?".

I disagree with some of the comments. As a fan of Ceylon Record's Music for a long time and as a follower of Sri Lankan happenings,

I belive that Delon has been making music, writing, DJing since the mid 90's. If he wanted to, he could have used a variety of disastrous events to lay claim to fame.
I think he is the real deal because, a few days after the tsunami, m i a took upon herself (or encouraged by the ltte) to grab up the spotlight and publicity declaring herself a freedom fighter and giving glorification to ltte. She spread the ltte name all over the media, and talked about music second. Now at this time many were in the process of greiving, helping, or volunteering. Delon could have jumped on the bandwagon even before graves were dug but he was quietly helping. And he did have a CD out at the time as well. But he talked about his work with the tsunami and his first hand look at least a year after the incident.

And it is not the height of m i a's career. And just because she is an artist or musician does not excuse her work in promoting and encouraging killing of a group of people. Also, why is she using the ltte imagery in concerts and this is not the first time people have spoken up, after others spoke up and drew attention, use of the imagery faded because m i a team knew they couldn't fool people anymore about their real work and needed to clean up to get entrance to the USA.

Also if you know the MO of the ltte, they would use someone that people didn't think was harmless (that is one way they perfected the art of suicide bombming, as majority of them were frail looking thin women)

And eventhough you may think you know the situation, Delon confronting the ltte tactics are a major breakthrough for the Sri Lankan people, whose voices have been silenced with fear by ltte use of suicide bombings, guarilla tactics, extortions, using child soldiers in the frontlines, victimizing others then acting like the victim, to keep them quiet about their work.

There are flaws on both sides,but what ltte are fighting for is not equality(Tamils hold high positions in government, they get the same rights to free education and socialized medicine )but like evil children if they hear the word no or someone just happen to disagree with them, they start blowing things up which is terrorism that leaves people no way out. LTTE themselves have and are killing their own people for their extremist gain.

There is a long histroy. Long time ago, there was a riot in Colombo where some reactionist Sinhala(usually submissive) acted up against decent Tamils there because they heard of some Tamil actions up North. But many helped their friends regardless of the background. But these few reactive Sinhalese quickly learned the difference, came to understand the situation, and let go of the anger. They do not go out continuously bombing any and all Tamils they meet. In comparison, LTTE bomb civilians for even no reason, they ethnically cleansed the north of other people such as small % of muslims. They have a habit of committing heinous acts that constitute as human rights violations and then pointing the finger at others!

So it is good that there is someone to speak up without fear, because for millions of people, living in constant fear is destroying their lives.

So as you might think, Delon just did not wake up two weeks ago and decide to publicize himself quick and easy. He has been speaking against terrorism and on other issues way before that. (He has a talent of coming up with rhyme and a way with words, it wouldn't take him more than 2 hours to be creative) He is a sensitive person and he probably wanted to bring this to light because,
people in US were just singing along to a song without knowing the meanings and the history, and glorifying harmful symbols,
This so called singer, and ltte m i a was giving a distorted one side view and free to get her pro ltte messages across undercover.

Sara. Thanks so much for the response. In some ways I wish this whole debate would just go to bed already, but in other ways I'm thankful for the dialog and debate it's created. It certainly holds a tad more substance than arguing over the best album released this week, or commenting on how dreamy Conor Oberst looked at his last show. And as with any decent, engaging dialog, all sides need to be represented and voice their thoughts.

It'd certainly be interesting to hear a few people from the LTTE's thoughts on M.I.A. and where they think she might stand in this whole fiasco.

Thanks for your engaging, thought out input thus far.

you're so jealous of conor oberst.

I couldn't get through the paper at #7. Whew... my internet attention span isn't that long.
IGshr*e

Sometimes you gotta be extreme to make an impact in society -- and I think that's what DeLon did exactly. I don't agree that the use of the images was irreverence -- it was an exaggeration of the irreverence that M.I.A. has been showing through her career through the use of terrorist-related symbols and lyrics. You gotta give some credit to this guy for having the guts to speak out on this matter. Terrorism is not a matter to be taken lightly, even in music, specially with hip hop music, a genre that influences many people.

What bothers me most of all is that they're having a war against war -- that there is verbal and ideological clashing about clashing at the macro-level. I think the best thing that should happen is for M.I.A. and Delon to be on the same side -- moving for peace and unity in Sri Lanka. I mean come on, this internet war isn't making things better. I believe that if M.I.A. and Delon work on the same side, for peace and unity, that would serve us all better.

I think this might be the brainy-est blog thread ever in the history of TIG. Thanks to all -- esp Sarah @7 -- for stopping by and expressing their opinions.