“The thing that most people will remember about Thamilselvan is his huge smile.
For his enemies in this most bitter civil war the smile only masked his ruthlessness.
But for his friends he was a respected and popular fighter with a sense of humour.
Thamilselvan joined the movement in 1984 aged seventeen and was a key figure in fighting the Indian peace keeping force in the Jaffna peninsula where he was born.
In 1993 he was injured in an aerial attack and had to have all the muscles from one leg removed leaving him unable to walk without a stick.
For more than a decade Thamilselvan has been the public face of the Tigers – heading its political wing and attending almost all the peace talks with the Sri Lankan government.
He's probably been interviewed more than any other politician in Sri Lanka – always appearing with two armed bodyguards.
He leaves behind a wife, an eight year old daughter and a son born four years ago during the heady days of the peace process when many rebels hoped for a better future.”
Former BBC Colombo correspondent Frances Harrison who met head of LTTE political wing SP Thamilselvan on numerous occasions
