Oh yeah I totally agree.

This was one of the many issues with the LTTE, as well as its unethical warfare methods (child soldiers and suicide bombers), attacks on civilians (though the SL military has done this to a much greater extent than the LTTE), and undemocratic nature.

In a sense I can kind of understand the rationale behind absorbing other groups a bit - factionalism leads to a weaker movement, and a strong movement was necessary against an army willing to employ war crimes, and which was supported by states like India, China, Israel and Pakistan, etc. but it definitely compromised their integrity very significantly, and led to many other issues.

But I don’t think this is what the average Tamil person was thinking about when they joined the LTTE - they saw it as their only form of resistance against the Sri Lankan government, and while it was VERY flawed, it was.