Tam: முல்லைத்தீவு mullaittīvu– Sin: මූලදූව mūladūva
‘Jasmine Island’ NP, Sri Lanka
From Tam: mullai, ‘jasmine’; and tivu, ‘island, islet’.
Perched precariously on the NE shoulder of Sri Lanka, Mullaitiva was a strategic target for opposing troops in the Civil War and was also in a vulnerable position when the 2004 Tsunami struck.
From 1996 it was controlled by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and its naval wing, the Sea Tigers.
