The long-running civil war in Sri Lanka is causing more mental health problems and social breakdown than the catastrophic 2004 tsunami, according to a University of Adelaide researcher.
Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry Daya Somasundaram himself fled Sri Lanka fearing for his and his family’s safety, and is Australia’s first ‘refugee scholar’ at the University under the Scholar Rescue Fund.
Associate Professor Somasundaram has completed a study on collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka, comparing effects on the community of the chronic war with those of the 2004 tsunami which killed 31,000 Sri Lankans. The research is published this Thursday 4 October in the online open access, peer reviewed publication International Journal of Mental Health Systems on www.ijmhs.com
“The natural disaster was a one-off catastrophic event that left a trail of destruction and loss,” says Assoc. Professor Somasundaram. “But it did not continue to exert a prolonged effect. As a result the severity of the collective trauma was much less. In fact, having lived through a prolonged war situation has meant that Tamil communities have learned skills and strategies that make them better able to cope with disasters.”
Assoc. Professor Somasundaram found the effects of chronic disasters, such as war, went beyond the individual to family, community and the wider society. Relief, rehabilitation and development programs to be effective need to address the problems of collective trauma, he says.
His study suggests that grass roots work within communities may work best. “In the aftermath of war communities suffer from mistrust, suspicion, silence, brutalisation, deterioration in morals and values, poor leadership, dependency, passivity and despair,” Assoc. Professor Somasundaram says.
“Apart from attending to the immediate basic needs and other acute problems in the rescue and relief phases after a major disaster, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development strategies need to include collective-level interventions. In fact, our experiences show that many individually oriented mental health interventions appear to fair much better when undertaken within an overall framework of a community strategy.”
The study, ‘Collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka: a qualitative psychosocial-ecological study’, is based on published data and qualitative research methods including participatory observation, key informant and focus group interviews.
Assoc. Professor Somasundaram came to the University of Adelaide’s Discipline of Psychiatry under the US-based Scholar Rescue Fund at the end of 2005 with his wife and children. He was at risk because of his writing and documentation about the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Refugee Scholar Studies Trauma of Civil War in Sri Lanka
The long-running civil war in Sri Lanka is causing more mental health problems and social breakdown than the catastrophic 2004 tsunami, according to a University of Adelaide researcher.
Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry Daya Somasundaram himself fled Sri Lanka fearing for his and his family’s safety, and is Australia’s first ‘refugee scholar’ at the University under the Scholar Rescue Fund.
Associate Professor Somasundaram has completed a study on collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka, comparing effects on the community of the chronic war with those of the 2004 tsunami which killed 31,000 Sri Lankans. The research is published this Thursday 4 October in the online open access, peer reviewed publication International Journal of Mental Health Systems on www.ijmhs.com
“The natural disaster was a one-off catastrophic event that left a trail of destruction and loss,” says Assoc. Professor Somasundaram. “But it did not continue to exert a prolonged effect. As a result the severity of the collective trauma was much less. In fact, having lived through a prolonged war situation has meant that Tamil communities have learned skills and strategies that make them better able to cope with disasters.”
Assoc. Professor Somasundaram found the effects of chronic disasters, such as war, went beyond the individual to family, community and the wider society. Relief, rehabilitation and development programs to be effective need to address the problems of collective trauma, he says.
His study suggests that grass roots work within communities may work best. “In the aftermath of war communities suffer from mistrust, suspicion, silence, brutalisation, deterioration in morals and values, poor leadership, dependency, passivity and despair,” Assoc. Professor Somasundaram says.
“Apart from attending to the immediate basic needs and other acute problems in the rescue and relief phases after a major disaster, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development strategies need to include collective-level interventions. In fact, our experiences show that many individually oriented mental health interventions appear to fair much better when undertaken within an overall framework of a community strategy.”
The study, ‘Collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka: a qualitative psychosocial-ecological study’, is based on published data and qualitative research methods including participatory observation, key informant and focus group interviews.
Assoc. Professor Somasundaram came to the University of Adelaide’s Discipline of Psychiatry under the US-based Scholar Rescue Fund at the end of 2005 with his wife and children. He was at risk because of his writing and documentation about the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka.
Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry Daya Somasundaram himself fled Sri Lanka fearing for his and his family’s safety, and is Australia’s first ‘refugee scholar’ at the University under the Scholar Rescue Fund.
Associate Professor Somasundaram has completed a study on collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka, comparing effects on the community of the chronic war with those of the 2004 tsunami which killed 31,000 Sri Lankans. The research is published this Thursday 4 October in the online open access, peer reviewed publication International Journal of Mental Health Systems on www.ijmhs.com
“The natural disaster was a one-off catastrophic event that left a trail of destruction and loss,” says Assoc. Professor Somasundaram. “But it did not continue to exert a prolonged effect. As a result the severity of the collective trauma was much less. In fact, having lived through a prolonged war situation has meant that Tamil communities have learned skills and strategies that make them better able to cope with disasters.”
Assoc. Professor Somasundaram found the effects of chronic disasters, such as war, went beyond the individual to family, community and the wider society. Relief, rehabilitation and development programs to be effective need to address the problems of collective trauma, he says.
His study suggests that grass roots work within communities may work best. “In the aftermath of war communities suffer from mistrust, suspicion, silence, brutalisation, deterioration in morals and values, poor leadership, dependency, passivity and despair,” Assoc. Professor Somasundaram says.
“Apart from attending to the immediate basic needs and other acute problems in the rescue and relief phases after a major disaster, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development strategies need to include collective-level interventions. In fact, our experiences show that many individually oriented mental health interventions appear to fair much better when undertaken within an overall framework of a community strategy.”
The study, ‘Collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka: a qualitative psychosocial-ecological study’, is based on published data and qualitative research methods including participatory observation, key informant and focus group interviews.
Assoc. Professor Somasundaram came to the University of Adelaide’s Discipline of Psychiatry under the US-based Scholar Rescue Fund at the end of 2005 with his wife and children. He was at risk because of his writing and documentation about the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka.
Proscription of the TRO in Sri Lanka
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on the proscription of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) in Sri Lanka.
On 15 November 2007 it was announced in Washington that the United States Treasury targeted the support network of the designated terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by designating a charitable organization that as a front to facilitate fund raising and procurement for the LTTE.
The TRO was designated under Executive Order which is aimed at financially isolating terrorist groups and support networks. The legal effect of this decision is that, it freezes any assets the TRO may have under US jurisdiction and bans Americans from engaging in transactions with it.
In a statement on the announcement, Director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Adam J. Szubin has observed that the TRO passed off its operation as charitable, when in fact it was raising money for the designated terrorist group responsible for heinous acts of terrorism.
The LTTE’s ability to continue to raise funds from the Tamil Diaspora, mostly through extortion, has been possible due to the presence of numerous front organizations, mainly the TRO, which operates under the control of the LTTE.
The US action has exposed the pretensions of the TRO as an organization engaged in rehabilitation work for the Tamil people, and that it is in fact involved in fund raising and procurement for the LTTE.
Therefore, the Cabinet granted its approval to proscribe the TRO in Sri Lanka, to appeal to foreign governments, international organizations and INGOs that have a TRO presence in their countries or have relationships with the TRO, to take action against this organization and to cease any transactions, and appeal to the foreign governments, international organizations and INGOs to review the operations and its relationships with other LTTE front organizations.
Given below the summary of Cabinet Decisions of 22.11.2007:
Development of Piliyandala MMV playground
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Sports and Public Recreation Minister Gamini Kulawansa Lokuge on the project for the development of the Piliyandala Madhya Maha Vidyalaya playground.
It has been decided to develop the Piliyandala MMV playground under the allocations made for the development of playgrounds this year as a pilot project in the programme to establish sports schools proposed to be implemented with effect from 2008 by the Department of Sports Development.
Accordingly it is expected to construct a number of innovative units including a 400 metre pavilion and complete the task by December 2007. It is expected get funds for this project from the allocations made for the construction of Borelsgamuwa Sports Complex.
Therefore the Cabinet has granted its approval to make use of the outstanding balance of Rs.37 million at the Department of Sports Development from the allocations amounting to Rs. 100 million for this project.
Modern Fish Market at Peliyagoda
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera on the establishment of modern Central Fish Market at Peliyagoda.
This would have adequate parking and other facilities in accordance with modern standards and hygienic requirements to relocate the existing out-dated St. John’s Fish Market in Colombo.
The estimated cost of this project is Rs.1120 million. A part of the cost amounting to Rs.440 million will be covered from the savings of the funds allocated to Aquatic Resources Development and Quality Improvement Project under the Asian Development Bank loan. Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation will prepared the site proposed for the new Central Fish Market at Peliyagoda.
Accelerating the Nanotechnology Initiative
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana on the expeditious implementation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative of the government. In view of the urgent need to commence research and development activities at SLINTEC, approval was granted to purchase equipment within the shortest possible time and to allow the maximum possible tax initiatives for the private sector for promoting research in the Nanotechnology field.
Augmentation of water treatment plants
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on the amended loan facility agreements with Hungarian Export-Import Bank to finance the augmentation of Labugama and Kalatuwawa water treatment plants.
The Labugama water treatment plant will be augmented at a cost of Euro 16,714,044.
This loan will be repaid in 15 years including a grace period of three years which begins after the draw down period of two years.
The Kalatuwawa water treatment plant will be augmented at a cost of Euro 17,383,906. This loan will be repaid in 15 years including a grace period of three years which begins after the draw down period of two years.
ADB assistance to knowledge society project
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on the financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank for Education for knowledge society project.
Negotiation were concluded with the Asian Development Bank to obtain a grant of US $ 15 million and a loan of about US $ 65million (SDR) for the implementation of Education for Knowledge Society project.
The main objective of the project is to improve quality, relevance, effectiveness and equity of access to secondary and tertiary education through upgrading selected 150 secondary schools in the poorest administrative districts to full pledged schools, providing 15000 scholarships for secondary education and non-university tertiary education, development of Competency Based Education Curriculum by the NIE, upgrading facilities of educational institutions such as Centre for Excellence in English Education etc, expansion of ICT education, providing computer and internet facilities for 2125 schools, integration of HIV/AIDS and Health Education into the curriculum of the secondary schools and establishing a high level policy coordination regime and partnership mechanism in the sector and setting up a Management Information System for the Ministry of Education.
ADB loan for SME Regional Development Project
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on a loan of SDR 32,226,000 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Small and Medium Enterprise Regional Development Project.
The objective of this project is to accelerate the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) located outside the Western Province by improving their access to credit, creating SME value-chain clusters, mainstreaming best practices in SME financing and improving access to business development services for SMEs.
The Ministry of Finance and Planning through Central Bank will be the executing agency for the project. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) chaired by the Secretary to the Treasury will be set up to oversee the project implementation and a secretariat will be established with the Central Bank to support the PSC.
Enhanced Sweden funds waste water disposal project
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on the Sweden funding for the implementation of Ratmalana/Moratuwa and Ja-Ela/Ekala waste water disposal project.
Sweden has agreed to enhance the credit amount up to US $ 91,918,967 to finance the contract sum of US $ 90,650, 485.
The enhancement of the credit amount will be formalized by way of an amendment to the specific agreement signed between the two countries on 2nd march 2006 and a Credit Agreement will be concluded with the AB Svensk Exportkredit of Sweden.
On 15 November 2007 it was announced in Washington that the United States Treasury targeted the support network of the designated terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by designating a charitable organization that as a front to facilitate fund raising and procurement for the LTTE.
The TRO was designated under Executive Order which is aimed at financially isolating terrorist groups and support networks. The legal effect of this decision is that, it freezes any assets the TRO may have under US jurisdiction and bans Americans from engaging in transactions with it.
In a statement on the announcement, Director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Adam J. Szubin has observed that the TRO passed off its operation as charitable, when in fact it was raising money for the designated terrorist group responsible for heinous acts of terrorism.
The LTTE’s ability to continue to raise funds from the Tamil Diaspora, mostly through extortion, has been possible due to the presence of numerous front organizations, mainly the TRO, which operates under the control of the LTTE.
The US action has exposed the pretensions of the TRO as an organization engaged in rehabilitation work for the Tamil people, and that it is in fact involved in fund raising and procurement for the LTTE.
Therefore, the Cabinet granted its approval to proscribe the TRO in Sri Lanka, to appeal to foreign governments, international organizations and INGOs that have a TRO presence in their countries or have relationships with the TRO, to take action against this organization and to cease any transactions, and appeal to the foreign governments, international organizations and INGOs to review the operations and its relationships with other LTTE front organizations.
Given below the summary of Cabinet Decisions of 22.11.2007:
Development of Piliyandala MMV playground
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Sports and Public Recreation Minister Gamini Kulawansa Lokuge on the project for the development of the Piliyandala Madhya Maha Vidyalaya playground.
It has been decided to develop the Piliyandala MMV playground under the allocations made for the development of playgrounds this year as a pilot project in the programme to establish sports schools proposed to be implemented with effect from 2008 by the Department of Sports Development.
Accordingly it is expected to construct a number of innovative units including a 400 metre pavilion and complete the task by December 2007. It is expected get funds for this project from the allocations made for the construction of Borelsgamuwa Sports Complex.
Therefore the Cabinet has granted its approval to make use of the outstanding balance of Rs.37 million at the Department of Sports Development from the allocations amounting to Rs. 100 million for this project.
Modern Fish Market at Peliyagoda
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera on the establishment of modern Central Fish Market at Peliyagoda.
This would have adequate parking and other facilities in accordance with modern standards and hygienic requirements to relocate the existing out-dated St. John’s Fish Market in Colombo.
The estimated cost of this project is Rs.1120 million. A part of the cost amounting to Rs.440 million will be covered from the savings of the funds allocated to Aquatic Resources Development and Quality Improvement Project under the Asian Development Bank loan. Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation will prepared the site proposed for the new Central Fish Market at Peliyagoda.
Accelerating the Nanotechnology Initiative
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana on the expeditious implementation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative of the government. In view of the urgent need to commence research and development activities at SLINTEC, approval was granted to purchase equipment within the shortest possible time and to allow the maximum possible tax initiatives for the private sector for promoting research in the Nanotechnology field.
Augmentation of water treatment plants
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on the amended loan facility agreements with Hungarian Export-Import Bank to finance the augmentation of Labugama and Kalatuwawa water treatment plants.
The Labugama water treatment plant will be augmented at a cost of Euro 16,714,044.
This loan will be repaid in 15 years including a grace period of three years which begins after the draw down period of two years.
The Kalatuwawa water treatment plant will be augmented at a cost of Euro 17,383,906. This loan will be repaid in 15 years including a grace period of three years which begins after the draw down period of two years.
ADB assistance to knowledge society project
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on the financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank for Education for knowledge society project.
Negotiation were concluded with the Asian Development Bank to obtain a grant of US $ 15 million and a loan of about US $ 65million (SDR) for the implementation of Education for Knowledge Society project.
The main objective of the project is to improve quality, relevance, effectiveness and equity of access to secondary and tertiary education through upgrading selected 150 secondary schools in the poorest administrative districts to full pledged schools, providing 15000 scholarships for secondary education and non-university tertiary education, development of Competency Based Education Curriculum by the NIE, upgrading facilities of educational institutions such as Centre for Excellence in English Education etc, expansion of ICT education, providing computer and internet facilities for 2125 schools, integration of HIV/AIDS and Health Education into the curriculum of the secondary schools and establishing a high level policy coordination regime and partnership mechanism in the sector and setting up a Management Information System for the Ministry of Education.
ADB loan for SME Regional Development Project
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on a loan of SDR 32,226,000 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Small and Medium Enterprise Regional Development Project.
The objective of this project is to accelerate the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) located outside the Western Province by improving their access to credit, creating SME value-chain clusters, mainstreaming best practices in SME financing and improving access to business development services for SMEs.
The Ministry of Finance and Planning through Central Bank will be the executing agency for the project. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) chaired by the Secretary to the Treasury will be set up to oversee the project implementation and a secretariat will be established with the Central Bank to support the PSC.
Enhanced Sweden funds waste water disposal project
The Cabinet has granted its approval to a Memorandum submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Minister of Finance and Planning, on the Sweden funding for the implementation of Ratmalana/Moratuwa and Ja-Ela/Ekala waste water disposal project.
Sweden has agreed to enhance the credit amount up to US $ 91,918,967 to finance the contract sum of US $ 90,650, 485.
The enhancement of the credit amount will be formalized by way of an amendment to the specific agreement signed between the two countries on 2nd march 2006 and a Credit Agreement will be concluded with the AB Svensk Exportkredit of Sweden.
Thuglak - a Tamil weekly burnt and banned in Europe by the LTTE
Copies of Tamil weekly Thuglak was burnt in Paris, France for carrying editorial criticizing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for his elegy on the death of S.P.Tamilselvan, a former head of the political division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Tamil Tiger supporters alleged that the editorial criticizing Karunanidhi in its latest issue (21 November) of Thuglak amounts to an anti-LTTE campaign.
Tiger supporters proclaimed that Thuglak magazine is hereafter banned in Europe and in the future no one should import or sell Thuglak in their shops.
Reports revealed that Tiger supporters removed forcefully copies of Thuglak from the Tamil shops in La chapelle (Paris10) and set it on fire publicly at Road - Rue du faubourg, at St. Denis, Paris.
According to reports, burning of Thuglak in Paris was led by Sivaguru Balachandran, owner of ‘Thamilalayam,’ a Tamil bookshop, also a pro-LTTE weekly’s editor and since of late plays a leading role in promoting LTTE activities in Paris, after the arrest of leading LTTE members on the last April Fools Day.
Thuglak is a weekly magazine started by Cho Ramaswamy in 1967, which editorially opposed Dravidian way of politics right from its inception.
It carried lots of articles and editorials against the misdeeds of Indian parties in general and Dravidian parties in particular.
Thuglak was always highly critical of LTTE and Prabakaran and use to campaign strongly for the extradition of Parabakaran, a proclaimed assassin of late Rajiv Gandhi, to face trial in India.
Tamil Tiger supporters alleged that the editorial criticizing Karunanidhi in its latest issue (21 November) of Thuglak amounts to an anti-LTTE campaign.
Tiger supporters proclaimed that Thuglak magazine is hereafter banned in Europe and in the future no one should import or sell Thuglak in their shops.
Reports revealed that Tiger supporters removed forcefully copies of Thuglak from the Tamil shops in La chapelle (Paris10) and set it on fire publicly at Road - Rue du faubourg, at St. Denis, Paris.
According to reports, burning of Thuglak in Paris was led by Sivaguru Balachandran, owner of ‘Thamilalayam,’ a Tamil bookshop, also a pro-LTTE weekly’s editor and since of late plays a leading role in promoting LTTE activities in Paris, after the arrest of leading LTTE members on the last April Fools Day.
Thuglak is a weekly magazine started by Cho Ramaswamy in 1967, which editorially opposed Dravidian way of politics right from its inception.
It carried lots of articles and editorials against the misdeeds of Indian parties in general and Dravidian parties in particular.
Thuglak was always highly critical of LTTE and Prabakaran and use to campaign strongly for the extradition of Parabakaran, a proclaimed assassin of late Rajiv Gandhi, to face trial in India.
Sri Lanka bans Tamil Rehabilitation Organization
Sri Lanka Government has banned the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) a rehabilitation arm of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist outfit fighting for a separate Tamil state of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka since the latter part of 1970s.
According to Media minister Anura Yapa, "The cabinet decided yesterday to ban the TRO and also ask other governments to do the same,"
Anura Yapa when contacted further said that ministers met on Wednesday and decided to proscribe the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) whose bank accounts were frozen by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka last year.”
The United States last week froze TRO assets accusing the organization which has raised funds on behalf of the LTTE through a network of individual representatives. “According to sources within the organization, the TRO is the preferred conduit of funds from the United States to the LTTE in Sri Lanka.” U.S. Department of the Treasury announced.
Government sources alleged that the TRO under guise of a charity organization collected and directed funds to the LTTE for procurement operations. Those operations included the purchase of ammunitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology for the LTTE.
Meanwhile the International Leader of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), Dr. Murugan Vinayagamurthi and his wife were taken in to custody in the US. He is believed to be a master mind behind LTTE naval strength. He is supposed to be involved with developing and the use of sea Submarines in their sea attacks.
Following the US Government naming the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) as a front for the LTTE operating to obtain funds and procure weapons, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has called upon the international community to follow suit.
The minister made this appeal especially to the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, France and the UK, pointing out 'the continuing ability of the LTTE's numerous front organizations to pose off as charities undermined the ban imposed on the Tigers by India, USA, the UK, and EU member states and Canada'.
The US has frozen TRO assets and banned her citizens from engaging in any transactions with this organization and other LTTE fronts. This measure carried out under Executive Order 13224 has been described as aimed at financially isolating terrorist groups and their support networks.
The Minister also stated:
"The Government of Sri Lanka has in recent times emphasized that the proscription of the LTTE by India, US, Canada and the EU member countries has been undermined and diluted through the continuing ability for numerous front organizations of the LTTE which posed off as charitable fronts - under the guise of rehabilitation, educational, social, religious, and economic groupings - to continue collecting funds to bolster the LTTE arsenal. The TRO has been the most prominent among them and in September 2006, following investigations into its financial transactions by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank under Sri Lanka's Financing of Terrorism Law, the Government of Sri Lanka froze TRO accounts in Sri Lanka.
In this context, that I wish to place on record the deep appreciation of the government of Sri Lanka and this entire house, to the US Administration, especially the Treasury Department, for the speedy investigation carried out and for the action taken yesterday against the TRO. In doing so the US Government becomes the first foreign government to take tangible action against an LTTE front organization. . It must be recalled that besides India which proscribed the LTTE in the aftermath of the assassination of Shri Rajiv Gandhi in 1992, the U.S. was the first Western government to take action against the LTTE, when the Department of State designated the LTTE a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on October 8, 1997 and on November 2, 2001, named the LTTE a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)."
According to Media minister Anura Yapa, "The cabinet decided yesterday to ban the TRO and also ask other governments to do the same,"
Anura Yapa when contacted further said that ministers met on Wednesday and decided to proscribe the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) whose bank accounts were frozen by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka last year.”
The United States last week froze TRO assets accusing the organization which has raised funds on behalf of the LTTE through a network of individual representatives. “According to sources within the organization, the TRO is the preferred conduit of funds from the United States to the LTTE in Sri Lanka.” U.S. Department of the Treasury announced.
Government sources alleged that the TRO under guise of a charity organization collected and directed funds to the LTTE for procurement operations. Those operations included the purchase of ammunitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology for the LTTE.
Meanwhile the International Leader of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), Dr. Murugan Vinayagamurthi and his wife were taken in to custody in the US. He is believed to be a master mind behind LTTE naval strength. He is supposed to be involved with developing and the use of sea Submarines in their sea attacks.
Following the US Government naming the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) as a front for the LTTE operating to obtain funds and procure weapons, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has called upon the international community to follow suit.
The minister made this appeal especially to the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, France and the UK, pointing out 'the continuing ability of the LTTE's numerous front organizations to pose off as charities undermined the ban imposed on the Tigers by India, USA, the UK, and EU member states and Canada'.
The US has frozen TRO assets and banned her citizens from engaging in any transactions with this organization and other LTTE fronts. This measure carried out under Executive Order 13224 has been described as aimed at financially isolating terrorist groups and their support networks.
The Minister also stated:
"The Government of Sri Lanka has in recent times emphasized that the proscription of the LTTE by India, US, Canada and the EU member countries has been undermined and diluted through the continuing ability for numerous front organizations of the LTTE which posed off as charitable fronts - under the guise of rehabilitation, educational, social, religious, and economic groupings - to continue collecting funds to bolster the LTTE arsenal. The TRO has been the most prominent among them and in September 2006, following investigations into its financial transactions by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank under Sri Lanka's Financing of Terrorism Law, the Government of Sri Lanka froze TRO accounts in Sri Lanka.
In this context, that I wish to place on record the deep appreciation of the government of Sri Lanka and this entire house, to the US Administration, especially the Treasury Department, for the speedy investigation carried out and for the action taken yesterday against the TRO. In doing so the US Government becomes the first foreign government to take tangible action against an LTTE front organization. . It must be recalled that besides India which proscribed the LTTE in the aftermath of the assassination of Shri Rajiv Gandhi in 1992, the U.S. was the first Western government to take action against the LTTE, when the Department of State designated the LTTE a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on October 8, 1997 and on November 2, 2001, named the LTTE a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)."
New Armaments For Army
With the passing of the second reading of the new budget, the Sri Lanka Military has swung into action to procure much needed weapons, ammunition and spare parts. A delegation comprising military experts from Sri Lanka returned hours ago from a visit to a state in the former Russian Block. The delegation managed to secure a large consignment of weapons, ammunition and spare parts for the Army. The consignment includes everything from Main Battle Tanks to RM 70 122mm mobile rocket launchers. Purchases of weapons to SLAF and SLN will also be expedited in due course.
Many European Union countries, especially the United Kingdom has imposed restrictions on the sale of weapons to Sri Lanka at an unofficial level. Weapons procured from these countries get delayed due to various checks imposed by those countries. The country which has sold the weapons to Sri Lanka yesterday is to become the Chair of the European Union for a duration of six months next year. The visit by the Sri Lankan delegation is said to enhance our standing in the EU once that country becomes Chairman of the EU. This might result in greater access to weapons systems built in European Union countries.
Many European Union countries, especially the United Kingdom has imposed restrictions on the sale of weapons to Sri Lanka at an unofficial level. Weapons procured from these countries get delayed due to various checks imposed by those countries. The country which has sold the weapons to Sri Lanka yesterday is to become the Chair of the European Union for a duration of six months next year. The visit by the Sri Lankan delegation is said to enhance our standing in the EU once that country becomes Chairman of the EU. This might result in greater access to weapons systems built in European Union countries.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Several Updates
Sri Lanka Army's infantry units moving ahead of the Muhamalai Forward Defenceline in Jaffna last morning destroyed an LTTE bunkerline killing ten LTTE cadres. Their bodies were left behind due to logistical problems. The Army has also intensified shelling and artillery strikes on identified LTTE targets ahead of the Vavuniya FDL this morning. Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Air Force is continuing air-strikes on pre-identified targets. The most recent attack was on an LTTE intelligence gathering place in Puthukudiiruppu on Monday, an attack on an LTTE Sea Tiger base on Tuesday and an LTTE training base in Weli Oya this morning. The locations of the targets were gathered prior to the loss of the UAVs.
Two members of the Army's Elite Special Forces were killed in a bunker-busting operation ahead of the Mannar Forward Defenceline. The two men were part of an 8-man team from the 2nd Special Forces Brigade that had to face unusual resistance from the LTTE in a thick jungle area. The two men got trapped and laid down their lives valiantly killing six LTTE cadres in the process. The thick jungle covering prevented the other six men from getting to the two men who got trapped and the terrain provided the LTTE an opportunity to seize the remains of the two soldiers, whose bodies have since been returned through the Red Cross. Contrary to Pro-LTTE Media, these were not members of the Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Team (LRRP/LRS). By the time this is written, the SLA has overrun the LTTE's FDL in Mannar killing over twenty LTTE cadres in a fresh offensive launched by the SLA this morning.
Meanwhile many senior officers of the Military commended President Mahinda Rajapakse's decision to withdraw the Media Censorship Law. They are of the opinion that almost all Sinhala and English Media and some Tamil Media are faithful to the Military, but had no option but criticize the lapses at the Anuradhapura Airbase. They claimed these exposures are warranted given the negligence and serious lapses in security at the base. They further believe that civilians have the right to information regarding the management of the war, acquisition or destruction of military assets etc given they do not unduly assist the enemy.
(http://defencewire.blogspot.com)
Related News Item
Tigers gun down 2 DPU intruders in Mannaar
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday said a roaming patrol of their border security combatants on Monday evening gunned down two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) intruders inside LTTE controlled Valaignan Kaddu area in Mannaar district. Arrangements were underway to hand over the dead bodies of the SLA soldiers through the ICRC, informed sources in Vanni said. The Tigers have lost a combatant in the counter-ambush.
A Claymore mine, two T-56 assault rifles, one remote control for the Claymore mine, one smoke bomb, two holders and two military kit bags were recovered by the LTTE.
The SLA operated ambush units known as Deep Penetration Units (DPUs) are officially named Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) units, a borrowed terminology from the LRRP/Ranger detachments deployed for covert operations by the U.S. military during the Vietnam war.
The Sri Lankan LRRP units are increasingly deployed to attack civilian vehicles in addition to military targets in the LTTE territory.
(www.tamilnet.com)
Two members of the Army's Elite Special Forces were killed in a bunker-busting operation ahead of the Mannar Forward Defenceline. The two men were part of an 8-man team from the 2nd Special Forces Brigade that had to face unusual resistance from the LTTE in a thick jungle area. The two men got trapped and laid down their lives valiantly killing six LTTE cadres in the process. The thick jungle covering prevented the other six men from getting to the two men who got trapped and the terrain provided the LTTE an opportunity to seize the remains of the two soldiers, whose bodies have since been returned through the Red Cross. Contrary to Pro-LTTE Media, these were not members of the Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Team (LRRP/LRS). By the time this is written, the SLA has overrun the LTTE's FDL in Mannar killing over twenty LTTE cadres in a fresh offensive launched by the SLA this morning.
Meanwhile many senior officers of the Military commended President Mahinda Rajapakse's decision to withdraw the Media Censorship Law. They are of the opinion that almost all Sinhala and English Media and some Tamil Media are faithful to the Military, but had no option but criticize the lapses at the Anuradhapura Airbase. They claimed these exposures are warranted given the negligence and serious lapses in security at the base. They further believe that civilians have the right to information regarding the management of the war, acquisition or destruction of military assets etc given they do not unduly assist the enemy.
(http://defencewire.blogspot.com)
Related News Item
Tigers gun down 2 DPU intruders in Mannaar
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday said a roaming patrol of their border security combatants on Monday evening gunned down two Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) intruders inside LTTE controlled Valaignan Kaddu area in Mannaar district. Arrangements were underway to hand over the dead bodies of the SLA soldiers through the ICRC, informed sources in Vanni said. The Tigers have lost a combatant in the counter-ambush.
A Claymore mine, two T-56 assault rifles, one remote control for the Claymore mine, one smoke bomb, two holders and two military kit bags were recovered by the LTTE.
The SLA operated ambush units known as Deep Penetration Units (DPUs) are officially named Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) units, a borrowed terminology from the LRRP/Ranger detachments deployed for covert operations by the U.S. military during the Vietnam war.
The Sri Lankan LRRP units are increasingly deployed to attack civilian vehicles in addition to military targets in the LTTE territory.
(www.tamilnet.com)
Mannar Offensive - Army captured LTTE line
Sri Lanka Army units from Sinha Regiment and Gajaba Regiment, backed by Army Commandos, who were involved in the pre-dawn attack on LTTE FDL in Mannar have now returned to the captured LTTE FDL after infiltrating further into LTTE areas. They have recovered at least 7 LTTE dead bodies and monitored communication revealed at least 15 more may have been killed. The Army lost three men and over 30 others were injured. The advance into LTTE areas was temporarily halted following heavy resistance in the area West of Giant Tank. Meanwhile a civilian was killed when a stray mortar hit her in the general area Murunkan.
SLA captures tiger bunker line west of Giant tank
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers from the 57th division moved ahead of their defense lines in Mannar to capture a much fought after rebel defense line north west of Giant tank in a pre dawn offensive today. Army's infantry formations backed by the commando regiment and Sri Lanka artillery, were able to overrun the LTTE bunker line today morning amidst heavy resistance.
SLA troopers have so far found 8 bodies of LTTE cadres scattered near the defense line. Interception of enemy communication revealed that at least 20 rebels have been killed in today's fighting.The Army too suffered casualties in the operation with 35 soldiers being injured and 3 soldiers KIA. Most of the SLA injuries were caused by deathtraps, IEDs and land mines which had been set up in the area by the tigers.
The army operation has been temporarily halted due to stiff resistance offered by the tigers. This has been the story of most SLA operations in the Mannar-Vavuniya region for the recent past. However, this strategy has helped SLA minimize the casualty figures. In contrast to the all out attacks involving massive numbers of troops (I.e. - Operation Jayasikuru, Operation Leap Forward - Idiri Pimma, Operation Agni Kheela) SLA have been waging a drawn out war with the aim of tiring out and frustrating the enemy.
Meanwhile fighting raged in the northern defense lines yesterday when a group of LTTE cadres tried to infiltrate Muhamalai forward defense lines. 55th division soldiers stationed in FDL positions near Muahamalai lead a devastating counterattack across the no-man's-land, ultimately destroying four LTTE bunkers along with at least 10 LTTE cadres.
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), after suffering a setback at the hands of Black Tigers, carried out consecutive bombing runs on LTTE targets yesterday and today. A sea tiger base and a tiger intelligence camp were among the targets that were hit. Effectiveness of these attacks cannot be confirmed as of yet.
SLA troopers have so far found 8 bodies of LTTE cadres scattered near the defense line. Interception of enemy communication revealed that at least 20 rebels have been killed in today's fighting.The Army too suffered casualties in the operation with 35 soldiers being injured and 3 soldiers KIA. Most of the SLA injuries were caused by deathtraps, IEDs and land mines which had been set up in the area by the tigers.
The army operation has been temporarily halted due to stiff resistance offered by the tigers. This has been the story of most SLA operations in the Mannar-Vavuniya region for the recent past. However, this strategy has helped SLA minimize the casualty figures. In contrast to the all out attacks involving massive numbers of troops (I.e. - Operation Jayasikuru, Operation Leap Forward - Idiri Pimma, Operation Agni Kheela) SLA have been waging a drawn out war with the aim of tiring out and frustrating the enemy.
Meanwhile fighting raged in the northern defense lines yesterday when a group of LTTE cadres tried to infiltrate Muhamalai forward defense lines. 55th division soldiers stationed in FDL positions near Muahamalai lead a devastating counterattack across the no-man's-land, ultimately destroying four LTTE bunkers along with at least 10 LTTE cadres.
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), after suffering a setback at the hands of Black Tigers, carried out consecutive bombing runs on LTTE targets yesterday and today. A sea tiger base and a tiger intelligence camp were among the targets that were hit. Effectiveness of these attacks cannot be confirmed as of yet.
Tigers on the Run : Latest Situation in North
Sri Lanka Army was able to overrun the first line of LTTE defences in area between Giant Tank and Madhu in Mannar District early on Thursday morning killing at least 06 Tigers. Troops backed by Artillery and Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers were able to capture the LTTE bunkerline despite heavy resistance, military sources said. Army officials say that around 10-14 soldiers were injured in the pre-dawn attack, but more than 20 wounded soldiers were admitted to Anuradhapura hospital since this morning, hospital sources said. 03 soldiers succumbed to their injuries sources further added.
Independent verification on Tiger casualties are not available at the moment, but military says several LTTE cadres may have been killed or injured during the attack. Sri Lanka Army made more than 10 attempts to penetrate in to the Tiger home land since early this year but failed due to heavy resistance by the LTTE.
Meanwhile Army's infantry units moving ahead of the Muhamalai Forward Defenceline in Jaffna last morning destroyed an LTTE bunkerline killing ten LTTE cadres. Their bodies were left behind due to logistical problems. The Army has also intensified shelling and artillery strikes on identified LTTE targets ahead of the Vavuniya FDL this morning. Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Air Force is continuing air-strikes on pre-identified targets. The most recent attack was on an LTTE intelligence gathering place in Puthukudiiruppu on Monday, an attack on an LTTE Sea Tiger base on Tuesday and an LTTE training base in Weli Oya this morning. The locations of the targets were gathered prior to the loss of the UAVs.
Two members of the Army's Elite Special Forces were killed in a bunker-busting operation ahead of the Mannar Forward Defenceline. The two men were part of an 8-man team from the 2nd Special Forces Brigade that had to face unusual resistance from the LTTE in a thick jungle area. The two men got trapped and laid down their lives valiantly killing six LTTE cadres in the process. The thick jungle covering prevented the other six men from getting to the two men who got trapped and the terrain provided the LTTE an opportunity to seize the remains of the two soldiers, whose bodies have since been returned through the Red Cross. Contrary to Pro-LTTE Media, these were not members of the Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Team (LRRP/LRS). By the time this is written, the SLA has overrun the LTTE's FDL in Mannar killing over twenty LTTE cadres in a fresh offensive launched by the SLA this morning.
Meanwhile many senior officers of the Military commended President Mahinda Rajapakse's decision to withdraw the Media Censorship Law. They are of the opinion that almost all Sinhala and English Media and some Tamil Media are faithful to the Military, but had no option but criticize the lapses at the Anuradhapura Airbase. They claimed these exposures are warranted given the negligence and serious lapses in security at the base. They further believe that civilians have the right to information regarding the management of the war, acquisition or destruction of military assets etc given they do not unduly assist the enemy.
Independent verification on Tiger casualties are not available at the moment, but military says several LTTE cadres may have been killed or injured during the attack. Sri Lanka Army made more than 10 attempts to penetrate in to the Tiger home land since early this year but failed due to heavy resistance by the LTTE.
Meanwhile Army's infantry units moving ahead of the Muhamalai Forward Defenceline in Jaffna last morning destroyed an LTTE bunkerline killing ten LTTE cadres. Their bodies were left behind due to logistical problems. The Army has also intensified shelling and artillery strikes on identified LTTE targets ahead of the Vavuniya FDL this morning. Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Air Force is continuing air-strikes on pre-identified targets. The most recent attack was on an LTTE intelligence gathering place in Puthukudiiruppu on Monday, an attack on an LTTE Sea Tiger base on Tuesday and an LTTE training base in Weli Oya this morning. The locations of the targets were gathered prior to the loss of the UAVs.
Two members of the Army's Elite Special Forces were killed in a bunker-busting operation ahead of the Mannar Forward Defenceline. The two men were part of an 8-man team from the 2nd Special Forces Brigade that had to face unusual resistance from the LTTE in a thick jungle area. The two men got trapped and laid down their lives valiantly killing six LTTE cadres in the process. The thick jungle covering prevented the other six men from getting to the two men who got trapped and the terrain provided the LTTE an opportunity to seize the remains of the two soldiers, whose bodies have since been returned through the Red Cross. Contrary to Pro-LTTE Media, these were not members of the Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Team (LRRP/LRS). By the time this is written, the SLA has overrun the LTTE's FDL in Mannar killing over twenty LTTE cadres in a fresh offensive launched by the SLA this morning.
Meanwhile many senior officers of the Military commended President Mahinda Rajapakse's decision to withdraw the Media Censorship Law. They are of the opinion that almost all Sinhala and English Media and some Tamil Media are faithful to the Military, but had no option but criticize the lapses at the Anuradhapura Airbase. They claimed these exposures are warranted given the negligence and serious lapses in security at the base. They further believe that civilians have the right to information regarding the management of the war, acquisition or destruction of military assets etc given they do not unduly assist the enemy.
Countering Force Multiplication
The recent LTTE attack in Anuradhapura is an example of Force Multiplication in 4th Generation War. The 21 Black Tigers acted as a Force Multiplier for the Tigers, shifting the Center of Gravity of the War. If the Sri Lanka Government is to overcome this threat, it must identify and use its Force Multipliers to good effect. They must also transform themselves from waging a 3rd Generation War (3GW) to a 4th Generation War (4GW or Counter-Insurgency).
Let’s understand these concepts and their applicability to the conflict. A Force Multiplier is a factor, person or unit that can dramatically increase effectiveness in war to reverse losses and increase prospects for victory. 3rd Generation war is linear but tactical use of units to infiltrate, bypass and collapse an enemy. 4th Generation War is a tactic used by non-state actors engaged in asymmetric war against a state. Asymmetric war is a war between a stronger military entity and a weaker military entity.
The Beechcraft, UAVs and the Fighter Jets were Force Multipliers for the Military. The LTTE destroyed them because of their force multiplication effect. The Military uses specially trained units as Force Multipliers in 3rd Generation War to infiltrate, bypass and collapse the enemy and attack it from the rear (LRRP). The LTTE counters the Military’s 3rd Generation War through Defence in Depth - meaning the longer the infiltration by the Army, the greater the resistance by LTTE. The LTTE also uses Black Tigers in 4th Generation Wars to attack physical, psychological and moral elements of the Military. This enables them to change the Center of Gravity of the war from Tamil Nationalism and grievances to effective Terrorism or Insurgency depending on the LTTE’s requirement. The state cannot shift its Center of Gravity like a non-state actor does since it is bound by principles of good-governance.
So how can a state win in asymmetric war where the weaker side uses effective terrorist tactics and 4th Generation War? Military History provides examples of states winning such wars through a ‘simple’ formula;
*Invest on quality, highly-trained and disciplined infantrymen and not on expensive weapons. (Quality not Quantity)
*Understand your weaknesses, the enemy and the terrain (Sun Tsu in The Art of War says know your Enemy, Know yourself. Know the terrain)
*Win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the local (Tamil) population for better intelligence gathering by avoiding collective punishment and the risk of damage to civilians.
Separate politics from war, soldier from civilian and peace from conflict.
*Move from tactical linear warfare (3GW) to Counter-insurgency and Counter Terrorism tactics (anti-4GW).
Let’s understand these concepts and their applicability to the conflict. A Force Multiplier is a factor, person or unit that can dramatically increase effectiveness in war to reverse losses and increase prospects for victory. 3rd Generation war is linear but tactical use of units to infiltrate, bypass and collapse an enemy. 4th Generation War is a tactic used by non-state actors engaged in asymmetric war against a state. Asymmetric war is a war between a stronger military entity and a weaker military entity.
The Beechcraft, UAVs and the Fighter Jets were Force Multipliers for the Military. The LTTE destroyed them because of their force multiplication effect. The Military uses specially trained units as Force Multipliers in 3rd Generation War to infiltrate, bypass and collapse the enemy and attack it from the rear (LRRP). The LTTE counters the Military’s 3rd Generation War through Defence in Depth - meaning the longer the infiltration by the Army, the greater the resistance by LTTE. The LTTE also uses Black Tigers in 4th Generation Wars to attack physical, psychological and moral elements of the Military. This enables them to change the Center of Gravity of the war from Tamil Nationalism and grievances to effective Terrorism or Insurgency depending on the LTTE’s requirement. The state cannot shift its Center of Gravity like a non-state actor does since it is bound by principles of good-governance.
So how can a state win in asymmetric war where the weaker side uses effective terrorist tactics and 4th Generation War? Military History provides examples of states winning such wars through a ‘simple’ formula;
*Invest on quality, highly-trained and disciplined infantrymen and not on expensive weapons. (Quality not Quantity)
*Understand your weaknesses, the enemy and the terrain (Sun Tsu in The Art of War says know your Enemy, Know yourself. Know the terrain)
*Win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the local (Tamil) population for better intelligence gathering by avoiding collective punishment and the risk of damage to civilians.
Separate politics from war, soldier from civilian and peace from conflict.
*Move from tactical linear warfare (3GW) to Counter-insurgency and Counter Terrorism tactics (anti-4GW).
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Hearsay as Gospel
Yesterday, Maneka Gandhi, an environmentalist of international repute said, in her column in this newspaper, parrots were far more intelligent than they were thought to be and capable of making rational decisions based on their own judgment, contrary to the conventional belief that they can only imitate humans. Sadly, some humans seem to lack that parrot-faculty. They rush to conclusions based on hearsay. The US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack has urged the Sri Lankan government to reconsider its decision not to allow the UN to base a human rights group in the country, citing an assessment by UN Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour that the human rights situation was deteriorating in Sri Lanka as the reason.
Let there be no argument that the human rights situation in this country is bad. But, it is not as bad as it is made out to be. If one were to go by the various reports filed by vested interests, then one would conclude the situation in this country is far worse than that in Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq, where American private security personnel can mow down Iraqis with impunity, as the Blackwater mercenaries did the other day.
The Sri Lankan government, no doubt, has to get its act together and take steps to improve the human rights situation with the help of genuine human rights groups, who are critical of violations by both the government troops and the LTTE, as we have repeatedly pointed out in these columns. Those who are calling for the establishment of a UN human rights mission here without highlighting and/or condemning the human rights violations by the LTTE are only furthering the interests of the LTTE, which is striving for a Cyprus like situation here through UN involvement. Ms. Arbour seems to be yielding to pressure exerted by various separatist fronts including a section of the Colombo-based NGO circuit, whose bosses get paid more than Ms. Arbour per month to create an environment conducive to LTTE operations.
This country may be anything but a killing field like Iraq, where not even an ordinary civilian can walk the streets without fear of being abducted or killed by religious fanatics despite the heavy presence of the US-led forces helping maintain law and order. Can a foreign diplomat ever think of venturing out at an ungodly hour for a stroll on a street in Afghanistan or Iraq? No! But, Mr. McCormack should be told that it was only the other day that the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake took part in a ten-kilometre marathon in Colombo! The same envoy together with a group of other ambassadors had to hit the dirt in the East a few months ago when the LTTE showered shells on them before that part of the country was 'cleared'.
It is in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. McCormack will agree with us, that Ms Arbour's services are most needed. Time was when in Iraq, deaths of children continued at 5,000 per month due to sanctions. In 2002, UNICEF estimated that 70 per cent of child deaths resulted from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. Those children, who died due to sanctions, could have been saved, had there been a proper human rights intervention. Although no comprehensive study has been carried out in that country of late, the situation is believed to be equally bad. Ms Arbour should also make a trip to Diego Garcia, where the CIA is accused of having a secret prison to 'put terror suspects to the question'. Ironically, while Mr. McCormack and Ms Arbour are busy trying to intervene in Sri Lanka, the much-dreaded hangman's noose, which is the symbol of lynching, has made a comeback in New York, much to the horror of the African American community. This time round, the ugly head of white racism has manifested itself at the Columbia University, where Prof. Madonna Constantine had a hangman's noose hanging from her door the other day. Prof. Constantine, who teaches psychology and education, is the author of the book Addressing Racism: Facilitating Cultural Competence in Mental Health and Education. One is reminded of the recent Jena Case, which sparked racial tensions and civil rights protests against what was dubbed double standards of prosecution for blacks and whites in the US.
Finally, that foreign powers have no right to intervene in this country doesn't mean that the Rajapaksa government can turn a blind eye to human rights violations. It has to strengthen the local human rights protection mechanisms and permit the involvement of local independent human rights groups to monitor abuses, probe them and make recommendations, which need to be implemented. Similarly, those UN knights in shining armour tilting at windmills in small countries should be told that the protection of human rights is next to impossible during a fiercely fought war.
Sri Lanka is fighting the LTTE not for the fun of it. It has no other way of dealing with the outfit as it is not amenable to a negotiated settlement. Minister Douglas Devananda, a one time confidant of LTTE leader Prabhakaran, recently told Parliament that even if one could achieve the feats such as 'brushing the teeth of a cobra, ploughing the sea or squeezing an elephant through the eye of a needle, one couldn't make peace with Prabhakaran'.
About the PKK (or the Kurdistan People's Party), Mr. McCormack said on Tuesday, "You can't negotiate with a terrorist organisation... you have to deal with the larger question of how you eliminate threat from a terrorist organisation...to make sure that there are no further attacks or loss of innocent life..." But, it is the very antithesis of this policy that the US wants Sri Lanka to adopt!
Not even a game of soccer, Mr. McCormack and Ms Arbour will see, gets played without head-butts and illegal tackling. So, the best way to prevent human rights abuses is to put an end to the on-going war. If the foreign powers are not using human rights as a Trojan horse to achieve some sinister objective through their involvement in Sri Lanka's conflict, they must go all out to bring the LTTE to the negotiating table which it unilaterally left under the UNF government which was bending over backwards to keep the peace process on the track and stood accused of servile appeasement.
Will Mr. McCormack and Ms Arbour take notice?
(www.island.lk)
Let there be no argument that the human rights situation in this country is bad. But, it is not as bad as it is made out to be. If one were to go by the various reports filed by vested interests, then one would conclude the situation in this country is far worse than that in Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq, where American private security personnel can mow down Iraqis with impunity, as the Blackwater mercenaries did the other day.
The Sri Lankan government, no doubt, has to get its act together and take steps to improve the human rights situation with the help of genuine human rights groups, who are critical of violations by both the government troops and the LTTE, as we have repeatedly pointed out in these columns. Those who are calling for the establishment of a UN human rights mission here without highlighting and/or condemning the human rights violations by the LTTE are only furthering the interests of the LTTE, which is striving for a Cyprus like situation here through UN involvement. Ms. Arbour seems to be yielding to pressure exerted by various separatist fronts including a section of the Colombo-based NGO circuit, whose bosses get paid more than Ms. Arbour per month to create an environment conducive to LTTE operations.
This country may be anything but a killing field like Iraq, where not even an ordinary civilian can walk the streets without fear of being abducted or killed by religious fanatics despite the heavy presence of the US-led forces helping maintain law and order. Can a foreign diplomat ever think of venturing out at an ungodly hour for a stroll on a street in Afghanistan or Iraq? No! But, Mr. McCormack should be told that it was only the other day that the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake took part in a ten-kilometre marathon in Colombo! The same envoy together with a group of other ambassadors had to hit the dirt in the East a few months ago when the LTTE showered shells on them before that part of the country was 'cleared'.
It is in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. McCormack will agree with us, that Ms Arbour's services are most needed. Time was when in Iraq, deaths of children continued at 5,000 per month due to sanctions. In 2002, UNICEF estimated that 70 per cent of child deaths resulted from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. Those children, who died due to sanctions, could have been saved, had there been a proper human rights intervention. Although no comprehensive study has been carried out in that country of late, the situation is believed to be equally bad. Ms Arbour should also make a trip to Diego Garcia, where the CIA is accused of having a secret prison to 'put terror suspects to the question'. Ironically, while Mr. McCormack and Ms Arbour are busy trying to intervene in Sri Lanka, the much-dreaded hangman's noose, which is the symbol of lynching, has made a comeback in New York, much to the horror of the African American community. This time round, the ugly head of white racism has manifested itself at the Columbia University, where Prof. Madonna Constantine had a hangman's noose hanging from her door the other day. Prof. Constantine, who teaches psychology and education, is the author of the book Addressing Racism: Facilitating Cultural Competence in Mental Health and Education. One is reminded of the recent Jena Case, which sparked racial tensions and civil rights protests against what was dubbed double standards of prosecution for blacks and whites in the US.
Finally, that foreign powers have no right to intervene in this country doesn't mean that the Rajapaksa government can turn a blind eye to human rights violations. It has to strengthen the local human rights protection mechanisms and permit the involvement of local independent human rights groups to monitor abuses, probe them and make recommendations, which need to be implemented. Similarly, those UN knights in shining armour tilting at windmills in small countries should be told that the protection of human rights is next to impossible during a fiercely fought war.
Sri Lanka is fighting the LTTE not for the fun of it. It has no other way of dealing with the outfit as it is not amenable to a negotiated settlement. Minister Douglas Devananda, a one time confidant of LTTE leader Prabhakaran, recently told Parliament that even if one could achieve the feats such as 'brushing the teeth of a cobra, ploughing the sea or squeezing an elephant through the eye of a needle, one couldn't make peace with Prabhakaran'.
About the PKK (or the Kurdistan People's Party), Mr. McCormack said on Tuesday, "You can't negotiate with a terrorist organisation... you have to deal with the larger question of how you eliminate threat from a terrorist organisation...to make sure that there are no further attacks or loss of innocent life..." But, it is the very antithesis of this policy that the US wants Sri Lanka to adopt!
Not even a game of soccer, Mr. McCormack and Ms Arbour will see, gets played without head-butts and illegal tackling. So, the best way to prevent human rights abuses is to put an end to the on-going war. If the foreign powers are not using human rights as a Trojan horse to achieve some sinister objective through their involvement in Sri Lanka's conflict, they must go all out to bring the LTTE to the negotiating table which it unilaterally left under the UNF government which was bending over backwards to keep the peace process on the track and stood accused of servile appeasement.
Will Mr. McCormack and Ms Arbour take notice?
(www.island.lk)
Civilians fleeing from the Tiger controlled areas in the North on the increase
Nine (09) Tamil youths aged between 20-25, residents from Mullaithievu, surrendered at the naval detachment, at Mannar-Pallimunai on Tuesday (30). According to their statements, recorded individually, they reached Papamottai by trekking jungle tracks (an area North of Vidithalathievu) and then walked along the shores up to Pallimunai, where the Sri Lanka Naval detachment was located.
When questioned by the naval personnel, surrendered youths declared that as Tamil Tigers were involved in the conscription of youths, they fled Mullaithievu and sought protection in government controlled area. They also said that Tigers’ at present adopt a very aggressive and violent method to recruit youths.
They further revealed that Tigers used to forcefully recruit young ones, as cannon fodders, without any considerations about the future of Tamil youths. They added that parents’ pleas were simply ignored by Tigers and at times parents intimidated and their voices stilled.
To avoid from being kidnapped by Tigers, according to the surrendered youths, many youngsters spend their nights sneaking into jungle hideouts, as kidnapping in Mullaithievu used to take place in nights.
Also they told that if in case one needs to sit for the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examinations, joining the Tigers is a must. Kidnapping school children on their way to school by Tiger cadres who come on motor bikes has become a day to day common event.
According to reports, Tamil youths who surrendered to the Navy were later handed over to the Mannar Police for further investigations.
Furthermore, on May this year, a family from Pudukudirippu area took a chance between life and death when they boarded a fibre glass dinghy in order to proceed to Trincomalee. Their message was perceptible one; ‘only to be liberated from Tigers deadly grip.‘
Reports revealed that over the last couple of months, more than 200 Tamil civilians fled from Tiger dens, surrendered to Sri Lanka Navy in Mannar area.
A spokesperson for Navy told Asian Tribune that already large number of civilians fleeing from areas controlled by Tigers had also surrendered to Army and Police from various parts of the North. He added that civilians fleeing from the Tiger controlled region at present is on the increase.
When questioned by the naval personnel, surrendered youths declared that as Tamil Tigers were involved in the conscription of youths, they fled Mullaithievu and sought protection in government controlled area. They also said that Tigers’ at present adopt a very aggressive and violent method to recruit youths.
They further revealed that Tigers used to forcefully recruit young ones, as cannon fodders, without any considerations about the future of Tamil youths. They added that parents’ pleas were simply ignored by Tigers and at times parents intimidated and their voices stilled.
To avoid from being kidnapped by Tigers, according to the surrendered youths, many youngsters spend their nights sneaking into jungle hideouts, as kidnapping in Mullaithievu used to take place in nights.
Also they told that if in case one needs to sit for the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examinations, joining the Tigers is a must. Kidnapping school children on their way to school by Tiger cadres who come on motor bikes has become a day to day common event.
According to reports, Tamil youths who surrendered to the Navy were later handed over to the Mannar Police for further investigations.
Furthermore, on May this year, a family from Pudukudirippu area took a chance between life and death when they boarded a fibre glass dinghy in order to proceed to Trincomalee. Their message was perceptible one; ‘only to be liberated from Tigers deadly grip.‘
Reports revealed that over the last couple of months, more than 200 Tamil civilians fled from Tiger dens, surrendered to Sri Lanka Navy in Mannar area.
A spokesperson for Navy told Asian Tribune that already large number of civilians fleeing from areas controlled by Tigers had also surrendered to Army and Police from various parts of the North. He added that civilians fleeing from the Tiger controlled region at present is on the increase.
LTTE bases destroyed
The Air Force on Thursday claimed to have raided two bases of the LTTE including a centre in the north where the “Black Tigers,” the suicide squad of the Tigers, are trained.
The raids came after a 21-member LTTE suicide squad attacked the Anuradhapura air base on Monday destroying eight military aircraft and killing 14 military personnel.
The Defence Ministry here said Thursday’s raid targeted an LTTE location identified as a threat to the Forward Defence Line (FDL) in Vavuniya.
It said the air sorties were carried on the basis of information gathered from “ground and air surveillance” and claimed that the LTTE had sustained severe damages.
However, the LTTE disputed the Air Force version and alleged that three civilians including a pregnant were killed in the raid.
It alleged that eight persons including four children were injured.
Separately, TamilNet claimed that five personnel were killed when a “guerilla team of attackers” ambushed a Navy convoy in the Hambantota district on Thursday. However, there was no immediate confirmation of the incident from the military.
The raids came after a 21-member LTTE suicide squad attacked the Anuradhapura air base on Monday destroying eight military aircraft and killing 14 military personnel.
The Defence Ministry here said Thursday’s raid targeted an LTTE location identified as a threat to the Forward Defence Line (FDL) in Vavuniya.
It said the air sorties were carried on the basis of information gathered from “ground and air surveillance” and claimed that the LTTE had sustained severe damages.
However, the LTTE disputed the Air Force version and alleged that three civilians including a pregnant were killed in the raid.
It alleged that eight persons including four children were injured.
Separately, TamilNet claimed that five personnel were killed when a “guerilla team of attackers” ambushed a Navy convoy in the Hambantota district on Thursday. However, there was no immediate confirmation of the incident from the military.
Sri Lankan Tamils, the ‘Cats Paw’ of the Church
The Christian denominations were first introduced to Ceylon by the Portuguese who invaded the country in 1505. Their reign was confined mainly to the coastal areas of the country and they vandalized the property in those areas raping women and brutally enforcing their will on the people. Their vagrancy was such that even today when the Sri Lankan landscape is dotted with the ancient ruins of a bygone civilization, the areas occupied by Portuguese are conspicuous by the absence of such evidence. The Sinhalese Kings sought the help of the Dutch, who were somewhat more reasonable, to get rid of the Portuguese. Then the British, who appeared most gentlemanly, came along and took over the country on an agreement entered in to with the Sri Lankan chieftains to protect Sri Lankan values and its religion. British with their ostensible gentlemanliness was the only power to conquer the whole of Sri Lanka in 1815.
All these external invaders brought the Bible along with them. The Catholics, the Reformist and the Anglicans in that order, advised the locals to ‘hold the Bible in their hands and pray with closed eyes’. When they opened their eyes, they still had the Bible in their hands, but alas all the land was in the hands of the invaders. The colonialists were not prepared to accept the idyllic lifestyle of the Islanders influenced by eastern philosophy and values that were different from theirs.
They advised the locals that ‘It is uncivilized to not believe in God’ and thereby arrogated the power to civilize the Islanders. They preached ‘love’ when the islanders already knew of ‘maithree’, ‘karuna’, ‘muditha’ and ‘uppekha’, more advanced stages of human kindness. Love in the eastern thinking was just ‘selfish infatuation’. But finally those who possessed more fire power proved to be the better ‘civilized’ and hence prevailed over the locals. Yet when the Catholics, with a Portuguese legacy, were eventually persecuted by the Anglicans, the Catholics had to seek refuge in the King of Kandy (uncivilized) to obtain Wahakotte as their undisturbed habitation.
The Anglican Church wielded enormous power over the Island nation during the British reign of more than 150 years. After having marginalized the indigenous education system they invited American missionaries to commence schools in Jaffna to create a blue collar work force for their plantations and administration in the1820’s. They preferred the manageable minority Tamils to the rebelling Sinhalese who had staged three rebellions up to then resisting the colonial power. As a result St Patricks and St Micheals and Vembeddy girls school were all started in the Jaffna district as the first schools in the Island of Ceylon.
The British colonialist expropriated the land of the locals and converted the Island in to a garden of plantations. They found the marginalized Indian labor more manageable to the savage looking slave labor that was used in other parts of the western world. Hence they ‘consigned’ contingents of labor from India to Ceylon to work in the plantation. From the Thalaimannar pier the indentured labor with their families were made to walk a distance of more than 200 miles through the jungle terrain. Some dropped dead on the way and the dead bodies were left for the jackals in the jungles. Once in the plantation, the lined rooms which were the permanent abode of the Indian Tamils, were no better than cattle sheds. A family of 6 or 7 lived in a room of 10’ by 6’.
The three Singhalese rebellions staged, were crushed with brute force exterminating not only the people but even the trees, paddy fields and other wherewithal that helped the locals in their dwelling. Entire areas and provinces were made barren, dislocating populations. As a testimony to this inhuman devastation, even to day the most fertile areas of the Island in the South East known as the ‘Wellassa’ (one hundred thousand paddy fields) is only parsley populated. The Anglican Church did not remain a passive spectator of all this ‘ungodly’ acts. They started conscripting the local population dangling the carrots of education and employment.
After more than 150 years of rule, when the British were compelled to leave the Island on the new world order brought about by the realization of the unceasing nature of the domination by arms, a privileged elite class of Anglo Saxon thinking, lead by the Church, had emerged in Sri Lanka from among locals. Unlike in India, in Sri Lanka there was no national struggle to win independence and as a result the patriotic indigenous leadership did not synchronize. The British handed over the power to the new local elites expecting them to preserve that status quo.
The new Government of the Independent Sri Lanka was initially towing the British line but eventually with the masses taking over the reigns of power the much awaited, progressive legislations were introduced. For instance, at the time of independence (1948), only 6% of the country’s population was conversant in English, the official language of the time. As a result 94 % of the country’s population was in the dark, being governed by the English speaking elite. Swabasha was introduced in 1956 to overcome this anomaly. With that move the foundation of the English speaking elite started to crack. The vested interests of the Church reacted to this in all possible ways. Even though there was provision for reasonable use of Tamil in the new legislation the Church propagated to the world about the unreasonableness of the legislation. The fact that there was a disproportionate amount of Tamils in the state service due to a one sided education policy for centuries gave credence to the ‘Tamil grievance’ as a corollary of the swabasha Bill. The church baptized the bill ‘Singhala only’
They found a very willing ally in Chelvanayagam, son of a clergyman, who was more Anglican than Tamil. He was obsessed with the thought that ‘How come these uneducated Sinhalese, being only a few million in population, could have a country of their own when the Tamils numbering 50 million could not have theirs’. According to him the ‘Singhalese were not big enough to govern us the Tamils’. The elite Tamil community who themselves had lost their privileges after the exit of the British was a good breeding ground for ‘alleged discrimination’. Chelvanayagam was not interested in implementing the reasonable use of Tamil because he would rather keep the ‘grievance’. He instead used this as an opportunity to introduce the first steps of the bifurcation plan in the form of Bandaranaike Chelvanayagam Pact where he demanded the land rights to North and the East. His strategy for total separation eventually was ‘little now and more later’. The B-C pact was rejected by the discerning public giving more propaganda matter to the Church and the Tamil elite.
It is not that the Tamils in general had no issue to demand more from the state but it is just that with a Sinhala dominated Government in power, the separatist minded Tamil elite like Chelvanayagam were able to project the Sri Lanka Government of the time as the source of all short comings. The popularity of the separatist politics of Chelvanayagam made even Ponnambalam resign from the Government, placing the Tamil community in a confrontational course with the Government of the day just two years after independence.
The legacy of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka was that of colonial crusades, forced conscriptions, discriminatory treatment and economic exploitation. Hence it could not have picked any of those as a grievance against the now liberated Sinhala Buddhist population. But by taking the side of the Tamils it is saving itself and the status quo of the English speaking elite while projecting an image of a ‘fighter of the underdog’. Therefore with Sri Lanka gaining independence the Church changed its role from ‘blessing the aggressor’ to ‘fighting for the underdog’. That probably was the best way to check the progressive measures of the new Sri Lanka Government thereby preventing the transformation of Christian religion from the ‘patronized religion’ to the ‘religion of an insignificant minority’.
With the advent of Swabasha education the new liberated schools like Ananda and Nalanda broke the Christian monopoly on education and even the Maha Vidyalayas came to the fore with academic achievements surpassing the Christian schools. The Christian education suffered another body blow when they were taken over by the Government with progressive legislation in the 1960.s. Up to that time these Christian schools with their suave and ‘international’ standards were catering to the exclusive sections of the society producing even the leaders of the post independent Sri Lanka. Even today the English language media and the corporate sector in the country is made up of ‘old boys’ of these Christian schools. That way, what the Church could not accomplish in the form religious conversions had been compensated for in the form of conversions in culture and in thinking. In 1962 the senior police and security forces staged a coup de’tat against the elected Government of the day. All those officers who were involved were Christians and had that being successful; it was very likely that there would have been religious riots in Colombo as a corollary.
The Church had been consistently ‘sympathetic’ to the needs of the Tamils and helped them in innumerable ways to built up a Diaspora from the 1960’s. It was the Vatican through its communication network disseminated to the world the events of July 83 painting the Sinhalese Buddhist as ‘uncivilized barbarians’. From that point onwards the western funded and the Church guided National Peace Council unleashed its propaganda machine to justify all the heinous crimes committed by the LTTE as ‘retaliatory activities’ prompted by the July 83 incidents. In actual fact, by July 83 the Tamil guerillas had broken in to 15 banks and 18 police stations making it impossible for the civil administration to maintain law and order and in the North. Hence July 83 was the effect of those activities. But the NPC propaganda made July 83 a ‘cause’ to justify the killings and maiming of thousands of innocent civilians, in their homes, in their sleep, in places of worship, places of work or just on the road. Ironically even though the LTTE has now come to be known as the ‘world’s most ruthless terror organization’ none of its activities received the same publicity that July 83 received in the Vatican.
It should also be borne in mind that it was the World Council of Churches that sponsored the LTTE office in London which commenced its operation from 1984 denigrating the SL Government in general and the Sinhalese Buddhist in particular. The heads of the different Christian denominations in SL issue press statements from time to time, on the ongoing conflict, blaming mostly both parties to the Sri Lankan conflict, quite oblivious to the fact that on the one hand you have the legitimate Government of the country bending over backwards for peace and on the other the intransigent, ruthless and a totalitarian terrorist organization. They also make pilgrimages to Kilinochchi and eulogize the most ruthless terror leader and his activities. These are mostly done for the consumption of the Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE sympathizing Governments in the west.
Jesus Christ died as he had no cause even against those who plotted his murder. But the Church appears to justify the barbarism of Prabhakaran in the name of some illusive and unspecified ‘Tamil grievances’. These grievances are so holy to the Church that the Church even justifies mayhem and murder perpetrated on innocent lives in the name of these causes.
Although Buddhism is a philosophy that differs from Hinduism as a religion, practically in religious observances there is very little to choose between Buddhist and Hindu practices. They patronize the same temples and worship the same Gods. But the LTTE ‘s hatred for Buddhism is much larger than its hatred for the Sinhalese as this has been made plain by their many attacks on the Buddhist places of worship, killing of Buddhist monks and carrying out international propaganda against Buddhism in particular. When Taliban rulers decided to destroy the priceless Buddha statues in Afghanistan the whole world spoke against the act irrespective of religion, and LTTE was the only organization that issued a statement justifying the act.
The propaganda of the Church is very subtle. In spite of the ‘peace follies’ committed by successive SL Governments that bestowed a semblance of legitimacy on the LTTE, even today the Church will advocate ‘negotiations’. They wish that the legitimate Government keep talking till Prabhakaran muster enough military muscle and international diplomacy to attack and over through the Sri Lankan regime. They will express concern about ‘Human rights’ violations oblivious to the fact that the reason for these violations is the presence of a brutal terror outfit in our midst. They will loud the army excesses and provide a subtle platform for the LTTE in the international media. If a journalist wishes to expose national defense, for the benefit of the LTTE, he could always seek refuge in the Church under the guise of ‘freedom of expression’. This way the Church has been marshaling international opinion against the SL Government thereby making Sri Lanka, a pariah state in the eyes of the ‘International community’. On the face of it, there appears nothing wrong with the activities of the Church, because their modus operandi is ‘peace’, ‘human rights’ and ‘press freedom’. However, if the Government tries to muscle the Church for their subtle strategies, it will invariably stand accused of another basic violation to this list and that will be the ‘violation of the rights of the religious minorities’.
Recently the Bishop of Colombo issued a press statement on the aftermath of the visit by Ms Luise Arbour , the Directress of Human rights in the UN. This appeared to be a timely release to add pressure on Ms Arbour who in turn would add pressure on the SL Government to accommodate a UN human rights mandate in the country. Such a mandate was originally requested by the Bishop of Jaffna. The intensions of the Church are to cause foreign intervention in the country by some ruse. Because if the Sinhala Buddhist regime consolidates its power, the Church would be destined as the pontiff of an insignificant religious minority.
The son of the Bishop of Colombo Vijith de Chickera runs the Lanka Monthly Digest LMD which is very influential with the Sri Lankan business community. That too propagates ‘putative peace’, very subtly over business ethics, to the Sri Lankan corporate sector. The English media in Sri Lanka is exclusively dominated by the Christians and those with ‘western international’ mindset. Not only that they churn out putative peace propaganda day in and day out, but also acts as a filter for the international news agencies making sure that only ‘anti Sinhala Buddhist news’ gets highlighted in the international media.
The previous regime of President Chandrika Kumaranatunge came to power on a platform of ‘peace’ and survived her term on ‘peace’. But her activities caused the deaths of more than 40,000 Sinhala and Tamil lives of, the armed forces, the LTTE and the civilians. That was an unprecedented damage compared to the previous regimes. The LTTE became more nationally and internationally powerful during her time causing the most damage to the Sri Lankan economy. The Church had no compunction however, and in fact she was the darling of the Church because she shared the western concept of putative peace in Sri Lanka.
The present position of the Tamils in Sri Lanka is a far cry from what it was at the turn of independence. From the position of an ‘educated and privileged minority’ it has come down to a position of a ‘terrorist community in direct violent confrontation with the Government’. There numbers two have dwindled and the recent statistics have shown that they have been overtaken by the moor community in numbers. If the conflict prolongs in to the next decade the Sri Lankan Tamil community would be the first casualty of this conflict. Prabhakaran has long given up fighting for anything of the Tamils. He was a young bandit romantically attracted to the separatists propaganda of the Tamil elite in the 60’s and walked with all the patronage in to that platform. At 54 he is more matured now and knows only too well that his 30 year adventure has put the Tamil community 100 years behind. The enthusiasm of the Diaspora and local Tamil community has dwindled. Now he fights for his own survival with the support of the Church but at the cost of his own community.
The Church has used the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, first to build up its economy through the plantation, then to run the colonial administration and now to do the bidding for Prabhakaran to preserve its status quo.
(http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/8060)
All these external invaders brought the Bible along with them. The Catholics, the Reformist and the Anglicans in that order, advised the locals to ‘hold the Bible in their hands and pray with closed eyes’. When they opened their eyes, they still had the Bible in their hands, but alas all the land was in the hands of the invaders. The colonialists were not prepared to accept the idyllic lifestyle of the Islanders influenced by eastern philosophy and values that were different from theirs.
They advised the locals that ‘It is uncivilized to not believe in God’ and thereby arrogated the power to civilize the Islanders. They preached ‘love’ when the islanders already knew of ‘maithree’, ‘karuna’, ‘muditha’ and ‘uppekha’, more advanced stages of human kindness. Love in the eastern thinking was just ‘selfish infatuation’. But finally those who possessed more fire power proved to be the better ‘civilized’ and hence prevailed over the locals. Yet when the Catholics, with a Portuguese legacy, were eventually persecuted by the Anglicans, the Catholics had to seek refuge in the King of Kandy (uncivilized) to obtain Wahakotte as their undisturbed habitation.
The Anglican Church wielded enormous power over the Island nation during the British reign of more than 150 years. After having marginalized the indigenous education system they invited American missionaries to commence schools in Jaffna to create a blue collar work force for their plantations and administration in the1820’s. They preferred the manageable minority Tamils to the rebelling Sinhalese who had staged three rebellions up to then resisting the colonial power. As a result St Patricks and St Micheals and Vembeddy girls school were all started in the Jaffna district as the first schools in the Island of Ceylon.
The British colonialist expropriated the land of the locals and converted the Island in to a garden of plantations. They found the marginalized Indian labor more manageable to the savage looking slave labor that was used in other parts of the western world. Hence they ‘consigned’ contingents of labor from India to Ceylon to work in the plantation. From the Thalaimannar pier the indentured labor with their families were made to walk a distance of more than 200 miles through the jungle terrain. Some dropped dead on the way and the dead bodies were left for the jackals in the jungles. Once in the plantation, the lined rooms which were the permanent abode of the Indian Tamils, were no better than cattle sheds. A family of 6 or 7 lived in a room of 10’ by 6’.
The three Singhalese rebellions staged, were crushed with brute force exterminating not only the people but even the trees, paddy fields and other wherewithal that helped the locals in their dwelling. Entire areas and provinces were made barren, dislocating populations. As a testimony to this inhuman devastation, even to day the most fertile areas of the Island in the South East known as the ‘Wellassa’ (one hundred thousand paddy fields) is only parsley populated. The Anglican Church did not remain a passive spectator of all this ‘ungodly’ acts. They started conscripting the local population dangling the carrots of education and employment.
After more than 150 years of rule, when the British were compelled to leave the Island on the new world order brought about by the realization of the unceasing nature of the domination by arms, a privileged elite class of Anglo Saxon thinking, lead by the Church, had emerged in Sri Lanka from among locals. Unlike in India, in Sri Lanka there was no national struggle to win independence and as a result the patriotic indigenous leadership did not synchronize. The British handed over the power to the new local elites expecting them to preserve that status quo.
The new Government of the Independent Sri Lanka was initially towing the British line but eventually with the masses taking over the reigns of power the much awaited, progressive legislations were introduced. For instance, at the time of independence (1948), only 6% of the country’s population was conversant in English, the official language of the time. As a result 94 % of the country’s population was in the dark, being governed by the English speaking elite. Swabasha was introduced in 1956 to overcome this anomaly. With that move the foundation of the English speaking elite started to crack. The vested interests of the Church reacted to this in all possible ways. Even though there was provision for reasonable use of Tamil in the new legislation the Church propagated to the world about the unreasonableness of the legislation. The fact that there was a disproportionate amount of Tamils in the state service due to a one sided education policy for centuries gave credence to the ‘Tamil grievance’ as a corollary of the swabasha Bill. The church baptized the bill ‘Singhala only’
They found a very willing ally in Chelvanayagam, son of a clergyman, who was more Anglican than Tamil. He was obsessed with the thought that ‘How come these uneducated Sinhalese, being only a few million in population, could have a country of their own when the Tamils numbering 50 million could not have theirs’. According to him the ‘Singhalese were not big enough to govern us the Tamils’. The elite Tamil community who themselves had lost their privileges after the exit of the British was a good breeding ground for ‘alleged discrimination’. Chelvanayagam was not interested in implementing the reasonable use of Tamil because he would rather keep the ‘grievance’. He instead used this as an opportunity to introduce the first steps of the bifurcation plan in the form of Bandaranaike Chelvanayagam Pact where he demanded the land rights to North and the East. His strategy for total separation eventually was ‘little now and more later’. The B-C pact was rejected by the discerning public giving more propaganda matter to the Church and the Tamil elite.
It is not that the Tamils in general had no issue to demand more from the state but it is just that with a Sinhala dominated Government in power, the separatist minded Tamil elite like Chelvanayagam were able to project the Sri Lanka Government of the time as the source of all short comings. The popularity of the separatist politics of Chelvanayagam made even Ponnambalam resign from the Government, placing the Tamil community in a confrontational course with the Government of the day just two years after independence.
The legacy of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka was that of colonial crusades, forced conscriptions, discriminatory treatment and economic exploitation. Hence it could not have picked any of those as a grievance against the now liberated Sinhala Buddhist population. But by taking the side of the Tamils it is saving itself and the status quo of the English speaking elite while projecting an image of a ‘fighter of the underdog’. Therefore with Sri Lanka gaining independence the Church changed its role from ‘blessing the aggressor’ to ‘fighting for the underdog’. That probably was the best way to check the progressive measures of the new Sri Lanka Government thereby preventing the transformation of Christian religion from the ‘patronized religion’ to the ‘religion of an insignificant minority’.
With the advent of Swabasha education the new liberated schools like Ananda and Nalanda broke the Christian monopoly on education and even the Maha Vidyalayas came to the fore with academic achievements surpassing the Christian schools. The Christian education suffered another body blow when they were taken over by the Government with progressive legislation in the 1960.s. Up to that time these Christian schools with their suave and ‘international’ standards were catering to the exclusive sections of the society producing even the leaders of the post independent Sri Lanka. Even today the English language media and the corporate sector in the country is made up of ‘old boys’ of these Christian schools. That way, what the Church could not accomplish in the form religious conversions had been compensated for in the form of conversions in culture and in thinking. In 1962 the senior police and security forces staged a coup de’tat against the elected Government of the day. All those officers who were involved were Christians and had that being successful; it was very likely that there would have been religious riots in Colombo as a corollary.
The Church had been consistently ‘sympathetic’ to the needs of the Tamils and helped them in innumerable ways to built up a Diaspora from the 1960’s. It was the Vatican through its communication network disseminated to the world the events of July 83 painting the Sinhalese Buddhist as ‘uncivilized barbarians’. From that point onwards the western funded and the Church guided National Peace Council unleashed its propaganda machine to justify all the heinous crimes committed by the LTTE as ‘retaliatory activities’ prompted by the July 83 incidents. In actual fact, by July 83 the Tamil guerillas had broken in to 15 banks and 18 police stations making it impossible for the civil administration to maintain law and order and in the North. Hence July 83 was the effect of those activities. But the NPC propaganda made July 83 a ‘cause’ to justify the killings and maiming of thousands of innocent civilians, in their homes, in their sleep, in places of worship, places of work or just on the road. Ironically even though the LTTE has now come to be known as the ‘world’s most ruthless terror organization’ none of its activities received the same publicity that July 83 received in the Vatican.
It should also be borne in mind that it was the World Council of Churches that sponsored the LTTE office in London which commenced its operation from 1984 denigrating the SL Government in general and the Sinhalese Buddhist in particular. The heads of the different Christian denominations in SL issue press statements from time to time, on the ongoing conflict, blaming mostly both parties to the Sri Lankan conflict, quite oblivious to the fact that on the one hand you have the legitimate Government of the country bending over backwards for peace and on the other the intransigent, ruthless and a totalitarian terrorist organization. They also make pilgrimages to Kilinochchi and eulogize the most ruthless terror leader and his activities. These are mostly done for the consumption of the Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE sympathizing Governments in the west.
Jesus Christ died as he had no cause even against those who plotted his murder. But the Church appears to justify the barbarism of Prabhakaran in the name of some illusive and unspecified ‘Tamil grievances’. These grievances are so holy to the Church that the Church even justifies mayhem and murder perpetrated on innocent lives in the name of these causes.
Although Buddhism is a philosophy that differs from Hinduism as a religion, practically in religious observances there is very little to choose between Buddhist and Hindu practices. They patronize the same temples and worship the same Gods. But the LTTE ‘s hatred for Buddhism is much larger than its hatred for the Sinhalese as this has been made plain by their many attacks on the Buddhist places of worship, killing of Buddhist monks and carrying out international propaganda against Buddhism in particular. When Taliban rulers decided to destroy the priceless Buddha statues in Afghanistan the whole world spoke against the act irrespective of religion, and LTTE was the only organization that issued a statement justifying the act.
The propaganda of the Church is very subtle. In spite of the ‘peace follies’ committed by successive SL Governments that bestowed a semblance of legitimacy on the LTTE, even today the Church will advocate ‘negotiations’. They wish that the legitimate Government keep talking till Prabhakaran muster enough military muscle and international diplomacy to attack and over through the Sri Lankan regime. They will express concern about ‘Human rights’ violations oblivious to the fact that the reason for these violations is the presence of a brutal terror outfit in our midst. They will loud the army excesses and provide a subtle platform for the LTTE in the international media. If a journalist wishes to expose national defense, for the benefit of the LTTE, he could always seek refuge in the Church under the guise of ‘freedom of expression’. This way the Church has been marshaling international opinion against the SL Government thereby making Sri Lanka, a pariah state in the eyes of the ‘International community’. On the face of it, there appears nothing wrong with the activities of the Church, because their modus operandi is ‘peace’, ‘human rights’ and ‘press freedom’. However, if the Government tries to muscle the Church for their subtle strategies, it will invariably stand accused of another basic violation to this list and that will be the ‘violation of the rights of the religious minorities’.
Recently the Bishop of Colombo issued a press statement on the aftermath of the visit by Ms Luise Arbour , the Directress of Human rights in the UN. This appeared to be a timely release to add pressure on Ms Arbour who in turn would add pressure on the SL Government to accommodate a UN human rights mandate in the country. Such a mandate was originally requested by the Bishop of Jaffna. The intensions of the Church are to cause foreign intervention in the country by some ruse. Because if the Sinhala Buddhist regime consolidates its power, the Church would be destined as the pontiff of an insignificant religious minority.
The son of the Bishop of Colombo Vijith de Chickera runs the Lanka Monthly Digest LMD which is very influential with the Sri Lankan business community. That too propagates ‘putative peace’, very subtly over business ethics, to the Sri Lankan corporate sector. The English media in Sri Lanka is exclusively dominated by the Christians and those with ‘western international’ mindset. Not only that they churn out putative peace propaganda day in and day out, but also acts as a filter for the international news agencies making sure that only ‘anti Sinhala Buddhist news’ gets highlighted in the international media.
The previous regime of President Chandrika Kumaranatunge came to power on a platform of ‘peace’ and survived her term on ‘peace’. But her activities caused the deaths of more than 40,000 Sinhala and Tamil lives of, the armed forces, the LTTE and the civilians. That was an unprecedented damage compared to the previous regimes. The LTTE became more nationally and internationally powerful during her time causing the most damage to the Sri Lankan economy. The Church had no compunction however, and in fact she was the darling of the Church because she shared the western concept of putative peace in Sri Lanka.
The present position of the Tamils in Sri Lanka is a far cry from what it was at the turn of independence. From the position of an ‘educated and privileged minority’ it has come down to a position of a ‘terrorist community in direct violent confrontation with the Government’. There numbers two have dwindled and the recent statistics have shown that they have been overtaken by the moor community in numbers. If the conflict prolongs in to the next decade the Sri Lankan Tamil community would be the first casualty of this conflict. Prabhakaran has long given up fighting for anything of the Tamils. He was a young bandit romantically attracted to the separatists propaganda of the Tamil elite in the 60’s and walked with all the patronage in to that platform. At 54 he is more matured now and knows only too well that his 30 year adventure has put the Tamil community 100 years behind. The enthusiasm of the Diaspora and local Tamil community has dwindled. Now he fights for his own survival with the support of the Church but at the cost of his own community.
The Church has used the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, first to build up its economy through the plantation, then to run the colonial administration and now to do the bidding for Prabhakaran to preserve its status quo.
(http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/8060)
06 LTTE bunkers destroyed, 10 terrorists killed- Jaffna
Four LTTE bunkers were destroyed killing at least eight terrorists when troops retaliated to an LTTE offensive advance at the Muhamalai forward defences yesterday (29), at 11.p.m, security sources said.
During the counter attacks, a soldier was injured and air lifted to the military base hospital at Palali.
Meanwhile, military sources said, two LTTE bunkers were destroyed killing two terrorists today (30), at 3.40a.m, in preemptive strikes by troops at the Nagarkovil FDLs.
According to ground sources, no damages were caused to own troops
During the counter attacks, a soldier was injured and air lifted to the military base hospital at Palali.
Meanwhile, military sources said, two LTTE bunkers were destroyed killing two terrorists today (30), at 3.40a.m, in preemptive strikes by troops at the Nagarkovil FDLs.
According to ground sources, no damages were caused to own troops
Bare facts of the terrorist attack
There was one shocking photograph which emerged from the Anuradhapura debacle last week - bodies of LTTE cadres who died in the attack being transported in a tractor trailor to the Anuradhapura hospital morgue.
It was shocking because the bodies were bare. One lying on top of the heap still had a belt strapped to the waist, but that was about all.
A policeman with a safety mask sat behind the driver, and there was a crowd of onlookers, including a policeman, gawking at the naked cadavers (which included three women, though their bodies weren't to be seen on the top of the pile).
The official explanation seems to be that the bodies, stripped of their clothing at the hospital, were being transported to the morgue a short distance away when one of the two tractors carrying them stopped and the grisly operation became a spectator event. Officials claim that this wasn't deliberate, and there was never any intention of putting these blood-strewn corpses on display.
However that might be, this picture will become symptomatic of the whole grim war, right from its inception. To those aware of history and visually educated, it will evoke World War II pictures from Nazi death camps, when the nude bodies of inmates were found piled up in heaps(the only difference being that the LTTE corpses weren't emaciated due to hunger). Even without going that far, this picture embodies all the unsavoury characteristics of our war - it's bloodiness, its grisliness, and its lack of regard for the rights of those involved even when they have been killed.
This deplorable quality must be shared by both sides. This time, however, the picture was taken on our side of the divide. It thus becomes a stark symbol of a state's steady degeneration into a moral void where basic decencies are simply not taken into account. Labelling the Tiger suicide commandos who attacked the SLAF base at Anuradhapura as terrorists and then denying their cadavers the basic dignities due to the dead only goes to reveal the abysmal depths to which we ourselves have sunk over the years. This government didn't start the process but has exacerbated and accelerated it with its blatant disregard of human rights.
The LTTE is an organization nurtured in terrorism. But it also has a proven military capability. The A'pura attack was a commando operation, daring in the extreme. To call those who carried it out terrorists is akin to Hitler's directive that all British commandos (the originators of this method of irregular warfare) should be treated as terrorists and executed if captured. All military hierarchies have a tradition of admiring their opposite numbers who have proved to be courageous and daring in battle. Thus, many high-ranking Allied officers became admirers of Col. Otto Skorzeny who led German Commando units during World War II protested against his being put on trial as a war criminal.
But ours has been, for the most part, a war without honour. It has also become one without any decency, and this has had devastating effects on the entire fabric of our society. It shows everywhere - in our workplaces, on our roads, in our schools, conference halls, and of course in the sanctified chambers of our parliament. People are not only rude; they are lawless and have no respect for the basic rights of those around them, as well as the institutions they are part of.
It is no exaggeration to say that a streak of fascism has crept into the Sri Lankan mental make up over the years. The presence of this government only goes to confirm it. Both sides in the ethnic conflict have executed most of their prisoners without trial. (The LTTE is more guilty of this than us, but then, the war is run on our side by a legally-elected government with moral responsibilities). The police seem to have followed this example and declared war on the criminal underworld, by sometimes executing suspects under almost any pretext (some of which are so ludicrous as to be laughable). Talk to the common man in the street, and he will strongly approve of this summary method of dealing with crime. (What should be done is to establish a maximum security prison for the mass murderers and psychopaths as there exist in many other countries).
People who speak up for human rights are accused of undermining national sovereignty by being in the payroll of international conspiracies. Or they are accused of imposing 'irrelevant foreign standards' to Sri Lanka, again undermining our sovereignty. This state of affairs is further exacerbated by those who openly deny human rights violations.
What these people forget is that basic decency is not something foreign and imposed. If it looks foreign, then there is something terribly flawed about our own way of thinking.
It was shocking because the bodies were bare. One lying on top of the heap still had a belt strapped to the waist, but that was about all.
A policeman with a safety mask sat behind the driver, and there was a crowd of onlookers, including a policeman, gawking at the naked cadavers (which included three women, though their bodies weren't to be seen on the top of the pile).
The official explanation seems to be that the bodies, stripped of their clothing at the hospital, were being transported to the morgue a short distance away when one of the two tractors carrying them stopped and the grisly operation became a spectator event. Officials claim that this wasn't deliberate, and there was never any intention of putting these blood-strewn corpses on display.
However that might be, this picture will become symptomatic of the whole grim war, right from its inception. To those aware of history and visually educated, it will evoke World War II pictures from Nazi death camps, when the nude bodies of inmates were found piled up in heaps(the only difference being that the LTTE corpses weren't emaciated due to hunger). Even without going that far, this picture embodies all the unsavoury characteristics of our war - it's bloodiness, its grisliness, and its lack of regard for the rights of those involved even when they have been killed.
This deplorable quality must be shared by both sides. This time, however, the picture was taken on our side of the divide. It thus becomes a stark symbol of a state's steady degeneration into a moral void where basic decencies are simply not taken into account. Labelling the Tiger suicide commandos who attacked the SLAF base at Anuradhapura as terrorists and then denying their cadavers the basic dignities due to the dead only goes to reveal the abysmal depths to which we ourselves have sunk over the years. This government didn't start the process but has exacerbated and accelerated it with its blatant disregard of human rights.
The LTTE is an organization nurtured in terrorism. But it also has a proven military capability. The A'pura attack was a commando operation, daring in the extreme. To call those who carried it out terrorists is akin to Hitler's directive that all British commandos (the originators of this method of irregular warfare) should be treated as terrorists and executed if captured. All military hierarchies have a tradition of admiring their opposite numbers who have proved to be courageous and daring in battle. Thus, many high-ranking Allied officers became admirers of Col. Otto Skorzeny who led German Commando units during World War II protested against his being put on trial as a war criminal.
But ours has been, for the most part, a war without honour. It has also become one without any decency, and this has had devastating effects on the entire fabric of our society. It shows everywhere - in our workplaces, on our roads, in our schools, conference halls, and of course in the sanctified chambers of our parliament. People are not only rude; they are lawless and have no respect for the basic rights of those around them, as well as the institutions they are part of.
It is no exaggeration to say that a streak of fascism has crept into the Sri Lankan mental make up over the years. The presence of this government only goes to confirm it. Both sides in the ethnic conflict have executed most of their prisoners without trial. (The LTTE is more guilty of this than us, but then, the war is run on our side by a legally-elected government with moral responsibilities). The police seem to have followed this example and declared war on the criminal underworld, by sometimes executing suspects under almost any pretext (some of which are so ludicrous as to be laughable). Talk to the common man in the street, and he will strongly approve of this summary method of dealing with crime. (What should be done is to establish a maximum security prison for the mass murderers and psychopaths as there exist in many other countries).
People who speak up for human rights are accused of undermining national sovereignty by being in the payroll of international conspiracies. Or they are accused of imposing 'irrelevant foreign standards' to Sri Lanka, again undermining our sovereignty. This state of affairs is further exacerbated by those who openly deny human rights violations.
What these people forget is that basic decency is not something foreign and imposed. If it looks foreign, then there is something terribly flawed about our own way of thinking.
Forces destroy four Tiger bunkers
Ten LTTE cadres were killed and many others injured while four Tiger bunkers were destroyed in a series of clashes with the Security Forces on Tuesday in the Jaffna Peninsula and Vavuniya.
Following the incident arms and weapons were also uncovered, the Media Centre for the National Security said. According to a spokesman for the MCNS, a female LTTE cadre was killed in a confrontation with Security Forces on Tuesday around 1.45 pm in general area of Nawathkulam, Vavuniya.
In a separate incident the Security Forces obstructed a group of LTTE cadres attempting to breach the Muhamalai Forward Defence Lines in Jaffna on Tuesday around 3.35 pm killing six Tigers and destroying four of their bunkers, the MCNS spokesman said.
According to defence sources, troops effectively retaliated thwarting LTTE attempts to advance upto the Muhamalai FDLs engaging heavy artillery and medium range gunfire attacks. In a subsequent search operation the Security Forces recovered an AK-47 weapon magazine, 28 AK-47 ammunition, a hand grenade and a pouch.
Meanwhile, two LTTE cadres were killed by the Security Forces in separate confrontation in Weli Oya and Nagarkovil on Tuesday, he added.
Following the incident arms and weapons were also uncovered, the Media Centre for the National Security said. According to a spokesman for the MCNS, a female LTTE cadre was killed in a confrontation with Security Forces on Tuesday around 1.45 pm in general area of Nawathkulam, Vavuniya.
In a separate incident the Security Forces obstructed a group of LTTE cadres attempting to breach the Muhamalai Forward Defence Lines in Jaffna on Tuesday around 3.35 pm killing six Tigers and destroying four of their bunkers, the MCNS spokesman said.
According to defence sources, troops effectively retaliated thwarting LTTE attempts to advance upto the Muhamalai FDLs engaging heavy artillery and medium range gunfire attacks. In a subsequent search operation the Security Forces recovered an AK-47 weapon magazine, 28 AK-47 ammunition, a hand grenade and a pouch.
Meanwhile, two LTTE cadres were killed by the Security Forces in separate confrontation in Weli Oya and Nagarkovil on Tuesday, he added.
Tiger infiltration meets with opposition
Amidst continuous infiltration attempts by the Tigers under cover of adverse weather conditions at least ten Tiger cadres were killed in the latest violence in the north during the last two days, the military said. It said six LTTE cadres were killed in Muhamalai, one in Athawetunuwewa, Welioya two in Nagarakovil and a female terrorist in Thavankulam in Vavuniya.
A large number of Tigers were injured in the confrontations. Meanwhile, troops successfully retaliated against the Tigers who attempted an attack on the forward defence lines at Muhamalai early on Tuesday morning and destroyed four Tiger bunkers, the military said.
Troops directed heavy artillery and medium range gunfire attacks at identified LTTE positions causing heavy damage, security sources said.
Confirming the report the pro-LTTE web site said ‘movement of LTTE combatants near the northern Forward Defence Line (FDL) positions had triggered the clashes’.
A large stock of weapons ammunition and other military items were recovered in subsequent search operations, security sources said.
A large number of Tigers were injured in the confrontations. Meanwhile, troops successfully retaliated against the Tigers who attempted an attack on the forward defence lines at Muhamalai early on Tuesday morning and destroyed four Tiger bunkers, the military said.
Troops directed heavy artillery and medium range gunfire attacks at identified LTTE positions causing heavy damage, security sources said.
Confirming the report the pro-LTTE web site said ‘movement of LTTE combatants near the northern Forward Defence Line (FDL) positions had triggered the clashes’.
A large stock of weapons ammunition and other military items were recovered in subsequent search operations, security sources said.
Nine Tamil youths escape from LTTE bondage
Nine Tamil youths who fled from LTTE captivity sought refuge at the Sri Lanka Navy and Police Fishing Marshalling Point at Pallemunai in Mannar 30th October 2007 around 7.15 a.m according to a milittary source.
Preliminary investigations revealed they had arrived from Papamotai and cited several instances of harassment, abduction, forcible conscription and killings meted out by the LTTE to those who defy the terror outfit’s dictates as their main reason for escaping from the LTTE clutches, he added.
All the escapees are males in the age group of 18 – 26. They were in the prime of youth. They had expressed their desire to live a normal life enjoying the benefits available to their counterparts residing elsewhere in the country where normalcy prevails.
There were two youths aged 18 from Mannar and another two aged 24 and 26 from Mullaitivu. One youth, aged 19, had escaped all the way from Jaffna. The rest were from Kilinochchi and were aged 21, 22, 24 and 25 respectively.
One youth talking to the security forces perrsonnel stated that they were taken forcibly from their homes for training in LTTE camps. They had fled from their training camp since they found the training hard and declined fighting. Another claimed that they were forcibly retained at the training camp under harsh conditions.
"They lacked food and no place to sleep while in training. They were not given medical treatment when they fell ill. All said in unison that they all had to look after their aging parents and had family members who were dependent on them for financial support,"the soucre also said.
Preliminary investigations revealed they had arrived from Papamotai and cited several instances of harassment, abduction, forcible conscription and killings meted out by the LTTE to those who defy the terror outfit’s dictates as their main reason for escaping from the LTTE clutches, he added.
All the escapees are males in the age group of 18 – 26. They were in the prime of youth. They had expressed their desire to live a normal life enjoying the benefits available to their counterparts residing elsewhere in the country where normalcy prevails.
There were two youths aged 18 from Mannar and another two aged 24 and 26 from Mullaitivu. One youth, aged 19, had escaped all the way from Jaffna. The rest were from Kilinochchi and were aged 21, 22, 24 and 25 respectively.
One youth talking to the security forces perrsonnel stated that they were taken forcibly from their homes for training in LTTE camps. They had fled from their training camp since they found the training hard and declined fighting. Another claimed that they were forcibly retained at the training camp under harsh conditions.
"They lacked food and no place to sleep while in training. They were not given medical treatment when they fell ill. All said in unison that they all had to look after their aging parents and had family members who were dependent on them for financial support,"the soucre also said.
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