Tiger terrorists holding civilians in a “communiticidal” eventuality

By Mohan Gunaratnam and Ranjit Surendran in Vavuniya

(March 09, Jaffna, Sri Lanka Guardian) When the LTTE helped by some priests headed by the Rev Father James Pathinathar began to undertake the herding of the Wanni people towards Mullaitivu, it was “Operation Communiticidal” undertaken only to save the Tigers by blackmailing not only the Sri Lankans but the entire international community. Human shield is an oft used LTTE weaponry in varying degrees. Even their entire Wanni rule was in effect governing by human shield hostaging.

Tiger rule in Wanni was never based on any constructive activities of the people. On the other hand, the Tigers sucked the Wanni people of whatever they produced, and such services as education, health and agricultural extension for the community and the salaries for the staff were paid from Colombo. Tigers had a police, court and penitentiary system of their own, three arms with which they controlled the people often using terror as the means. Apart from these, they practiced a tax and extortion system of unbelievable insensitivity and cruelty.

Even those who received government salaries had to pay a commission and more surprising was that they had access to private accounts held in the banks. LTTE used the A9 Highway in such a way with exorbitant duties on goods and entry tax for overseas visitors that it came to be known as the Kappang Highway

In this context, a relevant question to ask is about the conduct of the many international organizations that had the freedom to visit Wanni and be involved in their professed activities. But what did they really do there? Most of them on arrival in Wanni made it a habit to consult first with the Rt Rev Joseph Rayappu, the Catholic Bishop of Mannar.

They also established links with the pro-LTTE Diaspora and prominent among them were those in Norway with a government that openly aided the LTTE with communication equipment etc, Canada, and the USA where an extremely rich Tamil medical fraternity in California was forefront in financing the Tigers.

Norway showed much interests in training the Sea Tigers on an island in between the Andamans and Thailand. It was there the submersible technology was taught to the Sea Tigers. The Ceasefire Agreement was a Norwegian conspiracy and Ranil Wickremasinghe fell for it without considering the best interests of the Wanni people.

In Canada corrupt fund raisers dominated mostly enriching themselves but also brainwashing the young people to be LTTE supporters. Opportunities to raise funds were seized and too many Tamils, too easy to be persuaded to part with funds, were exploited. The Tigers even took over a Hindu Temple. Many international organizations were made to feel that the LTTE needed support and help as the champions of the Tamil cause.

What they never saw through rather did not want to, was that Velupillai Prabhakaran had his own agenda and had laid all the foundations for it. He was already involved in large scale smuggling of drugs, contraband goods, arms and even alien smuggling. He had his own agents who were part of a powerful underworld in Colombo. All that he wanted was an independent state in South Asia, a kind of paradise for smuggler activities in the style of the mafia.

The Tamil community, especially the Diaspora was largely naïve and was consumed in their passion for their own people and was ready to seek the devil itself to punish the Sri Lankan government for having treated their people as second class citizens. They saw Prabhakaran is the “Chandiya Hero” capable of hitting the Sinhalese hard and in this they lacked the vision that for generations to come their kith and kin have to live in Sri Lanka along with the Sinhalese and other communities.

This reality made no impressions on the Tamil Diaspora, the pro-LTTE especially, because they had begun to be a different race in their new homelands and valued this new-found identity as a dream realized. Most of the folks who left Sri Lanka after 1983 were economic refugees. The real refugees are either in Sri Lanka or across the Palk Strait waters in South India. Have the Diaspora ever attempted to help these people?



Sadly, perhaps tragically, during the last several years the voice of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka was hardly heard, if ever. The pro-LTTE Diaspora have set themselves on a pedestal that signifies that only they can decide for their kith and kin in Sri Lanka and the means for it are the Tigers. They look down on these folks as naïve and stupid and call the shots for them; whether they are right or wrong is immaterial for such is their cheeky impudence. The Tamil National Alliance Members of Parliament are jokers and have made it clear through their leader Sampanthan that they represent only the LTTE.

The LTTE unlike the JVP never had any political ideology. Prabhakaran never expressed any political thought; even more he dealt with politicians only with the gun. Most liberation organizations had political manifestos printed and distributed widely; there was nothing of that sort with the Tigers. How could have any from the Tamil Diaspora held this man as a hero and venerated him almost like a deity?

However, having said all these, there is always a danger that Tiger escapees may attempt to regroup and set themselves as a guerilla group causing terror in the country. They may even have access to military hardware they may have buried in the jungles. They are more likely to centre most of their activities in Colombo where there is an established underworld fashioned by Prabhakaran and his smuggler fraternity. This evil sorority has its contact persons and groups in the pro-LTTE Diaspora that should at all time be under the surveillance of international organizations that keep an eye of these elements.

Once the Tigers have been rid of, the Tamil community in Sri Lanka must emerge with a sense of pride that a force that nearly made the entire community suicidal lemmings has been overcome and along with the other communities reach out to each other and build a united Sri Lankan nation. If their Diaspora cousins cannot appreciate this ideal, they are advised to keep out of the affairs of their people in Sri Lanka. They nearly helped in causing a genocide of their own people in Sri Lanka.

This is also a moment to express our appreciation of the many people who lost their lives in this tragic war against terrorism. The parents and the families who lost their dear ones in the cause of defending our island home deserve our utmost gratitude for eternity. Let there never be another conflagration of this nature in Sri Lanka ever. -Sri Lanka Guardian