| by Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
( March 21, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Mr. Rasalingam thanks for your kind words, response and positive thoughts. The LTTE was no doubt collecting money in that period, but likely not through the use of voting lists. There were so many Tamils in Colombo in every major town, including Colombo at that time that it would not have been difficult for the LTTE to compile lists of their own. They developed this into a fine art in later years all over the world and collected further intrusive information in Kilinochchi and Kondavil from visiting expatriates during the last ceasefire. Further, Nadesan, from what I remember was a Sargeant, when he left the S.L. Police. Also, there are allegations that Tamil police constables were also complicit in the burning of the Jaffna library. The attempt is now on not only to blame the LTTE for this dastardly act, but by the pro-LTTE camp to blame the PLOTE.
The LTTE of course looted our home library, consisting of books, journals and articles collected over three generations. We lost our only inheritance. I wonder what they did with these books? LTTE also looted many homes and forcibly took over many houses and lands. They were master thieves as well as being master terrorists. We have to conced that they tried to be the best in everything they did, including dastardliness.
Further, policemen develop a mindset of their own. The line differentiating the policemen and criminals becomes very thin indeed at times. I suppose one has to become a thief to catch a thief! I remember being told that the goods looted during 1958 riots in Kurunegala and subsequently recovered by the police, were transferred to Jaffna by the Tamil ASP of that area. He later became a big shot in the national foot ball assosciation.
Mr. Chanmugam, whom I knew quite well, died a few years later, a very dissappointed man. However, it is a rare polce officer, who has a conscience. The Tamils who rise to the top learn to tread a careful course in their career. Getting to the top and staying at the top, requires a special talent to do this. One cannot expect anything more from Tamil police officers, when Sinhala police officers have to also do the same. There are no police officers today of the calibre of Sydney Soyza, C.C. Dissanayake and their likes. It has been downhill for the police from independance.
1983 was a tragedy waiting to happen, when it happened. JRJ and his men laid the trap very carefully and the LTTE, as short sighted it always was, pushed the Tamils into this, trap. This was a bad habit with the LTTE and became more prounced as events unfolded over the past thirty years to end in 18th May'2009.
My personal regards to you as an elder and an admirable human.
Previous Parts of This Debate:
- Black July and reply to Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
- Whose wrong - Reply
- The 1983 `Black-July' pogrom and police inaction
 Mr. Rasalingam thanks for your kind words, response a...){kind=link}