THE 1983 anti Tamil pogrom marked a critical turning point in the political history of the post independence Sri Lankan state. The violence consolidated the sense amongst the Tamil people that their security and future well-being could never be guaranteed in a unitary state dominated by a Sinhala Buddhist ideology. By August 1983 there had been a massive increase in recruitment for the Tamil independence movement as many began to feel that separation was the only viable option that remained open to the Tamils on the island.

While the previous governments of the United National Party (UNP) sought to explain the violence in terms of a master conspiracy by leftists and the provocation of Tamil separatists, its rival, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), simply blamed the failings of the then UNP administration. The UNP government promised firm action against the leftists and militants while the SLFP-led People’s Alliance government pointed its fingers at the UNP while echoing the latter’s rhetoric of fighting terrorism.

The objective of both methods is to reassure the Tamils that the conditions and motivations that made the 1983 violence possible have long since disappeared. The explanations also seek a cause somewhere outside the Sinhala polity and thereby remove any form of collective responsibility.

Whatever the precise anatomy of events that led up the unrestrained violence against the Tamils, it is clear that even a momentary unleashing of collective madness requires the prior existence of certain conditions. An examination of the conditions and assumptions underlying Sinhala attitudes to the violence, as expressed by both rural villagers and politicians, uncovers certain common themes. These themes and the supporting worldview provide the context with which the Sinhalese perceive violence against the Tamils.

As Jonathan Spencer, writing on popular Sinhalese perceptions of the violence suggests, it is not possible to explain the 1983 events by referring exclusively to events outside the Sinhala populace and worldview.

“While no one has disagreed with the government’s claim that there was a large element of organisation in the rioting, this does not mean that events can be explained solely in terms of manipulation by a few ring-leaders,” he says. “It may be possible to argue that the violence could have been perpetrated without widespread popular support but it is just as valid to point out that it would have been impossible had there been any measured show of opposition from the Sinhala population.”

During the July 83 violence Spencer was working in a village on the southern edge of the central highlands where he was able to ascertain the “popular mood.” He suggests that the violence was made possible by the existence of “very wide-spread anti Tamil resentment.” This led most Sinhalese people to either deny that the Tamils had been the victims or suggest that their suffering had been deserved: “Thus as I was again and again reminded throughout my stay, in Sinhalese eyes the Tamil is an inherently violent and dangerous creature whose excesses from time to time try even the saintly patience of the majority Buddhists.”

“Why were people doing this,” I asked. “It’s like this,” explained a young man who was staying with my friend. “This country is a good, straight Buddhist country. Yet these Tamils are always making trouble, killing people.”

The observations of Elizabeth Nissan from her experience in Anuradhapura confirm that most Sinhalese people blamed the Tamils for the 83 violence. A Sinhalese man whom she spoke to on the evening of July 26, when a curfew had finally been imposed, blamed the Tamils for the inconvenience. “Yes there’s curfew. If those Tamils want to come and live in our country they should help us. But they cause us all this trouble. How are we to work and buy food? It’s those Tamils cause us problems.”

Even when it was accepted that the Tamils had been the targets of the violence, this was justified as a natural reaction by the Sinhalese to the extreme provocations to which they had been subjected. Nissan collected some of the more commonly heard statements: “… but they killed thirteen of our soldiers, so what do they expect,” “they came here and now they are trying to divide the country; that’s why it happened,” “…we have given them a lot but they always want more.”

According to Nissan the logic of the arguments given above are supported by an ideology that outlines a specific type of relationship between the Sinhalese, the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil speaking people.

“Implicit in all such statements is the fundamental premise that Sri Lanka is inherently and rightfully Sinhalese state; and that this is, and must be accepted as, a fact and not a matter of opinion to be debated. For attempting to change this premise, Tamils have brought the wrath of the Sinhalese on their own heads; they have themselves to blame.”

This view was echoed and reinforced by the Sinhalese leaders through their official speeches broadcast to the nation throughout the period of the violence. The popular consensus was reiterated: the Tamils had started the violence by demanding too much; the Sinhalese position in the island needed to be reassured; responsibility for the violence lay with out-side forces and the Sinhalese people had been the righteous victims.

For five days as the violence raged, the President, J. R. Jayawardene, said nothing. When he finally made an appearance, there were no words of sympathy for the Tamils. Instead, he said that because of attacks by Tamil separatists against the military, the Sinhalese people as a whole had reacted. He would ensure that the Sinhala people would not be so affronted again by passing legislation that made the pro-motion of Tamil independence a crime. In justifying the legislation, Jayawardene said that his government, “‘cannot see any other way by which we can appease the natural desire of the Sinhala people to prevent the country being divided.”

In similar vein, the Minister of Trade and Shipping, Lalith Athulathmudali, bemoaned the suffering the violence had caused the Sinhalese while seeking blame it on some malevolent cause outside the Sinhala populace. “A few days ago, my friends, I saw a sight which neither you nor I thought we should live to see again. We saw many people looking for food, standing in line, greatly inconvenienced, seriously inconvenienced … We now know there is a hidden hand behind these incidents … It may be terrorists of the North, extremists and terrorists in the South.”

The implications of this train of thought are obvious. The guarantee of the Tamil people’s safety and well-being in a unitary Sri Lankan state can only come about when the Sinhala people come to see that their political culture is undermined by this logic and then start systematically to reject it. The central tenet of this worldview, that the Sinhala people have a natural right to the island and that Tamil existence on it can only be tolerated as far as it does not threaten Sinhala Buddhist hegemony, will inevitably lead to a sense of righteous collective violence against any group that is perceived as threatening this.

Although the SLFP President Chandrika Kumaratunga started her term in power in 1995 by declaring her intent to depart from this logic in both act and deed, the events of subsequent years suggest that nothing had changed. The years since 1995 are rich with incidents and missed opportunities that suggest that the ideology of Sinhala Buddhist dominance set the limits to her expressed commitment to multi cultural pluralism.

This is most clearly seen in the manner in which the President conducted the ‘war for peace’ and the approach she took to the peace process. Her approach to both suggests that she firmly believes that the life of the Tamil speaking people must be consistent with the Sinhala Buddhist claim to culturally and politically dominate the whole geographical space of the island.

The undisguised triumphalism and Sinhala martial celebration with which the PA government marked the capture of the Jaffna in 1995 gave a clear indication to the Tamils that nothing had changed. Whilst half a million Tamils were homeless in the most appalling conditions, an archaic victory celebration was held in Colombo. The deputy defence minister, General A. Ratwatte, gave the President a scroll that symbolised her sovereignty over a territory called ‘Yapa Pattuna,’ as the now conquered Tamil region of Jaffna is known in the south.

The general mood in Colombo was that of jubilation and the message of the celebrations was clear: the independent Tamil character of the Jaffna peninsula, that had long been an affront to the dominant people of the island, had now been assimilated into the Sinhala Buddhist hegemony. There were no words of sympathy for the suffering and humiliation endured by the Tamils. This - as in 1983 - was entirely deserved, the feeling went.

The dissonance between the political rhetoric from the south and the experience of the Tamils was a repeat of the events that took place after the July 1983 riots. The President often congratulated herself publicly on how reasonable she was being to the Tamils compared to previous (UNP) political leaders. In one satellite broadcast to Jaffna, she directly reminded the Tamils of how good she had been to them and how much she had tried to do for them.

However, a closer examination of her speech revealed that she has in no way departed from the assumptions and attitudes that were used by the Sinhala populace, both people and politicians, to explain the July 83 riots. According to the President she entered into negotiations with the LTTE in 1994 because of her own commitment to democracy, which made her go further than the expectations of simple duty alone.

“We are a democratic government … We deeply believe in democracy and human rights ... That is why as soon as we came into power, I wrote to (LTTE leader) Mr. Prabhakaran inviting him to come to discuss seriously to stop the war. Normally, ahead of a legally elected sovereign does not write or talk to any terrorists who belong to illegal organisation. But I decided to write to the terrorist leader because I wanted very much to bring peace to Jaffna and to North and East of this country. We have offered permanent peace.”

The President took the position of someone whose tolerance and commitment to peace is the expression of ‘a saintly Buddhist patience.’ In this, as in 1983, there is absolutely no recognition of the conditions endured by the Tamils in post independence Sri Lanka and the sequence of events that brought the conflict about: the war has simply appeared without reason and “the LTTE is solely responsible” for the Government’s destructive military operations in the Tamil areas.

Furthermore, the Government condescends to talk to the LTTE because of its own commitments to peace. Again peace is not the resolution of conflict through negotiation between two conflicting sides – rather, it is a gift, bestowed by the President on the Tamil people.

“I have now spoken to you about … the strategy employed by my government in order to solve the Tamil people’s problems and to end the war … That has to be achieved through a new constitution legally and politically. The sincere and honest will of the government is to implement what is contained in the new constitution. We have done an immense amount of work to persuade the Sinhala majority people that this has to be done,” she lectured Jaffna’s people.

The Tamils must therefore understand that the constitutional solution to the conflict is simply presented to them as the “only” means to guarantee their rights. The Sinhala people, however, have to be persuaded that this has to be done. The Tamils have no rights except the ones the President chooses to give them, but the Sinhala people have pre existing rights that clearly have to be accommodated within any solution. The Tamils are simply informed as to the settlement they may have while the Sinhalese have a right to veto, and hence must be persuaded.

The President’s assertion that the Tamils could not have the right to determine the political conditions of their life because they “were not the original people of the island” resonates with the common sense that was used to justify the July 83 pogrom. As Lalith Athulathmudali, Sri Lanka’s notorious security minister, said in the aftermath of the July 83 violence, “the Sinhala people feel that they have an important place in this country.” By extension, all other ethnic groups are secondary to Sinhala priorities.

As history has demonstrated, this perception will inevitably lead to the justification of collective violence against the Tamils, whether in the form of popular military offensives or mob violence. The dominant consensus in the South remains that the Tamil right to exist on the island is dependant entirely on the goodwill of the Sinhalese. Little wonder then that when the Tamils ever overstep the mark by suggesting that their existence is independent of Sinhala generosity, that they suffer punitive and self-righteous violence.

Edited, originally published July 25, 2001.

The violence unleashed against innocent and unarmed Tamils in July 1983 brought in its wake many unintended and unforeseen consequences. Chief among them was the rise of the Tamil armed militancy. Those responsible for the anti-Tamil pogrom and the Sixth Constitutional Amendment disavowing separatism may have expected the Tamil people to be cowed into submission through brute force. It was the opposite that happened. The Tamil Eelam demand and related armed struggle received a massive fillip.

Twenty years have passed since the July ‘83 pogrom. The Tamil armed struggle has reached epic proportions today. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organisation has become the premier politico-military force of the Tamils. It has raised militias modelled on a conventional army and is perhaps the only guerrilla force in the world that has a naval wing. It controls swathes of territory in the north and east. It is also a force to be reckoned with in areas under the nominal control of the Sri Lankan armed forces. The Tigers’ reach extends even to Colombo and other places in Sinhala majority regions.

Formidable entity

Given the size and power of the LTTE today, it would be very hard to believe that this formidable entity was a very weak outfit in comparative terms 20 years ago. However unpalatable it may be to the hawks south of Vavuniya, the simple truth was exactly that. The LTTE had only 29 full time members when it launched the attack on the army patrol at Thirunelvely on July 23. It also had another 20 to 30 people as helpers and active supporters in the Northeast. The July ‘83 pogrom however changed all that.

There was a collective upsurge among Tamils after 1983. Almost every young Tamil felt that force had to be met with force. They began flocking to the existing movements like the LTTE, People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), Eelam People Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Eelam Revolutionary Organisation (EROS). In addition to these several new organisations emerged overnight. Some were splinters from existing groups. There were 34 identifiable groups at one stage.

Outraged

The phenomenon of young Tamils outraged by the July violence chanting the mantra of “aayuthap porattam” (armed struggle) received two terrific boosts. Firstly India entered the scene and began providing arms and training to the new recruits. Boatload after boatload of youths crossed the Palk Strait and received training in north and south India.

Secondly there was a massive exodus of Tamils to foreign countries. The Tamil diaspora grew rapidly in size. These Tamils began collecting and sending money to the armed movements. Thus began growing the Tamil armed struggle.

The LTTE, PLOTE, TELO, EPRLF and EROS together had only about 275 to 300 cadres when the July violence erupted. The numbers began swelling in the aftermath of the pogrom. The combined strength of the groups reached five digits within a year. This rapid increase caused its own problems. Later fratiricidal conflicts transformed the nature of the Tamil armed struggle. Nevertheless there is no denying that the 1983 violence effectively laid the foundation for a widespread conflict that is yet to be resolved.

There was a tremendous sense of idealism among Tamils after 1983 July. Almost every Tamil living in southern Sri Lanka was affected directly or indirectly. The scale of deaths, destruction and displacement was massive. Apart from the devastation there was the feelings of wounded pride and injured self-respect. The urge to prove that the Tamils were not a cowardly people was predominant. There was also the insecurity factor. Tamil consciousness underwent a significant change as a result of the July pogrom. One event that fired many young Tamils was the Welikada Prison massacre that resulted in the gruesome deaths of 52 Tamil political prisoners. Thirty five were killed on July 25, and 17 on July 27th.

Ruthless reputation

Tamils had hitherto laid great emphasis on education. It was seen as the avenue to upward mobility. A white collar job was the overwhelming desire of young Tamils. This created a bookwormish image of Tamil youths. Even worms turn. This is exactly what happened after 1983. Many highly qualified Tamils holding good jobs left them and took up arms; many undergraduates joined; so too did brilliant students doing their advanced levels. Another feature was the number of youths studying in India and Western countries to take up arms. Later Tamil girls too started joining the movements.

Violence against Tamils has been continuing since 1956. Force had been systematically deployed against Tamils to suppress their nonviolent struggle for equality. The violence was of two categories. One was the mob violence encouraged and fostered by the powers that be. The second was the use - official and unofficial - of police and armed forces to crush legitimate Tamil aspirations. This continuing process peaked during July 1983. Organised and disorganised mobs wrought havoc with active collusion by sections of the police and armed forces. That pogrom was the turning point for Tamils. The armed struggle thereafter became inevitable.

That tragic period in the last week of July became the defining moment for Tamil militant consciousness. The consequences of July 1983 prevail still. The important question is have the correct lessons been learnt?

This article was published on the 20th of July 2003

The Constitution of Sri Lanka, ultimately based on the racial, linguistic and religious dominance by virtue of the numerical strength of the Sinhalese community, remains a major stumbling- block to settling the ethnic question.

It is a block to achieving peace or communal harmony in the country as it would bars fulfilment of any political aspirations of the Tamils.

It should be acknowledged that due to Sinhala extremist politics the Tamils have many grievances. No political solution can ever be reached and constitutionally guaranteed to prevent such discriminative repercussions from occurring again.

President Mahinda Rajapakse has jettisoned all the aspirations of the Tamils for peace by prioritising a militarily repressive strategy. His own ideology called ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ emphasizes “no Norway, no federal constitution, no recognition of a Tamil homeland, no self-determination, no nationhood for Tamils, no recognition of the LTTE as sole partner in negotiation.”

Now, simply to mark time, the President proposes to enact a draft framework with appropriate amendments to the Constitution on the devolution of powers. The two-thirds majority needed for this to pass is nowhere in sight.

But this way he is hoodwinking the whole world into believing he is a genuine leader, seeking national consensus.

But if were seriously committed to a peaceful, negotiated solution, then, as a gesture of openness, the President has to junk his own ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ to create a congenial environment for a plurality of ideas.

Even if he does so, one-third of the numerical strength of the Sinhalese population will suffice to override the numerical strength of the entire Tamil population.

The Sinhala community, by virtue of their majoritarian status could thus arrive at any decision of their own at any referendum and defeat any opinions or proposals voiced by the Tamil community with regard to their aspirations and fundamental rights.

Moreover, at any time, Sinhala representatives in the legislative assembly could enact any law or frame any constitutional change arbitrarily at any time to the advantage of the Singhala community only, using their voting strength to override Tamil demands.

Unless there is will to peace and desire for harmony induced by a change of heart among Sinhalese, nothing tangible can be expected from any peace process. There are no indications at all that is in the offing.

Tamils have a very legitimate desire, as any other people, to control their own lives, to rule the conditions of their existence, and to govern themselves in their homeland, in the territorial areas they have traditionally inhabited.

The British colonial rulters have to bear considerable responsibility for the ethnic rift in the county. They were the architects of the conditions of independence in 1948. The fragile safeguards in the Constitution have proved worthless and Sinhala rulers have systematically stripped the Tamils of their basic and fundamental rights.

As such, and by virtue of accepted international norms, including the right to self-determination, Sri Lanka’s Tamils - with their own linguistic and cultural identity and identifiable homeland - are free to determine their political status, to enable them to live with equal rights with other world communities.

They are entitled to pursue their economic, social and cultural development as they see fit. It is not for another people to decide whether they may or not.

The difficulties caused by Sri Lanka’s Sinhala constitution cannot be allowed to be a bar to Tamil aspirations.

Tamils are seeing their community as the primary targets of Sri Lanka’s plans to seize money from ‘dormant’ bank accounts as the mass displacement of the conflict which has affected one in four Tamils has left many without the necessary paper work of physical access to banks. Meanwhile, the Financial Times, one of the world leading financial newspapers, in an editorial last week, criticised the notion of seizing money from dormant accounts as not making economic sense and duplicitous.

Sri Lanka announced Wednesday it would seize an estimated 30 million dollars in dormant bank accounts as part of a drive to clean up commercial bank books, press reports said.

Monetary authorities will use a provision under the Banking Act relating to "abandoned property" to access the dormant funds, AFP quoted Upali de Silva, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association, said.

The association published a notice Wednesday warning people to re-activate accounts dormant for over 10 years or risk the money being transferred to the Central Bank.

When Sri Lanka’s conflict erupted anew in 1995, hundreds of thousands of Tamils were displaced from Jaffna and then other towns in the Northeast. Lost paperwork, including identity documents, has hindered many families ability to stabilise their lives in new locations.

Before then hundreds of thousands fled to India and Western countries. Many have not been able to return for a number of reasons, including the scattering of their relations fro Jaffna and elsewhere.

"There are several billion rupees worth of unclaimed property and goods waiting to be claimed," de Silva told AFP.

Customers have until the end of August to re-activate bank accounts, the association said.

Rightful owners can still claim their money at a later date but will be forced to follow a lengthy legal process.

Interestingly, the notion of the government seizing money has been suggested by a Commission in Britain.

However, whilst Sir Ronald Cohen’s study suggests the money could fund a ‘Social Investment Bank’ and charitable causes, Sri Lanka’s government intends to spend the money it seizes.

The Financial Times, commenting on the Commission’s findings, observed in an editorial Thursday sub-titled ‘Raiding dormant accounts makes no economic sense’ that such a move served only as a way to inject banknotes into the economy, thereby fuelling inflation.

“Nobody seems to have noticed that this is a fantasy, a recipe for that non-existent delicacy, the free lunch,” the FT said.

“Spending the unclaimed cash will not generate new economic assets for the economy: it will simply crowd out some of what is already going on through higher prices or higher interest rates.”

When banks find their reserves trimmed they will lend less and try to take in more deposits, the prestigious financial daily said. Interest rates will thus rise.

“Anyone who earns money but doesn’t spend it is already a benefactor to the rest of society: by leaving their money unclaimed, they also … make everything a little bit cheaper for everyone else,” the paper said.

“This [scheme] is a bureaucratic way to inject banknotes into the economy. Why bother? The printing presses are in easy reach. But more honest politicians fund spending through taxes.”

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres visited Sri Lanka’s war-torn northeast on Wednesday to assess the plight of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced and met the Tamil Tigers.

Guterres’ visit comes against a backdrop of escalating violence between the military and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which many fear could rupture a 2002 ceasefire and open a new chapter of a two-decade civil war.

It also comes days ahead of a new visit by Norwegian special peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer amid fresh diplomatic efforts to break a deadlock in talks between the foes, the government said.

“The purpose of (Guterres’) visit is to meet displaced people in the north and east of the country and hear first-hand their concerns and needs,” the UNHCR said in a statement.

Guterres also met members of the LTTE to discuss humanitarian issues related to displaced people, but the Tigers made no comment after he left their northern stronghold by helicopter.

Unarmed Nordic truce monitors say a rash of clashes and attacks have killed more than 800 people so far this year - most of them civilians, and displaced tens of thousands.

Many civilians in the army-held Jaffna peninsula are too scared to venture out after dark because of nightly shootings and attacks.

Ordinary Tamils resent what they see as an army occupation of Jaffna -- their cultural heartland -- where vast tracts of prime farmland are cordoned off as military high security zones and still peppered with landmines.

Some openly back the Tigers, who have been listed as a terrorist group by the United States, Britain, India, Canada and the European Union.

“I lost my father in 1988 due to shelling. I was just two years old,” said 18-year-old student Kuganathan Navaratnam, standing outside a Jaffna bank.

“I am studying well. I would love to join the LTTE, but I can’t leave my mother and sister,” he added. “There will only be a war if it is started by the government.”

Naked and bloodied, the exhausted youth slumps on a bench by the filthy roadside, his head in hands, awaiting the final blows.

His casually dressed pursuers gather round. One be-spectacled young man grins as he raises his right knee in preparation for another blow.

This single image, above all others, has come to represent the traumatic events of ‘Black July’ 1983 for Sri Lanka’s Tamils.

The mayhem that erupted across Colombo and other parts of the south when state-backed mobs of rampaging Sinhalese attacked Tamils and their property might seem distant from the now iconic image of the lone victim surrounded by a small group of laughing, even bored, slightly built youth.

Over 3,000 Tamil people were killed in over 6 days of organised anarchy between July 24-30 1983 (the official government figure for the deaths was 358).

The pogrom, organised by Sri Lanka’s state forces and carried out by Sinhala mobs targeting Tamils from voters’ lists made available to them entered Tamil consciousness as ‘Black July’ or ‘the Holocaust.’

But the image of the lone Tamil boy cornered by a group of Sinhala youth touched a nerve in a minority community feeling beleaguered and utterly defenceless as the majority community and the state turned on them.

‘Black July’ triggered a flood of recruits to a myriad of Tamil militant groups, including what has now became a standing army, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Many commentators have thus erroneously linked the July 1983 (and an ambush by Tamil fighters which killed thirteen soldiers which is cited as the ‘reason’ for the riots) to the start of the conflict.

In fact Tamil militancy began in the mid-seventies, but it long remained a shadowy phenomena, eclipsed by (though undoubtedly nurtured in) the mass mobilisation behind the parliamentary Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)’s non-violent drive for independence for the discriminated Tamils.

Amid the tumultuous changes that have gripped Sri Lanka in the near quarter century since July 1983, that iconic photograph has endured, the moment of racist violence it captures a potent reminder to the Tamils of their vulnerability.

The photograph itself was taken by Chandragupta Amarasinghe, working for a Communist newspaper at the time.

Although fearful of the consequences of photographing the state-backed rioters, Amarasinghe and a colleague decided to try anyway. As the Sinhala youth closed in on the Tamil victim, they seized a chance.

Amarasinghe whipped the camera up, snapping a frame before tossing it into an open bag being held open by his friend. They then fled. In the bag was a captured moment of Sri Lanka’s violent history. It is doubtful they were even aware of its potency.

The photograph is made available to Tamil Guardian by the well-known Australia-based academic Michael Roberts, who later acquired it from Amarasinghe.

Tamil Guardian: Anatomy of a pogrom
The Guardian (UK): Eyes ‘gouged out’ in mockery
Tamil Guardian: Deserving victims, just violence
Sunday Leader: July 1983 and the Tamil armed struggle
Tamil Guardian: Special feature section

24 July

One SLA soldier was killed when unidentified gunmen, waiting in ambush, fired at a group of soldiers at Kaddaiadampan, Mannar. The firefight ensued for about half an hour. W. D. P. C. Priyatharshana, who was seriously wounded, succumbed to injuries.

Unidentified men shot and killed Maha Kanapathipillai, a senior member of the paramilitary Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), in Wellawatte, Colombo. Maha Kanapathipillai was responsible for Public Relations of EPDP leader Douglas Devananda who is the Sri Lankan Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare and an ally of President Mahinda Rajapakse. The incident took place on All Ceylon Buddhist Congress Road in Wellawatte and Maha Kanapathipillai, 55, rushed to Kalubowila hospital with gunshot wounds, succumbed to his wounds.

Thirukovil Police recovered the bullet riddled bodies of two Tamil youths in Porakalappu, Thirukovil, Batticaloa. The bodies were identified as belonging to Kandiah Thivakaran, 21, a mason by profession of Vinayagapuram and Jeyapragasam Jeyaraj, 23, a labourer.

Two Tamil youths, Kumaranayagam Sasikaran, 23, and Manoharan Rajendran, 22, both tractor drivers by profession, had sustained injuries in a shooting incident that took place around Sunday midnight in the vicinity of Thirukovil Sithira Velauthar Temple where the annual festival was being held.

At least four hand grenades were detonated Monday morning before the water cutting festival of the temple commenced in the sea shore located close to the temple.

Unidentified persons shot dead Nagarajah Suntharalingam, 34, at Poonagar in Eachchilampathu.

Serunuwara Police also recovered the body of a home guard, identified as Nissanka Ranjith Bandara, from Sri Mangalapura, a Sinhala settlement located close to Serunuwara police station. Nissanka Bandara had been cut to death on Sunday night.

23 July

A Tamil and a Sinhalese were found shot dead at a graveyard in Thonikkal, Vavuniya. Police suspected that the victims were persons involved in petty theft and burglary in Vavuniya area for a long time. The Sinhala victim is a Homeguard from Madukande and the other is a Tamil from Rasendrakulam in Vavuniya. Their hands were bound and eyes were covered when the police recovered the dead bodies.

SLA soldiers conducted an early morning cordon and search operation in Suthanthirapuram, Vavuniya and arrested four civilians on suspicion of having links with the LTTE, Vanni district parliamentarian Sivanathan Kishor said. The arrested four, Velayuthan Saivaruban, 27, Mylvaganam Ketheeswaran, 23, Chelliah Govindarajan, 55, and Thaavalan, 25, were transferred to the Vavuniya Police after the relatives complained to the parliamentarian who intervened on their behalf.

Emily Janoos, 58, a senior member of the paramilitary EPDP was shot dead by gunmen at Uoorkavatturai, Jaffna as he was riding his bicycle over Kayts Bridge. He was a member of the Uoorkavatturai Pradeshya Sabha.

A 45-year-old man was found shot dead in Karainagar, an islet off Jaffna. Unidentified gunmen shot and killed Somasundaram Thirugnanasmbandar, at his house.

Unidentified gunmen shot and killed Thirunavukarasu, 67, in Mallakam, Jaffna. Civilian sources in Mallakam alleged that the victim was an informer to the SLA in the area.

Two SLN soldiers were injured, one seriously, when gunmen riding a motorbike hurled hand grenades at the soldiers engaged in security duties in Vankalavady in Velanai, Jaffna. Two civilians were injured following indiscriminate firing by the SLN soldiers on pedestrians after the grenade attack. The attack was third within the last two months inside the SLN High Security Zone (HSZ) in Velanai – a SLN petty officer was killed on 6 July, and an EPDP supporter was shot dead in June.

Two youths were shot dead in Kalviyangkadu, Jaffna, by gunmen who followed the youths on a motorbike. Gunmen followed Selvam Sutharsan, 22, from Nallur Temple Road and his friend Anton Kanagaratnam Thushyanthan from Thalayadi Road, Thirunelvely, Jaffna who were also riding a motorbike, and unloaded a hail of bullets at the victims. Both died on the spots. Residents also said that both victims were suspected to be involved in the robberies and killing in the neighbourhood.

22 July

Mr. A. Nagamani, 55, a civilian from Ottumadam, Jaffna, was shot dead in front of his house. The gunmen called Mr. Nagamani to come out of the house and shot him at point blank range.

The President of the Myliddy Fisheries Society was abducted by armed persons in a white van in Pt. Pedro, Jaffna. Justin Cruz, 35, was riding his bicycle along College Road when he was abducted. Local residents, on hearing a man shouting for help, arrived at the spot and saw a white van speeding away. “The men in the van were armed and they threatened to shoot us,” an eyewitness told TamilNet. Cruz is a fisherman and a father of three. He was displaced from SLA’s Myliddy HSZ. His wife has made a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

President of the Aathikovilady Fisheries Society and Board member of the Federation of Fisheries Societies, Vadamaradchi North, Mr. Rasathurai Inthirarajah, 38, has been reported “missing” since Friday, 21 July. He went missing while he was riding a bicycle from his home at Valvettithurai to the Fisheries Society office at Pt. Pedro.

A SLA soldier was killed and 3 seriously wounded in a claymore explosion at Meesalai, Jaffna. The soldiers were on a road clearing patrol on the A9, close to Meesalai Railway Station. Traffic through the A9 at Messalai was blocked and SLA troopers launched a cordon and search operation.

Unidentified motorbike-gunmen shot and killed two Tamil youths at Periyaneelavanai, Batticaloa. The victims were identified as Kirushnapillai Arumugam, from Kannankudah, and Sithambarapillai Kajeevan from Kaluthawalai.

The SLA shot dead a Tamil civilian N. Suthakar, 30, of Palamppadru in Thampalakamam division at Kachchakodithivu, Kinniya. Police sources said that the troops opened fire when the youth attempted to snatch a rifle from a soldier. Civil sources in the area said the youth was shot dead for no reason.

Two masked men riding a motorbike shot dead Cassim Bawa Abdul Rahim, 44, in Thoppur, Trincomalee, while he was returning home after morning prayers in a mosque in his village. The police detained a Muslim man with his motorbike in connection with the killing.

21 July

A 68-year old man was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his house, in Urani, Puttur East, Jaffna. Two motorbike-riding gunmen asked Valli Krishnan to come out of his house and gunned him down.

Motorbike-riding gunmen shot and killed Sinnamani Tharmarajah, 28, as he was travelling in Kopay, Jaffna.

A mother and her two children were injured when a SLA truck travelling at high speed collided with a privately owned passenger van, trapping and injuring the three riding a bicycle in Kopay, Jaffna. The driver of the SLA truck lost control of the vehicle and hit the van travelling in the opposite direction, local witnesses said. Ms Raveendra Sivagankai, 32, Sambavan, 7, and Sambavi, 5, from Kopay North, were seriously injured in the incident.

A young woman, identified as Murukaiah Sukirtha, 25, a mother of one from Naatholai, Ilavalai, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen, riding a motorbike, in front of Nathan cinema in Jaffna town centre. SLA troops cordoned off the area and conducted a search, but no arrests were made.

Two Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) were fired into the house of Batticaloa MP for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Mr. S. Jeyananthamoorthy. The parliamentarian, his wife, two children and their relatives, narrowly escaped the attack that caused damage to the roof of the house located in Batticaloa town. A policeman providing security was wounded in the attack.

20 July

Nadarajah Ravindrakumar, 29, from Ilavalai, the owner of a saloon in Inuvil, Jaffna, was shot and seriously injured by men riding a motorbike while he was opening his shop. He succumbed to his injuries at Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

Krishnapillai Srikrishnan, 22, was shot and killed by armed men, at Irupalai, Jaffna, by men on motorbikes. Civilians alleged that the killers were paramilitaries collaborating with the SLA.

Four civilians were injured when SLA soldiers fired at random following a grenade blast in Nallur, Jaffna. The injured were identified as K. Vasanth, 18, N. Gnanasekaram, 34, S. Yasithan, 25, and S. Sivanesalingam, 58. The troops opened fire after unidentified armed men hurled a grenade at the troops.

Motorbike riding gunmen shot and killed a shop owner in Kokkuvil, Jaffna, inside a SLA HSZ. Local residents blamed paramilitaries collaborating with the SLA for the killing. Sinnathurai Mangaleswaran, 47, who was seriously injured in the incident, succumbed to his injuries at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

Unknown gunmen shot dead Selvar Yogan, 60, a supporter of the paramilitary EPDP, in Atchuvely, Jaffna. The gunmen requested Mr Yogan to come out the house and shot him at point blank range before escaping from the area. Mr Yogan was an EPDP candidate in the 1998 local council elections and was an elected member of a Pradeshya Sabha.

A man, believed to be a local resident, was killed when SLA soldiers opened fire indiscriminately after two unknown assailants hurled a hand grenade into the SLA sentry located near St. Patricks College, Jaffna. The alleged assailants escaped after throwing the grenade.

Seven civilians, including a foreign woman married to a Sri Lankan, were injured when a bus carrying sailors in a SLN convoy crashed into their multi-passenger vehicle. The convoy was travelling from Colombo to the Trincomalee naval headquarters located inside the Dockyard. The damaged vehicle, belonging to a Christian society, was parked on the roadside on the orders of the personnel providing security to the convoy until the convoy passed through the road. However one of the buses in the convoy, which was being driven at high speed, suddenly swerved onto the side of the road and crashed into the parked vehicle.

Paramilitary cadres abducted 2 youths, Loganathan Kajan, 20, and Muththurasa Prabakaran, 27, from the villages in Valaichenai, Batticaloa. Parents of the abducted, gripped by fear and insecurity, did not complain to the police.

Three Tamil Eelam auxiliaries who were patrolling in LTTE-controlled Semamadu, Vavuniya district, were wounded in a claymore blast carried out by a SLA DPU. One of the three wounded was reported to be in a serious state. They had been on a regular road clearing patrol.

Three officials of the World Bank funded North-East Irrigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP) and the driver of their pickup, belonging to Mannar District Secretariat, were wounded in a claymore attack by a SLA DPU in Kokupadaiyan, Mannar. The vehicle was heavily damaged in the attack, but the officials narrowly escaped with minor wounds. A civilian motorcycle rider narrowly escaped another claymore explosion 200 meters from the spot.

The Manager of Manthai South Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS) branch in Uyilankulam, Mannar, was gunned down by SLA troopers at Manatkulam Junction, while he was returning home. Police said that the MPCS manager was hit when SLA troopers opened fire after a grenade attack on the checkpost. Sindathurai Christy Anton, 40, a family man, was returning home to Puthukkamam from the MPCS shop in Uyilankulam.

19 July

A SLA Captain, a Lieutenant and a Lance Corporal were killed and 11 other troopers wounded when a bus carrying the troopers was ambushed with a claymore near Maruthanarmadam Junction, Jaffna. Five of the eleven SLA troopers wounded in the ambush, were in serious condition. The soldiers opened fire indiscriminately for fifteen minutes and beat up the civilians in the area after the attack, resulting in three civilians being rushed to Jaffna hospital. The wounded troopers, 1 officer, 8 SLA troopers and 2 policemen, were rushed to Palaly military hospital and three were airlifted to Colombo. Three civilians, V. Kajanthan, 21, K. Thurairajah, 62, both from Uduvil, Chunnakam, and D. Sabaratnayakam, 68, from Veemankamam, Tellippalai, were wounded when SLA troopers opened fire for 15 minutes after the attack. The bus was carrying 15 troopers, from Uduvil SLA camp, who were to leave Jaffna on vacation to their homes in South, SLA sources said.

Gunmen, riding a motorbike without licence plates and allegedly associated with the SLA, shot three youths who emerged from a playground in front of Kopay Teachers Training College and escaped. Gunasekaram Matheeswaran, 21, from Kondavil and Navaratnam Dinesh, 23, from Irupalai, were rushed to hospital. Rasaratnam Parthipan, 30, had escaped from the site and was later admitted to Jaffna hospital. Residents allege the attackers were SLA operated paramilitary cadres.

Satkunam Suthaharan, 26, and Murugesu Sivakumar, 23, were found shot dead in Paalameenmadu, Batticaloa. They had been abducted, allegedly by paramilitary Karuna Group cadres, on 16 July. A note claiming that the two men were “traitors” who were being “punished” by the “sons of soil” was found beside the dead bodies. At an inquest into the deaths, the magistrate ruled that both deaths were murders.

Unidentified men shot dead a Tamil civilian, Mr. Gunarasa Thevan, 34, at Puthukudiruppu in Allesgarden, Trincomalee. Initial reports said two persons on a motorbike had called the deceased outside his house and had talked to him. Thereafter they shot him in the head and fled from the scene.

LTTE cadres thwarted an attempt by a Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the SLA to enter into the LTTE held area through its FDL in Eachchilampathu division, Trincomalee district. The soldiers fled from the area leaving a live claymore mine and other weapons at the site. They also took back injured soldiers and the number of casualties was unknown. One LTTE cadre Lieutenant Kuilan (Thevananthan Vino of Anpuvallipuram), was killed in the encounter.

18 July

A saloon owner standing outside his business was killed in blast shock and 4 SLA soldiers were injured when their tractor was hit by a road side claymore at Kodikamam, Jaffna. Two SLA soldiers and a 70-years old civilian inside the saloon were seriously wounded. A saloon worker was also wounded. The blast occurred on the road to Pt. Pedro, about 400 metres from the Kodikamam junction. The saloon owner who died on the spot was identified as Sinnathamby Nagarasa, 55, from Kudamiyan, Varani.

Batticaloa Police recovered the bodies of two youths with gun shot wounds from shrub jungles in Swiss village in Sathurukondan, Batticaloa. Murugupillai Mahadevan, 26, and Chinniah Somasunderam, 31, were abducted from their relatives house Monday night by unknown gunmen. The gunmen allegedly shot dead the men using a T-56 type rifle, dumped their bodies and escaped.

Eight civilians, all Tamil women, were injured in an explosion that took place in Anpuvallipuram, Trincomalee. The women were engaged in a shramadana (voluntary work) campaign, cleaning the side walks along the road, when the explosion occurred. Police claimed a bomb hidden in the refuse had accidentally detonated during the cleanup activity.

17 July

A SLA soldier riding a bicycle was killed and two SLA troopers seriously injured, when a claymore attached to a parked bicycle exploded in Jaffna town. The soldiers were on their way to supply meals to SLA checkposts when they came under attack. Four civilians were also injured, one seriously, by the explosion and when the soldiers fired indiscriminately after the attack. The injured civilians were identified as Joseph Sasiraj, 23, S. Sangilithevar, 53, Sivam Indrakumar, 50, and Kumaran, 27, all from Jaffna.

Five SLN troopers were seriously injured when a route clearing patrol of the SLN hit a claymore placed along the road in Sampaltivu village, Trincomalee. One of the five later succumbed to injuries after being admitted in the Colombo general hospital. Security forces immediately launched a cordon and search operation in the village following the claymore explosion. Several civilians were detained and questioned during the search operation.

A civilian was injured when shells fired by SLA soldiers from Punani camp hit Vakaneri, Batticaloa. More than 50 shells hit the village, Mr. P. Daya Mohan, Batticaloa district LTTE political head, told TamilNet. The shelling continued for 30 minutes from 10 a.m., he said. The wounded civilian was identified as Kanapathipillai Krishnapillai.

At least 12 residential homes were set ablaze in Iyankerni Saspuram, Batticaloa, before nightfall on Monday, during factional fighting amongst the villagers. The hacking to death of a local mason, Savuntharan Chandrakumar, 23, outside the village grocery shop by unidentified persons Friday night, is suspected to be the likely cause of the violence. Although several homes have been destroyed only one resident registered complaint to the police.

16 July

Two gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire at auto-rickshaw vehicles, killing two drivers, both brothers, on the spot in Point Pedro, Jaffna. The attack, marking a renewed terror campaign against auto-rickshaw drivers and owners in Jaffna district, took place opposite the main entrance of the SLA 52-4 Brigade quarters in Vadamaradchi. Vaseekaran Navartnam, 25, and Paheerathan Navartnam, 20, were waiting for passengers at the auto-rickshaw parking at the old Point-Pedro Central Bus Stand.

Three men were hacked to death by a gang armed with knives and machetes Ariyalai, Jaffna, around 3 p.m., Sunday. The dead men were identified as Joseph Judeson, 21, and Pakyaraj Arulraj, 23, of Collumbuththurai and Anton Densil, 22, of Koyathoddam. The body of Joseph was found at Arulampalam Road and the other two bodies were found nearby.

Sivalingam Varatharajah, 17, a GCE(O/L) student at Jaffna Central College, has been reported missing after attend private tuition class Sunday morning. His mother registered a complaint with the Human Rights Commission office.

An unidentified youth, estimated to be 20 years old, was shot dead by gunmen in Alaiyadiwempu, Akkaraipattu, Batticaloa. Two hand-grenades were found in his possession.

Paramilitary cadres abducted 3 youths from the villages of Paddiyadychenai in Valaichenai, Batticaloa. Parents of the abducted children, gripped by fear and insecurity, avoided making complaints to the Police. The abducted youths were identified as Nadarasha Surendran 22, Shanmugam Ariyan 21, and Kanthashamy Mohanraj 22. Paramilitary carders who came in a white van would have had to pass the SLA camp to enter the villages of Paddiyadychenai in Valaichenai.

15 July

Unidentified persons riding a motorbike lobbed a grenade at the Jaffna office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO). Several international organizations, including UNHCR, UNICEF, ICRC and SLMM also have their offices close to the TRO office. The SLA has a mini camp and check a post about 200 metres from the TRO office. The grenade exploded outside the front outer wall of the office building and no damage was caused.

Paramilitary gunmen entered the house of a tsunami survivor settled at Kalkudah, Batticaloa, and shot the man dead on the road. Police recovered the dead body, riddled with 11 bullets from a T-56 automatic rifle, and identified the victim as Arumugam Kalakaran, 23. Paramilitary cadres had questioned and harassed the civilians at Kalmadu and had fired shots in the air on Saturday.

14 July

A LTTE member was killed and five civilians were injured when shells fired by the SLA hit Muttur east. Five houses were destroyed and several others were damaged in the attack. The artillery and mortar attack continued for about two hours from 9.30 a.m. from several SLA camps located in Monkey Bridge, Kaddaiparichchan and other camps surrounding Muttur east. The killed LTTE member was identified as Ruben.

Sooriyakumar Sukirthan, 30, of Potpathy road in Kokuvil, was abducted from his house Friday night and his body was found the next morning at Amman road in Kokuvil, Jaffna. He had been hacked to death. A note near the body, signed by “Peoples Brigade”, stated that Sooriyakumar was punished for his anti-social activities including theft, molesting of women and his participation in several killings.

Three undergraduates travelling by bus from Jaffna town to Pt. Pedro were arrested by SLA soldiers manning a check post near Vallai Bridge. The students were taken to an undisclosed camp, according to passengers who arrived at Pt. Pedro, later that evening. Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission and SLMM in the northern peninsula were informed about the arrests.

Parents of Mariyaseelan Jeevakumar, 17, who was arrested by the SLA at his home on Friday morning are searching for the details of the whereabouts of their son. Although the youth was allegedly handed over to Jaffna Police by the SLA, the parents were not informed of his arrest. Emergency laws mandate the Police to bring the arrested youth before a magistrate within 48 hours of the arrest, or to obtain explicit authorization from the Defense Ministry to keep him in detention. In either case, the parents or relatives have to be informed of the whereabouts of the detainees. Neither has happened in the case of Jeevakumar. In a similar arrest of a youth from Kopay previously, Jaffna Police had sent an arrested youth to Colombo to be interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Division, but admitted doing so only after the intervention of the Jaffna Human Rights Commission officials.

Unidentified men shot dead a youth and injured another at Sinna Urnai Gandhi Village, Batticaloa. The suspects, in a three-wheeler, chased the two youths and shot at them. The injured had fled from the area. The youth killed was alleged to be a supporter of the LTTE and attackers are suspected to be of Karuna paramilitary group.

Another youth Gunasingham Puvanendran, 19, of Palameenmadhu, Batticaloa, was shot and injured near the Palameenmadhu cemetery by unidentified persons. He was shot when he was cycling to see his friend.

An unidentified youth of about 20 years was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Vantharumoolai, Batticaloa. A green coloured hand-grenade was found in his possession.

Savuntharan Chandrakumar, 23, a mason, was hacked to death at Iyankernisaspuram, Batticaloa. He had gone to a local shop at Iyankerni School Road to buy provisions, when five unidentified persons who arrived at the shop, coaxed him out of the shop, and hacked him to death before escaping.

13 July

Two SLA soldiers were killed and another wounded in a claymore attack at Kalmadu, Vavuniya.

Separately clash erupted at Omanthai FDL where one SLA soldier was killed and another trooper was wounded.

Artillery and mortar fire was reported at the Nagarkovil FDL for more than 30 minutes from 7:00 p.m. Thursday.

Gunfire and explosions were reported off the shores of Vadamarachi North between Kankesanthurai (KKS) and Thondamanaru.

Sri Lankan police recovered two bombs near the residence of the government spokesman for Defence and National Security, Keheliya Rambukwella, in Kandy. Ten Tamils were arrested during a subsequent search conducted in the area.

12 July

Four LTTE cadres were killed in an ambush by SLA soldiers who penetrated into LTTE-controlled Kadawanaikulam, in Trincomalee district. The LTTE gave the names of those killed as being Lt. Colonel Eesan (Muthulingam Kalaiarasan of Eachantivu-Alankerni), Captain Theepan (Nagarajah Venthan, of Pattithidal-Muttur), Captain Thanushan (Venthan of Batticaloa) and Veeravengai Karuna (Thangavel Karunakaran of Mullipottanai-Thampalakamam).

A claymore attack on a Sri Lankan police vehicle claimed the lives of two policemen and injured five in Nallur, Jaffna. The attack took place in a highly guarded area surrounded by SLA camps and checkposts. The attackers had selected an isolated pocket in the highly crowded suburb of the Jaffna town to inflict high casualty, reports said.

A SLA soldier was injured in a claymore blast in the Vadamaradchi sector of the Jaffna peninsula. The troops went on a road clearing operation from a camp close to Thamotharampillai Vidyalayam when they were attacked. Troops conducted a search operation in the area, but no arrests were made.

The head of the Jaffna district People Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) group, Sebastian Iruthayarajan (alias Bolder Rajan), 43, was shot dead by unknown gunmen as he was riding a bicycle towards a Girls’ Convent in Martin Street to pickup his school aged children. The gunmen followed Mr Iruthayarajan shot him at close range and escaped. Iruthayarajan is a father of nine children.

The leader of the PLOTE military wing in Vavuniya was abducted Wednesday night when he went out to put up posters. The body of Ratnam Sriskandarajah, alias Bavan, 46, was found Thursday morning at Cheddikulam, Vavuniya. ‘Bavan’ had been operating with PLOTE in Vavuniya for a long period. A group of PLOTE members, claiming to be Tamil nationalists, in a Tamil media release, alleged that SLA Intelligence, in collaboration with the PLOTE hierarchy, assassinated Bavan. He had opposed the paramilitary agenda of the PLOTE hierarchy, the cadres claimed, criticising the top hierarchy of the paramilitary organisation for collaborating with SLA Intelligence in getting rid of Tamil nationalist elements in the organisation.

The remains of two Tamil civilians, Sakthivel Sivasankaran, 28, and Thasan Thevarajah, 24, who disappeared on 22 May after leaving Kattumurivu, Batticaloa, to collect honey in the jungle, were recovered by their relatives. Both had died of gunshot wounds. Residents of Vaharai division usually go to jungles of the Pollonaruwa border to collect honey and meat for their livelihood. Relatives of the men went in search of them to the border area of Welikanda in Pollonaruwa division when they failed to return home more than a month.

Hostile forays by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) into Liberation Tigers controlled territory in Batticaloa district are serious acts of military aggression and have the potential to trigger a major destructive war, the LTTE warned international truce monitors, after a bloody clash that left 16 dead.

The LTTE warning came after at least 12 Sri Lankan troopers were killed when the Tigers confronted a SLA unit comprising at least 100 soldiers that had moved 5 km inside their controlled areas in the Batticaloa district.

Four LTTE cadres were killed and six wounded in the fighting in Vakaneri.

The Tigers recovered the bodies of twelve SLA soldiers, the LTTE’s Batticaloa Political Head, Mr. P. Daya Mohan, told TamilNet

One Lance Corporal, identified as R. M. Karunarathne, 24, from Monaragala, was captured alive.

“SLA soldiers have been firing mortar and artillery rounds indiscriminately from Thursday night into residential areas of Vadamunai and Vakeneri inside the areas of LTTE control,” Mr. Daya Mohan wrote to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on Saturday 15 July.

“A group of SLA soldiers Thursday night clandestinely entered into villages past Vakaneri further towards Kulathumadu into LTTE controlled areas and mounted attacks. Residents have fled these villages due to fears of further violence.”

“We regard the hostile action by the SLA not only as a serious violation of the Cease Fire Agreement, but more critically as an act of provocation to trigger a major war. This incident exposes Sri Lanka’s President’s reliance on advancing his military agenda while initiating a duplicitous All Party Talks on power sharing to placate the International community.

“We urge the SLMM to take immediate and urgent efforts to prevent the SLA from entering Tamil homelands in the future and to work towards bringing normalcy to peoples lives in affected areas.

The bodies of the dead SLA soldiers were handed over to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday, 15 July, at Black Bridge, Chenkalady.

SLMM officials met with captured Lance Corporal Karunaratne last Wednesday at the LTTE’s Thenaham building in Karadiyanaaru. Head of SLMM for Batticaloa district, Sari Rask, and his deputy attended the meeting. Mr. Daya Mohan was present on behalf of the LTTE.

Mr Karunaratne told the SLMM members that SLA group entered the LTTE-held area under the orders of SLA commanders, and that the LTTE fighters attacked them first when their group advanced towards Vakaneri.

SLA reports from Colombo initially claimed that a group of soldiers on a search and clear operation had gone missing in Vakaneri.

Mr. Daya Mohan said that Sri Lankan troops based at a camp in the Valaichenai Paper Factory north of Batticaloa had moved into the LTTE territory at Kulathumadu in Vakaneri on the night of 13 July.

The Tigers confronted them around 6:00 a.m. the next day. The fighting lasted one hour before the troops withdrew, leaving the bodies of their comrades, he said.

SLA camps located in Miyankulam, Karadikkulam and Valaichenai Paper Factory provided support mortar and artillery fire when the SLA troopers were withdrawing, Mr. Daya Mohan said.

Regular soldiers of the SLA’s 23-2 Brigade conducted the raid, he told TamilNet. Initial reports of the raid being carried by Deep Penetration Units (DPUs) were incorrect, he said.

A brief statement issued by the Sri Lanka Army in its website said that that troops who were on a search and clear operation in “Vakaneri area, Welikanda came under LTTE motar and small arms fire.”

Leaders of LTTE in Batticaloa district handed over the bodies of the 12 soldiers the Saturday following the attack, and they were taken to Valaichchenai government hospital by the ICRC team.

An SLA officer identified the bodies at the hospital, before a SLA team transferred the bodies to Pollonaruwa general hospital with the facilitation of the ICRC for post-mortem examination.

Civilians in the area were displaced to Pendukalsenai by the fighting.

There have been several raids against the LTTE in the area in the past few months, many involving Army-backed paramilitaries. SLA artillery and mortars have often covered the retreat of these DPUs, Mr. Daya Mohan said.

However the incursion at Vakaneri, involving a large number of regular Sri Lankan troops with artillery support, marks a degree of escalation in the long-running ‘low intensity‚ war’ between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military, reports said.

The Batticaloa LTTE office released the following names of the LTTE fighters killed in the attack as being Captain Navalogan (Nagarajah Kugan) from Murippu, Mulliyavalai, 2nd Lt. Veera (Masilamani Maheswaran) from Kulathumadu, Vahaneri, Batticaloa, Captain Puvathanan (Ganesh Pirabhakaran) from Thihiliveddai, Santhiveli, Batticaloa, and 2nd Lt. Ilaveeran (Kandiah Kones) from College Road, Santhiveli, Batticaloa.

Colombo: A patriotic front has stepped forward to raise the morale of soldiers, their families and villagers living in vulnerable areas in the wake of an escalation of violence by the Tamil Tigers.

The National Patriotic Movement (NPM) is carrying out a programme with the backing of the Marxist JVP, which has many members of the NPM on it.

As part of the programme NPM members travelled to the northern Jaffna peninsula Thursday where they visited front line soldiers.

Weeklong programmes have been launched to raise the morale of the soldiers fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) and to collect funds for the families of the soldiers who have been killed in battle.

Part of the programme to collect funds for them will be through the sale of stickers and badges while the business community is also expected to fund their programme.

The programme is the first of this nature since a similar programme organised by a former minister of the Chandrika Kumaratunga government came to an abrupt end after a suicide bomber exploded himself killing the minister and several others during a fund-raising march.

The programme, which was halted suddenly in the late 1990s, was aimed at firing up the country at a time when the LTTE had stepped up its attacks in the north and east.

The new programme known as ‘Manel Mal Movement’ started off on Monday with the first flag being sold to President Mahinda Rajapakse and other Sri Lankan officials.

President Rajapakse called on all to appreciate the contribution of the Armed Forces which have valiantly defended the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“All should realise that others can live safely in other areas because of the sacrifices made by these noble men and women,” he said.

“All communities should stand up as one to appreciate the contribution of our Armed Forces,” President Rajapakse told the gathering. The programme comes at a time when the government is trying to recruit more soldiers to the security forces.

The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) last week released a statement by Kanthasami Sivasuthan, a TRO staffer in Kalvayal, Chavakachcheri who was arrested and tortured by Sri Lanka Army was released to the press Saturday. Kanthasami, Technical officer of NECORD project, was beaten and threatened by Army Intelligence on 18 and 20 July. The text, translated from Tamil, of Kanthasami’s statement follows:

“On 18 July 2006, when I had visited the Community hall project site I was stopped by the Army near the Kodikamam Army camp in Point-Pedro road. I had my Sri Lanka Army issued ID and National Identity Card (N.I.C.) with me. They took those.

“They knew I am working at TRO. They asked if our office was attached to the LTTE. And also they asked me about 2 members of LTTE. They took me into the bushes where there was an open bunker. They beat me with the “Naval Kottan”. They then released me. They gave back my Army ID and NIC.

“On 20 July 2006, I visited our project site and, as before, while I was stopped by the same Army persons. They took my Army ID and NIC. I said: ‘you were stopped me on 18 July 2006 and you know about me.’ I asked for my IDs back. They said that their commander wants to meet me and they took me to the same place as before.

“They removed my shirt and covered my eyes with it. They asked me about the 2 members of the LTTE - the same as they had the last time and they asked me for places where LTTE was hiding the claymore mines, bombs etc… I told them that I don’t know anything about these. They beat again. They asked where Mr. Jeyaraj is. I said I don’t know.

“They beat me again. They then released me. They didn’t give me my Army ID and they said when I gave the details of LTTE they will give my Army ID. They said this beating was the last and next time they would shoot.

“[The beating] was done by Mr. Kumara (Army intelligent group, Kodikamam camp). Somebody was called him when he was interogating me. He spoke very good Tamil.

“I reported [the incident] to the HRC because I need my Army ID. I didn’t report to the police because somebody was shot dead after they reported to the police about Army harassment.”

As the simmering ‘low-intensity’ conflict in Sri Lanka’s Northeast escalated this week, southern press reports indicated political developments with far reaching consequences for the island’s peace process are underway. President Mahinda Rajapakse is in serious negotiations with the ultra-nationalist JVP about the latter’s entry into his ruling coalition. Loathed by many of Sri Lanka’s political commentators, the Marxist party is always being described as on the wane. But despite the repeated confident assertions by its detractors, it has demonstrated its political potency and resilience time and again. The JVP says it is in serious discussions with the President about a common program on the peace process and there is much speculation as to the nature of the deal.

But it is not mere ministerial perks the JVP wants. As always, it is after a firm grip on the genuine levers of power. It may get it. President Rajapakse is ideologically closer – and more reliant – on the JVP than his own divided SLFP. Despite the manifest developments of the past eight months, the international community still remains supremely confident that the exigencies of governance will eventually bring Rajapakse round to their view – the only ‘reasonable’ one in town. But they underestimate the ideological resonance of Rajapakse’s Presidential election manifesto - ‘Mahinda Chintanaya’ – with the man, his allies and, above all, the voters who swept him past Ranil Wickremesinghe to power. Amidst the furore about the LTTE boycott, few noticed how the UNP leader was left fumbling with a lion flag in the dust behind the JVP-JHU vehicle. The Sinhalese overwhelmingly wanted Rajapakse.

If the JVP does join the ruling coalition and, as is then likely, exerts influence over Rajapakse and the government, then the fragile skeleton of the Norwegian peace process will crumble rapidly. The JVP has already demanded the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) be thrown out. Incredibly, it also wants Rajapakse to disarm the Tigers before holding peace talks. It knows very well that its demands mean war, yet it is boldly making them. Last week JVP Propaganda Secretary toured the Jaffna frontline (by Air Force helicopter - and the party is not in government yet) and addressed the Sinhala troops. He is unlikely to have been extolling the benefits of peace.

And it is amid all this that Japan’s Special Envoy to Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi, chose to make a thinly disguised threat to proscribe the Liberation Tigers. Mr. Akashi told reporters he wished to meet LTTE Vellupillai Pirapaharan to tell him that Japan is “on the verge of an important decision.” Japan, he pointedly said, is “seriously considering tangible measures as some other governments have taken.” It is manifestly clear that Japan intends to proscribe the LTTE. In an extensive interview to IANS, Mr. Akashi complained that the LTTE was responsible for “more violations of the ceasefire than the government side.” As TNA Parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan pointed out only this week, violations cannot be measured by a numerical count. Every civilian who has not been resettled under the terms of the CFA ought to be added to the violations by the government, for example. But Mr. Akashi is an intelligent man and his rationale is justification, not explanation, of Japan’s policy decisions.

The argument that international proscriptions of the LTTE will tame the Tiger and encourage the government to talks is being proven fallacious before our very eyes. It was with the same confidence that the EU banned the LTTE in May. But matters have not improved. In fact, they have become much worse, and more quickly than even those who have made themselves hoarse shouting warnings and protests could have thought. The Sinhala right is on the ascendancy. Rajapakse’s regime is laying the foundations for a protracted war against the Tigers, purchasing weapons and conducting a pernicious psychological campaign amongst the southern population. Those elements from which the liberal peace was to be stitched together are withering before the Sinhala right’s onslaught.

Mr. Akashi’s veiled threat this week will therefore only make both protagonists focus on their preparations with more determination. Sri Lanka knows that Japan is a reliable friend, irrespective of the atrocities Colombo inflicts on the Tamils. So do the Tamils. The Tamils are also well aware of the how much each international actor has (and hasn’t) contributed to the alleviation of our people’s suffering over the past few years. But international name-calling is not our concern now. Rather, it is the impending war that Japan, like the EU and Canada before it, has contributed to by encouraging, emboldening and supporting the Sinhala regime.

In a number of policy statements by prominent representatives of the international community, there has been a belated but welcome call upon the Sri Lankan government to address the legitimate grievances of the Tamils. The immediate redress that is deemed necessary by Sri Lanka’s various foreign supporters is the delivery of peace proposals which might satisfy their aspirations.

The wording of many of these statements suggests that President Mahinda Rajapakse has escaped the Tamils’ characterisation of him as a Sinhala chauvinist. For his part, he has enthusiastically assured the international community that he intends to do just what they want. He assured even the sceptical Indian government that his committee, which includes minorities, even if led by a Sinhala hardliner, would produce a proposal which, without using the word ‘federalism’ would be just that.

My doubts are not on whether Colombo will or not – though almost everyone is convinced it will not. Rather, I question the very logic of seeking proposals for a ‘final solution’ at this stage.

An unwelcome and fairly alarming aspect of recent foreign statements has been the increasing omission of earlier calls on the government to disarm the Army-backed paramilitaries. Whilst possibly an oversight or even a given, the disappearance of such demands from the policy statements of powerful international actors would suggest this is a rather a deliberate and concerted shift.

The silence comes, moreover, in the aftermath of a spate of abductions of children by the paramilitaries and a notable escalation of violence by them. Lest it be forgotten, the Sri Lankan state had pledged to disarm at the last round of negotiations, widely termed as Geneva I, to disarm them.

The emphasis on seeking a lasting solution to the conflict with no consideration for relieving the unbearable ground conditions of the Tamils residing in the Northeast and, in particular, addressing security-related issues - which includes the disarming of the state backed paramilitary groups - suggests that the international community has decided to unwind the stalled peace process and approach the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka from an entirely different perspective.

The most important pillar of the Norwegian peace process has been the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The implementation of the CFA was intended to create a stable and peaceful environment from which the two parties could discuss more substantive issues related to reaching a permanent solution to the conflict.

Due to various obstacles, ranging from the divisive politics of the South to the bureaucratic hurdles, most of the pledges made by the state under the CFA, with the exception of the cessation of hostilities, are largely unimplemented. Despite Sri Lanka’s promises, Tamil homes and schools remained under military occupation. Due to various obstacles placed in the way by the Sri Lankan state, the rehabilitation and development of the Northeast remains impaired.

Instead, for the past few years Tamil paramilitary groups, which function as a covert wing of the Sri Lankan military, have been stepping up their relentless campaign against the LTTE and its supporters, while extorting funds from businessmen and abducting children for their forces. They remain armed, in defiance of the CFA and the Geneva 1 agreement.

By contrast, for the South the 2002 cessation of hostilities brought investment, tourism and allowed the state to regain a strong economic footing.

The reason for the failing peace process is the inability, or as Tamils assert, the unwillingness of the Sinhala establishment (from politicians to civil servants) to implement that which was agreed in negotiations with the Tamils. A slew of failed pacts and deals over the past sixty years suggest it is not agreement, but implementation which sinks the peace.

After all, in theory, issues such as ending language discrimination were resolved decades ago. However, it is in implementing these solutions, as the language issue – picked up by every Sinhala leader since 1956 - that the Sri Lankan state consistently fails to deliver to the Tamils.

The present round of unclaimed hostility is a direct consequence of the murder by the paramilitaries of a Tamil politician, Vigneswaran, which could have been easily prevented had the paramilitaries been disarmed. Ironically, Presient Rajapakse, who disregarded Geneva I, recently offered to disarm the paramilitaries, if the LTTE agreed to marginalize the Norwegians and talk directly with him.

And it is in the wake of his own contribution to the litany of broken Sinhala promises that the international community has handed President Rajapakse the initiative by asking him to deliver a just political solution to the Tamil people.

The President has enthusiastically picked up the gauntlet. After all, the international community has unwittingly allowed Rajapakse to implicitly fulfil his election manifesto, which was to disregard the existing peace process (and Ceasefire Agreement) and focus on an acceptable political solution, within a unitary (now termed ‘undivided’) state.

Unsurprisingly, the early signs do not look promising. Rajapakse’s allies and ideological bed-fellows, the ultra-nationalist JVP and JHU have insisted that any solution has to be within a unitary framework, as stipulated by the pro-election pacts he signed with them. This compelled President Rajapakse to appeal to Delhi’s understanding that though he will endeavour to deliver some form of devolution, he cannot term it federalism without his allies turning on him.

In the meantime, whilst outwardly attempting to form a southern consensus with the main opposition, United National Party, led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, President Rajapakse continued to poach parliamentarians from it, scuttling any hope of UNP cooperation in working toward a consensus on a political solution.

Assuming it is even possible, the process of devising and reaching agreement will take many years, especially given the starting point in the present political environment where it is merely taboo to mention the word ‘federalism.’

And this is before we get to the addressing the inevitable and previously unassailable hurdle of implementation.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Courts, lest we forget, have already thwarted less ambitious projects such as the sharing of international tsunami aid. Any solution involves changing Sri Lanka’s constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament that has been impossible to achieve in the past two decades.

For the southern hawks, and specifically for Mahinda Rajapakse, the All Party Conference (APC) provides a breathing space and enormous respite from the difficult international position in which he had been placed by Geneva I. Should he consent to begin to implement Geneva I by disarming the paramilitaries, then he would come under fire from the JVP and JHU. In theory at least, should he have failed to disarm the gunmen, he would come under pressure from the international community.

But in a startling turn of events, the international community has virtually caved in on its demands and is instead allowing Rajapakse the considerable freedom of determining the basis from which a political solution is found.

Although the international community has effectively conceded to the intransigent Sinhala establishment, it has made some concessions to the aggrieved Tamil community. It has alluded to their rights to a homeland and it is now consistently demanding that Tamil grievances be addressed - although they still remain fairly vague on precisely what these grievances are.

But there appears to be no timeframe for the Sinhala establishment to come up with a resolution. This effectively leaves the Tamils in limbo until the southern parties see fit as to offer the Tamils what they think the minority deserves.

Perhaps the Tamils should be reassured by the solemnity of the message the international community is delivering to President Rajapakse and his coalition government. However, the past handling of the peace process by the donor community does not inspire much confidence.

After all, at the first bit of stern resistance from the Sri Lankan state on issues such as the disarming of paramilitaries, the implementation of aid sharing projects or addressing the normalcy in the North-East, the international community has shied away from taking aggressive measures to coerce the state into implementing the deals, and has instead sought to change tack and avoid confrontation Colombo.

And instead it is the Tamils that seem to be receive the brunt of the coercive measures. From the proscription of the Liberation Tigers to the most recent measures to curb aid to humanitarian organisations such as the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), the international community has spent most of the peace process twisting the Tamils’ arms into accepting the Sri Lankan state’s positions.

In practical terms little has changed for the Tamils during the peace process, and the signs are that, under the international community’s latest approach, they can expect even less to change in the coming years.

Over a quarter of the population remains displaced, and with the peace process in tatters there no longer appears to be even a timetable for returning them to their homes – so much for the international monitoring of the ceasefire.

This year, the Sri Lankan military and associated paramilitary organisations carry on their increasingly horrific atrocities with impunity, with the odd period of pause in the immediate aftermath of some international criticism.

The continued re-arming of the Sri Lankan state throughout the peace process and the expansion of the paramilitaries continues to shift the balance of power away toward the Sri Lankan military, no doubt an intended policy of President Rajapakse.

In light of the impotence of the international community in curbing President Rajapakse’s aspirations, the Tamils and the LTTE can no doubt expect a return of the familiar ‘twin-track’ or ‘war for peace’ policies of the Sri Lankan state, most aggressively pursued under President Chandrika Kumaratunga from 1995. These have invariably involved the unveiling of a devolution package (implicitly based the unitary state), whilst militarily hammering the Tamils into accepting the ‘offer’.

With a deteriorating security environment – and no sign of any respite to the violent suppression of the Tamils in the North-East, it is not clear how the International community expects the LTTE to react to its latest approach. After all, the international community ensured the Tamils that the present perilous state of affairs is going to carry on, indefinitely. In short, Colombo can offer what it likes when it likes. The Tamils must put up with the military repression – the LTTE’s attacks on the Army meanwhile will be severely punished.

Is this a sign of things to come? The international community has begun to withdraw humanitarian aid from the Northeast - not least by tacitly allowing Sri Lanka to constrict the activities of international NGOs – and cracking down on even humanitarian support from the Diaspora for their fellow Tamils.

This is precisely the situation that Sri Lankan governments from Premier Wickremesinghe to President Rajapakse have pushed for from the outset of the peace process.

And the only thing the Sri Lankan state had to do to achieve it was to impede the peace process enough to force the international community to concede to Sri Lanka’s demands.

With no timeframe for a solution and no distinct definitions of precisely what Tamil grievances are, the Tamils can expect to be trapped in an abstract political purgatory, whilst Sinhala politicians continue to decide their fate.

Should the Tamils accept the latest roadmap planned for them by the international community then they would have forfeited the last forty years of progress by their people – a deplorable affront to those who have sacrificed so much to bring the Tamil nation this far.

(JAFFNA, Sri Lanka) A few weeks ago, after midnight, a white van full of what appeared to be government soldiers pulled up in front of Kanakan Sasikaran’s house.

They kicked in the back door and about 15 men, some of them with black masks, stormed into the house.

They hauled Sasikaran, 29, from his bed, dragged him out to the van and, just before speeding off, struck his wife in the face with the butt of an AK-47 assault rifle.

There has been no trace of Sasikaran since.

Now, his weary relatives search for news at the Red Cross, the police station and, on this particular afternoon, in the hot waiting room of the human rights commission.

It operates an arm’s-length government agency that tries to record the troubling spike in killings and disappearances of Tamils here in the last six months.

Neither the army, nor the police say they picked Sasikaran up, according to his 45-year-old uncle Sittambalam Mohandas. His nephew, he says, worked as a tractor driver and has no connections to the Tamil Tigers.

“We don’t know whether he is still alive or not,” Mohandas says. “And if he is alive, where is he? We don’t know the answers.”

In Jaffna, more than 100 Tamil civilians have been killed and 255 have been reported missing so far this year, according to Mudiappah Remadious, a lawyer at the human rights commission.

The strong evidence has Remadious convinced that the Sinhalese-dominated security forces are behind at least 40 of the disappearances and most of the killings.

As Sri Lanka teeters at the brink of all-out civil war, the recent string of killings and disappearances of Tamils living in government-controlled areas is a chilling signal of the bloody ethnic fight that looms ahead.

Neither the government nor the Tamil Tigers who are fighting to create an independent homeland for the Tamil minority have yet declared war here.

Nevertheless, fighting and attacks have killed more than 700 people — more than half of them civilians — so far this year.

Diplomats and rights watchdogs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are sounding the alarm about the killing and disappearance of Tamil civilians, which is spinning the cycle of violence out of control.

As the Tamil Tigers have stepped up their suicide bombings and attacks on military, government and civilian targets, the security forces appear to have responded by taking revenge on Tamil civilians.

It has already created a culture of fear among Tamil civilians.

Some 50,000 mainly Tamil refugees have left their homes since the end of April, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Some have moved into territory controlled by the Tamil Tigers, others have paid smugglers to ferry them to India.

An estimated 40,000 soldiers patrol the 500,000 Tamils on the Jaffna peninsula. In Jaffna town, troops in full combat gear line the streets at 20-metre intervals.

And when their 15-truck convoys barrel through the centre of town, civilians are forced to the roadside.

Across town, a Roman Catholic priest who’s also been recording the human rights violations unfolding around him worries that a government plan to terrify Tamil civilians is working, especially in Jaffna.

On his desk sit two file folders, one labelled “killing list” and the other labelled “missing.”

He pulls a spreadsheet from the “missing” file and begins to read: “April. 38 missing. Nine traced. 29 not traced. May. 55 missing. 18 traced. 37 not traced.”

The soft-spoken priest looks up: “We haven’t finished (the month) yet, but the number is still increasing.” He fears many of these missing Tamils are already dead.

“It’s schematized killing,” he says. “To threaten the people. To keep them under pressure. To send the message that the government can save the life and the government can destroy the life.”

The priest doesn’t want his name published because so the security forces don’t hinder his work. The military, however, claims that its soldiers have nothing to do with the disappearances or killings.

“Civilians get caught in the crossfire also, but there are no organized killings,” says army spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe. “And about the disappearances, of course the army is not responsible for this. Whenever someone is taken into custody, they are handed over to the police.”

But when pressed, Samarasinghe admits that there may be “a few bad eggs.

“When you take 1,000 people in the army, you get one or two corrupted people, right,” he says. “If we find them and they are found guilty they will definitely be court martialled and punished.”

“There is very good evidence that the security forces have once again started killing civilians and quite indiscriminately,” says a Western diplomat in Colombo, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Most recently, for example, the Tigers were thought to be behind the bombing of a bus last month that killed 68 and injured 66 civilians. Two days later, members of the Navy hurled grenades into a church in the western town of Pesalai, where 3,000, mainly Tamil refugees, had taken shelter.

The grenade blew one woman’s head off and injured 47 others inside the church, according to a report by Ryappu Joseph, the bishop of Mannar, and filed with the Vatican.

“See the cruelty here. I don’t think anything like this happens anywhere else in the world,” says the Human Rights Commission’s Remadious.

What frightens him is how quickly the scope of such killings and disappearances is growing.

Families have been executed in their homes. Hindu worshippers have simply disappeared from their temples. And when the putrefied remains of a missing Hindu priest and a retired high school principal were discovered in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Jaffna the government authorities refused to continue searching the suspected mass grave, Remadious says.

“The suspected places are still under supervision (by the army),” the priest said. “They can’t exhume them.”

Remadious, the priest and several diplomats agree that neither the police nor the judiciary is seriously investigating most of the killings and disappearances.

They worry signs of a government cover-up suggest the orders to carry them out may have come from Colombo.

“You basically have an apparatus in terms of law enforcement and institutional culture, that created this problem in the past — in the ‘90s. It was never effectively dismantled,” says an international analyst who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Things are switching back to their old ways and tactics,” the analyst said. “I think maybe it’s too far to say it’s a calibrated strategy, but the signals and so forth come from the top.”

To make matters worse, the Tamil Tigers’ propaganda machine is using these attacks to justify their own attacks on government and civilian targets.

“Invariably, it is a self-defence exercise that the Tamil people are engaged in,” S.P. Thamilselvan, the Tigers’ political leader, said in a recent interview, describing the guerrillas’ fight.

Right now, for example, gruesome photos of the killing of a family of four, where the mother and daughter were raped and then hanged, are pasted on telephone poles and in shops throughout the territory controlled by the Tamil Tigers. Everyone assumes the military was behind the attack.

But the government’s own propaganda machine is at work, too. Not far from the priest’s office, a giant government troop carrier equipped with loudspeakers rumbles by carrying an auspicious message.

“Some groups are trying to destroy the good relationship that exists between the army and the civilians,” the voice says over the loudspeaker in perfect Tamil. “Don’t believe them. They are spreading rumours.”

Andrew Mills is a Canadian freelance journalist