A group calling itself the Mahason Battalion has sent threats to the registrars of Colombo courts and a number of human rights lawyers, saying anyone who represents ‘terrorists’ or ‘suspected terrorists’ in court will face death.

 

If someone in Sri Lanka says, “I will kill you," it should not be taken lightly. Many who have received such threats lie in their graves – and there are thousands. It is easy to make such threats, and it is also easy to carry them out.

 

Addressed “to those who represent the terrorists today,” the document delivered to the courts said, in part: “The innocent people of our motherland have been subject to the killing sprees of terrorists for over three decades … But there is no one today to speak for the human rights of these innocent people.

 

“However, we know that there are many traitors who voice their concerns for the human rights of the evil terrorists and those who assist them in carrying out these indiscriminate killings.”

 

It warned, “In the future, all those who represent the interests of the terrorists will be subject to the same fate that these terrorists mete out to our innocent people.”

 

“Mahasona” is a Sinhala word meaning “the ghost that brings death.” The majority of those charged under terrorism laws are Tamils suspected of belonging to or supporting the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

 

This type of threat was widely delivered, and carried out, in the 1980s, which became known as the “period of terror.”

 

Around 30,000 people disappeared during this time according to official estimates, most of them from the south.

 

At that time groups associated with the state acted under a variety of names to issue and execute death threats.

 

One well-known group at the time was the “Black Cats.”

 

Sri Lanka has experienced extremely sophisticated death-squad operations.

 

During the period of terror, a list of persons to be killed would be circulated to several groups operating in secrecy.

 

This meant that even if one group found a reason not to assassinate a person on the death list, another group operating independently would carry it out.

 

Once on the list, a person had little chance of escape.

 

The mushrooming of death squads meant there was little chance of identifying the assassins.

 

This virtually prevented investigations. “Unidentified persons” were always blamed for the killings.

 

Another sinister aspect of the situation was that, once a state agency got involved with death squads, criminal gangs imitated their methods, giving the appearance that their deeds were state-sponsored.

 

 Some carried out the instructions of those seeking personal revenge, some were used to abduct people for ransom, some simply injured or killed business competitors.

 

Another unique aspect of Sri Lanka’s experience with death squads and extrajudicial killings has been that large numbers of innocent persons have been killed in order to ensure that wanted persons did not escape.

 

For example, the usual estimate of members and associates belonging to the group called the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or People's Liberation Front, in 1971 was around 2,000.

 

However, the number killed in a purge of this group is estimated at around 15,000 – 750 percent more than the estimated number of unwanted persons.

 

In the late 1980s this was exceeded when 30,000 people were forcibly “disappeared.” The deputy minister of defense who masterminded the operation later claimed that police officers acted excessively due to over enthusiasm.

 

A Dutch video journalist who reported on the killings in the late 1980s titled his presentation “Sri Lanka – Murder Land.”

 

There have been no estimates of the number of people killed in this manner in the north and the east in the last 30 years. But the south is now witnessing a return to the period of terror.

 

As for the north and east, it has always been a period of terror in which the forces of the state, the LTTE and others have made no secret of eliminating their opponents.

 

The following is an extract from the Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons in the Western, Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, made in September 2007.

 

It reminds us that Sri Lanka has done nothing to change its behavior regarding death squads.

 

“We are mindful that our recommendations should have relevance and be meaningful to citizens living in all parts of Sri Lanka. Priority must be given at all times to the avoidance of situations of disappearances arising.

 

“The security forces and the police are necessary adjuncts of a state. They are required for the protection of the state and the protection of the citizens of the state. The average citizen looks to them for protection.

 

“The tragedy of Sri Lanka lies in the distortion of relationships between the citizens and the security forces, including the police, which has resulted from the acts of both politicians and subversives.”

 

 

Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia.

"The U.S. view is that the [Sri Lankan] government could further isolate and weaken the LTTE if it articulates now its vision for a political solution," said U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake while addressing an interactive session at the University of Madras on Friday, The Hindu reported.

 

While ruling out the military option, Mr. Blake has alluded that the U.S. position was to militarily weaken the LTTE to defeat it politically.

 

The United States has been a key player of the Co-Chairs for the Sri Lankan process, which has been managed by the facilitation of Norway till Sri Lanka unilaterally withdrew from the ceasefire.

 

Commenting on the U.S. Ambassador's views, Tamil National Alliance MP and the leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Selvam Adaikkalanathan told TamilNet Saturday that the U.S. policy was "fundementally flawed" on three aspects.

 

First, the United States has approached one of the major national questions of the contemporary world as an 'LTTE-centric problem' to be defeated. Secondly, it has failed to grasp the reality of half a century old post-colonial lessons in Sri Lanka that Colombo would never be prepared to offer a viable solution to a weakened Tamil side, and thirdly, it contributed to weakening the diplomatic balance of power by isolating the LTTE and by hinting Sri Lanka and other countries to adopt a military solution.

 

"Approaching national questions solely on the basis of geo-poltical interests and overlooking crucial ideological and humanitarian quests of peoples is not a healthy approach to powers that seek to guide the world," Mr. Adaikkalanathan said.

 

"The United States is reaping the economic results of its global policies."

 

The U.S. Ambassador has observed in Chennai that the U.S. ban on the LTTE, which was followed by several other countries, has cut the flow of money and weapons to the Tigers adding that the "result of which could be seen in their recent military defeats."

 

Refusing to comment on the rising voice in Tamil Nadu for Indian pressure on Sri Lanka, the U.S. Ambassador has said India and the United States could use their "strategic partnership to good effect in Sri Lanka," The Hindu reported.

 

"The greatest failure of the last 25 years has been the failure of the main Sinhalese parties to reach agreement," the paper quoted Mr. Blake as saying.

 

The Hindu report summarised the U.S. view expressed by Mr. Blake in following words: "Moving forward on a political solution would have three-fold benefits - to reassure 200,000 refugees in the Vanni region that they can move south and aspire to a better future; to disprove the LTTE's claim of being the sole representative of Sri Lanka's Tamils; and to persuade Tamils overseas to stop funding the LTTE."

 

However, the U.S. Ambassador, who admitted that his government earlier helped the Sri Lankan military, said the United States has recently effected a complete freeze on all military assistance to Sri Lanka.

Following World War II, economic competition is increasingly viewed as the preferred alternative to war.  For example, Japan and Germany sought military dominance in the mid-forties, but a demilitarised post-war Japan and Germany achieved global dominance through trade.

 

Today, India and China are aggressive, current contenders for global dominance. They expect to achieve this through trade, not war.  

 

The debate on economic competition between nations focuses centres on fair and unfair competition. It is unfair competition to protect local markets from foreign manufactured goods. But it is “fair competition” for governments to subsidise local industries that have “strategic significance”: defence or nuclear energy for example.

 

Genocide is the ultimate form of unfair competition: as Black July 1983 illustrates. In fact, each stage of the slow genocide of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka has also been an economic project.

 

Eliminating the Tamil industrial base

 

The Economist of August 6th 2003 summarised the genocide of Black July 1983 thus: “Two weeks ago Tamils owned 80% of the retail trade and 60% of the wholesale trade in the capital Colombo. Today that trade is gone. Food shortages and inflated prices are one result. The Tamil industrial base, built up over generations, is no more.”

 

To start with, the 6th, 20th August 1983 editions of the Economist are worth reading in full for the paper’s comprehensive grasp of the economic motivation of the Black July Pogrom of 1983.

 

In an article entitled “The wages of envy”, the Economist said: “[Cambridge-educated finance minister] Mr Ronnie de Mel is too sophisticated to use the term on the tip of many Sinhalese tongues these days – the need for a ‘final solution’ to the Tamil problem. But, even for him, the ‘only solution’ is to ‘restore the rights of the Singalese majority’. Restoring Singalese rights is a code phrase for dislodging the Tamils from their disproportionate influence over large sectors of the Sri Lankan economy. This is what the Singalese mobs set out to do when they put their torches to thousands of carefully targeted Tamil factories and shops.

 

“Now the government is about to advance this process by expropriating all damaged properties. Many Tamils will assist them by leaving the country. The result will be decisive shift in the balance of economic power in Sri Lanka from Tamils to Singalese.

 

“The stated aim of the government’s takeover of riot-ravaged homes and businesses is to prevent distress sales and to promote an orderly reconstruction programme. ..In theory, former owners will be free to buy back government shares in time. But ministers do not disguise their redistributive intentions. Many are talking about following Malaysia’s example of writing preferences for the majority community into commercial law.

“The trade minister has already reorganized rice wholesaling to break the Tamil grip. ‘It is no longer in my interest to allow one community to dominate the wholesale trade in any commodity’, insists Mr Lalith Athulathmudali, who doubles as a government spokesman on Tamil questions...

 

“The state stake in Sri Lanka’s injured industries is meant to be temporary. But, if the alternative is returning economic control to the Tamils, the government may decide to hold on. ..

 

“The losses are still being added up in the statistical department of the central bank, which has sent out teams of accountants and surveyors to do an on-site census of destruction. The preliminary estimate of $150m worth of damage to commercial and residential property – equivalent to about 4% of Sri Lanka’s GNP – is almost certainly too low, because it is based on book value; replacement costs might be five to 10 times higher. It also excludes the value of lost stocks, lost output and lost export orders…”

There is considerable evidence that the genocide of 1983 was committed with the specific intent of acquiring Tamil businesses and private property: often by murdering the owners and their families.

 

It is now widely accepted that the 1983 pogrom was state orchestrated and government ministers were complicit.

 

The parallels to the Jewish Holocost are unmistakeable: it was firstly Jewish economic success that provoked Nazi envy in pre-war Germany.

 

Nazi documents and memos following Kristallnacht - the Nazi pogrom where almost 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed - evidence the economic nature of the issue.

 

Robert Conot, Justice at Nuremberg, provides a transcript of Goering addressing a high-level Nazi meeting the days immediately following Kristallnacht.

 

Goering concludes “I implore competent agencies to take all measures for the elimination of the Jew from the German economy.”

 

As to the elimination of the Tamils from Sri Lankan economy, the 1983 pogrom, spectacularly achieved its objective. The observations of the Economist in 1983 remain true today: “The Tamil industrial base, built over generations, is no more”, having never recovered from 1983.

 

Impact of ‘The Open Economy’

 

In a previous article we cited Michael Mann’s hypothesis that “murderous ethnic cleansing, which in extreme forms can become genocidal, is the “dark side of democracy”.  

 

Similarly, an open, egalitarian competitive economy leads to genocide when a minority ethnic group is disproportionately economically successful and when the state is fundamentally racist.

 

In a seminal article in 1984, Newton Gunesinghe argued that the open economy was a key factor in the July 1983 genocide.

 

Gunesinghe argued that in the period before 1977, the socialist Sri Lankan government had favoured heavy state regulation and intervention: licenses were needed for most activities, including exports and imports. Government-owned cooperative stores displaced small retailers. The economy was fuelled by Government infrastructure spending.

 

Tamil entrepreneurs found it impossible to compete since licenses and supply contracts to large government monopolies were awarded via political patronage to affiliates of the major Sinhala Parties. Small Tamil business owners lost out to their Sinhala counterparts.

 

But with the introduction of Jeyawardene’s open economic policies in 1977 and globalisation, an (unintended) consequence was a levelling out of the ethnic playing field. Sinhala businesses built on political patronage could no longer compete effectively. Middle level businesses were adversely impacted by economies of scale and markets open to international competition.

 

In contrast to many Sinhalese businesses, Tamil entrepreneurs were better equipped for open economic conditions having faced an adverse state for many years. The larger industrial groups – where Tamil ownership was disproportionately well-represented – were quick to form foreign joint ventures and to compete internationally on price and quality.

 

Both Gunesinghe and Richardson attempt to explain why anti-Tamil violence spiked many-fold in the golden period of Sri Lanka’s market economy, during the markedly pro-globalisation, capitalist, market-driven government of President Jeyawardene.

 

The short reason was the ethnic backlash against Tamil prosperity: the Economist’s “wages of envy”. The 1983 Genocide was the ultimate form of unfair competition.

 

Reparation to Tamils unaffordable

 

It follows that the prosperity of the present Sri Lankan economy is built on the proceeds of genocide.

 

Successive Sinhala governments have entrenched the reversal of relative Sinhala-Tamil economic power on the island. And they have used military force to achieve this.

 

For while Sri Lanka was in recent years South Asia’s wealthiest country on a per capita basis, there are enormous regional differences. The Sinhala Western province near the capital Colombo has almost four times the per capita annual income ($2118) of the Tamil North ($610) according to the World.

 

Over 50% of people live below the poverty level in the Northern region.

 

Over a third of all Tamils in Sri Lanka have no sustainable livelihood, living in camps as internal refugees, many having held this status for decades.

 

Sinhala human rights activists in the capital Colombo claim that Sri Lanka has moved beyond the racism of 1983. They cite that 21 years later the government of Sri Lanka had apologised to the Tamil victims of 1983 – and offered 937 victims 600 pounds (sterling) in compensation.

 

It follows that not even one Sinhala human rights activist in Sri Lanka has acknowledged the requirement for just reparation in line with commercial law. Instead they paper over the cracks to claim their country has “moved on”. It hasn’t.

 

For the Sinhala nation simply cannot afford to make the commercial reparation that is owed.

 

Let us think about what this means for the Black July 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom alone. Commercial reparation would be, for example, include reparation for the 80% of Colombo’s retail trade and 60% of its commercial trade destroyed in 1983. One would use well understood business valuation principles – net present value (NPV) in 1983 of all future  earnings, which NPV is then  projected forward to today using realised growth rates (since we know with hindsight the growth rate between 1983 and today). This would still not account for the fact that had the original owners retained control and developed their already considerable entrepreneurial and management skills, greater growth may have been achieved.

 

Having engineered the appropriation of enormous quantities of Tamil assets, the difficulty for the Sinhala Nation is how to deal with the consequences.

 

Even if the Sinhala nation could afford reparation, the truth is they do not wish it. For the Sinhalese do not accept that commercial reparation is required for the genocide in 1983 and since.

 

Even the most liberal Colombo-based peace activists remain content to deal in the realm of rhetoric on 1983: art exhibitions, letters in state-owned media, inadequately couched phrases of regret by professional human rights spokes people.

 

No one gets down to the bottom line and talks about money.

 

Breach of contract with Tamil taxpayers

 

The modern state is financed by enterprise, by the private sector. In return it provides services for the common good – including policing and security – using the money generated by business, a portion of which is given to the state as taxes.

 

The state is hence the modern equivalent of the medieval mercenary knight one could hire to guard ones farm or one’s home: the Japanese roving Samurai, or the Tamil soldier caste who carried out “Kaval” (guard) duties.

 

The Tamil businesses that represented 80% of Colombo’s retail trade and 60% of its commercial trade in 1983, had, for decades been financing a good proportion of the Sri Lankan state through taxes. They paid a good proportion of the salaries of all those Colombo soldiers and policemen who stood by – or as in many cases participated – while the mobs torched Tamil homes, shops and cars.

 

Not only did the Tamil business owners of 1983 lose the value of the businesses destroyed in the pogrom, they also discovered that they had been paying taxes for decades on a false assumption: that the police, army, judiciary and government bureaucracy that they financed through taxes would protect them in times of crisis. 

 

Even if reparation were made for the loss of the businesses and lives in 1983, can there be reparation for the breach of contract by the state to the people whose taxes had paid for it all those years?

 

But the breach of contract continues. Every Tamil taxpayer in Sri Lanka today – including all the abducted business persons in Colombo - understands that they are being defrauded of the benefits of their taxes: the State has no intention of providing them with the security they have paid for. The police, army, judiciary do not work for them.

 

As the pogrom demonstrated, economic assets require defence – both from physical destruction by mobs and from expropriation by hostile governments (and their international allies).

 

The Tamil people instinctively understand that it is not possible to rebuild that “Tamil industrial base, built over generations” without first hiring a reliable Kavalar to protect it.

 

In modern terms, this translates to a State with a defence and judiciary that is accountable to the Tamil people that finance it. A State that will not turn against its people. In short, the free state of Eelam.

 

The Federal solution amounts to ignoring all previous breaches of contract and re-hiring the Sinhala State – including its present army – for the Kavalar role. This would require a huge leap of faith by the Tamils, but to date there have been no grounds on which such a leap can be based. On the contrary, all the actions of the Sinhala state to date suggest that such a leap of faith would be naive in the extreme and stupid at best.

 

 In the Sinhala State the Tamils will always be hostage to the “wages of envy”, (to use the terminology of the Economist): as the Jewish people were in Europe in the 1940s, as the Tutsis were in Rwanda, both minorities that had been disproportionately successful in their countries. Envy does not have a sell-by date.

 

It follows that the separatist project is also an economic project. If the Tamil industrial base took generations to build before it was destroyed by a 1-week pogrom, then the 25 years or more to be spent building the pre-requisite state, that will lay the foundation for the next generation of industrial base is not unacceptable.

A consortium of U.N. agencies and international NGOs operating in Sri Lanka has said the monsoon has put the 200,000-odd internally displaced persons (IDPs) at grave risk due to the lack of transport and fuel.

 

 “Lack of transport and fuel is hampering movement for many IDPs seeking safety along the A35,” a report by the consortium said.

 

“On average, Rs. 12,000 is being charged to rent a tractor to transport IDPs and their belongings from Kilinochchi to Visuvamadu, and as much as Rs. 24,000 from Kilnochichi to PTK in Mullathivu district. There are reports of people pawning their jewellery and other valuables to pay for transportation.”

 

The report said the security situation in the Jaffna Peninsula remained tense, especially in areas near the forward defence lines (FDLs).

 

The International Committee for Red Cross separately said as fighting in the north continues, many people continue to flee eastwards, leaving Kilinochchi for Mullathivu, often leaving their personal belongings behind.

 

“Food, shelter, clean water, sanitation and, above all, security remain the most urgent concerns for the tens of thousands of displaced civilians living in LTTE-controlled areas in the north,” Anthony Dalziel, deputy head of the ICRC's delegation in Sri Lanka, said in a statement.

 

Sri Lanka last month told aid agencies to quit the northern Wanni region, saying their safety couldn't be guaranteed while fighting is taking place.

 

The government rejected criticism from Amnesty International that civilians are being ignored and said it is providing assistance for refugees.

 

The ICRC said, while it isn't directly involved in distributing food in Wanni, it is helping others arrange food convoys to the area.

 

Meanwhile, with the onset of monsoon rains expected later this month, temporary shelters for displaced civilians in the district have become a most urgent requirement, reported the Sunday Times.

 

Government officials in the area are struggling to provide IDPs in the area with basic facilities as more than 50% of them are without proper housing or toilet facilities, the paper said.

 

Due to heavy fighting between government forces and the LTTE, most residents in the area do not stay at home during the night, with many families returning home during the day to collect goods from homes or gardens and returning to shelters before nightfall, the paper said.

 

Separately, the British government has said that the number of displaced is estimated to be closer to the 500,000 mark.

 

Attending a private member's debate in the Westminster parliament, Under Secretary of State on International Development, Michael Foster, MP, said a majority, approximately 220,000 people are repeatedly displaced in the north.

 

"At least 30,000 people have been displaced on average five times," he said.

 

The British minister reiterated the government view that there can be no military solution to Sri Lanka's national question.

 

He was responding to issues raised by members from all major political parties on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, reported the BBC.

In the town, there are less people now. Most of the shops are closed, shop owners are moving their goods to other areas.

 

The shelling started around two weeks ago. We underwent several aerial attacks. Slowly, people took their belongings, household items - including the roofs of houses - and moved about 10km away from the town.

 

They are in the places between Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu [to the east]. But in the villages around, there are still people. They just wait.

 

They are scared about the situation. With heavy shelling and aerial attacks they will move from this area and they will go far. Most of these people have been displaced several times from areas like Mannar and Vavuniya. As the military forces advance, they displace and scatter.

 

 Once they reach the borders of the town there will be heavy fighting. If there is heavy fighting, there will be a mass disaster

 

Most of the people I can tell, hundreds, are psychologically affected. The degree of mental illness is varied because everyone has the fear of the war and everyone is taking risks.

 

Shelling is here and there, aerial attacks are here and there. Just one aerial attack can hit many civilians' houses.

 

One week ago, there was an aerial attack and one teacher and one student died and several others were injured. I attended to them and I had to deal with their relations.

 

If a family member is killed that leaves sorrow but people have to manage. They don't really have any choices. This is a long-term war.

 

They believe that if they are unfortunate, they will die and if they are fortunate people they will escape death.

 

Today [Wednesday 15 October] there were no civilian casualties in Kilinochchi. Last week the war was quite silent but before that many civilians were killed.

 

Most of the civilian areas have bunkers in case of aerial attack. There is a lot of danger and noise.

 

The intolerable noise of shells upset people. It is not just blast noises but Kfir [fighter aircraft] noises that are also intolerable.

 

 

At such a time, many children are crying. Women and the elderly become very scared. Even in my hospital, people go under tables and hide.

 

People run, going here and there. The sounds are beyond my explanation. Even my heart rate doubles.

 

Once, after a Kfir, people standing outside rushed inside the hospital. They went right into rooms even where people were working. I saw people sitting and lying on the floor.

 

I haven't seen any soldiers. The LTTE seem to be around and moving normally. We heard that army soldiers are past Murukandy. Once they reach the borders of the town there will be heavy fighting.

 

If there is heavy fighting, there will be a mass disaster. Many deaths, LTTE, army soldiers and civilians - it will be a big human disaster. I don't know if that will bring the end of the war or if a solution will come after that.

 

Ever since the foreign NGOs were ordered to leave, we have noticed a difference.

 

Resettlement programmes for internally displaced people, rehabilitation programmes have all been reduced.

 

Now more than half of the displaced population don't have proper healthcare.

 

And people are scared. When the foreigners went, people were worried about a really heavy attack on civilian areas.

 

In the last month, supplies from Vavuniya were restricted. Three times our medicinal lorries were sent back from the checkpoint.

 

The government agent here says there is also a food shortage. All I can do is carry on with my work.

As the fighting escalated in Sri Lanka, the news of innocent Tamils civilians being killed and maimed by indiscriminate aerial and artillery bombardment by Sri Lankan forces and the revelation that Indian radar operators were assisting Sri Lankan military brought the plight of Eelam Tamils to the boil in Tamil Nadu in India, leading to mass agitations by political parties, students, lawyers, trade unions and film makers.

 

Tamil Nadu political parties including Paataali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Marumalarchchi Dravida Munntra Kazhagam (MDMK),  Viduthalai Chiruththaigal Katchi (VCK) and Tamil National Movement (TNM), sympathetic to the suffering of Eelam Tamils, have been protesting against the killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka since Rajapakse administration returned the island to full scale war in 2007.

 

However the Eelam issue came to the forefront of the political scene in Tamil Nadu when a protest fast organised by the Communist Party of India for October 2 received the backing of major political parties including the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

 

Even though AIADMK did not participate in the fast, the General Secretary of the party Jayalalitha Jayaram released a statement recognising the Eelam Tamils right to self determination and Traditional Homeland and demanded the Indian government put an immediate stoppage of all military aid to the neighbouring island.

 

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhgama (DMK) then organised a mass public meeting on Sunday, October 6. This followed by tens of thousands of telegrams being sent to New Delhi after the DMK  leader and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu urged the people of Tamil Nadu to send telegrams to Indian Premier Manmohan Singh with the message “intervene immediately and stop genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka”

 

On Tuesday October 14, the Tamil Nadu government convened an All Party Meeting to discuss the plight of the Eelam Tamils. For the first time an official government communiqué in Tamil Nadu used the word ‘Eelam’.

 

Although, Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), AIADMK and MDMK boycotted the meeting most parties including the Tamil Nadu chapter of the ruling Congress attended.

 

In a surprise move the All Party Meeting announced a resolution with four key demands and added that in the event of the Union government not meeting the demands within 14 days, the 40 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry would quit the Union government.

 

The support of the 40 Tamil Nadu MPs is crucial for the survival of the Congress government in New Delhi.

 

The protests gained further momentum after the All Party Meeting, with political parties blockading roads and railways, students boycotting classes, trade unions observing general shut downs and lawyers boycotting courts across the state.

 

The movie industry also joined in with over 2000 artists including producers, directors and technicians taking part in a mass rally in Raameswaram, on Sunday October 19, and actor and actresses announcing a protest fast on November 1.

 

All the while New Delhi restricted itself to making statements expressing concern at the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka and not acting on the key demands.

 

Finally, in a show of strength, the DMK organised a human chain protest with the backing of many political parties and community organisations, in which tens of thousands of people took part forming a staggering 60 kilometres long queue.

 

LTTE expresses gratitude

 

As support poured in from Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday, 08 October, the Liberation Tigers of the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), B Nadesan released a statement Expressing gratitude on behalf of the Eelam Tamils for the solidarity shown by the leaders and the masses of south Indian state.

 

Nadesan, in his statement, said the Eelam Tamils, who are facing an onslaught by the indiscriminate shelling and bombardment by the Sri Lankan forces, are inspired by the expression of solidarity from Tamil Nadu.

He described the plight of thousands of Tamils uprooted from their homes and villages and forced to seek refuge in the open due to the "genocidal war".

"All the Sinhala forces and parties were giving support to the war being waged by the Rajapakse government with a wrong assumption that even Tamil Nadu would not come forward to voice for Eelam Tamils," Nadesan added.

 

Countries opposed to India were militarily assisting the Sinhala state and some countries

of the world are providing financial support, the LTTE statement charged. "Making use of the inter-state diplomatic relations, the Sinhala state has focused its efforts to crush the just freedom struggle of the Eelam Tamils."

The statement concluded that Eelam Tamils hoped that the solidarity extended by all the leaders of Tamil Nadu would transform into concrete political action.

 

In addition to the LTTE, Tamil parliamentarians belonging to the Tamil National Alliance, community organisations based in Vanni and numerous Diaspora organizations expressed their gratitude to the Tamil Nadu leaders and people for support.

 

Reluctant New Delhi

 

With protests continuing to gain momentum and the political parties in Tamil Nadu deciding to withdraw their MPs from the Union government if their four point demand is not met by October 28, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Congress was under pressure to show it cared about the wellbeing of Eelam Tamils.

 

The UPA Government was being forced to choose between a coalition partner and a neighbour. 14 DMK MPs including seven Union Ministers submitted their symbolic resignation to DMK chief Karunanidhi in Chennai on October 17.

 

Quitting of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry MPS from the UPA would precipitate a political crisis in New Delhi leading to the collapse of the central government and fresh elections.

 

So, when DMK joined in the protests the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for steps to protect an estimated 220,000 civilians trapped by the fighting in the northern part of the island.

On Saturday October 11, according to an official spokesman in New Delhi, Singh called up Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and ‘expressed his deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north of Sri Lanka, especially on the plight of the civilians caught in the hostilities’.

Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon also had a tough message for Colombo.

 

"We see it has a humanitarian crises which effects civilian population and it really needs to be addressed but there is a larger issue of settling the conflicts which requires a political settlement and it cannot be settled militarily," Memon said on October 14.

 

Whilst the Congress led government in New Delhi released statements and made some noise, it did not act on any of the demands put forward by the Tamil Nadu parties.

 

Infact the External Affairs Minister, Pranb Mukherjee, defended India’s policy of training Sri Lankan troops and arming the island nation and made it clear that India’s geopolitical interests are of more importance in comparison to the well being of Tamils.

 

Responding to clarifications sought by the members in the Rajya Sabha on India's stand on the current crisis in Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said security cooperation with Colombo, including training of Lankan forces by India, was "necessary".

 

“We have a very comprehensive relationship with Sri Lanka. In our anxiety to protect the civilians, we should not forget the strategic importance of this island to India's interests,” he said in response to questions raised by a few members over the rationale of India continuing its military cooperation with Colombo in view of the plight of ethnic Tamils in that country and also incidents of firing on Indian fishermen entering Sri Lankan waters by mistake.

 

Sri Lankan tactics

 

Sri Lanka tried to subdue the pressure resulting the political upheaval in Tamil Nadu by taking number of steps.

 

Firstly it brushed off the Tamil Nadu protests as non events and warned Tamil Nadu to mind its own business.

 

Indirectly targeting Tamil Nadu and interestingly referring to the war effort s as ‘development activities’, Basil Rajapakse, younger brother and  senior advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa charged that `some foreign elements` were trying to disrupt the ongoing development activities in Sri Lanka and added that the island nation has `got maximum support from India to crush` the Tamil Tigers.

 

Meanwhile, a leading Sri Lankan daily has advised Indian leaders to keep off the Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka and look after the poor in their own country.

A front page editorial in The Island daily on Monday pointed out that the Global Hunger Index (GHI) had found that 200 million of India’s 1.2 billion people went hungry and the food shortage in Madhya Pradesh was comparable with Ethiopia and Chad.

The survey had further said that three-quarters of Indians were living on 30 cents a day. “Charity, Chief Minister Karunanidhi should be told, begins at home!”

“Terrorism thrives on well orchestrated false propaganda if not diabolical lies. The lunatic fringe in Tamil Nadu is accusing Sri Lanka of committing genocide.

Then whilst boasting that it had the maximum support of New Delhi, to put pressure on India it sent a defence delegation to Pakistan.

 

“The government, which has destroyed the LTTE, is getting adequate support from our foreign friends. Here, the support from our neighbour is very vital. India has been always with us. We got maximum support from India to crush the LTTE,” said Basil Rajapakse.

 

A Sri Lankan defence delegation led by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is scheduled to embark on a five-day official visit to Pakistan today.

 

According to media reports in Pakistan, during its stay in Pakistan the delegation will hold meetings with Defence Secretary Kamran Rasool, Defence Secretary Production Lt. General Shahid Siddiq Tirmizey and other senior Pakistani military and defence officials.

 

The delegation will also visit Pakistan’s Defence Industry with the hope of expanding bilateral cooperation between the two countries, the Pakistan media reported.

 

Finally, it continued with its genocidal offensive.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK)

 

MDMK and its leader Vaiko support the creation of independent Tamil Eelam and see this as the only solution to long drawn civil war in Sri Lanka.

 

In his latest speech Vaiko declared he was willing to take up arms and fight for the Eelam Tamils.

 

Paataali Makkal Katchi (PMK)

 

PMK and its founder S. Ramadoss are of the view that formation of an independent Tamil Eelam in the island of Sri Lanka with the support of India is the only solution to the over five decade old conflict.

Ramadoss in a recent interview said :“This will definitely happen in the near future and Tamil Eelam will come into existence,”

 

Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Katchi (VCK)

 

VCK supports the formation of an independent Tamil Eelam.

 

Following a visit to Jaffna, the leader of VCK, Thol. Thirumaalavan said: "I want a Tamil Government...I want a Tamil country... That country I dream of is coming up in Sri Lanka's Jaffna. I went there to salute that land.."

 

 

Communist Party of India (CPI)

 

CPI is of the view that the Indian federal model is insufficient to Sri Lanka. It should be higher than that, perhaps a confederation having constitutional guarantees, preventing one unit militarily interfering with the other.

 

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam  (AIADMK)

 

AIADMK, headed by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram recently released a statement defining the party position on Eelam issue. The statement specified AIDMK's policy on Eelam Tamils in four points:

 

Not Secondary Citizens: Eelam Tamils have equal rights as all other citizens of Sri Lanka. They are not secondary to anybody.

 

Equal Rights: We completely support the prolonged struggle of the Sri Lankan Tamils seeking equality before law and equal opportunities in education and employment.

 

Right to Self-Determination: We totally recognize their righteous struggle seeking the Right of Self-Determination.

 

Self-Governance within United Sri Lanka: We understand and accept the demand of the Tamils that they shall create a Tamil Homeland where they have the power of self-governance, under the framework of a Sri Lankan Constitution.

A senior western diplomat has warned that living conditions are deteriorating for tens of thousands of civilians displaced inside Tamil Tiger-held areas in northern Sri Lanka.

 

It is a humanitarian disaster waiting to happen, he says.

 

"We have one of the biggest humanitarian problems emerging in the north at the moment. Unfortunately it's not attracting enough international attention," the diplomat, who's familiar with the Sri Lankan situation, told the BBC.

 

Sri Lankan security forces are carrying out a multi-pronged offensive against Tamil Tigers in the north and some army units are reported to be very close to the town of Kilinochchi, where the Tamil Tigers have their administrative headquarters.

 

The United Nations says more than 200,000 people have been displaced in the latest round of fighting and they have been moving from place to place inside Tamil Tiger-controlled areas.

 

With the army capturing more and more territory from the LTTE, the civilians have now been confined to a smaller region.

 

Sooner or later hostilities are expected to break out in areas not very far from them. Some fear that they might get caught in the crossfire.

 

The diplomat, who didn't want to be identified, said Western governments had lost interest in Sri Lanka because "they think that there is little value of going back to the peace process because they are not sure whether the rebels will negotiate in good faith".

 

With the international community showing little interest in the Sri Lankan conflict, the Tamil Tigers now appear to have turned towards their supporters and political parties in neighbouring India to bring about a ceasefire in the island nation.

 

Pro-LTTE political parties and some fringe groups in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have been holding protest rallies against the Sri Lankan army offensive claiming many Tamil civilians are being killed in the conflict.

 

Sri Lankan officials deny the charges, saying they are only targeting the Tiger fighters.

 

Tamil Nadu is home to more than 60 million Tamils, who share close linguistic and cultural ties with the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

 

Most of the major political parties from Tamil Nadu have warned that their lawmakers will quit the Indian parliament if Delhi fails to broker a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

 

If the threats were carried out they could trigger a political crisis in Delhi.

 

But these protests are viewed by some as an attempt by the pro-LTTE groups to try to protect the Tamil Tigers, who appear to have been cornered by the Sri Lankan security forces in recent months.

 

India has been pursuing a hands-off policy in Sri Lanka since the assassination of the former Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, allegedly by a female Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in 1991.

 

However, it actively backed the Norwegian-led peace process, which was officially called off early this year.

 

Officially, India wants a negotiated settlement within a united Sri Lanka, knowing that any fragmentation of Sri Lanka could have serious ramifications for its own security.

 

If Delhi attempts to exert any pressure on Colombo it is bound to trigger an angry reaction from hard line political parties in Sri Lanka.

 

So the protests in Tamil Nadu may not result in a major shift in India's Sri Lanka policy as Delhi's options appear to be limited.

 

"The Tigers seemed to have made a miscalculation on when and how India will intervene. I don't see any chance of the conflict ending in the next few weeks," the western diplomat said.

 

The Sri Lankan military would also stoutly oppose any move to stop the offensive which seems to be going in their favour.

 

Analysts say the military's numerical superiority, stronger firepower and better military strategy have helped them to push rapidly deep inside LTTE-held territory in recent months.

 

But their progress has been slow in recent weeks due to stiff resistance from the Tigers.

 

Many military observers agree that if the present trend continues then the army will capture Kilinochchi sooner or later.

 

If the army achieves its objectives, then the Tigers would be confined mostly to the Mullaitivu region.

 

Now the fear among the Tamils is if the LTTE are weakened then the government may not show interest in devolving powers to Tamil areas.

 

"There is a danger that there will be little pressure on the Sri Lankan government to devolve powers to Tamil regions if the Tigers lose the war," says Sri Lankan analyst DBS Jeyaraj.

 

However, he argues that the fall of Kilinochchi may not be the end of the LTTE as most of their weapons and cadres are still intact and they may be gearing up for a long, drawn-out guerrilla war.

Attacks against the Sri Lankan security personnel in Jaffna peninsula and in the Eastern province are on the increase as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) put pressure on the military outside Vanni also.

 

In the latest attack in the East, LTTE forces attacked a military post inside the high security area in Kanatalaay in Trincomalee district killing four Sri Lankan military personnel, including Sri Lanka Army soldiers and home guards.

 

The raid took place at Seranawa on Monday, September 29.

 

On the same day, a Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) trooper sustained serious injuries in a gunfire ambush at Arasadiththeevu in Paddippazhai, 15 km west of Batticaloa city, according to Sri Lankan police.

A day earlier, a commando unit of the LTTE stormed a joint paramilitary-Army mini-camp at Thikiliveddai, north of Batticaloa, killing six military and paramilitary personnel.

 

The LTTE unit attacked the base on Sunday September 28, bringing the camp under their control within 15 minutes, LTTE sources told TamilNet.

 

One PK-LMG, five T-56 type-2 assault rifles, a drum magazine for the PK-LMG, 100 rounds, seven AK-47 magazines, two-hundred-and-twenty 7.62 mm rounds and a holster were seized in the attack.

In the months August and September alone over 50 Sri Lankan soldiers have been killed in the Eastern province.

 

In August, 23 SLA troops were killed when LTTE cadres triggered a claymore device targeting troops traveling in a military vehicle in Batticaloa district.

 

In September at least 26 Sri Lankan security personnel were killed and another 26 wounded in separate attacks carried out by LTTE forces in different locations.

Since the Sri Lankan Government announced the ‘Liberation of the East’ on July 11, 2007 there have been several attacks against security forces which have increased in frequency in the past few months. 

 

The government recently tried to brush off the attacks by referring to them as isolated incidents.

 

The Sri Lankan defense establishment claimed these incidents were isolated attacks and that they are ‘natural’ in places that have been ‘newly liberated’.

 

These attacks would not go on for long, they claimed.

 

However, analysts feel that the escalating attacks on Sri Lankan security personnel outside theatre of war in Vanni is putting severe pressure on the Sri Lankan military, which is facing an acute shortage of personnel, to protect areas under its control whilst continuing the offensive in Vanni.

 

The personnel shortage is clearly evident in Jaffna peninsula, informed sources claim.

 

With relocation of large number of Sri Lanka Army troops to the Northern Front Defence Line (FDL) areas and outer districts, the Army is allegedly facing difficulties in carrying out prompt cordon and search operations in Jaffna peninsula.

 

On Monday September 29, a unit of SLA soldiers was attacked by a group in military fatigue near a Saiva temple in Maasiyappiddi area and the soldiers had called for assistance from their camp.

Although the SLA field bike unit arrived at the scene within a short period, the cordon and search was delayed by nearly two hours due to lack of troopers.

SLA had requested all camps located from Koozhaavadi to Chunnaakam, a distance of 8 km, to send five soldiers from each camp.

The soldiers assigned to the task from each of the above camps encountered difficulty in finding transport, and eventually used vehicles belonging to residents to reach Chunnaakam, residents said.

The LTTE has also stepped up its attacks on security personnel in the North, in Jaffna peninsula.

 

The night before the Maasiyappiddi attack, an SLA soldier in Thanangkilappu camp in Thenmaraadchi was gunned down.

Separately, Sri Lanka Army soldiers posted at the electricity transformer area at Vannaaththi Paalam along Aadiyapaatham Veethi in Kokkuvil in Jaffna were fired at on Thursday October 2.

 

An explosion caused either by a hand grenade or claymore device was heard from the place of attack, and gunfire followed the blast for nearly ten minutes, residents of the area said. There was no information on casualty or injuries to the SLA soldiers.

An electricity transformer in the same area was set fire earlier.

Similar attacks had been made on electricity transformers in Thenmaraadchi and Vadamarraadchi areas in Jaffna peninsula before.

The SLA soldiers, following these attacks, fenced in all transformers, and have deployed guards 24 hours a day.

The United National Party (UNP) is calling for an international level investigation into the bomb blast in Anuradhapura that killed North Central Province Opposition Leader retired Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera.

 

Speaking to the media in Colombo, General Secretary of the party Tissa Attanayake said they suspected foul play, adding that the investigation by the government could not be trusted.

 

The UNP has accused the government of ignoring repeated requests for a stronger security detail for Gen Perera.

 

"The government must take full responsibility," Mr. Attanayake.

 

"They did not give him adequate security for political reasons."

 

“The LTTE, Pillayan Group or any other group or politician may have killed Maj. Gen. Perera, but the foundation for his murder was laid by a top official in the Defence Ministry and the Rajapaksa regime,” Mr. Attanayake alleged.

 

“Therefore, the incident should be investigated at international level,” he said.

 

"Top terrorist Pillayan travels in bulletproof vehicles courtesy Rajapaksa government. LTTE breakaway Karuna Amman is given state protection. However, General Janaka Perera who had rendered a great service to the country and nation died as a civilian without any protection."

 

“The government should take full responsibility for the killing, following repeated safety concerns raised by him due to threats from the LTTE, Pillayan Group and government politicians,” Mr. Attanayake said.

 

Days before the killing, east chief minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan had been seen in several areas of Anuradhapura and a major search was conducted at the weekend.

 

"So, how can a suicide bomber enter the town? Whose fault is it that the bomber could not be caught during the search?" the UNP General Secretary asked.

 

When he had been serving in the army, Maj. Gen. Perera was a hero for the government, but as soon as a he was announced as the UNP's election candidate, he suddenly became a traitor, Mr. Attanayake charged.

 

His rival candidate Berty Premalal Dissanayake was given hundreds of security personnel, while Maj. Gen. Perera lost even his handful of bodyguards after the election, Mr. Attanayake claimed.

 

Speaking further, he condemned DIG K.P.P. Pathirana for his statement that the police had not been informed of the opening of the UNP office in Anuradhapura.

 

Pursuant to a log entry (4149/2008) at Anuradhapura Headquarters Police, sergeant Udaya Kumara (24993) and constables Bandara (61967), Wijesinghe (54410) and Bandara (34825) had been sent to the location, Mr. Attanayake revealed.

 

Therefore, DIG Pathirana should resign immediately or the IGP should suspend him, for having misled the country by making false statements, the UNP General Secretary added.

 

Separately, the leader of the SLFP (Mahajana Wing) Mangala Samaraweera said the Rajapaksa government should take full responsibility for the attack.

 

The ex-military commander had been facing death threats since the moment he came forward to contest the recent provincial polls, but the government had completely disregarded his safety concerns, Mr. Samaraweera noted.

 

Since the beginning, the present regime had planned to make his life insecure and it had led to his murder, the SLFP (M) leader said.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith condemned the attack on offices of the main opposition party in northern Sri Lanka on Monday, which took the life of Major General Perera, a local opposition leader and a former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the country.

 

"The Australian government sends its most sincere condolences to the Perera family and to the families of all those killed and injured in this terrible attack," Mr Smith said in a statement.

 

"Australia is deeply concerned about the increasing violence in Sri Lanka and the humanitarian impact of escalating conflict in the north of the country.

 

"Fighting has intensified as Sri Lankan government security forces seek to establish control over territory in the hands of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)," he said.

 

Mr Smith said Australia recognised the right of the Sri Lankan government to take measured action to secure control over its national territory.

 

"At the same time, it is vital that the government and all institutions of the state make every effort to avoid any civilian casualties and act swiftly and on a sustained basis to mitigate humanitarian hardship from the conflict," he said.

 

"Both sides to the conflict need to be held accountable to their responsibilities in the conduct of hostilities.

 

"Both sides must act in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian norms."

 

Mr Smith urged the Sri Lankan government to look to means other than the military to resolve the long-running civil war.

 

"Australia's very strong view remains that Sri Lanka's conflict cannot be resolved through military means alone," he said.

 

"We consider a political solution to be essential for long-term peace in a country which has been suffering for so long from conflict."

Over forty concerned Canadian Tamil youth gathered at the cultural hall of the Richmond Hill Hindu Temple to participate in a 30 hour famine (with only water) to create awareness within the Canadian Tamil community about the humanitarian crisis in Vanni, while raising funds for CARE program.

 

"Now that all international aid agencies and NGOs have left the Tamil areas, we the Tamil diaspora have to take care of our people in our homeland" said Arani Kanagasabai, a participant in the famine.

 

The famine kicked off at 4 pm Friday, September 26 with commemoration to Lt. Col Thileepan who fasted unto death in twelve days putting forward five demands to the Indian government to meet the aspirations of the Tamil people, during the occupation of the Indian Forces in Jaffna.

 

The hall continually was filled with members of the Tamil community showing support to the participants. For moral support over ten adults also joined the youth in the awaraness creating famine campaign. 

 

Local radio and television promoted the event through regular updates and the Canadian Tamil Radio broadcasted live on location from beginning to end of the famine.

 

Out pouring support was noted Saturday as the countdown neared the end, with members of the crowd providing words of encouragement and the entertainment of Vaanampaadikal music group who themselves conducted a 27 hour band-a-thon a week ago for the same cause. 

 

Staff of CARE Program were on site to receive the donations as well as the pledges from the participants. 

 

"The support of the members of the community, media including print, audio visual, radio and television has been overwhelmingly phenomenal and we ask that this momentum be continued until the sufferings of our people end in our homeland" said Sarva Jeyapalan. 

 

As the 30 hours came to a close, each participant got the opportunity to share their feelings with the crowd, which by no doubt left the audience in tears at many instances. 

 

Mrs. Pararajasingam, wife of Late Mr. Pararajasingam, TNA Member of Parliament, ended the famine at 10.01pm by providing milk for all the participants followed by the blessings of the priests of the Richmond Hill Hindu Temple. 

The UN convoy of 51 trucks, carrying 650 tons of food and accompanied by seven UN international staff, crossed at Omanthai, on its way to civilians caught behind the lines of confrontation, according to a press release issued in Colombo by the Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka. carried

 

The food is the first to be sent since the UN and other aid agencies were ordered out of LTTE-held areas by the government in early September.

 

The international humanitarian workers who accompanied the convoy returned to Vavuniya, which is under government control, after the trucks got through.

 

“The convoy will transport and distribute food to four locations to the east of Kilinochchi, where the majority of displaced civilians are thought to have concentrated,” the UN statement noted.

 

Aid agencies estimate about 200,000 people have been displaced by fighting in areas held by the Tamil Tigers.

 

Azeb Asrat from the UN's World Food Programme says there are a large number of people in Tamil Tiger areas who have been displaced by the fighting.

 

"The food is needed," he said, "because 200,000 internally displaced people are waiting."

 

"The last distribution was done around 15 September, so it's already two weeks that people have been without food."

 

The convoy initially consisted of 60 trucks, but nine lorries were not allowed to proceed after the security forces allegedly discovered explosives, global positioning system sets and a large number of batteries.

 

United Nations officials in Sri Lanka deplored the placing of explosives by an unknown group on a truck that was due to join a UN food convoy in the north of the country.

 

In a statement, the UN reiterated that humanitarian operations and personnel must be protected at all times, in line with international humanitarian law.

Maj. Gen (retd.) Janaka Perera and his wife, Vajira, a former Sri Lanka Army officer, were killed in a bomb blast in Anuradhapura Monday morning around 8:45.

 

Around 28 persons were killed and 80 wounded in the blast, which the Sri Lankan government blamed on the LTTE.

 

An attacker, strapped with hidden explosives, embraced the former commander killing himself and several others, initial reports said.

 

Maj. Gen. (retd.) Perera was the Opposition Leader of the United National Party (UNP) in North Central Province.

 

He had been the UNP candidate for the Chief Minister post in 2008 Provincial Elections in North Central Province, which was marred by violence.

 

In recent months, the celebrated General was a vocal critic of the military strategy pursued by the government and favoured a judicious mix of political initiatives with military manoeuvres to resolve the ethnic strife.

 

He joined the UNP just before the August provincial election and was declared its chief ministerial candidate.

 

However, the ruling combine led by President Rajapaksa secured majority and Maj. Gen. (retd.) Perera became the Leader of the Opposition.

 

Anuradhapura district organiser Dr. Rajah Johnpulle, a Tamil UNP activist whose home and dispensary were set on fire by UPFA supporters in August, his wife, and several UNP activists were also killed in the blast.

 

A journalist covering the ceremony was also killed in the blast.

 

TV journalist Rashmi Mohamed, a provincial correspondent of Sirasa TV, was covering the opening ceremony of the UNP office in Anuradhapura.

 

Five media organisations expressed their deep sorrow over his death.

 

At least fifteen of the 80 wounded were in critical condition, according to medical sources. Over 300 participants were at the site of the blast.

 

Maj. Gen. (retd.) Perara was participating in an opening ceremony of a new UNP office close to the old bus stand in the town.

 

During Eelam War III, Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera played a major role in Jaffna and in Manalaaru (Weli Oya).

 

After the fall of Elephant Pass Base, he was appointed Overall Operations Commander (OOC) when Major Sarath Fonseka (now Lt. Gen.) was Security Forces Commander in Jaffna.

 

He retired from the military after being sidelined from becoming the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and appointed as the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka, first in Australia, and then in Indonesia, following his retirement.

 

His appointment as the envoy to Australia in June 2001 sparked protest demonstrations in Sydney.

 

More than 300 Tamils protested outside the Australian parliament accusing Gen Perera of "war crimes".

 

Sri Lanka was forced to withdraw his controversial posting to Sri Lankan High Commission in Canada, following diplomatic pressure on Colombo on his poor record on Human Rights in his career.

 

The Tamil community accused him of being responsible for hundreds of deaths and the torture of Tamils in the region during the period.

 

More than 600 Tamils were forcefully disappeared during his tenure as Overall Commander of the Sri Lankan forces in Jaffna.

 

The human rights group Amnesty International raised similar concerns.

 

A Tamil village, Mankindi-malai in Manalaaru region, was renamed Janakapura, after the SLA evicted Tamils from their village in 1984 and established Sinhala colonies there.

 

Maj. Gen. (ret) Perera (then a brigadier) was posted for two years in Janakapura as the commander of the SLA's Special Forces with a key camp at Janakapura.

 

Janaka Perera, one of the SLA's most celebrated officers, was barred from entering SLA camps in April 2008 by the military hierarchy after he criticized the present SLA Commander and the Rajapaksa government for their conduct of war with unrealistic deadlines.

 

Mr Perera had three children – two daughters and a son – studying in Canberra, Australia.