Putting aside political differences, Tamil Nadu political parties joined hands in voicing support for Eelam Tamils at a State-wide protest fast organized by the Communist Party of India (CPI) demanding New Delhi to withdraw military assistance to neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Marunalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhgam (DMDK) Tamil Desiya Iyakkam, Puthiya Tamilagam and Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) participated in the fasting campaign held on Thursday October 2, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, in Chennai and district capitals across the state of Tamil Nadu was attended by thousands of people.

A wide range of Tamil leaders were present at the stage at Seappaakkam demanding the Central Government of India to stop not to provide military assistance to the Sri Lankan government, to exert pressure on Colombo to stop the military offensive and to resume peace talks to find a political solution.

Tamil Nadu CPI Joint Secretary C. Mahendran, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary N. Varadarajan, Chairman of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam led by Actor Vijayakanth, Panruti S.Ramachandran, MDMK General-Secretary Vaiko, Tamil National Movement Leader Pala Nedumaran, Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Kadchi (VCK, Liberation Panthers Party) President Thol. Thirumavalavan, Puthiya Thamizhakam Leader Dr. Krishnasamy, World Tamils Organization President, Ira. Janarthanan, former Congress leader Thindivanam Ramamoorthy and Latchiya Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (LDMK) Leader Vijaya T Rajendhar were among the political figures of Tamil Nadu who took part in the hunger strike at the stage and also addressed the audience.

Several artists and poets from Tamil Nadu and three Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarians, Maavai Senathirajah MP, Sivajilingam MP, Suresh Premachandran MP and V.I.S Jayapalan, a Tamil poet from Eelam were also among the participants at the stage.

CPI National Secretary D. Raja, in his address, charged that New Delhi was clandestinely assisting Sri Lanka in its war against Tamils and questioned what the Indian personnel who came under attack in the North of Sri Lanka were doing there.

 

"This struggle which expresses the sentiments of the entire Tamils has to continue and we will unite in the struggle continually," D. Raja told the participants.

"This issue cannot be brushed aside as an internal affair of Sri Lanka. The offensive against the Eelam Tamils will affect India too."

"This is not a demonstration in support of a particular organization or a leader but one that is held in sympathy of the Tamil people and the CPI has no other inner motive in this struggle," he declared

 

Raja, labelling the Rajapakse led Sri Lankan Government as a ‘tyrant state’ for its continued military action against the Tamils on the island nation, said that the Rajapakse government had always talked about military solutions to the ethnic problem, unmindful of its consequences. This had only made Rajapakse turn into a dictator, he charged.

 

He also blamed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Government for not raising its voice against the killing of Tamils.

 

“There is a need to protect the Tamils in Lanka. The refugee problem still persists. Thousands are living in camps in Tamil Nadu. The Tamils in Lanka should get their social, economic and political rights,” he said.

 

“The situation demands that the Indian government explain its position. There are reports that three Indian soldiers were injured in the war between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE. The Indian government has not reacted so far. It must make it clear whether it is clandestinely helping the Sri Lankan Army. We will not allow any assistance to the Sri Lankan Army from Indian side,” said Raja.

 

“India remains silent on the strategic agreement between Sri Lanka and the US. Neither did it protest against the attacks on Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.”

 

"The lost rights of the Indian fishermen in the Kachchatheevu agreement should be restored," Raja declared and said: "We wish to point out to the leader of DMK that we are fighting against the Indian State not only for its Nuclear deal; we are also opposing it for the role it plays in Sri Lanka."

D. Pandian, the Tamil Nadu State Secretary of the CPI said the hunger-strike and the support by CPI to Eelam Tamils was not a political maneuver for forming an election alliance in Tamil Nadu. "It is a shame to think about forming political alliance on the death of Eelam Tamils," he said and urged all parties to exert pressure on New Delhi.

Pandian further said that his party would organise an International Conference of Tamils by December to discuss the problems of Tamils in Sri Lanka. He accused the Centre and the DMK state government of remaining indifferent to the plight of fishermen, who were being attacked regularly by the Sri Lankan Navy.

 

CPI (M) central committee member W.R.Varadha Rajan said that India, through diplomatic channels, must pressure the Sri Lankan government against launching an offensive against innocent Tamils in the name of waging a war with the LTTE. “Let India tell the Sri Lankan government to find a political solution to the ethnic crisis.”

 

Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan suggested a general strike in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils.

 

Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) presidium chairman Panruti S. Ramachandran, who was actively engaged in the Sri Lankan process under the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) in the mid-80's, said the Indian government should send food and medicines to the Tamils through international agencies such as the United Nations. “India must intervene on humanitarian grounds,” he added.

 

MDMK general secretary Vaiko said Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi should ensure that India did not give any military assistance to Sri Lanka. Alleging that the killings of Tamils was going on unchecked for nearly 25 years.

 

Senior CPI leader R. Nallakannu said in Madurai that the Indian Navy, that was supposed to protect the rights of Indian fishermen, was “unfortunately supporting the Sri Lankan Navy.”

 

Tamil Nationalist Movement leader Pazh Nedumaran, Sri Lankan MP Sivajilingam and senior CPI leader C. Mahendram were among those who participated in the agitation.

As a protest organized by the Communist Party of India attracted the support of many political parties and drew thousands of people across the state both the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) hardened their stand on the Sri Lanka. 

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi addressing a public meeting support of Eelam Tamils on Monday, October 6, declared that the DMK will be forced to consider withdrawing from the central government if it does not take decisive steps to stop attacks against Tamils in Sri Lanka and Indian fishermen by the island’s naval force.

 “The final decision in the matter will be taken by the DMK’s highest policy making body - the general body,” Karunanidhi added.

During a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he demanded India lodge a strong protest with the island’s diplomatic mission in New Delhi.

“The chief minister stressed that the Sri Lankan high commissioner be summoned and told that India condemns the genocide of the Tamil minority and (that) its navy is killing innocent Indian fishermen,” an official statement released by the Tamil Nadu government stated.

“The prime minister has promised to carry out the chief minister’s wishes,”

“The prime minister was also requested to do the needful to ensure the immediate end of attacks on Indian fishermen at the hands of Sri Lanka’s defence establishment,” the statement added.

Jayalalitha, the Leader of, main opposition, AIADMK, on Saturday October 4, issued a statement castigating the central government for collaborating with Sri Lanka in the alleged genocide of minority Tamils in the island nation and called for immediate stoppage of all military aid to it - especially in the view of its navy allegedly carrying out attacks against Indian fishermen.

 

She alleged that the Indian government had remained not just a passive witness but was an active collaborator by supplying arms, providing radars and training to the Sri Lankan armed forces and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to call up his Sri Lankan counterpart and convey his displeasure over the killing of Tamils in the island nation and attacks on Indian fishermen.

“After the disastrous IPKF misadventure and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the Indian government had taken a decision that it would not get involved in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. But now, we have the same government going all out to help the Sri Lankan armed forces,” she said.

Jayalalitha said though it was not uncommon for one nation to offer training or supply arms to another country, in the case of Sri Lanka, the question arose as to who its target was.

“The Sri Lankan government may well claim that its Army is shooting only at the LTTE’s fighters. But, claims made about the death toll indicate that it is not just the LTTE fighters who are being mowed down, but a substantial part of the hapless Tamil population as well. So, in essence, Indian arms and ammunition sent from India are being used against the innocent Tamils of Sri Lanka,” she said.

“The Sri Lankan armed forces have also killed Indian fishermen in the sea. All the time, the Indian government has been saying that this matter has been taken up with the Sri Lankan government. But, no tangible action has been taken so far by the Indian government,” she alleged. “We are not asking for an armed invasion of Sri Lanka. What we look for is that the Indian Prime Minister should call up his Sri Lankan counterpart and make his displeasure known in clear terms,” she stressed.

Earlier Karunanidhi also opposed a proposal for joint patrolling of the Palk Straits by the Indian and Sri Lankan navies to prevent attacks on Indian fishermen.

Karunanidhi expressed his opinion in an official letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, copies of which were released to the media.

The chief minister Karunanidhi was reacting to reported discussions between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollogama in New York during which the proposal for joint patrolling was mooted to resolve the issue.

 

"While I have repeatedly stressed on the need to strengthen our security on the international maritime border line by giving adequate facilities to the Indian Coast Guard and the navy, we have also made it clear that joint patrolling was not feasible," Karunanidhi said.

The state government had also pointed this out to National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, he added.

An estimated 800 Indian fisherman have died at the hands of Sri Lankan Navy since India ceded Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka.

It is with deep concern and understanding that I made a comparative study of Dr. A.R.M. Imtiyaz’s “Tamil-Muslim Relations and Unity for Peace” a paper presented during the conference “Ending the war and bringing justice and peace to Sri Lanka” held at the Steelworkers’ Hall in Toronto, September 13, 2008 and the article “Why Tamil-Muslim unity crucial for peace –“excerpts” which was published in the last issue of this paper.

 

In fact, I attended a panel presentation on Sunday, September 14, 2008 where Dr. Imtiyaz highlighted some of his views on his presentation.

 

While respecting Dr. Imtiyaz as an academic, I am much concerned about the credibility of references and citations presented by selected academics and their vocal presentations with regards to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

 

I am particularly concerned with the references made to the Sri Lankan Muslim community of the North and North Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, to which I belong though currently domiciled in Canada.

 

Cause of conflict

In page 1 of his circulated hard copy and e-mailed paper presented at the conference Dr. Imtiyaz states:

“However, Sri Lankan Muslims claim majority in Amparai district of Eastern province, and regularly develop social and political tensions with the Tamils of the East. Muslims of the North and East became regular victims of ethnic instability that generated ethnic civil war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese”.

 

But Dr. Imtiyaz gives another contradictory view in para 4 of the Excerpts published in the Sunday times article by stating:

 

“However, they claim they are the majority in the Amparai district of the Eastern province, where exist social and political tension between the Tamils and the Muslims. The Northern and Eastern Muslims became victims of a vicious cycle of ethnic instability that led to the ethnic civil war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese”.

 

 These two statements are highly contradictory of each other in the comparative study of academic understanding.

 

Later in his original presentation, under the sub-heading “Tamil-Muslim Divide”, Dr. Imtiyaz states:

 

“Sinhalese politicization of ethnic emotions by the Southern parties of Sri Lanka failed the country and it eventually drove the Tamils and the Sinhalese into grisly ethnic civil war.

 

This statement again contradicts and nullifies his claim that it was the vicious cycle of ethnic instability that led to the ethnic civil war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese

 

There had always been harmony between the Tamils and Muslims, specially in the North and North Eastern Provinces. This was true even before the island gained independence from the British. As even Dr. Imtiyaz notes:

“Sinhalese politicization of ethnic emotions by the Southern parties of Sri Lanka failed the country and it eventually drove the Tamils and the Sinhalese into grisly ethnic civil war.

 

So the alleged ethnic instability between the Muslims and Tamils – which did not exist – in no way contributed or led to the Sinhalese-Tamil conflicts.

 

Further analysis of Dr Imtiyaz’s statements reveals that one (that Muslims became ‘regular victims of ethnic instability that generated ethnic civil war’ between the Tamils and the Sinhalese) is a accusation against the Tamils, while another – that there was social tension between the Tamil and Muslims – is an assumption.

 

The Tamils and the Muslims were in the best of cultural, political, socio-economics and territorial rights relationships at all times and were not in conflict as argued by Dr. Imtiyaz. Various researchers have proven this.

 

The Muslim identity

Further in the presentation, Dr. Imtiyaz states that:

“Muslims have their own concerns and issues pertaining to their identity and security. A notable feature of the Tamil-Muslim relations in contemporary Sri Lanka, according to McGilvray, is Muslim desire to develop a non-Tamil identity based on Islam, a religion which strictly calls obedient only to Allah, a profound emotional message that relentlessly resists any forms of obedience to all other human and spiritual powers. Muslims’ decision to seek own identity based on the Islamic religion triggered Tamil anger.

 

But in the excerpts published last week, Dr. Imtiyaz states:

 

“A notable feature of the Tamil-Muslim relations in contemporary Sri Lanka is the Muslim desire to develop a non-Tamil identity based on Islam, a religion which strictly calls obedience only to Allah, a profound message that relentlessly resists any forms of obeisance to all other powers. The Muslims' decision to seek their own identity based on Islam triggered Tamil anger.”

 

These statements are contradicted by other researchers. For example, Dr. Imtiyaz has not referenced Dr. Dennis B. McGilvray, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, in his original presentation. Dr. McGilvray in the publication titled “Muslim perspectives on the Sri Lankan Conflict”, written with Mirak Raheem, contradicts Dr. Imtiyaz’s statements.

 

In Policy study 41, 2007 of the East-West Centre in Washington, Dr. McGilvray states that: “The essential point is that Sri Lankan Muslim politics is not infused with religious ideology or sectarian jihadism. Humanitarian solidarity with fellow-Muslims who are endangered or opposed is strongly felt, as when the 2004 tsunami tragedy struck the east coast, inflicting roughly a third of Sri Lanka’s tsunami deaths on a community that is 8% of local population.”

 

Therefore, Dr. Imtiyaz’s statement that the Muslims sought a non-Tamil identity based on their religion, and that it was this that “triggered Tamil anger” is, in my opinion, defamatory of the Sri Lankan Tamil-Muslim political relationship.

 

Muslim political alliances

In his original presentation Dr. Imtiyaz states:

“The political establishment of the Muslims supports the Sinhala political leaders for political and commercial purposes: they vigorously oppose the Tamil demand for self-autonomy in the merged North and East and support successive Sinhala-dominated governments' military actions against the Tamils.”

 

The facts arguably contradict this statement. Indeed, in the North and North-East, Muslims were supportive of Tamils and federalism – then.

 

Again quoting Dr. McGilvray and Mr. Raheem:

“The Federal party retained a degree of popular support over its Muslim population in the North East until the goals of the party became confrontational. Yet even in 1960’s and 1970’s not all Muslims distanced themselves from the Federal party. For instance at the Vaddukoddai Resolution meeting in 1976, M.H.M.Ashraff, who was to later establish the SLMC as the first successful Muslim political party, reportedly said “If elder brother Amirthalimgham [then Tamil leader of the TULF coalition in Parliament] failed to get Tamil Eelam [a tamil-speaking homeland in North east], the younger brother Ashraff will get it”

 

It is further stated by these two academics that:

“The Federal Party even adopted a resolution at the Trincomalee Convention in 1956 in favour of both a Tamil State and a Muslim State with a Federal set-up.”

 

Another of Dr. Imtiyaz’s defective view is his statement in both the presentation and the article is when he states that the Muslims had “deep distrust in S.J.V. Chelvanayakam's federal demand”. Again this is countered by Dr. McGilvray and Mr. Raheem, who report of a “Muslim-Tamil Alliance … [that] emerged in the North East”.

 

Further, Dr. Imtiyaz makes no reference to the fact that it was a Muslim parliamentarian who won the parliamentary seat of Mutur (Trincomalee district) in the 1950's. He made his maiden parliamentary speech in the Tamil language, which is arguably an expression of Muslim-Tamil solidarity, understanding and respect which still remains to date.

 

It can be argued that some academics are trying to forget this longstanding accord, with the possibility of fanning discord between the two Tamil Speaking communities in Sri Lanka.

 

Other challenges

The following statements, made in the presentation and the excerpts, can also be challenged as deceptions that could become disastrous and potentially destroy the fundamentals of a minority community.

1.      “The political establishment of the Muslims supports the Sinhala political leaders for political and commercial purposes: they vigorously oppose the Tamil demand for self-autonomy in the merged North and East and support successive Sinhala-dominated governments' military actions against the Tamils”.

 

2. “All of which goes to show that the irrational approach of the Tamil resistance movement towards the Muslims of the North and East was the key component of the Muslim frustration, and thus some (affected) Muslim youth eventually resorted to violence against the Tamils and joined the state security forces, either as low-level cadres or as informants”.

 

3. “The bottom line is that the minorities in Sri Lanka have some special problems. These problems are associated with the issues of identity and existence, and thus they need special solutions”.

 

4. “During the 1983 riots, a Muslim Minister is said to have disgraced Islam by unleashing his thugs in central Colombo against the Tamils. The Muslims of the Eastern Province were alleged to have got together with the STF in terrorist exploits against the Tamils there”.

 

5. “As a result, Muslims have changed their preferences and strategies to contain the ethnic Tamils' cultural and political domination.  This suggests one key rational for the formation of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) in the mid of 1980’s, when the Muslims also established some informal contacts with the Sri Lanka state forces”. 

 

Further reading

The following short list of publications will allow any concerned reader to begin revealing the flaws in Dr. Imtiyaz’s arguments.

 

·       "The Muslims of Sri Lanka, 1000 years of ethnic harmony 900-1915 AD" by Lorna Dewaraja, (Lanka Islamic Foundation, 1994),

·       The Muslims and Sri Lanka by Ms. Kamalika Pieris, available at  http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/srilanka.htm

·       Sri Lankan Muslims: Ethnic Identity within Cultural Diversity by Prof M A Nuhuman.

·       The article - Sri Lanka 's Muslims, Homeless and homesick, Oct 11th 2007,
From The Economist print edition, An unhappy and forgotten minority,

·       Ameer Ali, "The Genesis of the Muslim Community in Ceylon (Sri Lanka): A Historical Summary", Asian Studies, Vol. 29, April-December, 1981, pp. 65-82,  

·       M M M. Mahroof, "Sri Lanka: the Arab connection", Journal of Islamic History, New Delhi, 1/2 Oct-Dec., 1995, pp. 305-316,

·       M M M. Mahroof, "Sri Lanka: the Arab connection", Journal of Islamic History, New Delhi, 1/2 Oct-Dec., 1995, pp. 305-316,

·       Ameer Ali, "Politics of Survival",

·       The Article by Farah Mihlar in Britain’s The Guardian newspaper titled “Britain is failing Sri Lanka's Muslims”, available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/sep/01/post331  

·       Dr. Ameer Ali - Politics of survival: past strategies and present predicament of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Volume 7, Issue 1 January 1986 , pages 147–170

·       Article on “Muslims in Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict”, by Ms. Farzana Haniffa (Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology, University of Colombo), published in Review 19, Spring 2007 - ISIM, University of Amsterdam.

 

The author is a Tamil Speaking Canadian citizen, hailing from Trincomalee. He is a scholar of Communication Science who was a NORAD-Fellow in 1971. He is currently teaching Communication Studies in Canada, where he is also a freelance writer very much involved in the Peace Activities, especially concerning the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

International aid agencies pulling out of the Vanni in early September has exacerbated the already difficult life of those who had displaced to the region, local reports said.

 

With the impending monsoon, assuring access to fresh food and reliable shelter has become a priority for both the remaining local agencies and the displaced alike.

 

"The most pressing needs of these people are security, health, water, shelter, sanitation and food," Anthony Dalziel, ICRC deputy chief in Sri Lanka, said.

 

The United Nations and other aid agencies withdrew from the Vanni last month after the Sri Lankan government ordered them out of the war zones.

 

Though many protested at leaving the civilians as their situation was worsening, all eventually left as their own security became precarious.

 

The government said it could not guarantee their safety.

 

Analysts suggest the government wants to avoid more incidents like the killing of 17 aid workers as the fighting was moving into Muttur in August 2006, a massacre that has been blamed on Sri Lankan government troops.

 

Whilst there had not yet been any reports of food shortages in the Vanni, ICRC officials said there were areas of concern.

 

The withdrawal of aid agencies has already resulted in a mass reduction in food supply to the Vanni region.

 

This week a United Nations convoy of fifty-one trucks was finally allowed through the Omanthai checkpoint, accompanied by UN staff, but locals said this was nowhere near enough.

 

"We hope this will be the first of many such convoys," a World Food Programme (WFP) spokesman told BBC.

 

"We are not talking about starvation in the north, but we are talking about people whose ability to cope after heavy fighting over the last month has been seriously eroded."

 

According to the Sri Lankan Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, this is "just the beginning of a consistent strategy" to ensure there is sufficient food supplies for the displaced people in the Vanni.

 

But aid workers say the government is reluctant to allow the convoys through.

 

The attempt to fix explosives onto one of the trucks, an act that has been condemned by the UN, was cited as a clear attempt to obstruct the convoy.

 

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack, reporters note that the explosives were placed on the truck while it was being monitored by the Sri Lankan military.

 

 “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,” according to a press release issued in Colombo by the Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka.

 

Civilians – both those already displaced and those who used to reside in Kilinochchi – are fleeing further east towards Mullaitivu as the Sri Lanka Army approaches the town that used to be the operational headquarters of the LTTE, the BBC reported.

 

They had already started moving to avoid aerial attacks by the Sri Lankan Air Force, which press reports said had been targeting civilian areas for the last few weeks.

 

Although the government has urged civilians to move into Vavuniya, which is under government control, the vast majority are deciding to head deeper into LTTE controlled areas, local reports said.

 

"They are setting up camp in the Darmapuram area, about 15 km from Kilinochchi, where there is water because of irrigation canals," IPS quoted civilian sources in Kilinochchi as saying.

 

"But toilet facilities will be a big problem because everyone is using the open grounds," the sources had cautioned.

 

There were more attacks on Kilinochchi town on Friday, the government's top civil servant in Kilinochchi district, Nagalingam Vedanayagan, confirmed.

 

"Shelling and other attacks are taking place in Kilinochchi," he told the BBC Tamil service.

 

"To escape the fighting people are moving towards the east. Most of them have been moving out."

 

Additionally with the continual aerial bombardment, the movement of civilians has left many without any appropriate shelter.

 

"People are living under trees. They don't even have a mat to sleep on. There is no electricity," one resident told BBC.

 

With many more likely to become displaced, the sight of whole families living in these conditions is likely to become even more prevalent, analysts predict.

 

The health services available in the region have also become a casualty of the ongoing conflict.

 

"Local health facilities have moved along with the civilian population and are continuing to provide health services under extremely difficult conditions," the ICRC deputy told reporters.

 

"Kilinochchi District General Hospital has been receiving even more patients than usual," Mr. Dalziel added.

 

Though there have been no health problems yet, “the approaching monsoon rains are cause for concern”, noted the ICRC deputy.

 

Kilinochchi hospital has already moved from its original position, with relocating 18km north of the town on September 27.

 

Patients, staff and records were moved to two schools as a temporary measure.

 

The hospital had a severe logistical problem in shifting the seriously ill patients, and most importantly the giant generator which supplies power to the refrigerators in which vaccines, medicines and blood were stored, Provincial Health Services Regional Director Dr. T. Sathyamoorthi told The Sunday Times.

 

The hospital buildings had already been slightly damaged in aerial bombardment and shelling in the vicinity, he said.   

 

The UN reports that 45 percent of university applicants in the Vanni were unable to sit their entrance exams due to the fighting.

 

The educational prospects of at least 30,000 school children are also affected according to NGOs operating in the area.

Large numbers of civilians are reported to be fleeing Kilinochchi in the face of more air force attacks.

 

Although Kilinochchi was the centre of the LTTE administration, most offices have fled the town along with the civilians as the infrastructure came under attack.

 

The Sri Lanka Air Force last Thursday attacked the Head Office of the Political Section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the LTTE Peace Secretariat, both located close to each other at the heart of the Kilinochchi town.

 

The attack also caused damage to nearby houses and the roads.

 

"Jets engaged the LTTE's main headquarters in Kilinochchi," air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said.

 

Two civilians were killed and five wounded in the air-strike. Two of the wounded were identified as Subbiah Sivalingam, 48 and Thangkavel Ragu, 30, both travellers on the road while the attack took place. The other victims are yet to be identified.

 

At least one of the civilians killed was at his house in the vicinity.

 

A local resident undergoing treatment in Kilinochchi's hospital said the situation there was very tense.

 

"In the morning we heard a big noise of the fighter aircraft... in the late afternoon there was another air attack," he said.

 

"We are very scared. Once the doctor comes and takes off the bandages, I am planning to get out of this place."

 

The Sri Lankan government is urging people to move out from the Vanni region to government controlled areas.

 

But the hospital patient said that was not an option.

 

"There is no road. There is no public transport to (government-controlled) Vavuniya, we cannot go there."

 

Another resident told the BBC nearly everyone had left Kilinochchi town.

 

"Some people are paying 10,000 to 15,000 rupees ($90-135) to hire lorries and move out.

 

"But many people don't have that money and are moving out on bicycles or auto rickshaws. They are taking very little with them.

 

"All the shops and hotels are closed," he said. "People are living under trees. They don't even have a mat to sleep on. There is no electricity."

 

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Air Force continued its targeting of key civilian infrastructure, bombing damaged a key sluice transporting water to thousands of acres of agricultural lands in Vanni.

 

The sluice at Paravippaagnchaan, located east of the A9 road, channels water from Paravippaagnchaan tank to agricultural lands in Paranthan, north of Kilinochchi.

 

The tank gains water from the rainfalls and from Kilinochchi and Iranaimadu tanks.

 

The destruction would cause flooding. 3 huts belonging to IDPs and a small shop were completely destroyed and 12 houses sustained damage.

 

SLAF bombers also dropped bombs in the vicinity of the UNICEF office located at Kaneasapuram in Kilinochchi and the Centre for Women's Development and Rehabilitation (CWDR) was also heavily damaged in the air strike.

 

Two local employees of the UNICEF, who were inside the office, narrowly escaped as the roof of the building was shaken by a bomb that hit the fence of the office.

 

Neighbouring house sustained heavy damage in the attack.

 

At Kaneasapuram, seven houses in the vicinity of the UNICEF office were damaged.

 

The SLAF bombers also attacked a civilian settlement near Vettimanai, a counselling aid center for mentally ill women, causing tension and panic among the few patients who were being transferred from the centre at Kanakapuram. .

 

The SLAF bombers disappeared from the sky as they came under LTTE anti-aircraft fire. However, the buildings have sustained heavy damage.

 

Relentless daily air strikes are accompanying a ground push into Kilinochchi and other LTTE-controlled areas across the front that spans the north of the Indian Ocean island country.

 

The government's top civil servant, or government agent, in Kilinochchi district, Nagalingam Vedanayagan, confirmed that there were more attacks on Kilinochchi town on Friday.

 

"Shelling and other attacks are taking place in Kilinochchi," he told the BBC Tamil service.

 

"To escape the fighting people are moving towards the east. Most of them have been moving out."

A former Chief of the Indian secret intelligence service, B. Raman, sometime ago declared that an Air Force Pilot of Pakistan based in Sri Lanka was participating in the attacks launched on the Tamil Tigers from Sri Lankan Air Force bases. It is also no secret that China has been supplying necessary arms and weapons to Sri Lanka to fight the war against the Tamil Tigers.

 

When the LTTE planes attacked the Air Force base in Vavuniya last week, and two Indian Nationals sustained injuries, it became very evident that India too is directly involved in the war against the Tamil Tigers. When seen against this background, it is deducible that the super powers of Asia are united in the war against the Tamil Tigers. In other words, Sri Lanka, China, India and Pakistan stand united to fight the war against the Tamil Tigers. What is specially noteworthy in this is, the two countries, China and India who are arch rivals in the race for leadership in Asia; and India and Pakistan who are involved in a bitter power struggle between them in South Asia have all got together as one outfit to fight the war waged against the Tamil Tigers.

 

Tamil Nadu Bharathiya Janatha Party Leader, once asked the Congress Govt. whether the Govt. of India granted a soft loan to Sri Lanka to purchase arms from China? Although India’s Congress Govt. did not give an answer to this question, it is a matter of perturbation why India released funds to Sri Lanka to purchase arms from China, the country which manifestly poses a grave threat to India?

 

Some view this as India’s overwhelming desire to destroy the Tamil Tigers, and if India is to provide arms to Sri Lanka, there will be a public outcry against it in Tamil Nadu. It is therefore, in order to avert this situation, India released the loan to Sri Lanka to procure the arms from China, and combat the LTTE.

 

It is difficult to comprehend the motive of India which does everything possible to divert China from eyeing South Asia, is bringing China increasingly close to Sri Lanka on the ground that it is to destroy the LTTE. It is also inconceivable why India which does not brook Pakistan’s domination in South Asia is aligned with Pakistan in relation to the war against the Tamil Tigers.

 

Pakistan too extended aid to Sri Lankan Air Force to destroy the LTTE. When the Sri Lankan Air Force with the assistance of the Pakistan pilots launched attacks on the Tiger bases which harmed the civilians provoked the indignation and protests of the Tamil Nadu and India’s Opposition parties, the Indian Congress Govt. however, without heeding the protests helped to protect the Sri Lanka civil population and the Air Force bases from the LTTE aerial attacks.

 

India providing Radar equipment to Sri Lanka to facilitate these protective measures is also no secret to Tamil Nadu and India’s opposition parties. When Tamil Nadu party Leader, Vaiko demanded from the Congress Govt. for the withdrawal of the radar equipment, the Indian Govt. explained thus: they had to take this step because the Sri Lanka Govt. would otherwise procure the radar equipment from China, in which case it would spell danger to India; the other reason is that there was danger to India too from the aerial attacks of the LTTE, and therefore India had to intervene and give protection to Sri Lanka’s Air Force.

 

The Nuclear power reactor complex of India which is being built with Russian aid is situated in Tamil Nadu. Safeguarding Tamil Nadu from the aerial attacks of the Tigers is therefore of paramount importance. The Sri Lankan Govt. was provided with the radar equipment by India with this in view –the protection of the air space of Tamil Nadu. It is on this account, the Tamil Nadu and Opposition parties ceased questioning further on this issue.

 

However, after learning that India’s engineers have come here, and are in the Air Force bases in the North East of Sri Lanka to operate the radar, Indian Opposition and Tamil Nadu parties have begun raising their objections and protests against the Technical experts and army personnel based in the North East, in the war against the Tamil Tigers.

 

The Secretary of the Indian Communist party too has leveled accusations against the Indian Congress Govt. that it is assisting Sri Lanka in the war while deceiving the Indian people by lying that it is not.

 

At the same time, Vaiko has asserted that India’s Defence advisor, Narayanan is plotting a conspiracy jointly with the Sri Lankan Govt. against the Tamil population. He adds that there are 265 in total of Indian Technical experts and Forces personnel in Sri Lanka assisting in the war. If Vaiko’s allegations are true, this is the second of Indian Army’s visit to Sri Lanka. On the first occasion in 1987, they came in openly. But, this time they have come secretly and in batches.

 

In relation to the Indian Govt.’s support to the Sri Lankan Govt. in the war, Vaiko pointing an accusing finger directly at India’s Defence Advisor is a very serious matter. He is squarely blaming Narayanan as responsible for conspiring with the Sri Lankan Govt. against the Tamil population. If these accusations of Vaiko are factual, it is the Sri Lankan Govt. which should receive the credit, meaning that the Sri Lankan Govt. jointly with the Asian powers, China and Pakistan, waging the war against the Tamil Tigers has been able to successfully exploit Narayanan’s inveterate hatred of the LTTE and also enlist India’s assistance.

 

Grouping the three countries together to fight a single war is a most difficult task. If Pakistan is supportive of a particular faction, India always takes the position which will support the party that is diametrically opposed. This opposition between them has been witnessed in many instances in their power struggle in the South Asian region. In the same way, if China sides with a faction, India will only support the opposing faction.

 

Nonetheless, in the war against the Tamil Tigers, China, India and Pakistan stood united in their support for the Sri Lankan Govt. Viewed from this standpoint, it is an Asian war against the Tamil Tigers. Hence, it is a wonder, how Velupillai Pirapaharan is still remaining safe in the midst of this war involving the Asian powers? At all events, whether India directly intervened in this war to minimize the involvement of China and Pakistan, or to join them and ward off the Tamil Tiger threat is a question beyond answer, at least for the moment.

Referring to the news that two Indian radar operators were wounded Tuesday when the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) attacked the Vanni Headquarters of the Sri Lankan military, Vaiko, the General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), in a letter sent on Thursday, September 11, to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, said that the Indian Government was "caught red handed in its unpardonable betrayal" of involving Indian military personnel in Sri Lanka's "genocidal war" against the Tamils. He blamed the top level bureaucrats in India, particularly the national security adviser, for "clandestinely conspiring" with the Sri Lankan government.

Mr. Vaiko urged the Indian Prime Minister to immediately withdraw and call back the Indian technicians and military personnel from Sri Lanka.

He charged that, according to the information he had, there was a large number of Indian technocrats and military personnel, up to 265 persons, were fully engaged and assisting the Sri Lankan military.

 

"With unbearable agony and resentment I am pained to condemn, in no uncertain terms, the atrocious involvement of Indian military personnel and the technical engineers, in the genocidal brutal attacks of the Sri Lankan armed forces against the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka," Mr. Vaiko said in his letter to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

The UPA government at the centre in India, immediately after its formation, more or less finalised a defence pact with Sri Lanka. Vaiko's MDMK, which was in the UPA, opposed the move. After Vaiko presented a detailed memorandum in person to Dr. Manmohan Singh, he dropped the move to go ahead with the defence pact.

"But the top level bureaucrats, particularly the national security adviser, clandestinely conspired with the Sri Lankan Government to supply air force radars and military hardware to Sri Lanka," Mr. Vaiko charged.

"I met you in person and pleaded with you not to extend any military help to Sri Lanka but all my pleadings, sorry to say, were thrown into the dust-bin."

"In my previous letters, I have already accused that India is giving all military aid and soft loan to strengthen her sinful and vicious hands to decimate the Tamils," he noted.

"In the wee hours after midnight a 8th September 2008 LTTE launched an arial attack also the ground attack against the Sri Lankan military head quarters in vanni areas. In this attack LTTE air force planes have destroyed the Sri Lankan air force radar system which was provided and built by India, and two Indian military Engineers, I.A.K.Tagore, Chinthamani Raut, have been seriously wounded."

"Now the Indian Government is caught red handed in its unpardonable betrayal against the Tamils."

"The Indian Government without an iota of humanism refused to send food and medicines collected in Tamil Nadu to enable the International Red Cross Society to provide solace to the suffering Tamils," he further blamed.

"I would urge upon the Indian Govt. to withdraw and call back the technicians and military personnel from Sri Lanka and stop forthwith any sort of military assistance direct or indirect."  

Barely two weeks after their foray into Eastern Naval Area Headquarters in Trincomalee, Air Tigers showed up again.

 

This time they were an integral part of a pre-dawn LTTE ground and artillery assault, on Tuesday, September 11 on the sprawling Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni (SFHQ - W) complex located in Vavuniya.

The defining moments of the attack on this garrison, the northernmost under Government control in mainland Sri Lanka, came thrice in regular intervals of six to seven minutes. First, a group of Tigers infiltrated the area near the Air Force radar unit to spark off a ground battle. Then artillery and mortar shells began to rain. Thereafter, two Czech-built Zlin Z-143 aircraft appeared over the skies to drop bombs.

 

If sparks lit up the night sky over Vavuniya, vibrations caused by the bombardment shook the doors and windows of many homes. This was in a vast area surrounding this key town, the northernmost in mainland Sri Lanka under Government control. For decades now, Vavuniya has been the gateway to the Wanni where until recently vast stretches of land were dominated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Military offensives in the past months have seen security forces regain control of large stretches, mostly west of the A-9 highway and some east of it as periodically reported in The Sunday Times.

 

Within minutes of news of the attack reaching Colombo, everyone who is someone in the country's defence and security establishment was out of their beds. Whilst officials clasped their phones to receive updates, security forces top brass were busy with their respective operations rooms. Minute-by-minute feedbacks were reaching Colombo as the mayhem continued for some five and half hours.

 

It all began minutes before 3 a.m. Some 14 Tigers infiltrated the Army sector by traversing through private property. This is at a relatively thin stretch, soon after the main entrance, before the complex expands to a much larger ground area. They wore fatigues resembling the Army. They were walking past buildings occupied by two different battalions of the Army's crack Special Forces. It is here that the gun battles broke out. Three female cadres blasted themselves using the 'suicide kits' they wore. Another committed suicide by biting a cyanide phial. Others edged forward to fire their assault rifles and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) at the Indira II radar installed on a knoll or a small hill.

 

The radar was damaged and two Indian maintenance technicians - A.K. Thakur and Chinthamani Rant - sustained injuries. They were later driven to Anurahdapura and airlifted to Colombo. Another Indira II to replace the radar that was damaged was hurriedly moved by the Air Force on the same day from their main base at Katunayake. The aim of the Tigers was to destroy the Vavuniya air defence radar, the one that was usually the first to locate any LTTE aircraft that is airborne from the Wanni. By moving a replacement Tuesday evening, the Air Force denied the LTTE any freedom of movement over the air in the Wanni theatre without being detected.

 

Four Indira II radars (named after late Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi) were gifted to Sri Lanka. This was after it became known that the LTTE had acquired air capability by procuring Zlin Z-143 light aircraft in 2005. Radars are used to detect aircraft, vehicles, ships or other objects through the transmission of electromagnetic waves, which are reflected back by the object. A 2-D radar gives distance and direction whilst 3-D radar would also

provide the (height) or altitude in the case of aircraft.

 

The Air Force area that was under attack lay near the Army's 211 Brigade. Also located in the same vicinity are the second and third battalions of the Special Forces. There is no doubt the Tigers would have carried out months and months of surveillance piecing together all the information about this target they were to attack. They would have also practised with sand models to prepare their cadres before launching last Tuesday's attack.

 

This was much the same as the land and air attack on the Air Force base in Anuradhapura on October 22, last year. However, it appears that the Tigers may have either not known or failed to take into consideration the presence of the Special Forces (SF) troops in the area they infiltrated. The measures the SF adopted to protect their troops and installations evidently took the attackers by complete surprise. Besides those who committed suicide, SF troops shot dead within a short time the majority of the Tigers who had infiltrated and planned to wreak further havoc.

 

Within six to seven minutes of the ground attack, heavy artillery and mortars began to fall in the same area. Highly placed security sources said the Tigers had shifted two 130 mm artillery guns to an area closer to Puliyankulam, located a few kilometres away from the LTTE checkpoint at Omanthai. Mortars had been fired from locations nearby. These guns had been used earlier from the general area of Pooneryn to periodically direct artillery fire at the Security Forces Headquarters in Jaffna. There were occasions when such attacks forced the Air Force to call off temporarily all military and civilian flights to Palaly.

 

Police later learnt that a Tiger cadre atop a tree and carrying a walkie-talkie gave directions to their artillery gunners to fine tune their targets in the area.

 

The same sources said the Army directed counter artillery fire destroying one LTTE artillery gun. However, independent verification of this claim is not possible.

 

The Tigers had fired some 70 to 80 heavy artillery rounds during the pre-dawn attack. Later, on Tuesday afternoon two more rounds fell on the military complex. This was when troops were on a clearing operation within the area as well as ahead of their defended localities.

 

Another six to seven minutes later, two Air Tiger Zlin Z-143 aircraft were over the military complex. First reports said they dropped eight bombs - four near the Air Force installations on the relatively narrow stretch of land just after the main entrance. The other four had been dropped on the large area that encompasses many buildings including administrative blocks of the SFHQ-W. Three had not exploded. Investigations thereafter have raised doubts on the number that exploded, whether it was only three or less and whether only five or six bombs were dropped.

 

The ground, artillery and air attack had begun just before 3 a.m. Tuesday. Within an hour it had ended. However, the search operations for more possible LTTE infiltrators continued until 7.30 a.m. It is only thereafter that the damage caused and the casualty counts became clear.

 

Initial reports to the media by Army officials said bodies of ten Tiger cadres, including five females, were found within the military complex. As this news spread worldwide, the LTTE repeated the same figure in a news release. Their idea was to hide the exact number of cadres who were assigned to carry out the attack. Later on Tuesday, another male Tiger cadre’s body was found bringing the LTTE death toll to 11.

 

Preliminary investigations by the Police revealed that 14 Tigers entered the military complex and three later got away. They left behind assault rifles, RPGs, grenades, communication sets, a machine gun, a global positioning system, ammunition, chocolates among other items.

 

The 14 Tigers who took part in the attack Police believe is in addition the one who was atop a tree serving as a forward observer to direct artillery fire. This is not the first time the LTTE had juggled with numbers to give the impression that all their cadres assigned for attacks had been killed.

 

They did so during the attack on the Air Force base in Anuradhapura. Last Tuesday's attack is no exception.

 

Thirteen soldiers, a civilian attached to the Army and a policeman were killed at the scene. Another police officer died at the Vavuniya hospital bringing the death toll to 16. Those wounded were: Army 24, Air Force 7 and Police 9.

 

The Sri Lanka Air Force claimed later on Tuesday that one of its Chinese built F-7 interceptor jets had destroyed one of the Air Tiger aircraft. Two officers of the Air Force, a security source said, were on hand at last Wednesday's National Security Council meeting to provide a brief on how the attack occurred.

 

Though the Air Force has no pictorial evidence either of the attack or the debris of the destroyed aircraft on the ground, an Air Force source told The Sunday Times "the pilot activated the firing mechanism only after his on board radar locked on the target. That was how the air-to-air missile was discharged. Thereafter, when he was taking a turn, he saw a huge ball of fire some 600 metres away." The source claimed the missile would not have been released automatically if the lock-in mechanism did not home in on the target.

 

However, the LTTE said its aircraft had "returned safely." Independent verification of both claims is not possible.

The attack on Vavuniya military complex has once again highlighted the woefully inadequate measures to ensure perimeter security in military installations.

 

Like during the attack on the Air Force base at Anuradhapura, the Tigers succeeded in infiltrating a major headquarters complex. With that, directing artillery fire and using aircraft primitive compared to the assets of the Air Force, they succeeded in creating an impact as they came under heavy pressure on the battlefronts in the Wanni.

 

[Edited]

Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) claimed that their Black Tigers destroyed the Radar installation inside Sri Lankan military's Vanni headquarters at 3:05 a.m. on 09 September, Tuesday. Thereafter, Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) aircrafts and Col. Kittu Artillery formation targeted the Sri Lankan Vanni HQ with the coordination of the Black Tigers, successfully carrying out the operation, the Tigers said, adding that the LTTE aircrafts safely returned to their bases after completing their mission. The communication facility with its tower, engineering facility, anti-aircraft weapon and the ammunition store at the Sri Lankan base were completely destroyed, the LTTE said.

The Vanni headquarters of the Sri Lankan forces and the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army Special Forces (SF) for Vanni sustained heavy destruction in the attack, the Tiger statement issued in Tamil further said.

More than 20 Sri Lankan troopers were killed and many sustained critical injuries, the Tigers claimed.

10 LTTE Black Tigers laid down their lives in the special operation.

Lt. Col. Mathiyazhaki, Major Aananthi, Captain Kanimathi, Captain Muththunakai, Captain Arivuththamizh, Lt. Col. Vinothan, Major Nilakaran, Captain Ezhilazhakan, Captain Akilan and Captain Nimalan were the Black Tigers, the LTTE statement said.

The author of this piece, ARM Imtiyaz, is a visiting scholar at the Department of Political Science, Temple University, USA. These are excerpts from a paper presented during a conference on "Ending the war and bringing justice and peace to Sri Lanka" held at Ontario Federation of Labor in Toronto.

This essay, however, attempts to examine relations between the Tamils and the Muslims, particularly the Eastern Muslims and to emphasise the importance of a truth-and-ethnic-reconciliation approach to build unity between these groups.

 

The Muslims live all throughout the island "in small communities," and maintain smooth ethnic cohabitation with the Sinhalese for some obvious political and trade objectives. However, they claim they are the majority in the Amparai district of the Eastern province, where exist social and political tension between the Tamils and the Muslims. The Northern and Eastern Muslims became victims of a vicious cycle of ethnic instability that led to the ethnic civil war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. Muslims of the North and East now claim that they have some special problems and seek solutions to their grievances.

 

The Tamil-Muslim divide

 

In Sri Lanka, politicians emotionalize ethnic relations. There had been a trend in the Sinhala political establishment since S.W. R. D. Bandaranaike's time to effectively ethnicize the political system and relations between different ethnic groups and to outbid opponents on an anti-Tamil platform. The politicization of ethnic emotions by southern parties failed the country and eventually drove the Tamils and the Sinhalese into a gory ethnic civil war.

 

The political establishment of the Muslims supports the Sinhala political leaders for political and commercial purposes: they vigorously oppose the Tamil demand for self-autonomy in the merged North and East and support successive Sinhala-dominated governments' military actions against the Tamils.

A notable feature of the Tamil-Muslim relations in contemporary Sri Lanka is the Muslim desire to develop a non-Tamil identity based on Islam, a religion which strictly calls obedience only to Allah, a profound message that relentlessly resists any forms of obeisance to all other powers.

 

The Muslims' decision to seek their own identity based on Islam triggered Tamil anger, but the Muslims primarily blame the Tamils for their disinterest in the wider Tamil identity: the Tamil threat for the Muslim existence cited as the key factor.

 

This goes back to the period of Ponnambalam Ramanathan who attempted to integrate the Muslims into a wider Tamil community, arguing that the Muslims were but Tamils converted to Islam.

 

Also, the political position of Muslim elites concerning their interests and aspirations directed the Muslims, who speak Tamil, to develop a distinct ethnic identity based on Islam. Besides, the Muslims have fears that a unified northern and eastern province or the ethnic Tamil state aspired to by Tamil nationalists would not protect the interests of the Muslims. This paved the way for what I call the security crisis.

 

The Northern Muslims were expelled by the LTTE from Jaffna in October 1990. More than 100 Muslims from Kattankudy were killed inside a mosque on August 3, 1990, and land and properties of Muslims were robbed, particularly in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts. All of which goes to show that the irrational approach of the Tamil resistance movement towards the Muslims of the North and East was the key component of the Muslim frustration, and thus some (affected) Muslim youth eventually resorted to violence against the Tamils and joined the state security forces, either as low-level cadres or as informants.

 

The question is, 'why did the Tamils target the Muslims?'

 

One theory points to the collaboration of Muslim political leaders in the South with the Sinhala political class since the mid 1930s and '40s.

 

The Muslim political class' outright rejection of the fifty-fifty demand, which was the brainchild of G. G. Ponnambalam, their deep distrust in S.J.V. Chelvanayakam's federal demand, their opposition to the separate state demand of the Tamil resistance movement contributed to the growth of Tamil anger towards the Muslims.

 

Moreover, Muslim political leaders supported the Sinhala-only policy, and the subsequent university admission policies that were clearly detrimental to Tamil interests. During the 1983 riots, a Muslim Minister is said to have disgraced Islam by unleashing his thugs in central Colombo against the Tamils. The Muslims of the Eastern Province were alleged to have got together with the STF in terrorist exploits against the Tamils there.

 

Why unity?

 

Both the Tamils and the Muslims have been facing common challenges and problems. Since independence, the Sinhala politicians and leaders formulated policies aimed at weakening the interests and status of the minorities, and strengthening the unitary state structure, a kind of political symbol of the Sinhalese.

 

The bottom line is that the minorities in Sri Lanka have some special problems. These problems are associated with the issues of identity and existence, and thus they need special solutions.

 

The fact is that the problems of the minorities would not generate some reasonable attention and human solution from the Sinhala political class as long as these communities distrust one another.

Towards unity

 

Unity between the Tamils and the Muslims is the key to gain justice and peace from the Sinhala ruling class. However, ethnic reconciliation would not occur among the conflicting groups at the masses level unless attempts at elite level help build a bridge to increase confidence and trust both at masses and elites level.

 

Tamil role

 

The Tamils need to recognize the Muslims' desire to seek a non-Tamil identity. They must allay Muslim fears vis-à-vis the merger and power-sharing. LTTE initiatives such as an apology for Muslim expulsion from the Northern Province in 1990, and permission for resettlement, the return of the lands forcibly taken from the Eastern Muslims and negotiations with the Muslim civil society organizations such as North East Muslim Peace Assembly (NEMPA) could contribute to building some trust between the Tamils and Muslims. The Muslims of the East can overcome their fears to some extent if there is consistency in Tamil efforts to arrest Tamil domination.

 

The Muslims of the North and East claim they have some special problems pertaining to their ethnic identity and security, and expect these issues to be discussed at the negotiating table by their own representatives with the major stakeholders -- the government and the LTTE. The point is that since the Muslims seek a non-Tamil ethnic identity, "they wish to be represented clearly and solely on the basis of their own interests whether or not those interests converge with the interests of the Government and the LTTE, and that is what they are asking for"

 

Muslim role

 

The Muslim politicians' demand for a separate representation at the peace negotiations has an ethnic logic. But that logic would not produce any political legitimacy when the Muslims refuse to give voice for a political solution that aims to go beyond the unitary state structure. The political choices and positions of the Muslims antagonized the Tamils. It is the responsibility of the Muslim politicians and activists not to feed the Muslim masses with ethnic hatred. They must build a civic political movement to demand power-sharing beyond the unitary state structure.

 

The problems between the Muslims and the Tamils should be sorted out through a truth and reconciliation approach. Let each side acknowledge the wrongs done to the other. This is the necessary prelude to the reconciliation, without which ethnic harmony will never be restored. Let neither side think of itself purely as the victim of the other's action..

 

Road to peace

 

Both Tamil and Muslim groups are sensitive to their group symbols. These symbols work vigorously at the masses' level, particularly among the economically and socially weakened sections. The mission to weaken the energy of symbols is not impossible. This requires sincere human effort to seek a future of hope and amity, energy to vigorously challenge the nature of symbols that push members of the group to classify the ethnic and the religious 'others' as an enemy or bad group. These efforts should be backed by a truth and reconciliation process. In other words, the road to peace can be opened if the desire for harmony dominates among the subcultures both at elite and masses level.

 

 

India has pledged support to Serbia in the UN General Assembly next month over the issue of Kosovo's independence.

 

In an interview to TOI, visiting Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said India has promised to vote in favour of Serbia which is seeking UNGA's approval to refer Kosovo's "illegal" independence to the International Court of Justice at Hague.

 

Kosovo had unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February. Out of the 192 UN nations, only 47, including the US, have recognised Kosovo's independence, but Russia, China and India have opposed it.

 

The UN general committee had earlier accepted Serbia's request but the final outcome is subject to a vote by all UN nations in UNGA.

 

"India like other nations has a single vote but this single vote carries a lot of weight. I met foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and our position on the issue has been received here with deep understanding. Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is an ethnically motivated attempt to secede in defiance of international law," said Jeremic, who is the first foreign minister of Serbia to visit India.

 

Kosovo's independence has polarised the world with many believing that the Russia-Georgia war too is a fallout of the happenings in Kosovo.

 

Serbia's ally Russia recognised the independence of two of Georgia's republics apparently in retaliation to the US recognition of Kosovo's independence.

 

"We have only used peaceful and legal means to deal with Kosovo. We have neither used force nor imposed economic sanctions. Some of the countries are even against our going to the UN and this we believe is an attempt to deny our fundamental right to ask questions," said Jeremic.

 

"Most of the countries are supporting us and we believe that if the matter goes to the International Court of Justice, it would freeze the number of nations recognising Kosovo. We have taken a lot of legal advice before undertaking this and believe that Kosovo will have only two options after the court gives its verdict — either be completely isolated or come to the table and discuss it with us," added Jeremic.

Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) paid homage to Lt. Col. Thileepan on Monday at an undisclosed location in Vanni, when the Tigers commenced to mark the 21st death anniversary of Thileepan's fast to death campaign, according to LTTE officials in Vanni.

Lt.Col.Thileepan (Rasaiah Parthipan), fasted unto death in a twelve days' campaign putting forward five demands to the Indian government to meet the aspirations of the Tamil people, soon after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement in 1987 when the Indian army was in occupation of Jaffna and most parts of the northeast.

Lt. Col. Thileepan began his fasting, without food and water, on 15 September 1987 in front of the Nalloor Kandasamy temple and he passed away on September 26, 1987.

The trial, imprisonment and release of a former Tamil Tiger leader raises some tricky and potentially embarrassing questions for the British government. The former leader of the Tamil Tigers in the east of Sri Lanka Commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Colonel Karuna was arrested for travelling to the UK on a false passport in November 2007 and sentenced to 9 months in prison at the end of January 2008.

He was released from prison on May 9 and transferred to an immigration detention centre. He was deported at the beginning of July having escaped charges of war crimes and human rights abuses committed in Sri Lanka.

For the past 25 years the Tamil Tigers have been fighting for a homeland in what is now north and east Sri Lanka. During this time Karuna, proved himself to be an adept guerrilla leader. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Tigers to become Special Commander of the eastern region of the Tamil Eelam, in eastern Sri Lanka. Shortly after his promotion Karuna broke from the Tigers to form his own army, the Tamil People's Liberation Tigers.

After switching sides he began to associate with members of the Sinhala establishment, the dominant ethnic group in Sri Lanka. Tamils allege that the association was so strong, and Karuna's army so important in the fight against the Tamil Tigers, that the Sri Lankan army and Special Forces aided his missions against the Tigers.

Throughout this period Karuna has been accused of being behind some of the most abhorrent abuses of human rights in Sri Lanka. Amnesty UK alleges such abuses include torture, hostage taking, the use of child soldiers, and crimes against humanity.

 

Human Rights Watch refers to Karuna as having a "long and horrific record of abuse", and claim he is "one of the worst human rights abusers ever to end up in custody in the UK". However, few Tamils believed he would become the first person to be successfully convicted in the UK for war crimes or human rights violations.

Shortly after arriving in the UK Karuna was charged under Section 25 of the Identity Cards Act for the possession of a false identity document, but the circumstances of his arrest and imprisonment are shrouded with secrecy and intrigue, raising questions about the role and competency of the British government.

At Isleworth Crown Court Karuna pleaded guilty to travelling on a fraudulent passport, but said he did so with the backing of the Sri Lankan government. Karuna's lawyer, David Philips, told the court that Karuna "entered the United Kingdom using a diplomatic passport ... it contained a six month multiple visit visa, issued at the British High Commission" in Colombo. "The Sri Lankan government gave him the passport and sent him to the United Kingdom" and it was the Sri Lankan Defense Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, also the Prime Minister's brother, who organised it.

He went on to say that Karuna did not go to the British High Commission to collect the documents and was merely following the instructions of the Sri Lankan government.

Karuna's lawyer told me that none of Karuna's allegations were investigated, and no questions about them have been asked in Parliament. He went on to tell me that his attempts to investigate were met with closed doors and a "wall of silence".

Despite Karuna's claims of a change of heart, his break with the Tigers was generally regarded as opportunistic. Very few sources are prepared to talk on the record about Karuna for political or safety reasons. However, Nadesapillai Vithyatharan, a prominent Tamil newspaper editor in Sri Lanka, and a friend of Karuna's when he was in the Tigers, explained that Karuna jumped before he was pushed. Karuna had allegedly embezzled money from the Tigers, infuriating their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. Karuna was a marked man.

His relations with the Sri Lankan government did not fare much better. By 2007 it seemed that Karuna's usefulness to the government was beginning to ebb away. In June of that year, the editor of the Asia Tribune, K.T. Rajasingham, met with the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse and his Minister for Social Welfare, Douglas Devananda, in Geneva to discuss Sri Lankan affairs, including the "problem" of Karuna.

The minutes of the meeting show Rajasingham's stance on Karuna: "Unfortunately, I supported Karuna thinking that though he started his career as a terrorist, he could be rehabilitated", made to respect human rights and be repositioned in the democratic mainstream of politics. He went on to explain that Karuna was a liability to the Sri Lankan government, "a spent force". Three years after leaving the Tigers, "he has no more real stories to narrate and will be of no use to anyone". Rajasingham's most chilling comment is that Karuna's former deputy and political rival Pillayan "is planning to arrest Karuna" but is hesitating due to opposition from the Defense Ministry. "I suggest the government get rid of Karuna, a liability and work with Pillayan and his men who are more popular in the east than Karuna".

Pilliayan has since become the government's man in the east. Banda (not his real name), a Sinhala, and a Sri Lanka expert for a major international news organisation explains, on condition of anonymity, that, "due to fratricidal animosities between Karuna and Pillaiyan sought the help of the government to get out of the country".

Karuna was, then, willingly removed from Sri Lanka, but given allegations of serious war crimes and human rights abuses hanging over him, it is unlikely that he could have wished British authorities to hear of his escape.

In addition to Rajasingham's evidence, independent sources have confirmed that, as Karuna alleged in court, Sri Lankan officials helped him through the through the airport, bypassing customs, and delivering his passport to him onboard the plane.

The British government seemed to have been convinced enough by Karuna's evidence to call the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the Foreign Office for an explanation. The Sri Lankan government has denied all allegations of assisting Karuna.

The question is, however, if the Sri Lankan government wanted rid of Karuna why go through such a convoluted process? This is Sri Lanka after all, where disappearances are part of daily life. A number of explanations exist. Vithyatharan suggests that assassination or disappearance was out of the question, for it would have heralded a "victory for the Tigers".

Banda explains that Karuna is considered something of a folk hero amongst the Sinhala community in Sri Lanka for turning the tide of the 25-year civil war against the Tigers. He is a "Sinhala hero, remember that. He's the one who helped the government army to chase Tigers off the East". Any obvious action against Karuna would have been deeply unpopular.

It is highly probably that Karuna would not have been able to leave the country without the help of the Sri Lankan government. Visas from Sri Lanka, especially those issued for diplomatic passports, are not given out without government assurances that that application is genuine. Further, all persons entering and exiting embassies and high commissions, especially in war zones, are logged for security reasons. Although identity fraud is common in Sri Lanka it is rare for diplomatic passports to be forged.

Karuna could not have picked up the passports himself. The journalist who broke the Karuna story in Sri Lanka for the Sunday Leader, Ranjith Jayasunderas, explains that British embassy officials he spoke to are "certain that his passport was delivered to them by regular Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry channels".

The question remains, however, of the competence of the British High Commission in Colombo and perhaps even the Foreign Office. One British member of the European Parliament with an interest in Sri Lanka said, off the record, that the British government issued the visa "on the basis of support" from the Sri Lankan government, and was "stitched up by the Sri Lankan government" in a way that was "alarming to say the least".

However, Karuna's face is rather well known in Sri Lanka and among the diplomatic community in Sri Lanka - at least as well known as Martin McGuinness's is in the UK. There is little chance that Britain's High Commission staff did not recognise Karuna's photo on the passport when issuing the visa. It would be remarkable if at least one official in the High Commission had not recognised Karuna's photograph.

A senior British MP said, on condition of anonymity, that the "history of Tamil Tiger participants is that clearly there have been various covert and sanctioned exercises where individuals have left (Sri Lanka) over the years". "I guess that our man in Colombo and the Foreign Office and other governments would not find themselves in unknown territory to allow free passage".

Banda suggested that the Foreign Office may have intervened on behalf of the Sri Lankan government to ensure Karuna's safe passage. "My contacts within the HC in Colombo didn't know this went through until it blew up they were not aware ... so it looks like someone high up was really involved".

Whether or not they were, there have been few if any questions asked about the conduct of the High Commission staff. As Jayasunderas points out, "this need not have been Karuna. It could very well have been Bin Laden with plastic surgery, smuggled in by the Sri Lankan government. He would have gotten through just the same".

The Home Office refused to comment on the case. The High Commissioner at the time, Dominck Chilcott, told me that the questions raised here are "all very good" but that he cannot comment on the matter.

Perhaps the most disappointing element of the debacle, especially for human rights activists, was the inaction of the British government when they may have had the opportunity of securing a conviction of an alleged war criminal.

Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch petitioned the UK government and the Metropolitan police to charge Karuna but the case was not pursued. Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International's expert on the case, claims that there was a collection of evidence from NGOs presented to the Metropolitan police, including a large number of credible cases of human rights abuse.

Human Rights Watch has gathered considerable evidence of Karuna's role in human rights abuses, including the abduction of children to serve as child soldiers, in the form of case studies, witness statements, maps and photographs. Evidence gathered by the Norwegian Sri Lanka Monitoring Project and UNICEF confirm the allegations. UNICEF alone has documented evidence of more than 200 cases of child soldier recruitment by Karuna's militia.

Amnesty is unhappy that despite the quantity of evidence, the police sent only a limited number of cases to the Crown Prosecution Service. The CPS says it dropped the case because it felt the information presented by the Met was insufficient. It says there was "insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any criminal offences in the UK".

The reasons for the lack of evidence presented to the Crown Prosecution Service are still unknown. The Guardian made a freedom of information request, which was not fruitful. The Met have failed to respond to letters from Amnesty and the chair of Parliament's Sri Lanka Group, Andy Love, attempted to find out more from the Home Office, but it refused to divulge details of the case.

"The claim about lack of evidence seems spurious" Chandra Sriram, the director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict told me. The real issue for Sriram given the abundance of available evidence against Karuna "is the absence of political will to carry a case forward".

"The British government blew it," says Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch's Asia director. Adams accuses the government as a whole for the failure to prosecute, from the police to the Home Office. The police and CPS seemed not to understand who they had and lacked the resources to pursue the case. For Adams, the government's stated commitment to human rights is "not matched by its actions".

Amnesty's Yolanda Foster told me, "We are very disappointed that the UK government did not pursue the case". "There were very serious allegations made against Karuna but he has been returned to Sri Lanka where there is a culture of impunity". Amnesty is concerned that Sri Lankans who did come forward now face retaliation.

Having now been deported, Karuna's fate in Sri Lanka remains uncertain. Whilst some who know him, including his lawyer, are impressed by his "fierce loyalty", others believe that suspicion and in-fighting may spell the end of Karuna one way or another.

The Tamil People's Liberation Tigers's political wing, the United People's Freedom Alliance contested and won elections in the former Tiger strongholds in the east earlier this year.

Although the victory was tainted by claims of intimidation and fraud, leading to the withdrawal of the largest Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance party, the result has been accepted by the government.

Sri Lankan media have reported that Karuna has been reinstated as the leader of his party, leaving activists to bemoan a missed opportunity for the British government to show its commitment to human rights.

Karuna's was, however, a pyrrhic victory, for in his absence his rival Pillayan was offered the post of Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council. Just in time to meet the British Foreign Office minister, Lord Malloch-Brown during his four-day visit to Sri Lanka. Karuna remains on the sidelines.

Karuna still has many enemies, both among Tamils and Sinhala. His fate hinges on his continued worth to the Sri Lankan government. The only certainties are that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka will continue to deteriorate and ordinary Sri Lankans will continue to suffer.

 

Dr. Lee Salter is a lecturer in Journalism and Media Studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol.