(August 16, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) It was a surprise meeting while arrangements were being made for his security and Sri Lanka Guardian happened

(August 16, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) It was a surprise meeting while arrangements were being made for his security and Sri Lanka Guardian happened to stumble in. However he welcomed us with his friendly smile and shared lots of details over his life.

No doubt Vinayagamoorthy Muralidaran, aka. Col. Karuna Amman, is another big player in the Tamil Ealam struggle in Sri Lanka. He was an LTTE commander who enjoyed perhaps the highest confidence of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. When V. Prabhakaran started his guerilla warfare with terror outfits, he lost many members in the war with some killed on his own orders whom he suspected of being involved with external players against the Tigers’ constitution. Of special note is Prabhakaran’s school friend Mahendrarajah alias Mahaththaya killed on his own orders allegedly after finding out his connection with Research and Analysis Wing, the external intelligence unit of India’s.

“Making contact with the Tiger leader is a very difficult matter because he doesn’t trust in people easily or immediately. He is never in a hurry making friendship with others,” according to Karuna Amman who had instant access to him at one time.

Col. Karuna has left many a historic landmark in the history of the LTTE. As a commander Karuna has won major operations against the Sri Lanka Forces in the East as well as in the North. Some sources say that Karuna joined the LTTE when he was a 14 year old boy as a child soldier. But the claim is rejected by Karuna who says that he joined the LTTE when he was doing the Advanced Level examinations with science subjects in the early 1980s. “It was a bad period. Many Tamil people who were affected by racial violence in Colombo and other Sinhala dominant areas came to Batticaloa for their protection after suffering the loss of their family members and property,” Karuna told Sri Lanka Guardian’s Nilantha Ilangamuwa.

“It was a major reason I joined the LTTE as a freedom fighter,” he points out.

This is Ilangamuwa’s fifth time of talking to Karuna Amman after he broke away from the LTTE in 2004 March. This time they were able to talk freely. He shared lots of details about his life experiences as an LTTE commander, prisoner and politician.

“I never worked as a thief; also I never lived without taking cognizance of reality. I came up from the ground level because I had no tolerance when every development in the life round me was bad for my people,” he said.

Additionally he point outs, “When I accepted my visit to London I used a false passport and they jailed me for it but they gave me maximum security.”

“Now that I’m back in Sri Lanka, people will accept me and my politics in the future. I want to see change. That is now happening in the East. When I broke away from the LTTE many people thought they could kill me within a short period. They thought it was the same internal crisis like in the past. But not at all. I openly challenged Prabhakaran in what was a major incident within the LTTE. Now people can understand that the LTTE’ way is wrong. They will never win their mythical dream,” he said. “Their voices come like a cry from hell now; I would like to call it, ‘The echo from Hell’.”

Karuna Amman is a father of three children. Once the most important field commander of the LTTE, he was in the first batch that took training under the Indian Army in Madras (Chennai). He was one of six members who were selected by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for further training in special intelligence.

Here is part one of an Exclusive Interview by Nilantha Ilangamuwa with Vinayagamoorthy Muralidaran aka.Col. Karuna Amman on behalf of Sri Lanka Guardian. We have already published his special message to the Tamil people in Sri Lanka and abroad on the present situation in the Country and the TMVP’s plans for the future.

First I thank you accepting our interview request while you’re facing serious death threats from the LTTE and other political opponents.

Question: As my first question, please let me know your opinion on the present political and military situation in Sri Lanka?

Answer: Well… We are very happy over the new perspective countrywide including the military against terrorism. Politically they are working with a proper plan. But here in Sri Lanka the cost of living is a serious problem. People are facing much trouble over this. However when we establish a peaceful situation in the country we can buildup a better country, where all are people are enjoying peace and harmony.

Now the Government of Sri Lanka and its policy are internationally and region-wide going well. The world would be happy if GoSL finds a sustainable solution when they have finished off the cancer of terrorism.


Question: Well… I would like to known details of your life. From when have you been an LTTE member? Some say that you joined the LTTE as a child soldier at 14 years of age. Is that true?

Answer: No … that is not true. I joined the LTTE during my Advance Level period. I was 17 or 18 years old. I was the youngest male in our family. We have five sisters and one brother. Our father was a farmer.

In 1983 when I was in school in Batticaloa, I followed science subjects for my Advance Level. Meanwhile in Colombo and other areas there was started racial violence against Tamil people after 13 Sri Lankan Army soldiers were killed in a claymore blast in Jaffna. After that hundreds of people came to Batticaloa for the protection of their lives after they lost family members and other properties. At seeing this suffering I decided to keep away from school and join the LTTE as a freedom fighter for archiving our own state.

Q. Who was your first immediate leader in the LTTE?

A. His name is Jonathan Father. At that time to the people in Batticaloa he seemed very genuinely a person who had in-depth political vision for the country’s political developments and the future of the Tamil people.

Q. Then what happened?

A. When I joined the LTTE and visited Jaffna, I was given some small weapons training. But generally we had to take all serious training from India. As a result I went to India by boat and arrived in Madras (now Chennai).

More than 300 of us members were trained together. We stayed at Neethi Lodge next to the First Madras Temple. The LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran also joined us some times, but he had a separate office in the area. It was called MO for Military Office.

Our team was divided into three batches. I joined with the third batch by the Indian Army. After that we went to Shelann Jungle and got basic weapons training under Indian forces. Seven members including me from all of our three batches took further special training under the Indian Army that included basic information about Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), the external intelligence wing of India’s, followed by more specialized training on intelligence work and other basics things about guerilla warfare.

Q.Did Prabhakaran also join the R&AW training?

A. No… it was a small group trained specially for the LTTE’s intelligence wing but Prabhakaran knows all those things imparted to us during the training. Meanwhile Prabhakaran visited some foreign countries and collected various books on war tactics and the history of war. When he returned to his base from his travels he ordered that all the books he collected to be translated into Tamil and he referred to them and studied them deeply. That was a time I was very close with him. Many times did I visit his MO and he explained very many things to me on our future plans. He especially knew that if we can managed to keep going the troubled situation in the South, we could continue our fighting. “Political cohabitation with the South is the biggest enemy of our struggle”, was his oft-repeated point.

Q.Who are the other leaders who took RAW training with you? Are they still with the LTTE?

A. I think Castro is the only man who got trained with us and is still with the LTTE. The others are keeping away from the LTTE. Some have been killed during the confrontations. Daya, Appi, Vasanthan and others are no more with the LTTE. Vasanthan is now in Singapore. He kept away from the LTTE after arguments with the senior LTTE leadership.

Q. What was the Indian Forces’ policy on Sri Lanka at that time? Did they want to see created a separate Eelam?

A. Actually we cannot understand if they clearly supported Eelam. I think Eelam really was a dream of Prabhakaran’s and the other militant groups’. But India’s real plan was to create trouble in Sri Lanka, and engineer a situation where Sri Lanka agrees to minorities enjoying equal rights just like the majority.

Q. When did you come back to Sri Lanka from India?

A. In 1984 we landed in Jaffna and started our struggle against the Security Forces. All of us 20 members first came to Jaffna while the Indian Forces sent arms. We got some more arms after destroying police stations and other security force bases.

We informed the details of all our operations to Prabhakaran who was in Madras at that time at his office. By 1985 we had 160 members in our Movement (LTTE).

Meanwhile, the first Peace Talks were held in Thimpu. All major Tamil militant movements joined together for talks with the Government. But I’m sure Prabhakaran never believed that the talks would archieve any solution to the problem. Prabhakaran described the late President JR Jayawardene as “a first class crook who tried to eliminate us and implement his authoritarian regime.”

After the Thimpu Talks Prabhakaran came to Sri Lanka and he joined with cadres in our operations. The first thing, he planned how to take over other military groups under the LTTE Secondly he planned how to create communal violence and to keep it continuing.
He has done it well before the 1990s.

Q. How did he do it? What strategy did Prabhakaran use for that?

A. He particularly kept track with every political development in southern politics as well as Tamil politics. This made it easy for his next plan. Also since he had come to Sri Lanka and joined with his colleagues in the struggle against the Government while the other Tamil militant leaders never came here and were doing remote control acting, it was an easy thing for him to eliminate the other militant movement from the struggle.

Q. Do you think it was a mistake?

A. Its bad effects are adversely affecting the Tamil Community today, but at that time I could not see or understand that attacks against our brother movements was wrong.

Q. Meanwhile Prabhakaran got close to former President R. Premadasa. How did that happen?

A. It’s simple. Prabhakaran always senses political changes in the South. He never believed President J.R.Jayawardene. Premadasa therefore become a good alternative to JR in his thinking. So Prabhakaran was making feelers to get in touch with him. Prabhakaran tried to become one of Premadasa’s best friends. Also I think Premadasa believed Prabhakaran more than any other politician or party in the South.

Q. Has Prabhakaran ever met President Premadasa?

A. Actually I think Mr. Premadasa planned to and he hoped for it, but Prabhakaran sharply kept away and he used only his agents to deal with him. Meanwhile we used some intelligence personnel to collect his personal details. They never met.

Q. Did President Premadasa give any money or weapons to the LTTE?

A. It has happened so many times. They even handed over some weapons to me at the Welioya warfront, and lots of money was sent to our accounts.

Q. Was President Premadasa involved in Gen. Kobbekaduwa’s and other senior security officials’ assassinations in the North?

A. Never… Premadasa didn’t know about them. It was a blunder on our part, that incident with Kobbekaduwa. Normally our cadres target senior security officials who use a pickup vehicle. That day also the same thing happened. One of our cadres setup a pressure bomb that targets the vehicle but unfortunately senior leaders came together.

Q. Do you think the LTTE has a powerful intelligence network, that can receive every relevant detail bout the security Forces?

A. Of course. We received information of all major incidents inside the Security Forces within a short time its their happening – especially on new operations, new changes in the leaders and area commanders, new weapons capabilities, and so on. All this information we got within a short time.

Anther good point I would like to remind you of. It’s about Babu who was targeting President Premadasa. Babu sent a letter to Prabhakaran four days before the attack and in that he said, “One of Premadasa’s friends is very close with me and his daughter hopes to start a love affair with me. But I don’t care about anything other than my target. I’m waiting for the target.” I have personally read that letter.

Q. Meanwhile Prabhakaran kept away from India. Actually why did he keep away from India?

A. I personally think he has comparatively good reasons to justify his decision against India. The Indian leader issued a threat to him during his meeting with Premier Rajiv Gandhi. Prabhakaran was trying to change Indian policy. He started fasting against India. Finally they became enemies. Meanwhile the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed and the IPKF was deployed in Sri Lanka for operations against the LTTE.

Q. Do you think if the IPKF would have continued their operations against the LTTE, they could have finished the LTTE off?

A. We think so, perhaps not… you see, the people’s support and the ground situation was probably the best for the LTTE. Especially when they are discriminated Tamil people. Also large numbers of women, and girls were raped by the IPKF soldiers.

Q. Meanwhile Premier Rajiv Gandhi was killed? Did you know that plan before it was executed?

A. Personally I don’t know, but I and some senior members of the LTTE were totally opposed to the plan. Finally however it was put into operation. Prabhakaran planned the use of the girl called Dhanu who was raped by Indian soldiers when they were working in Sri Lanka.

Q. Where is Prabhakaran living in the Wanni today?

A. He has different bases. He doesn’t have a permanent place. But before I left the LTTE he was using a base in Pudukudiiruppu.

Q. Have you visited inside Prabhakaran’s safe house?

A. Of course. We have watched films together many times. He is interested in films that are based on war.

Q. According to Adel Balasingham, Prabhakaran is living in an underground bunker. You say you had spent time with him in his safe house. Can you let me know the kind of safe house he has?

A. Yes… that’s true. I have visited his underground bunker many times as his personal bodyguard, and also as area commander. S.P. Thamilchelvan also has joined me on these visits. He was the most trusted man to Prabhakaran.

Basically Prabhakaran and other key leaders of the LTTE have many underground bunkers. They were constructed beneath a concrete layer between 18 feet and 22 feet deep. They offer protection from air strikes and other powerful explosions. Even inside of the bunker they have a few roads to exits. These are constructed in z-shape. But I don’t know his present arrangements. May be he has already changed everything.

'Missing person' turned LTTE suicide bomber (A True Story)

Last modified on: 8/10/2008 7:41:04 AM

'Missing person' turned LTTE suicide bomber (A True Story)

"The most treacherous part of the terror tactics is the use of various bogus rights groups to bring pressure on the government to relax counter terror measures. The aim of such groups is to protect the under cover terror agents until they go for the next massacre."

Photo of Velayudan posing as a Muslim. Launched the suicide attack inthis guise. NIC. No: 820244796V" style="border: 1px solid rgb(192, 192, 192); padding: 1px 4px;" class="PopBoxImageSmall" title="Click to magnify/shrink" onclick="Pop(this,50,'PopBoxImageLarge');" lowsrc="Map%201" alt="Map 1" align="left" border="1" height="156" width="130">	The LTTE suicide cadre Velayudan Sudharshan alias Sudan. NIC.No: 852744642V" style="border: 1px solid rgb(192, 192, 192); padding: 1px 4px;" class="PopBoxImageSmall" title="Click to magnify/shrink" onclick="Pop(this,50,'PopBoxImageLarge');" lowsrc="Map%201" alt="Map 1" align="left" border="1" height="156" width="130">
Photo of Velayudan posing as a Muslim. Launched the suicide attack in this guise. NIC. No: 820244796V	The LTTE suicide cadre Velayudan Sudharshan alias Sudan. NIC. No: 852744642V

Terrorism is indeed the greatest peril to the modern human civilization. In a way, it is quite unthinkable how terrorism like a festering wound spreads deeper and deeper in the human society despite the all claims of technological advances, knowledge creation, globalisation and etc that are being made world over. It seems like the wound of terrorism cum extremism suppurate faster and faster, as those so called human rights- activists, champions, worriers, experts, advocates, etc issue more and more warnings, express concerns, and make all other ranting campaigns against nations fighting against terrorism. Sri Lanka is the best place where one can gain knowledge on how the terrorism operates beyond overt aggression; how more subtler forms operations carried out under the veil of most sacrosanct ideals of democracy.

Defence intelligence officials of Sri Lanka have recently unravel full details of an LTTE suicide cadre who had took his life along with lives of 19 people and wounded over 100 others in a bomb blast. According to the officials, this was the first time in the history of Sri Lanka's war on terror, the officials could trace the full details of an LTTE suicide bomber. Interestingly, the investigations conducted by the intelligence sleuths came in line with the investigations carried out by a separate department that probes into the alleged "abductions" and "disappearances" of persons. Now, the two investigations have almost come into a common end throwing new light to the recent spate of alleged "abductions", "disappearances", and "white van incidents", that are being used by Anti Sir Lankan forces to tarnish the country's good image.

Defence.lk team has got the opportunity to file story on the recent development of the case -" Lotus Road Bomb Blast" which is being investigated by a special team of defence officials. The following has been complied balancing requirement in educating the public and maintaining the operational security of the ongoing intelligence operations.

On 16 May, 2008, just 2 days before the Buddhists' most venerated Vesak Poya day, an LTTE suicide bomber carried out a bloodbath in front of the Buddhist temple down the Lotus road, in the heart of the Colombo city. The suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle at a bus carrying police personnel of the riot squad in broad daylight killing 8 policemen, 9 policewomen and wounding over 100 civilians. The riot squad happened to be at the location as the opposition had organized a violent rally against the holding of provincial council election in the Eastern Province.

Forge driving license obtained as a Muslim national, Ibrahim Lebbe Mubarak." style="border: 1px solid rgb(192, 192, 192); padding: 1px 4px;" class="PopBoxImageSmall" title="Click to magnify/shrink" onclick="Pop(this,50,'PopBoxImageLarge');" lowsrc="Map%201" alt="Map 1" align="left" border="1" height="155" width="250">

Forge driving license obtained as a Muslim, Ibrahim Lebbe Mubarak.

Initially the bomber was identified as Ibrahim Lebbe Mubarak , a Muslim national and a resident of Kinniya , Trincomalee. Police found a national identity card bearing number 820244796v and a driving licence numbered A 007571438 under the said name, which is typically a Muslim one. Since, no Muslim national was involved in suicide terrorism in Sri Lanka so far, police correctly realized possibility that the above documents might be false. Public assistance was sought to identify the terrorists with his photo published in the media. Meanwhile, a police commenced investigations on the number plate of the bomber's motorbike bearing number MZ 3875 and on the authenticity of the ID and the Driving license found among the remains of the terrorist.

Without much effort police found that the ID, the diving licence as well as the name were false. The owner of the motorbike was identified as Jeyrathan a resident of Pathnambar, Trincomalee. A bloody drama was beginning to unfold.

As the intelligence cycle went on, it was revealed that a lodge owner at Wellawatte( "Sooriyan Rest", No: 18 Station Road- Wellawatte), Colombo had given accommodation to the terrorist. Like many other terrorists who had carried out genocides against Sri Lankan citizens previously, this one too had enjoyed a stay about a month at the said lodge planning for his kill. Also, it was found the lodge owner had registered the terrorist with the different Identity card number but with the same photo. However, the lodge owner had purposely with held the information he had about the terrorist until the police finally put him behind bars.

The original NIC of Velayudan Sudharshan." style="border: 1px solid rgb(192, 192, 192); padding: 1px 4px;" class="PopBoxImageSmall" title="Click to magnify/shrink" onclick="Pop(this,50,'PopBoxImageLarge');" lowsrc="Map%201" alt="Map 1" align="right" border="1" height="142" width="191">

The original NIC of Velayudan Sudharshan.

Later, police uncovered the true name of the terrorist as Velayudan Sudharshan alias Sudan, a resident at No 749, Pokuruni, Thambalagamuwa, Trincomalee. Police took two females who were residing at the said address at time of this disclosure. The suspects were subsequently identified as Velayudan Rasalechchami and Velayudan Nirojanee, the mother and the sister of Sudan respectively.

The most unfortunate part of the story began to unfold when it was found that the LTTE had been using the mother of the same person that it had turned into a suicide bomber to gain propaganda mileage.

Police of Thambalgamuwa was conducting investigation of a disappearance of a Tamil youth having the same name of Sudan who had gone on missing since 21 April 2008. It was very same Mr. Rasalechchami who had lodged the complaint at the police on 22 April that her son who had gone Colombo to prepare a passport had not returned . The alleged "disappearance" was already used for the propaganda work of the bogus civil monitoring committees and media stations sympathising with the LTTE terrorists as to show that Sri Lankan security forces are engaged in human rights violations.

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Forge ID of Velayudan, posing as Ibrahim Lebbe.

When the police showed the photo of the suicide cadre , both Rasalechchamee and Nriojanee identified him as their lost relative. What shocked the police was that the mother's behaviour. Unknowingly, that intelligence sleuths had gathered all the details of her son who had reduced to a suicide loser by the LTTE , she had chosen to lie about her sons life in the LTTE for a reason best known to her.

According to Rasalechchami, Sudan had gone to India in May 2007 as the war broke out in the East. Then he had retuned to the Island on 19 April 2008. However, the mother said that Sudan after returning the country had first gone Jeythan's place and returned home only on 20 April with Jeyathan's motorbike. Also, she revealed that Sudan had a long-standing relationship with Jeyathan. On 21 April 2008, Sudan had left home with the motorbike and on the very next day Rasalechchami had lodged a complaint at police station Thambalagamuwa that her son had been disappeared.

However, according to the defence intelligence findings, Sudan was a child soldier who had been conscripted to the outfit at the age of 16 in the year 2001. He was born in 1985 at the government hospital Kinniya, Trincomalee and studied up to grade 10 at the Koviladi Tamil School. He had lost his father during early childhood and it is apparent that LTTE had given financial assistance to his mother and sister following his agreement to commit suicide for the outfit. Like thousands of other Tamil youth born in the Eastern Province, before it being liberated by the security forces, Sudan seemed to have given up his life for the Wanni terror chief for the promise of better economic conditions for his two family members.

After joining the LTTE he had been brainwashed to a suicide bomber at Thirivaiaru suicide bomber training centre in Kilinochchi under an LTTE leader called Sooriyan Master. Later, Sudan had been participated in terror activities in Sampur, Gomarankadawala, Kumburupiddi and Peraru areas until 2007.

According to the intelligence reports Sudan had been previously arrested at a roadblock in the Gomarankadawala area whilst riding on the same motorbike, he later used for the attack with another person. This was during April 2007 when the terrorists were massacring innocent villagers in the Gomarankadawala area. Later, the police had released him, as they could not find substantial evidence against him.

Later, in mid 2007, Sudan had been called back to Wanni to undergo further training as a suicide bomber. There he had undergone a special training on carrying out suicide attacks using motorbikes at a suicide bomber training facility at Puthukuduyiruppu . According to the reports the suicide bomber who had assassinated Lieutenant General Parmi Kulatunga in 2007 had also undergone training with Sudan. Following his training, Sudan had stayed in Wanni until his return to Trincomalee in April 2008.

After having stayed in Colombo as an "innocent temporary lodger" for about one month, Sudan carried out the carnage he had been trained for on 16 May 2008. During his stay in Colombo, he had acted as a Muslim national and also prepared all the necessary documents required for his cover. Further, bogus rights groups and media institutions run with terror blood cash used Sudan's "disappearance" to mount international pressure on the government to further relax counter terror measures adapted by the law enforcement authorities.

The lesson in this story for all peace-loving citizens in this country is nothing other than to realize the realty over fantasy. Unlike a soldier in a uniform, a terrorist has all the liberty to act as an innocent civilian and to plan secretly for the next civilian massacre while enjoying all the protection from the law itself. Thus, the greatest challenge in countering terrorism is to identify the terrorists. They have all the ability to camouflage themselves in the civil society and to get cover from the same civil liberties and laws to avoid them being cracked down.

The most treacherous part of the terror tactics is the use of various bogus rights groups to bring pressure on the government to relax counter terror measures. The aim of such groups is to protect the under cover terror agents until they go for the next massacre. The key players of such bogus groups are usually not the members of terrorist outfit but those lured by money to do the dirty work for the terrorists. Therefore, the reality that all must understand is that the terrorism goes far beyond the open aggression. The survival of terrorism lies mainly on the umbrella organizations that protect terrorists than the real military might of the terror outfits. We hope Sudan's story would be a good eye opener for all who want to see Sri Lanka a peaceful country.

LTTE announces unilateral ceasefire during SAARC summit

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 July 2008, 18:30 GMT]

The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) on Tuesday announced that the movement would observe unilateral ceasefire during the period of SAARC conference from 26th July to 04 August, giving cooperation for the success of the conference. Conveying goodwill and trust of the Tamil people, the LTTE Political Wing, in a press statement issued from Vanni said it wished for the success of the SAARC conference, extending the movement's support to the "countries of our region, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives."

Full text of the announcement by the LTTE follows:

LTTE Political Wing
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam
22 July 2008


Ceasefire announcement

On behalf of the people of Tamil Eelam, we extend our sincere good wishes to the fifteenth conference of SAARC that aims, to improve the economic development of the vast South Asian region and to create a new world order based on justice, equality and peace.

For sixty years, the Sinhala leadership is continuing to refuse to put forward a just solution to the national question of the Tamil people. The Sinhala nation is not prepared to deal justice to the Tamils. The politics of the Sinhala nation has today taken the form of a monstrous war. Because the chauvinistic Sinhala regime is putting its trust in a military solution, the war is spreading and is turning more and more intense. Sinhala nation is intent on occupying and enslaving the Tamil homeland. Our military is only involved in a war of self defence against this war of the Sinhala nation.

Behind the smokescreen of war, the Sinhala regime is heaping misery on the Tamil people and is killing them in large numbers. The brutal truth of the gradual destruction and oppression of the Tamil people is being blacked out. The just struggle of the Tamil people is being hidden behind an iron curtain in the name of news censorship. A false propaganda is being spread to tarnish, the freedom movement of the Tamil people and the path it was adopted for its self. This has resulted in misleading views and incorrect opinions about our freedom struggle. We are deeply saddened by this.

We are always keen to develop friendship with the countries of the world and our neighbouring countries in our region. We are sincere in our efforts to create the external conditions in order to build these friendships. We wish to express the good will and trust of the Tamil people. As a sign of this goodwill, our movement is glad to inform that it will observe a unilateral ceasefire that is devoid of military actions during the period of the SAARC conference from 26th July to 4th August and give our cooperation for the success of the conference. At the same time if the occupying Sinhala forces, disrespecting our goodwill gesture of our people and our nation, carry out any offensives, our movement will be forced to take defensive actions.

We wish for the success of the SAARC conference and we also extend our goodwill and support to the countries of our region, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.

Making SAARC meaningful

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 July 2008, 11:42 GMT]
The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation, which incorporates India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and now Afghanistan, is a logical process, not just because of geographical contiguity, shared cultures, legacies of British imperialism, elite use of English language etc., but because of the region’s common aspirations and problems, first of all in ensuring secure and quality life, and then seeking the rightful place for one fifth of humanity in the contemporary world. What went wrong with the noble concept of SAARC, while similar regional formations such as the EU and ASEAN are successful elsewhere, discusses Opinion Columnist Chivanadi.

Opinion Columnist Chivanadi

Sri Lanka is tensed before the fifteenth SAARC summit scheduled to take place by the end of this month.

Sri Lanka Army denies permission to the people of Jaffna, who live in an open prison, to travel outside, alleging security threat to the summit. There are unconfirmed reports of expected arrival of Indian troops to Colombo to provide security. Earlier, news reports speculated, linking the visit the Indian National Security Advisor and two Secretaries of the Defense and External Affairs, with security issues of the summit.

The reports, whether true or camouflage, at least make it obvious that there is something wrong with the whole exercise of SAARC.

The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation, which incorporates India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and now Afghanistan, is a logical process, not just because of geographical contiguity, shared cultures, legacies of British imperialism, elite use of English language etc., but because of the region’s common aspirations and problems, first of all in ensuring secure and quality life, and then seeking the rightful place for one fifth of humanity in the contemporary world.

What went wrong with the noble concept of SAARC, while similar regional formations such as the EU and ASEAN are successful elsewhere?

Disparity is the main issue. When SAARC was initiated in 1985, someone called it as Snow White and the Six Dwarfs while another saw it as the Big Bully and Six Dwarfs.

Right from the beginning there were two different perceptions behind the idea of regional cooperation in South Asia: the Indian ambition to bring the neighbours under its fold to address it security concerns and the neighbours’ outlook to make a forum to check India interfering into their affairs.

SAARC was doomed at the outset by such a dichotomy in perception.

Considering its size and gravity, India has to bear the bulk of the blame, for failure in coming out with the vitally needed leadership and statesmanship in forging feasible and conducive models to make SARRC successful.

India has allowed the differences between it and her neighbours to be manipulated deftly and subtly by forces that wanted to block the successful emergence of the region.

The situation witnessing a growing tendency among the peoples of the neighbouring countries that why should they care for the security of India when India doesn’t care for their security is going to be fatal to India and the region of South Asia in the long run.

It is alarming to note that five, out of the eight South Asian Countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are listed as failed states.

This accounts for the misery of one fourth of the South Asian population. Not to mention the downtrodden masses of the other South Asian countries, including India, facing political and social injustices.

While there is an urgent need for the people of South Asia to join hands in asserting to their security, livelihood, rights and good governance, one can easily see that their governments, run by forces of vested interests, are the foremost impediment in forging the South Asian unity.

A typical demonstration is the way and timing of signing the Mannaar Basin oil agreement between an Indian corporate outfit and Sri Lanka, and the connotations behind it, while Eezham Tamils, the traditional shareholders of the sea space of the Mannaar Basin, facing genocide.

‘Grab what is possible from a burning house’ (Eriki’ra veeddil pidungkinathu michcham) is a saying in Tamil, characterizing the attitude.

While such greed is also evident in the acts of the so-called International Community, it is not expected from India that has a responsibility for the region.

It is a SAARC irony that while large-scale Indian investments and spatial occupations are taking place in the Eezham Tamil areas of Trincomalee and the Mannaar Basin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is concerned about petty holdings of Eezham Tamil individuals in Tamil Nadu.

India rightfully deserves addressing its security and economic interests in the region and no one can deny them. But it needs political farsightedness, sophistication and an altogether different outlook. Imitating the collapsing model of some world powers will not help. The issues involved are not merely to be viewed as Indian interests but as interests of South Asia.

Unfortunately, common people of South Asia are not concerned with the foreign policies of their governments. Illiteracy in the region is a reason. Unlike in some of the successful democracies in the world, foreign policy is never an election issue, influencing the choice of a government in South Asia.

In a region where political parties keep people engrossed in petty domestic issues to come to power, it becomes easier for a few individuals who are not responsible to the people, to decide the foreign policy in order to serve the forces of vested interests inside and outside.

For more than twenty years now, the SAARC governments have failed in making any headway and are beating around the bush. The fact that SAARC affairs are largely handled and decided by Security Advisors and intelligence officers indicates the gravity of the problem that it has not moved an inch from the precincts of security.

The various subsidiaries of SAARC, initiated with a slogan ‘people to people contact’, are bogus outfits only to reflect the governments and to accommodate people in the service of those governments. They never reflect the real people and seldom go beyond the South Asian capitals. In fact, the peoples’ contacts have very much shrunk today than it was in the days without SAARC.

The South Asian countries have to boldly think of new theoretical frameworks and models to pursue regional cooperation, if the present one has failed. South Asia needs to invent something to suit its heritage.

There was no political India or South Asia in the past. But homogeneity of the region was always there in its peoples and cultures.

Imperial unity in this region was achieved only on a very few, short-lived occasions, before the colonial empire: Asoka’s empire collapsed after him and Aurangzeb’s empire crumbled with the rise of the Marattas.

The strength of unity and regional cooperation in South Asia lies not in its political units of today, but in its peoples and cultures.

Any attempt to make SAARC a meaningful reality should therefore begin from exploring ways of allowing the peoples of South Asia their rightful public space, recognition of their identities and allowing their right to peacefully interact.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is hopeful on focusing the issue of 'terrorism' in South Asia in the forthcoming summit.

Failure to address the aspirations of people and responding to them with state terror are the root cause for all forms of violent conflicts.
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=26411

Pushing Muslims into the corner! When do we learn?

Pushing Muslims into the corner! When do we learn?

Saturday ,19 July 2008( Posted : 05:07:22GMT)

By Latheef Farook

This is in response to the July 7, 2008 opinion column of Mr. Janaka Perera under the title 'Ethnic enclaves versus national unity'.

With regard to objections raised to building 500 houses for Muslim tsunami victims in Norochcholai I wish to bring the following facts to the notice of your discerning readership:

The Muslim community lost almost one percent of its population in the Tsunami with the worst affected areas being in the east coast. Yet the government, state agencies, politicians and even foreign donors were indifferent to their unprecedented sufferings. They managed to overcome the early days only due to Muslim organizations and it was the JVP which helped them clear the debris.

They asked "what happened to the almost three billion dollar aid which flowed into the country. A report by the Auditor-General, S.C. Mayadunne, disclosed how the politicians and the bureaucracy misspent or misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tsunami aid and, in one incident, though only 599 families were affected, around 16,000 families were paid Rs. 73.395 million ($723,460) worth of aid in the divisional secretariat of Negombo which was relatively unscathed by the tsunami.

But until then no action was initiated against the culprits despite clear evidence forcing Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi to emphasize the need to distribute aid in an equitable, transparent and accountable manner while the World Bank coordinator in the reconstruction process, Alastair McKechnie "insisted on the need for equitable distribution of aid".

It was to resettle 4,700 Muslim tsunami victims rendered homeless in the coastal areas of Akkaraipattu, Sainthamaruthu, Kalmunai and Maruthamunai and undergoing untold misery and hardships in 54 refugee camps for the past four and a half years that the Saudi government came forward to build 500 houses.They were built on a 40 acre land, once acquired by Hingurana Sugar Industries and was abandoned for more than 30 years as being unsuitable for cultivation, approved by the President and the Government Task Force to Rebuild the Nation, TAFREN, for building houses for Muslim tsunami victims.

This is a humanitarian project .The obvious question is "aren't the Muslim tsunami victims entitled to assistance and why were there no objections at its planning stage by those dreaming with a destructive ideology to send the island's Muslim community to Saudi Arabia and Tamils to South India. The planning and the building has gone on for over 3 to 4 years in full view and within the full knowledge of everyone- why is anyone creating this needless racial crisis at this critical time of the nation's history- except perhaps to add more fuel to the crisis and create more chaos.

The Sinhalese and the Muslims have a very harmonious relationship in those areas (as in the rest of the island) and do not view the building of these houses as any interference with the sacred Deegavapiya vihare or as a threat to it but as a humanitarian act of giving shelter to the homeless and the destitute . This can be independently verified. It can also be verified from the respected members of the Sangha that it was the Muslims who nurtured the sacred area and the sacred Chaitya at the time when it was in a state of disrepair and abandoned and there were no Sinhalese then.

Perhaps Mr. Janaka Perera may not be aware that around 70 percent of Muslims in the country live below poverty line and around ten percent of the Muslims driven out from their homes and lands in the North languish in the refugee camps in and around Putttalam in appalling conditions. With callous respect to the lives and property of Muslims both the government and the LTTE fought their battle, over the Mavilaru water dispute, by bombing the residential areas of Mutur where the entire population of around 60,000 had to flee to refugee camps in Kantale while their properties were destroyed and around 200 innocent Muslims slaughtered by the LTTE.

Today Muslim fishermen in and around Mutur are prevented from fishing in the deep sea depriving them of their livelihood with reports of their children fainting in schools from hunger. Obstacles were placed for Muslim farmers from cultivating their agricultural lands and carrying out their routine livestock industry. Muslim traders in the east complain of drop in business due to the current tense situation. Their lands were grabbed under various pretexts. Thus their question is one of survival.

Contrary to the organized propaganda, no Muslim ever wanted to grab an inch of land from any one. All what they want is to be left alone to live in peace in their own lands with members of other communities as they have lived for centuries.

Mr. Perera suggested that the land policy in the East has to be formulated on the basis of the 1981 census. But what he failed to state was that, according to 1921 census the Sinhalese population of the combined Ampara and Batiicaloa districts was less then 5 percent. After the Gal Oya settlements, the 1971 census recorded that Ampara had 126,033 Muslims, constituting 46.2 percent, out of the total population of 272,605. The same census showed that the Sinhalese population was 82,868 or 30.39 percent of the total population. Therefore even by the process of natural increase at 2 percent per annum one would expect the number to reach 101,105 by 1981. But their number increased to 146,371 according to 1981 census showing that 45,356 Sinhalese have been brought into Ampara after the Gal Oya settlements without any land Kachcheri.

This reduced the Muslim population from 46.2 percent to 41.6 percent and increased Sinhalese population from 30.39 to 37.6 percent. Thus his suggestion to formulate the land policy on the basis of 1981 census, makes one wonder whether he represents the neo nationalists who have already prepared the ground work for 'Sinhalisation' of the east. According to local media these neo nationalists are in the driving seat of the government and the administration in the east has been systematically militarized with people of like minded ideology. They have the police, army, navy and the STF with them .Finally they managed to install pro government TMVP leader Pillaiyan as the chief minister of the east, despite all the promises to the Muslims, setting the stage for the smooth implementation of their land grabbing and 'Sinhalisation' policies.

The frightened Muslims in the east, let down by their own politicians, do not know what to do.

It was under these circumstances that a subtle media campaign had been underway describing Muslims in the east as jihadists, wahabis, terrorists in their drive to project Muslims as villains as usually done by Israel and its western supporters before they commit their crimes. This is a classic case of propagandist scare-mongering which we encounter in the Western media on a regular basis.

Daily mirror

Another civilian tragedy kills 4

Four people including a 9-year-old child and a woman were killed and 25 injured yesterday when suspected LTTE cadres fired at a CTB bus travelling along the Buttala-Kataragama main road that borders the Yala National Park, police said.

They said the act of terror took place at around 10:45 am near Galge at the 149th milepost. The bus driver had sped through the ambush and driven the bus to Kataragama and admitted the injured to the Kataragama hospital. Later eight of the seriously injured passengers were rushed to the Hambantota Base Hospital.

Police media spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera said the gunmen who were hiding in the area which was surrounded by thick jungle had raked the passing bus.

He said two of the dead were identified as H.M. Karunawathie (47) from Dambagalla and her son H.M. Madushanka (12).

The road was closed immediately after the incident and a joint military and police search operation was launched to track down the killers.

SSP Gunasekera said that in what appeared to be a related incident the personnel on duty at the No: 38 checkpoint on this road had heard gunfire from within the jungle last week but a search operation had revealed nothing suspicious.

The Buttala-Kataragama road was only reopened in June this year after being closed for more than a month following suspected LTTE activity including two claymore mine explosions that targeted a passenger bus and a tractor carrying soldiers.

The road was reopened after a large number of checkpoints manned by police, army and civilian defence force personnel were set up along this road and the surrounding jungle. The traffic along this popular pilgrim route had increased over the last few weeks due to the Kataragama Esala festival season which began with the Mal Perehera last Saturday and ending on July 19.

SSP Gunasekera said security in the area had also been beefed up in view of the large number of devotees and VIPs attending the festival.

http://www.dailymirror.wijeya.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=20287

Lal Kantha claims strike a success, but admits failure to mobilize more

VP trade union leader MP K. D. Lal Kantha claimed yesterday’s token strike was a success but in the same breath admitted that they failed to muster the entire work force into the agitation.

"The token strike was successful in our view. We earlier said that public, private and estate sectors would participate but at the last moment we decided to limit private sector participation only to a demonstration level. We think around 70 per cent of the public sector and a large number of estate sector workers were on strike," he told a press conference held at the National Library Auditorium.

He admitted that the unions failed to mobilize workers into action and attributed it to the government’s pressure and influence.

"In some places we could not get a single worker out, but we managed to register our protest. We gained a lot of experience.

This is only the first step of our agitation. We experienced both negative and positive outcomes and there were setbacks. We hope to eliminate the negative factors in future and we now know our weaknesses and strengths," he said.

The effect of the strike was not felt by people since there was a continuous supply of electricity and water. Transport was also available. "We managed to get 10 per cent of CTB workers out on strike. We did not want to cut down water and power and get transport stalled since we do not want to oppress the public. If we did that the public would have been inconvenienced and their anger would have been been aroused against us. We are a responsible trade union movement and did not want to go that far but if we wanted we could have definitely done that," Lal Kantha said.

The National Trade Union Center had called for a token strike with several aims and most of them were achieved. "We wanted to assess how the government, workforce, administrations and security forces would respond to a strike situation. Now we have witnessed that. We saw how the government controlled media was converted into SLFP controlled media. We observed how the police and forces were used to disrupt our action. The strike gave us the opportunity to study the levels of participation by workers. We had got that assessment and it would be useful in our future struggles," he said.

"The UNP’s Jathika Seveka Sangamaya had come forward to support the strike though the NTUC did not invite them. Private bus owners too promised to join forces on condition that NTUC include the demand of provision of subsidized fuel for passenger transport services. "We started with 366 unions and this was increased to 660 unions. We did not stage a proper organized union action which we may do in the future, "Lal Kantha said

He thanked workers, unions and other social forces that helped the NTUC’s call for a token strike. "We thank the private media which maintained balance reporting right from the beginning of this issue", he said.

http://www.island.lk/2008/07/11/news3.html

LTTE says ready for ceasefire and peace talks

Facing a concerted military offensive by the Sri Lankan army in its stronghold of Jaffna peninsula, the LTTE on Thursday expressed readiness for ceasefire and peace talks with the island government.

LTTE's political wing chief, V Nadesan, said that the group was ready for a ceasefire now, while accusing the Sri Lankan government of "abrogating" the six-year-long ceasefire which came to an end early this year.

Nadesan, in a telephonic interview to Times Now television, said the LTTE was not against peace negotiations. "Yes" was his answer when asked whether the LTTE was for the ceasefire starting again.

"It is the Sri Lankan state that unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire agreement and is unleashing a war against the Tamils in their homeland," he charged.

"We are not against ceasefire or peace talks," he said.

Asked about the petition filed by Nalini, sentenced to life in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, seeking premature release, Nadesan said the LTTE believed that holistic changes will take place and the Indian government "will recognise the legitimate aspirations of Tamil people and their freedom struggle. And Nalini's release will start the holistic change." He also termed Priyanka Vadhra's visit to the Vellore prison to meet Nalini a few months ago as a "humanitarian gesture." LTTE, which was indicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, continues to be banned in India.

Nadesan's interview came as the Sri Lankan military chief LT Gen Sarath Fonseka claimed on June 30 that LTTE had lost capability to fight as a conventional force and its cadre strength had dropped to 5000 from 8000 in August 2006.

One soldier was killed in a confrontation with security forces in Jaffna peninsula yesterday, the military said, adding another army personnel died in Serunuwara in Trincomalee. In another clash, troops killed an LTTE cadre on Wednesday in Kiriibbanwewa in Welioya, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.

One more Tamil Tiger was shot dead in the same area in a clash with troops on Wednesday, it said.

The army killed another three LTTE cadres in Palamodai in Vavuniya yesterday, the MCNS said, adding five more Tiger rebels were shot dead in the same region in intense clashes later in the day.

One LTTE cadre was gunned down in Palamodai after the troops destroyed a rebel bunker on Wednesday, it said.

At least two LTTE cadres were killed in a battle in Navavi in Vavuniya yesterday, the MCNS said.

LTTE says ready for ceasefire and peace talks