LTTE was an India-created militant organization that was militarily defeated in May 2009. Its rule of terror ran for 30 years amidst failed negotiations, peace talks and peace agreements. After refusing the 3 offers given to lay down arms and surrender, the LTTE was militarily defeated. LTTE’s reign of terror resulted in the deaths of innocent Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamil civilians, Sri Lankan armed forces & police, politicians, academics, media personnel, clergy and even foreigners as well as LTTE’s own cadres and cadres belonging to other Tamil militant groups that India created. 32 countries including India have kept the ban on LTTE despite its military defeat. What is ironical is that while India not only has kept the ban on LTTE in place, India has taken action not to allow any commemoration of LTTE in Tamil Nadu while Sri Lanka has cancelled the Victory Day celebrations while allowing LTTE’s representative the TNA to hold commemorations for dead LTTE cadres to which even the Jaffna University academics have taken part. However, neither the TNA, the Northern Chief Minister nor the Jaffna University are even bothered to say even a silent prayer for all the Tamils killed by the LTTE. This is not only a grave injustice but it is laughable that the Government of Sri Lanka knowing this is allowing this farce to continue.
Mourning LTTE is not mourning Civilians
Mahaveer Naal or Great Heroe’s day is not a Tamil civilian event, a Tamil religious festival but a purely LTTE event to remember all LTTE cadres who had died fighting against the Sri Lankan state. It was first held on 27th of November 1989 and has been held annually since in Sri Lanka & overseas since then. It was held after Prabakaran’s birthday on 26th November. Mano Ganeshan is on record saying people can celebrate Mahaveer Naal without mentioning LTTE by name!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB2_4ZNs8rQ
In 2016 commemorations were held in the North using LTTE colored flags (yellow & red). Jaffna university has been holding vigils for dead LTTE leaders. http://colombogazette.com/2016/05/18/eelam-map-used-as-victims-of-mullivaikal-were-remembered-in-north/
On 13th May 2016 Sivajilingam brother in law of Prabakaran also held a commemoration but hardly 20 attended. http://varunamultimedia.com/videos/btv/vmtube/news-specials/sivajilingam-holds-war-commemoration-in_-13-05-16/play.html#p_sel
In 2014 the Jaffna University commemorated Maaveerar Naal with posters that said “Our tearful respect to our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our nation to bloom and to our people killed by state terrorism,” ….“Our fallen martyrs’ dream will come true, Tamil Eelam will be born tomorrow.”http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=12918 The Jaffna university is said to have a permanent post on the wall that states nobody can enter the university area if they do not subscribe to the (fictional) Tamil traditional homeland http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/11/29/gosl-explain-to-us-how-celebrating-war-victory-over-terrorism-was-against-reconciliation-yet-commemorating-dead-ltte-cadres-is-not/
The GOSL allowed LTTE dead to be again openly commemorated. Not a word was said against any Tamil killed by the LTTE in any of the speeches delivered by the NP Chief Minister or the TNA head who happens to be the country’s Opposition Leader. No one is raising the question as to why the Country’s Opposition Leader should be attending a commemoration of terrorist dead.http://dailynews.lk/2016/05/19/local/82146
When families of dead LTTE cadres also took part what more is left to say?
World War 2 & Victory Day
Ever since the defeat of Germany & Japan and the end of World War 2, Victory Day has been celebrated by the very countries demanding Sri Lanka not to celebrate the victor over the LTTE terrorists. The West and Russia have not stopped Victory Day celebrations just because it hurts the feelings of the Germans & Japanese. The very countries demanding accountability from Sri Lanka are reminded that 11million German civilians and German soldiers are said to have been killedAFTER the war ended. Five million Germans were starved to death in occupied Germany (Richard K. Mariani) 2 million German Soldiers died in allied captivity while performing slave labor.
The West is demanding Sri Lanka to give amnesties to LTTE cadres but these very countries are still hounding the Nazis – men in their 90s are being arrested and imprisoned.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2564046/Three-men-suspected-former-Auschwitz-guards-arrested-Germany-including-94-year-old-said-revelled-cruelty-Jews.html
Best of Tamils were killed by LTTE
The best of Tamils – Tamil leaders, Tamil politicians, Tamil academics, Tamil civil society heads were killed by LTTE not by Sinhalese. Lakshman Kadiragamar, Jeyraj Fernandopulle, Neelan Tiruchelvan, Amirthalingam, Sam Thambimuttu, Alfred Duraiappah, Sajorini Yogeswaran just to name a few.
We do not even know the number of LTTE cadres including kidnapped Tamil children that the LTTE killed or how many died unable to bear the gruesome training given.
We cannot forget that the LTTE put scores of injured LTTE cadres into buses and blew them up killing their own men & women because they did not want them to be taken into custody by the Sri Lankan military. We also do not know how many LTTE cadres committed suicide as part of LTTE cult to bite the cyanide capsule before getting caught.
Yet to prove Tamil civilians over Tamil LTTE cadres died in the conflict
As for Tamil civilian deaths – the figures are obscured. Firstly, LTTE had a civilian armed force so we do not know how many of these civilians trained in armed combat actually engaged in hostilities. If so according to international law they lose any rights accorded to civilians. We do not know how many LTTE cadres fought in civilian and died (they cannot be regarded as civilian). We do not know how many civilians LTTE shot dead or how many civilians died out of fatigue and injuries or natural causes. Without knowing or differentiating these factors it is absurd to accuse the Sri Lanka military of war crimes and murder when the UN and foreign envoys made appeals to the LTTE to stop shooting fleeing civilians.
We have been given estimates ranging from 40,000 to 200,000 as being killed but none of these allegations have been backed by the simplest of evidence – not even names of the dead, not even addresses of the dead, not even birth certificates of the dead, not even family members of the dead, none of those making the allegations have even a dead body or even skeletons to claim they were murdered. None of those making allegations have even given the details of the dead to the Presidential Missing Persons Commission or the UNHRC or even logged their deaths with the police to obtain death certificates. 13 March 2009 – UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay’s press release said that ‘as many as 2800 civilians ‘may have been killed’. As of 9 April 2015 only 16,179 civilian ‘missing’ have been logged with the Presidential Missing Person’s Commission However, details of 5000 missing soldiers have been lodged with the Presidential Commission. UN country team in Sri Lanka placed the dead as 7721. A Survey by the Government in the North at the end of the conflict done by Tamils placed the number of dead and missing at 7400 dead (included LTTE killed in combat) and 2600 missing (of this 1600 had been with LTTE whereas only 438 had disappeared in areas under military control). The satellite analyst report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science identified 3 graveyards of which one had 1346, and one of the 3 was a LTTE graveyard with 960 bodies. No satellite images detected 40,000 – 125,000 or even 200,000 dead! In July 2011 Tamil teachers of the North did a population survey of the North covering migration, deaths, untraceable persons from 2005 to 2009 – their report revealed 7896 dead including LTTE while the dead from natural illness and sickness was 1102
The population figures do not make sense
The Vanni comprises the districts of Mullaitivu, Mannar, Kilinochchi & Vavuniya. Mullaitivu district is 2516.9(km2) it was the LTTE’s chosen hideout from where they recruited and trained the bulk of cadres from low caste impoverished Tamil homes. Mullaitivu population in 1981 was 77,512 of which Tamils were 69,670, Sinhalese were 3948 and Muslims 3777. However, the 2007 population estimate placed Mullaitivu population as 220,311 (when areas was under LTTE rule) while the 2012 census gave Mullaitivu population as 91,947 (post-LTTE). The population figures do not make sense. 1981 was an actual census while the 2007 was estimated and LTTE is on record for claiming 35% of its cadres were Indians. It is important to investigate how many Indians are illegally living in Sri Lanka as our citizens.
Also it is very clear that inflated figures were given helped by foreign payrolled NGOs because it would enable them to get additional food and other provisions in case the conflict got delayed. We know from civilian witness accounts that LTTE did not give the essentials sent by the GOSL to them and instead distributed them amongst LTTE families ONLY.
Farcical ‘genocide’
Sri Lanka must be the only country were the people who are alleged to be killed statistically increase in population figures! UN has failed to even distinguish LTTE from Civilians and to ascertain how many civilians LTTE killed and how many civilians died from SL Army fire keeping in mind that collateral damage does take place and that had it been intentional there would be dead bodies that would have been proof that people were killed. Instead we are going by hysterical figures minus any details.
Sri Lanka’s army was not sent to kill civilians as is being currently promoted by media but to kill the enemy combatants. A combatant’s privilege is that he has every right to kill his enemy – the LTTE. There is no doubt that civilians would have died – it does not mean civilians were targeted as is being implied.
International Community & UN accusations against LTTE
UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon has accused the LTTE of forcibly cutting hair of girls trying to flee the conflict to mislead the military into thinking there were LTTE. Those who have any doubts may like to read the report that confirms this –http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/ltte1208webwcover_1.pdf
“The LTTE continues to actively prevent people leaving, and reports indicate that a growing number of people trying to leave have been shot and sometimes killed,” http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/civilians-fleeing-fighting-stopped-by-tamil-tigers-says-un/2009/02/17/1234632815317.html
UN accuse LTTE of trapping civilians in war zone in Sri Lanka https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&v=flurcveYAHc&hl=en-GB
United Nations accused Tamil Tiger rebels of forcibly recruiting local workershttps://www.dawn.com/news/815131
LTTE shoot at civilians – http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2009/02/200921293030989823.html
LTTE’s cruel conduct on Tamil civilians http://www.dailymirror.lk/88895/ltte-s-cruel-conduct-on-tamil-civilians-in-wanni
Therefore, a weak government facing rising public disdain, unable to hold even an election but pulling all types of stunts to stay in power have humiliated the armed forces by cancelling their victory day celebration while allowing a public display of mourning to LTTE cadres that had died in the final battle – not a word is mentioned about the many Tamils that the LTTE killed over the years. None of their names are even read, none of their families are even invited and none of their deaths are attributed to the LTTE.
How long is this farce to continue???
Shenali D Waduge
srilankaopinion 