Terrible truth of the Trincomalee tragedy

January second of the new year 2006 was a monday. It was 5.30 in the evening when 20 year old Manoharan Rajihar set off from home on St. Mary's road in Trincomalee town. Both his father and mother were medical doctors jointly running the welcome Medical clininc. He told his parents that he would be going to worship at the Pillaiyar temple and the Pathragali Amman temple. Thereafter he said that he would chat for a while with friends at the beach and return. One of his friends now an undergraduate at the engineering faculty in Moratuwa university had come home for the new year and was scheduled to go back the following day.Rajihar said he would return home by 7. 30 pm. Trincomalee had been tensed up for quite a while. There had been much violence along with hartals paralysing normal life. Police and security personnel along with civilians had been targeted. The civilian killings and in some cases reprisal killings cut across ethnic barriers. Though Trincomalee was bustling actively after many years of the ceasefire the atmosphere had deteriorated in recent times. Life had not been the same after a large Buddha statue was installed overnight near the Central bus stand and market.. Tamil organizations had opposed this. Hartals were staged. It was ruled by the lower courts that the statue was illegally installed on Urban Council property. In spite of the public opposition and court directive the statue remains where it was with massive security provided. The protests over the statues had resulted in a lot of additionel security personnel being deployed in Trincomalee. This brought about another wave of protests against the increased security presence. With LTTE backed Tamil resurgence movements stepping up demonstrations the situation became worse. Sporadic violence continued. An attack on the security personnel brought about reprisals on Tamil civilians. In some cases "unknown" people killed Sinhala and Tamil civilians.It was tit for tat. For instance when a Sinhala businessman was killed on Dec 24th two Tamil trishaw drivers were killed on Dec 26th. Against this backdrop people seldom ventured out of their homes after dusk. Rajihars parents too were concerned about their son staying out till dark. But they were not unduly worried because they knew their son was a decent, level - headed boy. He was very punctual and if he said he would be back at 7. 30 they knew he would keep his word. Besides the place he was going to was not very far from home. Also they knew his friends. All of them were quiet, well - behaved youths with little interest in politics let alone tiger politics. They were youths with glowing dreams of a bright future. The parents had no worries about their son or his friends getting mixed up with the LTTE. Rajihar was the third in a family of six children. The eldest was a girl now married and settled in Britain. The next was a son. There were three younger brothers. An old student of Sri Koneswarar Hindu College Rajihar had completed his AL's. He was an outstanding sportsman excelling in Table tennis and Chess. Rajihar was the secretary of the Trinco Table Tennis Association.He had even conducted training sessions in TT for the security force recreation. Rajihar had been thoroughly vetted and given a military approved identity card. The military ID is the one respected by all security personnel. Apart from this the Manoharan's were familiar with many security officials including naval officers who had obtained treatment at the clinic. All this gave the family a sense of security in troubled times. Being doctors the parents were after all in the upper strata of Trincomalee society. The parents had also bought Rajihar a cellular phone as a precaution. He had strict instructions to call and keep them informed if he was getting late or held up anywhere.Rajihar left home happily for his rendezvous with friends blissfully unaware of the fate awaiting him. Seven young men all of them born in the year 1985 gathered that evening at the Dutch Bay beach. The spot was near the Gandhi statue roundabout where the Dockyard road and Koneswarar or Fort Frederick road intersected.. There was an important checkpost manned by navy. army and Police personnel close by. Actually there were three more checkposts manned by naval personnel within a 100 metre radius.There was also a small boutique selling provisions. There were stone benches on the beach front where people sat and took in the sea breeze.The seven friends were now seated on those benches chatting gaily. They had been frisked and cleared at the checkpost before coming to the spot.They arrived on four cycles and a motor cycle with two riding" doubles".. Six of the friends were alumni of Sri Koneswara Hindu College. One was an old boy of St. Joseph's College. The key figure in the group was Thangathurai Sivanantha the Moratuwa campus undergrad. He had come home on Dec 31st and was returning on Jan 3rd. The seaside chit - chat was like a send off to Sivanantha. All of them had completed their A levels in 2004/5. Apart from Sivanantha another too had gained entry to Katubedde. The others too were hopeful of higher education or at least a good job in Colombo. Some had ideas of going abroad. They were good all round students in both studies and extra - curricular activities. They were computer proficient too.Time just flew as the friends swapped stories and teased each other in all good fun. It was about 7.15 when a green three - wheeler coming along Dockyard road slowed down. A grenade was thrown from the vehicle. It exploded yards away from where the seven friends were seated. The three - wheeler then sped away on Koneswara road towards the Fort. The dazed friends realised the situation was taking a turn for the worse and cut short their conversation. They speedily mounted their cycles and motor cycle and prepared to get away from the spot. That was not to be! Almost as if on cue a security force truck trundled in quickly . Instead of giving chase to the three- wheeler the occupants of the truck zoomed in on the seven Tamil youths. They surrounded them and forced them to kneel down.Rajihar took out his mobile phone and called his father Dr. Kasipillai Manoharan. The call was not answered. Rajihar however left a quick message saying they were being made to kneel down by security forces. The phone was snatched away by one of the assailants They started checking their ID cards. Thereafter they began assaulting them. They were then put aboard the truck and assaulted again and again. Their explanations and protests were ignored. At this point some more security vehicles arrived. There was excited duscussion in Sinhala among the new and old arrivals. The youths could only hear the noise. Suddenly they were kicked and pushed out of the truck. Even as they fell they found that the entire area was now pitch dark.The lights in the vicinity had been turned off. The youths were now hit again and forced to kneel down again. After some more bickering among themselves one group of security personnel began leaving the spot. It was still dark and lights were out. Only the vehicle lights tore through the darkness of the night. After one group of security men left the other group began getting really mean.Then it became really terrible. After some more rounds of assaulting the youths were forced to kneel down again. Firearms were taken out and brandished. The youths were told that they were going to be killed as a warning to the tigers in Trincomalee. The innocent youths began wailing and pleading. Their pathetic cries were heard far and wide. Listening to the faintly audible cries was Dr. Manoharan. Finding that he had missed a call Rajihar's father had checked the phone to find it was from his son. Thoroughly agitated Dr. Manoharan began calling his son's cell again and again and again. There was no answer. Esxtremely perturbed the father then mounted his scooter and set off for the spot on the beach where his son said he was going to. Besides it was close to the Amman temple too. When Dr. Manoharan came near the spot he found all lights including street lights were turned off and darkness all around. He was shocked to find that security personnel had sealed off the particular area and were refusing to let anyone go through. Upon inquiring he was told that some tigers had attacked the security forces and no one would be allowed to pass. He was curtly ordered to turn back. Manoharan refused saying his son was in trouble and that he would not go back without him. As Dr. Manoharan stayed put stubbornly despite the danger he heard the cries of the youths pleading with the assailants. He thought he recognized his son's voice among them. He kept on pleading with those at the checkpost to let him through. The personnel refused but were becoming increasingly nervous and jittery. And then rang out the shots followed by the screams.More gunfire and more screams. It took just four minutes from 7. 51 to 7.55 pm.. A few minutes later an explosion was heard and then it was all over. After playing cat and mouse for a while the assassins now began firing. Two of the youths were shot behind the ear. One was shot in the back of the head. The other four then scrambled to their feet and made a desperate attempt to escape by running away. They were mowed down by gunfire. They were shot in the chest, abdomen. shoulders, thighs etc and collapsed . A little while after the firing was over two grenades were thrown at the still bodies. One exploded but the other proved a dud. The assassins were in no mood to take their victims to hospital. They delayed for nearly half an hour. The calculated delay presumably was to let the youths bleed to certain death. Finally an ambulance was called and even the lights came on"miraculously". Dr. Manoharan raced to the Trincomalee hospital. His heart leapt when told that two of the youths were alive still. His heart sank when he found that his son was not in the Intensive Care Unit. Later he was allowed to check out the morgue where he found his favourite son lying dead. He broke down and wept. News began spreading and the parents of the victims began converging at the hospital notwithstanding the security situation. Their long night of sorrow was made unbearable by the deliberate attempt to twist the truth. The security forces who had brought in the youths to the hospital had made a Police entry that some tigers plotting to attack the security forces had suffered casualties due to some grenades exploding accidently. This then was the version hastily disseminated by the security propagandists. Given the tense situation in Trincomalee and the vain boasts of the LTTE that the people were rising up against the armed forces there were many takers for this story.Many newspapers and news agencies also carried the security version initially.The defence ministry spokesperson as well as other army and Police officials also stood by this story. The truth however became known when the post - mortem and judicial inquiry was conducted. The Trincomalee Judicial Medical Officer Dr. Gamini Gunatunga conducted the post - mortem and ruled that all five dead victims had died due to gunshot injuries. Three had died of head injuries while the other two had succumbed to abdomen and chest injuries. The JMO however observed that some of the victims had injuries other than gunshot wounds too. But the fatal ones were from gunshots. With the JMO report the explanation provided by the security forces was blown to smithereens. The Trincomalee Magistrate Mr. V. Ramakamalan recorded an interim verdict of gunshot injuries and instructed the bodies be handed over to the families. But there was a hitch. The Police at the hospital refused to release the bodies. They insisted that the parents sign letters accepting that their children were tigers. Otherwise the bodies would not be handed over they threatened. The parents of the victims however were not prepared to do that. They had lost their innocent children. They were not prepared to sacrifice their reputations. They were not prepared to let them be stigmatised as "terrorists" when they were not. They simply refused to budge. One parent said" if you dont give the body I will have a funeral with an empty coffin and a picture of my son but I will never admit to this untruth of calling my son a terrorist.I have lost my son but I wont lose his honour".TNA Parliamentarian from Trincomalee district Thurairatnasingham also arrived at the hospital and exerted pressure.Finally the cops relented and the bodies were released without any letters being signed Trincomalee was overwhelmed with sorrow. On the 3rd there was a spontaneous closure of schools and boycott of classes by students. Students of all communities and faiths expressed solidarity with the victims. Realising the public mood was turning bitter the authorities withdrew security personnel from checkposts and sentry points in the Tamil neighbourhoods of Trincomalee. Some enraged people destroyed a few of these deserted places. On the following more organized efforts were made by Tamil youths to continue the hartal. The element of genuine spontaneity prevalent on the first day was lost. On Wednesday Jan 4th the bodies of the five victims were lying in their respective homes.They were all born in the same year on different dates. They had schooled together and now had died on the same date. Shanmugarajah Gajendran born on 16th September was living on Vidyalayam lane; Lohitharaja Rohan born on 07th April was from Sivan Kovil road; Thangathurai Sivanantha born on 06th April was a resident of Vanniya lane; Yogaraja Hemachandran born on 04th March lived in Customs street; Manoharan Rajihar born on the 22nd of September lived in St, Mary's road. Trincomalee town was grief stricken. People flocked to the houses of the victims. Again those condoling with the families were not Tamils alone but many Sinhala and Muslim families. Everyone knew what had really happened and of the innocence of the victims.The student population turned up in large numbers. The certificates, cups and medals won by the victims were laid out by the coffins. On Thursday the 5th of January the funeral was held at the Srikonewara Hindu College generally known as Trinco Hindu. The institution had a grand tradition of over a hundred years. Among its distinguished former Principals was the great Tamil scholar Swamy Vipulananda who went on to become the first Tamil professor of Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu. The current principal was Mr. M. Rajaratnam. He was distraught by the developments. A special dais was constructed on the day of the final farewell at the College grounds. The bodies were brought in individual processions to the College. Religious leaders of the Hindu, Christian and Islamic faiths addressed the mourners. Student representatives and Principal Rajaratnam also made speeches. They were emotional but eloquent. One thing rankling was the unjust charge that the victims were tigers.Every speaker refuted the accusation and condemned those responsible. Finally the five bodies were taken in procession through the streets of Trincomalee to the Hindu burial grounds near Ehamparam road. Once again a few checkposts were attacked on the way. Security personnel were pointedly absent. At Madathady some lumpen elements close to the JVP started throwing stones. They were quickly checked by the Police providing security. Trincomalee had not seen such a large funeral procession after the one for former Federal Party MP Rajavarothayam. After last rites were performed the five friends , inseparable in life and in death, were laid to rest. Meanwhile the Trincomalee magistrate began his judicial inquiry. He spoke to the two youths receiving treatment at the ICU. One was Yogarajah Poongulalon and the other Pararajasingham Kokulraj. Though conscious the condition of one has not passed the critical stage yet. Dr. Kasipillai Manoharan and the woman lawyer Subashini Chitravelu also made statements before the magistrate. Subashini is the sister of Mrs. Thangathurai the mother of Sivananda the Moratuwa undergrad. Incidently the Tamil students at Moratuwa Varsity wanted to mourn the death of their fellow undergrad but were fearful because he had been branded a tiger terrorist. But thanks to the praiseworthy professionalism of Dr. Gamini Gunatunga an ethnic Sinhala person the attempt to frame the victims as tigers was failing. The security propagandists who said the grenades had exploded accidently revised their position and said now that there was a shoot - out. Slowly, open minded people were beginning to realise the terrible truth behind the Trincomalee tragedy. Pressure began mounting on the Government with even Amnesty International commenting on it. A TNA delegation made out a strong case in a meeting with Mahinda Rajapakse. The President pledged firmly that he would probe the incident and punish the culprits. On the other hand attempts were being made to suppress the truth too. The witnesses who testified at the inquiry were subject to several threatening calls in Sinhala. The families of the victims were also intimidated. They also began suspecting that they were being watched. The JVP sponsored hartal in Trincomalee included a new demand that no inquiry should be held into the Trincomalee deaths. Interested parties were also pressuring the President to let go or face demoralisation among the forces. Mahinda Rajapakse faces a difficult situation. He is a man who has championed human rights for decades. As he himself said once "Mahinda is a man of human rights". Now he is challenged to prove that his commitment to human rights and justice is non - negotiable. Mahinda also announced after his victory that henceforth he would not belong to any ethnicity or group in the discharge of his duties. The time has now come for Mahinda to prove his mettle. President Rajapakse must realise that protecting the riff - raff in the armed forces would not raise its morale. Punishing the guilty, criminal elements would not de - moralise the armed forces. On the contrary every self - respecting member of the armed forces would only be happy that these vermin bringing the entire security forces to disrepute are identified and punished. The onus then is on Mahinda the man of human rights to take the correct decision. The entire truth behind the terrible tragedy in Trincomalee can be uncovered only through a genuine inquiry. For this the two injured youths, families of the victims and other knowldegeable people have to be protected. Moreover the guilty ones should not only be identified but penalised effectively. This takes moral and political courage but let us hope that the "Weeraketiya Sinhaya" has what it takes.All fair minded Sinhala people who comprise the silent majority in the Country will definitely support him. Let me conclude with an excerpt from an editorial in "The Island" on the subject. "President Mahinda Rajapakse has rightly ordered a probe into the incident. And no stone should be left unturned in getting at the truth. He will have to ensure that the probe will be thorough and independent. If any members of the armed forces are found to have had a hand in the deaths of the students, they should be brought to justice irrespective of position. Let the armed forces be told in no uncertain terms that we don't need them to unleash terror: the LTTE is doing it much better than anyone else. The raison d'etre of the Security Forces is to ensure the security of the citizenry and not to engage in wanton killings. The memories of the Bindunuwewa massacre are still fresh in the minds of the Tamil community as well as that of every right thinking man and woman irrespective of ethnicity. Nothing hurts a parent more than the fact that the killers of his or her child have got away with it. Children, or all civilians for that matter, must be free from harm, be it in the South, the North, the East or the West, especially during a truce. Enough of them have already perished in two insurrections in the South and in the on-going conflict in the North and the East. We have no way of disciplining a terror outfit or teaching it the value of human life. But that we can do to the armed forces and this is why probes into allegations of criminal activity by the security personnel are necessary" So says the Island editorial. Amen to that!

Jaffna University becomes flashpoint of tension

The Jaffna University or Yarlpanap Palgalaikkazhagham has become a volatile flashpoint of tension in the on going conflict between security personnel of the state and the younger generation of the district. While "Intifada" type attacks continue to be directed against Police and armed forces in the peninsula the University precincts and environs in Thirunelvely became the battle ground for direct clashes. With even the Vice - chancellor and members of the academic staff becoming victims the university authorities have decided to close down the campus till January 2nd next year. The Jaffna university has played a prominent role in the politics of the region from its inception in 1974. Various undergraduate generations have come and gone in the past. Each generation has had its own brand of politics fashioned according to prevalent conditions. In the late seventies the Jaffna university students played a pivotal role in the emergence of the Tamil United Liberation Front and its 1977 electoral victory on a platform seeking a mandate for Tamil eelam.Yet in the the early eighties , Jaffna undergraduates were in the forefront of those revolting against the perceived betrayal of the TULF in accepting the compromise of District Development Councils. The late seventies and early eighties also saw the Jaffna campus being a virtual safe house for some leading members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The LTTE then was in its embryonic stage of development. The very same Jafna campus exploded in protests against LTTE hegemonism in the mid - eighties over incidents like the Vijitharan killing, Rajaharan abduction etc. this was when Jaffna was being controlled by Sathasivampillai Krishnakumar alias "Col" Kittu. The late eighties saw the Jaffna campus transforming once again into a clandestine support base for the tigers during the Indian army occupation of Jaffna. The nineties saw the Jaffna university developing pockets of resistance to the tigers who were controlling all aspects of civilian life then in Jaffna.The LTTE cracked down on a number of undergrads and young graduates in an attempt to stifle all dissent and suppress all protest. It would have been difficult to predict the future had that course of events continued. There was however a dramatic reversal of the situation in 1995 when the LTTE withdrew to the Wanni and the Sri Lankan army took over the Jaffna district. Once again rebellion began within University ranks to the dominant forces in power. The army presence was resented. Jaffna university students played a crucial role in the Tamil resurgence movement and staging of "pongu Thamizh" (Tamil upsurge) demonstrations. Though Jaffna undergraduate politics has undergone different changes at different times there have been three constant, underlying threads. Firstly a fearless spirit of defiant opposition to the powerful forces dominating Jaffna. Secondly an inherent consciousness of opposing or rebelling against perceived oppression and injustice. Thirdly a consistent pattern of being in the vanguard against threats or potential threats to the well - being of the Tamil people. It is against this backdrop that one has to view all "tensions" within and outside the Jaffna campus. Two significant developments began after the election of Mahinda Rajapakse as President and appointment of Sarath Fonsela as military commander. One was the launching of a Palestine - style "Intifada" protest campaign by Jaffna students against the intrusive presence of the armed forces. The second was the escalation of the shadow war in Jaffna where a series of grenade, handbomb and landmine attacks against Police and military personnel in Jaffna. Though the LTTE did not play any overt role the tigers were suspected of providing covert logistical and moral support to the attacks and protests. The landmine attacks on army patrols saw the security forces deploying additional personnel in key roads, junctions and zones. The University and its environs became strategically important. the university was seen as a hotbed of intrige and revolt against the pervasive army presence. Besides the administrative office of the International Tamil student federation was in the vicinity. The International federation controlled by Tamil National alliance Parliamentarian Selvakumar Gajendran alias "Kuthirai" Gajendran. This organization is regarded as a tiger front and being the livewire behind student and youth protests in Jaffna. The increase of search posts, sentry posts and the deployment of additional soldiers in the University zone led predictably to confrontation and tension. With most soldiers being ypong men and the undergraduates also being young men tempers got frayed on both sides. Undergraduates resented this enhanced security intrusion into their daily life. There were many arguments. The soldiers reacted with assaults and tearing up of identity cards. Undergraduates began demonstrating. Kokkuvil technical College students also began demonstrating. The undergraduates in association with the secondary school student consortioum called for a widespread hartal in Jaffna. One of the demands was that security posts in the University area should be shut down and deployed additional soldiers withdrawn. The protest demonstration created much tension and a few incidents of stone - throwing . Soldiers fired in the air. The situation did not deteriorate further at that point of time. The prevailing "stand - off" situation underwent a drastic change on account of the rape and murder incident at Pungudutheevu. A 20 year old Tamil woman Eliyathamby Dharmini from the 7th ward area was sexually violated, murdered and thrown into an abandoned well close to a navy camp. It was widely alleged that she had been raped and murdered by naval personnel. When protest demonstrations demanding justice were held the navy responded with force tear gassing and beating up demonstrators. A few were arrested. The Navy at Pungudutheevu also prevented people from attending the funeral. It was in this atmosphere that a group of undergraduates in three vehicles started off from the campus at about 4 pm on Sunday Dec 18th to Pungudutheevu . Gajendran MP also accompanied the u'grads. They were stopped near the Parameshwara junction by soldiers who refused to let them proceed further. The students refused to turn back and a heated argument ensued. At this point of time stones were thrown at the soldiers from a spot behind an ice cream parlour nearby. The soldiers then began assaulting the students. they also fired at the Ice cream parlor building. The students also retaliated and soon there was a b=violent melee on. With more undergraduates streaming out from campus precincts the soldiers began calling for reinforcements.Soon a large contingent of soldiers in armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers, jeeps, trucks and motor cycles arrived at the scene. Unarmed students were brutally assaulted with clubs, rods, batons and rifle butts. Firing was done towards the ground and in the air. The students retreated into the campus. at least 25 ugrads were injured. The Ice cream parlour employee was also severely injured. The soldiers then took full control of the area outside campus. One consequence of increased security deployment in the campus environs was the "unofficial' sealing off of the one km stretch of the Jaffna - Palaly road between Thirunelvely nd Kantharmadam junctions. No one was travelled to go along the road stretch. As a result students and residents were put to much hardship being unable to go out . People could not return to their homes. A number of civilians were also assaulted.. Soldiers also blocked all access roads to the campus area. The International students federation office in thee vicinity was also affected.Soldiers entered premises and wrecked the interior. The "Godfather" Gajendran in typical tiger fashion was nowhere to be seen as students bore the brunt of the attack. Army men also fired towards the entrance of the university campus. Movement to and from the campus was severely curtailed. It was almost as if the "university people " were under "house arrest". Academics including vice - chancellor Dr. Mohanthas and many students could not get out from campus. The Vice - Chancellor was on the phone speaking to army authorities explaining the predicament. Finally at about 8 pm the soldiers began moving away from the campus environs and Parameshwara junction to Aalady junction and Post Box junction. The university students and staff moved out from campus at at about 9 pm. On the following day TNA Parliamentarian Gajendran urged University authorities and student representatives to go out in procession to protest against the previous days assault and to submit a petition to the Monitoring Mission at Nallur. The academic staff was initially reluctant but Gajendran succeeded in "persuading" them to do so with all the "power" of his arguments. Vice - Chancellor Dr, Mohanthas informed the SLMM and army authorities of their intention. He informed them clearly that it was a strictly non - violent exercise. Over 2500 students and academic staff led by the vice - chancellor started out in procession at 10. 45 am. Gajendran also participated. The procession commenced from the campus precints toeards the Parameshwara or uiniversity junction and then proceeded along Palaly road. When it reached the Central nursing home junction the procession was forced to stop because the road was blocked. A massive army contingent including armoured cars and tanks with field artillery was stationed there. The processionists were asked to turn back. The Vice - Chancellor and senior academics went up to the officers and informed them of their intentions. They pointed out that it was a non - violent protest and that suppressing it through force could prove counterproductive. The security men would have none of it and insisted they turn back. The university people stood their ground and kept on pleading that the army should allow them to proceed. A group of soldiers then came forward menacingly and began firing on the ground. Pieces of chipped tar and stones began flying about due to the hail of gunfire. The academics including the Vice - Chancellor began lying on the ground to protect themselves. The soldiers also began firing in the air. The students at this point began chanting slogans against the army. The soldiers however let loose a torrent of assaults. The academics and others lying prostate on the ground were kicked, ytampled and assaulted. This included the V- C. Bursts of gunfire were now directed against the unarmed processionists too. The helpless students and terrified academic staff began running for safety. Realising that none of the processionists possessed firearms or grenades the soldiers waded in courageously assaulting students and staff without restraint. The procession was dispersed brutally with processionists scattering. A senior lecturer Prinpanathan and five students received gunshot injuries and were admitted to hospital. Perinpanathan was shot in the thigh.The Arts Faculty Dean Prof. Sivachandran and 19 other students were admitted to hospital for assault injuries. Around 100 others received minor assault injuries and received medical treatment. This included the V- C, some lecturers and Parliamentarian Gajendran. The encounter took about 90 minutes. The soldiers like a conquering army took control of the Palaly road stretch for hours. Tanks and armoured cars were mounted in strategic points. It was as if the army was expecting an armed invasion or issuing a challenge for a fight. But there were no takers. After several hours of posturing the bulk of soldiers withdrew no doubt very please about their performance. The beleaguered army in Jaffna had scored a magnificient "victory" in Jaffna unleashing violence on unarmed undergraduates and academic staff and crushing a non - violent procession. The following Tuesday saw the university students declaring a boycott of lectures in protest against the previous day incidents. Nevertheless a large number of u'grads were present in the campus precincts. some students were standing near the main entrance on the road when a jeep with five cops from the Kopay Police station drew up. The policemen tried to chase students away. Infuriated students encircled the jeep and began thumping on the vehicle. Soldiers from nearby Parameshwara junction and Kaladdy junction hurried to the scene firing in the air. The students ran into the campus while the Police jeep sped away. A larger contingent of troops arrived shortly thereafter and entered the campus in violation of accepted norms. They began firing tear gas cannisters at the groups of students standing by. Firing also commenced. Students began running inwards for safety. Soldiers went on the rampage moving in all directions within the campus and assauled anyone they got hold of. Two groups of soldiers took up positions near the Kailasapathy auditorium and Library premises and fired volleys. After a while they went outside the campus premises and continued firing. They challenged the students to come out and fight. Finally they went way leaving hundreds of empty cannisters and cartridges behind as souveneirs for the students. A lecturer Manickavasagam Ilampiraiyan and undergraduate Gowrisenthooran were assaulted and taken away by the soldiers to the Parameshwara junction post. Ilampiraiyan is the brother of Vavuniya district Judge M. Ilancheliyan. Some academic staff members went to the army officers and requested the release of the arrested persons. It was refused. Later both were handed over to the Jaffna Police. The boycott of classes by students continued. With the army entering university premises the minor staff employees got frightened about their safety . Their union had an emergency meeting and decided to stop work till their security was ensured. The academic staff also followed suit. Representations made by the Vice - Chancellor to the President, UNiversity Grants Commission and Army commander met with no proper response.Under the circumstances a decision was taken to shut the university till Jan 2nd in the interests of the syudents and university staff and employees. Efforts would be taken to procure effective guarantees of safety during this interregnum. Meanwhile undergraduates staged a meeting in a very emotional state. It was resolved there that resistance to the army occupation should continue in the coming days. It was also resolved that a "request" be made to the LTTE to provide arms training to undergraduates. If there is a prompt response by the tigers to this request the consequences could be very bad indeed. The Jaffna university has about 6000 students. In a possible future scenario at least 10% or 600 could get arms training and become a peoplles force or civilian militia. Also at least 60 or 10% of these could become full - fledged tigers. The soldiers in Jaffna are not equipped or trained to handle the new challenges arisising in the region. Using brute force is not the only way to deal with this problem. But then neither Mahinda Rajapakse nor Sarath Fonseka possess the mature wisdom to recognize this. Fonseka has changed the military hierarchy in Jaffna. Responsible officers have been replaced with" gung ho" type officers. With these men at the helm in the periphery and the centre the future is going to be extremely bleak. The armed forces have played right into the hands of the tigers through the university fiasco.The consequences will prove tragically costly.

Tamils in Colombo harassed by "Strangers Night" operation

Tamils living in the electoral divisions of Colombo West and East were given a terrible shock on the night of Saturday December 17th when a massive security operation was launched against them. Over 600 Police and security force personnel were deployed in an operation codenamed "Operation Strangers Night" in the areas of Wellawatte, Bambalapitiya, Havelock town, Pamankade, Kirillapone and Narahenpita. Once again Tamils in Colombo were brutally reminded that they were all suspicious aliens in the eyes of the state simply because of their ethnicity. A news report in the "Daily Mirror" of Dec 19th stated as follows - "More than 100 suspicious people were taken into custody following a massive cordon and search operation code-named "Strangers Night" in Wellawatta, Narahenpita, Kirulapone and Bambalapitiya police areas, police said yesterday. Colombo DIG Pujitha Jayasundara said the surprise house-to-house operation was carried out jointly by the police, Army, Navy and the Air Force to track down illegal activities and suspected terrorist members in the area. He said during the operation which started at 11 pm on Saturday and ended at 5 am yesterday, 107 people were taken in on suspicion while five of them had been detained. "We used Tamil speaking officers to explain the people about the search and also used women police officers to check women, he said adding that the people had cooperated well". The complacent, self - serving remarks of Pujitha Jayasundara along with other media reports may help to convey the impression that the Police and security forces had conducted a proper law - enforcement operation and netted many terrorist suspects. Some may even believe that the people (all Tamils) were all happy and appreciative about the operation in this cheerful season of peace and goodwill. This writer however got a different impression when talking to some people at the receiving end of "strangers Night".The callous conduct of the law enforcing authorities seemed to have caused much resentment and added further to th sense of alienation felt by many Tamils. The operation had commenced at 11 pm on the 17th. Hundreds of Police and security personnel descended on the areas coming under "operation Strangers night". It was a massive cordon and search operation.The targeted "strangers" were all Tamils. The security personnel set up temporary search stations and road blocks at key junctions . All vehicles and pedestrians were stopped. While "non ' Tamils" were let off immediately people of Tamil ethnicity were subjected to intensive searches and grilling. Young Tamils were given very harsh treatment. Apart from vehicles and pedestrians many houses, apartments, boarding houses, shops, businesses were also surrounded and searched. Many people were fast asleep when the guardians of law and order woke them up. Once again non - Tamils residences and places were not bothered as much as Tamils were . The operation went on till 6.am on Sunday. According to the "official" version 107 "suspects" were taken to Police stations and questioned further. Of these five people were kept for further investigations while the others were released after completion of security procedures. The Colombo Tamil grapevine however has it that some youths had been taken elsewhere by "commandos" and remain unacoounted in the official records. Most of those taken in as suspects were not "strangers" in Colombo. They had very legitimate reasons to be in Colombo.Many had been living for years here. At least 97 % had their national identity cards and office identity cards.Despite this they were treated as suspicious strangers.Nothing suspicious was seized from them.Many of those detained were returning home from work. The arrested persons were taken first to the Police stations in their neighbourhoods.They were packed into the Police cells. Though kept for many hours they were not given food or water. They were not allowed to contact friends or relatives or lawyers. The Police also failed to inform family members of the wherabouts of these detenues. The arrested persons were transported by night from Police cells to the field force headquarters near Police Park. They were taken to an upper floor where officials interrogated them. After information so obtained was recorded they were fingerprinted and photographed like common criminals. Video filming individually was also done. Once again they were brought back to the Police stations from where they were taken and locked up in cells again. Nothing happened till 10. 30 am on Sunday. It was from that time onwards that lawyers started calling over at the cop shops. Complaints were also made to the IGP Chandra Fernando. The process of release started and by 2.00 pm most people were enjoying their birthright of freedom. Most people who underwent this experience were bitter." we were treated like criminals and terrorists simply because we were Tamils" said one. ""They were insensitive and inhumane. Even water was not given" complained another. It was suspected by some that a political vendetta was underway. "We Tamils voted in large numbers for Ranil in Colombo. Now we are being victimised for that" they said.Another opined that" the corrupt elements were getting ready like in the past to make money ". There is a Tamil proverb "Oru Paanai Sottrukku Oru Soru Padham" which means that a morsel of rice will indicate the quality of the whole pot of cooked rice. Likewise the plight of three Tamil media personnel will help illustrate the overall experience of Tamils on the "strangers night"of Saturday. Three employees of the Colombo based Tamil daily "Thinakkural" were returning home in the office vehicle on saturday night when they were stopped at 11. 30 pm by the Police and military personnel at Kirillapone. They were P. Parthiban of the editorial dept and C. Gokularaj and K. Sarweswaran of the computer dept. Parthiban is also a lawyer. After preliminary questioning the three Tamil media persons were "arrested" while the non - Tamil driver was allowed to go. Despite the detailed explanation proferred that they were newspaper employees returning home after work they found themselves being taken to the Police station. The three persons had their national identity cards, media accreditation cards of the information dept and office identity cards but these were of no avail in the face of this massive security juggernaut.The security personnel simply refused to pay any attention to the explanations. The trio along with 30 other arrested Tamil "nightstrangers: were locked up in the Police cells.When the journalist tried to contact people over his cellular phone the Police prevented it and confiscated the phone. They were not allowed to contact anyone. Police also failed to inform family members of their situation. Upon hearing of the situation another employee from "Thinakkural" came to the Police station and tried to explain matters. He too was ignored and ordered to vacate the premises at once. when the Officer in Charge returned to office after the long Saturday night operation at 6 am the trio tried to talk to him. He too refused to listen saying he had to sleep and left. Meanwhile they had been taken at about 1.00 am to Thimbirigasaya for further interrogation and recoding of particulars. The media people like all other arrested Tamils were photographed, videoed and fingerprinted. They were then brought back to the Police station. Since they were employees of "thinakkural" the institution was able to exert some influence.Parliamentarians Mano Ganesan, Joseph Pararajasingham, Nadaraja Raviraj, ex - Mp Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy and Western Province Peoples front Vice - President Nalliah Kumarakuruparan began moving in on the matter. IGP Chandra Fernando, DIG Pujitha Jayasundara and media minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa were informed. Raviraj and Vinayagamoorthy went personally to the station in the morning. The cops on duty said that nothing could be done till the OIC returned. Finally the OIC came at 10. 45 am. Thereafter the "thinakkural" trio was released after documentation signed by Raviraj and Vinayagamoorthy. Media minister Yapa has called for a detailed complaint by the paper to be taken up with the defence authorities. This is what happened to the Tamil media persons. The Free Media Movement has condemned the incident and called for an investigation. Other protests too have been raised over what happened to the trio. Pro - tiger media is highlighting the incident as another example of the "Sinhala " states suppression of Tamil media freedom. Harping on the incident as being directed against the Tamil media is like missing the forest for the trees. Parthiban, Gokularaj and Sarweswaran were all media persons but they were not arrested because of that. They were detained because they were young Tamil males. The harassment they underwent was in their personal capacity as Tamils and not their professional capacity as media persons. Emphasising the media angle alone would divert focus away from the primary contradiction.What is of importance is to note that despite their media influence these Tamils could not prevent harassment. In spite of Parliamentarians intervening their release could not be obtained. They like all the other Tamil victims of this exercise had to undergo unwarranted humiliation and harassment due to their ethnicity. The lesson from "Strangers Night" is that once again the state is getting ready for a massive onslaught against the fundamental rights of the Tamils in Colombo. Being detained on suspicion for a specific offence is one thing but to be arrested merely on suspicion for no offence than being Tamils is entirely different. The manner in which these Tamils were locked up, interrogated, photographed and fingerprinted is indicative of what lies in store for the Tamils in Colombo in a future scenario where war erupts and the LTTE gets proscribed.Even more frightening is the talk about youths being taken away to an undisclosed location Tamils in Colombo have been having a taste in small doses of what awaits them in the aftermath of the Kadirgamar assassination. The security personnel who failed miserably in protecting the foreign minister also failed to secure the area for hours after the killing. Thereafter helicopters with search lights hovered in the skies of Colombo scouring the streets and lanes in Tamil residential areas as if the killers were hiding behind bushes or walls. This was followed by searches of Tamil houses and detention of Tamil people. The most notable of them being the arrest of Charles Gnanakone. He was crucified in a trial by media. It was this column alone which stated that Gnanakone appeared inncocent and that justice should triumph. After 55 days of incarceration Charles is now a free man cleared by the AG dept and courts. But other arrested persons continue to languish in custody. Meanwhile the vermin who feast on human tragedies are at work. Corruption is prevalent. A northern businessman dealing in motor spare parts was arrested, questioned and released. The release was procured through the payment of 75 lakhs of rupees to a Tamil para - military organization working as "informants" to preserve the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Country. The money so obtained was according to informed sources divided among security authorities and Tamil para - military One point that has emerged very clearly after the Kadirgamar assassination is that the security authorities are utterly incapable of coping with a tiger threat in an intelligent manner. The stock response seems to be simple harassment of the Tamil people. There is very little intelligence about actual LTTE movement. So Tamils are to be harassed at random. Adding further incentive to this modus operandi is the lure of filthy lucre. The Tamil para - militaries will squeeze money out of arrested persons and share it with the security people. Another factor troubling many peace loving Tamils in Colombo is the return of Kotakadeniya.Retired Deputy Inspector - general of Police HMGB Kotakadeniya is an honest man. He is however a hawkish guy. It may be recalled that his approach towards "terrorism" was to initiate arrests of Tamils in large numbers. So terrible was the situation that Soumiyamoorthy Thondaman and some TULF leaders pressured Chandrika Kumaratunga to transfer him out. Kotakadeniya was also denied the IGP post which was rightfully his. He then retired and teamed up with the arch - reactionary, Sinhala - Buddhist chauvinist Jathika Hela Urumaya.Such a man has been made Defence ministry adiviser with special powers by the man of the masses. The "strangers Night" operation has demonstrated what the future is going to be for Tamils in Colombo under the authority of Kotakadeniya. There is no denying that the LTTE poses a security threat in Colombo and elsewhere. This does not mean that Tamils living in Colombo should be harassed in the name of security. Operation "Strangers Night" has not yielded anything tangible from a security perspective. All it has achieved is the sending of shock waves to the Tamil community. The Tamil sense of alienation increases and resentment builds up. It is this mindset which may ultimately be conducive to a climate where security is under threat. Operations like "Strangers Night" can only help develop this minset among aggrieved Tamils victims of the state in Colombo.

Winter of discontent sets in for Up Country Tamil Leaders

A raging winter of discontent has begun setting in for many leaders of political parties representing the Up - Country Tamils of Indian origin in the aftermath of the Presidential elections.What is ironic about this situation is that despite the plantation Tamil politicians being very successful in delivering the bulk of their vote banks to the candidate of their choice they are facing a gloomy situation. Backing the wrong horse in the Presidential stakes has made them extremely vulnerable to the vicissitudes of political change in a drastic manner. The Tamils of Indian origin were stripped of their citizenship and disenfranchised in Independent Ceylon in 1948 and 1949 respectively. The uncertainty of statelessness was removed over the years through the Sirima - Shastri pact of 1964 and the Indira - Sirima agreement of 1975. Further laws were enacted in 1986 and 1988 during the JR Jayewardene - Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman regime to grant citizenship to those not covered under these accords. The cumulative effect of this citizenship cum enfranchisement process has been the gradual empowerment of the plantation proletariat. The up - country Tamil voting bloc has in recent times been playing a very effective role in making and unmaking Presidents and Governments.Veteran Politician Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman pioneered a new concept of aligning and re- aligning with the chief political parties to maximise representation for his party in Parliament, Provincial Councils and local authorities. This enhanced representation was used to obtain ministerial portfolios and other positions from different governments. This strategy in later years served as a model for MHM Ashraff and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. Rauf Hakeem dutifully followed in the same path. In recent times other political formations representing the Up Country Tamils and Muslims have also emulated this practice.If Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman developed his "fluid" political approach into a "fine art" his successors and other emulators have not been so clever or smart. The hasty and greedy manner of cobbling together alliances in exchange for positions and perks of power made it obvious that these moves were not in the interests of the people as professed. The unethical mode of shifting support in favour of the victor smacked of sheer opportunism.The pithy Sinhala observation "Vaasi Pethata Hoiya!" summed up the political conduct of many Up Country Tamil politicians. The premier political organization of Up Country Tamils is the Ceylon Workers Congress. The CWC has often claimed that no President has been elected without their support. Likewise the SLMC has boasted that no President has been elected without their support since 1988. Both of these statements were true until 2005. Due to a variety of reasons the CWC and SLMC backed Ranil Wickremasinghe this time. So too did other Up Country Tamil parties . The bulk of Up Country Tamil voters in Nuwara - eliya, Badulla, Matale, Kandy, Kegalle, Ratnapura, Kalutara, Colombo and Gampaha voted for Wickremasinghe. But it was Rajapakse who won due to Sinhala - Buddhist support, elimination of voters through procedural flaws and the LTTE enforced boycott of the North - East. This situation has placed many Up Country Tamil politicians in a difficult situation. For several years these "leaders" have been used to the plums of office and perks of power. While the wretched of the up - country earth remained pathetically poor these so called "thalaivers" improved their situation through this access to power. Corruption was rampant. Still they remained the shepherds of the up - country flock. It has come to a state where many leaders without positions of power feel like fish out of water. Many of these politicians are skilled atheletes in political jumping." Long Jump, High Jump, Hop Step and Jump" - they are masters of all. So once again the leaders were ready to change allegiances "in the interests of their people". Feelers were sent to the new President and middlemen began liaising. But unfortunately for the would be jumpers Mahinda Rajapakse was not willing to take the " sunken ship fleeing rats " on board. Adding to their woes is Rajapakse's determination to charter a new course in Up Country politics. The first to make overtures to Mahinda was Up Country Peoples Front leader Periyasamy Chandrasekeran. The UPF leader had for long hitched his wagon to the LTTE lone star.It was he who undertook a mission to Kilinochchi seeking a lifting of the tiger enforced boycott. Suppia Paramu Thamilselvan gave him glib assurances but in typical LTTE fashion went back on his word. Chandrasekeran felt betrayed after it became clear that the tiger enforced boycott led to Ranil's defeat. A disgruntled Chandrasekeran issued a statement calling upon the LTTE to do some "self - criticism" and began cosying up to Rajapakse. Alas! Mahinda was not ready to embrace this tiger fellow traveller. He was told that he was simply not welcome to join government ranks. Of course he was most welcome to extend support from opposition ranks if he so wished. But no positions or perks! The CWC also sent out feelers but was rebuffed. Then Arumugan Thondaman met his "amba yaluwa" Mangala Samarawera in India and extended his hand of friendship. Arumugan was ready to sign a letter of unconditional support to Rajapakse. But when Mangala conveyed this message to Mahinda the answer once again was a firm negative with an attached proviso. Unlike the UPF the CWC was welcome to cross over to the treasury benches if it so desired to "serve their people". But none of them would get a portfolio or ant other position. Not even a coroporation director post. The position of Western Province Peoples Front leader Mano Ganesan is unclear. He came out with a harsh statement condemning Chandrasekeran and Malik Samarawickrema for the tiger boycott fiasco. Mano accused both of having mishandled the matter and tried to absolve the LTTE of any blame. He also criticised Milinda Moragoda and Navin Dissanayake. Ganesan is now beginning to distance himself from the UNP. It is not difficult to gauge what his future moves are going to be. Arumugan Thondaman and Periyasamy Chandrasekeran are like cats on a hot tin roof. What makes their predicament worse is the problems they are likely to face in the future due to Rajapakse's approach.Mahinda tried hard to form alliances with the CWC and SLMC prior to the elections. The minority parties refused. But now the tables are turned and Mahinda does not want the minority parties.Hell hath no fury as a Mahinda scorned! While ignoring the CWC and UPF the new President is promoting those up country Tamil leaders who supported him in the hustings. Two Central Province councillors from the UPF broke ranks and canvassed for Mahinda in the elections. They formed the Workers Liberation front in association with another CWC rebel Central Province Councillor Govindaraj. Arulsamy the UPF "renegade" has been made Provincial minister. Likewise former CWC parliamentarians like Sathasivam along with ex - MP from the UPF Kanakaraj also supported Mahinda. They formed the Ceylon Workers Democratic Front. It was expected that Sathasivam would l be made a national list MP but that did not happen. Speculation is rife that he and some others will be given prominent posts in the new Plantation development authority that Rajapakse proposes to create. Already people needing help and favours are flocking to the Up Country leaders who supported Rajapakse. Their stock rises while the CWC and UPF stock diminishes. This is the law of opportunist politics. So the CWC and UPF are desperate to gain proximity to power so that they can check and counter the growing influence of their erstwhile comrades. These former colleagues are seen as" traitors" by the hierarchies.. The so called traitors are seen as more dangerous than enemies. So desperation increases to gain power. Apart from the denial of carrots the stick too is being used. An investigation has been launched into an incident where equipment worth multi - millions were allegedly stored in the Nuwara - Elita Youth Centre. The centre was run by the Pradeshita Sabha. The building belongs to CWC MP Puthirasigamany. The equipment was allocated out of estate infrastructure ministry funds when Thondaman was in charge. Arumugan's house at Kotagala too has been searched. Puthirasigamani has been quizzed. Arumugans troubles are compounded further by the downsizing of his security to five personnel only.There are other instances of alleged corruption too that could be delved into. In the case of Chandrasekeran there are allegations of income earned through "improper" channels that could be investigated. Defections and splits too are being encouraged. MP's are being asked to shift allegiance regardless of their leaders. In the case of the CWC national list MP's MS Sellasamy, . Puthirasigamani, Badulla dist MP Vadivel Suresh and Nuwara - Eliya dist MP Jegatheeswaran are apparently ready to jump. At least two deputy minsterships are being dangled. Suresh fuelled further speculation by meeting Mahinda in private and congratulating him. The "Thinakkural" of Dec 12th reported that Suresh has been suspended from the CWC pending inner - party disciplinary inquiry. There are reports about overtures being made to UPF national list MP Radhakrishnan also. Mahinda Rajapakse has also allocated 2 billion rupees for estate infrastructure development. He plans to set up a specific authority and channnel funds for the purpose. Mahinda also wants to keep it under his direct supervision. It is a moot point as to whether Rajapakse will obtain the funds for this or whether they will be given adequately to Tamil plantation worker needs. But if it is really implemented it could certainly make a difference in the life of the humble worker. This in turn could have far reaching political results. Moves are also being initiated to set up a new Plantation workers union under the auspices of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle is supposedly the livewire of this move. Also Mervyn Silva the deputy minister for employee relations has a scheme of forming worker welfare committees in each estate. It may be recalled that all plantation worker unions demonstrated against Mervyn Silvas outburst against Indian Tamils. Rajapakse in his capacity then as Prime Minister accepted the petition, promised immediate action and provided milk to the demonstrators. Now Mervyn still remains deputy minister while the demonstrators are out in the cold. It can be seen therefore that Rajapakse seems determined for now to handle the Up Country Tamils in his own way instead of tying himself up with the usual "brokers".How far he will succeed remains to be seen. For one thing the chauvinist elements within his camp will put a spanner in the worls. Also new alignments with Plantation Tamil parties may become necessary in Parliamentary polls. The present situation however is one where Mahinda seems firm in puting plantation politicos in their place. This also strikes a positive chord in voters of whom many are disgusted with the opportunistic politics of these minority politicos. The denial of carrots and wielding of stick increases the desperation of these plantation politicians. Some are threatening to align themselves with the LTTE and TNA if they are not taken in by the government. This seems highly unlikely and only a hollow threat. The current reality is increasing resentment within party folds.The winter of discontent is setting in. If possible these parties would like to join the government en masse. If that is not possible then individuals will start crossing. "Jumping" could become the favourite pastime of plantation Tamil politicos.

Palmyra land gets Palestine style Intifada

Yarlpanam or Jaffna, the land of Palmyra trees got a taste last week of what seemed to be the beginning of a Palestine - style "Intifada". Jaffna students and youths were engaged in demonstrations with the demand " Iranuvame Velieru! Illaiyel Veliettuvom" (Army Quit or we will make you Quit). The phenomenon of young'uns braving the overwhelming might of what is perceived as an army of occupation and urging it to withdraw was reminiscent to a great extent of the Intifada movements in Israel occupied Palestine. The central focus of media attention during the past days has been the spate of attacks on soldiers of the Sri Lankan army in the Jaffna peninsula. Seventeen soldiers were killed and twenty - seven injured in eighteen attacks over a four day period. Most of the attacks consisted of handbombs and grenades being thrown and gunfire being directed at targets plus a combination of both in some instances. The targets were army sentry posts, mini - camps and mobile patrols. Seven and eight soldiers were killed in two claymore mine ambushes of two army patrols at Kondavil and Irupalai. One soldier was killed in a grenade cum gunfire attack at Neervely and another in a similar one at Nunavil. Parallel to these developments was the staging of student protests. This particular round began at Point Pedro with students of Hartley College and Methodist Girls High school demonstrating against the construction of a new bund across Hartley College grounds, the erection of further barbed wire barricades and setting up of sentry posts within the school zone. Soon there were clashes with students and student "activists" throwing stones, bottles etc at the armed forces who retaliated with assaults, tear gas attacks and firing in the air.At least fifty tear gas cannisters were recovered in Point Pedro. The student demonstrations and related violence then spread to other parts of the Vadamaratchy region like Puloly, Manthigai, Nelliaddy, Thunnalai, etc. Students agitated in front of army camps and set up road blocks. Tires were burnt at key junctions.The armed forces reacted with tear gassing and assaults as students boldly demonstrated in front of camps demanding closure. Stones, bottles and improvised molotov cocktails were thrown. Students covered with wet gunny sacks withstood the severe tear gassing. Thereafter the protests pervaded Jaffna town with students demonstrating there too. Jaffna Hindu College students protesting in solidarity with their Hartley counterparts were brutally assaulted by soldiers of the army camp in Kaladdy junction. Soon demonstrations were held demanding the closure of Kaladdy junction camp and withdrawal of troops. The response once again was the use of force to "pacify" the demonstrators.A Jaffna Hindu College student was injured in the firing. The Sri Lanka Moniotoring Mission seemed totally powerless to stop this unrest and violence. Two attempts to resolve the dispute through negotiations were made where the truce monitors arranged for meetings between army officials and student representatives in Point Pedro and Jaffna. Both ended in failure with the rival protagonists sticking firmly to their positions. The attacks on security personnel in Jaffna by tiger and pro - tiger elements such as the "makkal Padai" or "peoples force" had resulted in a predictable response by the government. Additional troops were concentrated in Jaffna. These troops in a state of heightened insecurity or aggression or both were venting their feelings on the Jaffna civilians. People were being assaulted by sticks, clubs, belts and rifle butts. Many of these attacks were on youths and students. This fuelled the rising tide of resentment. The highwatermark was the attacks by soldiers on undergraduates of the Jaffna University at Thirunelvely and Technical College at Kokkuvil. The undergraduates union too began a boycott of lectures.Their demand was that the camps in the vicinity of the University and Technical College be shut down and personnel withdrawn. With student protests escalating and spreading most schools in Jaffna became deserted.Students sitting for exams in progress were decreasing in numbers. There was also increasing pressure on teachers unions to come out in support of the students. The various student organizations were formed into an organization called the "Yarl Mavadda Thamil Manavar Ondriam" (Jaffna district Tamil students Consortium). This consortium heavily influenced by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began coordinating and directing activity. The well - known LTTE front called the "Sarvathesa Thamil Maanavar Koottamaippu" or "International Tamil student Federation" provided moral, political and logistical support to the student union. The federation is controlled by tiger activist and Tamil National Alliance MP Selvakumar Gajendran alias "kuthirai" Gajendran. The spreading student protests have not come out with a comprehensive and explicit demand calling for the complete withdrawal of the army from Jaffna so far. While a general demand calling for army withdrawal was made the specific demands were all localised like those related to Hartley College, Kaladdy junction, University vicinity camps etc. There are signs however that these protests could expand into an all embracing total withdrawal demand of soldiers from Jaffna.The current " Army Quit or we will make you Quit" slogan is now directed against specific army camps but in the future it could be against the total military presence. The students could also get better organized and come under a tightly centralised authority in the future. On Thursday the students burnt effigies of the new army commander Sarath Fonseka. An ultimatum until 6.00 pm on Thursday was also issued to vacate the Hartley, Kaladdy junction and Thirunelvely camps. Since the army is staying put only the coming days will indicate the future course of current student agitation. An ominous sign is the threat implied in many student statements that the protests could resort to armed force if the current demonstrations do not get a positive response. The armed violence of the peoples force could combine with the powerful energy of the student activists and with LTTE backing erupt into a full scale uprising on the lines of the Palestinian Intifada. Already one can see many familiarities between the Intifadas of Palestine and the protests in Palmyra land. The direct confrontation between students and youths on one side and the armed forces on the other is a stark reminder of Intifada type clashes. There is also the ambushes and attacks on soldiers. Besides the underlying motivation of the Jaffna protests is based on the premise as in the case of the Palestinian Intifada that the armed forces are an army of occupation who must be driven out. "Intifada" or "intefada" in Arabic means "to shake off". In the present context it has become an Arabic language term for "uprising".These uprisings have in recent times become a very significant aspect of Israeli - Palestinian relationships.The first Intifada began in 1987 as a spontaneous uprising but soon a manipulative Palestine Liberation Organization took control of it with the more "extremist" Hamas competing. It was however less violent in comparison with the second Intifada. The first Intifada was a pressure device exerted by the PLO and culminated in 1993 with the Oslo accords. The second intifada known as the "al - aqsa Intifada" began in 2000 and by some accounts continues even today. The second Palestinian Intifada was extremely violent. Instigated and supported by the Hamas and extreme elements within the PLO the second Intifada proved to be an indirect challenge to the mainstream PLO. If the PLO remote - controlled the first one from Tunisia the hierarchy was right there in Palestine for the second one. Fuelled by the failure of the Oslo accord and the advent of Ariel Sharon the fierce uprising contributed greatly to the downsizing of the Yassir Arafat image. Even though the two "intifada" campaigns aimed at ending the Israeli military occupation came into popular usage in recent times within the Palestinian context the term has often been recurring in Arab political discourse. As far back as in 1952 when the people of Baghdad engaged a series of wide - spread protests against the then Iraqui regime it was referred to as the "intifada". After the recent USA - led invasion of Iraq in 2003 the uprising launched against it by militant Shia cleric Muqtada al - Sadr was called the Iraq Intifada. The wave of demonstrations and riots in May this year in the Morocco - occupied Western Sahara was also named " El - Aiyun Intifada "or "Independence Intifada" by the Sahrawi people. Even the 1999 Western Sahara uprising was called the Smara Intifada and the 1970 movement against Spanish occupation was known as the "zemla Intifada". The media in Lebanon too refers to developments in the aftermath of the Rafiq Hariri assassination as "intifada of Independence".It is also called the "Cedar Revolution" by some. Right - wing commentators have also called the recent civil unrest in France as the "French Intifada" or "Paris Intifada" or "European Intifada". It can be seen therefore that the term "intifada" has different meanings to different perspectives. To many it denotes a struggle against military occupation and the yoke of tyranny. It conjures visions of a latter day David versus Goliath type confrontation where the armed might of a state or an occupying power is challenged by an inferior force making up through force of will for what it lacks in arms and numbers. To others particularly those Western nations subscribing to the clash of cvilisations theory the term Intifada denotes a rebellion, anarchy, violence and de- stabilisation. The challenge posed to the status quo is seen as something illegal with ethno - religious fundamentalist underpinnings. The Jaffna agitation may or may not escalate into an Intifada type uprising in the future. Whatever it may be the Jaffna uprising is not likely to be called Intifada because Tamil political discourse has its own terminology and history. The past few years has seen many processions and mass meetings called "pongu Thamil Eluchi" or "Rising Thamizh upsurge". The original "pongu Thamizh" was organized by Jaffna university students against the army presence in the North. There was covert tiger backing. Thereafter with the ceasefire coming into force these "pongu Thamil Eluchi" rallies were conducted in many parts of the North - East and also in International cities with a substantial Tamil diaspora. Unfortunately the earlier spirit of revolutionary resistance soon gave way to a shameful display of sycophancy and adulation. The meetings became ceremonies of mass veneration for LTTE chief Velupillai Pirapakaran. Only his so called virtues and attrbutes were praised and extolled. Crowds carried his picture and the tiger flag. The overall heroism of the Tamil people defying overwhelming odds was ignored.The nadirof these demonstrations was the sight of Tamil Parliamentarians carrying pictures of Pirapakaran publicly like Hindu devotees carrying "kavadi". Despite the distortion the "pongu Thamil Eluchi" term continues to strike a responsive chord in the Tamil psyche. Few nationalist Tamils can forget the immortal lines of Tamil revolutionary poet Bharathidasan "Pongu Thamilarukku Innal Vilaithal Sankaram Nijamendru Sange Mulangu" ( Blow O Conch that destruction is certain for those doing harm to uprising Tamils) The Pongu Thamil term itself derived popular acceptance from these lines. So the Jaffna uprising or upsurge will be rooted in its own cultural specificity and not borrow Arabic terminology. Besides the nature of Tamil political struggle has had a history of student involvement for decades. The non - violent struggle of the Federal Party for equal rights had solid student support. This was manifested openly during the mass Satyagraha campaign of 1961 when the government administration was paralysed for weeks. Student power made its impact in the seventies when media wise standardization was introduced. The student demonstrations leading to the rise of student and youth organizations resulted finally in the rise of armed Tamil militancy. At least two organizations the Eelam Revolutionary Organization (EROS) and the Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) had student movements as their primary base. These were the Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students and the General Union of Eelam Students respectively.Student or youth power therefore is not something new in the Tamil political struggle. The important question however is whether the current student uprising will gather further momentum or gradually fizzle out. It cannot be forgotten that there were earlier demonstrations too a few years ago over Hartley College which subsided soon. An important countervailing factor that may prevent a massive student uprising is the education oriented Jaffna social fabric. Parents, teachers, community elders and above all peer pressure among students may act to check and curb the tendency to launch a long, violent agitation. In Palestine mainstream schooling reached a standstill. Jaffna Tamil culture laying great emphasis on education may not allow its student population to turn into protesters that easily.Let us not forget that students active in the protests are about 450 to 500 and not in their thousands. There is also the LTTE. Just as the PLO was masterminding the first Intifada at one stage from Tunisia the LTTE hierarchy in the Wanni is remote - controlling developments in Jaffna. The student agitation like the attacks on the armed forces are all part of a grand design. It is well - known that the master puppeteer is pulling the strings from Kilinochchi while student leader puppets dance to the rhythms of confrontation in Jaffna. It remains to be seen whether sufficient international pressure may result in the LTTE calling off the student protests. It also depends on what the LTTE goal is. Are the demonstrations a firerunner of an all encompassing uprising in the future or do they serve only a limited purpose for now? It was Ariel Sharon's much publicised visit to the Israeli settlements that triggered off the Second Intifada. Ironically the hawkish Sharon dismantled the settlements and is now cooing like a dove. By accident or design the Jaffna demonstrations coincided with the appointment of Sarath Fonseka as army commander. It was Fonseka who single handedly prevented the gradual withdrawal of troops from the Jaffna schools. The undue haste displayed by Mahinda Rajapakse in pushing Shantha Kottegoda out and bringing in this "battlehawk" may have been in tiger perception like the waving of a red flag to a bull.Fonsekas effigy was burnt by demonstrating students. The advent of the General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level) examination has dampened the protests. The Student consortium has declared a moratorium on the protests fron Dec 9th because of the exams. They are likely to be resumed after the exams are over on Dec 23td. It may also be postponed further till Christmas and New Year days are past. The interregnum gives the Mahinda Rajapakse regime a respite. If the new President reads the writing on the wall clearly then he must initiate some positive response to the situation. Otherwise the respite could also provide an opportunity to the demonstrators to plan and coordinate further protests effectively. The resumption could see the protests being intensified on a widespread basis. if the Rajapakse response can only be the deployment of additional soldiers and use of military force to quell the demonstrators the situation could be further aggravated. "Apey" Mahinda nowadays is on the fast track towards "pragmatic realism" going back on many electoral pledges. Let us hope he sees the "true light" in this issue also. Three points are of significance in the student agitation. Firstly it is not totally a spontaneous, independent one. It has strong LTTE backing. Not everyone at the forefront of the protests are tiger agents or sympathisers but many of the ring leaders have tiger links. It is also possible that some of the demonstrators could be tigers in school uniform. Besides some amount of tiger support directly or indirectly is necessary to sustain morale as well as for logistical purposes. The future course of the student uprising therefore will be determined or influenced by the LTTE. The second point is that the Government in Colombo or international opinion must not make the mistake of simply dismissing the protests as a tiger inspired action lacking popular support. The underlying causes behind the student agitation has the widespread support of the student population and the people. The security zone concept of depriving people of their homes , devotees of their places of worship, breadwinners of their occupations and students of their schools is highly autocratic and totally unacceptable. In a region where a high premium is placed on schooling people resent the military use to which their educational institutions are put to at present. Some even see it as a "Sinhala" conspiracy to undermine education. Thus even if people or students do not actively participate in the uprising their sympathies are with the agitators. Thus the agitation could be sustained for a long time if necessary. It all depends on whether the Tamil politico - military leadership wants it so. The third point is that the state is being unjust and oppressive in refusing to vacate schools or downsize the area of security zones. Reasonable opinion among the Sinhala people must give thought to the fact that some people in Jaffna have been chased out of their homes because of the security zones for more than fifteen years. Students have been deprived or partially deprived of schools for more than a decade. Let it not be forgotten that the ceasefire agreement stipulates the vacation of schools by the armed forces. Will the Sinhala people allow such a thing to happen in the name of security in the Sinhala areas? Can 19 % of the land area and 42 % of the coastline in a Southern maritime district be maintained as a no go zone for the people for ten years? Will the students of Royal, Ananda, St. Thomas's and Trinity allow chunks of their schools to be taken over as army camps for a decade and allow security bunds be constructed across their playing fields? Will the students of St. Josephs, Mahinda, Wesley and Nalanda allow their schools to be taken over completely as part of a military base? What the demonstrations are illustrating is that this whole concept of security zones is totally unjust and immoral. If the protests continue on an Intifada like scale it can only help expose the fact that Jaffna is under virtual army occupation. The Palestinian intifadas demonstrate to the world that the Israeli army has no "Locus standi" to be in Palestine. The Tamil uprisings also help to focus attention on the fact that the pervasive presence of the armed forces in Jaffna is resented.It was Gladstone who once said when speaking of Irish home rule that it was "better to concede with grace that which you cannot hold with authority". Is anyone listening?

N Ram: First Indian National to get "Sri Lanka Rathna" Award

The Highest national honour conferred by Sri Lanka on non - nationals is the "Sri Lanka Rathna " award.Narasimhan Ram the Editor in chief of four chennai based publications became the first Indian national to be awarded that honour on Nov 14th. Apart from the fact that "The Hindu", " Frontline" "Business Line" and "The Sports Star" are very familiar to Sri Lankan readers there were other reasons too for the sixty year old Tamil Brahmin of Iyengar stock to be made Sri Lanka Rathna. Predominant among them is the abiding interest he shows in Sri Lankan affairs and his contribution to the resolution of the ethnic conflict here. N. Ram as he is generally known has focussed much of his personal and professional attention towards Sri Lanka in general and the issue of resolving the ethnic conflict in particular. In the eighties when India played a mediator role people like N. Ram played a supportive role in an unofficial capacity.Being close to almost all the big players in both Countries and having special access to the power corridors of New Delhi N. Ram were very effective in a behind the scenes role. Though modest about it Ram contributed greatly to the process which culminated in the signing of the Indo - Lanka accord by JR Jayewardene and Rajiv Gandhi on July 29th 1987. On paper it was and still is the best possible arrangement ever made to resolve the Sri Lankan crisis by guaranteeing the unity and territorial integrity of the Country on the one hand and ensuring the legitimate rights of Sri Lankan Tamils on the other. The 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution paved the way for Provincial councils while the 16th amendment made Tamil an official language. Both amenments were off - shoots of the Indo - Lanka accord. In later years India withdrew from its mediatory role for reasons that are well - known. The Hindu too stepped back from its crusading role but continued to be a concerned commentator and observer. It is regarded in India as the foremost authority on Sri Lankan affairs and has effectively helped mould public opinion on the issue. The paper is influential enough to set the parameters for most media coverage in India. Ram himself is often cited as an expert on Sri Lanka and is interviewed by mediapersons and diplomats from different parts of the world. He is also busy on the seminar and lecture circuit. What is of importance is the continuing reliance of political leaders and bureaucrats on the input provided by Ram and the Hindu in formulating and implementing policy on Sri Lanka. It was the Hindu which played a leading role in encouraging an interventionist role for India in Sri Lanka in the eighties. Today it advocates an open "hands off "policy towards Sri Lanka while being supportive of whatever assistance possible to help resolve the problem in a manner acceptable to all sections of the people. Ram himself with the wisdom of hindsight sees the earlier New Delhi policy as being "schizoid". This decisive shift in Indian policy also took on an anti - tiger veneer after the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. Once it was established that the LTTE was responsible for the killing the Hindu along with many other Indian media became stridently critical of the LTTE. This perspective gathered momentum over the years as LTTE conduct deteriorated into extremism bordering on neo - fascism. Being privy to a lot of in depth information about the LTTE compared to other Indian media the journal has been firmly opposed to tiger antics on a principled basis. This position manifests itself very clearly. This naturally has led to much resentment in the tiger and pro - tiger camp. The tigers and fellow travellers feel that New Delhi could have been swayed to some extent during the BJP period if not for the Hindu and "Hindu" Ram. Though Ram was for long Editor of "Frontline" and "Sports Star" he is popularly referred to as "Hindu" Ram. Since he has been the public face of the Hindu group of publications for long and has been forthright in his criticism of the LTTE it is N. Ram who is often singled out for virulent attacks by the tigers and their acolytes. Most of the pro - tiger elements in Tamil Nadu have a background of Dravidian nationalist ideology. A crucial component of this ideology is its pronounced anti - Brahminism. As N. Ram is from a Vaishnavite Iyengar Brahmin family which incidently owns the "Hindu" Group of publications the pro - tiger lobby accusations are casteist and charge him of being anti - Tamil.The "Hindu" is derisively referred to as the "Mahavishnu of Mount Road". This is a ruse regularly used by the tiger elements. If the LTTE is criticised it is twisted as being anti - Tamil. The Hindu editorial policy and N. Ram's personal worldview to a great extent is against communalism, ultra - nationalism, fundamentalism etc. Contrary to the name "The Hindu" the newspaper has firmly and actively opposed Hindu fundamentalism in India. The paper and newsmagazine have been in the frontline of resistance to the Bharatiya Janatha Party and its kindred organizations known as the "Sangh Parivar like Rashtriya Seva sangham (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Bajrang Dal etc. It is this ideological position that forms the basis of policy towards the LTTE. Despite claims of fighting for lofty ideals the LTTE of today has become a reactionary outfit . It also poses a long term threat to the stability of India. The Hindu and N. Ram feel that the best solution to Sri Lankas ethnic crisis is maximum devolution to a federal unit within a united Sri Lanka. It was felt in recent times that Chandrika Kumaratunga provided the best bet in Sri Lanka towards the realisation of that goal. There is no doubt that recent developments such as the rise of Sinhala chauvinist forces like the Jathika Hela Urumaya and Mahinda Rajapakse's insistence on a unitary Constitution etc will be prickly issues to the avowed policy of both India , The Hindu and N. Ram. The LTTE lobby loves to attack the "Hindu" and N. Ram as causes for its abysmal failure in hoodwinking the Indian establishment. I too have been attacked for this "Hindu" connection. I was the Frontline correspondent in Colombo from 1985 to 1987 and the Hindu correspondent from 1986 to 1987. Nowadays I contribute articles to Frontline infrequently. Because of this the tiger lobby attacks me too as an Indian or Brahmin stooge something which tickles my fancy often. What the tiger lobby tends to forget now is the fact that the "Hindu" and "Frontline" voiced the grievances of the Tamil people to the world during the 1983 - 1987 years. N. Ram himself took a keen personal interest in Sri Lankan issues and interviewed people like JR Jayewardene, Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake, Appapillai Amirthalingam and Velupillai Pirapakaran. Ram's interview with the LTTE leader carried in two instalments remains the most quoted one by Pirapakaran so far. The LTTE and its supporters would do well to do some soul searching into what went wrong with their "hindu" connection instead of launching anti - brahmin tirades against Ram. Sometimes I am amused when I read the verbal abuse in pro - tiger Tamil journalisms about the "paarpaneeyam" (brahminism) of N. Ram. It appears to me that some of these critics perceive him as a typical orthodox Iyengar brahmin with the striped "namam" on his forehead. The reality is starkly different from perception. Far from being a conservastive brahmin the Hindu editor in chief is a progressive cosmopolitian equally at ease in the drawing rooms of the West and the parlours of the East. His first wife Susan was an English lady who was for many years in charge of Oxford University press publications in India.He is now married to Mariam who I believe is a Keralite Syrian Christian. She is an advertising executive. He is no chanter of Sanskrit slogas or manthras but someone capable of quoting from the Western classics as he once engaged in a verbal duel with JR Jayewardene on Shakespeare. Since this article is about the Sri Lanka Rathna and is written primarily for Sri Lankan readers I have concentrated mostly on the Sri Lankan angle. Ram's CV itself says that one of his special interests in the Journalist field is - " The Sri Lanka ethnic crisis and the Tamil question; the experience of, and lessons from, India’s interaction with this problem." It would however be a gross error to confine this piece to that perspective alone. The man has a multiple of talents and a variety of interests. One of his chief interests is cricket. My first visit to his house at Alwarpettai in Chennai was in 1985. England was touring India. I was watching a thrilling match on TV and reluctantly left for his house as he invited me to come over in the afternoon. When I went there he asked me to come up where along with a couple of friends Ram was watching the game on TV too. I happily sat there amd watched. It was only after the match was over that we got talking. I later learnt that he had captained the Madras University team and also played for Tamil Nadu state in the Ranji Trophy tournament. He was a wicket - keeper batsman. It was this cricketing background which helped Ram strike up a deep friendship with the late Gamini Dissanayake. I am not sure but I think NPK Salve the Indian politician and Cricket Board chairman introduced Ram to his Sri Lankan counterpart first. Both became close. Gamini metamorphosed over the years into a firm friend of India and a dove on the ethnic question. The Gamini - Ram link was of great value in the run up to the 1987 accord. Ram was used as an "unofficial emissary" to carry messages that could not be sent "officially" between Colombo and New Delhi .Like the ping - pong diplomacy between USA and China this was cricket diplomacy. Gamini and Mrs. Dissanayake spent a few days with Ram in India a few weeks before his death. Another of Ram's characteristics is his pro - CPM or marxist sympathies. In his youth he was an activist of the pro - marxist Indian Students Federation. It was as an ISF activist that I first saw him in an incident of high political drama. I was then a student at the Madras Christian College in Thambaram.Muttuvel Karunanidhi was the DMK chief minister of Tamil Nadu.There was a rice shortage then due mainly to blackmarketeers hoarding it. Karunanidhi appealed to the people asking them to distribute hoarded rice. ISF student members took matters into their hands and in a show of force seized ssacks of rice from the hoarders and began distributing to the people. Police was called in and 16 ISF members arrested. Ram was a state level office bearer of the ISF and arrived at the scene to sort out matters. He was detained too. The University students organized a city wide strike. As a result of the student agitation the detained persons including Ram were released. When I was sorting out my papers prior to leaving Sri Lanka I ran across the leaflet issued then condemning the detention of N. Ram. I kept it with me and showed it to Ram later when I met him in the USA. He seemed visibly embarassed at being reminded of his hectic activist past. Ram continues to maintain his leftist connections and CPM leanings though that is not allowed to affect Hindu editorial policy.Ram is closely associated with Prakash Karat the current Indian CPM leader.Due perhaps to the CPM background Ram keenly follows developments in China too and has written a series of articles after his numerous trips there. Another interest is literature though his bachelors and masters degrees were in history. Ram was closely associated with the doyen of Indian writers in English RK Narayan and even co - wrote a biography of his early years with Susan Ram. Once he was accompanying Narayan to see his former residence at Puraswakkam to find that the old house was being demolished for a new building. Ram managed to salvage the wooden lattice above the doorway and present it to Narayan as treasured memento. He is also a fan of crusading author Arundh athi Roy and was once seen sitting on the steps of the British Council auditorium to listen to her lecturing to a packed audience. Among his many interests are dogs. Ram raises pedigreed cocker and golden spaniels that have won many , many prizes and ribbons. he is also fond of music and was one of the speakers recently at the release ceremony of the path - breaking "thiruvasagam in symphony" by Ilaiyarajah. He is also an honoured invitee to many DMK functions and is often the only man in Western attire on stage amid the "karai verti" (bordered dhotis) clad DMK functionaries. Though the lunatic fringe of dravidianism continues to rant and rave mainstream dravidianism has established a sound relationship with the Mount Road Mahavishnu.Ram is also associated with the Nawab of Arcot in the harmony association which promotes unity and amity in India. The question of free _expression is of crucial importance. Ram has been an ardent votary of the principle. "The Hindu" faced a crisis recently when Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha Jayaram launched an offensive against the paper. She was offended by the criticism levelled by the paper. After filing a series of cases in court she overstepped her mark by getting arrest warrants issued against senior journalists including executive editor Malini Parthasarathy a cousin of Ram.. Ram spearheaded the resistance to this abuse of power and countered Jayalalitha at many levels. Finally she backed down. The incident demonstrated clearly the extent of influence the paper and its editor in chief had at an all India level. Ram has been in journalism since 1966. It is a family business as the "Hndu" is owned by members of the Kasturi Rangan family. Ram also acquired a masters in comparative journalism from the Columbia University in New York. His biggest journalist triumph was the Bofors scandal of the late eighties and nineties pertaining to artillery equipment bough from Sweden. Together with Geneva based Chitra Subramaniam and also on his own N. Ram uncovered many aspects of L'affaire bofors . He won many honours and awards for this He was also awarded the Pathma Bhushan in 1990 by the President of India. (R. Venkatraman) I have been interacting with N. Ram for about two decades now. The relationship has been volatile at times because of certain issues. I was extremely critical of the IPKF and as a result was fired by the Hindu then. This dispute however did not affect our personal relationship. Even professionally I contribute articles to Frontline and Hindu depending of course on the availability of time and space. I will however be appreciative of him for two things. One is for his solidarity and support when I was arrested by Sri Lankan authorities in 1987 for alleged links with the LTTE. The flimsy basis was an interview I obtained with then deputy - leader of LTTE Gopalswamy Mahendrarajah alias Mahathaya. The interview was published in "the Island" and not "The Hindu". When Neelan Tiruchelvam informed Ram of the arrest he took up the issue though he was advised by many to "keep out" since it was not directly connected to "The Hindu". But Ram undertook a special trip to Colombo to meet with JR Jayewardene and urge my release. He also published the "Mhathaya" interview in "the Hindu" threby incurring displeasure in sections of South Block. The other was when the LTTE conducted a campaign against "Muncharie" the Tamil weekly I was editing in Toronto. I was compelled to shut the paper down because the tigers intimidated advertisers and sellers of the paper.Not only did Ram condemn the incident but also published my open letter on the problem. He also alerted several media rghts organizations about the issue. Fearing for my physical safety in Toronto as I had earlier been attacked and hospitalised by baseball bat wielding LTTE goons he asked me to come down to Madras and work and stay there for a while. I declined but remain grateful for the timely offer. Sri Lanka is in the throes of a major crisis. The paradigm shift in Southern politics of moving towards Federalism has received a jolt from Mahinda Rajapakse's insistence on a unitary state. The LTTE through its enforced boycott has demonstrated that it is shedding the so called exploration of a federal solution and heading out towards its Eelamist goal. The coming months will be extremely volatile. "The Hindu" from its vantage point in Chennai will no doubt be monitoring and reporting developments. Wise counsel is necessary to ease tensions and restore sanity. "The Hindu" group carrying much credibility on Sri Lanka can make a positive contribution in this. Narasimhan Ram will be taking a personal interest in all this. After all he is now an honoured "non - citizen" of the Island being a "Sri Lanka Rathna".

The growing significance of the 'great heroes day'

[Photo Courtesy of HumanityAshore.org] The first ever Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) member to embrace death in battle was Sathiyanathan of Kambarmalai a northern village adjacent to Valvettithurai, the birthplace of Velupillai Prabakharan its leader. Sathiyanathan alias Shankar was also known as Suresh died on November 27, 1982. He was a childhood friend of Prabakharan and one of his earliest recruits. Shankar had gone to the Nithiyanandan residence in Navalar Road, Jaffna to warn them of a military crackdown on Tamil professionals and intellectuals suspected of being sympathetic towards the LTTE. Even as Shankar was communicating with Jaffna University Lecturer Muthia Nithiyanandan and his wife Nirmala an - ex-varsity lecturer now teaching at a leading Girls School, a posse of soldiers surrounded the house. Shankar managed to shoot his way out of the military cordon but sustained serious injuries in the process. The Nithiyanandans were arrested. The first LTTE death Later Shankar's condition deteriorated and another senior LTTE member Sivakumar alias Anton who later represented the Tigers at the Thimphu talks undertook a perilous and clandestine journey by boat along with Shankar to Tamil Nadu to procure urgent medical assistance for the latter. This was in the pre-1983 period when the LTTE consisted only of around 25 to 30 activists and had very few resources including even wireless communication equipment. Leaving the grievously injured Shankar in a safehouse at Kodiaakkarai, Anton went up to Madurai where LTTE chief Prabakharan and some others were staying then. This was the time when Prabakharan was confined by court order to Madurai because of his involvement in a broad daylight shoot out with Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) chief Umamaheswaran at Pondy Bazaar in Chennai (then Madras). Thanks to the help rendered by Pala. Nedumaran who was then a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative assembly representing Madurai West, Shankar was brought to a farmhouse belonging to Nedumaran for medical treatment. The weeping leader The people nursing Shankar in the coastal hideout had ignorantly given a lot of water to quench his thirst. This worsened his condition to a point of no return. Shankar died on Prabakharan's lap mumbling "Thambi, Thambi" (thambi was the endearing term by which Prabakharan was known in the old days) while the visibly shaken and weeping LTTE leader kept stroking his hair. This was one of the few occasions when the LTTE leader ever wept in public. Death in combat of a cadre whether immediate or subsequent was a new phenomenon to the LTTE on that day. Seven years later in 1989 around six hundred LTTE cadres assembled at a secret venue in the Mullaitheevu district jungles of Nithikaikulam on November 27. The occasion was the newly proclaimed Great Heroes Day or Maaveerar Naal as known in Tamil. This was the time when the Indian army was fighting the LTTE as a proxy of the Sri Lankan government. Thanks to the understanding arrived at between the LTTE and then President Ranasinghe Premadasa a cease-fire had been declared on September 21, that year. A withdrawal of troops had been announced in principle. The Indian Parliamentary elections scheduled for December would determine whether Rajiv Gandhi would be re-elected or not. That verdict would in turn decide the fate of the Indian Army in Sri Lanka. The LTTE leader had in the meantime thought of honouring his dead cadres by observing a unique ceremony called Maaveerar Naal or Great Heroes Day. Proud of the LTTE The LTTE leader was justifiably proud then of the performance of his organisation in having withstood the onslaught of 132,000 troops of the Indian army. When the Indo-Lanka accord was signed and hostilities ceased the LTTE had lost 632 cadres in battle. When a cessation of hostilities with the Indian army was enforced the LTTE had lost a further 711 cadres. Prabakharan wanted to recognise their contribution, honour their sacrifices and pay tribute to their memory in a collective manner. What better way than promulgating a special day? Which better day than the date on which the first LTTE member laid down his life? So November 27th it was. The first Great Heroes Day was a restricted affair of which the highlight was a highly emotional address delivered extemporaneously by Prabakharan to his enraptured followers. The Dravidian culture The nineties saw the LTTE controlling the greater part of the northern province and substantial pockets in the eastern province. During this period the LTTE developed to a great extent, the ceremonial aspect of paying homage to its fallen heroes. There exists in the martial tradition of the Tamils a concept known as Nadugal Valipaadu which literally means worshipping the planted stone. Until the influence of Aryan-Brahminism pervaded the Dravidian people, the custom in South India had been that of burying their dead. Tombstones were erected at the graves of great heroes fallen in battle. These were honoured regularly through special Panegyrical rituals. The classical Tamil literary works of the Sangham era are replete with references to this Nadugal Valipaadu concept. The aftermath of the Hindu renaissance period saw Brah- minism becoming dominant and altering a way of life drastically. The decline of Tamil dynasties along with the advent of Moghul, Nayakkar and European colonialism saw the martial tradition among Tamils becoming debilitated. The custom of paying homage to heroes fallen in battle became non-existent in an environment where war was virtually unknown for generations. Now the LTTE went back to the roots of the Tamil martial culture and revived its most potent symbolic and ritual form. From 1991 the entire week from November 21-27, was declared as Great Heroes Week. Interestingly the birthday of LTTE leader Prabakharan was November 26. Since this day was now within the Great Heroes Week more importance was attached to it. An outpouring of emotion both genuine as well as sycophantic emerged. The focus shifted from Great Heroes Day to the leader's birthday. Some even thought that Great Heroes day was to celebrate the leaders birthday. Soon Prabakharan acted firmly and clamped down all festive activity connected with his birthday. The week was for the fallen heroes and the red letter day of that week would only be November 27, the Great Heroes Day. Nevertheless various religious observances are undertaken by followers and well wishers on November 26, seeking divine protection and blessings on the man who now personifies Tamil resistance to Sinhala chauvinist hegemony. Utilising its control to the maximum of the north and parts of the east during the 1990 - 1995 period the LTTE conducted elaborate demonstrations and events as part of observing the Great Heroes day. The entire week was full of meetings, religious rituals, processions, exhibitions etc. to commemorate the fallen LTTE cadres. Cutouts, posters and handbills of the departed cadres were distributed widely. Each village was asked to pay homage to those Tigers from their area who were now great heroes. Each school was asked to pay tribute to those of their alumni who had fallen in battle.The three days of Nov 25th, 26th and 27th however are the most important days of Maaveerar Week. The grand function The week culminated in a grand function on the 27th at a special location attended by Prabakharan himself. With the passage of time Great Heroes day ceremonies became decentralised. Several observances would be conducted simultaneously but pride of place however was naturally awarded to the one in which Prabakharan participated. The LTTE also established several cemeteries called Maaveerar Thuyilum Illangal (residences where the great heroes slumber). While the departed cadres were laid out in neat rows of graves marked by single tombstones a pavilion commemorating them collectively with names and relevant dates was also constructed. The most touching spectacle of the great heroes day observance was the mass participation of family members at these cemeteries and memorial pavilions. Later G. H. D. ceremonies were observed in foreign cities where substantial concentrations of the Tamil Diaspora lived. Increasing casualty rates As the ethnic conflict kept continuing the casualty rates also increased. When the first G. H. day was observed in 1989 there were only 1343 martyrs. The tally as of October 20th in 2000 was 16,591. The present figure as at Oct 31st is 17, 903; 263 Black Tigers have been killed so far. The LTTE has lost 237 during three and a half years of ceasefire. This means that more and more Tamil families are suffering the losses of their loved ones and becoming grief stricken. The event is now mass oriented. This column has witnessed Great Heroes Day ceremonies held overseas as well as films of functions in Sri Lankan Tamil areas. There is no doubt that the sight of grief stricken emotional outpourings over their loved ones by family members is a profoundly moving one. The families of fallen LTTE cadres are called Maaveerar Kudumbangal and are often given preferential treatment in spheres coming within the ambit of LTTE control. The LTTE by nurturing this cult of martyrdom is achieving many things. It provides those cadres among the living a bond of affiliation with their departed comrades. The cadres get a feeling of reassuring comfort that he or she too would be honoured in similar fashion when dead. The LTTE cadres are fighting and dying in the belief that posterity will remember and honour their memory. Eternity and immortality The Great Heroes Day observances provide them with the feeling that by sacrificing their lives they would grasp eternity and ensure immortality. Likewise the kith and kin of the departed souls too are gratified that the loss of their loved one has not been in vain. The emotive content of Great Heroes Day observances also motivates other youths to join the LTTE. The spectacle also inspires the general population in continuing to appreciate the LTTE sacrifices and render support. The annual great heroes day address by the LTTE leader began to assume great significance and importance over the years. Since Prabakharan is quite reclusive and shuns direct media exposure the great heroes day appearance has become one of those rare occasions where he interacts with the public. The speech is also considered to be something akin to a policy statement by the LTTE. It is dissected by analysts to ascertain what the LTTE leader envisages for the immediate future. With Prabakharan being the determining factor of Sri Lankan politics for nearly fifteen years, his G. H. D. address is awaited eagerly. At times it is interpreted according to the specific agenda of propagandists. At times the address has turned out to be a damp squib without any new dimension in thought but nevertheless it remains an oration of tremendous importance. Nowadays Prabakharan does not deliver extempore but reads from a carefully prepared text. Speech over the Internet After the relocation of the LTTE to the northern mainland of Wanni, Prabakharan makes his annual address from places within that region. The setting up of the LTTE's own radio station Puligalin Kural (Voice of Tigers) enabled it to be relayed out. With the development of information technology the speech is now relayed simultaneously via Internet. Nowadays the LTTE has its own TV and GHD proceedings are telecast to the world at large from the Wanni. The emergence of several Tamil broadcasting stations in the western world has created a situation where the speech is heard in Tamil homes throughout Europe, Australia and North America. Likewise the acquisition of various television stations by pro - tiger Tamils enables wide televised coverage too. A noteworthy feature of Prabakharan's speeches in recent times is his resonant delivery in well modulated tones. The usual highpitched voice that tends to be squeaky at times is totally absent. Multi-faceted observances The Great Heroes Day observances were as usual multi-faceted and diversified. The highlight of these ceremonies is the lighting of candles and torches by those assembled. While people holding these flickering lights line up and form an illuminated corridor, a glowing torch is brought in relay form by LTTE cadres in similar fashion to that of the Olympic games. The flaming torch is then given to the chief guest who then lights a large eternal flame known as Eegai Chudar (Flame of sacrifice) at the Memorial monument. This is followed by the lighting of a myriad lamps and torches making the occasion a festival of lights. Several senior LTTE figures are chief guests at different ceremonies. The flames at various memorials are lit by senior tiger stalwarts. All the ceremonies are attended by members of great hero families who are taken by procession to the various memorials from different spots. Music is played by troupes from different LTTE formations. The different venues are also decorated with pandals.The red and yellow flags are hoisted widely. Ceremony done in style The primary ceremony however is at the site in which Prabakharan himself participates. A newly constructed memorial is the usual venue.After the LTTE flag is hoisted a display demonstration by selected squads from various units of the LTTE is held. A march past is held after which Prabakharan accepts the ceremonial salute. Prabakharan then begins his address. It is about 30 to 40 minutes. Prabakharan thereafter accepts the flaming torch brought in relay form and goes on to light the premier flame of sacrifice. After observing two minutes of silence along with the massive crowd in attendance, the LTTE leader goes on to garland a picture of Sathiyanathan alias Shankar the first great hero. Thereafter the LTTE leader accompanied by other tiger members also light the small lamps and place flowers before the pictures of martyrs. The visual dimension does not however diminish the importance and significance of the LTTE chief's address. The LTTE leader's Great Heroes address is quite concise and precise with some interesting nuances. It encapsules effectively and vividly the LTTE position and what it hopes to do in the future. In recent times there is a sideshow in London where the political adviser and chief negotiator Anton Stanislaus Balasingham known affectionately as "Bala Annai" addresses a large Mavveerar Day meeting. The highlight of his speech is an amplification and clarification of the salient aspects of Prabakharans address. What is of interest here is that it is Bala Annai who writes the speech for the LTTE leader. Thereafter he expands on his own creation. This year the ceremony is to be held within the peninsula at the site of the historic Elephant Pass or Aanaiiravu base complex. Operation Unceasing waves- 3 or Oyatha Alaigal - 3vhas gone down in contemporary military history as an incredible military feat where a comparatively lesser force fought against overwhelming logistical and terraneous difficulties to overcome a superior force. The Isthmus of Elephant pass linking the peninsula and mainland is of great significance to the Tamil people in a historical, geographical, economic, social, cultural and political sense. Now it has acquired a military dimension too. The LTTE staging its GHD meeting at Elephant pass this year is an event of immense politico - military symbolism. More important will be the LTTE leaders address. The election of Mahinda Rajapakse as President with the help of hawkish parties like the Janatha Vimukth Peramuna and Jathika hela Urumaya is a watershed. The enforced boycott of that election by the LTTE is also a significant pointer. Mahinda Rajapakse's election manifesto and Policy speech in Parliament outlines what the Government approach towards the National question is going to be. Now Velupillai Prabakharan will outline the response of the LTTE and what lies in store for Sri Lanka in general and the Eelam Tamils in particular.

Tigers deprive North-Eastern Tamils of Franchise

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam made its presence felt in Sri Lanka's fifth Presidential election by disenfranchising a large segment of the North - Eastern Tamil people.Despite dubious claims to being the sole representatives of the Tamil people the LTTE had to unleash a "terror" campaign against innocent civilians to enforce what it called a "purakkanippu" or boycott of the Presidential poll. Though the violent intimidation enabled the LTTE to prevent many Tamils from voting it was unable to ensure a total boycott in many places. While posters and leaflets calling for a boycott were widely circulated a systematic campaign of violence and terror also commenced prior to the poll. A series of explosions took place. In Jaffna grenades were thrown at five EPDP party offices on the eve of polls. Grenades and bombs were also thrown at Police patrols, army sentry posts, vehicles etc. A youth was tortured and beaten to death publicly at the Hindu College grounds. In Batticaloa a sub - post mistress who allegedly refused to hand over polling cards was brutally hacked to death..A climate of terror prevailed. This terror continued from the early hours of the morning on election day. Bombs were thrown at Govt offices, polling booths, security posts and vehicles. Tyres and palm fronds were set on fire at key junctions and roads. Roadblocks were set up.Youths roamed streets looking out for potential voters. The LTTE motor cycle squad patrolled roads. People on the roads were threatened. Many old people going out to vote were assaulted. Vehicles including buses were stoned or set on fire. Civilian voters and officials were injured in deliberate grenade attacks on polling stations. A few people returning after voting were set upon. One man had his inked finger cut off. The message was unmistakably clear - Dont vote. The Sri Lanka Democracy Forum in a statement had a serious charge. It said " LTTE cadres appointed by the New Left Front as polling agents (normally used in elections to challenge fraud and can only be appointed by a party with a candidate in the elections), were used by the LTTE to intimidate voters inside polling booths and to identify voters who could then be targeted for retribution".This was a dangerous development indeed. Buses had been arranged for voters from LTTE controlled areas to come to Govt controlled areas and vote in the cluster booths. With a tiger enforced boycot none dared to come.In this climate of fear Jaffna district only had 1. 5 % voting. Of these Kilinochchi division completely under tiger control had only one person voting.Officials and Journalists mobbed this solitary voter who claimed he had travelled by motor cycle, car and bus. It is however felt the man had been sent deliberately by the tigers to survey the situation. The only vote cast "from" Kilinochchi was for Wickremasinghe. Funnily enough the election staff finished counting this single ballot only at 9. 13 pm which means five hours to count one! In Batticaloa armed LTTE sentinels guarded access roads, bridges and ferry points to prevent people from tiger controlled regions coming over and voting. Roadblocks were set up. Fires raged. A tiger cadre interviewed by a news agency said that the decision to boycott elections was made by the people themselves. "We had nothing to do with it" he said. Continuing further he said "But we will not allow them to vote". In some places people were "persusaded" to burn their voter cards in a bonfire. A few of these demonstrations took place in the presence of European election monitors. The EU monitors also withdrew from Chenkalladdy and Valaichenai due to the violent climate.Though voting percentages dropped slightly the situation in the East and Vavuniya - Mannar were not bad as in Jafna - Kilinochchi - Mullaitheevu. The enforced boycott was ostensibly to demonstrate to the world at large that the Tamil people were disillusioned by Presidential candidates and had nothing to gain from a new President. The Tamils belonged to Tamil Eelam and were unconcerned about Sri Lanka was the message sought to be conveyed.. Though the decision to be neutral and boycott polls was supposedly a people based decision it was obvious that the LTTE directed events. It was also clear that the LTTE did not want one particular candidate to win. The reasons for this stance are rather interesting and warrant a close scrutiny. The LTTE initially stated that it was neutral in the Presidential stakes and would play no role in it. It said that the Tamil people were free to exercise their franchise if they desired or refrain from voting. The Tamil people were politically mature and would act appropriately the LTTE said. As time went on the LTTE detected a groundswell of support among Tamil people for United National Party Candidate Ranil Wickremasinghe. The LTTE then changed its stance slightly and began berating both Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremasinghe.Both had failed the Tamil people and were unworthy of Tamil support they said. In spite of all this the visible trend was a landslide of Tamil votes for Wickremasinghe. This spontaneous Tamil support was due to several reasons. Foremost among them was the hawkish policies of Rajapakse and his pacts with the hardline Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and Jathika hela Urumaya. The Tamil people abhorring a return to war felt quite rightly that a victory for Mahinda would hasten a resumption of armed hostilities. There was also a feeling of gratitude for Wickremasinghe. It was he who de - proscribed the LTTE and entered into a ceasefire with the tigers. Besides Ranil advocated negotiations with the LTTE and was in favour of exploring a federal solution. His economic policies were also attractive.It was also realised that Wickremasinghe depicted as a traitor to the Sinhala people by his opponents for his dovish policies faced the risk of losing Sinhala votes on account of this.It was therefore necessary for Tamils to vote for Wickremasinghe to offset this it was felt. The Presidential poll was of crucial importance to all minority communities. The hawkish Rajapakse and hardline cohorts posed a grave threat to their interests. The need of the hour was for the minorities to rally firmly behind the minority friendly candidate as a counterpoint to the extremist Sinhala - Buddhist juggernaut threatening to crush them underfoot. The Muslim Congress, Ceylon workers Congress, Up Country Peoples Front, Western Province Peoples Front were all aligned with Wickremasinghe. Even the Catholic Bishops indicated indirect support.The Sri Lankan Tamils like the Muslims, Plantation Tamils and Catholics felt Wickremasinghe was the better of the two major candidates or from another perspective the lesser evil. The LTTE however was unhappy about this natural proclivity on the part of Tamils in particular and the minorities in general to support Wickremasinghe. Viewing the situation only from its narrow, sectarian perspective the LTTE preferred a Wickremasinghe defeat and Rajapakse victory. There were many reasons for this perplexing approach. The most important one was that a hardline Government in Colombo was seen as more conducive to an outbreak of war. It was felt that international opinion would be firmly opposed to such a regime. This in turn was expected to be beneficial to the LTTE. On the other hand the LTTE was resentful and suspicious about Wickremasinghe. It was worried about the overwhelming Tamil support for him. It did not want a replay of the 1994 scenario where Chandrika Kumaratunga came to power with tremendous Tamil support. Also the tigers feared the international clout of Wickremasinghe. In the event of war the World at large will support Colombo. It was felt that an amenably flexible President would reduce valid reasons for resuming war.There has been simmering dissent in tiger circles for long that Wickremasinghe's ceasefire was a calculated device to weaken and debilitate the LTTE in the long run. It was to some extent where the perceived interests of the LTTE diverged from the real interests f the Tamil people. The ordinary people did not want war and so preferred the best possible candidate who would avoid war and talk peace and power sharing with the LTTE. Common sense decreed that Wickremasinghe was better in that respect. It did not matter whether Wickremasinghe would deliver or not. Given Rajapakse's standpoint and allies Wickremasinghe was certainly the better of the two. Actually it was a case of Hobson's choice. The LTTE however had a different perspective. For the tigers Rajapakse was the better option than Wickremasinghe. The interests of the LTTE took precedence over that of the welfare of the Tamil people. Wickremasinghe was more dangerous in a war situation as opposed to Rajapakse.While the Sinhaa electorate thinks tht a Southern Veeraya like Rajapakse sent shivers down the tiger spine the reality was different. It was a victory for Ranil decried by his adversaries as a weak traitor who posed a threat in LTTE perception. Given a direct choice the tigers preferred Rajapakse as a "weak and ineffective" President. This led to an ironic contradiction . The Tamil people wanted a President to talk peace with the tigers and prevent war while the tigers wanted a President who could disrupt peace and bring about war. In such a situation the franchise of the people became a casualty.This was the crux of the matter. So the LTTE found that despite their covert signals the Tamil people were planning to support Wickremasinghe overwhelmingly. This then led to a situation where the tigers were forced to target Wickremasinghe more directly. Senior leader KV Balakumaran openly attacked Wickremasinghe and made it clear that he was the more "dangerous" of the two. Political Commissar SP Tamilselvan followed suit. The tiger and pro - tiger media launched an intensive offensive against Ranil. A parallel exercise undertaken indirectly was an orchestrated campaign urging Tamils to desist from voting.Since the international community was observant the LTTE could not openly call for a boycott. So a number of front organizations notably student outfits took up the cry. Still the detectable tendency as far as the people were concerned was to vote and vote for Ranil. This was due to a realisation based on common sense that Wickremasinghe had to be supported to prevent Sinhala - Buddhist hegemony and resultant war. Whatever the LTTE desire the ordinary Tamils grasped shrewdly that it was in their best interests to back Wickremasinghe. It was not as if Ranil was a positive choice. But compared to Rajapakse the people preferred him. So the tigers had to raise the ante further. They were compelled to call a press conference after a joint meeting with their minions the Tamil National Alliance.It was announced there that the "People" had decided to boycott polls. The LTTE - TNA were simply expressing their wishes.But Sambandan gave the game away when he said that he hoped the people would accept their thinking. It was clear that the boycott was being imposed on the Tamil people. Despite these moves the tigers had to officially maintain a position of "detachment". The fiction that the people were going to boycott was publicised to a great extent. Yet it was necessary to pay lip service to the notion that the Tamil people were free to decide whether they wanted to vote or not. The people will choose wisely was hinted at heavily. Unfortunately for the LTTE the Tamil people were still of the opinion that they should vote in large numbers for Wickremasinghe. With rival groups like the EPDP and Karuna faction urging a large voter turn out it was becoming a matter of prestige for the LTTE. The controversial comments made by Navin Dissanaike and Milinda Moragoda added further complications. It was now becoming necessary to enforce a boycott and deprive Wickremasinghe of victory. He had to be taught an unforgettable lesson was the tiger line of thinking. It was now out in the open and the tiger hand behind the boycott call was becoming exposed. A call to declare election day a day of mourning and for people to stay indoors was made through a student front. Even public servants on election duty were asked to stay at home. The pro - Mahinda elements had been accusing Ranil of a tie - up with the LTTE and charged that the tigers were going to delver the Tamil vote en bloc to Ranil. Now they changed track and began gloating that the tigers were now trying to sabotage Ranil. It was comical indeed to see people reverse their stances overnight and expose the venom they had against Ranil. Well - wishers of Wickremasinghe and sections of the International community were aghast. Many lines of communication were opened with Kilinochchi. Several International community representatives and local politicians appealed to the LTTE. Representations were made to Anton Balasingham in London. Up Country Peoples Front leader Periyasamy Chandrasekeram went to Kilnochi. After meeting Thamilselvan he returned to Vavuniya and spoke on the telephone with Ranil. He then went to Kilinochchi again to meet the LTTE political commissar. Some TNA Parliamentarians also took up Ranil's case. As a result of these efforts the LTTE hierarchy in Kilinochchi gave an assurance that the tigers would not enforce a boycott. They would merely call for a boycott but not adopt any further action to actually instil a boycott. They would leave the matter entirely to the people. They would not stand in the way of voters wishing to exercise their franchise. This was welcomed by the UNP. Wickremasinghe did not want any deal with the LTTE. All that he wanted was for the LTTE to efrain from enforcing a boycott and leave the choice in the hands of the Tamil people. The UNP was sure that the Tamil people would vote in large numbers for Ranil if the tigers did not impose a boycott. So Colombo newspapers ran stories of a change of heart in the LTTE. The LTTE website "Tamilnet" wanted an interview with Wickremasinghe to clarify the position. He refused but gave an extensive interview to a Colombo newspaper and Television explaining his stance.Wickremasinghe took great pains to elaborate on his position on the Tamil question. This eased the minds of many who were troubled by the comments of Milinda and Navin. In the process Ranil may have alienated some Sinhala voters. It was against this backdrop that the enforced boycott took place amid intimidatory violence and terror. The LTTE that had assured "non - interference" in the poll broke their promise. The LTTE launched a vicious campaign to prevent Tamils from voting thereby damaging Ranil's chances of victory. As far as the Wickremasinghe camp was concerned the LTTE had betrayed them. Frantic attempts to communicate with Kilinochchi failed. The LTTE in one more instance of doublespeak maintained that they were not interfering while goons did their utmost to restrict voting. Thamilselvan glibly parroted the refrain that the people were boycotting on their own. The LTTE claims the boycott to be a tremendous success. Superficial observations by some journalists support this premise. Some came out with the blatantly wrong comment that Tamils in Colombo had also heeded the tiger call and refrained from voting. The Tamilnet distorted and exaggerated this observation.The facts however are otherwise. Polling divisions within the City and suburbs like Wattala and Dehiwela have large Tamil and Muslim concentrations. Wickremasinghe won from all these. His majority in Colombo West, Central, North and East were high. If Tamils boycotted in large numbers these results would not have been possible.The margins would be lower. The Up Country Tamil vote also was overwhelmingly for Wickremasinghe. This was seen in polling divisions with substantial Tamils in Kandy,Nuwara Eliya, Matale and Badulla districts. It was the Tamil majority Nuwara Eliya - Maskeliya polling division that gave Wickremasinghe his biggest majority. Even in the East the electoral divisions of Kalkuah, Batticaloa and Paddiruppu voted for Wickremasinghe. Though the LTTE prevented voters in the hinterland west of Batticaloa lagoon from voting Tamils in the littoral east of the lagoon voted in large numbers. The LTTE tries to make out that votes for Wickremasinghe were from the Muslims. This is incorrect. Paddiruppu for instance is 99% Tamil. Kalkudah is 65% Tamil. Batticaloa is 75% Tamil. The votes this time were more than in 1999 Presidential election.This was the case in Tamil majority Trincomalee electoral division. While Tamils who voted in the East were supportive of Wickremasinghe it was the Muslim vote that got divided to a certain extent. While the SLMC succeeded in delivering the majority Muslim vote to Wickremasinghe people like Athaullah, Ferial Ashraff, Segu Issadeen, Anwer Ismail, Ameer ali and Najeeb Abdul Majeed etc used their personal influence to deliver some votes to Mahinda. The Tamil voters in tiger controlled areas of Wanni were not allowed to vote by the tigers. This resulted in votes dropping significantly. Yet Tamils in Govt controlled Mannar and Vavuniya voted in large numbers. These areas were overwhelmingly supportive of Ranil. Ironically for the LTTE the only Northern electoral division voting for Mahinda was Mullaitheevu the tiger citadel and heartland. While Tamils were prevented by the LTTE Sinhala settlers in Army controlled Weli - Oya were able to vote. Thus Mahinda got more votes than Ranil there. It is widely rumoured that MP's like Sivanathan Kishore, Selvam Adaikkalanathan, R Sambandan etc worked "clandestinely" to ensure Wickremasinghe got votes. In Batticaloa the Karuna factor also helped. While Karuna asked people to support Rajapakse he also wanted people to vote for anyone of their choice. This "mixed" signal strengthened the people's resolve to vote. It is therefore crystal clear that the LTTE enforced boycott was not a huge success. Votes dropped only in areas under LTTE control or where they retained great influence. Even there the tigers had to deploy systematic violence to prevent voting. In all other areas the Tamils voted in large numbers particularly in Batticaloa district, Trincomalee, Mannar, Vavuniya, Colombo and the Up Country.. The Tamils clearly voted for Wickremasinghe.It is indeed noteworthy that the eleven electoral districts won by Rajapakse were predominantly Sinhala while the eleven won by Wickremasinghe were districts where the minority communities were in a majority or at least a sizeable chunk. The bulk of the security forces in the North - East and Sinhala government officials were supportive of Rajapakse. The boycott favourd Mahinda because the Tamils if allowed to vote would have opted for Ranil. There was a convergence of interests therefore between the LTTE and Rajapakse in implementing an effective boycott. The overall majority was 186, 000 plus.. If the Jaffna, Wanni and Eastern Tamils had voted in full strength there was every chance that Wickremasinghe would have got an extra 250 to 300, 000 votes. This would have clinched his victory. Ranil was cheated of success by the LTTE betrayal. Though the tigers and their minions are waxing eloquent about their success and ability in determining the victor it is indeed a moot point as to the total political cost incurred. It may have been a different picture if the tigers ensured victory of a dovish candidate. Here the felines have helped defeat the "dove" and helped instal the "hawk" as president. Furthermore they have betrayed the man who de - proscribed them and signed a ceasefire pact. Bitter irony for Ranil is that it was the ceasefire which gave the LTTE much clout in Jaffna. With the EU monitors present the LTTE blundered greatly in enforcing a boycott.In the first place the LTTE demonstrated that their writ does not extend to all sections of the Tamil people and that a boycott could succeed in the North only due to terror and violence. Depriving Tamils of the franchise was certainly not a plus point for the LTTE. What is worse is that this disenfranchisement was made possible through a campaign of violence and terror. The LTTE had exposed their insincere commitment to a negotiated settlement by helping defeat Ranil and enabling Mahinda win.Under these circumstances the LTTE action can only bring negative repercussions. The temporary EU travel ban may become permanent. It is also possible that the EU could bring about a permanent ban on the LTTE. If that and a lot of other things happen this boycott can only be counterproductive. The Tamils have for long lamented the disenfranchisement of Up Country Tamils by a Sinhala dominated Government in 1949. It is portrayed quite correctly as a grave violation of a fundamental right. Today the self - appoited sole representatives of the Tamil people have deprived a segment of the North - Eastern Tamils of their franchise rights. The tigers are likely to learn , in more ways than one, that this disenfranchisement was a colossal blunder. What is important however is that the Tamil people be spared victimisation for no fault of theirs. It must be realised that the people if unfettered would have voted for Ranil. The Northern Postal votes and voting pattern in other areas indicate this. A serious development of this election is that Rajapakse has won the bulk of Sinhala vores while Wickremasinghe got most non - Sinhala votes. The new President must realise that he has no mandate from the minorities particularly the Tamils. Rajapakse must display considerable sagacity in coping with this situation.