Sinhalese, Tamils and the LTTE

By K. Arvind
Contrary to the popular perception in Southern Sri Lanka, Tamils in the North-East have always had a somewhat lukewarm attitude towards the LTTE. With the passage of time, the faith and attitudes of the Tamils towards the movement progressively cooled. Today the bulk of support for the LTTE is found in the few thousands in the organizational structure within Sri Lanka and the die-hards in the diaspora - many of whom relying on diaspora contribution for their own livelihood. Lankan Tamils both here and abroad for long have established they are a law-abiding and peaceful people. Their contribution to the religious, cultural and political wealth of the country is there for all to see. Denial of their language rights; refusal to allow them to run their own affairs; insufficient funds for infrastructure development and investment in their areas; attacks on civilians and their property and generally the imposition of the “you” and “we” syndrome drove Tamil civilians – largely the young - into the waiting arms of militant youth organizations – the dominant of whom being the LTTE. Unlike in earlier years, visible opposition to the LTTE has been growing for sometime in the Tamil diaspora – in Britain and USA specifically. The North London Temple issue is one clear example of the challenge to the LTTE leadership in the diaspora.
The many political parties and militant groups opposed to the LTTE within the island is evidence there has been a substantial opposition to them for long. The recent arrival of about ten diaspora Tamil-speaking activists – patently opposed to LTTE objectives – at the invitation of GoSL is yet another example the unrivalled leadership the LTTE enjoyed among the Tamils overseas is now a thing of the past. The estrangement that began with the Prabakaran-Uma Mahesaran gun fight at Pondy Bazaar in Chennai continued to be expressed in various forms and degrees at different times. When Kittu was encouraged to take a leading role whatever shades of unity that existed between the main groups cracked. He was responsible for the brutal killing of many TELO cadres during those years. The Tamil people who expected their militant youth to fight for them against the State’s brutality were shocked at the internecine feuds where the flower of Tamil youth were snuffing each other out. Among the hundreds of youth Kittu sent to their early graves were a large number of young men and women totally unconnected to the TELO.
Anyone related or connected to whom Kittu suspected to be either TELO sympathisers or against the LTTE were summarily executed – including non-combatant older men and women. Although Mahattaya was a long time and loyal LTTEer close to Prabakaran - with many astounding battle victories to his credit - he was executed because he was merely “suspected” of passing information to RAW. It is more likely Mahattaya fell out in a leadership struggle involving Pottu Amman and others. Such aberrations are not uncommon in fascistic organizations in other theatres of internal conflict. While originally LTTE cadres were proud of their culture of discipline in the nascent militant body - particularly in regard to liquor, smoking and celibacy - Prabhakaran was the first to break rules when he fell deeply in love with a woman cadre – whom he forced to become his wife. He broke another rule later which exposed his hypocricy. While he insisted all Tamil families should sacrifice a boy and girl (where available) from each family at the age of 13, his children were despatched for higher British education.
Many committed LTTErs were now becoming cynical about the sincerity of the leadership and the direction the liberation struggle was taking upon itself. VP’s sole decision to take on the IPKF was resisted by many serious fighters including Mahathaya, Yogi and Rahim - to mention three names. Even Anton Balasingham was reported to be against this decision. The need to fight the IPKF lost a large support base in the Indian government and the people of India. Many Lankan Tamils too were opposed. By far the biggest faux pas was the decision to kill Rajiv Gandhi – purely for egoistic reasons. This event blackened the name of the LTTE amongst ardent supporters in India, Sri Lanka the diaspora. Both major failures lost very powerful friends in India and created influential enemies in New Delhi and Tamilnadu. By the time the mid-1990s arrived almost all decisions were taken entirely by Prabhakaran.
Thamilchelvam and Balasingam were merely mouthpieces and “yes” men speaking to the media locally, in India and the world. While ordinary Tamils - emotionally sympathetic to the LTTE because of the physical suffering they were subject continuously at the hands of the forces and in the South –believed the LTTE will secure a safer, peaceful home to live as decent human beings - Eelam or whatever; now that the Sinhala government did not have their good in their agendas anymore since 1956. The growing strength of the LTTE both locally and in the diaspora did not yield a qualitative change to the better of the suffering Tamils. They were beginning to realize the organization was descending into a fascist dictatorship. Under the LTTE grip they were many fold worse off than under the Sinhala State apparatus. The killing of brilliant Tamils like Rajini Thiranagama, Padmanabha, Neelan Tiruchelvam shocked the Tamil people among whom were LTTE supporters. Many Tamil academics like the Nithiyanandans fled for their lives more from LTTE terror than from SL forces.
Tamils were gradually beginning to realize Prabhakaran – seeing that the armed struggle was not going his way - was now only concerned about his well-being and the safety of his own family, kith and kin. Douglas Devananda puts it succinctly “Prabakaran knows only too well he cannot live in a peaceful Sri Lanka. He has killed and harmed too many. He is safer in a climate of war than of peace. And so as long as he lives the Tamil people are condemned to suffer.”
The Lankan Tamil struggle began in the early 1950’s when modern Sinhala nationalismwas born on the accidental convergence of four major events in the post-independent history of this country (1) fired by SWRD’s defection in 1952 from the UNP to form the SLFP on a communal-political base that was to rupture the existing delicate communal equilibrium in the country for all time (2) the publication of the Sinhala Buddhist Commission Report in 1954 (3) the high-profile Buddha Jayanthi in 1955. An ancient culture and religion - forcibly kept down by the barrel of the gun by three 3 different invading imperialist powers (4) In such an environment it was inevitable SWRD rode on the crest of a wave when the 1956 General Elections came - now dubbed “the Sinhala Buddhist Revolution or Ape Anduwa.”
Some aberrations in this tremendous release of energy was inevitable. Paradoxically, Tamils happened to be at the receiving end. They found themselves under siege from Sinhala nationalism and realized their access to resources and political accommodation that was somewhat equitable earlier will be under threat from the emerging forces who by the nature of being a coalition of contradictory forces were acting in confusion and disarray. They (Tamils), therefore, entrusted their future through the parliamentary path to elected leaders SJV Chelvanayagam, Amirthalingam, Sivasithamparam et al to secure justice, fair play and equal access to resources and career opportunities.
The Pan-Sinhala government refusing to appoint even one Tamil Cabinet Minister between 1956-1965 (whereas there were several from 1948 to 1956) was a wound deeply ingrained in the Tamil psyche. Mrs. Bandaranaike’s government of 1970-1977 continued this collective punishment on the Tamils albeit the single and cosmetic appointment of a Colombo political unknown - Architect Chelliah Kumarasuriyar - to the insignificant Ministry of Posts in 1970. In the nature of the altered political climate the Tamil leadership of Chelvanayagam - then to be followed after his death - by Amirthalingam and Sivasithamparam could not secure much benefit to help Tamils or develop the North and East. The credibility of these leaders therefore, was lost because they could not deliver on the growing expectation of the politically-conscious Tamil people between 1955-1980. On the other hand, the politically-fired youth militants - inspired by the romantic rhetoric of a Tamil identity unleashed by the DMK in adjoining Tamilnadu - lead by popular and charismatic EVR, Annadurai, Karunanidhi et al - seemed to assure success through the extra-parliamentary path – the dreams of a Separate State through a just liberation struggle. The wounded pride of Lankan Tamils suffering largely from the Sinhala Only indignity and the anti-Tamil wave of the 1956 Sinhala electoral avalanche was now ready to give the youth a try – and then we had the LTTE whose performance, it was to be seen in later years, brought further doom to Tamils. The thinking in the South, on the other hand, is changing as of recent times. Even the anti-Tamil, chauvinistic JVP finds it necessary to have Tamils in their front ranks.
The pseudo-nationalist JHU is prepared to make way to Ananda Sangaree in Parliament. Ranil’s 2001-2004 government listed over 624 infra-structure projects in the North-East as an initial commitment valued at US$170 million under the SIRHN programme. This was a good beginning the LTTE should have accepted if they had the interest of the Tamils in their priority. Instead they walked out of the talks disappointing not only the Tamils but Norway, Japan, USA and the EU - all waiting to rebuild the Tamil areas. The LTTE should not have walked away in Oslo. They could have used Oslo as a starting point to secure benefits for the Tamil people. Those countries in the international community friendly to Sri Lanka would have used their influences to gain more resources for the rebuilding of Tamil areas only if the LTTE stayed in the talks.
Tamils were beginning to change their opinion of the LTTE as their champions. The seeds of Tamil nationalism that had originally a peaceful parliamentary base was seen to have been hijacked by fascists in the name of liberation. Curiously, as years went by the “defenders” unleashed the greatest harm on their own people and became the “perpetrators.” What is the position of Tamils today? Nearly 300,000 IDPs are living like cattle weathering rain and sun living under trees. They have not only lost their veedu (home) and their sacrosanct Ur (village) but their precious self-respect as well. Tamils, therefore, cannot be blamed if they are no longer prepared to barter their future to Prabhakaran’s custody, benefit and ego. The time has come for the Lankan Tamil to map out their collective future.
If Sri Lanka is to take a place as a democratic society in the community of nations – which we adorned earlier - she must vigorously and objectively invest entirely on a peace agenda – this time for real. The North- East must get a massive injection of infra-structure, investment, industries and the necessary wherewithal to stand on their own. If Agriculture, Fisheries and Salt industries – mainstay of the Jaffna economy - are initially strengthened with GoSL funds Jaffna will soon find its own feet. Besides, the increased output of fish, rice, onions, chillies, vegetables etc will bring down the cost of living to the delight of the government and people. In spite of this growing optimism there is a school of thought that Tamils and Sinhalese cannot live together as before after all the blood-letting and deep wounds of the past many decades. Defence Advisor Kotakedeniya – the brains behind the Vavuniya Bus fiasco and others in the police and army have established this several times earlier by evicting North-East Tamils from the South with the oblique suggestion “you don’t belong here.” Today every Tamil in Sinhala eyes is a suspect – and that includes the elite and professionals in Colombo some of whom having lived here for over 100 years. The fact is, as the Chief Justice himself commented, these innocent Tamils are in Colombo on legitimate work - getting visas, travel documents, making travel arrangements etc., The Lodges they stay in file reports with the Police daily. Yet they were “chased away.” The scenario is about to be repeated again going by reports Defence Secretary Gothaba Rajapakse is toying with ideas no different - now that over 6,000 Tamils from the North-East now in Lodges here are a “security risk” to him and the government. One hopes this will not end up as a tragic inhuman farce again.
If Sri Lanka is to escape the inevitable disintegration that is fastly becoming a reality, the only way out is to create conditions for the hundreds of thousands of Lankan Tamils now in the diaspora and the South to return to a habitable North-East where their physical safety and that of their property and economic well being are assured through tangible programmes - preferably under international supervision. Like Belgium, like the earlier Cyprus and the present Mainland China Sri Lanka can still produce a society that will ensure the country remains whole and free of conflict. The key to this lies in the hands of the Sinhala polity and leadership. The LTTE will find history by-passing them if the South discovers, at last, her political posture in unambiguous perspective.(Transcurrent)