Ex-Voice of Tigers broadcaster speaks out
karthika
Published by editor Sri Lanka Jun 17, 2009 By Fathima Razik
Vavuniya, 17 June, (Asiantribune.com): Ramalingam Rajeev had a
childhood dream – that of becoming a broadcaster, and the only
opportunity he got many years later was to work for the LTTE’s radio
network – the Voice of Tigers (VoT). He took it on to realise his
dream but was soon a disillusioned young man in view of the manner in
which this radio station operated.
Rajeev is now at the Kathirgamar Transitional Relief Village in
Cheddikulam, living with his wife, daughter and his in-laws, and is
presently occupied as a cashier at the Lak Sathosa store set up with
essentials to cater to the needs of the IPDs.
Ramalingam Rajeev of the Voice of Tigers
Fairly fluent in English Rajeev said, “I joined the Voice of Tigers
as announcing over the radio was a childhood dream but very soon this
dream turned into a nightmare.” Responding to a question on his duties
with the Voice of Tigers, he said that he had to translate English to
Tamil by sourcing the English papers everyday, listen to English
programmes and news broadcasts of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting
Corporation (SLBC), and present programmes in Tamil to the listeners
of VoT. As a result he was familiar with many programmes aired over by
the SLBC in addition to remembering names of programme presenters –
some of whom he became a fan of.
“What sort of response did you have with the listeners of your
network?” I asked. “The response was not much and very often we were
asked to make up names and responses from listeners. When there was a
clash and many LTTE members died or were injured we had to say that
only a few died or were injured. In the same way if a few army
officers died we had to say that many were dead. So we had to tell
lies all the time,” he said.
He went on to say that the head of the station and other high powered
LTTE personnel at VoT lead a luxurious life while the employees were
overlooked – having to work long hours while being poorly paid. “The
LTTE were not genuine. After some time I decided to leave that place
and I gave a letter of resignation, but they refused to accept it.
When I said that I did not want to work for them they sent me to dig
bunkers as a punishment which I did for three months,” Rajeev said,
adding that while undergoing hard labour in the scorching sun, he
felt happier than when he was working within the confines of the
studio.
At the end of three months the LTTE had asked him to rejoin VoT
saying that he would be afforded many luxuries. Rajeev had decided
that he did not want to be a part of the terrorist set up and had
escaped, fleeing into the jungle and hiding in there for some time. He
subsequently went to Nedunkerni where he joined a school and had
taught English.
“They came looking for me but when the government’s efforts at wiping
out terrorism intensified they stopped looking for me as they had to
concentrate on fighting the security forces,” Rajeev explained. “We
have come from darkness to light and I thank President Mahinda
Rajapakse, the security forces and the government for saving us from
terrorism,” said an emotional Rajeev. He added that he is now happy
having his family with him, and being employed he is content with his
lot.
“Are you satisfied with the facilities provided at the relief
village?” I questioned. “We are all happy. There are certain
difficulties, but these are nothing compared to what we went through
during those dark days when we were not sure if we would even live the
next moment. Life will get better. But we have to be patient,” he
said.
These views expressed by Ramalingam Rajeev were also broadcast over
the airwaves of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation on all its
Services on June 9 and 10, drawing tremendous response from the
listeners.