THE TRUTH by a TAMIL SCHOLAR
Umberto Gui
an enlightening experiance for Tamils of the eelam school of thought.
DRAVIDIAN SETTLEMENTS IN CEYLON AND THE
BEGINNINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF JAFFNA
Excerpts from Karthigesu Indrapala’s Phd thesis, University of London
1965. Karthigesu Indrapala was the former professor of history at the
University of Ceylon, Jaffna campus.
Until the ninth century, with the exception of the megalithic remains of
Pomparippu and the possible exception of those of Katiraveli, there is no
definite evidence regarding any Dravidian settlement in the island. (page
51)
No definite evidence regarding any significant Tamil settlement in the
Batticaloa district of the Eastern Province, which is now a predominantly
Tamil area, or in other parts of Southern Ceylon has so far come to
light. It is possible that there were some Tamil settlers in the
Batticaloa district for, from the thirteenth century onwards, we get
archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence pointing to Tamil
settlements in the area. (page 233)
It may be recollected that several writers on the history of Jaffna,
basing their studies on the traditional legends found in the late Tamil
chronicles, have put forward certain theories claiming the establishment
of Tamil settlements in Jaffna in the period of the Anuradhapura rulers.
These theories are not accepted by serious students of history as they
are not based on trustworthy data. Many of these have been convincingly
dismissed by scholars in recent years. It is therefore, not our intention
to analyse these theories and take serious notice of writings which at
best could be described as popular. (page 266)
Jaffna peninsula does not help us to know anything about the identity of
the people who lived there in the pre-christian centuries. The Pali
chronicle informs us that the port of Jambukola (Camputturai), on the
eastern coast of the peninsula, was the main port of embakation to
Tamralipti in Eastern India from at least the time of Devanampiya Tissa (
250-210 B.C.). The two embassies from the island to the court of Asoka
embarked on their vayage from Jambukola. Sangamitta arrived with the
Bo-sapling at this port. The Samudda-panna-sala, commemorating the
arrival of the Bo sapling, and the Jambukola Vihara were built there by
Devanampiya Tissa. These facts only reveal that the northern most part of
the island was under the suzerainty of the Anuradhapura king in the third
century B.C. and that Buddhism had begun to spread by that time in that
part of the island as in the other parts. But it is in the second century
AD that we get some evidence regarding the people living there. The
language of the gold plate inscription from Vallipuram, the earliest
epigraphic record discovered in the Jaffna peninsula, is the early form
of Sinhalese, in which inscriptions of the time in other parts of the
island were written. This may suggest that the Sinhalese were settled in
the Jaffna peninsula, or in some parts at least, in the secound century
A.D. There were perhaps Tamil traders in the port of Jambukola but there
is no evidence that points to Tamil settlements in the peninsula. (page
268)
The gold plate from Vallipuram reveals that there were buddhists in that
part of the peninsula in the second century A.D. At the site of this
inscription the foundations of a buddhist vihara were uncovered. These
foundations are in the premises of a modern Visnu temple. There is little
doubt that the Visnu temple was the original Buddhist monument converted
in to a Vaisnava establishment at a later date when Tamils settled in the
area. Such conversion of Buddhist establishments into Saiva and Vaisnava
temples seems to have been a common phenomenon in the peninsula after it
was settled by Dravidians. In the premises of another Visnu temple at
Moolai were discovered some ‘vestiges of ancient remains of walls’ and a
broken sedent Buddha image. Again in a Saiva temple at mahiyapitti a
Buddha image was found under a stone step in the temple tank. A
lime-stone Buddha image and the remains of an ancient dagaba were
unearthed at Nilavarai, in Navakiri. Among the debris were two sculptured
fragments of shaped coral stones with a stone railing design. According
to D.T.Devendra, who conducted the excavation at this site, the dagaba
can be dated at least to the tenth century A.D. Near these ruins are the
foundations of an ancient building and in the middle of these is a modern
Siva temple.It has been conjectured, and rightly so, that the old
foundations are those of the vihara attached to the ancient dagaba.
Buddha images have also been discovered in Uduvil, Kantarodai andJaffna
town. Kantarodai has yielded very important Buddhist finds which prove
the existance of an important Buddhist establishment in the region in
early times. Such artifacts as the glazed tiles and the circular discs
discovered here have helped to connect the finds with those of
Anuradhapura. The Sinhala Nampota, dated in its present form to the
fourteenth or fifteenth century, preserves the names of some of the
places of Buddhist worship in the Jaffna peninsula.Kantaradai is
mentioned among these places. The others are Nagakovila (Nakarkovil),
Telipola (Tellippalai), Mallagama (Mallakam), Minuvangomu Viharaya
(Vimankamam), Tannidivayina(Tana-tivu or Kayts), Nagadivayina (Nakativu
or Nayinativu), Puvangudivayina (Punkutu-tivu) and Karadivayina
(Karaitivu). Of the Buddhist establishments in these places only the
vihara and Dagaba at Nakativu has survived to this day. It is justifiable
to assume that the Nampota list dates back to a time when the Buddhist
establishments of these places were well known centres of worship. This
was probably before the thirteenth century, for after this date the
people of the Jaffna peninsula were mainly Saivas. The foregoing evidence
points to the inevitable conclusion that in the Anuradhapura period, and
possibly till about the twelfth century, there were Buddhists in the
jaffna peninsula.Although it may appear reasonable to presume that these
buddhists were Sinhalese like those in other parts of the island, some
have tried to argue that they were Tamils. While it is true that there
were Tamil Buddhists in South India and Ceylon before the twelfth century
and possibly even later, there is evidence to show that the Buddhists who
occupied the Jaffna peninsula in the Anuradhapura period were Sinhalese.
We refer to the toponymic evidence which unmistakably points to the
presence of Sinhala settlers in the peninsula before Tamils settled
there. In an area of only about nine hundred square miles covered by this
peninsula, there occur over a thousand Sinhalese place names which have
survived in a Tamil garb. (page 270-273)
The Yalppana-vaipava-malai, the Tamil chronicle of Jaffna, confirms this
when it states that there were Sinhalese people in Jaffna at the time of
the first tamil colonisation of the area. Secondly, the survival of
Sinhalese elements in the local nomenclature indicates a slow and
peaceful penetration of Tamils in the area rather than violent
occupation. This is in contrast with the evidence of the place names of
the North Central Province, where Sinhalese names have been largely
replaced by tamil names. The large percentage of Sinhalese element and
the occurrance of Sinhala and Tamil compounds in the place names of
Jaffna point to a long survival of the Sinhala population and an intimate
intercourse between them and the Tamils. This is also, borne out by the
retention of some territorial names, like Valikamam ( Sinh. Valigama) and
Maracci (Maracci-rata), which points to the retention of the old
territorial devisions and tell strongly against wholesale extermination
or displacement of the Sinhalese population.. (page 276)
The earliest evidence regarding the presence of Tamils in the Jaffna
peninsula is possibly the Tamil inscription of Parakrama bahu I
(1153-1186) from Nainativu. We have seen earlier that till about the
ninth century our evidence points to minor settlements of Tamils in such
important ports as Mahatittha (Mannar) and Gakanna (Trincomalee) as well
as in Anuradhapura, where there was a considerable number of mercenary
soldiers. In the ninth and tenth centuries some villages in Rajarattha
seem to have accomodated Tamil settlers but these were by no means
numerous.It seems unlikely that there were many Tamil settlers in the
Jaffna peninsula or in any part of the island other than the major ports
and the capital city before the tenth century. As we stated earlier,
there were perhaps some Tamil traders in the ports of Jambukola and
Uratota, in the Jaffna peninsula. But we have no evidence on this point..
(page 282)
The Sanskrit inscription from Trincomalee, discovered among the ruins of
the Konesvaram temple, refers to a personage named Cadaganga who went to
Ceylon in 1223. Paranavitana has identified this person with Kulakkottan.
The inscription is fragmentary and is engraved on a part of a stone door
jamb. Among thedecipherable words is the name Gokarna, the ancient name
of Trincomalee and the root from which the name of the temple is derived
(Gokarnesvara). (page 331)
In the Tamil Vanni districts only a few Dravidian style saiva temples of
the thirteenth century have been found, Among these the temples at
Tirukkovil, Kpuralla, and nallatanni-irakkam and the Saiva remains at
Uruttirapuram and Kuruntanur are notable. These certainly indicate the
existance of Tamil settlements in those places in the thirteenth century.
But monumental remains of a different type attest to the destruction
wrought by the invaders and the conversion of Buddhist institutions into
places of saiva worship, effected by the new settlers, thus confirming
the statements in the Sinhala sources. The manny scattered ruins of
Buddhist monasteries and temples all over the vanni region preserve the
memory of the Sinhalese Buddhist settlements that once covered these
parts. Several of the pilimages (image houses) attached to the
monasteries in places like Kovilkadu, Malikai, Omantai,
Kanakarayan-kulam, Iracentiran-kulam, Cinnappuvaracankulam and Madukanda
were converted into Saiva temples, often dedicated to Ganesa. Buddha
images or inscribed slabs from the Buddhist structures were used to
makethe Ganesa statues.(J.P.Lewis, Manual of the Vanni Districts, pp
.297, 303-306, 311) A number of small Saiva shrines have been found in
association with Buddhist remains. The destruction of several of the
Buddhist edifices and the conversion of pilimages into Saiva temples may
have begun at the time of Magha. In the North Central Province, too , we
find evidence of such activities. On Minneriya Road, close to
Polonnaruwa, were discovered a few Saiva edifices which were built of
materials from Buddhist structures. A door jamb from one of the Saiva
shrines there was found to bear part of an inscription of Parakramabahu
I. A broken pillar shaft with Sinhalese wrting of the tenth century was
recovered from the enclosing wall of another shrine. In one of the Visnu
temples of Polonnaruwa, fragments of Nissanka malla’s stone inscriptions
were found. In the same place, two fragments of a broken pillar with
Sinhalese writing of about the tenth century served as steps to one of
the Vaisnava shrines. A pillar in the mandapa of Siva Devale No.5 at
Polonnaruwa was discovered with a Sinhala inscription of the eleventh
century on it. In Siva Devale No.7 a square stone asana with an
inscription of Nissanka malla was used as a base for a linga. Another of
the Saiva shrines unearthed at Polonnaruwa yielded a pillar with a
Sinhalese inscription of Jayabahu I. These examples leave us in no doubt
that materials from Buddhist structures were used in the building of
Saiva and Vaisnava temples. The date of most inscriptions found on the
pillars and slabs is the twelfth century. The date of the construction of
these Saiva and Vaisnava shrines is certainly later than that. (page
361-364)
The invasion of Magha with the help of Kerela and Tamil merceneries was
far more violent than the earlier invasions. Its chief importance lies in
the fact that it led to the permanent dislodgement of Sinhalese power
from northern Ceylon, the confiscation by Tamils and Keralas of lands
andproperties belonging to the Sinhalese and the consequent migration of
the official class and many of the common people to the south western
regions. (page 395-396)
Abimanyu singam
Umberto Gui (nm...@dial.pipex.com) wrote:
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TAMIL EELAM LIBERATION
STRUGGLE
INTRODUCTION
Sri Lanka formerly called Ceylon in English and known in Tamil
as ILANKAI or EELAM is an island situated at the southern extremity
of the Indian subcontinent, separated from it at its narrowest
point by only 22 miles of sea called Palk Strait. It lies between
six and ten degrees north of the Equator, and on the longitude of
79 to 81 degrees east. Its area is 25,332 square miles comprising
Sri Lanka 18,042 and Tamil Eelam 7,290 sq miles. The total
population is 17,103,000, according to latest population
statistics (1991), consisting of 12,656,000 Sinhalese, 3,113,000
Tamils, Muslims (mostly Tamil speaking) 1,214,000 and others
120,000.
THE EARLY TAMILS
The Tamils are an ancient people with a history dating back to
atleast 2,500 years. The Tamil language, the lingua franco of the
Tamils, is one of the five oldest living languages of the world.
The Tamil classical literature, popularly called the Sangam
(Academy) literature (1st -4th Century AD) is a collection of poems
of lasting quality and artistic merit. They reflect faithfully the
high level of civilization and literary attainments of the ancient
Tamils.
THE EARLY SINHALESE
The Sinhala people trace their origins in the island to the
arrival of Prince Vijaya from Bengal in India, about 2500 years
ago. The Mahavamsa, a Sinhala chronicle written by a Buddhist
Bhikku by the name of Mahanama, (6th Century AD) records that
Prince Vijaya arrived on the island on the same day that the Buddha
attained enlightenment.
WHO CAME FIRST
Although attempts are made to trace the history of Ceylon
before the arrival of Vijaya (about 500 BC), who is credited as the
founder of the present Sinhalese race, there is sufficient
historical and archaeological evidence to prove the existence of a
high level of civilization before him. The proto history of Ceylon
could be traced back to atleast 5000 years to the period of Raman
of the epic Ramayanam. Raman (the same Raman about whose temple
there is violent dispute between the Hindus and Muslims in Uttar
Pradesh India at present) who was an Aryan king from north India
fought against the Tamil Yaksha king of Ilankai (Ceylon) Ravanan
who had abducted Rama's wife Seethai. Jawaharlal Nehru in his book
Glimpses of World History describes the war between Raman and
Ravanan as a war between the Aryans and Dravidians.
Therefore, the oft-repeated question as to who came first, the
Tamils or the Sinhalese, is a controversial subject emotively
debated by both the parties, but the following observation by the
eminent Sinhala historian and Cambridge scholar, Paul Peiris
represent an influential and common sese point of view:
" ... it stands to reason that a country which was only thirty
miles from India and which would have been seen by Indian fisherman
every morning as they sailed out to catch their fish, would have
been occupied as soon as the continent was peopled by men who
understood how to sail ..... Long before the arrival of Prince
Vijaya, there were in Sri Lanka five recognised isvarams of Siva
which claimed and received adoration of all India. These were
Tiruketeeswaram near Mahatitha; Munneeswaram dominating Salawatta
and the pearl fishery; Tondeswaram near Mantota; Tirkoneswaram
near the great bay of Kottiyar and Nakuleswaram near
Kankesanthurai. Their situation close to these ports cannot be the
result of accident or caprice and was probably determined by the
concourse of a wealthy mercantile population whose religious wants
called for attention ...." (Paul E. Pieris: Nagadipa and Buddhist
Remains in Jaffna: Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch
Vol.28)
EARLY POLITICAL HISTORY
The early political history of the people of South India and
Sri Lanka, before the advent of the European powers, is largely a
chronicle of the rise and fall of individdual kingdoms. South India
was ruled mostly by the three great Kings Cholas, Seras an
Pandiyas. Sometimes they faught against the invaders and some times
they warred against each other. In addition to these three great
kings there were also petty kings who ruled over large tracts of
land, nominally independant, but paying tribute to one or more of
the three Kings. Among the three kings the Cholas were easily the
most powereful and the only naval power in India. The army of Raja
Raja the Great (984-1014) invaded Ceylon, made Rajarata a part of
the Chola empire, and founded Polonnaruwa as the capital city.
Rarajah's sone Rajendra (1014 - 1044) further extended the
Chola empire, so that in the 11th century the mighty Cholas ruledd
over Ceylon, Kampuchea, Malaya and greater part of Indonesia.
The society was fuedal in structure and alnd was the most
dominat means of production. The Sangam literature provides
evidence of the lucrative two-way trade these kingdoms had with far
away Roman and Greek empires.
INDEPENANCE IN 1948
Sri Lanka attained its independence from British colonial
rule in February 04,1948. The first parliamentary elections were
held in 1947 under the Soulbury constitution. The total members of
parliament was 96 with an additional 6 appointed members
representing minority communities. Mr.D.S.Senanayake, the leader of
the United National Party (formerly Ceylon National Congress),
formed the government. He became the first Prime Minister of an
independent Ceylon.
THE KINGDOMS
Ceylon had been ruled by both Tamil and Sinhalese kings, the
Tamil Kingdom comprising the north and eastern parts and the
Sinhalese Kingdom(s) the western & southern parts of Ceylon. There
were brief periods when the whole of Ceylon came under a single
ruler. Otherwise, there existed two or more Kingdoms and the
Tamil Kingdom always one of them. The Tamil Kingdom, later came to
be called the Jaffna Kingdom existed as a separate polity for
centuries. The first war between a Tamil King who ruled
Anuradhapura and a Sinhalese king from the south was fought in the
2nd century BC.
In 1505 when the Portuguese landed in Ceylon there was not one
but three Kingdoms, the Jaffna Kingdom in the north & east, the
Kotte Kingdom in the west and Kandyan Kingdom in the centre.
The Jaffna Kingdom was captured by the Portuguese when the king
of Jaffna was defeated in June,1619. He was captured and taken by
the Portuguese to Goa where he was hanged. The Portuguese ruled
Jaffna Kingdom from 1619 to 1658. The Dutch who captured the
Kingdom from the Portuguese ruled till 1795 and the British till
February 03,1948.
The Jaffna Kingdom was ruled as a separate polity both by the
Portuguese and the Dutch. The boundaries of the Jaffna Kingdom was
kept intact. The customary laws of the Tamils (Thesavalamai) was
used along with Roman-Dutch law. It was in 1933 the British King
William IV under a charter following the recommendations of the
Colebrook Commission amalgamated north and east with the rest of
Ceylon for administrative convenience.
The two nations, the Tamil and Sinhalese, existed separately
in well defined territory could be seen from the following minute
by the British Governor Cleghorn -
"Two different nations, from a very ancient period have
divided between them in possession of the Island(Ceylon). First the
Cinhalese, in habiting the interior of the country in its southern
and western parts from the river Wallouve to that of Chilow, and
secondly the Malabars (Tamils_ who possess the northern and eastern
districts. These two nations differ entirely in their religions,
language and culture ..."(emphasis ours).
DEMAND FOR BALANCED REPRESENTATION
Before independence although the Tamils did not demand the
restoration of the National status ante, they did demand balanced
representation. This demand came to be known as 50-50 envisaged
allocating 50% of the parliamentary seats to the Sinhalese and the
balance 50% to the Tamils, Muslims, Burgers and other minority
groups. This was rejected by the Soulbury Commission, but they did
incorporate Section 29 (2) (b) and (c) which curtailed the
legislative power of Parliament to "make laws for the peace, order
and good government of the island". This Section provided that no
such law shall impose any disabilities, or confer any advantages,
on members of any one community only.
TAMILS LOSE CITIZENSHIP AND FRANCHISE
Before the ink could dry on the new constitution the Ceylon
parliament passed the Ceylon Citizenship Act No.18 of 1948 which
deprived a million Tamils of Indian origin their citizenship.
This was followed up with the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections)
Amendment Act No.48 of 1949 which deprived the Tamils of their
franchise as well. This category of Tamils who had 7 seats in the
Parliament and held balance of power in a further 20-30 electorates
failed to elect even a single member in the elections to the
parliament held in 1953.
THE RISE OF SINHALA-BUDDHIST NATIONALISM
The deprivation of citizenship of a million Tamils was the
result of actions of a Sinhala -Buddhist majority which regarded
the island as the exclusive home of Sinhala Buddism and the Tamils
as invaders from Tamil Nadu in South India.
" The history of Sri Lanka is the history of the Sinhalese
race ... The Sinhalese people were entrusted 2500 years ago, with
a great and nobel charge, the preservation .... of Buddhism .. in
1956 will occur the unique three fold event - the completion of
2500 years of Ceylon's history, of the tie of the Sinhalese and
Buddhism ... The birth of the Sinhalese race would thus seem to
gave been not a mere chance, not an accidental occurrence, but a
predetermined event of high import and purpose. The nation semed
designed, as it were, from its rise, primarily to carry aloft for
fifty centuries the torch that was lit by the grear World-Mentor
(the Buddha) twenty five centuries ago.. " (The revolt in the
Temple, by D.C VIjayawardena, 1953).
This is just one example of what has become the battle cry of
the Sinhala-Buddhists sole and exclusive claim to the whole of
Ceylon. Before him the great Buddhist revivalist Anagarika
Dharmapala (1864-1931), whose earlier name was Don David
Hewavitarne took the name of Anagarika (in Pali meaning "the
homeless one") and Dharmapala ( meaning "the guardian of the
doctrine") in his book History of an Ancient Civilization (1902)
wrote:
Ethnologically, the Sinhalese are a unique race, inasmuch as
they can boast that they have no slave blood in them, and were
never conququered by either the paga Tamils or European vanadals
who for three centuries devastated the land, destroyed ancient
temples, burnt valuable libraries, and nearly annihilated the
historic race .... This bright, bueautiful island was made into a
paradise by the Aryan Sinhalese before its destruction was brought
about by the barbaric vandals .... For the students of ethnology
the Sinhalese stand as the representatives of Aryan civilization
...
This potent mixture of legend and superstition, passe off as
historical fact, was nurtured, refined and exploited by successive
Sinhalese political leaders who sought to perpetuate their rule
over the Tamils.
THE SINHALA ONLY ACT OF 1956
As predicted with remarkable foresight by S.J.V.Celvanayagm in
Parliament during the debate on Citizenship Bill ( 1948) the next
blow was dealt to the Tamils when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Government of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake enacted Sinhala
Only as the Official Language in June 1956. The enactment of this
Act, quite contrary to the hitherto official policy of recognising
both Sinhalese and Tamil as Official languages, made Tamils second
class citizens in their country of birth overnight.
It was undoubtedly a betrayal of the two language policy of
considering both Tamil and Sinhalese as official languages.
Politically it was a master stroke by the majority Sinhalese to
deprive jobs in the government and state corporations. The Tamils
were humiliated to a degree that left generations of Tamils to
feel socially as outcasts and politically second class citizens.
Phillip Gunawardene, a Minister in Bandareanayake's government
and a vocivorous champion of Sinhal Only told Parliament:
"We are completeting by this (Sinhala Only) Bill an important
phase in our national struggle. The restoration of the Sinhala
language to the position it occupied before the occupation of this
country by foreign powers, marks an important stage in the history
of the development of this island" (Hansard, 14th June 1956)
The peaceful Satyragraha by the Tamils to protest against the
Sinhala Only language policy at Galle Face Green overlooking the
Parliament in Colombo was broken up by Sinhalese hoodlums. This was
followed by Island wide riots in which hundreds of Tamils lost
their lives and property worth millions destroyed. The 1956 riots
was the beginning of a series of racially motivated Tamil pogroms
by Sinhalese covertly encouraged by successive governments and
overtly supported by the security forces. These pogroms with
increased ferocity and venom were repeated in 1958, 1961, 1977,
1979, 1981 and 1983.
In July 1957 Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranayake signed a pact with
Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayagam, popularly called the Bandaranayake-
Chelvanayagam pact, of the Tamil Federal Party giving a measure of
regional autonomy in spheres of land, language, education, etc. But
the pact was torn apart by Mr.Bandaranayake under pressure from
Sinhalese-Buddhist chauvinists. Foremost among them was no other
than Mr.J.R.Jayawardena of the United National Party who undertook
a march to Kandy in protest. A similar Pact signed by
Mr.Chelvanayagam with Mr.Dudley Senanayake in 1965 too met the same
fate.
A non-violent Satyragraha campaign launched by the Tamil
Federal party in the northern eastern provinces which paralysed
civil administration was ruthlessly broken-up using the army. This
army is dominated by the Sinhalese (99%) and continued to be used
as an instrument of state terrorism to this very day. The entire
security forces now number over 100,000 and heavily armed with
modern military hardware, fighter bombers, helicopter gun-
ships,tanks, armoured vehicles, naval patrol boats etc. The
government of Sri Lanka is currently spending upto 20% of the
state budget to maintain it.
In 1970 the government of Mrs.Srimawo Bandaranayake (widow of
Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranayake) rubbed salt into wounds by introducing
the notorious "Standardisation" of education. This discriminate
policy required higher marks from Tamil students for University
admissions vis-a-vis the Sinhalese students. The combination of
Sinhala Only and Standardization in education acted as a lethal
dose of racism on the polity. These discriminatory laws first
squeezed and then shut Tamils from employment opportunities in
government and Tamil students from University admissions. These
racial acts coupled with state terrorism, as we shall see later,
culminated in the demand for the restoration of the Tamil state
which existed prior to the conquest of Ceylon by the colonial
powers. The struggle initially was by peaceful means and when that
failed then transformed itself into an armed national liberation
war. The most vicious form of genocidal oppression calculated to
destroy the national identity of the Tamils as a separate and
distinct nation was the state aided massive colonization of
traditional homelands by Sinhalese settlers. These planned
colonization ever since independence had swallowed more than 3000
square miles of Tamil Eelam. An entire district has been created
into a Sinhalese majority district and additional two electoral
districts carved out to return Sinhalese to parliament.
In 1972 a new republican constitution was adopted which
removed even the meagre safeguards [(Section 29 (2) (b) & (c)]
contained in the Soulbury constitution. This infamous constitution,
ironically authored by a Troskite (4th International) Minister in
Mrs.Bandaranyake cabinet created the conditions for the political
alienation of the Tamils and a deep wedge between the two nations.
The constitution incorporated the Sinhala Only Act as part of the
constitution and enthroned Buddhism as the foremost religion to be
fostered by the state. Amendments moved by the Tamil Federal Party
to the draft constitution demanding a federal constitution and
parity of status for Tamil along with Sinhalese were defeated by
the government. In protest the Federal Party withdrew from further
deliberations of the Constituent Assembly and boycotted same. As a
mark of protest Mr.Chelvanayagam resigned his seat in Parliament
and challenged the government to hold an election to test the
acceptability of the new constitution. He simultaneously sought a
mandate from the Tamil people mandate for the restoration of the
defunct Tamil state. No elections were held till January, 1975 and
Mr.Chelvanayagam won the by-election against a government supported
candidate with a huge margin of 16,000 votes.
In 1975 confronted with the steadily mounting national
oppression, frustrated with the failure of the democratic
political struggles, the Tamil national parties converged into a
single movement (The Tamil Liberation Front). It resolved to fight
for political independence on the nation's right to self-
determination.
In 1976 the Tamil United Front at its first convention held in
Vaddukkoddai resolved to restore and reconstitute the state of
Eelam. The resolution read -
"The First National Convention of the Tamil Liberation Front,
meeting at Pannakam (Vaddukkoddai Constituency) on the 14th of
May,1976, hereby declares that the Tamils of Ceylon,by virtue of
their great language, their religions, their separate culture and
heritage, their history of independent existence as a separate
state over a distinct territory for several centuries till they
were conquered by the armed might of European invaders and above
all by their will to exist as a separate entity ruling themselves
in their own territory, are a nation distinct and apart from their
the Sinhalese and their constitution announces to the world that
the Republican Constitution of 1972 has made the Tamils a slave
nation ruled by the new colonial masters, the Sinhalese, who are
using the power they have wrongly usurped to deprive the Tamil
nation of its territory, language, citizenship, economic life,
opportunities of employment and education and thereby destroying
all the attributes of nationhood of the Tamil people.
And therefore, while taking note of the reservations
......plantation workers, the majority of whom live and work
outside the Northern and Eastern areas.
This convention resolves that the restoration and
reconstitution of the Free, Sovereign, Secular, Socialist State of
Tamil Eelam based on the right of self-determination inherent in
every nation has become inevitable in order to safeguard the very
existence of the Tamil nation in this country".
In the elections held in 1977 the Tamil United Liberation
Front (renamed in 1976) in their manifesto, after describing the
structure of the Eelam state, its citizenship, its official
language, the abolition of the caste system, its economic policy,
etc. and how the liberation would be achieve, the manifesto stated-
-
"The Tamil nation must take the decision to establish its
sovereignty in its homeland on the basis of its right to self-
determination. The only way to announce this decision to the
Sinhalese government and to the world is to vote for the Tamil
United Liberation Front. The Tamil speaking representatives who get
elected through these votes, while being members of the National
State Assembly of Ceylon, will also form themselves into the
National Assembly of Tamil Eelam and establish the independence of
Tamil Eelam by bringing the constitution into operation either by
peaceful means or by direct action or struggle"
In the elections that followed the TULF received an
overwhelming mandate having won 18 seats out of 24 contested. By
fortuitous circumstances the TULF also emerged as the official
opposition in Parliament. Unfortunately this was also the undoing
of the TULF since Mr.Amirthalingam, the leader of the TULF, came to
be more delighted in his new role as the Leader of the Opposition
than leader of a movement committed to win liberation through
peaceful means, direct action or struggle. Mr.Amirthalingam started
talking about an alterative to the Eelam demand and eventually
settled down for District Development Councils. This experiment
failed in the face of a chauvinistic and intransigent cabinet. In
any case the Tamils felt that the DDC was a sop and the Tamil
leadership have been taken yet again for a ride by crafty
Sinhalese politicians, specially Mr.J.R.Jayawardena, Prime Minister
and later President of Sri Lanka.
In 1978 yet another Constitution was enacted which tightened
the enslavement of the Tamils further. The TULF like in 1972 walked
out of the constitution assembly and took no part in its
deliberations.
In 1979 the Sri Lankan government enacted the notorious
Prevention of Terrorism Act to cope with the growing militancy,
notably of the Liberation Tigers. This act and the subsequent crack
down by the army of Tamil youths made the situation worse and
confirmed the fears of the Tamils that the Sinhalese government was
hell bent to exterminate them. The racial riots of 1977 and 1979
poured oil on already burning fire.
From 1979, because of the Sinhalese army occupation of Jaffna
and the state terrorism let loose on the people, hostility began to
grow and the emotional division between the Sinhalese and the
Tamils became more acute. A group of highly organised young Tamil
militants, first calling themselves the New Tamil Tigers and later
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1976 emerged to confront
the government terrorism by bearing arms.
In July, 1983 the Tamil Tigers ambushed a convey of Sinhalese
army in the north and killed 13 Sinhalese soldiers. This ignited
another Tamil Pogrom surpassing all the previous ones in its
intensity and destruction of life and property. A panicked
government of Mr.Jayawardena at the growing militancy of the Tamils
and the cry for separation sought to defuse the situation by the
6th amendment to the Constitution by compelling all office holders,
including Members of Parliament, to take an oath of allegiance to
the unitary constitution. Unable to comply with this forced
allegiance the TULF boycotted the parliament and later lost their
seats. With the forced political exile and eventual marginalization
of the moderate leadership of the Tamils by the constitutional
amendment, the Tamil militant groups, notably the Tigers gained
ascendancy. Today LTTE is the undisputed and authentic leaders of
the Tamil people in the vanguard of the national liberation war.
The many battles and the recent fighting at Elephant Pass
which assumed all the hallmarks of a conventional war between the
Tamil Tigers and Sinhalese army had established the fact that there
are not only two separate nations but two separate armies as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abimanyu singam | O see ye not yon narrow road,
Carleton University | So thick beset wi'thorns and briers,
Bio-Biotechnology | That is the path of Righteousness,
Email add.: asi...@chat.carleton.ca | Though after it but few inquires.
Forgive, but never forget- Ben Gurion| - Thomas the Rhymer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
sankarlal
Umberto Pie is paid by SriLankan Gove to write these nonsense.
Therefore, please ignore his articles or replies. Moreover, he has a
hollow ass.
Bye for now
Sankarlal
Abimanyu singam
Umberto Gui (nm...@dial.pipex.com) wrote:
> an enlightening experiance for Tamils of the eelam school of thought.
DE QUEYROZ
Fernao de Queyroz whose book on The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of
Ceylon, written in 1687 and described as second only to the Mahavamsa,
says (Book 1 page 51) of the Tamil Kingdom of Ceylon as follows: This modest
Kingdom is not confined to the little district of Jaffnapatao (Jaffnapatam),
because to it are also added the neighboring lands, and those of the Vani,
which is said tot be the name of the Lordship which they held before we
obtained possession of them, separated from the preceding by a salty river,
and connected only in the extremity of isthmus of Pachalapali (Pachilaipaly),
within which were the land of Baligamo, Temerache, and Pachalapali
(Valigamam, Vadamaradchy and Pachilaipaly) forming that peninsula, and
outside it there stretch the lands of Vani crosswise, from the side of Mannar
to that of Triquilemale (Trincomalee), being separated also from the country
of Mantota in the Jurisdiction of the Captain of Mannar by the River Paragali
(Perunkaly); which (lands) end in the River of the Cross in the midst of the
lands of the Vani and of others which stretch as far as Triquilemale
(Trincomalee), which according to the map appears to be large tract of
country.
PAVILJEON
Paviljeon, the Dutch Commander of Jaffnapatam, in his memoir dated 1665
describes the territory under the sovereign power of his company as
stretching from
the North-East to the South-West from Trincomalee to Calpentyn (including the
provinces of the Wanni which lie between these); further all, territory
stretching from towards the sea, including the island of Mannar and the
islets round about the province of Jaffnapatam forming together a larger part
of this splendid and famous island of Ceylon, (Dutch instructions 1908 p.
105).
FERGUSON
Donald Ferguson s account of the Earliest Dutch Visits to Ceylon, has
several references describing the extensive Tamil territories of Ceylon.
VAN GOENS
The Dutch Governor Van Goens writing in October 1675, ... the inhabitants
of Batticaloa (both in customs, religion, origin and other Characteristics)
together with those of Jaffnapatam, Cotjaar, and on westward right over to
Calpentyn and the northern portion of the Mangul Korale inclusive, have been
from the remotest times, and are still now Malabars..... (JABBRAS vol. 31
No. 82, 1929 p. 368.) Van Goens elaborates his description further in the
same Report by referring to the domination of old Malabarish rajas and to a
vast territory of Tamil country extending from the east to the west, from the
Batticaloa district to the sea coast on west side as far as Negombo (pp.376
and 377).
VAN IMHOFF
The Dutch Governor Baron Van Imhoff in his memoir of 1740 states that the
lands between Caymelle to Walwe which belonged to the company was
territory of the Sinhalese as contrasted with Jaffnapatam which he says on
the contrary having been formerly a kingdom by itself, and being inhabited by
a different race with the Comtoir Mannar belonging thereto and its three
Provinces Mantotte, Nathan (Nandaan) and Moesely as also the Wanni and the
territory along the western boundary of the same, and north Mannar, extending
up to ten or twelve miles up to Jaffnapatam, is ruled in different manner
both with regard to its political and its civil affairs (Dutch Memoirs 1911
pp. 30 and 31.)
ANTHONY MOOYART
Anthony Mooyart, Commander of Jaffnapatam, in 1766 described the Dutch
Commandant of Jaffnapatam as covering a great extent of territory. viz. One
third of the island of Ceylon, and quite independent of the Kandyans, the
inhabitants of it differing from the Kandyans in language, customs and form
of government (Dutch Memoirs 1910, p. 8.) Mannar was within the jurisdiction
of the Commandeur of Jaffnapatam. The Tthesawalamai Commissioner s Report of
1919 had stated It thus appears that Jaffnapatam in the Dutch times included
the districts of Mannar and Mullaitivu.
Anthonisz in his Dutch in Ceylon confirmed that Mannar Trincomalee and
Batticaloa were minor stations under the rule of Jaffna (p. 184). Father S.
G. Perera in his History of Ceylon and Dr. Paul Pieris in his Portuguese
Era have also confirmed this.
The kingdom of Jaffnapatam was overwhelmed by Portuguese force of arms. The
Portuguese did not conquer Jaffnapatam on the orders of the King of Kandy,
nor to make it a jewel in the crown of the Kandyan monarch. The Portuguese
held fast to Jaffnapatam as a priceless possession until they were eventually
subdued by the Dutch. The Dutch in their turn gave in to the British. The
territory of the King of Kandy was defined in 1766 by the treaty of Peace of
that year. This territory did not include, the present Northern and Eastern
Provinces which were accepted by universal consent as purely Tamil provinces.
The Burnat Altendroff Map of Ceylon of 1794 indicates the boundaries
delimited by the treaty of 1766. The Notes in Dutch accompanying this map
record that the Malabars inhabited the Northern and Eastern portions between
the Chilaw river and that of Kumbukkan--Arr (see map of Lands, Maps and
Survey by Brohier and Paulusz Vol. 2 p. 53 referred to by Brohier as the
last geographical Map of Ceylon issued in the Dutch period; it was this
territory in the Maritime districts of Ceylon which the Dutch surrendered to
the British in 1796 (JABRAS Vol. 38 No. 107, 1949, p. 133,) as distinct from
the Kingdom of Kandy which was annexed by the British in 1815.
CLEGHORN
Hugh Cleghorn, the agent by whose instrumentality the island of Ceylon was
annexed to the British Empire in his famous Cleghorn Minute dated 1st June
1799 on the Dutch Administration of Ceylon says, (reproduced by Ralph Pieris
in the journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1954 Vol. 3
Part 2 Page 131), Two different nations, from a very ancient period, have
divided between them the possession of the island: First the Sinhalese
inhabiting the interior of the country, in its southern and western parts,
from the river Walouve, to that of Chilaw, and secondly the Malabars who
possess the northern and eastern district. The word Malabar was synonymous
with Tamil.
BROWNRIGG
On the 10th July, 1813 Sir Robert Brownrigg, Governor of Ceylon writing to
the secretary of State the Right Hon. Earl of Bathurst, in a dispatch from
King s House Colombo, makes reference to certain Regulations that had been
drawn up by Governor Maitland for the Ceylon Civil Service and comments as
follows on the language question, thereby outlining the Government policy at
that time.
As to the qualification required in the knowledge of the native languages,
wrote Sir Robert, the Portuguese and Sinhalese only being mentioned excludes
one which is fully as necessary in the Northern Districts as the Sinhalese in
the south. I mean the Tamil language, commonly called the malabar language
which with the mixture of Portuguese in use through all the Provinces, is the
proper native tongue of the inhabitants from Puttalam to Batticaloa northward
inclusive of both these Districts. Your Lordship will, therefore, I hope,
have no objection to my putting the Tamil on an equal footing of
encouragement with the Sinhalese.
TENNENT
Emerson Tennent in his book on Ceylon published in 1859 says ..... the
languages of the north of the island from Chilaw on the west coast to
Baticaloa in the east, is chiefly, and in the majority of the localities,
exclusively Tamil.
Umberto Gui
Abimanyu singam wrote:
>
> Umberto Gui (nm...@dial.pipex.com) wrote:
>
> A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TAMIL EELAM LIBERATION
> STRUGGLE
more prominent Tamils, mostly members and activists of
Democratic political parties, killed by the Tamil Terrorists
in order to silence the Democratic Tamil voice, so that
they can GRAB POWER by terror. Any Tamil who
speaks against them will be killed.
A.T. Duraiyappah [SLFP Mayor of Jaffna on
27.7.75]
A.Thiagarajah [ex ACTC M.P. for Vadukoddai
who later joined the UNP on 24.4.81]
K.T.Pulendran [UNP Organiuser for Vavuniya on
19.1.83]
A.J.Rajasooriar [UNP Organiser for Jaffna on
12.8.83]
Mala Ramachandran [UNP MMC for Batticaloa
on1.9.83]
Gnanachandiram [Ex District Judge Point Pedro
and Government Agent Mullaitivu on 24.2.85]
C.E.Anandarajah [Principal St.Johns College,
Jaffna on 26.6.85]
B.K.Thambipillai, [President, Citizens Committee
Oddusudan on 22.8.85]
V.Dharmalingam [Ex TULF M.P. for Manipay and
father of D.Siddharthan Leader of PLOTE on
2.9.85]
Alalasunderam [Ex TULF M.P. for Kopay on
2.9.95]
P.Kirubakaran [Primary Court Judge on 11.3.86]
Kathiramalai [Sarvodaya leader on 26.9.86]
Vignarajah [Assistant Government Agent
Samanthurai on 15.9.87]
Anthonimuttu [Government Agent Batticaloa on
8.10.87]
S.S.Jeganathan [Assistant Government Agent
Batticaloa on 8.10.87]
Sinnadurai [Assistant Government Agent
Trincomalee on 26.11.87]
M.E.Kandasamy [Principal, Palugamam Maha
Vidyalaya on 14.12.87]
S.Siththamparanathan [Principal Vigneswara
Vidyalaya Trincomalee on 31.1.88]
S.Wijayanandan [District Secretary Ceylon
Communist Party on 8.3.88]
Velmurugu Master [TULF Organiser and Citizens
Committee Member Kalmunai on 20.3.88]
Rev. Father Chandra Fernando [President,
Citizens' Committee, Batticaloa on 6.6.88]
Rajshankar [President Citizen's Committee
Tennamarachchi on 27.10.88]
S.Sambandamoorthy [Ex TULF Chairman District
Development Council, Batticaloa on 7.3.89]
V.M.Panchalingam [Government Agent, Jaffna on
1.5.89]
K.Pulendran [Assistant Government Agent, Kopay
on 28.6.89]
A.Amirthalingam [TULF Leader and National List
M.P. on 13.7.89]
V.Yogeswaran [ex TULF M.P for Jaffna on
13.7.89]
Dr. (Mrs) Rajini Thiranagama [Lecturer in
Anatomy at the Jaffna University and co-author of
the 'Broken Palmyrah' on 25.9.89]
Ganeshalingam [ex EPRLF Provincial Minister for
North & East on 28.1.90]
Sam Thambimuttu [EPRLF MP] and Mrs.
Tambimuttu [on 7.5.90]
V.Yogasangari [EPRLF MP in Madras on
19.6.90]
Shadow
For every stupid idiotic oaf that rules Sri Lanka and slips into
the West there are thousands of poor that will follow. The
ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is as alien to these Big Sri Lankan
fools (Modayas) and small Sri Lankan fools (modayas) as the
spaceship behind the Hale-Bopp comet. These modayas wonder what
would happen to the Tamils if this and that but if and then.
These modayas never wonder about what if you leave the Tamils
alone. They can not stop wondering about others because their own
state is in rotten conditions. They wonder about "saving" the
West from the Tamils because their own state is in rotten
conditions. The Modayas think they know a lof of history. The
Modayas think that by displaying their history knowledge that
others will be impressed. The Modayas think that by displaying
history the poor uneducated will be impressed and can be
manipulated. The poor of Sri Lanka have been listening to these
Modayas and find that history does not feed their mouth or cloth
them. The fact these Modayas do not know a thing. Lest of all
anything about history.
You can stop the one Modaya and save the thousands of poor. Here
is the reason why:
When you let others dictate the terms of your freedom, you have
to live by their dictates and at their behest. This Punde
Umberto is like the Mubuto Zairian dude. Mubeto is on the run
and is at the mercy of his coldwar masters. He becomes a rug for
people to step on since he didn't fight for his freedom himself.
Umberto "the Felix Dias" wants people to eat grass while he feeds
his chickens with paripu lentils. By eating all the paripu in
the world, the fat dictators brains have turned into paripu. All
he can do at this point is whine in the West. He is whining
about the Tamils beating up his arse. The West should just
ignore him, and let him face the consequences of oppression
himself. Give refuge to the poor ones that leave because they
are the authentic refugees, not this pol pot dictator who has
been ruling the country under the guise of democracy. This guy
is like the Albanian government thugs who invest their country's
hard earned currency in beauty pagents and gambling, while their
poor country men can go to hell. The Albanian thugs are too kind
by Sri Lankan standards. Whereas the Albanians use the poor
peoples' money for gambling, the Sri Lankans use the poor
peoples' money to buy weapons to kill even more poor people.
Killing the poor is entertainment for Modaya Umberto.
The West fought for its freedom from the dictators of the 1940s
and are now housing these sleezy greasy Modaya king-thugs in
their midst.
The poor Tamils are fighting for their freedom themselves. They
arent asking Russian mig pilots to do their work. The only way to
enjoy freedom is to earn it. These Umberto thugs never fought
for their freedom so they dont know what freedom is. Umberto
Thugs never trust their own people and they prefer to get Russian
fighters to win their freedom. Umberto Thug is garbage and
people who don't stand and fight for their rights are Pundes.
Umberto's fangs have been removed in England. He is a docile or
dosai dog. They believe in a religion of change, but the only
change they feel is the bowel movements from large quantities of
rice and curry that empty from their shit holes.
It is entertaining to see the rich Modaya Umberto get his pants
beaten off of him by the poor people he is trying to deceive.
Why do the rich Modaya Umbertos want to come to West with their
fat arses ? They see the malnourished people in their "native"
surroundings, and the only thing they can understand is FOOD,
lots of FOOD. DRINKS, lots of DRINKS. So they eat and eat, drink
and drink. They eat and drink, drink and eat. Then they develop
heart conditions and need medical attention not afforded by the
medical system in Sri Lanka. They head out to the West for
medical treatment; eventually they die of a heart attack in the
West. Wouldnt it have been better for them to donate their money
in Sri Lanka and work hard for their people ?
This bad logic is what Modaya Umberto represents. Umberto is
worried about the news he reads as a UK citizen in case the
English corner him and take his drinks away and his food runsout.
The West gained just temporarily because the Modaya spent the
poor peoples' money on drinks and food. While Umberto was
drinking and eating he gave money to other modayas to kill the
poor. But there are poor people who got even poorer because of
the Modaya, putting the poor in desparate straits. Remember he
is a dog without a leash. Umberto has been fooling the people
for so long, and he is surprised that those he fools poke a
bamboo up his arse.
Abimanyu singam
Umberto Gui (nm...@dial.pipex.com) wrote:
> Abimanyu singam wrote:
> >
> > Umberto Gui (nm...@dial.pipex.com) wrote:
> >
> > A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TAMIL EELAM LIBERATION
> >
STRUGGLE
1. AGONY OF THE TAMIL NATION
Genocide as generally defined has two aspects. One aspect
refers to the gradual and systematic destruction and dismemberment
of the basic foundations of a nation of a people, their language,
culture, their history, their economic existence and their
geographical entity. The other refers to the actual physical
extermination of a national community. The tamil Nation of the
Island has been subjected to this dual form of genocide since the
Independence of Sri Lanka in 1948.
A calculated multi-pronged genocidal operation was unleashed
against our people by successive Sinhala chauvinistic regimes to
up-root and undermine the national identity of our people. This
genocidal thrust attacked simultaneously on the structural
foundations of the Tamil Nation, on the language, culture, economic
life and geography the cumulative effects of which threatened the
very survival of our people.
Overshadowing the cultural and economic destabilization of the
Tamil Nation were the vicious and violent forms of genocidal
practices aimed at the physical extermination of our people. State
organised riots, which erupted periodically and assumed as a
consistent phenomenon during the present regime, have the
deliberate intent in the physical liquidation of the tamil people.
Thousands of our people have perished in this mad orgies of
violence. The July holocaust of 1983 peaked this pattern of
genocidal mass killings. Since this unprecedented upheaval of
violence the genocide of tamils assumed a new dimension of which
the armed forces and the commando police directly and openly
involved in mass murders. The killings became a very calculated
military strategy of collective punishment, or rather collective
mass reprisals, a notorious strategy inducted by the Israeli
intelligent, the Mossad, aimed to contain the armed resistance
campaign of the Tamil guerrillas. Unable to contain, the
escalating guerrilla war, superbly organised and executed by the
Tamil Tigers, the demoralized army turned their vengeance on the
innocent civilians unleashing a campaign of terrorisation to break
the will of our people and force them to betray the freedom
fighters. The armed forces adopted savage methods to mass
extermination unheard of in contemporary times.
People are burnt alive, buried alive, blasted alive. People are
gunned down in cold blood in the market place, in their homes, on
their farms, on the roads, on the sea, anywhere the armed forces
choose to slaughter them. Innocent young men are rounded up,
forced to dig their own graves and buried alive at gun point.
School children are mowed in their classrooms, villagers are
rounded up, locked in buildings and blasted with explosives. Young
women are brutally raped and murdered. The manner in which the
Tamils are physically exterminated is so cruel, callous and brutal
that has shocked and enraged the conditions of the world. Three of
the 1985 massacres.
that occurred at kurikadduvan, valvettiturai and Ariyalai are
enlisted here:
MASSACRES ON THE FERRY:
On the 15th May 1985, Sri Lankan Navy personnel attacked a ferry
carrying tamil passengers from Delft to kurikadduvan and massacred
about 46 people. It was savage and ruthless massacre. The Navy men
used axes, swords, knives and crowbars and hacked to death all
passengers including all women and children.
VALVETITURAI MASSACRE:
On the 9th of May 1985, went on a rampage committing arson,
looting, rape and mass murder in the coastal village of
valvettiturai in Northern Sri Lanka. About 50 tamil civilians
including children and women were rounded up and forcefully locked
into the village library. Army men then planted high explosives
around the building and blasted the people dead. About 25 people
were rounded up in the streets and were gunned down in cold blood.
In this blood thirsty rampage more than 90 people were murdered.
ARIYALAI MASSACRE:
On the 29th April 1985, the Army personnel attached to Navatkuli
camp entered the village of Ariyalai about 3 kilometres from Jaffna
city and rampaged the whole village. In this mad frenzy of
military terror, about 60 people including women and children were
senselessly slaughtered. Hundreds of houses were set ablaze.
AND THESE MASSACRES CONTINUES.....
2. --------
=========================================================================
The details of the school children who have been killed by aerial bombing
on the Nagarkoil Central School in the Jaffna Peninsula by the Sri Lankan
Air Force Pucara bomber planes on 22-09-1995.
=========================================================================
21 of the 25 children died have been identified.
Name age
----------------------- ---
1. Dharmalingam Ushanthini 13
2. Markandu Nagalosani 10
3. Thamodtharan Sakunthala 12
4. Rasakumar Umakanthan 17
5. Punthavarasa Thushanthini 14
6. Ravindran Amirtha 10
7. Balachandran Rajitha 10
8. Sundaralingam Palanimalai 15
9. Kularasa Annamalai Tharsani 13
10.K. Varsini 12
11.Selvakulasingam Selvanithy 17
12.Krishnakumar Thavaseelan 13
13.Rajaratnam Kavitha 10
14.Nagamuthu Senthivel 15
15.Alphonse Amalaviji 14
16.Mahalingam Shanmugavadivel 16
17.T.Mahintha 10
18.T.Mathini 14
19.Navamani Vithuran 14
20.Selvam 16
21.Ragavan 16
=========================================================================
71 Civilians died by artillery shelling and aerial bombardment by the
Sri Lankan armed forces for the last three days since 20th September 1995.
Some of the names of the persons who have been identified are given below:
=========================================================================
Cilvilians who died by shelling from Palaly army camp in
Jaffna Peninsula on 20-09-1995
Name age place sex
--------------------- --- ------ ---
1. Elayakutty Thangarasu 55 Navalady,Udupiddy female
2. Appiah 85 Navalady,Udupiddy male
3. Selliah Rasiah 75 Santhiveethi, Udupiddy male
21-09-1995
1. Kathirgamar Logiswaran 9 Marapulam, Alvai boy
22-09-1995
1. Rantam Anthoyhas 8 Manatkatu boy
2. Manokarathas Marialtchi 10 Manatkadu boy
3. John Bosco Sharmila 5 Manatkadu girl
4. Velan Veeran Kritnar 70 Udayar Lane
(Vadamaradchi North) male
5. Veeran Rasathurai 36 Udayar Lane male
6. Subramaniam Thangaratnam 60 Muniyappar Kovilady
Katkovalam female
7. Thangarajah Aruchunalingam 59 Vishvakula Lane male
PointPedro
8. Esvaralathan Thileepan 11 Ampanai boy
9. Esvaralathan Vijitha 13 Ampanai girl
10.Esvaralathan Vasikaran 7 Ampanai boy
11.Esvaralathan Sakitha 3 Ampanai girl
12.Sinnathurai Thushanthini 12 Ampanai girl
13.Subramaniam Pathimamary 40 Point Pedro female
[END]
3.
SATHTHURUKKONDAN MASSACRE
Following is the terrifying testimony provided by the
witnesses to the enquiry commission about the massacre of the
Tamils in the Saththurukkondan Army Camp.
During the President's Enquiry commission's hearings on those
missing, conducted under retired judge Gopala Krishnar a Kanthasamy
Krishnakumar aged 27, the sole survivor of the massacre testified
as follows:
"On the 10 of September 1990, Tamil civilians from Batticaloa,
Saththurukkondan, Panichchaiyady, Kokkuvil, Pillaiyarady were taken
to the Army camp for interrogation. I was the only survivor of that
185 civilians taken there. We were stabbed with sharp knives
including a one and a half year old child, children and women.
He also testified that " On the above said day at around five
thirty in the evening Army men both in civil and military clothing
came and told that the officer in charge of the Camp wanted us to
come to the camp for enquiry and so they took us."
CHILDREN AND WOMEN BARBARICALLY MURDERED:
" Elderly, Women, children and even babies were taken to the
Saththrukkondan Bois town Army camp. After that four of us were
taken to the back side of the camp and blindfolded and our mouth
was stuffed with a cloth as well. Later they laid us on a wood
brick and suddenly they started stabbing us with sharp knives. I
laid there as if I was dead. I head voices of agony and pain I
can't even describe, all around me.
After every thing was all over I slowly opened my eyes and saw
butchered bodies all around me. I then crawled my way through the
dead bodies and hide myself among small shrubs. It was around three
clock in the morning at that time. After exiting from that hell I
came to the village and I was admitted to the hospital for
treatment. The army was at this point in time was in search of me
after having heard of my escape. I was handed over to the Rev.
Miller for protection by the Batticaloa Peace Committee. I lost my
whole family in this incident. I am the only survivor."
NIGHT FILLED WITH SHOUTS AND CRIES:
During the testimony Kanthiah Sivakkolunthu (37) said that:
" I am the principal at the Kathaiyakkan thivu school. On that
day at around 11 in the morning a man wearing a red half sleeved T-
shirt was going in a bicycle. He was new to the village and had a
knife on the handle of the cycle. I immediately sensed that
something was wrong and took my wife and children in a cycle to the
Saththurukkondan colony. At that time, I saw Armed personnel both
in civil and military clothing taking many civilians including
women, children and elderly. We stayed the day at the
Saththurukkondan colony. The army camp was situated a thousand
meters from my house. I heard cries of distress, shouts for help of
women and children trough out the night. We also heard gun shots
being fired and also saw a huge fire as well.
Next day morning I went to my uncle's house. I couldn't see my
uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or any of the children. All I saw was
some splattered small shoes of the children. In this massacre one
and a half year old SUBOSHINI, three year old THULASI, seven years
old SULOCHANA were lost. I heard that all of them were taken to the
Army camp and were butchered. Even the bodies have been burnt. Some
kids who had gone near the camp later for rearing the cattle have
said that they had seen many skulls and bones."
During the hearings, a Vairamuththu Ariyavadivel (22)
testified as follows:
" On that day I had taken shelter in the jungle fearing the
military. Since I thought that the Army won't harm children I had
left my siblings, SOTHIVADIVEL (7), SHARMILA (9) at our house. They
are also missing since the day of the massacre.I heard a lot of
cries for help and mercy and a lot of shots being fired all through
out the night on that day.
STRANDED ALONE HAVING LOST MY WHOLE FAMILY:
" My two son-in-laws were killed by the army only two months
before the Saththurukkondan massacre. After that in the
Saththurukkondan massacre I lost my wife, three daughters and
seven grand children including a one year old one. I lost my whole
family, eleven members all together to the army."
This was the tearful and emotional testimony given by
Ganapathippillai Arunachalam aged 73.
RETURNED AS WE COULD NOT HEAR THOSE CRIES OF OUR LOVED ONES:
During his testimony Retired Electricity Foreman
AUGUSTINEPILLAI PHILIPPILLAI (73) said:
"'Our grandson, Vijayakumar (8) was staying with us and had
gone to play outside on that day. As he was missing for some time
we went in search of him and we saw many people being taken by the
Army and among them was my grandson. Sensing the situation me and
my wife hid ourselves."
At this point the judge asked "How many were taken by the Army?"
Witness: Among the crowd, 19 of my own close relatives were there.
After coming to know those who were taken had not returned I along
with my wife went near the camp searching them. It was around seven
in the evening. We heard the women crying, pleading for mercy and
children shouting and crying in distress and pain. We could not
hear those voices after that and so we came back." Judge: Did
the International committee of Red Cross went and saw what
happened?
Witness: They were not allowed to see. Later the Bishop talked to
the Brigadier and went there with the members of the Citizen's
committee, Sebamalai Geevaratnam and Singarasa to see what
happened. Sivarasa later told that he saw his wife's slippers and
that of many children's and babies'.
During the testimony another witness Kanthasamy Nagaratnam
(39) said:
" 16 of my family members were taken on that day to the camp
by the Army. On that day when the Army came, only women and
children were mostly at home. The men had taken refuge in the
forest. At around 5.30 Army took all those who were at home. After
some time a lot of voices of distress and pain were heard from the
Army camp.
E.Vairamuththu (62) while testifying said that:
" My wife told me that if the Army came they will only take
the men therefore you hide your self. I will stay in the house,
they won't take women. But I lost my wife who had saved me as they
had taken her to the camp. After the Army left I went near the camp
in search of her but I only heard people crying."
While testifying about the Saththurukkondan massacre Rasaiyah
Ratnaiya (45) of Panichchaiyadi said:
"On the day of the massacre about 60 Army personnel came at
around 5.30 armed with guns and butcher knives. I took refuge in
a small palmarah plant. The Army then took my mother, father and
three children. I was thinking that they would be released after
interrogation but even after eight they were not and so I went in
search of them near the camp. I heard a lot of people crying in
pain and agony that I got scared and returned home.
BRIGADIER REFUSES TO SPEAK ABOUT THE INCIDENT
In the continued enquiry Batticaloa's Peace committee
President and retired Government Agent S. Arunagirinathan testified
as follows:
"After coming to know of this incident we recorded the
testimony of the sole survivor KANDASAMY KRISHNAKUMAR. We still
have the audio recording. Later we brought this atrocity to the
attention of the Batticaloa Brigadier SENAVIRATNA. But he refused
even to see us. Rest of the higher ranking Army officers also
refused to talk to us about this incident.
NO ONE WAS ARRESTED:
During his testimony the then Officer-in-Charge of the camp,
Captain. Gamini Varnakula Sooriya said "On that day no search or
arrest was conducted by us". He also reiterated that none of his
men even ventured out of the camp on the day of the massacre.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. LTTE Headquarters,
Tamil Eelam.
23th September 1995.
PRESS RELEASE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SRI LANKAN GOVT. BOMBS TAMIL SCHOOL WITHIN HOURS OF PRESS CENSORSHIP:
71 TAMIL CIVILIANS KILLED BY AERIAL BOMBING & SHELLING
25 school going children were among 40 Tamil civilians killed on the spot
when Sri Lankan Pucara Planes bombed the Nagerkoil Central School in the
Jaffna peninsula on Friday 22nd September. Nearly 100 others were injured,
most of them students in the same school. Elsewhere in the area, 15 other
civilians were also killed in the course of the same bombing raids.
The bombing of the school happened RI 12.50 p.m. during the school's lunch
break. When several of the school children were gathered under a shade
tree in the school compound. Pieces of human flesh were strewn around the
area including the tree branches, making identification impossible.
Earlier, on the same day, Pucara bombers targeted Manalkadu and Katkovalam
in the Vadamardchi area killing six persons. A small Catholic church was
also damaged in the bombing. In another incident in the early hours of
the same day, intense shelling from the Palaly army camp killed seven
members of the same family including four children of varying ages, The
shelling began at 3.00 a.m. and continued until 7.00 a.m.
The intensified aerial bombing and shelling by Sri Lankan government
forces came about within hours of the government's imposition of Press
Censorship midnight September 21.
Apart from the 68 civilians and school Students on 22 September, three
others including a Small boy age 9 were killed on the previous two days in
a spate of wild bombing raids in the Vadamaradchi area in which at least
30 others were seriously injured.
On 20th September artillery shells fired from the Palaly Army camp damaged
the roof of a nunnery at Achchuveli causing injuries to 3 women who had
taken shelter there.
.. ..
.:'" *.. '.' ..* "':.
' `
Political Committee,
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF LTTE STATEMENT IS RELEASED BY THE LTTE
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT, 211
KATHERINE ROAD, LONDON E6 1BU, UNITED KINGDOM. TEL/FAX 0181-470 8593)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
5. From: Peter....@relhist.uu.se (Peter Schalk)
Subject: "Colombo is safe". From AARTS
Message from the Actiongroup for Tamil Refugees in Sweden.
"Colombo is safe"
One of the main arguments by the Swedish Utlaenningsnaemnden, that is the
final court of appeal, to deport Ilattamilar from Sweden to Colombo, is
that Colombo allegedly is safe for those Tamilar who 1. have stated that
they are persecuted by the LTTE, or who 2. have not been able to proof
their statement convincingly that they are persecuted by the Lankan
Government. (In some applications for asylum, we find a combination of both
these statements).
The truth is that Colombo is not safe for Ilattamilar, whoever the
persecutor is, even for those Tamilar who have not pinpointed any
persecutor. The mere belonging to the Ilattamilar community is enough to
be rounded up, taken in, to be tortured, to disappear and to be recovered
as lifeless body in a lake. The latest reports from August 1995 tell us
that 26 mutilated corpses, identified as those of Tamilar, were found
floating in the lakes of Colombo, in Balgoda Lake and Diyavanna Oya,
dissolving corpses of young Tamilar, having once felt the nearness of
mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, having been harassed, abducted,
tortured, their sexual organs mutilated, drowned, starved to death, beaten
to death, and eyes and kidneys removed by bloodthirsty demons, known as
"army" and "police commandos." For them, the President herself is the
superior commander, in areas controlled by her, actually close to the
Presidential House in Colombo, where the killers, identified as members of
the Special Task Force(STF), a kind of elite group within the army and the
police, have their headquarters. There was not one killer, but more than
20, forming a "special" task force to kill Tamilar. It is not possible to
blame anti-LTTE Tamilar for having killed their brothers. The STF has to
face accusations for murder. Nobody suspects the President, of course, to
have given orders to kill these Ilattamilar. We can notice, however, that
she has failed to control and survey her own STF.
Here is not the right time and place to examine the degree of her
responsibility, but it is indeed time to make known to the world that no
Ilattamilar is safe in Colombo, that it is inhuman to send Ilattamilar
back to Colombo against their will. The mere belonging to the Ilattamilar
community is a potential danger. Ilattamilar face annihilation, and not
only that, they face a terrible death by slow torture. Eyes and kidneys
were taken from bodies, probably with the intention to sell them to an eye
and kidney bank. There is not only lust, there is also money in killing
Ilattamilar .
We have tried for years to tell Swedish authorities that Colombo is not
safe, but they listen not to us. Now they have to face the result of their
arrogance, that they have sent Tamilar into the hands of the STF. Our
Swedish authorities listen to the Lankan Government, and above all, to a
Governmental Human Rights Organisation in the USA that produces copies of
Lankan Government statements under the cover of independent research. Mr.
Johan Fischerstroem, judge, the Swedish highest responsible for all
deportations at the court of final appeal, treats its documents "as his
Bible"(his own words). He has made a pile of copies, and he distributes
these documents to visiting applicants trying to silence their questions
and opposition. Having this fundamentalist approach to the documents of a
US governmental organisation, that echoes the nature of diplomatic
relations between the US Government and Sri Lanka, he neglects what Asia
Watch and Amnesty International has to say. This year, he has rejected most
appeals from Ilattamilar. When cornered, having been criticised for using
partial propaganda sources, he usually seeks refuge to additional SECRET
sources that nobody, except for him and his circle, is allowed to check.
So, each confrontation with him ends in his victory, because he can always
escape criticism by pointing at his SECRET sources. Ilattamilar can
seriously doubt the quality of his work. A group, including myself, will
make a quality test of his decisions and publish its evaluation of
=46ischerstroem's work.
The urgent question is how many dead bodies must be found in the lakes of
Colombo before Johan Fischerstroem changes his views about Colombo being
safe for Ilattamilar ?
Please ask him this question and tell him what you know about Ilattamilar
being allegedly safe in Colombo. Many applying Ilattamilar are now full of
fear, standing shivering in a selection queue, waiting for his decision,
that may be fatal.
Mr Johan Fischerstroem
Utlaenningsnaemnden
Box 45102
10430 Stockholm
Sweden
Phone 46 8 7284600(exchange)
=46ax 46 8 30 15 39
(no e-mail)
6. Subject: Tamil Civilians Strangled
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Police commandoes strangled 21 Tamil
civilians in their office in the capital and dumped the mutilated
bodies in lakes over the last three months, officials said
Wednesday.
``They were taken in on suspicion of being rebels, but no
investigation had been done to confirm their guilt,'' police Chief
Wickremasinghe Rajaguru told a news conference.
Instead, the victims, who ranged in age from 30 to 40, were
taken to the Special Task Force headquarters in the capital, and
held for five or six days before they were killed, he said.
The victims were Tamils abducted from cheap hotels or while
travelling in the capital, Colombo, he said.
Police have detained thousands of minority Tamils in Colombo,
the capital, since Tamil rebels broke a three-month cease-fire and
resumed their 12-year-old civil war. Most of the Tamils arrested
have been released after their identities were established.
The Tamil guerrillas are fighting for a homeland in the north
and east, claiming widespread discrimination by the majority
Sinhalese. More than 36,000 people have been killed.
Human rights activists have repeatedly expressed concern over
the disappearance of minority Tamils while in police custody,
executions without trial and arbitrary arrests.
Ten police commandoes, a soldier and seven civilians have been
arrested in the stranglings of the Tamils.
``The victims were thrown into an unused toilet with plastic
handcuffs around their necks, which strangled them to death,'' said
T.V. Sumanasekera, head of the police criminal investigation
department.
Police are trying to establish the motive for the crime, but
ruled out personal gain since in one case, a victim's jewelry was
returned to family members
--------------
7. International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva (Switzerland)
issued the following Communication to the Press on 11th July 1995.
***************NAVALY CHURCH BOMBING*******************8
ICRC
COMMUNICATION TO THE PRESS
Communication to the press No.95/30
11 July 1995
SRI LANKA: DISPLACED CIVILIANS KILLED IN AIR STRIKE
Geneva (ICRC). On 9 July the Sri Lankan armed forces launched a large-scale
military offensive against the positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) north of the city of Jaffna. The operation, involving intensive
artillery shelling
and air strikes, immediately forced tens of thousands of civilians to leave
the
area. Many of the displaced sought shelter in churches and tenples, including
several hundred people who took refuge in the Church of St. Peter and Paul in
Navaly.
According to eye-witness accounts, this church and several adjacent buildings
were hit by further air force strikes at 4.30 p.m the same day. During the
attack
65 people were killed and 150 wounded, including women and children. That
evening and into the night Sri Lanka Red Cross staff evacuated most of the
wounded by ambulance to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Delegates of the
International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) present the next morning at the scene of the attack
noted
the widespread damage and measured the extent of the tragedy: many of the
bodies had not yet been removed from the rubble.
Deeply concerned by the series of the violent acts that have claimed innocent
civilians, the ICRC calls on the parties involved to respect civilian lives,
property and places of refuge. It also urges them to respect the protected
zone around the Jaffna Teaching Hospital and to refrain from attacking any
other medical facilities.
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS
8. 08/14 1150 Tamils march on UN in show of support for Tigers
GENEVA, Aug 14 (Reuter) - Several thousand Tamils marched
through this Swiss city on Monday in a show of support for Tamil
Tiger rebels facing renewed conflict in Sri Lanka.
Police said about 4,000 demonstrators marched from the city
centre to the U.N.'s Palais des Nations where an appeal was
handed in to the U.N. Subcommission on Human Rights.
The appeal urged the international community to condemn what
the demonstrators called Sri Lankan "genocide" of the Tamil
people and recognise the Tamil armed rebellion, under the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as "just and lawful."
It also urged European governments including Switzerland and
Denmark to stop repatriating Tamil refugees until peace returned
to the island.
More than 50,000 people have died in 12 years of ethnic
conflict in Sri Lanka and observers have warned of an escalation
in the conflict after last week's rejection by the Tamil Tigers
of a government devolution plan.
9. 08/15 0435 Sri Lanka-Bodies
By NIRESH ELIATAMBY
Associated Press Writer
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Three decomposed bodies weighted
down with rocks were fished out of a lake near the Parliament
building, the latest in a series of grisly findings in the
capital, police said today.
Nineteen bodies have been found in Colombo and its suburbs
since May. Some of the victims were mutilated, while some were
found with their hands tied, police said. Most had bags of rocks
tied around their necks.
Authorities say five of the victims could be minority Tamils.
Human rights activists have recently reported "disappearances" of
Tamils who have been taken into police custody.
Police have not identified any of the naked corpses recovered
Monday from Diyawanna Lake. Officials refuse to speculate on who
killed the men, who died either by strangulation or drowning.
They were 35- to 40-years-old.
The bodies, discovered by parliamentary police who patrol the
lake, had apparently been in the water for three days, and were
partially eaten by scavenging animals.
The appearance of the bodies follows a report by the human
rights group Amnesty International that expressed concern over
police treatment of Tamils. Tamil rebels, who claim
discrimination by the Sinhalese majority, have been fighting the
government for an independent homeland since 1983.
"Since mid-April there have been continuing reports of
arbitrary arrests of hundreds of Tamil people, particularly in
the east and in Colombo. Amnesty International has also received
reports of `disappearances' and extra-judicial executions," the
report said.
Thousands of Tamils have been detained by police in the
capital since April 19, when Tamil rebels broke off a truce and
peace talks with the government and renewed fighting.
Police have denied they had anything to do with the Tamil
deaths. Most of those detained were released as soon as they
could prove their identity, authorities say.
Sri Lanka Cops Find More Dead
AP 15 Aug 95 4:40 EDT V0684
10.
Sri Lanka Cops Find More Dead
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Three decomposed bodies weighted
down with rocks were fished out of a lake near the Parliament
building, the latest in a series of grisly findings in the
capital, police said Tuesday.
Nineteen bodies have been found in Colombo and its suburbs
since May. Some of the victims were mutilated, while some were
found with their hands tied, police said. Most had bags of rocks
tied around their necks.
Authorities say five of the victims could be minority Tamils.
Human rights activists have recently reported "disappearances" of
Tamils who have been taken into police custody.
Police have not identified any of the naked corpses recovered
Monday from Diyawanna Lake. Officials refuse to speculate on who
killed the men, who died either by strangulation or drowning.
They were 35- to 40-years-old.
The bodies, discovered by parliamentary police who patrol the
lake, had apparently been in the water for three days, and were
partially eaten by scavenging animals.
The appearance of the bodies follows a report by the human
rights group Amnesty International that expressed concern over
police treatment of Tamils. Tamil rebels, who claim
discrimination by the Sinhalese majority, have been fighting the
government for an independent homeland since 1983.
"Since mid-April there have been continuing reports of
arbitrary arrests of hundreds of Tamil people, particularly in
the east and in Colombo. Amnesty International has also received
reports of 'disappearances' and extra-judicial executions," the
report said.
Thousands of Tamils have been detained by police in the
capital since April 19, when Tamil rebels broke off a truce and
peace talks with the government and renewed fighting.
Police have denied they had anything to do with the Tamil
deaths. Most of those detained were released as soon as they
could prove their identity, authorities say.
11. Tamils, Soldiers Killed
AP 19 Oct 95 9:40 EDT V0626
Tamils, Soldiers Killed
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Government troops captured Tamil
rebel positions in fighting that killed more than 100 rebels and
soldiers, the military reported Thursday.
The rebels also reported 40 civilian casualties in the clashes
Wednesday in northern Sri Lanka. Independent confirmation was not
immediately possible because fighting has cut communication links
to the north.
At least 70 rebels and 34 soldiers were killed as troops
advanced in the Jaffna Peninsula, the military said in a
statement. It released no details of captured rebel positions.
Fifty-three soldiers and 131 rebels have died since the
government went on the offensive against the separatist rebels
three days ago, according to the official tally. The guerrillas
have admitted losing 49 fighters.
The Sri Lankan military, which has withheld such information
in the past, said it was not aware of civilian casualties from
fighting Wednesday. But in a radio report, the rebels said 16
civilians died when warplanes bombed areas surrounding Inuvil
village, and 24 were killed by artillery fire.
The assaults have forced thousands of people to flee their
villages.
More than 36,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka since
1983, when Tamils began to fight for a homeland in the north and
east of this predominantly Sinhalese nation.
and this Genocide continues.........
12. STARVATION AS AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON OF ETHNIC CLEANSING:
10/11 1705 Food crisis and refugee exodus in northern Sri Lanka
By Rohan Gunasekera
COLOMBO, Oct 11 (Reuter) - Civilians in Sri Lanka's war-torn
north, where the army is poised for a major offensive against
Tamil rebels, face a severe food shortage and continue to flee
their homes in fear of more advances by troops, residents and
officials said on Wednesday.
"The food sitution is very bad and government officials have
asked for immediate food shipments," said a resident from Jaffna
who arrived in Vavuniya, the northernmost town under government
control.
"Even displaced people are not given dry rations because of
the food shortage," he told Reuters.
K. Ponnambalam, the senior government official in the Jaffna
peninsula, the rebels' stronghold, confirmed food was in very
short supply and said he had urged the authorities to resume food
shipments.
"The radio message from Jaffna this morning said there's no
food, no bread," Ponnambalam told Reuters. "Ships have not moved.
The last food ship went on August 28."
Ponnambalam, who is in Colombo to arrange more food and
other supplies to Jaffna, said the government usually sends two
food ships to Jaffna each month.
An all-out attack to take Jaffna town from the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam was definitely on the cards, army chief
Lieutenant General Gerry de Silva said on Tuesday. He did not say
when it would happen.
The army's latest offensive, codenamed "Operation Thunder
Strike," had put troops in a strong position for a final attack
on Jaffna, he said during celebrations to mark the army's 46th
anniversary.
"We have entered the final phase of the war," de Silva said
in a separate statement.
The army says troops have captured about 25 sq km (10 sq
miles) of territory southeast of the main Palaly airbase and
killed more than 300 rebels so far in the offensive, launched on
October 1.
It says one army officer and 52 regular troops have been
killed.
Jaffna residents said thousands of civilians were continuing
to abandon their homes in fear of shelling and further advances
by the army against the rebels, who are fighting for a homeland
for minority Tamils in the north and east.
More than 50,000 people have died in the war since 1983.
"People are scared of shelling," another resident said.
"They fear the army will advance quietly. So people in areas near
army positions are fleeing."
He said refugees were having a hard time finding
accommodation amid rumours the army was going to advance.
A human rights group confirmed the food crisis and refugee
exodus in Jaffna.
"The food and medical situation is now rapidly deteriorating
in the north," University Teachers for Human Rights said in a
statement. "People are not taking chances and at the least sign
of danger are leaving their homes."
The group said the army was shelling areas outside its
positions at random and condemned censorship of local media. It
said the main effect was to keep the public in the dark about the
sufferings of the Jaffna people.
The army has repeatedly denied indiscriminate shelling and
said it does whatever possible to ensure civilian casualties are
kept to a minimum.
10/12 1021 Food crisis worsens in Sri Lanka's war-torn north
By Mohan Samarasinghe
COLOMBO, Oct 12 (Reuter) - The food shortage in Sri Lanka's
war-torn north has gone from bad to worse and banks have run out
of cash, a government official said on Thursday.
"I am negotiating with the government to get some food sent
immediately," said K. Ponnambalam, the senior government official
in Jaffna. "The situation is very bad up there."
Ponnambalam, in Colombo to arrange the shipment of food and
other supplies to the rebel-held Jaffna peninsula, said the
government commissioner-general of essential services had so far
given 1,000 tonnes of wheat flour to be shipped north.
"The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) will
probably unload it in Jaffna next Wednesday," Ponnambalam said.
"But it is not even enough for one week."
Many civilians in the north, where the army is poised for a
major offensive against Tamil rebels, could not pay excessive
prices charged for food on the black market, he said.
"Banks in the peninsula don't have money to pay salaries and
pensions. Last month some banks paid 20 percent of the salaries
and held the balance for later," he added.
The government, fighting a 12-year war with the separatist
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), must approve cash
remittances to banks in the rebel stronghold, Ponnambalam said.
Government officials were said to be discussing ways to
overcome the situation, but no one was available for comment on
Thursday.
One official, who wished to remain unidentified, said the
government had not stopped food shipments.
"The government has sent 785 million rupees ($15 million)
worth of foodstuffs to Jaffna since January," the official said.
"We feel the LTTE (which controls much of the peninsula) is not
distributing it to the people."
More than 9,000 tonnes of staples such as rice, wheat flour,
pulses and sugar were needed to feed the people of the peninsula,
Ponnambalam said.
The LTTE, in a fax released on Wedesday, quoted K.
Pathmanaban, Jaffna district's planning director, as saying "such
a situation has not arisen in the peninsula since 1990. The
population is on the brink of starvation."
"There is no food at all in government food stores," a
civilian arriving in the northern town of Vavuniya told Reuters
on Wednesday.
Civilians said thousands were continuing to abandon their
homes in fear of shelling and further advances by the army
against the rebels, fighting for a homeland for minority Tamils
in the north and east.
More than 50,000 people have died in the war.
A human rights group confirmed the food crisis and refugee
exodus in Jaffna.
"The food and medical situation is now rapidly deteriorating
in the north," University Teachers for Human Rights said in a
statement. "People are not taking chances and at the least sign
of danger are leaving their homes."
Ponnambalam said medical supplies were also in big demand in
the peninsula. "Wants are so many," he said.
-----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 23:36:53 -0700
From: peac...@ix.netcom.com (SARAVANAPAVAN )
Subject: Hingurakgoda Police rounded up 149 Tamils
Hingurakgoda Police rounded up 149 Tamil farm workers from the East.
Daily News, Tuesday 19th September 1995
"The Hingurakgoda Police have rounded up 149 persons who are suspected
of having infiltrated into the area and are believed to have
connections with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Most of them had come from Eravur, Batticaloa, Kalawanchikudi and
Valachchenai areas in Eastern Sri Lanka. Some of them had obtained work
as helpers in harvesting paddy for Polonnaruwa farmers. Investigations
revealed that they are on a mission to uncover details of movements of
security forces in the area.
It has also been found that most of the suspects had direct connections
with the LTTE.
The LTTE is fighting for a separate state in the North-East for the
island's two million Tamils. More than 50,000 people have been killed
in the conflict between Lankan security forces and the LTTE since
1983."
10/05 0449 Fighting disrupts food supply in Sri Lanka's north
By Rohan Gunasekera
COLOMBO, Oct 5 (Reuter) - Heavy fighting between Tamil Tiger
guerrillas and government troops in northern Sri Lanka has led to
a food shortage in the region, residents and rebels said on
Thursday.
"There's no flour, nor vegetables," said a resident of the
Jaffna peninsula, the headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.
"Areas like Puttur and Awarankal where fighting is going are
agricultural areas," he said on reaching Vavuniya, the
northernmost town under government control. "Farmers are
displaced. So there is no food production."
But government officials denied there was a food shortage in
Jaffna, saying enough stocks had been shipped to the peninsula.
The government says at least 300 people have been killed in
an army offensive against the rebels in Jaffna, which was
launched on Sunday.
Rebel radio said fighting was now concentrated on the towns
of Awarankal and Puttur, indicating the army had swung south in
the direction of Jaffna city after breaking eastwards out of the
government-controlled Palaly airbase and capturing Achchuveli
town on Sunday.
The rebels broke a three-month truce and resumed hostilities
with the government in April, refusing to consider a peace plan
to end the 12-year revolt. The government then said recapturing
Jaffna would be its priority.
On Thursday, the government asked parliament to approve an
extra 8.6 billion rupees ($165 million) in defence funds, raising
expenditure on the military to about 36 billion rupees ($692
million) this year.
The money was required for military operations and more
weapons for the armed forces, it said.
Voice of Tigers, the rebel radio station broadcasting from
Jaffna, said the civilian death toll in the latest offensive had
risen to 22 and the number of displaced people to 75,000.
Refugees were streaming into Chavakachcheri in the south of
the peninsula, said residents who monitored rebel radio said.
Tiger fighters were putting up fierce resistance to prevent
troops from advancing further, the radio said.
More than 50,000 people have died in the war for an
independent homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north
and east since 1983, the government says.
-----------------------------------
Umberto Gui
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Abimanyu singam wrote:
> DE QUEYROZ
> PAVILJEON
> FERGUSON
> VAN GOENS
> VAN IMHOFF
> ANTHONY MOOYART
> BROWNRIGG
> TENNENT
I am pleased that you have begun to read some other books rather than the
ones coming out of the University of Self Determination.
Some points if I may add....
My initial posting was from Karthigesu Indrapala, one of the most
respected Tamil scholars from Sri Lanka. He was looking for early
dravidian settlements in Sri Lanka and found none.
As he has pointed out, dravidian settlements in Sri Lanka begin from
around the ninth century onwards. All the other stories put forward about
the Tamils having a history of 2000 years is crap and based on fairy
tales. This is what Indrapala had to say about those.....
It may be recollected that several writers on the history of Jaffna,
basing their studies on the traditional legends found in the late Tamil
chronicles, have put forward certain theories claiming the establishment
of Tamil settlements in Jaffna in the period of the Anuradhapura rulers.
These theories are not accepted by serious students of history as they
are not based on trustworthy data. Many of these have been convincingly
dismissed by scholars in recent years. It is therefore, not our intention
to analyse these theories and take serious notice of writings which at
best could be described as popular. (page 266)
The postings that you have made are correct. The relate to a period much
later in our history, from the time of the arrival of the
Portuguese.(1505)
No one denies the existance of a Kingdom in Jaffna.
I have many original Portuguese and Dutch maps in my house. The oldest
one is dated 1574. I purchased it recently from the MAP HOUSE in
Kensington London.
All these maps show the Kingdom of Jaffna. In the book By Baldeaus there
is undoubtedly the finest map of Jaffna Kingdom. and many other places in
Jaffna.
But if I may point out, all the maps show a Kingdom of Jaffna and also,
kingdom of Trincomalee, Kingdom of Baticaloa, kingdom of yala, Kingdom of
Chilaw, Kingdom of Cietavaka, Kingdom of Kandy and then...this is
significant...IMPERIO DE COTA....Imperial Kotte. All the maps show many
kingdoms in the country, but only one Imperial city.
The Dutch have recorded on landing in Baticaloa, meeting the local king
and then going to Kandy to meet the emporer. Before that in the 1600's
the famous Robert Knox landed in Trincomalee and was taken prisoner of
Kandy and not Jaffna.
The following extract from one of your own authors quoted by you will
clarify the matter, that there was only one overall ruler who ruled via
other local kings...
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<CENTER><H1><STRONG>Raja Sinha II<BR> of Kandy<BR> the last
defender of Jaffnapatnum</STRONG></H1><BR><IMG SRC="raja.gif"></CENTER><P>
The detailed and contemporaneous 6 volume record of Portuguese conquest
of Sri Lanka written by Fr. Fernao de Queyroz ( Queyroz, Conquest of
Ceylon, tr. Fr. S. G. Perera, Ceylon Government Press, 1930, vol.2,
p:654) records that after the Kingdom of Jaffna collapsed to the
Portuguese, the King of Kandy ( Raja Sinha II ) sent an army of more
than 10,000 men under the command of Mudaliyar Atapattu to Jaffna. The
Portuguese withdrew and Jaffna was occupied unopposed. The Portuguese
regrouped their forces and counter attacked later, defeating the Kandyan
army and cruelly executing 5,000 of them ( vol. 2 p: 656) including
Atapattu. Queyroz goes on the say " This was the last battle in the
conquest of Jaffnapatao" ( vol 2 . p 656 ). In other words the last
battle for the defence of Jaffna before it fell to European powers was
fought not by a Tamil army but by a Sinhalese one and much Sinhalese
blood was shed for it after the Tamil kingdom had capitulated to the
Europeans.</P><P>Queyroz also records that when the Portuguese arrived
there were 15 " kinglets" subject to the King of Kotte among whom was
the "kinglet" of Jaffnapatao. He also states ( vol 1, p 32) " As long as
Rajapure (Anuradhapura ) was the capital of Ceylon, the whole Island was
subject to one King; but after the inundation of the low lands and after
the City of Cota (Kotte) became the Metropolis, there were in the Island
15 kinglets, subject to the King of Cota, who therefore was considered
to be Emperor, and the same title is in these days claimed by the King
of Candea (Kandy) These kinglets were he of Dinavaca (Denavaka) Uva,
Valave, Putelao, Mantota, Tanagama, Muliauali, Triquilimale, Cutiar,
Batecalou, Paneva, Vintena, Orupula, Mature, Candea and of the point of
the North, Jaffnapatao, which together with the Kingdom of Cota makes
16. This the ancient kings of Cota signified by certain celebrated
processions called Pereas, which lasted 16 days, some being held by day
and others by night, which amounted to 32, and those by night were more
famous;....The Kings used to go in them with a bangle on one foot made
up of fifteen heads which represented those over whom they dominated..."</P><P
>Raja Sinha II was the son of King Senarat of Kandy. As Prince Raja
Sinha he commanded the Kandyan forces and led them to victory by
defeating the Portuguese army commanded by General Constantino de Sa y
Noronha. General Constantino de Sa was captured, beheaded and his head
was carried by Prince Raja Sinha and presented to the Kandyan court as
evidence of his brilliant victory at Randenivela in lower Uva.</P><P>Later
a Portuguese army commanded by their Captain-General Diogo de Mello
which had occupied Kandy briefly was surrounded and annihilated by Raja
Sinha.</P><P>Raja Sinha II hated the Portuguese, and it was during his
reign that the Portuguese were finally forced out from Sri Lanka with
the help of the Merchant Princes of the VOC, Dutch East India Company.</P><IMG SRC="court.gif"
><H5>Inscription on top of print: <I>A draught of the most splendid
Audience given by ye Emperor of Ceylon, King of Kandy & c., to
Gerard Hulst ye Dutch General</I></H5>
<P>The above print ( Phillipus Baldaeus 1672 AD) shows the dutch
General Gerard Hulst ( after whom Hulftsdorp was named ) kneeling
before King Raja Sinha II of Kandy who is shown rising from his throne
to welcome the General. Behind the General are some Portuguese flags
(on the floor ) captured by the General and presented to the King and
to the right are the Generals men carrying various other gifts for the
King.</P>
<CENTER><IMG SRC="hulst.gif"></CENTER><CENTER><P>General Gerard
Pietersz Hulft<BR> First Counseller and Director Generall of ye Indies<BR>
Commander in Chief of all the Sea and land forces sent to Ceylon and
the Coast of the Indies</P></CENTER><HR><UL>
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Umberto Gui
BOGUS REFUGEES WHO PLANE HOP TO BRITAIN
Monday 7th April 1997
By DAVID WILLIAMS
Chief Reporter
AN ASYLUM racket costing taxpayers more than £1million a year has been
smashed by immigration investigators.
Dozens of Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka have used the elaborate scam in
the hope of starting a new life in Britain.
At least 69 are currently being looked after in hotels and hostels in
London at a cost estimated by immigration officials to be about £200 a
week each for accommodation and other support.
Each man's family is said to have paid several thousand pounds to an
agent in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, to join the racket.
They say they are told that once in Britain they will not be sent home if
they claim political asylum. Many, the officials say, are told in Colombo
how to fill in their asylum claims, who to contact and what to say.
According to British diplomats, at least another 200 Tamils have bought
into the racket but have been delayed on their way here.
The men use their genuine Sri Lankan travel documents to fly to Dubai, on
to Abu Dhabi and then to Turkmenistan, a former Soviet state.
There they are met by a woman courier from Singapore who supplies them
with bogus Singaporean documentation. Citizens of Singapore do not
require visas to enter Britain and the forgeries are good enough to
persuade officials of the Turkmenistan airline to allow the men on board
a plane.
The men travel on to London—having been Instructed that once they land
they should destroy all their documentation and immediately claim
political asylum.
Investigators believe that the same gang was behind the arrival of other
Tamils in Britain, the Netherlands and France last year via other former
Soviet states.
Another 178 Tamils reached Holland from Turkmenistan last month and
claimed political asylum. Several disappeared and officials believe they
have slipped into Britain.
Tamils are treated as a special ease by the Home Office because of the
widespread violence in their heartland in Sri Lanka which has gone on
since 1983 and seen thousands of people killed.
Almost 15,000 Tamils have sought political asylum inn Britain during the
past 12 years. Only about 200 have been able to convince the Home Office
that they should be granted fun refugee status. Just over 300 have had
their cases rejected and have been returned to Sri Lanka.
The vast majority simply remain in Britain awaiting a final decision in
their ease, which can take years because of the difficulties of checking
stories and subsequent appeals.
Umberto Gui
nanthi
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Sakkililal is paid by Nanthi to clean toilets...