கவனிக்க: இந்த மின்னூலைத் தனிப்பட்ட வாசிப்பு, உசாத்துணைத் தேவைகளுக்கு மட்டுமே பயன்படுத்தலாம். வேறு பயன்பாடுகளுக்கு ஆசிரியரின்/பதிப்புரிமையாளரின் அனுமதி பெறப்பட வேண்டும்.
இது கூகிள் எழுத்துணரியால் தானியக்கமாக உருவாக்கப்பட்ட கோப்பு. இந்த மின்னூல் மெய்ப்புப் பார்க்கப்படவில்லை.
இந்தப் படைப்பின் நூலகப் பக்கத்தினை பார்வையிட பின்வரும் இணைப்புக்குச் செல்லவும்: Tamil Times 1988.11

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Page 3
NOVEMBER 1988
COLOMEBONEWS:
by Chithra
SRI LANKA DRIFTING INTO A
Ordinarily, the Presidential elections for which nominations closed on 10 November and to be held on 19 December would and should have dominated the political scene in Sri Lanka. On the contrary what is engaging the minds of the people, the government and the media is the widespread disruption of civilian life and social order accompanied by murder and generalised mayhem.
In the current state of affairs, the Presidential election campaign would appear to have become peripheral to the main need for the restoration of normal conditions. While the Presidential candidates, R. Premadasa for the UNIP, Mrs. Srima Bandaranalike for the SLFP and six-party opposition Front, and Mr. Ossie Abeygunasekera for the SLMP, are preoccupied with their campaign strategies, there is a much different and violent tragic drama that is being staged out on the streets in which the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is playing a leading role.
The people living in the south of the island, who had led a relatively cosy and peaceful existence, the Tamils of the north and east were going through years of traumatic violence and counter-violence, suddenly find themselves caught up in an epidemic of 'hartals' and 'strikes' enforced by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). Terror tactics employed by the JVP ensured that the people obeyed the hartal call. Often people learn about the launching of the hartal only the previous day through leaflets or posters or through friends who have read or seen them. Sometimes they learn about it as they come out of their homes when they find the roads deserted without vehicles or shops being shut.
Enforced Strikes
The posters or leaflets would ask shop-keepers to shut, bus operators to cease running their vehicles, hotels and restaurants to close etc. on a stated day accompanied by threats of dire consequences if the hartal order was disobeyed. People were compelled to obey without protest for they knew what had happened to others who did not comply - shop-keepers have been gunned down and hotels made targets of bomb attacks for disobeying.
Then there are the enforced strikes by workers. Whether from an industrial establishment, offices, banks or transport services, the workers are not called out on strike by trade unions to which they belong. Leaflets are distri
buted in work pla near them almos' ers to strike oft threats. When
ments, hotels etc. are automatially transport services travelling to their ped from doing so bound or stranded
The Universitie for a long time du 'O' Level students that there is no classes and sittir there was no pos universities which constitute the bat inspired demonstr largest number have applied to sit examination schec December. But du about 115 schools
While the even weeks of Novembe lysed economic a and the country wa anarchy, the situ rated sufficiently previous weeks f TIMES (Colombo) t on 23 October: “Wit the crisis before t. The entire educatio to a standstill, th have confidence Shops and mercan come to a close wit shaking the man ( the continued exist The JVP's viol been continuing f mainly in the form tical assassinatio] politicians and tho opposition United and such assassina fied in the months October. The secur with large numbe pected JVP membe 247 Killings On 20 October. ordered the suspen erations against the and according to National Security lathmudali, it was get the JVP to sto and give the opport enter the democrat same day, as the Minister was maki ment, the Ministel
 

TAMIL TIMES 3
NARCHY
es or posters put up ordering the workin accompanied by usiness establishare closed, workers on 'strike'. When are disrupted, those workplace are stopand remain home
have been closed to student unrest. are made to believe point in attending g examinations as sibility of entering are closed. Students tering ram in JVP tions. This year the in record, 550,000 the GCE 'O' Level uled to be held in to inspired unrest, nave been closed.
ts of the first two r have almost parand social activities as drifting into near ation had deterioserious during the or THE SUNDAY o editorially lament h each passing day, he nation worsens. in system has come people no longer in their security. tile establishments a sorry regularity in the street about 2nce of the state". nt campaign has r several months, of mafia-style polis of government e belonging to the Socialist Alliance, tions were intensiof September and y forces responded of arrests of sus
S.
In a Month
the government on of military opJVP for one week, the Minister of Mr. Lalith Athuheir intention to political killings nity to the JVP to process. On the National Security g this announceof Parliamentary
Affairs, Vincent Perera, in the course of the debate in parliament on the
motion to extend the state of emergen
cy, said that 247 persons had been
killed during the period 16 September
to October 14. The victims included civilians, militants, security personnel including those belonging to the IPKF. And he added, "A concerted campaign of the so-called belonging to the IPKF. Deshpremi Janatha Vyaparaya (DJJV) death squads resulted in 75 political killings during this period".
Clearly the government's order for the suspension of military operations was intended as an olive branch to the JVP. The JVP disappointed the government within 24 hours of the suspension of operations when several UNP and USA members were killed in the spate ofunmitigated violence. The victims included a lawyer, Mr. Keerthi Nanda, who was a member of the UNP Working Committee. A bomb attack upon a group of people attending a UNP meeting at Kotahena in Colombo resulted in the death of 7 persons and 70 injured.
Seven opposition parties, the SLFP, ELJP, MEP, DWC, SLMC, ACTC and LP were now making strenuous efforts to form a common front and put out a common programme with Mrs. Srima Bandaranaike as their common candidate in the Presidential elections. These parties were eager to get the JVP also to join the Front. And Anura Bandaranaike, on behalf of the SLFP, was making several pro-JVP statements in public meetings and promising to give cabinet portfolios to the JVP after they came to power. However, the JVP did not officially participate in the opposition Front's meetings, but was presumed to be represented by its front-organisation, the
Inter-University Students Federation.
SLFP not immune As the opposition Front was making some headway and preparing to back Mrs. Bandaranaike's candidature, the SLFP soon discovered that it too was not immune from JVP's terror tactics. Several SLFP meetings, beginning with the meeting to be held on 21 October at Uva Paranagama had to be cancelled following threatening letters and leaflets distributed by the JVP. Shop keepers and residents of Badulla were instructed by leaflets not to attend SLFP rallies. The leaflets accused the SLFP of being merely interested in winning the Presidential elections and that the SLFP had secretly promised the Indian government not to abrogate the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement and not to send back the IPKF. The leaflets signed by the DJV said that the SLFP meetings were banned and speakers at the meeting would be punished. When the SLFP went ahead with the meeting in Badulla on 22 October, a bomb was thrown behind the stage. Five SLFP members were found killed in the area

Page 4
4 TAMIL TIMES
the same week. Posters appeared in the southern province warning the SLFP organisers of dire consequences if they engaged in political activity.
Leaders of the seven-party opposition front met President Jayawardene on 21 November and submitted their formula for restoration of peaceful conditions in the country. The Front wanted the release of students and political prisoners in custody, an immediate end to all military operations including those of the IPKF and the announcement of dates for the Presidential and general elections and also suggested talks with the JVP. The Front assured him that, if he acceded to their requests, they would persuade those who were engaged in acts of violence to halt such actions. The President would appear to have agreed to meet the opposition delegation again the following week with a response.
Priestly intervention
On 22 October, four leading Buddhist Mahanayakes of the Asgriya and Malwatte Chapters and Amarapura and Rammanna Nikayas wrote to the President expressing grave concern at the present situation in the country and urged the government and the general public to take the following steps immediately to bring about peace in the country:
O The Government should notify immediately the dates for the Presidential and parliamentary elections;
O The Parliament should be dissolved and the Presidential and Parliamentary elections should be conducted under a Caretaker Government.
O Meaningful steps, which in general are acceptable to all citizens of Sri Lanka should be taken after dissolution with Party leaders for conducting fair elections in a manner that will win the confidence of the people.
O Party leaders and the general public should conduct their affairs with restraint and patience considering the present dangerous and volatile situation in the country.
The President replied to the Mahanayakes acceding to all their suggestions but said that they could be implemented if all the other political parties, including the JVP were committed to the stated objectives. It was only if the JVP was agreeable to the process that the objectives of the government and the other political parties in this context could be achieved.
JVP'S Harta
On 25 October, the JVP through posters and leaflets launched a 'hartal' (a day of protest) and called upon every household to send out at least two members of the family on to the streets and workers to stage walkouts from their workplaces to participate in demonstraions in support of JVP demands which included the abrogation of the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement,
sending out of the ing Force, scrappir Councils, dissolutio the resignation of 'hartal' call was p attack on the previ upon a group of gathered for a me UNP which result seven persons and In response and further violence O government impos curfew enforced b was under instruct tors of the curfew
In Colombo, for mained shut and t correspondents we
The Island.4f1.88
Javatardene under hotels. Transport rail and bus, can Offices, factories, b mained sh ut. Univ had already been c to student unrest.
Outside Colomb ances of street den fiance of the gover tain parts of the tear-gas and ba government protes President” When the leade Front met the Pre October, he assure if the JVP and desisted from viole from that day (27th the Parliament th the 6th. He would er government of including the JV committee to over ing to elections; a pendent committ cease-fire. This w necessary for the any statements es to surrender any v the demand for th dent, he replied th do so if it would he he pointed out tha Prime Minister, F the Constitution over. Whereupon the opposition ha were not insisting the President's re As political : tinued, military o ernment were res the wake the
 

NOVEMBER 1988
hdian Peace Keepof the Provincial of parliament and he President. The ceded by a bomb us day in Colombo people who had ting of the ruling d in the death of 0 injured. resumably fearing 25 October, the d a dusk to dawn the army which ons to shoot violan sight. ign embassies rejurists and foreign e confined to their
mounting pressure
services, including he to a standstill. anks and shops reersities and Schools losed for weeks due
), there were instmonstrations in denment ban. In cerisland, police fired ton-charged antiters. s response 's of the opposition sident again on 27 the opposition that associated parties nt acts for one week ), he would dissolve e following Sunday hen form a caretakall political parties, P: form a cabinet ee matters pertainnd appoint an inde'e to monitor the y it was made unfVP or DJV to sign hewing violence or eapons. Concerning e resignation Presiat he was willing to p the situation. But if he did resign, the Premadasa, under would have to take it is reported that d stated that they on the demand for ignation. ssassinations conerations by the govmed particularly in VPS raid on the
National Auxiliary Force camp at Pan
nala on 31 October.
On 3 November, JVP launched one
of its familiar 'hartals' in memory of
one their dead comrades, Athukorale
who was alleged to have been killed while in custody. The hartal brought civil administration, transport, government and private establishments to a standstill for the fourth time in six weeks.
Feverish negotiations among the parties of the opposition Front and the representatives of the JVP did not materialise in any concession by the JVP from its original position, nor would it agree to the request to desist from violence so that the Presidential elections could be held under a caretaker government in which all parties could be represented.
The JVP announced that it was calling for a 'national hartal' for three days beginning Monday 6 November. The nominations for the presidential elections were to close on Friday 10. The opposition Front had still not been formally constituted. It appeared that the SLFP's strategy of using the JVP's anti-government campaign to get the give way in regard to many of the opposition's demands, and expecting the JVP to become a junior partner in an opposition block led by the SLFP was failing.
Historic meeting
On 5 November, a meeting lasting two hours, characterised as historic by the Sri Lankan media, between President Jayawardene and Mrs. Bandaranaike took place. It is rumoured that the wily old President manipulated the Buddhist Mahanayakes to suggest to Mrs. B that she should personally meet him and come to an agreement that would help to restore peace. At this meeting the President told Mrs. B. that he was willing to disband Parliament
immediately and for the establishment
of a caretaker government in which the JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera should become a member of the interim cabinet. Mrs. B's position was that she was not representing the JVP and therefore could not give any assurances on its behalf, but insisted that an announcement of an immediate dissolution of parliament would automatically defuse the violence.
Although the President and his government recognise that it cannot avoid dissolving parliament sooner than later, most government MPs and Ministers are terrified of the prospect of going back to their constituencies without the protection the security services provide while they hold their present positions. They are unconvinced by the opposition argument that violence by the JVP would cease once dissolution is announced.
The question in dispute was: Dissolution of Parliament before peace was guaranteed, or guarantee of peace before dissolution? The dilemma re

Page 5
NOVEMBER 1988
mained unresolved when the JVP's 3-day hartal began on 7 November.
Except the northern and eastern province, the rest of the country was virtually paralysed. Despite the proclamation of emergency regulations declaring many services as essential services, and in spite of threats that employees who did not turn up for work would be sacked, transport services, private and public, including rail and bus, came to a grinding halt. Postal and telecommunication services were disrupted, hotels, shops, business establishments, factories, banks, the port etc. ceased to function.
Shot on sight On 8 November, the government's Tourist Board advised travel agents and tour operators to consider sending home foreign tourists because of the 'unsettled situation in the country. The advice was given as hotels were effectively closed following threatening leaflets. The threats also led to thousands of dockers refusing to enter the Colombo Port on 8 November and the government had to use the Navy to clear 21 ships waiting to sail. The army
was also called ers belonging roleum Corpo: many instance tions sponsore ernment issue shoot anyoned It also imposed Although th announced tol through its lea sent series of s continue to the peaker hailers to bring down came apparent tent on sabotag the Presidenti the SLFP of p people and that party the oppor again. It called on nomination promised to pr election taking by announcing test on that day
Colombo wa when the can
HOW THREE YOUTHS CAME
The stillness of the early morning of October 23 was suddenly shattered and the sleeping villagers of Medogoda on the Wellawaya-Koslanda Road were rudely woken by the noisy arrival of a van followed by a burst of gunfire. Fearing that the reverberating gunfire was the work of “terrorists', the villagers did not move and remained in their huts. Shortwhile later the van sped away in the direction of Haputale.
The terror-stricken villagers remained in the huts until day break and noting that none of them had been hurt went about their normal daily routine until H. Jindasa, a farmer on his way to work, stepped into the nearby jungle to answer a call of nature and saw the badly disfigured and burnt bodies of three persons lying face downwards on the ground. The screams of Jinadasa brought almost the entire village to the spot.
The police who were alerted came to the scene. The bodies had been tied hand and foot and they had been burnt using petrol or diesel. A post-mortem examination held the following day at the Wellawaya Hospital by District Medical Officer, Dr.S. Ketheeswaran, revealed that the three victims had died of a massive haemorrhage, stab wounds and gunshot injuries; their nails had been removed, feet had been cut open and nails had been driven into their temples. After the post-mortem, the bodies wrapped in polythene sheets were ordered to be buried by the Magistrate.
By now the F already investig ance of three y( around 10.45 an came out of a b town, a black drew up near til persons who Weapons got ou subjected the th beating which la minutes. Then th dragged and put was driven away was revealed thi tion was driven lame, the son of ter of Sabragam cil and a former Punchinilame. S tion of the three opposition poli Gunaratne made napura police sti
Eye-witnesses vehicle was dri Koslanda, and subsequently ha the direction of
News reports three dead bo alerted the Ratn conducting inv abduction of th pura. The matt parliament by opposition Rat Ellawella, went
inquiries.

TAMIL TIMES 5
n to drive petrol tankio the country's Pettion. As there were of street demonstraby the JVP, the govorders to the army to fying the ban on sight. nightly curfews.
“hartal' was initially st three days, the JVP lets called for the preikes and disruption to end. Vans with loudsalled upon the people he government. It bethat the JVP was inng the nominations for l election. It accused aying games with the it would not give any unity to fool the people for a national 'hartal' lay, 10 November and vent the Presidential place on 19 December a national day of pro
virtually paralysed didates of the UNP,
SLFP and SLMP submitted their nominations in the morning of 10 November under one of the tightest security blankets ever imposed.
At least 15 people were killed and several more injured in three separate shooting incidents as the army followed government's instructions to shoot demonstrators on sight. Six persons died when security forces fired on a crowd of about 2,000 slogan chanting demonstrators at Tissamaharma. At Tangalli troops opened fire to disperse about 1500 demonstrators killing 4 persons. A further five were killed after a crowd attacked an army truck at Baddegama. Over 200 demonstrators and rioters were taken into custody.
Country Brought to its Knees
Edward Gorman of THE TIMES (London, 11.11.88) reported from Colombo: "Although the Tamil militant groups had fought for years for their state of Eelam, it is the Sinhalese nationalist JVP which has all but brought Sri Lanka to its knees.
Continued on p.17
: TO BE BRUTALLY MURDERED
Ratnapura police were gating the disappearouths. On October 22, n, when three youths outique in Ratnapura Pajero motor vehicle he three youths. Five carried automatic t of the vehicle and ree youths to severe sted for about 10 or 15 e youths were forcibly into the vehicle which . At a later inquiry it it the vehicle in ques
y Susantha Punchini- ,
the UNP Chief Minisuwa provincial Coun Cabinet Minister, Mr. oon after the abduc
youths, a prominent ician, Mr Ananda
an entry at the Rattion. later stated that the en into an estate in eople in the vicinity heard screams from ne estate.
f the discovery of the dies at Wellawaya pura police who were stigations into the ee youths in Ratnar was also raised in he opposition. The apura MP, Nanda Wellawaya to make
Sirima Thrimavithana, who had worried about the disappearance of her brother also went to Wellawaya, and when she was shown a pair of trousers removed from one of the dead bodies identified it as belonging to her brother, Luxman Thrimavithana.
On 27 October, following a magisterial order, the bodies were exhumed. At the magisterial inquiry that followed and at which several eyewitnesses and relatives of the victims gave evidence, it was established that the dead bodies were those of the three youths who were abducted at Ratnapura in the morning of October 22, and they were Pathmasiri Thrimavithana, aged 22, of Ambalangoda who was a medical student; Ranjith Perera, aged 22, an employee in the Thulhiriya Steel Corporation and who contested the DDC elections as a JVP candidate; and B. Banduwardene, aged 34 from Kuruwitta.
Police reports indicate that all the three victims had JVP connections.
Subsequent investigations have established the involvement of Susantha Punchinilame, three police.officers . and three Home Guards in the abduction and subsequent murder of the three victims. All these persons have been taken into custody and detained pending charges.
Following opposition demands, Mr G.P. Punchinilame, the Chief Minister of Sabragamuwa Provincial Council, has resigned from his post after his son's arrest.

Page 6
6 TAM TIMES
MADRAS NEWSLETTER
by Arjuna
ELECTION FEVER IN TAMIL NA
When it was reported that Ms. Jayalalitha, running a temperature of 102 curtailed her electioneering tour of North Arcot district and when quick on the heels came another report that Sivaji Ganeshan had cut short his triumphant visit to Erode after he developed a temperature of 104, the word went around among cynics that election fever in Tamil Nadu had really set in One cannot blame the cynics, because Tamil Nadu today presents the picture of a political circus. One should not perhaps expect morality in politics, but Tamil Nadu is fast saying good-bye to whatever canons of politicall behaviour that had existed. It has become a vast theatre of intrigue, behind-the-scene manipulation, throat-cutting, cross-overs and double cross-overs in the scale unprecedented at any time before. The urge to merge is there, but so is the urge to split.
Political Careerism
The most pathetic fate is the one that has overtaken the very party that ruled the state for the past eleven years. It became very clear soon after the death of MGR that the man who ruled the state like a demi-god had no deep interest in seeing that the party he founded should survive after him. With two women in his life who were rivalling each other for his favours during his lifetime, it would have been obvious to any man afflicted with sickness for a long period that his death would certainly not unite them. Apart from that, the AIADMK was never a homogenous party founded on wellfounded policies. It was a conglomeration of political careerists and contradictory forces that was heldtogether by the one “unifying” personality of MGR. This writer remembers a very revealing conversation he had with a leading AIADMK M.P. during MGR's lifetime. We were discussing the problems of Eelam Tamils and he was frank brutally frank. He said: "Look here, I am a fundamentalist. I am as an individual strongly committed to the Eelam Tamil cause, and you know it. I am in this party for certain reasons. But if you expect our party to openly espouse your cause, please forget it. If you are thinking of Eelam ideals, you go to Kalaignar (DMK leader Karunanidhi). Our leader can only help you in material terms." If the AIADMK today is split in three directions, it is because of the one common factor that characterised all the Chief Minister's men and women-political careerism. While Jayalalitha has now taken the public stance that her party will face the elections alone, the M.P. who belongs
to her party Mr. Kolandaivel has been
consistently disassociating himself
with all Opposition
outs in Parliament in of Four - Nedunch Ramachandran, Tl and Aranganaya ministers in MGF walked out on Jana because they could
reasons, stomach the of R. M. Weerappal with Mr. Jayalalitha found that they coul performance of the
self, and her overt d controversial Natara ment official and they found themse Finding themselves
land, and not having sroots support to sta tive feet, the Group a quandary. Whil takes the position th rumours they woulc do with Janaki Ram is persistent talk th asu and Parutti Ra) been making secr MGR's widow; and t having secret parley the residence of her without the knowle man sponsor Veeræ are believed to be brokers for a Con AIADMK alliance, a is given that Janak the idea. If the mc R.M.V. and Neduche themselves left ou prospect neither will well mean a near-en careers. On the C Jayalalitha has beer confidence. Front-ra party have expresse party would fare be all the 234 Assemb going in for elector They say that in an
l ' _ r kiي sர்ைகள்
Cartoon from a Ta

NOVEMBER 1988
DU
moves and walkDelhi. The Group *ziyan, “Panrutti' lirunavuk karasu gam - all ex's cabinet who i Ramachandran not, among other leading presence threw their lot Later, when they l not stomach the leading lady herependence on the jans (the governwife Shashikala), lves thrown out. in a no-(wo)man's the kind of grasnd on their collecof Four are now in e Neduchezhiyan at despite current have nothing to achandran, there at Thirunvukkarmachandran have et overtures to hat she had been 's with the two at adopted son Appu, dge of her strongppan Those two acting as political gress-I. — Janaki nd the impression i is not averse to ive succeeds both 'zhiyan might find t in the cold, a relish : that could d to their political ther hand, Mrs. exuding absolute nk leaders in her the view that the ter if it contested y seats instead of all alliances. , alliance with the
Congress-I, the latter would demand at least fifty per cent of the seats and the question as to who was to be Chief Minister would also arise after the elections. Besides, political observers point out that in any alliance there would be confusion. They cite the example of the DMK getting only 38 seats and the Congress-I 30 in a House of 234. But despite this brave public posture, Jayalalitha has apparently not abandoned hopes of an electoral pact with Congress-I. The message that she is trying to pass on to Delhi is two-fold: firstly, the Congress-I will have no chance of regaining power in Tamil Nadu, except with her party's help; secondly, their failure to seek her assistance will almost certainly result in the DMK emerging as thestrictor, a prospect that would suit neither of them. DMK leader Karunanidhi has been the main target of her attack in all speeches. The sticky point therefore is the question of the Chief Ministership. As far as Jayalalitha is concerned she is no compromiser on that. It has become a personal obsession with her that she and she alone has the right to succeed to the MGR legacy, a point that she wants to prove to all her enemies in th AIADMK fold. This obviously cannot suit Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's Congress-I in the centre, who are determined somehow to install a Congress administration in Tamil Nadu headed by G. K. Moopanar. After all, twenty years is a long time to have waited. Anyway, it is a now-or-never chance; if the DMK is allowed to regain power in the state, dislodging it in the near future could prove well nigh impossible.
But on the other hand, if the Congress-I accepts the hard assessment that they cannot win it alone, it is quite
possible that on the basis that half a
loaf is better than none, a compromise on the question could be found; this, coupled with the fact that Moopanar does not command the desired complete support within the Congress-I itself, within the state.
Electioneering
But right now, the desperation with which the Rajiv administration is
nil periodical depicting the fate of the 'Group of Four

Page 7
NOVEMBER 1988
wooing the Tamil Nadu voter is astounding. Government machinery, Government largesse, the government media - Doordashan and Radio - are being fully enlisted for the purpose. No other Prime Minister of India has so extensively toured Tamil Nadu as Mr. Rajiv Gandhi has done during the past few months. Every month since August he had been spending three to four days in Tamil Nadu and has so far covered three-fourths of the twenty revenue districts. He is due again on a 3-day tour from November 10 covering the Madras, Chengalpattu, North Arcot and Dharmapuri districts, and having returned to Delhi is scheduled to be in Madras again on November 14 to release the Congress-I election manifesto at a rally in Madras in connection with the Nehru centenary celebrations. Admittedly he had been attracting very large and enthusiastic crowds wherever he went. Along with wife Sonia trailing behind him wearing a single plait of hair, which she does only when she accompanies her husband in Tamil Nadu, and driving his own custom-made, bullet-proof jeep, and stopping every 100 kilometres or so, listening to the people’s grievances, patting a baby's cheek here and wrapping a shawl on another there much to the delight of the mother and the onlookers, bending low to enter some villager’s hut, with security plain-clothes men scurrying around but easily identifiable by their safari suits and the tension in their behaviour, the whole thing comes out as sheer spectacle not only the TV viewers in the urban homes, but to the below-the-poverty line villagers to whom the cinema and election meetings are the only recreation. The cinema at least is always there, but electioneering tamashas come only once in a long while
Electoral Alliances
What has brought a greater sense of urgency to the Rajiv Gandhi administration was the DMK’s first-time participation in the National Front of opposition parties. This has suddenly brought the DMK into mainstream politics, and a DMK victory in the south will necessarily strengthen the hands of the opposition in the north.l. It will also solidify the national opposition when it comes to the general election which should be, according to schedule within one year from now. But Congress-I have reason to feel optimistic too. The Tamil Nadu unit of
the Indian Union Muslim League,
which had been a long-standing electoral ally of the DMK has now parted ways with the latter. Its leader Mr. A, K. Abdul Samad has declared his party's readiness to enter into an electoral alliance with the Congress-I. whether this would prove more substantial than a fringe benefit remains to be seen, with the Muslim League suffering a split in the process. Splitting now
having become many politicia Janata Party h. middle with th dent P. Vijay General Secret not "recognisin one section say with either DM Congress-I, ano ing support to gress-I is pinni direction - the which represen munity and has third of the 234 cies. The Vann rying on an agit months and h aggressive stan only boycott th prevent any par majority areas. ' in the process o obviously promi their demands i the negotiation: could be the mai
Sri Lan
Meanwhile, t DMK on its stal Tamil issue is b tioned. Although V. Gopalasami signs of weaken the popular im ground that leat DMIK M.P. Mura to soft-pedal th rumoured that grooming his so) party leadership favour the highV. Gopalaswami cadres as well a rumour that Go party orders not Tamil issue too h that was nullific change of words Indian Prime M recently on the II Madras English SOme reaSO) Or ( Whatever may these, one politici sensed a vacuum issue is S. D. So singly the Deput the Jayalalithag Summoning a Madras on Nov Prime Minister raying the Sri which the “Tamil his party a less Congress-I that ever remain sull Prabhakaran wae rent IPKF oper said, had not live peace-keeping fo in killing militan their hide-outs.

TAM TIMES 7
affliction overtaking s, the Tamil Nadu also split right in the newly elected Presiaraghavan and the ry Thampan Thomas ” each other. While it will have no truck K, or AIADMK or the ner section is for offerthe DMK. The Cong its hopes in another Vanniyar Sangham s a very large comsizable influence in a Assembly constituenyars have been caration for the past few ld been taking the that they would not e elections but also y from entering their he Congress-I is now wooing them and is ing to meet many of it comes to power. If succeed, the DMK n loser.
a Tamil issue
he credibility of the ld on the Sri Lankan eginning to be questhe DMK firebrand has not shown any ing on the question, pression is gaining der Karunanidhi and soli Maranare trying he issue. It is also Karunanidhi who is n Stalin for eventual does not look with profile ascendancy of both within the party s in the state. If the palaswami is under to pitch the Eelam igh is true, it appears d by the strong exthat he had with the nister in Parliament ple of the IPKF. (The language Press for ther played it down). pe the truth in all an who seems to have in the Eelam Tamils masundaram, surpriGeneral Secretary of oup of the AIADMK. ress Conference in mber 2, he accused 'ajiv Gandhi of betLankan Tamils for in India would teach n”. He warned the ts reputation would d if LTTE leader V. Jharmed in the curions. The IPKF, he up to its name as a e but was indulging leaders and bombing The statements of
Prime Minister Premadasa and
nominee for the presidential elections
in Sri Lanka that the Indian troops
would be sent out and the merger of northern and eastern provinces cancelled in the event of his election had depressed the people of Tamil Nadu.
The way the Sri Lankan Tamils issue was being handled by the Indian government raised the question whether the Prime Minister's adviser were incompetent or anti-Tamil or whether Mr. Rajiv Gandhi himself lacked political acumen. Mr. Somasundaram said that the Prime Minister had greatly harmed the Tamils by asking the IPKF to disarm the LTTE and thus betrayed them to the Sri Lankan army, police and the "Sinhalese goondas”. A strong stand indeed, but Ms. Jayalalitha herself has not come out with any statement on tiñe Eelam Tamil issue until now. Although SDS is one who had come out with forthrightness on the Eelam Tamils issue even four years ago in 1984 when he was a member of the MGR cabinet the surprisingly antiRajiv statement today in the context of a possible Jayalalitha- AIADMK alliance with Congress-I, is certainly
baffling. Obviously, Mr. Somasundar
am could not have summoned the
Press Conference without his leader's
permission. Such is the state of pre
election stances, postures, attitudes,
that it becomes difficult to accept the
statements of politicians at face value.
The irony is, while it is not difficult to
identify Tamil Nadu politicians who
have expressed strong support to the
Eelam Tamils cause, for example, SDS
himself, V. Gopalaswami, Aladi Aru
na, M.P. Nedumaran, DK leader
Veeramani, none of them is in the
same party.
The prospects as at present are, irrespective of which party gains maximum vote, three large chunks are going the way of DMK, Congress-I and the Jayalalitha AIADMK. Unless the DMK is able to secure a clear majority, the next alternative could be a coalition government of the Congress-I and the Jayalalitha faction; which is not likely to help in establishing a firm government in Tamil Nadu.
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Page 9
NOVEMBER 1988
NDA'S OW
Professor Singham left Sri Lanka as a boy. He has travelled extensively and taught in universities in Europe, Africa and the Americas. He currently lives in New York where he has covered the non-aligned movement from the United Nations for the past ten years.
A most puzzling aspect of India's involvement in Sri Lankan politics is the naivete of its political advisors and strategic thinkers about the internal situation in Sri Lanka. At the political level, there appears to be a lack of understanding about the character and nature of the Tamil movement, the Jayewardene regime, and politics in the South. At the strategic level, there is a lack of understanding about the dangers of involving a large modern army in a low-intensity war. A tragic consequence is the damage being done to India's leadership in the Third World and its long-established tradition of non-alignment.
Non-alignment, carefully crafted by Nehru, and in spite of some pitfalls meticulously implemented by Indira Gandhi, has been the centre-piece of India's foreign policy for decades. Foreign policy-making became the primary responsibility of the Prime Minister and a cadre of officials trained within the framework of Indian independence At the administrative level, India devised an ingenious mechanism where younger Foreign Service members were able to rise through ranks while older ones retired early. However, even during retirement, senior members could be invited to serve in an advisory capacity. This unique administrative structure gave India one of the most efficient Foreign Service establishments in the Third World and, no doubt, led to the pursuance of the imaginative policy on non-alignment during the past three decades. It also helped to make India a major regional power and a global leader for peace and economic reconstruction. This group of "mandarins, however is now facing its most severe test in inadvertently involving India in a low-intensity war.
Sordid chapter
For the most part, Indo-Sri Lankan relations have been well managed, in spite of the tragic situation faced by the Indian Tamil workers in the tea estates - a sordid chapter, not only in colonial history, but in the history of independent Sri Lanka and India. Relations between the two countries have been a remarkable example of how a small state could co-exist with a large neighbouring state. The eruption of the Tamil revolution, a protest movement which began as a struggle for equal educational rights only to quickly become an armed struggle for self
A.W.
determination, ha the relationship. tense stages of liberation movem in Colombo reta with India. It was record of trust an the govrnment of la and Tamil lea was signed.
The most rema accord was Jayaw to have an Indian enter the country concile conflicts b al groups and res. tensions. This mediately broug ments from such United States Reagan, British F garet Thatcher, an of the whole non-a unanticipated cor the peace-keeping army found itself Tamil guerilla for ernment of India its tacit support. T ment of India and an embarassing p digenous Tamil p which has had t about-face. Within dia was trapped intensity war.
In addition the C found itself prote dene regime which dence of not only ti of Sri Lanka, but Suddenly India ap ping up a corrup unlike the Unite Central America.
Shift in fo When the J.R.J
came to power in S a great deal of p moral legitimacy.
together a major c South and promise Most importantly, mic growth by ad pore model for S industrialisation b ign investors. Th Lanka's foreign po good links with II states through t alignement. So as historical friends, Hameed was app Minister of NonMervyn de Silva i dian has aptly des
The JR regime right-wing, pro-W

TAMIL TIMES 9
NTENSITY WAR
iingham
sput a new strain on ven during the most the revolution, the 2nt and the regimes ned close relations because of this long friendship between India and the Sinhaters that an acccord
kable aspect of this ardene's willingness Peace-keeping force and attempt to retween two communlve Intra communal nusual action imht laudatory comdiverse elements as President Ronald 'rime Minister Marld indeed the leaders ligned world. But an sequence was that force, the Indian in conflict with the ce to which the Govnad previously given his put the governthe Indian army in osition with the inopulation in India, o comprehend this | a short period, Inin its first low
Government of India rting the Jayewarhas lost the confihe entire population much of the world. peared to be prop, weak regime not d States' policy in
eign policy ayewardene regime ri Lanka it enjoyed pular support and JR was able to put aste coalition in the d internal stability. he promoted econorocating the Singari Lanka, that is, 7 invitation to fore
other face of Sri icy was to maintain ndia and the Arab ne policy of nonnot to alienate her
Foreign Minister inted primarily as aligned Affairs as the Lanka Guarribed.
then undertook a estern, Reaganite
economic policy that gradually dismantled the welfare state built up carefully over fifty years. Earlier, this welfare state had won many accolades in global bodies for providing some protection for the working class and impoverished peasantry. And as the right-wing coalition within the Sri Lankan Cabinet become more powerful and aligned itself with the ultra-right western coalition of the United States, Great Britain, West Germany and Japan, the regime shifted its regional policy and began to distance itself from India and, increasingly, became an ally of the conservative ASEAN coalition.
ldeal model
Sri Lanka quickly became the ideal Asian model for the expansion of Reaganism in the region. The neoconservative in the US found two major allies for their economic doctrines: one in the Caribbean, led by Edward Seaga in Jamaica, and the other in Sri Lanka, led by JR. A great virtue of the JR regime for the Reagan administration is that it came very
cheap; it did not require the massive
subsidy that was demanded by Jamaica. Hence, Sri Lanka's new domestic and international stance was strongly supported by the West, which saw in JR a leader of the third force within the Third World.
Euphoria for the JR regime ended when the Tamil militants, who had been treated as an annoying protest. movement, suddenly became vociferous and took up arms to overthrow the existing compromise leadership that had governed Sri Lanka since independence. That compromise leadership consisted of a coalition of the Goyigama caste in the south and the Vellala caste in the north who, with their monopoly over the knowledge of English, were able to control the country peacefully for nearly fifty years. When JR came to power he was convinced that he and his Royal-Thomian College proteges could deliver the goods in the economic sphere and put an end to the perennial Tamil question.
Over a period of time there was a gradual erosion of this caste hegemony. The Vellala Tamil leadership was challenged not only by the lower castes in the north, but by a new coalition of young militants no longer satisfied with what the old elites had delivered. Some members of the Tamil Vellala elite have openly collaborated with their Sinhala counterpart and forged a new political coalition, isolating them from their own mass base in the north. A mass social movement emerged in the north insisting that the only way out of the mess created by the

Page 10
10 TAMIL TIMES
past ruling classes was a separate state. The leadership in the north came from the youth, who have been affectionately or paternalistically, called “the boys'.
The development of the northern separatist movement coincided with major changes taking place in the world revolution. A number of liberation movements in Latin America, Southern Africa and the Arab world were making similar demands for the armed overthrow of the existing state apparatus. What began as a small protest movement in Sri Lanka quickly became part of a large world revolutionary movement calling for national self-determination.
Prabhakaran & Wijeweera
At the end of the Bandaranike regime it has become clear even to Sinhala/Goyigama elite of the south that a revolution was brewing, a revolution not merely confined to the lower castes, but a national populist movement with a crudely defined ideology combining Buddhism, Marxism, anticastism and ethnic chauvinism. This movement was led by the JVP. The new generation of political leaders came from non-elite educational backgrounds marginal to the power structure but with a mass following. Wijeweera, chief of the out-lawed Janata Vimukti Peramuna and Prábhakaran symbolised the new leadership of this era. The politics of generational competition was challenging the old party coalitions. The new Tamil and Sinhala youth were an alienated and unemployed underclass who were not going to be satisfied by the trinkets of capitalism coming from the Singapore model.
On the political level, they challenged one of the major components of the Sri Lankan elite hegemony; a state apparatus which used the parliamentary system for social control and repression.
The politics of peaceful elite competition was giving way to the politics of violence. As the youth organised themselves into militant gangs, the state responded with violence. Group terrorism was met by state terrorism. Within a short period the peaceful self contented Buddhist and Tamil populations of Sri Lanka were being characterised as armed terrorists. Sri Lanka, which was known as the haven of democracy in South Asia, was quickly becoming a garrison state and society. The gradual transformations of the Sri Lankan society is without doubt one of the most tragic chapters in the history of South Asia. But a good deal of the blame must be put on the shoulders of the architects of the regimes of the past two decades whose political and economic designs culminated in the communal riots under the JR regime.
In order to continue its conservative economic policy, the JR regime has had
to suppress the Tam at all costs. It qu strategy well-know ica: employing the local contra force into the battlefield surgents. Thus, illployed Sinhalayout cannom fodder use elite in a war that 1 not want to particip the north the Sinh resistance, fighti against a broad ( forces convinced thi
War.
New lea
This type of gue the north created a all leadership, non-E linked with the lo training and politica the terrain was, ir changes in world p prise of Tamil and youth were able wi to acquire and mas most modern weapo la-trained army pr match for the Sc Sandhurst educated ders of the south wh common with their north, an obscure Velvettithurai eme hero of the entire T Jaffna, Batticaloa, India.
What was surpri Indian army did no ences of the Sinh failures of the JR re
taking a protract Tamil militants. T have been told by t ers of the Pentigon t; is an easy target guerrilla force. Am fully learned that cannot be fought b and that the best st domestic contras. If India had wished to meaningless activi been better advise contras as in Nic leaders of the likes Angola. However, with the Tamil mov tively different.
The Indian army of the Tamil popula liberation, not rep was no surprise th: soldiers first appea ceived by weeping children. How did sion become such a short period.
LOW inte
There are at leas that normally lea low-intensity confli involvement is usu

NOVEMBER 1988
1 militant struggle ckly developed a in Central Amerrural youth as a nd sending them zo destroy the inrained and unemsoon became the by the Sinhala hey personally did te in. However, in la army met with g a losing war palition of Tamil t theirs was a just
lership
rilla resistance in new type of politicnglish trained and cal culture. Their. l understanding of part, a result of blitics. To the surSinhala elites, the hin a short period ter the use of the nary. This guerriloved more than a otch-drinking and military commano had very little in own troops. In the young man from rged as the folk amil community of and all of South
sing was that the t study the experi
ala armv or the gime before under
2d war with the
he Indians could he foremost thinkhat a modern army for a hit-and-run pricans have painlow-intensity wars y a foreign army, rategy is to employ the government of succeed in such a y, it would have to hire domestic aragua or Contra if Jonas Savimbi in ndia's relationship ement was qualita
was seen by most tion as an army of ression. Hence, it t when the Indian red they were rewomen and joyful uch a joyous occasour one within a
sity war
two major factors a nation into a
t. The rationale for
lly the danger on
an internal conflict spilling over and becoming a border war. Internal conflicts can affect International relations, making intervention necessary. The Sri Lankan situation was pregnant with opportunities for a number of nations. India has historically annoyed the Western alliance, especially because of its policy of non-alignment and friendship with the Socialist bloc. The Western alliance had no intention of assisting India in extracating itself from this difficult situation. India is also becoming a major economic power in the region and its development could be curtailed by a low-intensity war. For the entire Western alliance, which includes Japan, this low-intensity war would tarnish India's status as a peace force in world politics and India would become just another aggressive regional power.
Israel had long been smarting from the moral legitimacy given by India to the Palestinian cause. Its economy has become an armaments economy dependent to a large extent on low-intensity wars in the Third World. A lowintensity war in South Asia could fulfill two of Israel's policy needs. It could politically embarrass a supporter of Palestine and provide a market for Israeli weapons.
Neo-Conservative Coalition
Pakistan has been historically an enemy of India. The Sri Lankan situation provided a splendid opportunity to both occupy the Indian army in the south and embarrass an army which had embarrassed Pakistan over the years. Furthermore the conflict in Sri Lanka would remove India's capacity to intervene meaningfully in Pakistan’s internal crisis over Afghanistan.
The neo-conservative coalition of the ASEAN countries also found an opportunity to exploit in the Sri Lanka situation. If India's economy was hurt by a low-intensity war, the ASEAN countries, along with Japan, could become the major economic force in the region. India's entanglement in Sri Lanka could also affect its relations with China, where there were already major differences over Vietnam and Kampuchea. China, which had had a close connection with Sri Lanka during the Bandaranaike period, now also found itself with a new potential friend im JR.
The Soviet Union, preoccupied by internal and external crises, has not paid much attention to the situation in Sri Lanka. Leonid Brezhnev left behind an unpopular war in Afghanistan. Mikhail Gorbachev has not only faced a conservative foreign policy establishment within the Soviet Union especially over Afghanistan, but simultaneoulsy has had to deal with a conservative economic establishment bent on challenging his economic policies. But war-torn India would destroy any hopes for the Indian Ocean becoming a peace zone. Thus, the Sri Lanka

Page 11
NOVEMBER 1988
situation presents a delicate security problem for the USSR.
Terrible dilemma
Within the non-aligned movement India's staunchest friends were, in the final analysis, the antiinterventionists, who were caught in a terrible dilemma. To oppose India would lend support to the Right-wing Reaganauts and their allies; to back India would lead to ideological contradictions. The accord, therefore, came as manna from heaven, a brilliant
India diplomatic coup of pulling the
chesnut out of the fire. But, this manna quickly turned out to be a bitter fruit.
The domestic consequences for India and Sri Lanka of the peace-keeping forces activities were equally explosive. The first and most dangerous was the politicisation of the Indian army. The role of the Indian army in Pakistan and now in Sri Lanka unleashed once again the ominous phenomenon of communalism within the army. Indian Tamil officers found themselves in a delicate position in their relations with non-Tamil counterparts, and vice versa. The destruction of the morale of a modern army especially when it engages in combat with liberation movements, has been well recorded in recent history. For example note how the well-oiled military machine of Israel quickly found itself incompetent to deal with the Palestinian adolescents.
The Indian army was also asked to play local politics in Sri Lanka, an additional burden. The Tamil liberation movement is divided and the army was forced to become partisan and to exploit divisions to gain control. As the Indian army was not equipped to play this kind of political role, the RAW, India's "intelligence agency', has had to undertake this function. The RAW has had along history of penetrating Tamil liberation movements over the years, and has had close contact with all factions. But it has been in the unenviable position of finding its policy in contradiction with that of the army. And, as we have seen in the case of the Pentagon and the CIA, such contradictions result in a disastrous foreign policy.
India's diplomatic and political policy in Sri Lanka is being conducted by the “mandarins' of South Block in New Delhi. They have had a set of rules for diplomtic negotiations which differs from both the RAW and the Indian army. The Sri Lanka episode, with its conflicting responses from the various Indian administrative bodies has done considerable damage to India's Foreign Service J.N. Dixit the Indian Ambassador in Sri Lanka and his South Block experts have been placed in a no win situation. The fall-out of this on the Indian political executive is now history. It has torn apart the congress-I, left Rajiv Gandhi's capacity and moral leadership in serious doubt, confused
Tamil Nadu pol ethnic violence, b the south of Sr. indeed paida ver low-intensity war. remains: it is e quagmire, but ho oneself?
TWO re The fundamen Lanka remains t human rights of both in the nor behaviour of the J entire period rev
the moral confide
the people of Sri I of its avid suppor the country ex independence per one: thousands h their lives in thousands have small beginning having fair electio all supervision.
It is important t revolutions are t Lanka. The revolu by Tamil militan process for some revolution led by and the JVP is force. All reports people of the no exhausted by this They are crying deserve peace. Pe matter of keepin apart. Peace mea developing mecha adversaries can liv spect for one an achieve this new tions have to be cr
A new
The architects o one accolade. A was taken by givin regional autonomy the JR regime to elections in the no only a beginning. the north and east ity for a new exper politics. While this undertaken, new will have to be ini logue between tl Sinhalese elites ha insufficient. A new gin between the r tive of the postitior whether or not the one or two nations
It has become ob to be a new Gove. that enjoys the political forces so t negotiations with parts. The Tamil lil also will have to existing fraticide a al solution for the the north and the

TAMIL TIMES 11
tics, and inflamed oth in the north and Lanka. India has
y high price for this.
But the old question sy to jump into a w does one extricate
volutions
al question in Sri he protection of the all the Sri Lankans, h and south. The R regime during this als that it has lost ce and legitimacy of anka and almost all ters. The history of pecially the postod, has been a sad ave had to give up internal conflict; become refugees. A could be made by ns with internation
o recognise that two aking place in Sri tion in the north led ts has been in the time; the southern
the Sinhala youth now going into full suggest that the rth and south are protracted violence.
for peace and they.
ace is not merely a
ng the adversaries
ns the capacity of nisms whereby the fe together with reother. In order to peace, new institueated dialogue f the accord deserve major step forward g the east and north . The willingness of have coordinated rth and the east is These elections in will be an opportunment in Sri Lankan experiment is being political processes tiated. The old diale Tamil and the s proven useful, but dialogue must beew forces irrespecis taken by them on rare going to live as
vious that there has nment in Colombo support of all the hat it can enter into its Tamil counterperation movements ut an end to their hd present a rationTamil population in ast. It is only under
these conditons that a new dialogue can begin about the future of Sri Lanka and as to whether it will remain one country or two. India has a vital and insdispensable role in creating this new process.
TAMIL NADU POLL
There is not even a remote thinking about extending President's rule in Tamil Nadu, the Governor, Dr. P. C. Alexander, said.
Elections to the State Assembly would have to take place well before January 29, 1989, unless the Constitution was amended providing for the extension in extraordinary situation as it happened in the case of Punjab, he pointed out while answering questions at a press conference.
The Prime Minister, he said, had made it clear that there would be no further extension of President's rule and that there was no question of amending the Constitution. He would be sending his report to the Union Government "when I am fully satisfied about the time and urgency of it, he added.
Dr. Alexander said that in July last two problems had prevented the State Government from going ahead with the elections. One, the indefinite strike by Government employees and teachers and this was subsequently resolved. The other, the Vanniyar's agitation, he said. "I am confident that we will be able to arrive at a reasonable understanding, satisfactory to not only the Vanniyar Sangam but also the others, and the elections will take place peacefully.'
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12 TAMIL TIMES
Deserting the Sinking Ship
Political circles in Colombo are buzzing with stories about leading government politicos, their associates including members of the new rich which emerged under the open economy of the UNP are making arrangements for a quick getaway from the island at the first sign of the dissolution of parliament, even without waiting for the general election to take place to see whether the UNP would win or not.
The developing situation has resulted in a crisis of morale and a feeling of desperation. To them, the fall of a government is not only a loss of power, but a danger of losing everything they have got. It is important that they not only save their skin, but also benefit from the vast sums of money they have accumulated within the country and foreign banks. Some of them have even acquired a real estate in far away continents.
The resignation of Mr. Nissanka Vijeratne, the Justice Minister, is a manifest example of deserting a sinking ship. Intriguingly he has suddenly become conscious about his responsibility, as Minister in charge, for the riot and attempted escape by over 1500 prisoners at the Colombo Welikade prison on 5 November and mass escape of over 100 prisoners from the Pelawatte prison on 6 November. So much so he could not wait to return to Sri Lanka to resign from his cabinet portfolio. The Minister was in Paris when these incidents occurred, he did not rush back and instead sent his letter of resignation to President Jayawardene, presumably by telex. Et Tu, Nissanka, the President must have exclaimed.
On July 25 and 27 July 1983, 53 Tamil political prisoners in three maximum security prison in Colombo were brutally murdered allegedly by fellow Sinhalese prisoners when prison officer's either assisted in the crime or just nodded and winked as the victims cried for help. In September of the same year, there were two mass jail breaks from the Batticoloa prison. This same Minister not only did not deem fit to resign, but also failed to institute an impartial judicial investigation into the murders in the Colombo Prison. 53 were killed, but not even one attacker was identified or punished!
WHEN THIEVES FALL OUT. . .
Talking of deserting the sinking ship, it was former Finance Minister, Ronnie de Mel, who first jumped out and
now he is in the SLF thinks will sail safely near future.
Is it true that Pre dene made arrangem Sri Lanka with his c, and their families in I if the situation had control in the wake of erupted following th Indo-Sri Lanka Ag) last year?
At a recent public said, "Indian ships cal were anchored in the the President's house government violence to allow President J. Cabinet Ministers an escape in the event of dent Jayawardene h three Indian ships ca. ters each capable of ten people following 1 the Indo-Sri Lanka ac (The Island, 22.11.88
Ronnie, at that tin be one of the staunc the Indo-Sri Lanka a was the Minister-in Indian PM when he to sign it. If what Ro he and his family wo first ones to have ta helicopters.
In the same spe alleged that "there wi Minister in the go declared assets in 19 and Rs.30,000. By 19 to five houses in Co shops in Chatham lakhs. When the Inc ities had queried th crease in Minister's answered that the from an election bet Question 1: If the Mi in 1982, how come h assets mentioned by
Question 2: As Mi and in charge of I) action did Ronnie tak ter narrated such story? Question3: Why doe the 'Senior Minister'
JVP PENIE"
It would seem that
ceeded in penetratin vices and it is so conf of its influence in v armed forces that ir
 

NOVEMBER 1988
'P ship which he to power in the
sident Jayawarents to get out of abinet colleagues ndian helicopters
become out of the violence that e signing of the reement in July
meeting, Ronnie, trying helicopters harbour behind : during the antiin July last year R. Jayawardene, d their families to trouble . . . Presihad to get down rrying 14 helicopferrying at least the violence after :cord was signed". 3)
ne, was known to hest advocates of ccord and, in fact -Waiting for the came to Colombo mnie says is true, uld have been the ken off in Indian
ech, Ronnie also as a certain senior
vernment whose 77 were one house.
980 this had risen lombo alone, two Street and Rs.30 ome Tax authore phenominal in; assets, he had wealth had come he won in 1982.”
mister won the bet 2 had acquired the Ronnie by 1980?
nister of Finance hcome Tax, what e when the Minisa cock and bull
sn't Ronnie name
concerned?
RATION
the JVP has sucg the security serdent of the extent arious sections of one of its latest
documents it has suggested that the President should dissolve parliament, himself resign and hand over power to the patriotic sections of the armed forces'.
Many of the raids on military or police establishments carried out by the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV), reputedly known as the armed wing of the JVP, in which large hauls of weapons were taken away have all the hall marks of operations being undertaken with information provided from inside or with active assistance and participation by security service personnel. JVP's previous raids at the Katunayake air force base and on the Kotelawala Military Academy at Ratmalana were found to have had assistance from inside.
Investigations into the latest raid on the National Auxiliary Training Camp at Pannala in which the raiders got away with over 400 weapons have established definite collusion from inside.
It is understood that one NAF soldier had gone up to Lieutenant S.P. Thalgoda and addressed him as, Loku Mahathaya' and demanded the keys to the armoury. The Lieutenant refused and he was instantly shot through the head by the NAF soldier who himself was later killed in the ensuing battle.
It has also been revealed that the Pannala Camp was rendered incommunicado from the day previous to the attack. Telephones had mysteriously gone out of order and the radio link to the camp was dead.
Tanil Mercenaries?
The Tamil exodus from Sri Lanka and their arrival into foreign countries, particularly those of western Europe, Canada and Australia as a consequence of the continuing violent ethnic conflict in that island, the human rights violations to which they were subjected and the armed struggle waged by Tamil militant groups against the government made sure that the world came to know that there existed an ethnic group called Tamils. The words and phrases like, Tamils, Tamil refugees, Tamil militant groups, Tamil Tigers etc. entered the vocabulary of the international media.
Tamil mercenaries ? Never. But the ill-fated attempted Coup-de-tat in the Indian ocean islands of Maldives has assured that. It is one thing for some stray individuals among Tamils or any other community becoming mercenaries to earn a quick buck. But when it is said that those among the mercenaries who went to Maldives were Tamil militants who came into being on the basis of liberating the Tamil people from oppression? Of course Tamils the world over are ashamed.
The ill informed western media promptly identified the mercenaries

Page 13
NOVEMBER 1988
with the LTTE, presumably because they are the better known among the Tamil militant groups. It soon became clear that the Tigers were not involved when the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Mr.J.N. Dixit, cleared them of any involvement.
A Reuter report alleged that they were from the Peoples Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), but the PLOTE promptly denied any responsibility. While all reports indicated that the coup attempt, hatched in a poultry farm in Kelaniya, was instigated by some Maldivian businessmen based in Colombo, the PLOTE’s information centre in London attributed it to a neverheard-of organisation called the Maldivian Liberation Front (MILF) and characterised it as part of a liberation
struggle against the dictatorial regime
of President Gayhoom. It also claimed that the MLF had approached progressive liberation movements outside Maldives for their assistance.
In the meantime, The Times (London, 5.11.88) reported: "A Maldivian businessman who took an active part in the coup, Abdullah Luthfee, has implicated Mr. Uma Maheswaran (leader of PLOTE as the mastermind behind the coup. Maheswaran wanted to seize the Islands because of its "rich investment possibilities'. Was Mr. Luthfee saying this to save his skin?
Rita Sebastian of THE SUNDAY TIMES (Colombo, 13.11.88) who visited Male, the capital of the islands, soon after the coup was foilled and the plotters were captured spoke to Captain Jayadevan of Progress Light', the vessel hijacked by the gunmen for their getaway. The captain's story was, "The gunmen identified themselves as belonging to PLOTE and it was one of their leaders, R. Raghavan, better known as “RR who was their radio operator and kept in touch with their headquarters in Colombo. They told me that they had set sail in two motorised launches from the seas off Jaffna on October 28th".
Who is this Raghavan? The answer to this question will be most revealing.
The JVP-DJV CONNECTION
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has never admitted to any of the mafia-style political assassinations and armed raids on military establishments although the government (Prime Minister R. Premadasa excepted) and the security forces accused it. In fact the parties belonging to the United Socialist Alliance (USA) have accused the JVP/DJV of being responsible for the murder of many of their members. Captured JVP/DJV men have confessed to some of the crimes. The JVP has denied that the
Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya .
Patriotic Peoples Movement constitutes its armed wing.
On 6 and 13 DAY TIMES (( tailed written a na Wijeweera, t written questic The second in
WaS:
What is the C Deshapremi Ja the Janatha Vin true that the D sion of the JVF
In a detailed Wijeweera sai Janatha Vyapa
· division of th
Peramuna. Tha You ask what t the DJV and th are aware, the Vyaparaya is a tion. There are r well as members and other grou government can Indian imperiali ummists, the Ta] began killing th opposed them. tested peacefully dene-Gandhipa ple were shot. It
JWP GAN
WEA
Over 100 men the Janatha N launched an a nearly two hour xiliary Force
Kurunegala at
November killin, Corporal Abeyr National Auxili civilian driver v attackers when
use it as a get aw attackers were fired upon from
The JVP men a massive hau
various types
Chinese made T. shot gunsifles, LMGs and may ammunition.
The raiders ha in many vans made good their vehicles and a c seized following The attackers had assistance led the investig there vas collu longing to the A The attackers been somewhat they wanted jug they had, in the
after the attack
obsolete self-loa

TAMIL TIMES 13
November, THE SUNolombo) published delswers given by Rohae leader of the JVP, to in submitted to him. he series of questions
nnection between the hatha Vyaparaya and ukthi Peramuna? Is it JV is the armed divi
reply to this question, l, "The Deshapremi raya is not the armed : Janatha Vimukthi story is incorrect . . . he connection between a JVP is. As far as we Deshapremi Janatha mass peoples organisamembers of the JVP, as of the UNP, the SLFP ps. . . The more the le under the control of sts and their fifth colmil Eelam terrorists, it e patriotic people who When the public proagainst the Jayawarit of betrayal, 142 peois in this situation that
Deshapremi Janatha Vyaparaya was born on a solid foundation. It cancelled the monopoly that Jayawardene and Indian fifth columnists held on the use of violence ... We will help them. Support them. We respect them”.
The last paragraph of the answer to the first question, which made no reference to the DJV at all, addressed to Wijeweera read:
"You have not still joined the People’s movement and therefore you do not see it. Therefore join the patriotic peoples movement today, then your problems will be solved . . . It does not matter if you were in the wrong place politically all this time. Give it up and join the patriotic peoples movement” (our emphasis).
Deshapremi Janatha Vyaparaya (DJV) rendered in English is Patriotic Peoples Movement which has, according to the JVP leader, "cancelled the monopoly that Mr. Jayawardene and the Indian fifth Columnists had on the use of violence”. And the JVP leader is calling upon the others to join, not the JVP, but the Patriotic Peoples Movement/Desha premi Janatha Vyaparaya (DJJV)
Any more proof needed for the JVPDJV connection?
NG GETS AWAY WITH OVER 400 PONS IN RAID ON ARMY CAMP
allegedly belonging to Vimukthi Perumuna rmed assault lasting s on the Pannala AuTraining camp in about 1.30am on 1 g Lt. L. Thalgahagoda, atne and two more ary Force men. One tas also killed by the they seized his bus to ay vehicle. Four of the illed when they were inside the camp.
took away with them of 447 weapons of including some 20 56 guns, 9 pistols, 178 252 303-rifles and 7 thousand rounds of
d arrived at the camp nd motor cycles and escape in some army filian bus which they he attack.
would appear to have om inside which has tors to conclude that on by some men bexiliary Force.
would appear to have choosy about what ing by the fact that ourse of their escape iscarded many of the ng rifles which they
apparently thought did not fit in with the required quality.
OUOTE . . ... UNOUOTE
"They say that Sri Lanka is a living democracy. They are wrong. It's a dying democracy. Tolerance is one of the major features of a democracy. But in this country ... while the power hunters, fly the democratic banner, those who are not favour of the T-56 are being sent to meet the Maker Right now, the sole democratic right exercised widely is the right to kill with impunity. – Sarath Prema dasa, WEEKEND,
6.11.88
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Page 15
NOVEMBER 1988
LTTE TO CONSIDER
POP, ETH
The six-party Front of opposition parties headed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which has adopted Mrs.S. Bandaranaike as their candidate in the forthcoming Presidential election is reported to have submitted its proposals for the settlement of the ethnic conflict to the LTTE representatives in London.
An LTTE spokesman in London confirmed that the report was true, but declined to state what the details of the proposals are as they were still under consideration. However, the Sunday Observer (Colombo) of 6 November, quoting 'sources with close connections with the LTTE in London reported that the Front's plan was for a permanent merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces except the areas to be retained for the Muslims living in the еast.
Under the proposals, Sri Lanka would be divided into seven units of power. Two of these units would be based on ethnic considerations such as the unit forming the northern and eastern provinces for the Tamils, and
OPPOSITIONS
Amparai distri majority areas Batticaloa dist The scheme is t a Tamil majorit Muslim majorit The plan also islative provisio devolution and I shall not be all third majority referendum of those areas.
On colonisat immediate stop colonisation, bu forced out of th in the north an tated fully in th
The Front u effect the plan i six months of it
However, th ombo) of 15 Nov opposition prop LTTE, reports til tion envisages units of devoluti
OOND
FOR PEACE
Seven opposition political parties have submitted several conditions to be fullfilled by the government if normalcy and peace is to be restored in Sri Lanka.
In a letter addressed to President Jayawardene on 17 October, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Muslim Congress, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, Democratic Workers Congress, Eksath Lanka Janatha Pakshaya, All Ceylon Tamil Congress and Liberal Party have expressed 'deep Concern about the situation in the country in the last few days' adding that it "... would seem that very fundamental causes for which your government must take the fullest possible responsibility underlie this situation of violence and instability'.
The conditions submitted by the opposition parties were: (a) release of all students in custody; (b) release of all political prisoners; (c)immediate end to all military operations including those of the IPKF directed at the civilian population; (d) announcement of the dates of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections; (e) appointment of an interm council of representatives of recognised political parties to govern this country until the conclusion of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections; (f) suspension of the North-East Provincial Council elections; (g) suspension of all powers of the Provincial Councils until after the conclusion of
the Presidenti elections; (h) c military organi tion of all loca have been arbi
The letter to states, "We feel not be permitte our unanimous peace and nor ated if your go conditions'.
PARTS OF OUT AT JA
Parts of a humi out from behind wamy Women's ty of Jaffna in on 27 October 1
Workers enga foundations for accidentally dis mains comprisi of a female ar silver rings non women on the s
In another sp mally worn by v (Jaipur) leg wer
The four sk accidentally fou had gone into t pick fruits. The given a 'comm villagers with pi

TAMIL TIMES 15
OPPOSITION PROPOSALS NIC SOLUTION
cts and other Muslim in the Trincomalee and ricts for the Muslims. o provide one unit with ty and the other with a y. ) provides that the legins relating to powers of composition of the units tered except by a twoin Parliament and a the people living in
ion, there will be an to the on going Sinhala it those who have been eir lands they occupied d east will be rehabilieir former areas.
indertakes to put into t has submitted within is coming to power.
e WEEKEND (Colember, referring to the osals submitted to the nat the plan for devoluhe formation of three on in the country to be
ITIONS
al and Parliamentary lisbanding of all parasations; and (i) dissolua bodies whose terms trarily extended.
the President further
that the situation caned to deteriorate . . It is view that a climate of malcy can only be creovernment fulfils these
SKELETON DUG AFFNA CAMPUS
lan skeleton were dug the Ananda KumarasHostel at the Universinorthern Sri Lanka on 988. aged in digging for the a new hostel block overed the skeletal reng a skul, human hair ld jewellery including mally worn by Tamil econd toe of their foot. ot, inner garments norwomen and an artificial e also discovered.
eletal remains were und by villagers who he palmyrah grove to hapless family were unity burial' by the olice permission.
termed Decentralised Government units instead of Provincial Councils. The Units will be divided into Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim areas depending on the ethnic composition, but the minority communities in such units will enjoy all the rights of the majority.
One serious omission in the opposition plan is that there is no specific provision for the protection of the ethnic identity and rights of the Tamils living in the plantation areas numbering over a million-and-a-half who are likely to be subsumed in the decentralised unit in which the Sinhalese will be in a preponderant majority - 10 to 1.
The Eelam Peoples Democratic Front (EPDF) the political wing of the PLOTE, has already considered the opposition proposals and regards them as an advance on the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement and the previous Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact, but it is of the view that only a national government in which the JVP is also part can implement the proposals, according to an interview given by D. Sitharthan, the leader of the EPDF.
LAND MNEKS 12
Nine soldiers belonging to the Indian Peace Keeping Force and three civilians were killed on October 20 in Kiran in the Eravur police division in eastern Sri Lanka when a land mine exploded.
Among the dead soldiers was an officer. The soldiers were travelling in a truck at the time of the explosion, The three civilians were walking along the road at the time the mine exploded.
The IPKF imposed an unofficial curfew in the area after the blast and conducted a cordon and search operation.
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Page 16
16 TAMIL TIMES
Jaffna - Peac
Gently the plane descends to the tarmac of Palaly airport and the landscape rises to its magnitude. Small plots of land, well looked after, straight roads and hedges, not even an inch which is not used to inhabit or cultivate. The Jaffna peninsula, the most northern part of Sri Lanka, from up here reminds me of my own country, the Netherlands. How different from what I expect to see: The northern district of Sri Lanka devasted by war. It is this first impression which remains with me throughout my stay in Jaffna: Normalcy amidst War. At Palaly airport we are given a friendly welcome by the authorities of the Sri Lankan army. It is early morning and the Commander offers tea. Outside the aiport premises, the Indian army is in control. On the way to Jaffna-town there is not much discussion. I seem to be one of the very few foreigners in Jaffna today. Every four or five kilometers we see an Indian army sentry point. At every major junction, in every village they had cleared a private house, asked its occupants to find another place to stay and had put up a small sentry point at the road side. Though their presence is felt, very strongly, life continues to move around these 'enclaves of war'. Yet, "No photo's, no English'. Two worlds apart
Run by Women.
From sunset to sunrise there is curfew. I expected that during the night hell will break loose and firing will be heard. In my imagination I thought of roaring tanks, jeeps, planes loaded with bombs,boots, voices, and weaponry. During my visit I indeed could not close my eyes, but not because of the war; but because cocks, dogs, crickets, crows and many other birds do not allow me to sleep a wink.
During a visit to a small village a woman explains to me how the whole economy of the peninsula is virtually run by women. She gives me three good reasons as to why this is so; First of all there are not so many men left, one man for every seven women she reckons. Secondly, if there are men in the house, they would rather stay at home for it is not always safe for them
to venture out on the roads. "But", and
here she smiles. "most of all we do much better, you know".
People in Jaffna live mainly from agriculture, animal husbandry, small scale self employment, trade, professionals, with 'white collar jobs and fisheries. Although the last has suffered a lot from the war. Fishermen are not allowed to fish in deep sea and transporting fish out of the peninsula has come to a standstill. Jaffna is densely populated. Approximately 800,000 people live on 750 sq. miles, i.e. 400 persons per sq. mile. Because of
this, land-holdings are small: mostly.
Jan Bruinsma, as p institution HIVOS, vis Lanka through the
abuses, killings, war
Amidst war life goes government of Sri L position.
less than 1/2 an a grows chillies, red and vegetables. The poor. 60% of the fan assistance from the out 30% of the po considered middle cla Co-op Mo Jaffna historically co-operative moveme More than 600 sm operatives are activ mers try to save a litt co-operative in order and take loans in ret these so-called prima formed a union whic members, of which 7 primary societies co women members a entirely by women amount to more th Lanka Rupees. Thes out among the mem great success. 98% recovered by the ( farmers know that with their own m amidst War
Started in 1982 w ary societies, the ul time, grown more number in 6 year growth generated by the women of Jaffna
Does this mean tha That fear, intimidati truction are no longe! not at all
Enormou: What I see is a peo survive with enormo and build their owr war has become an u and they learn to liv not a bleak hole; neit ruins with a group of top of it, weeping O ones. War has becom in Jaffna and, accor man, as the cards ha to present, by the II Lanka government militant groups, (m tigers), this will ren time, whether accor vincial council electi
It is this recogniti coping-up with it, w lacking in Colom bureaucracies, devel tions, foreign missio ombo based big r organizations (BINO

NOVEMBER 1988
eamidst War
oject officer at the Asia desk of the Dutch co-financing ited Jaffna recently. He feels that the picture created of Sri media is only part of its reality. Besides human rights and destruction, there is also a certain form of normalcy. on, and the women realize this best. He argues that the anka and the foreign donors too need to adopt a similar
cre. The farmer onions, plantains Jaffna farmer is lilies receive food government. Abpulation can be Lss and 10% rich.
sement
has the strongest int in Sri Lanka. all farmers' cotoday. The farle money with the to obtain interest urn. About 360 of ury societies have h now has 14,000 )% are women. 45 onsist entirely of nd are managed ... Their savings an 2 million Sri e savings are set ber farmers with of the loans are 'o-operative. The they are working oney. Normalcy
ith only 42 primnion has, in War than 7 fold this 's. An explosive the own efforts of peninsula.
it war has ceased? bn, death and desin existence? No!
S drive ble determined to us drive to work lives. For them navoidable reality with it. Jaffna is her is it a heap of women sitting on ver their beloved e a part of reality ding to a Jaffnave been played up dians, by the Sri as well as by the ainly the LTTELain so for a long d or discord, proons or not. on of reality, and nich is very much po. Government opment organizans, and the Colon-governmental O's) seem to be
waiting for solutions, i.e. politically or militarily, whereby first the war has to end, or at least be under control, before rehabilitation and reconstruction could begin. One cannot invest in War. Thereby implying that as long as there is war in the north and east, and more or less in deep south of Sri Lanka as well, the people will be deprived of Government assistance, foreign aid and development projects.
War and militarisation
While, awaiting peace, the government structures, decentralization models, working relations with foreign donors and the NGO establishment are geared up to receive the enormous quantities of money meant for the reconstruction of war stricken areas. So far very little of these monies have reached the targeted areas; local government structures are not operational enough at present. Only a limited number of relatively small NGO's (some foreign aid agencies included), are able to work and give relief.
War and militarization in Sri Lanka are sad facts. However, this is not a process that one can reverse easily. At present the militant groups, the LTTE and JVP, the Government and its military apparatus, as well as the Indian army, leaving aside their verbal dedication to a political solution, are resorting to their military might to solve the disputes. One can argue at length on options, possibilities, strategies and parties. Such arguments are useful and can open new avenues for direct discussions and in
future may lead to a better under
standing between militant groups, India and Sri Lanka. Suffice to say that these efforts, so far have not had the expected results. Militarization, extra judicial killings, disappearances, draconian laws, and further destruction by all parties involved are on the increase.
Economic thought
The trend of militarization has been rapidly increasing since 1977, and coincided with an open and outwardlooking economy. It abolished import controls, it cut back on subsidies, and encouraged foreign investment in a major push for competitive selfsufficiency and faster economic growth. In doing so, it was a step with various interests. It was in line with a body of economic thought that believed this formula would generate growth in developed and developing countries. It reflected a position voiced in advice

Page 17
NOVEMBER 1988
and prescription of international financial institutions, and in turn it resulted in record levels of foreign aid.
Foreign Aid can of course not be held responsible for what has happened in Sri Lanka during the last decade. However, they are as much part of the
problem as they can be part of the
solution. Not underestimating the dynamics of the ethnic conflict itself, it should be recognised that the new economic policies since 1977 have increased capitalist expansion in the country, which meant rapid growth for a minority, creating jealousy and frustration for the majority. Rapid changes in thee social-economic environment also meant a shock for many, creating space for nationalist politics and racist propaganda, both within and outside the government of Sri Lanka. This happened with the silent and sometimes open support of the donor countries and their missions in Colombo.
Assistance needed now
Sri Lanka'a problem seems not to be
a lack of foreig but how to mak Jaffna farmer n not tomorrow, a working populat east of Sri Lanka in the form of h affected is neede task for which t are well equipp part of such aic farmer how he ca he will never cul Sri Lanka more More than relie preventive aid. A local structures those. How to ma vincial planning priority in devel level, as wished Government and It is not sufficie national Govel Where the loca tures cease to b
CITIZENS CHAIRMAN SHOT
The Secretary of the Jaffna Citizens' Committee, Mr. Sivanandasundaram was shot dead on 21 October by unidentified gunmen when the victim was returning after addressing a commemortive meeting held by the LTTE.
The killing took place at the Vallaiveli highway in the Vadamarachchi area while Mr. Sivanandasundaram was travelling in a bus.
Mr. Sivanandasundaram was one of those nominated by the LTTE to the illfated Interim Council for the north and east proposed after the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement. The Jaffna Municipal Commissioner, C.V.K. Sivgnanam who too was nominated by the LTTE to the Interim Council was shot at last month, but he escaped with injuries.
On 27 October, Raja Shankar, the President of the Thenmarachi Citizens Committee in Northern Jaffna peninsula was shot dead by a gang of gunmen. -
These attacks have been attributed by the LTTE to those belonging to the EPRLF which has begun to make its presence felt following its return to the peninsula allegedly with the assistance of the IPKF.
SHORTAGE OF NURSES
Hospitals in northern Sri Lanka are suffering from an acute shortage of
urSeS.
According to the Director of Health Services, Dr. S. Kanagasabai, efforts to recruit more nurses have not proved successful. Although there are over four hundred vacancies for nurses in hospitals in the north, only 185 responded when applications were called to fill these vacancies.
CHANCE ENTE
Sri Lanka Tam Tamil Nadu as
allowed to appea examination to q the State’s mec colleges. The G Nadu is to issue This was anno Governor, P.C. A
The order will Lankan Tamils - admission to me colleges followin ban in the wake Indo-Sri Lanka this ban, severa made represent government, an Janatha Dal me Dr. Subramania matter directly Rajiv Gandhi w formed Swamy: Tamil Nadu gov. allow these stuc studies in India'.
LTTE LEA
A top ranking lea Tigers of Tamil Eastern Province Sadacharabhava among the sev killed by the IPK Francis, the II the Amparai an was shot dead in north of Kalmu IPKF, but the L was killed in or r being ambushed by "informants'.

TAM TIMES 17
and local resources e good use of it. The eeds assistance now, nd so does the whole on in the north and . The short time relief and outs to the most d. But this is also a he western countries 2d. However needed, | entails: "Teach the n get his rice free and tivate again', making and more aid minded. F, what is needed is id aimed at assisting
and strengthening ke decentralized pround decision makinga opment at provincial
by the Sri Lanka
foreign donors alike. nt to strengthen the 'n ment Structure S. Government struce operational it may
well be that those organizations which are still working; namely, in the private sector, the NGO's, the cooperative movement and the universities, form the key to initiate such processes. It is very disturbing to discover that ethnic wounds are so deep that these organizations and institutions also have to face discrimination and deprivation, whereas they are essential in reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.
Normalcy in war
Normalcy amidst war. War has been recognised as part of reality. It is a difficult but unavoidable position. The women of Jaffna realize this. Governments and foreign donors will need to adjust their development policies for Sri Lanka. Rehabilitation and reconstruction need to be integrated into their policy approach. Only then can they reach out to those sections of society whom they say they want to reach: Those who need it most.
TO ST MEDICAL & ENGINEERING ANCE EXAMS IN TAMIL NADU
il students living in refugees will now be r in a special entrance ualify for admission to lical and engineering overnment of Tamil orders to this effect. unced by the State's Alexander.
benefit nearly 200 Sri who have been denied dical and engineering g an earlier blanket of the signing of the agreement. Following l Tamil organisations ations to the Indian the Tamil-speaking ember of Parliament, m Swamy, took up the with the Indian PM. ho on August 3 in'We have asked the 2rnment to contine to lents to pursue their
DER KILLED
der of the Liberation Eelam (LTTE) in the of Sri Lanka, Rasiah h alias Francis was rall LTTE militants F. TTE commander of Batticaloa districts an encounter in the ai, according to the TTE claimed that he ear his hideout after on information given
Accordingly, through its order number 11 (34)87 dated August 8, the Indian government directed the Tamil Nadu government, currently under President's rule, to admit Sri Lankan Tamil students to medical and engineering colleges provided they complied with the usual formalities.
Seeing the failure on the part of the State's Commissioner of Education to implement the government's directive, on October 15, Swamy held a press conference in Madras to announce his decision to go on an indefinite fast from October 26 to force the issue. Shortly thereafter, State Governor Alexander announced his intention to implement the government's directive without further delay and Swamy drop ped his threatened fast.
From page.5
"The institution of government has virtually collapsed. Essential services are paralysed, and life has becoome dominated during the day by strikes or hartals, which close shops, businesses and the transport system, and at night by curfews imposed by the Army. Political murders - normally mafiastyle individual assassinations - which average up to 10 a day, have been confined to the inside pages of the local press.
“With the government demonstrably impotent, having exhausted ways to solve the crisis, the presidential elections on December 19 are in serious doubt and growing violence in the coming weeks is seen as inevitable”.

Page 18
18 TAMIL TIMES
Vijayambigai
VijaySNAPRUHA
ACADEMY OF INDIA1
laudra Kumar a resen & her students in
O SLEEPING BEAUTY
A Revolutionary Creation! A Dance Drama cho & presented by VIJAYAMBIGAI MUSIC: Tchaikovsky's original Russian symph the Bolshoi Ballet - Sleeping Beauty! CHOREOGRAPHY: Using Indian classical danc WJAYAMBIGAI DANCING IN THE LEAD
O A VARIETY OF INDIAN DANCES
Vijayambigai & Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake took storm when first staged in 1981
"... What could it be other than a spark of creative genius, that made Vijayambigai Indra Kumar to explore the language of Tchaikovsky's powerful Russian symphonic music, which is so alien to Tamil classical music, and to search the realms of Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi and Kathakali to select suitable steps that could be woven into its rhythm and mood in interpreting the story of the Bolshoi version of Swan
Lake'?..."
... B.C. MAHADEVA, SUNDAY OBSERVER. October 18th 1981
Vijayambigai is a world renowned Indian classical danc OFDANCING (Canada), PEOPLES ARTISTE (Sri Lanka) ex-Chief minister, Tamil Nadu, India) and has danced ir Denmark, India and Sri Lanka.
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Page 19
NOVEMEBER 1988
TAMLS IN NO MOOD TO A
According to the Indo-Lanka Accord the I.P.K.F. will remain in Sri Lanka until such time that the Executive President requests them to withdraw. Both the presidential candidates have drawn the attention of the nation to
the issue of the withdrawal of the I.P.K.F. Hence, whatever the results of the Presidential Election it should necessitate a request being directed to the IPKF to withdraw.
There is every possibility of a wish to the contrary being expressed through the North-East Provincial Council prior to the conclusion of the Presidential election so that an unwilling India may hold on to such a resolution as a defence move.
Assuming that India was sincere in walking into Sri Lanka in order to safeguard the security of Tamil people, she may nevertheless refuse to go and justify her continuance of stay by imposing a precondition that alternative safeguards be insured for the protection of the Tamils before she withdraws her forces.
With all the allegations against the Indian troops one has to reconcile to the fact that the Tamil people are not in a mood to accept the Sri Lankan forces as a substitute for the IPKF.
If Mr. Premadasa wins the Presidential Elections he will be forced to implement the Provincial Council Act without any reservation whatsoever. He will also be compelled to part with all the powers that are envisaged under the Provincial Councils Act which will include the power of the Provincial Council to constitute its own Police Force.
Mr. Premadasa will be stopped from repealing or dissolving the Provincial Councils as opposed to Mrs. Bandaranaike because it is his position that he has accepted the opinion of the Supreme Court that the Provincial Council Bill was not obnoxious to our Constitution.
Hence Mr. Premadasa will face the following major difficulties:
1. Sustaining the North-East Provincial Council for the next five years without having the true representatives of the people in the Council.
2. He may have to face the formidable challenge of the LTTE with the strength of the local Provincial Police only.
3. When he realises that the local Provincial Police cannot resist the LTTE (apart from wiping it out) he will be compelled to once again request the IPKF to come to his rescue. Viewed from this angle it will be impossible for Mr. Premadasa to have the IPKF to leave Sri Lanka for ever. He may make use of this only as a political stunt.
“In answer to questions from correspondents the Prime Minister expressed
*A
IN PLAC
M.H.M. As Sri Lankan M
his confidence th Agreement will if there is a cha administration.”
5. India will taking up the p withdraw its f prevails at least i The present Pr been constitute North-Eastern p cise of the pow emergency regul moment the em temporary merg exist and the Council of the No In which event have to face a c the Provincial C and East. The o can avoid such a the state of emer In our view th state of emergen the IPKF to with tent with each ot On the other Bandaranaike be of the country it expect the IPKF with. If the com forward the outli but permanent u the serious consi as well as the groups it may common alliance with the represe people as well a North-East regic sensus regarding volution to the U ity. These outl reasonable devol ing the power ov State land and units through co If one could er specific threat t interim post elec time the details ( be worked out b representatives be possible to per
 

TAMIL TIMES 19
CCEPT SRI LANKAN FORCES
E OF PKF
k
Afif shroff, Leader uslim Congress
at the Indo-Sri Lanka not be disturbed even nge in the Sri Lanka
also be justified in osition tht it will not orces until normalcy in the North and East. ovincial Council has d for the combined rovinces by the exerers flowing from the lations. Therefore, the ergency is lifted the er will also cease to proposed Provincial rth-East will collapse. Mr. Premadasa may onstitutional crisis of 3ouncil of the North nly way in which he crisis is to perpetuate gency. e perpetuation of the cy and the request to ndraw are not consisher.
hand even if Mrs. 'comes the President
is not practicable to to withdraw forthmon alliance can put ines of an alternative units of devolution for deration of the LTTE other Tamil militant be possible for the to have a dialogue ntatives of the Tamil s the Muslims of the on to arrive at a cong the package of deunits based on ethnicines should include ution of power includver the distribution of the stability of these nstitutional means.
sure that there is no o this package in an tion era (during which of the devolution could y dialogue among the of the people), it may 'suade the IPKF in the
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first place to withdraw itself to their barracks pending the implementation of the fresh package of devolution to the proposed alternative units. Once it is shown to the world that the Tamils and the Muslims of the North and Eastern provinces are prepared to accept these units of devolution and the militant forces are prepared to come back to the mainstream politics,
then the necessity for the IPKF to stay will not exist any longer.
In other words the implementation of the alternative package of devolution which should accommodate the aspirations of the Tamils and the Muslims of the Northern and Eastern provinces and the withdrawal process of the IPKF should take place simultaneously.

Page 20
20 TAMIL TIMES
FROM RAJ
by Mark Tully & Zareer Mazani BBC
This slim volume was put together from a series of radio programmes to commemorate forty years of Indian independence.
Mark Tully is perhaps the soundest and most rewarding of the many British investments in contemporary India. As the BBC’s man in Delhi these past twenty years and more, he has become a household name to many thousands of listeners throughout the world. The Tully bridge between Britain and India is as rough, ready and durable as the Bailey bridge in its own setting and may one day occupy a similar place in our lexicons.
Drawing on a rich cross-section of Indian voices, Mark Tully and his producer Zareer Masani in London, have stitched these together with comment and observation into an absorbing narrative of India's first four decades as an independent state.
India's Tryst with Destiny at the stroke of the midnight hour of August 15, 1947 took place against the crimson backcloth of communal bloodletting. Freedom was scarred by partition. Minoo Masani, a member of the defunct big business Swatantra Party, ascribed India's division to the egoism of Nehru and Jinnah. Mahatma Gandhi, he recalled had wanted Congress to offer Jinnah the Prime Ministership of a united India. If this suggestion had been accepted the surgery of partition could have been avoided. A simplistic view surely? Jinnah had let his sectarian genie out of its bottle and despite his early liberal predilections, Zia's Pakistan is the Quaid-i-Azam's true monument.
Mark Tully relates Jawaharlal Nehru's leading contribution to the evolution of India as a democratic polity, his grand vision of industrialisation and economic planning in a liberal Fabian mould, the social reform of the Hindu Code Bill, the active encouragement of science and technology, to which his daughter Indira was equally committed, and a foreign policy based on the concept of non-alignment.
There was the inevitable mixture of failure and success. But Nehru, as the historian Ravindra Kumar cogently remarks, charted the way for India; he set standards for subsequent generations to follow.
However, the integration of the patchwork of princely states into a single administrative entity was the towering achievement of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. Patel is curiously described as “very much a Hindu traditionalist... largely untouched by the
Western influences bibed at Harrow a Cambridge.” Neith any excluusive cop influences.” Patel London and his ul India was not with
He was, unlike N product who, had would have favour capitalism, but this a "Hindu tradition hostility and suspi the Muslim League outside the traditi who developed an both.
Mark Tully take Gandhi's remarka Thapar, an old frien critic, pointed to tactical acumen, 1 such devasting eff ladesh war. It wa supreme triumph.
Mr Tully could h fanatical Pakistan purge Bengali Mus were perceived in ) Hindu cultural in massacres of comm lectuals alike to This would have impact on India Chinese indifferen ties and their con Yahya Khan for litik.
Again, when dis of Nehru's China drawing unquestio cious wisdom of work, blames him Indian chauvinism and miscalculatio evident but Mark emphasised the eff opinion of China's i destruction of Ti and slaughter of Ti of Chou En-lai's a eventually to the Lama and tens o followers to India claim lines on th merely fuelled Ind today a vigorous genocidal Pol Po There are lessons here.
The story of Mr into Emergency Sanjay’s excesses fairly with the ai associates. So, too,
After forty-one ence India continu
 

NOVEMBER 1988
TO RAJIV
Books, London 1988, 174pp. £10.95)
} which Nehru imnd Trinity College, er institution has yright on "Western had studied law in niversity career in out distinction.
Vehru, a homespun he lived longer, ed a purer brand of hardly makes him alist." Nor does his cion of Jinnah and . There were many onalist Hindu fold intense distaste for
s us through Indira able life. Romesh hd and later a bitter
her courage and never displayed to ect as in the Bangas her moment of
ave highlighted the i determination to ilim society of what Islambad as baleful nfluences and the on people and intelachieve that goal. made clearer the of American and ce to these atrocitinued support for reasons of Realpo
cussing the failure
policy, Mr Tully ningly on the speNeville Maxwell's for surrendering to . Nehru's mistakes ns are now selfTully might have ect on Indian public nvasion of Tibet, its betan monasteries betans (in violation ssurances), leading flight of the Dalai f thousands of his Beijing's shifting e disputed border an anger. China is
supporter of the t in Kampuchea.
still to be learnt
s Gandhi's descent rule and her son is told lucidly and of witnesses and is her tragic end.
years of independes to encapsulate a
bewildering variety of paradoxes. It has a burgeoning middle class and masses of people clinging to life by the slenderest threads. High technology and the bullock cart co-exist as do enlightenment and superstition, liberty and oppression. Fine arts and the cinema range from the sublime to the near ridiculous and tawdry. India has a lively press and superb cartoonists like Laxman and Abu who delight in humbling the mighty with their well directed shafts. There are voluntary bodies dedicated to the defence of the rights of the socially disadvantaged, of women and the protection of ecology and much else besides. India is a veritable babel of tongues. It functions through a measure of anarchy. And, yes, its armed forces do not interfere in politics.
Why then has India survived with its improbable democratic institutions and spirit intact despite buffetings when in countries around it these appear to have withered? The political scientist Rajni Kothari provides a thought provoking explanation. "This is the only major culture and civilisation in the world which really didn't have a centre. The contrast with China is most clear. The Chinese identified themselves with a clear centre, and empire and an emperor, and there was nothing like that in India. So to that extent, the coming of the British and then the national movement can be considered to be the first steps in the direction of bringing together the tremendous plurality and diversity of the country into a common framework. But Indian nationalism has always flourished through the acceptance of a plural society. That, in fact, is why the interest in nationalism and democracy run side by side. I have constantly maintained that this country was always inherently fertile ground for liberal institutions. It is not as if the British brought them to us.”
Premen Addy
The London Tamil Congregation
Christmas Carol Service Sunday 11th December 1988 at 3.45pm
Watch Night Service Saturday 31st December at 11 pm (Coffee at 10.30am) ALL ARE WELCOME
at The Methodist Church Gwendolen Avenue, Putney, London SW15
For further details, please contact: Mr Stanley Naliah on 01-540 3542

Page 21
NOVEMBER 1988
AATHARMAMS
(English translation of part of the speech in Tam Mr. Mariampillai Melchior at the meeting in Londor
Mr. K. Kandasamy)
There is a saying among our people: “Raman andaal enna, Ravanan Andaal enna”. Paraphrased it means "What difference does it make to you and me whether Rama or Ravana rules our land”. Far from indicating political apathy or alienation among our people, this common saying contains certain philosophical and legal assumptions.
According to Ramayana, Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu while Ravana was a demon king. But both Rama and Ravana belonged to and operated in the Indian world and were subject to the rules of the Indian world. In the Indian world the supreme ruler at all times and in all places was deemed to be Tharmam; every other ruler had to subject himself to Tharmam. The concept of Tharmam was one of the greatest contributions of ancient Indian jurisprudence to civilization. Tharmam is nothing other than the Rule of Law. People were so certain about the supremacy of Tharmam that it did not bother them who their ruler was because they were certain that he would observe the Rule of Law. Failure to observe the Rule of Law meant that the king ceased to have any right to rule at all.
I shall refer only to examples from our corner of the Indian world to illustrate the supremacy accorded to the Rule of Law: one is from Silappathikaram and the other is from Mahavamsa. In the first example the Pandyan king has executed Kovalan for a crime he has not committed. Kannahi proves her husband's innocence and the Pandyan court demands justice. The Pandyan king and his queen are struck dead and his capital Madurai is burnt to ashes. The warning is clear: a ruler who has failed to uphold Tharmam, the rule of Law, ceases to have the right to rule at all. The poet was also hinting that the subjects cease to owe allegiance to such a ruler and are justified in putting his capital, the symbol of his glory, to the torch.
In the episode from the Mahavamsa, the cow has lost its calf crushed under the wheels of the chariot driven recklessly by King Ellalan's son. The cow pulls at the rope attached to the king's bell of justice demanding justice. The king sees no way but to uphold the rule of Law and orders that his erring son should be crushed under the chariot's wheels.
It matters not that these events might not have taken place; the fact that they caught the popular imagination is evidence of the standard expected from rulers in the Indian world.
The Indian worl under anyone always enjoyed, cultural unity; ( held the Indian v concept of Thau reme ruler.
The relevance mam to Kanda which we are h condemn is this: crime committ viduals. It is a c mitted by perso the right to rule even before the threshold of pov that they could r mam which has place in our cu years. Every ru failed to uphold T to rule. Are we g would-be rulers ( we going to lett philosophy on u mistake about v shall discard Th risk: Tharmam is tor of everyone's Our people say Kakum” (Tharm, they mean it quit
Why have the have come forwar of life abandoned mitted this sin junan raised th Kurushetra and 1 by Krishna: ultil and the anger bo tion which drive path of Tharmar anything other 1 duty he tends t attachment; atta sire; unfulfilled d tion and anger; a and judgment; w ment are cloude alone is right a wrong; the way i. Such persons bec their own desires are persons who glory and cannot reality or timless
In the Indian w belong, Karma Duty has been he attained by all m of us become p. ambitions and n ideal of Karma man or woman i her way of life bec of Karma Yoga. was born in our ti

TAMIL TIMES 21
ɔUR PROTECTOR”
l delivered by іп тетory of
i was never organised human ruler; but it certain spiritual and ne of the factors that vorld together was the mam being the sup
of the concept of Tharsamy's disappearance ere to mourn and to this is not an ordinary ed by private indirime apparently comns who are claiming our part of the world; y have reached the ver they have shown lot care less for Tharoccupied a paramount lture for over 2000 ler in the past who harmam lost his right oing to insist that our obey Tharmam or are hem impose an alien s? Let us make no what is at stake: we Larmam at our own the ultimate guaranife and liberty. When “Tharmam Thalai am saves our head) eliterally.
persons who claim to "d to preserve our way Tharmam and comand this crime? Are same question at he answer was given mately it is ambition rn of thwarted ambimen away from the n. When a man does han as a matter of o develop a certain chment leads to deesire leads to frustranger clouds his reason hen reason and judgd he thinks that he nd everyone else is open to destruction. ome the prisoners of
and ambitions; they run after power and comprehend ultimate values. orld to which all of us oga or the Path of ld aloft as a goal to be en and women. Most isoners of our own ove away from the ooga. In every age a ; born who by his or omes an embodiment Dne such person who me and in our society
was Kandasamy who was a true Karma Yogi. You may ask "Who is a Karma Yogi and what manner of man is he?' Bhagavat Gita gives the answer: A Karma Yogi does what he conceives to be his duty; success and failure are not his concern; he is not elated by success or depressed by failure; he does not tremble with fear nor does he go beserk with anger; he does not run after things; he can surrender any position or give up any pleasure without regret; he does not lay claim to anything as his own; he is not arrogant; to him both pleasure and pain are unimportant phenomena; his essential self is not affected by the passage of events; such a man has peace of mind.
From whichever angle we look at Kandasamy he was a true Karma Yogi. Inspite of all his work and concerns he was a man totally devoid of ambition and avoided competition in any form or shape. He had the capacity to move with equal ease with both the learned and the uneducated. He worked for the well being of his fellow beings without expecting anything in return.
While we mourn Kandasamy's disappearance let us also be thankful to the Almighty that our society was privileged to have had a Karma Yogi like him in our midst.
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Page 22
22 TAMIL TIMES
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APPRECI
Arthur Joseph Devan Vadurai ADJN to his friends and wellwishe Clonbo On 24.9.88. He great educationalist an Hindu College, the late ai. ADJN was a higt practising at Huiftsdorf Sports.
The unquenchable th Was the hallmark of an man and he put every religious fervour and co, fame and honour, but the game. Representing between 1927 and bludgeoned the opposir painfully vicious bowlin batsman either. Agains scored a memorable 1. runs (5 sixes and 1 fou the Tamil Union Crick tinued his Cricketing Cá and vigour. He repres devotion and dedication played for Ceylon aga Australian Services tear Miller and all-rounder opened the bowling for dogged 36 runs.
At athletics too, f achievements. He won Championships in thi metres and long jump Wilton Bartleet cup fo performance.
Apart from his cric triumphs, he also exce winning several titles an player of class for a nun
A gentleman to his fin disposition, simple, un hearted, ADJN will be membered by those W against him and watche
He comes from a lat two brothers, DJINI (Bot and several nephews a his loss.
8
“Skanda Varodaya ( Association (UK Branc A.G.M. and Reunion L Jones Hall, London, S the students of West Was One of the items
function."
 
 
 
 
 

NOVEMBER 1988
ayagam Nevins Selnumerous relatives, 'S, passed away in was the Son of the d Principal of Jaffna Mr. Nevins Selvadurly respected lawyer but his forte Was in
irst he had for Cricket extraordinary sportshing into it with such mmitment, seeking no simply for the love of St. Thomas College
1929, he virtually g batsman with some g. He was no mean t Wesley College, he 44 which included 34 ) in one over. Joining et Club, ADJN conreer with equal zest ented the Club With for over 25 years. He inst Linsay Hasset's n which included Keth Cecil Pepper. He Ceylon and scored a
he had remarkable
the Public Schools' 2 100 metres, 220 and won the COveted r the best individual
-keting and athletic alled in lawn tennis, di remained a frontline mber of years. gertips with a genuine assuming and largeenthusiastically retho played with him, di hin. ge family and leaves by) and BSN (Baba) nd nieces to bemoan
ollege Old Students' h) held a well attended inch on 6.11.88 at Lola W17A violin recital by London Tamil School of entertainment at the
OBITUARY
Reverend Sam Thamboe - Pastor of the JDCS Chavakachcheri Church, Sri Lanka, son of the late M. Thamboe of Malaysian Railways and Mrs Rose Nagammah Thamboe, beloved husband of Lida Rasamany, loving father of Joyce (Teacher, Uduvil Girls College), Rohan (Maldives) and Suresh (Madras Christian College), brother of the late Wesley Jayaratnam, Emily Sabapathy, Arulpragasam (UK), Mrs Nesam Singarajah, Mrs Jeyapackiam John Rajah, late James Thamboe, Mrs Gnanammah Punnitharajah and Mrs Thavamany Gabrielpillai, expired on 12.988 and burial took place at Church Cemetary, Chavakachcheri, Sri Lanka.
Rasamalar Kandiah (Retired teacher, Mahajana College, Tellippalai, Sri Lanka), beloved wife of the late Sangarapillai Kandiah, mother of Sriskandarajah, Sri-Raviculan, Varathadchayani, Vanithamany, Verikumar, Thulasibai and Anandanadesan, mother in law of Chandraleela, Theivanayagi, Kanagabavan, Sri Murugadas, Ranjani and Manohara passed away on 26.9.88 and was cremated at Tellippalai - 49 Sudbury Heights Ave., Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 OND
Mrs S.J.V. Chelvanayakam Ratnam wife of the late Mr S.J. V. Chelvanayakam, Q.C., M.P. passed away on 5.8.88 in Colombo. A prayer meeting was held at her residence at Tellippalai to syncronise with the funeral service in Colombo. She leaves behind her Sister Mrs G.C. Canagasunderam, four sons Manoharan, Raveendran, Vaseekiraran and Chandrakasan and a daughter Suseela Wilson, wife of Prof. A.J. Wilson of New Brunswick University, Canada. Mrs Kannakai Kandiah beloved wife of the late Vallipuram Kandiah, mother of Vigneswararajah, Dr. Somasundararajah, Poopalarajah and Pushparanee (all of U.K.) passed away in Birmingham on 6.11.88 - 58 Farquhar Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 3RE, U.K.
K.V. Jagannathan noted Tamil scholar and Editor of Kalaimagal' died after a brief illness in Madras on 4.11.88. He was 82 and is survived by three sons and a daughter. Popularly known as "Ki Va Ja", Mr. Jagannathan was a rare combination of a good speaker and a prolific writer. He has to his credit over 200 works on a variety of themes Covering Tamil literature and culture. He won the Sahitya Academy award for his book 'Veerar Ulagam' in 1968.
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Page 23
NOVEMBER 1988
A COOPERATIVE ENTER
Forest Electronic Systems is a unique business venture. Firstly its eight members are all from the Tamil community in the UK. Secondly it is a workers co-operative, owned and democratically controlled by those members, who are also the workforce. The company, now based in Hackney, is trying to establish itself in the tough business of sub-contract electronic manufacture, assembling high-quality sophisticated printed circuit boards. Their products will be vital components in expensive industrial equipment, so ut most reliability is demanded.
Why did they get together and set up the business in this form ? One of the founder members comments: "Firstly to create decent jobs for ourselves. Some of our members are highly skilled people who are working in low paid unskilled jobs, such as petrol station attendants. By setting up a co-op, we not only create jobs, but control our own venture and a share in the profit. We want to learn lessons from this experience that could one day be applied to economic regeneration in Tamil Eelam. We would like to help set up co-ops there. We have felt inspired
by what the B. gon in Spain disadvantaged Spa in they tremendously based on co-op, are based on til
Getting the has been a lo Electronic Sys lessons learne Raising financ the biggest grants that th get have not because of the ment finance f because the M favoured by so op movement.
As a result nanced entirel contributions. sources they ha premises, fit th sary capital e their marketil says: "We now
orders. If we c,
cessfully in the assured of pler
INSTITUTE FOR
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BOOKS ON:
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Books in English: 1. Introduction to Tamil Culture
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. A Date with Destiny
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. Introduction to Saivite Hinduism A Primer for Beginners, 1982 (Price:£5)
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TAMIL TIMES 23
PRISE
sque people of Mondrahave achieved. As a minority community in have built up a uccessful local economy
The rules of our co-op
eir model.”
usiness off the ground ng struggle for Forest
ems, with a lot of hard
northern province.
d all along the way. has been and still is eadache. Loans and co-op had expected to een available to them queeze on local governbr aid to enterprise and Ondragon model is not ne bodies in the UK co
the co-op is so far fiy from members own On these slender reve managed to acquire em out with the necesquipment and launch ng effort. A member
have our first major an complete these sucnext few weeks, we are ty of repeat business.
-
(2 OA dah
ATASTE OFW//PARADISE
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE IN
JAFFNA UNIVERSITY
The University of Jaffna is to set up a Faculty of Agriculture next year. The course of study to be offered by the faculty will concentrate on the agricultural patterns and practices in the
The University Grants Commission has already approved the plans for the setting up of this Faculty. Two other Faculties of Agriculture have already been established in the University of Batticaloa in the eastern province and the Ruhuna University in the southern province.
The estimates for the construction of the building to house the new Faculty have already been completed by the University authorities, and Phase I of the construction will begin early next year.
The new Faculty is to be located at Kilinochchi, approximately 40 miles away from the main University campus The University authorities will begin first admissions to the Faculty for the academic year 1989-1990.
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Page 24
2 TAMIL TIMES
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