Page 1
Army Suffers Major Disaster at Pooneryn
| Over 700 Soldiers and 400 Tigers Keel Este
BLITItCalibre
 

ANNUAL SUESCETEO
UIKTET SLETTEL, Australą,
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La LL L LLa LLLHC SC LS00 LLLLL LLLLL S LLLLL LLDS S aLLLLLS gun turret above and injured soldiers being evacuated (left
: 17 1
1:15 What went Wrong at Pooneryn
LLLLLLL LLLLLLLLSLLSLLLLLLLS
Civilians Killed in Bombing
SLLL LLLLL SLLLL LL LLLLLL
Failure of the Select Committee
LLLLLLLLSLLLLLSLSSSSLLLLSLS SG LS
TULF Leaders Murder Case
UNHCR SUSPENDS RELE WORK
DMK POISED TO SPLIT
Editorial Glorying
REVIEW BUDDHISM BETRAYED'?

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2 TAMIL TIMES
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15 DECEMBER 1993
I do not agree with a word.
of what you say, but I'll defend to the death your
ISSN 0266-4488
VOXI NO.12 15 December 1993
Published by
TAM TIMES TO P.O. BOX 121 SUTTON, SURREY SM13TD UNITED KINGOOM
Phone: 081-644 O972 Fax: 08-24. 4557
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CONTENTS
Thondaman Back in the Headlines.4 Battle of Pooneryn - a Disaster... 6
What Went Wrong at Pooneryn. . . .9 V.
Civilians Killed in Bombing. . . . . . 11 TULF Leaders Murder Case. . . . . 12 UNHCR Suspends Relief Work...13
Human Rights and Media. . . . . . . 14 Failure of Politics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Consociational Democracy. . . . . . 19 Book Review - Buddhism Betrayed? . . . . . . . . . 20 DMK Dissident Leader Expelled. . 23 Kashmir End of Siege. . . . . . . . . . 24 DMK-Poised to Split. . . . . . . . . . 25 Readers Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Classified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
G
in the continuing undertaken withi government forc Tamil Eelam (L which lasted fou, in the Course C killed. Seventy-f Civilians caught lives falling victin the battle Zone.
At the end of ledged figures a many officers, wi ably captured bu Tigers. Governm Worth millions of the Tigers have Senior level, wer following Operat aerial bombardm CivilianS fell Victin Jaffna, the Gove raids, and in ano were killed when
irrespective of in military terms hundred human these two militar number. Sri Lank taking place. The various parts of remotely approx elsewhere in the and Concern wor whether they be attracts very little of an everyday c
What is more t and Concern fort the sense of lo generatedamon and wives and cl arguments, anal prelates, military implications and all Communities : the people have Scale and extent Of the last sever
The loss of val aspect of the on itself has been st treated as mater of a cult that glk COntext, a cultur killed. It was the the infliction of d Lankan society a So Collectively d from any respon Such tragic loss
 
 
 
 
 

TAM TIMES 3
ORYING IN DEATH
armed conflict in Sri Lanka, two major military operations were the last two months 'Operation Yal Devi" was launched by the as on 28 September lasting six days. The Liberation Tigers of TE) mounted their 'Operation Frog Jump' on 11 November
days.
f 'Operation Yal Devi, over 120 soldiers, including officers were ve to one hundred Tiger cadres were reported killed. Many up in the battle were also killed. Many more civilians lost their is to indiscriminate bombing raids carried out further away from
LTTE's 'Operation Frog Jump', although no officially acknowre available, it is estimated 700 service personnel, including are killed, and approximately 200 remain unaccounted presumt yet remain in unacknowledged detention in the hands of the ent forces also lost an enormous amount of military hardware rupees. Although the Army high command put a higher figure, officially announced that 411 of their cadres, including many at e killed in the course of this operation. Again, as in the case ion Yal Devi, government's Air Force engaged in indiscriminate ent in the Jaffna peninsula in which an estimated one hundred ns. The Government's own most senior official representative in "rnment Agent of Jaffna was injured in one of these bombing ther some seventeen people who had taken refuge in a church
a bomb hit and destroyed the church.
the claims and counter claims regarding what was gained or lost by either side, what is certain is that over one thousand four beings lost their lives and many hundreds more were maimed in y encounters. By any calculation, this is an enormously horrific (a is not the only place in the world where an armed conflict is 're are many places where there are ongoing armed conflicts in the world. But nowhere else does the level of loss of life even imate to this number of people. When even few are killed world, the incidents attract Considerable and sustained attention ldwide. However, when over one thousand five hundred people, Combatants or defenceless Civilians, are killed in Sri Lanka, it attention or concern anywhere except as a passing news report CCITe Ce.
ragic is that, even within the country, there is total lack of feeling hose killed in such large numbers in the prime of their life and for ss, anguish and deprivation that must have been inevitably g the kith and kin - the parents, brothers and sisters, husbands hildren and other relatives. This lack is reflected in the welter of yses, articles, assessments and commentaries by politicians, analysts and defence experts and journalists on the conduct, consequences of these operations. Not that the Sri Lankans of are without such feelings. But it would seem that the majority of become brutalised and desensitised by the sheer frequency, of the killings that have characterized the violence ridden history all years.
luable human lives in such unprecedented numbers is only one going human tragedy that is being enacted in the island. Life p devalued and become so cheap that human beings are being all objects disposable at will. What is worse is the development orities death, and to put it more accurately in the Sri Lankan 2 that seems to indulge in the glorification of killing and being poet Donne who said: "Every man's death diminishes me". After eath upon literally thousands and thousands of people, the Sri nd those who claim to be its leaders would appear to have been minished to a point where they have become totally immune sibility to seek solutions to the very problems that give rise to of life.

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4 TAM TIMES
ThOndanman Ba in the Headlin
from Rita Sebastian in Colomb
Savumiamoorthy Thondaman, the powerful leader of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), the island's largest plantation trade union, and a Minister in the Wijetunge government is back in the headlines. But then he is hardly ever out of it.
Whether he is fighting the cause of his plantation trade union, or offering to mediate with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Thondaman has become one of the most controversial politicians of recent times.
He has not been dubbed "plantation Kingmaker' for nothing. He has often been accused of virtually holding the government to ransom everytime he wanteda demand met. Whether it was citizenship for the descendants of migrant Indian labour, a wage increase or better housing for them, Thondaman, the shrewd, often wily politician has always got what he wanted for those he refers to as "my people'.
Thondaman bashing has almost become a national political pastime. "He can make or break governments' says a southern politician not without rancour that "a man whose father came as a labourer to work for 13 cents a day in a British owned coffee plantation in the 1870s, should today be in a position to dictate terms to the government.'
The CWC has been the ruling United National Party's electionally these many years. An alliance that. has been at the centre of bitter criticism in the south. The opposition has on several occasions charged the government of bending backwards to accommodate Thondaman's demands simply to secure the plantation vote.
Former Presidents Jayewardene and Premadasa handled him with kid gloves. Somehow right from the beginning of Dingiri Banda Wijetunge's tenure as President it was apparent the two men were not able to strike the right cord.
Political analysts see a good reason for that. Wijetunge's roots lie in the Kandyan peasantry, whose lives have been entwined with the upcountry plantation sector. And it is these villagers who have now begun to fe el increa singly threatened by Thondaman fighting
for the cause (
In the las Thondaman m tions with th there has been man by both t Lankan Free Democratic U (DUNF).
Unfortunate the leadershi would gladly into their cam the two partie alliance with feel is playin ends.
While DU Gooneratne ha members for welcoming Th mandate from making body chauvinist He Heritage) twin and S.L. Gu come out st alliance with
“While sm wages an un military terr country from Wanni, Minis a similar can economic ter and from wit government', cent Stateme
And while Thondaman and Sri La
Th
The political moves by Ca er of the Ce (CWC), Mr almost ovel disaster at F warfront su army. He
mands, mos ing conditio and the go

15 DECEMBER 1993
ck
S
"his people.'
few weeks, after de his strained relagovernment public, a wooing of Thondae main opposition Sri om Party and the ited National Front
y for them, though
of the two parties welcome Thondaman there are sections in s totally against any hondaman who they g politics for selfish
NF President, A.C. Islashed out at party making statements
londaman without a the party's decision , it is the SLFP's la Urumaya (National ns Tilak Karunaratne nasekera who have rongly against any the CWC boss. uggler Prabhakaran relenting campaign of prism to destroy our the jungles of the ter Thondaman wages paign of political and or towards the same hin the portals of the they charged in a reit to the press. the controversy raged huttled between India ka, missing cabinet
meetings and fuelling speculation that the rift could lead to several re-alignments of political formations in the south.
But the government moved swiftly, met some of Thondaman’s demands and diffused the situation somewhat.
They included the suspending of the UNP's Mayoress for upcountry, Nuwara Eliya, Thilaka Herath while she was still on an official visit to Japan, and a probe instituted into allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds by her, and in her place a CWC member has been appointed as Acting Mayor. Thilaka Herath is facing some 15 charges and has been ordered to appear before a special commission appointed to probe her conduct. The one-man commission headed by retired Judge J.W.P Udulagama will begin the probe on December 13. The committee has received 15 petitions alleging illegal land deals and other abuses of power.
Two other demands regarding administration and allocation of funds have been granted through central government orders.
Thondaman's main demands however centre on the reconsideration of plans to give a 30year extension to the private companies managing the estates and a guarantee of 300 working days for the estate workers. Management companies struggling to make the estates viable have run into trouble with the workers on work norms as well.
And as the one-month timeframe given by Thondaman to the government nears its end all the signs indicate that at the end of it,
Thondaman will still be with the
ruling party.
"I'll Back any Party at Support My People' - Thondaman
allout from the recent net Minister and leadon Workers Congress S. Thondaman, has hadowed the military bneryn in the northern red by the Sri Lankan bmitted several deconcerning the workof plantation workers rnment's proposal to
extend the management scheme by private companies of tea estates to thirty years, to President Wijetunga giving him one month time to settle them. At the same time he announced that his party, CWC, would support the opposition parties in the Central Provincial Council thereby bringing down the UNP administration. Simultaneously he commenced negotiations with the

Page 5
15 DECEMBER 1993
SLFP leader, Mrs. S. Bandaranaike and DUNF leader Mr. Gamini Dissanayake giving rise to strong speculation that he was ready to quit the government and forge an alliance with these opposition partleS.
These moves by Mr. Thondaman and his political brinkmanship have produced predictable hostile reactions particularly from advocates of extreme Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism who have traditionally indulged in Thondaman-bashing. The twin leaders of the extremist "Hela Uramaya' faction within the SLFP has accused Thondaman of seeking to achieve "hegemony of the CWC', and denounced those within the ruling UNP and opposition SLFP and DUNF who seek alliance with Thondaman as "despicable'.
The Hela Urumaya twins in a press statement said, "The strategy of Minister Thondaman is clear. It is to establish the total hegemony of the CWC in all parts of the country in which large tea and rubber estates are situated, i.e. the Central and Uva Provinces and substantial parts of the Sabaragamuwa, Western and Ruhuna Provinces, and compel the Government to transfer ownership of such estates to the workers, the vast majority of whom are Indian Tamils.
“Presidents J. R. Jayawardene and R. Premadasa kept giving into Minister Thondaman and the CWC for a mess of political pottage. The SLFP then rightly attacked them for doing so and attacked them virulently. Today, President Wijetunga has, unlike his predecessors, had the guts to stand to Minister Thondaman and the CWC and refuse his demands, and some unprincipled and power hungry but powerful sections of the UNP, SLFP and the DUNF are seeking to undermine President Wijetunge's praiseworthy and patriotic stand on this question and to strengthen the hand of Minister Thondaman:
"Those sections of the SLFP and the DUNF do so by negotiating with Minister Thondaman with a view to forging an alliance with him to topple the Government and gain power, while those sections of the UNP seek to do so by preventing such alliance by prevailing on President Wijetunga to give into his demands. The conduct of these sections is despicable."
The leader of the Sinhala Defence League, Mr. Gamini Jayasuriya, has accused Mr. Thondaman of attemp
ting to hold bot. and the oppositio
The politically battle-hardened . not one to be ea rantings and ra treme elements. with Roshan Pei Times, Mr. Thon quent with undi his latest moves chess board. The from that intervi with kind courte Times.
Q: You have r the Prime Ministe al Secretary and discuss the prob the CWC. Have compromise?
A: I am sorry been a few prov These actions by have irked my pe has been some bu bureaucrats in th retariat. I told go that I want evide recognises the as ple who have ma port for the Govel sixteen years thro me as their leade
In my talks, I m I expected the g with circumspecti ter an environme wards my people their trust in me.
Q: What provol a no-confidencer administration of vincial Council? V make DUNF fea sanayake the Chi
A: To explain you state I have past. Five years ment approved t vocational school who could notatte al schools on accol barrier. Norway v million rupee p. going on to build
You can imag when I received Presidential Secre al building acti suspended. To ad the letter stated would review the
The committee three ministry se
It was indeed di that the Presid

AMIL TIMES 5
the government to ransOn. well seasoned and Mr. Thondaman is sily rattled by the ings of these exIn an interview is of The Sunday daman waxed elouted openness on on the political following excerpts w are reproduced sy of The Sunday
net the President, r, the UNP Gener
top ministers to ems that confront sou worked out a
to say there have rocative incidents.
the Government bple and me. There ngling, possibly by e Presidential Secovernment leaders nce of a policy that pirations of a peonifested their supinment in the past ugh the CWC and r
hade the point that overnment to act on that would fosnt of goodwill towho have placed
ced you to initiate notion on the UNP * the Central ProMere you trying to der Gamini Disef Minister? my provocation as to go back to the ago the Governhe building of a for estate Tamils 'nd other vocationint of the language was funding the 70 oject. Work was the school. gine my chagrin a letter from the tariat stating that rities have to be d insult to injury, that a committee project.
was to consist of retaries. sconcerting forme ential Secretariat
should deem it fit to appoint a committee to review a project approved and begun five years ago without first taking up the subject with me as a matter of courtesy if nothing else.
The letter from the Secretariat sounded like a Parliamentary question from the opposition. It was provocative indeed. I received the letter on November 12 and hence I decided to act on my own. It was I who set the wheels moving for a no-confidence motion in the Central Provincial Council and I told Gambini Dissanayake that I would support him to become chief minister.
Q: You have made a statement that you would co-operate with the Opposition at Provincial Council level and co-operate with the Government as well. isn't that political tight rope walking?
A: I have not been accurately quoted. I only mentioned my role in the Central Provincial Council. I will continue to support the Government as long as it is sympathetic to the aspirations of my people. I have contributed together with my people in winning elections for the UNP. I have a right therefore to be in the UNP Government unless I am pushed out.
Q: You have met SLFP leader Sirima Bandaranalike twice in recent days. Why did you meet her and what was the Outcome?
A: I will associate with and speak to any political party that is willing to help my people. I did not meet Ms. Bandaranaike to ask any favours from her. The talks were exploratory. But I will co-operate as I said with any political party that will treat my people as human beings.
I met Ms. Bandaranaike first with Gamini Dissanayake and then alone. I have to act without prejudice to Gamini Dissanayake whom I invited for talks after I received the letter on November 12.
Q: Gamini Dissanayake has been making overtures to the UNP. Would you say he is dependable as a political ally?
A: A man who is drowning will clutch at even a straw. Mr. Dissanayake is a realistic politician. Anyone in his position will act as he has done. There is nothing wrong with the way he has acted. He is young, he is talented, and has determination. So he is naturally trying to build up his future politically, and get back into the right political Continued on page 11

Page 6
6 TAMIL TIMES
The Battle of Poon an Unmitigated Dis for the Sri Lankan M
The Operation Frog-Jump launched by the Tigers on 11 November against the Sri Lankan forces at the Pooneryn army camp and the Nagathevanthurai naval base has been claimed by the Tigers as a great success. It was admitted by even the army high command as a major defeat for the Sri Lankan military.
To the government and its forces it was an unmitigated disaster and a tragedy of unprecedented proportions both in terms of loss of men and material. The Sunday Times Defence Correspondent wrote: "There are no flames or embers of a funeral pyre nor the martial ceremonies of a military funeral to honour the dead, but only the remains of the valiant servicemen returned to their homes in an urn to console the grief of the many parents, wives and children who suffered the human tragedy at Pooneryn.'
Never before in the bloody history of the protracted armed conflict in the island have so many soldiers been killed in one single battle. Of the estimated 2350 service personnel located at the Pooneryn and
Nagathevanthurai bases, over 700
were killed, several hundred injured and approximately 250 have gone "missing. It is reliably learnt that the "missing represent the prisoners of war' captured and held by the Tigers, although they have maintained a studied silence on this account. What is worse is that even after a month, neither the Sri Lankan government nor the military high command has been able to give out any official figures in respect of casualties suffered in the Pooneryn battle.
The Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Cecil Waidyaratne has already paid the price with an enforced early retirement, and Major General Gerry de Silva has taken his place. Following "Operation Yal Devi', the army claimed a "great victory'. Commander Gen. Cecil Waidyaratne sought to refute charges that it was a bungled operation in an interview
with The Sunday Describing the op success', the A claimed that all been achieved. A destroy all LTTE facilities such a thereby preventir making use of thi destroy all LT advancing, to dra as many LTTE c and to deny a maj to the LTTE whic of the crossing ti rupees every mon Despite this g the Army Comm days of the arm Kilali to Elephan resumed their b that the naval fac vanthurai have troyed, the Tiger Kilali to the main ational with little the Sri Lankan n proved protective the Sea Tigers w water jet boa Nagathevanthura
As for the Sri Mr. D.B. Wijetur creed the army ti what he describe problem' by mili debacle at Pooner an eye-opener. learn that war is matter to be left generals, and po problems, intracta cannot be solved l alone.
However, the being asked by m the Pooneryn-N complex, a well fo ped and heavily perienced and s (over 2000 soldiers at Pooneryn and sailors at Nagath have been allowed quickly, and with men and material
 

erym, aster lilitary
Tinnes (17.10.93). eration as a "major rmy Commander its objectives had ind they were to boats and allied s the Kilali pier g the Tigers from s crossing point, to TE camps while w out and destroy adres as possible, or source of income h was making use ) earn millions of th.
randiose claim by ander, within two y retreating from t Pass, the Tigers oat service. Now ilities at Nagathebeen totally desboat service from tland is fully oper
harassment from avy, with the imcover provided by ith the aid of the ts captured at i on November 11.
ankan President, ga, who had de) bring an end to s as the "terrorist tary means, the yn must serve as He must quickly
too important a
in the hands of itical and ethnic ble as they are, ly military means
question that is any is as to how agathevanthurai rtified and equipmanned with ex)ecialised troops including officers more than 350 vanthurai) could to be overrun so so much loss of What is worse is
15 DECEMBER 1993
the revelation that the army had prior warning of the impending LTTE attack.
"The army had adequate warning that the LTTE was about to attack Pooneryn”, Defence Secretary, Gen. Hamilton Wanasinghe, himself a former Army Commander, told a press conference on 14 November even as the battle was in progress. At a press briefing at Palaly airbase on 14 November, Brig. C.S. Weerasooriya, Director of Army Intelligence, and Brig. Lionel Balagalle, Director of Military Intelligence, said that they had received intelligence three months before 11 November about the LTTE plans to attack Pooneryn.
Out of over 350 soldiers and sailors at Nagathevanthurai, only about 100 managed to escape death or being captured by the LTTE. 14 Navy officers comprising 8 lieutenants and 6 sub-lieutenants were killed. Major U. Hemapala, Capt. K.C.P. Wickremaratne and Capt. Panduka Wanasinghe, Lt. K.T.P. De Silva, Lt. K.W.T. Nissanka and Lt. E.M.N.B. Ekanayake were among the army officers killed in action.
Among the military hardware the Tigers got away with are two Czechoslovak built Main Battle Tanks, 13 Five Zero Calibre weapons capable of ground to air firepower with a range of 4000 feet, 5 inshore water jet boats and 400 automatic weapons and ammunition.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe announced in Parliament that an inquiry into the Pooneryn debacle would be held by the Army Commander. Many have expressed concerns and questioned the propriety of the Army Commander holding this inquiry. The Sunday Times Defence Correspondent reflected these concerns as follows in context of the matters that are to be the subjects of the inquiry:
(a) The effectiveness of overall military planning and omission if any; whether the delay in sending reinforcements was the result of the non-existence of contingency planning; whether the long defence lines lacked depth; or whether intelligence was not heeded. These questions imply that the top executive of the Army, the Army Commander and his command mechanism may be open to be faulted. In such circumstances, the question that has to be raised is whether a court of

Page 7
15 DECEMBER 1993
inquiry appointed by the Army Commander, in other words a military court with serving officers, would in fact find fault with their own system, superiors and colleagues.
(b) The Pooneryn debacle is a national disaster both in terms of tragic human losses and the heavy loss of resources. Hence an internal inquiry is not something that should necessarily be led by the Army, Navy or Air Force. But in the total context of the magnitude of the disaster, and the possible answerability for it, any inquiry should not be departmental but appointed by the Government, say by military experts and analysts.
(c) It is the security forces which have to be assured that the Government is concerned with the conduct of the war, not merely to provide a budgetary allocation and political patronage to the war effort. The man with the rifle in his hands who sticks his neck out must be assured of the correctness of the political and military decisions for which, he as a cog in the whole machine, is staking his life.
(d) The kith and kin of many who have sacrificed their lives, lost their limbs, or are still serving must be assured that their loved ones have served or are serving a cause under responsible leadership. Any loss of faith in the leadership will affect the belief in the cause itself.
The Tigers, even after having inflicted one of the worst defeats upon the armed forces and captured military hardware worth nearly two hun
丐
dred million ru onto either Po vanthurai. The in the process they lost most ( the question al Tigers launche Frog-Jump' att the LTTE's bal rious reasons.
After Elepha the control of th the Pooneryn-S. was the route t and the Tamil c use to travel to the mainland. War II commer way came unde and made out Tigers. In ord stranglehold on Jaffna civilians sula and the m prohibited the u either the Ele Pooneryn-Sang was then that t and operat Punchiparathar service. Having the Jaffna Lago the Air Force jected the Tige lians to consta course of which attacks were m mounted from and the Naga base.
In the absen for the civilians, pressure from LTTE to go a
Tigers List
Several senior Tiger field commanders are among the 167 cadres listed as killed during "Operation Frog Jump' launched by the LTTE against the government forces at Pooneryn. The Tamil daily published in Jaffna, Eelanatham, has published the names of 167 cadres killed including Lt. Col. Anbu and Black Tiger Majors Gopi and Ganesh.
One Lt. Colonel, 11 Majors, 25 Captains, 44 Lieutenants, 42 Second Lieutenants and 37 privates had died during the attack from 11 to 14 November. On the first night of the attack, the LTTE lost Major Shivaji, one Captain, one Lieutenant, four Second Lieutenants and 3 junior cadres. On 12 November, Lt. Col. Anbu, Black Tiger Major Gopi, and
Casualti
Majors Eelaval Kumaravel, E Puviraj and M. led. Twelve c Lieutenants, 29 and 27 junior ca on this day.
LTTE lost 11 nants, 16 Seco 13 junior cadre Major Kamilo, Lieutenant w November.
Of the total r names were li. Jaffna, 47 from Vavuniya, 13 fr Mullaitivu, 3 fr from Amparai, comalee, Kalmr Hatton.

pees, could not hold oneryn or Nagathey retreated and it is of this retreat that of their cadres. Then rises as to why the d their “Operation his time? Analysts of |ttle tactics offer va
nt Pass came under e Sri Lankan forces, angupiddy causeway that both the Tigers ivilians were able to and from Jaffna and It was after Eelam ced that this causer the army's controll of bounds to the er to maintain the the movement of the between the peninhainland, the Tigers se by the civilians of phant Pass or the upiddy causeway. It he Tigers opened up e d t h e Kila li - h route and the boat declared this area of on a prohibited zone, and the Navy subboats ferrying civilant attacks in the n many died. These Lainly organised and the Pooneryn camp thevanthurai naval
ce of a safe passage , there was mounting the people upon the long with the plan
eS
n, Prakash, Bhama, Planchelian Ruban, aheswaran were kilther Captains, 28 ) Second Lieutenants dres alsowere killed
Captains, 14 Lieutend Lieutenants and es on 13 November. one Captain and a vere killed on 14
lumber of 167 whose sted, 68 were from Batticaloa, 17 from om Mannar, 12 from om Mannampitya, 3 one each from Trinunai, Chilaw and
TAMIL TIMES 7
drawn by the UNHCR for the use of the Sangupiddy-Pooneryn causeway by the civilians. However, although LTTE spokesman Anton Balasingham was a participant in discussions with the UNHCR in drawing up this plan, Prabhakaran ruled it out because of the army's control of the causeway at its mainland end. Putting into practice the UNHCR plan would have meant LTTE's armed cadres could not have mingled with the civilians to cross into the mainland. Gradually, the stranglehold the Tigers had on the movement of the people would also have been weakened. In this context, an attack to remove the control of Pooneryn by the army was considered a military imperative.
Another reason offered is that Prabhakaran had realised that the Sri Lankan forces having virtually encircled Jaffna peninsula by occupying the Elephant Pass, Pooneryn-Nagathevanthurai, and the offshore islands together with their control of Palaly, Mathagal and Kankesanthurai, they would sooner than later mount an assault on the Jaffna peninsula itself.
Informed sources confirm that Prabhakaran had told his commanders that the Sri Lankan army planned to launch its Jaffna offensive some time during February-March next year when the climatic conditions would be more suitable to such an operation. "Operation Frog-Jump' by the Tigers was Prabhakaran's pre-emptive strike to prevent such an offensive.
Of the estimated one thousand cadres of the LTTE which poured into the Pooneryn military complex and the Nagathevanthurai naval base to mount "Operation FrogJump', one of LTTE's major military assaults against the Sri Lankan government forces, it was officially admitted by the Tigers themselves that 411 of their cadres were killed. Presumably several hundreds were injured. This number of killed constituted the second largest number of casualties suffered in one battle by the Tigers in their ten-year war with government forces. In their battle at Elephant Pass which they sought to capture but failed in September 1991, the Tigers lost an estimated 800 to 900 of their cadres.
Among the senior LTTE cadres who were killed in battle are Deputy Commander of the Jaffna Command, Lt. Col. Anbu, Maj. Ilangovan, Maj. Michael, and Maj. KumarContinued on page 30

Page 8
8 TAMIL TIMES
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Page 9
15 DECEMBER 1993
The Pooneryn Disas
What Went Wro
by Niresh Eliatamby
The army had adequate warning that the LTTE w Pooneryn’.
Defence Secretary, General Hamilton Wanasinghe's at a press conference eight days ago, while the progress, still echoes in our minds.
The keyword here is "adequate'. Since the Defenc also a former commander of the army, says that warning, why couldn't this horrible and humiliating d After all, forewarned is forearmed, isn't it? So, what
The government and the army have stili not given al public. In fact, even the number of personnel kill missing, has not been disclosed. So it has been le investigate, analyse, and speculate on the disaste
disaster it surely was, by any stretch of the word.
The army knew that Pooneryn was going to be attac
LTTE still overrun it?
This is the question which has been haunting the week, along with the question of how many soldiers a massacred in the Sri Lanka Army's darkest hour.
Three months before the Pooneryn disaster, army intelligence got wind of LTTE plans to attack Pooneryn, according to Brigadier C.S. Weerasooriya, director of army operations, and Brigadier Lionel Balagalle, director of military intelligence, who were briefing media-men at Palaly last Sunday.
LTTE cadres were spotted doing reconnaissance of Pooneryn and Nagatevanthurai from both North and South. Some such LTTErs were even shot at by the forces.
The army did take some cursory precautions. Two additional companies, totalling about 300 experienced troops, were sent in to join the two battalions already there, the first Sri Lanka Light Infantry (1 CLI), and the third Gajaba Regiment (3GR). In addition, a unit of artillery was present, manning 120 millimetre mortars, and 106mm anti-tank guns. At least six T65 main battle tanks of Czechoslovak origin were also part of the defences.
On the naval side, the Nagatevanthurai Naval Radar Station could give warning of any attack across the lagoon, and five locally built Inshore Patrol Craft, mounting five zero machine guns, were waiting at the jetty. More than 350 sailors were also present, some guarding the radar station, while others were scattered in small detachments.
According to he, sentries we equipment and still, no visible evident.
The total n forces personne well over 2000.
In two days between 400 a. cluding at least sailors, includi walked off wit Patrol Craft, on tank, one 106 tank gun, two dozen five zero grenade launch guns, and about a huge stock of these weapons. soldiers and sai and a Pucaragr was damaged.
On Wednesda 11.45pm a larg radio sets in the air, a sure sign was about to h commander at sent out a War at Palaly, Eleph Karainagar, an in and around troops were tolc
At 1.45am on the first attack
 

TAM TIMES 9
ng?
as about to attack
startling revelation battle was still in
e Secretary, who is there was enough efeat be prevented? happened?
n explanation to the led, wounded, and eft to the media to r at Pooneryn, for
ked, SO how did the
e entire nation this nd sailors had been
General Wanasingre given nightvision bright spotlight, but buildup of LTTE was
umber of security el at Pooneryn was
, the LTTE killed nd 600 soldiers, in15 officers, over 100 ng 3 officers, and h all five Inshore e T85 tank, one T65 mm recoilless, anti120mm mortars, a machine guns, three ers, 50 light machine 400 rifles, as well as ammunition for all Nearly 600 other lors were wounded, ound attack aircraft
y, November 10, at e number of LTTE 2 North came on the that something big appen. The brigade Palaly immediately ning to commanders nant Pass, Pooneryn, d other detachments the Peninsula. All to be on full alert.
Thursday, the 11th, s came. Hundreds of
Tigers wading up the coast from the South, sometimes waistdeep in the mud and water of the Jaffna Lagoon, attacked the five navy boats at Nagatevanthurai.
Within second, all the sailors in the boats, numbering about 35, were dead, and the boats themselves, P114, P117, P120, P122 and P123 were spirited away by the Tigers.
Almost immediately, Nagatevanthurai came under heavy attack from the lagoon, and from the South. Its radio was quickly put out of action.
Simultaneously, the artillery units at the Pooneryn army camp came under attack from Tigers who had infiltrated from all sides. The meticulous preparation of the LTTE was quite evident, since they knew exactly where each artillery piece was located.
At the mortar tubes, most of the crews of the five mortars were killed immediately, with the Tigers carrying away two of the five 120mm mortars, the other three being damaged.
The CLI regiment, under Colonel Ranjith Silva, defending the main Pooneryn camp, held their ground, despite wave after wave of determined LTTE attacks. The Tigers actually succeeded in getting through the camp's defences, but the CLI managed to dig in, and after some bitter hand to hand fighting, held on until daylight. As dawn broke, the CILI found that more than 200 of their number were wounded, thus making it impossible for the regiment to break out towards the coast, from where reinforcements would have to come. Because of the wounded, the CLI would have to stand and fight.
Further North, however, the 3GR. was not fairing well at all. As the attack began, all their radios were destroyed, and bitter hand to hand fighting took place in the darkness. For about five hours, there was no communication from the 3GR and senior army officers began to fear that the entire regiment had been wiped out.
It was only at dawn, that the 1CLI was able to mount an operation to advance Northwards, to determine what had happened to the 3GR, and they were able to re-establish contact with the 3GR and the entire army heaved a sigh of relief.
With daylight, the first reinforce
Continued on page 10

Page 10
10 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 9
ments arrived, in the form of one Pucara, and several Sia Marcetti ground attack aircraft from Palaly air force base. These immediately set about attacking what enemy activity they could find, but were of limited use, since the two sides on the ground were locked in battle at such close quarters that the pilots were afraid of hitting their own soldiers.
However, LTTE reinforcements, which were now streaming across the Kilali in hundreds of boats, were attacked much more vigorously from the air, although most of them got through to Pooneryn.
The air force also claims to have successfully bombed one of the captured navy boats, but this cannot be confirmed yet.
The three service commanders, Lieute n a nt General Cecil Waidyaratne, Vice Admiral Mohan Samarasekere, and Air Marshall Terrence Goonewardene, rushed to Palaly that morning.
The immediate concern was Nagatevanthurai. While over a thousand soldiers were still defending Pooneryn army camp, the navy officer commanding Nagatevanth urai, Li eu te na n t D. N. S. Ulugethenne, told his superiors that of the 160 sailors guarding Nagatevanthurai when the battle began, only 60 were left. Lt. Ulugethenne, himself wounded, had managed to make contact through a telephone, which was amazingly, still working. It was obvious to all that when night fell, the base would be overrun.
Fortunately, the largest landing craft in the navy, SLNS 'Rana Gaja, was in Kankesanthurai harbour at the time, and the navy prepared to sail. But despite all the warnings, the army, astoundingly, had no troops ready to send.
Only about 300 commandos were available, and these left KKS aboard Rana Gaja at 8 a.m. bound for Kalmunai, North-West of Pooneryn. They were escorted by several Dvora Fast Attack Craft from Karainagar Naval Base.
After seven hours sailing, the reinforcements arrived off Kalmunai at about 3 p.m. But the Dvoras were unable to get close to shore to give effective covering fire because of the shallow water, and the landing was beaten back by heavy LTTE fire.
The navy commander, after con
প্ৰ
sulting senior ers, reluctar Nagatevanthun ter destroying in the base, 4 diers managed lagoon at 6.40
Ten minutes sion rocked Na LTTE entered
The 60 sailor through the lag until they wer hies from Elepl
That night, with their vic thurai, made Pooneryn, but the CLI and G reinforcements across the lago
By this time teries at Elep gone into acti guns, and 12 across the lag kilometres awa
On Friday th again tried to and other troo were once aga LTTE was det reinforcements the beach.
The biggest army did not from Palaly, E of the other ba since it woul defences. So t lifted in from time. Meanw Pucara aircra! and its pilot v managed to gé By this tim soldiers, about aged to make were on the Pooneryn, a easier to reach
camp.
So two of the carrying heli attempted to mandos by ai forced to wit
LTTE fire.
On Friday n ing that army soon get thro determined Pooneryn. Wa gers attacked aginable feroci CLI and GR o
The LTTE,

15 DECEMBER 1993
navy and army offichtly ordered that ai be abandoned. Af. verything they could 3 sailors and 12 solto make it to the p.m.
later, a huge explogatevanthurai, as the and blew it up. 's and soldiers waded goon for several miles e picked up by dinghant Pass.
the LTTE, flushed tory at Nagatevanseveral attacks on were beaten back by R. Meanwhile, LTTE continued to pour on from Jaffna. , heavy artillery bathant Pass had also on, with 85 pounder 0mm mortars firing oon at Pooneryn, 10 ly. e 12th, the navy once land the commandos ps at Kalmunai, but in beaten back. The ermined not to allow to gain a foothold on
problem was that the want to send troops Slephant Pass, or any ses close to Pooneryn, d weaken their own roops had to be airthe East, which took hile, on Friday, a it was also damaged, wounded, although he it it back to Palaly.
he, another group of 400 strong, had mancontact by radio. They coast, South West of nd therefore much than the main army
air force's M18 troop copters from Palaly induct the elite comr, but they too were hdraw under heavy
ight, the LTTE, knowreinforcements would ugh, made their most effort to overrun ve after wave of Tithe camp with unimty, but the men of the nce again stood firm.
which had suffered
less than 250 men killed on Thursday, lost at least 300 men on Friday night's attacks. Most of them were of the elite “Charles Anthony brigade, and the Sea Tigers.
When Saturday dawned, the LTTE, unable to sustain such losses, and unwilling to take on the reinforcements which were certain to arrive in force, began a general withdrawal across the lagoon hampered by frequent strafing from the Sia Mercettis.
At 11.05 a.m. on Saturday, 300 commandos from Rana Gaja stormed ashore at Kalmunai, this time backed by heavy gunfire from gunboats which had arrived from Trincomalee, as well as the Dvoras. They met little resistance.
By 3 p.m. a full battalion, the 6th Gemunu Watch, went in behind them, bringing the landing force strength to more than 900. Commanded by Brigadier Shantha Kottegoda, this force began to make its way South, hampered by occasional LTTE fire, and the deadly little battas, or Jonny mines, which the Tigers had sown in plenty.
That afternoon, a second landing was made, this time by the M18 helicopters, to link up with the 400 soldiers on the coast. This landing was made by the 3rd CLI, commanded by Colonel Nimal Jayasuriya.
This force began to make its way East, to link up with the defenders of the Pooneryn camp. Contact was made on Sunday evening.
On Monday, Col. Kottegoda’s force linked up with Pooneryn as well. The Battle was finally over.
So what went wrong at Pooneryn? The fact is that the army was relying on the navy to control the lagoon, with its five boats at Nagatevanthurai. This would not only have blocked LTTE reinforcements from the Jaffna Peninsula, but would have allowed troops to cross to Pooneryn easily from Elephant Pass.
But the lagoon is so shallow that the LTTE was able to easily attack Nagatevanthurai. When they took the five boats, they established total dominance over the lagoon, since it is much too shallow for the Dvoras, and other navy vessels. This doomed any hope of reinforcements from Elephant Pass.
The Pooneryn area has thus proved itself to be undefendable, against a determined and well plan
Continued on page 29

Page 11
15 DECEMBER 1993
Civilians in Church in Revenge Bombin;
Jaffna Government Agent, Karthigesu Maniccavasagar, civilians injured when Sri Lankan Air Force jet planes bo Jaffna town in November. Mr. Maniccavasagar, whi required four stitches, considers himself lucky to have e spoke about that experience and related incidents conci in the North to A.M. Macan-Markar of The Sunday Time
Q: Do you think the recent aerial bombing of Jaffna was a retaliatory attack for the over-running of the Pooneryn military base? A: It happened on 12th of November, after that battle. Around 8.25am actually.
Q: Where were you when the bombs fel? A: They dropped two bombs that morning; those were jet planes that did it. At that time I was in my office, and both bombs fell very close: one near the kachcheri gate and one opposite my office. Yes: I had a miraculous escape. Sustained an injury on my right chest.
Q: How many others were injured? How many died? A: A total of 25 civilians were hurt, all of them employees at the Secretariat. They were hit while working. Six LTTE policemen were injured also, and one of them died, a policeman who was standing on the road opposite the kachcheri.
Q: Where were the injured treated?
A: At the General Hospital.
Q: You mean even the injured LTTE men were taken to the Jaffna hospital? A: The hospital treats all injured people. I don't know specifically whether they took the LTTE men.
O: When did the aerial attacks stop? A: It was repeated the next day. There were two more attacks, one bomb hitting a large church down Main Street, the St. James Church. Nine people who were praying died instantly. There were 53 people badly injured. And subsequently seven of them died.
O: Have similar attacks OCCurred before? A: Yes: the last time during the Operation Yal Devi period
October).
O: is the Government aware of
the extent of dat the kachcheri bui
A: I have informe ernment) about th According to amou Colombo rates, th damage is abou rupees, and that is ment cost.
Q: What are pe these raids? A: Most civilians f terrorised by thes the bombings.
Q: But doesn'tt the people? Air-d A: Whatever inf from the sky, leaf the people. Practic them end up in tl batteries are not when the militar announcements radio station only a
Continued from pa
track. What is wr
Mr. Dissanayak is a resourceful pledged to help hil
Q: Gamani Jaya dent of the Sinhal danaya, has saidt to hold both the the Opposition to your response?
A: Mr. Jayasuri the Indo-Sri Lank thought he would ment to ransom. successful. I think I have been succe not been. He was in resigned, but I hav tive which perhaps I am only exercisir rights of my people
Q: Mr. Jayasuri criticism that you the Sinhala maj asking for the me and East and all

TAM TIMES 1
Killed g Raid
Nas among those mbed sections of se chest injury scaped death. He 2rning the Tamils s, Colombo.
mage particularly lding?
d them (the Govhe estimated cost. ints worked out at Le entire physical ut eight million s excluding equip
ople saying after
eel they are being se jet planes and
he military inform ropping leaflets? ormation dropped lets, never get to ally 95 percent of he sea. And since permitted there, y makes curfew over the Palaly a very few hear it.
Q: What is usually announced?
A: They want the people to move away from LTTE camps and go into houses that are safe. But this is not possible since there are LTTE camps everywhere.
Q: What do you mean by "everywhere'?
A: You see, there are camps in the town and the outskirts. So it is difficult to comply. Also there is hardly any shelter left for people to escape. There is no accommodation.
Q: Do you think these bombings move civilians more close to the LTTE2 A: To the best of my knowledge people approach the LTTE for more security because they have no choice.
Q: Then what do you say to opinions by some Tamils coming from Jaffna who accuse the LTTE of harassing civilians?
A: I have not heard such opinion. But I can only say the LTTE maintains certain codes of conduct, behaviour, and people have to comply. Maybe it is a problem with this.
Q: Do you inform the government leaders about your observations? A: Yes. In fact I met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe this time and told him about the serious consequences of the war. (Courtesy: The Sunday Times, 5/12/ 93).
ge 5
png in that? e, in my opinion, politician. I have
.
suriya, the Presia Araksha Sanvihat you aretrying Government and ransom. What is
ya resigned over a Accord and he hold the GovernBut he was not first and then act, ssful and he has neffective after he 'e remained effeche does not like. ng the democratic
ya has made the
do not care for jority. You are rger of the North so you want to
alienate the Sinhala people's ancestral property by asking for land for the estate Tamils. What have you to say on these criticisms?
A: My people have only the CWC and me to look after them. The Sinhala people have been looked after by the two major Sinhala political parties of the country, the UNP and the SLFP. What am I to do if these two major political parties cannot assess the aspirations of the Sinhala people. So people like Gamani Jayasuriya are angry. Why did he not do more for the Sinhala people when he was a member of the Cabinet? I am most certainly looking after a disadvantaged group and I make no apologies for it.
As for the alienation of land, President Wijetunga himself sent me a letter where he with a measure of statesmanship says he recognises the legitimate aspirations and desire for land ownership of those of Indian origin who are now citizens of this country.

Page 12
12 TAMIL TIMES
LSLSS AE SELEAA AAgLSSJJAALLSSLHEEASAAASSELLqArAMA
TULF LEADERS MURDER
Accused Gets 7-Year Ja
Vincent William Mariadasa who was found guilty of conspiracy to murder former TULF SecretaryGeneral, A. Amirthalingam was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the Panadura High Court Judge, Mr. T.B. Weerasuriya on 19 November.
Mariadasa was indicted with the conspiracy to murder TULF Secretary General, A. Amirthalingam, M. Sivasithamparam and V. Yogeswaran in Colombo between June and July 1989 along with Rajalingam Aravindran alias Rasiah Aravindan alias Paul Fernando alias Visu, Aloysius Leon, alias K. Sivakumaran alias Aribu and other persons unknown to the prosecution.
Justice Weerasuriya in his verdict stated that though the accused had not been a card holding member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) whose members are believed to have carried out the assassination, he had been actively involved in the conspiracy and had supplied valuable information to the assassins. The gravity of the conspiracy was greater as the motive was to eliminate a leader elected to Parliament by the people, Justice Weerasuriya said.
The Judge said that the accused had opted to remain silent in Court thus refraining from giving evidence. Under these circumstances it is possible to consider the voluntary confession given by the accused to ASP Ananda Galgamuwa after the incident as evidence acceptable to Court. He said it is necessary to closely scrutinize this confession and establish its verity. It is also needed to establish the involvement of Mariadas in the assassination.
Justice Weerasuriya said that the confession could be determined to be true as there are four incidents referred to in the confession that are consistent to the evidence given by others at Court. In a two hour long presentation Justice Weerasuriya explained these incidents and cited their consistency with the evidence of ASP Ananda Galgamuwa and Mr. Amirthalingam's personal Security Officer G. Nissanka and the post mortem reports of the bodies of the assassins Visu Aloysius and Sivaku
28.
The Judge said that the accused in
his confession had had told him in the kulam that the LT to eliminate Tamil fession further sta Mariadas had not b the above organisat actively involved in collecting gold sove The accused had cc had been thus sen supply the LTTE information on the Tamil leaders resid The Judge said th been found in th Mariadas at An Narahenpita a let Tamil revealing info leaders. The accuse that he had sent in LTTE intelligence
Amnes Against A
Despite promises by Government to saf from arbitrary deten thousand members community have b arrested in the ca) and its suburbs since at least six have been nowledged detention
"The latest arrest plete failure by th Government to impl sures which it agre political leaders in were intended to sa from just this kind Amnesty Internation
Some of those re have been taken av police or military uni officers wearing civil in the middle of the cases the arrests ha acknowledged by the four days after the spite the explicit pr June that relative would be informed o ers were being taken do not know where t
"Since June, the several waves of suc ing part of a pattern
 
 

15 DECEMBER 1993
Term
tated that Visu ungles of PandiE was planning aders. The cones that though en a member of on he had been raising funds by igns and taxes. nfessed that he
to Colombo to eadership with
movements of nt in Colombo. ut a letter had residence of derson Flats, ter written in rmation of such has also said formation to a
leader named
Ahilan in Jaffna. Justice Weerasuriya said that the accused had further revealed that Visu. Aloysius and Sivakumaran (the assassins who were later killed by the security officers of Mr. Amirthalingam) had met at his house and had discussed and planned the assassination.
Justice Weerasuriya said that hence it could be determined that Mariadas was actively involved in the conspiracy to assassinate the leader of the TULF A. Amirthalingam.
Counsel for the accused K.V. Thevarasa asked the Judge to consider the fact that the accused had been in the custody of the Police for 4 years, 4 months and 4 days when passing the sentence of imprisonment. The Judge said it was not possible to deduct the period the accused was in remand from the minimum sentence for conspiracy of murder which is 5 years.
State Counsel Priyantha Nawana represented the prosecution.
ity International Protests rbitrary Detention of Tamils
the Sri Lankan eguard Tamils tion, well over a
of the Tamil een arbitrarily pital, Colombo, 15 October and held in unack
s show a come Sri Lankan ment the meaed with Tamil June - which leguard Tamils of abuse," said al.
:ently arrested 'ay by men in form, others by an dress, often night. In some still not been police three or arrest and demise made in of detainees where prisonrelatives often ley are held. e have been | arrests formhuman rights
violations directed at the Tamil community, in which thousands of people appear to have been arrested solely on the basis of their ethnic origin,' said Amnesty International.
The first wave of arrests followed soon after elections to provincial councils had been held in June. Since then thousands have been arrested, apparently in connection with investigations into the assassinations of opposition leader Lalith Athulathmudali and President Ranasinghe Premadasaa on 23 April and 1 May respectively, and with reports that the armed opposition Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have infiltrated the city. Police attributed both assassinations to the LTTE, which is engaged in armed conflict with government forces to establish a separate state in the northeast of the island.
The most recent mass arrests began on the night of 15 October following a statement by the Defence Ministry that a body-bomb (to be worn by a suicide bomber) had been found in a box on a beach at Modera, north of Colombo, on 14 October. The bomb was said to be of the type used to kill both former President Premadasa earlier in the

Page 13
15 DECEMBER 993
year and the former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1991, raising fears that LTTE suicide squads may have entered the city.
Many of those arrested were released within hours or days. Hundreds, however, have reportedly been kept in custody - from 15 to 17 October, for example, some 1,500 Tamil people were reportedly arrested in the Colombo area, of whom 500 were kept in detention.
Reports received in the past three months suggest that in many cases there are no valid grounds for arrest and that people are simply held in custody while police check their identities and whether there is any existing intelligence information about them. Amnesty International called on the government in June to ensure that people are only arrested when there are grounds to do so.
Some people have been repeatedly arrested in recent months despite government assurances in June 1993 that certificates would be issued on an individual's release to ensure that they would not be rearrested for routine questioning. For example, a young man arrested by police at Modera on 20 October was eventually traced by his relatives to Kotahena police station, and was expected to be released. He had been detained and released three times previously.
Amnesty International is concerned that the way in which people are being taken into custody is reminiscent of the manner in which thousands of people were detained in the south between 1988 and 1990, when the government was seeking to suppress an insurgency by the Janatha Vinnukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front). The lack of proper procedural safeguards on arrest and detention enabled tens of thousands of people to "disappear' in custody in that period.
Amnesty International has appealed to the authorities to investigate the whereabouts, and ensure the safety of the six individuals whose arrests have not yet been acknowledged and whose whereabouts remain unknown. The organization is also urging the government of Sri Lanka to ensure that the safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention agreed to in June are fully implemented, to take effective action against officers who fail to enforce them, and to ensure that arrests by officers in civilian clothes Ce3Se
UNH WO
The United Na sioner for Refu, yesterday that operations in S northern dist
eaSOS.
"It is with UNHCR has ha arily all its ope Sri Lanka’, it s issued on 10 No All four UNE working in Mad ated by Tuesda UNHCR radio the statements,
The statemen lowing points:
"This decision ity grounds, fo incident which 30 in Madhu. investigation o transpired that members had fa ity risk during staged in Madh have involved
perSons.
The incident sixth in a serie. which started i These have, sin creasingly viole monstrations of discounted. In UNHCR feels t able to carry ou mandate withou ity of its staff at
In the sam under which UN ating in Madh Open Relief C. gradually chang reduced the h available to the ORC operation two key and inte Freedom of mov the ORC an framework, the ate food and bas residents. Rece creasingly felt was swaying f principles.
“The tempora affect the followi ponents in north
"The Madhu ORCs, an oper

TAM TIMES 13
CR Suspends Relief k Among Refugees
tions High Commisgees (UNHCR) said it had suspended its ri Lanka's war-torn rict for security
deep sorrow that d to suspend temporrations in northern said in a statement vember.
HCR staff members lhu had been evaculy leaving only one operator in Jaffna, aid.
t also made the fol
was taken on securllowing the serious occurred on October
From an in-depth f this incident, it
four UNHCR staff ced a serious secur
the demonstration u which appeared to some one thousand
of October 30 is the s of demonstrations n mid-August 1993. ce then, become inent and future dethis kind cannot be the circumstances. hat it is no longer ut its humanitarian it putting the secur, risk. e vein, conditions HCR has been operu and Palampiddi entres (ORC) have ed in a way that has umanitarian space e organisation. The is predicated upon r-related principles: ement to and from d, with in this provision of adequic amenities to ORC ntly, UNHCR inthat the operation om these two key
ry suspension will ng programme comhern Sri Lanka:
and Palampiddi ation that UNHCR
was carrying out since November 1990 at Madhu and since September 1992 at Palampiddi. These operations benefited an estimated 32,000 persons. Food provided by the government of Sri Lanka was transported by UNHCR which also assumed responsibility, for basic social services in the two ORCs, including water supply, sanitation and health.
"Assistance provided to returnees from India who wish to proceed to uncleared areas and are allowed to do so. In this context, transportation of these persons to their districts of origin was arranged by UNHCR.
“UNHCR wishes to stress the importance it attaches to these operations and therefore hopes that conditions permitting their resumption could be re-created in the near future.
Tension has been mounting between the aid agency and the refugees since the Colombo government stopped food rations to some 8,000 refugees. Aid workers have privately said that Tigers were preventing the refugees from returning to their homes.
The Madhu camp is located within territory controlled by the separatist LTTE.
Colombo insists that 8,000 of the Madhu refugees should return to their homes or enter camps within government held towns in the North.
"Most of the refugees are virtually held hostage by the LTTE. It is the LTTE which is behind the agitation. There have been many problems at Madhu in the past month,' a military spokesman at the nearby Vavuniya army facility said.
围 需 塞鲁塞鲁塞鲁塞鲁
Tamil Times wishes all its readers, contributors and
wellwishers a very
Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
塞鲁塞鲁塞鲁塞鲁

Page 14
4 TAM TIMES
Right to Life and Liberty, F of Expression and Asse and the Media in Sri La
by Lucien Rajakarunanayake, President, Free Media Movement
All of us here who are concerned about the condition in Sri Lanka have heard of the recent debacle suffered by the Security Forces at Nagathivanthurai and Pooneryn. It was the biggest loss to the military in terms of men and material. At the lowest count, at least 600 troops were killed in an attack by the Tamil Tigers, which in its main thrust had but lasted only a few hours. This excludes the Tamil Tiger admission of over four hundred of their own cadres being killed.
In all the toll at Pooneryn would be at least 1000 Sri Lankans killed. However, it is the reality of our times that this figure would not be reported by the Sri Lankan media in this manner. All it would be concerned with is the number of troops killed - as stated by the Government. The Tiger cadres killed would not be included in the total number of Sri Lankans killed.
Attempts are already under way to make heroes of the troops who were killed at Pooneryn, as a measure of hiding the extent of the debacle suffered and offset the negative impact on future recruitment to the forces. But there is little heard of a proper accounting of what took place and why. Not the least by the Media in Sri Lanka.
It is significant that the military debacle and national tragedy at Pooneryn took place within less than three weeks after the Free Media Movement had to issue a statement condemning a death threat made on the Defence Correspondent of a Sunday English newspaper for commenting on Operation Yal Devi, in a manner which did not paint the military high command in shades of pink.
It was by coincidence that the latest seminar to be held by the Free Media Movement on - The War and the Media - took place on the same day as that of the Pooneryn tragedy. The purpose of the seminar was to discuss the ethics of our profession in reporting the current war in Sri Lanka and by implication and extension, the entire ethnic crisis itself.
Attitude of suppl
The Media in Sri
the clutches of a m crisis to which it ha continuing erosio values for which
Press is itself resp measure. I attacht to the Press for its tude of suppliance ments, as well as, of its role as that of for the Sinhalese I the Sri Lankan nat we have left of that
It is relevant he description of the s the media exists i. have come through of repression by magnitude of the is best understood v that in the 52 v March 1993, jour) assaulted and rol occasions by the government thugs, face many threats f the government, a few of the oppositic
The latter part period saw the pres try make public sta journalists who we government, and it policies, of being 't acid throwers' or h newspaper propriet tion that some oft nalists had with t was frequently m President, ignorin, their freedom cam given by a governr was the Prime Mim
Sympathetic ech
The motive was
light was being gi and security perso against these rebor threats of the Pres pathetic echo in
owned Press. The who even called foi of the so-called fa were responsible fo

15 DECEMBER 1993
reedom lmbly anka
|iance
Lanka is today in ajor crisis. It is a is been led by the of democratic the Sri Lankan Donsible in large his responsibility i continuing attibefore governthe identification the spokescentre majority and not ion, or whatever t concept.
re to give a brief ituation in which n Sri Lanka. We the worst period government. The problem we faced when it is realized weeks ending in nalists had been ughed-up on 52
police and pro... We also had to from politicians of s well as, from a bn too.
of this gloomy ident of the countements accusing re critical of the as largely corrupt errorists' and the hired assassins of tors. The associahese critical jourhe JVP of 1979 entioned by the g the fact that e after a pardon ment in which he ister.
O
clear. The green ven to the police nnel to move in in terrorists. The ident found symthe government re were scribes r the elimination scist forces who r "tabloid terror'.
Paper submitted at the Seminar 'On Democratic Rights and Civil Liberties in Sri Lanka' organised by the Committee for Democracy and Justice in Sri Lanka on 20-21 November 1993.
That was the background in which the Free Media Movement was born. We carried on a campaign against the severest of odds to fight this threat on the Media and the individual journalist. We did what appeared to be the impossible. While the opposition parties were in a stupor, trapped in the family squabbles of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and mired in the general inability to offer solutions to the larger threat to democracy, a group of journalists took the issue of the Right to Free Expression to the country. The people did respond favourably. We realized the need to place the issue of a Free Media, the Right to Free Expression and the Right to Information, high on the political agenda of Sri Lanka.
The immediate threat to the journalists and the critical Press appears to have been pushed into the background after the assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa. The Wijetunge administration is now shedding some of the embarrassments of the Premadasa era. Yet there is little room to be happy about the trend of events with regard to the Media. It is significant that in the first interview given to the Press after his swearing in, President Wijetunge said that the freedom of the Press would be assured but not the freedom to topple governments. The President has not explained as to what he has meant by toppling governments. However, the current trend of thinking appears to be that even the democratic change of government could amount to that of toppling a government. A phrase which has deeper meaning when stated in Sinhala - "Aanduva Peraleema' - which has more than a light shade of overthrowing a government.
The situation of the Media today is certainly made worse by the fact that it functions in the immediate aftermath of the second JVP uprising. It was a time when the Government used the most ruthless means to suppress a revolt by discontented youth, who had been led to embrace the policies of terror in the pursuit of their campaign to overthrow the system. It was a terror which fright

Page 15
15 DECÉMBER 1993
ened the ordinary people. A terror which was directed not just against media owners and organizations which the JVP opposed, but against newspapes dealers, vendors and even newspaper readers. It was a terror targeted against journalists as well.
Subverting democratic means
The government's reaction to this terror is too well known today to need recounting. It was the calculated response of State terror against that of the JVP and all democratic opposition to the Government. The affidavits of Udugampola, which he later denied although not very convincingly, give some indication of how the fight against the JVP was used by the government to eliminate its other opponents as well.
It is in this situation of post-JVP, coupled with the continuing war being waged by the LTTE, with its own undisguised use of terror, that both democracy and the media are being subverted to serve the ends of the government and the manipulators of power in Sri Lanka.
For many years Sri Lankans have lived in the acquired belief that we have had a very strong and independent Press; that the Freedom of the Press is quite safe in our community and that we have a journalistic profession and media owners who pay great allegiance to the ethics of the profession. We are now in the latter stage of the discovery that this is furthest from the truth. The ethics of communication as we have known it in Sri Lanka is what has been built during a period of a near monopoly of Press ownership, by sections that were in the main, happy to use the Press to support the governing establishment and the social forces that lay ranged behind it.
This situation became even worse with the early entry of the State into the electronic media, and the subsequent acquisition by government of the largest newspaper organization in the country. The complete ownership that governments have had over the decades of radio broadcasting and in the initial decade of television, has virtually shorn these sections of the media of any ethical standards and a sense of national direction, apart from the blind following of government's political directives.
It was no accident, therefore, that in the televising of the funeral of the
late President E owned TV stat. replay a record ated president's as the backgro to the lighting The speech was the late preside was more the ethical at play ir largely believes places where en or should be.
Propaganda to
The electron functioning und which makes no primary function tell the people c development pol There is in this the Third World the recent past. 1 the emergence owned News A teriorated very pectedly, to the government and information they
The guidelines media make non the ethical need side of such deve The ethic, statec that only one si There is also a m which is being pri an attempt to g could amount tc simpler terms, b
The reason Id nic media at th the older mediu because of the this media has tude of this rea the urgent need of some ethical tion of the medi increasing capit the rapid acquis nical skill, in th some ethical va translated to n place of the prev
The need for is, however, mo done. How are lated? Who is t How much trust professionals th take this task trust, will they b influence of gov inception of rad initially it was departments of

TAMIL TIMES 15
emadasa, the state in thought it fit to ng of the assassinast political speech, nd accompaniment f the funeral pyre. vholly accusatory of t's political rivals. It ghoulish than the a society which still
that funerals are mities are forgotten
olis
c media is today r a set of guidelines secret that it is the of radio and TV to f the government's icies and activities. more than a ring of Media proposals of roposals which saw of governmentgencies which deast, and not unexpropaganda tools of not the sources of were touted to be.
for the electronic hention whatever of to give the other lopment strategies. | quite brazenly, is de need be known. ore dangerous ethic opagated, that even ive the other side subversion or, in anti-government.
eal with the electro2 outset, instead of m of the Press, is much wider reach today. The magnih alone underlines for the formulation uidelines for a secl, in which there is al investment and tion of great tech: absence of wholeues which can be tional interest in ailing interests. uch ethical values e easily said than hey to be formuformulate them? :an we have in the mselves to underEven with such free to do so? The rnment from the in the country - a section of the osts and telecom
munication - has in no way helped the rooting of ethical or national values in broadcasting. This is not to absolve others of their own share of responsibility in this matter. It is also due to the general acceptance by the intelligentsia, that the Government has some right to conduct its own political propaganda at public expense.
Until the overall dominance of government in the media was seen in the post-1977 period - extending to this day - there has been little concerned discussion about the ethics that should govern the electronic media in Sri Lanka. Even today, the discussion is more in the nature of giving some space to the political Opposition, as opposed to the broader ethical need to give some space to a wider array of opinion. This is of special importance because the opposition parties are, in the main, pressure groups and not necessarily representative of independent opinion.
There is also the confusion of what is ethical with what is traditional. A confusion which leads to the trap that what is traditional must necessarily be ethical. This is best seen in the dilemma that the electronic media faces with regard to the response to the threat of AIDS. Medical opinion is convinced that the threat is very serious. Social workers also share this view. Yet the State-owned electronic media which has the widest reach, does not know how it is to give this message to the public, without treading on the corns of tradition. The confusion over helping the prevention of AIDs through the encouragement of SEX of the safe variety, prevents the electronic media from carrying out . the necessary educational role it is best equipped to fulfil.
information Ethic
The basic shortcoming appears to be in the lack of appreciation that the electronic media, specially that which is owned by the State, has the over-arching function of keeping the people informed. This does not absolve the private stations of this responsibility. But the peculiar structure of the electronic media in Sri Lanka, its overall reach and the language of transmission places this responsibility more heavily on the State. A State which has demonstrated that it does not trust the Information Ethic. This is an attitude which has been common to all
Continued on page 16

Page 16
16 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 15
parties that have held power in Sri Lanka, be it of the right, left or middle.
The ethic that is dominant is one of secrecy. A secrecy that seems to be justified either on the basis of the need for official secrecy in administrative terms, national security with its broadest possible misinterpretation and worst, in the view that the public need not know. Or, in the idea which is often encouraged that there are others who know best what the public should know.
If this is the situation in the electronic media, what do we see in the Press? The Sri Lankan Press has a good history in terms of chronology. We boast of some of the oldest newspapers in Asia. Our levels of education did produce journalists of great capability. We often take pride in the fact that many newspapers, particularly in East Asia, were dependent on journalistic talent from Sri Lanka for their launch and continued success. With such a background it would be not unusual to expect a strong commitment to Communication Ethics in the world of Sri Lankan newspapers. Yet, the more we search, the more we discover the absence of such ethical standards. Especially in the context of the current national crisis over the future of democracy, the rights of the Tamil minority and the response to the Tamil Tigers.
Worst predicament
In fact it is in the context of the ethnic crisis and the LTTE's demand for a separate Tamil-speaking State that we find the media, and particularly the Press, placed in the worst predicament of its own making. A predicament not in terms of the newspaper proprietors and their search for profit. The predicament is in the role of the newspaper to inform the public and as far as is possible place contending points of view before the public.
The wider circulation newspapers in Sri Lanka, those which attach to themselves the adjective of being 'national', have by and large been consumed by a majoritarian viewpoint to the near total exclusion of reasonable access to minority viewpoints. The presentation of minority news and viewpoints, when permitted, is often with the assurance of a heavy load of biased rebuttal and the certainty of the closure of the debate being imposed by the Editor
when it is most a majority view.
Very often one the approach oftl the current war. the need for a neg do not hesitate paigns which wot moves aimed at They demand mil are unable to face repeated military apparent unwillin numbers of une youth to enlist fol
One leading ne called for national youth with prope the fighting forc obvious question a be done. How cal fight in the Sri La in the streets of searches by the m the question: "Are Tamil?” One of t ments presented mand for greater North and East is today live in ha Sinhalese outside a favourite of the But, the same in question why time from all walks of li in large numbers being Tiger agen Although most oft the Tamils emanat Sinhala newspape counterparts are i blame in this rega
Absence of jour The divisions
caused by the cont North and East ha the distorting of values we may ha journalistic ethics building up of a n on unity. I would II of how newspapers or Sinhala, describ been arrested for traband, generally If the person : arrested is a Sinh just a person, a passenger from Si such place. The col mentioned. Howev arrested or appreh you can be sure th have prominence,
line. There will m. comment by an u or Police officer a

15 DECEMBER 1993
lvantageous to the
sees a confusion in lese newspapers to Those that preach otiated settlement to carry on camild undermine any such negotiation. itary solutions but up to the reality of setbacks and the gness of the larger mployed Sinhala
the fighting. wspaper has now service, to draw in r motivation into es. It avoids the is to how this is to one conscript to nkan Army, when Colombo routine ilitary begin with you Sinhalese or a he biggest argu
against the de
autonomy for the
that more Tamils irmony with the the North. This is newspapers too. ewspapers never
and again Tamils fe are rounded up for suspicion of
Its or informers.
he venom against
es from the larger
rs, their English
n no way free of rd.
nalistic ethics
in the country inuing war in the ve contributed to
whatever little re had in terms of , if not on the ational consensus nake a point here whether English e those who have muggling of congold or narcotics. pprehended or alese, then he is
businessman, a ngapore or Some mmunity is never er, if the person ended is a Tamil, e community will ven in the headist probably be a known Customs bout connections
with narco-terrorism or the financing of the Tiger war effort.
It was recently that we saw a report in one newspaper about suspicious stores of urea based fertilizer in the premises of the Tamil Union Sports Club. Quite a big raiser of suspicious eyebrows. Urea is much in demand by the Tamil Tigers. Some Tamil businessmen have been implicated in its transport to the North. Now, you have the Tamil Union Sports Club, storing it. Ever so suspicious. It finally ends up as very legitimate cargo, stored by a government-owned business. The correction is published, but the newspaper makes no apology for not checking the veracity of its source in the first instance, or not obtaining the views of the Tamil Union at the outset.
The reporting of the war in the North has exposed in great measure the absence of a proper ethic of communication among the Press in Sri Lanka. There is general satisfaction to go by the regular situation reports issued by the Defence Ministry. What often passes off as on the spot reporting of the war is a report which has been obtained on an official conducted tour of a light battlezone. Very little or no effort is made to give the all important viewpoint of the people of the affected areas, particularly in the North. The agonies of the citizens of the North are hardly ever mentioned. Newspapers that make genuine complaints and strong criticism of waste in government expenditure, for some reason have decided it is more ethical to remain silent over what may be much bigger waste in the matter of arms procurement and the disbursement of funds for the war.
Accidents by the Security Services, defeats in battle at considerable loss of life - both of the official troops and the Tamil Tigers, questionable promotions, continued extensions granted to senior personnel are all glossed over with little regard for the accountability to the public who fund the fighting with steadily increasing contributions from the national budget.
Veneer of freedom
The situation in Sri Lanka, although overtly one which could give one a great deal of satisfaction with our apparent commitment to the values of freedom and democracy, is in the main one of great crisis
Continued on page 31

Page 17
15 DECEMBER 1993
The Failure Of Polit Select Committee F
by Dr. Radhika Coomaraswan
The Parliamentary Select Committee convened to study the ethnic relations was greeted with great expectations but concluded its deliberations in relative obscurity. For those who continue to believe that a political solution is necessary with regard to the ethnic conflict regardless of what happens on the military side of the equation the failure of the select committee is a major setback to what had begun as a constructive, all-party effort.
The final report of the select committee accepts the need for devolution of powers along the lines of the Indian Constitution which scholars have called a quasi-federal model. It goes further to say that the North
and East sho provinces and elections shoul ern province s tion of leaders
In some sens at the proposa tive of Sinhal has come a lo political partie UNP appear need for a q ment as a SO conflict. They federal termin point to an a federal in form major advance thinking and s
TAM TIMES - INCREAS
In spite of the rise in printing costs and posta charges during the past years, the present annua subscription rates of £10.00 for UK/India/Sri Lank and £15.00 for all other countries have remaine static since December 1986 when the journal cam out with 24 pages. For several years now, the journa regularly appears with 32 pages.
We have been able to absorb the additional cost only by effecting cuts in administrative costs, inpu of more voluntary work and prudent financia management. The income received from subscrip tions has proved insufficient to meet the costs C printing and postage, and to that extent it can b said that the subscribers have been subsidised. I fact if not for the modest income from advertise ments, the journal would not have been financiall sustained.
In addition to the recent increase in printing cost we are faced with a sudden and steep rise in post: charges with effect from November 1993. The pos age for a copy of the journal to European countrie has increased from 40 pence to 58 pence (a 45' increase). In the case of the Pacific countries lik Australia, Japan etc., the rise is from 76 pence t £1.13 (a 49% increase). In respect of the rest of th countries, the increase is from 59 pence to £1.01 ( rise of 70%).
Subscribers will appreciate that the journal canno be sustained with the latest increase in post charges without an increase in the annual subscrip tion rates. Therefore, we have been compelled t announce an increase which will come into effe from January 1994. At the same time, subscriber will be happy to note that the number of page of the journal is being increased from 32 to 3 beginning with this issue.
 

TAM TIMES 17
ics and rOCeSS
у
uld retain separate hat local government d be held in the east) that a new generahip can emerge. se, if one were to look ls from the perspeca politics, the report ng way. Both major s, the SLFP and the o have accepted the uasi-federal arrangelution to the ethnic still shy away from blogy but the concepts rrangement which is l. This is, of course, a in southern political should be heralded as
such though it has been downplayed for political reasons.
The failure of the select committee has been its inability to come up with an acceptable compromise formula with regard to the North-East merger. The report categorically resists any such merger while the Tamil parties appear to have boycotted the sittings demanding that merger be one of the first principles.
Analysts of the process may argue that the committee should have addressed issues on which there was a consensus first and then moved onto the problem of the North East merger. In that sense outstanding issues on the question of land, finance and law and order may have been analysed in depth and some compromise may have emerged from the deliberations. But because attention was drawn to the NorthEast merger as the first issue of contention under this quasi-federal
Continued on page 18
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Page 18
18 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 17
model, the deliberations stalled and eventually failed. The only compromise offered was the notion of two councils of the North and the East respectively and an apex council for management and policy making with regard to the north and the East. The proposal failed because there was no agreement on the powers that should be given to the apex council.
On the one hand the North-East issue appears to be an intractable problem. Part of the difficulty emerges from the fact that both sides seem to accept the boundaries of the two provinces as sacrosanctboundaries which were drawn for us by the British. If the principle of redemarcation is accepted there emerge countless possibilities for compromise and give and take. NGO think tanks have put forward various solutions. One that seems most plausible is the redemarcation of the north and the east into ethnic council areas:-
a. The Tamil ethnic council in the North and a corridor through Trincomalee to Batticaloa.
b. A Sinhala ethnic council made up of Amparai town, west Amparai and South Trincomalee, and;
c. A Muslim Ethnic Council made up of Amparai without the town area. These councils would enjoy full devolution of powers with perhaps an apex council to co-ordinate policies. In this suggestion everybody wins, in that the Tamil areas are merged and the Sinhala and Muslim areas are de-merged and there is ethnic experimentation in communal give and take at the level of the apex council. This suggestion for the North-East is only one of the many proposals which could be entertained by the committee if it was ready to accept the concept of redemarcation, a principle that it did not adopt or entertain.
The issues of law and order, land and finance were also unaddressed by the committee in its months of deliberations since the negotiations were stalled on the issue of the North-East merger. There was no discussion on what should be the organising principles to guide policy in these areas. There would have to be a separation of powers in which there is a rational connection to the respective requirements of the centre and the province. Such schemes were not entertained by the committee. Therefore though there is a
general agreement devolution along actual details of th federalism are not out. So we are lef tions:-
What should the be in charge of a national police anc operate at the c What is the role ( Commissioner of sponsible to the Ch the centre or to both the role for the nat mission and what which should be u tion? The same ty exist with regard land. Land is a cen all the provinces. should land titleves or in the centre or shared according to Should the Mahav used for all otl schemes? With re state-aided scheme ence begiven to peo and what type of fo worked out? What i national land comm are the issues that jurisdiction? All the main unaddressed.
The same unans remain in the area ( is the role of the fina the tax base of th sources of its rever requirements and procedures? There h discussion of the va the need to review list, the concurren national list when separation of functi also no recommend gard to the power and the need to find will maximise legis, the provincial coun guarding the interes
The select comr terested in trying to areas of agreement ment. As a result the necessary for any so aside for another ( doing this they did their strength - t there would be a qu of government and mean in terms of regard the commit been able to work o' of devolution with devolution for the

of federalism or ndian lines, the at devolution or
clearly worked , with the ques
provincial police
opposed to the how would this mmunity level? if the Provincial 'olice? Is he reef Minister or to ? What would be ional police com
are the issues nder its jurisdicpe of questions to the issue of tral resource for In this regard t in the province should land be given formulas? veli formula be ner irrigation gard to future s should preferple of the district rmula should be s the role of the ission and what come under its se questions re
wered questions of finance. What nce commission, e province, the uue, the budget the accounting as also been no arious lists and the provincial t list and the it comes to a ons. There are ations with ref the governor a formula which ative power of cil while safe;s of the centre.
hittee was inwork out broad
and disagreedetails that are ution were cast eliberation. By ot capitalise on he notion that asi-federal form that that would letails. In that tee may have it a full scheme nly the unit of North and the
15 DECEMBER 1993
East being the outstanding factor.
This would have allowed the select committee document to be a blueprint for devolution in future negotiations. At the moment, since it is only asserting broad principles everyone is uncertain as to what this would mean in practice if the principles were to be adopted.
The failure of the select committee is not only a reflection of the complexity of the issues that are facing us but also a pointer to the fact that parliament has not developed the processes of the select committee to make it an effective element in public decision-making. A forty member committee which accepts representations and then attempts to deliberate among itself cannot be an effective channel of decisionmaking.
The size of the committee has to be smaller and the political parties concerned should prepare working papers which would be the subject of deliberations. Or, as in international negotiations, a large secretariat is created to back up the chairman with technical expertise to ensure that the best possible conditions exist for negotiations and that different option papers are circulated for consumption and analysis. Neither of these developments took place. The political parties did not put forward ideas, nor was there the kind of secretariat which allows committees to function as policymaking bodies. This experiment then should point to the need to revise the process of the parliamentary select committee when it is sitting on issues of policy.
The failure of the parliamentary select committee on the ethnic question is the failure of politics and the style of politics that does not allow for the resolution of conflict. The Tamil parties also exhibited a certain juvenile tendency to boycott sittings at will if what they ask for does not emerge.
The notion of a dissenting report will allow them their say at the end of the proceedings. But the need to take the deliberations as a serious process and not search for excuses for withdrawal is the only way that politics will finally triumph over the military side of this conflict. For the Tamil parties who participated in the deliberations, politics is their only option. In that context, their cavalier approach to the select committee must have been a serious
Continued on page 25

Page 19
15 DECEMBER 1993
ANKA’S ETHNIC CONFLICT:
Consociational Dem and Grand Ethnic Co
by Chris McDowell, University of Zi
Dr. Uyangoda's 1993 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike lecture, reproduced in the Tamil Times (No.11, pp.13-15), was both erudite and timely. The author, a senior lecturer in political science at Colombo University, discovered a precedent in Sri Lankan political discourse for the development of a new Sri Lanka rooted in the ideas of con sociation. In the preindependence period the birth of consociational democracy was extremely troubled and finally stillborn. In the 1990s, however, Uyangoda is hopeful that a new political space' has emerged within which can evolve a "Grand Ethnic Coalition' to overcome maximalist thinking and lead instead towards conflict resolution and a fair and equitable society.
The terms used are those of the political scientist. Academics have a driven desire to introduce yet more “. . isms' into situations which are necessarily complex in their explanation. But Uyangoda's arguments and proposals can be put simply and can be questioned. What the author desires is a restructured Sri Lanka in which all people come together in a "Grand Ethnic Coalition' which is elaborated through a "Social Contract' and organised around the principles of consociation. Consociationalism is a theory about constitutional arrangements, it is a theory which is used to understand the workings of democracies which seem to be unusually divided but in which stability is somehow maintained. In practice con sociation is the practical arrangements whereby interests are balanced to achieve stability.
The relevance for Sri Lanka is clear. Theoreticians are in a continuous search for a model of democracy which could be grafted on to Sri Lanka. For many the search has led them to those European countries which have a democracy that contains certain features of consociation: Switzerland and the Netherlands. Uyangoda is no exception, but he fully realises that a political system that works in one
country cannot s onto another c. damentally diffe key aspects. Th be right. And ground the aut troversial cultu pursuit of a “Gra he proposes tha Lanka must sus their ethnic iden al process has Only then, onc defined, can gro ethnic identities The argumel desire laudable have two disag has to do with identity and the desirability of c cracy for Sri La
Academic co anti-Apartheid 1980s included that later beca 'similarities dis is heard of it. basic canon of thought in Sou the view that bounded entitie the invention politicians or munities const of gain or oppo black students versities were t tify and downp are signs that course' has now universities u Uyangoda's 'de
The conflic Yugoslavia led lars to re-evalu the 1980s. The 1990s has be simply wish ethnic identity construct. In way in which e was defined r and Uyangoda of ethnic group pend their iden good, almost cr

TAML TIMES 19
Ocracy alition
rich
imply be transposed untry that is funrent in a number of conditions have to
in preparing the lor proposes a conal pre-condition. In nd Ethnic Coalition' t all groups in Sri pend or put on hold tity until the politicbeen seen through. e 'ethnic justice' is ups go back to their
it is neat and the but is it credible? I reements. The first the nature of ethnic second concerns the consociational demonka.
intributions to the campaigns of the a principled stand ame known as the course'. Today little But in the 1980s a progressive academic th Africa advanced ethnic groups as s were merely either of self-interested vere imagined comucted in the pursuit sition. Subsequently entering white uniaught how to demislay ethnicity. There the 'similarities disentered Sri Lankan nder the guise of ethnicisation'. t in the formerSouth African schote the message from harsh lesson of the n that you cannot way ethnicity and as only a convenient tarlier theories the hnicity (and culture) ade it manipulable hope, that members could somehow susities for the common dible. In the 90s and
REONDER TODR. UYANGODA
particularly in Sri Lanka, cultural and ethnic identity cannot and must not be voluntarily suppressed but must be taken as central to any future constitutional arrangements.
My second point of departure from Uyangoda leads out of the first. Assuming that a "Grand Ethnic Coalition' has been attained the democratic principle for new constitutional arrangements will be based on consociational models. The argument of political scientists has been that consociational democracies have succeeded in holding together fragmented communities in a stable system. Air Lanka has transported numerous delegations of Swiss constitutional experts to Colombo to explain the intricacies of their system. Presentations are greeted with initial enthusiasm but not before long a deep sense of unease sets in. It cannot be denied that the Swiss system works: the question is, how?
At its root the Swiss polity is one which has compromised with mainstream democratic forms in the sense of 'one man one vote' with majorities prevailing at all levels of government, in the sense that it has accepted a "blocking minority'. Most recently this has meant that in a national referendum to decide whether or not Switzerland should proceed with plans to join the European Community, German-speaking voters who did not want to proceed denied the wish of French-speakers who did want to proceed. The referendum result and the nature of the campaign to persuade voters divided Switzerland along its language lines.
Balance, stability and fairness are by no means always assured in the Swiss system. Consociation depends upon there being separate, discrete and bounded groups playing a role in the polity. Uyangoda's plan for de-ethnicization' is anathema to consociation. Consociation in the wrong hands leads to chaos and oligarchy. It demands that decisionmaking is in the hands of elites or cartels of elites which have the right of veto over decisions of which they disapprove. And finally, in a bid to safeguard the interests of subordinate minorities, consociational democracy demands proportionality, which means that the various segments of the population must have
Continued on page 20

Page 20
20 TAM TIMES
Continued from page 19
proportionate representation among the major institutions of the state. Which in practice means that subordinate groups can, under certain circumstances, hold the majority to ransom and stifle progress.
It can be argued that Switzerland has not held together because of her consociational democracy but in spite of it. The Swiss complain that important decisions are made in smoky backrooms without public de
bate and that re the system - ar land holds t throughout its h particular it se threat. The syst the French, the Italian state. A there to protec comfort and the Switzerland.
Sri Lanka is no land. What is "w.
Buddhism Betrayed
by Bruce Kapferer, Professor of Anthropology
College, London. BUDDHISM BETRAYED? RELIGION, POLITICS, AN
SRI LANKA by Stanley J. Tambiah with a foreword by University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. pp. 2
Buddhism Betrayed? is a masterly follow-up to Tambiah's earlier work on ethnic violence in his homeland - Sri Lanka. Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy. The new book expands previous arguments but concentrates on the issue of Buddhist ideology in the conflict. He eschews a common Western view of Buddhism, a purist one founded on the nineteenth century researches of Western Pali scholars, which presented a rarefied Buddhism somehow separate from the political and social pragmatics of everyday life. He correctly dismisses a largely Western surprise that a religion which stresses non-violence should be involved in political violence. This is an idealism which refuses its own history, divorces the formaton of ideas from within historical practices, and fails to realize that ideas only have force through the relations and structures of social existence and practice.
Tambiah addresses three main concerns. The first relates to shifts in Buddhist ideology and interpretation from the early nationalist period (from the later British colomial period to 1960) to later transformations of nationalism (the post 1977 period which has seen the greatest escalation of inter and intra ethnic violence). His second, closely related, interest is with the changes in the organization of the Buddhist clergy in connection with nationalist issues and with the growing complexity of their involvement within and resistance to local and state politics. Tambiah's thesis is upon the question of the historical continuity
of Sinhala ethnic gonism to the Tal also involves a di tions of power an integration amo. that might be tra Tambiah’s carefu these issues exter ing of the violent suming Sri Lanka
Tambiah exam Buddhist revival ment of so-called ism in the last ce the years up to after independenc largely legitimat Sinhalese interpr ism had been dis tive to other groups and esp during British ru which Tambiah fluential in cha Buddhism and and language a g institutional app, larly educational, State. They wer examination of th in pre-colonial Sr ported the active politics, a role wh the texts said that had undermined.
There is little have been active times violently so Sri Lanka’s histor demonstrates is activity of the mo extension or re-e past role but produ

15 DECEMBER 1993
2renda - a pillar of
a sham. Switzergether because story and today in s itself as under m is there to repel German and the hd the system is
the wealth, the reputation that is
, an Asian Switzerong' in Swiss poli
tics, elitism, backroom deals and deliberate polarisation is precisely what has been wrong in Sri Lankan politics. What is "right' with Switzerland, vast wealth, highly sophisticated population, historical desire for unity, compromise and neutrality are not, unfortunately, features common to Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan political scientists, unless they enjoy skiing, should strike Switzerland off their itinerary and instead remain at home from where any workable solution will be found.
at University
D VIOLENCE IN Lal Jayawardena, )3, 1992.
identity and antamil minority which scussion of concepmodes of political ng the Sinhalese ceable to the past. l investigation of lds an understand
crisis that is con
,
ines aspects of the and the developProtestant Buddhntury focusing om and immediately 'e. He presents the 2 claims of major eters that Buddhadvantaged, relaeligious interest 2cially Christian, le. The key texts 2xplores were innges which gave Sinhalese culture reater role in the uratuses, particucontrolled by the e vital in a rerole of Buddhism Lanka and suprole of monks in ch the authors of the British rulers
oubt that monks in politics, some
in the course of 7. What Tambiah hat the current ks is not a mere livening of their red and shaped in
BOOK REVIEW
Tendentious and mischievous misrepresentations and distortions of Prof S.J. Tambiah's book have produced a raging controversy in Sri Lanka where extremists have called for its proscription. At the same time, many academics and professionals have defended Tambiah's book as a scholarly work and denounced attempts at censorship. A review of the debate on this controversy will appear in the next issue of Tamil Times.
the political dynamics of the modern state. Tambiah describes how the Buddhist clergy were an important source of popular support for the political parties, particularly those in the left coalition following Independence. They shed much of their marxist clothing and quickly revealed powerful chauvinist and populist tendencies providing a major pressure on all governments. The political activity of the monks declined momentarily after the assassination of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1958, perhaps because of the disrepute that befell the clergy following their implication in the murder.
Tambiah suggests a distinction between the nationalism and ethnic tension of the immediate post independence period and the nationalism and violence which has consumed the country since 1977. Indeed, after the anti-Tamil riots of 1958 ethnic tensions subsided for some seventeen years. Tambiah speculates that this may have been because many of the Sinhalese nationalist feelings of injustice hitherto expressed had been redressed. However, the bloody Sinhalese youth uprising of the JVP in 1971

Page 21
15 DECEMBER 1993
(precursor of the far more violent revolt of the late eighties early nineties) indicates that populist nationalist feeling was still running high. This movement was also one in which monks took an active part. Observations like this do not undermine Tambiah's thesis that the turmoil of post-1977 corresponds with shifts in nationalist ideological emphasis and vital organizational and structural changes in the political and economic order of the state.
As far as Buddhist ideology and the participation of the monks is concerned Tambiah asserts that the current period, vis-a-vis earlier nationalist developments stemming from the Buddhist Revival, manifests a reduction in concern for the doctrinal and ethical aspects of Buddhism and an intensification of monk participation in the political process, the organizational structure of the monkhood following the complexities of the infrastructures of political parties. To put it another way, religious institutions became dominated and subsumed in the political; they become an energy in the multiple directions of power and much-reduced as a constraint on its excesses. This is evidenced in the increasingly violent practice of monks whereby the often murderous factionalism of the political party process is a feature of life in the temple.
Recent nationalist ideological developments among Sinhalese are becoming much stronger than before in rejecting foreign and especially Western values. Tambiah looks at some of the Buddhist models for the reshaping of political society in Sri Lanka. He discusses the notions of Buddhist democracy that are being advanced. He is critical of them arguing that there is little place in their vision for ethnic minorities. Such ideological developments are consistent, Tambiah considers, with a deepening of a romantic imagery (often of the noble peasant kind) which supports nationalist notions of the Sinhalese as a homogenous collectivity. These developments exacerbate the present conflict and make resolution all the more difficult.
Tambiah's discussion of debates on democracy in the Sri Lankan context have implications for debates going on elsewhere, not least in Europe. Many of the ideological directions that Tambiah describes for Sri Lanka especially redefinitions and interpretations of what
constitutes ap process refract, compromising dangerous pro other parts oft
The volume relating to the Sinhalese ethni the force of the These are not j cerns but matt ethnic conflict discourse. Inti members of the struggling fract rural bourgeoisi ence in the po, Lanka and the bitterly, over su context Tan courageous mov larly weight to t ly unpopular in cles, that a Sinh ness is a compa nomenon (pos round about the It is not primor very start of a Si the island. Tam argue that ther enduring or f opposition befor takeover with t dy in 1815. The and of independ Tamil of the N: biah's deconstru texts indicates ( listic interpre Sinhalese schola tion to these ki was not born of of more comp lineage and int antagonism. Th the metaphors ethnic which di conflict other tha dal of the betray Kandy to the B the outcome of among competin
Tambiah's poi reinforced by a dence collected world. The impo and of its asser and culturally ence for the cor ing of the char political relation tions of social di path-breaking \ Mitchell and E Africa in the 195 significance of stimulated und

TAMIL TIMES 21
propriate democratic
in my view, similar and potentially cesses going on in he world.
concludes on issues historical depth of c consciousness and past in the present. ust intellectual coners of import in the and internal to its ellectuals, usually powerful elites and tions of urban and ie, have great influlitical course of Sri y are divided, often ch issues. Given this mbiah ma kes a ve in giving a schohe view, increasingmany Sinhalese cirala ethnic consciousratively recent phesibly taking form 12th century C.E.). dial, present at the Inhalese presence on biah goes further to e was no necessary irm Sinhala/Tamil e the final British ne conquest of Kanlast kings of Kandy ent Sinhalese were ayakkar line. Tamction of the relevant contra the nationatations of some rs) that such opposings as did develop ethnic hostility but ex and grounded ra-lineage fractious is is so even where of the conflict were sguise roots to the an ethnic. The scanal of the last king of ritish was, in part, a power struggle g lineages. ht is powerful and is nthropological evielsewhere in the rt of ethnic identity Žions of historically constructed differstitution and shapacter of social and s emerges in situastance (see e.g. the vork of Gluckman, pstein on Central Os). Ethnicity or the ethnic identity is r the conditions of
colonial and post-colonial industrialization and urbanization and, too, in the development of the bureaucratic order of the modern state. The modern state and its political and economic structural circumstances is entirely different from pre-colonial polities. It follows that the place of ethnic consciousness in the processes of the formations of pre-colonial systems were distinct and that the present is not reducible to them.
Tambiah shows that the precolonial state in Sri Lanka functioned along the lines of an incorporative ideology whereby waves of immigrants to the island over the centuries from South India (many of whom now staunchly declare themselves to be anti-Tamil Sinhalese nationalists) were brought within the cultural order of the state. In this process difference was changed from being potentially conflictual and oppositional to being consistent and integral within a unifying state order.
At the very least Tambiah's argument is likely to be resisted by some within Sri Lanka who are ideologically committed to a reverse interpretation. In my own opinion continuing disagreement is exacerbated by a global discourse on ethnicity which attaches explanation and understanding to the concept and consciousness of identity per se; which give analytical weight to oppositional principles of identity over and against notions of interrelation and structure. This concentration on identity, even the fetishizing of it, often in combination with the implication that it is the source of social and political relations, rather than the other way around (identity is constituted and emergent in particular political and economic processes), is an outgrowth, I suggest, of comparatively recent historical global changes or transformations. Continual argument which focuses on such abstractions as identity and identity consciousness without a thorough attention to the ground, structures and relations wherein they derive their import maintains discourse at a level at which it cannot be resolved. The insistence on such discourse may be potentially dangerous, as in Sri Lanka, for it yields to identity and authenticity and a legitimating power which it does not have. Tambiah's deconstruction and exploration of
Continued on page 29

Page 22
22 TAMIL TIMES
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Page 23
15 DECEMBER 1993
AMIIL NADU - MAJO
Dissident DMK Le Gopalasamy Exp6
MADRAS, Nov. 11. Mr. V. Gopalasamy, MP, was today expelled from the DMK On the charge of continued anti-party activities.
The expulsion came as a finale to the month-long trading of charges and counter-charges following the release by Mr. M. Karunanidhi, president of the party, of a communication from the Centre caution
ing him of an alleged LTTE plot to
eliminate him to promote the interests of Mr. Gopalasamy.
The decision to expel Mr. Gopalasamy was conveyed to him through a letter written by the party general secretary, Mr. K. Anbazhagan, after considering the reply sent by Mr. Gopalasamy to the show-cause notice served on him earlier.
In his letter, Mr. Anbazhagan termed as unsatisfactory the reply sent by Mr. Gopalasamy to the show-cause notice issued to him and said that under the rules and regulations, he was empowered to expel a member from the party found guilty of anti-party activities.
The Rajya Sabha member, in his reply to the notice, sent on November 7 refuted the charge that he had indulged in any anti-party activity warranting disciplinary action.
Acts of indiscipline
Mr. Anbazhagan's letter released to the press at the party headquarters by Mr. Durai Murugan, headquarters secretary, charged that Mr. Gopalasamay had been saying that Mr. Karunanidhi had implicated him in the LTTE plot in spite of repeated denials by the party president. This amounted to an act of indiscipline and was designed to mar the image of the party.
Mr. Gopalasamy himself had accepted that he made a clandestine visit to Jaffna without the knowledge of the party leadership. His claim that he went to Jaffna to explore the possibility of a peaceful settlement of the ethnic problem was an act of indiscipline, the letter said.
The party president had never expressed the view that the LTTE
could negotiate ceasefire. Mr. K to the Tigers t before coming table was publis papers. Mr. Gop; responsibility fol the subject to th which landed a Central Intellig Anbazhagan's le
The failure to to the party for i the meeting betw chief, Lt. Gen. A then Chief Mini nidhi, was an against the party It was wrong ta dissociated its Ravichandran (h samy) when he v ing sheltered t cadre. He (Mr. only said that Ravichandran to of the shelter he LTTE cadre was the party's policy issue.
The act of Mr leashing vicious a leadership from the last one mont party discipline,
Mr. Gopalasam cord saying that to a Tamil evenin sed to him that h nanidhi should be an AK-47 rifle'. N samy bothered to was responsible letter to the Ta. chose to condem lished in that pa to be condemned. Mr. Gopalasan say in his reply notice drawing charge that Mr. behind the allege levelling similar c Murasoli Maran, and Mr. M.K. AZ
The DMK wh: membership coul precedent by con

TAMIL TIMES 23
DR SPLIT IN THE DMK
eader elled
without effecting a arunanidhi's appeal suspend the war to the negotiating ned in all the newslasamy should own writing a letter on e LTTE leadership , the hands of the ence Agency, Mr. tter said. give a proper reply mputing motives to veen the then IPKF .S. Kalkat, and the ster, Mr. Karunaact of indiscipline leadership, it said. say that the DMK elf with Mr. V. brother of Gopalavas accused of havhe injured LTTE Anbazhagan) had the failure of Mr. apprise the police had given to the not consistent with vis-a-vis the ethnic
". Gopalasamy unttacks on the party public meetings in h was a violation of he letter added.
ly had gone on resomeone had given ger a letter addresereafter “Mr. Karu* met only through either Mr. Gopalafind out as to who for releasing the mil eveninger nor n the news pubper. This deserved
y had nothing to to the show-cause attention to his Karunanidhi was LTTE Plot after harges against Mr.
Mr. M.K. Stalin lagiri.
ch had a 40-lakh not afford to set a ening the General
Council to discuss the problems of individual members. In spite of knowing the rules and regulations governing the convening of the General Council, Mr. Gopalasamy had been insisting on convening the council and thus had violated party discipline, the letter said.
Instead of giving proper replies to the show-cause notice allegations, Mr. Gopalasamy had been trying to divert the attention by making "frivolous accusations' against Mr. Karunanidhi and demanding a General Council meeting.
District Officials Face Expulsion
MADRAS, Nov. 14.
The DMK General Secretary, Mr. K. Anbazhagan, today issued showcause notices to eight district secretaries of the party supporting the expelled Rajya Sabha member of the party, Mr. V. Gopalasamy, asking them to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for anti-party activities.
Similar notices were also sent to Mr. Madurantakam C. Arumugham, Chengai-Anna district secretary (South) and three others - Mr. L. Ganesan, Secretary, Party Constitution Amendment Committee, Mr. Malar Mannan, member, Party's Audit Committee and Mr. K. Chandrasekharan, Central Executive Committee member, accusing them of indulging in acts of indiscipline and marring the dignity of the party's image. All the 12 partymen have been directed to send their explanations within a week.
In identical letters despatched to Messrs L. Ganesan, Malar Mannan and K. Chandrasekharan, the General Secretary said they had been found guilty for having condemned the party high command for expelling Mr. Gopalasamy and announced their decision to convene the general council meeting in violation of party rules. They had also questioned the expulsion of Mr. Gopalasamy saying that the party leadership and the General Secretary had no moral or legal right to do so. All this constituted a flagrant violation of the party discipline and its rules.
Continued on page 24

Page 24
24 TAM TIMES
Illegal and Unjust Expш
to be Challenged
TIRUCHI, Nov. 12.
A high-level meeting of the supporters of the dissident DMK leader Mr. V. Gopalasamy, MP held here today (in the presence of Mr. V. Gopalasamy), termed as totally illegal and unjust the action of the party general secretary, Mr. K. Anbazhagan, in removing Mr. Gopalasamy from the primary membership of the party.
It was decided at the meeting to convene at an early date a meeting of the General Council of the party, to prove that the expulsion order was wrong.
The meeting in a resolution adopted said that the DMK party president, and the general secretary had lost their legal and moral right to take any action on behalf of the party since they had grossly violated the basic principles of friendship, fraternity, and democratic values cherished so dearly by the party and enunciated by late Annadurai.
The resolution said that the voice
of protest raised b and the widesprea received from the
ers, had unnerve and hence they h
for sidelining Mr.
his supporters in manner during th
Asked whether enough support meeting of the ge, M. Kannappan, and secretary of district unit of th there will be no di
The total mer general council w the party chief w. the same. But hi. figures were give the total members council, by the D was not arithmeti a political strateg Muthuramalingam and secretary of th unit.
O Kashmir - The End Mosque Siege
by T.N. Gopalan
The Cassandras have been belied. Much to the surprise of many seasoned observers, the notoriously indecisive Narasimha Rao government has notched up its first major triumph in recent months - the month-long siege of the Hazratball shrine in Srinagar ended in the wee hours of November 16 without a shot being fired; the militants holed up inside the shrine gave themselves up to the Indian authorities without any incident whatsoever.
Thus the crisis which threatened to develop into a major uprising in the Kashmir valley was successfully defused by the Rao regime without any major loss of face, and at a critical juncture at that - right on the eve of the elections to the legislative assemblies in the two important states in the Hindi belt, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh; the surren der of the militants, apparently without the authorities' giving in to any of their major
demands should ta the sails of the which had been pr as yet another inst ness of the Cong: the face of fundan and nefarious desi
The Hazratballs holiest for the M: for those in Kash revered relic, a st the beard of Pro and encased in qu have been install site in the early p
century, the relic
acquired a consid political significal thirties of this cen Abdullah rallied Muslim masses t discourses from pulpit.
Such was the se ment of Muslims that riots broke

15 DECEMBER 1993
sion
7 Mr. Gopalasamy d support he had DMK party workd the party chief ad been planning Gopalasamy, and a very systematic e past few years. the party will get for convening a heral council, Mr. former Minister, the Coimbatore e party said that fficulty at all. nbership of the as 862 only, and as fully aware of ghly exaggerated n with regard to hip of the general MK president. It cal ignorance, but y, said Mr. Pon h, former minister e Madurai district
Mr. V. Gopalasamy said that he would continue to be a loyal party. workers, and carry on his duty of campaigning for democratic values and fair play in the party.
Asked whether Mr. Gopalasamy would resign his membership of Parliament, if asked to do so by the DMK high command, Mr. Kannappan said there was no room for any such demand from the party general secretary, since they had absolutely no right to remove Mr. Gopalasamy from the primary membership of the party at all.
Hundreds of party workers from all over the State had come to Tiruchi for this crucial meeting to chalk out the future course of action.
The members of the Coimbatore DMK Lawyers Association have condemned the expulsion of Mr. V. Gopalasamy from the primary membership of the party. By circumventing the party rules the president, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, as well as the general secretary of the party, Mr. K. Anbazhagan, have forfeited their rights to occupy the positions, said Mr. S. Rajendren, Secretary of the Assocation.
(Courtesy: The Hindu).
of the
ke the wind out of communal BJP ojecting the crisis ance of the ineptI government in nentalist mischief gns of Pakistan.
hrine is one of the uslims, especially mir. It houses a rand of hair from phet Mohammed artz. Supposed to ed in the present art of the twelfth and the shrine erable amount of nce even in the tury when Sheikh behind him the through his fiery
the Hazratball
intimental attachto the holy relic out when it was
stolen on 27 December 1963.
The crisis was not confined to the valley - Muslims were out on the streets far away in Calcutta as also in the Khulna and Jessore districts of the erstwhile East Pakistan. Normalcy was restored only after the mysterious restoration of the relic a week later. It was in the wake of those tumultous days the conspiracy case against Mr. Sheikh Abdullah was withdrawn.
That very same relic and the very same shrine was in the eye of yet another storm for one full month - a battle of attrition between the Muslim militants and the Indian army on the one hand, a battle of wits between the governments of India and Pakistan, the latter cleverly utilising the occasion to mount a propaganda offensive against the former, the BJP charging the Cong-I government with pussyfooting on the Kashmir imbroglio and the secular opposition blaming it for creating an artificial crisis with an eye on the Hindu vote-bank and so on.
Apparently following a tip-off from a police constable that the two locks leading to the small room on the first floor of Hazratball (where the relic is kept) had been tampered

Page 25
15 DECEMBER 1993
with, a contingent of the Border Security Force surrounded the shrine on the night of 15 October and thus began the siege drama. The outside world was told that top militants had taken shelter in the shrine and were threatening to blast the dargah with a view to arousing the Muslim sentiments - the siege was aimed at frustrating their designs, flushing them out and ensuring thereafter that such a religious place was not misused for waging a war against the Indian state.
While there are enough indications to prove that the siege was a well calculated ploy to boost the sagging fortunes of the ruling CongI party, it must also be borne in the mind that when the BSF launched cordon-and-search operations to clean up the Regional Engineering College and the University of Kashmir campus in the last week of September, militants active in the campus fled to take refuge in the nearby Hazratbal. Probably the army authorities sensed a danger a la the Golden Temple affair was building up - allowing the militants to use the mosque as a hide-out or arms repository could have dangerous consequences, it was felt.
Any Blue Star operation in Srinagar would prove disastrous for India, it was also realised, and hence the pre-emptive move when there were only 20-odd militants holed up in Hazratball. To bolster up its case further, the Indian government also claimed that the militants were doing whatever they were doing at the behest of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and that there were quite a few foreign mercenaries in the crowd. Apart from the militants, there were others who had gone to Hazratball to offer their prayers and got trapped when the BSF moved in - in all there were more than 80 persons inside Hazratball on 15 October.
Vowing not to storm the shrine, promising to expose the "dirty' hand of Pakistan, spreading around hairraising stories of threats from the militants to blow up the shrine, deploying more than 10,000 soldiers equipped with medium artillery and armoured cars, the Indian government was flying high to start with. But not for long. Emboldened by the presence of the international media and by the discovery of a source of food-supply from within the shrine complex itself, the militants started hardening their stance and demanded unconditional lifting of the siege
and safe passag The Kul Jam Kashmir (All Pa dom Front), a coa tical parties and associations, thre the shrine in tho was not lifted. T strations in seve mir, police firings innocent.
The Bijbehara
ly the worst – ove killed and 72 oth small town, 40 kı an unprovoked and the Centra Force.
Shaken by the dents at Bijbeh administration al ter into the com day, touching of tween it and the a High Court also regular supply trapped inside, modified by the Si on. But the heat the Centre. The inflame the Hind ing at the gove1 'bullets for the who demolished t Ayodhya) and Bi rorists.' On the i too, India was get
The Muslim c pressing serious situation, and th take up India's c Ms. Robin Raphe Secretary of Stat be a close confic Bill Clinton came indictment of the Kashmir — she qu sion of Kashmir, la agreement as hinted at a possi with Russia, talk cy in positive t India for its huma Inevitably the I. the occasion to regime mercilessl
It indeed seem ing from one va another - while shouting the az gans, the army only plant storie render by milita pudiated by the insurgents. Then news of the surre real. In all 62 pers and civilians, gav

TAM TIMES 25
fe for themselves.
at-e-Hurriyat-e-
rty Kashmir Freealition of some polisome non-political atened to march on usands if the siege here were demonral parts of Kashand killings of the
massacre was easier 50 civiliams were ers injured in that m from Srinagar in iring by the BSF al Reserve Police
e October 22 inciara, the Kashmir lowed food and waplex the very next f a bitter row beIrmy. The Srinagar ruled in favour of of food for those an order slightly upreme Court later was now turned on BJP was trying to u passions by fumnment's policy of kar sevaks (those he Babri Masjid at riyani for the terinternational front tting a lot of flak. ountries were exconcern over the here were none to ause. Worst of all, el, a US Assistant e and supposed to lante of President out with a searing Indian position on estioned the accesdismissed the Simof no consequence, ble joint initiative ed of the insurgenerms and blasted in rights violations. ndian media used belabour the Rao
y. ed to be meandercuous position to the militants were adi (freedom) sloauthorities could ; of imminent surints, promptly resupporters of the suddenly came the nder, this time for ons, both militants e themselves up to
the Kashmir police (not the army). The rest had trickled out in the interim in ones and twos.
The Kashmiris themselves rejoiced, the secular forces in the country heaved a sigh of relief, the tottering Rao regime was flush with victory and, predictably, the BJP cried foul.
The actual terms of the deal are not known. Though all those who came out have been taken away for questioning and the government says it has agreed to release only those against whom there are no cases registered, it is still possible the militants have been assured of release from custody in stages. Anway barring a couple of persons from the Pak-Occupied Kashmir, no foreign mercenary has been identified.
Apart from two leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) none of any consequence has been apprehended, it is reported. It is even possible that the Government of India chose this precise juncture to act because it wanted to shore up the flagging zeal of the secular JKLF and bring down the popularity ratings of the proPakistani and more fundamentalist Hizebola by a notch or two.
Even the arrest of Mr. Amanullah Khan, president of the JKLF, in
Brussels (at the instance of India
again), is interpreted as another pointer in that direction.
If such were to be the case, for all its stupid manoeuvres, the Rao government could be said to be moving in the right direction, towards a political solution.
As a veteran observer put it: “Whatever its motives and whatever its blunders and even some horrendous human rights violations, the Indian government is still responsive to public opinion, nationally and internationally. It does not seek to mow down the Kashmiris wholesale. . . stil looking for a political solution, however ham-handed the approach might be...and that's the difference between it and the Sri Lankan government. . .”.
Continued from page 18 disappointment to the chairman as well as to the Tamil constituency.
The select committee on ethnic relations has accepted the broad principle of federalism as a means of resolving this conflict. The future rests in negotiations over the northeast merger and the 'details and substance of devolution. Who will discuss and negotiate these issues?

Page 26
26 TAM TIMES
O DMK POised for a
by T.N. Gopalan
The inevitable has happened at last. The DMK has at last expelled from the party the fiery orator and number one dissident V. Gopalasamy, known popularly as Vai. Go. The high command has also served notice on nine district unit secretaries and a few other front-ranking leaders for allegedly flouting party discipline.
Vai.Go.'s supporters have hit back by questioning the legitimacy of the high command's action and calling for a meeting of the party general council which has been resisted by the party high command. Indications are that the dissidents will convene a General Council by themselves, they will dismiss the current DMK leader, Mr. Karunanidhi, from the leadership and elect Vai. Go. in his place. With a majority of the General Council members still backing Karunanidhi, the splinter group will be constrained to function under a new banner and hope that in course of time they will be able to win the support of the cadres and the people and thereafter appropriate for itself the DMK label.
After Mr. Karunanidhi went public with the Centre's warning of "unconfirmed reports of an LTTE conspiracy to assassinate him in order to make Vai. Go. the new DMK leader, Gopalasamy was able to whip up considerable sympathy for himself among the cadres by questioning the party president's motives in implicating him in a conspiracy and charging that Karunanidhi was only planning to sacrifice him at the altar of an alliance with the Cong-I. There were three or four self-immolations, and public meetings organised by his supporters in various parts of the state proved huge draws.
Many a senior leader feeling outraged at the stranglehold of the family members of Mr. Karunanidhi on the party, cast their lot with Vai. Go. Buoyed up by the show of support, the dissident leader started making ever more strident allegations against the leadership, even suggesting that Karunanidhi had teamed up with Gen. Kalkat of the IPKF to finish him off when he went on a secret mission to meet the Tiger leader Prabhakaran during the time the IPKF was fighting the LTTE in Sri Lanka. The official faction, for its part, started sniping at him as an
irresponsible, am corrupt leader, a destroying the pa tion of Ms. Jayala welter of charg charges, came an Tiger Tamil perioc Ulaga Thamizha as a great leader community, rank. next only to Velup and denouncing betraying the inte time and again ar being an agent of gence agency RAW latched on to by th to paint Vai. Go. ir charging him with the Tigers to assa leader.
It was in this ( sion came, and, reaction was very couple of more stone-throwing ir there and some de thing much happe Nadu was not in the DMK, for that
There could b reasons for such Perhaps Vai. Go. cards and went a an inopportune t Karunanidhi. To Tiger-champion w of the Rajiv assa massacre of Padm pany are still fres the general public much perhaps. Ev chagrined by the V soli Maran and ot nanidhi family are wary of the Tiger f torrential downp cedented floods in tricts - Vai.Go.'s s in the way of any s tions in those part
Apart from the retaries, from Coil Rural, Tirunelvel niyakumari, Than and South Arcot the forefront of t Mr. Madhuranta (Chengalpattu S speaking and sea has now cast his That perhaps is hi
When Periyar E.V.K. Sampath r

15 DECEMBER 19s
Split
bitious and even nd worse, he was rty at the instigalitha. Amidst this es and counterarticle in a prolical from Canada, r, hailing Vai.Go. of the world Tamil ing in importance billai Prabhakaran
Karunanidhi for rests of the Tamils ld accusing him of the Indian intelliW. This was gladly e DMK leadership villainous terms, teaming up with ssinate the DMK
ontext the expullsurprisingly, the muted. Barring a self-immolations, cidents here and emonstrations, noned. Surely Tamil flames, not even t matter.
be a number of a turn of events. overplayed his oit too far or chose .ime to strike at be known as a hen the memories ssination and the anabha and comh in the minds of does not help him ren those workers vays of Mr. Murahers of the Karupossibly a bit too actor. Further the jour and unprethe southern disstronghold - came erious demonstra
S.
eight district secmbatore, Madurai i, Periyar, Kanjavur East, Trichy who have been in he present revolt, kam Arumugam south), a plainsoned leader, too lot with Vai.Go. s only gain now.
EVR's nephew evolted in the six
ties - when Mr. Annadurai was alive - he came to grief, but MGR gave a bloody nose to the DMK led by Karunanidhi in the seventies and kept it in wilderness for more than a decade. In fact MGR's ghost continues to haunt it to this day in the person of Jayalalitha. What will happen now? One has to wait and See.
Jayalalitha sitting pretty
Meantime Chief Minister Jayalalitha is sitting pretty. She is certainly buoyed up by the two by-election victories, the discomfiture of the DMK, some rethinking on the part of the Cong-I over the attitude towards the AIADMK with one faction openly calling for an alliance with it and the High Court ruling that her bete noire T.N. Seshan cannot sit in judgement on the petition challenging the validity of her election. And she went forward to consolidate her hold over the Tamil masses by organising a statesponsored bandh on November 16 to press for a constitutional amendment to facilitate a high percentage of reservation for the backward castes. The bandh was a total success with all political parties jumping on Jayalalitha’s bandwagon.
In Sri Lanka, standardisation - a measure aimed at giving a leg-up to the backward Sinhalese students - proved the beginning of the slide in the fortunes of the Tamil community. But in Tamil Nadu reservations for the backward castes, the dominant section among the Tamil community here, in jobs and educational institutions are a major contributory factor responsible for the advance. ment of the interests of the community at large. The order of the then Justice Party government of the Madras Presidency in 1921, providing for reservations in government jobs for some non-Brahmin communities, is still hailed as the first milestone in the history of the Dravidian movement, the first step in the liberation of the Tamil community from the yoke of Brahminism - the Tamil-speaking Brahmins are considered to be outside the pale of the Dravidian society.
Though Ms. Jayalalitha is a Brahmin by birth, she is never found wanting when it comes to championing the Dravidian or non-Brahmin cause - after all she is the leader of an off-shoot of the Dravidian movement. Like MGR used to do so time and again though he was a Keralite

Page 27
15 DECEMBER 1993
by birth. In fact in her very first Assembly session after assuming office as the Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalitha boasted that she represented the latest stage in the evolution of the Dravidian movement and sought to place herself firmly in the pantheon of the greats of the movement, starting from Sir P.T. Thyagarayar and Periyar EVR. Naturally then she would not let go of yet another opportunity to establish her credentials.
It may be recalled that the Narasimha Rao government has agreed to implement the Mandal Commission recommendations providing for reservations for the OBCs (Other Backward Castes) in government jobs and educational institutions upto 27 per cent of the total number of positions or seats in question. A number of cases filed in connection with the decision on the Mandal report are before the Supreme Court, and it has ruled that in no case the total amount of reservations (for all communities put together) shall not exceed 50 per cent.
Now in Tamil Nadu reservation proportions are as follows — 18 per cent for the Scheduled Castes (Harijans or Adi Dravidars), one per cent for the tribals, 30 per cent for the backward and 20 per cent for the most backward and only 31 per cent for the general pool or open competition.
Now the reservations for the politically powerful backward and most backward castes are almost a holy cow in this State. If the Supreme Court ruling were to be implemented in full, the government cannot touch the reservations for the SCs or STs but will have to cut down on the quota for the OBC, and this could prove explosive. On the other hand if the ruling is flouted, the AIADMK government can be hauled up for contempt of court. Hence the demand for a constitutional amendment.
Incidentally the reservations for the OBCs which stood at 31 per cent were increased to 50 per cent by MGR under some questionable circumstances. He first imposed an income ceiling for the OBCs to become eligible for reservations, but immediately thereafter was humbled in the Lok Sabha elections by the Cong-I-DMK combine in January 1980. A shocked MGR executed a neat U-turn and removed the reiling and increased the OBC
sota!
MILITARY C
IT is regrettable th nise that the confl and the South of Sr common origins an These conflicts worsened as and w opportunities plum economic climate f and agricultural p) bleak.
Prolongation oft also resulted fron successive Govern pendence to unde sage clearly conve nacular Sinhalese ing people via theil dates at the 1956 Their undisputed n English was being ary vehicle of expl jugation of the com
Unfortunately th manding appropria hijacked by those very sections of s. beneficiaries of the like the then lead and the FP. Natu undermining their the ruling classes communal disharm ruled.
A further unforg was perpetrated people was to down tionable importanci second language. A they permitted on those who succeede English as the de administration anc tertiary professiona
One of the reason als in the South wh seventies and the c heavals which bega the eighties was th misleading acts pe: common people. Ar. the calculated oppo powerful sections ( ties towards the ca system and/or oth volution of Power identifying them a the Tamils only.
Notwithstanding militant movemen and the South hav
 

TAM TIMES 27
:ONFLICTS
at very few recogicts in the North i Lanka have had ld characteristics. have naturally then employment meted when the or local industries oduction became
he conflicts have n the failure of ments since inderstand the mesyed by the verand Tamil speakrespective mangeneral elections. message was that used as the primoitation and submon people. le movements deate redress were coming from the ociety who were existing system, ers of the SILFP rally, instead of own privileges, moved to fuel ony amongst the
ivable crime that on the common play the unquese of English as a At the same time
connived with
d in maintaining acto language of the medium of ul education.
is for the upheavnich began in the orresponding upn in the North in Le result of these rpetrated on the other factor was sition of the more of the communiall for a Federal er means of de
by dishonestly is concessions to
the fact that the ts in the North e been supported
and ruthlessly manipulated by foreign and local vested interests for their own benefit, the fervour of the commitment to the respective causes can never be permanently put down whatever military might is used.
If the country accepts this reality the lives and other resources that are being unnecessarily lost could be used for the development of the country rather than for enriching the arms dealers and other vested interests who are successfully promoting the conflicts.
The solution to the problem does not lie in continuing the costly military offensive. Nor does it lie in reinstating English to the pre-1956 situation as has clearly been the wish of the anglicized elements who have been the actual beneficiaries of the movements.
A sustainable solution is feasible if and only if the legitimate aspirations of the vernacular elements in the Sinhalese and Tamil communities are duly recognized and properly dealt with. A SINE QUA NON for granting genuine redress to the grievances of these sections of society is the early establishment of two separate entities that would have Sinhalese and Tamil only as their respective official languages of Administration and the medium of instruction.
Adopting such a policy is now vital to both the ordinary Sinhalese and Tamils of vernacular origin. Unless such a policy is implemented as soon as is practicable, the ordinary Sinhalese people in particular would soon end up being in a position very similar to what the Palestinians are now in. Current and recent Indian policies towards Sri Lanka could very well accelerate such an eventuality.
In this connection boundaries that were marked up merely to facilitate colonial rule have little or no relevance today. Accordingly boundaries must necessarily be based on current realities and in the respective river catchments. However it would be a fruitless exercise to negotiate possible alternative demarcations until and unless the policy of genuine devolution of power to All regions including those in the South are agreed prior to such negotiations.
It could also perhaps be opportune to consider the possibility of carving out an independent administrative
Continued on page 28

Page 28
28 TAMIL TIMES
Continued from page 27
entity for the Trincomalee area for it to be run as a free port in the model of Hong Kong. It could also use a separate convertible currency and use English as the language of administration, medium of instruction and the language of the courts in the area. This would help to attract a large section of the anglicized communities in the North and the South to Trincomalee.
Trincomalee could then develop into a hub for business activities for the South and West Asian Regions and even as the logical location for Region Loan Syndicating and Commercial Arbitration. The effects of such development including the large employment and training opportunities that would be generated would no doubt contribute considerably to reducing tensions and forging cooperation between all the communities in the country.
The political realities of the South and West Asian regions and the added attraction that Sri Lanka enjoys among individuals and business enterprises in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea in particular would make the achievement of such a goal a very real possibility.
Bernard Wijedoru.
TAMIL MILITANCY - An appraisal
The role of Tamil militancy in the struggle of the Tamils for security, and autonomy in a homeland, is a matter of much concern, and the subject ofvarious differences ofopinion. An appraisal should help to dispel illusions or delusions, thus helping united Tamil endeavour.
The prolonged suffering and sacri
fice of the Tamils must not be in vain, and hence the need to apprise direction and leadership, to attain the goal. There are divisive forces stemming from selfishness, prejudice and opportunism to jockey for opinion, as well as well meaning individuals with genuine concern to assess and decide. Tamil militancy has now to be identified with the LTTE, since the other groups have been displaced or evicted. Their opportunism under the umbrella of the Government and even participation with the Army, leaves little to the imagination as to their motivations.
Criticisms and doubt about Tamil militancy domination and leadership have been founded mostly on the following - that Tamil objectives
could have been negotiations or co Government; the cooperation of groups would hav gle; that dem amongst the Tam in and without, allowed and cons that Muslims sho cated actively, in and even evicti should have coop in interventions a there should have of Government's grounds that sor than nothing; tha lence, confiscation been enforced on T control; that atroc of all sorts sh avoided; and vari omissions and con
It would take m on all of the above ity of such are refe appraisal and opi dered. Primarily, sary to be agreed Government what and rhetoric, had willing to concede On the other hand been to perpetuate tion and gradual e identity. "There ar. those who will no history is all too ev ing observer. Hen Tamil militancy a for Tamils. The p other course is co “Undependabilit ernment. ...The re reneging on comm dismal' to quote a on the subject. T broken promises well known. Milit been the only opti.
As for the con lence in all forn atrocities and acts to be noted that in means to pressuri concede are valid that failure could consequence. The with tens of thous cold blood is but ol would one call th roms against the culminating in t 1983, except delib intimidate and thu less military effort and war' and to q writer-T.C. Schel

achieved through operation with the participation and he other Tamil helped the strugcratic opinion l population withshould have been dered for options; uld have been plaplace of reprisals pns; that Tamils arated with India nd direction; that been no rejection overtures on the aething is better tt extortions, vioshould not have amils within their ities, and violence ould have been ous other sins of
missions.
uch space to dwell ', but the generalrred in the form of nion, to be consiit would be necesthat the Sinhala ever the pretences at no time been Tamil demands. , the objective had * Sinhala dominaxtinction of Tamil e none so blind, as it see' and recent ident to a discernce the validity of s the only option ossibility for any mpounded by the y of the Govcord of the State itments has been n informed writer he long trail of and duplicity is lary solution has D. demnation of vions, often termed of terrorism, it is a state of war, all se an opponent to , on the grounds be devastating in fate of the J.V.P. ands murdered in he example. What e organised poghelpless Tamils he holocaust of rate terrorism to Ls subjugate with "All is fair in love Luote an informed ing from his book
15 DECEMBER 1993
Arms and Influence "It is the power to hurt, not military strength in the traditional sense, that inheres in our (U.S.) most impressive military capabilities at the present time...And it is pain and violence, not force in the traditional sense, that inheres also in some of the least impressive military capabilities of the present time - the plastic bomb, the terrorist's bullet, the burnt crops, and the tortured farmer... War appears to be, and threatens to be, not so much a contest of military strength as a bargaining process'.
The dominance, extortion, and even coercion of the Tamil population in some instances, has embittered some, within and without. It is no doubt, regrettable, but necessary for a single minded conduct of offense and defense against the power of an overwhelming foe. It is to be noted that the militant cadres, must depend solely on their own people for support and maintenance and in return are prepared to sacrifice their own lives for the cause which is common to both. On the other hand, the Government spends astronomical sums, procured as tax from the population, or loans which too must be paid back by the people. Tamils have been proverbially selfish, and unwilling to extend assistance, except for their personal ends, and hence the compulsion of extortion where necessary, since failure would bring forth greater condemnation. Who can deny the right of the militants to conduct defense in the manner they think proper, for these are willing to give their lives in return, for the common cause? As for courage and sacrifice in the popular mood, it was Lenin, one of the architects of the Russian Revolution, who said: "A party would be insane to condition the revolutionary character of its movement, upon the revolutionary mood of the peasantry'. This has relevance in the need for total courage and sacrifice against great odds. hence also the limits for democracy in a life and death struggle for an accepted C2Se.
The frequent hostile attitude against some groups of Muslims by Tamil militancy has been the subject of adverse comment, on the grounds that their cooperation and goodwill should have been sought. It is generally known that most Muslim strategies have been to obtain political and other benefits as a counterweight against Tamils. Hence the need of the Muslims to give their solidarity for minority action

Page 29
15 DECEMBER 1993
against majority oppression. It was Hitler who banished the Jews from Germany for their betrayal of the German war effort in the 1st World War. In a back to the wall struggle, "one who is not for me is against me' denoted practical policy.
As for relations with India, it should be known that India has only been concerned with sponsoring the Tamil cause for its own purpose of influencing Sri Lanka. It has ever been Indian policy to curb Tamil nationalism lest it encourage Dravida action against Hindi domination. India can never be depended upon to help the progress of Tamils, and their open hostility when Tamils progress to claim autonomy. Indian support for the blockade to deprive the Tamil population, even in essentials, is a case in point.
Above all, it is courage and fortitude that commands respect, which is essential to exact concessions from a foe. In a way Tamil docility and perhaps even traces of servility, has been responsible for the domineering attitude of the Sinhala majority. The fact that the Tamil Militancy has now commanded that respect is now perhaps its greatest contribution to the cause.
B. Tambyah,
65 Greencrest Circuit, 304 Scarborough, Ontario M1C 3T9
REFERENDUM2
I FULLY support Dr. P. Varothayasingham's submission that no referendum should be embarked upon in the Northeastern Province of Eelam with a view to its de-merger (Ref: Tamil Times, 15 August 1993, p.24), and wish to add the following facts:
Referendums constitute a method of referring specific goveernmental or political questions or legislation to an electorate for direct decision by general vote. Plebiscites also utilise a similar method of direct vote of all electors of a State on important public questions, such as the changing of a constitution, or for the public expression of a community's opinions, with or without binding force. The term plebiscite is normally employed to those referendums held to decide to which State an area should belong, such as the centuries-old French vote on papal Avignon.
Ballots on referendums and plebiscites, simple though they might appear to be e.g., when only two alternatives are offered, should still be professionally designed with the
سمصــتة
help of experts sciences of socia communication
answers of the would depend O innuendos of t and hence the direct, clear a with no possibili tions. There mu ance publicity su lic announcemer media, about wil asked, and wha the voters. Eno given for the explain the rele public who shou consequences of all those likely tc given a chance t
The actions ta the vote is take discussed and d e.g., what will be a simple majorit of a two-thirds, tenths vote of as: should be made i any statistical despite all the used and precau
Also, the vot ducted in a mal public confidenc the polls. It is observers with v ing representati ing camps as w tional organisa countries, are in entire procedure very initial, cont
In Eelam (Sri daranaike's SLF Government did dum when the was enacted, Jayawardene’s U the 1978 Constit Were two control on the extension and of his Pal unprecedented years. Election merely stateme insufficient to d tant issue like ( try's constitution been Island-wid 1972 and 1978, ethnic problem t
In summary, be costly, both p mically, and cou raising more iss intended to be so embarked upon

TAMIL TIMES 29
s proficient in the l psychology, verbal and statistics. The voters, for example, in the wording and he question asked, questions should be nd comprehensible ty of misinterpretast be adequate advuch as through pubhts, notices, and the hat exactly is being it is expected from ugh time should be different camps to vant issues to the ld know the various their answers. And, be affected must be O vote. o be followed after n should be clearly ecided beforehand, done if there is only y, the consequence four-fifths or ninesent, etc. Allowance in such decisions for errors in the polls scientific methods tions taken. ing should be connner which inspires e on the verdict of best that teams of Vide powers, includves from the opposell as from internations and friendly nvited to watch the - ideally from the ceptual stages.
Lanka), Mrs. BanP-led United Front not hold a referen1972 Constitution nor did President JNP government on ution, though there versial referendums of his term of office liament - for an and historical 12 Manifestos being hts of intent, were ecide on an imporchanging the coun1. In fact, had there le referendums in there might be no oday. referendums could olitically and econould prove futille too, jues than the ones lved, and should be with utmost cau
tion. In the context of Sri Lankan government's intentions to demerge the existing NE Province, neither a referendum nor a demerger is advisable at any time. It must be abandoned forthwith, by Presidential decree, because the Tamils and Muslims of the NE too, are united that their Province should stay merged.
Prof. Kopan Mahadeva, Sutton Road, Erdington, Birmingham, UK.
“TAM REPRESENTATIVES”
I REFER to the article written by Rita Sebastian in your esteemed journal under the heading "Thondaman Resumes Peace Moves Amidst Govt. Reluctance', (Tamil Times, 15, September). When commenting on Mr. Thondaman's statement Rita Sebastian states that "However irrelevant the rival Tamil groups in Colombo are in the thinking of Thondaman the people will have to accept the Tamil representatives who now sit in parliament. No people need to accept anybody as their representatives just because at one time they were elected in an election which was boycotted by the majority of people. The so called 'elected' rival Tamil groups who sit in parliament have not achieved anything which they have promised in their election manifesto. Therefore they have no moral right to represent the Tamil people any longer. Mr. Thondaman is correct in saying that the two people who can bring peace to this troubled land are the Government and the Tigers.
N. Jegarajasingham, 61A Beddoe Avenue, Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australia.
Continued from page 10
ned attack from a large force. Estimates of the LTTE numbers used range from 1000 to as much as 6000.
Pooneryn was taken by the army in late 1991, in an operation commanded by the late Lt. General Kobbekaduwa. It was supposed to seal off the Jaffna Peninsula, and prepare the way for an assault on Jaffna itself. But in the two years since then, no such attck has been made, and the LTTE has attacked it continuously, with varying degrees of success. Military analysts say that it is only a matter of time before the LTTE return, and the Pooneryn disaster will be repeated.
(Courtesy of The Sunday Island).

Page 30
30 TAM TIMES
Minister & MP Found
The Sri Lankan Supreme Court recently found a Minister of State, a Member of Parliament and a Provincial Council Member belonging to the ruling party, guilty of impropriety or connivance with police officers in wrongful acts or omissions violative of the fundamental rights of a government officer serving the Forest Department. This is the first time that persons, like the three politicians, who were not agents of the executive, were held by the court to have violated a person's fundamental rights by acting in concert with police officers who were admittedly agents of the executive.
The Court ordered Minister of State, Mr. H.G.P. Nelson, Member of Parliament, Mr. C.S. Sooriyarachchi and PC member Keerthiratne to pay Rs.10,000 each as compensation to Forest Officer Mohamed Faiz who had been illegally arrested, detained and treated in a cruel and degrading way. As additional compensation, the Court ordered the State to pay Rs.10,000 and Rs. 5,000 as costs to the victim Mr. Faiz.
In this case, on 26 April 1991, the Forest Officer, Mohamed Faiz had gone to the Minneriya-Giritale Nature Reserve on receiving reports of
illegal organised lo operations where h persons engaged in ity. As he was tak men, angered by th engaged in illegal
cial Councillor, M and MP, Mr. Soo with others, had v assaulted him v seriously injuring
Officer, with his b had proceeded to t police station to m about the assault ter of State Mr. H. Keerthiratne and chi, along with sev already at the poli the Forest Officer a upon seeing the
assaulted him with tion in the presence At the insistence of cians, police officers ing the complaint Forest Officer arr him in custody till t when he was prod Magistrate who, W the facts, remanded custody. Later he bail on an applicati Assistant Director (
Continued from page 7 an. The Tigers also lost 6 Captains and 14 Lts., and 2nd Lts. Among the senior Black Sea Tigers who were killed in action were Maj. Ganesh, Maj. Gobi, Lt. Katpagan, 2nd. Lt. Kaviarasan, 2nd Lt. Elumalai and 2nd Lt. Vivekan. One of the significant losses among women cadres of the LTTE was Major Padhma, the Deputy Commander of the Women Black Sea Tigers.
Great Heroes Week
To the LTTE, Pooneryn was a great victory over the Sri Lankan forces, in spite of the fact that it lost over 400 of its cadres including many at senior level - LTTE cadres do not die, they only achieve martyrdom.
Every year, the week ending November 27 is elaborately observed with ceremony, pomp and pageantry everywhere by the LTTE and its supporters as the "National Great Heroes Week' to honour the cadres of the LTTE who had achieved "martyrdom'. And the week, not without significance or
design, coincides wi of the Tigers' supre military leader, Ve karan, 26 Novemb this day he was 39
The backdrop Heroes Week was t victory' over t. Pooneryn. The Tigi the opportunity to public in Jaffna and impressive collecti cated military hard dreds of millions of from the Sri Lanka Operation Yal Devi September by the S and at Pooneryn. T. built T-55 Main B. tured at Pooneryn display at Kilinochc main attractions.
In his message Heroes Week, the ' Prabhakaran was in his determinatic separate state. “I ne" there could be a extremist attituc chauvinism. The T.

15 DECEMBER 1993
| Guilty
gging and felling he arrested those the illegal activing the arrested he arrest of those logging, ProvinIr. Keerthiratne iyarchchi, along waylaid him and with iron rods him. The Forest bleeding injuries, he Polonnaruwa ake a complaint upon him. MinisG.P. Nelson, Mr. Mr. Sooriyaracheral others, were ce station when rrived. All three, Forest Officer, in the police staof police officers. the three politis without recordmade by the 2sted him, kept he following day uced before the rithout knowing him into prison was released on on made by the f Wildlife.
Court Calls IGP to Explain
The Inspector General of Police was summoned by the Supreme Court recently to explain as to why the police had not taken action against several police officers who were found by the court to have violated the fundamental rights of a person from Anuradhapura.
In this case, the persom had petitioned the court alleging that he was unlawfully arrested and tortured by police officers, and thereafter he was transferred to the Boosa detention camp where he was kept in custody for about an year. He claimed that his fundamental rights under the Constitution were violated. The Supreme Court held that his rights were indeed violated as alleged and ordered the payment of Rs.10,000 as compensation to him. The Court further ordered the IGP to investigate the matter and take action against the police officers concerned, and that a report regarding the action taken should be forwarded to the Court. vr
The Police authorities had failed to file the report as ordered by the Court, and hence the IGP was summoned to appear before the Court and explain. The IGP apologised to the court for the delay,
th the birth day ‘me political and lupillai Prabhaær. This year on years old.
to this year's he LTTE's "great he enemy at ers did not lose
display to the Kilinochchi the on of sophistiware worth hunrupees captured an forces during mounted in late ri Lankan army he Czechoslovak attle Tank cap
which was on hi was one of the
marking the Tiger leader, V. Juncompromising n to achieve a ver believed that change in the le of Sinhala amil people will
never receive justice until there is a change. The strong attitude of Sinhala chauvinists has kept open the only path of a separate state for the people of Tamil Eelam; we have no alternative but to traverse on this path. Our liberation movement continues its dedicated journey on this path. This path is most difficult, full of obstacles, stones and thorns, full of beasts and poisonous snakes, but we continue our journey on this very same path. The great heroes who went ahead of us will be guiding us. They cleared the path by removing the stones and thorns; they killed the beasts and poisonous snakes; and they illuminated the path for us. We will continue our illustrious journey on the path of freedom which we can see very clearly by the beacon lights lit by our great heroes," the Tiger leader said.
It was during the Heroes Week that the Tigers announced that over 6100 cadres had lost their lives since the inception of the LTTE. Of these 600 were women cadres. Over a thousand cadres are reported to have been seriously injured.

Page 31
15 DECEMBER 1993
Continued from page 16
and in fact of major tragedy. What we see today is a thin veneer of freedom and democracy which seeks to hide the harsh realities of communal strife, the denial of liberties, a heavily controlled media, a manipulated system of justice and a largely complacent intelligentsia which watches helplessly the galloping advance of corruption in the State and the private sector.
If the JVP uprising with its commitment to terror bred in our people a new fear of official terror and more determined and militant political opposition, the continuing war in the North and East is making it all the more easier for the government to trample on the freedoms of the people.
This war is not only sapping our people of their economic strength, it is the biggest threat we have to our individual rights. It eats into the core of our traditional values of truth and decency; it helps the government to push the country into the questionable values of the marketplace; it breeds corruption particularly in the developing of vested interests in war and military procurement; at every turn it strikes hard against truth and the Right of Free Expression and the Right to Information.
It is unfortunate that in the midst of this crisis the political opposition seems helpless, largely because it also shares considerable responsibil
ity for the crisis w The need in Sri Lar new politics. If one for the impossible it honesty. A moveme the entire political
It is a movemer necessity have to ad of the war. One th, tending it is a m terrorism. A move seek to give redress grievances of the assuring the Sinhale that their basic rig guaranteed. This is after the years of and bogeyism, as we of the LTTE. But it i to be carried out.
The principle of di be fully implemer tended. Where neces be ready to take a f boundaries of our p were carved out by their revenue and purposes. There is li most political parti agreement that the the North should be within a devolved er lem really is that of the situation is far But complexity is no up. The more det placed before the Se of Parliament should greater commitment for peace.
Continued from page 21
the conditions of ethnic identity and consciousness is a move to break out of the vicious circle.
Tambiah concludes this work through a dialogue with some of the arguments on Sinhala nationalist ideology which I presented in my Legends of People, Myths of State (1988). There I confined myself to exploring the political ideological use being made of the ancient chronicles by the agents of the modern state and their popular appeal as a function of their doxic or what I called their ontological resonance. I used the term 'ontology' not in the sense of fundamental and immutable being (which was the sense that some of my critics assumed) but as a logic' of orientation which could underpin a variety of ideological Interpretations. Such a logic, which II suggested was capable of numerous s".en contradictory meanings being
3ced upon it, facilitated what could
be termed a proces transfer whereby in lished in one sphe could be moved into conditioned in com circumstances. I de tion to understand h experience and inte rent historical siti tinuous with the pa it wasn't. In other meanings of ancie appear sensible in t vice versa, giving pa though not the caus violence.
Tambiah (p.178)
seem to be having conflating past proc mic state with the p of mass nation-sta point was not th meanings of the pas the present. Rathe carried in the an used by nationalists

TAMIL TIMES 31
have reached. a seems to be a s to ask almost is the politics of ht for reform of stablishment.
which will of ress the reality t will stop prere problem of ment that will to the genuine Tamils, while se and Muslims its will also be
no easy task, misinformation ll as, the terror one which has
volution has to ted, even exsary we have to resh look at the rovinces which the British for administrative ttle doubt that es are now in
governance of by the Tamils, tity. The probthe East, where more complex. reason to give ailed proposals lect Committee be studied with to the search
The guarantees of life and liberty should not remain mere clauses in the Constitution. We need organizations that will challenge in the Courts every violation of these rights. A campaign is needed to enhance the punishments for violation of fundamental rights. For the termination of services of all State employees found guilty of the violation of fundamental rights.
We need an amendment in our Constitution with a clause which will guarantee the Right to Information, as a justiciable right. We need to remove the blanket restrictions that the Emergency Regulations can place on the Rights of Free Expression, Speech and Assembly. There is the need to rescind the present Parliamentary Privileges Act and bring it back to the situation before 1978, when parliament had no powers of adjudication.
There is no need to dwell at any length on the fact that the Media has a major task to perform in the strengthening of the fundamental rights which form the bedrock of democracy. However, the structure of the Press, as it is in Sri Lanka, does not give much hope that such support would be forthcoming. There is, therefore, the need for new centres of information, with sufficiently strong economic base and the commitment of journalists with good training, to change the direction of the media and make it more relevant to the need for peace.
s of metaphoric heanings estabre of relations another sphere letely different eloped the noow people could pret their curlation as cont when, in fact, words how the nt texts could le present, and sion and shape, , to some of the
queries that I
it both ways sses of the cosesent dynamics e politics. My t the ancient continued into that old ideas ent chronicles chieved origin
al meaning in the contemporary context. They had appeal through their hierarchical ontology which enabled them to gain force and sense in other practices of widely different import and meaning but sharing, in their structural process, a similar ontology. The metaphors of the past are tropes, their meaning changed within present contexts and, also, changing the orientation of some Sinhalese to their understanding of their everyday experiences. It ry view the ideological processes of nationalism in Sri Lanka are not reducible to a Sinhalese past. It is the imagination of the past, something far different from what the past might in actuality have been, upon which I focused. My concern was to investigate the dimensions of one imagery, a current nationalist selection of particular events described in the ancient chronicles, and the parameters of its potency in the contemporary context.

Page 32
32 TAMIL TIMES
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Fax: 081-241 4557
Jayakumar son of Mr. & Mrs. A. G. Segaran of "Krishnagiri”, Chunnakam, Sri Lanka and Luxiya daughter of Mr. & Mrs. S. Puspanathan of "Telli Engineering, KK S Road, Tellipallai, Sri Lanka on 10. 12.93 at Palam Grove Hotel, Madras 6, South India.
Kajendran son of the late Mr. Sivasubramanian and Mrs. Sivasubramaniam and Myura daughter of Mr. & Mrs. R. Mahadevan of 11A. Ediriveera Avenue, Dehiwela, Sri Lanka on 10.12.93 at Hotel Sapphire, Galle Road, Colombo 6.
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28, 11.93 at Lanfranc School Hall, Mitcham Road, Croydon, UK.
OBITUARIES
Mr. Nalliah Rasanayagam formerly Proprietor and Director of Rajah Press Pammankade Colombo 6, husband of late Balambal. Father of Kausalya, father-in-law of Kulaseharan, grandfather of Prashanth and Sangeetha all of Markham, Canada; brother-in-law of Mahadevan New Zealand, Rajadevan Canada, Sahadevan, Vamade van Colombo, and Mrs. Viyakesparan UK passed away on the 13th October 1993. Funeral took place in Canada on the 19th October 1993. Kula and Kaushi convey their very sincere thanks to all relatives and friends who assisted in the obsequies, attended the funeral, sent floral tributes and messages of sympathy. - 24 Rowe Court, Markham, Ontario L3S 219, Canada. Tel: 416 471 6468.
 
 
 
 
 

Pushpa Somaskanthan beloved wife of Dr. Kandiah Somaskanthan (Attorney at Law, Jaffna); mother of Priya and Kumaresan (Darwin, Australia), daughter of the late Beauty Coотaraswату (lrrigаtion Engineer, Sri Lanka) and the late Rukmini Coomaraswamy of Chundikuli, and sister of the late Dr. Parames Durayappah, Puvanan Pathmanathan (Brunei), Mahen (Brunei), Dr. Vijendra (Eastbourne, UK), Pathma Wimal Sockanathan (Thornton Heath, Surrey) and Dr. Sivendran (Perth, West Australia) passed away in Colombo on 8th DeCember '93 after a brief illness. Funeral took place in Colombo. - 727 London Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey, UK (081-689 7303).
IN MEMORAM
g mem Thambyah pillai (Research Fellow, Imperial College, London) who passed away on December 4, 1984. So many years have gone by, Since you left this earth, When you died, our lives were етру, All we knew was sadness. Time has passed by SO quickly, But how can we forget The part you played in all our lives, The happiness we felt? Now all we have are memories, And time ebbs away. But we will always remember the Happiness of yesterday.
So sadly missed and dearly oved by his wife and children Meenalosani, Sivakamasunhari and Shiyamalanayagi
15 DECEMBER 1993
FORTHCOMING EVENTS January 1 Feast of St. Mary.
Jan. 6 Feast of Epiphany of Lord Jesus.
Jan. 8 Eekathasi.
Jan. 9 Feast of Baptism of Lord Jesus; Pirathosam.
Jan. 11 Amavasai. Jan. 14 Thai Pongal. Jan. 15 Sathurthi. Jan. 21 Feast of St. Agnes. Jan. 22 Feast of St. Vincent. Jan. 23 Eekathasi. Jan. 25 Feast Of ConverSion Of St. Paul Pirathosam. Jan. 27 Fu II Thaipoosam. Jan. 28 Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Moon,
A Lesson in Nattuwangam
While most of the weekends in October were taken up by Arangetrams for invitees it was a bold venture on the part of the British Association of Young Musicians to stage a Bharata Natya recital by indhumathi Srikumar on 17th October in aid of the Jaffna Hospital Fund - a spiritually satisfying recital netting a profit of £1500 for a worthy cause. The quality of the programme was enhanced by the top quality of the orchestra - brilliant Nattuvangam of Madras based Sangeetha Sironmani Rajasekaran, vocal by Nageswari Brahmananda, and the Bhavan duo Bhavani Sank
ar (mridangam) and Chan
drasekar (violin). Indhumathi who was initiated by the yesteryear Kalakshetrian Kamala Johnpillai and later trained by the Dhananjayans and the late Venkatachalapathi, was seen to reflect Kalakshetra in the jathis and the Varnam, indhumathi is a Communications Engineer by profession and it is noteworthy that she finds the time to promote this art. The Compering was done by her sister lamathi Skanthabalan, herself a product of KalakShetra.

Page 33
15 DECEMBER 1993
ASA Aids SCOT
As the autumn sun was setting on London's skyline on the 30th October 1993, Logan Hall of the University of London was reverberating with the melodious sounds of an ancient Tamil instrument, the Nagasrann, accompanied by the tha vil — the traditional drum.
The occasion was Lakshmi's ASIA (Academy of South Indian Arts) presenting a programme of Bharata Natyam and the epic Ramayana as a ballet in aid of the Standing Committee of Tamil Speaking People, the foremost registered charitable organisation of expatriate Tamils in the U.K. The occasion also marked the beginning of the seventeenth year of uninterrupted work by SCOT.
Over the years SCOT has supported projects totalling more than £200,000 and funds for these Relief and Rehabilitation Schemes in the homelands and for the Human Rights Campaign were from modest subscriptions, fund raising events organised by SCOT and donations from well-wishers. Last year alone, SCOT managed to send over £15,000 for projects designed to give some relief to the suffering. SCOT is also involved in a campaign to draw the attention of the world community to the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka and to work for inter-racial justice.
ASIA's efforts produced, among others, two notable results. Firstly, the Academy was able to make a donation of £2,000 (net proceeds of the event - the hall was full, with tickets Sold out a month in advance) for further work by SCOT and, secondly, in producing a programme of such quality, ASIA again contributed to the fostering of Indian Fine Arts in a multi-cultural milieu in Britain.
An Engineering graduate from imperial College, Lakshmi Ganeson could have easily laid to rest her interest in Bharathanatyam. Instead, she founded ASA and continues, by example and by precept, to inculcate in young minds an art form revered by Tamils over centuries. She hails from a family dedicated to fine arts and is fortunate to have the support of her father, and her mother, an accomplished veena exponent.
The first half of the programme was a selection of dances performed solo by Lakshmi herself. The opening item was Mallani
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TAML TIMES 33
followed by Alariippu, in the raga Nattai. Sri Thiruvarur Letchappa Pillai on the Nagasuram set the scene. The accompaniment was a combination of thavil by Sri P. Vigneswaran, and Mridangum by Sri Karaikudi Krishnamoorthy.
Sri Krishnamoorthy, a jewel in the crown for over 17 years in Kalakshetra, continues his excellent work in London as Principal of the Music Academy of Dance Rhythms and Songs (MADRAS). Sri Kutralam Nagarajan, a disciple of Prof. Krishnan and the recipient of the title Sangeetha Vidwana from the Tamil Nadu Government, and Sri Manickam Yogeswanam, a leading vocalist from Sri Lanka, blended well, to produce the musical foundation for the evening. Sri Thiruvarur Kothandapani was on the violin, Sri Paskaran Sreekaram on the Gadam and Sri Thayaparan on the flute.
Thesong by Bharathi entitled Payum oli neeenakku" was ina superb combination of seven bhairavi ragas once again a masterpiece by Sri Krishmoorthy, enabled Lakshmi to bring out the meaning and the bhava in its fullest richness. Lakshmi's footwork in the Thillana was breathtaking.
After the intermission, ASIA presented Ramayana as a ballet lasting one hour. This was directed and produced by Lakshmi Ganeson and Sri Karaikudi Krishnamoorthy. There were 24 participants, almost all of them children born and educated in the U.K. Our children growing up in the comparative comfort of the West, were able to lenda helping hand to the children of the less fortunate. The ballet ran uninterrupted with twelve scenes. The musical accompaniment was primarily an instrumental one, interspersed with short verses in suitable ragas. The selection of ragas was again outstanding.
The quality of the expressive aspects of dance in some of the Scenes was exceptional. Ramas enquiry regarding his father when Bharatha meets him in the forest and in conveying the news of the death of their father and the resulting shock and grief (all done in mime), was moving. Even the little ones contributed significantly. A criticism of the show was that there were too many speeches, however, as we left the hall, thoughts were very positive - it had been a performance of unequaled excellence for a very worthy cause.
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