கவனிக்க: இந்த மின்னூலைத் தனிப்பட்ட வாசிப்பு, உசாத்துணைத் தேவைகளுக்கு மட்டுமே பயன்படுத்தலாம். வேறு பயன்பாடுகளுக்கு ஆசிரியரின்/பதிப்புரிமையாளரின் அனுமதி பெறப்பட வேண்டும்.
இது கூகிள் எழுத்துணரியால் தானியக்கமாக உருவாக்கப்பட்ட கோப்பு. இந்த மின்னூல் மெய்ப்புப் பார்க்கப்படவில்லை.
இந்தப் படைப்பின் நூலகப் பக்கத்தினை பார்வையிட பின்வரும் இணைப்புக்குச் செல்லவும்: Tamil Times 1996.02

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WXW No.2 ISSN 26-48B FEE
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THE BOMB THAT ROCKED COLOMBO
 

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CONTENTS
NeWS Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
"We will take Jaffna Soon' —. Kalikaran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Draft Constitutional Provision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Devolution, the Bank Bomb & the Dilemma of Tamil Parties. . . . . . 13
The Exodus from Jaffna. . . . . . . 15
Devolution is the only way to Concord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Hawala Racket Unmasks Indian Politicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Opposition in a Quandary. . . . . . 23 Family Politics in Sub-Continent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Politics of Festivals. . . . . . . 26
letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The Bomb that R.
A truck packed driven by a suicideinto Sri Lanka's C on 31 January and sion set off a string left the commercia city devastated, a people dead and ov riously injured.
Though the Tam knowledge the b rocked Colombo's ( leaving many of t there was almost u: Was the work of th about six to cight past security city points in a "convoy hicles - a van, a thre cle taxi and a blue the marrow Janadh enue towards its ta According to ey the truck slowed do side the Central Ba ing busy time of ar hicle doors were o out spraying mach bank’s security gua pedestrians. The RPGs (rocket-prop top floors of the th plex and the 14-sto. the tallest building on the opposite side the driver of the blu Zeal, rammed his v bank and detonated plosives, producing that transformed morning into a tabl The ground andfi building were virtua most all the its win to Smithereens. Th eight feet deep and tral Bank collapsed forty of its emplo killed and several hl sheer force of the e that several facing On either side of t flames enveloping smoke. Lifts plum shafts and glass fron flew in all direction Were strewn in th buildings. Ragingfi ers from reaching th nage. People trappe
 
 
 
 
 

ocked Colombo
with explosives and bomber was rammed 2ntral Bank building the resulting exploof high-rise fires that l part of the capital t least one-hundred "er 1300 civilians se
il Tigers did not acomb attack which :ommercial heartland he buildings ablaze, niversal belief that it e LTTE. A group of men managed to get 's numerous check ' of mismatached vee-wheeled motorcyIsuzu truck - down ipathi Mawatha Avrget.” 'e-witness accounts, wn as it drew alongnk during the mornound 11 am, the vepened, men jumped nine-gun fire at the rds and at random at attackers also fired alled grenades) at the "ee-tower bank conrey Ceylinco House, in Colombo located of the road. "Finally e truck, with suicidal ehicle in front of the ! some 200 kg of exa devastating blast a busy Wednesday eau of horror." rst floors of the Bank illy destroyed and aldows were shattered e blast left a crater the front of the Ceninto the street. Over yees were instantly undreds injured. The kplosion was so vast buildings and those he Bank burst into the area in thick limeted down their mshattered windows ls. Dozens of bodies e street and inside res prevented rescule victims of the car'd on top of burning
buildings cried for help. Helicoptershovered over rooftops and tried to get low enough to pick up survivors.
This is by no means the first bomb attack in the island's capital city. However the significance of this suicide-bomb attack is that it occurred in an area near the Bank of Ceylon and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the government's controlling bank, the Ceylinco House which houses over 55 Colombo's companies eight of which are listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, a few hundred yards from Presidential Secretariat and official residence, the building housing the Foreign Ministry, the Naval Headquarters and other important government and commercial buildings including the 39-storey twin-tower World Trade Centre and several five-star tourist hotels.
The attack on the country's Central Bank and other commercial and financial institutions in the capital is seen by observers as a direct blow to the island's economy both in the short and longer terms. It is felt that potential foreign investors are likely to shy away. They also expect the government's privatisation programme, which was expected to bring in money into the national excheq uer to meet the huge budget deficit of nearly two million US dollars mainly caused by military expenditure, to be delayed if not disrupted. However, according to the World Bank, long term foreign investment in Sri Lanka will not suffer. An official of the World Bank's South Asia Desk is reported to have said that foreign investors who have been looking at Sri Lanka for a long time are aware of the problems, adding that it is unlikely for the incident to influence their decisions fundamentally. But, observers feel that such an optimistic assessment can be upset by the scale and frequency of any further damaging similar attacks by the Tigers.
A whole luxury hotel, Hotel Intercontinental, located not far from the targeted Central Bank, was evacuated symbolising the probable impact on the tourist industry on which the island relies for its foreign currency earnings. Tourism is the third highest foreign exchange earner after garment exports and remittances from expatriates.
The bomb attack in Colombo's financial heartland has also brought the horror of war home to the island's affluent middle class and seriously polluted the atmosphere in which the government

Page 4
Amym JA
was seeking to progress its political solution to the conflict, analysts said despite the President's renewed assertion that her government would not be deflected from its efforts to find such a solution because of the bomb attack.
“This has suddenly made the war real for a whole different class of people," a Western diplomat said. "Suddenly, the people they play golf with are dead. Psychologically, this is horrific for the government."
"Absolutely everyone is wondering now what could be the next target," another diplomat said. Former air force chief, Harry Goonetileke said Colombo residents had largely escaped the 13-year war with LTTE. “Up to now they have been detached but this has hit everybody hard," he is reported to have said. "As a result attitudes are hardening. It's back to square one as far as the political process is concerned. Even
without this blast it would have been difficult to sell the peace package."
Reports indicate that the suicide bomber, the driver of the carrying the lethal explosives died instantly along with two of his associates. But according to police claims that two of the attackers who managed to escape from the scene were later captured and confessed to being Tamil Tigers. They claim that the suspects told investigators that the truck was loaded with rice and driven from the northern town of Vavuniya on January 30. Three attackers, identified as 24-year-old Sivasamy Dharma Rhuben, 26-year-old Subramaniam Vigneswaran, and the driver identified only as Raj, then loaded the truck with explosives in a northern part under the control of the Tigers. All three are reported to be from the northern rebel-held town of Kilinochchi.
They also said that they arrested the fourth accomplice in the attack in Vavuniya on 7 February as he tried to return to Kilinochchi.
Reacting the bomb attack, Sri Lankan Justice Minister G.L. Peiris said that the Tigers more worried about the impact of the government peace plan than the loss of their stronghold of Jaffna city which the army captured in December. “We also think that the successful implementation of the political proposals will be a far greater defeat for the LTTE than the fall of Jaffna. The LTTE will do everything in its power to frustrate the implementation of the political proposals."
Prof. Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu of the University of Colombo's Center for Policy Research and Analysis said the Tamil Tigers could not be ignored as the peace process debated. "The point that the LTTE keeps constantly making is that this conflict cannot be resolved without them playing a major part in its solu
tion. And, as far a devolution is conce the point that the g als have not been p they are key player is their way of boml on the agenda.”
The Central Ban operations on 6 Fet the bomb attack. ( began from two state-owned Bank ple’s Bank head of Central Bank offici
Condemnation: the UN, Boutros B deplored the bom Lankan capital of many and injured m ment released by h was "dismayed by t ing from Wednesda Colombo." "He dep civilians and stresse early negotiated pol conflict in Sri Lal to inflict great suff the country,” the sta The Internationa Red Cross (ICRC) c attack in the island ous violation of inte ian law.” The ICRC operating across th said the blast's victi who happened to be cial district at the til egation in Colomb patched emergency the city's hospitals. Lanka Red Cross S ance to people trapp ing buildings, helpe to hospital and inf families,” it said.
“The ICRC cond attack on civilians, violation of the rul humanitarian law. these rules, so tha longer be targeted ICRC statementado The European Ui demned' the bomb "There is no justifi such areas, moreove ily populated by civ in a statement.
The statement ian foreign ministry six-month EU presi supported “a negotia ment of the ethnic cc It added that proposa government for cor "constitute a sound
solution to this tra Attack - How an the fall of the LTTEC

a·gas -
s the legal draft on ned, they have made vernment's proposesented to them and ... So, in a sense, this ing themselves back
c resumed currency ruary, six days after urrency operations locations at the of Ceylon and Peoices, according to a al. Secretary-General of utros-Ghali said he b blast in the Sri olombo that killed any more. In a stateis office, he said he he loss of life resulty's bomb incident in lores acts that target s the need to find an itical solution to the hka which continues ering and losses on itement said.
Committee of the Ondemned the bomb 's capital as a “serinational humanitar, which is actively e strife-torn island ms were all civilians > in the city's finanme. “The CRC delo immediately disfirst-aid supplies to Volunteers of the Sri ociety gave assistyed inside the burnd take the wounded ormed the victims'
mns this deliberate which is a serious es of international t urges respect for t civilians will no by such acts," the led.
ion “strongly conattack in Colombo. :ation for targeting as they were heavlians,” the EU said
, issued by the Italas Italy holds the dency, said the EU ted peaceful settlenflict in Sri Lanka.” ls by the Sri Lankan stitutional reforms pasis for a peaceful gic conflict.”
by Whom: After ontrolled Jaffna city
to the Sri Lankan troops who raised the island's national "lion flag” in symbolising their victory over the Tigers who swore to avenge their defeat, some time around New Year's Day, Sivasamy Dharma Rhuben, aged 24, Subramaniam Vigneswaran, aged 26, and another person identified only as Raj, all allegedly belonging to the fierce and suicidal Black Tigers section of the LTTE, crossed into government-held territory near the town of Vavuniya, posing as refugees.
Each travelled separately, making a trip that hundreds of Tamils had already made, fleeing Jaffna as the army approached. Each stayed in Vavuniya at least three days, the time it takes to register refugees, before heading towards Colombo. Rhuben arrived in the capital January 3 and took a room at the Fathima Lodge in the capital. Vigneswaran arrived the next day, staying with a Tamil family for six days before moving to another hotel near the Fathima Lodge. It is unclear when Rajarrived, or where he stayed. The men faded into Tamil neighbourhoods, and their movements for the next four weeks are not known.
On Monday 29 January, two othermen at the Vavuniya camp loaded a bluepainted truck with 75 bags of rice hulls and began the journey to Colombo. The driver identified himself to soldiers at a checkpoint as Navaratnam. In Colombo, Navaratnam turned over the vehicle which had arrived on 30 January to a member of the Black Tiger squad and headed back towards the north.
Later on the same day, the truck pulled up at a warehouse in the northern part of the capital, and some of the bags of rice were unloaded. The truck was parked there overnight. On 31st Wednesday morning, Rhuben, Vigneswaran and Raj assembled to begin the final stages of their mission. Raj took the wheel of the truck, which was now loaded with some 440 pounds of explosives. The other two sat beside him, wearing jackets filled with explosives. They also carried a slip of paper, written in English, Sinhalese and Tamil. It read: "This vehicle is carrying 4,000 kilograms of explosives. If you try to stop us, we will blow it up."
At 10:50 a.m., they drove onto President's Street, a mile and a half from the warehouse. Rhuben and Vigneswaran leaped from the cab of the vehicle, firing a rocket-propelled grenade and automatic weapons, apparently in an attempt to distract the guards at the Central Bank. Rajrammed the truck into the bank building and triggered the explosives. The roar from the explosion was heard 10 miles away. Raj was vaporized.
After the blast, Rhuben and

Page 5
Vigneswaran commandeered a motor-scooter taxi and fled to a bakery a mile away. They went inside to change their clothes, but they had been followed by civilians, who grabbed them and turned them over to the police.
On Thursday 1 February, soldiers at a checkpoint in Vavuniya arrested a man whom investigators believe was Navaratnam, the man who brought the truck to Colombo. More than 25 persons, including one who accepted money for the truck's parking space, have been taken into custody and are being interrogated by the police.
Army Accused of Massacre
. At least 24 innocent Tamil civilians were killed and 30 more were injured in the eastern Trincomalee district on 12 February when troops went on a retaliatory rampage following an attack by the Tigers an hour earlier on an army post in which two soldiers were killed. The massacre occurred in the small village of Kumarapuram near Kiliveddi. The government has ordered an investigation into the massacre and according to reports, some soldiers including officers have already been taken into custody.
"At present, police investigations are in progress and eye-witness accounts suggest the possibility of military personnelbeing involved. Some military personnel who have been suspected of involvement have already been placed under military custody," said a statement by the Defense ministry, dated on 14 February,
Members of Parliament from the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and human rights groups who visited the area following the incident, after speaking to witnesses, including the injured people who were taken to the Muthur and Trincomalee hospitals, said that there was no doubt that the massacre was carried out by the army.
The dead included 13 children, six women including a pregnant one and five men. The children included a 3-yearold, a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old. According a report by Amnesty International, one of the young girls, only 15 years old, was raped before being killed by troops.
When news of the massacre spread, military spokesmen first denied the incident and subsequently changing their stance by falsely alleging that the massacre had been carried out by "an unknown group of armed persons."
Mr.A.Thangathurai, TULF MP for the area, who visited the village and spoke to survivors, in a letter addressed to President Kumaratunga called for a independent commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to carry out an in
vestigation into th ter the MP said tha lative evidence pro satisfied that this nocent civilians b such action by arm taken place withou officer or officers i or camps in the art The University Rights (Jaffna) - U" the military of an a preventing the w taken to hospital u on the direction o Brigadieranda poli way to the area fro. UTHR(J) in a com the incident added," from which hardly a the LTTE. There is I of the army. Some said that they must II tion of the LTTE or rather than being ki this manner.'
Amnesty Internat natory statement s should be reminded opposition (enemy). can never provide ju ernment forces to d fenceless people."
In an unusually st torial, the "Sunday Is ary said that "a unito accused of the Kilive vilians which occu night. Men, women been brutally killed national has even m one woman had bee cusations have been ni ticians who have be wards the PA govern "The government h ior army officer to c This incident calls fo of the government's transparency. The ma wide publicity in th dia and no one should to cover up the inci guilty of this massa verest of penalties.”
Devolution Propo.
The legal text of t posals in the form c amendments to Sri L purporting to give ef package announced to solve the ethnic nounced to the publi
The government's been placed before : mentary Select Comr cussion and approv

wif a محر
massacre. ln his letIn the face of cumulced, she should be s a massacre of inthe army, and that men could not have he knowledge of the charge of the camp
:achers for Human HR(J) - has accused empted coverup by inded from being til they heard that, the government, a e DIG were on their Trincomalee. The rehensive report of Cilivetti was an area y people hadjoined ow absolute distrust illagers have even ow seek the protecaven join the LTTE led by the army in
onal in a condemaid that "soldiers that killings by the
however heinous, stification for goveliberately kill de
rongly worded ediland” of 18 Februf the army has been ddi massacre of ciirred last Sunday and children have nd Amnesty Interide the charge that raped. These achade by TULF poliin sympathetic toment, as appointed a senInduct the inquiry. the demonstration lection pledge for sacre has received international memake any attempt ent. Those found e deserve the se
als
e devolution proaft constitutional ka's Constitution ct to the political August last year onflict was anon 17 January.
posals have now all-party Parliatee(PSC) for disOnce the PSC
approves them, they will have to be approved by Parliament with a two-thirds majority. The ruling Peoples Alliance coalition does not possess that majority, and therefore has to rely on the opposition United National Party (UNP) and other minority Tamil parties to obtain the required majority.
In the event of Parliament approving the proposals with the majority needed, thereafter they will have to be accepted at a referendum of the people because they involve substantial constitutional changes.
The draft describes Sri Lanka as plural society and an indissoluble union of regions thus rejecting separatism as an option. The President will have power to dissolve any regional council promoting armed rebellion or poses danger to the unity and sovereignty of the country. It lays down the extent of devolution to the regional councils, but is silent on the question of the unit of devolution.
The proposals face stiff opposition from extremist Sinhalese sections which have already mounted a campaign to oppose them. On the other hand even the Tamil parties in parliament, which generally tend to support the PA government, and especially its efforts to seek a negotiated solution, have expressed reservations about some aspects of the proposals which they say constitute a dilution of the original proposals published in August last year. A joint statement by TELO, PLOTE, EPRLFand EROSsaid that the proposed constitutional changes fell far short of accommodating the aspirations of the Tamil speaking people within the framework of a united country, They said that the fundamental question of ensuring a unified north-east re
gion as one unit of devolution mains
unanswered.
The opposition United National Party (UNP) has not come out either in favour or against the government's devolution proposals. The government has already approached the UNP seeking support for the proposals, and Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L.Peiris has had discussions with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe. The UNPleader's dilemma is that he does not want his party to incur the wrath of extremist Sinhala sections by openly lending support to the government's proposal, and at the same time he does not want to alienate the Tamil vote and their political parties whose support he may need in the future to regain power.
Some Tamil parties have also approached the UNP urging it to consider the proposals in a non-party political basis and extend support to them in parliament. After having discussions with the leadership of the UNP, some leaders of Tamil parties said that the UNP had

Page 6
promised to look into the question as a national and apolitical issue.
It is the deprivation of certain rights of Tamil people that had created the atmosphere of dissension and unrest among the people of the North which re
sulted in the armed uprising. Unless a
political solution is arrived at realising that this group of people had real grievances the var going on in the country from 1983 cannot be isolated from the people of the North. Even if the Government defeats the Tigers militarily te agitation for status as equal citizens will go on unless the Government is able to offer a viable and just political solution to the problem, President Chandrika Bandaranaika said yesterday.
The President was addressing the Maha Sangha at a convention of the Samastha Lanka Pavidi Sanvidhanaya (National Organisation of Buddhist Clergy) held at the BMICH.
The President said that some of the problems of the Tamil people were real though making Sinhala the official language by late S W R D Bandaranaike was not aimed at discriminating against the Tamil people but only a recognition of the language of the majority of people in the country who had been isolated by the colonial rulers for nearly one and a half centuries. The late Mr Bandaranaike also formulated legislation for the reasonable use of Tamil. But, it appeared that the practical problems of the people addressed by the Reasonable Use of Tamil Bill have been allowed to fall by the wayside during the last several years. A Tamil citizen could write to the Government in his or her own language and the Government should reply to the letter in the language of that citizen. This did not happen and for the last many years there were no Tamil translators or officers appointed by the Government.
Continuing the President said that she was aware that the majority community Sinhala citizens, were mostly Buddhist and as a Buddhist herself she was totally opposed to any form of discrimination against people on the grounds of their ethnic identity. The people who had voted for the People's Alliance Government in the last elections had given a mandate for a political solution. Therefore the Government will seek a political solution aimed at resolving the conflict.
The President also said that it was the common people at this country who sent their children to the war and faced the loss of young members of their families at the front. But, there were other people who lived inivory towers in Colombo who had started expressing extremist views opposing the solution proposed by the Government. While these people seemed to have made it a profession to
fish in troubled wat Were not at the war. take part in the war fered most were the p underprivileged peop was the duty of the C a viable solution to til Government was
Maha Sangha who h litical proposals of th made recommendati
Truck Bomb Fou.
Twelve days after t bomb attack on the adjoining buildings, with over 200kg of h cealed in the vehicle February in a Buddhi in Kotahena in Co monks often allow S vehicles on the groun small donation.
“The truck had be more than 20 days. cious and reported it D.M.Dissanayake, a General of Police. T Sama Viharaya (Peac temple under surve those who parked the turn, the army bomb ( called in.
Heavily armed poli cordoned off the area dential in Colombo n squad found 12 meta plosives concealed . that made up two-thi Five metal cases wer bearings that could shrapnel following an plosives were so pac necting wires had to dashboard to activate The police subsequ thirteen persons, incl the truck packed witl parked in the temple arrested. The driv Balakumaran was arı when he was attem getaway to Kilinochc of the truck is report truck owner's wife w Vavuniya where she
was residing, polic ers, including have Sidhadaran, the broke rangements for the ve at the temple premise Following the disco laden vehicles in Colc intensified checks on ing taken from the Tig of the island to the si cases many of them back. In a statement

ers their children The elite did not und those who sufOorest and the most le of the country. It overnment to find he problem and the grateful to the ad studied the poe Government and
DS.
nd
he LTTE's massive Central Bank and police found a truck gh explosives con:’s fuel tank on 12 st temple complex lombo. Buddhist ri Lankans to park lds of temples for a
en parked there for
A monk got suspi
to the police,” said Deputy Inspector he police kept the e Pagoda) Buddhist illance, but when vehicle did notredisposal squad was
cemen and soldiers in Kotahena, a resiorth, and the bomb l cases of high exin a compartment 'ds of the fuel tank. e packed with ball have scattered like explosion. The exked that only conbe fixed onto the : the explosives. lently claimed that uding the driver of h explosives found premises had been er identified as rested at Vavuniya pting to make his hi where the owner edly residing. The as also arrested at
e said. Eleven othalso been arrested :r who made the ar2hicle to be parked
S. very of explosivesmbo, the army has large vehicles beer-controlled north outh, and in many have been turned datelined 14 Feb
ruary, the London headquarters of the LTTE said that Tamils lorries from the North that wanted to go south to bring essential food items and other consumer goods have been detained for the second day at the Thandikullam checkpoint and have now finally been turned back by the Sri Lankan armed forces.
Weapons Find in Temple
Sri Lankan police, on 19 February said they had found a cache weapons hidden within the precincts of Buddhist temple at Narahenpita in the capital Colombo. They found the arms comprising 16 handgrenades and two rocket-propelled grenades in a room at a Buddhist temple at Narahenpita, about six km (four miles) from the city centre on 18 February following information from a Tamil civil servant who was arrested 10 days earlier. The weapons were found in the temple room that the suspect rented when he was in Colombo, police said.
"He had been residing at the temple whenever he was in the city for the past 10 years,” one officer said. Police identified the suspect as 56-year-old Dharmalingam Ramalingam, who works as an assistant labour commissioner.
Police said they believed the weapons belonged to the LTTE with which the suspect has had many years of close connection.
The CID took three of the temple's monks, who belong to the majority Sinhalese community, into custody, including its chief incumbent. It is the first time Buddhist monks have been taken into custody in connection withhousing suspected rebels or rebel arms, the of ficer said, adding "We're not concerned whether they are Buddhist or Hindu or Catholic. Weapons have been found inside a temple and it is our duty to question the temple's occupants whatever their standing in the community.”
Water Panic
Already tense after a Bank bomb, attack thousands of Colombo residents panicked (6 February)in response to wild rumours that the Tigers had poisoned the capital's water supply. Worried residents jammed the telephone exchange and hundreds of people rushed to police stations demanding information. State
radio and a private 24-hour news station broadcast announcements denying the reports.
"This is totally false. We continuously monitor the city's water supply and have not found any pollutants,” said Sujeewa Bandara, an officerin charge of the water pumping station which supplies 80 percent of Colombo's water.

Page 7
LTTE Arms Ship Sunk
A ship allegedly carrying arms and explosives to the LTTE and five other small craft belong to the Sea Tiger wing of the LTTE by Sri Lankan airforce planes and navy gunboats on Wednesday 14 February off the northeastern coast of the island, military officials said.
"The navy got intelligence about the arms ship on Tuesday. We detected the ship this morning and asked her to surrender but the Tigers refused,” a military official told the press. Navy boats opened fire while air force planes bombed the vessel off Mullaitivu, 290 km (180 miles) northeast of Colombo, he added.
A military statement said the Tigers fired at navy boats and air force aircraft keeping the vessel under surveillance. “At this point it was noted that a few small boats approached the ship and some cargo was offloaded from the ship into the boats,' it said.
"The navy and the air force took action to destroy this ship after giving due warning. A secondary explosion was also observed during this action." Military officials said they believed explosives on board the vessel had blown up. The Sea Tigers boats which approached the battle Zone, 12 miles offshore, fired at and hit a Pucara ground attack aircraft but did not cause serious damage, the official said.
The air force and navy had stepped up surveillance after an airforce plane and fishermen reported seeing a ship surrounded by small craft off the southeastern Yala wildlife sanctuary on Saturday, 10 February.
Admitting that one of their ships had been sunk, Tamil Tigers in a statement from their London-based international secretariat said three of the crew died when their vessel was attacked. It also claimed that the Indian navy also joined the Sri Lankan forces in attacking the Tiger ship.
The LTTE statement said, “Yesterday (1402 1996) early morning at 1 AM, Indian Naval ships and Sri Lankan Naval ships jointly attacked an LTTE ship that was sailing towards the Sri Lankan Naval port of Trincomalee along with Sea Tiger boats. This confrontation took place at the deep sea about 10KM away from the Eastern coast line. The LTTE flotilla was on their way to launch attacks on Sri Lankan Naval vessels that were berthed within the naval port.
"The two Indian Naval ships that arrived on the scene played an important role in the attack on the LTTE flotilla in which the LTTE ship was destroyed. Three LTTE Sea Tigers were martyred in the attack.'
However the LTTE's accusation of
Indian naval partic denied by the Sri the Foreign Minist the Indian High ( lombo.
Though there is
as to from where th authorities in Colo illfated Liberiar named Commes-Jo consignment of we set sail from Phuket Interpol and other forcement agencie Lanka to the ship's destination.
Schools Closed
The Sri Lankan February announce sure of all school lowing the alleged ing 10,000 Sinhala Schools in ar have been heavily past few months an the schools have re After a bomb bla School 14 Februa miles north of Colo no damage, the go' take the action spec cern of parents isla Last year, all sc were closed indefin aminations were als wide after the attac installations on O schools were reope year and examina quently held. But fo 31 bomb blast whicl try's Central Bank i sequent discovery plosives, schools i lombo were heavily
Targeting the L.
The government ( called upon forei crack-down upon LTTE and its front
It has been the co Sri Lankan governn ised branches and fi the LTTE operating especially in west Canada and Austra ternational backbon in terms of propagar arms purchasing.
On 7 February, Minister, Lakshman the diplomatic repl countries on alleged as extortion, fundr illicit arms.

w r*\ Uy v ur n *s*
ipation was quickly Lankan government, y in New Delhi and ommission in Co
no reliable evidence e LTTE was sailing, nbo asserted that the |-registered vessel ux and containing a pons and explosives , Thailand. They said nternational law ens had tipped off Sri intended cargo and
government on 14 ed an indefinite clois in the country folLTTE threat of mak
mothers weep. ld around Colombo guarded during the ld roads surrounding mained closed. st at Newstead Girls ry in Negombo, 23 mbo though causing vernment decided to ially following conndwide. :hools in the country hitely and public exso postponed nationk on Colombo's oil !ctober 22. All the med on January 1 this tions were subseollowing the January n destroyed the counin Colombo and subof lorry loads of exn the capital of Co7 guarded.
TTE Abroad
of Sri Lanka recently gn governments to the activities of the organisations.
bnstant refrain of the ment that well organ'ont-organisations of in foreign countries, tern Europe, USA, lia have been the ine of the Tamil Tigers nda, fund-raising and
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Kadirgamar, briefed resentatives of these LTTE activities such aising and trading in
A press release issued by the Ministry said that member countries of the United Nations were obliged to cooperate in taking action against what it described as "international terrorism." According to the ministry, there were indications that front organizations of the LTTE in some European countries had been involved in activities supportive of terrorism in Sri Lanka. It alleged that the LTTE was seeking to undermine the government's efforts to find a political solution to the ethnic problem through negotiations.
In the meantime, the LTTE in an official statement has strongly refuted the charge of the European Union's Envoy in South Asia that the LTTE was having links with the mafia and organised crime.
On 6 February, Francine Henrich, stressing the European Union's solidarity with Colombo's efforts to seek a political solution to the conflict in the island, said there were indications the Tigers were involved in drug-running in Europe. Henrich was speaking to reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. She said police forces in member states of the EU had LTTE cells under surveillance but gave no details of action taken against the
group.
In a letter dated 10 February, addressed to Mrs. Francine Henrich, Ambassador, European Union, the head of the political section of the LTTE, Mr.S.P..Tamilselvan, stated that her comment was “grossly misleading and highly slanderous.” It added, "Your suggestion that the LTTE is linked to the Mafia and by implication drug trafficking is grossly misleading and highly slanderous to our organisation. We are deeply shocked to note that a highly responsible diplomatic representative of your stature could make such allegations without concrete foundation. We wish to state categorically that we have no links with Mafia nor are we involved in drug trafficking. These false allegations levelled against us by the Sri Lankan government to tarnish the image of our organisation and to discredit the Tamil strugglefor self determination.
“We wish to impress upon you that the primary task of our branch offices in Europe is to seek sympathy and support for the struggle of our oppressed people who are faced with genocidal oppression by the Sri Lankan state. Contrary to the malicious disinformation campaign by the Sri Lankan government, our branch offices strictly abide by the laws of the countries where they operate and do not in any way act prejudicial to the interest of those countries.”

Page 8
leau- -
NO QUICKMILITARY ORPC FDXTO SOLVE CRISI
From Rita Sebastian
Colombo is still reeling under the shock of the devastating bomb explosion in the city's financial centre on 31 January. 86 bodies have so far been recovered and over 1,400 injured. But, the number whose remains lie under the uncleared debris is still not known.
The damage and destruction to some of the country's leading commercial establishments is expected to run into billions of enpees.
Two of the establishments, the Caro Boat Despatch and Carson Cumberbatch belonged to two prominent Tamil families in Colombo.
One of the most heartening consequences of the blast was the extensive response of the public. The mile-long queue at the Blood Bank and traffic jams that elicited neither irritation nor impatience, was indicative of the public mood. It was a tradegy that united people.
The Opposition United National Party (UNP) was however, bitterly critical of the security arrangements in the city. Their argument was that the Government
should have realised that following the
capture of Jaffna last December by troops of operation "Riviresa", Colombo would be one of the LTTE's prime targets.
The blast has inflicted a terrible blow on the country's economy. A growth rate of 6% predicted for 1996 has now been revised to 4% and some pessimistic economists have put it at even 34%.
Sri-Lanka cannot endure for long such severe setbacks in the midst of escalating military costs. The very economic and social fabric of society seems to be falling apart, and people seem gripped by a terrible fear psychosis.
The Hotel Galadari at the periphery of the explosion had quite a number of its 500 rooms disfunctional. And, the Ceylon intercontinental which is just a few yards away from the Central Bank, the prime target, has had to close down temporarily. The tourist industry already registering a decline has been dealt a further blow. Although the opposition complained of security lapses the police pointed out how difficult it is to check every person and every vehicle in a city of a million people, with another million travelling into the city every day.
Some radical solutions are however being proposed. One among them being that all vehicular traffic to the Fort be prohibited and people either walk or cycle. For it is very clear that the city would continue to be a target whatever security measures are taken.
The bomb explo President Chandrik going ahead with t litical initiative. It strengthened herre: lution package thro UNPhowever rema Even if the devic passed by Parliame tionwide referendu lihood of their bein; ground, given the op Some members ( it a futile exercise il be implemented, a question why the Gc the nation through longed public debat The UNP does no Tamils and the Mus been historically d therefore be happy shot down by the parties or other har the Sinhalese.
Sri-Lanka is once crisis. There is cle or political fix,
Karikalan defies guerrilla leader in fierce nor threateni. manin his early forti a dusky complexiol manner with an ev looks you directly i telling evidence of are his two body-g cocked and ready. automatic in his wa
In an interview Leader, the first of i cal national newspa V Prabha karan’s de Political Wing Karik ture Jaffna and saic not lay down arms a forces remain insic until the full aspirati ple are met. The fol of the interview:
Sunday Leader: position in the East'
Karikalan: We h
 

)LITICAL S
ion has not deterred a Kumaratunga from ne Government's pohas on the other hand iolve to see the devough Parliament. The ins ambivalent.
lution proposals are int and later at a nam, there is little likeg implemented on the position of the LTTE. if the opposition feel the proposals cannot nd therefore ask the vernment should drag a traumatic and pro
●。 it want to alienate the lims on whom it has ependent and would
if the proposals are more militant Tamil dline factions among
again in the midst of urly no quick military
The Government however is looking to the international community to help in curbing the activities of the LTTE in the western capitals, from where most of its funding comes.
In her policy statement at the openin of Parliament on 9 February President Kumaratunga, in her usual forthright way, called on the international community "to take action against the LTTE and its front organisations wherever they maintain offices, collect funds and engage in acts including trade in illicit arms and persons, drug trafficking and carry out their propaganda war against the Government.”
What the President was in fact saying, was that condemnation of the LTTE is not enough, but that the international community show some tangible manifestation of that condemnation.
"We do not make it as a request from a friendly country but as members of the United Nations, seeking the fulfilment of our obligations to co-operate in taking collective action against the perpetrators of terrorism, in terms of international norms and obligations' the President said.
Most of these countries unfortunately have no real interest in Sri Lanka as they did in the Middle-East, former Yugoslavia or Northern Ireland to facilitate a
peace process.
Sri Lanka is ultimately left to cope with her own problems with more and more people disillusioned of an early resolution of the on-going conflict.
public opinion of a hat he looks neither ng. A medium built es or late thirties with l, he affects a placid er ready smile. He n the eye. The only his being a militant uards sporting rifles Karikalan too has an ist.
with The Sunday ts kind given to a loper, the LTTE leader puty and head of the alan vowed to recapthat the LTTE will s long as the military e the peninsula and ons of the Tamil peolowing is the full text
What is your current
ave recaptured large
areas of Batticaloa from the government forces. We undertook two major offensives in Tharavai and Kattumurivu, Kattumurivu was very difficult since there were 300 Special Force commandos, an elite trained group. We managed to dismantle them and confiscate most of their arms and ammunition. We control 80% landmass of Batticaloa but only 20% is in military hands.
SL: Why did you fail in Operation Riviresa?
K: We are a guerrilla group of minority Tamils and the government military strength is 50,000. They were engaged in artillery shell attack followed by aerial cover with scant regard to civilians. At least 500 civilians died in the operation. It would not have been difficult for us to counter them with the same tactics. But, we knew our strength and we did not have enough cadres to fight them head-on. We decided to save our cadres and retreat rather than lose them. We also did not want to inflict casualties on the civilians. Therefore it was necessary to retreat

Page 9
- Ynw. • w_r u• • = \p-~ ar Ogwr -
rather than cause civilian mishaps.
SL: Could you say that none of the civilians suffered because of your offensive against the military
K: As far as we know, we took precautions to avoid civilian casualties.
SL: How come you managed to thwart Operation Leap Forward?
K: Then we were stationed around all the military camps. This time we wanted to allow the forces to converge into Jaffna and then launch our attack. Still we have not given up. Now the time is almost ready for re-capturing Jaffna since there are no civilians. We don't have to worry about civilian casualties.
SL: What was your loss in manpower during Operation Riviresa?
K: We lost less than 500 cadres.
SL: Are you confident that you will re-capture Jaffna?
K: Now Jaffna is easier to re-take. We are not allowing any civilians to return until we do so.
SL: Did you shoot down the M1-17 helicopter last week?
K: Yes, we did. The chopper was retrning from Palaly to Vettilaikerni when we shot at it and we have claimed responsibility.
SL: How many aircraft have you shot down and have you claimed responsibility for them?
K: (Declining to give the numbers) The ones we brought down we have claimed responsibility for.
SIL: Batticaoloaresidents complain that you place bombs in town with scant regard to civilian casualties. They say that in Puthukudiyiruppu you attacked a bus in which the armed forces were travelling in along the civilians. What have you go to say?
K: That is not true. We never place random bombs in town. Regarding the bus incident we first shot at the tyres and the army was the first to fleet. We shot at them. We never injured civilians. Then we sent out own suicide bombers - never civilians - to attack sentry posts and army targets. But, we always make sure civilians are safe.
SL: Are you responsible for Tuesday's discovery of two bombs in a bullock cart outside Eastern University in Vantharumulai?
K: We certainly did not place them. This could very well be the work of other former militant groups or the forces. This is mainly to discredit us and veer public support away from us.
SL: Have you received the President's legal draft of the devolution package?
(The Sunday Leader copy of the legal draf ily dismissed).
K: No, the Governi to us nor are we inte expect her to send it. Prime Minister she sc to make her President to address Tamil griev that we are the sole Tamils. In pre-electi the Presidential electi am a widow and Bal widows. I know their the Prime Minister at jurisdiction over the support me in the con fulfill all your legitim She became Preside ing to military tune (Dissanayake) said sh fire in playing the mi
SIL: Do you think genuinely interested i issue?
K: The Governmen the LTTE is essential be a solution to the et
Since the LTTE is don't believe Chandr bringing a solution to has the full backing O ing this and India c Sri Lanka if the ethnic also had a forward-th Tamils' sake and we her.
SIL: Then why die breakdown of the tru both parties on 19 Ap
K: We asked Chand But, she agreed to a c ties. We too agreed. she must notably sett tal problems affecting the opening of Poona free passage to the civi nomic embargo and a to carry arms in the E
The North-East Re Pupils Federation (N formed on 15 January sentatives of past pu schools in the north-ea eration conducts meet ways and means of he dents of schools in the their education with m
The objectives of th work for the betterme schools, to foster fratei dents, to work for the ( tion in the region, to as
 

ffered Karikalan a which he summar
ment did not send it ested. We did not When she became ught LTTE support through promising nces andconceded representatives of on speeches before ons, she told us, “I ticaloa has 10,000 feelings. I am only ld hence I have no orces. But, if you ing elections I will ate demands.' nt and she is danc:s. Even Gamini e was playing with itary tune.
the Government is solving the ethnic
t is fully aware that if the:e is going to hnic issue.
not consulted we tka is interested in this problem. She f India in prolongannot manipulate issue is solved. We linking agenda for completely trusted
i you initiate the ce agreed upon by fil? rika for a ceasefire. essation of hostiliWe reiterate that e three fundamenthe Tamils; namely hari Causeway for lians, lifting of ecollowing our cadres ast to protect them
from armed forces and other Tamil armed groups.
Unlike Chandrika, our leader Prabhakaran always keeps his word. We always listen to him and obey his orders without question.
When we asked for the day-to-day Tamil grievances to be rectified, she talked of rehabilitation which is a long-term goal. Ostensibly two generators were sent to Jaffna but no cables or wires to set them up. This showed the government's mala-fide intentions. They were not genuine.
SL: If the devolution package was given to your through a mediator, are you prepared to study it?
K: No, The government should talk to us directly. We will not discuss this package and we do not know what it contains. Chandrika has talked to all Tamil political parties and ignored us. Earlier they said we are the sole Tamil representatives.
SL: Are you prepared to join hands with other Tamil political parties?
K: No. We have a genuine ideal. If they want to join the LTTE on our terms they are welcome. But, these political parties are sucking up to the Government. They are picking up the bones falling from her table. But, EROS has joined the LTTE and fighting with us. The others too can follow suit.
SL: Are you at least prepared to scrutinise the proposals?
K: Why should we? As I said earlier, first they must remove the military from Jaffna. Then they have to directly offer us the proposals for study. Even this has to be conducted through a foreign mediary acceptable to both the Government and the LTTE. They cannot hold us captive and force the proposals on us. We will not have this. First they have to create the right atmosphere. Then we may consider it.
Courtesy: Sunday Leader, 28.1.96).
lombo Schools Urged
dmit Displaced Pupils
gion Schools Past IERESPAPF) was 1995, by the repreils associations of st region. The fedings to discuss the ping displaced sturegion to continue unimal interruption. is federation are to ht of the north-east nity among the stuontinuity of educasist students to take
up public examinations and to rase funds to support the Government and the NGO's. The NERESPAPF says that the recent violent confrontations have accelerated the gradually declining standard of education in Jaffna. Recent information on students has revealed that of 200,000 students in the area, 108,000 are displaced. The federation believes that if the problem of shelter for the displaced people is settled, children will be able to attend school regularly in most areas.
The federation says, "Government as
(Continued on next page)

Page 10
Amic-times
he devolution proposals of the Government were published on January 16 in the form of Draft Constitutional Provisions. There are some significant changes from the original draft proposals announced on August 3, 1995. Some Tamil groups have already expressed reservations on the amendments. From the Sinhalese side, those sections which opposed the original proposals have commenced a campaign to oppose the government's devolution proposals.
The proposals will not satisfy both the Sinhalese and the Tamils who want to stick to their extreme positions. These
C (1) According to the Sinhala oppositionists, the central government should retain controlling powers over all the regions in all major spheres - law and order, economy, state land, socioeconomic development, territorial waters, education, social and economic infrastructures, and colonisation. Any redemarcation of regions and devolution of powers on ethnic basis are construed as aiding the eventual separation of the country, and
(2) The Tamil oppositionists say that the centre should devolve powers extensively to a merged North-East region to enable the people there to live in safety and security in what they regard as their
(Continued from page 9)
ning the hearts and minds of the Tamils, especially the people of Jaffna, cannot be justified in their own conscience or elsewhere if the basic needs and the Tamil man's most valued education are not adequately looked after during the period prior to the eventual return of displaced persons to their respective homes".
The NERESPAPF requests the Government to temporarily take in the displaced children into schools in Colombo and maintain a separate register until schools in the north begin to function regularly. They say this can be done as it had been arranged earlier.The federation considers conducting examinations in another area that needs urgent attention. They say, according to their observations several University and other examinations conducted in the North are in the process of being expedited.
"The problem of children's education is closely connected to the resolution of the ethnic problem and termination of violent confrontation,' the NERESPAPF said.
traditional homelanc cial, economic and C1 according to their as the dictates of a ce which under a cen structure wil be obl welfare of the major expense of the mino The LTTE rejected cal proposals, and the the government's lat posals will receive ance. It is engaged i for the creation of Eelam in the Nort) means of solving the the other hand, the position as represen Arakshaka Sanvitha ognise the existence lem in the island, a principle of "One C and One Nation'.
The basic premise approach is a recog ence of an ethnic pro accumulated Tamil have not been reso) governments and the als are a means of ac lem. Implicit in the jection of the notion state as a means ofs However, they fallir of opinion within sul Sinhalese and Tami view that a substar tonomy accompanie stitutional guarante would be adequate t lem and render the ( rate state irrelevant fact, even the LTTE sions voiced the vie be prepared to cons package that satisfie The statement is: Sanga at the meeting held on January 2 amended devolution conciliatory than an pronouncements. I Maha Sanga, should thinking. The path of by the Lord Buddh path. In the present must conduct ourselv with a keen sense of r is a positive step sin ties depending on the
 

15 FEESHUAR Y ggb
and to promote soultural development pirations free from intral government, tralised governing iged to promote the ity Sinhalese at the rity Tamils. i the original politiare is little hope that est devolution prohe LTTE's accepth an armed struggle a separate state of h-east as the only ethnic congflict. On Sinhala extremist ited by the Sinhala naya does not rec: of an ethnic probnd is based on the ountry, One People
of the government's nition of the existblem resulting from grievances which lved by successive devolution proposldressing that probproposals is the reof a separate Tamil olving the problem. line with that body pstantial sections of ls which holds the tial degree of audby foolproof cones and safeguards o resolve the probdemand for a sepaand unnecessary. In has on many occa:w that they would sider an alternative dTamil aspirations. sued by the Maha of Buddhist monks 26 to discuss the proposals is more y of their previous t notes: "We, the not be extremist in deliverance taught a to us is a middle grave situation, we res thoughtfully and esponsibility". This ce the political par: popular support of
Sinhala Buddhists need not be compelled to reject the devolution proposals solely to be seen as following the instructions of the Buddhist prelates.
Underlying Principles
The Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs Prof. G.L.Peiris, has listed six principles on which the PA Government's solution to the ethnic problem is based. Briefly, these are:
(1) All communities to live in safety and security, with their human dignity valued and treated equally in public life; (2) All communities to have the space to express their distinctidentity and promote that identity, profess and practise their own religion, and nurture and promote their own culture and language, including the right to transact business with the State in the national language of their choice;
(3) All persons to be able to fully and effectively exercise all their human rights and fundamental freedoms without any distinction and in full equality before the law;
(4) Sinhala and Tamil to be the official languages with English as a link language;
(5) All communities to be able to participate fully in the life of the nation at the national, regional and local levels and thereby to be constructive partners in a stable and pluralistic democracy; and
(6) Ruling powers to be shared with the regions based on internally consistent and coherent value system under a constitutional arrangement which is unambiguous and capable of effective implementation with structures for the just and equitable resolution of centre-region disputes.
The first five principles are not specific to a decentralised system as these can underpin any constitution of a truly democratic multi-racial country. The sixth principle (which in the Minister's list is fifth) is the one that is specific to the system that is based on political devolution. The ambiguity here (probably it is intentional for political reasons) is striking and obviously a cause for concern to the Tamils. There is no reference to the aspirations of the Tamils, particularly with respect to the inalienable right to run their own lives in the contiguous areas of the North-East where they have been living as the majority community forcenturies. The phrase “internally consistent and coherent value system' can be interpreted in different ways.
Preamble to the Constitution
The underlying principles are impor

Page 11
15 reBRUARY 1996
tant to interpret and implement the various provisions in the constitution in good faith aimed at removing the causes that led to the Tamil revolt and ensuring lasting peace in Sri Lanka. In the light of past experiences with the biased interpretation and shortcomings in implementing the constitutional provisions, including the non-implementation of laws enacted under certain provisions, the need to mention the principles in unambiguous language in the preamble is imperative. Its importance is no less than the provisions themselves. The clauses, “Wherein peace and fraternity between all communities shall be secured and provision made enabling all communities to enjoy and nurture their distinct culture, practise and promote their own religion and promote their own language, thus preserving the rich cultural and ethnic diversity typifying a plural society” and "inspired by the vision of a nation where all communities can co-exist in safety, security and contentment” in the preamble of the legal draft, although laudable, are inadequate to meet the stated requirement. In particular, there is no reference to the protection of the independent rights of the minority communities whichthey are entitled to exercise under a devolved regime in the contiguous districts, where the resident population consists largely of Tamils or Muslims. Importantly, any forcible alteration of the ethnic composition of regions and their boundaries by the centre in defiance of the wishes of the regional councils as well as "ethnic cleansing" by the regional councils should be barred by the constitution.
A significant advantage of including such principles in the preamble is that the need to elaborate and to explain the intentions of critical terms used in the relevant provisions can be avoided. This need stems from the lack of trust between the communities and the suspicion arising therefrom that the interests of each community will be compromised or ignored later. In fact, if there is complete understanding and trust between the communities, there may not be a need for "a constitutional arrangement which is unambiguous” and capable of effective implementation according to the intended principles agreed initially by all the communities. This raises an important question as to whether the present time is right for discussing objectively the draft constitutional provisions relating to political devolution when the wounds inflicted by the bloody conflict are still fresh and deep. Despite the commitment to a political settlement, the Government has so far not taken any meaningful steps to win the confidence of the Tamil people. On the other hand, the LTTE and the Government by inten
sifying the war afte last peace talks hav climate needed for The absence of trus kind of criticism of posals coming fron moderates.
Some Observation
In the original pa that "One of the re. stituted by re-dem boundaries of the Province in full con to reconciling Sinh lim interests'. In t there is no specific tion of a North-Eas eral statement "The public shall cons names, boundaries set out in the First S As the First Schedu lished, it is unfair tc sion that a merged whatever form has not helpful to specu this omission at this of trust, it may be ( ing suspicious of s In fact if suspicion the examination o sented in the legal key word used can not the intention h tiny is best left to th regard to the unit unresolved issues a settled through neg
In the original p nor of a region cal President. This has so that the Presid Governor only on t cerned Regional C on which such an and the procedure elaborated. Hence, ment in that the Pre erally and without the Governor. Simi seen in the legal d Minister and the B particular, sub-par out when the Chie to have resigned.
Sub-paragraph shall be a Finance ing of - three mem three major comm by the President on of the Constitutio balanced represent able for the Constit The duties of the C spelt out in some d sub-paragraph 200 expected to take

TAMIL TIMES ın
the collapse of the 2 only poisoned the *ebuilding the trust.
is evident from the the devolution proeven the so-called
S
ckage, it was stated ions would be conrcating the existing present North-East Sultation with a view la, Tamil and Mushe revised package, eference to the creat region. But a gen: territory of the Rest of Regions, the und area of whichare chedule...' appears. le has notbeen pub»jump to the concluNorth-East region in been ruled out. It is late on the reason for stage. In the absence lifficult to avoid beuch a major change. is allowed to cloud f the proposals preform, almost every be objected. This is ere and such a scruelegal experts. With of devolution, such reprobably left to be otiatioms. roposals, the Goverbe removed by the been amended now ent can remove the he advice of the conouncil. The grounds advice can be given for this have been this is an improvesident cannot unilatvalid reasons remove lar improvements are aft relating to Chief oard of Ministers. In agraph 14(7)(b) sets f Minister is deemed
20(1) states "There Commission consistbers representing the unities......appointed the recommendation al Council.' Such a ation would be desirutional Council itself. ommission have been atail. For example, in 5) the Commission is into account (a) the
population of each Region; (b) the per: capita income of each Region; (c) the need, progressively, to reduce social and economic disparities; and (d) the need, progressively, to reduce the difference between the per capita income of each Region and the highest per capita income among the Regions in formulating principles for the allocation of funds to the different Regions from the annual budget of the Central Government and the sharing and/or assignment of revenue between the Centre and the Regions. While appreciating the good intentions that prompted setting out the guidelines for the Commission to make recommendations, which cannot be challenged even by any court or tribunal, some practical problems have been overlooked. First, there is no single definition of income and probably what is meant is the gross income generated by the economic activities within Regions. In this case, transfer incomes from outside will be excluded. Similarly, revenue can be defined in different ways e.g. current receipts only, current and capital receipts, total domestic revenue including loan repayments by regions etc. If foreign grants, development assistance and loans of Central Government are excluded, then the Finance Commission has no right to make recommendations regarding their allocation to the Regions. With regard to project aid, the selection of projects and their location will also be the prerogative of the Government. Second, reliable estimates of the various indicators that must be used by the Commission to perform the assigned duties as specified in the constitutional provision must be available annually. Under which provision will the statistics be made available promptly and does the constitution prohibit (Sub-paragraph 2008) any query about their reliability?
The control over State Land is a sensitive subject, and the devolution of powers relating to its utilization is an important aspect of the entire package. The control retained by the Government is in respect of those cases when the land is required for the purpose of a reserved subject. But according to sub-paragraph 24(3), the exercise of this right of use by the Government requires prior consultation with the relevant Regional administration. It is unclear in what form this consultation will take place and what will happen if the relevant Regional Council objects to the proposed use of the land by the Government. In this regard, the clause in this sub-paragraph viz. “...the Regional administration shall comply with such requirement', needs clarification. The same applies to the clause in sub-paragraph 24(2) viz. “....in accordance with applicable laws". Can the Regional Councils entitlement to

Page 12
12 AML. Trwico
exercise the rights in or over such land be restricted by any changes to the applicable laws?
Sub-paragraph 26(1) (which is not in the original package) states -"Where the President is of opinion that the security or public order in a Region is threatened by armed insurrection, or grave internal disturbances, or by any action or omission of the Regional administration which presents a clear and present danger to the unity and sovereignty of the Republic, he may make a proclamation bringing the provision of the law relating to Public Security into force in the Region.” The room for abusing this provision for reasons other than real threat to internal security and public order is evident from the stipulation "by any action or omission of the Regional Administration". The President's opinion here is sufficient to make the proclamation and to deploy the armed forces or any unit of the national police service in the region - sub-paragraph 26(2). Unless there is a separate Tamil regiment in the national army (President is reported to have agreed to such a formation earlier), the deployment of regiments consisting largely of Sinhalese soldiers in the North-East region is bound to be resented by the people there. It will be perceived as a deliberate hostile act against the people, especially when the claimed threat to the security and public order is not serious or real.
Sub-paragraphs 26(4)(a), (4)(b), (4)(c), (4)(d), (4)(e) and (4)(f) (not included in the original proposals) deal with the circumstances in which the President can dissolve a Regional Council by a Proclamation, which “shall not be questioned in any court and no Court shall inquire into or pronounce on, or in any manner call in question such Proclamation or the grounds for making thereof". The provision to refer the circumstance or circumstances that led to the Proclamation to a tribunal, constituted by the Centre and the concerned Regional Council acting in consultation with the Chief Ministers Conference, each appointing a member to the tribunal is not obligatory. Sub-paragraph 26(4)(d) states "the President may within fourteen days of his making a Proclamation ..... direct a tribunal constituted in the manner provided for in sub-paragraph (e) of this paragraph to inquire into and report upon such matters within a period of sixty days'. The next sentence too, implies that the President is not obliged to accept the finding of the tribunal even if it does not justify the Proclamation remaining in force. Although, under sub-paragraph 26(4)(c) every Proclamation made under the Article must be laid before Parliament and its approval obtained by a resolution
(simple majority is ir days from the date of this proviso may notb vent the power being n minority Tamils.
In respect of Fina Devolution Proposals gional Councils from wholesale and retail sales by manufactur taxes shall be levied ar Government of Sri La Turnover taxes on wh sales (item 35 in the List) are excluded in gional List. The collec assigned to the Regio cording to the “princi ment as may be form nance Commission” 27(5)(b). Excise duti scribed by the Finance be levied by the Go Lanka but collected within which such duti leviable" - sub-para Other taxes on sales or be levied and collecte ment - sub-paragraph tributed among the which tax is leviable the Finance Commis graph 27(6)(b). The p taxes and fees by the F are limited to: (i) Sp duties; (ii) Betting ta prize competitions an teries to be specified; ( licence fees ; (iv) Stam fer of immovable pro vehicles; (v) Fines in (vi) Court fees includ: documents produced ir revenue; (viii) Taxes ( and (ix) Fines in resp in the Regional List. sources of income fro cluded in the Reserve to 16, the funds receive ferent Regional Coul crucially on the criter these major revenues ernment and the Regi tween the Regions. As and inviolable distrib ceptable to all will be year after year, one there will not be any toms checks and recor ing regional borders taxation regime.
The responsibilities isters Conference are s graph 29(3). These it ment of any dispute between regions. The ment as indicated in su is through mediation The importance given

FEERUARY 1996
mplied) before 14 the Proclamation, e adequate to prehisused against the
nce, the revised prevent the Relevying taxes on sales (other than ers) and all such idcollected by the nka. Accordingly, olesale and retail
earlier Regional the revised Rected taxes shall be
ns in that year ac
ples of apportionulated by the Fi- sub-paragraph es as may be preCommission shall vernment of Sri “by the Regions es are respectively graph 27(4)(a). income shall also d by the Govern27(6)(a) - and disRegions within as prescribed by sion - sub-paralowers of levying egional Councils ecified (?) excise xes and taxes on ld such other lotiii) Motor vehicle p duties on transperties and motor posed by courts; ing stamp fees on courts, (vii) Land on mineral rights; ect of the matters
Since all major m taxation are in:d List - items 13 rdannuallyby difcils will depend a used to allocate between the Govons as well as besuming that a fair ution method acapplied faithfully advantage is that need to have cusds of goods crossunder a common
of the Chief Minet out in sub-paraclude the settlewhich may arise method of settleb-paragraph 29(4) and conciliation. :o rebuilding trust
and reconciliation can be appreciated here. The specified method, which although sensible requires for its efficacy willingness to understand others concerns and problems and to give and take. The provision does not specifically state that the settlement of any dispute requires unanimous approval of the Conference on the problem-solving formula. The Minister in his commentary on the devolution proposals mentions: "when questions of legality arise, involving interpretation of the Constitution the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court - the principal arbiter on matters relating to the Constitution- will necessarily supersede that of the tribunal set up” under sub-paragraphs 29(5), 29(6) and 29(7). First, the relevant paragraph is not explicit about unresolved disputes that should not be referred to the tribunal but
to the Supreme Court. Obviously, in such
cases even the Chief Ministers Conference cannot adjudicate. Second, the Minister observes - “If the interests ofeven handed treatment are to be fully served, the referral of such disputes to a judicial entity, whose independence is assured by the Constitution is preferable". The use of the word preferable suggests that disputes involving interpretation of the Constitution can also be resolved by a non-judicial body, which in this case is the Chief Ministers Conference itselfor the tribunal referred to earlier. Since under sub-paragraph 19(4)(c), the Regional Attorney-General is duty bound to invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of Statutes passed against his advice, it seems that all major disputes may be referred first to a similar body consisting of all the Regional Attorney-Generals.
The crucial requirement for ensuring that all constitutional provisions are interpreted correctly and adhered to in the life of the nation is not merely the assurance of the complete independence of the Supreme Court but the existence of foolproof procedures for constituting it and making it function without even any indirect interference. It is relevant to point out here that the independence of the judiciary has been assured in all the past and current constitutions of Sri Lanka. The full independence of the judiciary must also be seen to exist beyond the slightest doubt.
In the original Regional List of subjects and functions, item 6 is "Fisheries'. In the revised list, a proviso is added which excludes "rights relating to traditional migratory fishing”. This is now included in the Reserved List in item 17, along with fishing beyond the territorial waters.
International borrowing subject to a specified limit (above this limit would require the concurrence of the Centre)

Page 13
i d rtohtUAH Y 1996
was a devolved subject (item 31) in the original schedule. In the revised schedule, more restrictive conditions are laid down as seen in item 31 of the Regional List, in which it is stipulated that “international borrowing shall be subject to such criteria and limitations specified by, and would require the concurrence of, the Centre'. It is relevant to note that item 8 in the Reserved List reads "Foreign loans of the Government of Sri Lanka”, which would include foreign loans of the Regional Councils guaranteed by the Government but not their other foreign loans approved by the Centre.In practice, Regional Councils may not be able to raise foreign loans without Government guarantees. The principle behind the conditions placed on the latter is understandable but the concern here, as in other cases cited in this paper, is whether these will be misused to discriminate against a particular council.
While item 25 in both the Regional Lists relates to Regional Police and law and order, in the revised Regional List a new item has been added (item 45) viz. "Law and order to the extent provided in Chapter III”. Sub-paragraph 25(4) is particularly relevant here. Attention is drawn to "any offence prejudicial to national security or the maintenance of essential services' which cannot be investigated by the Regional Police Service. The worry here is the leeway available to arbitrary interpretation of this restriction that would permit the Centre to unjustified interference in regional matters. Administration of Justice within a region is the other new item (No.46) added to the Regional List.
New items in the Reserved List include, Educational publications (item 61) and Industrial Development (item 62). Both are important to satisfy the aspirations of the Tamils. Since these are not devolved subjects, the North-East Regional Council has no powers to publish Tamil textbooks for use in schools and universities. It could even be interpreted to exclude the publication of a range of materials, including analytical and research studies. Industrial development in the North in particular has been neglected over the past several decades as a result of discriminatory policies. The key to the development of the North-East region lies in setting up industries that can utilize the highly motivated and skilled work force there. It may even be stated that this is vital to ensure lasting peace in the long run by providing openings for the new entrants to the labour force, who will be leaving the colleges, universities and vocational training centres with various qualifications. If the Government's concernis that the regions should not have the power to establish
he Chandrika thought that it verge of succe
devolution package til and a national refere less sure of itself in th tremendously destruc Central Bank of Sri I ness hub of the "Bank bomb' troubles compounded by the cl the Tamil parties tow of the political packag government early this First, the ʻBank bo dominance achieved security forces in the sion of the Jaffna Peni trayed in a manner wh ated an impressio Sinhalese that their ar timately defeated re-established compl north. The impressio strong that a cabinet zled when the large ail copter was shot dowr tween Pt. Pedro and V is it possible at all for down ahelicopter if th the war in Jaffna', he ance in the fourth est: that the missing hel probably been sho Sea Tigers. The euph Jaffna victory were da when the magnitude caused by the bomb t That the Tiger, wh assumed to have be were, by the Sri Lal
industries capable of weaponsor other harn ditions to this effect in
While pointing out cerns (not claimed by
comprehensive) in tional provisions, thei ing all hostilities andr tween the different c« Lanka is also stres- s measures any attemp people of all communi of accepting the "mid through the devoluti not suceed. The appr. settlement of the cond similar to putting th horse.
 

Aivil v.S r
government which was almost on the ssfully pushing its rough Parliament ldum seems to be Ie aftermath of the tive attack on the lanka in the busicity. Its post have been further nanging attitude of ards the legal draft epresented by the year. mb': The military by the Sri Lankan Valigamam diviInsula has been porich inevitably crein among many med forces had ulthe LTTE and ete control in the in seemed to be so minister was puzforce Ml 17 heliby the LTTE beettilaikerny. "How the Tigers to shoot le forces have won asked an acquaintate when he heard icopter had most t down by the Dria and elan of the shed to the ground of the destruction became known. ose backbone was 2n smashed, as it hkan army, could
producing lethal hful products, conhay be stipulated. some of the conthe writer to be the draft constitumportance ofendebuilding trust beommunities in Sri ed. Without these is to convince the ties of the wisdom lle path” proposed on proposals may sach to a political lict should not be e cart before the
strike with such ruthless and destructive ferocity in the very heart of the city which is also a very high security zone, has visibly shaken the Sinhala people. This is bad for the government at this critical juncture. It has got a devolution package and what it needs is a clear strategy for implementing it, ready at hand. The euphoria over the victory in Jaffna among the Sinhalese was necessary in a way for Chandrika to establish the regional councils without much opposition. Granting the Tamils anything under anyother circumstances would have met with cries of treason - that the rights and well being of the Sinhalanation have been bartered away by a government afraid of or duped by the Tigers.
Following operation Riviresa, Chandrika was on very strong footing. She had demonstrated her commitment to really defeating the Tigers by relentlessly conquering Jaffna. No one therefore, could question her bona fides as a true Sinhala leader. Hence the clamour of the ultra nationalist Sinhala groups and political parties was largely bound to go unheeded by the masses in the south. In the aftermath of the victory in the north the Sinhala masses, it appeared, were ready to repose their confidence in her PA governmenton the question of solving the problem. For the average Sinhala person a leader who had given the Tigers a ruthless beating in Jaffna, could noteasily compromise their interests in granting autonomy to the minorities. The Central Bank bomb may soon undermine this confidence which is an indispensable ingredient in the strategy for putting the package in place, that is making it constitutional. The growing disaffection of the ex-militant Tamil groups in Colombo with the tardy progress made by the government in moving the package through the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) has thrown another spanner in the works.
Most Tamil politicians are privately or publicly sceptical about the political package placed before them by the government. At one extreme of the Tamil political spectrum is the CWC which would still insist (as they did at a meeting with the President) that the civil administration of the northeast should be handed over to the LTTE for five years' in order to create a climate conducive to implementing the package.
At the other is the TULF which seems

Page 14
14 TAMIL TIMES
generally inclined to accept the proposal in any form as long as it is a 'substantial' improvement on the 13th amendment to the Constitution. The TULF, it should be pointed out here, took up the position in the beginning that it would reject the government's devolution package if it were to be watered down before it (the package) was finally handed over to the Parliamentary Select Committee for perusal. However, now it is obvious that the TULF leadership has had second thoughts about being stubborn about certain issues which it once considered non negotiable. Mr Anandasangari's recent interview with the BBC made this quite clear. A section of the party's leadership seems to think that if the Tamils put too much pressure on the government, particularly on matters which are of quite a sensitive nature in the south, then it may make matters so difficult for Chandrika that she won't be able to do anything at all on the question of devolution. This of course doesn't mean that the whole party is of the same opinion. The three TULF members of Parliament from Batticaloa are quite pessimistic about the outcome of the government's effort to solve the ethnic problem. The most influential and most senior of the three, Mr Joseph Pararajasingham makes no bones about what he feels about the package. The only difference between the PSC set up under the UNP to find a consensus on a devolution package and the present one under the PA is that there are fewer members in the latter. Otherwise it is going to be the same rigmarole, producing nothing at the end', he said recently at a small gathering of friends. Dharmalingham Sidharthan (leader of PLOTE) and Douglas Devananda who were present did not disagree.
The ex-Tamil militant groups have recently formed a broad alliance with a view to negotiating the package with the government and the UNP and other Sinhala political parties and pressure groups. These groups have the following concerns in mind in responding to the package - concerns which distinguish their mindset vis-a-vis any political solution to the Tamil problem:
(a) Their continuing allegiance to the Thimpu principles.
(b) That they gave up their armed struggle for a separate state for the Tamils, promising their cadre and the Tamil people an honourable solution in the form of substantial regional autonomy instead.
(c) That more than eight years have gone by and they have not been able to deliver not an iota on the promise they made.
(d) That as a result they are losing credibility among the Tamil people of the
northeast and with it t gitimacy as “guardia tional interests.
(e) That this stage c a gradual deterioratiot given rise to deleterio sion which some b6 fanned by sections of security establishmen Under these ciri ex-Tamil militant gro ones in Parliament, criticism here and ab ernment is ultimately to impose a thorough package on the Tamil already compelled sor firm their commitmen tal principles of what see as the Tamil causi prominent member ( Thamil Sangam Mr done precisely this wil US. This criticism ha effect. It is the histori Chandrika's political c sign of following the s that of her father. Bandaranayake began by arguing the case for government for the isl to become, thirty yea Sinhala leader to decla official language in 24 which is often heard r cles which have begu government's ability proper package at all. being drawn so often some prominent Tamil in Colombo find it har in expressing their gro' with the manner in W ment is handling the p The attitude of the groups towards the pa quite clear in their join they have complained powers granted to pro under the 13th amenc taken away from the p councils. The Indiang ever, is quite keen to posal is implemented w sle particularly from th Indians are well awar taken by the ex-Tamil recent months, that th; last opportunity which solve the problem an united Sri Lanka. "If th only have proved to the the LTTE was right al leader of a Tamil grou The Indian High C cently met the leaders c the EPRLF separately need to facilitate the p a reasonable consenst

namn
heir image andlens” of Tamil na
affairs has led to of their cadre and is internal dissenlieve is secretly the government's
umstances the ps, especially the tre vulnerable to oad that the govcounting on them ly watered down . In fact this has he leaders to reafto the fundamenthey continue to ... According to a if the New York Devananda had hile he was in the also had another cal parallel - that areer shows every ame trajectory as That Mr SWRD his political life a federal form of and in the 1920's rs later, the first are Sinhala as the 4 hours is a story low in Tamil cirn to question the to implement a The parallel is today that even political leaders i not to harp on it wing disaffection hich the governackage. x-Tamil militant ckage was made statement where that even some vincial councils ment have been roposed regional overnment, howsee that the proithout much hasTamil side. The of the position nilitant groups in s proposal is the they may have to licably within a is fails we would Tamil people that along" said the
»mmissioner ref the PLOTE and o emphasise the ocess of finding on the present
15 FEBRUARY 1996
form of the package. He was referring to the joint statement on the package issued by the EPRLF, PLOTE, EROS, and TELO last month. The HC's point was that the Tamil groups should do the needful politically to pull the package through rather than raising "emotive issues' such as the national flag and the status granted to Buddhism at this juncture and getting bogged down in controversy. However, unlike a section of the TULF leadership in Colombo the ex Tamil militant groups continue to be quite sceptical and even chagrined at the manner in which the government seems to be dealing with the question of the devolution package. This is also a thorny issue which may hamper efforts on the part of the EPRLF, EROS, PLOTE, TELO and the EPDP to form abroad Tamil front by bringing the TULFinto the aliance (The TELO and the EPRLF paved the way for the EPDP to joint the aliance. (The TELO and the EPRLF paved the way for the EPDP to join the alliance by withdrawing their appeal against the court verdict on the Jaffna elections).
The TULF is quite irked by the view of the ex-militant groups that it is deliberately desisting from criticising the modified version of the package because Dr Neelan Thiruchelvam is closely involved with the government in its deliberations and strategies on the Tamil question in general and devolution in particular. The implication of this view held and propagated (through some publications) by the Tamil groups is that the TULF is selfishly preparing the ground 'once more' for compromising the common Tamil interest.
Mr A Thangarhurai, MP of the TULF, said that this was quite preposterous and deplorable in view of the fact that his party has mainly been at the receiving end of virulent attacks by Sinhala nationalist groups since the package was made public and that some of his Tamil colleagues in Parliament have taken to condemning the package without carefully studying it. He reflected the Indian HC's view that the process should not be scuttled halfway by prematurely raising certain issues such as the unit of devolution and thereby pushing the government into a tight spot as it were.
However, despite all this the Tamil parties and groups have not come to grips with the question of implementing the package ultimately. Any form of devolution which purports to even slightly improve on the quantum of autonomy granted under the thirteenth amendment to the constitution has to be ratified by a two third majority in Parliament and approved by the voters of the country at a national referendum. The UNP will not hand over its minor(Continued on page 15)

Page 15
15 FEBRUARY 1996
THE EXODUS FROMJAFF
October/November 1995
The following is the text of the Special Report No.6 dated 6 D. University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) :
(Continued from last issue)
The Closure of Jaffna Hospital
The final act in the closure of Jaffna Hospital is another of those painful episodes in the history of the Tamil people that deserves to be meditated upon with sympathy, trying to imagine oneself in the shoes of a handful of doctors and a few dozen individuals called upon to make agonising personal decisions. Apart from problems of medical ethics in such extreme situations as the country had not faced before, it also raises some questions about the role and obligations of the ICRC as an institution.
In the first few days that followed 30th October, the LTTE, as pointed out, had made its intentions clear. Soon after the announcement some surgical equipment went missing, and the authorities had to place some new locks. The LTTE was brazenly flouting the condition that no arms should be carried within the Zone. From the first day the LTTE started removing stocks of medicine and the hospital generators one by one. Yet it continued to bring its injured cadre in for treatment.
(Continued from page 14)
ity votes on a platter to Chandrika by supporting the package which, despite recent efforts by Professor G L Pieris to get Ranilinvolved in the process directly, will ultimately be seen as PA's achievement for the minorities. The UNP would rather wait patiently until the government's relationship with the minorities - which was once considered its strongest point - turn sour as the package inevitably gets bogged down in seemingly endless deliberations and until Eelam War Three turns out to be another long haul. Holding a referendum on the other hand will not be acceptable to the Tamils in view of the very large and hence critical number of people in the north (and now in the east as well) who cannot participate in it because they are in LTTE held areas. Dr Balasingham recently attacked the Tamil parties on these grounds, in a lengthy address to the people of the north, accusing them (the Tamil parties) of taking the Tamils for a ride. Under such circumstances the Tamil political leadership which subscribes to the idea of united Sri Lanka finds it increasingly difficult to sell the package to the people it claims to represent. If it cannot, the consequences will no doubt only benefit the LTTE's project.
The ICRC’s co bly. It seemed to h closure was inevita lowed the LTTE's tion. This was that and even medicals Thenmaratchi and be no work at the doctors were howev the hospital open at In this they were s the junior doctors who had not quit. T helped in menial ta and they all worl ICRC’s attitude hc it wanted to move. stood it, Thamilchel the daylights' out o ening to cutoff acci fell near the ICRC source is disputed. among the people LTTE shell. Others that it was an SL grounds that the e than that obtainingf given that the area w eral shelling by th appear strange that miles away should the location of the
From about 7th started taking dow signia, heralding th ing panic among a pended on the ICR tection. The docto the ICRC seemed to different ends and gap was quite evid the head of the guarded and diplon But remarks attribu as a whole gave do they were very muc that the ICRC team by what the LTTE ground situation course no one could tation lightly and th the ICRC office of L
The ICRC opene Jaffna Hospital doc and the medical doc was constantly cor tween Jaffna Hospi Hospital. A membe tal surgical team to grinding routine by

TAMILTIMES15
A - Part II
ecember 1995 by the
nduct was also wobave accepted that the ble and to have swalreading of the situa[ the patients, people taff were moving into that soon there would hospital. The senior ver determined to keep ld to remain in Jaffna. ;upported by most of and by medical staff he junior doctors even isks such as cooking, ked as a team. The wever indicated that As the doctors undervan had 'really scared if the ICRC by threatess. Worse still, a shell office, a shell whose The general opinion was that it was an however maintained Army shell on the xplosion was louder rom LTTE shells. But vas not subject to gene SL Army, it would the army from 3 or 4 aim a single shell at CRC office.
November the ICRC in their flags and ine closure and spreadll those who had deC zone for their pro's at the hospital and o be working towards
the communication ent. Mr.Georg Cunz, ICRC mission was natic in what he said. ted to the ICRC team ictors the feeling that h misunderstood and was more influenced told them than by the in the hospital. Of take the LTTE's repuere was the shell near unknown provenance. da mobile clinic with 'tors in Thenmaratchi ctor of the ICRC team nparing statistics be
tal and Chavakacheri
r of the Jaffna Hospi}ok a breather froma " standing on the bal
cony of the house officers' quarters. The European lady ICRC representative who passed by below addressed a remark to him, "There are lots of casualties in the ward, why are you idling?". There was a regular insinuation attributed to the ICRC that the hospital doctors were shirkers. By the time the ICRC started pulling down their flags, the doctors came to know of remarks from the ICRC team to the effect, “Why are the doctors drinking tea (here in Jaffna hospital) and wasting their time when there is so much work elsewhere?' The ICRC seemed unable to see the value the native folk and the doctors attached to Jaffna Hospital as a key community institution that had to be preserved despite temporary setbacks.
The LTTE was at the same time working hard at different levels to close down Jaffna Hospital. There was a great deal of individual canvassing of patients, staff and doctors by others sympathetic to the LTTE. Their fears were constantly played upon. But the senior doctors and a core of junior doctors and medical staff worked as a team and stood firm in their resolve to keep the hospital functioning. The LTTE had always feared any showing of community spirit and cohesiveness that was outside its direct control.
The LTTE used some of what is known in military parlance as 'softening up', before the final coup de grace in the form of a carrot. There was intimidation in the form of remarks. An LTTE patient who was receiving treatment, for example, addressed a remark to a nurse, “Why are the doctors waiting here without going? We have marked who the traitors are. We know how to deal with them!” A very worried nurse communicated this to the doctors.
On the 10th of November, ll days after the exodus order, there were 300 patients in the hospital with a little more than 1000 beds, providing more than enough work for the staff who remained. Many of them were elderly patients, seriously ill paediatric patients and women who had undergone caesarian operations. LTTE agents came in vehicles and made a determined bid to get the patients out. Intense pressure was applied on the patients and their relatives and what went on was more or less public. As soon as someone gave-in to pressure, someone, in most cases the relative, simply pulled out the naso-gastric tubes or the IV (intravenous) drips. The patient was then loaded onto a stretcher and driven away to Chavakacheri. In the meantime the LTTE had told the ICRC that there were no patients in the hospital.
The battle was simultaneously joined in by some of the doctors. While on one side the LTTE was asking patients to go, the doctors went around reassuring the

Page 16
-sawax
16 TAMIL TIMES
patients that they would be around and that there was no need to leave. Within a few hours, however, the bulk of the patients had been carried away. Some of the doctors asked the ICRC to station one personpermanently in the hospital so that they could see for themselves what was going on. The ICRC representative re
plied that there were no patients in the
hospital. The doctors went in for a quick count and told the ICRC that there were 30 patients! the ICRC representative then promised to sendsomeone aroundregularly to take a look.
On the following morning or the one after (12th), Thamilchelvan came to deliver the final thrust. He used the well-tried method of a totalitarian force. Having constantly rattled thenerves of the defenders of Jaffna hospital and built up fear, he offered a carrot to a chosen few whom he judged to be vulnerable and were key to the continuance of the hospital. It was a gamble that paid off. Had it failed, it would have increased resistance, creating more problems for the LTTE. Thamilchel van met a closed group comprising a few hospital consultants and offered their families passes to go to Colombo, including their teen-aged children who are normally not eligible for passes. The consultants accepted. Thamilchelvan left after promising to collect a list of names that evening and issue the passes. A way out of the draconian pass system had become a lure that few could resist, Immediately afterwards the hospital staff met. One of the consultants who had accepted Tamilchelvan's offer represented the position slightly differently. He told them that all the hospital staff were offered passes for their families. He said that all who wanted passes could include their names in the list that Thamilchelvan would collect in the evening. But the nurses and other staff had already heard
that only the consultants were included
in the offer. Some of them asked, crestfallen, "Then how about us?' It was a severe blow to the junior doctors who had totally trusted their seniors along with the remaining junior staff, and had given themselves entirely to working as a team. The hospital superintendent was also offended that those who had agreed to Thamilchelvan had never consulted her in the matter. The consultants were urged to reconsider. At the meeting at 3.00 PM that day, the majority of the consultants voted to accept Thamilchelvan's deal. The fate of the hospital was sealed. The ICRC was told of the decision to move the hospital. Mr. Cunz's face, it is reported, brightened with plain relief. The evacuation of Jaffna hospital was fixed for the 14th.
It was also evident that Thamilchelvan's attitude to the doctors changed after the consultants fell for his offer. He
seemed to have lost r towards those advoc never came to collec and avoided the doc several of those who taining of passes bec out harassing affair. keenly felt by those in Jaffna drawing str pital. The methods u ians became decisive the LTTE's success il tal. The doctors ther comfort from the dec Catholic Bishop in Ja he eventually came t One version of the e out to visit members ders and nun s wh Vadamaratchi and w re-enter Jaffna.
A comic event too. when the LTTE sent v the remaining civi showed how some C innocently carried out up the city. Acadres side the hospital, sou shouted out to the l standing in front, "C is the last bus out of this one, you will nevi The exodus of the h was arranged by the lous care. But once t peared to wash its h hospital. The hospit upon the ICRC in so antor of their security enced their decision to Since security reason compelling the move
tall, the staff felt that th
to a place that was at not the case with Pt subject to shelling by there was no officiall zone around the hosp applied to the ICRCf ship that sailed reg Pedro and Trincomal refused. Mr. Cunz lat those wanting transp the Ministry of Defer obtain their sanction transport them. Such to the ICRC for forw reliably learnt that the the ICRC office in Co forwarded. The ICRC ever, told them that t had refused permiss hand it seemed to the ment which wanted to pital would like to
Colombo, since from ernment would have the doctors than whe Tiger territory. Furthel

15 FEBRUARY 1996
espect, particularly ating his offer. He :t the list of names tors thereafter. For had agreed, the ob:ame a long drawn The blow was also who had remained ength from the hosised to expel civilly harsh following n closing the hospimselves had drawn ision of the Roman ffna to remain. How o leave is not clear. vent is that he went of the clerical oro had shifted to as not permitted to
k place on the 13th rehicles to evacuate lians, which also »f the young cadre t their order to clean topped his bus outInded his horn, and ady superintendent tet in madan, this Jaffna. If you miss er getanotherone!” hospital to Pt. Pedro ICRC with meticuhere, the ICRC aplands of the Jaffna a staff had looked me sense as a guarand this had influstay on till the last. s were among those ment of the hospiey should bemoved least safe. This was . Pedro which was y the SL Army and y accepted security bital there. Doctors or transport on their ularly between Pt. ee. This was at first er suggested that if ort write jointly to ce in Colombo and , the ICRC would
a letter was given arding. It was later : letter stopped with lombo, and was not
C in Pt. Pedro, how
he defence ministry ion. On the other m that the Governreopen Jaffna Hosget them down to Colombo, the govbetter control over n they remained in , whereas the LTTE
would want to keep doctors under their control, the ICRC too, it appeared, was playing a game of delicate balancing between the two armed forces it had to work with. In actual fact, the major actors were acting in such a manner where the people were being hemmed into smaller and smaller areas and were being used as pawns in a game. The ICRC also contributed to this by refusing to open a safe passage to the people out of this contracting circle. Its ships regularly returned to Trincomalee almost empty.
The ICRC had rendered invaluable service to the community by ensuring the continued security and functioning of Jaffna Hospital for more than 5 years. It has acted as a commonly trusted intermediary in peace moves and arranged exchanges of prisoners and visits to them. It has also served as a foreign presence witnessing the plight of ordinary people. However, the ICRC has the practice of changing delegates every 6 months. Staff whose experience had just enabled them to understand the intricacies of the situation are changed. Several of the delegates had proven their worth, standing firm for the hospital. But during the recent crisis, the individual delegates proved to be only too human, like the Jaffna doctors.
Vadamaratchi
The last evacuees went to Chavakacheri, Killinochchi and the majority to Vadamaratchi. Many of those who went to Killinochchi hoped to find their way to Colombo. Vadamaratchi was less crowded than Chavakacheri, and bread was more easily available since there were more bakeries. Even here there were queues and, like elsewhere in Jaffna, cash too was hardly available. Friends and well-wishers helped those who arrived in Vadamaratchi to find rooms in Pt Pedro. But here there were constant reminders of the war in the form of shelling. A few days later, on 14th November, along convoy of vehicles with ICRC flags, preceded by motor-cycle outriders reached Pt Pedro. This was the final evacuation of the ICRC along with Jaffna hospital. For a few more days lorries and bullock carts continued to go to Jaffna to fetch the properties of institutions and private belongings. But most people left behind everything. The banks too had moved to Pt. Pedro with whatever records they could carry. But their coffers were empty. The Government also placed severe restrictions on the carrying of cash into Jaffna, even institutions were refused permission by the Ministry of Defence to take cash for salary payments. Each individual going north was restricted to Rs 5ooof-. Thus people and institutions like orphanages were placed in a position where they could neither operate their

Page 17
15 FEBRUARY 1996
local bank accounts nor get cash from Colombo.
Withdrawals from banks were restricted to Rs 500/-. While the Government restricted the flow of cash, the LTTE, which received priority in withdrawing its huge cash deposits from the banks, had plenty of cash. It had also been insisting on cash payments for its National Defence Fund contributions. As the exhausted refugees poured into Vadamaratchi, the LTTE's NDF collections from Vadamaratchi folk went into top gear. Those who were desperate for cash had to part with their gold to the LTTE for a ridiculously low price. The LTTE capitalised on the suffering of the people in various ways. For example, the proprietor of the Milk White soap company wanted a pass to go into Jaffna and collect his stock of soap from the stores. The LTTE agreed on condition that they would be given half the stock. Soap was being sold under LTTE monopoly for the astronomical price of Rs 70 a cake.
Within limits the LTTE had striven to keep the elite on its side. As Pt. Pedro became crowded with refugees, the LTTE got about looking for houses. Several refugees who had just found shelter and settled down, found themselves virtually getting thrown out on the streets with bag and baggage after being promised alternative accommodation. The only consolation they found was in tears, until some good soul came along to help.
The LTTE press, radio and loudspeakers constantly advised people to move to the Vanni. Fear also got around that a second exodus from Thenmaratchi and Vadamaratchi into the Vanni would be enforced. The LTTE was providing free transport across the Jaffna lagoon to the mainland, but was not in general permitting movement into Jaffna - i.e., a one-way passage was on offer.
In this situation several people decided that rather than remain with the LTTE and get trapped, it would be better to go to Colombo while they could return to Jaffna when the situation improves. Long queues gathered outside pass offices. About 17th November, the LTTE closed its pass offices and stopped issuing passes. Several of the offices were stoned by frustrated crowds.
Killinochchi and Vanni
Amidst the trauma and disorder of being thrown out of Jaffna, there were just three matters in which normality quickly returned. First, in the matter of recruitment. Displaced people entering Navatkuli were greeted with messages on banners with a yellow background at regular intervals. Young men and women were urged to join the LTTE to liberate Jaffna and were told that there was a re
cruitment office ne A meeting of the Ja dents Union was cal This was not to disc future of the Univer simply this. After pe trying to get a degre no university. The S hostile and was not
date them. They we
nowhere to go. Like students who were ment through educa precipitated a situat to be no school in th The message now w; and with greater nu. the separate state of you could go back t todo. Otherwise yol for years." If the n students joining the ble in the past, it w, higher. For some mc fairly common for young boys that if t LTTE now, they w later. This message the young fleeing th and the Vanni.
The second aspec the collection oftax the refugees have be collectors have retul ficiently. Goods sol lections to the Natio going on. At the be this fund was a req lagoon of those want (This appears to hav the LTTE decided were willing acro Killinochchi). The also quickly surface that only the LTTE The price initially o sovereign was abou market rate. There on the carrying ofje ing the North. By c. lims the LTTE cha 1990 had to surrend Women then were s body searches with being plucked offb women cadre. The r cise was observed ger by people who | cash-in-hand to mee LTTE and were the of Jaffna with nothi the monopoly the later reports said th; for much less than eign by people desp Thirdly, new pass established after the from the Universit new Centre Wa

ܥܡܝ TAML TIMES 17
rby at their service. ffna University Stuled at Chavakacheri. uss education or the sity. The matter was rhaps 6 or 7 years of e there was virtually outh was essentially going to accommore on the roads with vise with high school geared to advancetion. The LTTE had ion where there was eforeseeable future. ls: Join us, the LTTE, mbers we would get Eelam quickly. Then whatever you want will roton the roads umber of university LTTE was negligias now significantly nths now it has been LTTE cadre to tell hey did not join the ould be conscripted was often heard by rough Thenmaratchi
:t of normality is in es. In the areas where 'en dispersed, the tax ned to work very efd are taxed and colmal Defence Fundare ginning payment to lirement to cross the ing to go to Colombo 'e been relaxed when to move as many as ss the lagoon into Tiger greed for gold d. It has been decreed could purchase gold. fferedat Rs.3000 per t 50% to 60% of the are also restrictions wellery by those leavomparison, the Mussed out of Jaffna in er all their valuables. ubject to humiliating sometimes ear-rings leeding ears - all by ecent extortion eXerwith suppressed anhad parted with their it their payment to the next day thrown out ng in hand. Owing to LTTE had enforced, at gold had been sold 3,000 rupees a soverberate for cash.
offices were quickly computers originally y were relocated. A s established in
Kodikamam. The elderly wanting to go to Colombo had little difficulty. Children were almost always refused. For a short time the minimum age for refusal was raised from 10 to 14 and has since dropped to 12. The maximum age is 30. Moreover, the LTTE was not too keen on restraining middle class persons who feel they have alternatives, such as going abroad, and hence would be a nuisance to the LTTE in the Vanni. On the other hand such persons had in general proved very useful abroad. But this leniency ended after a short time, when the issuing of passes was stopped.
Those crossing the lagoon into Killinochchi found things much better organised for long term recruitment and settlement. By contrast the LTTE had done nothing or very little to cater to long term civilian welfare in Thenmaratchi and Vadamaratchi. Those crossing the lagoon and landing at Alankerini on the mainland were offered plain-tea by courtesy of Thamil Eelam Boat Service and the Thamil Eelam Administrative Service. Then came the usual tractor ride to Nallur and a free but jam-packed lorry ride to Killinochchi. There, shelter was provided in schools, with school teachers, boy-scouts, and cubs providing supervision and free food. They were later taken to shelters from where vehicles proceeded to different locations in the Vanni. By the 9th of November UNHCR lorries were seen in Killinochchi suggesting that food sent by the Government had begun to come in. Refugees going to villages in the Vanni were given free food for two days. Within that time they were enabled to register with the local headman and start receiving government rations. They were then given land, mammoties, and other agricultural implements to begin cultivation. The Tamil Refugees' Organization (TRO), an NGO started by the LTTE, was at the fore-front of this activity and is responsible for Vadamaratchi, Thenmaratchi and Vanni. Formerly, all NGOs were registered as part of the NGO Forum, giving an illusion of partnership and democratic functioning. The illusion is no longer there with the TRO openly calling the shots. All other international NGOs have to work through the TRO, thereby giving the impression that it was the LTTE that was their benefactor. The bulk of the resources at its command come from the government machinery and other Nogs. All this suggests that the LTTE had had put considerable effort into this and had long-term plans for the displaced people. It would also appear that the LTTE wishes to empty the population of Jaffna into Vanni.
Some of the international Nogs had protested to the TRO of the LTTE's control in refugee camps being used to recruit minors. At least to these Nogs, the

Page 18
18 TAMIL TIMES
TRO has acknowledged that the recruitment of minors is wrong. The matter no doubt ends there. Initially there was a great deal of anger against the LTTE among displaced persons thrown into chaotic conditions in the Vanni. The TRO has tried hard to soothe the anger and bring some order.
By early December, the LTTE had ordered the TRO to stop work in Thenmaratchi so as to apply pressure on the population to move to the Vanni. This led to dissatisfaction among relief workers who had been working hard. International Nogs are worried. Following the exodus order, they reluctantly moved out of Jaffna into Thenmaratchi and Vadamaratchi. They had decided that
they would not mc LTTE engineer a se Vanni from the rer sula, these Nogs ar sure what they wol
ASNovember wo wanting to take to dren to whom the a did so by paying su at the Thandikulam ers who came to T passes paid sums 10,000 upwards a were allowed to pa Once the LTTe sto there were also sce where for example stones at the pass of
UTHR (JA
"The information reports are based on ticity of the sources supposed to have bi to question,” stat dated 27 January reli by six university te: ulty of Agriculture trolled Kilinochc. Lanka. Its authors a rajah, Senior Lectu ence; Mr. R.Vijayar turer in Agricultura Rajadurai, Senior Le Dr.S.Mohanadhas, Agricultural Chemi mes waran, Senior ology, and Prof. K.
 

15 FEBRUARY 1996
'e again. Should the
cond exodus into the ainder of the peninapparently not quite ld do.
e on, several of those Colombo their chile restriction applied, ns of up to Rs 1 lakh crossing point. Othhandikulam without of money from Rs ter negotiation and s over to Vavuniya. bped issuing passes, hes at Thandikulam, A Level boys threw sice. In some places,
the LTTE opened the pass office for a short time and issued a few passes to calm the unrest and then closed it again. From mid-November travellers reported signs of discontent among some LTTE cadre they met. Some complained that the big ones were not to be found and they were at a loose end. Not everything went smoothly for the LTTE in the Vanni. It had to find housing for a large number of its supporters who had come over. This was causing some heart-burn. The editor of the “Eelanatham”, the LTTE's paper, whose wife is from an upper middle class background, was said to be dissatisfied with the house he had been assigned in Uruthirapuram.
(Continued in next issue)
JFFNA) AND ITS ACTIVITIES 2
contained in these hearsay and authenfrom which they are en obtained is open 's communication ased via the internet chers from the Facituate in LTTE coni in northern Sri e Dr.A. Navaratnarer in Animal Scitnam, Senior LecEngineering; Mr.S. :turer in Agronomy; Senior Lecturer in try; Prof. S.V.ParaProfessor of PhysiKunar- atnam, Sen
ior Professor of Physics.
The following is the full text of their communication headed “UTHR (Jaffna) and its Activities' which is addressed “to whom it may concern”:
“We the members of the teaching staff of the University of Jaffna wish to express our anger and resentment at the reports published by the so called University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) regarding the recent happenings in the Jaffna peninsula. The
information contained in these reports are based on hearsay and authenticity of the sources from which they are supposed to have been obtained is open to question. The information does not give
(Continued on page 28)

Page 19
15 FEBRUARY 1996
thnic conflicts turn to be perva
sive and pose a serious threat to
the unity and integrity of states, as well as to their security and stability as the example of Sri Lanka illustrates.
States like Sri Lanka that consist of diverse social, ethnic and religious communities often remain deficient in national unity and cohesion owing to the prevalence internally of ethnic strife. There should be domestic cohesion in states since it is an essential element for reaching any consensus on national issues.
However, if a state
lacks socio-political cohesion which is evident in Sri Lanka its security is under threat owing to internal problems such as social divisions, domestic turmoil, and political disunity caused by contending diverse groups within. Then a state encounters the growth of sub-nationalisms among minorities like the Tamils here arguing for autonomy and even independence. To overcome such challenges to the state's integrity there should be an integration of diverse communities as it is an indispensable ingredient in nationhood which is vitally required for building any agreement on national valuesAtany cost, the fragmentation and disintegration of a country into several communal groups should be averted. This the present proposals on devolution could do. In fact, it ought to become the objective of a state to deter the creation of ethnic identities thinking as purely communal divisions since that would damage the unity and integrity of a State.
In a pluralist and multi-ethnic country like Sri Lanka the population can remain segmented because diverse ethnic communities that proffer different ethnic loyalties tend to undermine the state's predominance. The discrete communal loyalties get easily transformed into different types of ethnic nationalisms and they even engage in conflict against the state nationalism. This proclivity among different communities should be defused and a nationality should be accommodated and room needs to be allowed for it to be contained and tolerated by allowing space for the evolution of an overarching sense of nationalism that pertains to the state as a whole. Sadly, this has yet to happen in Sri Lanka and could happen if room for power-sharing is provided and tolerance is cultivated.
If in a multi-ethnic country when a dominant community's culture relegates the cultures of the others into subordinate position then discontentarises as it had happened so often. Then the state
and its policies be munity, while it th communities. By tial policy the state promotes the inte which is unfair in : Other communitie: deprived and they -development. Con
By Professor B
cur deteriorating it conflicts, that the example has to co ethnic or communi Sri Lanka has caus to the government to address this pro may be the answer Unfortunately, n dependence in Feb. a negative manife colonial rule. Nati did not cohere the munities in a posit Later on when v competed for the st ties of the state, c. got sharpened.
There was a w Sri Lankan society munity loyalties pe problems such as c rochialism emerg could be contained hesion that devolu ing attempts to int als on devolution nificant today beca the decentralisatic there is a venture to munities in a mult on the foundatio values, national ul political consensu divided society as In Sri Lanka, the table ethnic confli for the secessionis tant group, the Lib Eelam (LTTE). Th aggravated largely economic rivalrie the government's upsurge. The Tam to define itself of ture in a particular in a particular are on the grounds of the Tamil group a of its culture, lan dwelling against
 

efits only one comeatens in turn other dopting a prefereni ruling elite strongly ests of one group, multi-ethnic set up. like the Tamils, feel tend to counter this equently clashes oc
rtram Bastiampilai
۔ ھـــــــــــــــــــــ TAM TIMES 19
rate community that was controlling the state. Following the long drawn out conflict between the Sri Lankan state and the militant Tamil group it opposed state interference in its affairs, and voiced nationalist demands as a separatist mOVenment.
The proposals on devolution, however, firmly obstruct and do not tolerate secessionism, totally. Instead they make clear that the island would remain a united and sovereign republic which will mean an "indissolvable union of
to protracted ethnic tate in Sri Lanka for front. The surge of l nationalism within ed a serious problem over years. It is time blem and devolution
ationalism before intuary 1948, was more station against alien onalism in Sri Lanka Island’s diverse comively united manner. arious communities ocio-economic bounonflicts among them
ant of integration in and competitive comrsisted and numerous ommunalism and paged which however by socio-cultural cotion and power-sharroduce. The proposare relevant and siguse through them and in that would follow,
integrate all the com
i-ethnic society. It is of common shared ity and integrity that s could emanate in a that of Lanka. protracted and intracit had later accounted : movement of a miliration Tigers of Tamil is ethnic strife had got owing to political and and as a response to eactions to the ethnic l group then fell back the history and culrea that it designated, a, as its habitat. It is this own habitat, that gued for the retention uage and its place of hat was to it a sepa
regions." A regional administration's attempt at secession or to promote secession or separation are explicitly disallowed. Therefore although the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka had culminated in a secessionist movement inspired by the vision of self determination on territorial grounds, the proposals on devolution preclude and prohibit any such move either to secede or separate. The regions cannot even hold a referendum to secede from the union of regions. Nor is it possible to alter the area, the boundary or the name of a re
gion, and there can be no attempt to form
a new region. Any fear that devolution is a step to separatism becomes groundless, it is a chimera.
Ethnic nationalism arose out of divisions within Sri Lanka and facilitated the strengthening of separate identities and loyalties and had finally led even to ethnic separatism to be nursed. Fissures within the island arose strongly after independence from issues such as of language, and discontent escalated from years of neglect and discrimination. The interaction of these grievances among a people based on a territorial ground had sharply aroused among them violent separatist tendencies. But now the proposals on devolution not only close the door on separatism but also provides space for the accommodation and integration of the aggrieved and alienated Tamil minority community.
Further, the scheme of devolution ensures that the fundamental rights embodied in the national constitution would be respected, secured and advanced in the regions. So there can be no room for unequal treatment of or for overriding the language and other rights detailed in the country's constitution of any one or any community. Apprehensions were articulated that devolution might mean that land was going to be surrendered to a community at the cost to the nation. However, the region's authority over land is clearly circumscribed and can only be used in accordance with the terms spelt out in the constitutional pro

Page 20
2O TAMIL TIMES
visions, in conformity with the laws of the land. Land needed for national purposes has been safe-guarded.
Law and order is, no doubt, devolved on the region but it denotes only ensuring public order in the region and exercising police-power alone in the region in stipulated matters. Others are left to the national police. There is no room for creating or training a force that could be deployed against the island's national defence authorities.
The fear that if law and order is given to regions they will build their own armies and attach the state is groundless. In India, the states handle police power and the nation has not been in peril. In any case it is not possible according to the provision to pose any threat to the nation.
The assignment of finance as a subject to Regional Councils too had caused some consternation among a few. However, now it is clear that Regional Councils hade not received carte blanche in respect of financial affairs. International borrowings are subject to the criteria and limitations stipulated by and require the concurrence of the Centre. Moreover, even domestic as well as international borrowings by a Regional Council have to conform to conditions prescribed by
the national Financ The prudence off of monetary stabilit pacity of Regions ar not be ignored in t fairs. Agreements trations (not govern international grant opment assistance national policies ar and caprices” of r tions. The Financ will consist of expe resentatives of the nities chosen by th tional Council. W able liberty there is in the use of final gional Administrati rowing is possible i Ոer,
The Chief Minist useful democrat mechanism to shoc settle disputes befor regions. It also cal subjects of commo all Regions. Again liberative body wh ironed out, mediate a consensual way. possible there is fu
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15 FEBRUARY 1996
e Minister.
scal policy, demands y, and repayment ca2 conditions that canransacting fiscal afof regional adminisment’s) in respect of and foreign develhave to conform to d not to the "whims egional administra: Commission itself rt and informed rep
hree major commu
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If agreement is not rther room for adju
dication by a tribunal, but enough room has been allowed already for inter-regional co-ordination and co-operation.
Nevertheless; there are provisions and sections in them which can be unsatisfactory to different sections for different reasons - already such opinions have been voiced. These need to be considered and a consensus should be arrived at through negotiations and compromises. That is why the proposals go to a Select Committee, Parliament and before a referendum. Unlike the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam (1959) or the Dudley Senanayake-Chelvanayakam agreement (1966) at least these proposals have received already ample attention in public discourse and have now been presented in legal form to be submitted for consideration further by the Select Committee of Parliament.
The decentralisation and devolution of power is not designed to foster either the fragmentation or the dismemberment of the country. Such a belief is unfounded, for devolution has to mean in practice the democratic empowerment of civil society as a whole. It could become the means to bring in understanding, co-operation and peace in what is called a fractured society today. O
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Page 21
ܢܝܢܣܒܦܩܩܐܚܝܢܝ܂
15 FEBRUARY 996
Hawala Racket Unn Indian Politicians
By T N Gopalan
t seems to be a completely prosaic misdemeanour - no complicated or ingenious manoeuvres involved, but a straight deal, money changing hands and finding its way to the politician's bank account either in India or abroad, only the Reserve Bank of India is not kept in the picture as is mandatory.
It is perfectly in consonance with the accepted norms of democratic practice, just a case of quid pro quo, the beneficiary is just being grateful to the benefactor. All those living under the so-called democratic regimes know full well that their rulers are corrupt and leave it at that.
All the same Indian media is feigning uncontrollable moral outrage and reams and reams of paper are going down the drain, expounding the nuances of the hawala racket and the shenanigans of the
tion to prosecute Narasimha Rao ca
The ministers Advani has steppe of Parliament. Th to prosecute many ter Rao himself an scion of the Nehru Gandhi, are being Allegations and co flying thick and fa scandal, as it is c yet another layer c litical and bureauc
Hawala in Hind erence' and is take unofficial courier change. Many oft middle east or else to transmit money avoiding cumbers dures.
leading players involved.
S
Apparently the
ಙ್ಗಣ್ಣ
Indicted Cabinet Ministers V.C.Shukla,
Madhavrao Scinda, Bal
Ironically it is the politicians who seem to be stunned and are running for cover, not knowing whom to trust or what to say whereas the public at large are only predictably cynical - we knew it all, why the fuss?
The total amount involved is hardly Rs.65 crores - roughly the same amount talked about in regard to the other infamous deal, the Bofors.
The move of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 16 January did come as a bombshell to the complacent community of politicians. That day it told the Supreme Court that it had charge-sheeted seven leading politicians including that guardian of Hindu dharma, Mr Lal Kishen Advani, Chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party and that it had sought the President of India's sanc
this route, of cour. ability and they w that one of the ve which the illegal pumped in from ab turn for favours do one day prove thei
In March 1991 intelligence wil Mujahideen, a profit, was arrested an for distribution to Another contact m of the New Delh University, when existence of a Hav followed the raids Mr Surendra Jain, sociates. Out can meticulously det:
 
 
 
 

nasks
hree minsters in the binet. have resigned and cd down as Member e CBI is threatening more. Prime Minisd that much vaunted family, the late Rajiv linked to the scandal. unter allegations are st. The Jain Hawala alled, has uncovered if the cesspool of poratic corruption. i simply means "refn to mean merely the route for foreign exhose employed in the where use this route to their near and dear, ome banking proce
politicians too used
Vineet NNarain
made to politicians of every hue.
Sensing the explosive nature of the document in their possession, the officials initially sought to sweep the whole thing under the carpet. There was no follow-up. A senior official of the CBI who was in charge in the first phase and who allegedly sought to blackmail the Jain brothers into paying him up was also fixed in no time. The Jains paid him first and later promptly got the agency to raid his house. He was later suspended from service.
However, the scandal would not go away. The humiliated CBI official reportedly leaked juicy details and Vineet Narain, editor of a video magazine, Kala Chakra, one of those who got wind of the mat
S
ram Jhakar and BJP Leader L.K. Advani
ter, gleefuly latched on to it.
se to evade accountould not have known ry conduits through money was being road, evidently in rehe or expected, would r nemesis.
a leading light of the ng of the Hisbul Pakistan militant outd some money meant some groups seised. an, this time a student i Jawaharlal Nehru nabbed, revealed the wala network. Then on the premises of his brothers and ashe the diaries which ailed the payments
It was he who went to the Supreme Court along with some journalists in 1993, praying for directions to the CBI to pursue its investigations.
Only under constant prodding and tongue-lashing from the Supreme Court the stalemate was broken and things started moving again.
In November 1994, expressing their anger at the CBI's failure to arrest the Jains, one of the judges said, "I find it hard to believe that one can perpetrate such a fraud and get away... it appears as if the Jains are too hot to handle and the only way to keep them quiet is to let them do what they want...". At one stage the Court even threatened to transfer the case to some other agency,
... Even after the Jain brothers were arrested and interrogated, the CBI was still

Page 22
22 TAMIL TIMES
going slow and it had to be virtually bullied into the present phase of prosecution. In all around 105 persons have been listed in the diaries and it reads like a Who is Who of Indian politics.
The alleged recipients via the Jains seem to include men like the late Rajiv Gandhi, former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, rebel Congress leaders N.D.Tiwari, Arjun Singh, Ministers like R.K. Dhawan and Kamal Nath and even the noted journalist-turned Congress MP M.J. Akbar.
The amounts vary from more than Rs.7.5 crores in the case of former Union Minister for Energy, Arif Mohammed Khan to Five hundred thousand rupees to Akbar.
It is not clear whether the CBI is being fair and objective, whether it is only carrying out the directives of the Court or whether it is actually serving the interests of its master, Prime Minister Rao under whose direct purview the agency falls. It is headed by a man from Andhra Pradesh, the home state of Rao.
Many in fact believe that is a master stroke on the part of Rao, dogged by allegations of corruption right through his tenure and even earlier. His association with the controversial Godman Chandraswamy has further dented his image. Now in one swift move he has
shown up politicians as a bunch of crooks humbugs - from Madanlal Khurana Delhi), Yashwant S Bihar opposition S. R. Bommai, ( Arjun Singh and so ( ure he has also got th leagues including Vidhyacharan Shukl; an attempt to show ( impartiality.
Those indicted are say anything convinc tion. Advani could mand expeditious tr ing the ministers talk hunt and conspiracy. ever, the CBI has enc terial to prove its cas The predicament ( cially pathetic. Yet t Waghela revolt in ( been caught with its is not above making or of hobnobbing wit. terrorist outfits.
However, Narasin bit of a tight spot. TI reap a rich political h expose, he is facing in the party for lettin
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FEBRUARY 1996
across the spectrum and Sanctimonious
BJP's Advani, (Chief Minister of inha, leader of the anata Dal leader ongress rebel on. For good measree of his own colhis hatchet man a charge-sheeted, in off his or the CBI's
too embarrassed to ing by way of reaconly resign and de|al. Others includin terms of a witch Apparently, howugh damaging maC. of the BJP is espeo recover from the jujarat it has now hand in the till. It use of black money h those who finance
nha Rao too is in a hough he hopes to arvest thanks to the
a mounting revolt g down his trusted
aides.
More important in one of his confessions S K Jain is reported to have claimed to have paid more than Rs.3 crores to Rao himself though there is no corresponding entry in his diary. With the BJP releasing what purports to be a record of the confession and which, it is alleged, the CBI has not pursued things are becoming hot for the pm.
The CBI's not all that convincing defence is that it has not taken into account uncorroborated statements, but the opposition is accusing of its bias and the media critics too have wondered why only se ven persons have been charge-sheeted. In its latest intervention the Court has directed the CBI to carry out an investigation into “every accusation made against every person on areasonable basis irrespective of the position and status of that person', warned it against closing any file without reference to the Court and driven home the need
for the CBI to retain public confidence
in its impartiality.
It looks like Rao has unwittingly unleased a Frankenstein who could destroy his own master or at least administer such severe shocks to the patronage system thriving in the name of democracy that it might never be the same ever again. O
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Page 23
15 FEBRUARY 1996
Chief Minister Jayalalitha does not seem to have run out of luck, at least not as yet. Never mind the innumerable scandals her regime is buffeted by and the popular anger and even revulsion it is confronted with in many areas, she has still not lost hopes of returning to power in the elections due in a couple of months.
Her hopes hinge on two factors - a possible alliance with the Congress or a grievous split in the opposition ranks. While the congress alliance looks a very remote prospect as of now, the opposition is getting increasingly, hopelessly divided.
Until only a month ago it was the DMK-led front which looked the strongest on paper. Unless film actor Rajnikanth was going to finally make up his mind and take the plunge, with the Congress benefiting in the process, the DMK-front could cobble together a majority in the legislature even if its victory might not prove overwhelming, it was believed.
The front hadas its members, at that point of time, the CPI, the PMK, rebel congress led by Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy (since known as the Tiwari Congress), the Indian National League (a splinter group of the Indian Union Muslim League), the Republican Party (of Dalits), the forward bloc and the DMK itself.
The PMK with a strong base among the vanniars in the northern and central region and to some extent among the Dalits in the south, the CPI with its traditional peasant constituency and Vazhapadi rallying together the dissident congress elements were expected to sway a lot of “uncommitted voters” across the spectrum and thus strengthen the chances of the DMK against the AIADMK and the congress.
These parties had come together essentially to “preserve the 50% reservation for the backward castes' and later formed a front for the now cancelled Panchayat polls, also vowing to remain the same way for the assembly and Parliament elections too, but the front has now come unstuck, thanks mainly to the overweening arrogance of the DMK and the reluctance of its president M Karunanidhi to share his booty (which is there for the asking, he believes) with anyone else.
First the Tiwari Congress was thrown out of the front summarily by the DMK without so much as a by-your-leave to any other front partner, on very specious grounds at that.
It may be recalled that Vazhapadi had
once been a bitter and was instrumen of its Government who went about hur insinuating DMK"s sassination. Subs Swallow it all w Jayalalitha ditched not known, and 1 DMK-front.
 
 
 
 
 

anemy of the DMK tal in the dismissal in 1991. It was he ing wild allegations, hand in the Rajiv as:quently he had to en his patroness im, for reasons still ake refuge in the
AfiffbuTAMIL TIMES 23
Even as everything seemed to be going hunky-dory for the front, there was this programme on the Sun TV, owned by the Karunanidhi clan. When Deputy General Secretary of the DMK, Aroot Veerasamy, who also participated in the programme, unconsciously or deliberately nettled his new ally as to whether the DMKnow stood absolved of any role in the assassination, Ramamurthy, the ever irrepressible, retorted that it had better undergo an Agni Pravesam (trial by fire) to come clean, meaning that it could prove its innocence before the Jain Commission. His point was the DMK had originally decided to boycott it when the Delhi High Court had directed it to confine its probe to events after the Rajiv-Jayawardene accord was signed in July 1987. Now that even the developments since 1983 had been brought under its purview, there was no need for the DMK to boycott the Commission.
That was the cue Karunanidhi was waiting for. He sounded outraged and cried foul and worse. Vazhapadi had wounded the hearts of thousands of DMK cadres, he regretted and without giving a chance to Ramamurthy to explain, or consulting other partners, he announced that he was jettisoning the Tiwari Congress from the front.
Though this move raised the hackles of the other partners, it was Dr Ramddoss, founder of the PMK, who decided to take a hand in the matter and heal the breach in the interests of opposition unity.
Quite uncharacteristically he went about his job diplomatically, not making any public comment and pleading with both for some face-saving compromise. However, Karunanidhi was not to be moved.
Then a desperate Ramadoss pleaded for at least the convening of a meeting of the partners minus Vazhapadi in order to discuss the latest developments. Still Karunanidhi contemptuously spurned him. Finally the parting of ways came about, with the PMK protesting the big-brother attitude of the DMK. Now the front stands reduced to a five-member front combined with the CPI alone having some credibility apart from the DMK.
It is generally believed that it was the DMK which provoked it all - there was a method in its madness though. Vazhapadi is no respecter of persons or status and could be trusted to spoil the show anytime, could prove a very annoying gadfly in the event of the DMKfront's victory, demanding a share in the

Page 24
24 | | AML. I IMES
ministry and creating problems thereafter. As for the PMK, though it has some strong following, it has also been accused of instigating the Daltis in the south in the recent murderous clashes - its presence could scare away the obos, some in the DMK feared.
Some others claim that the DMK is actually angling for an alliance with the Congress and hence Karnanidhi is forcing out those who might prove inconvenient. Sounds unlikely as of now but then Karunanidhi is capable of taking such decisions - he has done so in the past, in the case of Mrs Gandhi for instance - and one has to wait and see.
The PMK and Tiwari Congress (incidentally Vazhapadi is also a Vanniar and hence perhaps the rapport) are likely to join hands with the CPM-MDMK front. V. Gopalasamy has already toned down his pro-LTTE utterances in deference to the CPM and has promised not to raise the Lankan issue at all from joint platforms. In order to accommodate Vazhapadi who likes to be seen as an anti-LTTE crusader, Gopalasamy could become even more of a dove in the coning days, Dr Ramadoss, another votary of the Tamil Tigers, is also discreet these days. How the coming together of these parties will affect the voting pattern remains to be seen.
For its part the DMK is gloating over the mammoth turn-out at Trichy for its
eighth state-level cc taken out at the tim over 14 hours, K through the ordeal, cheers from his foll There were a coup Some statements wł and take notice. Li ing autonomy fo Karunanidhi's veil Kashmirs if the stat their due rights. Anbazhagan too lan identity had been lo of India. There w demanding that Tai cial language of the The new Delhiwent to town and f tionalism was runni scribes, however, DMK's autonomyd lacked conviction a draw cheers from and nothing more.
On the other hand lighted the tirades the huge audier Karunanidhi “shru PMK-Tiwari Con march will contin thunderous ovation fort St George and looks like, this is hi could stand betwee
Peace Council war "mutual destructi
The National Peace Council has condemned the bombing of the Central Bank (CB) and warns that a continuation of the war will mean "mutual destruction and suffering'.
"The bombing of the Central Bank brought the destruction and suffering of the Government-LTTE war into the heart of Colombo. This bomb blast was a continuation, and extreme expression, of the destructive logic of the war and calls for more urgent action to prevent any further escalation of the civil war.
"The National Peace Council has consistently condemned the targeting of civilians by both sides. The NPC condemns the bombing of the Central Bank which is an attack of unprecedented magnitude and condoles with the victims and their families. However much a party feels it has been left with no other option than attacking civilian targets, this cannot be justified.
"During the past several years an escalatory dynamic in the level of
violence has bee estimated cost of rehabilitating the the most recent hostilities was est billion. The hum measured. A cont will mean a ma destruction and incalculable.
In the presen tragic pattern in the main victims fear that gripp rumours that thi been poisoned in able the civilia come to feel outs north-east. The environment of ated in which att to justify any act of self-defence.
The NPC there government and either side into a it feels it can onl

1996 ARYں، 15
nference. The rally went on and on for runanidhi sitting acknowledging the ) WerS, le ofresolutions and ich made onesit up Ke the one demandr the states and ed threats of more 2s were to bedenied General Secretary, ented that the Tamil st in the melting pot as also a resolution nil be made an offi
Union. based newspapers eared that Tamil nang amok. The poor did not know that emands have always nd they are meant to the gullible crowds
the local press highagainst Jayalalitha, ce turn-out and gging away of the gress affair”. “Our le', he declared to s. Apparently to the he is convinced, it shour and that none him and the throne.
1s of On'
n observable. The
reconstructing and north-east prior to commencement of imated to be Rs. 40 an cost cannot be inuation of the war gnitude of mutual
suffering that is
t war there is a which civilians are of the conflict. The ed Colombo over water supply had dicates how vulnern population has de as well as in the langer exists of an paranoia being creempts may be made ons in the interests
fore urges both the LTTE mot to push corner from which y extricate itself by
It is difficult to say whether his arrogant expectations are justified. Whether Jayalalitha is that discredited as to lose out in a multi-cornered contest is a moot. point.
Also Congress leader, GKMoopanar is working overtime to rope in Rajnikanth who still plays coy. The actor's charisma seems to be so overwhelming that he could upset many a calculation including that of Karunanidhi.
In an interestingside-showevery politician worth the name, including Karunanidhi, seeks to make out that he or she is on extremely friendly terms with Rajni and keeps telling the press of the “telephonic conversations" with him while he himself remains elusive.
Meantime Jayalalitha is also holding her Party Conference at Trichy and threatens to hold rallies which could last more than 24 hours! Her name too is linked to the Hawala racket shaking the entire nation. She figures in the August company of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao - the CBI says the allegations against the three are yet to be corroborated.
Whether all this means renewed alliance with the Congress or Rao will emerge cleaner and stronger and hence opt for Rajni and how much more fragmented the opposition could become, all this will become clear next month. O
a further escalation of the conflict. There has been an unvarying logic of escalated violence being followed by a counter-escalation. Accordingly the NPC has taken a consistent position that peace cannot be won through war.
During the past month the NPC has been undertaking a poster and media campaign on the theme of "Peace for Children'. The message in it about the futility of war has yielded a positive response from the masses of people many of whom spontaneously joined in the cam
paign.
The NPC appeals to the conflicting parties to take cognisance of the desire for peace amongh the people, not to engage in atrocities and to resolve to negotiate with one another. The NPC welcomes the news that President Kumaratunga will be having direct talks with opposition leaders. The NPC hopes that the LTTE will become a part of this process very soon. We note in this context that third party mediation acceptable to the conflicting parties has helped to resolve seemingly unsolvable conflicts elsewhere in the world.

Page 25
r-3RUARY 1996
S omeone must attempt to substitute the question “What is the effect of dynastic succession on modern politics in the Indian subcontinent' with "What is the effect of modernpolitics on dynasties in the subcontinent''The latest occasion for such reversed thinking is being provided by the power-tussle in the Telugu Desam Party, which is at once the ruling and the principal opposition party in Andhra Pradesh - thanks to NT Rama Rao, whose crude mystique sustained the Telugu filmdom for decades.
Any attempt to analysis of NTR's life which ended in a heart attack last Inonth would baffle the would-be analyser. It surprised none that Lakshmi Siva Parvathi, who came to him to write his biography, ended up marrying him! Such are NTR's avatars: here is someone whose political life is even more astounding than his five-decade-long film career, both constituted by his roles as Gods Rama and Krishna; whose idea of Chaitanya election rath became the model for North Indian politicians; whose discourse covers the entire spectrum of political discourse in the subcontinent, from crude Hindutva to vigilante populism to extremist Naxalism (remember, he always called the
with Chief Minist Dasaratha, inste Naidu, five of NT four of NTR’s son one step ahead acc just being the Mer angry sage who
world, but as Ka patriarch's life wh lytic stroke only ti he returned to po that he was indeb hence, she woulc This led to a simp gust last in which as CM thanks to
Delhi Mughals wh the Telugu Desam hit the road agail when Mrs Indira C
Naxalites as his younger brothers); whose dresses included from the Sanyasin 's ochre robes to the management executive’s safari suit; whose sche mes ranged from the Rs.2 per kg rice for poor to total prohibition in a state flush with liquor; whose pathetic efforts to renounce the world ended in a second marriage to his would-be biographer, very similar to the fate of Brahma rishi Viswamitra, whose role he loved playing to ensure the upliftment of the Trishankus, the back
ward castes, to the heavens, who was
NTR with Jayalalitha (the present Tamil Nadu C. M.) in the film Sri Krishna Sathya
toppled from power twice by his very proteges early on in 1984 and now.
True to the subcontinent's political style, there is now a fight for NTR's mantle in Andhra Pra- desh. His second wife and son-in-law and Chief Minister N. Chandra,babu Nai- du are slugging it out. It all started last year
ancing act betwe class interests.
ditched him since tain their posts w dissolution of the S ever ready to figh establish his supri time, NTR, the
 
 

TAML TIMES 25
By Nagarjunan
rNTR becoming the ad of Rama, when R's six daughters and s and daughters went using Parvathi of not laka who seduced the had renounced the keyi who saved the en he suffereda para) ask for boons when wer. NTR told them hted to Parvathi, and inherit his mantle. le palace coup in AuNaidu was installed the blessings of the o wanted to cut down Party to size and NTR h, as he did in 1984 landhi tried to get him dismissed by a similar act of beatrayal.
That NTR was once again on a comeback trail after his recent ouster was evident, though he seemed somewhat tired enacting the jaded hero -betr ayer-villain script against his wily son-in-law. In the last one year of its reign, the Telugu Desam Party has been in a state of turmoil with a majority of the backward castes jostling for power within the party and the government. Apparently, NTR could neither satisfy the ambitions of his own Khamma caste men nor perform the delicate balen various caste and His own legislators they were keen to rehile he recommended tate assembly and was ht another election to emacy. In the meanRama, even got a
Luxmy Parvathi grieving over her husband's unexpected death
Vibhishana from Naidu, the Ravana. He managed to win back his disgruntled elder son-in-law Alludu Daggupati Venkateswara Rao, a doctor by education and currently a member of the Lok Sabha. After NTR's death, Alludu has been named the working president and elder sister Parvathi, president of the TDP (NTR) faction which has vowed to unseat Naidu, the villain whose usurping power constitutes an intermission in NTR’s Rama Rajyam.
By so doing did a repeat of the Jayalalitha act(following MGR’s death) when NTR's body was being taken out for cremation, Parvathi proved that she is even better at the political role play than NTR. She cried and stuck it out with the body until she was promptly pushed out by NTR's son Harikrishna, a minister in the Naidu cabinet. Then she staged a dharna for getting NTR's ashes to get them immersed in the holy rivers of the sub-continent. She even went to Allahabad to get them Immersed in the Triveni Sangham where the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarashwathi meet. Now that her baptism by the subcontinent's fire of traditionalist politics is complete, the Janata Dal leaders led by V P Singh and Sharad Yadav are keen to lend support to her by

Page 26
26 TAMILTIMES
attending a Vijayawada rally which NTR had initially proposed to hold.
The journalist script goes further as follows: Naidu has to prove that he is not a pushover either. He already enjoys the support of the left parties. He is easily accessible to the gullible people of Andhra some of whom still think he is with the late NTR. Having been in the student Congress(I) in his early days in politics, he knows how to get Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's support since Mr Rao is looking for some Lok Sabha seats from Andhra for his embattled Congress(I). Hence, it will be a tough task for Parvathi to prove that she retains NTR's support bases among the backward castes and the poor and also avoid the return of Congress(I) to the political centre stage as envisaged by Mr Narasimha Rao.
Electoral fortunes apart, this coming battle in Andhra is certain to throw up questions which social scientists, especially those among the left, have never managed to face up to. They have assumed that dynastic succession is abane of, or at least an idiosyncrasy in, the modern politics of the subcontinent. Maybe, what is truer is the converse. Modern politics could well have become an idiosyncrasy in the subcontinent having had to coexist, for the last several decades, with nationalist heroism and its genetic consequence of dynastic succession. Heroes are constituted by sophisticated prince-statesman turned freedom-fighters like Jawaharlal Nehru in those days and their crude imitations like Rajiv Gandhi these days, avatars like NTR, nice film faces like Rajesh Khanna and Vigilante film men like Rajnikanth and Shatrughan Sinha and cricketers-turned heroes like Imran Khan. Even if they cannot make it to the top of politics, they are necessary for display at the spectrum of leaders in every political party. Sometimes, as in the case of Jayalalitha, a widow/ orphan act with finesse and manage to reach the top.
Parvathie's widow/orphan role play has parallels in Delhi, Durbar's Sonia, Pakistan” s Benazir and Murtaza, Bangla Desh’s Hasina and Khaleda and others in the subcontinent who had been or are at loggerheads either with their own kinspersons or found a dynasty like Mr Narasimha Rao whose two sons are in state-level politics. There are variations in the script of dynastic succession in the form of aftermaths of political assassinations, palace coups and, why not, even adoption of left-wing rhetoric, to sustain the spectator's interest. However, it should also be remembered that any such script can last only until the interest of the spectator's who are the people, can be sustained. O
n the electi is witnessin called verita
festivals sol
by major political tion DMK is way a in the organisation ( a purpose. Kalaignar M. Karu eleven successive newspaper,Murasc brothers' appeali Tiruchchi, and thou res heeded to his c Tiruchirapalli, the banks of the Cauv the hoary dynasties as it happened in t January for the DM by the ruling All In called by Chief Mi
Tiruchirapalli an ruled by the Pandy in the centre of Ta. variably are the ve meets euphemistic ences. Indeed, the take back the poor c to some ancient glo! question whether th ferences in the rea What is in a name, Well, names are ev events which are h The just-conclude was called Tirup (Turning Point), si to-be-successful n power in the colon Madras. The onco) ference is called Ezhuchi Maanad Conference of the R dicating that the rev kind) already heralc in Tamil life.
The conferences for which party cad end to prepare. AIADMK, official most of the sloggi the party cadres m conceivable vehicl venues, on whose { lavish fortress-like gone eras signifyin course, the AIADM
 

15 FEBRUARY 1996
OLITICS OF FESTIVALS
EFOREELECTIONS
By Nagarjunan
in year, Tamil Nadu g what can only be ble post-modernistic ight to be organised arties. The opposihead of other parties f such festivals with Party chief nanidhi dashed off letters in his party li, to his “younger ng to them go to sands of DMK cadall and turned up at hapless city on the *ry and from where of Cholas had ruled, he last few days of K members followed dia Anna DMK meet mister J Jayalalitha. d Madurai, the latter 'as, are both located mil Nadu. They innues of these party cally called conferse events do seem to ontemporary Tamils iousera. It is a moot ey canbe named conl sense of the term. asked Shakespeare. erything about these uge and spectacular. d DMK conference pumunai Maanadu gnifying the party's narch to the seat of ial Fort St George at ming AIADMK conPuratchi Yugathin u (The Awakening evolutionary Era), in'olution (of whatever led by Ms Jayalalitha
are kind of carnivals res slog for weekson In the case of the s and contractors do ng. The majority of ake it in all sorts of es to their respective :ntrances can be seen gaudy cutouts of byheady nostalgia. Of AKiskeen to deploy
state-owned Corporation buses for picking up its cadres. Huge rallies spilling over to the night and the next day are a must. Party leaders invariably exhibit their well known tough capacities of sleeplessness by witnessing these rallies from special daises erected in the style of monumental architectural works. Cutouts of deceased political giants including Dravidian patriarch Periyar, elder brother C N Anna (durai) and Puratchi Thalaivar MGR and living legends Doctor Kalaignar and Puratchi Thalaividot the worn-out highways and city roads making the average Tamil forget the existence of even the skies for two or three days.
The meets do get a lot of coverage from hack journalists from Madras who are very much part of these conferences. They endlessly speculate on the political importance, orotherwise, of the resolutions passed, the alliances made and broken and the themes and leaders launched and forgotten at these events. Nevertheless, the journalists are oblivious of the fact that these meets signify a certain transformation of the Tamil public sphere, during which process the Tamil identity comes to the fore in a uniquely dramatic way, only to disintegrate, or to get dispersed, after a while. In the era of identity-politics, the Tamil intellectual has a lot to think about. Of course, a number of political commentators would seize this opportunity to dub any such thinking as "secessionist'. The question is primarily cultural and political only later. Is the Tamil identity a dispersed and differentiated one, as conceptualised by modernists, or a disfigured one, as highlighted by DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan in his speech at the DMK meet? He lamented that the Tamils are indeed a nation disfigured, ruled by aliens for the major part of their recent history and unable to form a cohesive whole. “Tamils are so when they are together at these conferences. They go home and their identity gets scattered. They forget Tamil, become slavish to other languages, cultures and ways of life,' he observed. Modernists, on the other hand, think that, in the absence of a clear formation of Tamil identity, these conferences have managed to become a public sphere where an imagined Tamil

Page 27
Sovereign is "on display", to quote the Tamil poet Atmanaam who is no more.
It would be difficult to look at Tamil politics without dramatism, but if one manages to do that, the DMK, with a strong political base and organisational base, seems to have had a head start over its main rival, the ruling AIADMK, which is facing the heat of well-justified corruption and criminalisation charges. The party has also been strengthened by the return of its cadres from the breakaway Marumalarchi DMK founded by W Gopalasamy two years ago. The DMK is trying to recall and instill, among its cadres, a sense of secularism, the need for ensuring Tamil identity and the issue of extending affirmative reservations for socially and educationally backward classes from the state to the central level. The party has demanded that at least Tamil be made the official language of the Union, if the Union government did not concede its earlier demand for making all the Indian language like Tamil has been relegated to the backgroundeven five decades after Independence. It is all the more tragic that such a basic demand, as the one made by the DMK, has been dubbed as secessionist.
The Congress(I) is still not decided whether to align with Ms Jayalalitha or with the recently-launches MGR Front, which is full of disgruntled AIADMK men led by R M Veerappan, who is banking on support from the ageing and hesitant hero of the silver screen, Rajnikanth. Alas, the MGR Front could not even hold a rally to invoke its deity
of diminishing ret chandran, at Madur 31 January. The fou yard formation of pol ing the Marumalarcl conditionally admi Communist Party c which does not beli of Tamil nationality, Katchi of Dr S Ran that Raul Gandhi
propped up by the C the Indira Congress K Ramamurthy v Mrs Sonia Gandhi country. The front i onstrating that none tions among them cal ing together for the s testing the elections
The elections the other costly festival. perience, the AIADM to make it a bloody ( official machinery v sycophantic to Ms Ja four years. Of the thi alone has the capaci to check Ms Jayala office which has beer ous corruption scar power by her foste cludes her foster-s Natarajan, fosité Natarajan, fosterfoster-nephews Shaskaran. In the p itself has become h
(Continued from page 18)
plete picture of the events preceding and following the exodus of people from the Valigamam and Jaffna town areas of the peninsula and seems to be intended to serve only one goal, namely to discredit the LTTE. The authors of these reports under the pseudonym UTHR (Jaffna) with a view to winning respect and credibility from its readers by misleading them into believing that the Jaffna University Teachers are associated with their reports.
We wish to deny categorically, once again, that any teachers of the University of Jaffna other than these two ex-staff members are in any way connected directly or indirectly with this organisation called UTHR (Jaffna) and we challenge the organisation to disprove our assertion.The authors of the report have not even visited the North ever since they ceased to be members of the University staff five years ago. They have taken up residence in an area outside the theatre of war and have no first hand knowledge of the conditions here. Whatever they publish has to be based
on information supp by the government c ling to Colombo fron information and the thors have made frc selective and suited fication of the LTTE
The people living ing ourselves, have more hardships due the Sri Lankan sect oppressive administ Sri Lankan governm human rights viola Hundreds of civilia in a gruesome mai have suffered seriou to the indiscrimina and aerial bombing civilian areas by th large number of ho completely damagec sons. Underthese ci ple living in the war encouragement or LTTE or any other area and seek shell there was a sudden' curity situation. In f

حصص۔
urns, M G Ramali as scheduled on rth front is a shunt |tical parties includi DMK, which un'es the LTTE, the f India (Marxist), ve in the very idea the Pattali Makkal adoss, who thinks (son of Rajiv) is A to rule India and led by Vazhapadi vho swears by as the hope of the I hell bent om demof these contradicprevent their comole purpose of con
mselves will be an
Going by past exAK will not hesitate one by misusing the which has remained yalalitha for the last 'ee fronts, the DMK ty and wherewithal litha's wild run in i dominated by varidals and abuse of r-family which inister Mrs Sasikala 2r-brother-in-law son Sudhakaran, Dinakaran and rocess, Tamil Nadu er foster-land, in a
manner of speaking. While the national political discourse is lamenting the criminalisation of politics, Ms Jaylalitha has recently nominated Adhi Rajaram, a party functionary who became famous by organising a film-style assault on Mr K Vijayan, an advocate who chose to contest the reservation policy of the state government. (Following expression of widespread outrage, Rajram has now been dropped as the candidate).
Politics apart, what has been most distressing in Tamil Nadu is the fierce clashes and enmity between a section of the Scheduled Castes hitherto known as Pallars and the Maravars, one of the most educationally backward castes known for their fierceness, in the southern districts of the state. Of course, the Scheduled Castes have been at the receiving end of social and political discourse for a long time, but it is also true that there have been some cultural institutions, erected in the course of history, to avoid violent clashes. Of late, these institutions have collapsed and the rise of Dalit consciousness has put the entire conmunity of Scheduled Castes at loggerheads with the Maravars. More than fifty lives have been lost in the last few months in the clashes and the state police has been accused of siding with the maravars at several places. The ruling AIADMK is also alleged to have provoked and aided the Maravars to attack the Scheduled Castes at Kodiyankulam Village. It is to be seen whether the clashes would affect the chances of the AIADMK in the elections.
blied to them either or the people traveln the North and such
inferences the au»m them are highly to their goal of vili
in the North, includsuffered infinitely o military action by rity forces and the rative actions of the ment than due to any tions of the LTTE. ns have been killed ner and thousands s injuries as a result e artillery shelling of thickly populated : security forces. A uses have also been due to the samme reacumstances the peotorn area needed no coercion from the sources to leave the er elsewhere when worsening of the seact, people who val
ued their lives more than their properties quickly sought shelter elsewhere as they did during the previous military operations in the peninsula, the islands and the eastern province. Heavier civilian casualties were avoided not because of the sympathy and concern shown by the security forces to the safety of civilians but due to the timely evacuation of the civilians from the area of conflict. Perhaps the authors of the report are not aware that people are still leaving the Vadamaratchchi due to intense artillery shelling which has claimed more than fifteen lives during the last two months and caused serious injuries to several more. Incidentally, the appeal by the government to the civilians to return to the “liberated area” sounds hollow under these circumstances.
The above human rights violations by the security forces and those of the government in preventing free flow of food, medicine, liquid cash and other essential items to the North, detaining mails and postal articles destined to the North in Colombo for several months, indiscriminate arrest and harassment of Tamil people in the South and detaining Tamils

Page 28
who travelled to Colombo in transit camps in Vavuniya irrespective of their age, sex or status, do not apparently seem to the authors as serious human rights violations as those purported to have been committed by the LTTE. If these matters are referred to at all, they find only casual mention in the reports and their inclusion seems to be intended to give a semblance of impartiality with a view of hiding the real purpose of the reports.
We are surprised that even the BBC and particularly its Tamil service which has been one of the few dependable sources of news for the Tamil people in Northern Sri Lanka has come under attack by this so called human rights organisation. It appears that the popularity of the BBC among the Tamil people seems to be a cause of worry for the authors of the report. We would like to congratulate the BBC and urge them to continue their impartial reporting without being deterred by the comments or criticismby organisations like the UTHR (Jaffna).It is not clear on whose behalf or for whose benefit the authors have been preparing these reports but it is obvious that the reports will not serve the cause of the Tamils who have been struggling for over four decades to liberate themselves from the tyranny of an ethnic majority, first peacefully, and having failed in their peaceful attempts, now militarily.”
UTHR(J)
You have allocated c of the report "Exodus Times January 1996). even one-tenth of that on the motives of thes biters of justice for Ta One thing which ra pocrisy and deceptior group who issues sta tional newsmedia with age, courtesy and con behalf of Jaffna Tamil selves openly. Theses tuals flour the first la set an example of hold sible for the statements mouth or hand. They mastered the art of wri erature (which is a mix guesses, unsubstantiat confession and comme Dr S Sivasegaram w out in the same Janua "the so-called UTHR ( informed about eventh of human rights by th ignorant about what the are facing'. This is , brains which type out abuse of Tamils current a few weeks ago Ire letter from my cous
Detained Priests Rele
The Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka in a communique on 29 January said that the Conference had been informed that Rev. Frs. Sa verim u thu Jeban esan and Emmanuel Pius of the diocesan clergy of Jaffna who were in CIB detention had been released without any charges.
The communique signed by Bishop Vianney Fernando (President) and Bishop Malcolm Ranjith (Secretary-General) said:
"Cash and all other items taken in along with them had been released to them by the police. These two senior Catholic priests who were active in rendering much needed assistance to the refugees of the diocese of Jaffna over a long period of time were detained by the CID in early December, 1995 because of their non-declaration of cash which they had been carrying to the North for such relief work. They had also been found to be carrying with them a negligible quantity of three banned items for personal use.
"Taking cash to th been in the prohibit thereby making th of any wrong doing They had provided a the police about t which they took the supply of immediat people displaced by through which the of Jaffna had aske and through which Agent of Kilinochc mended this reques duced.
"The other items them were four pen 2/2 kilograms of ar. wire for repairs to a parish of Kilinoch motor cycle oil seal constitute a quanti suspected as being p gling operation as alleged over some public media then. false bottom in the which these items h

ver 6 pages to Part I rom Jaffna' (Tamil Will you give me space to comment self-appointed armils? kles me is the hyemployed by this ements to internaput havingthe couriction (to speak on ) to identify themlf-serving intellecv of teaching ie to ing oneself respondelivered by one's only seem to have ing anonymous litof hearsay, fictional ed documentation, ntary). as correct to point ry 1996 issue that J) seems to be well e smallest violation e LTTE but rather Tamils in Colombo tronic because the these human rights ly live in Colombo. ceived a distressing in (who lives in
Kotahena) that my father who had lived in Colombo since 1959 and is over 70 years old, was taken for "police checking' in the early hours of the morning (2.00am), detained for nearly 20 hours and was released. He should consider himself extremely lucky that in the past few years, many Tamils (and Sinhalese as a well) disappeared after such "calls' by the law enforcement authorities. The Gestapo State is thriving in the regions of Sri Lanka which are not under the influence of LTTE. But, for their own convenience, the UTHR(J) folks pretend not to see, hear or talk about the human rights abuses occurring to Tamils in the capital of Sri Lanka. This brings to question their integrity to the cause of human rights. Are they just serving as a the "front' for the Sri Lankan Government? From whom are they getting the funds and patronage? Can they provide a figure for the total membership of their organisation?
Long ago, Confucius admonished the Chinese peasants: "You will not see anything if you learn but do not think. It is dangerous if you think without learning'. I'm of the opinion that the anonymous “University Teachers” who pretend to protect the Tamil interests are not thinking about what they learn or that they are thinking too much without learning.
Sachi Sri Kantha, 5-16-305 Tsukimicho, Fukuroi City, Shizuoka 437-01, Japan
ased
le North had not ed list that time, em not culpable ; on that count. dequate proofto he purpose for cash i.e. for the :e assistance to the war. Letters Catholic Bishop for such cash he Government hi had recomt had been pro
they had with torch batteries, mature winding generator in the chi and three s. These do not by that can be art of any smug
it was loudly sections of the There was no r vehicle inside ad been, as was
alleged, deliberately hidden.
"Truth has triumphed and a vicious campaign organised and orchestated by certain sections of the media with vested interests has been proved to be "much ado about nothing”. The church had been accused over the media as an "accomplice” in wrong doing, supporters of the LTTE etc., etc. over a small incident involving these two priests and they too have not been found responsible for wrong doing. Their bona fides had been established. According to our criminal justice system, an accused is always held to be innocent until a wrong doing has been conclusively proved.
"We are thankful to the Government for putting the record straight as far as these accusations against the institution of the Catholic Church are concerned through a statement made by the Hon. Minister of Media, Tourism and Aviation, Hon. Dharmasiri Senanayake on 1 December 1995. We are also thankful to the police and the CID for the impartial and just way in which the inquiries were conducted and concluded'.

Page 29
BOOK REVIEW
ANGUISH - III, 1990-1995
- CSuriyakumaran
KV G de Siva (Colombo) Ltd -
Review By S. Sanderasegaram
Head of Social Science & Education
University of Colombo
May 1995
This book deals with a wide range of topics mainly related to the ethnic problemin Sri Lanka, devolution framework, issues related to it and some of the perceptions and misperceptions entertained by the people who see the problems from their own perspective. As pointed out by R Siriwardhana in his foreword, this book contains a wealth of ideas which have a bearing on the issues of devolution, power-sharing and movement towards a genuine pluralist, democratic society. A definite concern for building up a healthy nation by establishing a cordial relationship among ethnic groups based on democratic principles is revealed by the author throughout the book.
The author, Professor C. Suriyakumaran, is an outstanding personality who closely associated with SWR D Bandaranaike in his ideas on regional devolution, and in the B-C Pact of 1957. Eis not only an author of several publications pertaining to local government, finance, devolution and environmental issues but also a renowned international civil servant who has served in several UN related agencies. Recently he was handsomely rewarded by the Japanese Sasakawa Foundation for his invaluable contribution to conservation of the envifOmment.
This publication of Professor Suriyakumaran is a collection of articles and essays which came out as responses to various issues, perceptions and misperceptions expressed by diverse members of Sri Lankan society. All thirty articles are worth reading to widen our horizon of knowledge pertaining to some of the burning issues of the day; the views expressed are not partisan and parochial but based on rational and objective thinking. Some of the following ideas in regard to the present crisis expressed by the author are forthright and based on his thoughts on future logical perspectives and experiences as a scholar.
- The greatest calamity would be any shortsighted thinking... to delink the East at once, to colonise it...
- Non-governmental intermediation... would seem to be the first required step.
- The effect of ar. would soon be a “disi speaking areas from - While the politi been divisive, the p tion are in fact highl - Nobody will wi stead, ultimately ev. feated. Both sides least something in c ful solution.
- A truly mult non-partisan group could see the genuir communities.
It is in respect of th lution, more materia and explanations col of the essays. The a to give a comprehen of an adequate dev and the institutiona devolutionary system a decision to give cle policy makers and t about a viable solutic lem; for example the of the cantonal conc attention of the aut placed by the centre jects are given by h is the author's cons pradeshiya level dec
H Past Copies
Past copies of available for Sal the present ser 15. The price c £25 by surface each volume in is USS 45/Ca Australian dollal be drawn. On only. Those requested to : draft/money or Tami Til
The Circulatior Times Ltd., P.O Surrey SN
 
 
 

ethnic ratio policy ancing' of the Tamil
the centre.
;s of devolution has rinciples of devoluy integrative.
in from the war, inerybody will be dehave to sacrifice at rder to see a peace
i-ethnic, entirely to be formed... that he concern of all the
ne principle ofdevol, useful suggestion ld befound in most uthor has attempted sive listofrequisites olutionary structure l structures for the l, The ideas reflected bar-cut guidelines to hose thinking aloud into the ethnic probessential attributes ept has received the
thor, the restrictions on the devolved subim in a schedule. It idered view that the entralisation does not
of Tam Times
Tamil Times are e in 14 volumes, ies being volume f each volume is mail. The price for other Currencies n$50/Aus$55. cheques should Australian BankS interested are send a chequesder in favour of mes Ltd tO
Manager, Tamil . Box 121, Sutton |13TD, U.K.
mean "devolution outside the Provincial Council' as claimed by some analysts.
The author has also expressed his views on controversial subjects such as the Tamil homeland theory, university admissions policy, inability of the 1995 Budget to ensure sustainable developmentanda piece title “Thoughts ofKitu” with whom he had discussions on the ethnic problem.
The style of language employed by the author is somewhat philosophic. If not rhetoric and it is an attempt to elucidate and draw out the principles involved in the issues rather than narrating events in sequence. As there are thirty essays and several annexes pertaining to the essay, themes which are mostly not connected to each other, the book has to be taken as author's random thoughts on different issues that came up at different times. It would have been more useful to the average reader if the material found in the different essays had been organised under clear-cut headings such as dimensions of ethnic problems and analysis of the principles and practice of devolution.
The analytic capacity, innovative thinking and the initiative of the author to clear some of the misconceptions entertained by some interpreters are among the inherent qualities which necessitate reading this book by those seeking fresh interpretations and understanding of the current issues and their solutions.

Page 30
CLASSIFIED ADS
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The Advertisement Manager, | Tani Times Ltd, PO Box 1. Sutton, Surrey SM13TD
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MATRMONIAL Hindu physician sister seeks qualified partner for sister, 43, 5'3", teacher in Colombo, divorCee withOut en CumbranCeS. Widowers COinSidered. AM 830 C/o Tamil Times.
Jaffna Hindu brother seeks groom for his sister, secretary, 34, in UK employment. Send details, horoscope. M 831 C/o Tannil Times.
Jaffna Hindu brother seeks preferably professional bride under 33 for his brother, accountant, 37, well established in UK. Send horoscope, details. M 832 C/o Tamil Times.
Jaffna Hindu brother SeekS professional partner, preferably doctor fOr brother, 34, Australian citizen, qualified accountant with MBA holding management position. Send horoscope, details. M 833 C/o Tamil
Tinnes. Parents, Jaffna Tamil seek steady caring husband for their British born daughter, twentyfour, with steady employment in leading bank. Religion inmaterial. Parents will assist towards Start in life. Send brief details, photograph (returnable). M 834 C/o Tamil Times. Parent seeks suitable partner below 35 for engineer son, self employed abroad, handicapped but manages on own. Religion immateria. M 835 C/o Tannil Times.
WEDDING BELLS
We congratulate the following couples on their recent wedding. Gnanasoruban son of Mr. & Mrs. Kanagasabai of 101 Thamesdale, London Colney, St. A bans, Hert S. and Sumathy daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Kanagalingam of 1454 Greenford Road, Greenford, Middx., on 21.1.96 at Wandsworth Civic Suite, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18. Sathiyabalan son of the late Mr. Kumarasamy and Mrs. T. Kumarasamy of Third Mile, KKS Road, Kokuvil, Jaffna and Nithiyaluxmy daughter of Mr. & Mrs. S, T. Shanmuganathan of Uyarapulam, Anaicoddai,
Jaffna. On 11.1.96 at Enfield Bowling Club Hall, New South Wales, Australia. Navin Son of Mr. & Mrs. Samarakoon of 35B Summi Flats, Keppetipola Mawatha, Colombo 3 and Lakshmi daughter of Mr. & Mrs. GaneSon of 59 Summit Road, Northolt, Middx., on 1 1 1.96 a Wandsworth Civic Suite, Wandsworth High Street, Londor SW18. Ahilan son of Mr. & Mrs. K. Nithiananthan of 4A Syon Park Gardens, Osterley, lsleworth, Middlesex TW75NBand Daruni daughter of Mr. & Mrs. N. Kanesu of 5/1 Kynsey Terrace, Colombo. 8 on 11.2.96 at Hote, Lanka Oberoi, Colombo 3. Laurian son of the late Mr. Cedric Chapman and Mrs. Chapman of Colombo, Sr Lanka and Devamala only daughter of Prof. and Mrs G.G.R. Thambyahpillay of the University of Maiduguri, Bornc State, Nigeria on 30th Decem ber 1995 at the Uniting Church Box Hill, Melbourne, Australia.
OBITUARIES
Mrs. Kanagammah Visvarat nam, beloved wife of Mr. V Visvaratnam, Retired Teachet Kodaady, Jaffna, loving mothe of Mrs. Vijayambikai Shanmu gasundaram, Mrs. Vijayaku mari Shanmugasundaran (both of Sri Lanka), Vijayakan than (Canada), Vijayakuma (Kuddy), Vijayananthan (bot of UK), Vijayabalan (Sri Lanka and Vijayaranjan (Canada passed away on 202.96 i. Puttalam, Sri Lanka and wa, Cremated on the 21st. - 3. Saree Road, London NW2. Te, 07774355022/0797 957 2787
 
 

-— رأت أن -ثم تحية أ 1 اليه ـه ، س ،
IN MEMORAM
Second Death Anniversary of the late
Sarawanamuthu llankanathan (Kuddy Mama)
You have left behind Sweet memories of your kind deeds, love and affection and all your interesting jokes.
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by Seeni Acca, Leela, Urmila, Kuha, Shobi, Ranji, ln-laws, nephews, nieces and friends - 58 Ringwood, South Bretton, Peterborough. Tel 01733 262Z60
in loving memory of Mr. Chelfiah Sivasampu on the fourth anniversary of his passing away on 9th March 1992.
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by his two sons. - 15 Wolsey Way, Chessington, Surrey KT9 1XQ.
in loving memory of M.A. Vellupillai (Education and income Tax) Born: 30. 12.1924
Died. O5.O2. 1995
Hemembered on the first anniversary of his passing away by his family and friends who have adored him in life. - T. Senthyvel, R. Sivagnanasundaram, T. Chithambaranadarajah, Aloy Ratnasingham, P. Paramalingam.
Mar.
In loving memory of Mr. Chittampalam Subrama niam (Orator) on the second anniversary of his passing away on 18th February 1994.
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by his wife Annarat. nam, children Kandasamy, Gnanaranjini, Pathmasany, Chitsabesan and Dr. Vasanthan, Son-in-law Dr. Puvanarajan; daughters-in-law Malini, Kumuthini and Dr. Premila, Sister Sinnammah Somasegeram, nephews Dr. Sothinathan and Kanagasabai, grand children Janani, Vaani, Senthuran, Yamini, lo hita, Praneeta, Thayalan, Anjali, Mahen, Mithran, Lakshman and FRishi.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
March 1 Eekathasi, Feast of St. David. Mar. 2 Sani PirathoSam. Mar. 3 Second Sunday in lent. Mar. 4 Masi Mahan. Mar. 5. Full Moon. Mar. 10 Third Sunday in Lent. Mar. 15 Eekathasi.
17 Pirathosam, Fourth Sunday in Lent, Feast of St. Patrick. Mar. 19 Annavasai; Feast of St. Joseph. Mar. 23 Chathurthi & Karthigai. Mar. 24 Fifth Sunday in Lent. Mar. 25 Shashti; Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Mar. 28 Sri Rana Navani. Mar. 30 Eekathasi 11.00an Colobuthurai Yoga Swamigal Guru poojah at Shree Ganapathy Temple, 123 Effra Road, London SW19. All welcome. Mar. 31 Palm Sunday. At Bhawan Centre, 4A Castletown Road, London W14 9HQ. Tel: O171 381 3086/ 4608. Mar. 1 7.45pm Vina, Sitar, Violin Concert by Sivasakthi Sivanesan, Dharmabir Singh & Chandrashekhar. Mar. 17 6.00pm Katak by Ashim Bandhu Bhattacharya from India.

Page 31
S. Muttu Cumaran - An Appreciation
Sithamparanatha Chettiar Mutucumaran associated with scouting for nearly quarter of a century from 1946 at Jaffna Hindu College passed away on 8.1.96 in Meesalai away from his home. Scouting at Jaffna Hindu had been moulded by scouting giants of the calibre of K. V. Mylvaganam, S.P. Rasiah, S. Jeyaveerasingam and V. Sunthararajah, to mention a few but MuttuCunaran was of a different mould. Scouting and Mutucumaran were inseparable at Jaffna Hindu. He stuck fast to the motto 'Once a Scout, always a Scout' and true to the Word he dedicated all the reSOLIrCeS at his command for the promotion of scouting at Jaffna Hindu and thereby the whole of the peninsula.
When scouting was revived after the war in 1946, he joined as a young Scouter. The mid sixties saw scouting reaching great heights at Jaffna Hindu, securing the Rotary Challenge Shield in the All Jaffna Annual Rally, Island merit Flag for being the best Troupe in the island, the Sir Andrew Caldecott Challenge Bowl for the highest collection in the Chip-a-Job collections in the Island and three SCOuts fronn the college out of the seven representing Ceylon in the World Scout Jamboree at ldaho in USA. Much of the credit goes to Muttucumaran, the kingpin, who moulded and guided the destinies of the successful troupe.
SCOuter MuttuCunaran is no more With
us now, but his dedicated service to scouting at Jaffna Hindu is a landmark which generations to come should cherish and enjoy.
Scouter V. Sivasubramaniam, Victoria, Seychelles.
Kaleyvani's
The Bharata Nat Kaleyvani, daughter eri Rengasamy of Pa Sri Dayalasingam toc the prestigious UN Paris, in the presence Kaleyvani was bort moved to Paris With Childhood. Her fathe, and a talented music
Guru Sri Dayalasi had his training from nan of Madras and i Dance School Nar Kaleyvani learnt this year. Most of the iter ram were choreograp singam. The Chief Gl kiraman compliment services to the art in Kaleyvania bright fut The OrChestra Con singam -- Nattuvanga motheram & Sri De Vocal, Smt Komala - Rangarajulu - Veena manathan - Flute and — Mirdangam.
Vadamaradoch ASSOC
The inaugural meetin chy Hindu Girls' C Association was held The Fairway, North W The meeting was p Kumaraswamy, retire V. Sooriyakumaran, ombo Branch was th spoke of the need to in UK in order to help its former glory.
The membership pupils residing in Eur
 
 

Dance Debut
ya Arangetram of of Devan and Sunthris and pupil of Guru ok place on 2.2.96 at lESCO Auditorium, of a large gathering. in Mauritius and her parents in her r is a Tamil Scholar an.
ngam, a Sri Lankan Adayar K. LakshmaS the Director of his thanalayam, where art from her ninth ns from the arangethed by Guru Dayalajest Smt Anjali Janaed the Guru for his France and Wished
fe. sisted of Sri Dayalam, Smit Ambika Thaavan Rengasamy - Violin, Smt Chandra l, Smt Kamala PathSri Ravi Dharmaraja
ly Old Pupils' iation
g of the Vadamaradollege Past Pupils' On 23.12.95 at 112, sembley, Middx., UK. resided by Mrs. L. d Principal and Mrs. President, PPA, Coe Chief Guest. Both form the organisation the school to regain
is open to all past ope. Those intereted
are requested to telephone one of the following numbers in the UK and get further information. 0181 482 7745 or 0181 942 5389.
Veena Arangetram of Naranee 8 Mathini
The Veena Arangetram of Naranee and Mathini, daughters of Mr. & Mrs. M. Rudra- Rajan of 57 Beechcroft Avenue, New Malden, Surrey was held on 4.11.95 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London W14. They were trained by Bhavan's renowned Vocal Music and Veena teacher Smt SivaSakthi Sivanesan. The hall was packed for this special occasion. Naranee and Mathini Showed by their splendid display that their Guru's trust in them was not misplaced.
The programme began in the traditional manner with a Varnan "Viriboni' and was followed by 'Sree Ganeshathparam', a Dikshitar composition in praise of Lord Ganesha. Naranee and Mathini played these pieces with ease and confidently. Then followed the masterpiece of Thyagaraja, "Endaro Mahanubhavula" - one of the Pancharatna Krithis. They played this in a suitably controlled, thoughtful and reflective manner. Next followed “Nagumomu' and "Shambo Mahadeva' both Compositions of Thyagaraja. They were executed with much passion and depth of feeling, bringing out the rich melody of the ragas.
After the internission, we returned to another Kirtanam of Thyagaraja, "Shobillu”. Then followed the Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi — Tharaka Brahma Swarupini - which is usually the highlight of a concert. Naranee and Mathini played this unhurriedly, navigating the transition between three speeds and the two Nadais in the Pallavi expertly. Their play of the Kalpana Swaras was imaginative and they combined with one another effortlessly towards the end. After this masterful display, there followed in quick progression a devotional song by Purandaradas, Subramanya Bharathiyar’s “Theeratha Wilayattupillai’’, Suddhananda Bharathiyar's 'Kuyille' and a Thilana, and brought to a close with Thiruppugal and Mangalam.
Continued on page 32
L SS SSS LL LS
TUTION
For GCSE, GCE (AVL) Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Physics Telephone: 0181 6823342

Page 32
››“ " Afኽየሣ ሐW፪5 ̆
The accompanists were Sri Balachandar on Mridangam, Sri Prakash on Ghatam and Kumari Devaki Gnananandha on the Thambura. Smit Sivasakthi Sivanesan, their Guru was encouraging throughout, gently coaxing at times but mostly showing her appreciation and approval.
The two artistes show great promise. Their Guru and parents could justly be proud of them.
Sri (Dr.) Nagarajan.
AUSTRALIAN NEWSLETTER
Bharatha Natya Arangetram of fifteen year old Apirami Arthieswaran, pupil of Ms. Anandavalli took place at the Parramatta Riverside Theatre, Sydney on 16, 12.95. Apirami began her performance with Natana Ajali, followed by Kaali Kavuthuwan. The Varnan She chose was 'Saani Naan Unthan Adimai, choreographed by Udupi Lakshmi Narayan and it was performed with meticulous precision with abhinaya outstanding for someone of her age.
After the intermission, she performed three pathams, a Thillana and ended with Mangalam. The accompanying artistes were Ms. Anandavali - Nattuvangam, Vocal - Mrs. Shanmugaraghavan, Mrithangam - Mr. R. Balasri, Violin - Mr. B. Krishnakumar and Flute - Mr. N. Prathipan.
Australia day to commemorate the birth of Modern Austalia was celebrated on 26th January. History has it that on 26th January 1788, men and officers of the First Fleet Flagship H.M.S. Supply cleared an adequate area at the head of Sydney Cove and erected a flagstaff. In the afternoon, the new Governor elect Captain General and Commander-in-Chief of New South Wales, Arthur Philip and his officers came ashore and officiated at the Flag Raising Ceremony. With this simple ceremony, the great nation of Australia was born.
Sri Lankan Tannis resident in the Strathfield and Homebush areas of Sydney played an active part in the Australia Day celebrations organised by the Strathfield Municipal Council in Strathfield Park. The ceremony commenced with the hoisting of the Australian National Flag and the singing of the National Anthem. There were Australia awards and a citizenship ceremony during which several migrants became Australian Citizens.
There was a community cricket matchAustralia vs Sri Lanka and a Horseshoe Pitching Contest. The Sri Lankan Tamil Senior Citizens entertained those present to hot Sri Lankan food. Sri Venkateswara Temple, Sydney was consecrated in June 1985. Additional deities of Siva, Parvati, Durga, Murugan, Rama, Hanuman and the Navagrahas were installed and the consecretation ceremony was held in January 1994. The second anniversary of the Maha Kumbhabishekam was held on 30. 1.96. The celebrations with Homams was followed by poojas and archanas.
Thai Poosam was celebrated on 4.2.96.
Devotees carried in p Temple chembus of later for the Maha -, Murugan. Two devot their cheeks and ton led the procession. also pierced their c metal hooks from Wl linnes. This is the fir event was witnessed ably in the whole of a Sion was accompani music. Murugam Temple, S Celebrated the Thir from 27th December devotees started gat and sang Thiruvemi Were broadcast On t radio station.
Thai Poosann was a
grand scale with spec
Weather: It has been a and the worst in a de people were frozen to
February 4th: While dents celebrated their the British, a vast ma observed it as a day, 300 of them took partir the Tamil Eelam Soc giannis, Federal M.F served orange juice at the participants and their grievances woula personal notice of the l Jean Christian,
Palikalum: The Cana forming Arts will prese Tamil called "Palikula March in Scarborough Mississauga. The pla directed by the well ReV. Dr. N. Maria Sa opening to serve the L. and a boost for the Tan of all faiths and denon to join the cast and a production. Those i quested to contact M (416) 495 1812. Music Festival: Isai Ontario held their an from 19th to 21st Jan Public Library. The pa days were Dr. A. Shí Athi Kanapathy Somas Sooriyapalan. 220 stud ful in the various g. conducted on the syll Ceylon Oriental Music serve our congratulatio high standard. The curt Manran is Mr. T. Sri F The International Mo Culture, Canada is arrangements to host ti al Conference in Toron August 1996 at the Toronto Convention Ce
 
 
 
 
 

فية تد ت ن : " ن "، ثم ة في قمة مرساة ة ضح :
ocession around the milk which was used bhishekan of Lord es who had pierced ue with metal "vels." hese devotees had est and back with ich hung dozens of t time that such an n Sydney and probustralia. the procesd by Natheswaram
ydney in Mays Hill vempavai Festival o 5th January. The hering from 5 a.m. avai songs which e local community
lso celebrated on a alpoojas.
bone chilling winter Cade. Three Street death in Toronto.
the Sinhalese resiindependence from jority of the Tamils of mourning. About a fast organised by fety. Mr. Jim Karyfor Scarborough he end of the fast to assured then that be brought to the Prime Minister Hon.
da Centre for Perta Passion Play in 'n' On the 30th of and on the 31st in y is produced and known missionary vier. As this is an ord through the Arts hil language, Tamils inations are invited ssist in this Easter terested are reK.R. Francis On
Kala Manrann of rual music festival uary at Yorkwoods trons on the three nmugavadivel, Dr. Indaran and Dr. S. 2nts were successade examinations abus of the North Society. They deis for maintaining a 2nt President of the athy, rement for Tamil making elaborate e Sixth Internation2 frOm 24th tO 26ከh prestigious Metro tre which can seat
over 3000. Registration has already commenced and the admission fee is 30 Canadian dollars. The address of their office is 2175 Victoria Park Avenue, Suite 204, Scarborough, Ontario M1R 1 V6, Canada, Tel.: (416) 4448581. The principal officers are Mr. S. Cheliah, President, Tel: (416) 439 6418; Mr. M. Jesudasan, Secretary, Tel: (416) 444 8070 and Mr. K. Vigneswaran, Treasurer.
Senior Tamils' Centre, Board of Directors 1995/1996
Front Row Wigneswaran, S. Poopalasing
ham, Rosalind Rajanayagam (President), Bavani Sivaramalingam, Mani Pathmarajah.
Back row: S. Thiagaraja, S. Tharmalingam, Aloy Ratnasingham, V. Eeswaranathan, P.S. Soosaithasan, J.C. Kumaradas.
AWard
Presented lo
APARTMENT FOR SALE
in Ward Place, Colombo 7 Spacious, 3-bedroom 2-bath (master bedroom with attached bath), with large kitchen and servants room and bathroom available for immediate sale. Located on the second floor in a quiet neighbourhood right across from the residence of a former President.
Asking US$119,000/OBO. Call or Fax:
Naresh at 916 853 9710 (US)

Page 33
تھی ۔
MMIGRATION, ASYLUM, NATIC
CALL US FOR FRIENDLY UNDERSTANDING LEGA ADVICE
Rengan N. Devarajan
SOLLC TORS
O 18-478 5797.
EMERGENCIESMOBILE 0836 546,429
1ST FLOOR, 28 ILFORD LANE, ILFORD, ESS
ALSO;
O LANDLORC a WELFARE/ o MARMON o POLICE STA o PERSONAL
Nadhanjali Veena concer
Smit Brindha Jeganathan, one of the outstanding veena tutors in the UK presented a well produced veena ensemble titled "Nadhanjali' by over 30 of her students at Holy Cross Convent School Hall, New Malden, Surrey on 16.12.95. The students were in five groups - a Junior group, two groups for intermediates and two for Seniors. Perfect Sruthi and Tala were maintained in every item.
The raga alapana of Mohanam played by Sharmilee Sarvanandan in Senior Group 2 was done extremely well with ease and feeling. The raga alapana of Sri Ragam followed by Tanam played to the ascent and descent notes in the same raga by Senior Group 2 was novel and noteworthy. The Pancharatnam "Entharo' also in Sri Raga, which followed was rendered
excellently. The Si well.
Smt Brindha Jeg well with a young support from par need specialmenti accompaning artis on Mirudangam, S Morsing and Sri G was remarkable. S Seelan and Smit | compering.
President C La
8-year-old poet Lal of poems to Presi an appeal on beh enjoyed our Xmas Lanka cannot enjo
கிறிஸ்துவின் சேவையில் BURNING BUSH
ஒரு மக்கள் சபை. BRO. BARNABAS ALEXANDER TELIFAX: 08-251 8325
Privat Pure/Applie, Statistics, Ph HOm
Te: 01
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

|-TENANTISSUES HOUSING IIALISSUES TION ADVICE
NJURY CLAIMS
EX GT 2LE
*
ai Bhajans too came off
Janathan has done very group of students. The ents and well wishers on. The assistance from tes Sri Muthu Sivarajah ri Sithamparanathan on ananathan on Ghadan ound effects were by Sri (alpana Mohan did the
inton Writes to kshmi
Shmi had sent her book dent Clinton and made alf of her people. "We but the children in Sri y their Xmas and other
e Tuition d Mathematics, ysics O/A Level, es visited
31-864. 3227
festivals because of war. Some of my aunties, uncles and Cousins are in the midst of war and they have no food, shelter or medicines. Please, please stop this war'.
The President had in a letter signed by him replied as follows:- 'Thank you for writing and sending your kind gift. Your thoughts and concerns regarding current issues are important for me. Your views will be carefully considered.
Helping Lankan Refugees
The Malaysian Ceylonese Congress (MCC) has set up a Sri Lankan Refugee Fund to aid refugees of the current conflict in Sri Lanka. MCC president Datuk Dr. N. Arumugasamy wishes to make a collection in conjunction with the World Refugees Fund set up by the United Nations Malaysian Association. The MCC fund will channel allassistance through the Red Cross in London to benefit those in refugee camps with the aim of providing medical supplies and basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter and kerosene. Donations can be sent to MCC at Room 804, 8th Floor Bangunan Yayasan Selang or Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Weena Chittibabu Passes Away
Chittibabu, eminent veena exponent pas
Sedaway of a heart attack on 102.96. He was 59 and leaves behind his wife and three sons. Born in Andrha Pradesh he
started learning veena at the age of 5,
gave his full-fledged concert at the age of 12, and was acclaimed a child prodigy. He
was the disciple of the late Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. Emani Sankara Sastry. Chittibabu had scored music for a few films and had several awards, honours and titles to his Credit.
FOR SALE
Land in Colombo 7, Alexander Place between Barnes and Horton Place. 7.02 perches at one million rupees a perch. US $ or Pounds Sterling only. M. Mahadeva, c/Galeon - 11 - 9A, 28042 Madrid, Spain.

Page 34
jaf fift. In
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Beddington insurance Services (Wimbledon) Ltd
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lo - V Ai i öö o
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Page 35
15 FEBRUARY 1996
GLEN EXPRES
f
Notting Hill G .155 سمجھ=NZ= g Hill G ATA Tel: O722184
TWiCe {
BRITISH
scheduled fligh
Depart Tuesday & S
at 11.3O
Arri\ Wednesday
Return possib
Competitive hotel
R =vE=
Major Credit C
FareS tO AuS
 
 

| AML. I IMES 35
STRAVELLTD
late, London W113LF )8 Fax: O171243 8277
a Week
AIRWAYS -gr
tS tO COlOmboO
ure Saturday p.m.
fall
& Sunday
e Via Madras on BA
rates in Sri Lanka
ralia available

Page 36
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