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TIME
Wo XW No.1 SSN. 266-4488 5NOWEME
K. Perimbanathan. Interrational Finance CO-OditOT Of LTTE
Former President J.R. Jayewardene who died On 11.95
 
 
 
 
 

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T15 NUvEMBER h990
"I do not agree with a word of what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."
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Tanill
ISSN 0266 - 4488
Vol.XV No. 11 15 NOVEMBER 1996
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CONTENTS
Rape and Murder Trial 4 Paris Killings - LTTE Blames Govt 5 People Crushed by Violence 5 Sunday Leader and the President 6 Controversial Judicial Appointment 7 UNP Leader Questioned 8 Danish Deportation 8 Teenager Gang-raped and Killed 9 Women as Peace Makers O Select Committee Process New Generation of Tamils 13 Leader who Roused the Tiger 16 Second Ouster of Benazir Bhutto 7ן Error of ignoring History 8 UTHR Repcrt (Continued) 2 The Debate on the Status of Tamil 24 Amirthalingam - Book Review 26 Readers Forum 29 Classified 30
The C
A group of 2: parties, big and discuss the conti London-based in issues, and the N Following dis attempts should solution to the pr negotiation shou at this juncture tc mentary Select C cal parties prese In the contex locked in battle O ties belonging to regarded as an a Any normal p and displacemer Lanka would wel debilitating war a But those wh which seek to pa trolled media" ar. Sons and as the matters, local an often on moral is True to form, did not fail to utte discussions by M why should an it Ireland; the obje should be wary o proposal for a Sr organisation hela politicians; the st keep out foreign problems. The ec net Minister had problems. Our pe these bleedingh don't know how t to buy arms for it These editor, terested in Sri L country is bleedi that cannot be W people outside a These editor these editors an should not do si pendent mediah in the island in n was made, the space in their co On some ma in the country lik 1940s or the imp period, the new: ters were later ad ment of July 198 sition from this v of the continuatic ess are those W what the British Ministers, a peri bution to Sri Lan
 
 
 

TAM TIMES 3
Onflict and the Media
3 Sri Lankan Members of Parliament belonging to all political small, recently gathered at a seminar in Northern Ireland to nuing conflict in Sri Lanka. The discussion was sponsored by the ternational Alert, an organisation dealing with conflict resolution lational Peace Council of Sri Lanka. cussions, all MPs unanimously came to the view that: a) all be made to end the armed conflict in Sri Lanka and a political oblem should be found; b) for a political solution the process of ld include the LTTE; c) the services of a facilitator may be useful move the talks forward; and d) the deliberations of the Parliacommittee should continue with the active participation of politintly represented in it. t of adversarial politics of Sri Lanka where political parties are in ethnic lines, the fact that the 23 MPs of different political parall major ethnic groups came to this unanimous view must be chievement in itself. erson who has witnessed the sheer scale of death, destruction it of people resulting the years of the unresolved conflict in Sri come any and every move to end the ongoing barbarous and ind bring about peace and normalcy in the island, so occupy the elevated positions as editors of the "private media" rade as the "independent media" as opposed to the "state cone not normal persons. They regard themselves as Superior perrepository of all knowledge and wisdom. They pontificate on all d international, concerning political, social, economic and very SUeS. the editors of the "The Sunday Island" and "The Sunday Times" r their pearls of wisdom for the benefit of us all in regard to the Ps in Northern Ireland. The editor of The Sunday island said: nternational organisation spend so much in taking 23 MPs to ctive appeared to be promote third party mediation; politicians f taking part in such foreign sponsored seminars; why should this i Lankan problem emanate at a seminar sponsored by a foreign d in foreign land; Sri Lanka has enough experts to advise our plution to the problems must be found in Sri Lanka itself; let us organisations from telling us how we should get about our own itor of The Sunday Times said that "our MPs including the Cabito listen to the pontifications as to how to solve Sri Lanka's olitical parties must be more careful before offering our MPs to eart lobbies which they say are the doves who want peace but oachieve it - nor are willing to stop the flow of funds for the LTTE 's War machine." s must realise that outside individuals and organisations are inanka because it has not found its own solution for years. The ng. People are suffering. Thousands are dying in battles in a war Ion by either party. Unlike these editors, there are concerned nod inside who want to bring an end to this catastrophe s must come off from their high horses. As they are doing now, their like have advised the politicians as to what they should or nce and before independence. They and their so-called indeave contributed to the escalation and continuation of the conflict small measure. At every turn any attempt to resolve the conflict 2ditorialists did not fail to condemn it as a "sell out" and gave lumns to points of view of extremism than moderation. jor issues which have contributed to the ethnicisation of politics ce the deprivation of citizenship to plantation Tamils in the late Iosition of Sinhala as the only official language in the post-1956 spapers and its editors played a diabolical role. Both these matdressed and partially remedied through the Indo-SriLanka Agree7 and the 13 amendment to the Constitution in the teeth of oppoery same press. Even today, among the most ardent advocates on of the war and the most strident opponents to the peace procno sit in the editorial rooms of the private press. To paraphrase Prime Minister, the late Clement Atlee said to one of his voluble od of silence on the part of these editors would be a great contrika and its people.

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- ܢܣܒܝ ܒܡܵܫ̄ܒܚ- -ܢܚܣܫ
T
E
4 TAM S
Rape and Murder
Trial Begins
The judicial hearing against six Sri Lankan soldiers and policemen accused of the gang-raping and murder of eighteen-year-old Krishanthi Kumarasamy, and the murdering of her mother, brother, 16, and a neighbour who went search of her in order to cover their tracks began on Monday 18 November in a Court in Colombo.
Eleven service personnel, including policemen, are reported to have been involved in the raping and the subsequent murders of the four victims. Some of these men are reported to be abscond
3.
The Court has agreed to an application by the defence to move the trial to Jaffna where the offenses were committed. The case has been adjourned to 2 December for hearing. The move to Jaffna, a city under army control, would probably weaken the prosecution case Since Witnesses would be reluctant to testify, said Mr.T. Poopalan, the lawyer representing the interests of the Kumarasamy family.
The speed with which the Colombo authorities had proceeded to institute and begin the trial against the alleged offenders indicates the government's serious concern that its human rights image has been badly dented by this and other recent cases of gross violation of human rights committed by security service personnel in military controlled areas of the northeast of the island.
Krishanthi, a student of the Jaffna Chundikuli Girls School, was returning home after sitting the GCE A'Level examination on 7 September. As she did not return home after the examination, her 59 year-old mother Rasammah Kumarasamy (a Deputy Principal of another school in Jaffna), her 16 year-old brother Piranavan, and a 36 year-old neighbour Kirupamoorthy went to the nearest army camp seeking information about the "missing" teenager. That was the last time the three
were seen. Later, 13-year-old boy ies at a cemetery. agitation, the Kar lice commenced into the deaths, a tody one corporal two policemen in the deaths.
An army Brig relatives of the fa and offered five a to fly to Jaffna to ies and participal The relatives refu the bodies to be ta The bodies were b bo and a post m tion was held by t cal Officer, Colom Amnesty Inter comed the news the security forc being responsibl pearance" and su of Krishanthy Ki mother, brother have been take. Amnesty Interna Sri Lankan gover speedy, impartia ent investigation authority be esta to ascertain the stances of their and killing; (b) t nesses for such ensured; and (c) ble be brought t ian Courts.
Protest Vigil
Ms.Mangalika "Women for Peac pressed horror a hideous sexual rape and grues Krishanthi in Jae ment, the organi “In this colle lence, her moth Vice Principa Muthukumarst Vidiyalaya, broth were found buri dug graves... Wł is that the atroc not committed i eas of heightene sives. Kaithady h by the army and tration controlle
 
 

15 NOVEMBER 199
it is reported a found four bodFollowing much kesanthurai poan investigation nd took into custwo soldiers and connection with
jadier contacted mily in Colombo r tickets to them identify the bodce in the funeral. used and wanted aken to Colombo. rought to Colomlortem eXaminahe Judicial Medihbo. national has welthat members of ces suspected of e for the "disapbsequent killing umarasamy, her and neighbour n into custody. tional urges the nment that (a) a l and independunder a civilian blished forthwith precise circum"disappearances' he safety of witinvestigation be those responsijustice in civil
de Silva of the e" movement exnd shock at the violence of gang om e murder of ffna. In a statesation said: ctive brutal vioer, a widow and of Kaithady vamy Maha er and neighbour d under crudely at is frightening ous Crinnes Were ) operational ard military offenad been "cleared" civilian adminisby the military.
However people experience terrible fear, insecurity and terror in this battle... The Kumarasamy massacre has shocked the conscience of people who see this as a crime committed against unarmed defenseless civilians. The government's credibility has been seriously eroded and this has led to a loss of faith and confidence that people had reposed in this government which claimed itself towards safeguarding the rights of all people."
Women for Peace has called upon all citizens to join them in a "vigil" to remember Krishanthi and her family and to protest against this kind of brutality against innocent civilians. The "Action" begun on Friday l November would continue every other week day (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 12.30 - 1.30pm at Hyde Park, Colombo 2.
The phenomenon of arbitrary arrests, disappearances and extrajudicial killings of persons in army controlled Jaffna peninsula has been on the increase in recent months. The abduction of the school girl Krishanthi Kumarasamy, 18, at an army checkpoint and her gruesome murder after being gang-raped by service personnel, and the subsequent killing of her mother, brother and a family friend who went looking for her has dramatically highlighted and brought into the public domain the increasing violation of human rights committed by the security forces in Jaffna.
The whereabouts of many persons taken into custody remain a mystery and the military's usual response to inquiries by relatives of those arrested has been a denial of such arrests. The Jaffna Government Agent of Jaffna in a letter to the military commander in charge of Jaffna provided details of over one hundred persons whose whereabouts remain unknown following arrests by service personnel.
According to information received by the Government Agent of Jaffna from the officer-in-charge of the Kankesanthurai police station, as many as 740 persons, men and women, arrested between 30.03.96 and 29.08.96, are being held in detention within premises of the police station.
Subramaniam, a mechanic employed by the Jaffna Municipal

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15 NOVEMEBER 1996
Council disappeared at 2 pm on 9 August while here was traveling to his place of work. There have been several cases of missing persons, including women, in recent months. The anguished parents and relatives of those missing have begun to demonstrate and protest publicly.
Ranjani, a young woman aged 24 who was planning to leave to Canada for her marriage went to see her relatives in Kondavil in Jaffna to say goodbye. On her way she was stopped by service personnel manning a checkpoint at Kondavil on 3 October and dragged her into a nearby house where two elderly persons were living. The soldiers chased the two occupants out and Ranjani was gangraped, murdered and her body was buried in the compound. The relatives who went looking for her recovered Ranjani's naked body from the compound.
The Home for Human Rights, a much respected human rights organisation which was operating in Jaffna in the 1980s, now having its office and ಙ್ಗಣ್ಣ from Colombo has compiled a list of over one hundred persons who have "disappeared" in recent months in northern Jaffna.
The National Peace Council in a statement warned that "the large number of disappearances in Jaffna, coupled with several incidents of rake and killings attributed to the armed forces are a cause of grave concern. Such incidents reveal an intensity of anfeeling and also give an indication of the plight of ဗူဗ္ဗ၀ple living under military control."
Paris Killings АТТЕ Blaimes Gov
The LTTE has accused "state sponsored terrorism" of the Government of Sri Lanka to be responsible for the murder of two of its Paris-based functionaries. Rejecting the accusation, a foreign ministry spokesman in Colombo said that the killings might have been an inside job by the LTTE itself.
The Treasurer in charge of the LTTE's international financial operations, Kandiah Perinbanathan, 32 years, and the editor of the LTTE's Tamil weekly "Eelamurasu" published from Paris, Kandiah Gajendran, 30 years, were shot dead by yet unidentified persons on 26 October when they were walking along the sub-way in Boulevard la Chapelle, an area in Paris where large number of
expatriate Tamil counts differ as happened. Some that a gunman wait shot the two that a person wh an animated con victims suddenly and shot them range. Both die taken to the hosp Police who arriv shortly after the There have b suggesting that video tape reco close-circuit-tele erating at the which would pro as to the circums ing the murders of the assailant. police have so fa out any informa formation in the In its initial re blamed other Tamil ಟ್ವಿಟ್ಲ: fo part of a consp lombo governm LTTE. It said T aware that “eler Tamil society ac with the Sri Lar. genocidal war on inside and outsi In a statemen ber issued from Secretariat in L. Tiger leader Velu said, "I am extre tressed to leari based functiona Tamill lliberation
eat deal have b your enemy,
"Mr. Kandiah (Nathan) was a our liberation honest worker f devoted to the ic He has served charge of intern ing, travelled to and has rendere "Mr. Kandiah jan) worked as Tamil Eelam ca of the Tamil we rasu, built up : for the paper a triates in severa tries. He was kr nal and courage death at the ha a tremendous lo nalism.
"It is an inte fact that the ch government is in a plannedmis ever increasing
 
 
 
 

TAMIL MES 5
are located. Aco what actually reports indicate ho had been in while others say ) was engaged in ersation with the pulled out a gun at point-blank d as they were tal by the French ed at the scene incident. en some reports the police have "dings from the rision system opsub-way station ide vital evidence ances surroundand the identity But the French declined to give ion as to the inr possession. sponse, the LTTE pro-government r the killings as racy by the Coent against the amils should be nents within the tively participate ka government's the Tamil people de," ut dated 9 Novemits International ondon, the Tamil pillai Pirabakaran mely sad and disthat two Paris ries to whom the movement OWes a een gunned down
| Perinbanathan senior member of brganisation, an or the cause and eals of liberation. as an officer in ational fund raisVarious Countries dyeoman service. Gagendran (Gapublicist for the 1se and as Editor ckly, the Eelamuwide readership nong Tamil expaEuropean counown for his ratioous views and his ds of assassins is ss for Tamil jour
nationally known luvinistic Sinhala eriously engaged sion to destroy the nternational sup
port which our organisation is receiving, and to destabilise the international structure of our liberation movement which has grown widely and spread its branches everywhere. The government of Sri Lanka is openly engaged in the Herculean task of crushing the freedom struggle of the Tamils by securing the proscription of our organisation in foreign countries and by blocking the contributions we receive from the expatriate Tamil community...
"The state sponsored terrorism of the Sri Lankan government has now crossed national boundaries and international waters to perpetrate atrocities against the Tamils in foreign countries as well. The International Community should try to identify the perpetrators of this cruel and dastardly act..."
The government's first reaction to the Paris killings that they might have been carried out by a person who did not want to pay money to the LTTE, and its later statement that there was reason to suppose that the killings might have been of a well-known pattern, whereby the LTTE disposed of its cadres who have fallen out of favour with its leadership, have been denounced by the LTTE's international secretariat as malicious and defamatory fabrications,
繼
蠟 3:
Very little has been written about the Vanni, aside from recent reports following the battles at Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi. It is an area which is considered militarily important by the security forces and the LTTE, where both partles have imposed hardships on the population for their own gains, resulting in unending misery for the civilian population. The groups concerned include approximately 150,000 displaced civilians from Jaffna and over 250, OOO who are native to the Vanni. Freedom of movement is restricted by both the Army and the LTTE, to the extent that corruption and human rights violations are rampant, the Information Bulletin No.12 by the University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna (UTHR(J)) states in a summary of their 29 page report dated 22 October.
The report adds that the movement of those displaced from Jaffna has been closely controlled by the LTTE in the past. The LTTE originally was the main party to

Page 6
6 TAM TIMES
apply pressure on civilians to use the boat service to cross the Jaffna lagoon to the Vanni, but there is also a constant fear of the Army. Often, especially during the Kilinochchi offensive, the security forces have not allowed civilians to leave LTTE-controlled areas. Contrary to military statements, it is not the LTTE that is restricting access in recent months to the Vanni as much as the Army. Upon attempts to gain access to Vavuniya town, civilians have been subjected to various levels of harassment, beatings and arbitrary refusals by the security forces. Young people especially fall victim to this treatment. The whole set-up reinforces the feeling to the Tamil civilians that they are second class citizens in this country, and that their dignity can be tampered with without any hindrance.
The bombing of areas with a large refugee population and the shelling of Kilinochchi where the hospital was notspared, have convinced civilians that these raids are often meant to terrorize the people rather than destroy the LTTE. Often bombs have been dropped miles away from stated targets, such as during Operation “Sathjaya” when Kilinochchi hospital was extensively damaged. Even this incident occurred after a curfew was declared and civilians were told to seek refuge in places of worship. Furthermore, in Vavuniya town Tamil militant groups operating closely with the Army, such as the PLOTE and the TELO, have been responsible for harassment of humanitarian workers, and corruption are even and suspected of murder. Two well-known torture centres in Vavuniya town continue to be maintained by the PLOTE and the Counter-Subversive Unit of the Police.
Conditions in refugee camps in Army controlled Vavuniya have been likened to those of a prison or worse. Basic medicine is not available and disease, undernutrition and mental depression are widespread in LTTE controlled areas, where Government food rations are constantly delayed and never enough, and upon arriving at centres they are placed under the strict control of the LTTE, which is often concerned about maintaining levels of stocks, however dire the civilian need. Food rations for the displaced from Jaffna were stopped by the Government shortly after the Army took control of the whole of Jaffna in April. A request from Kilinoch
chi for a desper increase in med flatly refused by Alarmingly, the tee of the Minist medical supplies 75%, to which made no protest. made iust as a wounded civilia diate treatment in Killinochchi. I Were necessities for snake bites needed for puri. result, the rural hepatitis, typhoi ingitis and dyse mortality is repo increase. Clearly is unable or unw the influx of thos fighting.
In attempts t ror of living in th some civilians c to travel to India cial military stat has not needed ians very much Large groups of arrested and de attempts to trav dia. Usually ab varying fee char is taken by the ple having to sel possessions to a Similar to the s tion at military c. Vanni, the LTTE leges to those w ence and money Aside from vi and military cor the people are tr LTTE’s recruitnr. dren. There are tres in nearly el Vanni. Methods chological coer ment of school with abuse, abdi lar ominous pre! camps. Many C from the recent nochchi were been between til l6. There is at and ceremony b dead youth; th by leaders to b the killing mach one of the mos gions where th have come fro] when this displ ruption occurs, dren become th to the LTTE's C: The LTTE I Countable for t

ܢܝܣܚ
15 NOVEMBER 1996
tely needed 40% cal supplies was the Government. Vedical Commity of Defence cut
to the Vanni by health officials This decision was large number of Ls needed immeafter the fighting cluded in this cut such as treatment
and chemicals ying water. As a Vanni is rife with d, malaria, menintery, and infant rted to be on the , the Government illing to cope with e displaced by the
o escape the horLe Vanni outback, ontinue attempts . Contrary to offiements, the LTTE to pressure civilto make the trip. Tamils have been stained, following el by boat to Inout a half of the ged to go to India LTTE, many peol all their worldly fford the journey. ystem of corrupheck-points in the gives travel privi'ith means, influ
olations in Jaffna trol in the Vanni, ying to escape the ent of their chilrecruitment Cenrery village of the often involve psycion and harasschildren, threats uction and a regusence over refugee f the dead cadre onslaught at Killieported to have he ages of 13 and present no pomp y the LTTE for the y are considered e mere fodder for line. The Vanni is predominant reese young cadre n. It is precisely acement and disthat young chil2 most vulnerable mpaigns. nust be held acnis Suicidal path
which many Tamil youths have been driven down, but the political inertia of the Government and the terror unleashed by the security forces must also be clearly seen as a major factor in this tragedy. In the Vanni, the LTTE remains to exercise a large amount of control and influence, despite the fundamental weakness and unpopularity of its association. Thus, its strength relies heavily on the violence and misery brought to the Vanni by the security forces. Sadly, impunity continues to dominate the politics of this country, with army personnel who are charged with serious violations being released or even promoted. The only hope for the people of the Vanni lies in a political solution which respects human rights, guarantees the physical well-being and dignity of the Vanni people, and works towards a future where the displacement of communities ends. A
The Sunday Leader
and the President
"The Sunday Leader" columnist, Suranimala, created a political storm when he made a serious allegation in his weekly column (20 October) against President Chandrika Kumaratunga. He alleged that the President, while speaking to some of her officials a fort. night previously recounting her meeting she had with the TULF leaders and making reference to reports that the LTTE was attempting to attack places of worship, including Shri Maha Bodhi at Anuradhapura, with explosives, made "her outrageous statement" that "if the LTTE attacks any place of religious worship, she would personally attack the Tamils and cited the Maharajahs as an example.” He added, “Among the officials present when Kumaratunga made this shocking statement was a highly respected Tamil official, who has been personally known to the president for a long time.... Even if the president made the statement in a fit of anger or lighter vein, it certainly was in bad taste."
Though the columnist did not attribute the President's unchar - acteristicalleged statement to any source, the report was picked up by foreign news agencies and given wide publicity during the following days. The Tamil Congress leader Mr.G.G. Ponnambalam Jr., who is no friend of the President, fired off an angry letter to her saying, “From what I know of you, I

Page 7
15 NoveMBER 1996
have net the slightest doubt that you must have made the above statement, as I have always maintained that that was indeed your true attitude and feelings about Tamils."
As rumour spread that the reference to "a highly respected Tamil official, who has been personally known to the president for a long time” was to Mr.Rajan Asirwatham, Chairman of Bank of Ceylon, he wrote to the President: "I wish to state that I was not the official concerned and have no knowledge of this statement. May I also add that knowing you for many years, I am firmly of the opinion that you are not the type of person who would ever make a statement of that nature."
Mr. R. Sampanthan, General Secretary of the TULF which was also referred to in The Sunday Leader report also wrote to the President confirming the meeting between the President and the TULF on 19 September at which the President referred to information of a possible attack on the Sri Mahabodi. The letter added, "At no stage of this conversation did Your Excellency threaten any retaliatory violence on innocent Tamil civillans nor did you in any way suggest that you or the government would condone any such violence. It would be a mischievous and wrongful distortion of this discussion to attribute any such statement to Your Excellency."
A statement from the Presidential Secretariat described the report in The Sunday Leader as "a dangerous report, willfully and maliciously designed to create alarm among the Tamil people and incite racial hatred in a highly senSitive situation".
The Presidential statement said, "The President wishes to state that categorically that no such meeting of officials took place at which she is alleged to have made the statement. Such a statement has never been made by her to anyone, anywhere, at any time. The President wishes to reiterate that such a statement is wholly inconsistent with her well-known attitude to the solution of the ethnic problem and the principles she has publicly espoused over a long period of time for the establishment of peace and ethnic harmony in Sri Lanka...
"The President and her government have placed their personal safety and political popularity in serious jeopardy, while insistently defending the legitimate interests of minorities and striving to secure
their personal saf and their right as this country.
"It is shocking news agencies lik Presse (AFP) and t of India (UNI) hav seminate this alle the basis of a rep Sunday newspap its untruths, and malicious vitupe the President and A complaint ha made by the Pres defamation in res cation in that ne' indictment on a nal defamation i trial in the High C editor and publis. “This is a dal willfully and mali to create alarm a people and incite a highly sensitive President wishes that she ... will inc the machination seek to thwart he tect the minorities the trust and con norities have plac Asked as to w Leader published t ment by the Presic true, a PA governn said " As everyo Sunday Leader is for its anti-govern more specifically t dent personally i and coverage of ne ist who is none ot per's editor, Lasal tunga, a failed poli lier era having be in winning a seat liament. He could ambitions through he is out for veng He added, "Yo that the paper ed support the govel started negotiatior two years ago, anc broke down and sumed armed ho 1996, the editoria. told you so" attitu the peace process dent had started notice that the pap dent stance on th ecute the war ag and when everyon gan "Give Peace a an end to the w Leader some mon an editorial titled Chance”. The pap tray among the Sir

TAMILTIMES 7
sty and security equal citizens of
that respected Agence France he United News e rushed to dised statementon ort carried in a er notorious for its vicious and rations against the government. already been dent of criminal pect of a publiwspaper and an harge of crimis now pending ourt against the
e. ngerous report, iously designed mong the Tamil racial hatred in situation...The it to be known it be deterred by s of those who r efforts to proand undermine fidence that nied in her.” hy The Sunday he alleged statelent if it was not nent spokesman ne knows, The generally known ment stance and argets the Presiin its Comments ws. The columnher the newspantha Wickramatician of an earan unsuccessful and enter parnot achieve his n the party, and eaCe. u should know itorially did not 'nment when it ls with the LTTE l when the talks the LTTE restilities in April s adopted a "we le poking fun at vhich the Presi. You will also er adopts a strie need to prosinst the LTTE, e raises the slohance" to bring ur, The Sunday ths ago carried "Give Peace a er Wants to porhala people that
the government and the President are anti-Sinhala and pro-Tamil, and among the Tamils as antiTamil and pro-Sinhala. That is the game the paper is playing."
Judicial
ppointment
The recent appointment of Ms. Shranee Bandaran aike, former associate Professor of the Faculty of Law in the Colombo University, as a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has raised much controversy in legal, judicial and political circles in Colombo.
The controversy seems to arise from her Ms. Bandaranaike’s relatively young age (38) and junior position within the legal profession with only thirteen years of experience at the bar to her credit. Older and more senior judicial personalities, and those now practising in unofficial bar having aspirations to be elevated to judicial position seem to think that her appointment will make her eligible to sit on the Supreme Court for the next twenty years, ten years of which could be as Chief Justice of the country by way of normal seniority. This would be unprecedented in the judicial history of the country, they say.
There are those who do not doubt Ms. B's academic qualifications or record. But they say that she does not even possess the minimum requirement to be appointed even as a District Court judge. The primary requirement to become a District Court judge is that the applicant should have been an Attorney-at Law for at least 15 years. But Ms. B has been an Attorney-at-Law only for 13 years. If she is not qualified to be appointed as DC judge, how can you appoint her as a Supreme Court judge, the ask.
Ms. B is no relation of the island’s well known Bandaranaike political clan, and therefore nepotism on the part of President Kumaratunga Bandaranalike is not a reason that is attributed to this appointment. However, newspaper columnists in Colombo have drawn a connection between her and Prof. G.L.Pieirs, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, in describing him as the "mentor" of the lady in question. It is to be noted that G.L. was Professor of Law at the University where Ms.B was Associate Professor before he became a politician and a cabinet

Page 8
TAMILTIMES
minister. “This allegation is contemptible and does not merit consideration. Justice Bandaranalike has been a student and a respected colleague of the Minister, However she has never functioned as an alde or assistant to him at the University or anywhere else," the legal correspondent of "The Sunday Observer" said.
The fact that the incumbent Chief Justice was not consulted by the President before the appointment was made has also become subject of critical comment. The defenders of the appointment say that unlike in India, "the Sri Lankan Chief Justice has no part to play in the appointment of the Higher Judiciary. The Constitution expressly confers this power on the President of the Republic... and she has made an informed choice and effected a perfect, legal and entirely constitutional appointment." The appointment may be entirely legal and constitutional. But the President is not a practising lawyer orjudicial personality and how did she become "informed" about making a "choice" ? One must assume that she must have sought and received advice as to the competence of the appointee to be able to make an "informed choice". If she in fact sought and received advice, one must regard that the incumbent Chief Justice must be an obvious and well qualified source of advice to make an "informed choice". If the Chief Justice of a country "has no part to play in the appointment of the Higher Judiciary", one wonders as to who will be better suited for the purpose, at least in advising the President to make an “informed choice".
The government is beset with all sorts of problems and controversy, One would have hoped that the government could have avoided venturing into such palpably controversial actions to invade into the arena of judicial appointments.
Opposition Leader guestioned
The leader of the United National Party and the Opposition Leader in the Sri Lankan Parliament, Mr. Ranill Wickremasinghe was questioned by CID officers for five hours on the direction of the Presidential Commission inquiring into the setting up and operation of a "torture chamber" by the security forces at Batalanda during the regime of the previous govern
ment of which M was a leading f
Evidence giv mission has in who were taker taken to the Bat tortured and se peared.
A statement mission's Secret Commission ha vestigating off statement fro singhe regardir to him pertaini reference of the
Following th port by the inv it is likely that M will be formally pear before the { evidence and to tioned.
The recent year-old Chitra Denmark to Sr sequent detenti the detention a four Danish jou accompanied he hit the headline and Colombo,
Worse is th government's refugees or as turned from f would be safe timised has bee be lacking in cr tention of Chit aged its image
Chitra from Went to Denma and was purs there. She told t ties that in 199 civil war in Sri raised money b and sent her t she lived with h Sellammah Na
Following re plication for ref was kept in det ish authorities ported to Color
Students a school which sh mark and hum tions launched test against thi and the decisi authorities to garding the pr put on a plane yake accompar officials. Chi through immig without any di

15 NOVEMEBER 1908
Wickremasinghe gure,
in before the Comlcated that many into custody and alanda camp were veral more disap
ssued by the Comary stated that the d directed its incers to record a n Mr. Wickremag matters known ng to the terms of
Commission.
: submission of restigating officers, r.Wickremasinghe summoned to apommission to give be further ques
deportation of 18 Rajendran from | Lanka, her subon in Colombo and nd deportation of 1rnalists who had r to Colombo have s both in Denmark
at the Sri Lankan claim that Tamil ylum seekers reoreign countries would not be vicn demonstrated to edibility by the dera, and also damabroad,
ပိုးမှုံ၊ in Jaffna rk at the age of 15 uing her studies he Danish authori93, because of the Lanka, her mother f selling a property o Denmark where er mother's sister, 'aratnam. jection of her apugee status, Chitra ention bv. the Danpefore she was de
bo. ld teachers of the e attended in Denun rights organisaa campaign of prorefusal of asylum on by the Danish deport her. Disretests, Chitra was urriving at Katunaled by two Danish ra checked out ation and customs iculty and went to
a relative's house at Dehiwela.
A group of four Danish journalists also had followed Chitra to Colombo to monitor the situation. On 2 November, one of the journalists belonging to Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Troels Aagaard gotin touch with Chira, interviewed her and broadcast it in Denmark. On the same day, a news broadcast in the SLBC announced that a Tamil deportee from Denmark had gone missing and she was being sought by the police. Following this news announcement, another Danish TV journalist Jensen Gens booked Chitra into the Mount Lavinia Hotel. Chitra returned to her relative's place on 3 November, and when she was with yet another Danish journalist, Mollar, the police took her into custody on a 7-day detention order. W
Subsequently, the police questioned and searched the four Danish journalists in their hotelrooms in the presence lawyer K.V.Thavarasa who had been retained by the Danish authorities. They were detained in the Beachway Hotel in Mount Lavinia until November 15. The police are reported to have said that they were looking into the bone fides of the four |ஆ because it was unusual for four of them to accompany and follow a single woman deportee all the way from Denmark to Colombo and then continue to have contact and interview her,
The journalists were eventually deported on 13 November following a decision by the National Security Council. It has been reported Chitra is being detained at the Salvation Army Hostel on suspicion of alleged "LTTE connections" to be further investigated.
Arthur Clark gå
Welcomes Time Change
With the clocks being put back by half an hour Sri Lanka now six hours alhead of GMT, fresh controversies have arisen over the recent Cabinet decision. The government statement said: “This decision will be effective from midnight Saturday (26/l O/ 1996)", and added accordingly with effect from l2.30 a.m. on 26th October 1996. Sri Lanka will be six (O6) hours ahead of GMT, Greenwich Mean. Time".
It is alleged that the Cabinet in arriving at this decision had ignored or over-ruled a recommen
(Continued on page 29

Page 9
15 NOVEMEBER 1996
ged, 9, returning from stopped at a checkpoint in army-contro gang-raped by l service personnel, kill ied in a shallow pit. Not knowing as t
had been murdered and burned by the ice personnel. . . . . . . .بود
GANG-RAPED AND K
By Pearl Thevanayagam
Irishanthi Kumaraswamy (19) was raped by l l men in uniform after she was detained at Kaithady checkpoint on 7 September.
Her mother Rasamma (5), bro- ther Piranavan (16) and a family friend Kirupamoorthy (36) went in search of Krishanthi Who after sitting her GCE (A/L) examination at Chundikuli Girls High School told her mother she would be attending the funeral of her school-mate who days earlier had been mow-ed down and was killed by an army vehicle.
The girl who was last seen at Kai thady checkpoint around 11.30am never made it home and until 22 October her sister Prashanthi's mind was a total blank since she had not set eyes on her family after she left Jaffna for Colombo on 3 l June.
Each time a soldier commits a murder, a rape or burgle belongings left behind by a panicked and anguished civilian - and this has become commonplace in recent times - the only comment from his officers is that "he is just a bad egg. But how many bad eggs are there and what is the ratio of such "bad eggs' in the military basket to "good" ones?
The answer is "far far too many" and nothing is furthest from this truth as the readers would glean from the following horror story:
Prashanthi Kumaraswamy (21) made appeal after appeal to the military high-ups, politicians, government officials and finally to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to trace her family after they went missing at Kaithady checkpoint in Jaffna on 7 September but all that the military could come up with was that
“there were no su passed their han Not until Tues when Prashanth shell that her el dead. She was no World and that search for her fall This response family friend, a p Mannar, who inf ugh a letter date had received info lowing the disapp hanthi's sister, K. Kaithady checkp returning from th Level examinati Rasamma Kum brother Pranava family friend, an named Krishnan. to the CWE had g Krishanthi only r. A straight 'A' leading girls'sch Chundi kuli Gir Krishanthi obtain tion passes for t amination, the h could obtain.
Like most Jaff despite the many ed on the entire due to the long an for well over 22 y up the only tool t with, education, her heart and sou.
XaS
But fate dea whole family a ni hand of brutish checkpoint who k) guage - the langu through the barre To the soldier posted to the Nor since many of the
 

TAMILTIMES 9
chool as led Jaffna,
at they too SEC SCV
(ILLED
1ch persons who ds”. sday 10 October, i got the bombntire family was wall alone in this she need not mily. : came from her post-master from ormed her throd 10 October, he rmation that folbearance of PrasIrishanthi (19), at oint as she was e GCE Advanced on, her mother araswamy, her an and another office assistant loorthy attached gone in search of lever to return.
student from a Dol in Jaffna, the ls High School, ed eight distinche GCE O/L exighest grade one
na students who hardships heapJaffna Peninsula d protracted war ears never gave ney could escape
Krishanthi put linto passing her
It her and her asty blow at the soldiers at the new just one lanage of violence - el of a gun. s who are often th and East and ese are recruited
from poverty stricken families where the almost illiterate youth are lured into 'serving the nation' by getting conscripted to the forces, the nubile girls in their smart uniforms passing their checkpoints daily is a sight both pleasing to their eyes and takes away their longing for a distant village and family life.
Hence on that fateful day of 7 September, Krishanthi became prey to the lust of no less than the checkpoint soldiers who allegedly raped her and panic-stricken at their dastardly act killed her. They are reported to have dumped her lifeless body in a shallow pit and prayed their sins would not be discovered.
Did they repent? Obviously not. For to add to their horrendous and dastardly crime they had to kill Krish- anthi's mother, brother and a family friend, Krishnamoonthy, who dared to go in search of the missing girl barely two hours later for fear of being discovered, according to information received by Weekend Express.
As to when and how the Kumaraswamy family and the office assistant Krishnamoorthy were killed needs further investigations. But the fact remains that the quadruple murder in the hands of the very people deployed to protect the civilians from atrocities allegedly committed by the LTTE rebels will evoke outrage and anger from every quarter at the silent and complacent military authorities and the politicians who repeatedly proclaim that they are on the verge of "liberating the Jaffna people from the hands of the terrorists".
Who are these terrorists? Prashanthi, a relative Kodeeswaran and her uncle who is Rasamma's brother, Mr Navaratnam, ever since the ominous day the Kumaraswamy family and Krishnamoorthy disappeared through the Kaithady checkpoint, have been making frantic appeals to every possible military and government contact and each had maintained a stoic silence and callous indifference to the plight of the missing.
Navaratnam told Weekend Express' from his home in Wellawatte, "Krishanthi, on her return from sitting the examination at Chundikuli, had decided to attend the funeral of her colleague in the neighbourhood who was mowed down and killed by an army truck a few days previously. But she had informed her family that she would
(continued on next page)

Page 10
10 TAMILTIMES
- ШОПЕТ as Paa Where Have Ahe Flowe
by Sakuntala D. Kadirgamar, 1
e have reached a point in history when we should all with one voice raise our opposition to the continuing violence in our country, Sri Lanka. It's clear that this war will dragon endlessly. It's mainly the young ones who are paying the price. Thousands of youths on both sides have lost their lives.
As a mother I know how much time and care is spent in bringing up children. We as mothers wait for the day when our sons and daughters grow up to be strong independent persons. We long to see the day they take over responsibilities and become leaders in our community. But what's happening today? The lives of young people are snatched away. Their mothers, wives and other kith and kin can only find comfort in holding memorial services and erecting monuments for them. This brings to mind the song about the futil
(continued from page) return a little late."
Amidst suppressed anger and sorrow at losing his beloved sister, an aged widow and his nephew, niece and the brave office assistant family friend and enraged over the brutish and inhumane act of the checkpoint lads in uniform, Mr Navaratnam screamed at Weekend Express.
We spent over a month contacting anyone who would assist us, tell us what happened to my family and even Brigadier Lal Weerasooriya told us until the last minute that his soldiers knew nothing of the disappearances. We wrote to General Anuruddha Ratwatte, the President, politicians and the answer was simple silence. No inquiries were made since any inquiry would have compelled the commander to immediately vanquish the post of the soldiers concerned. Any officer worth his salt would resign over this incident. But there was not a single officer who dared to probe the incident. Was my niece a terrorist? Where is respect for a school uniform? Is this military machoism?" (Courtesy of "Weekend Express")
ity of war sung b Mary during the
Where hause alth time passing Where haue all th time ago Where haue all the by young girls eu Oh uphen uill the Oh uhen uill the
Where have all t long time passing Where have all t long time ago
Where have al t gone to husbands Oh when uvili they uvill they ever leau Where hauve all the time passing
Where haue all the time ago
Where have all gone for soldiers Ohuhen uill they uvill they ever lea.
Where haue alth time passing Where have alth time ago Where haue alth to graveyards eu Ohuhen uill they uvill they ever lea
Where have all t long time passing Where hauve all t longtime ago
Where have all t gone to flouverse Ohuhen uill they uvill they ever lea
Women have sibility to work fr mon knowledget situation in the fifths of the ref and children. T women everywhe portant it is to ( towards peacefu flicts. It's distres rejoicing over b; we become so cannot feel the
 
 
 

15 NOVEMBER 1996
`okyo
y Peter, Paul and Vietnam War:
e flouvers gone, long
e flouvers gone, long
flouvers gone, picked eryone
euer learn, ever learn?
he young girls gone,
he young girls gone,
e young girls gone, ; everyone euer learn, Ohuhen rrn?
husbands gone, long
husbands gone, long
the husbands gone, everyone
euer learn, Ohuhen rrጊ?
e soldiers gone, long
e soldiers gone, long
e soldiers gone, gone 2ryone Feuer learn, Ohuhen
n?
he graveyards gone,
he graveyards gone,
he graveyards gone, Lveryone feuer learn, Ohuhen r?
a special responor peace. It's comhat in any conflict world about fourugees are women his should make re realize how imlirect their efforts solutions to Consing to see people attles Won. Have heartless that we pain and loss be
hind these victories? When the army captured Jaffna, some people in the south celebrated by setting off fire crackers. In the same way, when the army camp in Mullaitivu Was Overrun, SOme Tamils were jubilant over the large number of soldiers killed. Let us not shut our eyes and ears to the
in our homeland, even if we feel powerless to stop this senseless war. There are thousands of refugees in our own country without shelter and medical facilities who have to stand in long lines to buy essential food stuffs.The least we can do is to work for peace so that all our people, men, women and children, can one day sleep peacefully without fear and tension.
women living abroad to play a useful role as peacemakers. There is a desperate need for peace. There are a few but very active peace groups in Sri Lanka and there may be a few outside Lanka. What is suggested here is to stress the need for more people to get interested in peace activities and to start peace groups in our neighbourhood. This is an appeal for action. For, we should remember that it is important for the war-displaced victims to know that they are not forgotten. One of our aims should be to
better life in the near future.
The Sunday Island of October 6 had a news item under the caption 'Saying "No" to War'. It says, Recently about fifty women dressed in black, some of them with black gags over their mouths, stood at Lipton Circus protesting silently. The gags marked the silencing of those who do not agree with the "war for peace" ideology. Women for peace organized this silent protest'. It was a courageous act on the part of the participants to stand silently and give their message for peace when there is so much violence in the country. We, who are living abroad, can engage in meaningful activities like building support groups. Peaceful demonstrations like the one at Lipton Circus draw the attention of ordinary people to the gravity of the problem.
Sri Lanka is not the only place where there is ethnic conflict. It has been estimated by the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London that there are 125 ethnic or minority disputes in the former Soviet Union alone. Ethnic conflict is seen by Michael Clarke, director of the Centre for Defence Studies in London, to be the most likely problem of the politics of the 21st

Page 11
15 NOVEMBER 1996
century. As a result, there are many women working for peace in war-torn areas of the world. We could begin by educating ourselves on the situation at home and other war-ravaged countries. Speakers from countries that have faced similar traumatic situations could be invited to speak to peace groups. We could get valuable information as to how they are trying to bring peace in their areas and learn from their experiences. It is possible to raise the consciousness of people to the death and destruction caused by wars by writing to newspapers and magazines and organizing discussions. Peace groups could participate in demonstrations protesting against violence as well. It may be good for us to bear in mind at this stage that although there is ethnic conflict in many countries, Sri lanka is one of the few countries where the problem hasn't been solved for a great length of time. This has resulted in much destruction and bloodshed.
Further, most Lankan women are submissive and dependent. We may be working women but most of us have been playing subordinate roles in society. Some of us think we should possess qualities like modesty and self- restraint, and should not have a mind of our own. According to Virginia Woolf’s words in "killing the angel in the house', let's strive to win the rights and freedom most western women enjoy. I attended two international conferences in Katmandu and Tokyo this year. The meetings were mainly on women's issues such as domestic violence, shelter activities for migrant workers, trafficking of women and peace activities. I was amazed to see the strength and commitment of all the participants from India, Korea and Japan. We should learn from them. Unity and solidarity gives strength.
It is interesting to know that the first women's peace groups were started in England as early as 1820. In many instances they have assisted in preventing and ending hostilities, as informal negotiators and demonstrators. The great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who led the independence struggle against the mighty British Raj, felt that only women were able to save the world from violence and was convinced that Indian women should take the lead in the civil disobedience movement. More than sixty percent of the participants in the salt march were women. Therefore, leaders who were against violence and who fought for peace and harmony be
he Sri Lank
has promise
Constitutiona legal draft in parl next year. Profess said that the Parl Committee(PSC) deliberations by Tamils in the no tained any inter matter it had beg the PSC was, lik tempt in the past solve the ethnic Lanka, slowly buʼ ing into oblivion f siasm on the par the SLFP since t the Riviresa op north.
Many Tamils areas are simply the government senior western di ited the army co: the peninsula re people to whom his short tour k what is happenin ment's plan for rey The fact is that ci ninsula are so ove day to day prob. and are fed only
tween ethnic com women have a rol ing peace.
Finally, when such as Canada England, where til patriate commun friendship, respec each other are se painful experience thirteen years h women together. V gether to work for vital we become p ened. This will str fight for peace. By selves and workin use our time pro cry to end the wa peaceful solution if we are a strong
 

TAML TIMES 11
d to finalise the l process of the iament by March or G. L. Pieris has iamentarv Select will conclude its
rth who had reest at all in the un to appear that 2 every other at
to politically re
problem in Sri t inexorably slidor lack of enthut of the UNP and he conclusion of erations in the
in the war torn not interested in 's proposals. A plomat who vis
cently said that he spoke during new little about yg to the governgional autonomy. vilians in the perwhelmed by the lems of survival with information
munities believed 2 to play in bring
We Visit Countries , Australia and here are large exities, feelings of it and concern for en. Our sad and es during the past ave brought our We could unite topeace. Also, it is olitically enlight2ngthen usin our r developing ourg for peace, we'll fitably. For, our r with a just and will be heard only force. O
which is considered suitable for them by the army that they simply do no not have the time to find out about the PSC's deliberations, in which even the once more optimistic political commentators have lost interest, or are rather justifiably sceptical about the whole thing in the light of their experience under the administration of the military.
The Tamil groups which have supported the government in Parliament lost faith in the peace process early this year. They are now often quoted in the Tamil press and sometimes in the Sinhala and English press that the decision they took in 1987 to join Sri Lanka's democratic mainstream has not done the Tamil people any good. In an interview with the Tamil daily Virakesari Rasamanickam an EPDP MP said that there is little today to sustain the hope that an honourable settlement to the Tamil question could be found through democratic means. The five Tamil party alliance has in fact campaigned for third party mediation on the grounds that it did not believe that the government or the opposition would ever set aside their differences in order to work out a solution.
Leaders of the Tamil parties in Parliament often had to go in search of MPs of the UNP and the SLFP to get the quorum for the PSC's sittings. The ill fated PSC under the last government was also beset by same problem. Many key sittings were called off at that time for lack of quorum.
Most Tamil politicians, except those of the TULF, are not ready to believe that the PSC would be able to have anything ready to be placed before the Parliament in March or April. Many are of the view that the Professor's enthusiasm is not shared by many others in the government. The odds are heavily against him. The UNP's corporation in amending the con

Page 12
12 TAM TIMES
stitution with a two thirds majority in parliament is indispensable. This has been pointed out on several occasions by the Tamil parties. And hence a suggestion was made some months ago by some of them that the President should refrain from attacking the UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe at least until the legal draft of the constitution was finalised. "If the government is serious about placing its proposals in parliament by March, why is it persisting in further antagonising the UNP at this crucial juncture?" asked the leader of a Tamil group when informed that the CID had questioned Ranil Wickremasinghe for four hours in connection with the investigations into disappearances and arbitrary killings by Batalanda Commission. Despite the solemn promise made by Prof. G.L.Peiris the PA leadership seems little inclined to bury the hatchet at least temporarily with the UNP for the purpose of securing that party's support in March when the proposal is said to come before Parliament.
Apart from this there are four issues that can seriously bog down the smooth passage of the proposal in parliament in March. Firstly, the abolition of the executive presidential system - the Peoples Alliance's main election promise to the people which it had vowed to implement by July 15 last year.
Secondly, the unit of devolution. The Tamil parties plan to pin the UNP down to a favourable commitment by asking it to abide by the principle it accepted under the terms of the Indo-Lanka Agreement while in office. The principle was to extend the merger of the north and east vith special presidential proclamations until such time it was considered appropriate to hold a referendum in the east to determine whether people of that province would like to remain in an autonomous region along with the people of the north. Although efforts to get a commitment from the UNP in recent times has failed, some Tamil politicians are hopeful that when the question of the unit of devolution is taken up in parliament, the UNP will be forced to take a stand.
Thirdly, the question of the unitary character of the Sri Lankan state. A.C.S. Hameed, a UNP stalwart and its former Foreign Minister, has suggested at the
meeting of the S on October 29 tha "Sri Lanka is a ul eign republic" be { "Sri Lanka is a so and shall be know lic of Sri Lanka” T strued as a willing of the UNP to give the unitary chara If the constitutio) cifically define th unitary then ther any legal impedim the quantum of de by the Tamil part
Fourthly, the ing something ac SLMC in the si tonomy. The TUI hopeful of reachir with the SLMC wh ing its cards close
In what sense sues constitute al the smooth passa als in Parliament
a] The IPA leac give a firm undert abolish the Presi The recent standPA and the SLMC ther reinforced Chandrika and h give up the certal Presidential powe ous existence in p. is the case then til ply insist on linki of devolution to th executive presi which, in no time passe where the the blame square doorstep. With t going hammer al UNP, and Ranil in the Batalanda in UNP is most like tack the PA on abolishing the Pre It will be most 1 some Tamil leade the opposition, i. stances, can be p up insisting that executive Preside lishing structures regional autonom tute one indivisib pealing procedure
b) The questic devolution can si down on issues rangement desire and the redraw boundaries in o Sinhala areas fro

15 NOVEMBER 1996
elect Committee t the legal draft's nited and soveramended to read vereign republic in as the RepubThis can be conness on the part
up its stand on Cter of the state. in does not spee state as being 'e would not be ent to achieving ‘volution desired ies.
problem of find:ceptable to the cheme for au-F is, as usual, ng an agreement nich is still play
to its chest.
do these four isn impediment to ge of the proposל
lership is yet to aking that it will dential system. -off between the would have furthe view that er party cannot inty of executive er for a precariarliament. If this ne UNP Can Sim— Ing the question e abolition of the dential system , lead to an imPA cannot place cly at the UNP's he government nd tongs at the | particular, over vestigations, the ly to counteratthe question of sidential system. unrealistic, say rs, to hope that In these circumersuaded to give abolition of the ncy and estabs for substantial y should constile amending/ree in Parliament.
on of the unit of mply get bogged such as the ared by the SLMC ring of certain rder to exclude m the proposed
council. And, importantly, how much is the government prepared to ignore the concerns of the army in handing over the administration to Weli Oya to a Tamil dominated regional body. Some leaders of the five party alliance privately say that even if everything goes well with the UNP and the PA, Mr. Ashraff is certain to confound the process even at the eleventh hour. Both a Muslim dominated council which would be independent of the Tamil dominated one in the north-east and a sub-council within the unit of devolution sought by the Tamil parties are not, despite his declarations, condu cive to Mr Ashraff's current game plan they say. If he gets a separate Muslim dominated council his bargaining position vis-a- vis the centre would be weak or precarious given the Tamil factor and UNP-PA loyalties in that part of the Ampara district which would be the territorial basis of the council. On the other hand, if he were to come under a Tamil dominated unit his base in Ampara may be threatened. A powerful place in the cabinet is what suits his current ambitions best, they say. And Douglas Devananda of the EPDP told the Virakesari recently that he stands for a sub (or internal) autonomy for the Muslims - within a north-eastern unit that is.
c) And again, the suggestion made by Mr Hameed means little, as long as the UNP does not commit itself to a clear stand on Article 76 for even if it may appear that the new constitution would not hinder greater autonomy to the regions by not defining the state as unitary, the fact of the matter is that as long as Article 76 is in place, legal complications which can impair and erode the quantum of autonomy granted are inevitable.
In this context, the effort of Prof. G. L Peiris can only be considered as a bold but somewhat desperate gamble. It is a gamble because if the proposal fails to get two thirds majority in Parliament in March or April it would politically precipitate the ethnic polarisation - giving greater credence to the LTTE's claim that the Sinhala polity is inherently incapable of conceding anything to the minorities. The PA which is neck deep in problems in the south created mainly by its ad hoc style of governance seems to care little about this than trying give direction to a war that is stuck in a quagmire.7

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15 NOVEMEBER 1996
W牌刪國眼眶N歐Jó國N國 (OFLANKANTAMILS
by Dr. S. Narapalasingam .
ome of the Tamil expatriates,
who have been vehementl
voicing the case for safeguarding the distinct identity, culture and national status of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, will soon realise (if they have not already) that there are irresistible forces, which will integrate their offsprings and the new generation of Tamils with the different multi-cultural societies in their adopted countries. Irresistible and irreversible cultural and social changes are occurring within the Tamil diaspora, as it happens to every other expatriate community that seeks to lead almost a permanent existence in foreign lands. They will soon witness that, whatever the older generation among them may wish or want, what Tamils back in their homelands regard as their distinctive cherished cultural values are gradually compromised and eventually disregarded.
Inhumanity in High Culture
Citing the works of Prof. George Steiner, the columnist Jayadeva in his comments highlights: "modern history has amply demonstrated that immersion in high culture can go hand in hand with the practice of extreme forms of organized cruelty and barbarism. That is to say, our historical experience disproves the widely held assumption that high culture exercises 'an ennobling influence' upon human beings." Expanding on this theme, he says, "Steiner is really focusing upon the dialectic between reason and emotion, between rationality and faith, or (as one critic has it) between Enlightenment and Romanticism. Or, as I prefer to phrase it, between tradition and modernity." (The Island, Sunday, 1/9/96).
The relatively new trend in brutal killings and torture of fellow citizens in Sri Lanka are claimed to be not in conformity with the Sinhalese and the Tamil cultures, yet some find ecstasy in these acts while others anguish. Methods of warfare and the use of civilians including the old and sickly persons, women and children as in
struments in th achieve the militar provide evidence c tion between the ( behaviour within t From purely a cul immaterial who f tred and violence t two cultures. Wh: is the end result. cieties too face cl different sorts, as the breakdown of ging, robberies, a der of young wome drug addiction a least there are le the courage of the condemn these ac ous in eradicatin concerted efforts a the reasons for s and effective meae deal with them, sc to accept cultural Inhumanity e. culture even befo acts of killings of ir and nonconformis though this was a instance in the de
the society functic of all religious t Tamils ignored s tions in their self culture. Only the were highlighted and oral discussi tendency among assume that the forms to the ideal all the humane vil: tion and therefor others. The fact th no basis will be ob amines objectively tory behaviour o who are under til their behaviour, h ing, dishonest and relevance to Tami
In fact, what culture in any so its positive feature civility of the vast members of the so civilized society as is to move forwar fining the old high

TANWL, TIMES 143
RATION
he civil war to y objectives also of the contradic2laim and group he two cultures. tural angle, it is irst allowed hato intrude in the at is of concern The Western soultural crises of discerned from families, mugbuse and mur - en and children, nd the like. At aders who have eir conviction to its and are serig them. Unless are made to find such intrusions sures taken to cieties will have
regression. xisted in Tamil re the barbaric nnocent civilians its surfaced. Alapparent, as for grading and incaste system in oned in defiance enets, yet the uch contradic-acclaimed high positive features both in written ons. There is a some Tamils to ir culture conform embracing rtues of civilizae is superior to at this belief has bvious if one exr, the contradicf many Tamils, he illusion that owever, degradimmoral has no
culture. passes as high ciety represents es, including the majority of the ciety. What each pires to achieve d with time revalues of its cul
ture, while ridding the inhuman and uncivil conduct of its members. No one will judge the society by the ideals of its culture, if the current social behaviour of a noticeable section of it is at complete variance with those ideals. Nor will it be judged by what has been written in its ancient history and classics. Societies will be judged by the extent to which universally accepted human rights and humanitarian standards are adhered to individually and collectively.
The of the parents, the elders and the leaders including intellectuals in the community have failed to set aside outmoded beliefs that are irrelevant and/or incompatible with the standards and needs of the modern world in order to prepare the new generation to accept the reality of the new environment. Universally applicable New discoveries, interaction of different cultures, liberal thinking, information technology and advanced communication have dramatically changed and still continue to change the world. Beliefs that held sway years ago are giving way to new ideas. There could not have been any human progress, if old attitudes have continued blindly disregarding the positive changes that have been beneficial to the entire human
La CC,
Each society has to decide for itself which aspects of its traditional values are worth observing and which of those of other societies are worth embracing. The environment in which the members of the society live must be a crucial factor in this determination. The manifestation of the ethnic tension between the Sinhalese and Tamils is now blatantly visible even in foreign lands. The social intercourse is minimal. The anger is so overwhelming that each group does not want to understand the concerns of the other. The ethnic division has encroached even in sports festivals. For the first time, the eighth Annual Festival of Cricket held this year on Spring Bank Holiday - Monday, 27 May was conducted without the teams from the OBAs of the schools in the North-East, as the latter did not want to participate in the joint festival. 20 teams representing these schools conducted a separate Tamils only cricket festival on the very same day at a different venue in London. Various reasons have been given for this split, but in the final analysis they all defy civility, highlighting the co-existence of malevo

Page 14
14 TAMIL TIMES
lence and the much extolled high culture.
Tamils have been quick to point out the ominous mistakes of the Sinhalese, which isolated them from the national mainstream politically and economically, while ignoring some of their own actions which achieved the same result. This tendency, whether it is part of the Tamil culture or notif continued in the host countries, where the new generation of Tamils will reside permanently could create problems for them. The reality is that they will not return to Sri Lanka even by some miracle either the "lost paradise" is regained or the proclaimed goal of establishing Tamil Eelam in the North-East is achieved. They will continue to live in a different cultural environment of their adopted countries. No sensible person would claim that one culture or for that matter one religion is superior to another. This attitude must prevail not only to be civil but also for survival in the adopted countries.
Anti-cultural Behaviour
The Tamil community had exhibited anti-cultural behaviour even before the intrusion of the gun culture, as evinced by internal rivalries or jealousies often ending in enmity and even violence, land disputes, commercialisation of the dowry system and the allegiance to the exploitative caste system. If anyone claims that the Tamil community as a whole is accords the highest priority for finding space for themselves to preserve their distinct identity and practise freely their traditional Tamil culture, then this calls for close scrutiny. It will be more genuine, if the claim is admitted to be motivated by economic considerations in the belief that they will have greater opportunities to prosper than under the conditions that prevailed in the past.
The rivalries within the Tamil community which have been so conspicuous both in and outside Sri Lanka should not be ignored in its pursuit for material gains. Power to decide "who gets what" is the key to benefit selfishly from materialism. Power is also necessary to exhibit the standing of an individual or a group in the society. This also shows the dominance of individualism or at most parochialism in the society. Power, as an instrument for helping others to improve their living conditions, widen opportunities for others to thrive, ensure civil liberties, es chew violent behaviour and
maintain good ne moral and cultural come insignificant ondary concern in der.
Competitive ri businesses that be ers in the open mai confused with the mentioned above. published in the Tc was reproduced Leader of August 2 lights the rivalry b Tamil gangs in Canada. It states:- nity leaders are qu the simmering feu do with disputes turf, even girl friel matches, than with struggle for an inde land in Sri Lanka.” been spared of among different gi their authority. Ev of activities held in the Tamil culture performed in Hinc schools, similar ki emerged.
Education
The failure to major role that edu relating the differe way to promote tol derstanding betwe communities has b tragedy that struck society. In many countries where Tamils have settle bers, the governm known to be tole other cultures an aging the co-existe cultures. Even be. took refuge there, scientiously taken improve ethnic re tradition, the Tai have been allowed culture freely. Thi dent in Britain and A brief comparisol tional system in those prevailing ir countries is usefu discussion.
For example, s land teach not ju alone but otherr including Buddhis ism as part of a br ligious studies. As textbooks and Com in Sri Lanka, wh documented analy books used in sc standpoint of the titudes regarding

al
15 NOVEMEBER 1996
ighbourliness, values has beor at best sec
the social or -
valry between nefits consumket is not to be kind of rivalry A recent report ronto Star (this in the Sunday 5, 1996), highetWeen Various Scarborough, "Tamil commuick to point out ld has more to over drugs and nds and soccer n their guerrilla pendent homeLondon has not such rivalries oups asserting an in the realms highesteem in such as those lu temples and hd of rivalry has
recognize the ucation plays in nt cultures in a erance and un:en the various been the biggest the Sri Lankan multi-cultural the Lankan d in large numents have been rant accepting d even encourence of different fore the Tamils they have conpositive steps to lations. In this mil expatriates to practise their s is clearly eviNorth America. n of the educaSri Lanka with some of these l to the present
schools in Engst Christianity eligions as well sm and Hinduoad subject, retudy on “School munal relations ich Contains a risis of the texthools from the outlook and atcommunal rela
tions which they are likely to foster in the school child, demonstrated that the Sinhala books are exclusively mono-cultural in their content - that is, the Way of life they present is not only solely Sinhala but also Sinhala Buddhist ....The Tamils are identified throughout the books as the traditional adversary." This is the comment of ReggieSiriwardene in his piece "National Unity or Communalism: The textbooks our children read", cited by Prof. Jeyaratnam Wilson in his book "The Break-up of Sri Lanka - The Sinhalese-Tamil conflict" (C.Hurst & Co. London - p. 44).
In order to develop analytical skills, school children now in the adopted countries of the Tamils are assigned at an early stage various projects which compel them to search for facts from various sources and analyse the assigned subject objectively. In Sri Lanka, this was sadly lacking even at the university level. Here too the reasons for this deficiency are many. Most reference materials were available in English, which the students could not read having had their education in Sinhalese or Tamil. The art of teaching used and which remained popular among the students amounted to "spoon feeding". The students depended exclusively on the notes given by the lecturers, which they memorised habitually for the purpose of passing the examinations. Creative thinking and analytical ability of university students could not develop in the system. The role of the teacher was not perceived as pertaining primarily to develop the students' thinking powers and guiding them to analyse issues or solve problems by themselves. It was perceived solely as helping the students to somehow pass the examinations. This also contributed immensely to the narrow outlook and prejudicial thinking later in their lives.
Even before the large scale migration to foreign countries started since l983, some of the elites in Sri Lanka left the country in order to educate their children abroad. Education of children (not necessarily in Tamil) has been an important element of the Tamil culture, although enlightenment may not be the only motivational factor. After all in the present materialistic and competitive world, this shift in emphasis is now pervasive. Those who have seen the changes that have taken place in the school environment in their adopted countries, cannot feel

Page 15
15 NOVEMEBER 1996
comfortable about some of them. It is foolhardy to assume that these are favourable for bringing up children. Violence in schools is a new phenomenon and so is the tendency to be hooked to self-destructive habits like addiction to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. Respect for teachers is also a long-standing custom in the Tamil society. This appears to have eroded even in the Tamil heartland in Sri Lanka, after the rise of militancy.
Television also has a very strong influence on the attitude of the new generation of Tamils. Like in reading what is relevant to the accumulation of knowledge is the kind of programmes they mostly watch in their homes. The same applies to web sites at the Internet. Language has very little to do with accumulation of knowledge. More depends on the interests the children develop during their spare time.
Conduct and responsibility of parents I have listened with trepidation, some parents proudly marrating that they are unaware of the
of their teenaged children. These not only reflect their irresponsibility but also the absence of communication between parents and children. Permissiveness allowed to the extreme would be very harmful not only to the children but also to the society. The con
their interests and activities claimed to preserve Tamil culture and arts. Some are more keen to attract the attention of the host community than to make some of their own youngsters appreciate not only the Tamil culture but also the traditional cultures of other groups in the new social and multi-cultural environment.
Tamil parents spend considerable money (even beyond their means) in organizing "Arangetrams" to which their friends and relatives are invited to witness the performances of their children. It remains to be seen whether this is the end of their cultural interest and involvement or it is taken further to enable the new generation to appreciate the exquisite features of Tamil music and dance. The disturbing trend appears to be that these public performances are more likely intended to exhibit the ego and perhaps the social status of the parents. If this is the case, then the objectives are limited both in time and scope. Much more than "Arangetrams" and presentation of other cultural pro
grammes which memories to the c are necessary, if t tion of Tamils as a to be respected by G. Ramesh (T 1996), states tha ppaattu, Silappad tions of Sangal Nammalvar’s hyr translated into En scholars. Transla classics cannot be new generation of they develop inter stage in prototype These would not them respectabili space" in their ad as the vast majori with whom they w their daily lives w nary people and ni read these classic What is far mol the parents and impress upon the of Tamils growing ronment of the ad the virtues of livir the moral values t a polite, Compass and tolerant perso is selfish, anti-soc lent or self-dest should not be ca forces, which they ined carefully in th moral standards o ture and deciding w wrong. Importantil be conscious of th ity to themselves a ers in the family i at large.
These values d set in the minds of by occasional visits attending the few S where attempts ar. them the Tamil lan pends on the attit iour of the parents side the home. A pends their ability whom they shoulc associate closely teenaged children conscious of the b must be conscient. at all times in th They must also knc pose of the practice going to places o meditation.
In London it is only around 35 T. classes are held in tal time devoted t Tamil language in than 50 hours. G children have limit

Page 16
16 TAMIL TIMES
bear in mind that they left Sri Lanka not to foster Tamil language and Tamil culture in the West but for different reasons. It is dangerous to ignore under this pretense, the pragmatic actions that must be taken as a matter of priority to provide proper guidance to their children taking into consideration the multi-cultural environment and their exposures to unacceptable behaviour even by the standards of the Western culture.
Mixed marriages between Tamils and persons of other ethnic groups, American, English, French, Irish, etc. have already happened. Liberalism is best portrayed at the present time in the inter-marriages between the Sinhalese and Tamils. These are not arranged marriages but preferred by the Tamil male or female partners. Surprisingly, the children of Tamil professionals in the forefront campaigning for the protection of the distinct identity of Lankan Tamils have also opted for marriage outside the Tamil community. Not all Tamil youths, who have married non-Tamils are unaware of the Tamil culture and classics. This proves that knowledge of these need not influence the new generation of Tamils to be chauvinists. In fact it would be imprudent for them to follow exactly the social behaviour of the Tamils of previous generations, who lived in a totally different social environment. To do so would be to alienate them from the mainstream of the society to which they belong.
The fact that the Tamils have not abhorred their sons and daughters for marrying among other ethnic groups including the Sinhalese, as much as they hated them for marrying among certain sections of their own community is well known. In the latter cases, the punishment has been often severe, resulting in excommunication from the family circle. If the Sri Lankans (of all races) only examine rationally, by casting off all the prejudices which have been driven vigorously into their minds by the so-called "defenders" of their race and religion, how this miracle is possible, they may find the path that would eventually lead to a lasting solution to the elusive national problem. They should consider the mixed family unit as a microcosm of the one large family of all Lankans and look deep into the factors that contribute to the solidarity of these units despite their diverse backgrounds with respect to ethnicity, culture and religion. O
Junius, born 1
unius Rich who has die was prim. Sri Lanka from president from term of office th movement develo acts of violence il war. Yet Jayawar Buddhist who w fluenced by the hatma Gandhi, i. lence.
To meet, he V spoken, anxious to accept mistak charm with a d humour. He cla: of peace, with ag democracy, and suasive. Yet he country in south adult suffrage i. party state, and only solution to was a military ol cannot believe h but I never un lived with the di his personal bel actions. He Was Born into thi of what was the society, Jayawa Law School at C. but chose politi as a carer. Befor rose rapidly in t Congress.
After Indepe the new Unite whose aim was erate opinion ar Consensus betw CommunitiesSinhalese Bu{ Christians.
When the UN the first time ir: the leader John terest in polit didn't take ovel ship but he w; rebuilding the
During tha arose between halese Buddhis the Tamils over cation policies,

o NUVEMBER 1996
WHO ROUSEDATIGE
Mark Tully
Richard Jayauvardene, lauyer and politician, September 1906, died 1 November 1996.
urd Jayawardene, d at the age of 90, e minister of 977 to 1978, and 1978. During his 2 Tamil separatist ped from sporadic to a full scale civil dene was a devout as also deeply inteachings of Maincluding non-vio
was always quietly to listen, willing es - a man of great elightful sense of med to be a man genuine respect for he was very per
turned the first 1 Asia to enjoy full nto a virtual onecame to believe the the Tamil problem ne. I could not and e was hypocritical, derstood how he fferences between efs and his public to me, a paradox. 2 highest echelons in a very stratified dene attended the olombo University, cs rather than law e Independence he he Ceylon National
indence he joined i National Party, to represent modd to bring about a een the three main he Tamils, the ldhists, and the
P was defeated for the 1956 election Kotelawala lost incs. Jayawardene the party leaderis responsible for arty. t period tension the majority Sint community and language and eduJayawardene or
ganised the opposition to a pact between the prime minister and the Tamils leader, heading a march to Kandy, capital of the former Sinhalese kings and a city sacred to Buddhists.
In this way he signified that he was loyal to the tradition which saw Sri Lanka as the land of the Sinhalese Buddhists and the land where their religion survived in its purest form. The Tamils were never to forget that march and the communal violence which broke out in 1958 as a result of the turmoil created by Jayawardene's opposition to the pact with the Tamils.
Many historians believe this was the beginning of the resolute refusal of the Sinhalese to countenance any form of federalism, which has been the stumbling block to any political solution to the Tamil problem.
Jayawardene remained the United National Party's chief strategist both in and out of office but he only became the leader in Parliament after the defeat of 1970, when Soloman Bandaran aike's widow became prime minister. He was to defeat her in the next election which did not take place until 1977.
Jayawardene came to power with a massive majority. Taking advantage of the damage inflicted on the economy by Mrs Bandaranaike's rigid socialist policies, the international oil price increases and a fall in the price of tea, Sri Lanka's main commodity export, he devalued the rupee, scrapped controls on foreign investment, and announced that he hoped to turn Sri Lanka into the Singapore of South Asia. Jayawar- dene also launched grandiose schemes to develop the economy, including the dam in Central Sri Lanka in whose construction Britain played the major role.
Unfortunately the new policies revived inflation and meant that Jayawardene had to , make , unpopular cuts in Sri Lanka's welfare provisions, which were far more generous and effective than those of any other south Asian country.

Page 17
5 NOVEMEBER 1996
At the same time there was widespread resentment against one of his grandiose schemes, the building of a new city and parliament on the outskirts of Colombo. Naning the city Jayawardenepura did not make the project any easier to sell to the electorate.
Within three years of his coming to power Jayawardene's remedy for the depression left behind by Mrs Bandaranalike was so unpopular that there was a general strike. Jayawardene called out the army and let loose his party storm troopers. He had already taken measures to insulate himself from the electorates anger.
Claiming that reforming Sri Lanka's economy needed strong government he had altered the constitution and been elected the country's first executive president. At the same time he had made doubly sure of his position by ensuring that he could not lose his majority in parliament by reforms in the electoral laws and a new law on defections.
But unfortunately Jayawardene was to learn, as Indira Gandhi did when she declared a state of emergency, that strong government in south Asia does not mean effective government. The economic revolution ran out of steam and Jayawardene found himself embroiled in the Tamil insurgency which was to lead to his ultimate humiliation. The turning point came on 23 July 1963, when Tamil Tiger separatists killed 13 Sri Lankan soldiers, including one officer, in an ambush. The Sinhalese press was outraged and the next day when the bodies were brought back to Colombo to be cremated Tannil property was attacked.
Although Jayawardene could see the flames of the houses the rioters had set on fire from his residence he did not impose curfew for more than 24 hours and even then it was not strictly enforced. It was four days before the president spoke on television and radio, and then he justified the killing of Tamils and the burning and looting of their property by saying it was a natural reaction by the Sri Lankans to attempts to divide their country. That was taken as an encouragement to riot and the violence erupted again on what has become to be known as Black Friday.
Whether Jayawardene mishandled the crisis from the moment he agreed to the bodies being brought back to Colombo or whether he wanted to encourage violence against the Tamils will never be
known. All that c the riots broke remarkably orga electoral rolls to i of Tamils.
He had also : of annoying the Gandhi by depriv Bandaranalike of tion as a politicia 1983 riots as a on a role in prot Tamils. India h population too a were demandin same time she Tigers bases in I them with some equipment.
Jayawardene tary solution bl chance of succ plined Sri Lank
his time Mr managed to prime minist sixteen months r. term in office 1990. Charged ruption and econ ment, her Pakist (PPP) regime ha by president Fa Leghari, her or National Assen solved and elect stated, will be ht next year. The streets of Islam and Karachi al husband and cor ment minister A. parently placed hore. This midr coup detat is ty as one recalls th in office and riv had also been dis lar manner four In Salman F Shame, in whi country in ques stan, "not quite", cal town called troika of presi prime minister : of three mothers, and Bunny who s masters after a jointly give birth Shakil, the prota
 

TAM TIMES 17
an be said is when out they seemed nised. Rioters had dentify the houses
made the mistake
imperious Indira ving her friend Mrs her right to funcn. Gandhi took the in excuse to insist ecting Sri Lankan as a large Tamil and she said they g action. At the allowed the Tamil ndia and supplied of their arms and
opted for a miliut never had any ess. The lill-discian army was no
match for the Tamil Tigers, probably the best organised separatist fighters in the world. Eventually in 1987 Jayawardene, no friend of India, had to accept the humiliation of allowing the Indian army to take charge of the war against the Tamil Tigers.
The next year he meekly accepted the limitation of two terms imposed by the constitution he had introduced, retired, and from then on scrupulously avoided any involvement in politics. It was as though the democrat in him, suppressed during the long years in office, came out on top in the end. He has left a country still fighting the brutal civil war, started while he was in office - a sad legacy for an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi.
(Courtesy of "The Guardian", 2.11.96)
SECOND OUSTER
DNAZİR BU Ü V YO
by G.Ramesh
's Benazir Bhutto wield power as ter for three years, more than her first which ended in of excessive coromic mismanagean People's Party s been dismissed rooq Mohammed le-time ally. The bly stands disions, it has been eld on 3 February army is on the abad, Rawalpindi nd Mrs Bhutto's ntroversial investsif Ali Zardari apon arrest in Lalight presidential pical of Pakistan, hat her successor al Nawaz Sharief smissed in a simi
years ago. Rushdie’s novel, ch, he says, the tion is not PakiThere is a mythiQ. The country's dent, army and assume the roles Chunni, Munnee seduce their white weekend party to to Omar Khayyam gonist, the model
citizen of this mythical country. This conception is more than immaculate, an act of shame, opines Rushdie. "So whole-heartedly did they wish to share the motherhood of their sibling - to transform the public shame ofunwedlocked conception to the private triumph of the longed-for group baby..."
Thus, acts of installation and dismissal of governments, then, in Pakistan, have been rendered akin to this shameful conception. Only seemingly natural, such acts are either part of conspiracies, or events unfolding in the larger tragic anti-destiny of a polity in which the civil society is given to play out what is only a guided role. Mrs Bhutto has a nice image as a British-educated progressive Islamic woman prime minister for the Western media, but she has been facing a lot of fire back home in the last few months. She had remained beleaguered ever since Leghari put her government on notice in his September address to the National Assembly.
Things didn't look up at all for Mrs Bhutto as her brother and political rival, Murtaza Bhutto, was gunned down in strange circumstances in Karachi within days of the presidential warning. Murtaza had lived in the West for several years before returning to Pakistan a few years ago. Backed by his

Page 18
18 TAM TIMES
mother Nusrat Bhutto, he had challenged Mrs Bhutto's leadership only last year and broken away to lead a faction of the PPP. Even as Mrs Bhutto flew to Karachi to mourn her brother's death, there were unsubstantiated allegations that Mrs Zardari and her interior minister Maj-Gen (ret'd) Nasirullah Babur were responsible for the circumstances in which an "encounter" had taken place between a police squad and the personal security guards of Murtaza. Mrs Bhutto responded by instituting a tribunal to probe the killing. Nusrat too gave a clean chit to Zardari, while contradicting a Western news report. However, within days, an inspector who was part of the police team at the time of the encounter shot himself to death, compounding the mystery behind Murtaza's death. Immediately thereafter, Murtaza's widow, Mrs Ghinva Bhutto had announced her decision to join the PPP faction which has been renamed as PPP (Shaheed Bhutto). Shaheed means a martyr and Murtaza has now inherited this mantle from his late father.
Mrs Bhutto's regime is widely held to be extremely corrupt. Her husband had been charged of collecting huge kickbacks out of foreign direct investment and siphoning them off to unnumbered accounts of Western banks. Another major allegation against Mrs Bhutto relates to the massive fortresslike Sussex farmhouse she had erected in Britain. Also, she had not been able to politically resolve the Mujahir issue which periodically engulfed Karachi.
To the looming economic crisis, Mrs Bhutto's regime responded by devaluing the currency as sought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Her decision to hike oil prices and impose stiff taxes was sternly resisted by the opposition Jamaat-i-Islami which organised successful sit-in protests and rallies putting Islamabad under total siege. The police had a tough time controlling the protesters and ultimately resorted to firing at them. This evoked further protests, jeopardising Mrs Bhutto's chances of survival in office. Mrs Bhutto had initiated a series of changes in the management structure of public finance. She hired and fired financial consultants, while trying to meet IMF conditionalities for the release of the suspended tranches of a 600 million US dollar standby credit for structural adjustment of the Pakistani economy. One of her advi
in Pakistantoc ryone is fran take credit fo nious ouster of M from power last T noire Nawaz Sha is congratulating nting pressure th pubic meetings eventually led to the National As missal of the Bhi The eternally op e-Islami on the to believe that it March which pro Farooq Ahmad conveniently for even a hundred up for the rally. I supporters rushe their slain leade that they had av The Mohajir Qu leaders and work streets of Karact our as if it was struggle which m the dust.
In the preva however, everyo give credit where person primaril Benazir's Seconc herself. Yes it w nexus between t President at wor was responsible dismissal of the
sors V A Jaffrey leave, she got a pert, Hussein La a consultant for She also went on minister Mahk buddin with Mr Shahabuddi supposed to assi affairs, sulked af about the devalu ever, these last-c prove successfu The only op with was to cut budget, and the important consti troika, would ne
 

15 NOVEMBER 1996
ay, virtually evetically trying to the unceremos Benazir Bhutto uesday. Her bete rif, for instance, himself for mourough a series of and rallies that he dissolution of sembly and disutto government. timistic Jamaatother hand likes was its Millions mpted President Leghari's action, getting that not thousand turned Murtaza Bhutto's 'd to the grave of r informing him enged his death. lami Movement ers danced on the hi with such vig
their sustained hade Benazir bite
iling euphoria, ne has failed to credit is due. The f responsible for Going is Benazir as the same old he Army and the k last week, that or the premature ast three govern
decided to go on brivate sector exwai, appointed as her government. a replace finance hdoom ShahaTaveed Qamar. l, who was only st her in financial er he was ignored ation issue. Howitch efforts didn't
on she was left he huge defence
army, the most uent of Rushdie's ver allow that. O
ments in Pakistan. However, Benazir cannot escape the blame of providing this nexus, through her numerous acts of omissions and commissions, an excuse to use the dreadful Eighth Amendment against her government.
Who should know it better than the Oxford-educated intelligent daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. In 1993 when the Pakistani people gave the Pakistan People's Party another mandate, one thought that Benazir must have learnt from her past mistakes. One also hoped that in future she would mend her ways and refrain from committing any fresh follies which could be used as a weapon against her by either the Opposition or the nexus euphemistically called the Establishment. But ob - viously one thought wrong.
From the policy decisions which she took in the last three years, it became increasingly clear that she was bent on once agai: . Committing political harakiri. She may take solace in the adage which politicians love to drop a the drop of a hat: you cann C please everyone. This, howeve: does not mean that she shoul C. have displeased everyone. In 199. when the then President Ghula: Ishaque Khan had similarly dis lodged her government, similar.

Page 19
5. NOVEMBER 1996
dislodged her government, there were widespread public resentment against his decision.
In contrast, the jubilation with which her recent sacking was greeted compels one to agree with Nawaz Sharif that 5 November was "the day ofdeliverance for the people of Pakistan." Now that she has ample time on her hands the former Prime Minister must ask herself how and why did she antagonise virtually every section of society in her three year rule. Not only the impoverished masses but even affluent industrialists were unhappy with her policies; not only the judiciary but even the President was upset by her unnecessarily defiant demeanour, not only her political rivals but even her personal friends and blood relatives were sore with her.
Even on the political front, her behaviour showed that she has not cared to read even the introductory chapter of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. In the last few months the Pakistan Muslim League, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the MQM, the newly-launched Tehrik-e-Insaf and virtually every political and religious organisation has been gunning for her. If Benazir had even a modicum of political pragmatism, she could have won Imran Khan to her fold and capitalised on his enormous popularity and credibility.
She missed a similar opportunity of scoring a political point with her opponents at the beginning of her second tenure. When she was re-elected in October 1993, the morale of the MQM, a past ally turned adversary, was at its lowest following the military crackdown against it. Since the Army operation was launched during Nawaz Sheriff's rule, Benazir could have regained the confidence and support of Alta. Hussain with little effort and thereby consolidated her position. But Benazir failed to win these tactical supports due to an inherent flaw in her character which the Greeks called hubris.
Another folly which led to the doom of a classical tragic hero was error of judgement. And Benazir committed not one but several such errors. A very silly error of judgement that she could have easily avoided was her obsession for promoting her discredited and dishonest husband. During her first term, she had to face flak for the corrupt practices of Zandari who was nicknamed Mr 10 percent for his penchant for earning commissions and kickbacks and
government deals was later acquittec to cool his heels inji on corruption charg of keeping him at a during her secondt accorded official sa nefarious deeds of h inducting him in h In India, many warts have come te of the wrongdoing and daughters. I seems it is the spol the Achilles' Heels f one fails to compl while one does not qualify for practisii account of being th lady doctor, why s become an invest, merely because he the husband of th ter?
Benazir's ano judgement was in melled power to Babar, her interio though in his diss Leghari has cited c. otism, misgoverna OC CSS 3S SO sons, the principal removal of Benazil the President of Pak “thousands of pers and other parts of been deprived of th in the last 36 mon person can be held the high-handed a ful detentions, inh extrajudicial killi crimes of state ter innocent Citizens O. Babar.
Benazir vho wa and unwilling to see lution to the ling problem, gave Bab blanket powers to MQM leaders an Once again she re from history. How get that it was simil sion against the eas the army that had memberment of Pa litical demise of Ya The error of ju proved fatal, howev her complete trust quently her shabb president Farooq I cently as two week. antly wondered wh her of the displeasu dent and the Chie staff since she had in office" by them gance, she forgot she was not instal

TAML, TIMES 19
. Although he i, Zandari had ail for two years es. But instead n arm's length, ermure, Benazir anctions to the her husband by er Cabinet.
political stalo grief because s of their sons in Pakistan, it use who proves or a ruler. What rehend is that automatically ng medicine on e husband of a should a crook ment minister happened to be e Prime Minis
ther error of giving untramNaseerullah r minister. Alsolution order, orruption, nepance and ecome of the realreason for the , according to tistan, was that ons in Karachi Pakistan have eir right to life" ths. And if one responsible for irrests, unlawLunnan torture, ngs and other rorism against f Pakistan, it is
as both unable k a political soering Mohajir ar the Butcher annihilate the d supporters. fused to learn she could forar state represst Pakistanis by led to the diskistan and pohiya Khan? idgement that er, was initially in and subsey treatment of leghari. As resago, she defiy did they scare re of the Presi:f of the Army "Not been put . In her arrothat although led by Leghari
and General Jehangir Karamat, they could always dislodge her from power by using the Article 58(2)(b) of the Constitution which like the proverbial Sword of Damocles hangs over the head of every head of government. Incidentally this Article is merely a ruse to give a sort of constitutional legitimacy to an essentially unconstitutional and undemocratic practice.
The tragedy of Pakistan is that even after 49 years of its existence, it has not been able to make up its mind about the kind of government it wants. From Jinnah to Junejo, every leader solemnly vowed to make Pakistan an ideal Islamic republic but until date Pakistan has not become a theocracy. Again, after the death of Zia and with Benazir's emergence as the democratically elected Prime Minister, democracy was ostensibly restored but in reality Pakistan is a far cry from being a real and robust democracy.
Even a school student knows that it is the military that still holds the levers of power with the only difference that today the generals operate from behind the scenes. In the dismissal of both Benazir and Sharif governments in 1990 and 1993 respectively, the army played the crucial albeit clandestine role. And although Benazir has discreetly one believes - refused to acknowledge the involvement of the army in her sacking, one is sure that it was the Karamat (handiwork) of Jehangir Karamat. Benazir, however, has no reason to lose heart because the game of musical chairs that power politics has turned into in Pakistan, one should not be surprised if Benazir is re-elected in the next general elections, next year provided of course, she is not barred from participating in them and provided the elections are held next year.
Postscript: In Pakistan, the leader of the Opposition takes his/ her job so seriously that he/she starts making life miserable for the newly elected Prime Minister the day he/she takes his/her oath of office and launches a movement demanding his/her removal even before he/she completes the first 100 days in office. In the last eight years, four governments were dismissed by the "discretionary" power of the President. The only way to bring to an end this seemingly unending cycle of farces, in this columnist's humble opinion, is the reduction of the term of an elected government from five years to tWo. O (Courtesy: Asian Age)

Page 20
2O TAMIL TIMES
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Page 21
15 NOVEMBER 1996
(Continued from last issue)
Return of Internal Terror
We give here details of a few cases although others have been mentioned earlier. Killing is just one means of soaking the society in terror. The LTTE constantly sends warning letters to government servants, clergy and NGOs threatening harsh measures against those who co-operate with the Government's rehabilitation efforts to restore normality. Such co-operation is categorised as subscribing to deception and selling their birthright. 19th April, Maruvanpulavu, Thenma ratchy:
On the day the Army moved in the LTTE shot dead one man whom it claimed was a traitor. 6th July 1996, Ariyalai, Jaffna: Mr. Ramalingam, Assistant Government Agent: Thambu Ramalingam had earlier risen to the position of AGA. Under the LTTE regime in Jaffna he had worked under the LTTE appointed GA Dominic, who regularly summoned the official GA. Following the Army's recapture of Jaffna Ramalingam raised the defunct Jaffna District Council's flag alongside the Sri Lankan flag. He rejoined the administration in the pass office issuing tickets for boat travel to Trincomalee enroute to and from Colombo.
Earlier this year he was treated for some cut injuries on the neck apparently resulting from personal enmity. After he was cured he used to be accompanied to work from his home in Ariyalai by a close female relative.
On the two successive days prior to his murder, the lady escort noticed two boys in school uniform coming on bicycles, who said "good morning' and rode past. The lady escort told Ramalingam that the two looked like LTTE militants. The possibility was dismissed by Ramalingam. On the third day one boy came on a bicycle, stopped in front of Ramalingam and said that he needed a pass to go to Colombo. Ramalingam told him that he should come to his office. Just then the boy rubbed his palm on a trouser leg and pulled out a pistol, The observant lady gave a shout of alarm and hit the boy's wrist deflecting the shot which hit Ramalingam on a thigh. Ramalingam too joined the scuffle and the assassin was grounded. Ramalingam was apparently killed by a second shot - if one is to discount local talk that there was only a single shot dipped in cyanide,
With the lady screaming, the assassin took off on foot leaving behind his slippers, bicycle and school books strapped to the cycle carrier. He later grabbed the bicycle of Satkunam's son which was parked in the front garden while the owner was bathing next door, and made his getaway.
Jaffna. The CI
Some hours latert bicycle home after it about a stolen bicycle them calling them bic manded that they co. army camp. First on the way the other bo ran away. At the arm him, "So you got yol fine", and closed the days later Satkunam' (See above). July, Nunavil, Then member of the Sri L ously had close links the Army moved in he among the latter wh:
He is accused of hav valuable informatio LTTE affiliations. H pointing out sons of homes as LTTE sus commissions for thei According to loca tertained members of At one such meal he t LTTE that his grouph warning letters. The surprise and denied to do with it. One ni guest called and want His wife insisted on side. The LTTE boy from the house and th wife to fetch it, She and ran out to find he and the visitor missi Aspects of this s cal accounts may see discerning fact from difficult. Howevers terns are consistent society immersed in tive of the tragedy o and of every individu 19th July 1996: N Uthayan of 20th July tice of the kind frequ ing 1985 - 1989, an under "tragic circums yogini(“Sivajini”) Pat was the daughter of P a prominent citizen in ly's isolation and th
 
 
 
 

AMİ İL TiMu 4z
mtest Betweten
BASA
wo boys brought the nquiring in the area . Satkunam scolded ycle thieves and deme with him to the a boy ran away. On y hit Satkunam and y camp soldiers told ur bike back, that is matter. About two s son was detained.
maratchy: A former ankan police previwith the LTTE. Once formed new friends tle keeping the old.
ing given the Army in on persons with e is also accused of relatively affluent pects and collecting r release. ll reports he also enthe LTTE for meals. old a member of the ad been sending him member expressed his having anything ght the same lunched to talk to the man. following them outwanted something e man persuaded his then heard a sound ir husband shot dead
3. tory culled from lom exaggerated, and fiction would prove uch behaviour patwith the legacy of a terror and is reflecif the whole society lal in it. allur: Sivajini: The carried a funeral noently witnessed durnouncing the death tances' of Mrs.Sivakunamanikkam. She roctor Nadarajah JP in the area. The famie message of terror
was underlined by the fact that the Informant' on the notice was her daughter Dakshayini, a school girl at Chundikuli Girls' College. Few dared to associate with the bereaved family.
Sivajini was among those who had defied the LTTE's exodus order of 30th October 1995 and had remained behind in Jaffna. Her daughter received a bullet injury from cross-fire during the Army advance and was treated by the Army. Along with 250 others like her the Army had housed them at the Atchuvely Convent and later helped them to resettle in their homes. They were friendly towards the Army as the Army had been friendly towards them.
On the morning of the day concerned Sivajini was going to worship at the Chemmani Road Pillayar Kovil. On the road a girl wanted to talk to her and both walked together for awhile. At the top of a lane the girl pulled out a pistol, shot her, and ran away, leaving behind a notice accusing her of treachery.
Sivajini's husband lives abroad. She singly cared for her aging mother and her daughter in the university entrance class. She was also an active office-bearer of the Chundikuli Old-Girls’ Association. According to her neighbours, because of her sociable qualities and her fluency in the three languages, people of the area regularly sought her help when some problem required an appeal to the Army. 4th August, Karanavai, Vadamaratchy: A father of three children lived just on the uncleared side of the eastern boundary wall. Since he knew Sinhalese, soldiers manning the boundary frequently summoned him as a translator. On this day the LTTE shot him on the forehead. The LTTE reportedly apologised to his family later saying that they had made a mistake. Other local sources feel that the LTTE knew why and what it was doing and there was no mistake Military Practice & Current Developments: A comparative overview
There has since July been a large rise in the number of arrests and the institutionalisation of torture to a point where people see it as part of policy rather than as an isolated misdemeanour. The Government's public commitment to Human Rights and the international credit it has received made the latter seem more likely, The consistent failure to issue receipts upon arrests, inform relatives and merely keeping the ICRC on a casual mailing list, letting them know only of those cases that had at long-last been brought to the KKS police station, is a sign of the almost total loss of accountability in Jaffna. The ease with which persons could go missing is alarming. In practice there is no one to whom an ordinary person could complain of criminal misdemeanour by the armed forces without living in fear of severe re

Page 22
22TAMILTIMEs
percussions.
Those who had tried complaining to higher officials feel that although they listen and appear concerned, it does not work. Often these officers seem to have no clue to what is happening to the military machine at the lower levels and adopt what appears in practice, to be an ostrichlike policy.
What is less known is that from the beginning of the Army's takeover there has been a notable difference between the Army's conduct in urban and rural areas. It was a grave mistake to cover up rather than investigate and take punitive action against the few rape cases that surfaced.
Irritations in the rural areas however were more widespread than was appreciated. It became unsafe for people to go out after dusk. A round-up often meant that even old women had to stand out the whole day without food and water. Innocent young men were detained, beaten and told that they would be released only if they named two members of the LTTE. Former members of the LTTE were asked to report and sign at one camp and while leaving were detained by men from another group. When parents protested to the first camp they were told that they had no influence on what others did. Yet despite these the people were willing to give the Army a chance and hope for the best. They had many reasons to feel disillusioned with the LTTE.
The suicide bomb blast in Jaffna on 4th July and the Mullaitivu disaster appear to have been crucial in giving far greater licence to the bad elements in the Army. In Thenmaratchy in particular people have begun to compare favourably the relative physical security they had under the LTTE with the current insecurity they experience from day to day.
One can see shades of Brigadier Tissa (Bull) Weeratunge's regime of the late 70s and early 80s. Weeratunge was sent to Jaffna in mid-1979 with a list of a couple of dozen militant activists and an order from President Jayewardene to eliminate terrorism. Young boys were picked up off the roads in round ups and tortured with the number of disappearances rising to 23 by early 1983. The result was a militant movement several thousands - strong. These failed methods were used again and again and were presented as successful, but carried credibility, if any, only in the short run.
A hopeful exception in recent months has been the handling of Vadamaratchy.
Now for a brieflook at the three traditional divisions in Jaffna. Valikamam
It is in this area that a marked change of military behaviour had taken place following the killing of Brigadier Hamangoda on 4th July. His successor as Town Commandant, Brigadier Gamini Jayasundara, is comparatively cut off from the people. But if the top-brass had not known
earlier, they have beet public to know what
Apart from the m mid-July, there was a tacks on civilians from full extent of the n Mullaitivu (about a t the fallen camp unacc public knowledge. A were detained, part points, taken into can badly assaulted. Thos after a few days testi ers similarly detained see because of being b spoken to. Kaladdy point into Jaffna town a major, was one of th happened. Other poi have been discussed
Thenmaratchy
There has been n policy. People have enced terror and indi, areas. Being the mos from the mainland, least two major attacl of which about a do killed. Our cases sug July there has been a criminal behaviour ai no tangible attempt check this.
Every local army holders list with det Visitors have to regis of monitoring struct countability, and in ence, people fear that serve a predatory pur insecurity (see cases a Abductions by the A1 opposed to arrest tha dure) has been on th is among those noted
Vadamaratchy
The situation in t underthe 28th Brigad commanded by Colo deserves to be looked cause it has a comme well as some disturbir ary extends northwarc of which is the 29th Atchuvely.
The first troops to May were of the 53 Brigadier Fernando, about 150 LTTE cad without offering res with civilians have be start. At the beginning and the Army supplied civilians for severald ratchy the Army hade breaking open stores \ sequestered rations m and allowed the pec selves.
Unlike in Then

15 NoveMBER 1996
n told enough by the is really going on. issing persons since wave of hidden atn 28th July when the hilitary disaster at housand soldiers in :ounted for) became number of persons icularly at checkps blindfolded, and e who were released fied to several oth, whom they did not lind-folded, but had camp, a key entryand commanded by he places where this ints about the area earlier,
o marked change of constantly experiscipline in the rural treadily accessible there have been at ks by LTTE in each ozen soldiers were gest that from late greater licence for mong soldiers, with by the top-brass to
camp has a houseails about inmates. ster. In the absence ures and hence acthe light of experihese lists frequently pose, adding to their bove under Rape...). my at junctions (as t has a legal procee increase. Nunavil
for such.
his area that comes e based at Pt.Pedreo nel Larry Wijeratne at more closely beindable side to it as ng trends. Its boundls from Vallai, south 1 Brigade based at
enter Pt. Pedro in 3rd Brigade under There were only lire around who left istance. Relations en cordial from the g there was no food cooked food to the lays. As in Thenmaarned popularity by where the LTTE had eant for the people
·ple to help them
naratchy, Colonel
Wijeratne has taken far greater pains to maintain discipline among his troops. The events of July caused no break in this discipline. We have received no reports of regular torture and beating such as are reported in the other regions. The Colonel's main thrust has been towards winning over the lower stratum of society by making himself readily available to the ordinary people and taking initiatives such as to revive the economic life of fisherfolk. In instances where misbehaviour by soldiers among some of the poorest folk was brought to his notice, he has been known to apologise to them personally and to reassure them.The culprits are also in some cases said to have been punished. Checks have also been instituted to curb the purchase of liquor from the public by soldiers. On one occasion a soldier, assaulted a village headman in Valvettithurai, the LTTE leaders village, from where about 90% of the population had fled to the Vanni. The Colonel called a meeting of headmen, apologised for the incident and also told them that any suspect arrested by the Army would be released on an assurance given by any one of them, provided they would take responsibility. At least up to a point there has been a coherent effort to uphold the dignity of ordinary civilians, who thus feel very little threat to their physical security and that their homes are fairly inviolate - they generally sleep in peace unlike in Thenmaratchy.
The Army also receives a good deal of information of LTTE movements and there are regular ambushes with accompanying mishaps. The following are a sample: June 1996: Kallikai, Thunnalai:
On receipt of information of an LTTE presence on the uncleared side of the eastern wall, soldiers went to a home and asked the people to continue with their domestic chores as they normally do and waited in ambush. The LTTE made an appearance and 3 of them were shot dead. including the son of Balasingham – Teacher of Puloly who was once a brilliant A-Level student.
Another group of the LTTE who were two doors away took to their heels and escaped.
Early July: Navindil: Going on a tipoff the Army caught 3 members of the LTTE who were hiding in a house and made them squat down. One made an escape and the soldiers let him go. He was shot dead by a second group surrounding the area. The other two were also sha. dead and their corpses were carried away in the sarongs they were wearing. 5th August: Kovil-Santhai, Nelliady - Kodikamam Road: The Army went on tip-off and waited in ambush near a house with LTTE cadre. An old man who was squatting between the hostile parties saw the soldiers and went on Squatting. After a length of time, unable to bear it much longer, the old man got up to move away

Page 23
15 NOVEMshk Sysweb
Seeing movement one of the ambush party fired killing the old man. The LTTE cadre escaped.
Now we come to the disturbing aspect of the policy in Vadamaratchy. In the early stages, such as in the first incident, the bodies of dead LTTE cadre were brought to the Pt.Pedro hospital mortuary. The second incident is a case of current practice. According to local reports there is now no taking of prisoners even when it is possible. Bodies of LTTE cadre killed are disposed of without the due legal process. In the case of the old man killed in the third incident we understand that a inquest was held.
The summary killing of LTTE captives and the disposal of bodies is a worrying development that smacks of the general air of impunity characteristic of Jaffna. It makes civilians more insecure during routine military operations and could under adverse conditions degenerate into the kind of thing, so common in the past, that the Government had promised to eradicate. Some Deeper Issues -
Since our inception just over eight years ago, there are two things that we have been stressing as being of the foremost importance in bringing an end to the cycle of terror. The first is that the State should forego some of the illusory pomp and be accountable to the people. The second is that the State should project a higher sense of character in admitting mistakes and shortcomings, and be open to public feelings and demands towards enacting corrective measures. Although there have been decisive improvements under the new government, they still fall short of what it takes to restore peace. Some crucial issues refuse to go away.
It is now clear that hundreds of thousands of people in the Vanni who must have lost count of the times they have been displaced, both by military operations and the exigencies of Tiger politics, could hardly see the Government as caring for them. Many are today camped in open fields in Mankulam without a roof over their head in the wake of the Army's push towards Killinochchi. According to the first sketchy reports coming through civilian sources, Air Force planes have been bombing this area now teeming with civilians. In one part of Mankulam on the main road where a large number of civilians had gathered, bombs were dropped by Kfir bombers killing about six civilians. The civilians believe that this was purely meant to kill them as there was no LTTE target within a mile. Another bomb at Mallavi in Mankulam missed the LTTE pass office and killed about two civilians. To understand the pretensions underpinning these bombing raids, it is best to look back at a recent event, where, the dust having settled, we have much more information. The world has almost forgotten it, but the people have not. This was the bombing near the Church of St. Peter
and St, Paul at Naval We then quoted loca that about 65 civilian the rough figure given ment. Jaffna hospital ; figure at significantly based on their record pressed her sympath thentic information a quiry. Her last public at a press conference i was to play on the f early reports the ch hardly touched (althc large number of pe premises were kille tested), and that she v information. The Go' control of Jaffna, evel uncleared area, but th ther word on the inqu tablishment confus speculation given w about an LTTE ammu off 'sympathetic exp civilians long wonder an LTTE convoy or { vehicle in the area. N Army has access to th to report on the amm The picture is n There were a numbe area. These nearly all fleeing the military ac then teeming with ci volunteer helpers. As the situation put it, "W ed a bomb in the area, get a few dozen civil four miles from the tion and there was no tivity there.
We have from ey found that a single Pu from the north-west, of Karainagar, at full for Navaly, dropped turned and went back direction from whenc time the incident took been pouring into N hours, people leaving tense shelling from th The following is the among one group thi 2.00 PM, travelled w koddai and turned so at Sangaratthai junct proaching Navaly ab the incident took plac "We were part of vilians on the road v side. The pilot could: considering that the why we were fleeing him to bomb. When much taken over by trying to scatter, we other and fell on the
Several accounts was then just about or Navaly junction unc

TAMIL IIMES 23
on 9th July 1995.
sources who said were killed - also In the ICRC’s stateources later put the over one hundred, . The President ex', appealed for auld called for an inword on the matter early August 1995 ict that contrary to urch building was ugh the fact that a ple in the church d was never con'as awaiting further "ernment is now in if Navaly is in the are has been no furry. The defence es2d the issue with de press publicity nition dump setting losions'. Even the ed if there had been ven a single LTTE ow, even though the le area, they are yet unition dump story. nuch clearer now. of vehicles in the contained civilians lvance. Navaly was vilian refugees and those familiar with "herever you droppyou were bound to tans”. The area was nearest Army posio marked LTTE ac
'e witness accounts ccaro bomber came from the direction speed, went straight ix bombs, climbed, almost in the same it had come. At the place refugees had avaly for nearly 7 their homes as inle east Came nearer. testimony of a girl it left Chankanai at est towards Vaddukuth towards Navaly on. They were apout 4.30 PM when
e: a huge stream of ci'ith fields on either o clearly see us and Government knew we never expected he did, we were so sudden fear that, in tripped over each ground.”
suggest that there e LTTE vehicle near er three huge trees
that remained untouched by the bombing, whence the vehicle could hardly have been seen.
It was a quick job and there is no way the pilot could have spotted or distinguished an LTTE vehicle or convoy. There was at that time no LTTE preparation anywhere to resist the Army advance. LTTE vehicles were of course busy in many places away from the advance, taking their possessions away. The one thing the Military could have spotted from the air or have heard from the International NGOs, if not from the Government's own Agent, all of whom had radio links, was that refugees were teeming into Navaly. Civilians who know the facts had come to the most obvious conclusion, and find it extremely difficult to reconcile themselves to the Government. The President too lost much of the trust that she had earlier earned.
The alternative explanation is that the Air Force had issued an order to bomb without any checks, acting on deliberate misinformation. But this raises so many questions without credible answers, apart from the notorious inaccuracy of such raids.
Four days later the LTTE shot down a Puccaro bomber. Almost every civilian, even those waiting impatiently to see the backs of the LTTE and hoping that the Army would come in quickly, was happy about the shooting down of the Puccaro. If one extends this understandable response taking into account the whole picture, one gets a clear view of Tamil ambivalence - the ambivalence about terrorist attacks in the South, about the Government, the Armed Forces, Mullaitivu, and ultimately their own people, the LTTE and the terrible phenomenon of child soldiers. We have always maintained, that though explicable, it is a narrow, unhealthy and suicidal ambivalence of a depoliticised people. The ambivalence is moreover based on immediate concerns of the particular group in a highly divided society with contradictory aspirations.
Correspondingly, there is also in the South ambivalence about the Tamils among them, about the bombing and shelling of Tamil civilians in the North, the use of state-terror and also about a suitable political solution. These with globalisation and the divergent aims of insecure expatriate groups thrown about in various countries, comprise a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.
This is why we have laid stress on the necessity for the state to project a higher calibre of character. We consider a just political solution along with disciplined and accountable Armed Forces to be of paramount importance in order that it will give hope for the people to start afresh a new life with dignity, leaving behind the tragedies of the last few decades. It would further give them space to resist in a reasoned voice, the recruitment of children, which is the greatest evil confronting Tamil society.

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24 TAML. TIMES
We must keep in mind that what obtains in Jaffna has been a closed society for many years with those coming into adulthood having grown up in conflict and uncertainty. Its access to the media remains restricted with only Government controlled newspapers being distributed in very small numbers. One local paper (Uthayan) resumed publication in midJuly. For years now the people have had no media that they could trust. By weeding out independent spirits, the LTTE deliberately paralysed this society to facilitate its own totalitarian control. Elimination and emigration have drained the society of much of its trained talent.
Given the underlying contest for power and the LTTE's determination to use all means to claw back what it has lost, those left in a position to take any initiative to fill the political vacuum or do anything for the common good are terrified even to try to do so. The accepted norm is for NGOs, institutions and individuals to make representations to secure their narrow interests while being indifferent about the rest - a legacy of totalitarian culture. Events of the last decade have also left a society that is deeply traumatised. Its once vibrant system of education is now in shambles.
It is thus an apathetic society with hardly any visible movement and is barely capable of the immense political effort needed to democratise its life and administration. In the resulting frustration, the old totalitarian order of the LTTE, as highly deprived as it was, may appear attractive to many.
Those of us who wish this society well and want the Tamil community to survive as a cultural and ethnic entity, are therefore faced with the painful task of rebuilding a democratic infrastructure amidst the present ruin. A new leadership will have to be helped to emerge by promoting collective action beginning at the village level. Unless the people can become interested in their own future and are given the power and the necessary resources to do some thing about it, there is little hope for the Tamil community here. Conclusion:
After the initial euphoria of going back to their home after their ordeal of several months, the people have now to come to terms with their reality, which
A. Immediate concerns to start normal life 1. Loss of properties and damaged houses. 2. Ruined economy and agriculture. 3. Limited supply of food, other materials and inadequate health facilities.
4. Overall inertia of the Government machinery. 5. Restricted travel to the South. B. Security concerns and uncertainties
1. Unstable situation and general insecurity. 2. LTTE's presence and the prospect
of LTTE's provo Army retaliation, stifling of norma 3. Routine check C. Political and socia 1. A total politica 2. Hardly any eff to assert commu 3. No positive d political scene reg political solution 4. The terror syn D. Psychological asp 1. The trauma an to continuous w regimented life. 2. The very dee children with no give meaningful 3. Need for struct with problems re promote peace a the social sphere in peace making. 4. Rejuvenating 1 tem with a clear tial needs of the hope to the young These manifold need to be taken it
I write in res) joinder of G. 15. Il 0.96). I wou sues and avoid p which can only Times to the low in some little Thamilnaadu, th, the little magazi mentilon.
l. No langua be diglossic. Any ject to diglossia its development, occurs partly in dealing with the cepts and object eign sources anc of an elitist fond eign words.
Despite the cri classical Thamil, choose to define has changed cc considerably sino riod, and even t period remains r us. As much as in English would guage of Shakes
 

15 NOVEMBER 1996
ations leading to in turn leading to a life.
hg.
reality.
| W3CUt. ctive structures left ity interests. velopments in the arding the proposed
ΙΟΥθ
:cts. Il disorientation due r conditions and a
5-rooted effects on thing at present to lope.
ures which can deal lated to trauma and :tivity: Humanising is an essential task
he educational sysfocus on the essensociety for giving ger generation. considerations thus to account by those
formulating programmes for revival. Future developments will depend on a healthier change, a change that can take place only if we take steps to address these issues with a clear vision. With a view to promoting democratic and human rights, we strongly feel that the following issues should be addressed immediately:
** Hold a preliminary inquiry into the bombings at Navaly and Nagarkovil (July & September respectively in 1995) and pay compensation to the victims.
** Arrest the deteriorating situation by taking immediate steps to investigate concerns in this report about the possible induction of the white van abduction team, torture and disposal of the bodies without proper post-mortem etc.
** Remove censorship. ** Provide more access to journalists. ** Allow the Human Rights Task Force (HRTF) to become active in Jaffna with personnel who have the ability to make it functional in a meaningful way.
** Allow international NGOs and Human-Rights organisations to visit Jaffna with a view to fulfilling their obligations.
T
by S.Sivasegaram
ponse to the reRamesh (TT d stick to the isarsonal remarks, drag the Tamil levels of debate magazines of e down- side of le that I did not
ge is designed to jaಣ್ಣಳ್ವ is subin the course of und heteroglossia
the process of intry of new connames from forpartly because ness to use for
:ative potential of however one may it, the language ntinuously and e its Sangam pehe post-Sangam 'mote to many of
modern writers not use the lanbeare, Writers in
modern Thamil opt for the language as it is today. This is not a rejection of the abundant wealth of tradition but only a call for wisdom in drawing on it. Writers benefit from it in different ways and what matters is the extent to which the language is enriched in the process, and there can be no prescriptions.
2. Latin was the language not 器 of Christian theology but also of the sciences as recently as a few centuries ago, and has also been used in creative writing. Nevertheless, it was just as fossilized as Sanskrit and ancient Greek. I have not read Kaalidhaasa's works at source, but I understand that he used Sanskrit for narration and to present the speech of the masters and the scholars and used the living languages to present the speech of the ordinary people. That should tell us something. More recently than Kaalidhaasa. Muththuswaami Diekshithar. a native speaker of Thamil, chose to compose in Sanskrit, and even today there are people who compose

Page 25
15 NOVEMEBER 1996
their kterthanams in Sanskrit. But it remains a dead language, despite attempts by C. Raajagopaalaachchaari and others once to revive it by making it the official language of India. A fossilized language that has, however, been successfully revived is Hebrew. Sanskrit, the successor to the relatively primitive language of the Vedic literature, itself owes much of its word-stock not only to the Dhraavida languages but also to the Mundaa family of languages. Once a language becomes fossilized, contributions to the wordstock by creative writers alone cannot bring it back to life. How and at what stage Sanskrit ceased to be a language for social intercourse is another question which relates to its fossilization.
Diglossia is a sign of life and does not arrive by intent but as part of language development. End of diglossia almost always implies stagnation and eventual fossilization. Common speech, denounced by traditionalists as the speech of the lowly, is what has kept Thamil alive and vibrant. I think that the modern creative writer in Thamil is correct to enphasize it while this is no cause to disregard tradition.
3. I have no illusions about the role of standardization of language and have not provided prescriptions either. In today's context it involves coming to terms with the reality of various dialects as well as new lexical and grammatical structures that have entered the language, accommodation of new sounds and sound distributions that have been accepted in speech, and many more things. A new set of norms are necessary to help the coherent development of the written language in a way that it benefits from the positive aspects of what has been dismissed as vulgar and the language of the lowly. One source of the kind of mass Thamil that is strangling linguistic and literary creativity is at the heart of Chennai. It is precisely because of this kind of degeneration, that the need for standardization of the language on the basis of the strengths of the modern language in all its forms becomes important.
4. Linguists from the Indian sub-continent have studied the question of 'disinherited Englishes” and made a case for considering the Englishes of the various regions as languages or branches of English in their own right... A sizable section of the sub-continental population uses English to an
extent that it is tually, their firs them, that Engli heart. In their C dence of digloss sulting from th flict between the to the norms of 1 guage and the I usage. The use second languag Sanskrit, Latin tends to adhe namely what stands as the st The role of Eng more importan lisation of capita survival' is not t the adapted Eng in Asian Societi dable than that native language 5. Thamilna lalitha not bec thought that s. and therefore 'myths' came in came to power. matter is that Thamilnadu stil ruption in that before her. If m lic servants were at her feet to fur that was not be convent drop-ol
6. Although pessimistic tone fail to notice, I di thing that the w fering from, inc pessimism'. It discussion if the sist the tempta existent meanin simple statemer 7. What I Wr writer keyboard based on the on acters. I repeat restricted to tho iar with typing pectively of the s I also stated tha tribution of the a board, and will fort to explai chooses to disto I am not a Cor I an aware of v maps are creat characters. Wh that, it is far mo typist copying Thamil to use Thamil characte devices.
8. Nothing Thiamilina adu, } petrol, shocks m cinated by innov

TAMIL TIMES 25
almost, if not aclanguage and, to sh is close to their ase, one finds eviia, sometimes ree continuing cone desire to adhere he 'standard" lan'eality of everyday er of English as a e, like scholars of or ancient Greek, re to one form, he user underandard language. glish has become t with the global. The English for be confused with lishes, and its role es is more formiof any other nonat any time. adu elected Jaya:ause the people he knew English everything. The to being after she The fact of the the politics of nks, and the corstate started long inisters and pub2 willing to fall flat ther their careers, 2cause she was a ut.
the article had a which I could not d not refer to anyrriter may be sufluding "misplaced will help healthy Ose concerned retion to read nongs into plain and htS. ɔte about the typewas that it was e for Roman charL that its value is se who are famillin English, irressource of the idea. ut I value the conauthor of that keynot waste any efin how Ramesh rt my comments. mputer expert, but ways in which bit ed for designing at is important is ore practical for a a document in a keyboard with rs and diacritical
that happens in including herbal e. I am rarely fasations and always
valued the modest contributions that help us understand our society and help us go forward. I also see no harm in a creative writer being concerned with the public sphere or following great poets like Bhaarathi or Bhaarathithaasan and adoring that brilliant writer Puthumaippiththan. I have made clear my views about commercial writing in Thamil in my earlier communication and have little to add to it.
9. I thank Ramesh for the of fer to allow me space in the columns of Uiththiyaasam, but I am already unable to cope with my commitments to the handful of magazines to which I write regularly. South Asian Books, Chennai published under the title thamilum agalum a collection of articles written by me between 1982 and 1993 on the question of the status of Thamil and I am awaiting responses before I write more on the subject. In the mean time, I would recommend the use of the magaZines kaalachchuvadu and kanatyaali which reach a wider readership to discuss these matters more fruitfully.
Late Night News Roger McGough
Sorry there's nothing new to say It's all been said before The slaughter of the innocents The futility of war,
The empty streets, the rifle shots The corpses not yet cold The interviews with colonels Who say as they are told
The refugees, the loaded carts The feeble and the lame Locations change from week to week But the misery's the same.
A million miles of footage Countless reels of tape Twentieth century history Murder, torture, rape.
When we hear the starting gun We dispatch the nearest crew Today it's Sarajevo Tomorrow? A town near you,
So if you wake up screaming From dreams you did not choose Remember that you saw it first Here on late-night news,
(From "The Nation's Favourite Poems",
BBC 1

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26 TAMIL TIMES
T Sabaratnam has written really the history of the Federal Party, and of the later Tamil United Liberation Front, than a mere story of the political career of Amirthalingam, Sabaratnam used the advantage of a diligent and inquiring journalist to gain a clear profound understanding of personallties and events of the political scene in post-independent Sri Lanka.
Amirthalingam, when young, entered politics and soon emerged as a leader to reckon with. Although some may look upon Amirthalingam as the stormy petrel of politics. Sabaratnam by sober and detached analysis of utterances and events justifies that a more appropriate appellation for Amirthalingam could be a "moderate". Given today's endemic mayhem, murder and violence. Sabaratnam could be right in referring so to a doughty fighter who, nevertheless, lived dedicated to democratic ways.
This study which all who are concerned with the future of Sri Lanka would do well to read demonstrates that Sabaratnam has drawn Copiously on his immense personal knowledge and made judicious discriminating use of material to which he alone had access. The book itself unravels not only the story of Amirthalingam but also the important vicissitudes of the Sinhala-Tamil conflict, the "national question.
In Amirthalingam, Sabaratnam justifiably with convincing evidence discerns a Tamil moderate, and the context of the late concerns Sri Lanka's main national political parties' capitulation to "Sinhala chauvinism" at the expense of Tamil interests. He is objective in detailing “interparty rivalry", "short sightedness" which crippled the Tamil moderate but also caused immeasurable misery that Sri Lanka is still experiencing.
Sabaratnam turns out to be an optimist with faith in the future; an exceptional brave man. He notes that the Sinhala leadership is realising the mistakes that they made in using the Tamil problem only for gaining mere political mileage. He believes that the present day more enlightened leadership has demonstrated remarkable courage in approaching the Tamil problem in a more understanding
manner. Yet he note of caution reader that the under pressure. titudes remain u The first chap fast moving vers demise of the Amirthalingam a Sabaratnam stre: difference that c TULF from them ferring to the her Amirthalingam 1 phasised that h adhered to acce traditions inste moderation as t
aSSeSS.
Thereafter, Sa ses development sue which endure the differences hala and Tamil transfer of power no way of succ about an unders the Sinhala and sharing. This issu day unsolved an for so much trag strong enough to not.
The formatio Party its objecti pursuit of the speaking individ rights to all; rem. equalities and ir larly of untoucha of a socialist eco. ity of opportunity employment; a goodwill and fri Sinhala in the ir unity and progr delineated with cisive skill.
Another is st ratnam deals wit Colonisation" | posed an obstacle of the sense of gr by Tamil spe Amirthalingam
 
 

15 NOVEMEBER 1996
ends sounding a ; he warns the leaders are still Quite true as atunchanged. ter is a dramatic ion of the tragic TULF leaders. and Yogeswaran. sses the principal listinguishes the ilitants. While reoism of the LTTE, nevertheless eme preferred they pted democratic ad; the voice of he author would
baratnam travers related to an ises fundamental to between the Sinpeople. When the began there was 2ssfully bringing standing between Famil over power - ue remains to this d has accounted edy. The majority compromise does
n of the Federal ves such as the rights of Tamil uals; citizenship oval of social injustices particubility; realisation nomy with equalin education and nd promotion of endship with the hterest of Federal ess are forcefully commendable in
u e which Sabahi.e. "State Aided proves that too to the settlement ievance nurtured aking peoples. never objected to
“voluntary settlement" but only to "state organised colonisation" "intended to alter the population pattern of the traditional Tamil areas". Land has been even according to colonial governor Hugh Clifford a matter of enormous importance to all communities who were "very sensitive" and "emotional" about it. A succinct paragraph on the hartal which proved to a decisive event in recent history because it led to the resignation of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake ends Chapter 3.
Then followed outbursts ofviolence with the eruption of the language issue following the elevation of Sinhala as the official language. The author outlines the lobbying that forced the enactment of this divisive legislation. The chapter is replete with information of a valuable nature on the politics of language.
Amirthalingam's readiness to compromise so as to bring about a solution to the critical problem is amply demonstrated. He tells S W R D Bandaranai ke that though we are demanding federalism we are ready to settle for much less or some sort of autonomy.
It also becomes evident from Sabaratnam that Chelvanayakam, leader of the Federal Party, was now beginning to eclipse himself and to hand over the reins. He exclaimed that Amirthalingam is the "voice of the youth" and remarked to Bandaranaike “you must try to satisfy the youth".
Chelvanayakam's prophetic insight was manifest when he remarked to Bandaranalike that, “today you oppose regionalism. If you fail to concede it, one day you will have to fight separation". This was portentous, and today we are painfully aware of it.
The Chapter on "The Language Issue" is particularly loaded with interesting informative material. At times the chapter recounts events

Page 27
15 NOVEMEBER 1995
which, if not for the tragedy, can be read with a smile. The forging of the Bandaranaike Chelvanayakam pact, and its sad end is recounted in a graphic and fuller manner. Remarkably the writer recapitulates the worsening of ethnic relations in Sri Lanka, sad reading. It is also made clear that a chance to settle differences in a fall manner was lamentably lost and one lives to rue the day.
Further contentions between Sinhala and Tamil and the disappointment of the Tamils with the post-independent governments became starkly obvious when the Sinhala Act was fully implemented from 1961. The Federal Party fell back on the option oftaking to protest movements through hartals. When there was a suggestion that the Tamils should, think in terms of separation, again Amirthalingam was firm that although the Sinhala people had rebuffed their call for federalism they should continue to try their best to convince and convert them to the federal concept before they decided to break away; the moderates voice once more according to the author's evaluation.
So both Chelvanayakam and his followers now embarked upon resistance movements against what they considered blatant injustice. They engaged in a struggle “in full force and which would be 100 per cent non-violent”. Similar sentiments were echoed by party members from the East who spoke of the "Chelvanayakam path" as the "Gandhian path", and of the Federal party's path as the Chelvanayakam path. Passive resistance seemed to have a romantic spell on the Federal party indeed.
Sabaratnam carefully and truthfully describes this resistance movement and endeavours of the Federal Party and leaders like Amirthalingam to convince the government and the Sinhala people that a wrong has been done to Tamils. Amirthalingam once asserted that the Tamils were "studying Sinhala voluntarily", and only opposed it being "forced down our throats". This message was in vain as it went unheeded.
The repressive reaction of the government to the non-violent resistance movements, and Satiyagrahas in 1961 are very faithfully recounted. The setting up of Post Offices known as the Tamil Arasu Postal Service and other measures taken to illustrate their disillusion with the Government and its attitude to the Tamil people are lu
cidly related. But efforts proved fut see or wished to.
The protest con Generally the pre the Federal partyn cation and Empl Tamils which recei Eighth National Co Federal Party on 3 in Mannar.
In regard to Edu eral Party alleged t total denial of equa education and e Tamil speaking p gious minorities unscrupulous disc closure of a numb dium schools and provided evidence proposals of the Na sion of Education r of Scholarship and instruction in estal erbated the sense tion.
Throughout Sa ceeds to detail sc planning and exec verse measures of by the Federal Part you also learn th spite of having s hands of the Lak against the propos the press. Here th principled democ spite adversity; judgement of them prudent.
This chapter is interest because i formative account eral party arriving with, the United District Council and the party was Dudley Senanaya the Ninth Nationa the Federal Part where he asserted he was the Prin would assure the Tamil 黜器 would never suffe. the elaborated tha cial country the pri culture and langui ent groups was ess racy if all were tc and that racial ha permanent.
But the honey UNP did not last. ences began to s' adoption of measl palatable to the F relationship with under strain. By yakam saw that yake too was let

IAM L TIMES 27
once more the le, none could
inued in 1962. -occupation of Dw was on Eduoyment of the ved focus at the nvention of the 1 August 1962
cation the Fedhat there was a opportunity of mployment to eople and reliby blatant and rimination. The er of Tamil meTamil streams . Furthermore, tional Commisegarding grants the medium of .e schools exac
of discrimina
baratnam prorupulously the ution of the diprotest headed y. Nevertheless at the party in uffered at the e House stood sal to take over e author sees a ratic stand dea value based oderate and the
also of special t details an inabout the Fedat an agreement National Party. were discussed encouraged by ke’s Address to l Convention of y at Kalmunai that as long as le Minister he Tamils that "the
and heritage r". Furthermore t in a multi- raservation of the age of the differential to democenjoy freedom rmony must be
moon with the By 1967 differurface with the |res, mostly unbderal Party. Its the UNP came 1968 ChelvanaDudley Senanating down the
Tamils. Yet even then Sabaratnam indicates that at the Eleventh National Convention of the Federal Party a resolution on a separate state for the Tamils was planned by the youth, but the Federal High Command however persuaded them against it. But a resolution to quit the National Government was adopted. Towards the end of the Chapter one understands that the Tamil youth and the law and forces for the first time came into direct conflict. 1969 was the last year of the entente of the Federal Party and the Government; like an arrow spent an opportunity went by wasted. The Government had no time for the problem until the problem festered further.
Thereafter Sabaratnam proceeds to deal with the Constitution that was to be enacted by a new government within the Constituent Assembly in 1970, and the Federal Party's reactions.
The Federal Party welcomed the Constituent Assembly. Meanwhile, elsewhere however, Tamil youths tried unsuccessfully to assassinate the Junior Minister of Cultural Affairs. This was a first act of violence and a sign of things to come. The youth had grown restive and reliant on their initiatives. The Federal Party presented their draft constitution along with a memorandum to the Constituent Assembly. The gist of it was a demand for "autonomy for their territories under a Federal Union". Sabaratnam briefly but instructively provides an insight into the Federal party's draft Constitution. But the party met with no success again. Amendments on the nature of the constitution, citizenship rights, and other fundamental rights were rejected according to Chelvanayakam. He was left forlorn and empty handed and no message of hope to the youth.
They then vacated the Constituent Assembly except for C X Martyn who alleged that the Federal Party leadership was being pressured by Militant Youth. Martyn was playing his last or lost innings! Youth leaders considered the decision of the Federal Party to quit the Assembly their victory. And in 1972 Amirthalingam declared that the Federal Party should "give up its stand of federalism and demand a separate state like Bangladesh". The birth of Bangladesh had an impact on the Tamil youth and Amirthalingam felt heady enough to speak of "a clear cut struggle for a totally separate state" with "foreign assistance" Amirthalingam the orator

Page 28
حتھا۔صمســــــــــــــص ۔ -- ح -----۔ 28 TAMIL TIMES
would often submerge Amirthalingam the real moderate and resourceful strategist as one understands.
Sabaratnam correctly opines that the government failed to realise the importance of Amirthalingam's statement. He "was voicing the growing militant thinking of the Tamil youth". To the government Amirthalingam was raving in the wilderness and not appealing to their understanding. This was a signal error in judgement.
Sabaratnam thereafter provides an absorbing account of the radical changes that pressured the Federal Party. The sympathy in Tamil Nadu, formation of the Tamil United Front are graphically described. The author notes that the youth grew disenchanted with the Federal Party: Its members by attending parliament lent legitimacy to the 1972 Constitution. There were two voices now, the voice of the youth and that of the Federal Party Parliamentarians but both voices fell on deaf ears. To appease the youth. Chelvanayakam resigned his seat. But the by-election was postponed for long which further strengthened the youth resolve to revolt: Parliamentary democracy in the island forfeited their confidence in it.
Chapter 8 treats the volatile topic of "Standardisation". One learns from Sabaratnam's exciting account how strong fuel was added to the raging fire that had already been lit among Tamil youth. The author in a fair narrative sharply and firmly points out that "standardisation added yet another grievance". Students of "two ethnic groups had two different qualifying marks" to enter Universities. This badly hurt the Tamil youth. The Tamil Student Movement was formed. The youth were disappointed with the impotence of Tamil Parliamentarians to resist discriminatory measures. This Student Movement later metamorphosed into the restless Tamil Youth Movement.
Now violence erupted more frequently from 4 June 1972. At the Annual Convention of the Federal Party on 9 September 1973 at Mallakam, Amirthalingam proposed that "federalism" be replaced by “separation” as the objective. The means to it was to be non-violence. Non-violent revolution was the only way for an unarmed people. Caught between the
devil and the de sitive governm youth. Amirtha cede some “to r
The rest of count dwells ol violence and th erted on the Fe ership. And it UNP accepted fronted several it came to pow grievances reg colonisation, 1 employment. N other hand, the lution too was favouring a fra secular state of Tamil United F the Tamil Unite The Chapte Security" demo recognisably th tered, violence lence occurred this period onw and collision g time for the passed and "m in, the space for lesser and les traces these re developments i. and with remar tells this story his encounters and often dista good writer present a recol Vocate a cause.
Even in Ap) nevertheless w to settle the T agreed to serve Committees ol though the UN not still shown ing a settleme and vexed issu the relations b and Tamil peo
However, SC lence overwhel the pressure of TULF aggravat struckmore oft The TULF foun viable position from Sabaratna alleged that th of the terroris TULF had bec Amirthalingam in March 197 separate, sover ent state”, but means". The p between the T had be come close.

15 NOVEMBER 1996
2p sea of an insennt and impatient ingam had to conetain more”. Sabaratnam's ac
the escalation of e pressures it exderal Party's leads at this time the that Tamils conroblems and when r it would remedy arding education, 1se of Tamil and Meanwhile on the Vaddukoddai resoadopted by 1976 ce, sovereign and a Tamil Eelam. The ront changed into d Liberation Front. r on "Safety and instrates how unè situation had aland Counter viofrequently. From ards confrontation rew common. The "moderates" had ilitants” had come moderates became ser. Sabaratnam grettable and sad n admirable detail kable dexterity. He via his records of s and experiences unces himself as a who ventures to 'd rather than ad
il 1978 the TULF as keen peacefully amil problem and in all the Standing Parliament even P government had any signal of evolvnt to a protracted 2 that had bloodied 2tween the Sinhala ble for so long. on afterward, vioned the island and the militants on the ed as the militants en than ever before. id itself in an unenas one discovers um. Even ministers 2 TULF was a part it movement. The ome suspect and spoke at Madurai 9 of achieving "a eign and independthrough "peaceful arting of the ways ULF and the UNP un avoidable and
Strict laws were enacted to curb the militants such as the prevention of Terrorism Act. The TULF in principle was opposed to them although it did not attend Parliament. Tamil Youth Leagues were now engaged in a "youth revolt" and condemned TULF inaction. The youth were losing confidence in the TULF, while Amirthalingam was still singing the same refrain but in the void: "the method of democracy is the ballot and not the bullet". None listened.
"The Political Murder" (Chapter lO) continues to be a so carefully crafted account of the deterioration of relations between the TULF and the UNP. The abominable riots of July 1983 had driven a wedge between the Sinhala and Tamil, and as Sabaratnam recounts the riots too were blamed on Amirthalingam, and the TULF. Parties that advocated the division of the country were exiled; an opportunity for India to gain a role in the island's internal affairs as ACS Hameed correctlv foresaw. There is much more that is new that Sabaratnam has so deftly woven into the gripping account of contemporary problems.
Sabaratnam tells us all. He recapitulates some of the encomiums posthumously bequeathed on Amirthalingam and sums up with the conclusion that Amirthalingam's death "was not the end" but "the beginning" in achieving his federal goal.
This book cannot be laid aside as you begin reading it. Sabaratnam writes "an easy on the eye" style, and packs into his study a formidable amount of hitherto unknown or little known matters. It is a book that captivates your attention like well told detective fiction, but it also proves the trite but true saying that "fact is stranger than fiction".
Sabaratnam is punctilious about chronology and he has built up a fascinating account from well kept, methodically put together notes. He excels as a story teller and clearly vindicates Amirthalingam of the label "militant. To the end he was a democrat and looked to non-violent protest as a moderate to attain the objective of power sharing, as Sabaratnam convinces the reader. However, Sabaratnam also prompts the reader with the feeling that Amirthalingam could be ambivalent - an enigma. Unfortunately he died before one could better understand him. O

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15 NOVEMBER 1996
Making of a Constitution
The article by Rajan Hoole (TT October 96) made me wonder about some things concer ning constitutional reality. It was the great Indian democrat Nehru who exercised his constitutional powers to dismiss a lawfully elected government of the left in Kerala in the 50's. His daughter outdid him in that field and ruled with an iron fist under a state of emergency for most of one elected tern to be defeated at the polls in 1977 and reelected soon after to commit the ultimate sacrilege against the Sikhs. His grandson avenged her murder by presiding over the killing of innocent Sikhs, and how can we ever forget his efforts at peace keeping. Inwhat way has the constitution helped overcome caste oppression, suppression of women's rights, violation of the rights of religious minorities and the abuse of children? The Ashoka chakra cannot blind us to the reality of brutal suppression of popular uprisings, from Thelin gaanaa in the early 50's to Kashmir today. The constitution, as Hoole correctly observes, is not
(continued from page 8)
dation by an official committee that the clock be put back by one hour to the time that prevailed before May 26.
A member of this committee of experts told the press that most people were in favour of going back one hour mainly in view of transport problems. But the Cabinet had rejected this report and instead accepted a recommendation by officials who had painted a rosy picture about energy saving to the power and energy minister, he said.
On the contrary other quarters including space scientist Arthur C. Clarke hailed the decision to put Sri Lanka six hours ahead of GMT saying it would put the country move in line with the international tinne Zone.
"I'm absolutely delighted. At
there to guarant ety for the peopl best to preserve t those in power, I politicians, but th What Hoole h American media amazes me. The dal of the Clinto ticed by the watc the lady tried to the medical ins The right to free for the mass me happens to be cor tablishment whic things that the right to know. F U.S. government crimes against Vi and more recentl many other count World? A piece can recommend lusions' by Noar American schola role of the media also explains in hi how the main goa to destroy every f tion and associa lead to democrac As for the p Lanka, the centra. termination for t Thamil nationalis table by-product vinism and can away. If the gove have the moral col Sinhala chauvinis. choice but to seek tion. As for “huma of law, equality, e. cial programs aim
last local officials decision and now join the rest of th way it was a good people were of tw. ions with regard t think both the c ahead of GMT) ar time 6 l/2 ahead keeping with the ir Zones, and that th difference led to S cations, especiall have global con Clarke said.
But members committee feel the change might c problems especia put Sri Lanka som with India. "The N quoted for most tionally and any have been made with India," one n
 

e a perfect soci!, but it does its ne status quo for do not mean the bse in real power. as to say about and democracy Whitewater scanis passed unnohful media until nake trouble for urance sharks. xpression exists dia, which also trolled by the esh decides on the people have the ow else did the get away with its :tnam for so long y Nicaragua and ries of the Third of writing that I is "Necessary Ilm Chomsky, an describing the in the U.S. He s"Class Warfare" l of the media is orm of organization that might
y.
roblems in Sri l issue is self-dehe nationalities. in Was an inevilof Sinhala chaunot be wished inment does not urage to confront m, it will have no ; a militarv solunrights, the rule conomic and soed at the under
lave come to this " Sri Lanka can e world." "Any
compromise as p different opino time change. I ld time (5 l /2 d the advanced of GMT were not ternational time le odd halfhour o many compli7 for those who nections," Dr.
of the experts half hour time lu Se eCononi C lly as it would ewhat out of line aw Delhi time is hings internachange should in consultation ember said. 0
TAMILTMES 29
privileged and the fight against corruption', they have not been there for us to say 'good-bye'. All these have been deliberately taken away from the country by the faceless masters who determine government policy from afar.
S. Sivasegaran 47 Camberley Avenue London SW26
Poet Kannadasan's Stature
The future of Tamil language is a vital topic of interest to me. I contributed an essay on this theme to the Tamil Times, eight years ago in the May 1988 issue. I have been following the debate between Dr S Sivasegaram and G Ramesh and contribute my two cents worth on this theme.
As it appears, I believe that both learned contributors are engaged in intellectual nit-picking on who are the worthy successors of poet Subrahmanya Bharathi. But it is disappointing to note that with myopic disregard to the realities in terms of name, recognition, popularity, range of talent and quality of output, these two arbiters of Tamil culture have not even bothered to mention the one-andonly Kannadasan in their list of successors of Subrahmanya Bharathi. Undoubtedly, the second half of this century in Tamil literature was dominated by none other than poet Kannadasan. His output of two volumes of autobiography, novels, poems, lyrics, essays and commentaries on the relevance of Hinduism in three decades (1950-80) makes him as the foremost contributor to the Tamil literature. In the minds of millions of Tamils, Kannadasan remains the popular and worthy successor of Bharathi and not other innovators listed by a few dozens of intellectual arbiters belonging to the class of Dr Sivasegaram and G Ramesh.
Fifteen years have passed since Kannadasan's death in Chicago. If he had lived, he will be 70 in 1997. To bring out an English biography. I am compiling information on Kannadasan and I will be glad if other readers share their views on Kannadasan’s contributions to the Tamil language.
Sachi Sri Kantha 5-16-305 Tsukimicho, Fukoroi City, Shizuoka 437-01, Japan.

Page 30
30 TAMIL TIMES
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British Tamil Catholic parents seek groom, professional or degree with good job considered, preferably living in UK, for their British qualified doctor daughter, 27, 5'4", slim, attractive, working in UK. Religion inmaterial. Indian Tamil considered. Send details. M 897 C/o
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WEDDING BELLS
We congratulate the following couples on their recent wedding.
Dr. Janakan Son of Mr. & Mrs. K.S. Nadarajah of 33 Frances Road, Colombo 6 and Pamathi daughter of Dr. & Mrs. V. Kanagarasa of 5187 Cameron Drive, Troy, Michigan 48098, USA on 25. 10.96 at San Marino Club Hall, Troy, USA.
Rathakrishnan Son of Mr. & Mrs. K. Palakidnar of 31/1 inner Fair Line Road, Dehiwela, Sri Lanka and Murugananthy daughter of Mr. & Mrs. A. Sivapatham of "Malaya Cottage', Suthumalai South, Manipay on 25. 10.96 at Saraswathy Hall, Bambalapitiya, Colombo 5.
Visakan Son of Mr. & Mrs. N.
Maniccam of Chetty Street Lane, Nallur, Jaffna and Kamesh daughter of Mr. & Mrs. R.S. Thillainathermurthy of 'Yogapathy, 9/3 16th Lane, Colpetty, Colombo 3 on 26. 10.96 at London Sri Murugan Temple Wedding Hall, Manor Park, London E 12.
Rathakrishnan Son Of Mr. & Mrs. C. Vanniyasingham of 46 Fernando Road, Colombo 6 and Malarvili daughter of Mr. & Mrs. M. Yohesvaran of 34 Moor Road, Colombo 6 On 30, 10.96 at Hilton Serendip Ballroom, Colombo 1.
OBITUARIES
Mr. K. Nakalingam of ColOmbo, retired Assistant Postmaster General, Chairman of Public Service Commission of N.E.P. (1989 - 1992), beloved husband Of the late Saraswathy, dearest brother of Mr. Kandasamy (Colombo, formerly of Singapore), Mrs. Nallathamby (Colombo), Mrs. Shanmugam (Colombo), Mrs. Ganeshan (Colombo), Mrs. Ragunathan (Colchester) and Dr. Tharmaratnam (Singapore) passed away on 28th July
1996. Wonderful Memories Woven in Gold These Are The Treasures We Tenderly Hold Too Good To Die, Precious To Lose it Was God's Will, We Could Not Choose Not For Himself But For Others. He Lived
TO O
re
A.
2
ዘr
 
 
 
 

T5 NUVEMEEH T99b
of To Receive, But Only To ive wo Willing Hands, A Heart of Old
he Dearest Brother niS World Would Ever Hold.
Mrs. Parupathipillai Chelliah, eloved wife of the late Mr. S.
heliah and loving mother of drs. Kalavathy Sivakumaran assed away in Madras, India in 10th October 96 during a ilgrimage. Her mortal remains vere Cremated in Madras on he 11th October in the preence of her close relatives.
he is sadly missed by her pving grandsons Nimalan,
amanan, Shyaman; son-in
w K. Sivakumaran (New Mal
en); brother K. Alvapillai and life Easwaradevi (Canada); ephew A. Ehalaivan and fami
(Canada), niece Yuhendra
nd husband Man mathan
Canada); Sister-in-law Nava
ani Nadesar (Sri Lanka),
lageswary Aruliah (Australia),
laheswary Alalasundaram (Sri anka) and their children.
Her family wishes to thank all latives and friends who sent essages of sympathy and ssisted them in various ways. 60 Blakes Lane, New Malden, urrey KT36NX, Tel: O 181 949
514.
IN MEMORAM
Everloving memory of Miss
iVakama sunthari Thamyahpillai, daughter of the late r. Thambyahpillai (Imperial ollege) and Mrs. Tham/ahpillai who passed away on )th November 1995. he fire of life brightly burning
your eyes and through bur Smiles,
Your radiance touched so тату, Yet blossoming youth was denied.
You passed away a year ago, It feels so strange to write it now, To those who feel, and loved and cherished, A precious gift, for so short a while. Yet through our sadness we remember, Times together - forever gone. But fond memOries muSt Sustain us, In the darkest times ahead.
Deeply missed and loved always by her mother and sister.
In ever-loving memory of Mrs. Chandra Ragupathy on the first anniversary of her passing away on 26th November 1995. Missing you every moment as this lonely year without you has been the hardest ever. Love, care and the strength you showed, I miss every day, but happy memories linger on and shall be for ever.
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by your darling husband Ragupathy - 262 Wricklemarsh Road, Blackheath, London SE38DW.
Richard Jeyarajasingam Born: 20, 1 128 Called to Glory: 27, 11.90
A golden gate stood open Six years ago today is With farewells left unspoken You slowly slipped away.

Page 31
15 NOVEMBER 1996
The cup was bitter, the loss Severe To part with the one we love so dear But God Wanted a new Star in Heaven A beautiful light to shine So Out of this world of Sorrows He called His own, 'Oh dear Son of mine" The light that shines through death's deep rift Eternal life is God's own gift.
Fondly remembered by Ranee and Children.
Dr. P.S. Alageswaran - Fourth Death Anniversary
ваја ра о за A beautiful life full of kind
A helping hand to those in пееd Unselfish, loving and kind Sweet memories that are left behind.
Much loved and missed by Ratnes, Krishna, Shyamala, Family, Friends and Relations.
鑫
in loving memory of Mr. P.V. Nadarajah on the eighth anniversary of his passing away on 16th November 1988.
Fondly remembered and Sadly missed by his loving wife Thilagavathy, children Usha, Varathan, Nalini and Nanthini; sons-in-law Sivanathan, Rajkumar and Vathsayan; daughterin-law Savithiri; grandchildren Baira Vi, Luxmi, Uruthiran and Abhirami. — 1 1 Carina Place, Castle Hill, N.S.W. 2154, Au
deeds stralia.
AUSTRALIAN-T NEWSLETTER
Dance Drama "Ramleela': The Indian Dance Centre of Sydney presented the Dance Drama "Ramleela' at the Orion Centre, Campsie on 12.10.96 in aid of Sewa linternational. lt depicts scenes from Ramayana from the birth of Rama, his life as a young man, his marriage to Sita, his exile to the forest on the urgings of Kaikeyi, the death of Dasharatha from grief, their life in the forest including Surpanakhai's failed attempt to woo Rama and Lakshmanan, Ravana's abduction of Sita and her imprisonment in Sri Lanka, Hanuman's exploits, the battle between Rama and Ravana upto the coronation of Rama in Ayothya. The Dance Drama directed and choreographed by Sri Raghavan Nair and Smt Nisha Nair was superbly presented with a huge cast with Sri Nair himself taking the part of Rama. The costumes and settings were spectacular and the dancers executed their parts with precision and excellent abhinaya.
Sewa international is a charitable organisation of high repute interested in the welfare of poor, abandoned and orphaned children by providing homes, hostels and residential high schools in different parts of India and Goa, in addition to providing medical care to remote and tribal villages through mobile dispensaries. It is run by
Volunteers and lives t das dictum, "Servi worship of God. T. M. Soundararajar dreds of people pack Blacktown Civic C 3. Í f. 96 fO fiSțer to the T.M. Soundararajan Sydney and probably T.M.S. Balaraj accc nearly four hours he enthralled with his r songs from M.G.R. a movies. He sang with Vigour of a young S SOunded as it did 25 who also sang appea the father's talents, a them sang thrilled orchestral music foi provided by a music g and they performed t fact that they had singer of the calibre Concert gave immen audience.
Sri Vithiararmtharn pered the concertanc an of the Sydney 'lnpath Thami Oli' hc ing him in a golden sh honoured by the Writ gifts were presented musicians by Dr. Vija the Sydney Tamil Sar
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMIL TIMES 31
gs In loving memory of Mrs. Ratnambiga Sambasivam on the first anniversary of her passing away on 12.1.1. 1995 at Vaddukoddai East, Sri Lanka.
Sadly missed and lovingly remembered by husband Sambasivam, daughters Gaithiri, Sharmini and Subo of Sri Lanka; brothers Jogeesvaran (UK), Rajeswaran (Singapore), Gnanesvaran (Canada), Sister Indradevi (UK), relations and friends. - 6 Newby Drive,
Dec. 8 PirathoSarr. Dec. 9 Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary. Dec. 10 Amavasai. Dec. 13 Chathurthi. Feast of St. Lucy. Dec. 14 Feast of St. John of the Cross; 7.30pm S.C.O.T. Christmas Dinner Dance at Acton Town Hall, London W5. For tickets le: 018 † 952 7249. Dec. 15 Vinayaka Sasti. Dec. 16 Thiruvembavai Pooja SariS. Dec. 20 Vaikunda Ekatha.Si. Dec. 22 PirathoSam. Dec. 24 Full Moon. Dec. 25 Christmas Day. Dec. 26 Boxing Day, Feast of St. Stephen. Dec. 28 Sankadakara Chathurthi, Feast of Holy Innocents. Dec. 29 Feast of the Holy Family.
At Bhawan Centre, 4A Castletown Road, London W14 9HC Te: O171 381 3086 4608.
Dec. 16.00pm Mridangam &
Ipswich IP55UY.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
December 3 Feast of St. Fran
Cis Xavier.
Dec. 6 KriShina EkathaSi.
Drums - Percussion Symphony by Balachander & Peter MacDonald. Dec. 22 5.00pm Christmas Celebrations at the Bhavan. Carol singing, Dance & Snacks. All Welcome,
)y Swami Vivekanance to humanity is
h's Concert: Huned Bowman Hall of entre, Sydney on magical voice of Sri On his first visit to Australia. His Son Sri Dmpanied him. For kept his audience endering of popular and Sivaji Ganeshan the enthusiasm and inger and his voice years ago. His Son red to have inherited ind the duets both of the audience. The the singers Wass roup from Melbourne rillantly inspite of the not accompanied a of Sri T.M.S. The se enjoyment to the
of Melbourne CornSri Bala PrabhuahuarTannii Radio Station noured T.M.S. drapawl. He was similarly er Matale Somu and to him and the Other yakumar on behalf of gam and others from
the Sydney Tamil Manram, inpath Thamil Oli, and J.K. Digital Television Productions of Sydney.
Violin Arangetram of Parthiban and Nirshanthan
London is now a centre where Tamil cultural shows in the form of Vocal, instrumentaland Dance Arangetramsare on the rise. I definitely enjoy and appreciate such a situation having taken an active part in it myself.
it was a pleasant experience for me to witness the Violin Duet Arangetram of the two brothers Parthiban and Nirshanthan, sons of Dr. & Mrs. Nagarajah of Oakwood, London N1, that took place on 1st September '96 at Beck Theatre, Hayes in front of a full house audience,
The South Indian Carnatic Classical music is one of the greatest of the various systems of music in the world and in it the Violin is indeed a difficult instrument to handle. It is even called a "MAMANGA VADYAM" meaning it requires a solid twelve years to acquire mastery over it.

Page 32
32 TAMIL TIMES
The two brothers did put up a good show on that day. The 'LALGUD! BANI"revealed itself in the beautiful Mohana Kalyani Varnam in praise of Lord Ganesha and the brothers handled it with a lot of poise and grace. The Swaraprastharas in Hamsadhwani for the Annamacharya composition "Vandeham jagat vallabham' were sharp
with interesting kannaku' (Mathematical)
patterns.
The two ragas Amruthavarshini and Nagaswarai were portrayed well by the elder and the younger brother respectively in their individual renditions preceding the corresponding Kruthis Ananthamrutha Karshni" and 'Shri Sankara'. Both are pentatonic scales and it was creditable on the part of Parthiban to have attempted to play a Slightly rare raga like Nagaswarai.
'Bhajare Re Manasa' was neatly rendered right from the alapana through the song till the swaraprastharas. Most of the 'korvais' for the various swarprastharas throughout the concert were interesting and refreshing. The Thani Avarthanam played by Ravishankar and Prakash was wonderful. The Karaikudi mani style was unleashed with gusto by Ravi who is a very natural Miruthangam player and was admirably matched by the inimitable Prakash. On Ghatan.
The Ragam Thanam Palawi in the post interval session was well executed in Thisra Thriputa including the Thisranadai as well. The boys were quite unaffected by the 'stage syndrome' even though it was their naiden Venture
All the other items that followed in the lighter mood were neatly rendered and the duo deserve a good pat for their show, As the Violin Maestro Sri L. Subramanian put it in his speech as Chief Guest, the duo should pursue more and more and probably evolve an individual style of rendition, A word of praise for the wonderful Job carried out by Lakshmi Jayan in her adept training of these two brothers, Let many more parents convince their children to contribute to the great Hindu and Tamil Culture,
Rajkumar Bharathi. (Sri Rajkumar Bharathi, great grandson of the Tamil renaissance and nationalist poet Subramanya Bharathi, is one of the forenost vocalists of South India and a musiCologist).
Suboshini Kugaprasad Veena Arangetram
κη κ.
S.
Sixteen year old Suboshini Kugaprasad of Chingford had another Arangetram earlier this month this time on Veena. She had her
Bharatha Natyam Ar ago, The venue was Theatre, Lloyds Bank
The programmesta, of welcome by Sri. R. V of the Board of Truste Murugan Temple wh Arangetram. We were OShini studied Veena á Smt. Rudrani Balakris
With accompanying Sivarajah on mirutha on gatam, and Sitham shingh seated beside Guru Smt. Rudrani E On the stage facing confidently started w (Varnam) and moved Entharo mahanu. Afte two of which were T started her Ragam-Th music for which was Suboshini displayed he in this atractive piec received at the end of much this piece was audience.
With another Tyaga presented the evergr payude' and a Theval Thilana, Notably there this Arangetram excep presentation, Suboshi atha Natyam, Smt. Pe Director of Narthana K heaped praise on her the chief guest Smt. iarajah.
Suboshini, a Gold mr Natyam also plays the Western and Carnatic for Tamil oratory, and Group at her Walthar indeed find time to s trated this in her rece obtaining 10 A's of Stars,
The programme wa Winal Sockanathan, proud father, Mr. Kuga Vote of thanks. Subc described as a Wizz-ki ments to the encourag provided by her parent training she received Rudrani.
Violin Ara
The Arangetram of f. violinists took place o, Caterham High Scho debutants were Abhit daughters of Dr. and 1 Clayhall and Anuja anc of Mr. and Mrs. Manoh The Chief Guest wa,
 
 

15 NOVEMBER 1996
ngetram two years he Walthan Forest Walthamstow,
fed with an address Naidoo, a Member is of the London Sri ich presented this informed that Subit this Temple under ንዘገaዘገ.
musicians, Muthu ngam, Gananathan paranathan on morher and her proud alakrishnan seated her Suboshini very ith the SarasakShij on to Vinayaga, and r three more items yagaraja Kirtis she anam-Pallavi - the set by her Guru. er full talent and Skill 2. The ovation she his item proved how appreciated by the
raja Kirti Suboshini een piece - Alalam followed by the were no breaks in bt for speeches and ni's Guru in Bharadmini Gunaseelan, alalyaya, spoke and student followed by
Saraswathy Pack
Medallist in Bharatha 3 Veena, Violin and Flute, wins prizes loneers the Internet nstow School does tudy, She demonsnt GCSE results by which five Were 'A'
s compered by Sri a Broadcaster. The prasad, proposed a )shini Mvho can be dowes her achievelement and support S and the disciplined from her Guru, Smt
pur young budding n 8th September at ol, llford. The four ami and Atheetha, Mrs. Sivananthan of " Maithini, daughters aran of Manor Park. s Mrs. Saraswathy
Packiarajah and Dr. C. Yogachandran was Guest of Honour,
The artistes are students of Dr, Lakshmi Jayan, who has produced several young violinists in the last few years. Her efforts at training these youthgsters and bringing them to concert standard was praised by the guest speakers. The variety offered and the coordinated playing of the quartet were applauded by the audience.
The comperes for the evening were Mr. Sarvanathan, Anusha Sivananthan and Geetha Yogachandran. The concert . started with the varnam in Raga Bowli, followed by Pilayar Sthuthi in Raga HamSadh Wanj and the kriti 'Entharo Mahanubhaulu" in Raga Sri The next piece ws 'Anandha nadamaaduvar” in Poorvikalyani. The first half of the Concert ended with 'Evarura Ninnu vina" in Mohanann with the percussionists Ravi Shankar and Prakash joining in with the 'thaniavarthanam. After the intermission, the mood was set by “Raghu vamsa sudha ' in Kathanakuthookalam followed by the Ragam, Thanam Pallavi in Karaharapriya.
A particularly impressive piece was 'Kaliyuga Varadhan", in the raga Brinthavana Saranga. The Thillana in Mohana Kalyani was diligently played, bringing out the intricacies of the piece, Penultimately came the Thiruppugal, an Arunagiri Nadhar composition in the raga Shanmugapriya. The Mangalam in the raga Madhyamaavathi concluded this enjoyable evening,
Kavin Kalai Malal - 1996
SSiiiSSS SZYZS
The Mathangy Fine Arts Academy of Harrow held their annual event - Kavin Kalai Malai on 6, 10.96 at the Alperton Community School, Wembley, The programme commenced with Pannisai vocal recital by the students. This was followed by Veena, Violin and Flute recitals.
During the second half of the programme there were Kavadi Dance, Paval Dance, items of Bharatha Natyam and 'Vathiya Biruntham' - a combination of Indian and European music. The evening's proceedings ended with the awarding o' prizes to the winners of the title 'llum Isa Thenral' to those who took part in the competition sponsored by the The Britannia Hindu Temple Trust and held at Highgate Murugan Temple on 188.96. The winners were nine year old Janany Arunachalam for Veena and Preadeepan Vetpillai for Flute.
House for Sale Old house on 19 perches, located centrally at Wellawatte, Colombo 6. Contact Siva at: Sydney 612 9642 5406.

Page 33
TJIVVQ Wuwon i Jvwv
A Committed Dancer
it was almost inspirational. A solo Bharata Natyam by Chitra Satgunandan, at the end of a Mrudanga ensemble by students of Somasundra Desikar at Rutish Hall in Morden on 21st September, was something to talk about, particularly in the context of prevailing Natya Arangetru Vizhas in London. It was a performance we watched for the first time and pleasantly surprised at the near technical perfection and artistic execution of Adavus and Mudras. Possessed of an attractive figure and expressive features, Chitra Commands an instant draW.
Chitra stepped in with an arresting Natyarmbam, executed a Ganapathy Sthuthi, and took up the Varnam Enthan Swamiyai Azhaithodi Vaa'a well tried out composition in Ragamalika, choreographed with knitted Jathis by Dandayuthapami Pilai, late of Adyar Kalakashetra. For full fortyfive minutes Chitra held the audience captive by her stylish Adavu variations and Abhinaya skills. Her quick changing Sthanika poses and Hastha sweeps together with expressive gestures told of her intensive training and full understanding of the texts. In the prostrate Namaskaram, the feet forming Nagabandham, a detail not often found in others, was remarkable. However, those who were exposed to the original Dandayuthapani choreography would have noticed certain deviations, adapted, perhaps, for Sancharibhava variation. This is understandable since Chitra is now under the guidance of the well known Dance instructor Pushkala Gopalin London. The Charanam part of the Varnam elevated the audience appreciation with its alternating SwaraSahitya exchanges, and the dancer's Thatti - Mettu steps competing with the Mrudanga Solkattu. The commanding Nattuvangam by Sruthi, the teenage
daughter of Pushk ಡಾ. Her gra alasubramaniam, sang for the dance, mrudangam, Malini the veena, Kothanda Chidambaranathan c buted excellent orch Talking to Chitra V a long road she has this arduous task of tion in the art of Bha 1979 She learnt the Kalakshetrian, Uma next ten years she al SelvalakShimi Rama her direction had Later, a visit to Ma. classical dance maé nan enabled to ge adavus and abhinay acquiring lessons i she is being assiste and Unnikrishnan in and brought up in Lc ate converses flu observes Hindu relig motivated her inne and teaching. An et late young artiste S has further extensio) an object lesson to , Natya students.
S س
Kalakeshetra
The atmosphere a Arangetram of Tht Smt. Uma Chandra on 7th September n bit of the Adyar Ins London. The exaC. Commands of Uma. evoked in ne memČ Institute. Superb Ja Tillana composed b Karaikudi Krishnam mridangam, comple
 
 

a Gopal, was undimother, Kalpakam | SeaSOned artiste, while Somu on the hanabalasingam on ani on the violin and the morsing contristral Support. as illuminative. It was travelled in pursuit of attaining near perfecata Natyam. It was in rst steps under a true handradeva. For the ended classes run by krishnan and under \rangetram in 1989. tras and meeting the stro Adyar Lakshma* a polishing of her exercises as well as Nattuvangam. Now d by Pushkalla Gopal London. Though born ndon this Law Gradu2ntly in Tamil and rious rituals. This has insely in her training thusiastic and articuhe is, the "long road is for her. And here is Scores of our aspiring
ivapatha Sundaram.
- in London?
the Bharata Natya shyanthy, disciple of leva at the Logan Hall ade me feel that a little tute is transplanted in ng natuwangan and a true Kalakeshetrian ies of that great Adiyar Swaram, Sabdam and another KalaShetrian rthy, who handled the ed the Adyar picture.
It is known that in London quite a few teachers of Bharata Natyam claim to be of Kalakshetra lineage, while they are third and fourth in Gurukula line which is Self deceptive. But here we found an unusual team work which resulted in a clean authentic Natyam.
The repertoire was fulf of variety and gave enough scope for Thushyanthi to neatly exhibit her talents. The Varnam was neatly executed with Sancharibhava elaborations. Further Abhinaya skill was shown through a variety of pieces like Padam, Jawali and Ashtapadi. The Kalyani Thillana at the end was a composition of Karaikudi Krishnamurthy and this was danced with consummate execution by Thushyanthy. Thitakasakthy Aranmuthan, who sang for the concert is a new find among the vocal artistes in London. Voice modulation and good grasp of musical phrases identify her musicianship. Besides Karaikudi Krishnanmurthis inimitable mridanga support, Kothandapani on the violin and Gnanavaradan on the flute elevated the show.
- Deepam.
Arangetram in Paris
The Bharatha Natya Arangetram of Selvi Bindu, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Jeyabalan and disciple of Shri Dayalasingham took place on 3.11.96 at the Theatre De Boulogne Billancourt, Paris.
Bindu is a gifted dancer with versatile talents. Her repertoire commenced with the Ranga Anjali in Ragamalika and continued with Jathiswaran in Rasali Ragam and the Varnam in Sankaraparanam.
After the intermission it was "Varuha waruha' in Sumanesha Ranjani Ragam and Aadum Arujothi, a Siva Patham in Hindola Ragam.
Guru Dayalan has moulded Bindu into a good dancer by bringing out her Bhava and Nritya talents. He is a student of Sri Adayar. K. Laxmanan of Madras and Bindu is his third student to perform her graduation under his tutelage. The Arangetram was well attended. The

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orchestra consisted of Vocal: Smt Ambika Thamotheran and Selvi Kumuthini Sevarajah, Mridangam: Sri Ravi Dharmarajah, Violin: Smt Komala, Veena. Smt Chandra Rangarajulu and Flute: Smt Punitha Baskaran.
World Saiva Council Meets in Durban
The World Saiva Council held its fifth Annual Conference from 20th to 23rd September '96 in Durban in South Africa. It was a grand success both in its impact on Over five laks of Saiva Tamils resident in South Africa and its clarion call for Saiva unity and identity.
Attended by over 70 overseas delegates including 30 from Sri Lanka, 15 from Malaysia and 10 from South India including Heads of Mutts and Saiva Siddantha scholars, the 4-day conference was attended by over 3500 local saivites who were treated to cultural events during the evening sessions. The next conference is to be held in Tamil Nadu in South India in late 1997.
Debutante's Delightful Display
Thirumahal Kandiah and Kannan Jeristus pupils of Kalaimamani Vasantha Daniel had their Bharatha Natya arangetran on 31.8.96 at Markham Theatre, in Metro Toronto, Canada. They hail from
Hindu and Christiar and gave a dazzli dance form that ret fined elements and culture and aspira repertoire included ings of an arangetra raphic uniqueness W Daniel hallmark.
Both Thirunahal the expectation of a deft movements an ions and synchroniza excelled in the rein vatharam composed dayuthapanipillai, Vé The Chief Guest, nairajan in his speec today speak so man parts of the world, th people of a monol gious culture. This Said, we now have t tunity to share our ( Other communities greater understandir made our home.
Led by Guru Vas Nattuvangam and Balachandran and the debutantes wer Vasudevan Rajali, Sivananthini Kathir Ajanti Mathanah Nivethitha Balachan
Veena AI - Rohini
The Veena Arange ter of Mr. & Mrs. P. of Smit Rudrani Ball, Forest School Hall, Or 28.96. Ihe Chi Vidwan Smit Geeth and Mr. Reginald M Brahmananda was erS. Rohini WaS aCC ajah on the Mridar On the Ghatam and on the Morsing. The ably compered by l
The opening cor varnan in Bhairavi first bar it was evide musical treat. The l a twelve year old Cl talent. This was fol napathim and com jah and Were playe use of the sangati
 
 
 

ܢܝܣܩܒܐܚܝܢܢܚܝ 15 NOVEMBER 1996
families respectively g performance of a resents the most reaspects of Dravidian fons. The evening's he traditional renderm but their choreogas a typical Vasantha
and Kannan fulfilled n audience with their d footwork, expresstion. They particularly arnation story Dasaby the late K.N. ThanSantha Daniel's guru.
Mr. Richards Karuh Said that the Tamils languages in various at they are no more a ngual and monorelibeing the reality, he he challenging opporculture with people of and build bridges of g whereever we have
antha Daniel On the vocalists Renuka Mohan Thiruchelvam, e ably supported by ngam (Mridangam), gamanathan (Violin), 'aran (Flute) and dran (Thambura).
rangetram Rajendram
tram of Rohini, daughRajendram and Sishya akrishnan took place at Snaresbrook, London ef guests were Veena a Ramanathan Bennet 'assey. Smit Nageswari one of the guest speakompanied by Sri Sivar|gam, Sri Gananathan Sri Sithamparanathan programme was most Dr. K. Sivakumar.
position was Viriboni, Ragam. From the very nt that we were in for a act that the artiste was ild Showed true in born owed by Vathapi Ghapositions by Thiagarai beautifully. Her skilful , made each kriti the
foundation for a beautiful musical edifice, while displaying her ability to extemporise. The Ragan-Tahanan-Pallavi which followed provided us with a glimpse of Rohini's appreciation of 'Ragabhavam, her control of tala and her ability to play With Verve and emotion.
Rohini's musical sense is impeccable. She did not strike a single apaswaram nor miss a beat throughout the performance. The brilliant concluding performance of Lalgudi Jayaraman's Thillana in desh ragam showed Rohini's virtuosity which bespeaks her immense hardwork and mental discipline. With a guru like Smt Balakrishnan and a sishya like Rohini, the future of Veena as a concert instrument is assured. The chief guests were justly lavish in their praise of the artiste and her guru. I shall watch her future development with eagerness and interest. Congratulations are due to the Guru, the accompanying artistes, the parents and above all to Rohini herself.
Dr. Meera Srivatsa.
First Tamil Woman Judge
Retires
Mrs. S. Aruchuna, the first Tamil woman Judge retired recently from Trincomalee, her last station. After graduating as a private candidate, Mrs. Aruchuna joined the Ceylon Law College in 1969 and passed out as an Attorney-at-Law in 1972. She practised as a civil lawyer in Point Pedro, her home town when she was appointed District Judge, Malakam in October 1987. After serving in Mannar and Colombo, she was posted to Trincomalee in April 1991, where she performed the dual functions of Magistrate and District Judge.
She is a mother of six children and her husband who was an Administrative Officer in the Postal Department retired earlier.
Woman of The Year Lunch
Dr. CRudsia Chandran of Ravenshead, No. tingham, was among the women at this year's Women of The Year Lunch at Savoy Hotel, London. The event now in its 41st year brings together women from all walks of life and Dr. Chandran was selected from

Page 35
15 NOVEMBER 1996
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over 1200 nominees for her outstanding The bond of mothel achievements in general practice and fully established in an
issues concerning women, to be one of the guests. The Guest of Honour was Princess Michael of Kent.
Dr. Chandran, who qualified from Pakistan's women-only Fatima Jinnah Medical College, practices as a GP with her husband, Dr. Raj Chandran, Commissioner for Racial Equality in Britain.
As a qualified obstetrician, her specialties are maternity and women's health and in pursuit of her interest in Asian women's health, she has organised two national conferences of Asian women in London. The Search - Dance Drama
The Search, presented by SAMUDRA, was performed to a full house at The Bull, Barnet On 26 October. The dance drama is based on the fairy tale poem Poothapattu by Etasseri Govindan Nair, one of Kerala's best known poets, set to music by Rei George. Direction was by Thanuja Shanker, who takes the lead female role, with Sharath Kumar from India taking the male lead role. For the first time a Kathakali dancer in full traditional costume plays opposite a Bharata Natyam dancer, a highly successful combination which just needed the right theme to make it happen. The wonderfully detailed and powerful mime of Kathakali, as Superbly portrayed by Sharath Kumar, has special impact when set against another style. The Search has proved to be a triumph for the adaptability of Kathakali.
Thanuja Shanker as the mother made a stunning entry with neatly choreographed sequences, joining village girls in a group dance. Her white and gold edged costume and hair knotted on one side were pleasing reminders that the location was Kerala.
mOther nurses her ba oil all over its body sleep. Thanuja conve ing motherhood with neSS.
it is a touching at when the demon, play entices away the youn his playmate and on fearsome demon, in inspiring Kathakali at With the innocent Child extraordinary picture.
Marianne Yates, ag the boy with confiden naivety of a small boy footwork pieces de) sense of timing and was enchanted by he
When the distraugh her child playing with SOrts of tricks to be magically creating an is not deceived. She Curse him if he does her. The courage of h to the story and Thar striking effect.
The dance drama e totally original Thilat mOther, the demon keeping to the strict rh Thilana, the characte their particular relatic each other in the spa took the audience qui a wonderful ending tc
An Exhilaratin
Mavin Khoo's dance Room on 4 Octobe performance, aptly r a Confluence of da complementing the performance which it tum. The invocator Mainthane' in Hams, Viswakala Bharathi the mood and pace c Conducted the mus accompaniment at daughter Mohan Balachander on Mric ni on the violin and ( flute.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMIL TIMES 35
ENANTISSUES USING LISSUES : )NI ADVICE JURY CLAIMS
| G | 21E
ALITY & CRIMINAL soყcnops N.
O
LEGA AD
and child was beauti2arly scene where the by, plays with it, rubs ind finally rocks it to ed the mOOd Of adorreshness and tender
'd memorable SCere 2d by Sharath Kumar, g boy and makes him ly friend. We see a
fantastic and aweire, amusing himself and this forms a most
e8, played the part of ce while capturing the . Her little introductory monstrated her firm hythm. The audience r performance.
f mother at last finds the demon he tries all
rid of her, including imitation boy - but she 2 finally threatens to not return her Son to er love fOrmS a Climax uja conveys this with
nds with a brilliant and a performed by the and the boy. While ythmic structure of the s interact according to nships as they pass ce choreography. This e by surprise and was
an enjoyable show.
Lynette Hague.
g Performance
ConCert at the Purcell
was an exhilarating amed 'Prana”. lt was }Ce and musiC eaCh
other throughout a fever lOSit itS momeny piece 'Sathasivan dhvani raga sung by S. Sathiyalingam set f the ConCert. He also ic comprising vocal d nattuvangam by Harendran with angam, Kothandapainanavarathan on the
Mavin has combined his training in Bharata Natyam, Odissi and Classical Ballet to enhance the grace and vitality of the nritta without losing the basic spirit and mood of Bharata Natyam. The Charukesi raga vamam in particular, had a comprehensive exposition of nritta and nrithya with variations on gathi and speed in the different avarthanams and was brilliantly danced to the music and nattuvangam rendered with much sensitivity by Mohana.
Mavin's youth, humility and dedication combined with his competence contribution to the success of the concert. It was a refreshing and reassuring contrast to a number of concerts in the recent past, such as two presented at the festival of India's South which did not come up to expectation and other experimental (?) dancing based on Bharatha Natyam which deprives it of its grace and spirituality.
One looks forward to seeing more of Mavin's dancing as well as his adaptations to other forms and styles of music which must follow given his cosmopolitan background, training and present trends and demands to carry the art forward.
P. Siva, London.

Page 36
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