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Away from kith and kin' by K. Puhalcinthi
THE FORGOTTEN WAR
Ater ULFILee Ked
TALKS OF WAR ER PEACE
The Parallel and Paradox
 
 
 

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TITI
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ISSN 0266 - 44 88 Vol. XVI No. 1 15 JANUARY 1999
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CONTENS
The Forgotten War O3 News Review O4 Another TULF Leader Killed 09 Land for Temple Opposed 11 Talks of War and Peace 12 A Question of Leadership 16 A Culture of Complacency 17
President's Interview 19 Of Mindless Violence 26 Bishop's Appeal 29 Classified 3O
The dawn of the politiciansandreligi the millennium withot according to the muc Peace himself, Lord Tamil Tigersboth sic case in previous yet When the LTTE 1995, the governmer tionalreform involvir the War with more vi Would return to then "War for Peace" stra After overthree prosecuted, while th National Party (UNF There is no proS progressed because have the required tw The UNP initial proposingamendme mentary Select Con delivered the coupcircumstances Supp The UNP leader On the ethnic issue captains of industry notfound much SuC in this Context, V Wake further death, ( Towards theen of the ethnic conflict personnel were kille years of the United Wounded and 1,08. guerrillas killed in m August 1994 when Though it has nounced thatOver 1 What is signific onbehalf ofthepec the civilians Who ha LTTE - are recognis Sinhalese, Tamils ( Whether the fi profoundly reflectis tragic is that noton World seems to ha Kosovo or Gaza o Despitethefacttha Sri Lankathan in fc Lanka is aforgotte horrors have beco to the world media “news value". Per pected and the no consequences de
 
 
 

TAM TIMES 3
New Yearsaw the ritual of many messages of peace and goodwill from Isleaders of Sri Lanka. But Sri Lanka entered the last year in the run up to eventheremotest signs of peacereturning to the violence-ridden isle which, believed legend, was blessed in ancient times by the visitof the Prince of uddha. The war continues unabated between government forces and the s suffering thousands of casualties during the past year as it has been the S. ithdrew from peace talks with the government and resumed the war in April announced a twin-tracked strategy. Offering apolitical package of constitumore extensive devolution of powers while at the same time prosecuting our in the hope that the LTTE could be weakened to such an extent that it gotiating table and agree to apolitical solution. This was described as the egy, ears, what is clear is that the "war"part of this strategy is the one that is being 2 "peace"part has become unstuck for which the main opposition United ) can claim credit. lectofthe govemment's devolution and constitutional reform proposals being herulingparty, even With the supportofanassortmentSmallparties, does not -thirds majority to obtain parliamentary approval for its proposals. y appeared to take a responsible position in participating, discussing and nts to the government's proposals during deliberations in the all-party ParliaImittee. Having delayed the process for over three years, the UNP finally le-grace when its leader recently announced that his party would under no drtthegovernmentsproposals. ship also has been resisting all efforts at developing a bi-partisan consensus between the Peoples Alliance and the UNP. The attempt by the country's and commerce to bring about a consensus between the two parties has also cess because of the UNP's obstructionist stance. what appears to be certain for 1999 is that the war will continuebringing in its estruction and displacement of people. dof 1998, the Ministry of Defence in Sri Lanka released figures of casualties since July 1983 in Sri Lanka. Upto5 December 1998, 8,208 security service ld, 17, 492 wounded, and 1,321 missing in action. During the period of 17 National Party(UNP) administration, 3,647 personnel were killed, 8,635 missing in action. The Ministry's report also placed the number of LTTE litary operations during the period of the UNP's ruleat6,107 and 9,911 since he Peoples Alliance (PA) came topower. never given figures regarding its wounded combatants, the LTTE has an4,000 of its fighters had attained "martyrdom" since 1983. nttonote is that in this conflict where the warring parties are saidtobefighting ble whom they claim to represent, there are noteven approximate figures for 'e been killed or WOunded. While the losses on either side - the State and the ld, mourned and commemorated, the death among civilians, whether they be Muslims, does not find a place in the figures either side officially publish. ures mentioned above are accurate or not is not the point. But what they he sheerhumancarnage that has been going on in the island. What is more I those who are engaged in this self-destructive war, but also the rest of the e come to terms with the perpetuation of the carnage at this scale. It is not even Siera Leone for the international community to be concerned about. armore people have been and are being killed and displaced in the fighting in merYugoslavia or for that matter in any other part of the world, the war in Sri One because it has gone on for two long and the killings and accompanying esoroutine and common-place as everyday normal occurrences that even he essentially internalised war in the island dues not have any significant aps what might become of "news value" to be reported is when the unexroutine were to happen-when those responsible for this war and its tragic leto and in fact make peace.

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4 TAMIL TIMES
The announcement of January 25 as the date for elections to the NorthWestern Provincial Council saw a flurry of activity in the political arena. While complaints of incidents of politically motivated violence began to flow in from the very beginning of the polls process, the Commissioner of Elections reiterated that he would strive to ensure implementation of the law. Economic issues also took precedence in the month of December, with the PA’s fifth budget being passed in Parliament, and a Free Trade Agreement being signed with India at the end of the month. The budget debate had been heated, and at some points acrimonious, with the budget allocations put forward for the Ministry of Livestock Development and Estate Infrastructure headed by CWC leader S. Thondaman being defeated. The budget was finally passed, after a third reading, on December 17, with a majority of 38 votes. 124 MPs, including those of the EPDP, DPLF and CWC voted for the proposals, while 86 from the UNP, the TULF and TELO voted against the government's proposals.
On December 29, President Kumaratunga began her visit to New Delhi, India where she signed a Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and India with Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee. The agreement has been widely criticised by local industrialists and some economists as being one that will permit the undermining of local business and industry. However, the text of the Agreement signed on December 29 remains more a statement of intent, with details such as items of which imports will not be permitted open to further negotiation between the two countries. The Agreement is viewed by political observers as being a re-affirmation of the bonds between the two countries, and a possible precursor to other, more politically inclined agreements in the future.
The visit to the island by a group of South African Parliamentarians representing different political parties paved the way for a continuation of
the discussion on rica would be able ing role in re-open ess in Sri Lanka. visit, the members were careful to hig their visit as being peace particularly widespread reports media about the L bases in South Afri own experiences of struggle against a phasised the need oss diversity.
The Chairman Committee on Fort Norwegian Parliam Blankenburg and . also visited Sri L
month. They had m
ous political leader
December saw a new Army Comma Weerasooriya. Oper came to an abrupt end of November w get of securing the to Jaffna not being wards, the military short and quick O. med Rivi Bala (Su troops into a 134 around Oddusudda ber. The onset of now effectively p fighting in the Van Censorship of n war was transferrec authorities to a civ of Information, Mr. At his first press t ated the governmen ists for strict adher cation and Transm. Military Informat promulgated some
After almost on appeals regarding the Vanni, the Com of Essential Servic the Vanni in early D seen as a major ach of the re-assessme
 

15 JANUARY 1999
whether South Af. to play a facilitatng the peace procThroughout their of the delegation hlight the focus of
the promotion of in the context of in the Sri Lankan TE having set up a. Relying on their the South African artheid, they emo build unity acr
of the Standing ign Affairs in the ent, Mr. Hakakon MP Erik Solheim anka during this eetings with variS. he appointment of nder, General Srilal ation Jaya Sikurui conclusion at the ith its original tarmain supply route , met. Soon afterlaunched a very peration, code-naPower) that took square km. area in early Decemthe monsoon has ut an end to the i until February. aws regarding the from the military lian, the Director Ariya Rupasinghe. riefing, he reiter's call to journalince to the Publission of Sensitive on Regulations, ime ago. : year of repeated ood scarcities in missioner General s made a visit to cember. This was evement in terms t of the situation
there by the government. The fact that he met with representatives of the LTTE during the visit was also extremely significant.
In the meanwhile Batticaloa continued to be without electricity for the third month, with little attention being paid to the plight of the residents of the area by either the state or political leaders representing the District. The fact that the capital of the District and one of the three key urban centres of the Eastern Province has remained in darkness since October 1998 speaks to the reality of life in the region, with the state machinery being unable to operate in certain areas despite it being technically under military control.
Members of the government continued to be embroiled in controversy over their political and personal conduct. There was controversy over the payment of Rs. 250 million as compensation to Messrs. Evans Ltd. who had been awarded a contract for the development of the Colombo Fort area which was cancelled after preliminary work had already been done. Media and Telecommunication Minister faced possible legal action over the summary dismissal of Telecom Chairman Hemasiri Fernando, and trade union action in the Posts and Telecommunications sector was pending.
On December 10, groups throughout the island celebrated Human Rights Day with a wide range of activi- , ties, from quizzes for school children to demonstrations to rallies to art exhibitions and film screenings. The Sri Lankan human rights community was especially celebratory, following the award of one of the five UN Human Rights Prizes for 1998 to Ms. Sunila Abeysekera, the Executive Director of INFORM.
On the War Front
One of the first steps taken by new Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Weerasooriya, was to declare a two-day amnesty for deserters. The security forces continue to face severe human-power shortages, and new recruitment drives have not been as successful as expected.
Political commentators viewed the abrupt ending of the Operation Jaya Sikurui to be indicative of a re-thinking of the military strategy regarding the Vanni by the defence authorities. Focusing on keeping the bi-section of the Vanni in place and preventing the

Page 5
15 JANUARY 1999
LTTE from moving its base from the Mullaitivu sector on the east coast to the west coast seemed to be a priority. On December 16, the Navy intercepted and destroyed a Sea Tiger craft on the seas near the Delft island. It was surmised that this craft contained a group of LTTE members proceeding to attack the bases of the EPDP which are located on Delft island. There had been an earlier attempt at an attack, and members ofall Tamil political parties except the EPDP were prohibited from entering the island area.
Meanwhile, speculation regarding the LTTE's acquisition of air power was confirmed when on Great Heroes Day on November 26 commemorated annually by the LTTE, there was a display in Mullaitivu of an Aircraft belonging to the Air Tigers during the customary annual speech of the LTTE leader Mr Prabhakaran,
Attacks on Civilians
On December 26, Mr. Pon Mathimugarajah, aged 50, the Secretary of the TULF's Jaffna District Branch was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Nallur, Jaffna, at a public function held to commemorate the death anniversary of the film-star turned Tamilnadu political leader M.G. Ramachaindran. The senior Deputy President of the TULF Anandasangari and a group of party members travelled to Jaffna to participate in the last rites of the slain Mathimugarajah.
There were continuing complaints of indiscriminate firing and shelling by the security forces in and around the Jaffna peninsula. From Kilaly came a report of a 15 year old boy, Amirthanathan, and another child, who were killed when soldiers who had entered their home on a search mission reportedly opened fire on the civilians who were inside the house at the time.
Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action regarding 8 young men who had disappeared in the Vavuniya area between October 27 and December 21, 1998. It was alleged that they had been abducted by the Sri Lanka Army and PLOTE.
From the Vanni there were several reports of civilian deaths and injuries due to indiscriminate air strikes carried out in the third week of December.
In Trincomalee, a 15 year old schoolboy, Nakuleswaran, was injured when the Police fired at random in the
village of Tambala an old man of 74, a shell fired from ephant Pass on I hospital in Colom
Displacement
Following m garding the actu placed persons liv the Mullaitivu K particular, the Cc of Essential Serv and David Ratnav Presidential Task aster Managemen to the Vanni on De travelled both wi areas under army the Government . opportunities to n. well as with rep LTTE. After his re Obadage had di President which dential directive tions issued to th parts of the Vanni the control of the December 1, the receiving dry rati been increased by Operation Riv placement of alı who were living usuddan, which Lankan troops or persons moved in ls in the Puduku while Deputy De ate was visiting at the Sivan Kov. the LTTE fired a the building. The the 3 service Ch panying him es 5 servicemen we in the incident. these displaced Vavuniya, into t they trickled in throughout the
The ship LA sumed its trips thurai in Jaffna December ll, of returning m to their places ( ninsula. The p camps set up in modate the di went from Vav route to Jaffna

mam. M. Vadivel, ho was injured by 2 army camp at Elcember 3, died in on December 16.
ths of dispute re| numbers of disng in the Vanni, in linochchi areas in mmissioner General ces N.A. Obadage le, Chairman of the prce on Human Dismade a 2 day visit ember 7 and8. They nin and outside the control. He visited gents but also had eet with civilians as resentatives of the urn to Colombo, Mr. scussions with the esulted in a PresiLo increase food ra2 displaced living in which are not under armed forces. From number of persons ons in the Vanni has | 55,000. i Bala led to the dismost 12,000 people in and around Oddwas captured by Sri December 4. These to schools and koviliyirippu area. It was ence Minister Ratwome of the displaced in Oddusuddan that tillery and mortars at Deputy Minister and fs who were accomaped unharmed, but killed and 42 injured security forces urged ersons to move into e cleared areas and ) the southern Vanni Lonth of December. NKA MUDITHA rebetween Kankesanand Trincomalee on ld began the process ly displaced persons origin within the pessure on the transit incomalee to accomlaced persons who niya and Mannar en ad developed into a
TAML TIMES 5
major problem when sea transport was suspended due to sea-borne attacks by the LTTE. The commencement of the transport of the displaced persons stranded in Trincomalee transit camps to Jaffna would hopefully ease provided ferrying of these people is not prevented by the monsoon or by resumption of attacks by the LTTE.
Meanwhile, problems with security clearance continued to obstruct displaced persons wanting to return to their villages. On December 29, only nine of 34 families from Trincomalee who had reached Vavuniya from Mannar were granted permission to return to Trincomalee. The others must continue to remain in the Vanni. The suspension flights between Jaffna and Colombo following the shooting down of Lion Air flight 602 on 29 September with over 50 passengers on board continues to present a major problem for civilians to travel to and from Colombo.
Prospects for Peace V On his birthday, which coincides with the LTTE's Heroes' Day (Ma Veerar Thinam) LTTE leader Mr. Prabhakaran spoke to a large group of his followers at a public rally in Mullaitivu, and the whole text of his long speech was reported in the press The fact that in this speech he said that the LTTE had not closed the doors to peace’ and reiterated their agreement to third party mediation was seen by many as a signal to the southern political parties and the government in particular. The LTTE leader also emphasised that negotiations on the political issues should be preceded by talks to redress the day to day problems faced by the Tamil people and by the creation of a congenial climate of peace and goodwill to hold peace talks.
Many, including most Tamil political parties, and even the leader of the main opposition party, the UNP, felt that the LTTE leaders offer merited a positive response. Peace organisations, some religious leaders and civil society activists regarded the LTTE leader's speech as signalling a readiness to resume negotiations and urged for a positive response from the government.
During a meeting with the Indian press while on her visit to India at the end of December, President Kumaratunga said the LTTE must accept "cer

Page 6
6 TAM TIMES
tain conditions” to resume the peace process. She however did not elaborate on the conditions. However, she clearly stated that Sri Lanka was not seeking Indian assistance in brokering a peace settlement. In addition, both the Foreign Minister and the President have repeatedly stated that they are not accepting any suggestions regarding a third-party mediation to the conflict, though they were not averse to third party facilitation.
The organisations which represent the business community that launched their own peace initiative a few months ago have now decided to meet separately with the ruling Peoples Alliance and the opposition United National Party, in order to keep up the pressure on the two parties to reach some bi-partisan agreement regarding modalities of seeking a resolution to the ethnic conflict.
On the Political Scene
The Parliamentary dispute generated by the UNP's actions to reject the allocations for the Ministry of Livestock Development and Estate Infrastructure, which is headed by CWC leader Mr. Thondaman, spilled over into the broader political arena in different ways. Various anti-UNP demonstrations were organised by the CWC and other groups that support it.
Thousands of plantation workers belonging to the Ceylon Workers Congress from Agrapatana, Holbrook, Kotagala, Talawakelle, Bogawantalawa, Hatton and Norwood struck work on the morning of December 16, to protest against the defeating of the vote of Mr. Thondaman's Ministry. The shops in these areas were closed for about four hours due to the strike. Nearly 30,000 workers from 90 estates in Horana, Ingliriya, Matugama, Dodangoda, Bulathsinhala and Agalawatte in the Galle and Kalutara Districts also staged a token strike on December 21 in protest against the UNP's action.
However, the turnout was not as large as could have been expected, and contributed to the speculations that the CWC's grip on the plantation Tamil community is finally slipping. In addition, there were rifts within the CWC over Mr. Thondaman's attempt to place his grandson in a position of authority over-riding other senior members of the organisation, while he was away.
Meanwhile, a Convention of the on December 19, Ranil Wickremas clared that hereaft not seek electoral other party includi1 The Convention MP's, former mem cial Councils, men ies, leaders of nev organisations and the party's branch els.
During Decemb alist groups mobili posal floated by thi ism to grant 35 acre Eliya area in the ci the island, to erect Myth has it that this King Ravana hid whom he had abd Buddhist priests, E tions and the Sinha Movement express: sition to the action ister of Tourism ar masiri Senanayake
Provincial Council On 8 December, ties and four ind handed in nominal tion for the North Council to be held them, 6 political p pendent groups rer at the end of the da pers handed in by cratic Party were rej nicality. The PA list Nawinna and the U Jayawickrama Per New Left Front, th Liberation Front, th one independent gr The SLMC, refuti mours that it was g NW Provincial Co its own, ultimately PA list. According sioner of Elections, didates vying for 5 Districts of Kurune which will go to th
From the day announced tensior in the Province and of sporadic violenc ing up to the handi tions. Shootings ar dation and arson wi

the 45th Annual NP in Kataragama Dpposition Leader nghe publicly der the UNP would alliances with any g minority parties. was attended by bers of the Provinbers of local bodily formed cluster representatives of es at various lev
er, Sinhala nationsed against a pro: Ministry of Tours of land in the Sita :ntral highlands of a temple to Ram. was a place where the Princess Sita ucted from India. Buddhist organisala Weeravithahana 2d their stiff oppotaken by the Minld Aviation, Dharin this connection.
Elections seven political parependent groups tions for the elecWest Provincial on 25 January. Of arties and 4 indemained in the fray y. Nomination pahe Eelavar Demoected due to a techis headed by S.B. NP list by Gamini era. The JVP, the e Muslim United Liberal Party and up are in the fray. ng a spate of ruping to contest the uncil elections on lecided to join the to the Commisthere are 446 can2 seats in the two gala and Puttalam
polls. he elections were began to mount there were reports in the days leadg over of nominail assaults, intimie among the most
15 JANUARY 1999
commonly reported. On nomination day itself, several clashes were reported between supporters of the rival political parties. By December 24, Police sources said they had received 39 reports of polls-related violence in the NWP. The Committee to Monitor Election Violence (CMEV) has, in its reports, pointed out that this figure is less rather than more of the true picture on the ground in the NWP According to its own figures, the CMEV had records of over 150 reports of incidents of violence from the Province. Secretaries of all parties and leaders of independent groups contesting the NW Provincial Council elections met with the Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake on December 18 to begin a series of discussions regarding the conduct of the elections. At this meeting, in regard to the question posters being exhibited in violation of election laws, the Inspector General of Police Kodituwakku informed the gathering that Police personnel could not be used to remove the posters. He said that although security arrangements to ensure a peaceful election had been made, the numbers of Police personnel who could be deployed for this purpose was restricted. Therefore, there were limitations to what they could be requested to do. The Elections Commissioner however said that legal action could be taken against those who display posters and banners in violation of election laws.
The Commissioner of Elections has also begun discussions with the citizens' groups involved with monitoring elections, the People’s Alliance for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), the Movement for Free and Fair Elections (MFFE) and the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA). The UNP has asked for clearance to have foreign observers for the elections. However, it must be noted that permission was denied for foreign observers at the local government elections of March 1997.
Following the spate of complaints regarding the use of violence in the election campaign, a group of government and opposition parliamentary back-benchers set up an alliance against violence during the elections. The election monitoring groups also initiated a move in which the four major contending parties - the PA, the UNP, the JVP and the New Left Front

Page 7
15 ANUARY 1999
signed a pact of No-Violence.
Visit by South African MPs
The delegation of South African Parliamentarians from a range of political parties who visited Sri Lanka in early December, met with a wide range of political leaders and other key persons, including members of the government as well as the opposition.
They also visited Jaffna, where they
met with representatives of the security forces, as well as with civilians and political and religious leaders including Jaffna Catholic Bishop Dr. Thomas Savundranayagam... The delegation, however, was unable to meet with any representatives of the LTTE while in the island. The visit was at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, and its main purpose was to obtain exposure to the real nature of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
The delegation was led by MP Ibrahim, Chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and ANC member. Others were : Dr. E. Jesset (ANC), S. Mgidi (ANC), Y. Karrim (ANC), D. Dalling (ANC), Dr. K. Raju (Inkatha Freedom Party) and Desmond Padiachey (National Party). Dr. Rajoo, at present Deputy Chairman of the South African National Assembly, is well-known for his keen interest in Sri Lankan affairs, and is seen as a representative of the 600,000 strong Tamil community in South Africa.
On departure, the delegation affirmed that they would brief South African President Mandela about their visit, including their awareness of the necessity and urgency for the establishment of peace in Sri Lanka. The delegation would also submit a report on its visit to Sri Lanka to the government of South Africa with copies to all party leaders. “The future of the country depends solely on the cessation of hostilities’, Mr. Ibrahim was quoted as saying in an interview to state television prior to their departure from the island on December 17.
The delegation said it would urge the South African government to facilitate progress towards peace in Sri Lanka and said that the South African government would be willing to respond to any proposal or request made by the government of Sri Lanka regarding possible initiatives for a peaceful resolution of the ethnic conflict. However, they were careful to emphasise
that the Sri Lankan have the final decisi facilitation.
Following their 1 rica, local newspa the delegation had r groups there in ord impressions of the
Human Rights
The ChemnaniC de Hagland, an int. expert, arrived in Co cember, on the requ ment, to assist in ti the alleged mass gr Interestingly, there reports in the press that since there has a graveyard at Che the military has a some bodies there mation and investig promised. In any e the monsoon pre-er tion until at least Feb time, in view of the cism that the goverm tinating on the issu with the investigati the authorities are to tion to court for po up the Chemmani
The case in wh of the STF are accu jothy Krsihnapillai 1996 in Mandur, w the Batticaloa Distu mber 30. The accu and the case is pri The inquest in lice custody of 18 Sathasivam Sanjee Kalmunia District November. The bo at the inquest, saic been subjected to the Police while it The President that over 100 mer forces would be c involvement in di charges would be text of the finding Commissions of pearances. 28 cas filed, in the Gam antota and Ratna Anti-harassm lowing repeated the various probl ls in particular d requiring registr

TAMIL TIMES 7
'ernment should regarding such
urn to South Afis reported that t with pro-LTTE to discuss their sit.
ave Site:William national forensic ombo in early Dest of the govern
investigation of
ve at Chemmani. nave been a few raising the issue traditionally been mmani and since dmitted burying egally, the exhution could be comvent, the onset of npts any exhumaruary. In the mean: widespread critiment was procrasLe of going ahead on, it is said that make an applicaermission to open grave. ich three members sed of raping Siva(31) in December as taken up before ict Court on Novesed are in remand ceeding. o the death in Poyear old schoolboy 'an was held at the court at the end of 's father, speaking he felt his son had severe torture by their custody. il Secretariat said yers of the security arged in Court for ppearances. These ramed in the conof the Presidential lduiry into Disaphave already been na, Matara, HambIra High Courts. t Committee: Folmplaints regarding s created for Tamito the regulations on of “temporary
residents' in Colombo, the Anti-Harassment Committee said on December 27 that from January 1, 1999, Police would introduce a set of new regulations in place.
Although the Committee said that these changes were designed to benefit those who are compelled to register in this way, others have commented that the new requirements are more complicated and cumbersome and will place financial burdens on the registries as well.
Human Rights Day
On December 10, the Co-ordinating Committee for Peace and the Right to Life of Border Villagers held a demonstration and public rally in Colombo which focused on the need for peace. An Interim Report of the Citizens’ Fact-finding Commission which had spent the past 3 months hearing testimonies in border villages in 8 Districts throughout the country was also formally submitted to the Co-ordinating Committee on this occasion.
In Colombo, the Movement for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality, the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the University of Colombo. and the Law and Society Trust were among those who organised activities for the day.
December 10 saw the first ever public demonstration of Tamil women in Colombo. The group of women from different parts of the island, came together with a prayer for peace and marched from Colombo 6 to Colombo 4 in spite of the rain. Two days earlier, on December 8, the Sri Lanka Women’s NGO Forum which is a broad federation of women's groups from all parts of the island, organised a demonstration and public meeting against violence against women, in Nugegoda, a suburb of Colombo.
In Batticaloa, a forum of several women's groups working in the Eastern Province organised a demonstration and meeting, while in Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Jaffna, different political parties and groups took the initiative to celebrate the day.
December 10 also saw the gross violation of human rights taking place. In the early hours of the morning, an armed group attacked 9 young men who were engaged in a fasting campaign near the Samurdhi Authority in Battaramulla. They were all young persons who had been selected as ani

Page 8
8 TAM TIMES
mators for the Samurdhi programme at the village and community level. Over the past 2 years, large numbers of these animators have pressured the government to make their positions permanent ones and also give them a decent wage. A few months ago, these steps were taken by the government, but some of the more vociferous campaigners were dropped from the list. This is one of the reasons which led to the strike. All 9 were injured in the attack, one of them seriously,
Media Freedom
On December 17, the Supreme Court found in favour of a fundamental rights plaint filed by Sumith Jayantha Dias, a programme producer at the semi-state television station, ITN, alleging that Deputy Minister of Ports and Shipping, Reggie Ranatunga and some others, including the Chairman of the Minuwangoda Pradeshiya Sabha, had assaulted him. Dias had filmed a lorry set on fire in Gampaha by supporters of Mr. Ranatunga in January 1997, and had resisted the MP's colleagues who sought to take away his camera. The Court found that the pe
titioner’s rights un right to informatio
Ranatunge wa preme Court to pa pensation. This s be paid by Mr. R. sonal capacity, W ordered the go Rs.75,000 and oth case to pay a furth
Tamil Detainees
36 Tamil detai Prison once agai unto death” on De ing the expeditio promised by the Department sever of those who hac tempted to comm ing from the roof were seated, clair had not been take They sustained were admitted to condition.
Gangland Killing The assassina ous underworld fi
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der Article 14 on the n had been violated. s ordered by the Suy Rs.50,000 as comum would have to anatunga in his perhile the court also vernment to pay ers implicated in the er Rs. 25,000.
nees at the Kalutara in launched a “fast cember 14, demandn of their cases, as Attorney General's al months ago. Two | joined the fast atit suicide by jumpslab on which they ning their demands n into consideration. severe injuries and hospital in a critical
s tion of the notorigure “Soththi Upali”
(Arambawalage Don Upali Ranjith) in Piliyandala on December 17 brought the total number of underworld killings to 5 within the first half of December, 1998. Upali, who was one of the accused in the Lalith Athulathmudali assassination case, was a wellknown figure with political connections and it is very likely that this killing was also engineered with political interests. He was killed on his wayback from Court, where the Athulathmudali case had been called and the nonsummary proceedings fixed for January 7. Commentators pointed out that this was the fifth gangland killing in Colombo over a period of two weeks, another victim was Imtiaz, a well-known political figure and a PA member of the Colombo Municipal Council.
Campus Unrest
On December 17, the University of Colombo was closed abruptly, following a clash between two groups of students from opposing political groups. However, since the University was due to close on the 18th in any event, work has not been seriously disrupted. Four students who were injured in the
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15 JANUARY 1999
clash were admitted to hospital, but were later discharged.
Controversy has also erupted among students regarding the proposal to establish a private fee-levying medical college in Colombo. Approval for the establishment of this institution has already been granted by the Board of Investment, as a BOI project. Students allege that permitting private tertiary education institutes to operate will disadvantage students from the national education system. A protest demonstration was held in Colombo.
Arrests in Colombo
On December 21, Police sources said that the LTTE cadre who is alleged to have masterminded and led the attacks on the Central Bank and
Galadari Hotel wa lombo. This 27 ye ported to be a resi had studied in Poin gone special traini of the Sinhala lang ber 22, newspaper arrest of a 25 yea named “Ramanan the leader of the IT Intelligence Divisio had been living a flats in Colombo l A computer, a sto sules and national recovered from an mises in Dean's R also on December arrested, later on, be his brother, was in Dambulla.
Another TULF Leader
Mr. Pon Mathimugarajah, aged 50, the Secretary of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Jaffna District Branch was shot dead on December 26 1998 by an unidentified gunman in Nallur, Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka at a public function held to commemorate the death anniversary of the filmstar turned politician and Chief Minister of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu , the late M.G. Ramachandran.
The assassination of Mathimugarajah, preceded by the murder during the same year of two Mayors of the Jaffna Municiapal Council, also belonging to the TULF, attributed to the Tamil Tigers has been roundly condemned.
The TULF press release issued by its senior vice-president Mr V. Anandasangaree strongly condemned the brutal killing of Mr. Pon Mathimugarajah. It said: “The Tamil United Liberation Front very strongly condemns the brutal killing of Mr. Pon Mathimugarajah, the Jaffna District Secretary of the TULF and the founder president of the All Ceylon MGR Association. He was a Justice of the Peace and a keen social worker for more than quarter of a century. His loss to the party and to the people of Jaffna cannot be compensated in any form.
“Pon. Mathimugarajah like our exMayor Mr. Sivapalan was a talented
poet, good writer speaker. His demi a great loss to the eration Front in p greater loss to the and the people of “He organised to last for three d rate the death anr Mr. M. G." Ramac the 24th of Dece. making arrangem function that he w “It is humiliat committed this h was this crime con give the answer. B would not have ci thing at all either Tamil cause, othel score of his killin “It is surprisi nations of leaders lingam, Mr. Yog! of many others h eyes of these ass, that at least Mat further enhanced ows among us an more innocent cl bread winner, will not the Jaffna so only skeletons. G prevail and the t must come to an Amidst hea sands of mourne

TAMIL TIMES 9
s arrested in Coar old who is relent of Batticaloa,
Pedro and underng in the learning uage. On Decem
also reported the
old youth, code', believed to be TE's Financial and nsin Colombo who
the Maligawatte ) with his parents. k of cyanide capdentity cards were other raid on preoad, Colombo l0, l. One person was person alleged to taken into custody
Kie
and also a fluent se apart from being Tamil United Libarticular, is also a Tamil literary world
Jaffna.
a series of events ays, to commemoiversary of the late handran that fell on mber. It was while :nts for the evening as killed. ng to ask as to who 2inous crime. Why mitted? No one will ut who ever did this :rtainly gained anyor himself or for the than increasing the S. ng that the assassilike Mr. Amirthaswaran and a host ave not opened the ilants. Let us hope y’s death that has he number of widl also deprived four ildren of their sole open their eyes. Let get filled up with od sense must now irst for blood also end.” y security, thouand politicians of
all hues braved the heavy rain lashing the North to participate in the funeral procession and cremation of the slain TULF Jaffna branch secretary at Kombeyan Manal cemetery on the outskirts of the Jaffna town on 30 December.
All Jaffna Municipal Councillors and the public joined the funeral procession in buses, cars, autos and other vehicles as the body that lay in state at the TULF headquarters at Stanley Road in Jaffna left for the general cemetery.
Senior vice president and ex-MP of TULF V Anandasangari who flew in to the peninsula presided over the funeral arrangements. Mr. Anandasangari was accompanied to the Jaffna peninsula by Pon Sivakumar brother oflate mayor of Jaffna Pon Sivapalan who was assassinated by the LTTE almost three months ago.
TULF Municipal Councillors K. Sinnathurai, S. Ganendiran, Kandian, PLOTE MMCs Kirubarajah, representatives ofEPDP, EPRLF and president of North Ceylon Journalists Association Kathirgamathamby addressed the large gathering.
Mr Anandasangari in his address 'called upon the LTTE to make a public declaration that they will not harm unamed Tamil politicians. We will see that all other armed Tamil political parties will also throw away their weapons to move about freely without fear of attacks or assassinations.
"You all are assassinating our leaders because we are unamed and we will continue to be unarmed. This is because we have followed in the footsteps of our late leader S. J. V. Chelvanayakam Thanthai Chelva who was committed to the Ghandian principles of non violence.
You make things impossible for nonviolent political parties like ours to move freely and at the same time blame us for obtaining government security. Every one of us is committed to win back the lost rights of the Tamil people, he said.
“You all have gunned down unmercifully an outstanding social workers who had been living with you all for decades from his birth, he noted. He said Mr. Mathimugarajah had sacrificed his life for principles and for he cause of the Tamils.
“Late Mr. Pon Mathimugaraja was commemorating the llo death anniversary of late M. G. R. who in one

Page 10
10 TAM TIMES
day apart from the many assistance he gave you collected five crore from people in Tamil Nadu and gave four crore to you and one crore to EROS a group that was working in close coordination with you.
The Sri Lankan and Indian governments agreed to hand over the interim administration of the North East to you all and all other Tamil political groups were somewhat in consensus to give you this, you all did not accept that offer.
“If you had agreed to that offer and formed an interim administration our areas could have been developed and become gold mines but today whenever we dig only skeletons come Out.
We thought that with the cruel slaying of leader Appapillai Amirthalingam you all would have realized your follies of killing moderates who-se contributions to our cause was immense even now it is not too late even after the death of late Pon Mathimugaraja for you all to renounce violence and may he be the last person to be gunned down, Mr. Anandasangari told the gathering.
"I call on you all to come back to your senses so that all those who are committed to fight for the lost rights
Amnesty International is concerned about the “disappearance' of the eight men who went missing in Vavuniya district between 27 October and 21 December 1998. The “disappearances’ have been attributed to the army and members of the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), one of several armed Tamil groups opposed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), currently fighting the security forces in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Most of the “disappeared’ are internally displaced people. Among them are four juveniles.
The Amnesty statement dated 23 December identified the eight “missing “ persons as Pakiyaratnam Yogeswaran (16), Subramaniam Atpudarasa (17), Selvarasa Tamilchelvam (16), Mylvaganam Jayaseelan (23), Lakshman Ketheeswaran (22), Nadarasa Rajaratnam (30), Veeraiah Udayakumar (30), and Gunakularasa
Amnesty Concerned
of Tamils may mo “When 17 of us Parliament when rity forces perso youth leaders we rescue an did all t prevent any of th tured by the ser sonnel.
But what are our members and back to your ser violence so that moderate politicia freely without bei cold blood by you Mr. Anandasa claim that “we li Colombo ith arme “We have beel sition because we birds, et the LTTE ing that they will I hunts down and nents. The other T PLOTE, ELO, EP) then lay down the “The LTTE 1 Yogeswaran and Mayor of Jaffna w food to the Tigers. nated their own c ers of other Tamil
at "Disapp
Danushan (17).
Veeraiah Uda seen being taken a at Sittamparapurar members of PLOT heeswaran was t the same day in S around 10am. Na was also taken int home at 92/6, Si around 6pm on 4 l bers of PLOTE. Si camp originally e. gees who returnec Lanka but who w tle in their homes conflict. It is susp of PLOTE took th their Kovilkulam they have denied the men’s “disap Gunakularasa dent, was arreste( on his way from Poonthoddam to
 
 

15 JANUARY 1999
ve about freely.
Tamil MPs were in the police or secunnel arrested our MPs went to their hat was possible to em from being torvices or police per
you doing now to i leaders? So come ses and renounce we unarmed Tamil ns can move about Ing assassinated in all, he appealed. angari said people ive comfortably in :d escort’. n driven to that poare shot down like E give an undertaknot resort to arms to their other oppoamil groups like the RLF and EPDP will ir arms, he said. killed Jaffna MP his wife Sarojini, ho gave refuge and The LTTE extermi;omrades and leadgroups. The LTTE
continue to assassinate the leaders of TULF. What crime have we committed either in words or deeds to befit the highest punishment? Now it is said that a votary of liberty had killed our District Secretary,” Mr. Anandasagari said.
“Freedom fighters never kill innocent party workers. When Mrs. Yogeswaran was killed it was said that an organisation called Sangiliyan Force killed her. It was the TULF that honoured Sangiliyan by organising a function, King Sangiliyan fought against the foreigners who were armed. Here young men who are trained to kill at bidding are killing innocent persons without knowing why and what they are doing,” Mr. Anandasangari said.
“The TULF is not in the political arena to seize power. We are prepared to give way and offer our cooperation to any measures that would benefit our race. We are not the henchmen of the Government. We voted against the budget and at every motion brought by the Government for the extension of emergency. We choose to examine the political package of the Government because it contained features akin to those of a federal constitution, Mr. Anandasangari said.
earances"
yakumar was last way from his home n on 27 October by E. Lakshman Ketaken into custody ittamparapuram at darasa Rajaratnam o custody from his ttamparapuram at November by memttamparapuram is a stablished for refufrom India to Sri are unable to resetdue to the ongoing ected that members em into custody at camp, but to date any knowledge of earances. Danushan, a stuon 22 November Maharabakulam, Vavuniya town. He
was taken away in a white van known to be used by the army. Army officials deny he is in their custody.
Pakiyaratnam Yogeswaran was last seen being taken into custody at around llam on 25 November while having a bath at a well near Veppankulam camp. He is originally from Sandilipai, Jaffna, but had been living in the Veppankulam camp for displaced people since February 1997. It is suspected that he was taken into custody by the army, but to date army authorities have denied his detention. On 20 December, Mylvaganam Jayaseelan from Kurumankadu was seen being taken away by two men travelling on a motorcycle in front of Shanthi clinic, Vairakuliyankulam. It is suspected the abductors were members of PLOTE. To date his fate or whereabouts have not been established.
On 21 December, Subramaniam Atpudarasa and Selvarasa Tamilchelvam were seen being taken into custody by PLOTE at Kovilkulam. They both work at Asian Cool Bar, Vairakuliyankulam, Vavuniya and had been

Page 11
15 ANUARY 1999
on their way to see a friend in Kovilkulam. It is suspected they too are detained at Kovilkulam PLOTE camp but PLOTE leaders are denying that they are in their custody.
In an updated statement on 11 January 99, Amnesty International said that members of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Colombo police have reportedly been to Vavuniya to investigate the ?disappearances? of the eight above-named people, arrested by members of the army and the People Liberation Organisation ofTamil Eelam (PLOTE) between 27 October and 21 December 1998. The results of the investigations have not been made public. To Amnesty International’s knowledge, all eight remain unaccounted for.
Another man, Ponnuthurai Raviindran (alias Ravi), a displaced person from Killinochchi, a current resident of Veppankulam, Vavuniya is also reported to be missing. He was last seen at the office of PLOTE in Station Road, Kurumankadu, Vavuniya on 26 November 1998.
Ponnuthurai Ravindran apparently visited the PLOTE office on a regular basis and is reported to have had an identity card provided by PLOTE. However, when relatives made inquiries at the PLOTE office, they were told he was not there. His relatives fear he may be held in PLOTE custody against his will.
Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed concern about the persistent use of unauthorized places of detention, particularly by armed Tamil groups opposed to the LTTE. In Vavuniya, evidence has emerged of three unofficial detention places run by members of PLOTE after one prisoner escaped in September 1998,
During a visit to Vavuniya later
that month, Amnesty International
delegates found evidence of severe torture at two unauthorised places of detention run by members of PLOTE at Kovilkulam and Rambaikulam. Around that time, approximately 40 prisoners were estimated to be held in unacknowledged detention at these places.
The organisation has welcomed the introduction by the government of measures to safeguard the welfare of detainees. These include the requirement that detainees only be held in officially gazetted places of detention, that keeping a detainee in an un
lands
The governmer nate 35 acres of la Hindu temple at Si tral Kandy district terised extremist tions as an act of
An ad-hoc grol Organisation of B ons for the Preven Mosques and Ko against the move t kovil in Sita Eliya.
At a protest m Young Men's Bu Hall in Borella, th rged that such mov tal to the culture a of the country”. It nment of giving ov in the Sita Eliya a tion of a Rama kov Addressing th ary of the All Cey gress, Jagathseel serted that throug in want of power betray the rights c dhist people of th “This handov betrayal of the ri generations of the continued to sell Sinhala Buddhists the want of more tion continues tod people are left he of these power h he claimed.
Secretary of th akshaka Society, da thera called u to resign if it wa
authorised place that each arrest immediately to
Commission of S. not later than 48 of arrest. Amnes derstands that m in Vavuniya have inform the HRC
tions within the Despite continui and internationa action has been t to the use of un detention by PL
 

TAMIL TIMEs it
's decision to dod to build a Rama a Eliya in the cenhas been characuddhist organisabetrayal. p calling itself the uddhist Associatiion of Invasion by ils has protested construct a Rama
eeting held at the dhist Association organisation chaes were “detrimennd Buddha Sasana accused the goverer 35 acres of land ea to the construcvil. e meeting, Secretlon Buddhist Cona Kulathilaka ashout history those has continued to if the Sinhala Bude country. er of land is such a ghts of the future : country. We have the rights of the of this country for votes. This violaay and the Sinhala lpless at the hands ungry politicians',
e Kandy Deshanar'en. Udawatte Nanon the government
“unable to protect
is an offence, and nas to be reported he Human Rights
Lanka (HRC), and lours from the time y International unmbers of the army repeatedly failed to farrests and detenstipulated period. g appeals by local
organisations, no Ken to bring an end uthorised places of TE,
Rindu Temple Opposed
the rights of the Sinhala Buddhists of the country'.
“It is such a strange predicament that has befallen the Sinhala Buddhists of the country. On the one side there is Minister Thondaman threatening the rights of the Sinhala people to their lands in the upcountry while on the Eastern province Minister A. H. M. Assraff threatening their right to land in the East.
If this is not enough there is Prabhakaran fighting for land in the North. It is a time of us losing our own standing in our own soil.
How long must the Sinhala people suffer these discriminations?” We now need the permission of Thondaman to distribute any land in this country as was proven by the issue over Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake distributing some land recently among the people. What is happening in the areas close to Digavapi? There too Muslim people are taken and settled in shanty type houses and then later they are mysteriously set on fire and the Minister in charge of Rehabilitation, goes and provides them permanent housing. And these people are permanently settled in the East, he alleged. This is the predicament of land distribution in this country today.”, he lamented. Former Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya, Prof. addumabandara said that it has now become a question of priorities and how much we really want to protect the land among ourselves.
“This is all the land the Sinhala people have to call their own on his earth, where their own language is spoken. Why do we continue to call it our own if we are not even prepared to protect it?
Where is democracy in a country where the rights of the majority race are violated? If harassment to them by, be it Muslims or Tamils, cant be avoided where is the democracy?,” he queried.
“Any one who speaks for the rights of the Sinhala Buddists in this country is referred to as a racist. The question is how long are we prepared to sit and watch our rights being violated in this anner?', he asked.

Page 12
12 TAMIL TIMES
Talks of War and F As People Suff
Dr. S. Narapalasingam
he move to persuade the Government and the UNP to pursue a bi-partisan approach towards a lasting solution to the North-East conflict was initiated recently by the leaders of the business community. Their immediate aimis to facilitate dialogue between the Government and the UNP that will result in a unified approach to a political settlement of the conflict. Both sides have each nominated four senior persons to liaise with the business leaders but so far the initiative has not shown any sign of forward movement.
The National Alliance for Peace (NAP) which was launched formally on November 11, in the wake of the initiative of the business community, hopes to bring mass pressure on the PA Government, the UNP and other relevant parties to co-operate in the peace effort. All peace groups agree that the LTTE must be brought into this process. Peace is undoubtedly uppermost in the minds of the vast majority of Sri Lankans. With the dawn of the new year, the ritualistic appeal for unity and co-operation to achieve peace has been made by religious and political leaders. But peace keeps eluding solely because the various leaders expect their opponents to yield, while sticking to their own positions. They are paying scant attention to the sufferings and wishes of the people.
Popular Wish
The vast majority of the people, regardless of ethnic, religious and regional differences want the conflict to be settled politically. The recent public opinion survey conducted by Professor S.T. Hettige of the Department of Sociology of the University of Colombo revealed that 77.4 per cent of the respondents did not think military action alone could solve the ethnic problem. This is the view of the Government as well. Even the military commanders have made this clear on several occasions. All the main political parties recognise that a politi
cal solution is ne conflict.
The Ceylon Me also called for a ne of the ethnic confli of banks in Sri La pressed concern o' long drawn out a tween the Governm They have drawn at nomic effects of th ple and the country for an early settler penditures and pub have risen to exce: ing problems to the lic funds and the c overall budget defic limits. Their advers be felt in the years
LTTE's Position
The offer by th negotiate again, aft tempts since the l Accord, cannot be tion of the prevailin tion. His annual speech delivered ( 1998 has been inter ways by politician and political anal seen in his speec LTTE’s hitherto h fering window of c for reaching a nego while others seem t was nothing but a c talks accompanied b conditions to be sa commencement real Among those in are the major polit senting the minori TULF and the CW various peace grou NAP. The leader o tional Party, whi support-base in the in urging the gover positively to the LTI UNP and Oppositio) Wickremasinghe in the press said: “Thi

15 JANUARY 1999
(92 Cee
er
assary to end the
cantile Union has otiated settlement :t. The employees nka have also exer the costly and med conflict beent and the LTTE. tention to the ecowar on the peoat large and called ment. Defence exlic debt servicing isive levels causallocation of pubontainment of the its within prudent e effects will also to Corne.
e LTTE leader to er three failed at987 Indo-Lanka viewed in isolag muddled situa“Heroes Day” bn 27 November preted in different , peace activists sts. Some have h a shift in the irdline stance of pportunity in the tiated settlement, ) think that the it all for talks about preliminary preisfied before the peace talks. the first category :al parties repreies, notably the as well as the ps including the the United Nah has its main south was quick ment to respond "E leader's offer. Leader Mr. Ranil n interview with is a major move
by the Tigers and it is a very positive one to which the Government must respond to. They can’t stay silent.” He is also reported to have said: “Their genuineness is a matter to be tested. It may be a concern on everybody's mind but you can't hold back an opportunity like this on those grounds.” The concluding statement in the LTTE leader's speech reads: “We do not anticipate that the hawkish and racist attitude of Sinhala chauvinism will undergo fundamental transformation. If such change does not take place Sinhala chauvinism will bear the responsibility for creating the concrete historical conditions for the birth of independent Tamil state.” The UNP leader has interpreted this to mean that the LTTE is not now insisting on its demand for a separate Tamil state adding that: “Prabhakaran has said that if this offer is not made use of they will get back to their demand of a separate state that means they are not considering it right now. We have never seen an offer like this before.’
In this context, it is relevant to draw attention to the answers provided by the LTTE leader in his speech to his own questions - “What are we demanding? What are we struggling for?' These were: -
(a) We aspire to live peacefully with freedom and dignity, without the interference of anyone, in our own soil, in our Motherland where we were born and bred, in our historical homeland which belongs to us;
(b) We should be recognized as a community of people, as a social formation with distinct characteristics;
(c) We aspire to choose freely a political model suited to us to govern ourselves.
Charging that “successive Sri Lankan governments had neither integrated or assimilated our people within the unitary system nor allowed our people the right to secede. Instead, they have always attempted to repress and subjugate our people,” the LTTE leader said, “ It is for this reason we have been compelled to fight a political struggle ....... WCCOtinue to fight for political rights, for our right to live in freedom. Now the Tamil struggle has expanded and escalated into a war between two nations.”
A careful study of the LTTE leader's clearly expressed views corre

Page 13
15 ANUARY 1999
spond to what has come to be known as the “Thimpu principles”. These are: (1) Recognition of Tamils in Sri Lanka as a nation, (2) Recognition of the existence of an identified homeland for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, (3) Recognition of the right of self-determination of the Tamil nation, and (4) Recognition of the right to citizenship and other fundamental rights of all Tamils in Sri Lanka.
What is clear is that the LTTE leader visualises the existence of two separate nations, Sinhalese and Tamils, living in freedom without interference from each other in their defined separate homelands choose freely the political model suited to each to govern themselves. Implicit in the recognition of the right "of self determination of the Tamil nation' would enable the Tamils to freely and voluntarily decide for themselves whether they want (a) to set up a separate state of Tamil Eelam of their own; or (b) a loose association or confederation of two independent states (as in the case of the independent republics of the former Soviet Union or the European Union), or (c) the formation of two federal units within the island, a Sinhala Unit and a Tamil Eelam Unit with very well defined and highly restricted Central Unit dealing with matters of common concern to be agreed by the two federal units. Implicit also in the right to “choose freely the political model suited to each to govern themselves” is that they could decide whether to have a politically pluralistic multi-party system or a singleparty led state as its “political model”. The conditions set by the LTTE leader in his “Heroes Day” speech are that political negotiations with the Government must be preceded by : (a) Creation of an atmosphere of peace and normalcy, free from the conditions of war and economic blockades, (b) Initial talks to discuss the removal of such pressures as the military aggression on “our soil” (meaning the North- East) and (c) the restrictions imposed on the economic life of “our people”. The fact that LTTE is not in any hurry to engage in political talks to reach a political settlement but more eager to have the pressures removed is also obvious when the LTTE leader said, “Our people want their day-to-day urgent problems resolved immediately. They cannot wait over an indefinite time until the peace talks
resume and the eth cussed, resolved au plemented. They w to an end and the that torments then their existential p immediately.”
Analysts have during the last faile 1995, although the out preconditions pulated four cond negotiations.
These were re nomic embargo, li ban, removal of P the right for its ca carry arms openly. even during the ea Government hea Premadasa, the d. on similar non-poli the doubt about L. reach a peaceful of the conflict thro cal negotiations c "Our people ar. suffering in the f struction, displace starvation. They l their own homelan ous forms of milit LTTE leader lam speech. A discerni ask why establish could readily atte day urgent probl suffering of the p wed to function in the two Mayors ( ted within weeks offices? The emer ing of civil admin areas with the gr: role of the militar form of normalcy to lead a normal li essential for the them without bein have gone a long Aday-to-day urg the people. The as to why every back non-military tion in the Tami vented by bruta in the case of th scores of others LTTE. The ansv determined by the 'civilians in the live under eithe LTTE or the mi

TAM TIMES 13
ic conflict is dis| the solution imut the war to come occupation army to withdraw and blems addressed
pointed out that talks held in early TTE entered withsubsequently stiions for political
noval of the ecoting of the fishing oneryn camp, and lires in the East to It is also believed lier talks with the led by President scussions focused ical matters. Hence TE “s readiness to olitical settlement ugh serious politiontinues.
facing unbearable orm of death, dement, hunger and ive as prisoners in d, facing daily variary atrocities, the ented in the same ng person may well ed civil bodies that nd to the “day-toems’” and ease the eople are not alloormally? Why were f Jaffna assassinaof assuming their gence and functionstration in the Tamil dual decline of the and restoring some for ordinary people e with commodities survival reaching g obstructed would way in solving the 2nt problems(a) of lestion therefore is effort at bringing civilian administraareas is being preassassinations, as Jaffna Mayors and reportedly by the r seems to be, as TTE, that the Tamil orth and east must the control of the ary. If the LTTE is
unable to dislodge the military, then there is no choice for the people other than to live under military control.
UNEP’s Stand
The then UNP government led by former President J R Jayawardene rejected the Thimpu principles as unacceptable when they were put forward by the Tamil political parties during their negotiations with a delegation of the government held under the auspices of the Indian government at Thimpu in Bhutan in 1985. Asserting that the island is comprised of a single Sri Lankan nation inhabiting a single unitary state, the UNP government then rejected the premise of the Tamils being a nation, the northern and eastern provinces of the island being the homeland of the Tamils, and the right to self-determination on the basis that the acceptance of this premise would lead to the division of the country.
The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987 which gave effect to by the 13th Amendment to the island's Constitution sought to manage and reconcile the divergent positions reflected in the Thimpu principles and those of the then UNP government. Even that was found to be unacceptable to the LTTE which continued its armed struggle.
The present government led by President Kumaratunga has come up with its own proposals for devolution of powers which can be described as more extensive than that was provided in the 13th Amendment. The LTTE has summarily rejected them as inadequate to meet its aspirations. However, what is most relevant in the context of the recent pronouncements of the UNP and its leader is that have vowed to oppose these proposals on the basis that they are granting too much to the Tamils. They are also vowed to uphold the unitary state and are hostile to those aspects of the government's proposals which smack of federalism, and are also opposed to the merger of the northern and eastern provinces as a single territorial unit for purposes of devolution of powers. What is more significant is that the UNP and its leadership has persistently resisted widespread calls form a bipartisan consensus between the government and the UNP on a political package that could form the basis for negotiations with the LTTE.

Page 14
14 AML TIMES
In the context of the clearly stated LTTE position, no politically sane person can visualise how the LTTE will accept the unitary system of rule as a basis for negotiations, which the UNP wants to preserve. It opposes the Government's devolution proposals because these violate the unitary constitution. Any one who has followed the various vague and in some instances contradictory statements of its leadership on devolution would definitely have serious qualms about the party's sincerity in calling for the Government to negotiate with the LTTE. Many feel that the UNPs stance is predicated by electoral politics - firstly by its determination to see that all efforts by the government to secure a negotiated settlement fails, and secondly by its desperate desire to regain power for which purpose its needs the votes of the minority communities which it hopes it can achieve by making platitudinous statements proposing talks with the LTTE.
Government's Position
The Government's position on
future peace talks with the LTTE was clarified in the interview given by
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President Chandrik the renowned jour which appeared i magazine of Decem ary 1, 1999.
Her responses concerning the ong quite forthright an “We are willing to not like to settle thi want mediation, we third party facilitatic discussions withou ditions, except th should be a limited should decide upor of the talks. If not, do what they have is, drag on and or themselves up aga then start attacking to have a fairly tigh ing “There is, of We have said that state is not negoti Unitary.”
The first condi too rigid considerin the problem but suc been laid down in t the Irish nationalis
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Kumaratunga to list Mr. N. Ram, the “Frontline” er 19, 1998 - Janu
» many questions ing conflict were clear. She said: talk because I do by war. We don't are willing to take n. We would want very many con2 one that there ime frame that we at the beginning the LTTE would lways done - that until they build in militarily and gain. So we want it schedule,” addourse, one more. the unity of the able - Unity, not
tion may appear g the intricacy of h a condition has he talks between its and unionists
15 JANUARY 1999
that resulted in the Good Friday agreement. At the same time, one should not forget the fact that in the case of
Northern Ireland much discussions
preceded the final talks with the help of facilitators. With regard to the second condition, not only the present government but also no future Sri Lankan government will be willing to even consider any discussions that undermine national unity and threaten the country's territorial integrity. In fact, this will not be welcomed by any foreign government and continued insistence by the LTTE leadership on the concept of two distinct states will only result in undermining the reasonable case for devolution.
It is an undisputed fact that President Chandrika Kumaratunga is the only incumbent head of State who has been willing to relinquish the unitary constitution, which has been rejected over the past four decades by the majority of the Tamil people. She has steadfastly maintained that only through extensive devolution of powers a lasting solution to the ethnic problem could be found.
In the interview given to Mr. Ram,
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Page 15
15 JANARY 1999
she also expressed her sorrow in not being able to constructively give the Tamil people what her Government wanted to give through the devolution package. She blamed the intransigence of the UNP leadership for the Government’s difficulty in changing the constitution so as to give legitimacy to the devolution proposals.
India’s position on the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka has been emphasised again during the recent visit to New Delhi by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. In his address at the banquet, hosted in her honour the President of India, Mr. K. R. Narayanan said: “We in India are very conscious of the challenges that the people of Sri Lanka continue to face as they strive to live together in peace and harmony in a pluralistic society. We applaud your statesmanship in coming forward with new initiatives to address the aspirations of all sections of Sri Lankan society. We are confident with your wise leadership, Sri Lanka will achieve peace and tranquillity, within the fra-mework of national unity and territorial integrity.” Incidentally during this visit, India and Sri Lanka signed a landmark agreement on 29 December 1998 to establish a bilateral free trade area. Bipartisan Approach
In the ongoing conflict between government forces and the LTTE and the political power struggle between the ruling and opposition parties, it is the people on either side of the ethnic divide who have been losing so far. All parties which have sustained this conflict in different ways have been operating consciously in pursuit of their own political goals. It is not a simple straightforward contest between two sides. At least there are three parties for whom political power is the main aim. In the case of the LTTE, it wants power outside the collective system. Since the LTTE has no compulsion of facing any imminent elections, its tactics are of course different.
Third party is needed not only because of the mutual mistrust between the antagonists but also because of the power struggle between the two main political parties. Assistance in the first instance will be needed to bring them together and finalise the arrangements for the talks to begin. The role it should play subsequently during the talks will have to be agreed
upon by the partic The necessity t in the talks right f either directly or it aged in the Liam Fc apparent. Since th the Government t tional talks with t simply take the p looker. For a mear there must be pric tween the two part reaching an unde kind of political fri talks can be had some stage in this sions, the ain part Muslims in the should be consulted tor cannot be igno the distinct views c lution expressed b The bipartisan tial for two main re will be forced to t ously, as the sug from the opposites implementable. Se ernment and oppo not use the succes talks to gain politi important in view ( the general and Pr are due shortly. I this does not mat futile to start an bound to fail.
The Suffering Pe.
Attention has immense suffering war-torn areas by ups, concerned cit some political part the motive is solel by humanitarian c context of the Nor man suffering ha: istics.
The loss of f cluding the bread caused to survivi of adequate food, essentials, displac nent places of dc sonal and family livelihood and lac such as shelter, h port services ar. widely known. O perceived includ fear of tragedy b the psychologic

AML TIMES 15
pating groups.
involve the UNP pm the beginning directly as envisinitiative is quite : UNP has urged have “uncondie LTTE, it cannot osition of an onIngful joint effort, r discussions bees with the ain of standing on the mework on which fith the LTTE. At reliminary discusrepresenting the Eastern Province 1. The Muslim faced in the light of n the unit of devo| Muslim leaders. approach is essenasons. First, LTTE ake the talks serigestions coming ide will be seen as :ond, both the govsition parties canis or failure at the cal benefit. This is of the fact that both esidential elections f for some reason erialise, then it is talks which are
ple
been drawn to the
of the people in the
independent grozens, the LTTE and es. Not in all cases selfless, prompted onsideration. In the h-East conflict, hu
several character
mily members ininners, disabilities ng members, want medicine and other ments from permanicile, loss of perlossessions, loss of of basic amenities alth care and transthe ones that are hers which are less living in constant alling at any time, l trauma of those
who have experienced all kinds of hardships, losing self-respect and dignity whenever threatened and humiliated by armed persons from either side, inability to escape from the troubles and generally living in a permanent state of violence and depredation. Not only
Tamils but also many Sinhalese and Muslims too have become victims of inhumanity.
It is unreasonable to blame only one side for the deplorable plight of the civilians. No humane person will suggest that innocent people including children must endure these hardships until a political solution to the ethnic problem is agreed and implemented. If both sides are keen to ease the suffering of the people, ways and means can be found to ease the burden. This does not require any negotiations at the political level. What is needed from both sides is the acceptance of the principle that humanitarian needs of the people, including the facilities needed to transport and distribute the essential goods should be left solely to the relevant civil organizations. There should not be any interference by either warring side in their operations. Nor should there be any link between the humanitarian needs and the military or political goals of either side. Irrespective of military considerations, civilians should be allowed to freely return to their homes and to areas where they can survive with less suffering.
In fact, voluntary moves by both parties towards easing the suffering of the people will definitely go a long way in creating the congenial climate for starting in earnest the political discussions that must obviously take place for reaching political solution. Far too many people have suffered long enough for no reason other than being born a Sinhalese, a Tamil or a Muslim. They deserve a better life in the land, whose people for generations have been known worldwide for their religious devotion, friendliness and hospitality. Those who claim to be leaders must show some mercy and co-operate in liberating the people from their present misery while preparing for political talks. That will serve to prove their genuineness in seeking to redress the problems of the people whom they claim to represent
and lead. O

Page 16
16 TAM TIMES
A Question of Polit Consensus or Leade
Jehan Perera
rom the business elites to religious leaders to a host of civic organisations and NGOs, everyone is calling for a political consensus. A government-UNP combine is seen as some sort of panacea to the many ills that afflict the country, and in particular the ethnic conflict. However, the upsurge of political violence between the two major political parties that is taking place in the run-up to the provincial council elections later this month, does not bode well for such a political consensus.
In the fragmented political context of the present, the violence in the Northwestern Province has pitted Sinhalese against Sinhalese. It is to be expected that the smaller Tamil and Muslim communities would be watching the fracas with considerable unease. The inability of the leadership of the majority community to peaceably resolve their own rivalries bodes ill for the fate of the minorities, especially in the settling of their own inevitable disputes with the majority.
It would not be surprising if many of then felt that the leadership of the majority, by their behaviour towards one another, had lost the right to determine the future of the minorities let alone their own people. In fact a senior (in years) Tamil lawyer was outspoken enough to say as much at a social occasion. But of course the situation is not so black and white.
The Tamil community has also shown itself capable of producing a cannibalistic political culture, with the LTTE assassinating every possible political rival from within the community.
Black and white analyses are also essentially based on considerations of morality. However, a moral right to rule (or not to rule) does not necessarily correspond to the legal right. So long as the Sri Lankan constitution remain a unitary one, the leadership of the Sinhalese majority, unworthy though they might be, will continue to have the final say over the affairs of the country, including those
of the minority col why constitutional portant for those w uitable sharing of sibility in the cou
Further, even v within the politica majority communit forestall political 1 place. There is no this than Banglade low South Asians possibly more acri litical rivalries. In ernments have not rule by several m of Parliament by by politically m strikes. So far Sri I this type of politic
BANGLADESHIE Despite facing caps, in Decembel deshi government ister Sheikh Hasim: a 22 year old arme by signing a peac ethnic insurgents Shanti Bahini. On Sheikh Hasina h leader with a sing nation can do, fir previous governm end of its term a peacemaking.
In February 19 government unilai ough legislation gave effect to the though the oppos Prime Minister K ened dire conseq so far proved unab peace agreement leader first pledg accord would only “dead body” anc that she would le of half a million : but she delivered
The reason fol opposition protest accord is that the

15 JANARY... 1999
ica ership
mmunities. This is l reform is so imho Wish a more eqpower and responntry. ery deep cleavages 1 leadership of the y does not have to eform from taking better example for sh, which is a felociety, ridden with monious party pothat country, govbeen permitted to onth-long boycotts che opposition and otivated general Lanka has not faced al struggle.
XAMPLE
formidable handi- 1997 the Banglaunder Prime Mina was able to bring d conflict to an end e accord with the belonging to the two occasions now as shown what a le minded determist by toppling the ent well before the nd second by her
98 the Bangladeshi terally pushed thrin Parliament that peace accord. Alition under former haleda Zia threatuences, they have le to undermine the . The opposition ged that the peace be signed over her l then announced ad a protest march against the accord, on neither promise. r the failure of the s against the peace ordinary Bengali
citizens prefer to live in a country at
peace than at war. Besides the government did not have to go way out of the political mainstream in signing the peace accord. They built on what the former government under Mrs Khaleda Zia had already negotiated with the Shanti Bahini.
Due to the peace accord's essential continuity with the past, the opposition protests against the accord would seem to be politically motivated by large sections of the population. This may partly explain their reluctance to be mobilised in street demonstrations against it. In addition, other influential segments of Bengali society are aware that a peace settlement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts will be crucial in enabling the port city of Chittagong to benefit from being a hub of southeast Asian commerce and an economic powerhouse of the Bangladeshi economy.
THE PARALLELS
There are parallels to the Bangladesh conflict in Sri Lanka today that make a similar breakthrough to peace possible. A stage has been reached in Sri Lanka where political leadership matters more to conflict resolution than achieving a political consensus between the government and opposition. So far, despite valiant efforts by the most influential segments of Sri Lankan society this consensus has failed to materialise and is unlikely to do so in the near future. In its place there has to be political leadership of the kind that President Chandrika Kumaratunga gave in the early period of her rule in 1994-95, but which she has subsequently lost.
Just like in Bangladesh, the war in Sri Lanka has few supporters among the general population. The fantasies of a quick win have long receded on both sides of the divide. Recent public opinion surveys, such as the one carried out by Prof S T Hettige of the University of Colombo bear out the scepticism of the great majority of Sinhalese about the possibility, and desirability, of a military victory.
Also like in Bangladesh, the government's proposed devolution package is in the same continuum as the former UNP government's 13th Amendment which established the provincial councils. Only a bare 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court agreed that the 13th Amendment was within

Page 17
15 JANUARY 1999
the unitary constitutional framework. While all attention is now on President Kumaratunga and her government’s devolution package, neither of these are the only options available to the country. The 13th Amendment ( to the Constitution which gave effect to the devolution arrangement agreed under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987) would have been a major step in the right direction if it had been implemented with sincerity, by either this or the former government. − s For reasons of their own the government’s constitutional framers wanted to show that there was a clear break with the past and therefore voiced their complete rejection of the 13th Amendment. Certainly, the government's devolution package goes beyond the unitary framework in a categorical manner. But it is not so remarkably different from the 13th Amendment to be rejected outright by the UNP opposition.
It is noteworthy that the UNP leadership, while refusing to give their support to the devolution package have also not opposed it tooth and nail.
Simply put, their heart is not in that fight as they know, deep within themselves, that the country has to go beyond the unitary constitution to solve the ethnic conflict. This explains their lack of strong conviction in opposing the devolution package and their inability to come up with a credible alternative to it that remains within the unitary constitutional framework. In other words, although neither the government nor opposition are prepared to publicly acknowledge it, they are very near to each other in accepting a non-unitary (federal) system as the solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Here too, the example of Bangladesh offers a hopeful message. In Bangladesh, having failed the people to take to the streets to protest against the peace accord, the opposition is now complaining that the peace accord violates the specifically “unitary nature of the Bangladeshi constitution.
Basically, the BNP opposition IN Bangladesh claims that the implementation of the peace accord requires constitutional amemdment, which calls for a 2/3 majority in Parliament. So far, even without a 2/3 majority, and without any constitutional ame
Aa in a
In her contrib memorative Anth sal Declaration c out a few weeks lands Ministry CNN journalist ( reflects that she before her cons before she under ing of words like rights.
In writing tha personality on te points out that s that “the interver like an atonemer rant indifference duction to “hum tions”, as she pi Islamic Revoluti “Suddenly, m around people t admiring and I put before firin uncle was put to comments. Her short years as f seems indeed lik man rights viol of tyranny, opp ture, indignity, i privacy, the den arbitrary arrest á denial of free s and of worship Throughou troublesome in on compelling it would have be to witness hor
ndment, the go'
implement the in partnership v So may it be iu country has a the rightness c Hasina. Unilat a peace agreer without opposi own problems, vantages, such

TAMIL TIMES 17
998 in Retrospect
ck of Moral Dimension tuture of Complacency
Kishali Pinto Jayawardena
tion to a 1998 Comology of the UniverHuman Rights put back by the Netherof Foreign Affairs, hristiane Amanpour was twenty years old ;ience “kicked in', stood the real meanfreedom and human
t is as vibrant as her levision, Amanpour he is now forty and ing years sometimes it for that early ignoFor her, the introan rights and violauts it, came with the
OΙ),
ly whole world spun hat I had grown up respected. They were g squads, a beloved death in prison,” she :atalogue of her eight preign correspondent e a guidebook to huations with detailing ression, slavery, tornequality, invasion of al of political rights, nd imprisonment, the beech, of association
, her problem was a er voice which kept er to speak out when anwiser to keep quiet, ors about which she
2rnment is seeking to ace accord, of course ith the Shanti Bahini. Sri Lanka, when the ader as convinced of her cause as Sheikh al implementation of 2nt by a government on support, brings its but it also has its ads an end to war. O
could speak unflinchingly to the world but which kept her awake at night and to tell stories that confronted the official lies with the truth. It was in this seeking for the truth that she became aware of the moral dimension to her work. Here again, she experienced conflict.
Journalists are, by definition of their work, expected to be objective. In distinguishing between the aggressor and the victim in particular violations of human rights, was she transgressing this golden rule'?
- The answer, which came after years of striving, was finally in the negative. She phases it thus,” I realised that objectivity means giving all sides an equal hearing, it does not mean treating all equally. When you do that, when you cannot distinguish between victim and aggressor, rapist and victim, you enter the Zone moral equivalence. I could not do this, I took some hits, there were complaints that I had lost my objectivity, that I was siding with one faction. My answer is that I sought the truth and that I became aware of the moral dimension to our profession. I also became aware of the of a journalist's words and the consequences they have.”
Twenty years after discovering that she had a conscience, Amanpour put it to use in her profession as a journalist, where “having started out ignorant and somewhat indifferent, I have found out that our (work) can be a for good, can advance universal rights, can expose those who would destroy them.” Her powerful sincerity easily overrides the cynical mistrust so often expressed about journalists and journalism.
She states that “by her experiences, she has been shaped forever as a person.”
As 1999 dawns for Sri Lankans, now living in a country identified as one of the most violent conflict zones in the world, Amanpour's personal awakening cannot but come too soon

Page 18
18 TAM TIMES
for each and every Sri Lankan. Her awareness of the “moral dimension” to her work is not limited, by definition, to journalists or to human rights activists. Instead, the same duty to manifest this “moral dimension” and to speak out in instances where it is outraged can be claimed from any person, be it a private sector executive, a banker, a lawyer or a businessman. The problem is, of course, that the contrary is happening in a society that seems to be rent by cynicism, complacency and a self centred preoccupation that borders on the grotesque. Take for instance, this Christmas and New Year celebrations. As the cities were jam-packed with shoppers and hotels competed with each other to host the “grandest New Year's dance”, groups of women were meeting in secret in the major towns for quite a different purpose. They were the mothers, wives and sisters of the “disappeared', those service personnel caught in recent operations in the North and the East whose bodies have never been recovered and who are now inhumanly categorised as “missing, presumed dead. The women are meeting thus to explore ways and means of finding out what has happened to their men, their planned action is unobtrusive for fear that if they speak out, they will be further penalised or that their other sons who are in the forces would be affected. Part of their anguish comes from the sheer uncertainty of it all, the inability to see the bodies of their sons, husbands and brothers for the last time, to know that they are really dead.
For them, the end 1998 year celebrations are a parody of the agony that they are undergoing, the agony that many of them sense, would never be lessened.
They are not alone in their despair, their plight is ironically shared by women fated to be “on the other side due to the vagaries of race, the women in the conflict areas whose children have been coerced into war by the LTTE and women in other parts of the country who live daily in fear that they or their families would be harassed, because a so called liberation army is fighting for a separate state which many of them do not wish to live in.
This, then is Sri Lanka, at the end of 1998, a country named as having one of the highest rates of disappear
ances in the vorld a culture of compl where sometimes torturous longing of a previous era, w accompanied by a ( dignation, sadly se
Looking back at ing activism by the violations of right them, remained the in an otherwise con particular, the Kri samy case where th of a fifteen year ol the subsequent mur brother and neighb search of her, by e one policeman on ( mani checkpoint m together of forces try, united in their the horrendous in also saw the growt 1990’s will see swi members of the for rights violations. T for a genuine reth nary people and th the reality of the ev the country and a su lic opinion empha by members of th have to be acknow sciousness createc dents are, indeed, productive. Howev 1998, it appears th caused by the Kur has petered out. C larly gruesome in ni pursued. Identified as the one at Suriyal and Chemmani in t to be fully investig arrests, disappearan the hands of the arn reported.
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A country where cency has set in, one is driven to a or the brutalities hich was however ritical mass of in
lacking now. 1998, the increascourts regarding s brought before one saving grace monplace year. In shanthi Kumarae rape and murder d school girl and der of her mother, pour who went in ight soldiers and luty at the Chemlarked the coming across the councondemnation of cident. The case h of hope that the ft justice for those ‘es who engage in he call was made ink by both ordiheir leaders as to ents happening in urge of angry pubsised that abuses e security forces edged and a conil that such incihugely counterer, at the close of at the momentum narasamy verdict ther cases, simiature remain to be mass graves such kanda in the South he North have yet ated and arbitrary ces and torture at ned forces are still
15 ANUARY 1999
The National Human Rights Commission is still struggling to prove itself and its ambitious mandate, while the government has yet to account to the families of those who disappeared during 1988-89. The recommendations of the three Disappearances Commissions which looked into the involuntary removal of persons and submitted remedial measures that could be taken have not been implemented up to date, the purpose of that particular exercise apparently being merely to portray the UNP as the villain of that particular era.
Meanwhile, censorship curtailing freedom of expression has now been in force for over five months and excepting sporadic outbursts in caustic editorials, it seems that no one is bothered over much. In truth, what prevails is a culture of complacency, an air of “going about our business”, being mildly shocked at the atrocities of the war, exclaiming over the breakdown of civil society as instances of open rape, murder and violence become commonplace and jolted out of our complacency only when particularly brutal rape and murder takes place as in case of Rita Manoharan or a terrorist explosion occurs in the cities.
What is gravely needed, as we go into 1999, is a shaking of this complacency, an awareness of the “moral dimension” articulated with so much feeling by Amanpour and which could be demonstrated not only by picketing in the streets but by intentional indignation, individually and collectively expressed. Without this
consciousness on the part of every
individual citizen, 1999 can be no better for the country than 1998. The nightmare is that, quite possibly, it could be worse.
(Courtesy of The Sunday Times)
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LLSSS SS SS SS SS SS SS SS SS S SS S S LS L S S S S S SS (BLOCK CAPITALSPLEASE)
. . . . . . . . . Pos Code.
Deleteing whichever is inapplicable
Tel. No.................................

Page 19
15 JANUARY 1999
we are willing to Tali I don't like to Settle this by
- President K
Interview by N. Ram, Editor of "FRONTL
In 1994, a watershed year, she was elected, first, Prime Minister and then President in a tidal wave of a popular victory - under rules of the game fashioned by the conservative United National Party (UNP), under a Constitution the President herself characterises as "biZarre" and "fraudulent," as the head of a multi-party People's Alliance spearheaded by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which her father founded and her mother, the battle-scarred and ailing Octogenarian Prime Minister, led for decades.
When President Kumaratunga took over the reins from the UNP, which had gone through a prolonged decline related largely to the failure to solve Sri Lanka's principal national question -the long- festering and bloody ethnic crisis - there were huge expectations among all sections of the people, Tamil, Sinhala and the rest. "Never before," as she notes inter alia, "had the people of the North openly showed approbation of a 'Sinhala' leader like that."
A central part of the Chandrika Project was to function not as a Sinhala, but as a Sri Lankan, leader With a non-Chauvinistic approach to (what she readily recognises as) the country's principal national question and a determination to resolve it by breaking with the past. It is very much part of her understanding, based on observed experience, that the tragic part of the history of independent Sri Lanka can be summed up in two phrases - the Sinhala Only trap and the Eelam trap.
Only the Pol Potist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which has brought nothing but large-scale misery and “illfare,” as Amartya Sen might characterise it, wherever it has been able to reign or reach, will deny the possibility of radical and genuine change offered by the Chandrika project.
The nature of the change can be expressed in the inter-play, and clear political distinction, between the words "unity" and "unitary" in the steadily deteriorating Sri Lankan national context. In an earlier era, on one parliamentary occasion relating to the Sinhala Only Bill which presaged ethnic tragedy, the inter-play and distinction were unforgettably expressed by a Sri Lankan politician from the Left, Colvin R. De Silva: "Two languages - one nation; one language - two nations."
For many years, Sri Lanka has had an active, progressive intelligentsia, men and Women whose intellectual and enlightened political work has been characterised by the complete absence of chauvinism, and for whom the equality
of different Sections C people has been a so moral given. There hav political parties, invari which have swum ag current of majoritariani fluence of the universa values of this enlighte Chandrika's political m. who began her politi grass-roots Left, is t non-chauvinistic Prime dent of her country. No ernment was willing t up the confining cons frameWork of a Unita move in a federal dire name called). But Presi seems to have no cor on this score: "Yes, u Quite different." This is why the constitutional age for the North-Eas from her Government n as the farthest-going a sive attempt in the his ent Sri Lanka to find a Tamil question.
it remains to be ad drika project has run ir the North, with the LTT in a deadly and punish and political obstac where the main Opposi has rejected the cons and called for uncondi LTTE.
President Kumarat Lankan politics and he and direct popular st from the parliamentar People's Alliance) app stantially undiminishe under the circumstanc and misgivings are about the effectiven ance,
These include a President is imperiou ded, although no one riously that her Govel to any violence outs the war against the L ter, to anti-democrati under various predec UNP and SLFP. Aga terested observers q the media function environment under at any time in rece unhappiness in vario domestic censorsh Government on the in the North-East.

TAMIL TIMES 19
و War”
|maratunga
NE
the Sri Lankan Ial, political and also been small bly on the Left, inst the strong m. The early inand progressive ment is a part of Ke-up; Chandrika, a career in the e first genuinely Minister or Presipredecessor govconsider giving titutional-political y state - and to tion (by whatever dent Kumaratunga ceptual inhibition nity - not unitary. is the main reason devolution packit that is on offer ust be recognised und most progresstory of independjust solution to the
ded that the Chanto fierce trouble in E which is engaged ing armed conflict, es in the South, tion party, the UNP, itutional proposais ional talks With the
unga dominates Sri r political charisma Inding (as distinct | prospects of the ear to remain Subi. Not surprisingly es, sharp criticisms eing freely voiced ss of her govern
egations that the i and strong- hanhas suggested sement has resorted de the context of TE or, for that matways experienced ssor regimes, both h, while few disinestion the fact that der a more liberal r Presidency than memory, there is quarters over the
imposed by her verage of the war
To gain an insight into the tangled situation in Sri Lanka today, to gauge the prospects of peace given an intransigent and resourceful killer politico-military organisation which is also expert at deceiving national political leaders, parties and governments, and to probe various facets of President Kumaratunga's perspective and practice, I sought an interview, which was given at Temple Trees in Colombo in the afternoon of December 7.
Of Chandrika's major or substantive predecessors as head of state and government who grappled with the ethnic issue in the recent period, President J.R. Jayewardene was famously articulate, accessible but very different in style and content; and President R. Premadasa authoritative, organised and resourceful but virtually inaccessible to interviewers. President Kumaratunga comes out in a candid and honest way, bordering on come-what-may disinterestedness, which reflects both her politics and her personality.
From the hour-long, tape-recorded interview, on the eve of the Sri Lankan President's official visit to India:
N. Ram (NR): It has been four years since you became President of Sri Lanka. What do you perceive to be the most significant achievement of your Government over these four years?
President Chandrika Kumaratunga(CK): Well, do you want only one significant achievement or would you be satisfied with a few?
NR: With afew
CK: I think the most significant achievement of our rule is that after nearly two decades we have proved that even under great pressure, the Government in Sri Lanka can be democratic. For two decades people were made to believe that because there was an ongoing conflict and a civil war, governments couldn't help but be undemocratic and that they had to use a lot of terror at the state level to govern. Our greatest achievement is that we have proved that under all these pressures, the Government can continue to respect democracy and govern efficiently.
The other great achievement is that, for the first time, the Sri Lankan Government has consciously and honestly accepted that Sri Lanka does not need to be a unitary state. It can be united, can be one country, but it can have substantial devolution of power in order to satisfy the minorities in the country.
For both these achievements, especially for the second, we have had consciously to do a lot of political work, canvassing and campaigning. Convince the Sinhala majority, especially about the political solution offered as a solution to the minorities' problem. And we have been able to do even that successfully in Sri

Page 20
20 TAMIL TIMES
Lanka.
We were sincere enough not only to promulgate this or to announce it and try to make it law, but also to go to the people constantly – village to village, area by area - convincing them. We had a huge programme, the Sudu Nelum movement, the White Lotus movement. Have you heard of that?
NR: Yes. CK: These are the sea-changes we have been able to make. There were also smaller achievements such as - and I feel that it is also a very important one - the third achievement, the anti-corruption drive that we started. I won’t say we have been able to wipe out corruption but we have certainly, at the top level, managed to ensure that all big Government development projects are not decided on criteria based on corruption. We have also been able to tighten systems and procedures and bring in new systems and procedures to plug loopholes to the maximum extent possible.
NR: In a sense, the tragic part of the history of independent Sri Lanka - there have been many achievements, but the tragic part - can be summed up in these phrases: the Sinhala Only trap and, in reaction to it and retaliation against it, the Eelam trap.
CK. (Nods in firm agreement.) NR: You, President, won a tremendous mandate on the promise and programme of breaking with this history. How would you judge your project four years from the time it was launched?
CK: I was personally convinced that both traps are wrong for the country. Being a student of politics, I had studied the issue very closely and discussed it at length with friends who were interested and involved in the subject and who had suffered because of it. I was convinced beyond any doubt that we had to get out of both these traps. I was so convinced, but my party wasn’t convinced at all - they were caught in the same trap. They thought that one shouldn’t even talk about these issues at election time! They thought as all the Sinhala-based parties thought, including the Marxist parties.
But I was so convinced of what the people thought because I had gone to the villages for twenty years before I became Prime Minister or President. I talked with them for hours. My style of politics was hands-on.
I had talked about this ethnic issue especially during my (Sri Lanka) Mahajana Party days and I was convinced that the people would respond. I took the bull by the horns, and, especially in the second of the four elections we had within eighteen months in 1994,
the Southern Provin - the South is suppo vinistic and pan-Sinh tantly at a couple of lot of response. An on. I was told, “Be about the issue durir we won a resoundin I was justified th happy that what I th ple’s thinking was ri got the courage. Anc had the courage right people, “This is wha lieve that the majori with us. But the long more tired the peopl enthusiastic about p lutions.
NR: You have ha military operations a go for political nego lution within - I take lation is that it must t work of a united Sri pened? How do you ence vis-a-vis the LT gers of Tamil Eelam) ally expect along the CK: Do you me discussions with ther NR: Yes. You had had this tremendous
CK: I had studie LTTE to know that going to jump into a and even less so Mr. ( leader. I saw him as a very rare type. I woul Adolf Hitler and a fe But I thought tha alone, especially a gl plained this to my p Ministers and so on, \ ing for talks with the guerilla leader has e. on his people. I belie' porters, his cadres, W (with the armed strug WaS
We saw there w8 amongst the Tamil pe amongst the people i being ruled by Prabal guessing - I was bank will which we had s that there must be a who were with Prabal who also wanted pe once, had some faith i You know the eu Jaffna soon after Iwo that popularity for h nary citizens plus th prevail upon Prabaki him to come to some

ial Council election ed to be very chaula - I tried this hesimeetings and had a then went on and careful, don't talk g this election, and
victory there. t time, and I was so ught about the peoht. And therefore I we go on. We have through. We still tell is right.' I still bey of the people are er this goes on, the : will get - and less ossible political so
d to take two tracks: na a willingness to iations to find a sot that the only stipue within - the frameLanka. What haplook at the experiTE (Liberation Ti' What did you actupolitical track? in when we started m? a ceasefire and you mandate. i enough about the they were not just peace agreement - V) Prabakaran, the ruthless leader of a d classify him with w others.
a leader cannot be Ierilla leader. I exeople, my Cabinet when we started gom. I thought that a pecially to depend ed that all his supre not as obsessed le for Eelam) as he
s huge enthusiasm ple when we came, Jaffna who were aran. I wasn’t just ng on the people's en. I also realised bt of young cadres aran and the LTTE e - who also, for a Sinhala leader. horia there was in . I was banking on
people, the ordi
LTTE cadres, to an and pressurise kind of agreement
15 JANUARY 1999
outside of the war. But obviously, Prabakaran was stronger there than his people or his cadres! Secondly, I really banked on the people's power. Never before had the people of the North openly showed approbation of a Sinhala leader like that.
NR: Yes. CK: This is where Prabakaran had to continuously tell his people a lot of lies, in their publications and in their various media activities, against me. This was all to convince them about why he broke the talks. They told a lot of lies because the people wouldn't otherwise have accepted it.
My other thought was this. Just because you think somebody is impossible, that’s not a good enough reason politically to say, ‘Oh, I’m not going to talk to them.’ You have to keep trying. If the Israelis and the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation) could get together, if the Irish and the British could get together, we couldn't see why we shouldn't. So it was one last attempt - as far as I was concerned, it was a last attempt at humanism. Everybody had attempted in a very professional way to talk to Prabakaran and it had not worked. The Sri Lanka Government and the Indian Government put a lot of effort into it.
So I thought: at least let us show the man that there are governments in Sri Lanka that are capable of being human and of understanding the Tamil people’s problems. And that is what I was attempting to do. That was the first stage, to break the ice, to build bridges (all of which were broken and blasted) between the two sides, the sides being the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Government. The Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil people was no problem, I knew, as long as we were sincere.
That is why I sent the first team; the team was briefed, saying “this will be the first stage. For the next stage it would be a more professional, political kind of team that would go - if they agreed to begin to talk about political solutions. The first team was just to find out - a recceing trip - and also building bridges and friendship. I have the series of- 42 - letters which I am going to publish very soon. The ones that he and I exchanged, 42 or 43.
NR: Will you give us copies? CK: Certainly, certainly. I will give you autographed copies as you were one of the people responsible for our meeting the LTTE (in Chennai) long ago.
NR: Yes, when your husband Vijaya (Kumaranatunga) and you came to Chennai in 1986.
CK: Yes. So right from the beginning, after we started talking with them - we came in on the 19th of August (1994), I

Page 21
15 JANUARY 1999
wrote to him before the 31st of August, talks began somewhere in October, and two months later I wrote to him saying the political proposals were in hand: “Would you like to give dates to discuss this?’
Asfar as Iwas concerned, the delegation that was going was going for the purpose I mentioned and also to persuade
him to give dates to us to begin talking. .
Talking about beginning the political talks. But he never - he refused to - he just did not touch on that. So we couldn’t go on to the second phase of getting more professional about the discussions.
Even the LTTE has taken up the UNP’s (United National Party's) criticism that we were not professional enough, that I didn't send a professional enough team. Well, I sent my Secretary, that’s important enough. The LTTE says I made a joke of the talks. The Secretary to the President is the highest public servant in the country. He was a very senior lawyer in the country. He is the President's Secretary and everybody knows that he has my confidence, I thought it was the perfect person. He’s a charming person, his PR is good and then I sent a group of other people - including one Tamil person - to talk, and as and when it was required we sent Army people and Navy people depending on what had to be discussed, right through that process. NR: Were these only talks about negotiations?
CK. It was partly that. It didn't begin like that. It was, as Isaid, mainly building bridges. And then talk about negotiations. What they used it for was to get as much as they could out of us materially to gain time with the ceasefire to build up militarily to start the war.
NR: There is a deja vu about this. Since the anti-Tamilpogrom of 1983, the LTTE has apparently shown no willingness to talk substance or propose an alternative to their Eelam. The only time they spelt out anything was at Thimphu in 1985: the right to self-determination and the three other "cardinal principles, "they pitched it at a very high and abstract level. Even India failed to get anything where the LTTE could be pinned down to say, "This will be a reasonable alternative to Eelam, 'federalism or whatever. Its the TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front) that did this, the LTTE didn't do it. There is nothing on record that suggests - and this is a question - that the LTTE is willing to propose, or be serious about negotiating any alternative short of Eelam. Or could it be different?
CK: No, we have no indication at all that they will change... for the moment.
NR: I read Prabakaran's address on
Heroes' Day where are willing to go for the words "peace , might lead to negoti negotiations' for w solution. For peace not putting down a atmosphere should ing it, it appears tha cessions on the cont it "occupation"), t ade" and so on. He s to participate in pea tional, third party m have no faith in the he explains. This c what you have said your willingness to tlement. What woul that?
CK. As I said, v the moment the LTTI or reason broke the position. It has not ( ing to talk because this by war. We are government. We’d this politically and that. And at this sta to discuss, as I hav ous people. We don are willing to take th foreign. We have m choose.
NR: Would that CK: Somethin we would want dist many conditions, there should be, as time frame that we the beginning of the will do what they that is, drag on anc build themselves u then start attacking have a fairly tight talks are not finis bye-bye to the ta we are not asking conditions.
There is, of cou said that the unity gotiable.
NR: Not unita CK: Yes, uni different.
NR: You re e may I have a brie/ tary experience? I ups and downs. T able to regain pc peating what Peace-Keeping F seemed to be a achievement. The and progress in y

TAMIL TIMES 21
sically, he says: we eace talks - he uses lks" for talks that ions and "political at might lead to a Ilks, he says we are conditions but the 2 conducive. Readyои тиst тake conlofJafna (they call ! "economic blockys the LTTE is ready e talks with internaaliation - because we inhala leadership," mes in response to You have reiterated o for a political setbe your response to
'e have always, from E without any rhyme talks, had the same hanged. We are willdo not like to settle not a military type of much prefer to settle are consistent about ge, we will be willing : always said to varit want mediation, we ird party facilitation... any offers, so we can
be a good offices role? g like that, yes. And :ussions without very except the one that I have said, a limited should decide upon at talks. If not, the LTTE have always done - on and on until they again militarily and again. So we want to schedule and, if the ned by then, we say cs. Apart from that, for very many more
se, one more. We have of the state is not ne
, but unity.
- not unitary. Quite
phasising this. Now, ssessment of the miliseems to have hadits Sri Lankan state was session of Jaffna, rehe IPKF (Indian ce) did in 1987. That impressive military have been other gains tr attempt to open the
Main Land Route (MLR). But there have been setbacks as well, like Killinochchi. And today we read that the Deputy Defence Minister and the three Service Chiefs had a narrow escape. Are these part of the game or...
CK: Part of whose game? NR: The game of war. The question is about the military balance since the peace process broke down in 1995. I asked your political opponents this question: would you say the LTTE is weaker, stronger or about the same? Some people say they are stronger. Many other assessments say that there have been net gains for the Sri Lankan state and that the LTTE has been weakened or checked. You, President, would know the most about this.
CK: Let me tell you very honestly that the LTTE is much weaker than it was when we took over from the UNP government. In 1994, the LTTE was absolutely ruling the entire Northern Province, other than in tiny Army camps here and there, where the Army had just locked themselves up inside and were not even moving out. When the Palaly people had to go out to collect their water, they had to ring up the LTTE and ask permission and go and collect the water. We had seen this happening continually, It was completely under their sway.
We have taken the whole of Jaffna Peninsula and we have taken parts of Mannar. We have now taken the entire road - there are only two main roads from the South to the North, we have taken the one that goes west towards Mannar. We have taken two-thirds of the one that goes straight up to Jaffna. To Killinochchi and beyond.
They have lost a lot of cadres and so are physically much weaker. They are also politically much weaker, because they have lost their people. Eighty-five per cent of the Tamil people who live in the Northern Province are now living in Government-controlled areas. And these people are helping us, as I’m sure your Frontline people would have gone to Jaffna and reported to you. They say, “We are much happier now than under the Tigers' - though, of course, things are not yet back to normal in Jaffna.
Once again thanks to the Tigers! They won't allow development work to go on properly. They have started blasting guns here and there. So we have to go very slowly. They keep threatening people, their people have killed two Mayors of Jaffna. We had just started the work nicely after the local government elections. They keep harassing the normalisation process but we go on - slower than we would if the LTTE was not harassing us, sabotaging the development work we are trying

Page 22
22 TAMIL TIMES
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Page 23
15 JANUARY 1999
to do for the Jaffna people. And they have told foreign journalists, “Please don't let the LTTE come back again. We prefer to be under the Army than to have the LTTE here.”
I think that is a huge victory for the Government and a big defeat for the LTTE politically. They are finding it difficult to get cadres. They have recently been - you would have heard that also - taking them forcibly from their parents. And the parents were protesting. Some of the children who had been taken have run away. NR: Could you tellus something about the experience of these children? At what age do they start?
CK. We have children they have taken at the age of eleven. And they send them to battle. They train them for about a year. They don’t let them see their parents. Earlier they used to pay the parents two thousand rupees, now they pay three thousand.
NR: Including girls? CK: Including girls. We have two little girls with us (we have lots of girls now, I’m talking of the first two we’ve had). They came in a group to attack one of the Army camps in the North and the attack was repelled. But quite a few of the girls - Sea Tigers - who came were arrested. And the Sea Tiger leader, what’s her name, Akila, who trained...
NR: ... who is an accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, A-3.
CK. Exactly. She was the leader. She
was the one who trained the women, who used to train them - she's now dead. Akila trained the woman Dhanu, who assassinated Rajiv Gandhi, and Akila also came for this attack. They were arrested by the Navy: some of them ran away, some were killed, these two girls were arrested. Akila was older and she ordered all the girls there to swallow their cyanide capsules, which some of them did. These two girls did not: they pretended to bite on the capsules but threw them away. Akila thought they had also bitten on their capsules. She bit on her cyanide capsule and she died.
NR: Is that right?
CK: Yes, she died about two-and-a- half years ago. And these two girls were caught together with Akila. She died in that incident. And the two girls were there. I got them moved down to Colombo. They were then thirteen and fifteen; they had been taken at the ages of eleven and thirteen. On their way back from school, the two girls had been grabbed, forcibly, in Jaffna (then the LTTE was still in Jaffna) and taken to some camp, also within the Jaffna Peninsula, and trained.
In three years they had been allowed to go and see their parents only once and
they were accompanic in case they ran awa “We don’t like this. W here.' We asked them They said, “All we v abroad somewhere, there (in Jaffna), we v LTTE. And we want to ies.” Those girls are s fact, interviewed them week, they talk only whole cassette. That the world.
The LTTE is very and they have been a two girls back, saying ten, then twenty, then our arrestees - “if you back.” They are veryk back. It’s very bad pl Now we have loa of children in the recer of them have run awa Army camps for prot taken (prisoner) by u. NR: So they speak but not LTTE desertic CK: Exactly. NR: Now about t morale of your Army enon ofdesertion that Are you very concern was even talk that som tion or draft might be CK: (Smiles.) Wel to eight per cent de very high, given the i tary conflict that is when we give them them come backagain amnesty all the time. What I’m worried tion so much as the has to end. It’s terribl boys dying, sometime people I know, from terrible.
NR: Do they kno1 ing for? Is that clear CK: They know, ter we took over, t. they are not fighting made some very clea suppose you saw th NR: Yes, they we CK: I said that if That it is not a war : That it is only a we are enemies of peac NR: Prabakara cent speech refers phrases.
CK: Really? NR: Yes, he has CK: And he is c NR: He sees yo

TAMIL TIMES 23
by LTTE cadres
And they said,
don't like to be that they wanted. int is to be sent cause if we live |l be killed by the :ontinue our studil with us. We, in within the first one „mil. We have the was sent all over
nnoyed about this king us for these hey would give us it became forty of ive these two girls en on having them blicity. s of them, dozens t six months. Some y and come to the ction, others were
after attacks.
ofArmy desertions,
YS.
he Army itself the and the phenomhas been reported. ed about it? There e kind of conscripintroduced. l, there is about five ertion. That’s not ntensity of the milioing on. But then amnesties, a lot of and we keep giving
about is not deserwhole war itself. It , the idea of young s I go to funerals of amilies I know. It’s
what they are fight
they know. And af. ey also know that the Tamil people. I speeches on this. I se speeches? e reported. s a battle for peace. ainst Tamil people. against those who the LTTE.
in fact, in his reo some of these
uoted them. cising me for them. as the most brutal,
he calls you "the protagonist of... " You really want to know precisely how he characterises you?
CK: Yes. They depict me in the most terrible ways. They had some booklet where they had me, you know, like a Dracula, with these two teeth sticking out. Have you seen that?
NR: No. CK. It’s terrible. They have taken one of those very popular photographs of mine where I’m smiling broadly and they have drawn - you can do that in the computer - two pointed teeth coming out of my mouth like this, with blood pouring down the teeth.
NR: This is the translation from the Tamil original, not the thing they put out in English (there are some differences): "We do not believe that Chandrika, who figures as the protagonist of the most blood-stained chapter in the fifty year history of racial oppression in Sri Lanka, will, having established peace in the land, solve the Tamil national question in a peaceful way."
CK. Where did he make this speech? NR: It s Prabakaran s Heroes' Day speech.
CK: This time? NR: Yes, this year (on November 27, 1998).
CK: But then why does he want. NR: I suppose this also means that the military campaign is hurting.
CK: But why then, in the same speech, does he want discussions with us? He doesn’t know what he wants. If he has lost faith in Chandrika, then why is he...
NR: I don't want to make any trouble for your plans...
CK: (Laughs.) NR: ... for your peace moves May be this is rhetoric. Your original, and now reiterated, project offinding a non- chauvinistic solution to this longstanding ethnic question, which may be considered Sri Lanka s principal national question perhaps...
CK. It is. NR:... has been the boldest attempt by any government to respond to Sri Lankan Tamil aspirations. I have this assessment from people who are objective, Tamil moderates in particular. There was the high point of the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakan Pact of July 1957. I think the political package that came with the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of July 1987 was substantially a step forward, but everyone is agreed that your Governments constitutional proposals represent something beyond what your father (Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandanaranaike) attempted - and it was thwarted- and what the Indian

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24 TAMIL TIMES
engagement attempted. What previous governments had inhibitions about - that is, going beyond the unitary frameworkyou clearly went beyond. And you have made it clear that you are committed very much to this. What do you think is a reasonable time frame for this attempt? Prabakaran may be very intransigent, but surely there are the Tamil people, other political parties, moderates...
CK: Well, if the UNP agrees to at least discuss constructively and then finally come to a consensual agreement with us and make this law, I think Prabakaran's intransigence is not important. If we can bring in legally the solutions that we have proposed - long-lasting solutions to the problem - the Tamil people (as I sometimes rhetorically say, for I believe something like that will happen), the few Tamil people who are left with Prabakaran will turn against him.
But we have to prove this to the Tamil people. For once the Tamil people know that in fifty years of Independence, here is a Sinhala leadership that is sincere in wanting to live with them in peace while giving them all their rights. They know that in their heart of hearts and they say so. But we have still not been able to constructively give them what we have wanted to.
We have started all the processes but we have not been able to conclude them satisfactorily simply because of this biZarre Constitution of the UNP, which they themselves amended sixteen times in nine years. It is a fraudulent Constitution, as I say, which stipulates that even to change a dot or a comma in the Constitution, you need a two thirds majority
And on the other hand, you have a very, very bizarre electoral system - one does not exist and has not existed anywhere else in the world - that this Constitution brought in. They have ensured that no party will ever make two thirds in Parliament. If you look at it in terms of India’s electoral system (the first-past-thepost system), our party won 80 per cent - not two thirds but eight tenths - of the seats in Parliament in the 94 parliamentary elections. But when it is translated into figures according to the way votes are counted under this Constitution, we have only one vote more in Parliament.
So it is the UNP's responsibility. They started this war. They made it worse. They brought in a Constitution which will not allow a political- constitutional solution of the problem. So it is their bounden duty to vote with us. We have said we do not expect you to accept this lock, stock and barrel. Come, let’s discuss. But for three, four long years, they have shown intransigence and have
been lying through th quote me like that.
That is the only pr if we can make this la ple, the few who are le will turn against him. T of Prabakaran's intran NR: You will still UNP in an attempt agreement on the con als?
CK: We are still still playing their usua are having secret meeti The C.I.D. investiga which the UNP's MP wardana, got into the and went into the War with (Anton) Balasing viser to the LTTE) ar senior LTTE leader). you find Prabakaran and one week later the the same thing
NR: Another qui somewhat different: t dency. You made a pro executive presidency posals for change, but resolution ofthis princ tion. Would that be rig CK: Yes. That is a stitutional proposals. has to be made in th Constitution. It is part tution that we are pro NR: The UNFP dc
age.
CK. We are not go everything they want ing us anything! I say to the resolution of th which they started, worse, “We will agree the executive presid think that’s fair?
NR : Yes, I think tı link, May I also askyo ing on the sequence because there is a lot c press and in the pol which election will co, mentary or president CK: We haven’t a tually, I haven’t decid whatever we think w obviously our goal.
NR: Within the C CK. Within the C certainly have the ele now the question is w ing them early or not
NR: And which presidential...
CK: (Laughs.) T body is speculating :

15 JANUARY 1999
ir teeth - you can
oblem. I think that w, the Tamil peoit with Prabakaran, hat will be the end Sigence.
try to engage the o find bipartisan stitutional propos
rying but they are
games! Now they ngs with the LTTE. ed an incident in Dr Jayalath Jayavehicle of an NGO ni jungles and met ham (Political Adid Tamilchelvan (a And strangely now, saying something UNP's leader says
2stion, linked but he executive presimise to abolish the and there are proit is linked with the ipal national ques'ht? lso part of the conSome amendment e form of the new of the new Constioposing. esn t like this link
ing to just give them
without their giv, “Okay, you agree e ethnic problem,” which they made : to the abolition of ency.” Don't you
nere should be that u about your thinkof elections ahead, fispeculation in the itical arena about ne first, the parliaal.
ctually decided. Ac2d. So we will have e can win. That is
institution.
onstitution. We will ctions in time. But hether you are hav
2lection first? The
hat is what everybout. I shall leave
you in suspense on that one.
NR: And would you like to say anything on the non-binding referendum? It was mentioned in the press that if the UNP did not co-operate, you would perhaps resort to that technique to put, I suppose, moral pressure.
CK: All that may be part of the process I was telling you about. If the UNP doesn't respond.
I just want to make one other point: the business community of Sri Lanka has done its bit (the private sector umbrella effort under the chairmanship of businessman Lalith Kothalawala to bring together the ruling People's Alliance, the UNP and others for an interaction on, inter alia, the ethnic question). I thought that was a very good effort, because for the first time, civil society was getting involved. They are really sick and tired of this deadlock - a deadlock not from our side, but from their side. And I thought it was a jolly good idea, especially given the fact that all the big people in the business community are very close to the UNP.
The Government was very supportive. We said we would participate and let the UNP also come. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe (the UNP leader) is being totally dishonest on this issue, utterly and completely dishonest. First, he was looking for any excuse not to participate. He said he was not coming because G.L. Peiris (Minister of Justice. Constitutional Affairs, Ethnic Affairs and National Integration, and Deputy Minister of Finance) was coming. I do not know what he has against G.L. Peiris. I was surprised, because he was very friendly with G.L. Peiris, he has come here many times with him to discuss devolution matters and all that. And all of a sudden, he said because he was there... he was just picking quarrels for nothing. At which point I said, “Okay. I don’t know what quarrel he has with him, let’s not waste our time. If he doesn’t like G.L.'s face, I will lead the delegation. I will come to the BMICH (Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall). He said, “Oh, even if she is coming, I am not coming. That was the first thing, a shocking thing.
Then, secondly, he now has written ... finally he said we will nominate our delegation, let the Government nominate their delegation. I nominated three people, a very good list of people, not all of them politicians. The UNP kept delaying. Apparently this group had rung up Mr. Wickremasinghe and he had sent some absolutely stupid letter, which is just playing ducks and drakes with the whole thing, saying things that had not happened.

Page 25
15 JANUARY 1999
Telling the Chairman of this initiative that when they discussed the matter, Mr. Wickremasinghe had said he would discuss with the Government only if the LTTE was also there. He said that in the letter but the business people say, “We never talked of the LTTE.” How can they bring the LTTE? They have neither the power nor the ability to do that.
Their main point was to get the UNP and the Government together. Because they were devastated that the two sides were just not succeeding in getting together. You know, facilitate the getting together of the UNP and the SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party), because they knew people from both sides at a personal level. He says, “You know I told you that you should get the LTTE. So what is happening, is the LTTE coming?” He is just being very dishonest about the whole thing. That means this will not happen either.
NR: You will visit India later this month and there have been preparations for the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement, which will be a major development. Other subjects will be covered You have always been seen as a friend of India and during your Presidency bilateral relations have been very good, according to the press. But how do you, as a leader, see the engagement of India in this business, the plus and minus points? Some of us would say that India is morally obliged, given the inputs it made earlier, to help Sri Lanka and your Government to find a solution in better ways perhaps than have been on offer. How do you see that?
CK. Well, I would tend to agree with you. I think India does have a moral obligation, given the fact that they were also partly responsible for the commencement of the war. Not India, but the Indian government of that time. But we have had a lot of moral support from Indian Governments and, perhaps excepting one or two instances, not much more than that. NR: I see. How do you see this Free Trade Agreement and why is it so important? You seem to have personally spent a lot of time on bringing this forward and taken a lot of interest in the details. It would be very significant?
CK. It would be. For the Sri Lankan economy, it would be very significant. India stands to lose very little by giving us these concessions, but we stand to gain a lot.
NR: Your impression of the other; the non-LTTE Tamil parties, both the democratic TULF and the militants who seem to have entered in some way the democratic stream. Do they amount to much?
CK. (Smiles.) NR: Are they working with you?
CK: They are wi are very supportive ( we have offered. Th been critical of some we have done some d as we have tried to e have, of course, don NR: So they have than the UNP?
CK: Much mor UNP. All the minorit know, every single parties in Parliament ernment coalition or s liament. I would say these parties are try but the LTTE systei the Tamil leadership tematically. So how selves liberators of don’t know. They ha the best of the best cal leaders, intellect anybody who oppos lence and terror has
I think that it is a the Tamil people toc have a sufficient num cratic leaders. Thost now ageing. There a ple but it is not enou NR: One of t Prabakarans latest is that the internation thetic and insensitive sufferings of the Sri pays tribute to intery other human right. us.' This is a clea paragraphs are de complaint.
Against this b published in Fronti 18, 1998) a two-p Gunaratna on the l This has also been Sri Lanka. First, th base in South India ticular - and once 1987, it shifted to worked to establis there, the descend tured Tamil labou stantialsection oft lation. The LTTE some contacts with Congress) leader als. Gunaratna speaks of training some procuremen reported that you taken this up and pressed concern. thing about this? reports?
CK: Well, it

TAMIL TIMES 25
ing with us, they political solutions have, of course, f the clauses and ussion with them, age the UNP. We his consistently. een more positive
positive than the parties and, as you e of the minority either in the Govpporting usin Parhat as a whole all g their level best, atically decimated f this country. Syshey can call themhe Tamil people, I e killed off some of amil leaders. Politials, professionals - d the LTTEs vioeen killed off very big tragedy for ay that they do not ber of strong demowho are there are re a few young peogh. he complaints in Heroes' Day address al community is apato history and to the Lankan Tamils. He lational sensitivity to issues, "but not to ' complaint, several oted to this plaintive
ckground, we have ne (December 4 and rt article by Rohan TTE in South Africa. overed in the press in
organisation had a - Tamil Nadu in parthat was over, after South Africa. It has links with the Tamils ats offormer indenrs who form a subSouth African popueems to have made VC (African National or at least individuinvestigative article mps in South Africa, nd so on. It is also oreign Minister has ou yourself have exuld you tellus somethere truth to these
rue that we are con
cerned about the South African Government’s probable - whether it is the Government or the ANC, I don’t know - links with the LTTE. The LTTE has successfully pulled the wool over their eyes by pretending to be liberators. And the ANC, I suppose, having had a history of liberation, was sympathetic. But we are now striving to explain to them the nature of the LTTE, its behavioural patterns and the dangers which lurk for anybody who supports the LTTE. They must not forget that the LTTE systematically kills off all those who support it
But it is only the South African Government - all the cther governments that at one time, because of the UNP's wrong and idiotic policy towards the ethnic question, all those western governments and others who supported the LTTE or sympathised with the LTTE have now completely veered from that policy. Because they accept that this Government has an intelligent, humane and correct policy towards the problem.
NR: There is another complication, it seems, legally. Prabakaran is Accused No. 1 in the Rajiv assassination case. This is not some dubious trial, but very professionally done. And Pottu Amman is Accused No. 2 and Akila, if it is the same one (you referred to as dead), is Accused No. 3. So here is the leader of a movement who is wanted in your neighbouring state. I suppose he has not surfaced and, therefore, it is not up to the Sri Lankan Government, which cant reach him. Do you think that at the moment it is an academic question or a real question: that is, that talks are possible for a negotiated settlement and the leader (of the movement) is the prime wanted in a major criminal case? Have you thought about this?
CK: Well, I suppose this is an issue that comes up with many guerilla leaders, but that doesn’t, that shouldn't, prevent a government from talking with them - if a solution is possible.
NR: Any concluding thoughts on how Sri Lankans, the ruling coalition and alliance, the Opposition, Tamil parties, the people of your country should respond to this challenge? What would be your appeal as head of state and government? What do you expect them to do over the next few years?
CK. Well, I have been consistently saying this. We expect them - both sides - to move away from the traps that you were mentioning earlier. Sinhalese from the Sinhala Only trap and the Tamil people from the Eelam trap. And I believe they have already moved away, so there is nothing much to appeal to on that score. Of course, there will always be the (continued on next page)

Page 26
zu AML TIMES
TE PARALLEL AND PA
OF MINDLESS VOLE
Ramesh Gopalakrishman
here does a parallel get drawn between Cambodia and Sri Lanka in terms of violence? Sure, the former has had a different kind of endemic violence, certainly not of the ethnic variety, but based on international intrigues propelling warring factions.
Yet, the power struggles in Phnom . Penh and Colombo do have a parallel. And negotiations to end both civil wars also have had to follow international initiatives. This is the parallel and paradox of the two countries. And, most certainly, for some, the personalities of Pol Pot and Velupillai
Prabakaran, both liberators turned
oppressors par excellence, strike another dangerous parallel. If similarities abound on the issue of ruthlessness of killings or assassinations, the differences between the two leaders, in terms of particular traits, are even more so, as is the case with every dictator or aspiring dictator: every tyrant is power-hungry in his own unique way.
Pol Pot, the dreaded 70-year-old general, remained a puzzle even in his death which took place in April last year, of an apparent heart attack. His quest for an agrarian utopia, initiated
(continued from page 25) extremists but we don't have to take notice of them. If history took notice of the extremist minorities, the human race could never have moved forward. I believe that a majority of all people of this country want peace. That is what we want them to continue to want - and support us in seeing through these measures.
We cannot wait for ever, jelled in a situation where the UNP has fixed the Constitution, fixed the war, and refuses to make it change. We refuse to be jelled to that situation and be frozen there.
We will very soon have to take decisions that may not completely be in keeping with the present Constitution - but will not be anti-constitutional or anti-democratic. My request, my appeal to the people of Sri Lanka is to support us politically on that issue.
NR: Thank you very much, President.
soon after the Khr power in the mid years later with th sion of Cambodia, However, the K meanwhile, killed sands of Cambod “Marxist-Leninist pia, wherein the l worst than Siberia der Stalin. Indicte than two million C had escaped punis a local populatio) border captive. A his young wife an ter cried after whi of the Khmer Rou the Cambodian tro The drama th prime minister Hur trol over Cambodia prince Ranaridh a battle. Hun Sen sv consolidate his holl back into the count father, king Norodic doned” him on the brokered agreeme Hun Sen got t leaders to surrendel The two leaders, K Nuon Chea, had b a long time, the f been the presiden 1976-79Khmer rep was in full control was then a dissid who had managed and flee to neigh even as the Khme sorted to setting l lds”. Now presid wrested the power king, who is underg ment at Beijing, a doned the two Kh ing the king with endorse the decisi made a statement c
According to leaders have apolo ing fields”, and l need for their tria
 
 
 
 

her Rouge captured 1970s, ended four 2 Vietnamese inva
hmer regime, in the housands and thoulans in the absurd o quest for an utoabour camps were n horror stories und for killing more ambodians, Pol Pot hment by keeping on the Thailand s he lay ill dying, d teenaged daughch the last bastion ge guerillas fell to oops. at followed saw Sen establish con, having driven out fter an internecine wiftly moved in to d and got Ranaridh ry after the latter's om Sihanouk, “par: basis of a Japanht. wo Khmer Rouge to him last month. hieu Samphan and een ideologues for brmer even having t of the infamous ublic, when Pol Pot . Hun Sen himself ent Khmer leader to escape a purge bouring Vietnam r Rouge army rep the “killing fient, Hun Sen has of pardon from the oing medical treatnd effectively parmer leaders, leavno option but to on. The king later itical of the move. Hun Sen, the two ised for the “killence, there is no , since a national
15 JANUARY 1999
reconciliation process was on. Hun Sen has even hinted at the possibility of the two leaders being pardoned even if an international tribunal finds them guilty of the Khmer regime's mass murders. Hun Sen's argument is that he wants the civil war in the embattled south-east Asian country to come to an end.
The attempt to get Pol Pot accountable for all the murders was more bizarre than a Kafkaesque novel.
Languishing in the jungles for a long time, he was never allowed to be captured. Next, even as he was ageing, his possible surrender or capture was part of the deal which other Khmer leaders had been making with the Hun Sen regime for a long time. Thereby, Pol Pot became a liability for all Khmer leaders, except for Ta Maak, the one-legged general who is still at large with about 150 guerillas.
Finally, it was announced that Pol Pot had been detained by Khmer commanders themselves, but was never handed over to the process of law.
Also, any kind of verdict on the Khmer Rouge issue is far from clear. Hun Sen had sent his message on this to United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan a year ago, following which UN human rights experts visited Cambodia. According to UN special representative to Cambodia, Lakhan Mehrotra, Kofi Annan will "soon” take a decision on the issue, probably this month. In the meantime, the UN will have to contend with the United States' firebombing of Baghdad in the face of the defiance of Saddam Hussein.
Hence, even if the UN decides to try the Khmer leaders, it would be a long and difficult process, almost a farce.
The meeting between Hun Sen and the two surrendered leaders took place at the former's residence in Takmalu town near Phnom Penh. “I am welcoming them with flowers, not bullets,” Hun Sen said, even as another former Khmer Rouge commander, Ieng Sary, who had received an official amnesty two years ago, looked on smiling. It would be difficult to ascertain whether the pardon received by the two leaders is a tactical move by the president to muster crucial electoral support against the prince: one more round of political drama, but trauma for the Cambodi
S.

Page 27
15 JANUARY 1999
All these apart, the background of the Khmer leaders is what makes shocking reading. In the crucial months before Pol Pot's death, the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh travelled to Cambodia to meet Chea Samy, the renowned dancer and also Pol Pot's sister-in-law, her husband, Pol Pot's brother, another of Pol Pot's brothers, and Khieu Samphan's brother as well. He found out from Chea that she and her husband had realised, only after the 1976 Revolution, that it was indeed their little-lost relative who was in full control of the Khmer Rouge regime. They saw his picture on the kitchen wall of the labour camp in which they had been dumped.
The Revolution was simply againstall art; especially music and dance. Chea and her husband had endured the labour camps as any other ordinary Cambodian had done: Pol Pot was incorruptible, he had held out nothing for relatives or friends, in a way, he had not even remembered them
Another baffling revelation came from Chea: she had known princess Soumphady who was the greatest of dancers of Cambodia this century. In the early part of the century, when Chea had not not even been born, the princess had travelled to France, along with king Sisowath's entourage, and had captured the hearts of the French; and their rain-dances had been immortalised by none-other-than sculptor August Rodin in a series of sketches. Sisowath's son who became the next king took a liking to Luk Khun Meak, a dancer from the region of Kompon Thom. Luk, a flamboyant dancer, brought her relatives from the village to the palace, and, among them, was Saloth Saar, a boy of six, Saloth Saar, who was to be known across the world as Pol Pot.
And it was true, Amitav Ghosh learnt from Chea, that Luk died of starvation during the Revolution and one of her daughters had her breasts sliced off as a punishment for stealing.
Indeed, Amitav Ghosh finds from Chea that Saloth was an indeed amiable boy. At the palace, Saloth obtained a government scholarship to study electronics in Paris. At Paris, he spent a lot of time reading and knew the great French poets Rimbaud and Verlaine by heart. He had also studied Marxism-Leninism and after a few months of returning to Cambodia, he
T Sangh Pari ing their fang mas for the C western India becam mare as the Bajran, Hindu Parishad ur them, their church tions managed by t Following furi tests, the state gov who else but the BJ rather reluctantly re even by the first v radic incidents cont to widespread dem of the state governi sion and inaction a As noted comm points it out: 'Guja ble laboratory for attempts at mobilis agenda. The Christ get, the Muslims h they have a capac should be noted he haps the stronges having a two-third Assembly.
Though the aroused by the inci hearts of the mino all they will realis
vanished into til
faced only durin The Camb. Amitav Ghosh i less attempt to c reverse the cur annihilate the m the credit of the dle classes that the heaviest of endured every closest relatives leaders.
The 1976 R aura about it nc pants, including Hun Sen, don't However, the Revolution wou
in time and sp
Lanka is one to suffer in this
 

TAMIL TIMES 27
Hindutva Brigade
gets Christians
T N Gopalan
lar have started baronce again. Christistians of Gujarat in one prolonged nightDal and the Vishwa eashed mayhem on s and other institu
er. us nation-wide pronment there, run by itself, was forced to n in the Parivaar. Still eek of January sponued to occur leading inds for the dismissal hent for alleged collugainst the offenders. entator Harish Khare rat has been a veritathe Parivaar in their ation of the Hindutva ian provide a soft tarave demonstrated that sity to retaliate....” It re that Gujarat is pert bastion of the BJP s majority in the state
ationwide revulsion lents should warm the ities in Gujarat - after : they are not all that
e jungles and sur, the Revolution
dian Revolution, terprets, is a mindthe impossible: to ent of history and ldle classes. It is to esilence of the midley held on braving dds and those who t of it included the f the Khmer Rouge
olution has a silent : its various particiKhieu Samphan and ant to talk about it. s and pieces of the remain, spread both e, and perhaps, Sri ce which continues լIղI16T. O
defenceless - and anyway they would not be able to mount any serious challenge to the Hindus there, given their relatively small proportion, the problem of tackling the majority chauvinism should prove daunting in the years to come.
Significantly the Gujarati language Press sought to project the Christian missionaries as the villains and gleefully lapped up the propaganda of the Sangh Parivaar, reinforcing the popular prejudices even further.
Not surprisingly the right-wing organisations dubbed the English language media as anti-Hindu and said only they were exacerbating the situation still further by putting out exaggerated and distorted reports.
According to reports, till 1996 the state had recorded only a solitary incident of attack on the Christians though it has been notorious for Hindu-Muslim clashes. But the very next year it rose to nine and shot up to as many as 38 last year, and that after the return of the BJP to power.
By far the most serious incident was reported from Rajkot in the earlier phase, when twenty copies of the New Testament were burnt in a raid on a school by the Sangh Parivaar. The provocation, the alleged forcible conversion of the Hindu students by the school authorities. A few Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)activists were taken into custody, but nothing much happened thereafter.
In the latest instance a little-known outfit, called the Hindu Jagran Manch took out a rally on the Christmas day to protest against conversions. Allegedly some provocative speeches were made and there was some stoning. Then all hell broke loose.
Churches in the Dang and Surat districts were attacked, Christian institutions were ransacked and set fire to and several missionaries beaten up. “Oh, they were not churches in the strict sense of the term, only make-shift, anyway it was the Christians who attacked a “peaceful rally” provoking the attacks, while none would be allowed to take law into their hands, the government cannot be a passive spectator in the face of the questionable activities of the missionaries’ - such was the government's reaction, giving

Page 28
28 TAMIL TIMES
greater fillip to the hoodlums.
As the incidents continued and not just the opposition but even its allies started criticising the attacks, the Centre was forced to sit up and take notice and it made some noise, deputed a central team to investigate what was going on and present a report.
The VHP was unfazed. It saw a conspiracy by the Christian West and their agents. Comically its chief utilised the occasion to lash out at India’s Economics Nobel Laureate for the year, Amartya Sen.
“The prize has been awarded only to propagate Christianity and wipe out Hinduism...,’ he asserted. But how come the poor Sen could undertake such a formidable task? Well, did he not announce that he would utilise the money to establish a trust to spread literacy which in turn would only benefit the missionaries
Naturally questions have arisen as to the timing of the incidents. They come in the wake of the drubbing handed down to the BJP in three state Assembly polls which in turn was followed by a brainstorming session of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). Have the Sangh Parivaar started wondering whether falling back on the Hindutva plank is the only
way to seize the again?
After all its fou nalism, its sectarian the infamous Rath Advani way back i ceived to have pri boost to it. And the asserting the “right a temple at the Ran Rama’s birth-place tion of the Babri M play down the temp the resulting comm not really bring in ta anything in the 199 stituency wherein went to the CPI. Th of the United Front the coalition of the the Dalits and, mo: Congress itself, led gence, but still on And under Sonia C winning back its los ienated Muslims p1 hind it instead of s led by the Samaj Mulayam Singh Yad Assembly by-elec Pradesh, Yadav's cat
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15 ANUARY 1999
litical initiative yet
dation is its commu:ampaign. And it was tra ofthe Lal Kishen
1990 which is pervided a tremendous yatra was by way of f the Hindus to build Jama Bhoomi (Lord After the demolisjid, the BJP had to 2 issue since it found nal conflagration did o many votes to it. If 5 elections, the conAyodhya is situated subsequent collapse it the central level, of backward castes and t importantly of the to the BJP's resurvery limited scale. ongress seems to be t lustre, even the aleferring to rally beuch disparate forces wadi Party led by av. In fact in a recent Eion in the Uttara ndidate lost his secu
rity deposit,
In such a scenario, what to do to bounce back into reckoning? The Vajpayee regime has been a near disaster and some avowedly corrective measures are being attempted to improve its image. But the larger question of winning the electorate's confidence remains.
That apart the party’s Hindutva agenda cannot be kept in cold storage eternally. It is in such circumstances the Gujarat riots have taken place. And it is a safe place to experiment, what with their own government in place there. By attacking the Christian missionaries as western agents, the saffron brigade could hope to win at least a section of the rising middle classes raised on a diet of the uniqueness of Hindutva - similar to the Jathika Chinthanaya variant propagated by Sinhala-Buddhist extremists in Sri Lanka. If attacking Muslims is proving costly, why not hound out the Christians? After all Sonia herself is a Christian and an anti-Christian hysteria could prevent her from gaining any further mileage because of the BJP's own blunders. At least such are perhaps the fond hopes of the Parivaar.
And many New Delhi correspondents have reported receiving a scurril-ous
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Page 29
15 JANUARY 1999
pamphlet attacking the Rajiv Gandhi clan on the ground that Sonia is a Roman Catholic, that her husband had converted to Christianity and that even his father Feroze Gandhi was a Muslim, not a Parsi and so on. Of cou-rse it was an anonymous pamphlet, but no great intelligence is required to guess who could have brought it out and for what purpose.
At the Bangalore meet of the BJP, its ageing president Kusabhau Tha-kre asserted that the Vajpayee government had better implement the party’s ideology, and told the Prime Minister sternly that excuses like compulsions of coalition politics would not wash.
It is clearly a war between the moderates and the hawks within the ruling BJP and also an attempt for the beleaguered party to grope for a way out. But then it is the innocent Christians, at this juncture that is, who are paying for its political compulsions. More important the secular ethos that has kept the country together taking a severe knock and that is a matter of serious concern.
While the Christians are indeed a soft target and would not be able to retaliate in kind - apart from the adverse international publicity that attacks on them generally provokes - Muslims are a different proposition altogether. If an emboldened Parivaar decides to take them on next, the result could be disastrous.
The vain attempt to take over a dargah in Karnataka, the rape of nuns in Madhya pradesh - justified by a VHP functionary as the legitimate response of the patriotic youth upset over the antinational activities of the missionaries - even the unpreceden-ted sacking of the naval chief Vishnu Bhagwat who was accused of being half a Christian and antiHindu by one of his deputies, the virulent attack on Sonia as a Christian, the constant snipings at the missionaries and the bogey of conversion, not to speak of the targeting of the Muslims in various
ways in various stat a sinister pattern.
Did not Guru C ceeded Hegdewar, th as its leader, say th janmabhoomi (land with the punyabhoor lify as first class citi: The Parivaar ha their agenda, they w read the foaming-at of a man like Guru accountant by profes sidered one of the n of the Hindutva, in Indian Express, agai Christians and the C idea of the deep sea fundamentalist gan opposed to its self
B
The Bishopof J Year message app including the LTT ist positions and s dialogue in a spirit
In a new year in the Jaffna daily Thomas Savundra LTTE leader's radi occasion of Heroes hopes of talks to people, the Bisho subjugated and de the war and he ap to enter into a di end to the ethnic c accommodation,
“You shoul sufferings inflicte your extremist ac of your struggle' into account the
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, all these point to
lwalkar, who sucfounder of the RSS, only those whose of birth) coincides (holy land)can quans of any country? e not lost sight of l never. One has to he-mouth rantings nurthy, a chartered ion but who is conbst authentic voices the columns of the st the Muslims, the mmunists to get an ed anathema of this towards anything roclaimed values.
. As has been repeatedly pointed out in these columns, fortunately India is a far too complex a country, with too many varied, even contradictory forces at work on its polity, to make it easy for the Parivaar-type loonies to overrun the entire country in the fashion of Adolf Hitler and his Nazis.
Still it should be a sobering lesson for those among the Sri Lankan Tamils who have hoped to gain the support of the BJP and its front organisations for the Eelam cause.
The LTTE might have alienated the Muslims, and the more passionate among its supporters might brush that issue aside as if it is of no consequence, but would they like to alienate the Christians too? The BJP touch is fatal. It destroys the soul of anyone it comes into contact with.
ishop's Appeal
affna has in a New aled to all parties, , to avoid extremeek peace through of accommodation. message published Uthayan, Bishop Inayagam said the to broadcast on the Day had held out end the war. The p said, were being 'stroyed because of pealed to the LTTE alogue to bring an onflict in a spirit of
i consider the i on the people by ions in the course und “you must take uman angle.”
Bishop Savundranayagam asked the government to give up the concept of waging 'war for peace and stop paying only lip service to the goal of attaining peace. The government should set aside its particular likes and dislikes and take bold steps towards bringing a lasting peace, he said.
He appealed to the opposition UNP to look at the ethnic question and the war from a non-partisan angle in the interest of the welfare of the people. The Bishop urged the opposition to sincerely co-operate with efforts to find a solution.
Addressing the Tamil parties, Bishop Savundranayagam appealed to them for unity as unity essential for survival. They should set aside their prejudices and mutual animosities and work for the common good of the Tamil people, he said.
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30 TAMILTIMES
MATRIMONIAL
Jaffna Hindu mother seeks professional partners for her son, 30, completing his medical program (MD) in UK and good looking daughter, 28, completing her medical degree in Sri Lanka. Send horoscopes, details. M 1073 C/o Tari firmeS.
Jaffna Hindu aunt seeks professional partner for fair attractive niece, 37, graduate teaching in Colombo. Send horoscope, details. M 1074 C/o Tarmil T irneS.
Jaffna Hindu mother seeks bride for son, 32, employed in UK. Send horoscope, details. M 1075 C/O armii TimeS.
Tamil parents seek professional partner for daughter, 29, pretty, fair, Canadian citizen, aCCOLInfant permanently employed, religion inmaterial. M 1076 C/O Tamil Times.
Jaffna Hindu father settled in UK seeks for daughter, 37, Widowed with Children, kind and sympathetic professional. Send details. M 1077 C/O Tanni
irreS.
Jaffna Hindu elders seek professional bride for professional engineeer, M.S., 48, single, US citizen, government employed, no encumbrances. Box 2226, Oxnard, CA 93034, USA. E-mail: Jkyle5@Juno.com
WEDDING BELLS
We congratulate the following couples on their recent wedding.
Jayakumar son of Dr. & Mrs. Nadarajah of “Thuvaraka”, Moolai, Chuliipuram and Sarala daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Kumarasamy of Uyarapulam, AnaicOddai. On 30th November
1998 at Uyarapulam, Uthunga Vinayagar Temple, Anaicoodai.
Murali son of Mr. & Mrs Neelakandan of 175 Kandy Road, (Chavakachcheri, Sri Lanka
CLASSIFIEDADS
ist20 words to each word 6op charge Box No. 3. (vat 17 12% extra). Prepayment e
The Advertisement Manager tani Times Ltd. PO Box 121
Sutton, Surrey SM13TD tehone: 0181-644 O972 FAX: 0181-241455.
ssential
and Padma Rani daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Narashiman of 40 Burges Road, East Ham, London E6 2BH or 14th DeCernber 1998 at London Sri Murugan Temple, Church Road, London E1.26AF
Mohamed Altaf Son Of Mr. & Mrs. M. Y.M. Raoof of Turtle Way, Seycelles and Fathima Maheesa daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Abdul Musawwir of 43 Kongtree Road, Galle, Sri Lanka On 15th December 1998 at The Civic Centre, Harrow, Middx., UK.
OBITUARIES
Miss Daisy Selvaranee Rasiah (78), Retired teacher, Vembadi Girls High School and Union College, daughter of late Mr. and Mrs. S. K. Rasiah of Tellipallai; loving sister of Mrs. Amirtharanee Ratnasingham, late V. R. Selvarajah, late H. R. Kanagarajah and TheVaranee, Sister-in-law of late Mr. S.J. Ratnasingham, Mrs. Selvaranee Kanagarajah (Australia) and Mrs. Inpamani Selvarajah (Sri Lanka), loving aunt of Dr. Kurnaran, Dr. Dayanthi Devasagayam, Vasanthi, late Rajan, Mohan, Thabitha Giritharan, Suthaharan, Suhanthi, Sutharmini Cheliah and Pamini; grand aunt of Loretta, Rebecca and Натуап passed away peacefully on 10th November 1998
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

and buried on 14. 11.98.
The members of the family thank all friends and relatives who helped them during the time of bereavement, attended the funeral, paid floral tributes, sent messages of condolence and shared in their grief. - 64 Jessup Close, London SE18 7HB Tel 0181 311 9967.
- 17, 1298)
Sivapakiam, beloved wife of the late A. Navaratnan, Retired Malayan Medical Service, passed away peacefully at the age of 90, in Yellowknife, Canada on 17th December 1998 and was cremated ir Edmontor or 22rd December.
She is the beloved mother of Anandavalli, mother-in-law of late T. Shanmugarajah, J.P., Attorney-at-law of Kondavil, grandmother of Sharmini, grand mother-in-law of Ranjit and great grand mother of Praveen and Ranjana all of Yellowknife, Canada.
She is also the beloved mother of Jeyatheva, formerly General Manager (Finance) of Walker, Sons & Co. Ltd., Colombo and later of Malawi and Botswana, nother-in-law of Sarojinidevi (Saro), grandmother of Shyamala and Revathy, grand mother-in-law of Balakrishnan and Rajan Rajasingham and great grandmother of Sathya, Sanjay and Nisha, all resident in Sydney.
She is also the beloved mother of Sugunatheva, formerly an Architect with British Rail and presently with Barnet Council, mother-in-law of Thangamanohari (Thanga), grandmother of Keshava and Keshini, all resident in London.
She is also the beloved nother of Vimalatheva, formerly Marketing Manager of Jafferjees and now at VTV Group and mother-in-law of Katpakeswari (Thevi) of
15 JANUARY 1999
Colombo.
She will be missed by her close family, relatives and friends.
The members of the family thank all friends and relatives for their attendance at the funeral, expressions of Sympathy and for all the assistance rendered during their bereavment. - N. Sugunatheva, 17 The Drive, Northwood, Middx., HA6 1 HQ. Tel 01923 825219.
Mr. Muttiah Selvaratnam, Retd., Government Servant, of Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka; born 3.5. 1919; son of late Veluppilllai Muttiah and Theilvanialipillai Muttiah of Vaddukoddai; beloved husband of late Saraswathy Pushpadevy; loving father of Varapirasathan (Oman Aviation SVCS), Senthan (UK) and Seyon (NDBS Stock Brokers Pvt Ltd.), brother of late VM. Wijeyaratnam, late VM. Seevaratnam, V.M. Sathianathan, late Mrs. Pathma vathy Thiagarajah, Mrs. Ponnalar Coomarasamy and Mrs. Jeyaladchumy Jeyasingham, passed away peacefully On 1 O. 12.98. The funeral took place at his residence, 13/11 Alexandra Road, Wella Watte, COlorombO 6 On f 2. í 2.98.
The family thank all relatives and friends Who attended the funeral, sent messages of sympathy and support during the period of great sorrow. - 99 Landseer Avenue, Manor Park, London E12 6HS. Tel: 0181 478 3785,
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Page 31
15JANUARY 1999
IN MEMORAM
First Death Anniversary
in loving memory of Mrs. Pakiaratnam Kandiah, wife of late Mr. Saravanamuthu Kandiah, daughter of late Mr. & Mrs. Ponnambalam, the only sister of Mrs. Parimalaratnam Thirunavukarasu of Yogaswamy's abode, Colombuthurai; beloved mother of Sivayogaratnam, Sivayoganathan, Sivayogeswary, Sivayogaiswaran and Sivayogan, loving mother-in-law of Varatharajah, Sivathasan, Umasakthy, Sivayogi and Amirthavalli on the first anniversary of her passing away on 3rd February 1998.
Fondly remembered and sadly missed by children, grand children and great grand children.
The members of the family thank all friends and relatives who condoled with them during the past year of great sorrow. - 3 New Leasow, Walmley, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham B76 1 YL.
Ranjit grandchildren Abhirami Sathya, Praneela, Praseetha Prashoban Pra veen anc Anjana. - 32 Anvil Way, Nortt Springfield, Chelmsford ESSex CM i 5LZ. Tel: 0124 466363.
Fourth Death Anniversary
In loving memory of Mrs. Ganeswary Tharmalingam of Konda vil East, Jaffna on the Sixth Anniversary of her passing away on 21. 1.93.
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by her loving husband Tharmalingam, children Brabalini, Brenjit and Ranjit son-in-law Dr. W.N. Lin- in loving memory of Mr ganandhan, daughters-in-law Sivagamasunthary Sitsap Dr. Vani Bremjit and Shamini san on the fourth anniversé
 
 
 
 

TAMILTIMES3
of her passing away on 19th January 1995.
It's four years since you died, And left us in tears and pain. Now you are gone, Though our lives go on, They will never be quite the Sane. Your life had touched so many, and though with us you had to part,
In Our ninds You have left behind Your warm and loving heart.
Fondly remembered and sadly missed by her husband Sitsapesan, son Manoharan, daughter Savitri, daughter-inlaw Rebecca, son-in-law Varathan and grandchildren Holly, Daniel and Luxmmi. - 6 Cambria Lodge, 2c Oakhill Road, London SW15 2CRU. Tel 018 1 870 1072
Fifth Death Anniversary
In loving memory of Justice Tellippalai Wanam Rajaratnam, retired Supreme Court Judge and Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka on the fifth anniversary of his passing away on 15th January 1994. "Love and remembrance Last for ever.
Sadly missed and dearly loved by his family.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 2 Feast of the presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Feb. 5 Feast of St. Agatha. Feb. 6 6.00pm Tamil Chamber of Commerce (UK) launches Two Tamil Books “Vinveliyil Veerakaviyangal” (Tamil Nadu Govt. 's First Prize winner) & 'Diana Vanjithara? Wanjikkaappattara?” authored by Dr. K. Indrakumar, at the Trinity Community Centre, East Avenue, Manor Park, London E12. All welcome; South London Tamil Welfare Group (S.L.T.W.G.) Drop in. Tel: 0.181 542 3285. Feb. 8 Feast of St. Scholastic. Feb. 11 Eekathasi. Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Feb. 13 Pirathosam, S.L.T.W.G. Women's Front meets. Tel: 0 181 542 3285. Feb. 14 Maha Sivarathiri. Feb. 15 Anna Vasai. Feb.19 Sathuirthi. Feb. 20 S.L.T. W.G. Drop in.
Tel 0181 5423285. Feb. 21 Shashti; Feast of St. Peter Dannian. Feb. 22 Karthigai. Feb. 26 Eekathasi. Feb.27 PirathOSarm. At Bhavan Centre, 4A Castletown Road, London W149HG. TEL: O181381 3O86,4068. Feb. 10 6.30pm Republic Day Celebrations. Chief Guest: His Excellency Sri Lalit Mansingh, High Commissioner for lndia. All WellCOrme. Feb. 14 400pm Maha Sivarathiri celebrations. Bhajans- Puja- Prasad. Als welCOe.
Dr. Jaishan Wins BBC Award
Dr. Jaishan K. Mahan won the Young Achiever's Award 1998 in the BBC ASian AwardS Programme conducted at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham in November.
Jaishan entered the Medical Faculty of Leicester University from Warwick School in 1992. During his medical studies, he achieved a certificate of Competence from the Trauma Centre, Washington, USA; received the CRueen's Commission from the British Army. He qualified in 1997. He won the university colours for rowing, is a keen Scuba diver and participated in the Belize Coral Quay project.
Jaishan is a keen mountaineer and has organised expeditions to Mt. Kilamanjaro in 1996, to Bolivia in 1997, both sponsored by the British Army. He has climbed Mt. Elbus, the highest in Europe.

Page 32
32 TAMIL TIMES
Bharata Natya Arangetram of Ahila and Mithila - An Appreciation
On St. Cecilia's day, November 22nd 1998, we were privileged to see the Dance Debut of Selvi Ahila and Selvi Mithia Ramakrishnan at the Secombe Theatre, Sutton. This Arangetram was special inasmuch as, from the outset we, the audience, were made to feel participants rather than mere spectators at a most important family event. We saw the Puja at the beginning that is the empowerment by God - through the agency of their Guru, Smt Subathra Shanteepan - of the young artistes. What a privilege and a joy to witness!
We Were thus enfolded as if Were in the Whole evening's performance, and followed with eager pleasure and pride each successive item in the well-balanced programme.
From her working with the highly-respected Dhananjayans and the fact that she had trained the two dancers, Smt Subathra Was able to bring choreography to bear in a brilliant manner. This was particularly in eviderice in the Clinnactic Varnann 'linnum en manam’ set to Charuheshi Ragam, and in the second half of the programme, the Bhajan in Raga Behag. The empathy between the two sisters, and between them and their Guru was particularly apparent and most moving,
No shade of the spectrum of the emotions or rasas was neglected, and I was especially struck by the moments of both pathos and humour that it up their programme.
Ahila and Mithila throughout their perfomance, exhibited outstanding qualities of dignity and composure, with a collected and thoughtful mien that made very clear to us all their deep appreciation of not only the cultural but the spiritual import of what they were doing. Bharatanatyam is not
merely an art form, bl ing experience of the indebted to the y dancers for sharing th evening.
Nattuvangam was c their Guru, Smt Suba. the loving care with V watched her pupils th exemplary, Ahila and supported by the voc their Guru in music at Mrs. Sivasakthi Sivar was a scintillating di performance. Our M the Bhavan, Sri M. B rhythmic accompanin festation of loving accompaniment on t Sri Kothandapan Gnanawarathan playe ly.
The excellent broch Ahia and Mithia, Ramakrisham, and and Smt Ruby Ra evening and thank th and hospitality and th two such delightful y Ahila ard Selvi Mithik
Maulia in V DOWnin
Maulia, ten year old c Selvarajah of Hal Wic Hart Hill Primary Sch the three top Luton c with Cherie Blair, the at Downing Street on Margaret Moran, MP the trio, after Luton SI three special pupils and thirteen. Maulia School as an all-rou ment extremely help budding author havi book.
After tea, she met
 
 

ita profoundly enrichspirit, and We are so southful and joyous heir talent With us that
of course provided by thra Shanteepan, and which she guided and Ie Whole evening was Mithila were warmly all accompaniment of Bhavan's UK Centre, esan, whose singing elight throughout the ridangam teacher at alachander, provided ment with every manisupport. Melodious he violin Cane from i and Sri P ld the flute delightful
7ure Was the Work of s dear father Sri We congratulate him nakrishnan on the enn for their kindness 'eir gift to the world of oung people as Selvi 8。
Dr. John R. Marr.
rited to 10 g Street
taughter of Mr. & Mrs. cks Road, and pupil of ool, Luton was one of hildren invited to tea Prine Minister's Wife 8th DeCernber 1998. for Luton South took Chools nontrated the aged between nine is described by her ind pupil of achieveul to everyone and a ng already written a
the Prime Minister,
15 JANUARY 1999
who congratulated her on her achievements, and to whom she presented a copy of the book, 'A Dangerous New World' authored by her. The visit of a lifetime ended With a tour of the House of Commons, live interview with Anglia televiSion on Westminster Green and a VIP dinner at Planet Hollywood.
Maulia's father Mr. N. Selvarajah was Chief Librarian, Evelyn Rutnam Institute for linter Cultural Studies, Jaffna, Sri Lanka before arriving in the UK.
indumathi's Well-interpreted
Performance
indumathi Srikumar from London gave a scintilating Bharatanatyam recital on 28th December 1998 at the Bharatha Vidya Bhavan Hall, Mylapore during the Chennai Music and Dance Festival, under the auspices of Sri Kapali Fine Arts. A disciple of the late Venkatachalapathi, she follows the Kalakshetra style. A ragamalika thalamalika Natyanjali composed by Dhananjayan Was the opening item, which was appealing. The Sriranjani Vanam, “Sami Nee' which describes Lord Muruga was the main item. The SanCharlis included the tale of Valli being duped by Muruga, disguised as a hunter and an old man, who finally reveals his true form to Valli. The interpretation was excellently enacted by indunnathi.
The intricate theemanams were very well executed with precise footwork. The song Karpagavalli' in praise of Karpaganbal, the Goddessat Kapali temple, composed by Veeramani lyer of Jaffna, interestingly depicted the Goddess who transforms herself into a peacock to worship the Lord. In "Kanden Kanden', an Arunachala Kavirayer composition, Anjaneya's happiness on seeing Sita was brought out beautifully with emotion. The Tillana, in Behag raga and Kanda Ekam tala was of a high standard highlighting the accurate footwork of the artiste.
Rajasekharan's excellent singing and nattuvangam were an asset to the perfor
mance. R. Thiagarajah - Flute, Seetharama Sarma Violin and Balachandran - Mridangam gave enor
mous support to the recital.

Page 33
15 JANUARY 1999
Shagobi and Shobitha
Friends, relatives and enthusiasts of Bharatha Natyam were provided with an unusual treat at the Logan Hall, University of London. On the 14th of November 1998. The hosts were VSSK (Gopal) and Mrs. Sakintha Kumarasamy presently of Essex. Their two pretty daughters Shagobi (18) and Shobitha (16) performed their Arangetram with such professionalism that the audience nearly forgot that this was a maiden concert and not a full scale performance by some professionals from Tamil Nadu. The vocal rendition, the accompaniments and above all the Nattuvangam uplifted the arangetram to an extremely high standard which you see only in Tamil Nadu Festivals.
Shagobi and Shobitha had their early education in Ooty, South India and learnt the grammar of Bharatha Natyam from K. R. Ponniah Pillai of Salem. After settling down in Essex, England they came under their present Gurus Pushkala Gopal and Unni Krishnan for the aesthetics of dance. Pushkala and Unnikrishnan, both from the Dhananjayan tradition of Tamil Nadu - need no introduction to Bharatha Natyam enthusiasts from Britain, where they are highly respected for their knowledge and style of presentation.
The performance opened with the Vinayaga Sthuthi - "Pirabo Ghanapathi” – a song by the great Saint Gnanananda of Thabovanam made popular by his chief disciple Swami Haridas - the singing saint of the South.
After Alariippu, “Eru Mayil Eri Vilyadum Mugam' - on Murugan and the Jathiswaram, Shagobi presented a beautiful composition in Telugu by Sri Annamacharya - a sacred song on the deity at Thirupathi. Next followed the Varnam presented as the Nrithyobaharam, a composition in Tamil by Smt Kalpagasundari, mother of Pushkala Gopal. "Aranginiley Aada Vanthal” - a selection from Chilapathikaram, one of the greatest of Tamil Classics described the performance by Maadhavi in King Pandyas Court was a memorable composition by Sri Thandayuthapani Pillai and was excellently performed by Shobitha.
The Ashtapathi - Jayadev's love lyrics on Radha's love for Krishna could not have been more adequately performed. Although performed alone by Shagobi, the audience saw two Radhas on stage. The
Guru Pushkalas Solo ashtapathi with a than ported the audience Well done Guru and S The item ChoSen fo indeed a happy choic poet, lnu vil Veeraman the Das Avatharam (T God Vishnu especially from Jaffna for Shagot did justice to this dram Special mention sho Choice Of a SOlo nale the programme. Sriv singer brought down fr soothing voice wh Arangetram right from up to the Thillana Congratulations to Shabogi and Shobitha. W
Vanee’s Bhai Arange
On September 12, daughter of Dr. Thiru of Staten Island, New dent of Shoba Sharrr. Natya Arangetram a Theatre in North B USA. This event was, Seven hundred ari lo Shoba Sharma is a Dhananjayans and is Academy of Indian Philadelphia, Pennsy Mr. Robert Brownin of the World Music City was the Gue Arangetram. Mrs. S also graced the OCC appearance.
Vanee was accon from India and Can, Parameswaran - Vo Mridangam, B. Mul Thanathevy Mithrad pere was Vanees Ketheescharan.
The honour and pr student of Shoba S Arangetam couldn't Student. Vanee is also had the bhavy
 
 
 
 

TAM TIMES 33
all rendition of the Or in hand transect to GOkulam. ya. he Sabthan Was Jaffna's greatest er had composed reincarnations) of imposed and sent and Shobitha, who ic duet. d be made of the ocalist throughout San - a reputed n Bangalore had a h enriched the he Pillayar Sthuthi and Mangalam. e Kumarasamis,
mal Sockanathan.
atha Natya trann
1998, Vanee Siva, Siva and Rathy Siva York; a senior stua, had her Bharatha the Edward Nash anch, New Jersey, tended by well over
S. senior disciple of the he founder of Natya Classical Dance in vania, USA. , the artistic director Istitute in New York of Honour at the antha Dhananjayan :ion with her special
anied by musicians la. They were Baba l, V. Vedakrishnan - ikumar - Flute and a - Violin. The Comunt Mrs. Niranthari
lege ofbeing the first rma to have had an ave gone to a better t only talented, but humility that makes
her dance all the more beautiful. A lot was expected of Vanee and she lived up to the expectations with a flawless and thrilling presentation. She exhibited excellent skills in nritta and abhinaya. Her expressive face and precise footwork made her recital a pleasure to watch. in recognition of her artistic talent, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts presented her with an Apprenticeship Award and Grant to continue her education and training in Bharatha Natyam.
Hartley College Past
Pupils' Association (UK) As the Hartley College Past Pupils' Association attained its Sixteenth year of existence, the Annual General Meeting and Dinner were held On 7th November 1998 at one of the most prestigious venues in the UK - The Oueen's Stand of the Epsom Race Course.
After the toast for the Queen proposed by Mr. Easwaramohan, the President of the association, the toast for Hartley College was proposed by Mr. R. Raveendraingam, Secretary of the Trustees. Mr. A. Sriharan, the Vice-President proposed the toast for the association. Dr. M. Theivendra, the renowned Johnian Cricketer was the Guest Speaker and his speech was followed by the toast for the guests proposed by Mr. S. Surendranathan.
The eminent old boy, the legendary cricketer, scorer of centuries and Captain of the College Cricket team, Mr. M. Nadarajasunderam was the Chief Guest. He is the president of the Point Pedro branch of the Past Pupils' Association and is the Head of the Department of Management Studies at the Jaffna University. In a touching speech on the achievements of Hartley College in the present volatile political situation, he appealed for assistance from the old boys for the essential needs of the college. The secretary Dr. B. Baskaran proposed a vote of thanks in verse and the proceedings ended with Three Hearty Cheers from Mr. T. Rajkumar.
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34 AMIL TIMES
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鰻 0181-7632221 En Regulated by Personal Investment Authority for Investment Business only. http://www.p-srinivasan-arm.co.uk

Page 35
Q) hc Ofirst & G|Best Oai
R
WST US N0W FOR LATEST 220T. GOLD JEWELLERIES
Thali Kodi, Necklace sets, Pathakkams, Various types of Ear Studs
WEAREAT YOUR SERVICE SEVEN DAYS AWEEK
23O UPPER TOOTING ROAD
TEL: OIBI-767 5445。
Web: http://www.
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స్వా Ο &o BRINGS YOU A GRAN
on AR
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ll.9 Tooting High str 73782 Te1: O181-672 Internet: Http: e-mCil; OCCG
MOOile. O850 876 92
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMIL TIMES 35
uif Jewcíter Coln Condon
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WIDERANG
OF STOCKS ALWAYS
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Jimmikkies, Panchayuthams, Chains, Bangles Etc. Etc.
WE PERFORM THAL POOJA AS WELL
FAX: O 8-767-35753 uxmi.com/Western
NGS LTD) � Q,
69 ASENIS Z 22, ID NEW YEAR OFFER 2's,
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9111 (6 Lines)
'SkyWingS,CO, uk A SkyWingS.CO, uk 為為查
FOX: Ol 81-672 095
|NJSTANJ || 24 HR. TICKETING

Page 36
SHIPPING – AR FR
UN ACCOMPANIED BAGGAGE — PEFRISON WEHICLES, MAC
To COLOMBO AND OTHER
MAIN AGENT FOR ΥΣ Passenger Tickets and Unac
Barded by the Civil Aviation Arthd
Please Contact Us For Wa TO CO ||Ombo And C DeStina
GLEN CARRIE
14 Allied Way, off Warple Telephone: 0181 7
Fax: 01:
BONDED Laksirisewa, 2533 Awissa well
APPLE AIR is
MAN AGENT for COLOMBO
SALITI)IAM, O JORDANIAN BRITISH AIRWAYS QATR ر میریابع/Z TIEL: OS-563 O364 IFAXiKi: 0.1861-741-S 4.912 E-mail:appleair gapplicairbtinternet.com Web Site:www.btinternet.com/appleair-applcair BAAILMAN 35-HTWN NUW.W." E 376 -- TAW E396 +TAN EMRATES E-75 --N Q. AT VAR 37()-H-ITWAN | B.V. | - ON RELLEST
Main Agents for BALKAN, QATAR & BA
338A King Street, (R 7.303 London W60RR
 
 
 
 

EIGHT - TRAVEL
JAL EFFECTS, HOUSEHOLD GOODS HINERY ETC.
WORLD WIDE DESTINATIONS
AIRLANKA
Companied Baggage స్ట్రా
riyfor yourfacial securiy
rious Discounted Fares ther World Wide tions
RS LIMITED
Way, Acton, London W3 ORC 40 8379/O181 749 0595 (
B1 40 4229
WAREHOUSE a Road, Colombo 14 Tel: 575576 || 795
SHIPPING LTD
LLLLLLLL0LLLLLLL LLLL LL TLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLSLLLL S S LELCLLLLLEELLL LLLLLLLLS LLLLLLaLaLLLLSq
Vessel Name closfig Date Sailing Arrival CEO
Hanjin Chriyang 4.11.g ፰Š.û1 (}Š..] 1፰.ùሯ' gŠ
Han|Iri WalBritii .. 1.23 ፵õ.ùጋ ፵Š
Hārijimi WilrTiirgturm FF ՀE.Ա: Այ* 12,03.
CANADA ALUSTRAUM
Trico Shipping - 85 Lisduwa Ay, ill, 24-2 Crick, Sülte 22, Troi, DH. IGH 3. Tullarine. Toll Free: 1--51 Victor 3 Tell: A16 53 3 Tel 135
uf modern Warehouse and offices are under one root with ample car a king facilities whore our custoriars have the extra benefit of açkiring higir goods the T&Llwys with o Lur assistarCE
le ofera friandiyard professional servica al competitive ratas. Once Xur goods are in our hands. We guarantee a sale arid efficient delivery your destination. We also olfer two weeks free demurrage to Our LLLLMLaaaL LLLL LLLLL LLLLaLaaLaLaL L LMMkH
IHE LEADINGSRI LANRAN SHIPPING AND FREIGHT FORWARDING COMPANY IN THE UK Trico International Shipping Ltd
Unit 4...Building "C"The Business Centreat Wood Green,
Clarendon Rd, London N22 6XJ
Te: 05-8888787 Fax: 0 1878395445