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Tamil
TIME
VOLXIX No. 1 ISSN 0266.4488 15 AN
KLITE PITETIEEET
O Murder of Ponnambalan O Bomb Blasts in Colombo
 
 

*#ا+يځ+ மின்திடு
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ມີ.
Funeral Procession in Colombo
O Presidential Election O BOOst for Peace Process

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2 TAMILTIMES
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நீங்கள் தொடர்புகொள்ளவேண்டியவர்கள் Harry Mahendran Asoka Fernando
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

15 JANUARY 2000
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15 ANUARY 2000
5. "I do not agree with a wor
of what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.”
-Völtaire
怒
Tani
7TJIMMIE
ISSN 0266 - 44 88 Vol. XIX No. 1 15 JANUARY 2000
Published by:
TAMIL TIMESLTD PO Box 121, Sutton,
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CONTENTS
A Tragic Commentary O3 Boost for Peace Process 04 Tiger in the Lion's Den 05
LTTE Expresses Shock 06 Bomb Attacks in Colombo 10
Terrorism Convention 11 Presidential Election Results 12 Rape and Murder 12 North-East Insights 13 Search Operations 14
Presidential Election 1999 15 Chandicka's BBC interview 19 Who Killed Ponnambalam? 21
The Highjack Crisis 25 Crises as Catalysts 27 Classified 30
AT
Sri Lanka was alre to the second millenni the tribal nature of poli of all parties - whether and deeper totally obli represent, speak andf
If the wish is to Commonsense to prev weeks that led to andf of such a trend in sight It was a month Of V attacks and assassinat Kumaratunga won a se political air became hig in which the main oppos and even some tycoor been involved, Those V against the governmer Then there was t Outspoken Critic of the supporter" of the Tamil but the perpetrators of Another Tamil law also an internationally tragic fate that befell a Was an unprecedentec Some within the Tamil of the COndemnation th somany Tamils are bei publicity to an individua The answer is sim known and high profile a society in which, grO have become a familia Whether One likes it Or attract wider attention personalities, one can mobilise Concern and a Today many, more murder, Why? Everyor rights. No One should Confessed murderes an politician who is entitle an internal armed COInf many detained withoutt of his right to free expre! its leaders and their ac without mincing words and by extension in su|
Like many others, and his children have lic 1999, If internationally selectively, then those motivations with which
It has to be noted Tamil political leader O' or the mixed variety -h and that is the true anc politics, the last to ha leader G GPOnnamba of the Tamil United Lib Only exception being th Thondaman, who pass send-off into history,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMLTMES 3
ragic Commentary
ady in a deep hole in the form of its intractable ethnic conflict in the run-up m. In such a situation, commonsense demands you must stop digging. But Cs in Sri Lanka has not permitted Commonsense to prevail. The politicians f the violent or non-violentor the mixed variety - Continued digging deeper ious to the fact that they themselves and the people whom they claim to ght for are in an abyss of their Own Creation.
merge Out of this abyss, then first and foremost, One should permit il and stop digging and find ways and means of getting Out of it. But the lowed the ushering in of the new millennium did not provide any evidence
olence characterised by continuing war in the north-east and suicide bomb Ons in the south in the context of a presidential election, in which Chandrika cond six-year term as President having survived an assassination bid, The hly polluted with allegations of a Conspiratorial plot against the government ition party, some leading businesspersonalities, elements within the military S and editors in the privately-owned media industry were alleged to have tho were accused by the government of the plot made Counter-allegations
of a witch-hunt. e brutal assassination of the Tamil politician, Kumar Ponnambalam, an government and belatedly to become, in his own words, an "inveterate Tigers. His assassin and those behind his murder are yet to be identified, this brutal Crime have to be condemned unreservedly, ter-politician like Kumar Ponnambalam was Neelan Tiruchelvam. He was renowned human rights activist and Constitutional lawyer, Hence, for the Tamil politician in the little island often ignored by the world media, there level of universal Condemnation of his assassination in July last year, community were Critical of the Outpouring of grief and the scale and extent at followed Tiruchelvam's murder. The question from the Critics was, when ng killed in this ethnic conflict, why concentrate, highlight and give so much l's murder, and why does he deserve it. ple. The practice of deliberate and premeditated murders of even well personalities without fear of Consequences for such acts is symptomatic of ss human rights violations, including arbitrary and extra-judicial killings, ir phenomenon to which many more Ordinary civilians become victims. not, it is the violations against and even killing of such personalities that and concern. And it is by drawing attention to the fate that befall such seek to portray the reality of the situation that prevails, and attract and tention to the grave malady that afflicts the whole society, ; SO his wife and children, mOurn and Condemn Kumar Ponnambalam's e has a right to life and that is the fundamental right of all other human arbitrarily deprive another's life, and this right is available even to self. d traitors under the United Nations Charter, Kumar was an unarmed Civilian } to the protection of international humanitarian law even in the context of ct. Kumar was a lawyer who made his services available in the defence of ial and many accused under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. In the exercise sion, in his speeches and writings, he was a severe Critic of the government, tions. Pursuant to the same right to which he was entitled, he spoke Out n defence of what he perceived as the interests of the Tamil Community port of the LTTE, y the commission of this heinous Crime, Kumar's wife has lost her husband st their father in January 2000 just as Neelan's wife and children did in July ecognised human rights are deemed to be universally applicable and not hocarried out these murders, wherever they originated from or whatever hey acted, stand condemned, }r the record and for some of us to be enlightened that, in recent times, no some standing - belonging to political parties of the violent or non-violent shad the fortune of departing this world otherwise than by violent means, tragic commentary of Our times. Of the recent political gladiators in Tamil had the fortune of natural death were the All Ceylon Tamil Congress lm and the founder leader of the Federal Party later to become the leader 'ation Front SJVChelvanayakam, and that was many decades ago, The patriarch of the plantation Tamils of the central highlands in the island, S jaway recently having served his people from whom he received agrateful

Page 4
4 TAMILTIMES
olitical developments in Colombo P seem to indicate a positive trend. The government has announced a program to find a political solution to the island's ethnic problem. The peace process may be on track to be progressed in stages in quick succession. The government is planning to table a new draft constitution in the parliament before April this year.
In the first stage, the government will brief the political parties in the ruling People's Alliance and in the second stage have discussions with the political parties representing minority communities in Sri Lanka. In the third stage, the government will have detailed discussions with the main opposition United National Party with a view to reaching a consensus on the proposed political peace package.
Thereafter the government would invite the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for peace talks. In the fifth stage a new draft constitution will be tabled in Parliament during the month of April.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has appointed a committee comprising members of her alliance parties to work out modalities to expedite the process of getting the devolution package through Parliament.
A positive reaction from the Tamil Tigers to the new moves in Colombo is crucial to the ending of the protracted ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
The peace process received an unexpected boost 19 January when the main opposition UNP made a U-turn and pledged legislative support to the government's peace plan, which has been circulation since 1995. “The signals are positive and the peace process
A Boost for Peace P
is moving forwardo government official ed as saying.
Kumaratunga” plan, which seeks t intoa de facto feder by the UNP, which the mandatory tw needed to push it th parliament.
Norway confiri that a trip to Sri Minister Knut Vo peace talks betwee and the LTTE was the Sri Lankan Forei man Kadirgarmar w ek’s visit is to be re as possible.
Another senior mat, State Secretar men, has been inv mediate talks betw. government and th to reports from Osl Tamil and leftis welcomed the une) support for Kumara which they said wo peace process. They to seize the opportu
Dharmalingam the People's Libera Tamil Eelam (PLO always maintained a consensus betwee sident Kumaratung for there to be lasti ntry.” Many sectic su-rprised at the stance by the UN opposed the gove for the last five ye. desperate gamble
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15 JANUARY 2000
ce again,”a senior n Colomb is quot
power-sharing turn the country | state, was stalled efused to provide -thirds majority ough the island's
ed few days ago anka by Foreign lebaek to broker the government lostponed because gn Minister Lakshis abroad. Vollebascheduled as soon
Norwegian diplo/ Wegger Stroemblved in efforts to cen the Sri Lankan e LTTE according D. it parties here have (pected opposition tunga’s peace plan, uld help revive the urged the president Inity.
Sidhathan, leader of ion Organisation of TE) said, “We have hat there should be n the UNP and Prea's People Alliance gpeace in thiscouns in Colombo are sudden change of P leader who has nment's proposals rs. Some see it as a keep the UNP and
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his lead-ership of it intact.
In recent weeks, it was speculated that many MPs from the UNP were to split and cross over to the government. There were also reports of a challenge to his leadership. In a letter to President Chandrika Kumaratunga on 19 January Wickremesinghe said that despite reservations, his party would extend parliamentary support to the constitutional reforms that include controversial measures for devolution of power. In his letter, Mr. Wickremesinghe said, "It is our position that your course of action is not the solution. But since you do not have another solution we will not stand in the way of the course of action you intend to adopt. Therefore in order to ensure that it is successfully introduced we will extend to you our support in Parliament.”
According to ruling party sources, the government would now extend an official invitation to the UNP leader to join the peace process and he would. also be requested to name at least three members to the committee already appointed by the President to make the changes to the new constitution.
Wickremesinghe’s overtly conciliatory offer came amidst reports that the government was planning to introduce a bill that would enable Opposition members to cross over to the Government without losing their seats in Parliament.
The government had planned to push through parliament the "cross-over” bill so that her Government can muster the mandatory two-thirds support required to pass the constitutional reforms through Parliament.
It was being speculated that a number of UNP members were ready to switch allegiance to the ruling People's Alliance (PA) for a variety of inducements, but could not as they would lose their seats in Parliament under existing anti-defection provisions.
By extending UNP support to the package, Wickremesinghe was seen as trying to blunt the rationale for a proposed legislation that will splinter his party and threaten his leadership of it. Latest reports from Colombo indicate that the government itself has decided to abandon the plan to proceed with the Cross Over Bill. They said the government was now in the process of trying to work out a method to seek the two-thirds majority in the House through a dialogue with all political parties represented in parliament. O

Page 5
19 ANUARY 2000
KUMAR PONNAMB TIGER IN THE
LION
DBs Jeyara
T he moving fingeroffate has etched the name of one more Tamil political leader in the roll of departed souls. All Ceylon Tamil Congress General Secretary and leading lawyer Kumar Ponnambalam was shot dead in the predominantly Tamil suburb of Wel lawatte in Colombo on January 5th. G.G. Ponnambalam junior as he was described officially was a flamboyant and controversial politician who stridently fought the Sinhala political estab-lishment in the name of the Tamil cause. In recent times he was bold enough to project himself as an "unall-oyed and unrepentant supporter” of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam while living in the heart of the capital. His death has sent shock waves within the Tamil community particularly the Dias-pora.
The identity of his killer or killers is yet unknown. An element of mystery shrouds it. January 5th saw an explosion at Flower road at the gates of the Prime Minister's office at 9.05 am. A woman with explosives strapped to her body had detonated herself when suspicious police persons tried to frisk her bodily. At least 13 people were killed and 29 injured as a result. When news about this incident spread tension was prevalent amidst the Tamil population of Colombo which feared reprisals.
Kumar Ponnambalam was planning to go out with his son to inspect a Benz car which he intended buying and adding to his fleet of 19 cars of that make. After hearing about the explosion he decided not to go out and instead set about arranging his files and papers. At about 10am a man dressed in a blue shirt and black trousers who identified himself as "Shantha' called on Kumar at his "Gitanjali" residence in Queens Road, Colombo 3. When informed of Shantha's arrival by his aide Thomas, Kumar asked him to send the man in.
After talking with him for about 30
minutes in the ho Shantha. Instead ( himself drove wit his side. Kumar t he would be back not say where he w
driving a dark blu 2590. He wore a with a flowery di slacks. He seemed travelling with S removed his wat before going, a f only after his deat According to person called Sha ing and talking wi from November certain occasion telephoned whil from home, his Shantha's telepho his father could ca been evasive. Wh bers had asked him tha was, Kumar Shantha was calli he was handling Thomas who let S day has gone on re the man was a S spoke Sinhala flue however has aris because some Ta correspondents in ed the name as "S typical Tamil nam Barely an ho
 
 
 
 
 
 

use, Kumar left with bfa chauffeur Kumar h Shantha sitting by old the servants that in an hour. He did as going. Kumar was
Benz numbered 65plack and white shirt esign and dark blue quite comfortable in hantha. Kumar had tch, gold chain etc act that was realised h.
family members a ntha had been phonth Kumar on and off 999 onwards. On a when Shantha had : Kumar was away son had asked for ne number to which ill him, Shantha had en his family memas to who this Shanhad explained that ng him about a case for him. The aide hantha in on the fatal cord that he assumed inhalese because he ntly, Some confusion en about the name mil newspapers and Colombo had reporthanthan', which is a
, ir later Kumar Pon
AMEL TIMES 5
nambalam was discovered murdered at
Wellawatte by passrs by. His car was found parked at Ramakrishna Terrace a lane that links Ramakrishna and Vivekananda roads on the sea side. Kumar's body was found slouching at the drivers seat. The front window of the air conditioned vehicle had been lowered some inches. It is presumed that the assassin had fired the two lethal shots through the opening. The shooting was precise with one bullet on the head and the other in the chest. A standard Browning 9 mm was presumed to be the murder weapon. Since no one in the neighbourhood had heard shots it is suspected that a silencer was used. There was no sign of the man called Shantha. Subsequently Police have said that there was evidence that another person too had been sitting in the rear seat of Kumar's car for a while. No one knows as to why Kumar went out with Shantha or why he came to that place.
The LTTE was quick to accuse the Sri Lankan government and its "quis-ling tamil groups' of the killing. The tone and tenor of President Kumaratunga's victory speech warning LTTE supporters in the South to beware and Kumar's hardhitting rejoinder to the President provided the backdrop to the allegation that the government was in some way connected with Kumar's killing. The Tigers also praised Kumar in a special press release. He was also honoured posthumously by LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakharan who conferred the title "Maamanithan' or eminent person on him.
The pitch was queered further when a hitherto unknown outfit calling itself the National movement Against Tigers sent letters by fax in Sinhala to media institutions. It stated that Kumar Ponnambalam had been executed by their organizations for supporting the LTTE. Four related reasons were given. It was signed by a self styled commander in chief"Vijaya Ranabahu'. It also threatened to kill others who helped the LTTE directly or indirectly. The note was reminiscent of the warnings issued by the JVP in the old days. This note fuelled suspicion that a Sinhala extremist organization with or without armed forces collaborators had sprung up in Colombo.
The situation was further confoun

Page 6
6 TAMILTIMES
ded by a message of sympathy sent to Mr. Ponnambalam by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Though the content of the message was formal and normal the confusion was in the date. The message hand-delivered by the President's Security division officials was dated 6th May 1999. This again has led to much speculation. Had the Presidential secretariat made a simple error or was there more to it than what met the eye was the question. Had the month been written in numerals the mistake could have been perceived as genuine but here it was written in letters. One newspaper drew attention to the fact that Kumar had in April 1999 attended a pro LTTE conference in Canada after which certain rumours about Kumar's position vis-a-vis the LTTE had circulated in the country. In any event the official press release that announced the President's letter of sympathy stated that the message was dated 7th Jan 2000. Various conspiracy theories, including the unexplained relationship of Kumar with the mysterious "Shantha', are now being circulated about the circumstances that led to Kumar's murder.
Kumar Ponnambalam was 61 years
old when he died. He
ust 12th 1938. His known was the brillial and politician G G PC led the All Ceylo. ress(ACTC). Kumar v Patricks Jaffna , Roya bo and also at Aquina eded to Britain wher LLB from London C MA from Cambridge as a Barrister. Upon Lanka he concentra career while dabblin more so after his fa married Yogalakshm hter of Murugesampi tional governmentage as she is generally kn leading neuro surgec Kumar leaves behin son Mrinalini, a doctc dans nursing home,
Gajendrakumar, a lav the chambers of em Counsel Daya Perera
Kumar was the
Youth league preside: was alive. After the de Ponnambalam in 197 contested for the Jaffr
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is born on Augher as is well criminal lawyer nambalam who Tamil Congs educated at St. College ColomHe then procehe obtained an liversity and an He also passed returning to Sri 2d on his legal in politics too ner’s death. He the eldest daugai a former addiht of Jaffna. Yogi wn is one of the ns in Sri Lanka. a daughter and rattached to DurKollupitiya and yer practising at inent Presidents in Colombo. Tamil Congress ht while his father mise ofthe senior 7 February Kumar a seat in the 1977
15 JANUARY 2000
general elections as an Independent. The Tamil Congress itself had become a constituent of the Tamil United Liberation Front then. Kumar contested against the TULF as that party denied him nomination for the Jaffna seat. The break became permanent in 1978 when Kumar succeeded in reviving the Tamil Congress as a legally separate entity though erstwhile Congressmen like the Sivasithambarams etc were now in the TULF.
The TAmil Congress under Kumar strove valiantly to carve out its own niche in Tamil politics but met with little success. Kumar contested many elections including the Presidency in 1982 but was not successful. In the process, however, he played a useful role as a watchdog of Tamil interests. His most notable contribution was in 1988 when he co-authored along with former Liberal Party leader Chanaka Amaratunga the Democratic Peoples Alliance manifesto of Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike. At this time he had very little in common with the separatist line adopted by the different Tamil militant groups. As time progressed Kumar became increasingly distrustful of the Sinhala political establishment and adopted a tough
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15 ANUARY 2000
Tamil line.
In the 1994 general election he contested in the Colombo district leading a group of Independents. He was routed obtaining a derisory number of votes. Thereafter Kumar became more radical. He was particularly scornful and scathing in his attacks on the TULF and other Tamil groups and parties and dubbed them as "quislings” for their "collaborative politics'.
He lost faith in the ideal of a united Lanka and became enamoured of the Thimphu principles which asserted the right of self-determination for the Tamils. In recent times he publicly and repeatedly articulated the view that separation was the only way out for the Tamils, and this he did in spite of the fact that, under the sixth amendment to the island's constitution, advocacy of separatism was declared an offence. The past five years has seen Kumar blazing forth as a bitter critic of Kumaratunga and an ardent advocate of the LTTE though it is a banned orgainsiation in Sri Lanka. He travelled all over the world attending confrences, seminars, mass meetings and rallies organised pro-LTTE Tamil expatriates to espouse the LTTE cause. He also wrote and spoke on the same lines while in Colombo. In spite of all this his party remained the All Ceylon Tamil Congress still.
A commendable feature about Kumar was his service to the Tamil community as a lawyer. There was a time when Kumar was a successful lawyer arguing a variety of cases and minting money in the process. He even learnt Sinhala and conducted his cases in that language. In recent times he had transformed himself into a virtual Tamil rights lawyer. Most appearances were over PTA and emergency regulation detentions, cases under PTA, writs of habeas corpus, trials of alleged army offenders like Kokkatticholai and human rights violations etc. He took up unpopular causes like appearing for some of the accused in the Central Bank Bombing incident for example. At the same time he had his own code. When some of his clients were implicated in the attempted murder of EPDP leader Douglas Devananda at the Kalutarajail he refused to appear for them. It must be remembered that when Kumar took his oaths (owing allegience to Sri Lanka's unitary constitution) under the Sixth Amendment, he explained it as being necessary to retain his eligibility
to practise his pro Kumar Poni very frank and cliche he did not n lomacy was abser lot ofenemies. Als ed his communica rtheless it has to b he has not hesitate and mighty in the he has drawn atte acts of commissio ting the Tamil pec most Tamil politic only praise for Ch Kumaratunga”, the lot of Kumart that sense the irri shouted out that " clothes'. Kumar P. one man Tamil o! regime, and his crl Kumaratunga wer Another rema him was his cour have acquired an personal and politi years. As to wheth and content of the him achieved any another matter but that his very act of was a factor to be he himself has stat occasion Kumar b had to say what he right in Colombo, when his father a Tamil pride withir his slogan "Thami Thalai nimirnthu i are a Tamil and your head high). In personified that slo This display c described as fool tionistic by his cri denying that it di were mutually a Tamils were impre: most Sinhalese w cular Tamil expatr or six years ago to of him, were ama vura. Whenever he was always asked geous enough to S and take on the g Kumar would repl immodesty, "It's open support of th made a great impr described as the "

2ssion as a lawyer. imbalam was also rthright. To use a nce his words. Dip. This earned him a it sometimes bluntive capacity. Neveacknowledged that to confront the high rocess. By doing so tion to many of the and omission affecple. At a time when ans in the Island had undrika magnanimity it was ) dissent. He was in pressible boy who he emperor had no innambalam was the position to the PA ticisms of President
quite vitriolic. rkable thing about age. He seemed to immense degree of cal courage over the er the abrasive style challenges posed by worthwhile result is there is no denying confrontation itself reckoned with. As ed on more than one elieved that a Tamil had to say staying There was a time roused a collective the community by lan endru solladaa, illadaa' (State you stand erect holding recent times the son gan. f courage has been hardy and exhibiics. Yet there is no strike chords that tagonistic. Many sed by Kumar while re angry. In partiates, who only five k very little notice 2d at Kumar's bratravelled abroad he now he was couraay on in Colombo vernment openly. with characteristic n my blood'. His LTTE in particular ssion. He has been iger who growled
TAML TIMES 7
within the Lion’s den”. He was very much a darling of the Tamils abroad. He may have never won an election in Sri Lanka but if he solicited expatriate Tamil votes Kumar would have been a sure winner.
Another notable trait was his persevering fighting spirit and never say die attitude. His party the All Ceylon Tamil Congress had become a caricature of its former self. Only a handful of members remained. Kumar himself had been consistently rejected by Tamil voters be it in Jaffna or Colombo. A lesser person would have called it quits and retired to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle that was very possible given his immense wealth. But this man would bounce back each time and move on from election to election. His greatest political ambition was to enter Parliament, a goal that has constantly eluded him.
Nevertheless by his political resilience and recent reorientation of his political ideology he managed to endear himself to a large segment of the Tamils. For the first time after 1956 the Ponnambalam's were on the dominant side of Tamil politics. There is the irony of sweet revenge for the Tamil Congress in this. After being dubbed as traitors by the Federalists for several decades the tables were turned. The erstwhile Federal Party leaders now of the TULF are the ones he called traitors and quislings. Kumar and the Congress had been salvaged and redeemed.
Whatever Kumar Ponnambalam's current Avatar in politics those who knew him well were aware that he was not a Tamil racist though he espoused an extremely hawkish Tamil line. In that respect he was very much a mirror image of some counterparts in Sinhala politics who mouth communal drivel but in personal life are non-racist. Kumar was in reality a Colombo Son of the Soil. He was in his element when going for the Royal Thomian. It was his background and connections that enabled him to a very great extent to remain in Colombo and espouse the Tiger line. It was also that which helped greatly in getting his point across to the Sinhala dominated media.
But another aspect that helped him in his lifestyle that bordered on political brinkmanship was the fact that he was never taken seriously by the English speaking elite. To them he was merely GG’s “Junior'. Indeed Kumar's predicament in his younger days was his

Page 8
TAMILTIMES
being compared and contrasted with his father. Ponnambalam senior was the standard by which Ponnambalamjunior was measured. It took years for him to outgrow this. Despite his controversial views those who knew him well regarded him only as an "enfant terrible" of Tamil politics. Despite his tigerish growls to some he was at best like chairman Mao's description of imperialism - a paper tiger.
Sadly the enfant terrible of Tamil politics was being perceived by some sections of the Sinhala masses as a dangerous Tiger living in their midst. Kumar himself contributed to that perception by his public pronouncements and writings. The real LTTE cadres in Colombo do not advertise the fact that they are LTTE for obvious reasons. But Kumar though no disciple of Prabakharan was asserting that he was a follower of the Tiger philosophy. As the LTTE itself has stated in the statement issued after Kumar's death he was the "only Tamil leader who openly and fearlessly supported the armed freedom struggle of the liberation Tigers". He kept on flaunting it in the face of his adversaries and went on taunting them. One gathers from Kumar's relatives that he knew death was inevitable. Yet he carried on as usual, issuing challenges to the state. When President Kumaratunga issued a warning to supporters of the LTTE in Colombo, Kumar took up the challenge and brazenly flung down the gauntlet.
One supposes that the assassins must be pleased with themselves for killing Kumar dubbed as the "de facto spokesperson of the LTTE in Colombo'. But what has been lost on these killer squads is the fact that Kumar being alive was a living testament to the tolerance of Sinhala society. As long as he was allowed to speak out fearlessly and forthrightly from Colombo the democratic credentials of the government were enhanced. The fact that Kumar could speak, write and act the way he did was proof of the permissiveness and accommodative ability of the "Sinhala' state. The fact that many newspapers, owned and edited by Sinhalese provided considerable space to publish his articles and statements was also an extension of this tolerant state of mind. One wonders whether the felling in one stroke or to be exact two rounds of gunfire is reflective of a changing situation towards intolerance. O
Kum LO
Investigators in Ponnambalam's kill of “inclusion and el that it was a secon one who travelled the politician. Inve convinced that it wa gang involved in th that the man calle called at his home with Ponnambalam murder is abscondi a suspect in the crir A spent bullet r hin the car on the fc driver's seat and twi ngs recovered outsic tohed to the Govern ballistic examinatic CDB chief, Sen Bandula Wickrem investigations said t who called at Ponna January 5 had been the inmates of th household. But it ha that this man mig with the politician from November las Mr. Ponnamba
LTTEExpr
The LTTE who shock and grief, Lanka government groups' of master of Kumar Ponnam The LTTE in a 5 January said, "T of Tamil Eelam express its deep s griefover the bruta ar Ponnambalam, leader who fear hypocrisy of the audaciously cham the Tamil nation. We accuse th ment and the Tamr masterminding heinous crime to s voice ofreason th of the Tamils.

15 JANUARY 2000
ar's Murder, Police )k for "TW0 Man”
Killer Squad
uiring into Kumar ng, after a process mination' believe man and not the his car that shot stigators are now a 'two-man killer mission. The fact "Shantha' who and then travelled on the day of the g makes him also le, the police said. :covered from witot-well behind the empty bullet casie have been despament Analyst for a n and report, ior Superintendent asinghe directing natsuspect Shantha mbalam's house on a total stranger to e Ponnambalam's snow come to light ht have associated much more closely t year. lam's son has told
police that suspect Shantha used to call his father off and on the telephone. When he was not available, suspect Shantha had always been reluctant to give his contact number to them.
The Colombo Detective Bureau (CDB) conducting investigations into the killing of All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) leader Kumar Ponnambalam are looking for two women, one of them a minor employee of the Colombo Municipal Council for questioning.
Colombo DIG Jagath Jayawardena and CDB Director Bandula Wickremasinghe with a special police team, had questioned over 200 persons along the Ramakrishna Road, Wellawatta. “We have received information about a vehicle which had been seen at Ramakrishna Road on the day of the incident," the CDB director said.
Whatever the police may say regarding their investigations, Kumar Ponnambalam's wife's suspicion, which has been conveyed to two Ministers who visited her home, is that elements within the government were instrumental in the murder of her husband.
SSRSSOCIACOBSONO
le expressing deep as accused the Sri und “Tamilquisling hinding the murder ialam. itatement issued on e Liberation Tigers LTTE) wishes to lock and profound killing of Mr. Kumcourageous Tamil ssly exposed the Sinhala state and ioned the cause of
Sri Lanka governquisling groups of ld executing this ence a brave, daring defended the rights
Mr Ponnambalam's sudden death is a great and irreparable loss to the Tamils, a monumental tragedy that has befallen the Tamil nation at a critical historical time. Faced with constant threat to his life and property, Mr Ponnambalam lived in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital and boldly challenged his racist adversaries. His speeches and writings, which touched on extremely controversial issues, expressed its truthfullness, genuiness, uprghtness and indomitable spirit for justice.
He pleaded for the rights and liberties of thousands of innocent Tamils in Colombo who were subjected to constant persecution at the hands of the tyrannical Sinhala state. He also voiced for the Tamils rights at international forums. Mr Ponnambalam was the only Tamil leader who openly and fearlessly

Page 9
15 JANUARY 2000
supported the armed freedom struggle of the Liberation Tigers. He endorsed the policy of the LTTE as the authentic political project based on the right to self-determination of the Tamil people. By his gallant and heroic life in advancing the legitimate cause of the Tamils amidst all dangers, Mr Ponnambalam has earned the respect and admiration of his people as a true Tamil patriot.”
Mr Kumar Ponnambalam has also been bestowed with the Most Eminent Person (Mamanithan) award by the leader of the LTTE, V Pirapaharan. The LTTE said the award was for Mr Ponnambalam's "dedicated patriotism and for his outstanding contribution to the
cause of Tamil lib "Conferring th award for extra-ol Mr. Ponnambalam, Pirapaharan praise riot who courageou freedom of the Tar In a special st haran categorised N "a revolutionary p fought for human determination and
Living in the he capital and disreg that threatened his the evils of Sinha LTTE leader had o "Mr Ponnamb:
KTTASSO VSET
Testifying before Galkissa Magistrate Sumathipala at the Magisterial inquiry into the death of late Kumar Ponnambalam, his aide, G. Thomas has identified the person who met the late Mr Ponnambalam.at his home on the day of his assassination as Shantha as the person who had accompanied Ponnambalam in his car.
Thomas said that he had been working as a mechanic at the residence of Ponnambalam for about ten years. His employer had a collection of 19 Mercedes Benz cars at his home which were maintained by Thomas. On Janaury 5 while working in the garage, he heard the call bell at the gate ring. He went towards the gate and looked out to see a callerwaiting outside. The caller introduced himself as "Shantha' and said that he'd come to see
Ponnambalam. Thereafter he told his employer, who was upstairs at the time, that one Shantha had come to see him. Ponnambalam directed him to let him in and told him to be seated in the verandah.
Shantha, who didn't strike Thomas as threatening, wore a blue shirt and black trousers. “Since that person spoke fluent Sinhala I thought that he was a Sinhalese,' said Thomas. Thereafter he proceeded to the garage to continue his chores.
Thomas tesified that he saw his employer leave with Shantha. They travelled in Ponnambalam's Mercedes, bearing the registration plate No 653590. Ponnambalam drove while Shantha sat in the passenger-side front Seat.
Thomas procee Ponnambalam’s ki son when they hear told the inquest.
Gajendra Kumi father and grandfat of Kumar Ponnamb nce said, “My fath balam, wearing bl white T-shirt with b house on that fatef "Shantha' saying th to Wellawatte and I hour. "But that therea-fter never cal We only saw him wheel of his blue N
Gajendra Kuma father had left hor 10 a.m. He and his a vehicle from the ring that there was wer Road, they cha
III
The Tamil Unit (TULF) has strong statement issued killing of All Ceyl president, Mr. Kun
The statemer Secretary Gener Mr.R.Sampanthan shocked by the n nation of Mr. Kun General Secretary stringly condemns Such killings do n cult of violence

ration'. is highest national dinary services on the LTTE leader Mr him as a great patsly championed the nil nation.' tement Mr PirapaAr Ponnambalam as olitical leader who ustice with sincere commitment.' art of the Sri Lanka arding the dangers life, he challenged la chauvinism, the bserved. lam was an outst
上 TAJMIL TIMES 9
anding patriot who deeply loved his
Tamil homeland. He supported the formation ofan independent Tamil state based on the right to self-determination of the Tamil people. He firmly believed in the armed revolutionary struggle as the authentic political mode for the emancipation of the Tamils," Mr Pirapaharan said.
"Therefore, he openly and courageously supported the LTTE and its political ideology. He defended the cause of our liberation movement in the international arena. His courage, dedication and the deep commitment with which he contributed to the cause of freedom is highly commendable.” O
ded to the scene of ling with the M.P's d the news, Thomas
ar, a lawyer like his her and the only son alam, giving evideer Kumar Ponnamack trousers and a lack stripes, left the ill morning with one at he would proceed eturn within half an was not to be. He meback home alive. lying dead at the Mercedes Benz.' ir continued that his he that day around father were to bring garage. But on heabomb blast at Flonged their plans and
his father went to Wellawatte saying he would get back in half an hour.
He said he wanted to advise his father not to go out because of the bomb blast but before he could do that, his father had driven out. He also believed another person was in the car. Referring to the mysterious "Shantha', Mr. Gajendra Kumarsaid he had come to the residence that morning and had also called several times earlier. Shantha spoke in . Sinhala and he believed he was a Shinalese.
Later when he went to the scene, with Mr.Thomas, he saw his father fallen inside the vehicle. Both windows of the air-conditioned Benz were open and the automatic gear was at parked position. The cellphone number 0773) 1922 was missing.
The inquiry will resume on January 2 l. The leading criminal lawyer Daya Perera, from whose chambers Gajendra Kumar practises his profession, is looking after the interests of the Ponnambalam family. O
Condemns Kumar's Murder
ed Liberation Front ly condemned in a on 5 January the on Tamil Congress ar Ponnambalam.
t issued by the all of the TULF iaid, "The TULF is ws of the assassiar Ponnambalam, f the A.C.T.C. and this brutal killing. st help to stem the that plagues the
country."
"Freedom of expression is a basic tenet of a vibrant democracy. If Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam's assassination is attributable to the exercise of this fundamental right it would indeed be a dangerous trend, and would seriously erode the right of a citizen to think and express himself with independence.”
"We convey our deepest sympathies to Mrs.Ponnambalam, the children and other members of the late Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam's family." O

Page 10
10 TAMITMES
Bomb Attacks Pr Presidential Elec
A total of 33 people were killed and over 137 seriously injured in two suicide bomb attacks on 18 December at the final campaign rallies of the two
main parties contesting presidential
election held on 21 December last. As tension mounted in many parts of the capital as the news of the bomb attacks spread, troops of the Sri Lanka Army were deployed on the streets and a curfew was imposed in Colombo and other suburban areas "to maintain law and order'.
The two bomb attacks occurred within minutes of each other though at locations several miles apart. The first one was at Jaela some ten miles from the capital city where the opposition United National Party(UNP) held its final rally in support of its candidate Ranil Wickremasinghe. A bomb exploded, when the Mr.Anura Bandaranaike, Member of Parliament, was addressing the meeting, which killed eight people, including retired Major General Lucky Algama, and injured 37 others.
The second one was at about 9.15pm at the Colombo Town Hall grounds where the rally was held by the governing Peoples Alliance in support of the incumbent President Chandrika Kumaratunga. It was obvious that the main target of the attack was the President. After finishing her speech as she was walking towards her car surrounded by security service personnel, a woman rushed towards her target. Even as the security officers attempted to stop the woman proceeding further, she detonated the incendiary device strapped around her body causing a massive explosion.
Addressing the nation from her hospital bed in Colombo a day after surviving the assassination bid, President Chandrika Kumaratunga appealed for calm, "I can assure you that I am in no danger from the injuries I have received in this cowardly attack,' Kumaratunga said in the recorded radio address, broadcast by state media. "I am well and shall be up and about very soon.” She urged people to maintain communal harmony and said that members of the Tamil community should not be
attacked in reprisal
Saying that the ction would be hel December 21,” Kum specially call upony any attacks or repri. of the Tamil commu rivals...... Let us a a nation in this grie' to all my fellow citi bounden duty, as it all their fellow Tam Examination of covering meetingha suicide bomber wh nate the President rally was dressed in an umbrella while s raw. The CID also st was againseen und by another person. managed to breach cordon imposedaro grounds and enters ded target remains
Many police of the security arrang blamed and liable t pector General of F tawakku suspendec charge of providi Town Hall ground investigators have officers belonging Secuirty Division (E the security breac suicide bomber tog dent. The PSD had 36 hours prior to thi The mayor's office he was forbidden ctors and sniffer d( ire Town Hall gro entering the gro meeting was physi to pass through a 1 The severed h suicide bomber w the attack. Inves tified the woman osives strapped ar Town Hall explos was also killed. Pc Gunanayagam resident of the ea
 

or the blast, presidential elleas scheduled on aratunga added, “I ou not to carry out als to any member ity or any political l remain united as ous hour. I appeal zens that it is their is mine, to protect il citizens.' the video cassettes werevealed that the o tried to assassiat the Town Hall red and holding up canding in the third aid that this woman ran umbrella held How the assailant the tight security und the Town Hall o close to her intena mystery. ficers in charge of ements have been d bepenalised. Ins'olice Lucky Kodisenior officials in ng security to the s. Reports said the held some of the to the Presidential SD) responsible for n that enabled the et close to the presiaken over the venue December 18 rally, was also sealed and p enter. Mine detegs checked the entunds. Every person und to attend the ally frisked and had etal detector. ad of the suspected s found a day after gators have idenho detonated explundherbody in the on in which she too ice identified her as eela Lakshmi, a tern town of Batti
15 ANUARY 2000
caloa. She is reported to joined the LTTE 10 years ago and was a member of the Black Tigers squad of suicide bombers.
Investigators visited Ms. Lakshmi's home and questioned her mother and younger sister. They also visited the school where she studied and questioned the principal and other teachers.
There had been doubts as to whether the bomb attack at the UNP rally at Ja-Ela was carried out by a suicide bomber. In fact some of the leaders attributed the attack to persons connected with the governing party. However, police sources assert that it was carried out by a suicide bomber. The daily newspaper "The Island" of 29.12.99 displaying the detached head of the alleged Ja-Ela suicide bomber under the caption - "Can you identify him?" reported, "The head appearing in the above photograph has been verified as that of the suicide bomber who had exploded the bomb at the UNP propaganda rally on December 18th at Ja-Ela” according to a communique from Police Headquarters.
“The head of the suicide bomber had been found on the roof of the stage where the propaganda rally was held and is at present lying a the mortuary at Ragama Base Hospital. Police Headquarters is seeking the assistance of the general public to identify this suicide bomber.'
The police identified the suicide bomber as one "Sukath' from Trincomalee in easterb Sri Lanka. They said a member of the LTTE, now in police custody, has revealed the identity of the suicide bomber involved in the Ja-Ela attack. He had said that "Sukath' and he had been trained together by the LTTE. The body samples of Sukath are reported to have been taken to Malaysia by Dr. Ananda Samarasekera for special investigation.
A team of seven U.S. technical experts are reported to have arrived in Sri Lanka recently to help local experts to investigate the two suicide bomb blasts that occurred on 18 December. The investigators said that the special US scientific team had conveyed their conclusion to their Sri Lankan counterparts that the explosion at Ja-Ela was also an act of a suicide bomber. The US team is to submit a comprehensive report in connection with their investigations into both incidents,
Many international leaders have

Page 11
15 ANUARY 2000
expressed their condemnation of the two bomb attacks. President Clinton expressed his deep condolences to the families of those killed by two bomb and his press secretary Joe Lockhart said Clinton also sent to Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and others injured in the blasts his best wishes for their quick recovery. Clinton said it was particularly distressing that these "heinous acts' had occurred during a democratic election campaign. "I have full faith that these events will only reinforce the strong com
mitment of the S democracy and p hopes these tragec people of Sri Lan commitment to d hope and determ Lockhart said.
U.N. Secretary an expressed shoc bings in Sri Lanka rorism, saying the prospects for peac sent his condolen and to the familie
Bomb Attack
Near PM's Offic
Thirteen people including, five members of the Prime Minister's Security Division(PMSD) including two women constables were killed and about 25 others wounded in a suicide bomb explosion at the Flower Road police post in Colombo around 9 am on 5 January. The blast happened in front of the Prime Minister, Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike's office, but she was not there at the time the bomb went off,
A woman, who turned out to be the suicide-bomber, was seen loitering in a suspicious manner in the vicinity of the PM's office and and as she was stopped for questioning by the police, she triggered the explosive device strapped around her body causing a massive explsion. Four members of the PMSD and a woman translator, who was helping the police to question the woman who claimed that she did not understand the Sinhala language, died on the spot, while seven others died at the hospital.
The intended target of the suicidebomber is not known, but it is speculated that it could have been a senior cabinet minister who would have travelled along that road to attend a cabinet meeting which was to have taken place that day.
The suicide bomber has been identified as 22-year old Yashoda Thilakaratnam from Kolavil, Akkaraipattu in eastern Sri Lanka. Her parents were taken into custody from their home and taken to Colombo for questioning. According to a senior police officer there had been contradictory reports regarding the daughter's departure from their home. He said that the parents had
claimed that two daughter had been LTTE. The parent police that the ID scene was that of th da but they could r found at the scene c
A
The United Sta and Sri Lanka we seven nations to si cutting off financin sations as it opened United Nations hea "The Internatic Suppression of the rism' was adopted embly on Decemb into effect 30 day ratify it. Others to on the treaty on the rday were Malta, Finland.
Approving the mbly noted that the sness of acts of int depend on the fina might get. Existing did not expressly a it said.
According to til criminal offence fo or collect funds to constitute terrorist
 

TAM TIMES 11
Lankan people to
ace,' he said, "He es will not deter the a from their strong 'mocracy and their nation for peace,"
-General Kofi Annat two suicide bomand condemned terviolence could dim 2 in the country. He es to the President of those killed and
injured, "He has sent her a message.
wishing her a speedy recovery," U.N. ; spokesman Fred Ec-khard said. "The secretary-general wishes to reiterate his condemnation of terrorism from whatever quarter." "He is concerned that these continuing acts of terrorism in Sri Lanka may make the prospects for achieve peace even more difficult," Eckhard said.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said "the government strongly condemns the blasts as acts of wanton terrorism.' O
years earlier their taken away by the s had also told the card found at the eir daughter Yashoot identify the head f the explosion near
the Prime Minister's office,
Assistance of the DNA tests has been sought by the police in this investigation to find the identity of the assassin. This is said to be the first time this technique is being used in terrorist related investigation in Sri Lanka, according to police sources. Fort Magistrate A.A.R. Heiyatuduwa has made an order directing the parents to give blood samples for DNA testing to confirm the relationship between the parents and Yasoda. Կ)
nti-Terrorism Convention
tes, Britain, France re among the first gn a treaty aimed at g ofterrorist organiI for signature at the dquarters. nal Convention for Financing of Terroby the General Assr 9 last and will go after 22 countries put their signatures opening day yestehe Netherlands and
measure, the Assenumber and seriou:rnational terrorism ncing that terrorists multilateral treaties dress such funding,
2 convention, it is a anyone to provide e used for acts that acts as defined by
existing treaties.
Any other act intended to kill or harm civilians to intimidate them or a government or international organisation would fall under the treaty’s jurisdiction.
The Convention obliges statesparties to closely monitor the collection or receipt of money by organisations in support of terrorist activities in another country. It covers fund raising for terrorist purposes, which is done both directly as well as indirectly, through so-called "charitable' fronts. The Convention also requires states to freeze and prevent access to such funds by groups supporting terrorist organisations, intended for use in terrorist activities and to investigate information that a person who has or is alleged to have committed such a crime is in its territory, and also to prosecute or extradite persons found guilty of involvement in such financial activities for terrorist rganisations. O

Page 12
2 TAM TIMES
Presidential Election R
Chandrika Kumaratunga was declared President of Sri Lanka following the election held on 21 December.
Seeking a second term, Chandrika as governing Peoples Alliance's candidate obtained 51.12 percent or 4.2 million votes. Her main rival, the opposition United National Party's candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe obtained 42.71 or 3.62 million votes.
The following are the votes obtained by the candidates who contested: Chandrika Banadaranaike(PA)
43.12157 (51.12%) Ranil Wickremesinghe (UNP)
3602748 (42.71%) M.D. Nandana Gunathilaka(JVP)
344173 (4.08%) Harishchandra Wijayatunga(SMBP)
W.V.M. Ranjit (Inde
Rajiva Wijesinha (L)
Vasudeva Nanayakk
Tennyson Edirisuriy,
Abdul Rasool (SLM
Kamal Karunadasa (
Hudson Samarasingh
Alwis WeerakkodyP
Ariyawansha Dissan
Rape and Murc of Sarathamb;
Sarathambal was the latest victim of the continuing tragic tale of sexual exploitation and murder of women by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the areas under their control. Human rights and women rights activists say the cases of Krishanthy, Rajani, Koneswary and Sarathambal were only the tip of an iceberg. Majority of the cases go unnoticed and unreported, And no action is taken about the few that get reported.
The case of the rape of a Vaddukoddai baker's daughter is one of the rare cases where police acted. She was raped at the beginning of last year by naval ratings and two of them were arrested but the case is still pending in the Mallakam court. About the incident where soldiers abducted and raped a young woman in Chavakachcheri the police took no action on the complaint made to them. The incident where a dumb woman was dragged to a nearby bush and raped is more horrifying. The police said they were unable to initiate any action, as the victim could not make a statement about the incident
Krishanthi's case is an exception since the international community expressed its indignation at the rape and murder of a girl in school uniform and
the gruesome killin brother and a relativ army checkpoint ti about her. The govel to international pres of it by ordering a convicted the accus Rajani's and Kone dragging on. Rajal killed and her bod abandoned cesspit. was more gruesome. blasted by detonatir private parts.
Sarathambal's I similarly repulsive wife of a Hindu pri child was living brother at Kannaka Pungudutivu, an control of the Sri L. 8.30 on December dressed in black u residence adjoini knocked at the d Sarathambaland he Sarma (19) refuse The intruders bro smashed up the h attacked Irasasekra

35854 ( 0.43%) endent-2)
27052 (0.32%)
25085 ( 0.30%) ra (LDA)
23668 (0.28%) (Ind-1)
21 119 (0.25%)
..)
17359 (0.21%) 'LSF)
11333 (0.13%) e(Ind-3)
7184 (0.09%) 'emawardhana
3983 (0.05%) yaka (DUNF)
4039 ( 0.05%)
-
er all
g of her mother, e who went to the o make inquiries nment that bowed sure made a show trial at bar which 2d army men. But swary's cases are ni was raped and dumped into an Koneswary's case She was raped and g a grenade on her
pe and murder is
The 29-year-old st and mother of a vith her younger Amman temple in sland under the nka Navy. Around 28 night four men iform went to her g the temple and or. The terrified brother Irasasekara to open the door. e the door open, rricane lamp and arma charging that
2000 ANUARY 15 خطہ
he was a Tiger supporter. They tied his hands, gagged and blindfolded him and carried him out of the house. The other two carried Sarathambal to the nearby vacant house, stripped her, gagged her with her inner garment, and raped her repeatedly. The two who attacked Irasasekara Sarma too joined them in the rape.
Irasasekera Sarma who freed himself shouted that his sister had been abducted. Neighbours who assembled went to the vacant house and recovered Sarathanbal's clothes but found no trace of her. Despite the curfew they marched to the nearby navy ckeckpoint and lodged a complaint. Next morning they found the naked body of Sarathambal in a compound of palmyrah trees covered with dry palmyrah leaves.
Angered residents of the area, over 1000 strong, marched to the Navy office carrying dried palmyrah leave and shouting, "Is this the protection you are affording us?” Officers in the navy camp promised investigation and assured they such things would not recur but transferred all the officers in the area to another station.
Kayts magistrate Ms Sarojini Ilangovan who visited the scene on December 29 evening found that Sarathambal had been bitten badly all over her body by the rapists and there was evidence to show that she had been raped repeatedly. Then she had been carried to a compound where she was found.
Colombo's Inquirer into Sudden Deaths, Dr. L. B. L. de Silva who performed the autopsy on the body that was flown to Colombo reported that the death was due to gagging and that there was evidence that the deceased had resisted. Her thighbone had broken and there were serious injuries on the inside portion of both thighs. There were also injuries on her private part and several bite marks on her breast,
Magistrate Ms Ilangoval who held the inquest on January 8 pronounced that Sarathambal's death was murder and ordered the police to arrest and produce the offenders before the court. Irasasekara Sarma in his evidence said he suspected the navy personnel and said he could identify them. The navy had transferred all its men who served in the area the very next day after the rape. Their transfer had created serious doubts about the offenders being brought to book.

Page 13
5 JANUARY 2000
NSGHTS INTO
NORTH-EAST THI
A press release dated 12 January issued by the National Peace Council states as follows:
An opinion poll on the ethnic conflict carried out in the north-east in addition to other parts of the country has revealed that most people in the northeast do not wish special treatment with regard to the devolution of power. This is the first time that an opinion poll on the ethnic conflict has been carried out in the northern and eastern districts. The figures indicate that for most citizens being treated equally is of paramount importance, overriding the need to be treated specially as a separate category, Jaffna respondents were strongly in favour of an equal devolution of power to all provinces with 72 percent in favour while only 27 percent favoured asymmetric devolution. In Batticaloa the figures were 64 percent favouring equal devolution and 34 percent favouring asymmetric devolution. Overall 66 percent of Sri Lanka Tamils and 55 percent of Sinhalese favoured the equal devolution of power.
However, on the issue of the merger of the north and east, the responses from Jaffna and Batticaloa were very different. While 59 percent of Jaffna respondents were in favour of an outright merger of the north and east, an overwhelming 71 percent of the Batticaloa respondents favoured a referendum to decide the issue. Only 14 percent of Batticaloa respondents were prepared to accept the merger and 12 percent wanted the north and east to be separate.
The difference in the approach to the merger issue in the northern and eastern districts suggests that the issue of selfdetermination applies to regions in addition to communities. The referendum being an instrument of selfdetermination, the people in Batticaloa appear to have expressed their wish to decide for themselves what kind of arrangements they will live under rather than have others to decide for them.
The survey was carried out by Research International and commissioned by the National Peace Council. It was conducted in all provinces of the country, including the north-east districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincoma
lee, Batticaloa and 2994 persons were p ted of 70 percent Si Sri Lanka Tamils, 1 and 4 percent Estate was carried out du 26 and December 2 northern districts).
The survey clea the people who hav war in their every people most oppose tion and who favou The survey shows th of Tamils polled, percent, support a r between the governn do not believe that vi a solution. In Jaffn peace talks was 94 caloa registering 8. other hand, only 4 Sinhalese were in negotiations, and u them favoured a mil: There were two issues on which the difference based on { Regarding third party 53 percent of Sinhale
THE SHR
Not many years sula in northern Sri the most thickly pop country. Today it markedly shrunk.
Jaffna's Governi anmuganathan said other districts in the lation of the peninsu region of one milli now only about 49 living in the Jaffna c He was addressi rehabilitation, recon development works The Consortium of organisations in Ja ducted the worksho with the orld Bank anitarian agencies in The workshop Bastian Hotel in Jafi
 

Ampara. A total of }lled which consishalese, 16 percent ) percent Muslims famils. The survey ng November 21
10, 1999 (for the
tly highlights that e to deal with the lay lives are the toamilitary solua negotiated one. at the vast majority amounting to 84 egotiated solution ment and LTTE and plence would bring a those favouring percent with Battipercent. On the 8 percent of the support of such
pto 37 percent of
itary solution.
other important re was a marked :thnic community. foreign assistance, se opposed it while
TAM TIMES 13
73 percent of Sri Lanka Tamils suppo
rted it. Regarding the devolution package only 41 percent of Sinhalese wanted it used as a basis for talks with the LTTE (with 48 percent opposing) while 56 percent of Sri Lanka Tamils favoured such talks.
The poll results, however, also reveal that on most issues relating to the ethnic conflict all ethnic communities are basically in agreement, though in different degrees. The survey showed that a majority of all ethnic communities support government-LTTE negotiations, equal devolution to the provinces and the business peace initiative. They all oppose the censorship of war-related news and believe that not enough essential supplies is being sent to the northeast,
The overall results of the opinion survey, and the specific results obtained from the north-east, provide strong evidence that the majority of Sri Lankans, and the Tamil people in particular, remain committed to a peaceful and negotiated solution in which they will be assured of equality in the country. The conflicting parties, and the government and LTTE in particular, should give deference to this desire fora peaceful settlement on the part of a majority of Sri Lankans and address crucial issues, including the rights of self-determination, security and political equality, in working out such a solution, Q
KINGPOPULATION OF ANA
ago, Jaffna peninLanka was one of ulated parts of the
population has
ment Agent K.Shthat compared to island, the popua should be in the n at present. But 3,000 people are strict, he said. g a workshop on (ruction and relief In Jaffna district, on-Governmental na District conin collaboration and other humColombo. was held at the a toWn,
Mr.K.Shanmuganathan added that the displacement of people from the peninsula increased with the outbreak of hostilities following the arrival of the Indian Peacekeeping Force. The year 1995 witnessed exodus of people from Jaffna to Vanni and other areas. Fifty percent of those displaced have not been resettled, he said.
At present 6,871 families live in camps meant for displaced. Due to the present unsettled situation, the number of displaced has increased to 13,000 families.
Civil administrative officers in the northeast including Jaffna are working under the Ministry of Defence. Even to transport food items from Colombo to Jaffna they are required to obtain permission from the Defence Ministry. All persons living in the peninsula should own special identity cards. O

Page 14
14 TAMILTIMES
Suicide Bomb Bla And Search Operat
Harassment by the police and the army is resented by the Tamils. Sudden swoops and herding into police cells like common criminals have hurt their pride and dignity. President Kumaratunga's effort to minimize the harassment had been appreciated. Police and the army behave better and treat the people with respect. But when they are loaded into police vehicles and locked up in the cells they boil with anger. Their wrath is not against the LTTE but against the government.
Tamils know that cordon and Searches are the outcome of LTTE's bomb attacks. But they say that without the LTTE their plight as a community would be worse. The January 5 bomb blast opposite the prime minister's office at Flower Road was caused by police mishandling, military analysts accuse. Two policemen on guard duty at the gates of the prime minister's office summoned a young girl loitering aimlessly on the opposite pavement. They questioned her and asked her to lift her hands. The girl pleaded them not to force her to lift her hands. They persisted. When she lifted her hand the explosive device attacked to her body exploded killing 13 persons and injuring 25 others.
At the time the blast occurred President Kumaratunga was on telephone talking to Minister Jayaraj Fernandopulle. She heard the explosion and shouted: An explosion. Then she as Fernandopulle: There was an explosion. Did you hear? Fernandopulle replied: No madam. I did not here. President Kumaratunga cut the call and called her security who confirmed that there was a blast. She summoned the National Security Council and discussed with the service chiefs and the IGP the security of Colombo. She asked the police to flush out the Tigers and the police wanted a curfew, which was granted.
Her target was some one else and there was speculation about the target. Police say it might be Deputy Defence minister Anurutha Ratwatte. No one is certain. But the identity of the suicide bomber had been ascertained with certainty, It is not because of any clever investigation. She had used her genuine national Identity Card. Her Sinhalese
mother and Tamil had been arrested Akkaraipattu. The home two years ag but had joined the l The National S. met soon after thel other suicide bomb attack top politicia curfew to be declari ugh search of the cit was clamped at ll. night after police a off all the entranc Dehiwala municipa divided into five zo different army or Small groups hea
The Secretary C United Liberatio Mr.R.Sampanthan, President Chandrik order an impartial i dent resulting in the prisoner and injurie mil prisoners at Ka Mr.Sampantha President states tha has been a hotbedo period. This has be large number of T been held in detent of time; in some in several years, wit against them bein charges being fra Court.
He further stat ciate that it is a fun that any person i. either called upon or be released fra reasonable period "The Commit to deal with unlaw sment decided th complete and su General before J tigation reports ir taken into custoc that the Attorney ever he decides to in court before 2
 

15 JANUARY 2000
StS | Ons
ather Tillakaratne rom their village bomber had left to join the army ΓΤΕ. curity Council that last was told of ll ers in Colombo to S. Police wanted a i to conduct a thro. A 14-hour curfew 5 pm on January 6 ld the army sealed to Colombo and areas. The area was es and placed under police command. led by policemen
searched Tamil houses and arrested over
2000 young men and women and taken to the various police stations in the city. "They were not given even water to drink. They were made to sit in the open grounds and sent before hooded men for identification. If they signal a person as a suspect then they are kept for further investigation. Others were finger printed and photographed and released. It was all disgusting and revolting,” Ceylon Worker's Congress MP Yogarajan said. He was the only Tamil parliamentarian who went round the police stations to inspect the situation. Other Tamil leaders sent fax messages to the President and released them to the press.
Analysts said the curfew and search exercise had failed to detect any suicide bomber or hideouts. It only helped Tamil people to be more annoyed and to increase the sense of uncertainty among others. O
teneral of the Tamil in Front (TULF), has requested the (a Kumaratunga to nquiry into the incideath of one Tamil s to several other Talutara prison. n in a letter to the the Kalutara prison ftension over a long enlargely because a amil prisoners have ion for long periods stances extending to nout investigations completed and or ned against them in
s: “You will appreamental human right custody should be o face trial in court, m custody within a of time. :e appointed by you ul arrests and harast the Police should mit to the Attorney nuary 3 l-all invesespect of all persons prior to 1999, and eneral should whero so, file indictments February, 2000. It
was also decided by the Committee that persons in custody against whom such action was not taken would have to be released. "While the Committee would no doubt follow up this matter, I would request Your Excellency to issue directions that even in the case of persons arrested in 1999, investigations be concluded expeditiously, so that the Attorney General can make a determination one way or the other even in regard to such persons.
"I would also urge that an impartial inquiry into the incident which happened yesterday be held at the earliest by an Independent person.
"The frequency of such incidents at the Kalutara prison would seem to suggest that the relationship between the prison authorities at Kalutara and particularly the Tamil prisoners has deteriorated over a period of time.
"I would also urge that the Inquiry makes a determination as to circumstances under which one Tamil prisoner came by his death and several others were injured and as to whether any one and if so who is culpable in that regard. "I would also urge that the Inquiry also address the question of what further arrangements and adjustments are necessary to further improve the administration of the Kalutara prison, so that such incidents can be avoided in the future.'

Page 15
15 ANUARY 2000
Presidentialec 1999 and Afte
DBS Jeyaraj
ri Lanka's fourth Presidential election was held on December 21st last year. It has resulted in Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga being elected. Kumaratunga who created history when she became Sri Lanka's first woman President in 1994 has established another record as the first ever to be re-elected to Presidential office. J R Jayewardene was also President for two terms but his first was not through election, but by virtue of an amendment (Second amendment) to the republican constitution of 1972. Kumaratunga however was elected on both occasions though her majority this time was far less when compared to the first time.
The run up to the election had its share of violence, a phenomenon that has now come to be accepted as inevitable during election time in the Island. The zenith of escalating violence was experienced on December 18" the last day of public meetings. Within minutes of each other two explosions occurred at the Peoples Alliance meeting at the Colombo Town Hall and the United National Party meeting at JaEla. At the PA meeting Kumaratunga was injured and has reportedly lost sight in her right eye. Several others including Colombo DIG of Police TN ie Silva were killed and many including Cabinet ministers G L Peiris, Alavi Moulana, and Kingsley Wickremaratne were injured. At the UNP meeting too several innocents were killed or wounded. Among these the most high profile victim was retired Army major general Lucky Algama who was tipped to be the Deputy minister of defence in a potential UNP cabinet.
The attempt on the President's life as well as the UNP meeting incident once again illustrated the urgency and importance of the unresolved ethnic crisis. It demonstrated again that the "war' was not something that was confined to the Tamil majority areas of the Northern and Eastern provinces alone but something which could spill over to any part of the Island in spite
of so-called inte attempt on Kumar out another fact t in recent times ab factor in contem politics. It is not forces of the Sinh; Liberation Tigers by Velupillai Prat The implicat factor were evide and outcome of Although several in the run-up to t that undoubted campaign of the Chandrika Kuma Wickremasinghe, the ethnic crisis. Ir solutions the LT political discours key player. It coul the election itself that single issue. It drop that the resu options based on be assessed.
Kumaratunga (51.12 per cent) defeating Wickren was 3,602,748 vot 1994 she won 6 votes. On the oth which got 35.4 p improved its tally cher in Kumaratun have been the sy rated by the LTT on her life. Earlier mission and omi. pointed to an LT ory, albeit with as kremasinghe. The pt may have cause in the voting patte ratunga's courage victory commend apprehensions abc tive, the qualitat quantitative credi obtained by her necessary to analy of the minorities i

TAMILTIMES 15
tion r
nsive security. The atunga's life brought hat has been visible out the determining porary Sri Lankan the major political la south but it is the of Tamil Eelam led akharan. ions of the LTTE nt from the conduct the election itself. issues were debated he election, the one ly dominated the two front-runners, ratunga and Ranil was the resolution of discussing possible "TE dominated the 2 as a paramount or d be well stated that was in fact fought on is against this backult and the possible the verdict have to
obtained 4,312,157 of the votes cast in hasinghe, whose tally es (42.7 per cent). In 2.8 per cent of the er hand, the UNP, ercent in 1994, has Ironically, the clinga's favour seems to mpathy wave geneE's botched attempt , certain acts of comision by the Tigers ITE-engineered victlim margin, for Wicassassination attemd a perceptible shift in. Although Kumais laudable and her able, there are valid ut the specific objecive nature and the ility of the mandate his time. It is also se the voting pattern 1 general and the Sri
Lankan Tamils in particular as manifested in this exercise.
As for its quantitative credibility, the question that arises is whether the victory achieved is a legitimate one. Were the votes procured through free and fair means or were they garnered through electoral fraud and malpractice? Lord Meghnath Desai the head of the International Observers team that inspected polling and other members of that panel including former Indian Election Commissioner, G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, have given a clean chit, saying that the election was by and large fair. As participants in the electoral exercise as observers their pronouncements do have a certain amount of validity. It is implicit from their view that although the electoral process may have been found wanting by the more exacting Western standards, it was quite credible in the South Asian context, where a little bit of "fraudulence' is inevitable. It must be noted that the UNP took umbrage at this and charged the Observers of partiality and alleged that Lord Desai was a personal friend of Chandrika.
The Colombo-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), however, stated that the election was "marred by serious violations, systematic impersonation, ballotstuffing, violence against and intimidation of voters, officials and monitors alike, and abuse of state machinery and resources in a significant number of polling centres throughout the country.” It is of the view that “the result has been irredeemably compromised in 59 of the country's 160 electoral divisions. Of these, 35 were in the seven Sinhaladominated provinces in the South. The other 24 were in the Tamil-majority North-Eastern Province, where the CMEV had recommended that "the entire election be nullified'. It alleges that “the minimum ground conditions to ensure a free and fair vote were unavailable' in the N- E and that "a fresh occasion be provided to the people in these areas to exercise their sovereign right to vote.” According to the CMEV, the election was a less-than-satisfactory democratic exercise for over a third of the country, which rendered the final outcome unacceptable,
At a press conference after the election, Wickremasinghe propounded the view that the reason for his defeat was poll violations. He downplayed the

Page 16
16 TAM TIMES
sympathy factor in favour of Kumaratunga. Other commentators disagreed. According to this viewpoint there was no denying the fact that there were "infringements of the franchise", but the UNP would be deluding itself if it ascribes its defeat to that factor alone. It would be erring if it thinks that the sympathy vote was its nemesis. According to these circles the ground reality was that Kumaratunga would have edged out Wickremasinghe in the seven southern provinces with or without the alleged electoral malpractices or the sympathy wave, which may have helped enhance her majority, Likewise, the tense situation that prevailed after the assassination attempt may have restrained Tamil voters from going to the polls. In the final analysis, these factors contributed to her margin of victory but did not cause her victory.
A straw in the wind is the outcome of postal voting. Postal voting was done by government servants who were unable to vote in their own constituencies. They cast their votes long before the so-called sympathy wave arose and under conditions that were not conducive to vote-tampering. The overall
trend shown by the p Kumaratunga had an masinghe. Subsequel ghe Stated publicly t vote rigging in the 35,000 Samurdhi ani PA appointees had voting though they w it. The UNP has als petition in court chal on the basis that the dulent.
In spite of the fla process, it would bei that the entire ma Kumaratunga was d if the theory of acc through fraud is acc of votes thus acquire been enough to reve favour of the UNP, al of Kumaratunga's v. been greatly reduced acy and credibility c mandate in quantiti have been somewh: negated.
Then comes the of the mandate. Th urban-rural dichotor
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stal vote was that dge over Wickrelly Wickremasinat there had been ostal votes too. nators all of them dulged in postal ere not entitled to filed an election :nging the verdict lection was frau
vs in the electoral |COrrect to aSSurine ority gained by le to fraud. Even uisition of votes pted, the number d would not have rse the verdict in though the margin ctory would have Thus, the legitimf Kumaratunga's tive terms might at eroded but not
qualitative nature Lere is clearly an ny. The UNP see
15 ANUARY 2000
ms to have done well in urban areas while the P.A. has fared well in rural areas. More importantly, there is also a visible majority-minority divide in terms of ethnicity. While both parties have drawn votes from all sections, the UNP appears to have gained more from the minorities, particularly the Sri Lankan Tamils.
The UNP won more votes in the Tamil-majority districts of Wanni, Batticaloa and Trincomalee in the Northeast. In Jaffna, where allegations of rigging were abundant, it was beaten narrowly. The UNP also came first in the upcountry districts of Badulla and Nuwara Eliya, where Tamils of recent Indian origin are concentrated. It fared creditably also in Kandy, Matale and Ratnapura districts. The UNPswept all the electoral divisions in its citadel, Colombo, where a substantial number (49%)of Tamils and Muslims live.
In Amparai district, the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress helped tilt to some extent the Muslim vote in favour of the P.A. Although there is a visible ethnic cleavage in the voting pattern, it would not be correct to perceive an extreme polarisation in terms of ethnicity. With
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Page 17
15 JANUARY 2000
minority parties such as the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Muslim Congress supporting Kumaratunga, a reasonably large number of minority votes were harvested by Kumaratunga also.
According to a preliminary estimate, it was the UNP that secured the greater part of votes of Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamils of recent Indian origin, and Muslims, with the proportion in each segment decreasing in the same order. In a sense, the decline in Kumaratunga's vote share, compared to that in 1994 can be attributed to the drop in minority votes for her, while the improved performance of the UNP is because of the accretion of minority votes to that party. The salient feature of the election is the that Kumaratunga has become alienated from a majority of minority voters. Her mandate this time is more from "Sinhala' voters while Wickremasinghe's standing with the minorities, notably the Tamils, has improved enormously.
The voting pattern raises vital concerns about the real or perceived objectives of the mandate. There is some ambiguity here. The primary platform of both candidates was the resolution of the ethnic crisis. The difference was how they both proposed to achieve it. Wickremasinghe argued for a resumption of talks with the LTTE through the good offices of a third-party mediator. He also suggested a de-escalation of the war and the setting up of an interim administration for the Northeast. Wickremasinghe promised the restoration of food and medical supplies to Tamil areas, the removal of restrictions on fishing, agriculture and transport, and the ending of the harassment of Tamil civilians by way of searches, arrests and detentions. While he had no specific blueprint for the extension of devolution, talking alternately of both asymmetrical devolution to the N-E as well as mechanisms for sharing power at the center he was willing to concede that the final decision on this matter could only be taken after dialogue with the LTTE. The highlight of his appeal to the Tamils was his promise to alleviate the problems faced by the people and to hold talks with the Tigers. This, in contrast to the “pie in the sky” promise of Kumaratunga's devolution package, projected a "here and now' appr
oach. Besides, V catered to the gen that durable peac only through the option of the LT Kumaratunga not as consistent a this issue mainly took her. Her av advancing the da election was that mandate to pushtl which she projec basis for a politi campaign relied to convince the S "war for peace' w; the LTTE. The c was the devolutio paid lip-service t to the Tigers. Kun all credit accruing perceived victory ( battlefront could votes. Unfortunat cess of the LTTE' Ceaseless Waves ation and nullifie paign.
She then chan and began to accus of selling out the c She portrayed Wic osal for talks and p administration as a Tigers. The implic her campaign beca continuing the war kremasinghe’s cal war. This made ev the Tamil United (TULF), adopt an optindirectly forle deva Nanayakkara. however, recognis ratunga’s campaig ding her support. in the UNP who Sinhala positions side. Such element too started climbi wagon. Although never abandoned nce, the fact that these Sinhala har affected her credib non-racist Sinhala As a result, it r what the primary o date is. The Sinha credit for her victo) to prosecute the w to negotiations. Th

TAMITMES 17
ickremasinghe also
ral Tamil perception
would be possible cooperation or co
n the other hand was Wickremasinghe on ᏬCauᏚe eᏙeIntᏚ ᏅᏙerowed rationale for of the presidential she wanted a strong rough her proposals, 2d as the only solid cal settlement. Her reatly on her ability nhala voter that her s succeeding against Irrot for the Tamils h package. She also the idea of talking aratunga hoped that to her regime from ver the Tigers on the be translated into ly for her, the sucsmilitary operation, II, changed the situd that line of cam
ged tactics midway ed Wickremasinghe ountry to the LTTE. Kremasinghe's propromise of an interim happeasement of the it undercurrents of me an emphasis on as opposed to WicI for an end to the en her staunch ally, Liberation Front eutral position, and tist candidate VasuThe Sinhala hawks, d the turn of Kumah and began extenome of the leaders ook hardline procrossed over to her from other groups g on to her bandumaratunga herself er progressive stahe accommodated liners in her camp lity as a genuinely eader. mains unclear as to jective of her mana hardliners claim and are urging her r without resorting experience ofsur
viving an assassination attempt at the hands of the LTTE is seen as a further reason for her to adopt a hard line. On the other hand, moderate and saner counsel within the P.A. and minority opinion urge a softer approach.
Kumaratunga herself has been adding to the confusion by sending mixed signals through her public pronouncements, which are both contradictory and ambiguous. It will be, however, her future deeds rather than her current words that will indicate what she considers the objective of her mandate to be. Even that prospect may not be a very definite indicator given the past experience where the sweeping mandate for peace in 1994 ultimately led to the most savage phase of the war. Under these circumstances, the big question is what Kumaratunga proposes to do regarding the resolution of the ethnic crisis.
In her interview to the BBC, Kumaratunga said that she was prepared to talk to LTTE leader V. Prabakaran. Both these statements are illustrative of her statespersonship. However, concrete action on the ground is necessary to pursue these goals. Certain vital decisions have to be taken. First and foremost is to decide the future of her devolution package. Is she prepared to go through with her original intentions? Or will she abandon or dilute them further to satisfy Sinhala hardliners? If she wants to go ahead with them, she has four options. One is to call early parliamentary elections and seek a mandate to convert the new Parliament into a Constituent Assembly.
The second option is to hold a nonbinding, consultative referendum on the Constitution. If she wins a convincing vote, then that verdict could be used to put moral pressure on the Opposition parties, chiefly the UNP, to endorse it in Parliament. The third would be to encourage further defections from the UNP, gain a two-thirds majority in Parliament and pass the Constitution. Again this would entail a referendum. A fourth option is to present the proposals in Parliament, get it passed with a simle majority dissolve the House immediately, and go in for elections seeking a two third majority with the proposals as the main plank of the PA manifesto.
The problem however is the necessity to face a referendum and the changed nature of Kumaratunga's support base. Unlike in 1994, when she had a

Page 18
18 TAM TIMES
63 per cent mandate which cut across racial and religious lines, her current mandate is obtained by and large from a Sinhala electorate consisting of hardline elements, who are at worst opposed to devolution and at best lukewarm about it. As such, the possibility of winning in a nationwide referendum, even if the parliamentary hurdle is cleared, is remote. Also, the result shows that the UNP is not a spent force; confronting it on this issue head on is a recipe for disaster. There is also the LTTE. The Tigers are suspicious of the devolution scheme and will do everything possible to scuttle the referendum. Therefore, the danger of massive violence resulting in communal strife is real. Incidentally, the fact that Tamils voted in large numbers for the UNP denotes that the devolution package despite its significance and long term importance does not get priority in their scheme of things.
What therefore seems more possible and workable is for Kumaratunga to follow up her invitation to Wickremasinghe and cultivate him more seriously. Instead of trying to break up the UNP, it would be better for her to
arrive at a biparti ethnic issue. A f already available agreement signed Wickremasingh initiative by for Minister Liam Fo realistic for Kum the LTTE in asso and through the g party mediator agreement. The package can be a instead of it bein accompli to the
But to rely lasting settlement resolve the crisis as past experienc wisdom of hindsi Kumaratunga's b hope for the pass: proposals while p created an impres was being projec opinion while thi being pursued rel Ortant, Kumaratu the sufferings of result of the war
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consensus on the
ework for this is the form of the Kumaratunga and pnsequent to the r British Deputy It would be more tunga to approach tion with the UNP d offices of a thirdenvisaged in the raft Constitution sis for negotiations, presented as a fait TE.
talks aimed at a is the only means to ould be a grave error has shown. With the ht it can be said that ggest blunder was to ge of the devolution irsuing the war. This ion that the package ed to deceive world military option was entlessly. More impnga failed to alleviate the Tamil people as a The basic problems
15 JANUARY 2000
ア of the Tamils were neglected; rehabilitation and development was going on at a snail's pace. Kumaratunga's onepoint agenda of constitutional reform as a panacea for the ethnic crisis was unworkable and detrimental to her politically, as she discovered too late.
Therefore, past mistakes should not be repeated. Kumaratunga can and should seek ways and means of bettering the plight of the minorities in general and the Tamils in particular while trying to negotiate with the LTTE. In this regard, it would be imperative for her to revive the defunct Northeastern Provincial Council. As a first step, the interim administrative council for it can be appointed and development work initiated. In course of time, the concurrent list of functions could be discarded and devolution enhanced as per the terms of the joint accord reached by the UNP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) during the Select Committee sittings chaired by Mangala Moonesinghe, the Sri Lankan envoy to India, Kumaratunga could also appropriate the proposals made by Wickremasinghe during the election campaign (continued on next page)
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Page 19
15 ANUARY 2000
hortly after being sworn-in as President for the second term following her election on 21 December, President Chandrika Kumaratunga flew to London where she received treatment for the eye injury she sustained a suspected LTTE suicidebomber attempted to assassinate her on 18 December. While in London, she was interviewed by the BBC's George . Arney on December 30.
Arney asked her after a brief introduction how she felt about the horrifying moment.
Chandrika: I was screaming, but I was not hysterical. Medically, they say, I can carry on. But probably I have lost the sight of an eye, I have been saved by a miracle and I can't stop at marvelling at it,
Q: What kind of an effect it will have? Are you going to be afraid to go out? A: I am surprised that I don't feel fearful. I don't take risks because it's foolish. I am the only leader who survived an LTTE assassination attempt and lived to tell the tale. I feel there is something special that some-body somewhere wants me to do.
Q: You feel you have been saved for a purpose. What is that purpose? A: I was struck by what I would say
is man’s most besti weapon, that of hatr swinging in and out The first thing I th children that they s by seeing me covere they have seen tl assassinated like th tions not to let them aned up.
Next I sent form him that I had heard were on the road, tr and UNP supporter that the UNP was als whole thing. I want and tell them that I ( gle Tamil person o in vengeance.
Q: What abouty with the Tigers pened can you d A: We have sc problems in our cou one left, I think fo country and my pe very much, we hav Mr. Pirapakaran.
Q: Youare willi Mr. Pirapakaran A: If he is will devilish ways, if he up the only weapor
(continued from page 18) and take unilateral initiatives. She could re-establish her credentials amo-ng the aggrieved Tamils before asking them,as she is doing now, to rethink on their support to the LTTE and bring the Tigers to the negotiating table. It is quite obvious that the harsh and inhuman restrictions imposed on the Tamil people have in no way affected the LTTE. It has only served to increase the number of LTTE recruits. It would be better for Kumaratunga to remove some of the harsh measures and improve the existential conditions of the Tamils. Tamil should be implemented in every sphere as an official language, un accordance with the Constitution. In order to contain a Sinhala extremist tacklash, she could co-opt WickremaSinghe in this course of action and present it as a joint effort,
The optimism of Kumaratunga's have been negated three and a half hou TV. If that performa a PA-UNP rapproch out. There are also h line being adopted and through practi Tamils. It remainst the new millennium change in the politic P.A. and the UNP and enter into talk which too will aban military option anc secession and op honourable negotia however, "springs e breast'. But at pres dawning peace seer
 

al and horrendous 2d and terror. I was of consciousness, ought was of my hould not be upset d in blood because eir father being at, I gave instruccome till I was cle
y secretary and told that our supporters ying to kill Tamils s because they felt o conspiring in the ed to go on the air lon’t want any sinanybody touched
our future dealings ? After what hapleal with them?
blved most major
ntry. There is only r the sake of my pple, whom I love 2 to negotiate with
ng to sit down With
ing to give up his : is willing to give he knows, which
generated by some earlier statements by her subsequent r marathon talk on nce isan indicator, ement seems ruled ints of a very hard against the LTTE cal extension the o be seen whether would usher in a al mood where the forge a consensus s with the LTTE, ion, hopefully, the the demand for t for a just and ed peace, “Hope”, ernal in the human ent prospects of a rather dim. O
TAMITMES 19
-
is that of terror and hatred. If he is
willing to come into the democratic process and sit down and talk. Apart from separating the country, I am willing to talk about anything else.
Q: How likely is that? Why should he change now? A: I believe in the great goodness of man. And I believe that the Tamil people, for whom I and my government have done so much, have to look truth in the face. They have to stop supporting this terror; they have to stop supporting destruction of their own people. They have to tell Pirapakaran look here, stop, come to the negotiating table.
I wish to tell you something which I have not said up to now. When I stretched my hand of friendship, as I called it, within 10 days of coming to office, we had a honeymoon period of eight months discussing with them. We gave everything that the LTTE asked for, which was good for the people of Jaffna and the North. We didn't give them arms and withdraw the army. We said if the talks are going well we will withdraw the army. He broke up the talks at a crucial stage. I wrote to him- we exchanged forty odd letters-and I said we have already got on paper a whole series of political proposals to resolve the ethnic conflict. He refused and started attacking. He has baulked at every point, when actually and constructively we have said we are willing to discuss what is on the table.
And all I can say is that the LTTE does not want to have a political settlement. They wanted to kill me before the political settlement came in and they wanted to provoke the people who were already on the streets. That might have happened if not for my call from the near- deathbed. Thank God I still had my mind to talk. Otherwise Pirapaharan would have walked in and taken over because the army was also very confused. So it is sad but I have a message for the Tamil people,
There is no doubt that Mr. Pirapaharan does not want a peaceful settlement. We have offered everything other than a separate state. We offered the most extensive devolution and I have said we are ready to be quite flexible even on what is on the table. We "have offered equal opportunities bill and all kinds of things to the Tamil people.
I have ensured that not a single Tamil person have been touched for five years despite all the provocation

Page 20
20 TAMILTIMES
that the LTTE was committing to make Sinhala people to kill Tamil people. We have protected them fully. So it is obvious why whenever if comes to discussing a political settlement Pirapaharan stalls and kills.
Q: He wants to fight on? A: Probably. I believe that Sri Lankan Tamils abroad, who are living in luxury, isolated in their ivory towers, have to take a bold decision. I am talking to them with the wounds on my face. I have done so much for them. I don't know why they cannot see and think with their hearts and minds. By being falsely influenced by lies that are spread by the LTTE, they have untenable faith in their leader as he hates me. All I am saying is, persuade him that he will have to give up his politics of terror. It is terrible. It is devilish. He has to fight for his people with his heart and mind. He has to come to the negotiating table and give up his fear for peace.
Q: Why do you think that the Tamils living abroad can bring any influence to bear on Mr. Pirapakaran? A: Because they are financing him. He buys arms with their money, Now I will like to tell you something. Since mid-1997 I have agreed to two international facilitators, who have been shuttling up and down between the LTTE and my government, trying to bring them to the negotiating table. The LTTE has refused completely.
Q: Could you tell me who that negotiators have been? A: The first was Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth and finally after one and a half years they dropped him like a hot potato and said we don't want to talk to you. Then more recently the Norwegian government has been talking with Anton Balasingham in London. They kept them dangling again and said we will see after the election. I said if they say they are going to see after the election they are definitely going to try to and kill me. So all I have to say is we have used two respectable international facilitators. The LTTE is lying when it says it wants to discuss.
Q: After your swearing in as President for the second term you asked Ranil Wickremesinghe, your opponent in the Presidential race to join hands with you. What exactly did you mean by this? Did you ask him to join the government of natio
he two murdero
place last week
recently conch elections has not con towards reducing te Usually, the immedia election is a time ofo of a new beginning. instance. The problen try, and in particula within society, appea anced.
With its suicide of the Prime Ministe killed and wounded o the LTTE has show desire, and ability, to flict. The assassinatic ress leader Kumar P. that same day have g political and social days of death squads back.
The crowd who
Ponnambalam's fune
nal unity? A: Mr. Wickreme to the people ofmy ci he can sit around a ta mature way with a committed governm solve this problem to invite the LTTE, I d haran or whoever it and solve this probl can have national gC Q: After your te do you feel more optimistic about ing peace back ti A: I have a messa iots and perhaps for ppened exactly seve birthday of the Prin days before Christm red with the weapo terror but somehow to live, to talk of lov forgiveness. And I til ment for all of us to point of human spiri ng else matters more ment of man throug noblest possessions,
 

15 JANUARY 2000
UST COOPERATE NY HOPE OF PEACE
Jehan Perera
is events that took
indicate that the ided presidential tributed anything isions in Society. te aftermath of an ptimism and hope But not so in this is facing the counthe polarisation “s to have got enh
bombing in front r’s Office, which ver thirty persons, n their continued escalate the conon of Tamil Congannambalam later given notice to all activists that the may be on its way
came to Kumar ral to pay their last
singhe must prove ountry and his that ble and work in a n honest, sincere ment like mine to gether. We could on't mind Pirapais. We could talk m. Thereafter we VernmentS. rrible experience, optimistic or less chances of bringo Sri Lanka? ge to my compatrhe world. This han days before the *e of Peace, seven Ls. I have been seains of hatred and have been spared 2, compassion and link this is the mo2merge at the high uality. Well nothithan the advancen the use of man's his mind and heart.
respects to him was large and almost all Tamil. It was another indication of the dreadful polarisation that has taken place in Sri Lankan society. There were only a handful of Sinhalese and foreigners. Not a single government politician could be spotted. This was in marked contrast to the crowd at Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam's funeral five months ago. The different participation at the funerals of these two scions of distinguished Tamil families, both of whom were eminent lawyers, politicians and civic activists, mirrored their different visions of Sri Lanka. In the latter phase of his life Kumar Ponnambalam stood for Tamils and Tamil rights alone. He would go to the most terrible of prisons to provide legal assistance to the hundreds of Tamils locked up indefinitely as LTTE suspects, such as the one at Kalutara where the prisoners rioted upon hearing of his murder.
By way of contrast, Neelan Tiruchelvam stood for a multi-ethnic and plural society, in which the human rights of all would be protected through improved systems of governance. It was liberals and elites, both local and foreign, who could best comprehend the value of his services that lay in working for structural change from behind the scenes.
Five months ago at the time of Dr Tiruchelvam’s assassination, the prospects for the country were better than they are now. With him playing a leading role, there seemed to be the possibility of the constitutional reform process moving forward. There was some hope of forward movement that would be through consensual mainstream politics. But by assassinating Dr Tiruchelvam through a suicide bomber, the LTTE effectively scuttled such a scenario from emerging.
It can be surmised that the LTTE have no wish for consensual mainstream politics if they suspect that it seeks to exclude them. They prefer to keep the vicious cycle spinning and spiralling to ever new heights. They seem to believe that through hatred and conflict they will achieve their objective. In whitewashing the brutal actions of the

Page 21
15 ANUARY 2000
LTTE, such as the murder of Dr Tiruchelvam, Mr Ponnambalam did not seek to undo the vicious cycle, but sought to keep it going.
Today, the government leadership appears to be caught up in this vicious cycle. President Kumaratunga's recent speeches and interviews have evoked polarised responses, which highlights the polarised nature of society. Instead of being conciliatory following her election victory, she has been bitterly critical of all her perceived opponents, including the LTTE, the opposition UNP, the media and assorted individuals. Mr Ponnambalam responded strongly and fought the harsh words of the President with harsh words of his OW,
More than anything else, what the country needs is a leadership that will stop feeding the vicious cycle of hatred and violence. We need a leadership that will be calm and detached in the face of heightened emotions and will not descend to the level of the lowest common denominator even if that is what might yield a harvest of votes today. We need a leadership that will be statesmanlike, and see that in a multi-ethnic and plural society there will always be different ways of perceiving the truth. A grave responsibility, therefore devolves upon the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. He heads the third important actor in the national conflict, the other two being the government and the LTTE. In today's context Mr Wickremesinghe's special strength lies in the fact that he has, by and large, remained aloof from the hatred and emotion in the battle being waged between the government and LTTE. The poise and dignity he demonstrated in the speech he made at the Election Commissioner's office shortly after losing the Presidential Election in an indication of an inner strength. His personal detachment and lack of passion, which have been often considered to be his weakness, could turn out to be of great service to the country at this crucial te.
As the third great party in the national conflict, the UNP can either escalate it by taking the offensive against either or both of the other two partles to the conflict. In deciding its course of action, the UNIP should consider the realities of the situation. It is not well positioned to fight fire with fire in the manner that the government and LTTE can. It simply does not have the
instruments of c( be the Presidentia suicide bomber parties have.
It is clear that bark upon a confr the government v ratunga in her pr the outcome wou either the UNP o main confrontatic rnment and UNP 16 votes in Parl obtain a 2/3 majo tutional reform pr the UNP has so these l6 votes th; the government a to such a high lev It appears tha Presidential Elect
ow does on or otherwise bomber and us (after much mu would seem to be ind' and grab th woman's hands be punch the button But suppose she destructs as you c Too bad. So does quietly, without al. about the other p around - whereve duty if you thinky if you are a sec officer or soldier
Such is the tr. far away from th living it out in th successful identif bomber by others be the end of ide within the range C pnel. A fierce fusi single moment of Surely this is helplessness that ( for that matter) m the high-pitched incoming heavy a bombs and missi
 

:rcion, whether they Security Division or that the other two
should the UNP emntational course with ith President Kumasent frame of mind, d not be positive to to the country. The n between the goveut present is over the ament necessary to ty to pass the constiposals. It is because ar been withholding tacrimony between ld UNP has built up el;
t shortly before the ons, Mr Wickreme
ho killed Ponnambalam?
TAM TIME 21
singhe reached some sort of under
standing with the LTTE that could have resulted in a de-escalation of the conflict had he been elected as President. It is now necessary for Mr Wickremesinghe to reach a similar understanding with the government.
The most tangible way to de-escalate the UNP's conflict with the government would be for Mr Wickremesinghe to offer the President a "conscience vote" on the constitutional reform proposals. He could release his parliamentarians to vote according to their conscience on the constitutional reform proposals, and not necessarily according to the party line. This statesmanlike gesture could be the first step in transforming the confrontational politics in the south and extending it to the LTTE in the north. O
Kumar
Lakshman Gunasekara
e identify and arrest : "intercept a suicide Survive?The obviolling over) approach to “come from behe suicidal man’s or ;fore she or he could or nudge the switch. nears you and selflose in (too close)? one just take cover:rting him? But what eople who may be ? What about your ou are a “citizen” or, rity guard, police t a city checkpoint? uma of those of us : combat zone and : targeted city. The cation of a suicide would, most likely, ntities all around - the blast and shran of identities in the iffusion. he same feeling of vilians (or fighters, st feel as they hear hine or whistle of tillery shells or, as is rain down from
attacking aircraft. Each salvo of high explosive, with their overlapping blast radii ensuring inevitable blanket destruction over large areas, prompts the same terror of indiscriminate murder and destruction as that cast by the suicide bomber, secreted time-bomb or triggered explosive.
There may have been a time when the battlelines were clearly drawn and the sources of terror were identifiable, and thankfully few: the State was 'Sinhala-chauvinist, the army spread terror among the hostile or disgruntled Tamil, the moderate Tamil politicians were the "moderates', the secessionist insurgents were the "terrorists',
Then, political violence was ushered into the previously non-violent, civilian-institutional mainstream of Sri Lankan politics by successive UNP regimes beginning with the Dharmista government of J. R. Jayewardene, As gov-ernment-related thuggangs stoned judges' homes and government-related labour union members were deployed in state-owned vehicles to burn and destroy Tamil-owned industries, shops and mansions, violence infiltrated the heart of government and the systems of law and order.
This was the foundation for a whole

Page 22
22 TAMILMES
State of terror: the “bheeshanaya' so aptly named by President Ranasinghe Premadasa (probably borrowing from Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s play titled “Dhavala Bheeshanaya'), the very despot who then proceeded to mete out that terror. As the Premadasa himself so royally pronounced from the Pattirippuwa of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in his inaugural presidential speech to the nation in 1988: "If the JVP fails to come into the democratic fold then other people would use other people's names and cause much destruction' (or something to that effect expressed in Sinhala). That was already happening in late 1988 as unknown gangs of armed men in un-marked khaki uniforms armed with standard-issue assault rifles and handguns, roamed the Ruhuna and other JVP infested regions throughout the country indiscriminately killing all and sundry and identifying themselves as'Kola Koti (Green Tigers), 'Kaha Balallu"(Yellow Cats), "Gonusso’ (Scorpions), among other feared pseudo-nyms. These para-military or state-linked militia death squads were plunging into the sea of violent political action provoked by the JVP-related armed groups as well as other (minuscule) leftist armed groups such as the 'Rathu Sebalu'(Red Soldiers) and the People's Revolutionary Red Army (PRRA). Some death squads in the Ruhuna even used the rame of PRRA in their counter-insurgency rampages but betrayed their non-insurgent origins by printing the Sinhala letter ‘pra” on their warning posters instead of the “pra' used by the original PRRA to signify life'. Soon, no one knew who was killing whom. Who killed Vijaya? Who killed Lalith? Who killed General Kobbekaduwa?
Who killed Kumar Ponnambalam? Can one tell from the method?
On occasions, there are the signature killings - the adoption of a classic style: for example, the suicide bomber either driving a vehicle bomb or throwing her explosives strapped body at the target. Anyone can identify this style as the LTTE. Neelan Tiruchelvam was killed thus, along with many others prior to him.
Then there are the other shootings with handguns or rifles or grenade-throwings - these are methods used by a whole spectrum of killers; ranging from underworld contract assassins to covert operatives of either State military of pro-state Tamil militant groups to
LTTE “pistol-gang ification of the kille plicated process ifn One has to assess th tion of the victim c to see who are oppo orientation and who the elimination. On ate the capacity of to carry out the di inclination (who ha Kumar Ponnam such a manner. Tha ional execution is ( its style - including be discovered. Som of killers use this p a lone gunman or o a hand weapon with and fuss and both fication of the kille: And suddenly ti new violent group faxed statement, wr incorrect English, bility for Ponnamb WaS Sent to Some in is to be taken at its In this stateme sation calling itsel Jaathika Peramuna ger Front) has clain Kumar Ponnamba defence of the arr Liberation Tigers (LTTE). Since all a are considered “terr the population - pri ultra-nationalist gr that some new fac “ultras'has launch terrorism against th LTTE’S terrorism. ment is signed by C (a typical nom-de gnates himself as Officer'.
The veracity o remains in questi first place, the kill seems to have th fessionalism that enced and highly up could posses Sinhala ultra-nati has indeed burst likely that their would be less prof Furthermore, ing to the Ponna indicates the poss ng infiltrated into balam”s associate

15 JANUARY 2000
Then the identbecomes a coma guessing game. political orientavictims and look d to the particular night benefit from also has to evaluhe potential killer :d as well as the the most desire). alam was killed in it was a professlittle doubt given the time it took to any different kinds rticular method of a small unit using he minimum noise r that easy identi(S) is not possible. ere is a mysterious in the scene - if the tten in Sinhala and claiming responsialam's killing that ledia organisations face value. nt, a neW organi' the 'Koti Virodhi (National Anti-Tined that it executed lam for his public ned actions of the of Tamil Eelam ctions of the LTTE orist' by sections of ncipally the Sinhala oups - it is possible tion of the Sinhala ed its own counterpse supporters of the The Front's statene Vijaya Ranabahu guerre) who desithe 'Commanding
the faxed statement n, however. In the ng of Ponnambalam slickness and proonly a very experiganised armed gro. Even if the first nalist armed group n to the scene, it is irst armed actions ssional in execution. e evidence pertainpalam assassination ility of a “mole” beihe circle of PonnamA mysterious "Sha
nthan' or "Shantha reportedly escorted
Ponnambalam on that fateful drive to Wellawatta on Wednesday (5 January) morning - someone in whom Ponnambalam obviously had enough confidence to agree to accompany him on that fatal outing.
If this Shanthan or Shantha is a Tamil and is involved in the assassination, it makes it unlikely that a (hitherto unknown) Sinhala ultra-nationalist group is responsible.
The finger of suspicion then more likely points to the murky world of Tamil militant groups, ex-militant “contractors' and their underworld networks. It is quite possible that the so-called Koti Virodhi Jaathika Peramuana is indeed a false red herring cooked up by the real assassins in an attempt to point the finger of suspicion away from them. The real assassins could perhaps be an anti-LTTE Tamil militant group hostile to Kumar Ponnambalam's recent political antics. It also could be the LTTE itself, perhaps uneasy that Ponnambalam's maverick style could take attention away from the Tigers - the real "heroes'.
Whoever did this cruel deed, it is reprehensible. Kumar Ponnambalam was never involved in actual warfare himself. What he mainly did was to give expression to some of the political aspirations and political program of the Tamil nationalist movement as a whole. He was one of the few Sri Lankans who dared to publicly espouse the cause of secessionism. In doing so he aroused the fury of the Sinhala ultra-nationalist who can scarcely conceive of even a minimal devolution and a multi-ethnic state let alone a separate Eelam.
What drew Ponnambalam to the brink of the world of violence was his recent attempts to legitimise the assassination of Neelan Tiruchelvam. While defending political aspirations and goals keeps one within the arena of civilian politics, the legitimisation of killing ora military offensive, however, inexorably draws one into that vortex of violence. Nevertheless, even if they risk of being affected by that violence then becomes real, that is not to justify the deliberate killing of a non-combatant. Such behaviourtaints an organisation, supposedly committed to just and emancipatory causes, with the unhealthy stain of authoritarianism, injustice and immorality.
But the finger of suspicion has never stopped in its search in conn

Page 23
15 JANUARY 2000
ection with the assassinations of Lalith Athulathmudali, Vijaya Kumaratunga and many others. Kumar Ponnambalam's assassination then brings us close to that dark abyss of the "State of terror' that many had thought was dispelled with the electoral defeat of the UNP led by the JR-Premadasa regime. It was in the midst of that dark, violent world that writer-philosopher Gunadasa Amarasekara first published his "I See a Streak of Light in the Darkness” (Gananduru Mediyama Dakinemi Arunalu) collection of essays - what is today the classic expression of the Jathika Chinthanaya philosophy (Amarasekara, 1988). That was the era of the Kola Koti.
Ten years later, in 1998, in his foreword to the new revised edition of his book, Dr. Amarasekara sees the entry of this stream of thought into the mainstream of political discourse, within a mere decade, as a measure of its success (Amarasekara, 1998: page 8). Sadly, Dr. Amarasekara's conception of indigenous thought has become pushed to the margins of what is today the discourse of Sinhala ultra-nationalist ideology. While "Ganaaduru Mediyama....' may not be equated with the ruthless supremacism espoused by some of the ultra-nationalist Sinhala groups, it is these groups that now dominate the Sinhala nationalist discourse leaving little space for the other more mainstream and non-supremacist perspectives that do exist.
More ironically, if “Ganaaduru mediyama...' first emerged amidst the underground violence ofthe Kola Koti, its latest revised edition precedes the advent of this mysterious Koti Virodhi Jathika Peramuna (KVJP) seemingly active in today's dark nether world of violence, racism and fascism. Even if an armed Sinhala "ultra group is not yet a reality, the hysterical tone of the various Sinhala hard-line groups and their increasing degree of organisational capacity indicates a dynamism if not a ferocity that could, in the future spawn such an armed movement.
If the extremism of the LTTE drives that organisation to physically elimnate and intimidate all those it perceives as hostile to its interests, what will prevent a similar development on the Sinhala side of the ethnic divide?
It must be remembered that Mahatna Gandhi was killed by a Hindutva extremist unhappy with the Mahatma's recognition of ethnic equality within
eace was the m Sri Lanka’s ca and top public c with the economic d country. Peace was and they aver that Lankan economy W. John Keels chair Ceylinco chairman Aitken Spence cha tnam, Hatton Nation Director Rienzie W Cumberbatch direct than and other top consider Peace as th Lanka.
Said Balendra in tionnaire sent by th Daily Mirror: My m the country is peace, perity to all our peop to achieve a positio in the region in the the world in the mec
Kotelawala who community's peace For the country my that is genuine and paper or an agreeme LTTE will take he
the Indian nation. S
ranaike too was kil were supposedly or forces which wer SWRD's inclinatio) ethnic groups despit la Only emphasis. S Zionist warrecordo! not save him from a assassin's bullet aft the Palestinians to Premier away from macist trajectory.
The virulence wi ndrika Kumaratung Wickremesinghe ha' Sinhala ultra-nat indicates the extrem sections and their m the mainstream of S Only time will tell v nce in words will r deeds.
 

TAMILTIMES 23
Millennium Wish e Business Sector
baratnam, Editor, Ceylon Commerce
illennium wish of btains of industry fficials concerned evelopment of the their first priority without peace Sri puld be ruined.
man Ken Balendra, alith Kotelawala, irman R. Sivaraal Bank Managing 'ijetilleke, Carson or Mano Selvanapusiness magnates e first need for Sri
answer to a quese morning tabloid illennium wish for harmony and pros
ble and the country
n of pre-eminence short term and in dium term; heads the business initiative replied: only wish is peace | not restricted to int. I hope that the art from what the
. W. R. D. Bandaled by forces who his own side but 2 unhappy about to be fair by all e his initial 'Sinhaimilarly, the heroic Yitzhak Rabin did in ultra-nationalist er his accord with pk the late Israeli the Zionist supre
th which both Chaa as well as Ranil e been attacked by ionalist groups e hostility of these urginalisation from ri Lankan politics. hether this virulenutate into violent
O
UNP has done and jointly work together to achieve peace for all the Sri Lankans or express its position. I wish we could put an end to all the violence, which affects every one, and I pray that hatred would cease.
Vijetilleke, Selvanathan and Sivaratnam, all good businessmen, asserted peace is essential for Sri Lankan private sector to blossom fully and display its vitality.
Top public sector managers too give top priority to peace. Said Central Bank governor A.S.Jayawardene: My millennium wish for the country is peace, peace and peace. Peace was also the desire of Bank of Ceylon head Dayanide Silva: My wish for the country is peace and for the bank the continuance of its position as the premier bank of Sri Lanka. Mahendra Amarasuriya, chairman, Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Planter's Association of Ceylon wished: Peace is my wish for the country and for the corporate sector sustained economic growth.
Economists too attribute war as the major cause for the slowing down of Sri Lanka's economic growth. It consumed last year more than Rs. 60 billion, a third of the country's yearly national income. The government is resorting to domestic borrowing to foot the war bill. Treasury bonds to the tune of Rs. 104.8 billion and Treasury Bills worth Rs. 124.9 billion had been issued at the end of November 1999 and plans to raise a further Rs, 25 billion by the end of March 2000 were detailed in the Vote on Account. With the current escalation of the war since November 2 when LTTE launched its devastating Oyatha Alaigal and the debacle of the armed forces in Vanni and the current siege of Elephant Pass defence expenses will soar further,
The Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka's best known economic thinktank has, in its latest 1999 State of the Economy report states: The economic cost of Sri Lanka's secessionist conflict have been substantial and are still mounting. Its costs to the country's social fabric appear to be even larger

Page 24
24 TAM TIMES
though they cannot be measured. It is a burden Sri Lankans can ill afford, particularly at this stage of its development. The country's development prospects depend heavily on how speedily a lasting peace can be achieved." The effect of the escalating war was felt heavily by the economy last year, which had been described by economists as an uneventful year. Some have called it as the lost year for the economy. Whatever description one may choose there is no doubt that it was a year where little was achieved and perhaps much was lost. It was about the only year where Sri Lankarecorded a decline in exports. In the first nine months of the year, for which statistics have been finalized, exports declined 7% from the corresponding period of 1998 which itself was a bad year for exports, Industrial exports slipped by 4.5% and agricultural exports dropped by 18.5%. The decline in export incomes had serious impact on domestic incomes, corporate profits, domestic savings and economic growth.
The slowing down of the economy is also reflected by the decrease in imports of all categories. The most distur
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The performa sector was poor la sphere of despond nd. Corporate prof from the bad 1998 of the best-quote 20% decline in pri months of the ye story is told by n reports published
Business leac country's confror the current plight call it the bane of It is the main cal way of finding sc problems, includi tion, the country fa uraged when Pres maratunga invite. speech on Decem Ranill Wickremes bring peace to the her statesmanshi ation had been d
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ecrease in the im
e and investment :stment goods declication of the loss
CC, e of the corporate year and an atmoncy prevail all rouwere further down 3ven Hayley's, one companies, show its for the first nine r. Similar gloomy st of the company scently. irs also blame the ational politics for f the country. They Sri Lankan politics. se that stand in the lutions to all major ng the ethnic quesces. They were encodent Chandrika Ku, in her acceptance ber 22, UNP leader nghe to join her to country. They hailed ), But their expectashed on January 3
15 JANUARY 2000
when President Kumaratunga slipped back to her usual confrontational posture. In a three and a half-hour chat on the Rupavahini she scolded all her opponents, the UNP, private media, LTTE, Tamils and the business community.
The Institute Policy Studies comments: "In the final reckoning, Sri Lanka's economic future will depend on how successfully it is able to slough off the partisan destructive political culture that has frustrated the full benefits of economic development."
The January 3 return to confrontational politics and January 5 bomb blast and the assassination of Kumar Ponnambalam had caused Colombo share market to tumble down further. On January 6 All Share Index was down 5.7 points while the Milinka was down 9.9 points. Brokers said that investors shaken by these events pulled out of the market fearing a period of instability. The January 8 curfew and the fruitless search for the Tiger suicide squad which police intelligence claim to have infiltrated into Colombo for major strikes at prominent politicians or important targets further depressed the market. On (continued on next page)
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FROM 2389 +TAX

Page 25
15 ANUARY 2000
The Hack Crisis
Damages BPImag
T.N.Gopalan
he passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane were at last released unharmed on the new year's eve after an ordeal that lasted eight days, in exchange for the release of three Kashmiri militants.
The entire nation heaved a collective sigh of relief, and the arrival of the "new millennium' was celebrated by the middle classes with elan and gusto, but the mood was relatively sombre in the BJP circles.
The first crisis which overtook the barely three-month-old Vajpayee government had left red faces all round. While the Opposition chose not to create any problem during the crucial negotiations, they sharpened their knives immediately after the release of the passengers and went for the jugular. The government, the left parties said, must take the responsibility for letting the crisis spin out of control and unwittingly narrowing down its own options to a point where it was let with few choices.
From allowing the plane to leave Amritsar to "relying too much' on the
Taliban and failing national opinion ag and their "sponsors, against the Vajpay lengthening by the
Who goofed up most, what role did play are all question ted endlessly in the the fact remains t claims of putting in a state which woul lessly before terror stood exposed as p.
For years the pa uncing the Islami inspired terrorism as faced by the world a cessive governmen their “soft' approa
In 1993 when t Rao government w Hazratbal shrine cri itants had taken ov talks were on to for any damage to that pilgrimage, Lal Ki the BJP President, til
(Continued from page 24)
January 10 All Share Price Index dip
ped another 8.8 points and Milamka Price Index plummeted 22.6 points.
The tourist industry that enjoyed a good patch in 1999 was shattered by the January 5 blast and the Ponnambalam slaying. Both events strengthened the lurking doubts about the security and safety of Colombo which the twin explosions of December 18 at government and opposition rallies had created. Friday morning curfew had created further complications,
Hotels in Colombo said some of the reservations had been cancelled. "At least 30-35% of the reservations had been cancelled,” said Trans Asia's Lobby Manager Ramzi Razak. “This is the season. But unfortunately, the trade had been badly affected this time,” he said. Similar was the lament of all five star hotels in Colombo. Beach hotels in the south and north of Colombo were seriously affected. "We are in for a bad
year," said the Be. boss.
Tour operator llations, especially countries and Germ a lean year again,' s ist Board Officialw formed a "crisis c steps to meet the si
Economists, a businessmen are no future of the ecol confrontational pc country will be to unions are on the community on whi is relying to create down hearted. The the poor section ( distressed by the ri Southern insurrecti rising their head. Th the major minori hardening. It is glo

TAMILTIMES 25
to mobilise intergainst the hijackers " the list of charges ee government was hour. where, who gained the Taliban actually is bound to be deba: days to come. But hat the BJP's tall place a "hard state', d not cave in helpism of any variety, athetically hollow. rty had been denoc-fundamentalists the greatest danger nd blaming the sucts at the Centre for ch to the problem. he then Narasimha as caught up in the isis – Kashmiri miler the shrine – and ce them out without renowned place of shen Advani, then hundered, “The Rao
ntara Beach Hotel
s reported cancefrom Scandinavian any. “We ate in for aid a Ceylon Tourho added that it had ommittee' to take tuation.
dministrators and w worried about the nomy. If war and litics escalate the rn asunder. Trade war path. Business ch the government jobs and wealth is people, especially f the society, are sing cost of living. onists are steadily e feeling of Tamils, ty community, is omy all around. O
government is feeding the terrorists with biriyani, our party would have responded with bullets."
And as Home Minister, Advani has been talking big about pursuing a "proactive' policy in Kashmir, not to forget that after India conducted its PokhranII tests, he had warned Pakistan of the changed "geo-strategic' balance. On both counts he had to face humiliating rebuffs.
While Pakistan's Changai tests proved that it was not far behind in the nuclear race, the motivated and ruthless militants have been making life difficult for the security forces like never before in Kashmir.
It has been pointed out that while in the past they had been looking for soft targets like migrant labourers or tourists, now they are taking on military and police posts and that even during the eight-day crisis a dozen or more persons including quite a few senior police officers lost their lives during the operations against the militants. So much for the much-vaunted "hard state'.
In fact it was rumoured that Advani did take strong objection to the way Vajpayee government caved in to the demands of the terrorists and threatened to resign and had to be coaxed into holding his hands. Apparently Advani and his ilk are yet to realise the constraints of a democratic polity, though at the BJP convention at Madras, held during the hijack crisis, the hard-liners seemed to have beaten a hasty retreat all along the ground, giving the "moderate Vajpayee' a lot of leverage. Be that as it may, the hijack drama did expose a lot of chinks in the Indian state. A group of unnamed, unidentified (not even after the crisis came to an end) persons took control of an Indian Airlines plane, Kathmandu-New Delhi flight with 189 persons on board at Lucknow, thirty minutes after it had taken off from Nepal on December 24. They diverted it to Lahore, but the Pak authorities refused permission to land and the Airbus-300 landed in Amritsar as it was dangerously low in fuel. The hijackers demanded refuelling failing which they threatened to kill the passengers one by one.
What exactly happened in Amritsar, during those crucial 45 minutes would perhaps never become public. How the authorities bungled it all so much as to allow the aircraft to fly out of their grasp, with disastrous consequences,

Page 26
26 TAMILTIMES
would remain an untold story, notwithstanding the inquiry ordered.
Clearly the hijackers should have been on the horns of a dilemma - whether to risk staying back for refuelling or to gamble and fly out to some safer destination despite the low fuel. Why no attempts were made to storm the plane or at least block its path? It would have been risky. Anyway the hijackers were getting nervous by the minute, had already stabbed to death one of the passengers. Well before the commandos could land there, the hijackers ordered the pilot to leave whatever the consequences. Such are the various responses. But the fact remains that someone somewhere had grossly mishandled the issue. Thereafter all that India could do was to wait and watch helplessly before caving into their demands.
The halt at Lahore - this time the plane allowed to land at the instance of the Indian government - the refuelling, the refusal of the Pak government to do anything to stop the plane from leaving the airport, Taliban's initial refusal to permit it to land in Kandahar, the brief halt at Dubai, refuelling again, release of a few passengers and the last lap of the drama, seven days in the Kandahar airport, conditions inside deteriorating, the Taliban's game of hunting with the hounds and running with the hares and the final release of the three hard-core militants including Maulana Azhar, a cleric from Pakistan and detained in Kashmir for over years, and the safe passage for the still-to-be-identified hijackers, all that make a nervetingling reading.
Whatever be the legitimacy of the Kashmiri militants' claims, whether one is justified in subjecting so many persons to such cruel treatment foreight days is itself a moot point.
Mercifully apart from the newly wed Rupin Katyal no oneelse was harmed, Surely they were not demonic as portrayed in the hysterical Indian media. They were fighting for a cause and to further their ends they had decided to do something, and they did it perfectly, without being too very inhuman, The released passengers came out with stories which put the hijackers in a better light than what was projected earlier.
Nothing wrong in subjecting a 100
odd persons from th some inconvenience the cause of a highe argument of some.
But then at issue aratist causes make and the kind of the gers underwent at Ka be condoned if thes responsibly otherwi Sadly whether it Kashmiri Mujahide Basque separatists, mass terror, totally u COunt,
The Kashmiri grc foreign-trained, arek ruthless, and they gi the agony and miseri themselves. A few d drama was over, apc claimed 16 lives in S se of the three milit give a big boost totl deen groups and suc or could become m future,
It may be recall of eight militants ir life of Rubaiya Sa Mufti Mohammed Minister in the V.P. in 1989, marked at history of militancy not known any peak What with a Mu obsessed with Kash turn all the screws ( aging the jehad gr saddle in Pakistan, take a turn for the v
COise,
There is also fall-out, the revan instance the three at Chennai in the l ber last all its she top leaders includi ter and the Home away because of Kandahar in New I payee still won a c the right-wingers." to the moderates, for the moment, a like building a Rar the abolition of the sion which guar: privileges for Jam the uniform civil (

15 JANUARY 2000
upper classes to or a few days in deal, so goes the
not whether sepense. Hijacking 'deal the passendahar could even militants behave
s the LTTE or the in groups or the Il of them take to justifiable on any
ups, especially the hown to have been 'e little thought to 's of the Kashmiris ys after the hijack werful bomb blast inagar. The releaants would surely e various Mujahin acts of mass terrore frequent in the
ed that the release exchange for the yeed, daughter of Sayeed, the Home Singh government, urning point in the and the valley has :e since then.
sharraf, seemingly mir, determined to in India by encourups, firmly in the things would only 'orse in the days to
nother disturbing hist backlash. For day BJP conclave st week of Decemn, what with most g the Prime MinisMinister keeping he discussions on elhi. An absent Vajcisive victory over hey gave in meekly pandoning, at least
divisive demands temple at Ayodhya, onstitutional provitees some special u and Kashmir and de, in order to keep
the allies in good humour and thus keep
the coalition at the Centre in tact.
The proceedings were colourless, and there was nothing to cheer for the cadres sold on Hindutva in the so-called Chennai declaration. And so to sustain their morale the party lashed out at Pakistan for its cross-border terrorism, thus at a time the government of India was sedulously keeping away from making any harsh comments against that country in their desperate efforts to ensure the safe release of the pasSengers.
Subsequently, Advani, the hardline face of the party, was supposed to have expressed his strong opposition to the deal with the hijackers, though for the records he endorsed the government's actions. The so-called moderate Vajpayee himself, feeling humiliated as he is after the Kandahar fiasco, is resorting to some hysterical rhetoric lately. He has called upon the US to declare Pakistan a terrorist state and is talking of "zero tolerance". "We will be guided by the principle of zero tolerance in our fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as also in the North-East," he declared recently.
Wasbir Hussain, Editor of the Northeast Daily, commented, sadly, "Apparently the Vajpayee government has decided to stop looking at (political) solutions to the problems confronting it. One must remember that most of the insurgency movements in the country are separatist movements and are unlawful activities under the Constitution...Such movements are bound to be violent. If the government decides to go ahead with its new hard line and were to adopta bullet-for-bullet policy, insurgencies perhaps would never end in this country..."
With a newly invigorated and fanatical militants on the one side, supported in every way possible by Pakistan, a Hindu revivalist party in command this side of the border and a totally useless and thoroughly corrupt government in place in Kashmir itself, the vicious cycle of violence in the region is bound to spiral out of control in the next few months.
And sending a chill down one's spine, Musharraf warned the other day that he would not hesitate to use the nuclear option in order to ensure the safety of his own people. O

Page 27
15 JANUARY 2000
CRISES AS CATAL
FORCHANG
Mohan Guruswamy
A. the millennium draws to a close, it is not only an appropriate point in time to look towards the future and to a new age, but also a similarly appropriate moment to look at lessons from our experiences. At the beginning of this millennium, the population of India was less than 20 million. At the beginning of this millennium, India began somewhere near Kabul and extended eastwards to Cambodia and Vietnam. At the beginning of this millennium India's was one of the great and dominant cultures of the world. Her wealth and powerputher ahead of what we today call the West.
In a thousand years we have travelled a great distance. We are 50 times bigger in terms of population. We are many times poorer materially, culturally and even spiritually. Politically India is truncated. Let alone Kabul and Cambodia, even Taxila and Jaffna are foreign places. We were conquered from the the West twice: Once from over the mountains and the last time from across the seas. Both these prolonged episodes have laid an indelible mark on our present. What we are now has been shaped in good measure by the two cultures that were imposed on us. It can be argued that we became culturally richer in the process but there is little doubt that we also became materially much poorer and weaker.
At the beginning of this century, all India was less than twice as big as Uttar Pradesh in terms of people and extended from Khyber to Kohima. But by now it is a poor country, systematically plundered by a civilisation and culture whose main offshoot still dominates the world politically, technologically and economically. This, very briefly, was our inheritance at the time of Independence. How far have we travelled since then?
One of our major achievements since Independence is that for the first time in many centuries we are able to provide a modicum of food security for our people. Even though hunger and
malnutrition persist, a frequent visitor to we have been able what and the per ca acknowledge this. B numbers the tide se inst us.
In the past 50 y people living belov standards has more number 320 millio number of illiterate about 450 million.
It is said that Ind population somewh the next century af another 500 million the performance of were to be repeated to assume that the who will be without in abject poverty t than they are now. bers and not just th be the biggest chall
lS.
To say that we kling this in the pa not be untrue. Gov. to hide behind the p reality cannot be h better in the next 50 But are we going to 50 years? The ansv very unlikely. The as much in the syst we have as in the seems to be domina The democracy root in this country system. Politics now for the future and gaining power. It is present that the futul about. Immediate gained precedence ding.
We get somethi us clamours for, E depends upon how to the disadvantag belong to groups no
 

famine is no longer the land. Materially to improve somepita figures seem to ut in terms of sheer ems to be still aga
ears, the number of v the bare poverty e than doubled, to n now. Just as the is has increased to
ia will have a stable ere in the middle of ter we add at least
to our numbers. If the past 50 years
l, it would be easy
numbers of people education and also hen will be larger To reduce the nume percentages must enge that confronts
have failed in tacst 50 years would ernments still seek ercentages, but the idden. Can we do years? Yes we can. do better in the next ver to this must be reasons of this lie em of government value system that nt these days. that has now taken is a transactional f is without a vision almost only about ; so focused on the e is seldom thought oenefits thus have over nation buil
ng of what each of How much we get well we can bargain of others. We all w. Our leaders have
TAMEL MES 27
seen to that, So the group that can effectively parley its numbers and organisation in the political marketplace gets the most. Thus, what the state can give generally gets distributed in proportion to strength and not according to need. The paradox here is that those who are in need are generally least organised to effectively bargain and so get the least. They might have the numbers but that does not mean very much by itself in the political marketplace.
Even when the group gets organised the priorities of the group and its leadership may not coincide. The group might need schools, dispensaries, drinking water and access roads. But the leaders want factories, universities speciality hospitals, highways and airports, whose large outlays mean more avenues of patronage and wealth. We, therefore, seldom hear the leaders who claim to be championing the cause of the poor and underprivileged demainding for more primary schools and basic health care facilities. The group might need minor irrigation works. But the leaders generally want major projects. The reasons are again obvious. Thus even now 70 percent of the country's farmlands are still rain fed. Thus even now less than 50 per cent of the irrigation potential remains unharnessed. What our social engineers seem to overlook is that the groups are also stratified and the interests of all the upper layers largely coincide.
Now it is time to make my first prediction. Our system is unlikely to change for the next decade or two. So the priority that will continue to be accorded to rooting out poverty and ignorance will not change substantially. The present trends will, sadly, continue. If by the middle of the next century we have a population of about 1.5 billion or 150 crores, at least a third of it will be both below poverty line, and uneducated and unskilled. In the course ofthe past decade we have become increasingly fragmented. We are divided by caste, religion, region and other narrow considerations. These divisions have existed throughout our history. They have been as much a curse as a blessing, Because we were divided we became easy victims of foreign conquests. But paradoxically enough because we were highly structured and socially organised we survived as a larger cultural entity.
The winds of modernisation have, ironically enough, been more success

Page 28
28 TAMITMES
ful in breaking down the social structures that preserved our culture and order than in demolishing the divides that did us harm. Instead of reform, revival has now become the order of the day. Hindu Samaj and the Islamic Umma are now both under siege by the revivalists. One breeds upon the other. Many of the institutions and practices of region-based societies are now inadequate or not in keeping with the times and need to be reformed. Religious obscurantism mental condition afflicting the intellectually weak, as well as a handy instrument for the unscrupulous and ambitious seeking a shortcut to influence and power. Hinduism which being less dogmatic had throughout the ages shown a great ability for self-reform also seems to be coming under the revivalists' grip. The number of Hindus who seem to be getting irrationally threatened by other religious persuasions is on the rise. We are also well aware of the situation in the Islamic world. Sadly, one sees little signs of this abating in the next decade or so.
The concept of planned development, self-reliance, equitably shared economic growth, and social moderni
sation which were int sophy of governance 1991 in favour of sc come to terms with a This liberalisation h with liberty from the ions. It has more to do ism' which is the ph ssive individualisma mulation. A nation th tma Gandhi and Jaip now being taught to successful accumula are being taught that individual comforts ments and luxuries, til a spiralling journey consumption is more national good and lisation were to mea more fairness, more e al justice, greater sti preneurship and cr would be critical oj happening in the gui is the abandonment ( favour of the individ sing that in this atm and oppressed will each passing day. Th
(Uíra Wiscwestiwaran
in “NAVEENA NIROOPARANA" New Interpretations in BHARATANATYA
Ereling in alfarets Bharatanatyam, Padn
d VN Centrul Natali Akadeh aиаrdeе,
hitra Visovës perforталсе, а иінін хрониапериs rhyтін
subdued eloquence of
continication and high energy execution. Her nate rapport with the au her rompeling artis rhythmic aplomb, scholastic approach vision as a performer teacher, choreographer eriedlera fantiepla
in the field.
¥r صست.
teen Elizabeth Hall
Friday 25th February 2000 at 7.45 p.m.
Ақсатралуіне итикіеііап
rriħi Sarava
Royal Festival Hall (ueen Elizabeth Hall PHIC&ll RQorm
Box Office) Open 0930 a www.shtmr) micon 017
189 Praed Stre London V2.1.R Toti 402233 fa : 1711 706214
elephone, Credit Card Boling Fe ||
handling Charges Apply)
sers ܫ3 ܐܝܪ37 ܗ Indian councilorural Relations
7. 960 4242 Inn - 9.00 pm Daily
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gral to our philofere discarded in ething we have "liberalisation.' s nothing to do amiliar oppresswith "libertarianosophy of aggred unabated accutidolised Mahaakash Narayan is idolise the most ors of wealth. We the attainment of physical enjoye embarkation on of conspicuous mportant than the velfare. If liberah more openness, conomic and socimulation of entre2ativity, nobody it. What is now se ofliberalisation f the collective in al. It is not surprilosphere the poor get more alienated is increasing alien
15 JANUARY 2000
ation, if not alleviated, will inevitably reach a flashpoint at which we will be engulfed by a major conflagration.
Even the food security we have now come to take for granted is under threat. As the population growth continues on its present and seemingly unalterable path, unless agricultural production and productivity keep pace we will be caught up by shortages again. Already we have seen that the per capita availability of pulses has been dropping. Agricultural growth has begun tapering down and has been hovering at less than two percent annually in the past five years. At present levels of consumption this might just about be enough.
But per capita consumption levels are rising, Considering that many and vast sections of the population have bettered their levels of income and standards of living. We must also not forget that we have greatly expanded the acreage under cultivation, particularly in the last two decades. When this is factored in, the levels of agricultural productivity that prevail are still very poor. Our productivity is still among the lowest in the world. This is not a good augury for the next millennium.
COME AND JOIN THE BHAVAN'S CLASSES AND ACTIVITIES FOR 1999/2000
Aq 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 ৰািতপু* Classes start from Saturday 11th September
O-O-O-O-O-O-O The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan runs 22 courses in Music, Dance, Languages and Yoga including: MUSIC: Karnatic and Hindustani Vocal with Harmonium, Bengali Music, Flute, Sitar, Tabla, Vina, Mridangam and Violin DANCE. Bharatanatyam and Kathak Certificate Courses in Karnatic Music Theory, and Art and Archaeology Of The Indian Sub-continent LANGUAGES: Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Sanskrit YOGA. Iyengar and Hatha Yoga, Meditation and Pranayam DRAMA CLASSES: in major Indian Languages
O-O-O-O-O-O-O lass Admissions may be considered throughout the
The Bhavan is the largest Institute in the UK for Indian
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For more details, ring/write to: The Bhavan Centre, 4a Castletown Road, West Kensington, LONDON W14 9HQ: Telephone: 0171 3813086/4608 Fax: 0171 3818758
OUTREACH Classes in Indian, Dance, Music and Languages: These take place, 5pm - 8pm from 13th September 1999
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Page 29
15 ANUARY 2000
I will not dwell much on the problems of infrastructure, environment and the pace of industrial development, These are well documented, widely discussed and often seem the only concern of the elites. Of these I believe the pace of industrialisation will continue to proceed largely satisfactorily, I am not commenting as to who will own most of the major industries by the middle of the next century. But if we allow our major industries to pass into the hands of the multinationals we will be left as producers of low value added products and involving processes that will be harmful to the ecology.
There are events taking place elsewhere in the world, which we can ili afford to ignore. The seeming triumph of Western values and ways and the emergence of a unipolar world pose a grave challenge to our sovereignty, We have already seen the enormous pressures we are being subjected to over the CTBT, This is only the beginning, Other unequal treaties and agreements will also be, similarly, sought to be rammed down our throats. There is a good chance that this desire to legiti
mise the West's su ntages will induce and its allies to res. gunboat diplomacy
The new technc advanced conventi ms now under dev this feasible. We he hip called the Arser lopment in the Unit sel is intended to ca accurate conventio of various configu capability of very c selected high valu little collateral dam act to such threats? is to also ensure tha means to face such
I do not believe mament will provid bal agreement, We reement on the deve yment of conventic is not secured, lindi: great economic we 2025 when we are one of the three la the world, will fac
Murder of Ponnamb;
Cat's Eye
The murder of Kumar Ponnambalam indicates to us that democratic space in this country has been curtailed. The inability to tolerate Kumar's views implies that our right to freedom of expression and association has been diminished. We hope his death is not a turning point and that intolerance does not grip this country in a cycle of terror.
Kumar Ponnambalam was a controversial figure. He often used harsh words and some say he even sowed the seeds of hatred. His presence in our society was a testament to our tolerance and his words were part of our vibrant democracy. His senseless murder has to be condemned. He was an unarmed civilian who was entitled to his views no matter how distasteful these views
were in some q remember his early when he was a m many civil rights g eared for many S clients, (whom oth most notably the ca. the leader of a Left
We also remem campaigned again endum. We mourr we also mourn the ( victims of mindles: their deaths are ca bullets, our society the senselessness ( condolences go ou
cated doctor of the
children.
75047
OEMERGENCYTRAV.
 

periority and advahe sole superpower drt to a new form of
logies and the large onal weapon systeslopment will make ar of a new battlesal Ship under deve:ed States. This vesIrry over 500 highly hally armed missiles rations giving it the :redibly threatening e targets with very lage. How do we reClearly, the CTBT t we are without any
challenges. 2 that nuclear disare a more secure glorequire a global agclopment and deploinal weapons. If this l, which will acquire ight around the year likely to emerge as rgest economies in
e new security thr
TAMIL TEMES 29
eats, A new world order relying more on coercive diplomacy is sought to be established and we must find an antidote to this,
I am not one of those who believe that we ran the risk of fragmentation. We have survived as a continuing civilisation for many thousands of years and will continue to do so. It is the State and not the nation that is challenged. If the State continues to demonstrate its inability to improve the lives of the poor and deprived, if it continues to demonstrate the inability to even offer them any hope, and if it continues to appear caring, the State as it exists mig-ht face graver crises with increasing frequency. We could try to paper over the crises or squelch them in the short run but it is not possible to leavic people increasingly dissatisfied for very long.
We must develop the attitudc of seeing each crisis as an opportunity to induce change. It is then possible that these crises might impart a new direction to the State and provide the lcadership with more effective instrumentalities.
(Courtesy: Asian Age)
alam
uarters. We also years as a lawyer, ember not only of roups, but also appSinhalese political er lawyers shunned se of Dharmasekera,
group.
ber how he actively st the 1982 ReferKumar's death as death of all innocent s violence. Whether aused by bombs or bleeds because of of their deaths. Our t to his wife, a dedicommunity and her
"The Terrorist"
"The Terrorist', was filmed in South India during the fall of 1997. It was the first small budget independent film ever made in the Tamil language.
Santosh Sivan, the director of the film was a well known cinematographer and this film was his first directorial venture. In 1998, it won the India National Award for best Tamil film. It has since been screened at various film festivals all over the world, including Toronto, London and Cairo. At the Cairo Film Festival, it was awarded the Golden Pyramid for Best Film. The jury was chaired by John Malkovich. In January of 1999 it was screened at the Sundance Film
Festival in Park City, Utah. After nearly a year, "The Terrorist" is scheduled for a theatrical release om January 14th in New York.
E. ONLY))))-SRI LANKA
289 -SINGAPORE
SOUTH INDIA

Page 30
30 TAMILTIMES
CLASSIFIED ADS
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The Advertisement Manager, Tamil Times Ltd, PO Box 1.21, is Sutton, Surrey SM13TD Phone: 0181-644 972 FAx. 0181-2
MATRMONIAL Jaffna Hindu seeks partner for medical doctor spinster sister, 30, in employment in Colombo. Send horoscope, details M 1147 C/o Tamil Tinnes. Graduate and part qualified accountant, male, 44, single from good Tamil Hindu family with British citizenship status, seeks compatible girl. Please send details with photograph. M 1148 c/o Tamil Tirnes. Jaffna Hindu parents seek professional bride for son, 28, 53" British citizen, postgraduate qualifications in investment Management and working for American in vestment Bank. Send horoscope details. M 1149 C/o Tarni! Tirnes. Jaffna Hindu mother seeks bride in mid-thirties for acCOuntant Son, director Of Own firm. Send horoscope, details. M 1150 C/O Tamil Times. Jaffna Hindu parents seek professional partner for fair pretty daughter 36, MBA, ACCA accountant. Send horoscope. Details. M 1151 c/o
Tari inneS. Jaffna Hindu parents seek professional groom for fair attractive daughter 26, Biochemistry graduate in good employment, British citizen, Mars seventh house. Send horoscope, details. M 1152 do Tamil Times.
OBTUARIES
ன் Thambyrajah, Paul Adalbert (St. John's Academy Jaffna, Forest Dept Land Develop
ment and RAOC) formerly of f7/4A Railway View, Chundikuli, Jaffna, beloved husband of Gladys (Girlie), loving father of Vasantha, Rajan (both of UK), Gajan (Australia), Susie (USA), Radha (Canada) and Ruban (UK) father-in-law of Ranjan, Julie, Ranjana, Gunam and Naresh, loving grandfather of Georgina, Paul, Jeremy, Gabrielle, Jonathan, Althea, Matthew, Mark, Lavaniya and Naveen passed away peacefully on 2Oth December 1999. The funeral service took place at All Saints Church, Wingerworth, Chesterfield, UK on 23rd December followed by cremation the following day.
Our sincere thanks to all those Who attended the funeral, sent fioral tributes and messages of condolence. - 9 Hockley Lane, Wingerworth, Chesterfield S42 6QG, United Kingdom. Tel: O 1246205322.
Mr. N. Thambimuthu, Perumalkovilady Jaffna, Sri Lanka; beloved husband of Nesannma, precious father of Dr. Rajakulendran (Oxford), Mahendrarajah, Shanthamalar (both of Jaffna), Satkunarajan, Atputharajah (both of London), Saromalar (Jafna), Sugunamalar Balarajan, and Raviraj all of London), beloved fatherin-law of Shobana, Vasanthl Jeyaratnam (Bank of Ceylon, Jaffna), Shanthini Premini, Sunderalingam, Ravisekera, Shivanthini and Dharshini passed away peacefully in
 
 
 

t |affna. On the 11th December 1999 and Was Crennated on the 12th December.
All the grandchildren and the members of his family wish to hank all relatives and friends Who attended the funeral, sent messages of sympathy and assisted in several ways during the period of our sorrow and berea Venent. - Dr. T Rajakulendran, 1B Church Road, Sandford-On-Thames, Oxford OX4 4XZ, UK Tel: 01865 774 134/T Satkunarajan Tel: 0181 550 1535.
*ఖ్య
1N
Masilamani Vivekananda: The death occurred in December 1999, in Vancouver Washington, USA of Vivekananda, son of the late Advocate and Mrs. M.A. Masilanani of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, beloved husband of Vallinayagi; loving father of Susruta and Pradesa (all of the USA), brother of Capt. Senthil Masilamani (Newbury Berks, UK), Mrs. Rajeswari (lindrani,), Kanaganayagam (Chilaw Sri Lanka), brother-in-law of Mr. & Mrs. M. Sivasidambaram, Mr. & Mrs. S. Sunderalingam and Mrs. Rajes Philips (all of Vancouver USA).
He served in the CRNVR in Sri Lanka during the entire period of World War 2, later joined the Postal & Telegraph Services, working in Colombo, Jafna, Batticaloa and Wella Watte. On retirement from the Postal Department he emigrated to the USA, where he worked as counselor for the underdeveloped being attached to the PrO Vider7Ce Medical Systems in Portland, Oregon, where he passed away while in service. Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere Heavendida recompense as largely send He gave to misery (all he had) a tear He gained from Heaven ('t was all he wished) a Friend.
15 JANUARY 2000
-- Capt. S. Masilamani, 6 Kingsbridge Road, Newbury Berks RG14 6EA.
Lily Arulpragasam (81), beloved Wife of the late Mr. Sinnathamby Arulpragasam of Pandateruppu, Jaffna and loving mother of Aruleelinayagam (Sri Lanka) Arulleeninayagi (Canada), Balasingam (UK), Keerthisingam, Jeyasingam, Kulasingam (all of Germany),
Thanasingam (UK) and Suryakumari (Sri Lanka); mother-in-law of Indira,
Jeyasingam, Shanthini, late Daisy Thevi, Rajes, Vergi and Charles; grandmother of Mayuran, Joy - Sulakshana, Smily Gopi, Percy Dinesh, Thushan, Subo, Sujith, Suja, Suki, Neil, Nina, Eric, Evon,
Pamela, Erina, Schiron, Clau
dia, Roshceba, Manoj and Vinoj passed a Way in Colombo On 1912.99 and Was buried at the General Cemetery Kanatte, Borella on 23rd December:
The members of the family thank all friends and relatives who attended the funeral sent messages of sympathy and floral tributes and assisted them in several ways during the period of bereavement. -
62 Elmstead Gardens, Worcester Park, Surrey KT4 7BE.
Mr. Eliathamby Vaithilingam, (82), Retired Headmaster, beloved husband of late Kanagammah; son of late
Continued on page 31

Page 31
15 ANUARY 2000
Continued from page 30 Eliathamby and Kuttipillai; loving father of Shanthamalar, Si van an it has a kth y, Ketheeswaralingam, Aingaralingam, Kugathasalingam and Gnanasakthy, brother of late Rasammah, Kanapathipillai, late Namasivayam and Kandiah; uncle of Rajadurai and Thatchanamoorthy, affectionate grandfather of Shobana, Amirtha, Bamini, Jagan, Gajanan, Praveena, Prashanth, Ainjita and Shangavi; father-in-law of Balasingam, Muthurajah, Gowri, Sushila, Swarna, and Senthillooryogan passed away on Wednesday, 5th January 2000 and Was Cremated On Sunday, 9th January.
The members of the family Wish to thank all those Who attended the funeral, sent floral tributes and messages of
sympathy and for their support
during this time. - 46 Highlands Gardens, Ilford, ESSeX G1 2LD. Tel 0181518 5904.
28.04.1923 - 08.01.2000 Mrs. Sivapakium Muthukumarasamy (Pakium) of Isleworth, Middlesex, UK passed away on Saturday, 8th January 2OOO.
She was the beloved wife of Krishnar Muthukumarasamy, retired Head Guard, Potpathy Road, Kokuvil East daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Nagalingam, Urumpirai; devoted mother of Jeya, Shanthi, Sivakumar, Viji (all of UK), Anandakumar, Dharmi (both of South Africa), Chandra, Skandakumar, Aruna and Suganthi (all of UK); loving mother-inlaw of Sritharam, Ponnampalam, Mala, Sathyanathan, Subha, Gajendran, Nirmalanandan, De Vi, SuCindran and Balaranjan, affectionate grandmother of Gajan, Senthuran, Sathya, Jenny, Vicky, Arrthy Amy, Kanthan, Pirana
van, Darshi, Shiya, Dusha, Harry, Yalini, Aran, Myu, Priya, Ganan and Ada van.
The funeral was held on Monday 10th January morning. The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to all those who attended the funeral, sent messages or filora tributesand assisted in Various ways throughout the period of bereaVerment. — K. Muthukumarasamy, 2 Raybell Court, Linkfield Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 6QT. Tel 01818472717
IN MEMORAM
Mrs Lalithambal Sandrasekeran of Nainativu, Sri Lanka passed away in London on 28, 1.99. The First Anniversary of her demise is on 28.1.2000. Sadly missed and fondly remembered by her husband and children Parameswaran (Canada), Jegatheswaran (Australia), Seethanantheswaran, Premachandran, Vasanthy, Ravichandran (all of UK), grandchildren Lakshmi, Sharmila, Sumi, Sasha, Prassanna, Sathes and Dinesh; daughters-in-law Charmaine (Canada), Sugi (Australia), Gowry (UK); relatives and friends. 37 Grove Road, Ealing, London W5 5DS, U.K.
In loving memory of Justice Tellippalai Rajaratnam, retired Supreme Court Judge and Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka on the sixth anniversary of his passing away on 15th
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TAMILTIMES 31
APPA
Naganather KUMARASINGHAM (Advocate, Colombo)
Born : 14.4.02 Rest: 221.7
in Loving Memory of Our BELOWED
AMMA
Sugirthalakshmi KUMARASINGHAM
Born: 2.1.07 Rest: 20.5.80
You are sadly missed and fondly remembered by your ever loving children - Saras Murugason (UK), Senathirajah & Priya son and daughter-in-law (New Zealand), Kamala & Dr C. Shanmuganathan daughter and son-inlaw (UK), Dr. Balakrishnan & Renuka son and daughter-inlaw (New Zealand) AND Grandchildren - Sudha, Sharmini, Ranjit, Shirani, Dharmini, Sanjay, Janani, Chenduran, ShivaShankari, Harshan, Gita and Dr. & Mrs. C. Kulanayagam Brother-in-law and wife and children (UK). You are greatly missed forever, and are in the thoughts of all your family and friends.
GOD'S LOVE is like a beacon Burning bright with FAITH and PRAYER And through the changing scenes of life WE Carl find a HAVEN THERE!
146, Ridge Lane, Watford WD1 3SU
January 1994. "Love and renenbrance Last for ever'
Sadly missed and dearly loved by his family.
husband Tharmalingam; children Brabalini, Brenjit and Ranjit, son-in-law Dr. W.N. Linganandhan; daughter-inlaw Dr. Vani Bremjit and Shamini Ranjit; grandchildren Abhirami, Sathya, Praneela, Praseetha, PraShObar Praveen and Anjana. 5 Beaulieu Boulevard, Beaulieu Park, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 6EU Tel 01245.466363.
Memorial Service
Skanda Varodaya College Old Students Association (UK) will be holding a Memorial Service in remembrance of revered Old student and former teacher the late Mr. M.S. Sebestianpillai on Saturday, 12th February 2000 at 3pm at St. Mary's Church, Wellesley Road,
8.
in loving memory of Mrs
Ganeswary Tharmalingam of Konda vil East, Jaffna on the Seventh Anniversary of her passing away on 211.93. Sadly missed and fondly remembered by her loving
Croydon, Surrey (near Home Office). All past students and friends are welcome. For further details please Contact Mrs. Gilda Kumarathasan on Of 8f 763. 2538.

Page 32
32 TAMILTIMES
IN MEMORAM Fifth Death Anniversary
In loving memory of Mrs Sivagamasunthary Sitsapesan on the Fifth Anniversary of
lts been five years since you left us, And we have missed you Fruch There's been an empty sad.
SSS in the hearts of all you touched.
We didn't want you to leave Though you had to go away But there is a special place inside us Where you will always stay.
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 Cumbria Lodge, 2c Oakhill Road, London SW152OQU. Tel: 0181 870 1072
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
her passing away on 19th January 1995,
Feb 1
The Late Dr. T.D. Sivalingam
- A Tribute
It was over 50 years ago that we met as medical students in Colombo, Life in those days was not easy. There were no student hostels. We had to live mostly in lodgings or with relatives, where ever possible. Our main interest was the study of medicine, Thanks be to God, some of us had Cultiwated eastern values of ways of life. Dr. Sivalingam was one such person. Our lives centred around devotion to God, respect for elders, teachers and towards people who had become victims of one illness or another.
It was my privilege to have lived close to Dr. Sivalingam, in lodgings, not too far away from the medical college in Colombo. Amidst our studies we found time to hold healthy conversations, laugh and relax in a simple way. The foundations that were laid in us continued all the years of our lives. Dr. Siva radiated a unique charm and joy to one and all around him. I have no doubt that this was divine joy which must have contributed to the recovery of the patients Who came under his care. After we qualified as doctors we went our various ways, working in various parts of Ceylon.
Although Dr. Siva did not talk much about God, his life was centred around godly ways, in the early 1950s, we were fortunate enough to work under the direction of a Senior Consultant Physician - Dr. John Wilson, who was dedicated to help victims of tuberculosis, While working at one of the largest Chest Hospitals at Welisara, outside Colombo, Dr. Sivalingam learnt the art of dedication. This was more than simple medical skills, During these days there was no specific treatment for tuberculosis,
Eekathasi.
Death was virtuallys the patients inflicted was dedicated to th Could not have Worke When people were ev the hospital for fear 7.B. Due fo medic medications slowly b
At that time, Dr. S the few Chosen to Cialise in the treatme Having lost touch w years, 1 met him in one evening in early get that meeting. Dr. while his wife and Cl bo. In those days W our lives with the S. our disposal. When his way to his lodgir visions. It was a gre the roadside. He rn, had a deep meanin pebbles by the seas beating and the p beCOrne Smoother a I began to see a r lives. This made a When I mentione months ago, he did What he had said. I man among men, w in a dark World Wii After that strange in Scotland for his Worked there,
| lost touch. With strange way I was with him about 3 ye leading a quiet life SOneWhaf bothers tion for which he However he had n
 

15 JANUARY2000
Feb 2 Pirathosam, Feast of the Presentatlon of the Lord Jesus Christ, Feb 5 Amavasal; Feast of St. Agatha; South London an Welfare Group, (SLTWG) Women's Front Meets. Tel 0181 5423245. Feb. 9 Chathurhi.
Feb 11 7pm Asia House presents a Concert of Indian Classical Music - Sarod by Amjad Ali Khan and Tabla by. Zakir Hussain at Royal Festival Hall. Tel: 0171 499 1287 Sashdi, Thiruvizhakku Pooja, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Feb 12 SLTWG Drop in. Tel:
Feb 21 8pm Santoor by Sri R. Visweswaran, Nephew of Carnatic Great G.N.B at Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall, Tel: 018 f 45f 4555, Feb 22 S a n k a da h a ra Chathurihi Feb 25 7.45pm Shankara Asian Arts presents Bharatanatyam by Padmashri Chitra Visweswaran at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tel: 0171 402 2033 Box Office Of 71 960 4242. Feb 26 SLTWG Drop in.
At Bhavan Centre, 4A Castletown Road, London W14
0181 542 3285 Feb 13 Karthigai. Feb 15 Eekathiasi.
Feb. 17 PirathoSam.
Moon,
Feb 19 Full Maharn.
9HQ. Te: O171 381 3O86/4O68 Feb 8 7.30pm improvisa
tions East and West - Kadri Gopalnath & Evan Parker on. Saxophone. Feb 25 7.30pm Students Mini Concert series,
Masi
taring in the faces of With "T.B”. Unless Orne 3 task of caring, one ld there. It was a time en scared to walk into of being infected with all research, specific ecame available.
valingam was one of go abroad and spe2nt of Chest diseases. th. Dr. Siva for a few the heart of London, 1960. 1 Can never forSiva lived in lodgings, ildrer) were in Colome had to take Care of nal sum of money at | met him, he was on gs carrying some proat joy meeting him by de a statement Which | Hé said, 'We are like ore. The waves keep bbles roll along and ld Smoother With tine' eaning to our human great impact on me.
to Dr. Siva a feV lot seem fo remember other Words he was a o almost radiated light put being aware of it. ieting, DrSiva Went to udies and lived and
im again. Again in a le foestablish Contact 's ago. By now he was er retirement. He Was about a heart Condils receiving treatment, lost his unique charm.
T
We were able to hold a Conversation as always. He discussed matters relating to his personal life. He never showed any evi. dence of being afraid of the last enemydeath, He was keen to introduce me to his wife and sons, He was particularly keen that I should neef his eldest son and grandson who lived in the USA. I knew his life was now centred around the family.
When I heard from his youngest son, Shantha, that he had gone to his heavenly home peacefully, it did not come as a shock. I have no doubt that he would have been welcomed in the heavenly abode. His Father and Our Father, God would have welcomed him saying "Well done beloved one'. We can certainly rejoice that Dr. Siva has no more earthly suffering. He is at peace with the Maker. As I was called to pay a tribute as his mortal remains were cremated, I did pause to encourage his Wife and sons. Death could not Clain Victory. The spiritual self of Dr. Sivalingam will ever remain with all who came into contact
with him. Saint Thiruvalluvar made these
well known remarks about the responsibilities of the father and the sons. When translated from Tamil, it goes this way,
it is the responsibility of the father to see that his sons attain the highest possible position in life and society. When the sons then move around in the World, people must remark, 'What must have been the measure of the father to have Sons like these?' Well, I am sure Dr. Sivalingam and his sons, Yuvaraj, Vijayaraj and Shantaraj do fit in very well to reflect the message
conveyed by the Saint
We thank God for the life of this beloved son of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Dr, Sivalingam,
Dr. PC. Kulanayagam.

Page 33
15 JANUARY2000
Maulia Tops in Short
Story Competition
Eleven year old Maulia, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Selvarajah of Hailwicks Road, Luton has won the first prize in the short story competition in the under 16 Section. Early last year she was one of the three top Luton children selected and presented to the Prime Minister and his wife. Her story Turning a New Leaf" will appear in a future issue of Tamil Tinnes.
Carnatic Scholar Sings
at Birthday Party
These days Youngsters celebrate their birthdays with a brunch at the local McDonald in theirteens they often celebrate outside home in a disco. Young Marino Kumarathasan, of Croydon, Surrey (an accomplished Miruthangam player trained by Sri Muthu Sivarajah and who had his arangetram some years ago) celebrated his 18th Birthday in style - with a difference (very much similar to the style in which his brother Angelo celebrated his birthday a few years ago).
Marino's parents had chosen the Bharatha Vidya Bhavan as the venue and had invited many of Marino's Aunts and Uncles associated With his childhood and growing up. Professor T.V. Gopalakrishnan (a Vocalist and Miruthangam Player and a respected Grand dad of the South Indian Carnatic Music Scene) was also present.
I had the pleasure of compering and doing the introductions. With invitees coming from various places far and Wide and some flying from distant continents, I had the funny feeling that I was asking in real TV style "This is your life Marino' with the big red book in my hand.
The invitees were tr Sangeetha Vidwan Sivanesan. Marino a Miruthangan and Balu Violin. Next followed Vocal recital by the vi Professor T.V. Gopal elder brother Angelo p rent on the Mirth Ganjira, their Guru M On Tabla and Balu F Everyone enjoyed the was in typical TVG sty Conclusion, the Birthc the Birthday Cake Professor, the artistes the audience.
All in Vitees were trea Bhawan Dining Hall. 1 Birthday Party compal parties had atte Congratulations to the Kumarathasan. Wimal Sockanathan
14.2.99
Gracious Ga Seych
Seychelles Arulmiku N Kovil is a remarkable f tive of a few Hindu far expatriate Tamils mos and South India in a C five percent of the pop
When the plans fo mooted during the ea fOrS had to overcome mostly due to the feel ture would not succes was determined leade
EMS
Ironical though it major foray into b, legendary Indian ( time always found The first copy of photographer of M President Mr. K.F packed audience members and poli Dwelling on the President describe to Call a nodern-d
lin the Presidento? first elected Conn last long due to changed the char: Connunist nover the President Said Stating that the a democracy. Mr. N Coalition politics. I and to him goes th Asserting that inc transformation of byword for Leftist thinking and publi China's long marc,
 
 

2ated to starters by Srinathi Sivasakthi companied on the Raguraman was on the main treat. A iting Indian Scholar akrishnan. Marino's rovided accompaniangan, Marino on uthu Sivarajah was guraman on Violin. TVG recital Which e. Shortly before the ay Boy Marino cut
and served the and all on stage and
ted to Dinner at the t was indeed a rare 'ed to the numerOS inded in London. parents Meera and
napathy of
elles
avasakthi Vinayakar ulfilment of an initiamilies, some of them stly from Sri Lanka ountry, where ninety ulation is Catholics.
r the temple were rly 1980s, the initia2 several obstacles ng that such a ven9d in Seychelles. It rship that led to the
TAM TIMES 33
founding of the Vinayagar Kovil with a consecration festival of Kumbhabisekarn seven years ago.
The land for the temple was purchased with the help of generous supporters from many families and the role played by the Bank of Baroda. The Government of Seychelles encouraged the venture in no small way and very soon Victoria, the capital of the Western lndian Ocean state became also the seat of a Hindu deity apart from the Catholic and Anglican cathedrals and a mosque. There was religious unity amidst a diversity marked by concepts and beliefs of 'One God'ordained by cultural factors that are unique to nations and peoples. This further reflected Seychelles ideals of democracy in reality.
In order to mark the seventh anniversary, the temple trustees have published an excellent Souvenir. It features Some Well researched articles on the Hindu faith and philosophy. The features on Lord Subramanya and the festivals of the Tamil people convey useful information while there are Comments and observations on the Hindu faith that are inspiring, some written no doubt with young people in mind. Naturally an effort of this type needs financial support and the role of commercial institutions within Seychelles and overseas is all too evident.
I am particularly privileged to comment On this souvenir since I am all too aware of the early years of the struggle of the initiators and how they met their challenges and the fellowship I enjoyed in the weekly bhajans before the temple Was founded.
Richards Karunairajan Mississauga, Canada.
- Portrait of the Long March
was, the newspaper, Malayalam Manorama, made its first ook publishing on 18 December with a pictorial essay on the communist leader E.M.S. Namboodiripad, who during his life himself at the receiving end of this leading Malayalam daily.
the photo essay, EMS Portrait of the Long March, by the chief falayalam Manorama Mr. B. Jayachandran, was received by 2. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi before a which included immediate family members of EMS, his party
tical opponents.
' 'long momentous and tempestuous career of EMS, the 2d the publication as a 'tribute to a personality whom we used ay Shankarachnya from Kerala'.
s view, Namboodiripad's biggest distinction was that he led the unist government in the world. Though the experiment did not Central intervention, that one event shook the World and acter of Communism in the country. It is he who brought the nent into the electoral and parliamentary arena of the country,
assimilative power of Indian politics was the strength of Indian arayanan said, EMS also made a significant contribution to hough dogmatic, he was practical in the application of dogma he credit of coalition politics.'
one can deny the role played by Communism in the social Kerala, former Prime Minister Mr. I.K.Gujral said 'EMS was the intellectual brilliance' and had left an indelible mark on our c life. His is the second long march in human history after
h', Mr. Gujral said.

Page 34
34 TAM TIMES
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