Friday, August 3, 2012

A UNHRC 2013 Resolution May Force a Referendum in North-East as the Indian Imposed 13 Amendment


The Indo Lanka Peace Accord of July 1987 required Sri Lanka to hold a referendum only in the northern province and the eastern province by 31 December 1988. It was to decide whether these two provinces should permanently merge. However, according to the Constitution and the Referendum Act of 1982, only the President can call a referendum. Using this provision, Sri Lanka managed to evade the referendum that was forced upon the nation.

The danger of a referendum is imminent

A vital legal question is, has Sri Lanka abrogated the 1987 Indo-Lanka Peace Accord. Although the IPKF was sent back, there is no mentioning of formerly abrogating the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord. If it is still in force, Sri Lanka is still under the obligation to follow it though it was never beneficial to the island nation. No matter how trivial it may be, the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord must be abrogated if it not done so until now.

Assuming the Accord has ended and is not valid anymore, there is a very high likelihood India will once again set a date for a referendum in the north and the east. Having learnt the mistake of allowing the Sri Lankan Constitution to decide when to hold it, India and USA, via another UNHRC resolution, force Sri Lanka to hold a referendum in the north and the east. There is no law barring it. Although it seems grossly unfair and unwise to hold a referendum only in two out of nine provinces of the country, the law does not stop it. Half knowledge pundits claiming such a referendum cannot be held must think again. The government of Sri Lanka accepted and agreed to hold such a referendum in the north and the east in 1987! That means it is doable. Ultimately what matter is not what is righteous but what works.

Tamils Against Genocide, British Tamil Forum, Global Tamil Forum, Transitional Government of Tamil Elam and Tamils for Obama are strongly canvassing for a referendum to decide the future of the northern and eastern provinces. They go a step further; they want the referendum to decide on self-determination.

It is more than likely the 22nd session of the UNHRC when Sri Lanka is obliged to report back on the compliance with the 2012 March resolution will pass another resolution to hold an internationally monitored referendum in the north and the east to be held on to decide either on total self determination or their merger. Brushing aside this likelihood with logic, morality and other immature arguments is outright foolish. UNHRC does not operate on logic, morality, righteousness or balance. It is totally run by the concept ‘might is right’.

The threat UNHRC poses to sovereignty, territorial integrity and the unitary status must be countered with a foolproof strategy.

Otherwise until Tamil Elam is created, they will come up with videos, documentaries, resolutions, etc.

How to avoid it or overcome it

There is no sense in struggling with 52 member contingents to Geneva, protests marches island-wide, pointing out to rampant double standards of the UNHRC and reconciliation achievements. They don’t stand a chance as can be seen from the March 2012 UNHRC session. Tamils for Obama would have scored another victory by then by supporting the upcoming US election, hiring more legal experts the government of Sri Lanka cannot even think of, creating more manipulative videos, buying more NGOs/politicians/activists, etc. and making further inroads into Tamil Nadu.

Interestingly the next Indian Parliamentary General Election is due around the same time the 22ndsession of the UNHRC will be held! That means Tamil Nadu influence on India will be many times more then than in 2012.   

By 2013, more moderate nations would have fallen out to become pro-US puppet regimes. Like Libya did in 2012, they too will vote against Sri Lanka.

There is only one way to overcome it. Aggressive, state sponsored “colonization” (the word used by Hon DS Senanayake) of the north and the east with new non-Tamil settlements.

That is the only way this absurdity can be overcome sustainably. Going by the voting pattern, there is a deficit of 270,059 non-Tamil voters in the north and east to defeat any referendum. In other words, around 300,000 adults must be settled in the north and the east by mid next year.   

TNA, TULF, ACTC, ITAK, TMVP and part of EPDP voters will vote for separation or merger of the north and the east. Since the 2010 General Election had a low turnout (lower than the 2010 Presidential Election), the 2004 General Election data is used. LTTE rigged the vote in Vanni at that election. However, still the voter turnout was low compared to rest of the country. If a referendum is held in the north and the east only, Tamils from these areas living in Colombo will also vote. It is no secret they have registered in both districts’ election registers. Therefore it is safe to assume a higher number for them.

Based on these results district-wise “NO” (NO to merger or self determination) and “YES” (YES to merger or self determination) votes percentages are as follows.

Batticaloa – 17% NO; 83% YES
Digamadulla – 81% NO; 19% YES
Jaffna – 6% NO; 94% YES
Trincomalee – 59% NO; 41% YES
Vanni – 10% NO; 90% YES

Applying registered voters as below and a voter turnout of 80% for the east and 60% for the north,

Total NO vote – 463,308
Total YES vote – 733,367

Difference – YES vote higher by 270,059.

This is the current ground reality. This must be changed by settling sufficient numbers of people to balance the ethnic composition in the north.

It is worth noting that had the Sinhala and Muslim people were not chased away from the north and the east, their numbers would have grown to an additional 161,979 applying average population growth rates to their populations in Jaffna in 1971 and 1990. That would have reduced the deficiency to only 108,080.

Sinhalisation of the north and east must start now aiming for the possibility of another UNHRC resolution that may force a partial resolution on Sri Lanka. UNHRC, India, USA and Norway (CFA) have already shown they can effectively circumvent to Constitution by either buying over or threatening politicians. The time to act is now, not in 2013. 

Providing housing facilities to security forces personnel and their families in the north is a good start. It can also overcome the UNHRC demand for demilitarisation. It is a quick way to change the ethnic composition of the north irrespective of the fact they live there or not. Timely action within Sri Lanka can make any external threat ineffective. 

Friday, June 22, 2012

Please Attend to support SJP on 28th June/10a.m. at Supreme Court to hear FR filed against TNA



At a time when nationalists were asking why no action was being taken against the TNA for openly promoting the separatist agenda, the Sinhala Jathika Peramuna (political wing of the Sinhala Nation) took the initiative to file a FR on 27th April 2012 citing the 6th amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution (enacted in August 1983) :

 Article 157(2) declares that : “No political party or other association or organization shall have as one of its aims or objectives the establishment of a separate state within the territories of Sri Lanka” 

 This is an important hearing for all those who believe in a unitary nation and stands against any separatist agenda even if excused for errors in translation!
 The Supreme Court will hear the FR application on 28th June at 10a.m. and YOUR PRESENCE at the Supreme Courts is important and essential for many reasons more so given that Sinhalese comprise over 14.8million of a total population of 20m. So a full court house in a show of solidarity would be a great influencer.

 Please pass on to all other patriots and encourage them to be present for this IMPORTANT hearing on the 28th June/10a.m (Wednesday) at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

 Case number: miscellaneous 1/20/12

Petitioner : Mr. Jayantha Liyanage/General Secretary Sinhala Jathika Peramuna
Respondents :
1. S, Senathirajah – Secretary to ITAK
2. V. Anandasangaree – President TULF,
3. N. Indrekumar – Secretary TELO
4.  K. Premachandran – Secretary EPRLF

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Mere Quirks or Superhuman Intelligence that Changed the Outcome of the War


The decision to write down the victorious war (2005-2009) in annals of history is a very insightful move. Ancestors kept many historical accounts of how repeated South Indian (mainly Tamil) invasions were repulsed. Heroic accounts of ancestors are detailed and descriptive. They help boost confidence in a military solution to similar problems. All such attempts had military, not political solutions. In addition to confidence boosting, they also point to potent military strategies to be followed.

However, there are matters that would evade any meticulous attempt to document history, especially in modern times. Due to political pressure, international relations and humanitarian considerations, certain vital information will be omitted from these documents. They may be quirks or results of superhuman intelligence, but their contribution to the final outcome of the war was immense. If these events didn’t take place, the war would not have been won.

Internal disputes of the LTTE

Disputes between TELO, LTTE and TULF in 1984 costed their friendship and a large number of lives of Tamil nationalists – political and military. LTTE and TELO blamed each other for the deaths of TULF politicians and started fighting each other. Tamil-Muslim disagreements starting from 1984 and culminating in 1990 also made matters better.

Internal disputes of Tamil Tigers spilled over a number of times most significantly after 2004 following the defection of their eastern commander. Wide spread killings took place. Casualties were both military and political. Joseph Pararajasingham, a well known LTTE sympathiser and TNA MP was trying to reconcile the LTTE and TMVP. He was killed by the dispute itself which he tried to resolve. His elimination saved heaps of worry in defence matters. Until then, the sudden demise of pro-LTTE politicians was unheard of. This new trend was immensely beneficial to Lanka. This dispute between two Tiger factions extended to the killing of many more TNA and connected MPs including Raviraj, Srinivasan and Maheswaran. In addition, pro-LTTE Sivaram also fell prey to LTTE internal disputes. His absence was a blessing as LTTE lost its most effective propagandist and geopolitical expert. They were the strongest stalwarts of LTTE-Tamil civilian unity. Their timely demise did wonders in the war.
A countless number of LTTE middle level commanders mysteriously died. LTTE blamed the mythical DPU for these.

The aim of documenting these events is not to find explanations. Explanations are not needed. What is needed is an understanding of how these events shaped the outcome of the war. These outcomes must be achieved in future military necessities one way or the other. Documenting these events certainly sheds light on what the outcomes needed to achieve the end objective.

Causal events
There were events that peculiarly fitted in very well into sending a strong signal to the LTTE to stop attacking civilians. For instance Tamil terrorists bombed the army commander Sarath Fonseka on 25 April, 2006. Within hours SLAF bombers were in action after a break of 5 years since 2001. Was it a mere quirk these jets targeted Tigers immediately after the LTTE’s act of terror? Or was it a clever retaliatory move? It doesn’t matter. What matters is the outcome. As far as the LTTE was concerned, what their thick brains would grasp is an unexplained causal connection which creates deterrence against further attacks. If they do, they will live to pay the price.

Strange events took place following LTTE attacks on civilians in the south. In order to put the blame on security forces, LTTE mirrored these attacks in Vanni targeting Tamil civilians. What matters is not an explanation but the outcome of this unexpected activity. Vanni population for the first time experience terror – what the south was experiencing. This created a mass hysteria and suspicion of the LTTE leading to mass defection. Vanni people forced the LTTE not to endanger their lives by carrying out terrorist attacks in any part of the island.

Similar events took place after many large scale terrorist attacks. For instance after LTTE killed 103 Muslims in Kathankudy in 1990, replicated these killings in a Tamil village killing over 200 Tamil civilians. Having done so, LTTE put the blame on security forces and Muslims. However, as a result of these violent acts, even the LTTE was fearful of carrying out further attacks on civilians.

War starting in Vadukodai and ending in Mulaitivu creates a national security threat

Not everything went well for the nation though. There is a clear difference in those who instigated, commandeered and agitated for the war and those who actually suffered. The war was envisioned, instigated and engineered by high caste Tamils from the Jaffna peninsular. However, Jaffna experienced war only for a very short time from 1983 to 1987 and 1990 to 1995. All in all, only 9 years out of 33 years (just 27%) did the Jaffna crowd suffered from direct war.
Casualties wise their suffering was even less.

However, low caste Tamils from Vanni and the east faced the brunt of war. War reached its climax in Vanni and ended in Mulaitivu. Most Tamils who died were unaware of what they were fighting for. Poverty, cohesion, threats and violence forced them to fight and die.

This disparity has created a lasting threat to the security of the nation. Since those who envisioned and engineered the war didn’t suffer as much as other Tamils suffered, the former group still insists on war, confrontation and Tamil Elam. They certainly didn’t learn the lesson as they were relatively unaffected.

That’s not all; this group gobbles all the benefits of peace leaving nothing to low caste Tamils. As a result low caste Tamils continue to live under these high caste Tamils in relative poverty and a relative lower social class. This creates the same conditions that led them to take up weapons!
In summary, the disparity between those who engineered the war and those who suffered has retained the conditions that caused the war.

A future confrontation must take into account this disparity and resolve it. Those who envision and engineer the war must be made to suffer most. Until they learn this lesson, they will continue to agitate for Tamil Elam (the root cause of war).

Indian interference

Indian interference saved the LTTE in the late 1970s when its leaders escaped to south India; in early 1983 when army assaults put their lives in danger and in 1986 and 1987 when the Indian government physically bailed out LTTE leaders. Despite the Gandhi killing, India continued to support the LTTE and did everything it could to disrupt Sri Lanka. At the restart of the war India threatened Lanka to buy all weapons only from India and not to approach Pakistan or China. This threat was disregarded. India also warned against deploying effective Chinese radars in the north by the navy. Once again it was disregarded. Indian agents bombing the convoy of the Pakistani High Commissioner didn’t derail cooperation with Pakistan. MK Narayanan’s only visit to Lanka was dominated by mix ups including his motorcade. He had to be dispatched in a taxi! Although it was a mix up, he didn’t take any further chances with his life by his unwelcomed visits.

India insisted on a political solution and to resume talks with Tigers. Due to disagreements within parliament, nothing happened in the front of political solutions. Had the political process commenced, LTTE would have found a vital breathing space and a lifeline. Political solutions stopped the war in 1985, 1987, 1989-90, 1994-95, 2000 and 2003-05. LTTE was destined to face the longest nonstop phase of war from 2006 to 2009. It didn’t have the luxury of a ceasefire to regroup, rearm or introduce new weapons to its arsenal.

Another Indian attempt was to interfere in elections through its pawns. India was sufficiently convinced its favourite dove of peace would win the election against the hawk from the other camp in 2005. However, Nirupama Rao miscalculated.

South Indian politicians freely visited LTTE bunkers. It is not possible India didn’t know their whereabouts! India knew their whereabouts very well but opted not to take any action. Demerging the north and the east was another matter that disrupted the Indian plan and angered the LTTE. It was no accident. It was a clever move. It convinced the LTTE that the 13 amendment would not even come close to the Tamil homeland demand. A breakaway cadre becoming the Chief Minister was far too much for both India and the LTTE.

Conclusion

Certain vital events that shaped the war are not subject to detailed discussion or documentation. However, it was these events that determined the outcome of the war. If not for these, the war would have ended in stalemate as in Vietnam or Afghanistan. What matters is not to find explanations but to appreciate the outcome and working towards achieving similar outcomes in future. Although the war was won, the demand for Tamil Elam is not over. It resurfaces from the same place it was born. War strategies and concentration failed to punish those who envisioned and engineered the war. It only punished the cannon fodder. Lanka seems to have given up on security measures after winning the war. Now it is fast becoming the destination of 1 million dollar drug consignments from Tamil Nadu; a playground of NGOs; a safe haven for Tamil nationalists; a remote controlled toy of India; a paradise for all anti-national elements and other vile elements. Keeping these vile elements on their toes, terrorised, is a dire need to save the peace. It needs no superhuman intelligence to understand the need to nip these in the bud using whatever means that work and less costly.  Otherwise it will be the same story again and again.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Afghan Coalition Casualties Racing Past 3,000 as USG Desperate to Contain Total War on Terror Battle Casualties to 10,000


Coalition troop casualties in Afghanistan surpasses 3,000 and heading to over 5,000 by the target date of exit in December 2014 at the current rate. With a total casualty figure of 4,800 plus in Iraq, the US Government is desperately trying to contain the total battle casualties of war on terror to less than the psychologically important figure of 10,000. A year after 2014 will certainly push the number beyond 10,000. That is why the exit date has been set to December 2014.

However, these numbers only tell part of the story.

Total western casualties in the battle front, suicides mainly due to PTSD and due to attacks in western cities since 2001 is now reaching 15,000. This includes 9/11, 3/11, 7/7 and other incidents as well. In other words the total casualty figure of coalition countries is set to surpass the total Soviet casualties of their Afghan mission.

What does this mean to world peace and stability?

Afghan terror groups have now beaten both the Russian and US camps comprehensively. Both Russian and US camps opted to run away from defeat leaving room for radical Islam to launch attacks throughout the world. After the Soviets left Afghanistan, it fell into a dark era of extremism and violence until violence spilt to New York. What will happen is much worse. Drones will be deployed in larger numbers after 2014 but given their inaccuracy, high ‘collateral damage’, inability to control ideological shifts and reform public opinion make drones less effective in the long run.

The Soviet Union, which was considered the most powerful nation on earth collapsed after the Afghan war defeat. A similar fate awaits NATO. It is better for NATO partners to divorce from it to protect their own individual interests from a resurgent and victorious Taliban. Some nations will even have secret pacts with the Taliban to protect their interests after December 2014. With both USA and EU in deep debt, much like the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, their woes are only beginning. Instability created in the Middle East and North Africa has created breeding grounds for the Taliban and other Islamic terrorist groups. All is set for a major showdown after December 2014.

The reason for the US and coalition defeat in Afghanistan is their hypocrisy. As a direct result of hypocrisy, there is no coordinated effort to fight terrorism. When one part of the world fights terrorism, the other criticises it. One nation’s terrorists are another nation’s freedom fighters. This has opened exciting new avenues for terrorists. If any terror group is capable of operating internationally, across the hypocrisy divide, their survival is guaranteed.

If the US government naively thinks the war will end in December 2014, it is in for a very nasty surprise. There was no war in 2000 but that wasn’t peace. Far from it. Emboldened by their victory Afghan terror groups will again and again attack western interests. The west will be faced with difficult options – go back to Afghanistan and lose again or put up with the global increase in Islamic terrorism.

Biggest financier of Wahabism and terrorism is Saudi Arabia. It is by no accident Idi Amin and the family of Osama ended up in Saudi Arabia. Being the largest exporter of oil, Saudi Arabia has an undying reserve of funds for Islamic terror groups around the world. Unless the Saudi Arabian dictatorship is brought down and its oil reserves are directly shared between world superpowers – USA, Russia and China, Islamic terrorists will prosper. Petro dollar, limited relatively liberal Emirates and other petty benefits are far less significant compared to the benefits it brings by dismantling the Saudi Arabian dictatorship. Once oil revenue and Islam are separated the world will be at peace from most terror and counter terror activities. It will also ease the rapid uncontrolled growth of Islam throughout the world threatening other religions, taking over their places of worship and introducing controversial practices particularly relating to women and children.

Eventually not just the westerners but also all humanity is going to suffer from terrorism. It is essential all nations in the world, at least civilised nations, must come together to help each other fight their terrorists. Selective condemnation of nations in their endeavours to defeat terrorism must stop forthwith. Interpol should be given more powers and assisted in hunting down terrorists no matter where they are. Money collection and moral support for terror groups and their front organisations must be totally stopped.

Unless these actions are taken, December 2014 will spell more disaster than any good. With trillions of dollars wasted, western military and civilian casualties set to run past 15,000 and a humiliating defeat on the horizon, options are very limited.

Monday, March 19, 2012

DS Senanayake - The Leader the Nation Craves For Today

From Lankaweb, Youtube.

Senanayake played an active role in the independence movement first supporting his brother Fredrick Richard Senanayake and after his death in 1926, D. S. took his place Legislative Council and lead the independence movement. In 1931 when he was elected to the State Council, and went on to become Minister of Agriculture and Lands. He combated Ceylon’s agricultural problems effectively, and established the LDO, an agricultural policy that countered Ceylon’s rice problems. This policy earned him respect, and he continued to be a minister for fifteen years. He also enforced “Agricultural Modernisation”, which increased production output. During World War II he was a member of the Ceylon war cabinet.

However, he resigned in 1946 from his cabinet post to fight for Ceylon’s independence. That same year he founded the United National Party (UNP) by amalgamating three right-leaning pro-dominion parties, which is still one of the main political parties and perhaps the largest single party in Sri Lanka. In only a year he succeeded, and was elected as Ceylon’s first Prime Minister in the general election held in 1947. He refused a knighthood, but maintained good relations with Britain and was a Privy Councillor. He boldly made plans to spread out the population, and his Gal Oya scheme relocated over 250,000 people.

Monday, February 13, 2012

The Truth about 40,000 Dead Tamils in Last Stages of the War



The 40,000 figure is cited by many with half knowledge as the number of civilians killed during the final stages of the war. Nothing can be further from the truth. There is conclusive evidence to show it is a mere number with no relevance to civilians and in fact most of the dead are LTTE armed cadres who tried to ‘defend’ LTTE control in Vanni.

This is a pro-LTTE claim made on February 17, 2009; three months before the war ended.

LTTE invented the number well in advance

‘40,000 people prepared to die in battle if no ceasefire called (Tuesday, February 17, 2009)’


“Our reports from the Vanni indicate that tens of thousands of civilian defense force members have been mobilized to defend the Tamil people from the genocidal Sinhalese invasion currently underway. India is quickly looking for a way to diffuse the stand off, not having expected the Tamil civilians to take up arms against the Sri Lankan army. If there is a battle in which 40,000 Tamil civilians die defending their people, the Indian government will be held responsible by the citizens of Tamil Nadu.”


It is crystal clear LTTE terrorists fabricated the 40,000 number well before the end of the war.

The above newspaper clearly indicated that this 40,000, irrespective of the veracity of the number, to be armed LTTE terrorists fighting in plain clothing. It shows the extent of using human shields by the LTTE. 

And it was over three months before the war ended!

Annihilated LTTE terrorist regiments account for the dead

The following LTTE brigades were totally annihilated in battles in the last phase of the war


  Malathi Brigade – annihilated

      Sothiya Brigade – annihilated

      Charles Anthony Regiment – annihilated

      Imran Pandian Regiment – annihilated

      Jeyanthan Brigade – annihilated

      Sea Tigers – annihilated

      Suicide Bomber Brigade – annihilated

      Victor Artillery Brigade – annihilated

      Kutti Sri Motar Brigade – annihilated

      Ellalan Force – annihilated

      Air Tigers and other ancillary brigades – annihilated   


    If each brigade was made up of 1,000 to 3,500 cadres, the eleven (11) brigades of the LTTE would have had 11,000 to 38,500 cadres who died fighting. However, more likely the real number of all dead during the last stages of the war is closer to the lower end and almost all of them were LTTE armed cadres.

Damn lies of UN staff

“At the end of February 2009, the United Nations Country Team informed the Government that, in its view, there were 267,618 civilians present in the LTTE controlled area, basing the estimate, in part, on UNOSAT Quickbind and Worldview satellite images, used to count the number of IDP shelters. At the end of April, United Nations estimates were that 127,177 civilians still remained trapped, whereas the Government said there were only 10,000 persons left at the time. The number of IDPs who eventually emerged from the area and were housed at Menik Farm and in other camps was approximately 290,000. The discrepancy in these figures has not been adequately explained by the Government.”


Before February, only a very few civilians escaped LTTE jackboot and ran for safety in government controlled areas. Then the UN accused the LTTE for trapping civilians. Large movement of civilians occurred after this event.


The total number of people who got into SL government control after the war was 282,380, according to UN update as of 10 July 2009.”


Incredibly, five months later, UN reported the total number of people who came from LTTE controlled areas was 282,380 which is 14,762 higher!

Who are they trying to mislead?

Of course the earlier number (on February 2009) was an estimate. But it has come very close to the real number. UN was involved in many humanitarian operations in LTTE controlled areas and they could have known the number of humans in LTTE controlled areas with reasonable accuracy.

At the very least, almost the total number of humans in LTTE controlled areas in February 2009 made it safely to government controlled areas. 40,000 is too big a number for the estimate to differ from the actual (which was higher than the estimate!). 

Friday, January 6, 2012

Danger Signs We Ignored for 105 Years are Ominously Back on the Horizon



There are thousands of issues that take the attention of the citizenry everyday. However, national security cannot be pushed to the backburner. Tamil Elamists are on the march again. Tamil intellectuals, priests, academics, lawyers, teachers, doctors and various other ‘front-end’ service providers who constantly interact with thousands of people have demanded from the TNA that it sticks to its guns of Tamil racism. They have warned TNA against “giving into” government pressure and dropping Tamil nationalist demands including a Tamil Nation for 85 million Tamils around the world.


Readers are requested to read the above and take a note of the signatories, their professions and take in the fact that they are opinion creators in the society.

Since ancient times Tamil invaders tried to take over the island nation. They were violently defeated. Sri Lankan policy makers since 1948 let the past bury its dead and carried on regardless of the imminent danger that was unfolding around them.

We don’t seem to be doing anything about it! Doing the same thing (or abstaining from doing what needs to be done) and expecting a different result is insanity according to the great mathematician Albert Einstein. History is already repeating. It will be a matter of years when the next major terrorist attack occurs.

Tamil violence and ultimately militancy grew stage by stage since the late 19th century.





Why didn’t we see this coming? – Earliest warnings of Tamil violence 
“In 1871, Caste clashes erupted between Vellalar, dhoby caste and barber caste in Maviththapuram. The root cause of the riot was alleged that dhoby caste people refused to wash the clothes of barber caste people. Vellalar caste people were blamed for the violence. This is the first known caste/race riot in the island.

September, 1923 saw another caste riot in Jaffna. In Sutumalai, Vellalars attacked Paramba caste people who had hired drummers for a funeral alleging that Paramba caste people had no right to emplot drummers for their funerals as they were ‘low caste’. In 1931 a similar violent riot took place in Canganai, Jaffna where Pallar caste individuals were attacked by Vellalar people for hiring drummers for a funeral. According to Tamil tradition, only ‘high caste’ people could hire drummers and ‘professional mourners’ (a unique practice in the north) for funerals.

In June 1929 caste riots broke out again in the north in response to the ‘equal seating directive’ of the government which was applicable to grant-aided schools. Under this directive ‘low caste’ students were allowed to sit on the bench. Until then they sat either on the floor or outside the classroom. Resultant riots bunt a large number of houses mainly of low caste Tamils. Their children en masse were stopped from attending schools. Repeated petitions were made to the government by ‘high caste’ Vellalars begging to cancel the directive!”

Quoted from: Tamil Caste Discrimination by Thomas Johnpulle, Sri Lanka Guardian,http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/10/tamil-caste-discrimination.html

If the Vellahla Tamils could unleash violence for nothing on their own kind, what would stop them from using violence against the Sinhalese? Please note that the first race riot was not the 1915 riot but the 1871 (105 years before the start of the Vadukoddai War in 1976) caste riot within the Tamil community. Since then, until independence, periodic Tamil caste riots took place. Tamils were also responsible for the 1939 Tamil-Sinhala riot that started in Nawalapitiya and the 1958 riot started with SJV Chelvanayagam’s tar brush campaign against the Sinhalese and the Sinhala language. Even the 1983 riot was initiated by Tamil Tigers. The 1985 Tamil-Muslim riot and the 2002 Valachchenei Tamil-Muslim riot were also initiated by Tamil nationalists.

Despite these clear indications, why didn’t we see a full scale war coming our way following independence?

Why didn’t we see this coming? – Latter warnings of Tamil violence 
“The failure of the 1961 “satyagraha” set several (Federal Party) leading lights thinking. Mahatma Gandhi, they argued, succeeded in India with his concept of non-violence and non-cooperation because he was leading a majority against a minority, however powerful; whereas in Sri Lanka, the Tamils were a minority seeking rights from a majority. And the majority was not willing to give concessions.

Some of 20 men associated with the Federal Party thought Gandhism had no place in such a scenario. They decided after the prolonged deliberations to form an underground group to fight for a separate state. Most of them were civil servants and had been influenced by Leon Uris Exodus. At a meeting in Colombo, they christened their group Pulip Padai (Army of Tigers).

On August 12, 1961, the Pulip Padai members converged at the historic Koneswaran Temple in the eastern port town of Trincomalee and, standing in its holy precincts facing the sea took a solemn oath to fight for a Tamil homeland.

Pulip Padai immediately got into the act, putting out leaflets and pamphlets printed clandestinely, advocating militancy. A student wing called the Manavar Manram (students council) was set up in 1963. Two Federal Party leaders the Pulip Padai strongly backed were Amirthalingam and V.Navaratnam ( Chavakachcheri MP).

Two of them were A.Rajaratnam and K.Sivagnanasundaram. Rajaratnam died in 1975 in Madras of asthma.( Rajaratnam was awarded a gold medal posthumously by Pirabaharan at a Jaffna public meeting after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. Indian investigators believe that Dhanu, the woman who acted as the human bomb to kill Gandhi was Rajaratnam’s daughter). Sivagnanasundaram became the staunch supporter of the LTTE. He was killed in Jaffna in 1988 by the EPRLF.

In 1969, Thangathurai and Kuttimuni and a few friends gathered in Jaffna to form an informal group that the former wanted to name the Tamil Liberation Organisation (TLO).

A college Prof’s house at Point Pedro, in Jaffna, was a regular meeting point for the group. It included among others Periya (big) Sothi, Chinna (small) Sothi, Chetti, Kannadi (a radio mechanic), Sri Sabaratnam (TELO leader) and V.Pirabaharan (LTTE supremo). One man who drifted by but broke away to chart an independent course was Ponnudorai Sivakumaran, who was to become one of the first martyrs to the Tamil cause.

In April, 1971, Thangathurai, known as mama ( uncle) and some 15 others were making explosives at the Thondamanar high school when a bomb went off, seriously injuring Chinna Sothi. The next year, a similar blast occurred, causing burn injuries to Thangathurai, Chinna Sothi, Pirabaharan and V.Nadesuthasan.”

Quoted from: Early Tamil Militancy, M.R. Narayan Swamy
(A selected electronic version can be found in: http://tamilnation.co/tamileelam/armedstruggle/earlymilitancy.htm)

The funny thing was they met in Colombo and formed the Army of Tigers in 1961! What were we doing?
Also of note is how government servants (teachers and lecturers) spearheaded the terrorist campaign while on the payroll of the government. Rings a bell? Well this is being repeated today!

What ought to have been done to the initial group of Tamil nationalists? They should have been secretly eliminated from the society without a trace. That could have saved the Tamil society from total destruction. The link between the creation of the political need for a Tamil nation by Chelvanayagam, etc. to the experiments with bombs is clearly explained in the above book.  

Why didn’t we see this coming? – Humble beginnings of uncontrollable Tamil violence 
“The first successful robbery blamed on Tamil militants took place in 1974 when 91,000 rupees was taken away from the Multipurpose Cooperative Society of Tellipallai. Tamil sources said Chetti and one of his cousins were among the responsible for the robbery, while one published account attributed the raid to Pirabaharan. Around the same time Chetti slipped to Tamil Nadu and teamed up with a crowd Valvettithurai that was camping in Salem.”

On March 5, 1976 Pirabaharan led a raid on the state run People’s Bank at Puttur and escaped with a half a million rupees in cash and jewellery worth of 200,000 rupees after holding the employees at gun point. It was the first successful bank robbery in Jaffna.”

Quoted from: Early Tamil Militancy, M.R. Narayan Swamy

 These were matters to be handled by the armed forces not by the police. Despite the JVP using these very same tactics in 1971 to finance its violent campaign, the then government ignored them. It was a grave mistake for which the nation would pay a very heavy price. Lack of counter insurgency expertise was the main reason for the failure. Security was given a break until a dire security situation arose. At the very least now, this “wait and see” approach must change.  

 What most of us didn’t know about the 1970s Tamil Diaspora
Did the Tamil Diaspora turn anti-Sri Lankan after 1983 riots? No. Tamil Diaspora especially those who were in the United Kingdom were looking for violence and separatism way back in the early 1970s.
“EROS was formed in 1975 by Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy and Shankar Rajee, both of whom were living in Great Britain at the time. Initially a think-tank concerned with Tamil issues, its leadership established ties with the Palestinian Liberation Organization and formed militant training camps in Sri Lanka. These camps eventually militarized and trained most of the rebels who formed other Tamil movements in the 1980s. Although the most radically nationalist of all the Tamil groups, EROS was the least militarily active of all such groups. However, the group was responsible for a string of bombings in Sri Lanka in the mid-1980s as well as for the kidnapping of British journalist Penelope Willis.

EROS gradually lost its influence as Tamil independence movements emerged as offshoots of EROS. These groups, the largest of which is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), took the majority of EROS members with them.”

Tamil intellectuals in the Tamil Diaspora with their resources, intellect, networking and organisational skills initiated the Tamil armed violence that was absorbed by the LTTE and ran with it. This not only gave the LTTE vital initial funds, but also an international network.
Isn’t this what is happening today?

The only solution
Equipped with the knowledge of history, ancient, past and modern, we must approach this problem proactively. Support for Tamil Elam was not the same in all Tamil enclaves in the island nation. It was mostly concentrated on the north which was over 96% Tamil at that time. Today the north is 100% Tamil as others are not allowed to live there by Tamil politicians and their voters.

State sponsored and military backed new settlement schemes must be put in place to dissolve Tamil-only ideologies. Tamil separatists must be identified early through a wide spread secret service and eliminated without a trace. Time to time the northern Tamil-only societies should be given baits to identify Tamil separatists hiding in the society. Tamil Diaspora activists’ local agents should be closely monitored and any suspicion of Tamil nationalism should be handled using appropriate violence. There are no sizable pro-Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora groups at the moment.

Giving into Tamil demands is the worst crime the government can do. Appeasement doesn’t solve any problem. Instead it encourages further demands. Northern development should be separated from developing Tamils. Northern development should benefit 74% Sinhalese, 8% Muslims, 12% Sri Lankan Tamils, 5% upcountry Tamils and 1% others.

The only political solution is ethnic integration, especially in the north by creating multi ethnic colonies. Any other political solution will fail and end up in war again.
Every year the government spends 750 billion rupees of taxpayer money on the Jaffna University. Unfortunately the Jaffna University is at the heart of Tamil separatism. From student unions to prominent lecturers, graduates and connected persons, there is a huge movement towards Tamil racism. Are we to allow this in the open?


At the moment there are 5,000 undergraduates studying at the Jaffna University, almost 99% of undergraduates and lecturers are Tamils. Just like a Tamil Nadu university. It was a very unwise move by the government to establish the Jaffna University in 1974 that is now a hotbed and safe house of Tamil racism. Tamil intellectuals instead of being grateful to the then government for a Tamil-only university, strongly drifted to the ultra-racist Vadukoddai Resolution at the 1977 election. It is time to learn lessons or dig our own grave with our own money.

The government should strongly clamp down on lecturers and students who engage in promoting Tamil nationalism. Disciplinary action must be taken and either the university should be weakened gradually or the ethnic composition should be changed. Interestingly although the government follows a strict approach towards all other university student trouble, it has been very reluctant to discipline Jaffna University’s violent and illegal student unions! Naturally this will encourage further violence.

National security related decisions must be taken by those who are educated and experienced in defence, not by those ignorant of defence. The former group would use military theory to resolve matters successfully whereas the latter group would resort to unscientific means to resolve the issue. LTTE violence never responded to spiritual, moral or religious approaches.


Peace everyone enjoys today came after millions of kilograms of bombs were dropped in Tiger controlled areas, tens of thousands of artillery and mortars fired at them and the entire shipping fleet of Tamil Tigers was sunk in the mid-sea. These extreme measures can be avoided if and only if troublemakers are identified early and eliminated. There aren’t the resources to mollycoddle them. Nor the people have the patience to put up with them and their racist demands.