Being positive of Sri Lanka government's KP operation

(August 07, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) According to pro-government Business Today of Sri Lanka, 'Kumaran Pathmanathan was the international chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). He was the mastermind behind the arms procurement, shipping and financial networks of the LTTE abroad.' Notably, he is not linked in with any direct crime like the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, although the pro-government media often said so previously.

KP is currently in the custody of the Government, says the Business Today, although the government contradicts this idea. However, KP says in Business Today interview "Even I do not know when I will be released. My life is like this but I do not care about that." He adds. "The Government has given me security but I am under house arrest."

One year ago on August 5, 2009, Thambiaiya Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias “KP” was taken into custody in Kuala Lumpur at First Tune Hotel on 316 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman Road and he was brought to Colombo the following day. Some government officials have accepted that they had rapport with this then notorious terrorist as they had branded him, since 2007 during the time he was sidelined from the organization in 2003. However with the escalation of the conflict Prabakaran reappointed him in January 2009 as the Chief of International Relations. He claimed himself as the leader of the LTTE following the death of Prabakaran.

KP's role is clearly dubious. Present LTTE elements accuse him of being a double agent. His arrest at a hotel in Malaysia was an arranged affair according to them. It could be a move protect him from his own brethren in LTTE. However, KP said in the Business Today interview that he was arrested.

He said to D.B.S. Jeyaraj, "I was sitting in the Hotel room talking to former LTTE political commissar Nadesan’s brother and son who had come down from England to Malaysia.I then got a telephone call from Canada. It was Ragavan from the CMR radio . The reception was not good. So I excused myself and went out.

"I sat outside on a chair in the lobby and kept talking. Suddenly a group of Malaysian officials surrounded me. One of them said “Very sorry Mr.KP” and grasped my phone. It fell to the ground and was picked up by an officer. They asked me to come with them. I had no choice but to go with them.

"I was taken to the immigration detention centre in KL and kept there for nearly 36 hours for about two days and a night. I had to sleep there in the detention centre room. I realised from their conversation that I was going to be officially deported. But I was not sure whether it was going to be Sri Lanka, India ,USA or somewhere else.

"Then I was taken to the KL airport where a Sri Lankan airlines plane was waiting. Then I knew I was going to Colombo. I was taken into the plane through the economy class entrance and then moved inside to the business class. There I was formally handed over to some Sri Lankan officials and brought to Colombo."

Anyway, according to Business Today during the past few months his persona has changed significantly. He speaks about building trust between all communities and the need for all to live together. He stresses the need to forget the past in order for the country to move forward.

From government side, we see, if it was true, bringing their man KP back home and providing him with an opportunity to join in mainstream politics appears as ending the conspiracy in one sense. He could be manipulated much effectively disintegrate Tamil Diaspora politics if he was planted in it.

LTTE so far had the credit of having sleepers or moles like Babu that assassinated late President Ranasinghe Premadasa. But what if the successor of Prabakaran was a mole of the government?

In an interview with D.B.S. Jeyaraj, KP says, "Let me tell this clearly. When the Sri Lankan intelligence officers began talking to me there were two choices for me. One was to confront them and the other was to cooperate. If I confronted I would have had to face long prison term and not be of any use to anyone. But if I cooperated I could win their trust and confidence. This may have given me an opportunity to do be of some service to our people.

"If the struggle was still continuing and my leader was alive then I would have willingly challenged the govt and not cooperated. I would have faced any consequence. But that was not so. Everything was over. So there was no point in confronting. So I chose to cooperate."

The writer feels KP is genuine at least at this point unless he is the simple man read through his recent media interviews. Many former sympathizers of LTTE now seek him being imprisoned. But the government, especially the Defense Secretary has kept his word so far to KP without betraying him to law. We are living in a country that so many past errors have surmounted the present. We have to hail the unconventional minds if they contribute progressively to social development.

It seems Prabakaran has taken away all the glory of the Tamil struggle with his death. No more heroes. In that sense, Past is the Past as KP says in the headline of the Business Today interview.

'.....when we look at the post conflict situation in our country we have to work hard to bring economic opportunities to the war affected people. We need to rebuild their lives. It is with this aim that we established the North East Rehabilitation and Development Organisation (NERDO) to work and provide facilities to the conflict affected communities.'

Tamils actually need to uplift the lives of the communities that lived long in the island without migrating bearing all the brunt of prolonged war. It is very easy for the rulers to create and maintain hostility between the Tamil Diaspora and the local communities even in an environment the government does not address the political issues of the Tamils if Tamil Diaspora continues to wish the plight of the local Tamils to deepen broadening their opportunities to proceed in the path of struggle they have now chosen.

The avenue opened by the autocratic Sri Lanka government for the Tamil Diaspora is like this as KP points out: "As of now NERDO is only a registerd organisation and we are planning to work with the Government. We need to understand that if any Non-Governmental Organisation wishes to work for the people they should cooperate with the Government. We ensure transparency in all of our activities, including financial accounts. There is no purpose of an NGO if they are corrupt or become involved in politics. We cannot do that. We are 100 percent transparent and whatever projects that we do we obtain approval from the Government. Therefore NERDO is working with the Government because if we do not cooperate we would not be able to work."

Tamil Diaspora activists that has large and reasonable ego will not like to accept these conditions directly. This is where KP can place himself comfortably as a coordinator.

KP highlights transparency and it is a good point in the context the NGOs made the social work sector a mess. One can question the rationality of the corrupt government's search for NGO purity. But it is the NGO's own responsibility to clear their names in whatever the opportunity given to them.

KP says, "NERDO is totally different it has been established entirely for the people. They can come to our office and meet our staff who are willing to give answers 24 hours a day. Anyone who comes to our office will be able to see that we do not have a hidden agenda. TRO (Tamil Rehabilitation Organization) made the mistake, but because of that you cannot say that NERDO is going to make the same mistake. It is entirely for the people."

Keep your trust on his integrity as the mastermind behind the arms procurement, shipping and financial networks of the LTTE abroad even though he could be a double agent. He is still the LTTEman and TRO, surrender your funds or perish. "I will give them some more time. At one time Dr Maheshwaran was also in charge of the TRO; we also know who is in charge of the TRO in every country. Slowly they are changing their minds. They have to answer to the people and if they do not, when the people in the Diaspora ask them what is happening they will have to answer. They cannot be like this for long. It is the people's money. They have to utilise the money for the betterment of the lives of the people. They do not have the right to keep the money."

"Actually I would like to point out that there is a war between truth and lies; two extremes. One section repeats the lies but what we are saying is actually the truth. There are people who are talking about starting the arm struggle and unnecessarily blaming the Government in the pretext of trying to rebuild the LTTE and collect funds. This is not the way to solve the problem or rebuild the lives of our people. We have to accept the reality. The war is over. We have to unite and rebuild our people and our country.

"For more than 2500 years we have been friends and brothers in this country. Some third party came and created this problem and we are the victims. Now we have to use our intelligence to bring back life. We can be an example to the world and show that though once we were enemies, now we understand the war is over and we are working together. We have to listen to what the people want on the ground. They realise that they have to live in this country and that we have to live together. This is the reality and thus we cannot speak lies.

"We cannot continue our lives on a dream, I can say ‘ok, continue the arm struggle' but I do not know for how long I can speak the lie. There are sections of the Diaspora who speak in this way while living in western countries, but they need to understand that it is impossible. They have to understand the reality and the new world order. Internationally the arm struggle will never be accepted, separatism will not be accepted. It is a challenge to convince these people and I do not say it is easy but we need to work on it."

KP's interview displays the pathetic situation LTTE is facing in which the present leadership lacks the caliber KP has. Present Diaspora leaders are pro-moderates that appear to be elements that can be easily lured one by one by KP.

Business Today asks, "Rudrakumaran and Nediyavan have been propagating the idea of separatism and the resumption of the arm struggle while living abroad. They have been silent in the recent months. What are the reasons behind their actions?"

KP says, "Nediyavan is nothing. He joined the movement in the 90s and his loyalty lied with Castro. I do not think about this person. Not only is there the Rudrakumaran group and Nediyavan group there is Father Emmanuel, Tamilnet Jeya and also the ex-MP Jayanandamoorthy who was pushed to carry the LTTE flag and claim the Tamil Eelam separate state.

"Actually, this transnational government was formed because there was a need for a democratic organisation as the LTTE was banned all over the world. That is why Jayanandamoorthy was made the coordinator of this movement. What happened during the past year is that they took a U turn. There are people pushing and threatening him, if he did not make the move he would not have been able to survive. He took the LTTE flag and he spoke about separatism. I passed the message to him through my friends that what he is doing is wrong. The purpose of forming the transnational government was different. I feel that he will realise soon. Rudrakumaran will also realise this soon and will think like Dr Maheshwaran and come back to us."

KP tries to express the feelings of his leader Prabakaran and the others who finally were open to the reality as the time to ponder before coming to decision and the military brutality grabbed their opportunity to change their cause. "Prabakaran, myself and other colleagues we worked together and we sacrificed a lot. Now all of them are dead. At that time we thought we were doing the right thing for our people. These people who live abroad and criticise or write something; they do not know the pain. I have a lot of pain, my sister and my brother, they are dead. My parents, they are dead. My brothers are in the rehabilitation centres. I have a lot of pain. I had many people around me but today I am alone. The LTTE was my family, I lost everyone, my friends and my family. Now again they are talking about an arm struggle, what is that? Are they joking? If they talk about an arm struggle again I will be the first person to say no. Not only in Sri Lanka even abroad and also to the others I will tell them, if anyone wants to start an arm struggle again I will be the first to say no. No more arm struggle and separatism in this country. No more pain. For what?"

Can nationalism irrespective of either it is minority and oppressed or majority and oppressive make any progressive contribution to social development? In the post-war Sri Lanka, the writer personally feels 'no'. KP seems reflecting the same although he has not directly stated. "The people have realised one thing; that is we have to live in this country and we need to live with the majority of the people in order to rebuild our lives. This is their thinking and they do not want a separate state and they know the arm struggle is over," says KP.

KP highlights the need of working to uplift the collapsed lives of the local Tamils before thinking of the next stage of the struggle. "The people were affected for 30 years. They need a life. The Diaspora and the political parties should work together at least for five years. Then they can talk. If they genuinely want to work for the people they have to unite." This itself is the struggle. The next stage can be one beyond nationalism, who knows?

KP recalls the past follies of the LTTE's narrow-minded arrogance: "We were alone. Then Balasingham came here I think it was when they were going to Japan for talks. The LTTE did not agree to the peace talks, but Balasingham tried to explain to them the difficulties because we were already in the peace process. If we did not go, the world would be against that. He tried very hard but he lost hope. At that time he spoke to me and said we have to convince the leadership and explain to them and participate in all peace talks. But he couldn't and he told these people that they do not understand the reality. The whole world is going to knock us out and everyone is going to die. Those were his own words."

He also says, "We met the Norwegian Ambassador in Malaysia. I asked their point of view. They said that if things went smoothly with the peace talks we could achieve some kind of settlement. Maybe the federation, that could have been a good chance but we missed the bus. Even those who worked towards peace, who were involved in the peace talks were of the same view. Unfortunately the LTTE members on the ground did not understand the reality.

Who broke the ceasefire and started the war? It is the LTTE. Then the LTTE will lose, that was the thinking at that time. They said that. If we do not understand the reality, if we do not start to work for the ground reality, we will be the same as the dinosaur. That is the truth. Peace is more difficult than arm struggle. We are a small tiny country we are not Russia or any other big country but a small population."

KP seems to have a vision on which he bases his present actions. Tamils will not achieve the expected political freedom from him. Therefore, it is useless to consider him further as a leader of the Tamil political struggle. He alienates himself from politics. But his struggle is rational and should be upheld. Tamils should first built up normalcy within the community before deciding how to proceed the struggle for a better polity.



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Who fathered Sakvithi, the Sri Lankan fraudster

Sakvithi poses a photo with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He is believed to taken to meet him by senior journalist
Edwin Ariyadasa who was an accomplice of Sakvithi.
Ariyadasa is also in this photo

(August 07, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Many may get angry when we start this piece saying that Sri Lanka's ill-famous fraudster Sakvithi Ranasinghe was a past student of D.S. Senanayaka College, Colombo, as reported. 

This proves that any such schools that try to maintain 'royal' standards covering almost all their recurrent expenditure with tax payers' monies can produce ruling social elite as well as thieves like this. 

Of course, there is little difference between a thief and a elite person in this country. Business giant Lalith Kothalawala, one time Sri Lankan Bill Gates collapsed into Sakvithi Ranasinghe's level in single night is the best proof for this. 

Sakvithi is a symbol of the ideal of most Sri Lankans. This symbol was shown to us in one of Sri Lanka's most famous 'mega' tele-dramas. In the last episode of Paba tele-drama, the politician-turned trishaw driver Ukku is shown as a powerful Minister that lives in a luxurious house with several comfortable cars are parked near, with an array of servants. 

Most of Sri Lanka's current heroes are the kind of Ukku. Any such hero is prone to the disgrace Sakvithi Ranasinghe if a fraction of justice done. 

Sakvithi hailed from gutter and he had no powerful father to inherit him the right to usurp public money acquired mortgaging generations of countrymen, as ten or twenty percent commissions, legally from the so-called development projects. 

Many Sri Lankans that miss this opportunity usually resort to the businesses of Sakvithi kind to find easy money.


They worship the kind of Sakvithi and become easy pray for them. Actually the most of the Sri Lankans are Sakvithis of different sizes. 


Sakvithi Ranasnghe was finally caught. He seems to have lost much of the money he swindled. Therefore the thousands of victims of Sakvithi scam will not have any money. They may be happy if Sakvithi will be killed in police fire as he tries to grab a firearm from a policeman and escape as he is taken to show a place money is hidden in the way the justice is often done in this island. 


But the Sri Lankan capitalism that promotes swindling money from public or fellow citizens and having an uncultured life of sheer consumerism will produce many more Sakvithis. 

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Rajiv Gandhi murder suspect KP to be granted amnesty by Sri Lanka government

(July 30, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Indian Supreme Court has rejected the plea for release of four key conspirators in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who had claimed that the investigation was flawed as the alleged role of tantrik Chandraswami and 21 others were not probed.

A Bench of justices VS Sirpurkar and Mukundakam Sharma refused to interfere with the Madras high court judgement which had on April 28, 2009, dismissed the petition with a fine of Rs one lakh on the petitioner E Veluchamy, claiming to be a Congress worker.

The petitioner sought release of Nalini, Santhan, Murugan and Arivu on the ground that their conviction was erroneous as the designated court and the Supreme Court did not consider the inquiry and findings of the Justice M C Jain Commission which had recommended further probe into three "crucial aspects" in the conspiracy.

According to counsel K Karuppan, the Jain Commission had in its final recommendations submitted on March 7, 1998, sought further investigations into the alleged role of tantrik Chandraswami, the suspected involvement of foreign intelligence agencies like CIA and Mossad, besides the role of 21 other suspects.

One of the suspects needed for the investigation is former head of head of LTTE procurement section Kumaran Pathmanathan alias K.P. who is now in Sri Lanka government protection supporting to dismantle the international network of his organization.

Without taking Gandhi’s name, Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP told a Sri Lankan Tamil in Tamil Nadu in November 1990 that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would soon target the “Indian leadership”.

KP - as he is widely known - made the explosive revelation over telephone from a foreign country six months before a LTTE woman suicide bomber finally killed Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai May 21, 1991.

But KP, in contrast to a section of media reports, is not an accused in the Gandhi case and is not directly linked to the killing. He is merely a suspect in the eyes of the Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Authority (MDMA), which is still probing the larger conspiracy angle related to Gandhi’s killing.

More at : LTTE chief KP knew Rajiv Gandhi was to be killed 

The first interview of K.P. following his surrender to the Sri Lanka government has been published in Sinhala nationalist Sri Lankan newspaper The Island since government is in extreme care in handling this sensitive issue.

However, the cabinet spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said on Thursday that K.P. might be granted a 'general' amnesty and might be made a state witness.

Will it be the same in the case regarding Rajiv Gandhi murder?

Following are the part one of the excerpts of K.P's interview.

Q: Are you confident that the Tamil Diaspora could work with President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government?

A: President Rajapaksa is genuine in his efforts to settle differences among communities and help re-build war devastated regions in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Within a year of the conclusion of the war, the majority of the people displaced by the conflict are back at their villages and ex-combatants of the LTTE are undergoing rehabilitation and the international community, too, is supportive of Sri Lanka’s efforts. None of these would have been possible without the political leadership given by President Rajapaksa.

KP said it was essential for the Tamil Diaspora to realise the ground reality in a post-LTTE era and review its strategy to meet the new challenges. He said he had stepped in as he felt there was a leadership vacuum to be filled. Emphasising his determination to go ahead with what he called a tangible action plan, the LTTE veteran said everybody should have come forward and assist in the rebuilding efforts without trying to live in the past. The media should play a positive role in the post-LTTE period and strengthen the ongoing reconciliation efforts. Nothing could be as bad as negative reporting, though no one would dispute the right of the media to cover any issue the way it deemed fit, KP said. However, he said their focus should be on development and peace building efforts such as rebuilding, speedy resettlement of the war displaced and rehabilitation of ex-combatants.

Q: You recently set up an NGO to collect money from the Tamil Diaspora to help the re-building process. Would the Diaspora respond to your move as there were others who claimed to represent the interests of the LTTE?

A: The North-East Rehabilitation and Development Organisation (NERDO) is ready to play a key role in the rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement processes. With its main office situated at No 10, 1st Lane, Kathiresu Road, Vairavaputiyankulam, Vavuniya, NERDO is engaged in various activities in support of the Tami speaking people. We are only concerned about the welfare of the people, particularly children, though some seek fresh funding to cause mayhem. People are fed up with war and every effort should be made to alleviate the suffering of the people without playing politics with a purely humanitarian issue. We are appealing for funds - -$1 from each Tamil living abroad on a monthly basis. To facilitate fund raising activity, we recently opened an account at the Vavuniya branch of the Commercial Bank bearing 1610046482 (Code CCEYLKLX). Our e-mail is info@nerdo.lk/www.nerdo.lk.

Q: What was the turning point in the eelam war IV?

A: Multi-pronged Al-Qaeda 9/11 attack on the US changed it all. Within 24 hours, the international community led by Western powers moved against all armed groups causing immense damage to our operations. There are many other factors, but the primary reason is nothing but the rapid rise of Al-Qaeda, which prompted the West to change its attitude. This brought about a drastic change in the attitude of political leaders in the other parts of the world. Circumstances made propagation of separatist sentiments extremely difficult in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, an influential section of the LTTE, including its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran did not realize the urgent need to change its strategy. Had he done that the situation would have been different today. There is a New World Order today, which does not tolerate armed campaigns and that is the hard reality.

Q: Are you satisfied with the progress in resettlement and reconstruction following the conclusion of war in May last year?

A: The situation is much better than I expected. Although, there is lot to be done by way of confidence building, we should appreciate what the government has done since the conclusion of the war. The Tamil community should not solely depend on the government, UN agencies and NGOs for their needs. We have a duty by the people to act swiftly and decisively to bring immediate relief to war affected people. During a recent visit to the North, we had an opportunity to provide immediate assistance to several hundreds of GCE (Advanced Level) students sitting for the forthcoming examination. No one would have believed a common programme involving the Tamil Diaspora and the government was possible, but today we are cooperating with the government and working for the people. We are already receiving requests for assistance from the Tamil community, a case in point being that two school principals recently obtained financial assistance for students who needed to pay for examination papers at term tests.

Now that the war is over, we can go flat out to implement development programmes. Recently, we donated Rs. 500,000 for the provision of buns and tea for the Advanced Level students at the Sundaralingham Tamil Maha Vidyalaya, Vavuniya, sitting for examination in August.

Q: When did you first hear of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s death on the Vanni front? Where were you at the time of the final battle?

A: I was abroad when I first heard of Prabhakaran’s death on May 19. The international press reported the final confrontation, though some continued to dispute the fact. I was Prabhakaran’s best friend and felt sad about the loss of his life. Had he listened to me and reached an agreement with the government before it was too late, the final battle could have been avoided. The LTTE suffered a massive setback on May 10 on the Vanni (east) front, where some 400 experienced cadres perished while trying to break the army lines. Following that tragedy, I discussed with the then political chief Nadesan a way out of the quagmire. But unfortunately they believed the army could be somehow forced to stop the offensive and a deal worked out through a third party. We also talked to various people and organizations, including the UN in a bid to work out some arrangement but nothing happened due to the failure on the part of Prabhakaran to make his move earlier.

Q: When did you first leave Sri Lanka? When did you last visit Sri Lanka before being taken in abroad shortly after the end of war?

A: I fled to India with Prabhakaran in 1980. The military searched for me and arrested me forcing me to think of my future. Intensified military activity demoralized the community. When the pressure was mounting, we took a boat from Valvettiturai and sought refuge in India. At that time crossing the Indo-Lanka maritime boundary was no problem. The then TULF leader A. Amirthalingham introduced me to Prabhakaran in mid 70s, most probably in 1976 and since then we worked together. At that time TELO and the LTTE were the dominant militant groups and they worked with the Jaffna-based political leadership for the eelam project. I studied at Mahajana College, Jaffna but gave up University education to fight for our rights, which we believed were violated by successive governments. But today we are in a unique position to bring about a permanent peace in not only Northern and Eastern Provinces but the entire country.

Following the then Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah’s killing by Prabhakaran, the decision makers of the politico-militant movement at that time had removed Prabhakaran from the outfit. When he came to me, I was just an Advanced Level student, though I had to accommodate him in my room. There had been moves to kill him by some individuals, including the then TELO leader Thangadurai.



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Is LTTE ideologue Balakumar dead or alive?

(July 28, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Velupillai Balakumar or Balakumaran was the one time leader of Ealam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS). He was also a member of Sri Lanka parliament for a brief period.

In late 1980s or early 1990s, he split the EROS and joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) with a number of his associates.

He is believed an influential adviser to the leader of the LTTE Velupillai Prabakaran. The importance of this man is that he is famous as a Marxist. If he is alive like the former LTTE chief of international relations, he may speak one day how his Marxist ideas influenced the Tiger leader.

Asked by The Island today whether among the detained terrorists were Yogiratnam Yogi, one-time LTTE negotiator and Balakumaran of the EROS, who threw his weight behind Velupillai Prabhakaran, Rehabilitation Commissioner Brig. Ranasinghe said that he did not have them.

A controversial media report posted in state-owned Sinhala daily The Dinamina on June 11, 2009 said that Balakumar was arrested while hiding in a refugee camp in Vavuniya.

On May 31, 2009, Lankafirst.com website quoting Government Information Department sources, reported that some top Tiger leaders who were in the military hand, were going through series of serious investigation by the security forces.

“Former eastern province political wing leader and subsequently in charge of the economic division Karikalan, former spokesman of the LTTE Yogaratnam Yogi , former EROS MP turned advisor to the LTTE V. Balakumar , a former spokesman of the LTTE Lawrence Tilagar, former Deputy political section leader Thangan , former head of the political section for Jaffna district Ilamparithi , former Trincomalee political wing leader Elilan, former head of the LTTE sports division Papa , former head of the administrative division of the LTTE Puvannan and deputy international head Gnanam are in custody,” it said.

A report by the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) also said December last year that Balakumar and his son teenaged Sooriyatheepan surrendered to the 53 army Division near Irattaivaykkal, along the Nanthikadal lagoon on May 16.

“Like Balakumar, many top LTTE leaders reportedly surrendered in the last three days of the war, between May 16 and 19 (2009)”.

The UTHR-J report mentioned the following top leaders as having surrendered: Karikalan (former eastern province political wing leader and subsequently in charge of the economic disivion), Yogaratnam Yogi (former spokesman of the LTTE), Lawrence Tilagar (a former spokesman of the LTTE, a one time head of LTTE office in Paris and later in charge of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation), Thangan (former Deputy political section leader), Ilamparithi (former head of the political section for Jaffna district), Elilan (former Trincomalee political wing leader), Papa (former head of the LTTE sports division), Puvannan (former head of the administrative division of the LTTE), Gnanam (deputy international head) and Tamilini head of the Women’s political wing.

However, bn January 29, 2009 it was reported that Balakumaran was critically wounded.


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The controversial interview of Sri Lanka Ambassador of Israel

(July 23, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Donald Perera saw the blood-soaked stretcher carrying the body of Velupillai Prabhakaran being transported through the jungle, but he was not calm. Air Chief Marshal Perera, the Sri Lankan chief of staff at the time, had been chasing after the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels who had terrorized his country for over 30 years. He wanted to make certain that the lifeless body in front of him was indeed that of his long-time adversary.

"I asked to see his personal gun," recalls Perera. "I knew precisely what type of gun he was carrying, as well as its serial number. Only when I saw the number 001 did I realize that he had finally been taken out. I drove home, took off my uniform and told myself that now I can retire."

Perera, 60, has since been appointed Sri Lanka's ambassador to Israel. His wife, a military dentist, and his daughter, a university student, remained in Sri Lanka.

"I was familiar with Israel before coming here," he tells the Yedioth Ahronoth daily. "In the framework of my previous positions as air force commander and chief of staff, I had a great relationship with your military industries and with Israel Aerospace Industries.

"For years Israel has aided our war on terror through the exchange of information and the sale of military technology and equipment," says Perera.

"Our air force fleet includes 17 Kfir warplanes, and we also have Dabur patrol boats. Our pilots were trained in Israel, and we have received billions of dollars in aid over the past few years. This is why I asked to be assigned to Israel – a country I consider a partner in the war against terror. Many Sri Lankans admire Israel," says Perera, a native of the capital Colombo.

As chief of staff, Perera commanded over 240,000 soldiers. His greatest challenge was to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers, who since 1976 had fought to establish an independent Tamil homeland.

Guerilla forces led by rebel leader Prabhakaran eventually took over east as well as north Sri Lanka.


'Price will be heavy.' Perera at his Tel Aviv office (Photo: Avigail Uzi)

The Tamil Tigers was one of the first organizations to resort to suicide bombings. "They carried out attacks against soldiers, civilians, army officers, ministers, army bases, public buildings, planes and trains. Over the years they became more advanced and formed a naval and aerial force as well. At the height of its power, the organization's guerilla force numbered some 35,000 fighters," according to Perera.

Some of Perera's close associates were killed in these attacks, others were left handicapped. Perera was also targeted by the rebels. "I was supposed to fly a cargo plane from one of the air force bases. The plane was carrying dozens of military personnel. During take off I suddenly felt a strong thump. I brought the plane to a halt, and when I got off to see what had happened I found an RPG launcher that was used to fire a rocket at the aircraft. Luckily, it passed right by me," Perera says.

Since the incident, Perera changed his daily routine. "My army-issued vehicle would be part of a military convoy while I was driving my private car, wearing civilian clothes over my army fatigues," he says.

The Tamil terror became more and more extreme, culminating with assassination of Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Perera was appointed chief of staff in 2006, just as Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapksa decided to eradicate Tamil terrorism once and for all.

"We purchased military equipment from Pakistan, China, the US, Russia and of course Israel. The president told the nation we were headed for an uncompromising war. He explained that the price will be heavy, but called on the citizens to be patient and rally around the army. Then we got the green light to move with full force against the rebels," the ambassador recalls.


Sri Lankan soldiers (Archive photo: AP)

After rebel forces attempted to take over an important port in east Sri Lanka, Perera gave the order, and large army forces began pouring into the region while pushing the rebels northward. Some 7,000 people, including many army personnel, were killed during 11 months of fighting, he says.

"The victim's families understood we were fighting for an important cause – the future of their country," Perera says during the interview, conducted at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Tel Aviv. "The opposition tried to persuade the citizens not to enlist in the army or support it, but it convinced no one. Everyone knew this struggle was important and that it would exact a heavy price, but after so many years of terror they were willing to pay the price."

Prabhakaran was killed on May 16, and a day later the LTTE announced its surrender. The 30-year battle against the Tamil Tigers claimed the lives of some 70,000 Sri Lankan citizens.

After noting the similarities between the Tamil Tigers and Hamas, Perera says Sri Lanka is a staunch supporter of Israel's fight against terror. "No one wants bloodshed. The other side should be offered direct negotiations, without preconditions, to determine its level of seriousness. These talks should focus on trying to reach a compromise that would allow both sides to sign an agreement," he says.

"In case the other side shows it is not interested in a compromise, (Israel) must move on to the military phase with full force. (The government) will have to explain to the citizens that (Israel) is headed for a long and difficult struggle that will exact a heavy price, but at the end of this struggle the country's situation will be much better," says the ambassador.

"Once you have the public's support, you should fight relentlessly until all of the terror hubs are destroyed. There is no going back."

Addressing the deadly May 31 commando raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish ship, Perera says, "As a military man I can understand that Israel had to protect itself. Due to Sri Lanka's vast experience in fighting terror, I can say that it will always support countries that also oppose (terror)."

Despite its warm relations with Israel, Sri Lanka has also managed to maintain close ties with the Jewish state's biggest threat – Iran. "Sri Lanka is a developing nation in need of assistance. Iran helps us in the civilian realm," he says. "As to the sanctions imposed on (Tehran), these things should be discussed in the different forums. The Sri Lankan government is in favor of imposing military – not civilian – sanctions."

Perera, who has already visited Jerusalem, Eilat, Haifa, Netanya and Jaffa, says life in Israel suits him just fine. "The people here are very warm, open and easy-going, but on the other hand they are successful in many fields, such as technology, agriculture and education.

Some 5,000 Sri Lankan nationals are currently working in Israel. "We rarely receive any complaints from them," says the ambassador. "They like working here."

Perera's wife and daughter are expected to join him in Israel in the coming months. "When they arrive, we will travel throughout the entire country. In the meantime, I recommend that Israelis visit Sri Lanka. We'll accept you with open arms."

David Regev

Published:  07.21.10, 19:10 / Israel News

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Sri Lanka indigenous people's struggle for identity

(July 22, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka government led by the majority community Sinhalese and all the other major ethnic communities may like to have negligible minority Vedda People in this country. Vedda people never have posed a threat to any other community in the post-independence Sri Lanka. On the other hand, they have primitive living conditions with no heritage of owning private property like in so called modern societies. After all, Vedda people are a pride to Sri Lanka since we can boast about a heritage of indigenous people and they are a very good show piece in tourism market.

But, the modernized communities lack at least one thing the Vedda people still have whilst losing many other things. That is the leadership. Vedda leadership had no match in the leading figures of the other communities. Late Uruwarige Thisahami had the courage to tell the one time powerful Minister of Mahaweli Development Gamini Disanayaka who wanted the Vedda Chieftain to come to meet him that the big townsman's law is not valid in Vedda homeland. Disanayaka eventually went on foot to meet Thisahami.

Uruwarige Wanniayaleththo, the present Vedda leader is a very intelligent personality unlike many of the leaders of the so called civilized communities. He definitely needs to be a wise man who can apprehend the subtlety and the complexity of the internal and external conflicts related to the needs to safeguard cultural heritage without losing the pace of social development with the other communities.

The Chieftain of Sri Lanka's aborigine Vedda community Uruwarige Wanniyalaththo demands state recognition for the Vedda language. Vedda language is a unique lingual unit with its own characteristics like being only a verbal language without scripts.

He also requests the national recognition of the aborigine community so that they can use 'Vedda' as their nationality. This is a very progressive demand in the present context of Sri Lanka in which all minority identities should have due respect in the Lankan nation building process.

He submitted a list of 20 demands at a special discussion that was held this week in the Ministry of National Heritages and Cultural Affairs aiming to have an ordinary symbolic celebration to mark the World Indigenous People's Day that falls on August 09. The unexpected and probably unwelcome demands included issues such as water, sanitation, food security, housing, land, priority for Vedda community in employments related to forests, education, health and heritage centers as well.

The Minister of National Heritages and Cultural Affairs Pavithra Wanniarachchi promised the aboriginal Chief to establish a Vedda Secretariat and a Committee of Scholars to advise on the issues of the Vedda community.

Vedda community has a complex struggle to define and achieve the rights of the people. They need a wise leadership in this regard. The leader should be able to lead his community to struggle through accord. A very important struggle to win rights and not to lose any they already have. First and foremost, the Vedda community needs to maintain the unity of their people especially before a ruling regime that is so ill-famous for creating divisions among peoples.

Read: The Vanishing Aborigines: Sri Lanka's Veddas in Transition (I C E S Sri Lanka Studies Series)


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Sri Lanka President's miraculous initiative on English as a Life Skill

(July 20, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) The second phase of the Presidential initiative on English as a Life Skill programme was launched yesterday at a ceremony held in the President’s official residence Temple Trees.

The programme promotes English Language Skills, especially speaking and communication skills across the country with the guidance and support of the Presidential Task Force on English and IT headed by Sunimal Fernando. The Ministry of Education and the Provincial Ministries of Education facilitate the task force to conduct the programme.

On July 19, 2009, the President launched the National Road Map to promote Spoken/ Communicative English skills in Sri Lanka. Under the first phase of the programme, a cadre of 80 master trainers and 320 assistant trainers in Spoken English from all nine Provinces were trained at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad. Sixty percent of the 22,500 English teachers of the country were trained to teach spoken English through an accelerated programme says the Presidential Task Force.

The training was given in 10-day workshops that are being held regionally in which the participants are paid Rs. 200 per day. The teachers are taught many language games and they are provided with opportunity to speak English through numerous activities such as debates and presentations. It can be considered a rare opportunity for many teachers of the schools in remote areas to brush up their knowledge and skills.

A teacher guide for spoken English was produced, used and revised by the Master Trainers during the 1st phase,says the Presidential Task Force. Actually, the teachers' guide, a collection of materials from many other sources needed thorough revision.

The preparation of a Teacher Guide on ‘Sri Lankan English Standards’ is also underway by an Academic Committee and their work will be completed in August 2010, says the Presidential Task Force.

The President's initiative appears to base on an assumption that the long lasted mechanisms of the country have failed to achieve the objectives in regard of teaching English. This is quite true. But the same problem remains in teaching vernaculars as well. Has the education system of Sri Lanka been able to maintain good standards in communication in Sinhala and Tamil languages? What about mathematics in the context more than half of the students fail the subject at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level? Are we going to have Presidential Task Forces for all these essential subjects as well?

Anyway, we have one for English and IT. So what can it do? Definitely, the President can use his powers to provide guidance to the existing mechanisms of teaching English which are massive in extent and deep rooted compared to the miniature Presidential Task Force on English.

Presidential Task Force on English should not be a body that try to outsmart the existing state institutes of teaching English. It should be a leader providing guidance to them enabling them to raise their productivity.

But, we are sorry to say that the present Presidential Task Force on English has failed even to define its role. It is a powerful, but small and incapable body that is trying to rise above all the other institutes taking control everything from teaching speech to school students to preparing a corpus for Sri Lankan English.

Already, the Presidential Task Force on English has created too many divisions in the education structure. One example is that the existing master teachers or the In-service Advisers of English of the Education Departments were neglected and a new breed of 'speech masters' were trained under this programme. The intelligent readers may understand the situation in school education environs with such a move.

The propaganda that surrounds the Presidential Task Force on English and the silence of the 'wait and see' professionals that are in fear of the Presidential powers set the scene of the fiesta of some newly-bred 'miraculous' personalities. 

We have no any kind of grudge with the Presidential initiative on English as a Life Skill programme. But we think we need to have a bottom line evaluation on this since we as citizen have a right for the best outcome of public spending. It is a good point to start a dialogue on English education of Sri Lanka. 


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