Ajit Randeniya

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What was remarkable about the Sivaram phenomenon was that the state media and the media consuming general public always suspected that there was more to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”TarakiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ than his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”commentaryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ they came across in the morning newspaper.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Raising such concerns by the state media in 2001 led to the New York based CIA front ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”The Committee to Protect JournalistsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (CPJ) to write to President Chandrika Kumarantunga, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”condemningƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ such accusations. The CPJ complained that the accusations were published without any ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”substantive evidenceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, seriously endangering Sivaram and his family.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Such ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”lack of evidenceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ was also the basis of protestations made by reputed journalists not party to conspiracy, but were simply mourning the death of their friend and colleague. The late Ajith Samaranayake, the most gracious of the English language journalists in Sri Lanka who seemed to have been severely affected by SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s death, wrote in his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sunday EssayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of 15 May 2005, titled ‘Taraki: The selective politics of an assassination’: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”One anonymous writer who had obviously read too much of John Le Carre even pictured him as the perfect spy prowling the corridors of power and lurking in the lush gardens of the Colombo diplomatic enclave in the service of the LTTE.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rajpal Abeynayake, certainly not the type in whose mouth butter wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t melt, wrote in Sunday Times of 7 Aug 2005: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”The general line of argument among those who saw something evil in lamenting SivaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s assassination was that he was a Tiger propagandist, who would have therefore also been a LTTE intelligence operative in Colombo. About the latter surmise, there isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t a shred of evidence. The fact is that even if he was the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s chief spy in Colombo, we donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t know it — and itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a rare kind of species that seeks to attack a dead man for whatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s not known about him. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There are two issues relating to this expectation of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”evidenceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to prove spying and the existence of conspiracies in general: firstly, the challenge to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prove itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is also the retort of those who are behind such plots generally; they are confident that most accusers would have nothing more than their instinct to go by, because they are masters of this evil business. Secondly, the particular ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”typeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of evidence the doubters are asking for is the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”smoking gunƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢; such expectation arises from their understandable lack of familiarity with the spy business.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The reader may be assisted at this point by gaining a brief exposure to the dirty business of espionage: the primary objective of the practice of spying is to obtain information about the plans and activities of a rival, or any adversary, using one or several different ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”intelligence collection techniquesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Human sources are just one such technique and others include research in open sources, and technological methods.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Espionage refers to intelligence collection through human sources to access desired information by stealth, or by gaining access to the people who possess the information. This human source is referred to as a spy, or an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”assetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, as the CIA calls them. Spies who are deployed to develop contacts with those who have access to information are referred to as Access Agents.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ A domestic servant at an important personƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s residence (as President Premadasa and Sarath Fonseka found out) or a plumber or a taxi driver could be deployed as an access agent. The CIA uses university academics in relevant fields, economists, political scientists and anthropologists in particular, to develop contacts with important bureaucrats in foreign governments and political players such as Prabhakaran.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Analysis of all the available information points to SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s role being that of an access agent, first cultivated since 1982, by a group of American anthropologists led by Drs Mark Whitaker and Dennis McGilvray for their own purposes.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It needs to be noted that anthropology is a discipline that grew out of colonialism, in the 15th century, from the observations of human behavior the first European colonisations made e. Marco Polo’s accounts of the peoples he came across during his travels earned him the name “the father of modern anthropology”. Cultural or social anthropology is the study of cultural determinants such as myth, symbols, values language kinship, economic, political and social organisation, law and conflict resolution using ethnography, involving participant-observation.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Anthropologists are some of the most highly sought after people by the US armed forces and the CIA. The specialised knowledge of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”otherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ peoples and cultures make them valuable assets in war. They are called upon to decode and translate social reactions of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”nativesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to the troops in order to weaken them mentally as well as to help win ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”hearts and mindsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ by ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”pushing the right buttonsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. The ethics and politics of anthropologists in war zones have become a cause for concern.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mark P. Whitaker is a graduate in anthropology from the little known, private, Drew University, New Jersey and he spent nearly 18 months in Batticaloa in 1981-82, doing PhD ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”researchƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, we are told. He earned his PhD from Princeton in 1986 on a thesis titled ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Divinity and Legitimacy in a Temple of the Lord KantanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in Batticaloa. In 1999 he published the book ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Amiable Incoherence: Manipulating Histories and Modernities in a Batticaloa Hindu TempleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, based on his PhD thesis. Currently he is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of South Carolina, Aiken.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ WhitakerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s account of his first contact with Sivaram is, apparently, through a chance meeting at the Batticaloa Public Library in 1982: the story goes that both Sivaram and he were borrowing one of Gilbert RyleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s books. This common interest in philosophy was the foundation of their ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”strongƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ friendship: those who believe this story would also believe in the tooth fairy!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The real story is that Father Harry Miller, a New Orleans born American Jesuit missionary who has lived in Sri Lanka since September 1948 introduced Whitaker to Sivaram; having been a long term teacher and rector at St MichaelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s College, as well as a pro-Tamil political activist, Miller knew Sivaram well, and also what Whitaker needed. Having lived in Sri Lanka since he was 23, Miller left in March 2009 with no plans to return, probably disheartened by the impending demise of the Tigers.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Whittaker wrote in his obituary of Sivaram that: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”In the mid 1990s many governments and Human Rights NGOs turned to Sivaram for advice on political and military matters. He soon became widely traveled in Europe, Asia, and North America and equally well known to governments, the diplomatic community, and human rights activistsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢: he obviously does not want to own up to having organised those contacts in collaboration with the US embassy!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In 1997, Whitaker decided to collaborate with Sivaram on an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”intellectual biographyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of his life and work, with the title ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Learning Politics from SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ already decided! He published the Book ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Learning Politics from Sivaram: The Life and Death of a Revolutionary Tamil JournalistƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in 2006.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Reviewers have noted that the book is an ethnography of Tamil nationalism and Diaspora identity politics and the transnational networks that shaped and were shaped by Sivaram, and lays out the ways in which anthropologists can become ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”entwinedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ with their subjects; hardly a biography!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ WhitakerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s studies including the book ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Learning politics from SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and later work such as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Tamilnet.com: Some Reflections on Popular Anthropology, Nationalism, and the Internet (Anthropological Quarterly: 77; 3, 2004) shows that Sivaram has been virtually a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”research lab on legsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ as far as he was concerned.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In his essay on Tamilnet.com, Whittaker argues that Tamilnet.com, put together to address the Tamil diaspora and influence English-speaking elites, subverted international news coverage during Sri Lanka’s civil war by making ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ironicƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ use of the discursive styles of journalism and anthropology.

Whitaker is on to something here: SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s articles often contained such ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ironicƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ statements which prove to be ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”dead give-awaysƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of his insincerity, at least to those who are trained to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”read between the linesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Here are some examples:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The article he wrote in the Sunday Times of 20 October 1996, following the indictment of Prbhakaran by the government, titled ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”After Prabha: question of successionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is full of sarcasm because he know Prabhakaran was never going to be caught. He wrote: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”the main question which arises when one tries to assess the consequences of Prabhaharan’s indictment is can the LTTE survive after him?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Then he writes: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”And finally it should be pointed out that all this has made Prabhaharan take more precautions about his safety which might help him, most probably, survive another long warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢!

He ends another article, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sleeping Tigers and hidden agendasƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the Daily Mirror of 20 April, 2005, just before his death thus: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”In the final analysis it is information that matters in this warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢; quite something for an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”information thiefƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to be saying!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On another occasion when he was travelling overseas (he has a reputation amongst the LTTE diaspora as a big eater and drinker!), during a drinking session with D.B.S. Jeyaraj and others he is supposed to have rung Gamini Weerakoon and joked about how much he enjoyed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”workingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ with him, while singing ‘Sinhalaya Modaya’ with mouthpiece covered!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There were other anthropologists who were involved with Sivaram: Dennis McGilvray of the University of Colorado with a research focus on the Tamils and Muslims of south India and Sri Lanka is one of them. His 2008 book, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Crucible of ConflictƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ focused on ethnic identities in the Tamil-speaking region of eastern Sri Lanka. Currently he is supposed to be exploring transnational Sufism and Muslim saintsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ shrines in Sri Lanka and southern India! He wrote: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Over the years, Sivaram became a personal friend, visiting my family in Colorado several timesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dr. Patricia Lawrence, also of Colorado, was also engaged in PhD ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”researchƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in Batticaloa in the early 1990s. In September 1995 Sivaram first visited the US on now defunct USIS scholarship under her sponsorship, for the inauguration of The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Margaret Trawick from the Massey University of New Zealand investigated how love is expressed among the 20th century Tamils! She discovered that there are four especially important relationships within the nuclear family; the mother-daughter, father-son, husband-wife, and brother-sister. How edifying!

Trawick wrote that: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sivaram came to the view that Sinhala chauvinists can never be made to change their mindsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦Sivaram advised us to learn to comprehend the Sinhala chauvinist mind if we are ever to make any headway in reasoning with them.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ While the Americans were cultivating Sivaram for their own agendas in the east, being ever the opportunist, he was pursuing his own interest of becoming a militant leader in the east. But the only avenue available to him, joining the LTTE was blocked by Prabhakaran.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The LTTE had gained complete control over the north and east, making him essentially a militant holed up in Colombo with nowhere to go; PrabhakaranƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s well known paranoid personality was such that he would have never trusted Sivaram, being an acolyte of Uma Maheswaran.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sivaram became desperate enough to offer his services to the LTTE, in 1988, as a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”walk-inƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ spy. The offer was too good to refuse for Prabhakaran because he had much to gain and virtually nothing to loose, with Sivaram living in Colombo with no access or control over cadres, but trying to prove himself with information of political and military value.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But they had to do some proper house keeping: preparing a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”convincingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ synthetic identity, called a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”legendƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in jargon, for an access agent is one of the most critical steps of espionage. This was the time his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”legendƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ as a journalist was developed through the IPS and Richard de Zoysa, with expert help from the US embassy.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s infiltration of The Island is enabled with the involvement of the now defunct United States Information Service (USIS). Sources vaguely remember a relatively obscure ex-USIS minor employee who joined the Upali Group of newspapers, again as a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”journalistƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, as part of the plot.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To assume Gamini Weerakoon knew of the plot would be giving him too much credit, in a way. But the mail is that he is a person with long standing links to both British and American embassies and Brigadier Sunil Tennekoon, SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s asset in the army was known to him. On balance, Weerakoon was an active participant.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mission was to gather specific information by engaging in political discussions with other senior journalists and to gather information on key individuals as well as political and military strategy of the government by using and further developing his synthetic identity as journalist.

Sivaram was so successful in maintaining his cover, he would have contributed significantly to many major military successes of the LTTE as well as assassinations and suicide bombings, apart from the well known ones he is associated with, that took place between 1990 and 2005.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Since he became an LTTE agent, he had a hiccup in the relationship in May 1994 over the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s murder of A. Sabalingam in Paris. In 1991 Sabalingam had published a volume of SivaramƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s articles to the Sunday Island. Sivaram argued that Prabhakaran would kill as many as it takes to assert his monopoly over the annals of the Eelam struggle.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Starting the TamilNet website in 1998 can be considered his crowning glory.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He also experienced a brief revival of hopes to attempt to vie for political control of the east following the significant blows Prabhakaran received through the Karuna defection and the tsunami. However, he quickly realised that he did not have a base.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The story of Sivaram in the context of the Sri Lankan war is an interesting, but only marginally significant sideline. What is important to record historically is that Sivaram was not the man some in the media believed he was!