Mahinda GunasekeraƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Toronto, Ontario Canada

The UN Advisory Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka
UN Secretariat
New York, NY

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dear Members of the Advisory Panel,

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka Eliminates Terrorism and Restores Right To Life Of All Her Citizens

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I am writing with particular reference to the submission made by the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) titled ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Towards Global Justice: Accountability for War Crimes in Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which has also been endorsed by four Canadian politicians who are dependant on the votes of the members of the Tamil Diaspora in their respective ridings. Looking at the signatory organizations and the logo of the NCCT which includes the Poisonous Lily incorporated by the internationally designated terrorist group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE aka the Tamil Tigers) to commemorate their fallen cadres, clearly indicates that this organization is a proxy group or front of the same terrorist movement.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ceasefire Agreement of 2002:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I would like to point out that the opening paragraph of the NCCTƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s submission is devious and misleading, and a weak attempt to lay blame on the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) for the resumption of hostilities in 2006.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They speak of the Ceasefire Agreement of 2002 which the LTTE violated on over 7300 times including the killing of over 400 members of the security forces, political leaders and other civilians of which 3471 were ruled as violations by the Nordic Monitoring Mission, whilst there were 1313 complaints against the governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s armed forces mainly relating to obstructions at checkpoints of which 162 were deemed as violations of the CFA.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Furthermore, the LTTE which agreed to international mediation during the ceasefire period never negotiated in good faith, but continued to build its fighting forces and amass an enormous stockpile of weapons including a squadron of night bombers, showing their intent of establishing their mono-ethnic separate Tamil state by grabbing terrain extending to over 1/3^rd of the islandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s land area bounded by 2/rd of the coastline by force of arms.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Contrary to what the NCCT submission states, Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s newly elected President, H.E. Mahinda Rajapakse called on the Norwegian facilitator to arrange for a renewed round of peace talks in November of 2005, to which the LTTE consented, but did not come to the table and instead used their visits to Geneva and Oslo to meet with their international representatives to seek enhanced funds to pursue their military option.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In fact, the Human Rights Watch report dated March 15, 2006, titled ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Tamil Tigers Extort Diaspora For Final War FundsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ gives the lie to the NCCT attempt to blame the government for resumption of hostilities.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The following quote taken from the News Release issued by HRW confirms the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s decision to adopt the military route to achieve their goal of a separate state:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- In late 2005, the Tamil Tigers launched an aggressive and systematic fundraising drive in Canada and parts of Europe to pressure individuals and business owners in the Tamil diaspora to give money for what they called the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-final warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government. The fundraising campaign coincided with an escalation of LTTE attacks against Sri Lankan forces that threatened Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s four-year-old ceasefire.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Government of Sri Lanka Retaliates Against LTTE Aggression:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s indiscriminate attacks on members of the security forces and the civilian population reached a critical point when the Tamil Tigers shut off the water used for drinking and irrigation of crops to almost 30,000 farming families from the Mahavila Oya (Mavil Aru), the government was compelled to meet the growing military threat from the armed LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The government forces successfully reversed the temporary military gains of the LTTE and went on to completely rout their forces and regain the entire eastern province by July 2007.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Soon after the governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s security forces commenced operations against the Tamil Tigers in the northern Vanni region comprised of jungle and marshy terrain extending to almost 15,000 sq. km., an area that had been heavily mined and fortified by the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ With the military operations expanding to the northern Vanni, the government formally withdrew from the CFA on January 2, 2008, and opened up several fronts against the Tamil Tiger forces.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  As the theatre of war was now shifting to the Vanni region along with air strikes and deep penetration unit operations against LTTE targets, it was incumbent upon the government to call on all aid organizations (INGO/NGO) other than the ICRC and the WFP to move their operations 30 kilometers south to areas controlled by the security forces to ensure their safety.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The LTTE which had to fight on several fronts were unable to cope with the advancing government forces, immediately herded the resident Tamil civilians and forced them to withdraw with the retreating Tigers bringing whatever of value they possessed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  These civilians were to be utilized in fortifying the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s defences, laying of landmines, anti-personal mines, and even being conscripted with minimum training to replace fallen fighting cadres, and as we now know, to also form a human shield to provide protection for the LTTE fighters in the event they are surrounded by the opposing forces.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The retreating Tigers also pulled out all of the roofing sheets of the abandoned civilian homes, schools and other publicly owned buildings causing as much destruction as they left.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The forced movement of civilians with the LTTE fighters necessitated the government to continuously declare ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”safe zonesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ for holding the civilians whilst they engaged the fighting cadres.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The task of providing food and medicine to the constantly moving civilians also became more complex, but the government adequately met these challenges with the help on the ICRC, WFP and the government employees remaining in each area.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

The government on its own initiative declared ceasefires lasting up to 48 hours and provided safe corridors to allow the civilians to move out of the battle zones, but the LTTE prevented them from fleeing their areas of control by even turning their guns on these Tamil civilians who attempted to leave.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The LTTE would also place their heavy weapons within the safe zones and use them to attack the security forces in order to draw retaliatory fire on the civilians to deliberately cause harm to these displaced people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Allegations of War Crimes and Guesstimates of Civilian Casualties;

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The second para of the NCCT submission contains numerous unsubstantiated allegations naming sources that were outside the country, which based their reports on hearsay, and their guesstimates of casualties which are highly exaggerated, inaccrate and inadmissible.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They have cited the International Crisis Group (ICG) report of May 17, 2010 where they have admitted that they commenced gathering evidence from un-named sources after August 2009, which is several months after the conclusion of the military action by the Sri Lankan authorities.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The evidence presented in the ICG report is highly questionable, as the un-named investigators, witnesses and those who translated the gathered evidence from Tamil to English could well have been hitherto undiscovered LTTE cadres linked to sleeper cells, or members of the pro-Tamil Tiger Diaspora or other member of an INGO ordered to move out of the Vanni with an axe to grind against the Sri Lankan authorities, all of whom could be classified as prejudiced sources.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The ICG, CNN, the London Times and Channel 4 News joined the numbers game concocting figures of civilian deaths during the last four months from January to April at 7,000, and the final phase of May 1-18, 2009 alone at 20,000, when they were no where near the scene, with the only likely source being the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s propaganda unit called the Tamilnet.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The ICG report concludes that tens of thousands of civilians were killed and countless more injured.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This clearly shows that the ICG is in a guessing game with no verifiable evidence other than hearsay.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Part of the supporting evidence is a guesstimate made by Gordon Weiss of the UN office in Sri Lanka claiming that 7,000 civilians had been killed in the four months from January to April 2009 based on information collected from aid workers in the conflict zone. These aid workers are the local staff of the INGO/NGO and UN AgenciesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who are Tamils from the Vanni who had earlier been recruited with the consent of the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Even this claim made by the UN spokesman in Sri Lanka was rejected by Sir John Holmes, UN Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, stating that these were estimates that could not be verified as the UN did not have a presence on the ground.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The NCCT has misquoted Dr. Palitha KohonaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s response in his interview with Al Jazeera in 2009 by taking it out of context, by implying that he admitted to bombing of the Safe Zone in Pudumattalan when shown satellite images showing craters in that region. Whereas, Dr. Kohona pointed out that there had been previous battles between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan forces several years earlier when artillery duels and air attacks took place at the time the LTTE mounted a major offensive against the isolated Sri Lanka Army garrison in Mullaitivu which they captured, with the Sri Lankan forces losing nearly 1,200 men, and a great deal of military hardware on that occasion.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Channel 4 News Video on Alleged Killing of Tamil Prisoners:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The submission incorrectly claims that the video broadcast on August 25, 2009 by UKƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Channel 4 News had been authenticated by Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings, whereas he said that it ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”appeared authenticƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which is far from authentic.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Prof. Alston said that there were some ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”unexplained elementsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to the format of the video, plus questions relating to the 17 frames at the end and the date of July 17, 2009 being encoded in it when the event is said to have taken place in January 2009, and furthermore, the entire military operation was concluded on May 18, 2009.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Channel 4 has now added more frames to the same video, but that does not make a fake video more authentic by any means, giving rise to yet other questions as to why same had to be delayed by over an year to be linked to the original video whose authenticity is disputed..

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Sri Lankan authorities too had this video tested by four experts including an internationally recognized technical expert who provided valid reasons in dismissing it as a doctored video apparently produced by the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s propaganda unit and sent to Channel 4 to frame false charges against the Sri Lankan state.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The alleged Sri Lankan Army soldiers are not known, the victims have not been identified, the voices in the background said to be Sinhala speech sounds like these have been dubbed, whilst the location where the incident took place too is unknown.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Strangely, clips of the same video were shown on a Sri Lankan Community News Channel in Boston on June 14, 2010, viz.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohI3CSD4neM where the words spoken were clearly Tamil.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Furthermore, the Sri Lankan authorities have recently uncovered a grave in the northeast region formerly controlled by the Tamil Tigers where 26 burnt bodies of executed Army and Navy personnel held prisoner in the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢sƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  torture chamber of Victor Base1had been discovered in the jungles of Vallipuram. Investigations commenced following revelations by four LTTE suspects presently in custody. Vide report at: http://thenewsmaster.blogspot.com/2010/11/16-of-26-bodies-of-soldiers-in.html . The execution of these prisoners are deemed to have taken place on January 16, 2009, which ties in with the Channel 4 announcement that the video had been shot in the month of January 2009.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  (It is well known that the LTTE carried out similar executions dressed in Sri Lanka Army uniforms captured from army camps earlier overrun by them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Police officers of the Eastern Province whoƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ surrendered to the LTTE in 1990ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ whilst the latterƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ were in direct peaceƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ negotiations with President Premadasa,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ on the condition that they were to be released at another location as assuredƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ by the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ were thenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ taken to the jungles of Tirukovil, ethnically sorted and 680 officers from the Sinhalese community wereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ gunned down in cold blood.) It is possible that the video shown on Channel 4 News is a photo record of the killing of the Sri Lankan Army and Navy personnel held prisoner at Victor Base1, which was tampered with by the LTTE to make it appear like extrajudicial killings conducted by members of the Sri Lanka Army.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Jonathan Miller, the foreign affairs correspondent of the Channel 4 News had visited Sri Lanka as a tourist without declaring he was a journalist whilst proceeding on assignment for which a special visa was due. He had shot news videos which were blatantly false aimed at shaming Sri Lanka, which were carried by Channel 4 in their coverage on Sri Lanka, where Miller announced that a local man and a foreign woman linked to NGOsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ claimed the mistreatment of internally displaced Tamils housed in the transition camps pending resettlement, were being raped, abducted at gun point and removed to unknown locations, the presence of badly decomposed bodies of dead IDPs, and a long list of abuses, which turned out to be a whole lot of crap, which were rejected by representatives of international relief agencies such as UNHCR, Care, Oxfam and local NGOs such as Sarvodaya who worked within these camps.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This fabricated piece of reporting intended to shame Sri Lanka only went to prove how unreliable this news channel is. In addition, it brings into question the bona fides of the journalist who may likely have accepted payment from the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora to produce such falsified news clips to mislead the public and demonize the Sri Lanka regime.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Realistic assessment of casualties:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is necessary to mention here that the western media (BBC, CNN, Channel 4, London Times and Al Jazeera)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and international human rights groups such as the ICG, HRW, AI, etc. gave the highest degree of credence to the casualty figures given by the Tamil doctors who remained in the Vanni to provide medical care to the displaced civilians as well as the LTTE cadres engaged in combat. It was claimed by one doctor interviewed by a western TV channel that a hospital had been targeted with artillery fire causing the death of 300 patients and injury to nearly 700 others awaiting medical care.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The hospital in question was later found to be unharmed giving the lie to such fabricated tales.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  These same doctors who later surrendered themselves to the governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s security forces have since admitted to the media as well as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation CommissionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ appointed to look into the causes relating to the long drawn out conflict, that they were forced to give out inflated casualty figures by the LTTE under threat of severe harm and death to them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They have further stated that they had to treat large numbers of IDPs that had been shot at by the LTTE as they attempted to flee into government controlled areas.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Dr. V. Shanmugaraja, Medical Superintendent of the Killinochchi District confirmed the availability of adequate supplies of vital drugs even during the critical stages of the war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In their estimation, they placed the number of deaths between January and May 18, 2009 at about 750.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Another key factor that most critics have failed to grasp is the reality on the ground where half the LTTE fighting cadres are doing battle in civilian clothes.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They are also seen to switch from military uniforms to civilian garb to hide their roles as observed from captured LTTE videos from the front.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  A large number of unarmed civilians are also used in combat roles, where they replenish ammunition to their fighters, tend to the injured or gather bodies of fallen cadres.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The civilians are also used in digging trenches, building high earthen bunds to fortify the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s defences, laying of landmines,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which make them combatants who risk being targeted by the opposing forces.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Such civilians who are felled in battle should be treated as combatants and not deemed asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ non-involved civilians needing protection.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I would like to quote from Dr. Sinharaja Tammita-Delgoda, a Visiting Fullbright Scholar at the University of Michigan, who is one of the few non-combatants to have been present in the war zone during the final stages of the military action, whose Review Essay titled Manekshaw Paper 22A dealt with Major General Ashok MehtaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Paper on the subject of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Ethnic Conflict ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” How Eelam War IV was Won ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Manekshaw Paper 22ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ published by the Centre for Land War Studies of New Delhi in October 2010. Dr.Tammita – DelgodaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  had access to the front line military commanders and his insights are both striking and revealing, due to the complex nature of the ground and the involvement of the civilian population including children by the enemy in the war effort.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Page 15:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- A closer look merely underlines the enormous difficulty which the troops faced in distinguishing between bona fide civilians and fighting cadres.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In the fast moving circumstances of a running battle, the challenge this posed does not seem to be appreciated.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The LTTE frequently used children and suicide bombers as offensive weapons, almost like tanks.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Charging ahead, they would blast a way through the defences.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The cadres would then pour through the breach. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The former Army Commander, General Sarath Fonseka, stated that the army lost over 60 percent of the total casualty figures of 6,900 deaths and 29,000 injured personnel suffered in the last stages of the war, as they avoided the use of heavy weapons in overpowering the enemy with the specific intent of minimising harm to the entrapped civilian population.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Page 16:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- Testifying before the Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse underlines the importance of this fact.

If the military suffered, you can imagine the number of LTTE casualties.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They all put these figures into the civilian casualty figures.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Obviously, if the army suffered that much, it was atleast the same amount of casualties from the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  IƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢m sure that it is much more because of the firepower of the government forces.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Nobody knows how much and nobody talks about it.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  There were also the restraints which were imposed on the use of indirect fire, such as artillery, mortars and airpower.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The advancing troops were called on to identify the nature of their targets before they opened fire.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Page 17 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- By doing that, I should say that we suffered more casualties.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We took that risk; obviously, you are restricting some of your fire. We had to use only the personal weapons. Soldiers had to move in, identify and shoot. That was a step we took to protect civilian casualties. Nowhere in the world is this done. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- One of the most daring operations of the war was launched specifically to release the civilians trapped within the No Fire Zone at Pudumattalan.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The objective was to cease the earthen bund which the LTTE had erected across the shallow waters of the Nandi Kadal Lagoon.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Nearly ten feet high and covered with thick Palmyra fronds, it was nearly three kilometres long, designed to keep the army out, it was also a barricade which kept the civilians in.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- Colonel Ralph Nugera, the Commander of the Commando Brigade was one of those entrusted with capturing the bund.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The first challenge was to cross the lagoon, across the open ground and the open water.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was very exposed and there was no cover.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The second was to seize the wall and make breach.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If we succeeded in taking it, the people trapped within the camp would be able to get through.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If we didƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢nt sort out the defences and the people tried to come, the casualties would be huge. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Nugera described the absolute chaos which ensued once his men had seized the embankment:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They were firing artillery at us. Luckily, the LTTE had very few heavy weapons left, but they were sniping at us from amongst the peopleas they were trying to get away.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  While everbody was running towards us, the cadres were shooting at us from behind them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We held on to our positions.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We could only shoot when we were certain.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Yet even in the middle of this hell, the people screaming, running here and there, my men remained calm.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They continued to take aim, firing at the cadres whenever they could get a shot.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The above notes from the front shows the restraint and care taken by the advancing troops to avoid civilian casualties against the numerous odds faced in breaching a well defended bund to free the entrapped people, despite the greater risk of the soldiers succumbing to unrestrained enemy fire.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Conclusion:

In determining the actual loss of civilians in the last stages of the military action, it is necessary to leave out the LTTE cadres that donned civilian garb, other civilians engaged in combat roles in support of the cadres at the front or involved in bolstering the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s defences.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Furthermore, it must be pointed out that the LTTE ramped up their defences every time a ceasefire was declared by the Sri Lanka government to prevent any of the Tamil civilians from moving out to safer terrain.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The LTTE rejected the calls for their surrender by both the GOSL and major western powers aimed at rescuing the trapped Tamil civilians who were being used as a human shield, even when it was apparent that they had no way of reversing their imminent defeat.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyung University in Singapore had carried out a number of interviews with the Tamil Doctors and the Tamil civilians present in the No Fire Zone during the last days of the conflict.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Gunaratna learnt that for most of the fighting, the civilians were not widely involved or affected as the LTTE had moved all non-combatants deep into territory held by them thereby reducing the casualties to a bare minimum.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Gunaratna also pointed out that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-civilianƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ casualties only began to occur when they were caught up in the very last phase of the fighting.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Therefore, based on his research Gunaratna estimates that between January 1and May 19, 2009, the number of non-combatants who lost their lives may have been as low as 1,400, which is almost double that estimated by the Tamil doctors.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ With the civilians fleeing Tamil Tiger Hell, the remaining LTTE commanders and fighting cadres began preparing for a daring break through into the jungles to hopefully live and fight another day.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They began by setting fire to all of their transport vehicles, variety of household possessions brought by the civilians including motorcycles, beds, chairs, tables, cupboards and even gates, igniting heavy bombs and chemicals, causing a huge blanket of smoke to rise up which lastedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 2-3 days.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  On the night of May 17^th, the LTTE leader Prabhakaran and the remaining deputies along 200 members of the Charles Anthony Brigade together with a number of suicide bombers ready to blow themselves up attempted to cross the Nandi Kadal Lagoon hidden by the darkness of the night and billowing smoke, ending their maniacal dream in a hail of gun fire.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is difficult to believe that Nadesan and Puleedevan of the LTTE would have attempted to surrender themselves in this frenzied melee midst the gun fight and the detonating suicide bombers and heavy smoke, to seek to draw the attention of the hard pressed soldiers with their white flags that would have been a mere blur that would draw fire from men who are edgy about the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s suicide capabilities.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If they were smart enough, they should have stayed with the last lot of Tamil civilians numbering 72,000 remaining in the final battle ground including almost 10,000 former cadres who later surrendered to the Sri Lankan forces, instead of making their move as Prabhakaran and his men attempted to force their way out into the surrounding jungles.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Let those who counted tens of thousands of dead civilians from their offices in London, Brussels, Paris, New York, Toronto, Oslo and other major cities through their slanted looking glass, produce the evidence to substantiate these outlandish claims, possibly made as they were disappointed with the failure of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fulfilling their objective of a divided Sri Lanka broken up into two separate states.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yours sincerely,

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mahinda Gunasekera