Sri Lanka still trying to forget over 300 attacks by LTTE in 30 years
Posted on August 24th, 2013
Shenali D Waduge
Some organizations are trying to remember a solitary incident that took place in 1983 but unrepeated since to continuously project and promote a larger objective. They take great pains to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”rememberƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ this solitary incident but refuse or ignore to hold a single exhibition, documentary or issue a statement for the 300 or more attacks by the LTTE. We wonder why they wish to only concentrate on one unrepeated incident only. These ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”remembranceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ programs copy the strategy of Channel 4 and are held every time Sri Lanka attends an important event. It is obvious that they are attempting to push the notion of guilt upon the Sinhalese Buddhists. We now demand that these false accusations must cease. When the LTTE attacks are brought up the immediate defence by these groups was to depict that Tamils are not to blame for LTTE attacks. By the same logic, organized mob attacks of 1983 does not equate to Sinhalese Buddhists attacking Tamils. Never a word gets mentioned of how Sinhalese Buddhists saved and protected their Tamil neighbours and friends. We agree that all Tamils are not LTTE but all LTTE were Tamils similarly 1983 was a mob attack and those that looted homes/property comprised men from all the ethnic groups as happens in riot situations. The public is not to blame. If Tamils are not to be blamed for LTTE ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Sinhalese Buddhists are not to blame for 1983 either.
If 1983 was a REVENGE attack ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” why did the people not avenge 300 LTTE attacks?
Going further the 1983 riots was attributed to revenge attacks for the killing of 13 soldiers. On July 18, 1996 the LTTE overran an entire army camp in Mullaitivu killing 1200 soldiers. In 1998 26 September LTTE overran the Kilinochchi army camp killing more than 900 soldiers ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” why did the people not repeat 1983 to revenge these killings? Again by the same logic of revenge, the below comprehensive list of LTTE attacks upon the military as well as unarmed civilians should have resulted in revenge attacks by the public for the anger at killing unarmed men women and children would have been far more difficult for any authority to curtail. BUT ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” no such revenge attacks took place despite the horrific manner the LTTE planned and executed their killings. This speaks volumes of the tolerance of the Sri Lankan public inspite of their anger with previous Governments for forsaking the greater interest of the people and thinking of only their political futures that led to delaying action against LTTE terrorism resulting in the deaths of close to 30,000 war heroes, thousands of still missing unaccounted for soldiers, tens of thousands of civilian deaths, destruction of property, ancient sacred sites being affected ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the damage was colossal. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
Those that take pains to make the world remember July 1983 do not want to remember LTTE atrocities to hold exhibitions or documentaries? Why would they promote one and not the other? Coincidentally, they also happen to be the same people that finds difficulty in admitting the achievement of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s armed forces whatever love lost they have with the Government.
1983 Black July was certainly a planned attack; unfortunately most of those main players are now no more to verify the different versions that prevail. While the 13 soldiers died in the North it was strange that the attacks took place only in certain pocket areas. Nevertheless, what the 1983 riots did was to allow for the 1st time the opportunity for an exodus of Tamils to exit Sri Lanka on the ticket of refugee status. These people now make up the Tamil Diaspora. We now question how many of those actually attacked got the chance to go overseas and how many Tamils that had nothing happen to their homes or themselves ended up leaving as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”refugeesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to live in the West obtaining foreign citizenship thereafter? How many more Tamils over the years used false stories of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”discriminationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to also plead for refugee status needs to also be explored though no one would mind anyone wanting to live in the West so long as they do not slander the country of birth or the people with lies and distortions.
How many of Tamils in the North are actually Sri Lankan Tamils?
If 600 died in 1983 there are now close to 1million Tamils living overseas. Excluding the estate Tamil population the Tamils number 2.4million in total of a 20million population and with the close to 1million now living overseas we again question the validity of the census statistics implying the need for the Sri Lankan Government to authenticate how many of the present Tamils living in the North are actually Sri Lankan Tamils for the possibility of South Indian Tamils coming and settling in the North throughout 3 decades of LTTE defacto rule cannot be ruled out. If the authorities find that there are illegal Tamil Nadu immigrants living in Sri Lanka since the 1980s they need to be immediately sent back. Sri Lanka should not accept illegal immigrants and a proper policy must be implemented forthwith.
LTTE and Prabakaran started their killing spree borrowing or rather hijacking the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”separatistƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ slogan from the Tamil political leaders. The joke that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”EelaamƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ was by Tamils for Tamils was proved when LTTE assassinated the Tamil mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah and not stopping there went on to kill scores of Tamil police officers on duty making Tamils fear joining the police service.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
If Alfred Duraiappah was the first victim of LTTE, being a Tamil too, the last victims of the LTTE were also Tamil. It was on 20th April 2009 that 3 LTTE suicide bomb attacks targeted fleeing Tamil civilians being rescued by the Sri Lankan armed forces and resulted in 17 civilian deaths including women and children. This was the last time the LTTE was able to inflict pain upon the Sri Lankan populace and now 4 years on not a single bullet, not a single claymore, not a single suicide mission or assassination has taken place. LTTE has killed 82 Tamil politicians / 54 Tamil Government officials / 24 Tamil intellectuals & academics. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
LTTE has assassinated
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 2 Heads of State (President Premadasa and former PM Rajiv Gandhi) and attempt on President Chandrika Kumaratunga
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 1 Opposition candidate
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 10 leaders of political parties
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 9 Ministers (including 7 cabinet level Ministers and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadiragamar)
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 37 Members of Parliament
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 6 Members of Provincial Councils
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 22 Members of Pradeshiya Sabhas
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 17 Political Party Organizers &
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚§ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 4 Mayors including Alfred Duraiappah who became the LTTE’s first killing in 1975 outside a kovil in Jaffna.
Prior to the July 1983 riots, the LTTE was involved in a spate of activities that included blasting of Air Ceylon Avro Aircraft (1978), bombing night mail train to Jaffna (1983 June), killing of police officers (Tamil) and attacks on police stations (Chavakachcheri-1982), attacking Navy convoys (1982) as well as killing 2 soldiers in Jaffna (1981). The first LTTE cadre to be killed was Seelan (Charles Anthony) in 1982.
The UNP may like to remember some of its members killed by the LTTE ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” MP Pulendran/Vavuniya Organizer (1982), K V Rathnasingham (1983), S S Muttiah (1983), Sinnathambi Thilagar (1983 June) A J Rajasooriar (1983), M Hemachandran (1983)
Following is a list of key dates in the conflict and each added comes upto over 2000 incidents involving LTTE attacks upon both civilian and armed forces ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the handful of prominent oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s are given below:
| 1972 | |
| ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ | Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran forms the Tamil New Tigers (TNT). |
| 1975 July 27 | Assassination of Jaffna Mayor ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Alfred Duraiappah |
| 1976 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| May 1 | TULF calls for separate state with Vaddukodai Resolution for self-determination. |
| May 5 | TNT becomes the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) |
| 1983 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| July 23 | LTTE ambush army patrol in Jaffna, kills 13 soldiers, sparking an anti-Tamil pogrom by organized mobs in which an estimated 600 people die |
| July 29 | Mob riots ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” resulting in burning of homes/businesses, arson and looting |
| 1983 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 84 | India, despite denials, begins arming and training guerrillas from five major Tamil militant groups ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” unofficially the training began far earlier. |
| Aug 1 | 6th Amendment to Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Constitution prohibiting separatism |
| 1984 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 21 | Bomb attack Hilton Colombo killing civilians |
| Nov 30 | Dollar and Kent Farm attacks on Sinhalese villages in north-eastern border areas kill 127 people, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ – 244 such attacks on civilians have taken place since |
| 1985 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Jan 19 | Bombing of Yal Devi train |
| May 14 | LTTE guns down 146 Sinhalese civilian pilgrims at the holy Buddhist town of Anuradhapura including Seelawansa Thero |
| July 8 | First attempt at peace talks between the government and the LTTE in Bhutan fails. |
| 1986 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| May 3 | LTTE bomb Airlanka plane at Colombo airport, killing 16 people |
| 1987 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| April 21 | Car bomb explodes at Colombo central bus stand, killing 113 people and wounding scores more |
| June 2 | LTTE stop bus and shoot 33 people, including 29 Buddhist monks near the eastern town of Arantalawa |
| July 5 | LTTE carries out its first suicide bombing at the Nelliady army camp killing 40 security force (SF) personnel. |
| July 29 | India and Sri Lanka sign pact to end Tamil separatism. India deploys troops in Sri Lanka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” INDO LANKA ACCORD signed virtually under duress. |
| July 30 | Arrival of Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) |
| 1988 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| May 1 | Landmine blows up bus, killing 22 passengers in eastern Trincomalee |
| Nov 14 | 27 Sinhalese die in attack on bus in Trincomalee |
| 1989 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Feb 11 | 34 Sinhalese killed in shootings at Duluwewa in northeast |
| 1990 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| March 24 | Indian troops withdraw |
| June 10 | LTTE resumes separatist war, breaking 14 months of talks with President Ranasinghe Premadasa |
| June 11 | Over 600 policemen shot dead by LTTE after they surrender in Eastern Province |
| Jul 12 | Suicide attack on Naval Vessel in Trincomalee kills 6 security force members |
| Aug 3 | 140 Moslems praying at a mosque in eastern village of Kattankudy killed in machete, gun and grenade attack |
| Aug 12 | 120 Moslems killed in Eravur, north of Batticaloa |
| Nov 3 | suicide bombers attack the Manakulam Army Camp with a car laden with explosives. |
| 1991 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| March 2 | Deputy Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeratne killed by car bomb in Colombo with 18 others |
| May 5 | ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sea TigersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ attack a Naval Vessel in Trincomalee killing 5 SF personnel |
| May 21 | Former Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi blown up by an LTTE suicide bomber along with 18 others |
| June 21 | 21 killed and more than 175 injured as suicide bomber drives truck with explosives into Joint Operations Command Office/ Colombo |
| 1992 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Sept 1 | Bicycle bomb in eastern Batticaloa kills 22 Moslems |
| Oct 15 | 166 Muslim men, women and children were brutally hacked to death in their sleep by women and child cadres of the LTTE in northeastern Palliyagodella |
| Nov 16 | Sri Lankan navy commander Clancy Fernando and 4 navy personnel killed by a motorcycle-borne suicide bomber at Galle Face in Colombo |
| 1993 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| April 23 | LTTE kill former security minister Lalith Athulathmudali |
| May 1 | President Ranasinghe Premadasa blown up by an LTTE suicide bomber with 23 others |
| 1994 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Oct 13 | Third round of peace talks begin between the government and LTTE |
| Nov 24 | Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake and 58 others killed by Tiger suicide bomber |
| 1995 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| April 19 | LTTE blasts two navy boats killing 12 soldiers after six months of talks ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| June 4 | Ship chartered by International Committee of the Red Cross blown up in northern Jaffna |
| Aug 7 | Suicide bomber explodes bomb hidden in coconut cart in Colombo, killing 24 and wounding 40 |
| Oct 17 | 9 Navy personnel killed and Vessel damaged by LTTE suicide bomber in naval facility Trincomalee |
| Oct 20 | LTTE cadres blow up two oil depots in capital Colombo, killing more than 20 security personnel |
| Nov 11 | Two Tiger suicide bombers kill 15 people in Colombo in unsuccessful attack on Army headquarters |
| Nov 24 | LTTE suicide targets headquarters of the Sri Lankan Army and explode bombs concealed in their vests killing at least 16 people and wounding 52 others. |
| Dec 2 | Jaffna falls to Sri Lankan army |
| Dec 5 | 23 police officers die as truck filled with bombs attack police camp in Batticoloa. |
| Dec 11 | 14 civilians and 3 SF personnel killed and 59 injured when LTTE suicide bombers blew themselves up during an attack on the Army Headquarters complex in Colombo. |
| Dec 30 | An Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officer and a civilian were wounded by LTTE suicide bomber at Kalladi in the Batticaloa district |
| 1996 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 31 | Tigers ram a truck loaded with explosives into the central Bank building in Colombo, killing 91 people with over 1400 injured |
| Apr 1 | 10 SF personnel killed by suicide squads in Vettilaikerni. |
| Apr 18 | Sea Tiger suicide at Colombo Port. |
| July 4 | Jaffna military commander Brig. Ananda Hamangoda, and 20 others are killed and approximately 60 others sustain injuries by suicide bomber in JaffnaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| July 18 | Tiger overrun army camp in northeastern town of Mullativu, killing 1,200 troops |
| July 24 | Two bomb blasts on a rush-hour commuter train kill 57 people and injure at least 157. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Oct 25 | 12 Sri Lankan navy killed by boat filled with explosives in Trincomalee |
| Nov 25 | Suicide bomber dies critically wounding police driver in Trincomalee town |
| Dec 17 | A Deputy Police Commander killed by suicide bomber in Amparai |
| 1997 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Mar 5 | Air Force Base Trincomalee attackƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| May 13 | Army launches biggest ground offensive, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Jaya SikuruƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to capture the Vavuniya-Jaffna highway. The offensive is called off in December 1998 |
| July 5 | Lawmaker Arunaslam Thangathurai and four others die in a grenade attackƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| July 17 | North Korean ship carrying food, attacked and seized, killing one crew |
| Sept 9 | Civilian ship attacked north of the eastern port of Trincomalee. 32 people killed in a gun battle between rebels and the Sri Lankan navy |
| Oct 8 | The United States declares the LTTE a foreign terrorist organisation |
| Oct 15 | The LTTE attacks The World Trade Centre in central Colombo killing 18 injuring over 110 |
| Oct 19 | LTTE attacks naval gunboat in northeast ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 2 sailors dieƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Nov 14 | ColomboƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Kelanitissa Power Plant attacked |
| Dec 28 | Suicide truck near Magalle naval base (Galle) damages shops and houses. |
| 1998 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 25 | The LTTE bombs Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s holiest Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth, in the central town of Kandy, killing 17 ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 26 | The Sri Lankan government outlaws the LTTE |
| Feb 6 | Suicide bomber explodes outside SLAF roadblock near Rio cinema Slave Island. 6 soldiers and 2 civilians die. |
| Feb 23 | Suicide attack on Point Pedro coast in northern kills 51 troops and 28 civilians are killed in this attack. |
| Mar 5 | Bus bomb explosion in Maradana, Colombo claims over 36 civilians injuring 270 more |
| May 14 | Brigadier Larry Wijeyaratne, a top Sri Lankan ArmyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s top commander killed in Jaffna |
| Sept 11 | LTTE assassinates the mayor of Jaffna a member of the pro-government Tamil United Liberation Front |
| Sept 26 | Tigers overrun the Kilinochchi army camp, killing more than 900 government soldiers, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| 1999 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Mar 18 | Suicide cadre blows herself near police station in Colombo. Her target was Chief Inspector Nilabdeen head of the terrorism investigation unit. He and 8 civilians were injured. |
| Apr 11 | LTTE suicide attack on bus in Kandy kills 2 and injures over 20 |
| July 25 | Suicide bomber targets ship at Trinco harbour killing a civilian. |
| July 29 | LTTE suicide blast kills Tamil MP Neelan Tiruchelvam |
| Aug 4 | 9 police commandos and 1 civilian killed by suicide bomber in Vavuniya. 18 commandos were on board. |
| Aug 9 | First suicide bombing inside army camp ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Vakarai posing as civilian collecting food relief kills Major T. G. J. B. Karunanayake, the second in command of an infantry battalion. |
| Sep 18 | LTTE women cadres attack three villages, kills 50 people |
| Oct 9 | The US state department extends by two years the ban on the Tamil Tigers |
| Nov 2 | Tigers mount their biggest ever counter offensive and within four days overrun a total of 10 military bases |
| Dec 18 | President Chandrika Kumaratunga is wounded in a suicide assassination bid by LTTE |
| Dec 18 | Suicide bomber kills retired Major General Lakshman Chula Algama and 11 persons at a United National party (UNP) election rally at Ja-Ela in Colombo. |
| 2000 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 05 | A suicide bomber stages attack outside Prime Minister Sirima BandaranaikeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s office, killing 13 civilians ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Mar 2 | Attack on Col. Piyal Abeysekara in Trinco results in death of his driver. |
| Mar 10 | 14 civilians and 6 police personnel killed and 46 injured when suicide cadres attack motorcade leading to Parliament. |
| April 22/23 | Tamil Tigers capture army garrison of Elephant Pass entrance to Jaffna peninsula |
| May 4 | The Sri Lankan Government assumes new powers and puts the country on a war footing |
| May 17 | More than 20 people are killed and 75 injured in a bomb explosion in the eastern town of Batticaloa |
| June 5 | 34 naval personnel killed by ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sea TigersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ off Vadamarachchi coast in Jaffna ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| June 7 | A senior Sri Lankan Minister, CV Goonaratne, is assassinated and 20 others killed ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| June 14 | 2 civilians killed and 11 injured in an attempt to target Sri Lanka Airforce bus in Wattala |
| June 26 | Ship carrying private cargo to Point Pedro from Trinco attacked at sea,5 die include 3 naval ratings. |
| Aug 16 | (Vavunia) A child was killed and five persons, including three army officialsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Aug 22 | Thailand bans LTTE |
| Sept 15 | 7 killed and 28 injured by suicide bomber near hospital in Colombo ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Health Minister Nimal Siripala escapes |
| Oct 3 | National Unity Alliance Trincomalee District candidate M. L. Baithullah, and 20 persons, including four police personnel, killed and 49 injured by suicide bomber in Muttur |
| Oct 5 | 12 killed over 40 injured by suicide bomber at PeopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Alliance election meeting at the Medawachchiya bus stand |
| Oct 19 | 3 civilians killed 21 injured including 3 Americans by suicide bomber near Colombo Town Hall |
| Dec 5 | Interpol sends a world wide notice for the arrest of LTTE chief, Velupillai Pirabakaran |
| 2001 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Feb 28 | LTTE Banned in UK |
| July 24 | 20 LTTE suicide cadres attack main airbase and the only international airport in Sri Lanka, destroying 13 aircraft and leaving at least 12 people dead. |
| Sep 16 | LTTE suicide attacks on a ferry carrying 1,200 soldiers off northern Sri Lanka kill 29 |
| Oct 30 | 4 killed in suicide bomb blast aiming PM Ratnasiri Wickremanayake at Narahenpita, Colombo Two police personnel and 2 civilians are killed while 14 injured |
| Oct 30 | 3 soldiers killed in a suicide boat attack on an oil tanker, MV Silk Pride, off the port of Point Pedro ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Nov 04 | LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s assets in Britain and USA frozen |
| Nov 09 | LTTE Banned in Canada |
| Nov 15 | Three Army intelligence personnel and a civilian killed while 8 persons injured in Batticoloa town |
| Dec 19 | Tigers announce month-long ceasefire to start on 24 December. |
| Dec 21 | The government says it will also observe month-long truce. |
| 2002 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 15 | The government eases 7 year embargo on goods, food and medicines entering the northern rebel-controlled areas. |
| Feb 21 | Government and Tamil Tiger rebels agree to a permanent ceasefire |
| Sep 05 | LTTE ban lifted by government to pave way for peace talks in Thailand |
| Sep 16 | First round of Peace talks start in Thailand between government and LTTE |
| 2004 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| July 7 | Suicide bomber detonates outside Kollupitiya Police station next to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s official residence in Colombo killing herself and four police personnel and injuring 9. |
| 2003 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| LTTE pulls out of Peace talks | |
| 2004 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Mar 3 | Renegade Tamil Tiger commander, known as Karuna, leads split in rebel movement |
| 2005 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| May 31 | Major Tuwan Nizam Muthaliff, Commanding Officer of the First Intelligence Corps of the Sri Lankan Army gunned down in Colombo |
| Aug | Foreign minister Luxman Kadiragamar, a Tamil himself assassinated by LTTE |
| Nov | Mahinda Rajapakse elected president of Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| 2006 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 7 | 15 Sri Lankan Navy personnel in Trincomalee naval harbor |
| Apr 25 | LTTE suicide bomber posing as pregnant attempts to assassinate Army Commander Lt General Sarath Fonseka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 8 others die inside military hospital Colombo |
| Jun 26 | Suicide bomber kills SLA Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Parami Kulathunge, the third highest appointment in the SLA, and three others at Pannipitiya, a suburb of capital Colombo. |
| July 26 | LTTE Blocks Mavil Aru sluice gates. Army launches operation ‘Watershed’ to take control of the gates. This incident is regarded as the beginning of the Army’s military operation to oust the LTTE (known as Eelam war IV) |
| Aug 11 | Army takes full control of the Mavil Aru sluice gates |
| Aug 10 | Government closes the A-9 highway |
| Aug 14 | LTTE launches an unsuccessful assassination attempt against the Pakistani High Commissioner 7 die including 4 soldiers. |
| Oct | Peace talks fail in Geneva |
| Oct 2 | LTTE attacks Muttur, displacing Muslims |
| Oct 16 | LTTE suicide attack blasts buses carrying sailors who were going on leave. Over 100 sailors died in this incident. |
| Oct 18 | Sea Tigers attack naval base in Galle – Troops, successfully repulse the attack, killing 15 LTTE cadres, while one sailor also died in the incident |
| Dec 1 | LTTE suicide bomber launches an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse |
| 2007 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 6 | LTTE bombs passenger bus near the tourist resort of Hikkaduwa killing 11 |
| Mar 24 | 2 civilians die as suicide bomber attacks military checkpoint in Jaffna |
| March 26 | LTTE Air Wing, for the first time launches an air raid and drops bombs over Katunayake Air Base causing minor damages ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 3 deaths |
| March | Operation to liberate Wanni begins |
| Apr 2 | LTTE attacks military checkpoint near Ampara, killing at least 16 civilians and wounding 25 others |
| May 24 | Suicide bomber on bicycle rams bus carrying army personnel ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 2 soldiers die |
| Jun 3 | LTTE attacks army bases in Mannar and Vavuniya districts |
| July 11 | Military liberates the Eastern Province from LTTE with the capture of Toppigala |
| July 16 | The Chief District Secretary of the Eastern province is shot dead in Trincomalee |
| Oct 21 | LTTE aircraft and ground troops, in a two pronged assault, attack the Sri Lankan air force base in Anuradhapura |
| Nov 2 | The head of the Tamil Tigers’ political wing, S.P. Thamilselvan, is killed in an air raid |
| Nov 18 | LTTE suicide bomber explodes herself at office of Douglas Devananda, the Tamil minister for social welfare killing his personal secretary. |
| Nov 18 | Bomb explodes at a shopping complex in busy Nugegoda |
| Dec 6 | LTTE claymore attack on bus heading to Kebithigollewa kills 16 and mostly children |
| 2008 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 2 | Sri Lanka withdraws from the ceasefire agreement |
| Jan 8 | Minister for Nation Building, D.M. Dassanayake killed in LTTE claymore in Ja Ela |
| Jan 16 | Suicide bomber on civilian bus in Buttala kills 27 and injures 60 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” LTTE also shoot at civilians |
| Jan 31 | Suicide bomber on bicycle in Thinnaveli kills 3 civilians injures 17 |
| Feb 3 | Suicide attack at Fort Railway stations kills 12 and injures over 100. |
| Feb 29 | 8 including 3 police officers killed by suicide bomber in ColomboƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Apr 6 | suicide bomber blast kills Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and 10 others at a school roadside marathon start line. |
| Apr 25 | 24 killed in bus blast in suburb of Piliyandala |
| May 16 | Suicide bomb explosion near Sambuddhaloka temple ; 9 killed, over 95 wounded – Fort |
| May 26 | Bomb attack at Dehiwela station kills eight |
| June 4 | 24 injured in blast targeting commuter train |
| June 6 | 20 killed in bomb attack on bus in suburb of Moratuwa |
| Jun 16 | Vavuniya suicide attack kills 12 police personnel including 3 women police officers |
| SeptƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 28 | One dead, nine injured in Vavuniya blastƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Oct 6 | Retired Major General Janaka Perera and 27 others killed in suicide bombing in Anuradhapura |
| Oct 9 | Minister Maithreepala Sirisena Miraculously Escapes LTTE Female Suicide Attempt |
| Oct 22 | LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists attack merchant ships carrying essential supplies including food, medical suppliers etc to civilians in JaffnaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Nov 15 | Amry liberates Poonaryn, opening up a land route to Jaffna |
| Nov 26 | LTTE kills Lt. Col Lalith Jayasinghe of Special Forces Regiment |
| Dec 29 | LTTE suicide bomb blast near Catholic Church ; 8 killed, 17 injured – WattalaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| 2009 | ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Jan 2 | Army liberates Killinochchi town, the rebel administration headquaters |
| Jan 2 | LTTE suicide bomb explosion in Colombo in front of the Air Force camp in Slave Island |
| Jan 9 | Elephant Pass, a major passage way to Jaffna falls and with that army takes full control over the A9 road |
| Jan 25 | Army liberates Mullathivu Town, the rebel military headquaters |
| Feb 9 | bomb attack at IDP rescue centre – Kilinochchi -ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ At least 23 people killedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ |
| Feb 21 | Two LTTE Air Tiger planes which came in a suicide mission gunned down in Colombo and Katunayake. One plane crashes in to the IRS building after being shot down. The other one crashes in to a field near Katunayake Air Base. |
| Mar 10 | LTTE suicide bomber attacks Milad Festival – AkurassaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 10 civilians were killed and at least 35 others , including a government minister |
| Apr 13 | Sri Lanka announces Norway will not be Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s peace broker after Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo is attacked by LTTE |
| Apr 20 | Army destroys earth bund which prevented civilians from leaving the Safe Zone. 41,000 civilians reach the liberated areas on the first day. |
| May 09 | Remaining civilians start coming out from the Safe Zone |
| May 17 | Velupillai Prabhakaran and other senior leaders killed. Major fighting ends. |
| May 18 | Government confirms that Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead |
| May 19 | President Mahinda Rajapakse officially declares that the war is over. Prabhakaran’s body displayed to the public. |
| May 20 | Military ends fighting with ceremonially silencing the guns |
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ No nation would have tolerated the above attacks (just a handful of the total) as Sri Lanka has therefore it is time people with vested interests stop ridiculing Sri Lanka any further.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
August 23rd, 2013 at 2:52 pm
THIS LIST MUST BE GIVEN TO NAVI PILLAY BY NO OTHER PERSON THAN THE DEFENCE SECRETARY. ON THE DAY OF HER ARRIVAL.
August 23rd, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Agree with Susantha.
August 23rd, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Good work Shenali, felicitations.
August 23rd, 2013 at 5:18 pm
THIS LIST SHOULD ALSO BE CIRCULATED TO ALL THE EMBASSIES WHERE THE TAMIL TERRORISTS DIASPORA IS ACTIVE IN SLANDERING SRI LANKA, TO BE PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED TO ALL MEMPERS OF PARLIAMENT, CONGRESSMEN, PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS OF THOSE COUNTRIES. LET THE TAMIL VOTE MENDICANTS, READ THE ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY THE TAMIL TERRORISTS, AND THE CARNAGE THEY HAVE BROUGHT UPON INNOCENT HUMAN BEINGS.
IF THEY DO NOT GET THE MESSAGE, LET THEM FACE SIMILAR CRIMES BY THE TAMIL TERRORISTS VOTE BANK.
August 23rd, 2013 at 9:15 pm
LIST OF TAMIL POLITICIANS ASSASSINATED BY THE LTTE
• 27.07.75
• 25.05.81
• 29.04.83
• 29.04.83
• 29.04.83
• 12.08.83
• 18.09 .84
• 03.09.85
• 03.09.85
• 06.05.86
• 08.03.88
• 20.03.88
• 07.03.89
• 13.07.89
• 13.07.89
• 07.05.90
• 19.06.90
Alfred Duraiappah A Thiagarajah
S J Muttaiah
S Rajarathnam
Mayor/SLFP organizer in Jaffna MP for Vadukkodai
UNP Candidate for Chavakachcheri UNP Organizer Velvettithurai
K B Rathnasinghem A R Rajasooriyar
S Gopalapillai
V Dharmalingam
UNP Organizer Point Pedro
UNP Organizer Jaffna
UNP Organizer Thambuluvil Ampara
MP for Manipay
MP for Kopai
TELO Leader
District Secretary of Ceylon Communist Party TULF Organizer Kalmunai
TULF Ex-DDC Chairman
TULF Leader
Ex-TULF MP for Jaffna
EPRLF MP for Batticaloa
EPRLF Leader
K Alalasunderam Sri Sabarathnam S Vijayanandan V Master
S Sabarathnamoorthy A Amirthalingam
V Yogeswaran
Sam Thambimuththu K Pathmanabha
• 19.06.90
• 19.06.90
• 28.06.90
• 13.09.94
• 31.12.94
• 28.04.95
• 26.10.95
• 16.04.96
• 29.09.96
• 05.07.97
• 03.10.97
• 17.05.98
• 24.06.98
• 15.07.98
• 11.09.98
• 11.01.99
• 14.02.99
• 05.05.99
W K Yogasangarie P Kirubakaran
T Ganeshalingam T Jeyarajah
EPRLF MP for Jaffna
Ex-Finance Minister for NEPC
Provincial Minister for North & East Chairman Chenkaladi Pradeshiya Sabha Deputy Chairman DPLF
Former SLFP Organizer Jaffna
Deputy Mayor of Batticaloa MC (TELO) Chairman Poraitivu Pradeshiya Sabha (TELO) Vice Chairman Vakarai Pradeshiya Sabha TULF MP for Trincomalee
SLFP Organizer Jaffna
Mayor of Jaffna MC
SLFP Secretary Jaffna
PLOTE MP Vavuniya
Mayor of Jaffna MC
Member of Velvettithurai Pradeshiya Sabha Member of Pradeshiya Sabha Kopai South Member of Pradeshiya Sabha Pachchlapai
K Kandasamy K Vinthan Thomas Anton N Rajadurai
K Amirthalingam
A Thangathurai
S T Tharmalingam Sarojini Yogeswaran S A Oswald
S Shanmuganadan P Sivapalan
Peter
P Kandasamy
V Gunarathnam
• 13.05.99
• 29.05.99
• 31.09.99
• 29.07.99
• 02.09.99
• 05.01.00
• 07.02.00
• 10.09.00
• 07.11.00
• 1711.01
• 18.04.03
• 14.06.03
• 28.02.04
• 30.03.04
• 19.10.04
• 12.08.05
• 25.12.05
• 10.11.06
M Balasingham
M Ganesakumar
T Rajkumar
Dr Neelan Thiruchelvam N Manikkarajan
Member of Pradeshiya Sabha Valikamam East Leader of Razeek Group
Member of Pradeshiya Sabha Nallur
TULF MP
Kumar Ponnambalam K Kethishwaran
R J Peripenayagam A N Sundaranayagam Tambiraja Jayakumar M Rajalingam
Deputy Leader of PLOTE
Leader of the Tamil Congress
Former EPDP Member
PA Candidate for Batticaloa District TULF MP Batticaloa District
UNP Candidate for Batticaloa District Member of EPDP
Member of EPRLF (Vardhan group) UNP Candidate Batticaloa.
TNA Candidate Batticaloa
Former MP of TNA
MP / Minister of Foreign Affairs TNA MP
TNA MP
August 24th, 2013 at 7:23 am
Shenali’s List of LTTE atrocities should be also accompanied by as many photographs as possible that substantiate the enormous number of innocent adults and children among the dead and the casualties caused by the LTTE’s senseless bombings. These photos are there in the files and press records of those events.
Navi Pillay should also see the carnage caused BY the LTTE during those terrible years before the war ended. Our thanks go to the defense forces and the commitment of the Rajapakse government to end terrorism.
August 24th, 2013 at 3:51 pm
To quote the article: ” We now demand that these false accusations must cease” I fully agree and this article is the beginning of a public display of the atrocities committed by LITE. The time has come to bring this information to the UNHRC and demand action against those in India and in Sri Lanka who trained, equipped, gave funds and shelter to the LITE for it is understood that those involved in these activities are as guilty as LITE in committing these atrocities.
If it is proved that Indian Tamil leaders to RAW were explicitly involved then they are guilty by association and should be taken to the Hague for crimes against humanity.
August 24th, 2013 at 6:15 pm
SHENALI !! Iam serious. Your article is a valiant effort to SHOWCASE the inhuman atrocities by the LTTE. Please go one step further, for this presentation to be most effective. Get the Foreign Ministry to send this article along with pictures, as suggested by Nilwala, to all the Embassies as suggested in my earlier comment. They in turn should do right by Sri Lanka, in dispersing as many copies to the governments. Please take a shot at it. Thanks.
August 24th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
why the police dept . is no longer under the defence sec? what is happening?Any body knows?
August 24th, 2013 at 11:56 pm
Senevirath,
The Weliweriya incident report was released to the army commander and the president.
It FAULTS the army for killing unarmed civilians.
The president had enough of this and decided to SEPERATE LAW & ORDER MINISTRY from ministry of defence.
Police comes under the ministry of law and order. The president DIRECTLY is the minister of law and order BYPASSING MoD because it is now a different ministry.
That is why the police is now NOT under MoD and the defence secretary.
August 25th, 2013 at 5:56 am
Isn’t this wonderful news!!
“WASHINGTON – The FBI is concerned that Americans may be fighting in Syria and could bring terrorist tactics back to the United States, but US officials say there is a small number of US citizens fighting with Syrian rebels.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told ABC News in an interview aired on Friday that the terrorism threat that began in Afghanistan and Pakistan has now “migrated” to places including Syria, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. OH! REALLY?
“You have individuals traveling to those venues, you are concerned about the associations they will make, and secondly about the expertise they will develop and whether or not they will utilize those associations, utilize that expertise, to undertake an attack upon the homeland,” Mueller said in the interview.
“So, yes, we are concerned about that, and, yes, we are monitoring it,” he said.
Places like Syria may end up harboring “radical extremists who want to do harm” to the United States, according to Mueller, who will leave his FBI post next month after 12 years.
US government officials and private experts monitoring the 2-1/2-year-old civil war in Syria have said Americans and other foreigners were taking part in the fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Some experts said it had become a pilgrimage destination for Sunni Muslim militants.
One U.S. national security official estimated on Friday that only a handful of Americans are currently fighting in Syria, although other officials have said several dozen U.S. citizens have cycled through the country since fighting began.
An American woman was killed this year in the company of Syrian rebels in Idlib province.
A former U.S. soldier was arrested on his return to the United States in March and charged with conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade in Syria. Investigators said he acknowledged fighting with Syrian rebels, including the Nusra Front, which Washington says is a branch of al Qaeda.
U.S. and European security officials have said they are more concerned about the traffic in and out of Syria of would-be fighters from European countries, including Britain, France and Germany. European nationals often can easily enter the United States without obtaining an advance visa.
European officials have said that at any one time – including the present – they believe that as many as 70-100 British citizens are fighting in Syria with anti-Assad rebels, many of them with the Nusra Front.
Due to permissive European travel rules and Syria’s geographical location, counter-terrorism officials say it is difficult to track the movements of European citizens, and sometimes Americans, who go to Syria to fight with rebels.”
— Reuters
May be the cowards will run back home after Sunni rebels’ chemical attack last week.
August 25th, 2013 at 7:23 am
We had analysed the 1983 Riots earlier. It has transpired that the whole affair was a SET UP.
In July of 1983, 13 soldiers were killed in Jaffna by the ltte, and their bodies brought to Kanatte instead of being taken to their respective villages for funerals as was customary for the dead in the Army. At Kanatte, the relatives of the dead were kept waiting without an area for rest/food/water almost the whole day. A “restive crowd” gathered (who knows from where ?) and started being unruly, setting fire to boutiques etc near Kanatte, and that is how the riots of 1983 started and spread. We know that J.N. Dixit was the Tamil Nadu born Indian envoy who ‘called the shots’ in Sri Lanka. Cyril Mathew, then Minister for labor was the ideal person to organise a riot. The Army was kept in barracks and NO curfew was declared for 3 days. These Riots were filmed with proper cine cameras (the hand held tourist cameras were NOT available then), and shown in the western capitals by Luxmi Naganathan (Bonn, Germany), Moorthy (London, UK) and Balachandran (Paris, France). Some in the Riots were dressed in the old Sinhala ‘dolawa’ carrier style to prove that it were the Sinhela people who were Rioting against the Tamils. Between 200-300 Hindu Tamils of low caste origin and a few Sinhala Buddhists died in these Riots.
A TAMIL EXODUS to the west followed these Riots. and claims for Eelam enhanced from abroad. The rest is History.
The Weiweriya incident is similar, except that as the perpetrators wanted, it did not spread all over Lanka. In the Weliweriya incident, the extra some 5,000 Rioters arrived AFTER the talks had been completed between the government and the aggrieved parties. These rioters threw petrol bombs and sand filled bottles and tried to wrest away guns from the Army soldiers. It was DELIBERATE provocation by the rioters. Readers, how do you suppose any Army in any part of the world would have reacted to such a situation ? And what was the final objective of the ‘Weliweriya’ event ?
We leave Opinion and Justice to the Readers.
August 25th, 2013 at 7:47 am
Read as ” … arrived in the DARK of dusk/nightfall AFTER the talks had been completed …”
August 25th, 2013 at 9:46 am
Shenali and Sirth: Good “Statistics”. All these barbaric activities have been very well hidden from the “World Community” and their organizations, because the “LTTE Powerful Rump Organizations” spread world over have very well succeeded in defeating the Sri Lanka Government and its Agencies, to “CONFINE” the attention to call for an “International Inquiry” only to the last “THIRTY DAYS (30)” of the “WAR”.
I believe, Shenali will be able to address the circumstances that culminated in this “CALL” for the International Inquiry into the “Last Thirty (30) Days” of the war. In my opinion, the Sri Lanka Government from the President downwards must be made accountable and we Sri Lankans must feel “ashamed” of bringing that situation.
When we read the above statistics, the question that arises is: WHY ONLY CONFINE TO THIRTY DAYS?
August 25th, 2013 at 10:11 am
Douglas,
I think you mean 30 YEARS.
Exactly so : ‘Why only confine to 30 YEARS’ ! that is why I brought in the 1983 Riots. It’s all part of Tamil Terrorism for Separatism. ‘Weliweriya’ if closely examined will yield the same result.
Unemployed/disaffected Sinhala/Buddhists are used for violence – paid too ? !
August 25th, 2013 at 10:45 am
Riots of 1983 & Weliweriya were both aiming for the same goal as the ltte, Separate state through Riots and the ‘failed state’ theory. We think both events were manipulated for the same result, the hidden machinations of Separatism.
We wish someone would dig some new wells in Rathupaswela (under STF guard) and see if the water is contaminated in the new wells. Did someone put some ‘itch powder’ in the wells of Rathupaswela ? This whole event stinks of intrigue & hired violence.
August 25th, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Fran,
The president doesn’t think so.
Following the Weliweriya civilian killing report, he separated the army from law and order.
Now it is a different ministry.
GOOD MOVE.
August 25th, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Lorenzo,
The question is what would the Law & Order Ministry have done under the same circumstances with the Police under siege by violent rioters ?
What would YOU have done if in charge of the Army unit ?
August 25th, 2013 at 4:34 pm
Dear Fran: No. I mean “Thirty Days (30)”. This is what Ban-Kee Moon & Co. wants to investigate. All of them, inclusive of UNHRC, US,Canada are demanding to appoint an International Inquiry to investigate the “Human Rights Abuses” and “War Crimes” committed during the last “Thirty Days of the War”. They do not want to “Investigate the Thirty Years and more of the “Barbaric Activities” committed by the LTTE. This is where we committed the biggest mistake of being silent when the cry for the “Investigation of Thirty Days” was made. We should have said a “Firm NO” to that cry and demand. At least like what Obama said when the call to investigate Bush’s War against Iraq was made; ” LET US MOVE FORWARD BUT NOT BACKWARD”. Now everyone is silent on that biggest “Crime Committed Against Humanity in Iraq” by no lesser person than then President of USA, George Bush.
To say the least, we should have copied from Obama himself and said, “During a war no one could avoid “COLLATERAL DAMAGE”. Because of our dismal failure in handling this situation at the UN and UNHRC, Sri Lanka is today subjected to a “FORENSIC AUDIT” BY ALL DICK TOM AND HARRY”.
In view of the above, can anyone deny that the LTTE RUMP Organizations have achieved what they could not achieve through a Barbaric War? We now see how our Government has been put against the wall.
August 25th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Fran,
I have answered it many times.
They would NOT smash cameras, shout filth at clergy, shoot at church walls, shoot UNARMED CIVILIANS including school chidlren to DEATH.
Instead water, tear gas, rubber bullets will be used IF they turned violent.
Under GENERAL Nanda Mallawarachchi’s leadership the army did VERY CAREFUL operations giving people WATER when they demanded it!!! Not DEATH.
He is the (defence) secretary of ministry of law and order.
August 25th, 2013 at 5:29 pm
Lorenzo,
Violence was NOT called for by the protesting crowd in this instance AFTER an agreement was reached. Sorry, I cannot agree with you. How the new Ministry might handled the VIOLENCE as was brought about by the Weliweriya late arrivals in the dark of night of some 5,000 rioters is yet to be seen. The 5,000 or so who came later were just plain violent and IT WAS NOT ABOUT WATER, but appears to be violence for the sake of violence to involve waves of violence in the country. Remember we are trying to recover from 33 yrs of violence by the ltte. This article by Shenali is about senseless killing and violence by the ltte. Sri Lankans cannot tolerate any more of it. It is just too much.
In any VIOLENT event in ANY country, either the Police take very tough action (you ought to see the Police in the USA – they are more armed than the army personnel in Lanka) or the armed forces are called out. I have seen how western govts. handle internal violence, and it is by tough methods, far tougher than in Sri Lanka. Two peaceful demonstrators were killed by the Police in Oakland, California, in the ‘Occupy Movement’ about an year ago. After some time, all ‘Occupy Movements’ in cities of USA, were roughly and unceremoniously removed, with no niceties. Books were burnt, tents torn out, and people just scattered.
I am not for killing anyone, or even for roughness, but law & order must prevail. The protestors themselves must be held responsible not to be violent. Where is their Accountability to society which they profess to be a part of ? Senseless violence damaging public & private property cannot be allowed as it leads to looting & killing, as in the 1983 Riots. It is far better to resolve problems through debate & dialogue, rather than through violence.
In any future demonstrations, the leaders ought to sign an agreement with the Police or the new Ministry that the demos will be peaceful. This is for public safety. Or else it is always the innocent who get injured or killed.
Says a concerned person after violent May Day protests in London this year :
“Violence is counter productive. It’s tragic because that’s what ends up being publicised”
I rest my case.
August 25th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
Judging by the responses, it is quite clear Sri lankans of all races & ethnic, religious backgrounds feel deerly about our Motherlanka.
Even SriLanakan disapora are now getting actively invovled in PUNISHING LTTE & other sympathizers, supporters who mascarade under different names to raise funds from Foreign countries & orgaizations.
I can write about the trouble I had to go through to read an artcle in our Sunday Observer few months ago ” TITLED LTTE ATTROCITIES IN LANKA”. Every time I came to open this news item in my computer, somebody most probably in Yahoo or have access to it BLOCKED my reading this article. FINALLY I went to my wife’s place & read the article.
This is how, LTTE & Tamils including some Indians have infiltrated social websites, like Facebook & Yahoo etc. They can commit the crime BUT don’t want others to know about it.
Shenali as usual you have reasearched and provided an excellent article, I am sure this in iteself has prompted many lankans to respond so overhelminly.. I had trouble with FB and thsi time a TAMIL WOMAN from Florida used so much FILTH to me, just beacuse I was stating some facts aboout how the WAR WAS STARTED.
After that I stopped using Facebook, recentky it is reported using FB is very dangerous & non -productive. May be too many undesairables have got into that site.
I am glad that CHOGM is held in Sri Lanka, NOW every foreign delegation will notice our progress in rebuilding & also providing shelter, food & care to LTTE & others who are NOW negelcted by the so called TNA & other rich Tamils.
Hope these people realize how Rajapaksha govt. has provided them with sufficient funds, developemnt projects, jobs & also good education for their children. Lies & Lies put forth by Tamilnet & other PAID supportes of LTTE are still active in rasing FUNDS as US Homeland security stated few days ago.
I know we need not goto that extent BUT keep our President safe & make sure after elections & CHOGM he will take some decisive action to cure all ills in our country.
Thanks again Shenaili Waduge for this article, now at least our silent majority in lanka & abroad will take part, organize & help Sri Lanka in this hour of need…..REMEMBER its ONE COUNTRY, INIDIVISIBLE , UNITED & FREE….J
August 25th, 2013 at 6:25 pm
Fran,
“I am not for killing anyone, or even for roughness, but law & order must prevail.”
This is my point too when it comes to CIVILIANS. For terrorists and separatists I support violence (ONLY solution).
Law and order did NOT prevail in the Weliweriya incident because of the actions of the 2 RIOTING groups – a civilian group and the army.
That is why a NEW ministry DIRECTLY under the president has been created for law and order.
IF it were working, there was NO NEED to dilute the MoD.
The matter relating to VIOLENCE at the Weliweriya incident has been MOSTLY resolved (excpet for the punishment of wrongdoers on BOTH sides). The president is a very mature person and he acted CORRECTLY.
I thank all those who stood by me to CHANGE the mechanics relating to the army and law and order so we will NOT have this repeated. We have WON.
But the ROOT CAUSE – the NEED for fresh pipe water has NOT been resolved!
The NEW ministry had a fabulous start. Police shot dead an armed robber when they tried to kill an unarmed journalist. Well done!
(If it was a set up by the pro-UNP journos even better. One of their own SL-discrediting-actors has been killed.)
August 26th, 2013 at 3:57 am
Lorenzo,
The bad/dangerous part of any legitimate demonstrations by people is that these demos get HIJACKED by people interested in VIOLENCE, burning of property, looting and killing people, using artificial violence to bifurcate the country as well as serve vested interests. That is what happened in 1983. As Shenali has pointed out in this article, this VIOLENCE was used by a large number of Tamils in Sri Lanka to go westward as REFUGEES. Violence paid in this instance, for those who lived – as usual, only the innocent died. Sri Lanka’s reputation abroad went to pieces, and the peaceful “Buddhist image” of the country as yet to recover. Victims of violence are quickly forgotten. It is their families that suffer most and the psyche of the country is damaged for long spaces of time.
It will prove very difficult for police or army to distinguish between the innocent and the guilty where large numbers of people protest violently and the guilty hide themselves among the innocent.
* All public acts of VIOLENCE must be severely dealt with as it is a matter of life and death for the ordinary citizens of Lanka.
For that, we have to know the Law of the land. Buddhism is NOT the Law of the Land.
* Tamils must stop using Sri Lanka as their Refugee spring board to the west. All illegal migrants must be deported. The free entry into Lanka for SAARC countries is very questionable. Lanka loses in this aspect as illegal entrants come into the country easily and stay on.
P.S.: What were cameras doing in the protest site at Weliweriya so late in the day, AFTER the negotiations were completed ?
When the Army arrived at the scene, it was to ward off the violent protestors of some 5,000 people. The Army was right in strong action against this lot of FALSE protestors who HIJACKED the legitimate protests.
To get the complete picture, we have to address the whole of it, the motives of each party, and the end result they expected.
* The legitimate protestors about the wells wanted clean WATER.
* The late arrivals in the dark (some 5,000) who were VIOLENT had a DIFFERENT MOTIVE and wanted waves of violence unleashed in Lanka and it was NOT about WATER !
The MOTIVES for protest, one peaceful and the second VIOLENT, by the two groups were different.
We propose that all LOCAL problems such as WATER be resolved via the (to date useless) PCs, now that PCs appear to be staying on. Pipe borne water should be the aim for all PCs in Lanka. The also useless (& immature) Jnt Opposition can request clean pipe borne water via the CHOGM. That would be first useful thing the Jnt Opposition has ever done for Lanka.