While the international community is preoccupied demanding to know how & how many LTTE were defeated instead of being happy that LTTE was defeated, Sri Lanka has chosen to concentrate instead on developing Sri Lanka & giving a life to those that had been living in fear of LTTE. Gokulan a former child soldier became a singing sensation and now Sri Lanka is proud that we have another sensation – V Viyaskanth the 18 year old cricket sensation from Jaffna. Had Prabakaran & LTTE prevailed Viyaskanth would be bowling grenades and batting with an AK47 instead of the amazing leg spinner he has become.

Vijayakanth Viyaskanth was born on 5 December 2001. Months before the Norwegian brokered infamous Cease Fire Agreement of February 2002 that officially gave territory to terrorists. The CFA was used to not only regroup but carry out a massive propaganda campaign to collect funds and plan to attack the Sri Lanka Armed Forces with venom. It was also a period that the LTTE increased recruitment of child soldiers as evident in UNICEF figures inspite of claiming to release child soldiers. It was as a result of closing the Mavil Aru anicut and committing a war crime by cutting off water to some 40,000 farmers in the East that the Armed Forces was called in to open the anicut. This eventually led to the liberation of Eastern Province of LTTE. By 2006, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth would have been just 5 years old.  LTTE was militarily defeated in May 2009 when Viyaskanth was just 8 years. LTTE recruited children as young as 7years to be child soldiers denying these Tamil children their right to live happily with their parents and their fundamental right to education and freedom of movement.

If LTTE was not defeated in 2009, Viyaskanth would have been turned into a child soldier with no hope of ever becoming a cricket sensation.

It is believed that 30% of LTTE comprised children. Just imagine how many of them faced death as children for no reason, forced to kill and commit suicide biting a cyanide capsule. Aunty Adele that vicious Australian nurse comes to mind. She was the main trainer of children from 1970s to late 1990s when she returned to UK and where she lives happily. The UK that has banned LTTE in UK seems not bothered that the woman who trained children to kill and commit suicide is living in UK and no attempt is made to even question her role in LTTE.

How many LTTE child soldiers had their dreams dashed – how many of these LTTE child soldiers could have become lawyers, engineers, doctors, accountants, teachers, principals, entrepreneurs & sports stars? Instead hundreds and thousands of them ended up holding a gun, biting a cyanide capsule and living in the jungles. What kind of life was this for children? The silly tamashas that LTTE diaspora hold annually are just sham shows just for publicity when in reality not a pound or dollar have gone to the families of these dead child soldiers.

LTTE Diaspora – Indoctrinating hate into the minds of innocent children

Do these Tamil children living overseas singing happy birthday for Prabakaran know what life was like for the Tamil children who were Prabakaran’s child soldiers? These kids are blowing candles – Prabakaran’s child soldiers were blowing people to pieces.

The LTTE Diaspora overseas who carried out the propaganda for LTTE should feel ashamed. While their children went to private/public schools, university and landed themselves top jobs and wore branded clothes and went on holidays – back home fellow Tamil children of poor and low caste homes were kidnapped, taken to bogus LTTE ‘orphanages’ and trained to kill and commit suicide. While LTTE diaspora enjoyed life digging into the LTTE money kitty and educating their children, the low caste and poor Tamil children had to suffer in the jungles of Mullaitivu. The only clothes they wore were the LTTE uniform that was often unwashed for months.

19 May 2009 must be celebrated annually by GoSL & citizens of Sri Lanka as freedom for Tamil children. No longer are they kidnapped and turned into LTTE child soldiers.

Had LTTE prevailed instead of being defeated in 2009, this young cricket sensation would have been no cricket star but a 18 year old child soldier.

For all those in the international community bragging about reconciliation and accountability – a question for them is what have their finger pointing and demarches produced other than giving the opportunity for LTTE Diaspora to light the LTTE Flower over UK Parliament!

Sri Lanka on the other hand has proudly produced plenty of stars like Gokulan and Viyaskanth. Of the 594 child soldiers who surrendered to the Sri Lanka military in 2009, all were given a Presidential Pardon and then put through school and given training in whatever livelihood they wished to enter.

11 years after LTTE defeat, Tamils can be happy to see how North has progressed from what North was under LTTE rule. When LTTE was making $300m annual profits, what comforts did LTTE or the LTTE diaspora give the Tamil people living in the North. Only a handful that supported LTTE enjoyed all the fruits of the LTTE terror reign. At least one family member lives overseas but it was only after LTTE defeat that they could freely help their families back home. Previous times all living overseas, whether they liked it or not had to give tithes to the LTTE kitty on a monthly basis. So whether LTTE diaspora or LTTE supporters like to admit it or not, their lives changed for better after LTTE demise. The only lot disheartened by LTTE defeat are the selfish lot who preferred to enjoy the LTTE kitty only amongst themselves without sharing with the rest of the Tamil community in particular the poor & low caste.

Returning to our young 18 year old cricket star Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, who made his debut for Jaffna Stallions in the recently concluded IPL cricket tournament, all of Sri Lanka wish him for a bright future. We are all fond of and proud of the other cricket sensation Muttiah Muralitharan. These are all national treasures.

While petty minds attempt to divide people, Sri Lanka would rather concentrating on building people rather than building obstacles.

Shenali D Waduge