KAMALIKA PIERIS

There is firm evidence to show that during the Eelam wars the Tamil civilians were   anti-government and anti-Sinhala. This became clear to the Sri Lanka army when they were in Jaffna   during Eelam War III. Kamal Gunaratne narrates (Road to Nandikadal’).

 After the Sri Lanka army captured Kilaly, (Jaffna) in 1996, tens of thousands of civilians who had left Valikamam started to return to their original homes. LTTE tried to prevent this but could not. Seeing the civilians return was a happy sight for us, recalled Kamal Gunaratne. Watching the massive influx we had a sense of great satisfaction. About 200,000 civilians were now under government administration. One the first day, an elderly man had come up, whispered “Congratulations” and moved on. But young children, who had never seen a soldier glanced at us furtively with fearful eyes,  said Kamal.

People went directly to their homes and started to settle in.  We tried our best to support them in their resettlement. We tried to bring back normalcy to their lives. We provided them with food, water and medicine.  In Thenmarachi and Wadamarachchi, we found LTTE stores filled with food items. We distributed these among the civilians.

We gave special attention to school children. The service rendered by the army to support and maintain primary and secondary education in the peninsula was immense. Besides supplying children with books, bags, uniforms, shoes, we also provided meals, especially during exams. We obtained support and sponsor ship from successful business men in Colombo for books, uniforms, shoes bags etc and encouraged the school children to study.

We also focused on elderly and sick. We   provided medical attention. We conducted eye clinics with support   of well wishers and leading opticians in the country. We donated spectacles. Many patients came to the camps and we provided medicine from our own stocks. We sent them to hospital in our ambulances.

We helped with government matters of the civilians. We conduced shramadana campaigns with joint participation of soldiers and civilians to repair and renovate village infrastructure and public properties such as hospitals, temples and schools. At the New Year   festival we gave civilians expensive gifts, donated by civic society group and businesses. We persuaded businesses to sponsor musical shows.

Our priority was to win the hearts and minds of the local population . There was a severe shortage of food items and they depended on the army welfare canteens. We tried to bring these items from Colombo and supplied them through our canteen at reasonable price. We donated part of our food quota to the poor villagers.  Whenever a member of a poor family was sick or had met with an accident it was the army medics who attended to them and in an emergency, our ambulances were used to take them to hospital.

Kamal Gunaratne said that they also changed the attitude of the soldiers. A new position of Civil Affairs officer was created and every major camp had such an officer. We organized a Tamil language course for our officers.

We built awareness among the soldiers of the need to treat Tamil citizens with respect and care. So much so that that soldiers began to look forward to supporting the civilians and sought out opportunities to be of service. They helped the civilians in many ways to improve their daily lives.Most soldier treated the  innocent poor Tamils with sympathy .They always treated the elderly with due respect and care to the extent of donating their own  meal to the hungry and medicine for the sick. However, despite the all the support we gave to the Tamil civilians, it was clear that their sympathies lay with the LTTE.

This became evident when the Ceasefire Agreement was signed, in 2002 said Kamal. We then saw a rapid deterioration in the relations between the civilians and the army. Hostility and mistrust returned and the Tamil civilians pretended not to remember what we had done for them.

LTTE started programme called Pongu Tami in 2002. It was actually Eelam propaganda, sowing seeds of hatred, revenge and racism under the guise of promoting Tamil culture.  These programmes were held in government controlled areas and were calculated to set the Tamil youth against the government.  The Army protested but government said do not disturb, it was a cultural programme.

In these progammes the LTTE accused the Sri Lanka army of destroying Tamil private property, raping, robbery and the forcible occupation of Tamil homeland.  They were building up a case against the army to rally Tamil youth so that they would help create Eelam.

The hate programme of Pongu Tamil continued. There was a programme in June 2003 at University of Jaffna attended by a large gathering which included school children. Programmes were also held in Vavuniya and Mannar. 1300 children attended the Mannar programme.

The centre for all this activity was the University of Jaffna. That was the hub of all this activity, where all the planning and coordinating was taking place. The army did not dare enter the premises.

One of its University’s main objectives, observed Kamal, was to   turn school children against the army. These children, whose education we have helped, now stood on road holding anti government and anti army placards. They had forgotten what we had done for them, said Kamal.

LTTE also entered schools when in session and delivered lectures poisoning and radicalizing these young minds. LTTE were successful in brainwashing the youth with their anti government, anti Sinhalese, anti-army rhetoric.

During the Ceasefire LTTE had trained civilians to handle a weapon. They conducted lectures on rising against the oppression by government and Sinhalese.  

The Tamil civilians then became openly hostile to the Sri Lanka army.They turned against the army. Villagers who used to work closely with us in musical shows or New Year celebrations became hostile.    Public servants were arrogant when dealing with the army. 

Soldiers who ventured into town were abused. Some would purposely bang against these soldiers and turn around and shout in filth. Even a simple exchange of word could crescendo into a major row with abuse and anti –Sinahla sentiments being flung with abandon. When soldiers went into shops, they were served last.  

Army    drivers underwent severe hardship and even the smallest of accidents turned into chaos abuse pelting of stones and death threats. Three wheeler drivers drove in the middle of the road and blocked army vehicles form overtaking and loudly spewing filth at us.

LTTE was able to gather thousands of civilians in a short time to demonstrate against the security forces. The LTTE organized protests using villagers. They stood in front of army camps and verbally abused the soldiers in filth. They   gathered  around camps shouting, pelting stones and demanding the removal of the camps.       

We started to received demands to remove road blocks and check points too. When we refused, LTTE would organize an entire village to rise up against the army. Long processions of civilians screaming anti- army slogans would come up to the checkpoint with LTTE pushing them from the rear.

When their demand for removing checkpoints was not met they would destroy everything and set fire to the bunkers and the check point while soldier watched helplessly. Then they would cheer, lift their sarongs, show their nudity, loudly abuse soldiers   and depart. Soldiers would   reassemble the  check point.

The village of Kudaththane in Nagar Kovil had enjoyed a high level of cooperation between army and villagers for many years but after the Ceasefire and LTTE takeover, the villagers turned against the army. Two soldiers of the 7^th Gemunu Regiment, (Volunteer) were tied to trees over a dispute. The army was shocked.

The STF camp in Kachchankuda in Ampara was       surrounded by LTTE and hundreds of civilians who tried to enter the camp by force. STF opened fire, killing 7 and wounding another 12 but the situation was contained thereafter, reported Kamal.

A civilian in a barber shop in Palavodai area in Jaffna was accidently shot dead in August 2005, when the weapon of a soldier on duty outside the barber shop accidentally went off. Thousands of civilians protested. Superintendent of Police,   SP Wijewardana went   alone to settle the matter. LTTE removed his uniform, dressed him in sarong, killed him and dumped his body by the wayside, having previously attacked him with sharp objects. (Continued)