Dr.P.A.Samaraweera, Australia

ApartƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ from some Western countries like the US, UK,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ France and theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ EU, a powerful ally of Prabhakaran is the Christian Church. Prabhakaran is Christian and has named his sonƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Charles Anthony without giving a Tamil name aligned to the Tamil culture, customƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and language to show his allegiance to the Church and get their unequivocal support. For his dedication to the Church he was rewarded by the local and foreign churches and the clergy by collecting funds and being spokesmen on behalf of the LTTE.

For nearly three decades, Sri Lanka came under the brutal terror of the LTTE who glorified terrorism by spreading blatant falsehoods. During this period, the role of the Christian church came under greater scrutiny. Some perceptive observers have publicly accused the Christian church of being the invisible hand supporting the LTTE’s violent campaign to destroy the unitary state, establish another sovereign called “Eelam” and in turn reduce the power of the majority Sinhalese and that of the Buddhists. The fact that the militant Tamil organisations like the LTTE and Peace Activists who are sympathetic to the LTTE’s position were receiving both moral and financial supportƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  from Christian instituions was no longer a public secret.
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It is a matter of public knowledge that Christian clerics from Western countriesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  have come to Sri Lanka for short visits, to study the ground situation and then have written adverse reports heavily tilted in favour of the LTTE and damaging the image of the country. Much of the blame in their reports was on the alleged human rights abuses by the security forces with hardly any mention of the planned and pre-meditated acts of inhumanity by the LTTE. It was this policy of blatant one sidedness of pointing the finger only at the Sri Lankan army and the Sinhala Buddhist majorityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and painting Prabhakaran and the LTTE as “freedom fighters” that eroded the credibility of the Christian church.
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Before the general election in the year 2000, it was reported that the Catholic Bishop of Jaffna had requested all Tamil political parties to cease functioning so that the LTTE could act as the sole representative of the Tamil people. Then in November 1998, the Bishop of Mannar had stated that, he believed that the LTTE had given up the demand for a separate state but was demanding that the solution must be based on the “Thimpu Principles”. Some of the basic non-negotiable demands made at Thimpu were, granting of a Tamil homeland which includes the Northern and Eastern provinces, right of secession and the right of self-determination. The question asked at the time wasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  how did the good Bishop be a spokesman for the LTTE which is the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world.
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The position of the Church was confirmed byƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr. S. Dixit, the former High Commissioner for India, who stated in his book, “Assignment Colombo” (page 228),ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  “… What was fascinating was that the Tamil Catholic clergy kept arguing in favour of the LTTE throughout my tenure in Sri Lanka …”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In the eyes of bystanders, it seemed that the Churches official policy was accommodating Prabhakaran and the LTTE as crusaders, despite the overwhelming evidence of crimes against humanity on LTTE’s part.
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For more than two decades, the Christian church had taken the stand that the ethnic crisis is a conflict between the Sinhala Buddhists and the Tamils and that it is not an issue between the State and the terrorists. The LTTE knowing the role of the church made capital out of this view.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The stand taken by the Church was a supporting pillar for the LTTE .
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ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ For the Christian Church Prabhakaran is a ‘humanist’ while for the people of Sri lanka who went through his tyranny he is Asia’s Pol Pot.