Shenali Waduge

While the LTTE is blamed for carrying out 30 years of terror in Sri Lanka, the question that needs to be answered is who actually created this group, why was it created, for how long was it meant to exist & to what extent did the creators have actual control over their creation? India must now answer & India must now apologize for the thousands of people whose lives it has helped kill by aiding a terrorist organization.

When India originated the idea to start a freedom struggle in Sri Lanka, India did not invest in training, equipping & financially supporting the LTTE to have it wither away nor did India desire or plan to allow the LTTE to actually declare an Eelaam. That was why India came down hard on the GOSL & demanded the release Prabakaran when he was cornered in Vadamarachchi. This was in 1987 & had Prabakaran been caught at that time Sri Lanka would have not lost thousands of people that perished as a result of LTTE bombs & suicide missions. For all these deaths, India stands personally accountable.

In planning for LTTE to prevail, India had all eventualities carefully thought out & it is within this web of deceit that other players came to be involved. For the West, the LTTE was a weapon to be used to forward their own agenda in the region. A foothold in Sri Lanka meant not only the possession of the economic gateway but it was a perfect place to destabilize India & to watch over China & Russia. Let us at all times remember that tomorrows economic power houses belong to the East. Which is why plenty of give & take prevailed allowing LTTE undue privileges merely because it was allowing itself to be prostituted for various reasons by various parties which explains how it came to have a profit of $300m annually through many illegal activities that the world powers were very much aware of but kept silent. Actions that were taken internationally were merely to show they remained committed to ending terror but it was not anything that had sincerities, otherwise why would terrorism be thriving today if terrorism does not have the in-drect support of powerful countries?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  .

Prior to Rajiv GandhiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s assassination IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s approach towards Sri Lanka was an aggressive one. All hallmarks of big bully tactics were evidentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦the harsh diplomatic statements, the parippu drops, the threats to landing Indian paratroopers & even the orders to free the cornered Prabakaran in Vadamarachchi all showed Sri Lanka that. India meant business & Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s leaders had little choice but to meekly submit. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 however triggered a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-hands offƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ approach policy on the exterior though India was very much active in whatever took place in Sri Lanka vis a vis LTTE. This was to satisfy home turf for Gandhi loyalists aware of Tamil Nadu connections with the LTTE were demanding action. Nevertheless far more important for India than taking revenge on the LTTE for the murder of Rajiv was the initial desire to keep on track what India envisaged for Sri Lanka. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE itself is hard to comprehend & the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-whyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is obvious. LTTE assassinations on foreign turf was not confined to Rajiv Gandhi alone LTTE killed EPRLF leader Padmanabha & his colleagues were gunned down in Tamil Nadu. With IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s silent support towards the LTTE, Rajiv Gandhi had even presented his own bullet proof vest to PrabakaranƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦a change of heart if it had happened leads us to ask why there was no change of heart for India vis a vis Sri Lankan Government & especially for the Sri Lankan people who were dying as a result of IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s support of the LTTE. For every death that took place as a result of the LTTE India will always be held accountable!

Having allowed the LTTE to exist & prevail, India knew that a change in stance especially when LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s strength was overpowering at one time making India realize that LTTE would invariably seek a defacto separate state. India went on to draft the Norway brokered Ceasefire Agreement. It must be continuously reiterated that India at no given time in its conceptual idea of starting a freedom struggle in Sri Lanka to watching that struggle turn into a terror outfit, decided to allow a separate state to prevail. It must be reiterated to the Tamils who seem to think India will solve its ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-grievancesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ & help create a Tamil Eelaam, India will do nothing of the kind. If so, India would have allowed Tamil Nadu to separate without quickly changing the constitution to deny any person/political party from attempting to separate from India no sooner several attempts to demand separatism was made in Tamil Nadu. Whatever ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-grievancesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Tamils in Sri Lanka or Tamil Nadu or anywhere in the world put forward, India will never grant Tamil Eelaam in either Sri Lanka & especially Tamil Nadu & that is what ALL Tamils must finally realize & finally accept. India will encourage renegades to a countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s system like Prabakaran because such detractors provide the basis for interfering in a countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s internal affairs. That is why terrorism today is nothing but a business & not only India, the US, UK, EU nations & all other powerful countries are exploiting terrorism to advance their own interests.

The only reason for India to feel any ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-rightƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to speak so righteously towards a sovereign government is the issue of Tamils. Tamils in Sri Lanka may have had their lineage from India but Tamils are citizens of Sri Lanka & India has no right to demand anything from Sri Lanka when India has not entertained the fundamental request for separatism demanded of Tamils in Tamil Nadu. The best option available to India if it sincerely feels that Tamils in Sri Lanka are getting a raw deal & that would be to open its doors for Tamils in Sri Lanka to forfeit their Sri Lankan citizenship & become Indian citizens & they can start by awarding citizenship to all members of the TNA who seem to have no other business but to scoot off to Delhi to decide what to say & do in Sri Lanka

Tamils must however accept that India is the rightful homeland of the Tamil people. Tamil people in Tamil Nadu did start off a separatist struggle far before the LTTE duplicated the initiative in Sri Lanka but it was quickly squashed by the Indian Government. This equates to mean that the Indian Government cared not about any Tamil grievances when it crushed the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We Tamil MovementƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ despite the demands being done democratically & nothing of the type the LTTE indulged in. Therefore, all Tamils need to know that India will never give Tamils the type of separate state they are seeking except plan B of IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s plan which would have been to annex Sri Lanka had the LTTE actually declared a separate Eelaam. However, even that achievement is hard to imagine given the type of military that came in the form of the IPKF & all Sri Lankans are positive that large as IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s army may be ours is far superior in all areas & IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s realization of this certainly steers India away from any future military exercise in Sri Lanka.

What India cannot shy away from is the fact that it was playing a double game with both the Sri Lankan Governments as well as the LTTE, confusing matters was the role played by the Indian intelligence agency which had its own set of agendas & its own links with the LTTE leaders outside of what they shared with the Indian Government. All these were reasons why Indian Government chose to shy away from media to ensure that neither the GOSL nor LTTE would read through their plans.

The damage done to Sri Lanka is far greater than the damage the LTTE has done. LTTE was merely a group that had been turned into killers by a nation Sri Lanka had thought was its friend. Had India just once signaled its commitment to ending terror in Sri Lanka no other world power would have joined in efforts to use the LTTE for various other geopolitical agendas. The entry of Norway as a supposed unbiased nation was another bluff. Norway was a country following orders of the US. India today has chosen to pretend to be aligned with the East while skirting its fancies towards the West. IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s wavering is causing immense pressures upon the entire region. The trust factor certainly braces any to wonder exactly which side India is actually tilting towards. Gone were the days of non-alignment since the countries are all fighting to secure means to protect their own nation & its populace providing for food & energy needs. This is what will drive politics of the future & large nations will do anything to secure their status.

The ceasefire agreement is one such example. It was drafted by India, with Norway roped in showcasing US vested interest & yet hidden from Indian public which felt Indian Government were allowing Sri Lanka to fall into western interests but all these actions including the formation of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to oversee the ceasefire depicted IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s alliance with the West. In not realizing its own strength & its own need to remain independent & act the powerhouse it undeniably is, by prostituting itself towards the West, the present Indian government is doing much damage to its country as well as the region. Does India need to be repeatedly told that the future belongs to the East & that China & Russia are great enough & bigger friends to have! The US is only a powerhouse in wordƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦on paper it is financially bankrupt!

Let us summarize the facts. Official India denies it ever trained the LTTE to commence a terrorist outfit in Sri Lanka, but we know how far from the truth this statement is. Tamil Nadu politicians like Veramani, Nedumaran, Perinchintanarayanan, Vaiko have been openly allowing LTTE to use Tamil Nadu as a base, even establishing over 30 training camps (in UP, Vishakhapatnam, Chakrata) which had trained over 20,000 Sri Lankan Tamil tigers. Tamil Nadu was used for arms procurement, political work, food supplies, medicines, fuel supplies, propaganda purposes, intelligence & even to convert currency. The Indo-Lanka Peace Accord signed in July 1987 was purely for India to through the merger of North-East to acquire the Trincomalee harbor in the event the LTTE is able to declare a separate State. This is why India continues to harp on implementing the 13^th amendment so that it can keep alive its hope of taking the Trincomalee harbor. Sri Lanka has the majority in parliament & the people desire to know why it does not annul the 13^th amendment & do away with the provincial council system for it is not working & has not been working & is just wasting the taxpayers money. Nothing in the 13^th amendment has any benefit for the people & this was a constitutional change thrust upon us by India therefore it is the responsibility of the present Government to undo all the wrongs that has happened to Sri Lanka by India starting with the elimination of the 13^th amendment. Taking a bold stand such as this would certainly win the faith of the Sri Lankan public & 20million people should be far more powerful than any foreign Government that pretends to be ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-friendsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ only to advance its own interest. Our leaders must remember this at all timesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦they are bound to serve the Sri Lankan public & not foreign interests.

India had the chance to show its sincerity if it did not support the LTTE by avenging the death of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 but India didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t. This clearly shows that IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s as well as RajivsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ widows desire to allow LTTE to prevail was far more important than avenging the death of a dynastic leader or even avenging the deaths of Indian soldiers who were never even given their due respects for laying down their life for the country. Moreover, if India had been initially financing the LTTE prior to its elimination the LTTE was financially supporting Tamil Nadu leaders (LTTE even finances foreign politicians) thus the reason for their uproar without even knowing what was going on in Sri Lanka. These chantings by Tamil Nadu politicians to free the cornered LTTE also should show ordinary Tamils especially those who were rescued by Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s military that India & Tamil Nadu politicos were more concerned about freeing the LTTE rather than helping them escape to safety. The security concern is just a hoodwink & is meant only to camouflage IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s actual interest.

What ordinary citizens cannot understand is the political games being played by politicians. If LTTE has done a crime why do these leaders not openly say so, accuse them by name & take actions. Escaping this role is what has led to delayed justice. When Lakshman Kadiragamar was killed by the LTTE without openly blaming the LTTE, then President Kumaratunga was quick to confirm that her Government would not stop talks with these killers! With such leaders of the past it is no wonder Sri Lanka failed to combat terrorism!

India cannot wriggle its way out by declaring it is for a unitary state in Sri Lanka but continue to try to disturb, disrupt & destabilize Sri Lanka. The forceful opening of two deputy missions in Jaffna & Hambantota goes to show the despicable nature of India. Accusing Sri Lanka of attacking Indian fishermen is another means of purely attempting to show off Indian might. A powerful nation that deploys such crude & shallow measures is never fit to be a global power & anyone who has been able to view IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s actions against Sri Lanka would certainly ask India ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-why & does India really have to resort to such despicable tactics?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka has never done anything to antagonize India. Throughout the final stages of the war Sri Lanka took great pains to brief India. For India showing to the world it was on the side of Sri Lanka to eliminate the terrorist was a must given that China, Russia & Pakistan were openly supporting the end to terror & India did not want to be seen as attempting to stop the inevitable but that did not stop India from chastising Sri Lanka every instance as it is doing so now.

India needs to accept its role in allowing LTTE to prevail all these years. India must also accept accountability for all the people the LTTE killed. India must also accept its interference & apologize to Sri Lanka though that would be something India would think itself too proud to do but it is morally obliged to do so because in the eyes of the people of Sri Lanka, India will always remain no better than Prabakaran & the LTTE & Sri Lanka will continue to press its leaders who will have to think of their own survival politically & take measures not to allow any Indian interference in Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s future.

Shenali Waduge