Sugath Samrasinghe             

Pray why? May I ask? What wrong has Gotabhaya done to the TNA and the Tamil people?

It was the  LTTE that terrorized the Tamil people into submission for 30 years ironically claiming to fight for a Tamil cause. Most able and rich Tamils left the country and sought refuge in Western countries. Many others escaped to Colombo and other areas in the South. The LTTE then cleansed the Northern Province of the Sinhalese and the Muslims. They brought untold suffering to the Muslims and Sinhalese in the Eastern Province. It is said that more Tamils died at the hands of the LTTE than in the confrontations with the three Forces put together.

And what did Gothabhaya do?   He finished this 30 years old war with the LTTE. He thereby prevented Tamil children being snatched away from their parents and thrown into the jungles as cannon fodder, with a cyanide capsule hanging from their necks. The Tamil children are now happily back in schools; their parents no doubt are relived. Young Tamil women returned home from their jungle hideouts, to be married and running their homes.

On conclusion of the war, Gota had 285,000 Tamil civilians rescued from the clutches of the LTTE and had them accommodated in the IDP camps, had them sheltered, clothed, fed, treated for illnesses and; thereafter moved in due course to their homes. All this was done without an iota of assistance from the TNA or other Tamil political parties, other than alleging that security forces had killed civilians.

In addition, Gota had picked up 12000 ex LTTE combatants, had them rehabilitated and released to society. He had the Northern area de-mined, removing the land mines laid by the LTTE, and rendered those areas safe and habitable for civilians          

Gota has retrieved TNA’s self-respect from humiliation, being forced to acknowledge that LTTE was the sole representative of the Tamils and being told that TNA was the mouthpiece of the LTTE. They are now in a bargaining position with the present government on their own right. Is this not due to the effort of defeating the LTTE?

The defeat of the LTTE triggered off the return of train service to Jaffna beyond Vavuniya, electricity and telecommunications restored. In short, normal life denied to the Northern and Eastern Provinces now resumed throbbing with activity despite whatever other shortcomings. Political freedom was restored by holding Provincial Council elections. It is not easy to put back what was lost for 30 years; and TNA has not helped speeding this up other than raising some parochial political issues.

That government next embarked on the re-development tasks of the two Provinces when they were defeated at elections.  The situation does not seem to have improved significantly since then. Thus, the Tamil people and the TNA have evidently gained much from Gotabaya’s efforts, though they may not acknowledge it for whatever reasons.

Sritharan MP is said to have told the journalists that Gota had killed thousands of Tamil civilians. Then how come he saved over 285,000 civilians from the battle front? Incidentally, what were those people doing on the battle front? Who brought them there and why?

Besides, in 1988-90 we had the 2^nd JVP armed insurrection in the Southern parts of this country. The then UNP government put it down ruthlessly killing thousands including the top notches of the JVP. But no body claimed that the government had killed the Sinhala youth? It appeared that almost everybody in Sinhala society that those who sought to fight the government with arms had to be put down using force. In such circumtances, why is the TNA saying that Gothabhaya killed Tamil civilians? What about the Sinhala villagers slaughtered by the LTTE in the Dollar Farm and Kent Farm, a busload of Buddhist monks at Aranthalawa and villaggers of Kebithigollewa etc. who had nothing to do with the war over which even the UNHRC appear to be unconcerned?               

A census carried out by the government shortly after the war, through Tamil government officials had revealed that some 7000 odd people had died during the period under review and that included those who died of natural causes too. The figures given by the UN officials embedded in the war zone during this time too is reported to have come up with a similar number of deaths. Then the confidential reports sent by Lt. Col. Anton Gash then attached to the British High Commission had also come up with a similar figure, with a further rider that a good portion of these deaths were of LTTE combatants and that many LTTE cadres in the last stages were in civilian clothes. He is also reported to have remarked that if the Forces were not concerned for civilian deaths the final stages could have been finished much earlier. There is also photographic evidence that many Tamil civilians were killed by LTTE in their desperation to prevent them from crossing over to the government forces for protection, during the last days of the war               

There is also independent evidence that food and drugs were constantly supplied to civilians in the battle zone regularly under the supervision of and monitored by a panel of observers including the US Ambassador, Robert Blake. There is also pictorial evidence showing how the soldiers, both men and women helped Tamil civilians to cross over to government side safety. We saw some soldiers carrying both disabled and old women physically to safety. Where else have we ever seen this kind of thing in battle fronts?    

Besides all this, one would wonder how the forces were able to defeat LTTE in battle, by killing civilians as alleged!? Then they will still be left with the LTTE combatants to deal with? Also then who killed those 28000 odd soldiers and maimed so many others in the last battles?

If Gota could achieve all this successfully, couldn’t one surmise that he is a capable person who might be able to rescue this country from its present state of disaster?  We know that this country during the last 70 odd years has been struggling to find their way, fumbling and groping in the dark, not knowing in which direction to move forward. This man says that he is not a politician but says he is willing to try his hand at it. He does not seem to have much political baggage to shed unlike the predecessors whom we have had before and have now. His track record seems satisfactory, at least better than some contenders in the field. Of course we live in a corrupt country. We know that it is difficult for anyone to turn it around in the short run. We also know that power is intoxicating. Subject to all those realities, he too may fail after moving some distance. But even now we are going round and round in the same place! So why not the TNA too give him a fair chance?

Of course, the worst case scenario is that, being human he too may fail.  If he does fail we could throw him as we did with Mahinda R!

Sugath Samrasinghe