LTTE had POLICE POWERS without 13A – TNA wants POLICE POWERS with 13A
Posted on July 26th, 2023
Shenali D Waduge
The 13th amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution followed the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord between Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi & Sri Lankan President J R Jayawardena. Both are now dead. LTTE was defeated in May 2009 & Prabakaran is dead. Prabakaran was kept in India until the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed & he was never in favor of either the Accord or the 13th amendment. Nevertheless, LTTE-created TNA which was originally against the 13A, are now demanding it with full police & land powers, realizing it is the only way they can be lords over Tamils & continue the elitist/caste system. Given that TNA was formed by the LTTE & LTTE had its own POLICE FORCE as well as own Courts, lawyers and judges, apprehensions by Sri Lankan citizens for the renewed demand for police powers, is valid.
It is obvious that the majority of present-day opinion makers are clueless about the existence of a parallel governance system that prevailed under LTTE that ran a virtual defacto rule after being given territory by the then 2002 Government under the premiership of Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe. It was during this period of a bogus ceasefire that LTTE openly began raising funds, purchasing weapons, training their cadres, opening offices, travelling all over the island & even going overseas while Sri Lankan troops had to be confined to barracks as per the CFA agreement.
Many in the Armed Forces will recollect the humiliations and embarrassments they were subject to, having to provide guard & escort to LTTE who did not think twice about mocking our war heroes. This was the type of embarrassment & humiliation our armed forces were subject to.
The toothless Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission tasked to monitor the ceasefire were only given a mandate to be bookkeepers & all they could do was tabulate violations. LTTE committed over 3000 against 356 attributed to the SL Armed Forces. The GOSL failed to even table this report in Geneva/UNHRC to showcase the violations by LTTE.
Foolishly made to follow the path of being politically correct or politically foolish, the GoSL failed to present all the facts that would have sealed the guilt of the LTTE and exonerated our war heroes of the lies that are being circulated purely on the power of money & people who are pawns to money, resulting in tarnishing the good name of our war heroes who sacrificed to defend the nation & its citizens.
The 1st LTTE Police Station was opened in Trincomalee on 8 November 2002 (after the Norwegian brokered Cease Fire Agreement under the watch of present President who was the Prime Minister & signed the CFA with Prabakaran (without the knowledge of President Chandrika Bandaranaike)
https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=7786&catid=13
LTTE police (Known as Tamil Eelam Police) was functioning even in December 2007.
Prabakaran appointed K. Elangko as Head replacing B. Nadesan who was appointed LTTE Political Head after Tamilselvan was killed on 2 Nov 2007.
Given this scenario, with TNA continuing its aspiration to separate & promoting self-determination & continuously harping on about a bogus Tamil Homeland as well as the renewed attempts to ruin Buddhist archaeological sites and replace these ancient Buddhist stupas with Siva Lingams, the GoSL is out of its mind if it is even considering giving 13a with or without Land & Police powers.
The NPC began refunctioning after the LTTE was defeated & held its first election in 2013 with Wigneswaran winning – the Tamil people should ask him what he has done to develop the North after taking over as Chief Minister. Majority of development was done by the Central Govt and not by the Northern Provincial Council. The budget allocation was never spent & always returned back to the Treasury primarily because caste issues, prevented the low caste Tamils getting any relief.
Shenali D Waduge