{"id":118476,"date":"2021-09-22T16:44:55","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T23:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=118476"},"modified":"2021-09-22T16:44:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T23:44:55","slug":"the-jaffna-public-library-pt-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/09\/22\/the-jaffna-public-library-pt-3\/","title":{"rendered":"THE JAFFNA PUBLIC LIBRARY Pt 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

LTTE was also a\nsuspect in the burning of the Jaffna library. What was the LTTE doing while\nthe Jaffna library was burning\u201d someone asked on social media. Came the reply, In 1981, LTTE was not as\nstrong as it became in later stages. They were just using hit and run tactics.\nSo I don\u2019t think that LTTE could have done anything to prevent the burning,\u201d .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others also vehemently opposed the charge that\nthe LTTE did the burning. This is the first time such a report has been put forward,\ncommented Tassie Seneviratne. Will the\nTigers, fighting for Tamil Elam, destroy the strongest and most precious\ncultural possession of the Tamil people \u2014 the records of the very cultural\nclaims they were making.  Inconceivable,\nsaid Tassie .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would separatist insurgents anywhere burn down\nthe very symbol and pride of their people on \u2018caste\u2019 grounds and still retain\nits support and image as a savior, asked Lalin Fernando. LTTE had fought with\ntremendous courage that drew admiration even from its foes and finally died\nfighting to the last man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter to\nthe Daily News a<\/em> reader also\ncontested the notion that the LTTE burnt the Jaffna public library. Police\nofficer Krisnadasan said it is highly unlikely that LTTE would have set fire to\nthe library building in order to implicate the Forces and the Government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Edward Gunawardena in his book Memorable tidbits\nincluding the Jaffna library fire\u201d published in 2013, says the Jaffna Library\nwas set on fire by the LTTE. The world knows nothing of the rigid caste\nstructure that dominates Jaffna, Edward said. \nThe library was not an institution to be admired and venerated by the\nnon Vellala Tamils. What better target for destruction, he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gunawardene\nwas well placed to make his observations. He had been sent from Colombo to\nstrengthen the police force to control the simmering violence in Jaffna. He had\nvoiced his views in the news paper in 2006, and had appeared before Sharvananda\nCommission to give evidence. Nobody, NGO or otherwise has contested his\nconclusion that the burning was done by the LTTE, said Upali Cooray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics wanted\nto know from Edward, why he waited so long to come out with\nthis statement. Why did he not convey it at the time to the DIG or IGP. This\nwas not a \u2018tit bit\u2019 to be kept for his book. Also what was Edward doing in\nJaffna at this time? Why did he not report or at least visit Jaffna police\nstation. Was he under cover. Was he on a special assignment, if so where is his\nreport to the IGP. Gamini Gunawardene, former DIG, joined the discussion. He\nalso thought that Edward should have made a written statement in the relevant\npolice register and also informed the IGP.\n<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edward repliedthat\nhe had reasons for not informing. He was in a vulnerable position at the time.<\/em>\nHe was a hunted man, a scapegoat in waiting\u201d. It would have been\nfoolish to volunteer a statement and open myself for further grilling and even\ndetention. <\/em><\/em>It is significant\nthat nobody who was a witness to the incident or was even present in Jaffna at\nthe time of the incident has written anything on the subject, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the significance of some of the\nthings I saw, observed, and came to know dawned on me only much later. No\npolice investigator would have been prepared to listen to me, of the caste\nfactor in Jaffna society, the anti-Hindu stance of the LTTE, the Indian\ninterests in the politics of the region or the role of RAW in the disruption of\nthe DDC elections. I have highlighted all these in my book with quotations from\nthe writings of Tamil journalists. It is the indirect and circumstantial\nevidence buttressed by the strong motive that has made the case against the\nLTTE irrevocable\u201d concluded Edward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edward Gunawardena wrote again in 2021 on\nthe burning of the library. Having kept mum for three decades,\nexcept once in 2006 when I was compelled to come out with the truth when an\nadmirer of Anton Balasingham, writing to a Sri Lankan newspaper, alleged that I\nwas responsible for the burning of the library, I decided that I should write\nof what I witnessed, what I came to know of and the deductions and conclusions\nI arrived at particularly with my training and experience as an intelligence\nofficer. (Edward Gunawardene.  Memoirs. Island\n<\/em>8.8.21 p 13) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A journalist named Aboorvan Prabanjana (I\ndon\u2019t know whether this was a real name or a pseudonym) writing on \u2018Tamil\nMatters\u2019 in the Sunday Lakbima of October 16. 2008 said that the crime was\nplotted and perpetrated by the politicians of the then ruling party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prabanjana said that mobs brought to Jaffna\nfrom the southern part of the country allegedly led by a prominent politician\nof the then ruling party who was active during the campaign for the District\nDevelopment Council elections of 1981, created a frenetic situation in Jaffna. The\nmobs were reportedly aided by the police. They set fire to several important\nbuildings in the Jaffna town including the public library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above assertions of Prabanjana, to me who\nwas an eye witness to the happenings in Jaffna including the library going up\nin flames, are baseless and unsubstantiated. The present generation has been\nfed on writings of this nature and made to believe that mobs, politicians and\npolice officers were the culprits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edward\nsaid on May 30, I was sent to Jaffna by President\nJR Jayawardene, on a special assignment.\u201d  When he got there, Edward was told that there\nwas unrest in Jaffna from the time the elections were announced. There\nhad been a series of killings of police officers.\nPolice\non duty at the Nachiamman Kovil meeting had been shot resulting in the death of\nSergeant Punchi Banda. Edward found that the police were gripped by a sense of\nfear and insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 400 policemen from different police\ndivisions had   arrived in Jaffna In\npreparation for the election.  Edward\nfound that the number of senior officers was quite disproportionate to the\nnumber of Sergeants and Constables. There was a complete lack of co-ordination\nbetween the Northern Range and Police Headquarters and the arrival of so many\npolice had not been prepared for.  This\nhad resulted in a chaotic situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HQI Lalith Gunasekera had to arrange for the\nbilleting and food for the incoming police. The available food was insufficient.\nThe army was asked whether they could provide food.  Gunasekera had even spent his own money to\npurchase some dry fish and rice to be given to the Mess for cooking.  HQI Gunasekera and I had to tactfully sort\nout these issues, recalled Edward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In view of    this Gunawardene felt\nthat acts of arson, especially the burning of the library could not have been\ncommitted by the police, the armed services or any unruly mob.   They were not organized enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For nearly a week prior to June 1, 1981 the\nDistrict Intelligence Bureau of Jaffna had been getting information regarding   lectures given by Anton Balasingham and his\nwife Adele, to the LTTE. Balasingham and Adele had moved temporarily to Madras,\nfrom London,  and presumably came to\nJaffna to give the lectures. The Intelligence Bureau got their information from\nthose who had attended these lectures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Balasinghams\nhad, said that it was urgently necessary to do something that would\nget world media attention. Some sensational act to attract the attention of the\nworld to the cause of the Tamils. This had to be done quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on\nJune 2, 1981, the day following the burning .Gunewardene had a visit from an Indian\nSecurity agent, Shan, whom he had got to, know when the Indian\nPrime Minister Morarji Desai came to Sri Lanka and Gunewardene was his Security\nCo-ordinator. At that time Shan had come to Sri Lanka as part of Morarji\nDesai\u2019s advance security contingent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shan told Edward\nthat this time he was in Jaffna because India did not want the government to\nwin the election.   He had said  that the burring of the Library would affect the\nimage of the country abroad. Sri Lanka will become a pariah state. It\nthen became clear to me that there was a connection between the disruption of\nthe elections and the burning of the library, concluded Edward. India\u2019s RAW knew what\nBalasingham had suggested and what the LTTE were planning to do.  (Continued)\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS LTTE was also a suspect in the burning of the Jaffna library. What was the LTTE doing while the Jaffna library was burning\u201d someone asked on social media. Came the reply, In 1981, LTTE was not as strong as it became in later stages. They were just using hit and run tactics. So […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118476\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}