{"id":96106,"date":"2019-12-07T23:55:45","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T05:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=96106"},"modified":"2019-12-08T17:28:14","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T00:28:14","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/12\/07\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-8\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Voices of Peace\u201d edited by Sarah Kabir, (2018) consists\nof a set of interviews with   members of\nthe LTTE and the Sri Lanka armed forces taken together.  The book weaves together\u201d the narratives of\nten former LTTE cadres and ten SLM personnel who fought at the front line in\nthe Eelam war.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of the book is to see how front line\nfighters on the two sides viewed the Eelam War. The book was funded by Swiss\nFederal Dept of Foreign affairs, Expolanka, ONUR and private donors. A Tamil\ntranslation appears to have been issued simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author, Sarah Kabir has a BSc. in Social\nPolicy from the University of Bristol, and a MSc. in International Development\nand Humanitarian Emergencies from the London School of Economics.  She thereafter researched into   development and peace building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah has worked on research projects alongside\nresearchers from the Universities of Sussex and Durham. She has also worked\nwith various international and local organizations within the civil society\nsector and her work has appeared in various academic publications and research\nreports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mentors, for this book  included two anthropologists,  who have done field work in Sri Lanka  R. Stirrat  and  Tom\nWidger  as well as Rajesh Venugopal, a  visiting fellow  at University of Colombo, fellow of the Centre\nfor Poverty Analysis and an Advisor at Verite Research (Sri Lanka). Rajesh has\nresearched on Sri Lanka. Sarah has thanked, inter alia, Vinya Ariyaratne of\nSarvodaya and Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu of Centre for Poverty Analysis for their\nadvice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Kabir said that   she had been working in civil society for a\nlong time. The narrative that we normally hear   or the narrative that we seem to keep talking\nabout is that the military are perpetrators and they violated all the rules. I\nreally strongly believed that,\u201d she said. Her perception about the military\nmade her more sympathetic towards the LTTE than the Sri Lanka army. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when I went and met these people, it changed\nmy opinion entirely about the military,\u201d said Sarah, it made me realize that\nthese people are human too, and I had kept painting them as this one entity\nover another, and now I\u2019ve learnt better after listening to them (sic).\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah was born in the midst of Sri Lanka\u2019s\nlengthy civil war, reported the media. Her earliest childhood memories are\ninterspersed with war effects. I was in a local school in Colombo,\u201d she said.\nSchool was closed one day because a bomb had gone off.\u201dHer school kept getting\nclosed, and at the time, she didn\u2019t understand why that happened. It didn\u2019t\nhit me that so much atrocity was going on somewhere else,\u201d she recalls,\nreferring to it as a detachment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this book, Sarah had interviewed 20\ncombatants, 10 former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)\nand 10 members of the Sri Lankan Army (SLA). The book contains these\ninterviews.  It is not storytelling,\nthough it is described as such, and it has been backed by a questionnaire.   It is part of a much larger volume of\nprimary research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The respondents for this project have been\nsupplied by various agencies. Some respondents were found by Sarvodaya, others\nby the Ministry of Defence, Seva Lanka also by friends, colleagues and\njournalists. They were of course, from the LTTE\nor the Sri Lanka armed forces. The LTTE segment included a representative from\nthe Imran Pandian regiment, which provided personal security of Prabhakaran<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers also looked for gender, age, years\nspent fighting, location in the war and position held during the war. So for\nboth sides, we have storytellers with experiences ranging from just two years\nin the war to over twenty years, some recruited under the age of 18, those who\nfollowed orders and those who gave orders, said Sarah.  Not an easy thing to do with such a small\nsample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Our paramount concern was to ensure the safety,\nconfidentiality, anonymity and emotion well being of the storytellers\u2019. So some\nwere anonymous also aliases were used. The team has taken legal advice on where\nit was not safe to reveal real names and even aliases. In these cases the\nnarratives were completely anonymised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interviewer took measures to make the story\nteller feel comfortable, eliminate the chances of the interviewer compelling or\ndirecting the answers. Their conversations were carried out in their homes or\nprivate spaces. They seem to have had group\nsessions too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used a very flexible and adaptable strategy\nand discussion during when conducting our field work, said Sarah. We spoke with\neach story teller between three and five times. We conducted over 100\nconversations, including preliminary discussion with all 60 story tellers.\u2019 Interviewers\nmaintained their non-interventionist role and refrained from leading the\nstories in biased direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The\nconversations were not carried out as interviews. They were informal\ninteractions over a cup of tea or a meal. Some conversations lasted up to five\nhours. It takes time for a person to open up. \nWe built up friendships with most of the story tellers that continue to\nthis day. The data is presented in their\nrespondent own words. People tell their stories differently each time.  \u2018They were continually constructing and\nreconstructing their narratives.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This book \nhas  a jumble of objectives. Here\nthey are. Firstly, the book aims for multiple truths and narratives of the\nconflict, to really try to understand what\ndrove them to arms and what their ideologies were.\u201d It is a discovery of what we do not yet know about the\nconflict and post conflict situation. Only those who were there can tell the\npeople  what actually happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, we are told that this book gives a\nunique insight into the storytellers own understandings of the causes of war, why\nthey fought and why the other side fought. They even take responsibility for\nwhy the other side needed to fight or defend themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirdly, the book blends both sides to blur the\nlines between the LTTE and SLM, rather than entrench divisions.\u2019 The intention,\u201d Sarah explains, was to make the\nreaders think, \u2018Oh, he could be LTTE or he could be military. You couldn\u2019t even\ntell the difference at times.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The book\nimplores its readers to embark on a journey and engage with the story tellers\nnot simply as LTTE or SLM but rather as men and women they can relate to. It aims to change the lives of the storytellers and\nreaders and also contribute to peace building  and the reconciliation process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book is clearly an agenda driven project,\nwith the outrageous objective of equating the Sri Lanka armed forces and LTTE\n.That may be a first for any country. The Eelam Wars were outright civil\nwars.  It was the State versus the\nLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. At no stage were the two combatants  equal. They were definitely not after the\nsame objective either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Thanks to\nthe Eelam wars,  the  Sri Lanka army  developed into an internationally admired ,well\ntrained, professional army. The LTTE, on the other hand, was reading manuals on\nhow to fight as the fight ended at Nanthikadal. Sri Lanka army fought on for 29\nyears without comment. It  was declared\nto be a demented, unmanageable force only \nbecause it won the war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUOTATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had to discard the original list  of quotations selected for this  essay. I found that some of the statements\nmade in the book, regarding the Sri Lanka armed forces, would infuriate readers\nif they were broadcast outside the book. They seem to be safe and snug inside\nthe book, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some other quotations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET  NO 1 . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had no choice but to join\nthe LTTE, we were very poor.  For the\npoor joining the LTTE was the only way.  We  had\nbeen poor for generations .Those who failed the O level joined the LTTE. I saw\nthe LTTE cadres going round in their vehicle and I joined them.   The\nLTTE would spot  us on the  road and speak to us about issues that the\npeople face.   In camp, instead of military\ntraining they taught us about Sri Lanka \npolitical issues and about Tamils being deprived of their rights (p 36,38,50) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 SET 2 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined the LTTE in 1988.  Multiple shells dropped on my neighborhood, a\nfamily was killed. I found the infant\u2019s finger and the mother\u2019s arm. That day\nsix boys joined the LTTE. (p45)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were lots of deaths in the village [due to\nthe army]. In 1984 about 130 were killed and their bodies were found in a well.\nHouses were burnt and infants were victims too. Usually the attack happened at\nnight when people were sleeping.  They\nwould arrest youths and shoot anyone who tried to run away.  Those who were arrested were then taken to\ncamps. They would burn tyres so we could see the smoke. Those arrested did not\nreturn. (p44)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing these people being killed in my own\nvillage I joined the LTTE. It wasn\u2019t just one incident. I witnessed many such\nincidents through the years from Grade three to ten. LTTE offered us the safest\nplace, I felt comfortable with the LTTE. It was only after joining that we\nlearned that the LTTE wanted a separate territory and we had to fight against\nthe Sri Lanka Army. It was only after the war started [that we] found it was a\ndifficult path and not one to follow. (p44)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 One LTTE member recalled that his school\nprincipal took them to a trip to a beach, (unspecified). Two Sri Lanka navy\nboats arrived and had a physical fight with the principal, the children ran\naway. Next we learned that the principal had been killed. (p36)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 3 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined the LTTE because we were being attacked. We wanted to get our\nrights back. I felt we needed a solution for our people. ( p 53) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We weren\u2019t forced to join LTTE. We wanted to  join. (p203) We weren\u2019t paid a salary but\ndepending on our circumstances the political division would look after our\nfamilies if a cadre was very poor. If his parent\u2019s house hadn\u2019t a roof they buy\nthe material and fix it. But they never gave us cash in hand. After five years\na LTTE could marry and then they were given an allowance. (p74)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We chose the LTTE .We wanted to die for a cause. We weren\u2019t afraid. (p\n92 )  LTTE  was highly disciplined. We were a secretive\norganization and only knew each other\u2019s \nLTTE  aliases. (p 63) I didn\u2019t regret joining the LTTE. I made a lot of other\nfemale friends so we didn\u2019t feel the need to go back to our families. It was\nfun. (p53).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believed in Prabhakaran and trusted him. He was the best leader in\nthe world and was like a god to us. We had  \ngenuine respect for him. He never drank or smoke or committed any wrong.\nWhen we joined we wanted to see Prabhakaran before we died . I will never\nforget the moment I did.  We did not have\nto salute him. He ate with us. He was known fondly as annai brother, (p 92 )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our regiment, the Imran Pandian special regiment, was an important one\nand very close to the leader. It was the backbone of the LTTE. From the day we\njoined, we were with him. We grew up with him. We ate with him. (p 113) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Prabhakaran\u2019s  time law\nand order was perfect. Prabhakaran \ninstructed that Sunday be designated for house related work. There were\nelders homes and orphanages  set up\nduring LTTE rule. Anyone found begging or destitute would be taken to these\nhomes. Everyone was treated well there. You would    not want to leave once you went to these\nhomes. (p 92) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were no beggars. They were put into homes. There were home for\nelders, orphans, and destitute. There were no caste issues, no religious or\nstatus issues, everyone was equal.  No unemployment, LTTE even maintained\nagriculture, fish and coconut divisions.  Every \nfamily was employed.  Rape was unheard of.  If   they robbed Prabhakaran punished the\nrobbers.  There was a shortage of\nelectricity, but LTTE looked after civilians properly. Better than government\nnow.  (p 154)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the war, safety wasn\u2019t an issue. People knew how to protect\nthemselves from the bombs.  We had\nsecurity. We lived without fear and threats, we could safely send  children to nursery alone. Law and order was\nwell balanced under LTTE.  During LTTE\ntime you could go anywhere leaving your shop open and your cash outside. You\ncould wear jewellery and go out. It was a very safe environment. ( p 153, 155)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our main focus was to ensure that the SLN  didn\u2019t capture our ships and to efficiently clear the ships that come from\noverseas.  (p65)  <\/strong>Sometime\nif Sri Lanka army  soldiers were injured\nand  if we could not carry them, we would\nkill them.( p101) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we joined the LTTE we were ready to die. We never thought we\nshould lose. It is hard to bear sometimes. We could not bury Prabhakaran\nproperly. We couldn\u2019t believe we were\ndestroyed we were so powerful. We believed the entire Tamil community was\nbehind us.( p 59, 124,194)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LTTE deployed us soon after our training. What we faced since\nhave  been bitter experiences I don\u2019t\never want to relive them. (p93)  We lost\neverything because we had  got involved\nwith the LTTE. Finally we got nothing out of the war.(p189)  Most think the Tamil people did not achieve\nanything through the war. As a former LTTE cadre we also think we didn\u2019t\nachieve anything. There was no outcome, so there should not  be a war again.(p188) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were with the LTTE in this small area that they controlled but we\nthought it was a big area. We didn\u2019t know much about the outside world, the\nreal world. (p202)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only after I was released that I learn of a place called Vavuniya, I\nonly knew up to Omanthai before. Then I got my bike and went to Nuwara Eliya\nand Kandy and Anuradhapura. Only then I realize that we were living in such a\nsmall area under the LTTE  and there was\nso much more to explore.  Earlier we were\nliving between three towns, unaware of how big Sri Lanka was and how much more\nthere was to see. (p220)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was young  I was told\nthat Sri Lanka army  would shoot us  if they saw us. We were raised to fear the\nSri Lanka army .  LTTE cadres were told\nas children, that Sri Lanka army  will\nshoot on sight. (p 202 ) We hadn\u2019t met the Sri\nLanka army  in person so most had a\nnegative image of them. Most were not aware of what they even looked\nlike.(p109)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had never seen the Sri Lanka Army.  When we crossed the lagoon I was terrified\nthey would shoot us if they saw us because that was what we were told. (p 91) I was very scared wondering what they would do\nto us. That is the first time I saw Sri Lanka army. They gave us medicine,\nwater and biscuits.  Even while eating\nthe biscuit I was scared. I was\nbadly injured and they put me in a tractor. ( P 108)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Form our childhood days were raised to believe that if the Sri Lanka\narmy  sees us they will shoot us.(p108). Until\nI met the Sri Lanka army during rehabilitation, I was scared. But then I\nrealized that what we were told was not true. Now I am not scared anymore. (p\n202 )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My family and I turned ourselves in at Mullaitivu. We were not given\nany water. They thought there were only 10,000 of us but there were roughly\n200,000 of us. (p103) I was in a Sri Lanka army \ntransport bus. my wife  [fell\nill]. I told a soldier she needed a seat and he almost assaulted me. (p103)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We surrendered in 2009 but have got nothing that we were promised. At\nthe point of  surrender they removed our\nclothes. we were not treated like humans. No food or water was given. When we\nsurrendered we hoped they would take care of us according to internationalstandard. I surrendered as an LTTE . I\nwas sent to prison.  My family was given\na hut and food I\u2019m not saying they were not looked after, but they faced a lot\nof  difficulties. (p106)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka army completely disregarded IHL specially in prisons.  The way they use to hit us in prison.  One day I was \nplaying chess and a solider came and hammered the boy, then when I went\nout \u2026 to have a wash,  a soldier caught\nme and beat me. (p 111)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018 it is the lower ranked officers who tend to be racist\u2019 (p145)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they arrested us we were taken to a school in Vavuniya. They kept\n4000 cadres in this school. For a month all of us were tortured there. They\nwould hit  us on the head as we stood in\nline. Suddenly, after a month a general from the police visited and gave an\norder. \u2018These are former LTTE cadres who were trained and specialized in\noperating various weapons including artillery.  You have to treat them with humanity.\u2019 After\nthat we were treated fairly. (p 112 )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My fear was that I would be taken to Boosa. People say they tortured\ninmates there.(p110). Boosa was not as bad as the first prison. Boosa was over\ncrowded, 8 in one cell.    No ventilation\nno light. But we got three rice meals a day. We were given plain tea at 6 am. I\nwas then sent to Senapura  rehabilitation\ncamp. There were a few racist officials there but most took care of us well. I\ncannot comment on others experiences, but my experience was good.(p112) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  In prison we were treated\nwell, we were given an extra curry if we wanted it.  We could watch TV or play carom (p116)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehabilitation was worse than prison, I was supposed to be trained in\ncarpentry for six months but I was only trained for 60 days and they made me sign\n the register saying 6 months training\nwas completed. The program I found useful was the Sinhala lessons but they\nlasted only fir three months and for just one hour, I only learnt 80 words. (p 116)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In rehabilitation I was treated like a pet. Four officers from the Sri\nLanka army  were like fathers to me. It\nwas an interesting period. I feel  it was\na very good chance given to me. They gave me counseling. A guru from India did\nthe counseling. It was a very good programme. They also gave us vocational\ntraining and they treated us well. The officers were really good people. Most\nofficers were retired school principals. They [gave] counseling, training and\ntreated us well. The officers were really good people who were recruited into\nthe programe by the government . even now I maintain a good friendship with\nthem. (p 110)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was kept in rehabilitation camp for two and half years, they treated\nus well. Soldiers were told not to hit us. \nRehabilitation was good. we got good opportunities in there. Some took\ntheir O levels. They found who had worked \nfor government officers during the LTTE time, in  post office, hospitals or as teachers and the\ngovernment continued to pay their salaries. I studied Sinhala at camp. Only bad\nthing was the CID used to question us all the time. The CID, Terrorist Investigation\nUnit and other groups all interrogated us to ensure our stories were the same.\n(p110)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were taken on a 7 day course to Colombo. we saw  Viharamaha Devi Park, Galle Face, Nelum Pokuna,\nalso Kandy Nuwara Eliya . Even  if you\nhave money you cannot see Parliament and Port as we did.  we did the city tour on a double Decker, I\ndon\u2019t know about the others, but I felt better after this trip.(p117) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government should give Rs 5 lakhs per person after rehabilitation.\nThey should invest in our children. (p153)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Tamil asked me, there are war monument to commemorate those the Sri\nLanka army  considered heroes. What about\nthe LTTE who sacrificed their lives. aren\u2019t they heroes too. Every time they\nsee these monuments they are reminded that they lost the war. (Ratnapriya.  p 237)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

monuments like the toppled Kilinochchi water tank should not be there.\nEvery time we go past we are reminded that we toppled it. Sinhala people come\nto see it like it\u2019s a big thing. And when they see Tamil people they look at us\nin anger. We do they keep reminding us that we lost.  In one place they should have a memorial for\nboth sides. we are heroes too. Both sides have heroes. (p237) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They shouldn\u2019t call us former cadres now. They\nshould treat us equally, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the war our army unit brought some displaced Tamil civilians to\na kovil but the people at the Kovil did not to let them in because they were of\na low caste. (p75) . There was a project to\nbuild 100 houses for the IDPs at Kankesanturai. Most of the IDPs were\nfishermen. The higher caste people did not want them and protested against the\nproject. (p253) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ratnapriya joint commanding officer of CSD HQ for Jaffna, Kilinochchi\nand Mullaitivu in 2012 said when interviewed\u2019 I realized that they [Tamil\npopulation] have always needed a leader. (p144)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A family in Kilinochchi complained that a soldier wearing a white\nsarong stole one of their hens.  soldier\ndenied it. To settle the matter I told the army base to give the family five\nhens, it was more than they lost, but the family did not want the hens, they\nwanted the soldier punished. (p253) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2002 I visited Kandy to get my prosthetic legs with the help of\nHandicap International. People would look at us with suspicious because we were\nTamil. In Kandy there were only Sinhala TV channels and when I switched to a\nTamil one the OIC scolded me. They were all very racist.  That day I felt we needed a country of our\nown. (p 69)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  SET 12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To win the war you need to capture ground. [For this we need infantry]\nInfantry soldiers were from poor families who needed money. They came from\nremote areas. Soldiers who joined because of poverty are the reason we won the\nwar. (p201)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there were some who joined because they wanted to fight for their\ncountry. One man we assigned to the kitchen went to the frontline. He was\nkilled. Some monks gave up their robes and joined, (p201)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SET 13<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka has forgotten what we did for our country. No one knows the\nreality, we saw with our own eyes. How    \nwe carried them, gave them food and water, I know how we women soldiers\nhelped the LTTE. We didn\u2019t go home, we forgot our families and  helped them. (p205)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We saw with our own eyes how the male soldiers suffered to help those\ncrossing over, they would carry the achchies. They worked tirelessly. They did\ngood things. (p 206)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would get so sad when I saw them crossing over with nothing but\ntheir land deeds<\/strong> and a few cloths\nheld tightly to their bodies (p229). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many refugees at Nanthikadal were women so we [women soldiers] had to\nbe there.  We didn\u2019t have toilets for\nthem. There was excrement everywhere.  We\ngave them water and food. We would drink salt water and give them the good\nwater. The water there is hard to drink. Our morning food would only come at\nnoon. We would most often give it to the children. No one talks about these\ngood things.  We also suffered a lot but\nwe did not have any anger towards them. Even when we were trying to help them\nthey still hit us. They had put oil in the wells and toppled the big water tank. When we gave them food they fought among\nthemselves to eat the food. (p 105)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  SET 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my first battle, [we found that] the LTTE did not have bullet proof\nvests, and wore slippers. (p197)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must apply ROE whenever possible, when we saw LTTE approaching we\nget a loudspeaker had announce in Tamil that we would not harm them if they\nsurrendered. But they attacked or killed themselves anyway. Once we were\nattacked by a lone LTTE shooter, I asked him to surrender, we won\u2019t kill him\nbut when a solider approached\nhim he threw a hand grenade.  We spoke to\nhim again but he killed himself. (p 91)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the time LTTE come to us claiming to be innocent and once we\ngot close they blow themselves up. So we\nwere always fearful of approaching them. (p62)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1993 I was in the east, we were clearing mines. I was Platoon\ncommander at the time.  I found that the\nLTTE had been monitoring my movement and there were four land mines near where\nI usually sit.  On another occasion the\nLTTE attacked the tractor I was meant to go in, and then there was a mortar\nattack on a place I wanted to have a conference in.  (p 86)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  SET 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once killed on a Wesak poya day. We attacked two suicide crafts\nwhere 22 LTTE girls and 25 LTTE boys were killed. Killing people on Wesak poya\nday made me feel very guilty. I went to my monk to confess (P139) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t like to have memorials or medals in my\nhouse because they represent killing. (p209)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From my experience I know we in the SLAF took a\nprofessional approach. (p100)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was based in Katunayake from 1998 until the war ended in 2009 I have\nflown many times and dropped bombs. If certain factor aren\u2019t in line with\nmilitary objectives the operation is abandoned, e.g. if the target is in a\ncivilian area. A long and comprehensive process involving many parties is\nfollowed when identifying targets and making a decision to attack. I have flown\nover targets and not bombed them. I was trained in IHL and know about\nproportionate force. We stuck to these rules. Personally I think that SLF was\nprofessional in how it conducted itself. We had a very comprehensive process we\ndidn\u2019t simply fly out and drop bombs.  It\nis our responsibility to communicate whether an operation is feasible, to HQ.\n(p66)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t wish to fight a war like that ever again. I know how difficult\nit was. But I am trained to fight and if asked to fight, tomorrow I will do so\nagain. It is my job. (p187)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the war starts again we will fight. \nWe saved our country. I have fought against an enemy who fought against\nmy country.  If I have to fight again I\nwill. (SLAF officer p106)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately we did not regret what we did in the war as it was a task\nwe had to do (army  p135)      (\nCONTINUED)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Voices of Peace\u201d edited by Sarah Kabir, (2018) consists of a set of interviews with   members of the LTTE and the Sri Lanka armed forces taken together.  The book weaves together\u201d the narratives of ten former LTTE cadres and ten SLM personnel who fought at the front line in the Eelam war.   […]<\/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-96106","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\/96106","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=96106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}