When you live 40 feet underground, information is slow to trickle and your grasp in reality loosens. This is apparent from the speech Prabhakaran makes on the so-called LTTE heroes’ day – marveera; the one day for the whole year, which also coincides with his birthday, the elusive leader addresses his own people.

The script changes but a little over the years – the same threats, the same lamentations – yet, interestingly with very little or no references or commemorates to the lives he ordered to die for his cause. One, reading through the speech he made on marveera in 2005 would realize that here is a man who had seriously lost the plot!

 A most remarkable statement he made in his speech is that ‘…there is no clear, coherent, global accepted definition of the concept of terrorism…’ This statement, like every other statement he made in his speech is incorrect. According to title 22 of United States Code, section 2656f(d), the term 'terrorism' is defined as:

Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents.

Since, this definition meets every action and thought of LTTE, Prabhakaran must accept that LTTE falls into the globally accepted definition of terrorism.

The rest of his speech he, hoping to tug at the heart-strings of his audience, lamented on:

1. The Sinhalese who will never grant Tamils their legitimate homeland

a. Sinhalese politicians would never embrace Tamils, recognize the national identity of Tamils or share political power

b. The shadow war unleashed on LTTE and its cadres

c. Tamils are frustrated by the alienation, oppression and ill treatment by Sinhalese and have no option but to fight the Sinhalese for their homeland

2. The humanitarian needs of the Tamil people

a. The Tamils affected by the tsunami

b. The Tamils displaced by war

3. A desire for a reasonable political framework that satisfy the political aspirations of Tamil people

4. The tolerant levels and compromises LTTE made on the ceasefire agreements and peace talks enforced by the International Community

5. The need to be recognized as a government of our own right as we have our own police force and judicial system

1. Sinhalese who will never grant Tamils their legitimate homeland

Prabhakaran makes the incredible statement that Sinhalese are entrapped in the ‘mythical ideology of Mahawansa’. Therefore, he says that Sinhalese will never recognize the authentic history of Sri Lanka that historically constitutes the nation of Tamils living in North and East.

This is an incredible statement, because anyone living in Sri Lanka will not be able to escape the basic historical facts that:

 Mahawansa is not a stand-alone document. Among the many other documents that support the facts of Mahawansa, some are carved out of stone. A quick visit to Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa is all one needs to view these stone carvings. Furthermore, the facts of Mahawansa correspond to the historical facts of other countries – some as far away as Rome!

 The European forces of Portuguese, Dutch and the English, in all their correspondence with the ruling King of Sri Lanka, at all times referred to Him as the one and only King of Sri Lanka. They never referred to another king or another state or another nation at any time in any of their correspondence.

 If anyone is to entertain, even for argument sake, that a separate Tamil state always existed throughout centuries, then one must ask the question, why the Tamil population has not grown.

o To date, from the total population, only 18.2% constitute the Tamil population. 5.6% out of this 18.2% is added by the Indian Tamils that are so scorned by the Jaffna Tamils. The Indian Tamils were brought to Sri Lanka by the British as semi-slaves to work on tea plantations.

o The only 2 instances where an established civilization has drastically decreased in number are the Aborigines in Australia and the Red Indians in America. In both these instances, the Europeans – who later became Australians and Americans – corrupted the culture of the natives that they lost their identity, heritage and existence.

o The hard-working Tamil, who is very much part of his culture, therefore cannot have suffered this fate to have decreased in number. Thus, the only explanation as to their small number is that they were never an established kingdom in Sri Lanka, but lived as a minority among the Sinhalese – just as the Muslims.

Back to the Top

a. Sinhalese politicians would never embrace Tamils, recognize the national identity of Tamils or share political power

Again, this is a remarkable statement. He declares that Sinhalese will never embrace Tamils, yet almost every Sri Lankan have made at least one pilgrimage to Hindu devale, Katharagama. Almost every Buddhist temple has a Hindu kovil. Almost every main procession paying homage to Lord Buddha is made up from the processions of temples and devales.

He further states that Sinhalese will never recognize the national identity of Tamils. Yet, the official calendar of Sri Lanka has holidays allocated for all Tamil and Hindu functions. Sri Lanka is the only country to have accepted a 2nd language – the Tamil language – as also an official language. This would be vouched by every Tamil who have migrated to other countries that they as a minority of that country hold only ethnic rights and not national rights of that country. A Tamil obtaining citizenship in Australia needs to place his right hand on the bible and declare his acceptance of English as his official language and Christianity as his official religion. A Muslim Tamil in England or France is forbidden to wear her parda in her school or a courtroom.

He laments that Sinhalese will never share political power, but then how can he explain the Sri Lankan slain foreign minister, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgama? Had LTTE not shot and killed him at his own residence, Mr. Kadirgama would have at least risen to premiership, if not presidency.

Mr. Kadirgama is just one example; Mr. K Loganathan was the Deputy Director General of the peace envoy from the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) – that is, until LTTE shot him dead. Mr. Pakyasothi Saravanamuththu is another Tamil who is currently holding the prestigious position as the head for Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA). How does Prabhakaran explain away the coalitions GOSL has with Douglas Devananda, Anandasangaree and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) members?

However, one possibility is that if LTTE continue its killing spree of Tamil politicians at the current rate, very soon there will be no Tamil politician for GOSL to share political power.

Back to the Top

b. The shadow war unleashed on LTTE and its cadres

This is actually quite a common phenomenon when a terrorist environment exists. During JVP insurgency also, many other ‘shadow’ groups formed to fulfill their own agenda and their atrocities conveniently fell into the accounts of either the GOSL or JVP. One must also understand that the many LTTE rival factions have also taken up arms against LTTE purely for survival from the LTTE. While no one justifies these actions, one could also hardly blame these factions, when LTTE kill anyone who even remotely posses a rivalry to them – including their very own cadres, members and sympathizers.

Back to the Top

c. Tamils are frustrated by the alienation, oppression and ill treatment by Sinhalese and have no option but to fight the Sinhalese for their homeland

The question here is: who is the oppressor of Tamils? Is it the Sinhalese or is it the LTTE?

If it is the Sinhalese, then why have so many Tamils who had lived for generations in the North and East of Sri Lanka have migrated to the South to live amongst the Sinhalese? In his speech, he makes reference to the thousands who are displaced by the terrorist and counter terrorist activities. These displaced persons, upon been re-settled by GOSL have categorically refused to go back to their homes. Instead, they have re-built their lives and livelihoods in the South. A cursory glance at the census before terrorism and every year afterwards is all that is required to confirm this fact.

The best way for the Sinhalese to alienate Tamils is to boycott all Tamil institutes and businesses. If that were to happen, none of the Tamil businesses would survive as their main cliental has always been the Sinhalese. It is noteworthy to mention that Tamils in the South thrive in their businesses, just as Muslims, who are a much smaller faction than the Tamils. A short drive to Pettah is all one needs to verify the fact. One should also appreciate the luxurious condominiums affluent Tamil professionals and businessmen live in the coastal lines of Velawatta, Colombo.

Ken Balendra is still a legend in the business circle and he is not alone. Many CEO and top management positions of banks and other exalted businesses are held by Tamil nationals. Maharaja is another case in point – he is not only a business tycoon, but the holder of a number of media channels.

Sri Lankans are not alienated on ethnic grounds. The problems of the poorest Sri Lankan are common to the Sri Lankan Sinhalese, to the Sri Lankan Tamil and to the Sri Lankan Muslim. The ordinary citizen does not have the economic power to tackle Maharaja and he in turn does not have the power to take on Harry Jayawardena. Thus the classes of Sri Lanka are divided not on ethnicity, but on economic conditions.

A simple comparison between the life of a Tamil in the South and a Tamil in North and East is sufficient to determine who really ill treats Tamils. The Tamil teenager in the South, who lives amongst the majority Sinhalese, goes to school in the morning, attends his tuition classes and extra-curricular activities in the afternoon, and if not enjoying the simple pleasures of life in the evening, at least sits down for dinner with his mother and father.

The Tamil man in the South, who lives amongst the majority Sinhalese, may have many grumbles in his life – the hike in fuel prices, the lease on his new luxury vehicle, the high interest rate his bank is levying on his working capital, his wife’s hints for a trip to Singapore… yes he has many worries! He has all these worries because he is alive and living life to the full.

The Tamil man in the North or East, who lives amongst his liberator, has no worries. He is dead. Shot dead by LTTE so that his family would be vulnerable to their demands. His child is forcibly conscripted by LTTE. The child is numb – numb with horror; horror of seen his father killed, horror of living a brutal life away from all his loved ones, horror of the battlefield… so much horror that he is just numb.

If one were to remember that during World War II, one of the first steps Americans took to combat their enemies was to house all Japanese living in America in horse stables, one would be able to appreciate the courage of Sinhalese who differentiate between an ordinary Tamil from a terrorist. This courage has led Sinhalese to accept the ordinary Tamil as a brother, as a friend and live with him in harmony – without any discrimination.

Back to the Top

2. The humanitarian needs of the Tamil people

a. The Tamils affected by the tsunami

The tsunami wave did not differentiate between a Sinhalese, a Tamil or Muslim. It wiped out the lives and livelihoods of all who stood in its way. Therefore, any resurrection of these victims lives should be a concentrated effort where every victim benefits. This was the objective of the P-TOMS. Representatives from each ethnic group were invited to ensure this fair representation. However, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – the political proxy arm of LTTE – insisted that LTTE sit in their stead.

How can the million of dollars that are flowing in to the country to help these innocent victims be entrusted to an organization that kill and extort from these very victims? These fears of GOSL were found to be legitimate when upon liberating Sampur, much of the aid distributed to Tsunami victims were found to be amongst the possession of LTTE stocks.

Back to the Top

b. The Tamils displaced by war

34% of the North and East population were Sinhalese. What happened to these people? None of them received either the sympathy or the aid that Tamil people received from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and foreign embassies. Neither of them, unlike the Tamil people, had the option of returning to their homes. They live today with great difficultly a life that has not a shred of semblance to their previous lives.

The Tamil nationals caught on the cross-fire have either migrated overseas or to the South to live peacefully amidst the majority Sinhalese. Furthermore, GOSL are looking after the Tamil people who are still living in the North and East. Up to date, GOSL has spent nearly US$ 450 million on the development of these 2 provinces. Everywhere else in the country, GOSL charges for water and electricity – but not for North.

Prabhakaran claims that over the past 20 years 18,000 cadres and several times that number of civilians have been killed by the Sri Lankan Security Forces (SLSF). He should be grateful that he is dealing with SLSF and not George Bush – the President of USA. In the past 3 years, the occupying US forces have killed over 650,000 Iraqis!!!

Prabhakaran should also note that SLSF are a very responsible unit that has clearly identified civilian areas from the LTTE active areas and carry out their anti-terrorist activities with such due consideration. However, LTTE use these innocent civilians by force as a human shield so that counter terrorism is made that much more difficult as well as to blacklist SLSF from the International Community. If Prabhakaran is really concerned about the lives of his innocent people, then he should stop hiding behind their skirts!

It is also hypocritical of Prabhakaran to lament of LTTE cadres killed by SLSF. Not when he mercilessly kills anyone and everyone who threatens his existence. Would Prabhakaran ever tolerate the existence of Karuna? In that same manner, GOSL, as any legitimate government, also needs to eliminate anyone and everyone who threatens the integrity of Sri Lanka. During the JVP insurgency in 1988-1989, GOSL took a much harsher course of action and over 80,000 Sinhala terrorists were executed.

Back to the Top

3. A desire for a reasonable political framework that satisfy the political aspirations of Tamil people

GOSL did propose a 7-point agenda during the Geneva talks in September 28-29, 2006. These points were specifically:

• Democracy
• Multi-party system
• Pluralism
• Human rights
• Child recruitment
• Development of the North and East
• Devolution on the basis of:
• Political
• Administration

Which one of these points does not address the political aspirations of the Tamil people? Yet, the LTTE envoy was not interested in discussing any of these issues. They had only one agenda in mind – re-opening Muhamalai point at A-9 road. It is indeed a strange request considering that GOSL has been maintaining an uninterrupted flow of essential goods to the people of Jaffna.

LTTE is not concerned about the humanitarian aspect – if they were, would they be extorting from a war-ravaged people? The truth behind the hue and cry of the sudden and unexpected closure of Muhamali at A-9 road is that it totally foiled the carefully laid-out plans of LTTE to capture the Jaffna Peninsula. The LTTE envoy thus put aside the political aspirations of their Tamil people in order to campaign for a terrorist operation.

Back to the Top

4. The tolerant levels and compromises LTTE made on the Ceasefire Agreements and peace talks enforced by the International Community

The following table contains the CFA violations committed by LTTE, which should speak of the LTTE tolerance levels:

2002 February 22 – 2006 February 23 =  3664
2006 February 24 – onwards   =  1417
Total      =  5081

Back to the Top

5. The need to be recognized as a government of our own right as we have our own police force and judicial system

The so-called head of the LTTE police is just a simple police constable in a conventional police force. Can such an inexperienced man lead a police force? Is it because of this lack of experience and knowledge that he cannot control extortion and child conscription? Or is this so-called police force just another name and another face to a Gastapo-like body? Is it not true that this so-called police force legitimize the brutality of LTTE on the innocent civilians? One can imagine what a kangaroo court the LTTE judicial system must be when this so-called police force is such!

The claim for a government of LTTE's own right is an interesting one – especially when LTTE is expecting GOSL to provide for the people in this so-called LTTE government areas. This is after all the reasons they claim for wanting Muhamalai point at A-9 road been re-opened. How can LTTE claim to be a government of its own when it cannot even provide for its people?

Again, LTTE should be very grateful that they are dealing with GOSL and not Abraham Lincoln – for the first step he did during the American North and South civil war was to cut off the food supply routes to the South. He is acclaimed for taking such a hard decision as it is widely believed that if he did not take that decision then, today America would be 2 countries – not one unified country. Prabhakran should hope and pray that President Rajapaksa not take such a step!

The truth of the matter Prabhakaran must accept is that though he dreams of ruling a kingdom of his own, it would amount to nothing more than a dream. Which country, which international community would want to maintain cordial relationships with a brutal terrorist organization that has mercilessly killed women and children, not to mention unarmed non-combatant men? Brought untold misery and terror to its own people? Broken the spine of the Tamil people through systematic elimination of scholars and leaders? Who would want to be associated with a terrorist organization that organizes terror in their very countries?

Back to the Top

LTTE to Intensify Struggle for Self-Determination if Reasonable Political Solution is not Offered

-Tamil National leader in his annual Heroes’ Day statement

The leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in his annual Heroes’ Day statement made an urgent appeal to the new Sri Lanka Government of Mr Mahinda Rajapakse to offer a reasonable political solution to the ethnic conflict without further delay. The Tamil Tiger leader cautioned the government that his liberation organisation would intensify the struggle for self-determination and political independence if the new regime adopts a hard-line position and fails to resolve the problems of his people.

The LTTE leader said that a critical elucidation of President Rajapakse’s policy statement revealed that he has failed to grasp the fundamentals, or rather, the basic concepts underlying the Tamil national question. ‘In terms of policy, the distance between him and us is vast. Since President Rajapakse is considered to be a realist, committed to pragmatic politics we wish to find out, first of all, how he is going to handle the peace process and whether he will offer justice to our people. Therefore we have decided to wait and observe, for sometime, his political manoeuvres and actions’, the Tiger leader commented.

‘The past four years of the peace process have miserably failed to address the most urgent humanitarian needs faced by hundreds of thousands of Tamil refugees displaced by war and by the recent tsunami giving rise to hopelessness and disillusionment among our people’, Mr Pirapaharan observed. ‘Our people have lost patience, hope and reached the brink of utter frustration. They are not prepared to tolerate and wait any longer. The new government should come forward soon with a reasonable political framework that will satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamil people’, the LTTE leader declared. ‘If the new government rejects our urgent appeal, opts for a hard-line position and adopts delaying tactics, we will, next year, in solidarity with our people, intensify our struggle for self-determination, our struggle for national liberation to establish self-government in our own homeland’, Mr Pirapaharan asserted.

The Tamil Tiger leader also revealed that to date nearly eighteen thousand LTTE cadres have died in the national liberation war and several times that number of Tamil civilians have been wiped out by the Sri Lankan armed forces. ‘We are deeply disappointed to note that neither the Sinhala nation nor the international community has understood the spiritual significance, the historical importance of the immense sacrifice made by the Tamil people for the liberation of their nation’, the LTTE leader lamented. The following is the translated version of the full text of Mr Pirapaharan’s statement.

‘The Sinhala nation continues to be entrapped in the Mahavamsa mindset, in that mythical ideology. The Sinhalese people are still caught up in the legendary fiction that the island of Sri Lanka is a divine gift to Theravada Buddhism, a holy land entitled to the Sinhala race. The Sinhala nation has not redeemed itself from this mythological idea that is buried deep and has become fossilised in their collective unconscious. It is because of this ideological blindness the Sinhalese people and their political and religious leaders are unable to grasp the authentic history of the island and the social realities prevailing here. They are unable to comprehend and accept the very existence of a historically constituted nation of Tamil people living in their traditional homeland in north-eastern Sri Lanka, entitled to fundamental political rights and freedoms. It is because of the refusal by the Sinhala nation to perceive the existential reality of the Tamils and their political aspirations the Tamil national question persists as an unresolved complex issue. We do not expect a radical transformation in the social consciousness, in the political ideology, in the Mahavamsa mental structure of the Sinhalese people. The scope and power of Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony has not receded, rather, it has revived and taken new forms, exerting a powerful dominance on the southern political arena. In these objective conditions we do not believe that we can gain a reasonable solution from the Sinhala nation. We have to fight and win our rights. We have never entertained the idea that we could obtain justice from the compassion of the Sinhala politicians. This has always been the view of our liberation organisation.

Even though we are deeply convinced that we cannot obtain justice from the Sinhala political leadership, but rather have to fight and win our rights, we were compelled by unprecedented historical circumstances to participate in peace talks with the Sinhala state. We were compelled to engage in the negotiating process by the intervention of the Indian regional superpower at a particular historical period and by the pressure of the international community at a later period. There were other reasons also that encouraged us to engage in the peace process. Constructive engagement in the peace process is a viable means to secure legitimacy for our liberation organisation as the representative organ of our people. We also wanted to internationalise our struggle and win the support and sympathy of the international community. Furthermore, there is a need to convince the world community that we are not war-mongers addicted to armed violence, but rather, firmly and sincerely committed to non-violent peace process. Finally and most importantly, we wanted to demonstrate beyond doubt that the Sinhala racist ruling elites would not accept the fundamental demands of the Tamils and offer a reasonable political solution. It was with these objectives we participated in the peace process. Over the last three decades of our national liberation struggle we have observed ceasefires and participated in peace talks at different periods of time in different historical circumstances. We knew that our enemy was dishonest and devious. We knew that these peace talks would not produce any positive results. We knew that there would be peace traps. Yet we participated in the peace talks with sincere commitment and dedication. In the course of our engagement we encountered pressures and complex challenges. There were traps to undermine our liberation struggle. We acted prudently and avoided pitfalls. We vehemently opposed all subversive strategies that were detrimental to the interests of our people. The Tamil people are fully aware of the fact that during the time of Indian intervention, when we encountered a serious threat to our freedom struggle and to the interests of our people, our liberation organisation was bold enough to oppose the Indian superpower and fight its military machine.

From the Thimpu talks, we have participated in several peace negotiations, at different times, at different places. Unprecedented in the history of our struggle, it is only now, we have devoted a lengthy period of four years for the peace effort. However, despite this protracted period of time our sincere and persistent efforts to reach a settlement to the problems of our people have become futile. The recent peace talks have been significant and essentially different. They have been held with the facilitation of a third country, with the supervision of the international community. There were sessions of negotiations with Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe’s administration and later with Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government. The decisions, resolutions and Agreements reached during these negotiations were never fulfilled. During this process of negotiations we were extremely tolerant and even compromised on several issues. Nevertheless, the Sinhala political leadership refused to offer justice to our people.

On the 24 December 2001 we unilaterally declared cessation of hostilities and opened the doors for peace. At that time, when we extended our hand of friendship to the Sinhala nation, we stood on a strong foundation. Having liberated the Vanni region and over run the Elephant Pass military complex, we had firmly established the balance of military power in our favour. I need not go into the details of the peace negotiations we had with Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe’s government in various world capitals under Norwegian facilitation. It is suffice to say that Mr Wickremasinghe’s administration was unable to resolve even the basic existential hardships and urgent humanitarian needs of our people. Adopting delaying tactics, Ranil’s government was primarily focusing on setting up an international safety net aiming at decommissioning our weapons. An international aid conference was organised in Tokyo in June 2003 as an essential element of this subversive scheme. Having realised the implications of the international safety net we decided to boycott the Tokyo conference and eventually to suspend the peace talks. Having failed to achieve anything, Ranil’s regime came to an end. In the meantime President Kumaratunga formed a new government with the alliance of racist forces opposed to peace. Chandrika refused to initiate the peace talks even though our organisation was willing to negotiate on the basis of our proposal for an interim self-government authority.

Time began to elapse in a political vacuum without an interim settlement or a permanent solution. We realised that the aim of the Sinhala chauvinistic political leadership was to misdirect and undermine our liberation struggle by entrapping us in the uncertainty of a political vacuum. Faced with the meaningless absurdity of living in the illusion of peace we decided to resume our national liberation struggle. It was at that conjuncture, during the latter part of last year, when we were charting our action plan, that the horrendous natural disaster struck. Suddenly, unexpectedly the tsunami waves struck at the villages and settlements along the eastern coastal belt of our homeland causing an unprecedented catastrophe. In this cataclysmic disaster unleashed by nature, twenty thousand Tamil and Muslim people perished and about three hundred thousand people lost their homes, properties and were reduced to conditions of refugees. As nature inflicted further calamity on the Tamil nation, which had already suffered monumental destruction by war, our people were burdened with unbearable suffering. In these circumstances, our liberation movement was geared to confront the crisis. Our fighting formations, as well as our cadres belonging to various social and administrative services, were immediately engaged in the tasks of relief and rehabilitation. As the tsunami catastrophe shook the conscience of the world, the international governments volunteered to provide huge sums of money in aid for relief and rehabilitation of the affected people. In the meantime President Kumaratunga expressed her willingness to form a joint administrative mechanism in cooperation with the LTTE to implement the tasks of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction for the affected Tamil speaking people.

We decided to talk to the Kumaratunga government since we had to give primacy to the extraordinary humanitarian tragedy faced by our people. Talks were conducted at the level of peace secretariats. Since we wanted to avoid delays in the negotiating process we adopted a flexible attitude, even compromised on crucial matters, and finally an agreement was reached to establish a joint administrative mechanism. The Accord was also signed by both parties.

The international community expressed full support for the joint administrative structure worked out by both the Sri Lanka government and the LTTE. The international governments also expressed hope that a congenial environment for joint effort by warring parties had been created. But the Sinhala-Buddhist racist forces could not tolerate the emergence of a congenial environment of goodwill. Having registered their vehement protest to the joint administrative mechanism, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaja withdrew their support to the government. These parties also filed a case in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the joint administrative mechanism. The determination of the Supreme Court made the joint mechanism inoperative. With the demise of the tsunami mechanism the Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism killed the last hope of the Tamil people. Even the all-powerful President Kumaratunga could not provide a simple humanitarian project for the Tamils against the wishes of the Sinhala racist forces. The tsunami mechanism was not devolved with any political power nor was it to have any administrative authority. If there was so much opposition in southern Sri Lanka to a simple provisional arrangement then it is a daydream to expect to secure a regional self-governing authority in the Tamil homeland by negotiating with the Sinhala political leadership. This is the political truth that we have been able to learn from the four year period of the peace process. We hope that the international community, which has been intensively observing this political drama, similarly understands this truth. I wish to explain here a matter of crucial importance, which betrays the politics of duplicity of the Sinhala ruling elites. You would have heard about a secret shadow war being waged against our organisation behind the screen of peace. This subversive war has been unleashed with the aim of weakening our liberation organisation and to undermine our struggle. A large number of people consisting of our senior cadres, important members, supporters, Tamil politicians, journalists and educationists who were sympathetic to our cause, have been cowardly murdered. We know the real masterminds behind this shadow war. Though these violent acts were committed under the guidance and direction of the Sri Lankan military intelligence, we are aware that mysterious hands of some racist Sinhala politicians are behind these nefarious activities. This subversive war is being conducted in the government controlled territories, with the backing of the armed forces, utilising Tamil para-military elements as instruments. We expressed vehement protest to the Sri Lanka government when our unarmed political cadres were murdered and our political offices were bombed in the government controlled areas. Since the government ignored our protests we were compelled to withdraw our cadres to our controlled areas.


A strange low intensity war has been unleashed against us taking advantage of the conditions of peace effected by the ceasefire. Disarming the Tamil para-military groups is an obligation of the state under terms of the Ceasefire Agreement. Having failed to fulfil this crucial obligation the Sri Lanka state has been utilising the Tamil para-militaries as instruments of this subversive war against our liberation organisation. This is a serious war offence. This is similar to a treacherous act in which one stabs you in the back with one hand while pretending to embrace you with the other. This behaviour clearly demonstrates that the Sinhala ruling elites have no genuine interest in peace and ethnic reconciliation. The Sri Lanka state has not given up the military option but rather transformed the war into a new mode of state terror under conditions of peace. We hope that the international community will discern the real mode of this shadow war and perceive its ugly face and ulterior motives. As far as the Tamil people are concerned, the concepts of peace, ceasefire and negotiations have become meaningless; concepts that do not correspond to or reflect reality. A shadow war conducted under conditions of peace, military occupation perpetrated in violation of the terms of ceasefire, an international subversive network woven during political negotiations, are the distorted ways the peace process has been abused. Because of these factors our people have lost faith in everything. Our people have lost faith in a peace process that has failed to secure them a real, peaceful life; they have lost faith in a ceasefire that has failed to remove the occupation army from their homes; they have lost faith in the talks that have failed to resolve their long standing problems. Our people can no longer tolerate an unstable life and an uncertain future. The waves of popular upsurgence erupting in the Tamil homeland are manifestations of the discontent and despair of our people; they are fierce demonstrations of their political aspirations. The multitude of Tamil masses, who converged at recent Tamil resurgence conventions, have publicly proclaimed their demands. The international community cannot ignore these proclamations of a unified nation calling for the recognition of their right to self-determination, of their right to rule themselves. Our people aspire to determine their own political status. Having been subjected to decades of systematic state repression, they call upon the international community to recognise their political aspirations.

We have now reached a significant historic turning point in our struggle for self-determination. The ruling elites of southern Sri Lanka will never recognise our people’s right to self-determination. The Tamil right to self-determination will never find space in the entrenched majoritarian constitution and in the political system built on that constitutional structure. Our people have, therefore, realised that they have no alternative other than to fight and win their right to self-determination. Self-determination entails the right to freely choose, without external interference, our political life. The Sinhala nation has been refusing to embrace our people, to recognise their national identity and to share political power. This political alienation has continued since the independence of the island 57 years ago. Frustrated by years of alienation, oppression and ill-treatment as an unwanted people, the Tamils have finally decided to exclude and boycott the Sri Lankan polity and its power system. The boycott of the presidential elections by the vast majority of Tamil people was a concrete expression of this perspective. Our people did not participate in the election even though they had the voting power to determine the election of a new president. The non-participation of the Tamils should not be construed as a judgement of the personalities or policies of the presidential candidates. Rather, this political boycott was an expression of deep distrust and disillusionment of the Tamil people with the Sinhala political system. This event symbolises a serious turning point in the political history of the Tamils. It signifies that the Tamil people may choose their own path and freely determine their own political destiny. The Sinhala nation has chosen a new national leader. A new administration has assumed power under his leadership. This new government has been elected by the Sinhala majority specifically with their voting power. The national minorities are not represented in this government. It is essentially a Sinhala-Buddhist regime. Therefore Mahinda Rajapakse does not represent all the social formations of this country. He has assumed power as a president to protect and promote the interests of the Sinhala-Buddhist community. We are all aware of Mahinda Rajapaske’s thoughts and policies. We are also aware of the incompatible gaps and the irreconcilable contradictions that exist between Mr Rajapakse’s political vision and the Tamils’ struggle for self-determination. I do not wish to engage myself in a comparative analysis of this issue.

The recent presidential elections and the change in governance effected by the Tamil boycott have created a wide rift, politically, between the Tamil and Sinhala nations. While Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony has assumed predominance in the south, Tamil nationalism has emerged as a powerful force and consolidating itself in the Tamil homeland. While a new government under Mahinda Rajapkse has assumed power in the Sinhala nation, LTTE’s administration is expanding and gaining strength as a concrete embodiment of Tamil nationalism. The international community is fully aware of the fact that we are running an efficient, self-governing administrative structure in the majority areas of the Tamil homeland, which were liberated from Sinhala military occupation by our organisation. Our administrative structure is formidable, consisting of our controlled territories with huge civilian populations, protected by a powerful military force. We have a police force and a judicial system to maintain law and order. We have also developed a complex administrative infra-structure of a shadow government. Though a large number of Tamils are still living in the military occupied Tamil region, their allegiance is with our liberation movement. The Sinhalese ruling class refuses to accept this ground reality, this political truth and attempts to belittle our liberation organisation as a ‘terrorist group’. We are disappointed and sad to note that some international governments, having been influenced by this false propaganda, continue to retain our organisation on their terrorist list. Biased positions taken by powerful nations acting as guardians of the peace process, in excluding and alienating our liberation organisation as a ‘terrorist outfit’ and supporting the interests of the Sri Lankan state, severely affected the balance of power relations between the parties in conflict at the peace negotiations. This pro-state bias constrained our liberty to choose our own political status. This partiality finally became one of the causes for the collapse of the peace talks. There is no clear, coherent, globally acceptable definition of the concept of terrorism.

As such, just and reasonable political struggles fought for righteous causes are also branded as terrorism. Even authentic liberation movements struggling against racist oppression are denounced as terrorist outfits. In the current global campaign against terror, state terrorism always finds its escape route and those who fight against state terror are condemned as terrorists. Our liberation organisation is also facing a similar plight.
We have now reached the critical time to decide on our approach to achieve the objective of our struggle. At this crucial historical turning point a new government under a new leader has assumed power in the Sinhala nation. This new government is extending its hand of friendship towards us and is calling our organisation for peace talks. It claims that it is going to adopt a new approach towards the peace process. Having carefully examined his policy statement in depth, we have come to a conclusion that President Rajapkse has not grasped the fundamentals, the basic concepts underlying the Tamil national question. In terms of policy, the distance between him and us is vast. However, President Rajapakse is considered a realist committed to pragmatic politics, we wish to find out, first of all, how he is going to handle the peace process and whether he will offer justice to our people. We have, therefore, decided to wait and observe, for sometime, his political manoeuvres and actions. Our people have lost patience, hope and reached the brink of utter frustration. They are not prepared to be tolerant any longer. The new government should come forward soon with a reasonable political framework that will satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamil people. This is our urgent and final appeal. If the new government rejects our urgent appeal, we will, next year, in solidarity with our people, intensify our struggle for self-determination, our struggle for national liberation to establish self-government in our homeland.’
27 November 2005

 Print    E-Mail Article