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| Sunday, 14 August 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Killing of DIG Wijewardene : LTTE should exonerate Jaffna civilians by a Special Defence Correspondent
Inuvil, the peaceful hamlet, about four miles from Jaffna town, once well reputed for intellectuals, musicians, agriculturalists and academics turned a hotbed of LTTE violence in the aftermath of an accidental discharge of a weapon of a soldier who waited outside a saloon causing death to a barber. LTTE mobs All eye-witness accounts, evidence given by the deceased's affected fellow barber and statements recorded by the Police and the Magistrate very strongly confirm that there were neither so called enraged Inuvil people, nor was there any other "civil" group, other than LTTE men themselves, responsible for the brutal murder of the posthumously promoted DIG Charles Wijewardene who confidently went there to pacify the "iron-rod and club brandishing mobs," and more dutifully, to restore law and order through amicable settlement of the issue. Though an Officer of that rank (SSP) need not be physically present to face a destiny of that nature, friendly and fully confident King Charlie, the ruggerite of yesteryear believed that it was the local population that invited him to talk sense and peace on the issue. Leaving behind his security escort on his own, Wijewardene did not want their bona fides contested, nor did he want to lose that grip for negotiations but a squad of LTTE men led by Eesan deceptively took him to the wayside, and wanted him and his escort party to await the arrival of LTTE's Jaffna political leader Illamparthy. Those LTTE leaders and their minions later whisked him away into a lonely house in close proximity. Seconds after DIG Wijewardene was moved out to a culvert on roadside but a kind-hearted old civilian who embraced the Police officer confronted those disguised LTTE men and appealed to them to do no harm to him since he is well known to the public. The sequence of events leading until up to his final breath was sensationally moving and rather dramatic as everything began with the sudden arrival of two motorbike-riding LTTE men to the spot. Blue colour shirt-clad two LTTE men, one with a single arm on a TVS motorbike appeared and tried to hammer the DIG but two TNA Parliamentarians for Jaffna district Senathirajah and Gajendran had allegedly objected to LTTE assaults on him. Those motorbike-riding men then masked the Officer with two fertilizer bags and another LTTE cadre identified as Prakash allegedly on the orders of the LTTE had once again begun to assault him while civilians in the area went on opposing the LTTE moves and tried to dispatch bleeding DIG to hospital, but they too had been threatened and prevented by those LTTE men. In the meantime, the two Parliamentarians had vanished from the scene. The fallen DIG bleeding profusely was then stripped and dressed in a sarong before he was further tortured, hacked to death and later dumped on the roadside at a spot between Inuvil and Suthumalai. Believe it or not, all this happened while two pro LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Members of Parliament had allegedly looked on, large numbers of civilians who sympathized over the loss had told the investigators. LTTE propaganda The LTTE controlled media, and particularly the story planted in Norway-based LTTE website "Nitharsanam" wanted to project the murder of DIG Wijewardene as an act of enraged Tamil civilians but not the work of LTTE mobs. The LTTE manipulated propaganda mill, particularly the LTTE's TamilNet jumped into full swing and went on publishing desperate explanations to the effect that it was, none than Inuvil people who spontaneously and violently protested over barber Shantharuban's accidental death. Only the stupid and na‹ve would believe that all those violent and provocative acts were spontaneous reactions of the Jaffna masses who were angry over the death of a barber. This is far from the truth and serves as an insult to the people of Inuvil and Jaffna. LTTE mouthpieces meticulously planted photos of the slain Police officer within a few minutes of his brutal murder in such a way that all those photos highlighted torture marks and cuts perpetrated by blunt instruments on his body, presumably to show that this was the reaction of an angry mob and not gun toting LTTE cadres. It was hilarious to view how pro-LTTE newspapers and Tamil Net continue to sustain their unfaltering malicious propaganda saying that it was the work of mindless "Inuvil mobs" that committed the heinous slaying. If the LTTE's " angry civilians" were genuinely reacting to the shooting, then their target should have been directed at the Army and not the DIG. It is interesting and worthwhile to look at closely why on earth would angered "mobs" dare to kill a Police officer of that stature, not soldiers or members of the Security Forces who "they" see as arch enemies. King Charlie Tamil speaking and affable DIG Wijewardene after his entry into the peninsula on duty did not want to lose the common touch with the public, no matter what might befall him. His prowess in rugby as Captain in the Police team as well as coach in many other organizations, offering his talents not for a fee, was distinctive and rewarding. The Police treat him as a national figure who did an excellent job in the sports arena. He was adjudged the best place kicker, and scored the most penalties and tries. He was also a fatherly figure to his fellow Police officers and the others who worked under him. Eyesore to LTTE Pro-LTTE stories doing rounds speak various theories that led to the accidental firing of a soldier's weapon bringing death to a barber inside a saloon. The Army categorically denied any deliberate attempt on the life of a hair-dresser from whom a soldier had sought hair-cut service, though the act itself goes against standing orders of the Army. The Army also admits to the soldier's carelessness in handling the weapon . Let us consider a few facts. How could soldiers simply walk in for a hair-cut unless they maintain good relations with those people in the area. ? Likewise, would those soldiers themselves volunteer to help the injured to the hospital, if it would have been an intentional homicide, as LTTE mouthpieces beam? As the Army Website photos relating to the shooting depicted, why should a soldier shoot another from an outside position while his own fellow soldiers were getting their haircut inside? The victim, Shantharuban is not even an original native of Inuvil but is actually from Trincomalee. More importantly, the fellow-barber affected by that fateful stray bullet in the statement to the Magistrate and the Police, has vehemently denied that it was the result of any deliberate act as opposed to what the LTTE claimed. Instead, he had gone on record as saying that those soldiers were quite friendly with them in the area and had no reason for any violence. Photos taken after the incident where all furniture inside remained intact further reaffirmed his account. Members of the armed forces, unfortunately, to the envy of LTTE trouble-makers, have been now interacting with local populace on very cordial and friendly terms than ever before. On the other hand, the degenerate LTTE behaviour shamelessly and desperately continues to frame up civilians for any dastardly crime that they (LTTE) commit in the name of so-called "liberation." It is now a regular feature, or the order of the day for LTTE to stage protests at the drop of a palmyrah fruit in the peninsula. LTTE men in the guise of doing political work in government controlled areas very conveniently trigger fracas for the flimsiest of reasons if and when they desire. Monitors & NGOs The inexcusable and pathetic stance of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on the whole episode at Inuvil brings in more questions than answers (rulings?) to any sensible person. How dare the SLMM easily avoids its role when an LTTE related crime in the government controlled area saying that "it was a matter of law & order for the Police" ! Why was it not possible for the SLMM to visit the scene where the LTTE was holding the Police officer captive or force the LTTE leadership there to release him unharmed? Would the SLMM ever behave in the same manner, if the Police or Security Forces held an LTTE cadre captive? Innocent Jaffna civilians Strange but true, international agencies, who champion the cause of Human Rights/ Fundamental Right/ Democratic Rights/ International Conventions, etc including the International Red Cross, for example, (list is too long) for flow of hard currency into their coffers, have so far failed to voice a single word about this horrendous criminal act of the LTTE, nor have none of them, to say the least, even extended their condolences to the bereaved family of an illustrious son of the soil. The barbaric and cowardly murder of DIG Charles Wijewardane by LTTE comes at a time when the Tiger hierarchy was talking to Norwegian whitewashers at Killinochchi before a host of LTTE cameras. The gruesome murder was not any handiwork of an enraged civilian as claimed but by LTTE cadres including Ilamparthy and Sudaharshan and certainly by a bunch of their accomplices. What LTTE should remember is that it is toeing a very dicey and dangerous path inimical to Jaffna masses, who at a certain point of our history overwhelmingly, embraced it and nurtured it. It is no longer the case now and ground realities are drastically different to what the Tiger media go on projecting and distorting. Such media distortions would also enjoy a natural de th sooner or later despite all new concerted efforts to telecast what the LTTE does in a disguised manner. Questions remain Jaffna people should be exonerated from this evil and the barbaric cycle of LTTE violence, or else LTTE should be prepared to face the consequences as and when civilians en masse rise against the LTTE duplicity and unabated cycle of murders, abductions and all other atrocities. The ball is in your court, Mr Prabhakaran ! While the role of the LTTE is evident in the killing, questions remain as
to why the security forces and the police failed to locate the whereabouts
of DIG Wijewardene for two long hours and seek his re;ease from captivity?
Does it mean a 'security lapse'? Why did the DIG's next-in -command fail to
monitor the DIG's movements and provide assistance when needed? |
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