LTTE has killed 7,000 Tamils - Thurairatnam

Rasaiyah Thurairatnam, the national organiser of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (Vartharaja Group) is one of the few alternative voices in the Tamil community.

by Ranga Jayasuriya

Thurairatnam, who joined the EPRLF in 1978 as a student is one of the few surviving pioneers of the Tamil armed resistance movement. He was a provincial council member of the now defunct North-East Provincial Council.

In 2000, he, with Varatharaja Perumal led a group of party activists to set up EPRLF (Varatharaja Group) when a group led by Suresh Premachandran decided to join the LTTE proxy Tamil National Alliance.

Thurairatnam, a leading military figure of the EPRLF during the early stage of the Tamil armed resistance is now on top of the LTTE hit list - we agreed at his request not to carry his photograph for personal security reasons. He spoke about the heavily guarded party office in Colombo.

"Tamil liberation movement ended with the Indo- Lanka peace accord, what followed since then is terrorism," says the one-time Batticaloa military leader of the EPRLF.

Q: As a pioneer member of the Tamil armed resistance movement, how do you view the present situation in the peace process?

A: Tamil armed resistance has a long history. In short, in the late 70's, Tamil people were frustrated with the then government's inability to address their grievances. That is why we took to arms.

But, the 13th Amendment brought under the Indo-Lanka Peace accord offered solutions to many a grievance of our people. And we, having agreed with the Provincial Council system, entered the main- stream of politics.

The EPRLF along with a number of Tamil politico-military parties gave up the armed struggle and we (the EPRLF) won the first Provincial Council election in the North-East. But, unfortunately the LTTE, having agreed to the Peace Accord, later backed out.

Unfortunately, the then Premadasa Administration went against us and covertly supported the LTTE. This double standard of the then government and the Tiger manifested reluctance to the peace, led the country to the next stage of the Eelam war.

The Tamil liberation struggle ended with the Indo Lanka peace accord and what followed since then is terrorism perpetrated by the LTTE taking the Tamil people hostage.

You can see, every Sri Lankan is affected by this war and obviously it is the people in the North-East who are the most affected. Tigers do not seek a peaceful solution, that is why the war is dragging on since 1987 to date.

Q: But, even they (LTTE) have said they wanted peace and signed the ceasefire agreement with the then Ranil Wickremesinghe Administration...

A: That is not a peace agreement and that was an agreement formulated to satisfy the dictates of the Tigers. The moderate Tamil parties, which engaged in democratic politics since 1987, were handed on a platter to a "bunch of terrorists".

The Tigers began killing us two decades ago and the ceasefire agreement is a licence for further killings.

I will reiterate what I said twenty years ago. The LTTE will never agree for peace. In the past, present or even in the Future, only thing the LTTE is accustomed to is killings.

Q: But, didn't they agree to a federal solution under the Oslo Declaration?

A: But, the Tigers themselves say now that there was no such agreement. Only thing the Tigers want is a separate state. That position has never been changed and will not change. It is the government that should decide on a solution and bring it to the public domain. That is the practical way of doing business.

Q: You also fought for a separate state two decades ago. Isn't it through negotiations that this conflict can be resolved?

A: Of course, we also fought for a separate state. But, after the Indo-Lanka peace accord we, embraced the mainstream of politics. It was the LTTE which destroyed the whole process. And they evaded every opportunity for a peaceful settlement. Do you think a movement truly committed to the wellbeing of their people will drag a war for so long.

And now, they respond to the Rajapaksa Administration's invitation to talk peace with terrorism. It is only a day dream to seek peace with the Tigers.

Q: The Tigers say the Indo-Lanka peace accord was forced upon them by the Indians and accuse your party and many others of betraying the Tamil people...

A: We should come to grips with the reality. India is a regional power and India in 1978 told us that it did not want a separate state in the North-East. Having known the Indian position, it is futile to fight further for a separate state.

Q: Now it is a "no war - no peace" situation. How can we proceed from this point?

A: There is a war today. Where is peace? If there is peace, how can the Tigers kill their opponents with impunity?

I repeat the Ceasefire Agreement did not end the war. Instead it became a cover for the Tigers to continue killings. No political party was consulted before formulating the CFA. We have worked with the LTTE for years and no one knows better than us about the mind set of Prabhakaran.

We know how he thinks. Had we been consulted, this sad situation would not have befallen. Only thing, this agreement did, was to push the Tamil people into the jaws of the LTTE.

If the CFA continues in the same form for two more years, no single moderate Tamil voice would be heard.

Don't' forget, I warned of this impending catastrophe on the very day the CFA was signed.

Q: The LTTE accused that you (EPRLF) is a para-military group?

A: The greatest betrayal done to us by the then governing UNP under the CFA was to take back weapons we had for our protection. They were licensed weapons issued by the Defence Ministry. No longer do we have weapons.

The CFA was no protection for us either. Para-military by definition is a group which works under the umbrella of the security forces. Even the ceasefire monitors, have albeit their manifested incompetency failed to deal with the LTTE, say that there are no para military groups functioning in Sri Lanka.

Our lives are under threat and any government is bound to give security for its citizens whose lives are at risk, especially for groups like ours, which are on the top of the hit list of the LTTE. The truce agreement did not contain a single clause guaranteeing our security.

Q: The LTTE says recent violence in the North-East are acts of civilians disillusioned with the slow progress of the peace process.

A: Do you believe this kind of fantasy talk? Ninety nine per cent of Tamil people do not want the LTTE, but they have been kept under the grip of the Tigers by the barrel of the gun. What can civilians gain from killing security force personnel?

Three thousand of our cadres have been killed by the LTTE and as a whole seven thousand democratic Tamil political activists have been killed by the LTTE. Who did kill Pathmanabha, Uma Maheswaran, Kadirgamar, Thiruchelvan, Amirthalingam? The list is long.

Q: Of course, there are short- falls of the CFA and the LTTE's track record is well known. But, don't you think a full scale war has been averted by the truce agreement?

A: On the surface, it looks like that. But the LTTE's killing machine is in action.

I can say for sure that the Tigers will not leave the ceasefire agreement, because this provides a cover for all their atrocities.

They know very well that they would be defeated in the battle front if they go for a full scale war. But, they will continue to fight a war under the cover of the ceasefire agreement.

The LTTE has also built the structure for a separate state having set up separate banks, courts, police etc.

What is left to do it to give life to this structure. The best option to do so is through the ceasefire agreement.

At the same time, I must tell the government it must avoid incidents that can result in Tamil people going towards the LTTE.

Q: Could you please elaborate?

A: LTTE's strategy is to flare up racial unrest. We should understand that racial relations in the East is not the best at this point.

The LTTE is exploiting this situation. The Government should not make way for the LTTE. Secondly, all political parties should agree on a solution to the Tamil peoples' genuine grievances.

There is a difference between the concerns of Tamil people and those of the Tigers. The government should take into account the concerns of Tamil people.

Every political party in the South admit that Tamils have legitimate grievances. It makes the process easier.

Political parties should agree on a political solution. The Tigers benefit from any delay. It is the duty of the Southern political parties to rescue Tamil people from the jaws of the Tigers.

Q: Have you got any message for the people in the South?

A: I urge the people in the South to pursue their leaders to join hands to seek a political solution to the grievances of Tamil people.

If people fail to persuade their political leaders to seek a political solution, it would be a grave mistake. Generations would suffer from it.