United country say Jaffna residents

by Anushka Nanayakkara and Chandrika Perera

“In our childhood our desire was to live in peace and harmony as a united country without differentiating the communities as Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim or Burghers. Our hope and only wish was to meet a tomorrow filled with all these.

Today our children are suffering, all that we plead from the government is to create an environment of serenity before we close our eyes so our children could enjoy their childhood same as we did” a 72 year old Tamil, Jaffna citizen who kindly made a request not to reveal his name told the Sunday Observer. A pleasant personality, he was very fluent in Sinhala.

“I was involved in business until 1983 in Negombo, all my shops were burnt during black July. During that time there was no conflict in Jaffna”, he told a group of visiting journalists in Jaffna.

Security Force Commander Jaffna Major General G. A. Chandrasiri	Northern Commander Rear Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe

Valikamam, Vadamarachchi and Thennamarachi are counterpane of the Jaffna peninsula. In a land of 1035 square kilo meters, 435 Grama Seva Divisions are located and according to the census over 8 lakhs of people had lived in the area. The year 2005 census showed approximately 6,53,000 people are living in the peninsula.

During that period population of the Sinhala community was over 6600. In year 1981 Muslim population was over 12,000, presently a very small number of Muslims are living in the area. But with the present positive security conditions there are larger number of Muslim personnel arriving in Jaffna Peninsula for business purposes.

After achieving independence in the year 1948, people of Jaffna peninsula and the islands surrounding it lived peacefully and comfortably.

By year 1974 there were seven political organisations which came up with patronage of LTTE. They were EPRLF, PLOT, TELO, EROS, EPDP and LTTE. During this time LTTE started demonstrating their violence, killing and threatening other political organization leaders. They entered the episode of assassination.

In year 1995, Sri Lanka Army assisted the government to re-establish the civilian living conditions after capturing the Jaffna peninsula with the mission Rivirasa. By year 2002 all three forces and the police provided all the security needed for the civilians to settle down.

In year 2002, the security forces were confined to their camps due to the cease fire agreement signed by the government in power during the period. This gave an opportunity for the LTTE to rise up and start recruiting, training in combat and get down ammunition in stocks.

The same year after signing the cease fire agreement A9 road was opened, giving the opportunity for hundreds of LTTE cadres to move freely and get their ammunition through.

Road development, necessary education for children were provided by the government. LTTE intelligence was well informed about government projects and started establishing new political offices. Six months after the agreement 84 political parties were established under them. Through these, LTTE intelligence collected information about the military forces secretly.

No one was permitted to enter the LTTE office premises and the surrounding 100 meter area was referred to a high security zone. They forcibly recruited young girls and boys and the ones who refused to join were killed instantly.

Demanding ransom, disturbing the children’s education, instructing the teachers to distort the subject of history when tutoring, the students were taken to LTTE grave yards every morning, torturing their minds giving false information about the forces, using them for picketing and forcibly training them for combat without considering the age are some of the violations committed by the LTTE.

The committee members of the cease fire agreement observed all these incidents which took place but maintained their silence throughout the cease fire period.

While carrying on with all these, they were involved in their propaganda -locally and internationally- asking for a separate state. LTTE started breaching the peace of the Jaffna peninsula and the surrounding Islands.

In the mean time they were attacking the forces heavily. The forces were bound to protect the peace and had to cope with all the harassments at the hands of the LTTE. They tried all the possible ways and means to tarnish the name of the Sri Lanka security forces.

The University of Jaffna was taken as one of their organising points and ammunition were also found stocked inside the premises. This was the bitter reality of the Jaffna peninsula by year 2005.

According to intelligence, during the period between 2002 and 2005 around 3000 new recruits were made-to be trained as LTTE cadres from the Jaffna peninsula alone. They also instructed all the schools to raise the LTTE flag every morning.

By end of year 2007 claymore explosions against the security forces gradually decreased. During this period a music teacher was killed by the LTTE for taking assistance from the forces to provide education for school children without getting disturbed.

The security forces started securing the protection of civilians at the risk of their own lives. The people who were in LTTE territory started arriving at liberated areas and seeking the assistance from the security forces for them to settle down in these areas.

In Muhumalai, Nagar Kovil, Kilali and man grove (Kadolana) security was expanded and the LTTE FDL was destroyed. Closer to the FDL the security forces had strengthened their defences by deploying additional troops and weapons. The A9 was closed due to the attacks of the LTTE after violating the cease fire agreement in August 2006.

To link the North and South the students from the Jaffna Peninsula are now being given more and more opportunities to visit the city of Colombo. Their being taken on school educational trips and invited by the other districts for sports meets and various other programmes.

With the guidance of the Army, Jaffna Base Commander Chandrasiri all the necessary support and security for religious, school and various other humanitarian activities has been provided.

In the mean time they also donate dry foodstuff to civilians who are in need, free medical assistance, free man power to clean the ground areas. The lives of civilians in the Jaffna peninsula are now being reshaped and they are living without fear in a positive state of mind. The kidnapping, demands for ransom has been rapidly decreasing due to the strong foundation laid by the forces.

The people have placed their confidence in the present government and the security forces. Most civilians said that the LTTE took all what they had but did not have anything to offer them in return except being hostile. They humbly requested the security authorities not to let such a vague era/page re-turn to their lives.

Today these civilians are leading normal lives with the hope for a united country without discrimination by way of ethnicity, creed, religion or colour of the skin. Together for all is what they stand for.

Special thanks to Director General Lakshman Hullugala of Media Centre for National Security, Jaffna Base Commander Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, Colonel Sarath Weerawardana and Security forces.