Tigers took country and the world for a ride:

Peace talks and gruesome massacres

by K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

Exactly 27 years on a day like this, Sri Lanka made its first attempt to bring the LTTE to the negotiating table with the sincere intention of finding solutions to whatever problems they face and for the genuine grievances of the people in the North and the East.

There was no international pressure at all and the then Government made its own initiative to hold peace talks with LTTE terrorists to end terrorism in Sri Lanka. The first attempt to conduct peace talks with the Government and the LTTE was held on July 8, 1985 in Bhutan. Unfortunately, these talks failed and the LTTE intensified its campaign thereafter.

However, the Government made numerous attempts bring the LTTE into negotiating table until the Tigers were militarily crushed in May, 2009. Even when President Mahinda Rajapaksa first assumed office in November, 2005, he made an appeal to the LTTE to begin peace talks.

On the last occasion of such peace talks since 1985, the LTTE, having agreed to have a fresh round of peace talks in Geneva after election of President Rajapaksa as the First Citizen, did not attend. That forced the Government delegation to return empty handed.

The LTTE terrorists were never sincere whenever they came to the negotiating table and used all such peace attempts to strengthen their military capability. True that the LTTE had several rounds of peace talks in key cities in Europe after Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected Prime Minister in 2001 but the Tigers used all those opportunities to smuggle in weapons and make fresh orders for arms and ammunition from international smugglers.

In a blind loyalty and trust towards the LTTE after signing a controversial Norway-brokered peace accord and establishment of notorious Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Wickremesinghe's former Government allowed the LTTE leaders to use VVIP facilities at Bandaranaike International Airport whenever the top Tigers go out and return. The baggage of the LTTE leaders were never checked and no proper Customs or Immigration laws were followed as the LTTE leaders used the BIA almost unchecked. That enabled the LTTE leaders to smuggle anything and everything to the country under the cover of that controversial Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).

But on July 11, 2006, The SLMM revealed that the LTTE had violated the CFA on 3,754 occasions since February 2002. Nearly half of the violations were related to child recruitment. The SLMM had received 7,308 CFA violation complaints against the LTTE between February, 2002 to July, 2006. Was that that the peace the West had been preaching?

This week too we mark the anniversaries of several barbaric acts that the LTTE had committed in the past as certain countries in the West are still talking on human rights of the terrorists killed in action. The West use their popular phrase - acts against mankind and human rights, when it comes to LTTE cadres killed in confrontation with a legitimate army of a sovereign State, but they are reluctant to use the same when it comes to barbaric acts of the LTTE.

Today marks the 26th death anniversary of 15 Sinhalese civilians killed by the LTTE. On July 8, 1986 a group of armed LTTE terrorists attacked Monkey Bridge village, Trincomalee and killed 15 Sinhalese civilians including women and children.

On the following day of the same year, LTTE terrorists armed with swords, machetes and clubs stormed Mollipothana village during night hours. 16 civilians, largely women and children were killed.

The child victims were clubbed to death by the terrorists while their parents had been hacked.

At least four civilians were killed and 25 others reported wounded when LTTE terrorists opened fire at a passenger bus plying from Moneragala towards Kataragama, between 50 and 51 mile posts along the Buttala-Kataragama main road on July 11, 2008. Two females and a 12-year-old child were also among those who were killed. The incident took place just 10 kilometres away from Kataragama town.

The LTTE, which projected themselves as sole representatives of Tamils, not only brutally killed Sinhalese but also assassinated leaders of their own community.

The LTTE leadership did not like moderate Tamil leaders winning the hearts of Tamil community. Hence, they got rid of most Tamil leaders who did not approve terrorism. The most notable of them was TULF leader and parliamentarian A. Amirthalingam who was shot dead by the LTTE at Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7 on July 13, 1989. On the very same day, the Tiger terrorists killed the then Member of Parliament for Jaffna district, V. Yogeswaran in Jaffna.

One of the landmark achievements in Sri Lanka's relentless battle against terrorism was the liberation of Thoppigala and the fifth anniversary of that great victory falls on Wednesday (11). It was on July 11, 2007 that commandos and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army have reached the Baron's Cap, better known as Thoppigala. With that victory, troops have captured the 'nerve centre' of the LTTE terrorists' in their last stronghold in the Eastern province. The Security Forces undertook their noble mission to liberate the Eastern Province from terror clutches when the LTTE terrorists closed down the Mavil Aru anicut in June 2006 and within 13 months, they were able to destroy the Tiger power in Thoppigala.

The terrorists launched a massive offensive against the security forces in August 2006 with the intention of capturing the areas South of Trincomalee district.

Having crushed the terror offensive successfully, the Security Forces liberated Sampoor, and Vakarai by January 2007. After liberating Vakarai, LTTE domination had been restricted to Thoppigala area where they had continued to attack civilians and the security forces in the Eastern province.

The Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel moved from Kanjikuidichchiaru northwards, wiping out LTTE bases up to Pillumalai while soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army moved westward from Vavunativu capturing Kokkadicholai, Ayittimalai, Unnichchai and Karadiyanru LTTE bases.

By April 2007, the troops were able to capture the part of the A-5 main road between Chenkaladi and Mahoya. Since then, SL Army soldiers were engaged in the Herculean task to capture dense jungle terrain in Thoppigala, which had been under the LTTE domination since 1994.

The troops advanced from three frontiers namely; Karadiyanaru Northward, Sittandi Westward and Welikanda southward up against terror barricades, booby traps, land mines in the rocky jungle terrain.

But where was the Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe when the Security Forces liberated Thoppigala? Wickremesinghe undermined that great victory and the supreme sacrifices made by the true sons of our soil. He said Thoppigala is a thick jungle and that there is no point in liberating a useless jungle such as Thoppigala.

It was a pity that Wickremesinghe could not see the strategic importance of capturing Thoppigala.

He must now be regretting for making that disgraceful statement as that victory paved way for the liberation of the entire Eastern Province from the clutches of the LTTE terror.

Almost five years later, the people in the East are now enjoying the dividends of peace and the province has registered a record growth rate of 22 percent.

The infrastructure facilities of the Eastern Province have been developed in par with the Western Province and the fisheries, agriculture and dairy sectors are flourishing.

That has increased the purchasing power of the people living in the East. Had the Government followed the so-called expertise of the West to find a solution to terrorism here, the people would have been subjected to untold privations even today.

Hence, we do not expect ideas from the West to solve whatever the problems we have even at present. If the West is so concerned about the well-being of the Tamils in the North, they should help the Government in its development drive rather than digging into the past to hurt old wounds.

Sri Lanka has its own indigenous recipe for the reconciliation process and the West should let Sri Lanka solve its internal matters locally.