The only real losers in the Sri Lankan civil war are its citizens, argues NILANTHA ILANGAMUWA
Who are the real losers and winners in Sri Lanka? Why, after crushing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, 2009, does the tear drop shaped country remain in a state of pathetic instability? The insurgent group waged a war against the government of Sri Lanka for almost three decades demanding a separate state, which would have been one-third of the country and two thirds of a maritime area called Eelam.The war against the LTTE was not a victory or the creation of any one person. Perhaps it was a result of the misleading struggle by the LTTE, internal conflicts and the failure of political wisdom of the movement. The leadership of the LTTE always believed in military strength rather than political ideology, even though the LTTE created bitter conflicts within the community they also eliminated all other insurgents groups. According to the The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, a wishful political ideologist in ancient Western history, correctly pointed out; "A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank. And, on the contrary, it is seen that when princes have thought more of ease than of arms they have lost their states." (Chapter XIV ). Eventually the LTTE leader, Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran (November 26, 1954 May 19, 2009) started the military struggle and he believed the solution must come through military victory not the political/negotiation path. Perhaps the LTTE decided to eliminate the political ideology of the Tamil Community by killing prominent democratic politicians and ideologists.
However we cannot claim that only Tamil politicians helped the LTTE. Especially A. Amirthalingam, the late leader of the TULF helped the LTTE to emerge as a powerful force. Two of its prominent youth wing members, Uma Maheshawaran, joined the LTTE as its co-chairman and Urmila Kandiah, as its first female member. Furthermore the LTTE's first international representative N.S. Krishanan was introduced by Amirathalingam. Krishnan was the person who introduced Antion Blasingham to Prabhakran, who later became the theoretician of the LTTE. Amirathalingam also introduced T. S. Pathmanathan or simply 'KP' to Prabakaran."When the pressure was mounting, we took a boat from Valvettiturai and sought refuge in India. At that time crossing the Indo-Lanka maritime boundary was no problem. The then TULF leader A. Amirthalingham introduced me to Prabhakaran in mid 70s, most probably in 1976 and since then we worked together." ( KP speaks out in an interview with the Island , Colombo based daily on July 29, 2010)
In 2008 during the discussion about the Tamil insurgency, Mr. Rajasingham who is the father of late Mrs. Rajini Thiranagama, told the writer that the LTTE killed his daughter because they wanted to turn their struggle into a permanent
militant operation and that they believed the solution could only come through military means. They decided to eliminate anyone brave enough to have moderate views and ideas on the struggle. In my view, the LTTE's highest point was during the potential political settlement during 2000-2004. However, the serious internal conflict in March 2004 marked the beginning of the end. It was a nightmare.
History has taught us that the struggle between the GoSL and the LTTE brought far greater benefits for the Regime than ever before.
Insurgency in the south
Since Sri Lanka received independence from the British in 1948, there have been three main insurgents against several regimes, which were dominated by lower caste Sinhalese and Tamil youth. The three uprisings were brutally defeated by the military which killed a large number of people who belonged to the organisations. Sources reveal that Sinhalese and Tamil insurgents against the Central government actually started in the mid 60s, but there were only few minor incidents were reported until the 70s.
Indeed, the 70s was a land mark decade in Sri Lankan history during which many incidents took place against the government. After that thousands of people were wounded, disappeared and killed with total disregard for any norms and standards. In April 1971 a rebellion by Sinhalese youth in the South led by Patabandi Don Nandasiri Wijewwera or Rohan Wijewwera (July 14, 1943-November 13, 1989), ended with the killing of at least 15,000 -20,000 lives in five weeks. The average was 3,500 deaths per week.
It was first major mistake by the political rival groups against the regime. It was unbelievable how the so-called Marxist leader like Rohana Wijeweera consulted his horoscope to ascertain the best time to declare war against the GoSL. This does not speak well of the mentality of the so-called leaders. What we had was a Marxist leader who followed Brahmani rule to declare his communist campaign. This joke is everywhere in the country's political system.
The offensive against the 1971 rebels was the first time the Regime carried out extrajudicial killings in Sri Lanka, even the defeated the JVP insurgency was much easier for the regime to deal with because the main opposition, the United National Party also backed the military. "The event of 1971, the first JVP insurrection and the state response to it, when rebels were frog marched to the nearest cemetery or bridge over a river and shot in cold blood." (pp. 620) has pointed out in his book the Sri Lanka in Crisis: A lost generation - Untold Story by Prins Gunasekara.
The regional Leader of the JVP in the Baduraliya Police area, 25-year-old Naranbedde Piyadassi, an ex-Buddhist monk when pleading guilty to the charges of conspiracy to overthrow the Government by attacking police stations in the area said before the Commission
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