By: R. Jayadevan(November, 10, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Following the arrest of the leader of Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna by the British immigration authorities and police, various stories have been published in the media. Damning of these was published in the LTTE web-media, the media of former guardians of Karuna who have turned enemies now and some of the Sri Lankan media.
The stories published claimed that:
01. Karuna had been arrested for violation of immigration rules and he will be deported to Sri Lanka.
02.Karuna has claimed political asylum.
03. Sri Lanka government helped Karuna to leave the country by providing a false diplomatic passport.
04. International human rights NGO’s are pressing the British government to make Kauna to face criminal charges for gross human rights violation in Sri Lanka.
The fourth issue is the one needing analysis. Ever since the report of the UN Special Rapporteur Phillip Alston titled ‘Civil and Political Rights, including the question of disappearances and summary executions’ was released following his official fact finding visit to Sri Lanka from 28 November to 6 December 2006, violations of human rights in Sri Lanka has been put on the UN agenda. When Phillip Alston presented his report at a public meeting in London, he was very assertive that brining an end to human rights violations will pave the way for Sri Lanka to embrace good and accountable governance to strengthen democracy.
The report identified ‘Karuna group as a paramilitary formation acting in collusion with the government’. Karuna group, having been identified as an arm of the government, came under greater scrutiny and criticism by the international NGO’s since then. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Louise Arbour’s visit to Sri Lanka last month further emphasised the need for greater accountability on human rights by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. Human rights violations and impunity under which these are committed have become the way of life in Sri Lanka. Human rights violations continue without any shame or remorse and it is body politics of all those who have controlling interest in the political life of Sri Lanka.
With the Sri Lankan government taking a stubborn stand against pressures from the international community to accede to international standards on human rights, the NGO’s too are increasing their pressures with all available means. Karuna’s arrest has now paved the way for the international NGO’s to open a platform to exert their pressures further by demanding for Karuna to be charged for human rights violation in the UK. It might be the intention of these NGO’s to pressurise the Sri Lankan government show there are ways even if Sri Lanka will not accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to bring to books the human rights violators.
Karuna has become a rooster for the NGO’s standing like a guinea and he is pig ideally representing both the government and the LTTE if an international case against him is initiated against him. It is unclear how the case will be formulated. If the international human rights NGO’s prepare a long list of charges predating Karuna’s breakaway from the LTTE, it will be a mammoth task as it will be a forum to dissect large scale human rights violations of the LTTE and the government forces. Alternatively, if the charges are going to be limited to matters post Phillip Alston’s report there will be serious accusation of bias of LTTE being allowed to slip from the nest.
The international NGO’s will also come under serious scrutiny in any legal case. Karuna will argue that the NGO’s did not come with clean hands to seek justice and that he did everything to ensure his group adhered to the Human Rights standards. He will say every time the international human rights groups accused the TMVP of human rights violations they were making vague statements based on hearsay evidence. Scrolling through TMVP’s press releases in their Tamilalai website, I found two press releases of TMVP responding to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch charges against TMVP and the NGO’s will be questioned whether they did anything positively to help Karuna and respond to his claims.
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Press Release -1
We can give you an assurance that we are prepared to take tangible measures in relation to any charges leveled against us substantiated with evidence. – TMVP
[Sunday, 01-04-2007, 07:19 GMT] The charges leveled against the TMVP on the 29.03.2007 by the Human Rights Watch are quite baseless and apart from the truth. HRW’s continuous statement regarding children and abductions has given rise to several doubts. When the HRW issued some statements alleging TMVP, Karuna Amman directly contacted Advocacy Director, Children’s Rights Division Jo Becker and explained her the true situation. Not only this. TMVP political party secretary Mrs S. Padmini also wrote several letters explaining clearly about our stance. But HRW continuously issues reports alleging TMVP and this action of the HRW have given room to doubt the bone fide of impartiality and credibility of HRW.
We strongly emphasis that there is nobody under eighteen in our organization and also we wish to ask you as to whether who are in our organization will be with us if they are abducted and forcibly conscripted against their wish? The youths cherishing to see the liberated East from the clutches of Praba voluntarily join us. We wish to point out that the children come to join us since they do not have security and abode but we according to the rules of human rights hand them over to their parents.
There is no truth in what is said that the children are abducted and the parents are blackmailed in the east. We do not reject that abduction and child kidnaps are taking place in the East. The Prabahas group losing grounds in the East has to increase their strength. But we do not want such an exercise since we are strong enough military wise to achieve our goals. We presently are not giving priority to our military needs whereas we are giving priority to our political activities. At an occasion like this, we consider obstacles as the barriers against out political journey.
We are accusing the third party who is giving information to the Human Rights Organization rather than accusing the activities and commitment of Human Rights Organization. It should be noted that praba’s world wide network may give false information to the Human Rights Organization. Meanwhile the letter dated March 19 supposed to be sent to us has not been received by yet and how can we answer the letter which is not received by us.
We assure you that we are prepared to take tangible measures with regard to any charges leveled against us substantiated with evidence. – TMVP
News based on Press Release 2
TMVP accuse Amnesty of bias
[Friday, 23-03-2007, 12:35 GMT] The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) leadership has criticized the Amnesty International of operating with a hidden agenda against them. The London based Amnesty International in its latest statement on Sri Lanka has castigated the TMVP of committing human rights violations in the Eastern Sri Lanka . The Amnesty has accused that ‘Armed groups identified as Karuna faction are infiltrating camps for newly displaced people and abducting residents, according to sources known to Amnesty’.
TMVP states, without identifying the sources or making further inquiry with them about the alleged offences the Amnesty is producing damning statements critical of their organisation. AI quoting their Puma Sen of Asia Pacific Direct at Amnesty International has stated ‘We are hearing reports of armed men, wearing the uniform of the Karuna faction roaming the camps and even distributing relief goods’ and that ‘the Karuna faction appears to operate throughout Batticaloa town with complicity of the Sri Lankan authorities’.
TMVP accused the AI for giving credence to unsubstantiated statements: ‘we are hearing’ and ‘Karuna faction appears to’ with a hidden motive to discredit their organisation. TMVP since the AI report has taken up the matter with the AI representative in Colombo and have expressed their revulsion that such hearsay statements could be published without substantiating the facts.
AI accused that armed men had attempted to abduct a teenager without naming any individuals or the TMVP. However, TMVP feels this accusation too is directed at them due to general accusations outlined in the body text of the statement.
TMVP expressed revulsion such unsubstantiated statement could be made by a reputed international human rights organisation. TMVP stated ‘Amnesty appears to operate with a hidden agenda knowingly and put up hearsay stories to discredit them with the view to get a damning statement against them at the UN Human Rights conference’. TMVP said: ‘Unlike the LTTE we are a transparent orgainsation. Time and again we have published statements that we can be contacted at our offices in Colombo and our regional offices. We cannot understand why Amnesty did not verify details before going public’.
TMVP appealed to the Amnesty International to concentrate more on the LTTE’s human rights violation by making statements about their child recruitment, incommunicado detention of civilians, murders, kidnappings instead of making hearsay statements about their organisation with the intent to discredit them.
TMVP further said that the AI had not made any efforts to find details about their first hand knowledge of LTTE’s human rights violations since their formation but have embarked on a witch hunting exercise to discredit them. TMVP said ‘we have made sincere efforts to prove our intents by releasing LTTE captives and children under UN supervision. When we are making sincere efforts to co-operate and work with the non-government agencies unsubstantiated statements of AI will not help in any way.
In its concluding remarks TMVP said, ‘AI must note that we have taken steps to safeguard ourselves from LTTE’s intelligence head Pottu’s infiltrations. We are fully geared to face the threat posed by Pottu and any generalised statements about our operations against Pottu and his agents by AI or anyone will be unwelcome.’
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When I spoke to one of my moderate Tamil contact, he said ‘an international case against Karuna will help give an opportunity for the skeleton cupboards of the government and the LTTE to be opened widely. Let it be something better than the post apartheid South Africa’s ‘Peace and Reconciliation Committee’ to convict all those caused and contributed towards human rights violations in Sri Lanka’.
Some even ask why the international NGO’s waited for so long to seek justice in an international level. There are valid questions being asked why the NGO’s did not go after Late Anton Balasingam and his wife Adele Balasingam. Adele in her book ‘Women Fighters of Liberation Tigers’ first published in January 1993 has gone into detail about LTTE woman engaging in extra-ordinary fighting. The book also included pictures of under aged girls carrying arms. Adele had appeared in LTTE military fatigue on many occasions and also had groomed the women cadres and being accused of had made them to wear suicide capsules.
In the introduction in her book she states: ‘Over the past eight years Tamil women have made an enormous leap in the mode and depth of their participation in the nation’s struggle for self-determination. They have moved from non-violent politics into armed struggle. The history of Tamil women in the armed struggle for national liberation waged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam constitutes both extension of women’s participation in the national struggle and a history of its own. Subsequently the women fighters of the Liberation Tigers had earned an international reputation as the most fierce, highly disciplined and courageous women combatants the world has ever produced. Constituted as a fully fledged military force and structured within the overall organisation of the LTTE, these young women fighters have carried out extra-ordinary military feats in their struggle for the freedom of their homeland’.
The book is self speaking of how Tamil women have been made fearsome fighters. In addition, Anton Balasingam who formulated the violent path of the LTTE and justified its crimes as legitimate was never pursued by the international human rights NGO’s.
There are LTTE cadres who had committed untold human rights violations and had claimed political asylum and continued to work for the LTTE in the Tamil Diaspora. For example, a person by the pseudonym name Hendry of LTTE commanded the attack in Anuradhapura and massacred hundreds of civilians in 1984 and he was able to claim asylum in the UK and live without any hindrance until he passed away few years ago. Even the leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) who was involved in the 1971 and 1987 insurrections against the state and being accused of committing human rights violations lived in the UK in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s without being taken to task by the international NGO’s.
Sri Lanka government forces are accused of committing catalogue of human rights violations. Many military officials, government arms procurement officials and politicians who were directly or indirectly engaged in human rights crimes have travelled to the western countries. The international NGO’s did not show any interest to follow them. Then the LTTE men came to the European and far eastern countries since the ceasefire agreement in 2002 and the human rights NGO’s maintained silence.
In an unrestricted hearing all these matters are expected to be brought to the surface.
Since the LTTE was removed from the eastern Sri Lanka, the people there enjoyed considerable freedom compared to the previous regime of the LTTE. The post removal of the LTTE from the east did not see major transformation except for comparable peace to that in Vanni. Karuna and Karuna’s cadres were former LTTE men brought up in a ruthless environment but according to their press statements they were willing to change. I was told by the TMVP official they underwent training with the UNICEF and other UN agencies and also were meeting the resident officials of the NGO’s regularly to deal with socio-economic issues affecting eastern Sri Lanka.
I had an audience with Karuna when he was in India. When I queried him what made him to leave LTTE after having earned the trust of its leader Pirabakaran, he said: ‘I was very pleased when the ceasefire agreement was signed in 2002. I told Pirabakaran to make use of the ceasefire to bring an end to the sufferings of our people. He told me ceasefire is a respite and we have to fight again in four years time. I was unhappy about it. My displeasure was felt by the other leaders in the LTTE. They started to play balls with me by playing the card of north-east divide. Pirabakaran is a stooge of these leaders and started to put pressure on me. One day in 2004 he called me and instructed me to recruit 1,000 cadres from the east to fill the ranks. I was not happy and however agreed to fulfil his request. Then after few days when I was in the east, he phoned me and asked what progress I have made on recruitment. I was waiting for this opportunity and told him that he himself could come to the east and recruit. That is the closing chapters of my engagement with the LTTE’.
He further said he wanted to live a private life after leaving the LTTE. But the LTTE did not allow him to live peacefully. They even killed his brother and his loyal cadres. He had no choice but to re-enter into the political scene. He said but this time he wanted to engage in the national stream to politically deal with the Tamil problem. He confirmed LTTE’s intelligence head Pottu is the most ruthless element and he was a threat to TMVP’s survival and the people in the east.
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An earnest appeal
Dear Readers.
(November, 10, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Since my outright comments about death of LTTE’s S P Thamilchelvan allegedly killed in a air attack and about those campaigning against Karuna held in immigration detention in the UK, I am subject to humiliating character assassination campaign by the LTTE websites. Their campaign has degenerated into a level that even my innocent family members are not spared.
Since my return from incarceration from LTTE captivity in Vanni in March 2005, we have been put under unimaginable humiliating exposure to the extent of fixing my wife’s and my head on to nude pictures down loaded from porn websites and then publishing them in the LTTE websites. What the LTTE want is for me to shut up and put up with their dictates.
After relative calm for almost few months, this campaign has started again. I thought it is best if I give wider exposure to this campaign by this appeal, as it is necessary to know how the LTTE mechanism survives by extending its campaign of vulgar and terror to maintain its authority.
Please visit the websites: nitharsanam.com, neruppu.org and tamileditors.com run by the LTTE. Those who require translation of writings in Tamil, please contact the publishers of this article. I appeal to everyone to read these writings of vulgar and vituperation and engage in whatever way to your best of your abilities to procedurally bring an end to this menace which is throttling the free speaking democratic voices in the Tamil community. - R Jayadevan
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