Heaps of Thanks for your appreciations.

Also my thanks for your self and everyone who wrote comments.

Every one who commented here has a feeling for our community.

Most of your opinion is mine as well.

I am also extremely sad about the situation in our motherland

I also thank DBS for publishing our comments, arguments and counter arguments, which would help us to understand the issues better.

Very well done, Sir.

The depth of your knowledge and the way you have critically analysed our past history is breathtaking. Your qualified criticism about the conduct of the IPKF clearly shows your integrity.

I can very well remember how Mr Amithalingam worked so hard to convince New Delhi that Eelam Tamils needed the blessing and support of India for their very survival.

During the last couple of years I have been expressing my views to put the LTTE on the tract. It is my conviction that if the LTTE behaves like a responsible and progressive force, many thousands of precious lives of our children in their tender age can be preserved and I have no doubt that this boost the image of the LTEE among the international community.

Very sadly I begin to feel that the intransigent LTTE is hell bent on going down the regressive path of self-destruction. I feel very, very sad.

1. I mourn the deaths in Jaffna hospital by IPKF.

2. Also the deaths of about 300 cadres of TELO killed in Jaffna in 1986 within about 5 days gives me a big pain in my heart. It was reported that many of them were begging not to be killed during that incident. But they were mercilessly killed. Why should not we think about that also? There were many similar cases in Wanni and East too.

3. May be the TELO cadres were undisciplined. But it was a big crime to kill all of them. They all cannot be punished like that because of the mistakes of few of their leaders. Most of them could have been captured alive and rehabilitated.

4. You have said that Indian armys’ actions have encouraged SL army to do the killings of civilians. Then what about the Valvettithurai carnage and Kumuthuni ferry massacre, which happened before IPKF? Which party did encourage that? The deaths in these two cases were many times more than those in the hospital tragedy?

5. Considering the number Indian soldiers being killed by the hit & run tactics during those times, even if there is an independent court martial the soldiers actually shot might have been acquitted in hospital case. Because, the attackers of the Indian soldiers were said to be taking cover in the hospital. Only the over all commander could have been found guilty. But he too could have been acquitted because of the unfamiliar situation in a different country and the unforeseen circumstance.

6. But for the cases like Kumuthini ferry massacre, Muthur Action Farm killings and Bindunuwewa masscre the killers would have faced death penalty if an independent inquiry is carried out.

7. If Nathan wants to criticize India there are much better reasons he could have posted here.
Those are:
A. During the last 6 months of IPKF period, EPRLF & ENDLF forcibly recruited young men, which is a serious human right violation, which Indian army was well aware of, but did not stop.
B. On couple of times India spread the false news that LTTE leader was killed

C. When Norway started to involve in SL issue India was not happy at the beginning. Because that would set a precedent for Kashmir issue. Though Pakistan has been trying for a third party mediation in Kashmir, India deadly opposed that. At the beginning India tried to restrict Norway’s role as a facilitator and not as a mediator.

There are few more things like this someone can write if he/she wants to discredit India.

1. I do not accept that peak of the cold war was during the time of India’s intervention in 80s. The peak of the cold war was in late 60s and 70s. By 80s India gradually started to shift towards US. So cold war was not the major reasons but could be one of the reasons for Indian action.

The major reasons for Indian involvement are:

1.1. Continuous appeal from TULF leaders who were considered the sole representatives during that time for Indian help from 1977 to 1987. They persuaded Tamil Nadu also to do so. Tamil Nadu govt. too pressed Delhi to interfere.

In fact A.Amirthalingam sent a letter to India stating that SL Tamils would be rather happy to be under Indian rule than facing the genocide by SL army

1.2 I read from papers that though Indira Ghandi was initially reluctant to interfere on SL Tamil’s issues and it was Mr M Sivasithamparam who used his skills to convince Indra Ghandi about the necessity to interfere. (When M Siva died LTTE gave him an official funeral)

1.3. Mr Vaikunthavasan (who managed to find his way to a UN meeting in 1979 to raise the voice for SL Tamil) sent the evidences of Valvettiturai massacre to Indira Ghandi when she was in opposition. Indira Ghandi was reportedly horrified by the incidents and replied that if she came to power she would try to help Tamils to find a solution.

1.4.After 1983 about 100,000 refugees from NE lanka fled to India. There were frequent hartals paralyzing Chennai. Few burnt themselves to death. International media gave wide coverage to the hardships of Tamils. So no wonder India as a responsible power in the region felt that she should do some thing to save us.

2.
2.1 So India interfered but fighting started within months between LTTE and them. At the beginning India would have thought that that was a dispute between father and son and could be solved soon. Even while fighting was going on there were negotiations on a few times between IPKF and LTTE for a compromise. Tamil nadu politicians reportedly tried to ease the situation. But all efforts failed and fighting continued.

2.2 Despite all these India apparently had respect for LTTE leadership. Because on couple of occasions IPKF reportedly surrounded the hideouts of LTTE leaders but orders came from the top to not to proceed further. This is a fact those of us who wholeheartedly criticize India should take note of.

2.3 But things turned very bad when LTTE and SL govt. came to terms and SL Army helped the former to fight against IPKF. India lost lot of money and distinguished officers.

2.4 We who were hard pressing for many years for the Indians to come, later attacked them and told that we lankans can solve our problem, you get out of our land. So India suffered its worst humiliation and VP Singh called back the IPKF.

2.5 Then the killing of Rajiv. (probably to prevent him winning the election, and another intervention) Because of these India later not even prepared to listen to SL Tamils or about their sufferings until recently.

2.6 Tamils’reps(LTTE) and SL govt. were responsible for the practical abrogation of ISA and we have no moral right to find what we have gained from that.

2.7 With the killing of the Rajiv, any hope of reviving ISA has also been killed and ISA became irrelevant. So it is meaningless to refer to that and find out who were net loser and winner etc. (Your no.1, 2, 3& 4)

2.8 Had the IPKF continued for few more years and all the parties accepted the ISA then a permanent merger of N & E and an Indian model of federalism would have materialized.

3.
3.1 Were the ISA still there, it would not have been possible for SL to take steps affecting Indian interests, which are: (A). Signing defense treaty with US,paving the way for their troops to use the facilities in SL and joint exercise with US.
(B). Inviting China to oil exploration Mannar(at the door step of India) and developing Hambantota harbour with Chinese help. (C). Alleged visits by Pakistani Defense Officials.

All these steps were not in line with the once existed ISA.

So India who was not responsible for the abrogation of ISA seems to be net loser to some extent, which is contrary to what you tried to say.

4.2 SL would not give its ports to another country on a permanent basis for military purposes because that is not in the SL interest too, apart from antagonizing India. At this stage SL would take any serious move to damage Indian interests badly. That is good diplomacy for a small country.

5.
5.1 I do not say that India has always been Right and always Great. I doubt if the current Indian Politicians have a good insight of SL crises.

5.2 Few of the many reasons for LTTE to reject ISA would have been to: (A). Not to depend on India but to stand on our own legs. (B). in expectation of better federal model than in India or a separate state. (C). To have sole control of entire N & E.

If these are true, how much more of price we will have to pay in terms of lifes of young boys & girls? Can we achieve that?
How long that will take?

Meanwhile SL is going ahead with their program to destroy the basis for a homeland in East and see that there will not be a ground for N & E merger in future.

A historical correction, as far as I remember the number of deaths from IPKF massacre inside the Jaffna General (teaching) hospital is 52 with 17 staffs including two physicians.

Could you spell out the difference between the massacre of17 aid workers of ACF in Trinco by Srilanka Armed forces and 17 staffs of Jaffna Hospital by IPKF?

My proposal to the conflict:

The need of the hour is to bring some normalcy in the NE (please see my paper on, ‘my views and proposal to bring normalcy’ at Federalidea.

If the LTTE wants to be called themselves as the sole representatives of Eelam Tamils, it should endeavour to come out of international (India in particular) isolation and proscription. Only then the LTTE can become a progressive force.

Once the LTTE has demonstrated and convinced the IC that it is acredible player in searching a political solution, the peace process will be reinvigorated. In this environment, the LTTE should go for peace talks in good faith to work out a solution based on federal principle because the IC stipules that this problem could be resolved along this line. If GOSL still remains evasive and obstructive in settling for a federal solution, then the IC is very likely to realise the need to recognise our right to self-determination.

Supreme sacrifice of over 500 fighters brought about the Indo-Sri Lanka accord, but the LTTE messed it up. Death of over 20,000 fighters brought about the current CFA. The LTTE got more bad name during the current CFA than at any other time. The biggest shortfall of the current CFA:
(1)presence of the SLAF in the streets of the NE
(2)absence of armed international peace keeping force
(3)unhindered access to weapons by the LTTE and other militants in the NE

Unless the above issues are looked into and implimented there will never be peace in the NE. Please note (3) does not mean that the LTTE should surrender the arms at present but the LTTE has to do some thing tangible to force the SLAF into the barracks.