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Exclusive to World Sikh News, military strategist writer,
Suppiramanian Makenthiran presents a scathing analysis of the
mean efforts of the Sri Lanka government to start another round
of war with Tamils seeking Eelam. He traces the role of the
Indian Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka in the nineties and
indicts all parties for their childish attitude to a serious
effort at reconciliation and conflict resolution. |
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 The
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) sojourn in
Sri Lanka from
1987 to 1990 is an unfortunate episode in the history of Sri Lanka.
It was a sad tale of mismanagement by all concerned. The
sensational revelation recently made by Major General Harkirat
Singh, who was the first commander of the IPKF, has again evinced
interest in this unique battle. In his book he has revealed that
the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Mr. J. N. Dixit ordered him
over the telephone to kill Prabaharan, the LTTE leader, when the
latter comes for talks, as per instructions of Rajiv Gandhi, the
Indian Prime Minister.
General Harkirat
Singh, as an honourable soldier, refused to carry out that order, as
it was dishonourable and treacherous to kill a person who comes for
talks under a white flag. Harkirat Singh also stated that he was
not in a position to say whether the order did come from the Indian
Prime Minister. There is no reason to doubt the veracity of the
revelation by General Harkirat Singh.
 During
the Eelam War 1, in 1987, Sri Lankan Defence Minister Lalith
Athulathmudali planned for the forces to occupy
Jaffna
Peninsula, which was under the control of LTTE. The offensive was
named ‘Operation Liberation’ under which the army entered
Vadamaradcchy. There was blockade of food, fuel and medicine and the
people were driven to starvation. The armed forces advanced on a
large scale by land, sea and air using Tamil civilians as a human
shield for the Sinhalese army. They took hundreds of youth hostage,
and destroyed houses, hospitals and schools. The army designated
the temples as ‘safe areas’ advising people to gather there.
Treacherously the forces bombed the temples where the Tamils had
gone for safety.
The Black Tigers
carried out their first suicide attack on the Nelliady army camp.
Captain Miller drove a truck with explosives into the army camp at
Nelliady
Central College killing about 100 soldiers. Lalith Athulathmudali
saw the destruction and was visibly shaken. About the same time, a
car bomb exploded at the Colombo Central Bus Station killing over
100 people. The country was in turmoil. People in
India,
particularly Tamil Nadu were getting agitated.
The Indian
government dispatched a flotilla of boats to
Jaffna with
supplies of food. The Sri Lankan navy prevented them on the way and
turned them back. The Indian government responded a few hours later
by sending transport planes over Jaffna dropping food supplies. The
planes were escorted by Jet fighters. The Sinhalese were
flabbergasted and the Sri Lankan government protested that their
sovereignty had been violated.
 Behind
the scenes Indian and Sri Lankan governments were in touch with each
other. The Jayawardena government was intimidated by the airdrops
and was forced to submit to Indian intervention. Negotiations were
taking place between the two governments. The Indian High
Commissioner in
Colombo,
Mr Dixit was actively involved. Prabaharan, then in Jaffna was
invited by India for talks and taken in an Indian plane. He was
accompanied by Anton Balasingam, Yogaratnam Yogi and Dileepan of the
LTTE. However, they were kept incommunicado in a hotel in
Delhi
and felt deeply frustrated. They were virtually forced to agree to
whatever that had been decided.
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Fighting
terrorism in Sri Lanka is synonymous with denying justice to
Tamil people. Detention of journalists and winding up of
Commission of Inquiry by the International Independent Group of
Eminent Persons (IIGEP) has not deterred
Sri Lanka
from continuing its unilateral war |
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On
July 29, 1987,
the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President
J.R. Jayawardena signed an agreement known as the Indo-Sri Lanka
accord. Under the agreement, the Indian army referred to as the
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), landed in
Jaffna
to enforce the agreement and maintain peace in Northeast. The IPKF
was to disarm the militants under the agreement.
 It
was a bold and stunning move by the young Prime Minister of India,
asserting
India as the
emerging regional super power. The Tamils welcomed the Indian army
jubilantly, but the LTTE were suspicious. Sri Lankan history would
have taken a different turn had the Indian government taken
Prabaharan into confidence and accommodated his wishes.
The Sinhalese
were frightened but angry at the arrival of the Indian army. There
were demonstrations in the South by the extremist Sinhalese. The
JVP, SLFP, MEP, and Sinhalese parties were making noises, but they
were frightened. The Indian army could have landed in
Colombo if the
Indians so decided.
Rajiv Gandhi
made a visit to
Sri Lanka
immediately after the arrival of the IPKF. During an inspection of
the guard of honour, a Sinhalese sailor attacked him with the butt
of a gun, but he escaped serious injury. The Sri Lankan commander
escorting Rajiv Gandhi, intercepted the blow, and young Rajiv, a
former pilot, swiftly ducked.
 Prabaharan
held a largely attended meeting at Suthumalai in
Jaffna, and on
behalf of the LTTE and the Tamils, agreed to abide by the
agreement. The LTTE surrendered a large amount of arms and
ammunitions. Yogaratnam Yogi, on behalf of the LTTE, symbolically
handed over a revolver to the IPKF commander at a ceremony in the
Palali airport.
In August 1987,
the Sri Lankan government passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri
Lankan constitution. Under its provisions, Provincial Councils were
created and the Tamil homeland of Northern and
Eastern
Provinces were merged into one Northeast Province. This was an
important landmark in the Tamil freedom struggle. However things
took a turn for the worse.
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Ballad of the
Land and the Sea
Chandiravarman Sinnathurai
Days have
turned into utter darkness
The crescent moon turns blood-shot
The fisher men on the high-seas
Have caught no fish;
‘Cause the naval gun-boats
Wrongly Suspect us to be sea-tigers!
We return home, empty handed
With “criminal records” for having toiled in our sea.
On the land too we have no rest
Daily we are under threat
Our fully-formed muscled shoulders
Is a threat to the SL ARMY?
They harass, even arrest and then kill us
They taunt us as…
“Tigers in sarongs and T-shirts”.
What good would it be to talk peace?
When we don’t see it on the ground?
What good would it be to beg please?
When that means to be shot down?
So we plead for the right to our sea
Where our forefathers have braved the waves
We refuse to bow down until you see
Our point of view of not being slaves.
Our mothers have waited on the shore
Only to collect our bullet-ridden bodies
Our wives have starved with honour
But their breasts have no milk to feed!
So we plead, and ask the right to our sea
Where our forefathers have braved the waves
What good would it be to talk peace?
When we don’t see our freedom on the waves?
Is this the peace you talk about?
In a
far flung
foreign land!
If that is peace Mr Diplomat
Then give us not “peace” we plead!
Simply ask the Sinhalas to leave
Our belovéd land and the sea
Heads held high on our mother soil
With honourable hands we will toil.
What good would it be to talk peace?
When we don’t see it on the ground?
What good would it be to beg please?
When that means to be shot and killed |
The LTTE felt
that the Indian and Sri Lankan governments were not honouring the
conditions of the agreements and there was some tension. One of the
LTTE cadres, Thileepan, the LTTE’s political wing leader began a
fast unto death. Nobody took any action and he died fasting. This
infuriated the LTTE and a section of the Tamil people.
In October came
the tragedy. Top LTTE commanders, Kumarappa and Pulendran and
fifteen other LTTE leaders were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy in
the seas. They were held as prisoners in the Palaly airport
surrounded by Sinhalese soldiers. The whole episode was
inexplicable. There was an accord and the LTTE had surrendered their
weapons under the accord. Palaly airport was under IPKF control.
There was no reason to arrest the LTTE commanders. The J.R
government, particularly National Security Minister Lalith
Athulathmudali insisted that the arrested commanders should be
brought to
Colombo for
‘interrogation’. There was no doubt what was intended. Knowing the
brutality of the Sinhalese policemen towards Tamil detainees, the
LTTE commanders knew they would be tortured and killed. What could
not be explained was why the Indian authorities decided to permit
these well known LTTE top men to be taken to
Colombo.
The airport was under Indian control, and they could have refused to
allow the Sri Lankan army to take the LTTE commanders to Colombo.
The LTTE men bit the cyanide and committed suicide. Twelve of them
including Kumarappa and Pulendran died and five were in serious
condition.
 Prabaharan
was furious at the perfidy of those concerned. Tamils were
outraged. Valvettiturai -from where the dead commanders hailed was
in mourning. The outraged Tamils killed some Sinhalese in revenge.
J.R. Jayawardena insisted that Indian government should act against
the LTTE. General Sundarji, the Indian Commander-in-chief visited
Jaffna.
He was a Tamil from
South India.
He made a fatal underestimation, and on his recommendation the IPKF
attacked the LTTE, hoping to complete the operation in 72 hours. The
offensive was named Operation Pawan. It turned out to be a failure
and the fighting dragged on with losses to both Indians and Tamils.
The Indian army
advanced from Palali and occupied
Jaffna. At the
outset, the Indian army tried to capture Prabaharan who was camping
near the
Jaffna
University.
The airborne unit that landed there was ambushed and surrounded. The
Sikhs fought bravely, but were overwhelmed by the LTTE cadres.
Running out of ammunition, they baton-charged. All were killed
except one who lived to tell the tale.
In occupying
Jaffna,
the IPKF killed 7,000 civilians and committed many brutal acts. The
Indian army saturated the whole of Northeast with more than a
hundred thousand men and heavy armour. However, the LTTE command
structure was intact and they carried out incessant guerilla attacks
on the Indian army.
The IPKF also
bombed two Tamil newspaper offices of Eelamurasu and Murasoli in
Jaffna.
The first woman LTTE fighter to die in battle was 2nd Lt. Malathi.
The excesses of the Indian army antagonised the Tail public, who had
welcomed them with open arms when they first arrived.
The Indian
government made another fatal mistake. They allied with the
undisciplined EPRLF group to sideline the LTTE. In the elections to
the Northeast Provincial Council, with the backing of the Indian
army, the EPRLF came to power. Varatharaja Perumal of the EPRLF was
appointed Chief Minister. The EPRLF joined the IPKF in hunting the
LTTE. Later the EPRLF was wiped out.
 The
battle-hardened LTTE cadres withstood the Indian onslaughts. In an
effort to trap Prabaharan and the LTTE leadership, the Indians sent
in the Gurkhas who were renowned as jungle fighters. Although they
fought their way close to Prabaharan in the Mullaitivu jungles, they
could not capture him. The IPKF war dragged on for three years, and
the Indian army lost over 1,200 men.
In 1988 the JVP
staged a second revolt in the South. One of their demands was the
withdrawal of the IPKF from Northeast. They killed many police and
army men. The Sri Lankan government put down the rebellion with a
heavy hand.
In 1988
Ranasinghe Premadasa took over as President from Jayawardena. He
was opposed to the presence of the IPKF in
Sri Lanka
and asked Rajiv Gandhi to withdraw them. Premadasa declared a
cease-fire with the LTTE and started negotiating with them. Anton
Balasingam, his wife Adele, Yogaratnam Yogi, Paramu Murthi and
others represented LTTE.
Under pressure
from Premadasa and the LTTE, the IPKF started pulling out in 1989,
and ultimately in 1990, the last of the IPKF left the shores of
Sri Lanka.
They left after suffering heavy losses and failing to accomplish
their mission of resolving the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict. The talks
between the Premadasa government and LTTE broke down thereafter.
Had the Sri
Lankan and the Indian governments taken the Tamil fighters into
confidence, the situation could have been different and a solution
within reach.
2
April
2008
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