Tuesday, August 17, 2004
LTTE's killing spree causes concern
PK Balachanddran Colombo, August 17
Sri Lanka seems to be in the midst of an unending killing spree by the LTTE. The recent spurt in the activities of its assassination units called "pistol groups" and the indifference of the Sri Lankan government and civil society to the killings, are worrying the local intelligentsia and the international community.
More that fifty Tamil political activists, public men and innocent civilians, have been killed in East Sri Lanka and Colombo between April and July this year in the low intensity war going on between the mainstream LTTE led by Velupillai Prabhakaran and a breakaway group led by Karuna.
"Tragically, those killed also include elected officials such as the Chairperson of the Alayadivembu Pradeshiya Sabha, V Ravindran; public officials like the Gramasevaka of Karadiyanaru, K Sivarasa; academics such as the Head of the Economics Department of Eastern University, K Tambiah; and media persons like A Nadesan," said the Peace Support Group (PSG).
The PSG is a body of well-known academics and social activists.
Come July, the internecine Tiger warfare spread to South Sri Lanka, with an attempt on the life of the Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP) chief and Cabinet Minister, KN Douglas Devananda by a LTTE suicide bomber, on July 7.The attempt had led to the death of five people, including four police officers.
On July 24, eight members of the Karuna group were massacred in Kottawa, outside Colombo, by the LTTE, in collaboration with defectors from the Karuna group. On July 31, a LTTE pistol group finished off "Plote" Mohan, an anti-LTTE Tamil militant and an intelligence agent of the Sri Lankan Army.
On August 16, a LTTE motorcycle-borne two-man killer squad shot dead K Balanadaraja Ayyar, the Media Secretary of the EPDP in Colombo.
The PSG pointed out that all these killings had taken place in public space such as roads, bus stands, and markets and in prison where inmates were under the custodial protection of the state, and even at religious festivals.
"This has meant that they instil a high sense of fear among ordinary civilians as they go about their day to day life," it said.
" In addition, the slowness to acknowledge that there is a real crisis in the law and order situation in the East creates an environment of impunity with which we are grimly familiar. There is almost no public condemnation of these killings coming from civil society whether in the south, north or the east. This, in turn, sends a message to all those responsible for this spate of killings that they may strike again and again with no fear of punishment within the law," the PSG said.
"In most cases, the police have not made arrests. Nor are they conducting investigations in a manner that could satisfy the public that the law and order situation is under control," it said.
The PSG also mentioned the alleged tacit involvement of a section of the Sri Lankan army in the inter-militant warfare. The perception of the involvement of the armed forces would be a violation of the Ceasefire Agreement and a threat to the peace process, the group warned.
Sources in the eastern district of Batticaloa told Hindustan Times that through a relentless process of assassinations, the LTTE has now, more or less finished the Karuna group. But even so, the killings are not likely to stop because there seems to be a plan to leave no trace of rebellion anywhere in the North East whatsoever.
Those affected by the violence and intimidation say that there is a "reign of terror" in Batticaloa district. "For every killing which comes to light there may be ten, not coming to light, because many of them may be taking place in areas under the control of the LTTE, areas which were earlier under Karuna," said one of the affected persons.
"What the LTTE is now doing with the Karuna group and other allied rival groups, is what it did to the TELO (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation) in Jaffna in 1986. TELO cadres and supporters were dragged to road junctions and shot as if they were stray dogs. Burning tyres were put round their necks in full public view," recalled a Tamil from Jaffna.
Others sources said that the LTTE is picking out for ruthless elimination only those who are actively involved with Karuna.
" It is an exaggeration to say that there is a general reign of terror. Only the active elements are being killed. Some are summoned and warned, and some are merely questioned for clarification," said a Batticalao-based journalist.
The LTTE, which is blamed for most of the killings which had taken place after the collapse of the rebellion led by Karuna, denies that it is indulging in any killings of this sort.
" We deny that LTTE members have been responsible. We believe that a faction of Karuna's group is responsible for these killings. Even the killings in Kottawa were carried out by another splinter group," SP.Tamilselvan, the LTTE's Political Wing leader, told The Sunday Times on August 16.
He pointed out that the killings were taking place in areas under the control of the government, and, therefore, it was the government, which had to be blamed for failing to control the situation.
Tamilselvan dismissed the popular notion that Karuna was a threat to the LTTE led by Prabhakaran, thereby indicating that there was no need for the mainstream LTTE to kill Karuna's men.
"Karuna's group is not a threat to the LTTE but certainly a threat to the peace process," he said.
However, the rest of Sri Lanka and the international community do not share the LTTE's contentions.
A three-member delegation representing the European Union (EU), led by the Dutch Ambassador, Susan Blankhart, met Tamilselvan in Kiliniochchi on Monday, and did some plain speaking to him.
In a statement issued after the visit, the EU Troika said: " The EU is concerned and alarmed about the recent increase in political killings and the inability of the LTTE to solve the internal differences in a peaceful manner."
"The killing of political opponents is a breach of fundamental human rights. There is no excuse for such violence, which can never resolve the internal differences in Sri Lanka."
The EU Troika re-iterated its demand that the LTTE respect norms of good governance, human rights, pluralism and democracy.
It also expressed concern over the continued recruitment of children into the armed wing of the LTTE and said: "These killings, abductions and child recruitment are not conducive to an atmosphere in which peace negotiations can beheld. The EU urges the LTTE to restrain itself from any action that might provoke disruption of the ceasefire and allow unimpeded continuation of the activities of the Sri Lanka (Ceasefire) Monitoring Commission."
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.