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FOR 30 YEARS WE SAW THE TRUE FACE OF TERRORISM,

HAVE YOU?

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Since the conict in the North and East o Sri Lankabroke out into large scale hostilities and eventuallyull-scale armed conrontation between the Libera-tion igers o amil Eelam (LE) and the securityorces o the Sri Lankan government, there have been

many attempts at negotiating a political settlement.

Te rst talks were held in 1985 in Bhutan. TeTimpu alks was the rst attempt at a negotiatedsettlement to the conict.

Te Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) between the thenGovernment o Sri Lanka and the Liberation igerso amil Eelam o February 2002 was the last attemptmade to solve the conict that prevailed in the coun-

try.

And so, yes the CFA generated hopes, especiallyamong those who were optimistic that the LEwould change their ways, subvert the amiliar scriptand genuinely take steps on the pathway to democ-racy and democratic ways o conict resolution.However, it is noteworthy to state there was a signi-cant change in the political environment when theCFA was concluded. Te Government o the day wasa co-habitation Government where the President andthe Prime Minister were rom dierent political par-ties.

Te Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission wasalso drawn to what was reerred to as a signicantlacuna in the provisions o the CFA namely the ab-sence o a Human Rights component, resulting in aailure to bind the LE to the observance o HumanRights norms. Most importantly the critical issue oconscription o child combatants by the LE could

not be dealt with in any manner under the agreement.Te Commission in its nal report inter alia had stat-ed that an international Human Rights expert, Mr. IanMartin, ormer Secretary General o Amnesty Inter-national who had made a study o the incorporation

HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

ARISING FROM THE

CONFLICT IN SRI LANKA

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o the Human Rights dimension into the CFA, hadmade certain recommendations in that regard. How-ever this initiative was rejected by Mr. Anton Balasin-gham who objected to an international scrutiny o the

human rights situation in the North and the East.It was contended that this strategy was adopted by theLE to dominate areas in the North and the East andto prevent any violations o human rights in these ar-eas rom being scrutinized, with regard to the LEscompliance with accepted human rights norms andstandards.

Further representations were also made to the LLRCon behal o thousands o innocent civilians who livedoutside the conict aected areas and who ell victimto indiscriminate bomb attacks and other violent kill-ings carried out by the LE over three decades.

Te Commission heard representations concerningallegations pertaining to a range o human rights vio-lations, including extrajudicial killings, abductions,arbitrary arrests and detentions, and disappearancescommitted by the LE, Tere are also IDPs and oth-er vulnerable groups, such as women and children,who have suered human rights violations due to the

conict.During the public sittings and its eld visits to conictaected areas, the Commission was alarmed by a largenumber o representations made alleging the viola-tions o undamental rights and reedoms o people

aected by the conict. Te Commission also hearda substantial number o allegations o abductions anddisappearances by the LE. A large number o rep-resentations were made with regard to those whosewhereabouts are unknown, sometimes or years, asa result o abductions, unlawul arrests, arbitrary de-tention, and involuntary disappearances. Accordingto the representations made a substantial number ocases o abductions involving the LE were reportedduring the Commissions visits to Batticaloa, Jana

and Muttur

Extract rom the fnal report o the Lesson Learnt Reconciliation Commission

appointed by the President o Sri Lanka

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KALARAVA 25th May 1995

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KALYANAPURA 8th September 1997

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KARAMEIYA 21st February 2009

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KAHANKUDY 03rd August 1990

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PALLIYAGODELLA 15th October 1992

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VANKALAI-MANNA08th June 2006

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BUALA-OKKAMPIIY16th January 2008

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KABIHIGOLLEWA15th June 2006

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PILIYANDALA 25th April 2008

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HADCHANA-MADU 29th January 2008

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SRI LANKALIVED WIH HIS

RUHLESS ERRORISMFOR 30 YEARS

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Te Liberation igers o amil Eelam commonly

known as the LE or the amil igers was

a separatist terrorist organization ormerly

based in northern Sri Lanka which waged a

violent secessionist campaign to carve out an

independent state in the north and east o Sri

Lanka. Tis campaign evolved into the Sri LankanCivil War, which ran rom 1983 until it was

completely crushed in May 2009, under the able

political leadership o the President o Sri Lanka

His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa.

At the height o their power, the LE possessed

a well-developed militia and carried out many

high-profle attacks, including the assassinationso several high-ranking Sri Lankan and Indian

politicians. Civilian massacres, suicide bombings,

attacks on military targets and acts o ethnic

cleansing were integral parts o its pursuit to

create a monoethnic amil Eelam.

Consequent to their brutality and cruelty, the

LE is currently proscribed as a terroristorganization by 32 countries. Te LE is noted

or assassinating at least 8000 ellow amils, or

whose liberation they claimed fghting or.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONSSeveral countries listed the LE as a terrorist

organization and proscribed in their respectivecountries based on allegations that LE doesnot respect human rights and that it does notadhere to the standards o conduct expected oa Resistance Movement. Te FBI has describedthe LE as amongst the most dangerous anddeadly extremist outts in the world. Numerous

countries and international organizations haveaccused the LE o attacking civilians and re-cruiting child soldiers

Attacks on CiviliansTe LE has launched attacks on civilian tar-gets several times. Notable attacks include:Te Anuradhapura Massacre - the rst majorattack carried out by the LE outside a amilmajority area occurred in 1985. More than 146unarmed civilian devotees including monks,nuns and ordinary people were brutally gunneddown as they worshipped at a most veneratedBuddhist shrine, the Sri Maha Bodhi.Later in the day, LE cadres also shot dead 18

Sinhalese civilians in the Wilpattu National Parkwhile they were eeing rom the massacre o 146civilians.

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Te Aranthalawa Massacre - 31 BuddhistMonks most o them young novices were bru-tally murdered at Aranthalawa in the Amparadistrict o Eastern Sri Lanka on June 2 1987. Tisis considered one o the notorious and devastat-ing atrocities committed by the LE during thehistory o the Sri Lankan civil war and continuesto be commemorated to-date.

Te Kattankudy Mosque Massacre - On Au-

gust 3, 1990, LE cadres killed in cold blood300 people participating in a prostrate positionin Isha prayers in our mosques in the town oKattankudy. It is believed that around 30 amilrebels were responsible or these attacks.

Te Kebithigollewa Massacre 60 people trav-

elling in a bus were killed by a claymore attack.Te date 15th June 2006.

Te Dehiwala rain Bombing was carriedout by the LE on July 24, 1996, resulting in64 civilian deaths and wounding 400 others.Te LE operatives placed suitcase bombs in

our carriages on a commuter train causing a si-multaneous explosion. Tis is the rst time thismethod o simultaneous bombing was carriedout.

Te Central Bank Bombing - was one o thedeadliest attacks the terrorists launched duringtheir reign o terror. Te target was the CentralBank located in Colombo, the nancial busi-ness hub o Sri Lanka and the date 31st January1996. A lorry containing 440 pounds o highexplosives crashed through the main gate o theCentral Bank. Te lorry was ollowed by a threewheeler carrying two LE cadres armed withautomatic ries and an RPG launcher. Te gun-

men exchanged re with the security guards inthe bank while the suicide bomber in the lorrydetonated the massive bomb. Te bomb torethrough the bank which was a multi storeyedbuilding and damaged 8 other buildings nearby.Te blast killed at least 91 people and injured1,400 others. At least 100 people lost their eye-

sight. Among the wounded were two US citi-zens, six Japanese, and one Dutch national.

Dollar Farm massacre - 33 civilians which in-cluded women and children were killed in DollarFarm village in the night by armed LE cadres.

Kent Farm massacre - Following the attack onthe Dollar Farm village, a second night raid waslaunched by the LE cadres which targeted theKent Farm village. 29 civilians including women

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it would stop conscripting child soldiers, but bothUNICEF and Human Rights Watch have accusedit o reneging on its promises, and o conscriptingamil children orphaned by the tsunami

In 2009 a Special Representative o the Secretary-General o the United Nations said the amil i-gers continue to recruit children to ght on therontlines, and use orce to keep many civilians,including children, in harms way

Ethnic CleansingTe LE is responsible or orcibly removing orethnic cleansing, o Sinhalese and Muslim inhab-itants rom areas under its control in the northernand eastern parts o Sri Lanka, and using violenceagainst those who reuse to leave. Te eviction o

Muslim residents happened in the north in 1990and the east in 1992. Te main reason behind theexpulsion o Muslims was the act that local Mus-lim community did not support the amil Eelamstruggle o LE.Beginning in 1985, the LE orcibly occupied35,000 acres (140 km2) o Muslim-owned arm-

land in the north o Sri Lanka, beore system-atically evicting the Muslims rom areas underLE control. Although anti-Muslim pogromshad occurred in the north and east o Sri Lanka

and children were massacred. Tey also lootedand set re to victims houses.

Kokilai massacre - LE cadres killed elevenSinhalese civilians in the shing village o Kok-ilai.

Women Soldiers of the LTTETe participation o women soldiers in the LEhas given rise to arguments whether women en-

joy equal rights in society during the post-con-ict period. It is observed that the LE hasbeen unsuccessul in creating gender equalitywithin the movement and that women have theright to achieve their emancipation and empow-erment without linking nationalist and ethnicstruggle interests.

Child SoldiersTe LE has been accused o recruiting and us-ing child soldiers to ght against Sri Lankan gov-ernment orces violating all international normsdespite its numerous promises to the internation-al community inclusive o UNICEF. Te LE

was accused o having up to 5,794 child soldiersin its ranks since 2001. Amidst internationalpressure, the LE announced in July 2003 that

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since 1985, the LE embarked on a campaignto expel Muslims rom the North in 1989. Terst eviction notice was sent to the Muslims oChavakacheri on 15 October 1989, aer the LEentered the local mosque and threatened Mus-lims a ew weeks earlier. Aerward, the houses oevicted Muslims were ransacked and looted. On28 October 1989, the Muslims o Mannar wereordered to leave, by the LE. Beore leaving,they had to seek permission and clearance at the

LE ofce. LE was to decide their exit route.

Ethnic cleansing culminated on 30 October 1990when the LE orcibly expelled the entire Mus-lim population o Jana. LE commanders romthe east announced at 7:30 am that all Muslims inJana were to report to Osmania stadium, where

they were to be addressed by two LE leaders,Karikalana and Anjaneyar. Aer listening to theleaders denigrate Muslims or allegedly attackingamils in the east, the leaders explained to thecommunity that they had two hours to evacuatethe city. Te community was released rom thestadium at 10 am, and by noon, and were only al-

lowed to carry 500 rupees, while the rest o theirpossessions were seized by the LE.

Execution of Prisoners of WarLE had executed prisoners o war on a numbero occasions, in spite o the declaration in 1988,that it would abide by the Geneva Conventions.Te most important incident was the mass murdero unarmed 600 Sri Lankan Police ofcers in 1990,in the Eastern Province, aer they surrendered tothe LE upon the request o President Ranasin-ghe Premadasa. Police ofcers were promised saeconduct and subsequent release. But they were

taken to the jungles, blindolded, tied hands be-hind, made to lie down on the ground and shot.In 1993, LE executed 200 Sri Lanka Army sol-diers, captured rom the naval base at Pooneryn,during the Battle o Pooneryn.

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DURING THOSE DREADFUL30 YEARS, LTTE VIOLATED

HUMAN RIGHTS IN MOST

BRUTAL WAY,

BEYOND IMAGINATION