Shenali D Waduge

It is sad and unfortunate that within just 6 years we hear of people publicly praising an internationally banned terrorist organization. The fault lies in the failure to denazify the LTTE but it also establishes that though LTTE leader is no more the desire to continue armed militancy still prevails. The background to understanding this scenario requires us to realize that LTTE eelam project existed to fulfil the agendas of groups/individuals with vested interest. The calls for LTTE to prevail is to enable these agendas to continue for they not only generate money but are means of livelihood to these supporters.

The backdrop to this is the rise in reported rapes taking place in the North. What needs to be established before the propaganda mills start weaving stories is that each of these rapes were committed by Tamils upon Tamils. It is just as well the army has been confined to barracks and this removes them from being used as scapegoats.

What also needs to be made clear is that post-war has opened flood-gates of social issues – liquor consumption has increased which inadvertently has led to domestic issues and wife/children beating. Narcotic intake has increased / pregnancy and abortions have increased and all these are issues that Tamil politicians in particular the Northern Provincial Council are expected to deal with though the Chief Minister is only obsessed with getting the military out of the North.

Nonetheless, it is foolhardy to claim that the social issues that Tamils face now did not exist during LTTE for a bigger problem prevailed as a result of LTTE’s terror unless we are to believe that Tamils like the LTTE to prevail because the LTTE targeted non-Tamils (Sinhalese – civilians and the military & Muslims) and only the Tamils who went against LTTE, therefore all other Tamils were quite safe so long as they did not go against the LTTE.

However, just because 2million people were not harmed by LTTE 18million people cannot live in fear! This is the simple mathematics people need to accept.

Therefore, it is crucial that we listen to UNP Mahesaran herself to understand the gist of what she is trying to convey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP8pXKk6Hr8&feature=youtu.be

The gist of what she says is summarized

• Before the Army took over the North, the people were safe under the LTTE:
  • By ‘people’ who does she imply – is it LTTE cadres / supporters / or does she mean that the entire Tamil population in the North barring the Sinhalese/Muslims felt safer under the LTTE
  • If so why were they begging and appealing to be saved? Why did the UNSG and foreign envoys make appeals to release the Tamils who were with the LTTE?

• She says the females were very safe under LTTE rule
  • Then who has been writing about Tamil children getting kidnapped to made into child solders – if they were safe under LTTE, it means that the parents would have voluntarily donated children to the cause – if this is so, why didn’t high class/caste Tamil children not become cadres, why was it always poor lowcaste/class children who were becoming child soldiers/cadres!
  • Females were walking out at 12midnight – is she referring to female LTTE cadres on duty otherwise what parent would want to have their daughters walking on the road at 12midnight!

• She says the people especially the females had no problem under LTTE rule – no white vans, no murder, no problem for children – in short she says under LTTE the people had no problem
  • Perhaps she can tell us who killed Alfred Duraiappah, several other Tamil mayors, scores of Tamil policemen, teachers/principals, other Tamil militant leaders & their cadres, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, then who was shooting at the Tamils during the last stages of the war where there is footage as evidence, who killed the injured LTTE cadres putting them into buses and setting them on fire (again evidence and eye witness accounts prevail) and in short who killed her own husband!
  • It is also pertinent to ask whether she was actually living up North all these years to say with experience that she had no problem living under LTTE – it may be also good to know why none of her children were ‘volunteered’ to serve the LTTE!

Rape is nothing confined to only Sri Lanka. It prevails everywhere even in the nations with the strictest of laws in place. Obviously it is a human malady for which we have yet to see solutions. Rape has also been used as a war weapon – US marines were ordered to rape women in Vietnam, World War 2 had 2million cases of rape of women by Allied troops between 8years-80years.

There are 19,000 sexual assaults in the US military with 237,878 victims of rape annually in the US. The film ‘The Invisible War’ estimates some 500,000 women have been sexually assaulted in the US military since 1940s.

The UN estimates 100,000-250,000 women as being raped during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Over 60,000 women had been raped during the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), over 40,000 women had been raped in Liberia (1989-2003). Close to 60,000 women had been raped in the former Yugoslavia (1992-1995).

However, other than allegations even HRW has been able to present on 75 cases against Sri Lanka’s military.

Immediately following the elimination of the LTTE, the NGOs quickly re-strategized on how to sustain themselves and the time-tested rape allegations was just perfect for it was their propaganda against Sri Lanka and they controlled the media and the voices of the West!

Compounding matters is a report by The Toronto Sun that Namibians were coached to tell Canadian authorities to lie about genital mutilations, forced marriage etc in order to fool authorities and claim asylum. Trauma coaching centres in the UK have found a lucrative business in taking money to inflict wounds on asylum seekers from Sri Lanka to claim these wounds were committed by the Sri Lankan army! Therefore, there is a business taking place using rape and other crimes for a bunch of people to make money!

They also began by alleging some 40,000 – 125,000 have been killed during the last stages of the conflict but no one can produce even 50 names of the dead!

The outcome of that was a 41page report by Human Rights Watch – We will teach you a lesson : sexual violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces”. They detailed 75 cases occurring between 2006-2012 and called this ‘widespread rape’.

However, there are 12 cases of rape by army personnel in the North for which action was taken against these soldiers after producing accused before a court of law and by the Army holding an inquiry. Thus, 6 have been discharged from the army, 1 has been sent on suspended on half pay, 1 has been demoted, 3 are pending inquiry, 1 has been found not guilty by army inquiry while the court decision was pending.

In the East, there were 3 cases of rape by army between 2005 – 2013 for which a court case plus army inquiry were held. 2 were discharged from army and the other pending inquiry.

Thus, for both North and East there were 15 cases of alleged rape between 2005-2013 against the military. That 8 military personnel had been discharged shows that the army has taken action against those found guilty in both court/army inquiry.

The Sri Lankan authorities have documented 105 cases of rape/7 cases of attempted rape in both North & East between 2008 to April 2014. Of these 112 cases (victim ages 8 months – 83 years), 110 had been after May 2009. 3 of the rape victims had been murdered, 28 victims had been below 10 years of age.

None of the 112 cases were committed by the Sri Lankan security forces and these were all civilian rapes – Tamils raping Tamils. Thus, before Viththya’s rape and murder 112 cases of documented rape had taken place which questions why such an uproar took place unless it was planned for other reasons!

Lest we have forgotten there was an organization called DAI (funded by USAID) selling rape kits at $20 in the North and a lot of hype was built about its initiative but none of them have come out to say anything on the 112 cases of reported rape by Tamils upon Tamils between 2008-2014! The emphasis has always been against the Sri Lankan security forces totally ignoring the real scenario of Tamils raping Tamils.

But returning to the argument of the UNP MP claiming that Northern people are better off under LTTE the statement deserves a response from the UNP leadership.

What needs to be said is that rape is an issue that takes place in the First World and the Third World and despite laws and punishments rape has not reduced. Nevertheless, women and children need to be better protected but in the case of the North majority of these rapes are by parties known to them and often they are relatives.

The UNP MP’s premise that life was better off with the LTTE is ridiculous because it questions why LTTE has been proscribed in 32 nations if LTTE was that wonderful and seriously makes us wonder how many others think like her!

Shenali D Waduge