ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ganapathy Moorthy

I am a SriLankan Tamil, have visited many places in the North of Sri Lanka and spoke to people who had been trapped and used as human shield by the LTTE with the dual purpose of saving their (LTTE) existence and to engage in a propaganda using the deaths of innocent people caught in the cross-fire, and shelling in the last stages of war.

At least seven families of my close relatives who also had lost children by being caught in the fights testified themselves and all of them put the blame for their misery on the LTTE, and not the Government forces, despite the loss of their children.

In fact, my sister, who lost one of her sons, and a brother who lost his only child cursed the LTTE and called the Sri Lankan army as their saviors. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ My sisterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s actual word are: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.. I have witnessed the LTTE, who claimed to be the saviors of the Tamils, killing some of the innocent Tamils who tried to escape from the fighting,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I hate them with all my heart,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦. Whenever I see the SL army, I happen to think ,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  if it were not for them, we also would have been killed and they now look like angels for saving us from the cruel clutch (word used in Tamil ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”kodukkup pidiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢) of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”nassamai ponavangalƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (let them go to hell), meaning the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ( I have not modified or changed any word said by my sister).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  My brother said when his daughter, a six year old only child was injured due to shelling, he took her to the hospital, where one of the five doctors later surrendered to the Government forces was working.( I do not want to mention the doctorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s name, as I knew very well that he would not have any other choice other than obey the orders of the LTTE while he was in Wanni, even though I do not agree with his actions at all!)

The doctor did not have time to treat the little girl, as he was too busy treating the injured LTTE cadres. After waiting for a long time with the child still bleeding from the injury, he went to beg the doctor to have a look at the child and put some medicine to stop the bleeding, he was rudely told by the doctor, that he knew his job, and that he was too busy.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The little girl died after while due to unattended medical care.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  My brother said, his daughter sustained comparatively a non-serious injury, and with timely medical attention she would have been saved.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  While he was narrating this tragic incident, I still noticed his anger and inability to act anything against the doctor.

The same doctor, again when one of the three of my sisterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s son approached for treatment, rudely told that his injury was nothing compared to others and that he could go and fight along with the LTTE instead. (I just wonder, if that doctor had a son aged enough to be a fighter, where would he had been, and what the doctor would have told him! I am sure the doctor would have probably had his children studying in the South, not in Wanni for sure! ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Others also confirmed the story of the LTTE shooting and killing many people who tried to escape from the scene of fights.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Another son of my same sister, who had been forcibly taken by the LTTE was made to undergo a weeks training in the use of arms, died in the fight with the SL the SL arm when he was sent to the front by the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  For this, my sister was not angry with the SL army, but with the LTTE as they had brought that innocent teenager to the war front against his will ..ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

The other thing they told was that the LTTE always moved their heavy artillery and launchers inside the government declared safe zones and would fire from there purposely in order to cause more human casualties among the civilians which they could use as a propaganda against the government.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  My brother, who had remained in the war zones until the last stage of war, said once he witnessed about six people killed in shelling by the army in retaliation of the LTTEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s attack from the safe zone, and later in the evening he heard in the news aired by the LTTE radio as being exaggerated in numbers as sixty- six!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  See, how the numbers got twisted!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I could easily perceive where the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”more than 40,000 innocent people were killed by Sri Lankan forces during the last stage of warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.! , came from.

Another thing my sister told me was that at the time the final stage of the war started four years ago in the North, she had to live in hiding with her two teenage daughters in the thick of the jungle in order to save her children from being taken away by the LTTE. Anyone who lived in the Wanni area would know how it would be sleeping in the jungles at nights, let alone at homes. They had to brave the weather, the snakes and other reptiles along with the constant nuisance of the mosquitoes there.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Yet they preferred to live like that than to be caught by the LTTE as they had no other better alternatives.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  My brother would take food for them by secret ways twice a day without the knowledge of the LTTE members and there cohorts.

My sister and her daughters had to live like that not for a few days or weeks, but for over five months! After some time, unable to live like that anymore, she had her two daughters married by the age of 14 years as this would prevent the LTTE from taking them away! Do the diaspora Tamils know about these tragic incidents and situations the people went though? Or is it that they do not want to talk about the LTTE atrocities?

These are all first-hand news, not hearsay or published by media.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  As for media, mainly the Tamil/English media locally and abroad controlled by so-called Eelam supporters, they never seem to bother writing the truth nowadays, either because they happen to be the propaganda machines of some groups of vested interests, or due to lack of analyzing the truth, come with lot of lies as they seem to write news as a business not caring about the set journalistic ethics with the exception of some news coming in the internet media as some of those who write in the net do so just to register their true feelings.

Also, when I went to Sri lanka, I applied for MOD in order to travel to Jaffna. I was issued one without any problem. First time I traveled to Jaffna showing my foreign credentials, and I was treated with respect at the check point by the SL army. Then I traveled in the North without any foreign credentials as I wanted to see if there would be any difference the way I was treated (by the security men) as a foreigner and a local Tamil. I did not use or show any of my foreign credentials. I received the same treatment as before from the SL army. Anyone complains about being ill-treated by the SL army would be lying or it might have been an isolated incident just because the security men at the post would have had some reason. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Any foreigner who travels to the U.S knows what kind of security checking we have to go through when we travel to the U.S. No one make any complaints as it was cited as a reason for the security concern of the country.( rather, no one dare to question about it!)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And, it is also true that almost 50% of the Tamils who went to the Western countries as refugees visit Sri Lanka whenever they get travel documents, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ time and money to do so. (Please note many of them did not dare to visit the North East of Sri Lanka when those areas were under the control of the LTTE) After the decimation of the LTTE, many have no fear to visit their homelands. In fact one of my friends, who remained to be a Tiger sympathizer, told me recently that she want to go back to Sri Lanka for good. She did not think of going and living there while the LTTE she has always admired and sympathized with existed.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To be frank, I also went to the Western country as a refugee, fearing the LTTE, not the SL government. I dared to visit the country only after the decimation of the LTTE. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I did not support or belong to any armed groups, but used to criticize the wrong doings of the LTTE which earned me the wroth of the LTTE!.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ People had gone through a lot of problems and lived in fear for their own safety and safety of there children (from being forcibly taken away by the LTTE for forced conscription) The expatriate Tamils, while they want to have their children go to better schools, colleges & universities in the countries they live, always wanted to have the poor children in the North/East to join the LTTE and die for the so-called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”EelamƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, where they would have never gone and settled with their children, even if the LTTE succeeded to have created that land.

Do those politicians like Nedumaran, Vaiko and cinema storywriter/director Seeman in Tamil Nadu know about it?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Above all, do our TNA politicians know about it? I do not think anyof the children of the TNA politicians live and study in Sri Lanka! ( If the children of these TNA politicians happen to be still in the North Eastern provinces studying and or living, I am sorry for making the above statement) There are more bitter truths I happened to hear more tragic incidents like the ones above from the very people who actually suffered in the cruel clutch of the LTTE during the one and a half years from 2008 to May 2009, the time period the war in the Northern theatre was raging at the peak..ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Tamil media that often criticize the government never talk about these atrocities by the LTTE.

Please fellow Tamils, stop your false propaganda!. People in the North (I have not visited the East) are happy that the Tiger menace is gone and they donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s seem to bother much about the presence of the Security forces there. In fact, they said because of the presence of the Security forces, the remnants of the LTTE (those who managed to escape from the final war) are unable to raise their heads, and to pose any threats as before.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Therefore, be sensible about what you say and act!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  There is nothing wrong that you want to live comfortably and happily yourself with your children and other relatives if possible, but to expect poor innocent people to sacrifice their livelihood and lives so that you can brat yourselves of getting a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”dreamlandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ where I am sure most of you (99%) would never go back and live, is simply BARBARITY!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ – Ganapathy Moorthy