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PRESS RELEASE: Tuesday, February 3, 2009.

“Let our people go!”

The 26-year nightmare that has been Sri Lanka’s war against Tamil terrorism is on the verge of ending. The Tamil Tigers have been cornered in an area east of their fallen headquarters at Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Army is making relentless progress. Several key points of strategic importance to the Tigers have been hastily abandoned and almost without a fight, a testament to the growing panic and lack of sufficient fighting cadres of the Tigers.

Alarmingly, the civilians who lived in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, and areas in between have been dragooned by the Tigers to build defensive structures such as earth barriers and moats. This is heavy, back-breaking work and not even the oldest have been spared. Tiger cadres who have fallen into the hands of the armed forces have also spoken of young teens and 50+ men also being forced to do battle with the Army after a modicum of training.  But the progress of the Army Divisions from all directions has been unstoppable and the Tigers are completely surrounded by land and encircled by sea.

In response, Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran has forced these poor Tamils, numbering between 100 to 200 thousand, to surround his lair in the Mullaitivu scrub jungle.  They are essentially hostages being used as human shields, an all too familiar tactic of terrorists worldwide.  Any Tamils who try to escape do so at the risk of death; minefields have been set up by the Tigers to deter attempts and, if caught, such persons are shot dead. Despite these risks about 7000 Tamil civilians have crossed over to the Government side so far.

All Sri Lankans are horrified by this merciless tactic of holding innocents hostage.  In order to facilitate their escape from the Mullaitivu area the Army held fire recently for 48 hours.  But, despite the government’s appeal to the Tigers to release the hostages, reports tell us that only 200 or so succeeded in the latest attempt. In contrast to the Tiger supporters’ accusations of “No food, No medicine”, the Government of Sri Lanka is doing its best to support the hostages.  For example, 157 metric tonnes of rations were taken by the Red Cross late last week.  Whether these supplies actually reached the Tamil population is unclear as there is no assurance that they were not confiscated by the Tiger leadership and its cadres. However. the government has no choice but to provide food and medical aid to the terrorists because if they don’t the innocent Sri Lankan citizens held captive will suffer. Imagine Israel providing food aid to Hamas!

Tamil Tiger supporters in Canada, along with sympathizers in various countries, began a concerted campaign a few months ago to bring a ceasefire to the conflict. The aim is to rescue Prabhakaran and the other Tiger leaders from the certain defeat they are facing. This worked before when the Indian Government intervened to save the monster (the Tamil Tigers) that it created in the early-1980s. Forget about the ‘concern’ for the civilians trapped in the Tiger hell-hole; they are useful props for the Eelam supporters who see their dream of a racially pure Tamil state vanishing.  If ‘concern’ for the civilians were genuine the demonstrators in Toronto and Edmonton would be screaming at the top of their lungs, “Let our people go!” instead of carrying lurid posters and making self-serving accusations.

In interviews and on posters, we note the frequent use of the word ‘genocide’ by the Tiger supporters.  This emotive reference is used very deliberately in order to trigger reactions in Canadians.  It is, however, an insult to the memory of Jews killed by Nazi Germany, the people of Rwanda exterminated in their hundreds of thousands, and the Cambodians murdered by Pol Pot.  How can the word genocide, implying ethnic cleansing, apply to a country where well over two million Tamils currently live in harmony with the Sinhalese as well as other minorities in the south of the island?  

Since the separatist war began a large number of massacres have taken place in Sri Lanka.  In 1983, inflamed by a terrorist act by the Tamil Tigers, there was one horrific act of bloodletting against Tamils when Sinhalese mobs rampaged killing a two thousand innocent Tamils.  This is seen in Sri Lanka as an act of national shame and stupidity and, despite countless provocations since, has never been repeated.  The provocations by the Tigers include the following: 700 policemen mowed down in waves at Elephant Pass (1991); 62 civilians including babies slaughtered at Dollar and Kent Farms (Nov., 1984); 146 shot dead as they prayed at a sacred site in Anuradhapura (May, 1985); 32 civilians killed by a land mine in a public bus (July, 1986); 113 killed and 298 injured by an IED in Colombo’s main bus stand (1987); 13 killed and 100s wounded, many blinded, by a terrorist attack on Colombo’s World Trade Centre building (1997), and many more.  And Tamil people have not escaped Tiger violence.   For example, the Tigers have killed all moderate Tamil leaders including several mayors of Jaffna and the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar. They also assassinated President Premadasa of Sri Lanka and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India.

Sri Lanka’s fight is NOT with the Tamil people but with the Tamil Tiger terrorists. We in SLUNA appeal to the Tamil diaspora to set aside partisanship and appeal, in the name of humanity, to Tiger supremo Prabhakaran to release the human shields he holds, to allow them to cross over to safety where there will be food, shelter, and medical assistance. The diaspora truly has the power to do so because the Tigers depend upon it for sustenance. The Tigers must not site their guns inside ‘safe zones’ nor undertake combat from those zones. Sri Lankan soldiers have been told to take extreme care to protect civilians; we trust they will do that. Our brothers and sisters, please join us in appealing to Velupillai Prabhakaran, “Let these people go!”.

And what can Canada do? The Harper Government struck a signal blow against international terrorism in Canada by banning the Tigers and their front, the WTM; this was much appreciated in Sri Lanka. How can we in Canada rail against the Taliban who set off IEDs against our troops in Afghanistan when Canadian Tamils fund the purchase of IEDs that kill innocents in Sri Lanka? The financial measures against terrorist fund-raising have been quite effective although much remains to be done in this area. So, for now, what Canada can do is wish Sri Lanka the very best of luck in its fight against the Tamil Tiger terrorists. Once the conflict is over and the threat of terrorism in Sri Lanka has disappeared Canada can open its purse to developing the blighted north of Sri Lanka, long under the Tamil Tiger jackboot. It can also assist in the restoration of civil society.