Ceasefire in Manipay muddle

Troops of the second battalion of the Army's Military Intelligence Corps (MIC) were on duty at their headquarters near Manipay-Sandilipay Road in the Jaffna peninsula last Tuesday (February 11). It adjoins the Civil Affairs Office that caters to many a public need.

Dusk was enveloping the area when soldiers saw a group of guerrillas - two females and six males - peddling away in their direction. The female cadres were the first to arrive. One of them wore a web belt, the type worn with uniforms, not only by the military but also by guerrilla cadres with their Tiger stripe fatigues.

The Army says she was asked to remove it on the grounds that it was part of military uniform. Their male colleagues soon joined in and an argument ensued. They argued no one could prevent them from wearing belts or moving along freely along the roads in Jaffna peninsula. Troops say they asked help from the Manipay Police to have the belt removed. They had replied they have received no orders to do so. Then the troops backed out and the episode ended there.

The next morning, (February 12) a larger group of guerrilla cadres - 12 males and six females - arrived at the sentry point in the same area. What followed in the next few hours has become the subject of the latest dispute between the Government and Tiger guerrillas.

According to Security Force Headquarters in Jaffna, it all began when two guerrillas started berating the soldiers in Tamil about the previous day's incident. The SFHQ, Jaffna, says two Tamil speaking soldiers had come to the scene and asked the group to leave the area without creating further trouble. A guerrilla had squeezed the neck of a soldier and had to be helped out by a colleague. Just then, another guerrilla had struck a hard blow on the latter with a wooden pole. Both soldiers had been injured. In a scuffle that ensued, more soldiers sustained injuries. By then troops had removed the web belt worn by a Tiger guerrilla female cadre.

Barely an hour later, nearly 200 civilians who collected in the area, supported by guerrilla cadres, began blocking roads. They raised cries over the Army enforcing a ban on the use of belts by female cadres. They demanded that the Army withdraw not only from Manipay but also from areas they occupy in the High Security Zones - a campaign that has been gaining momentum in the recent weeks. Ole Brondum, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna had also rushed to the spot.

It was close upon noon and Police riot squads began to arrive at the scene from Kankesanthurai followed by men from the Manipay Police. As they took up position, crowds swelled. Reports began to reach SFHQ, Jaffna that an attempt may be made to attack the MIC Headquarters. Whether these reports were credible or otherwise is not clear. But two Special Forces teams were rushed to the scene where the atmosphere was very tense.

Special Forces men pushed their way through the crowds and Tiger guerrillas to reach the MIC Headquarters. Needless to say both the Police riot squad and the Special Forces teams had to use force thus triggering off an ugly situation. They were worried the crowds would break into the camp. Many a civilian and even local journalists covering the incident were not spared. In the melee, a soldier wrenched off a web belt worn by a guerrilla female cadre. Angry crowds began throwing stones and other objects at the Police and the Army. Many suffered injuries.

When the tussle ended, both sides were accusing each other. The Army said Tiger guerrillas organised the crowds and provoked them to stage the protest. They had wanted to attack the camp or so the Army argued. The guerrillas in turn accused the Army and the Police of over reacting to the situation. They said both their cadres and the public were subject to harsh and sometimes-brutal treatment, something that went against the spirit of the ongoing peace talks.

By the same evening, SLMM Chief, Mr Brondum had moved into to diffuse a potentially serious situation. He summoned a conference at his office. Taking part, among others were, Security Forces Commander, Jaffna, Maj. Gen. Sarath Fonseka and Mr Ilampirathi, LTTE's Political Wing leader in the Jaffna peninsula. Samples of belts worn by female cadres were produced at the discussion. Mr. Ilampirathi argued that the forced removal of the web belt was like removing the medals of a military person. These belts were "earned" by guerrilla cadres after their individual performance. Hence the removal amounted to a loss of honour, he argued.

But, Army Headquarters had issued written orders to the SFHQ in Jaffna in January, this year, not to permit guerrilla cadres to move around wearing web belts. Whilst issuing these orders, Army Headquarters also asked the Ministry of Defence to urge the Ministry of Interior to direct the Police also to follow suit. This was, as a SFHQ source in Jaffna said, on the basis that a Uniform Ordinance made it "unlawful for any person not serving in the armed forces to wear, without the President's permission the uniform of any armed forces, or any dress having the appearance or bearing any of the regimental or other distinctive marks of any such uniform."

The Sunday Times learnt that the head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Gen. Trond Furuhovde, had ruled that wearing "military type web belts" contravened article 1 of the Ceasefire Agreement that deals with the modalities of a ceasefire. In terms of an SLMM directive that became effective from February 1, this year, the Security Forces are to instruct Police not to permit female guerrilla cadres to enter GOSL (Government of Sri Lanka) controlled area if they wore military type belts. The Police were asked to remove such belts. In this instance, the responsibility of removing such belts has been placed in the hands of the Police.

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle has appointed a three-member Court of Inquiry headed by Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Lohan Gunawardena and comprising two other officers in the rank of Colonel to probe the Manipay incident. Among matters they will investigate and report will be whether troops followed laid down procedures and whether they resorted to excess force. A similar Police inquiry is also expected.

The Manipay incident did not end there. On Friday, a crowd of over a 1,000, including some guerrilla cadres in civvies, marched from near the Public Library to the Naga Vihare junction to demonstrate opposite the SLMM's Jaffna office over the Manipay incidents. Earlier, crowds burnt tyres on the streets in Manipay, Mirisuvil, Chavakachcheri and other towns in the peninsuala. Outside the SLMM office, they burnt effigies of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and SF Commander, Jaffna, Maj. Gen. Sarath Fonseka.

Besides triggering off public protests over the Manipay incidents, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had also succeeded in seeking the cancellation of the official opening of the Public Library in Jaffna scheduled for Friday. All these developments are in the Government controlled Jaffna peninsula and not in LTTE dominated Wanni.

And now comes reports that guerrilla leader, Velupillai Prabhakan, has ordered his female cadres not to remove their web belts when they move around in the peninsula. In other words, it amounts to a directive to defy military moves to enforce a ban on these belts worn by guerrilla cadres. The guerrilla leader has also asked his senior political leaders to raise issue with the Government on the need to take disciplinary action against the soldiers involved in the Manipay incident.

A move by the guerrillas to defy the ban on military type web belts in the Jaffna peninsula will no doubt place them on a collision course with the Army. Only the coming days and weeks will show how this new issue, a year after the ceasefire agreement, will be sorted out.

But it comes in the immediate backdrop of the Kayts incident where three Sea Tiger cadres committed suicide after SLMM monitors found weapons, including an anti-aircraft gun on board (Situation Report - February 9). In this instance, SLMM monitors changed their previously agreed procedure not to board guerrilla vessels after instructions arrived from Berlin. The suicide incident came soon after they boarded the trawler for inspection.

Now, the SLMM has said they would resort to their previous decision in future and not board LTTE vessels. Hence, inspection of such vessels under suspicious circumstances, particularly during times when there are reports of weapons being smuggled, falls on the Navy. During the Delft incident, the Sea Tigers resisted Navy personnel coming on board. In the Kayts incident, Sea Tiger leaders went to the extent of ordering their three men aboard to commit suicide after destroying the trawler in a bid to prevent it from falling into Navy hands.

What if a similar situation occurs in the coming days or weeks?

With SLMM monitors on board Naval vessels choosing not to board LTTE vessels, it would become the Navy's responsibility to do so. This will inevitably lead to a confrontation situation. It seems unlikely Sea Tiger leaders would order their men to destroy their boats and commit suicide on every such occasion. The next logical scenario would be a direct confrontation between the guerrillas and the Navy.

Hence, two incidents, one at sea (off Delft Island) and the other on land (in Manipay) coming within just one week, raises a crucial question though UNF leaders are quick to re-assure that peace talks remain very much on track. They are not wrong when they say the peace talks, under Norwegian facilitation, will go on uninterrupted. But are the others wrong in asking whether the Tiger guerrillas are also at the same time on a collision course outside the negotiating table, both at sea and on land?

More so, with a public admission their Chief Negotiator, Dr. Anton Balasingham, has made to Tamil expatriates in Dusseldorf, Germany, soon after the last round of peace talks in Berlin had ended. (See box story on this page for excerpts.)

He has said, " do not think that we have hopes that a solution could be arrived at through negotiations. You may ask why we are talking to the Government. That is because we want to expose the truth to the international community, to the entire world. This is a good opportunity to prove that the Government is not honest."

That is not all. He has admitted, "we are acquiring weapons, recruiting people, training people and also using this opportunity to improve our economy."

The media, that was revealing these developments long before, were being accused of attempting to disrupt the peace process through what was touted as false and mischievous propaganda - a campaign of killing the messenger. And now, Dr. Balasingham has bared it all. He has also disclosed something much more important.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has launched a Tamil Eelam Financial Project and called upon the Tamil expatriate community to contribute to it without raising questions. He has said this money will be "used in case of emergency." I am not making this disclosure. It is Anton Balasingham, the Chief Negotiator of the LTTE who is talking peace with the UNF Government.

I would only add that that the financial project, unlike international donor contributions for rehabilitation work, is to further strengthen the LTTE militarily, to procure more sophisticated weapons and smuggle them into Sri Lanka. It is to remain more militarily superior to the Sri Lankan security forces whose preparedness, unlike the soaring cost of living, is plummeting down rapidly. Should anything more be said?

LTTE has not dropped Eelam goal, says Balasingham

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) wants "self rule" as in other countries having a "federal set up" but have not dropped their "Tamil Eelam goal." If "self rule" is not given to them under a "federal set up" they would have "no alternative, other than to form a separate government," Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham has told Tamil expatriates living in Germany.

His remarks came when he spoke at a meeting in the German town of Dusseldorf last Sunday (February 9), the day after the latest round of peace talks with the UNF Government delegation ended at the Royal Norwegian Consulate in Berlin.

A correspondent from the Colombo based pro LTTE Tamil daily Sudar Oli, who covered the peace talks later reported on this event. Here are edited excerpts of Dr Balasingham's speech from a translation of the Sudar Oli report of February 11.

"Countries that branded us as a terrorist organisation earlier are now giving us a grand welcome every month. We have now been called to Germany. This is a diplomatic move by us. It is the result of talks we have had (with the UNF Government) during last five months. There have been no deaths, no loss or damage to property.

"But the (Ceasefire) Agreement reached between the LTTE and the Government has not yielded full results. Forced occupation continues. Our cultural city of Jaffna continues to be occupied by the Army. They are exercising military pressure. More than 40,000 troops are in temples, public buildings and schools. Under the guise of High Security Zones (HSZ), the lives of the people have been shattered. Not only houses, even farming lands have been occupied.

"Accordiang to the agreement, the Army should have vacated these places. Every month we have been reminding the government, but their response is very poor. They come out with the excuse that if they shrink the security zones, it would be a threat to them.

An organisation known as SIHRN (Sub Committee on

Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs) has been set up to look into the interest of the internally displaced persons but money and facilities have not been provided. Hence people cannot still return to their original homesteads. We cannot be satisfied that we have achieved peace. We have started the peace process to restore normalcy among the people and improve their quality of life. But we cannot say that our people are living happily.

"The Government is maintaing double standards. At the centre the parliamentary power is with the Prime Minister and executive power is with the Preident. We are talking with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. Even the security forces are under the President. Agreements reached at the talks cannot be implemented as the President, who is head of the security forces, is giving orders to block the decisions being implemented.

"There is division among Sinhala politicians. Chauvinist and Buddhist monks are creating problems. That is why the Sinhala leadership cannot accept our fundamental rights. They are in an unstable situation. We cannot expect a speedy result from the peace process.

"In the past we were involved in talks in a non-violent way, unarmed and politely. Today we are talking on same equal status. We are equal to the Army that has many battalions. We have taught them we cannot be defeated by power of weapons. Even if these talks fail our Tamil nation will never be weakened. It will not affect us. This time the international community is closely watching. They are providing us venues for talks. This shows the enthusiasm shown to the peace process. The government, like in the past, cannot cheat us. There is a facilitator. They know the contents of the talks.

"The Tamils want to live with dignity and respect. We are asking for justice. We are asking for very reasonable demands so we can have self-rule. We do not like to divide the country. We are not terrorists. What we are asking is to give us self-rule as in other countries that have a federal set up. The international community - the United States, Britain and the European Union - have accepted this position. However, some elements involved in propaganda against us claim we have dropped the Eelam goal. That is not correct.

"Our leader has very clearly stated this in his Martyr's Day speech. He said self-rule should be given to us under a federal set up. If this is denied, we have no alternative, other than to form a separate government. This is not an emotional demand, but is politically and scientifically correct.

"The Government is in trouble due to our demand. There is a complicated situation as I have trapped them with this demand of a self-rule. This is a drama where Balasingham is also acting. There is an engine and the leader has connected two compartments - fomer LTTE Jaffna Commander (Tamil Selvan) and present Eastern Commander (Karuna). They have experience only in destroying. Therefore it is difficult to control them and keep them calm at the negotiating table.

"This journey is a diplomatic move. We are moving towards a goal. We cannot continue war for a long period. Our fighters and the people want an interlude. We need this to build the economy and the quality of life of our people. We also need an opportunity to tell the international community why we took to arms. We are making use of this interlude, travelling from country to country to explain. Earlier, the entire world had neglected and cornered us.

"Jaffna Security Forces Commander want us to surrender our heavy weapons as a pre-conditon for re-settlement in the HSZ. President Kumaratunga has endorsed this demand. Do not ask us the weapons. We will not give it. We have gone from house to house around the world to collect money from you. We have purchased weapons with this money. This is not a secret. With these weapons we have been able to defeat the Army and collect more weapons. We have sacrificed the lives of 18,000 of our cadres. Therefore these weapons belong to the Tamil community.

"Until a just solution is reached we are not ready to hand over weapons. If the Government has the courage to demand our weapons, why don't they come and take them. We know they will not. They will not want to lose their remaining weapons. No forces, either diplomatically or politically, can compel us to lay down arms. Since the Sinhala leadership has cheated us in the past, we are not foolish to surrender weapons.

"We have been able to recruit more cadres to to strengthen our forces. Our leader has sent a special message calling you to contribute to the Tamil Eelam Financial Project. This money will be used in case of emergency. Do not raise questions about the project. When we achieve results you will be surprised. The Sinhala nation has not only destroyed itself but also tries to destroy others. If there is no foreign aid, there is no future government.

"But our position is different. Though the Tamil nation has been destroyed by the war, you are the backbone of our economy. Day to day our community is rising up. The Sinhala nation has already understood this reality. They are not in a position to fight the war. They do not have the courage to sacrifice. There are many deserters. Though they have had military assistance from United States, India and Pakistan, they still could not beat the Tigers for the past 20 years. The international community brought pressure on them to stop the war and talk peace. The Government had no alternative.

"Do not think we have hopes that a solution could be arrived at through negotiations. You may ask why are we talking to the Government. That is because we want to expose the truth to the international community, to the entire world. This is a good opportunity to prove that the government is not honest.

"We understand that President Kumaratunga does not like to find a solution in a non violent manner. That is the reason she is trying to topple the Government.

"We are acquiring weapons, recruiting people, training people and also using this opportunity to improve our economy. But the Sinhala nation is not. Their economy has collapsed. Even during the peace process there are deserters from the Army. They cannot match our military. They are losing control of the situation. But Mr. Wickremasinghe cannot understand this.

"Before the situation worsens, President Kumaratunga is trying to dissolve the Government. President has two more years. Before that she wants to overthrow Mr. Wickremasinghe. We are expecting snap polls. Even if the election is held we are not going to return to war immediately. We will continue with the cease-fire. The theme for this election will be peace or war. Let the Sinhala people decide whether they want war or peace.

"If Mr. Wickremsinghe forms a government, we will continue talks with them. Do not think we are going through smooth negotiations. But we will try our best to continue."

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