Sunday, 02nd November 2014
By Shenali D Waduge
The UN investigative panel was mandated to conduct investigation during the period of the LLRC. That was between 2002 and 2009. The UNHRC has given itself an additional two years. With the LTTE designated as a foreign terrorist organization and following Sri Lanka proscribing 16 LTTE fronts and declaring 424 individuals incorporating the UNSC Resolution 1373 as supporting LTTE terrorists and with the UN Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee head in Colombo, the UNHRC cannot omit from investigation and comment in its March 2015 report the links between LTTE and the Tamil National Alliance and the LTTE Tamil Diaspora now banned.
TNA links with the LTTE and pro-LTTE groups
1. An unregistered alliance of Tamil political parties formed on October 22, 2001 before the Norwegian backed ceasefire agreement of 2002 and immediately after the 9/11 attacks and the war on terror.
2. It was after the October 2000 Parliamentary elections that LTTE realized that it was losing its grip in both the North and East where its people were not getting represented. Even Sampanthan was not elected in Trincomalee.
3. LTTE formed TNA to promote LTTE’s political interests both in Sri Lanka and Abroad
4. At the beginning, TNA comprised -
A. All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC)
B. Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF)
C. Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO)
D. Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)
5. TNA were political stooges of the LTTE and were directly controlled by the LTTE.
6. TNA-LTTE rigged votes in the 2004 elections – the 2002 ceasefire allowed LTTE to manoeuvre itself islandwide and set up TNA offices that ‘employed’ LTTE cadres to do propaganda work for the TNA which in reality was promoting LTTE agenda.
7. TNA took oaths in front of Prabakaran despite taking oath to safeguard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka as per Sri Lanka’s Constitution.
8. It was the LTTE who chose candidates for the General Election of 2004 – LTTE even fielded its nominees under the parties that constituted the TNA. When TNA won 22 seats, the TNA winners were all summoned to Wanni and given strict orders by the LTTE and Sampanthan was selected as the TNA Parliamentary group leader.
9. TNA-LTTE rigged elections : 5000 LTTE ‘volunteers’ helped rigged polls and TNA won in North and East (election rigging by TNA with LTTE for the 2004 general elections needs to be investigated).
10. TNA MPs have abused their Parliamentary privileges to transport LTTE cadres and thus escape checking by security forces. TNA MPs are also accused of violating Parliamentary privileges and Sri Lanka’s Constitution by carrying out LTTE propaganda and participating in pro-LTTE events overseas in spite of these organizations being banned and linked to LTTE.
11. TNA MPs have been called to attend meetings headed by LTTE leaders in the Wanni pre-2009 and covering the UN investigation period thus the UN investigators are bound to look into not only the ties between the LTTE-TNA but how far the LTTE ruled over the TNA.
Evidence of LTTE-TNA links
1. LTTE and TNA demands are virtually one and the same – refer the manifestos/refer TNA speeches in Tamil/and most importantly at NO TIME throughout LTTE reign of terror has any TNA member condemned LTTE atrocities publicly. At no time has the TNA appealed for the LTTE to release civilians that LTTE kept as human shields/hostages. At no point in time did TNA give a single packet of rice to poor Tamils to claim concern for them.
2. 2001 TNA election manifesto declared LTTE as the ‘sole Tamil national entity’ and the ‘sole representative of the Tamil people’ and that LTTE had the right to negotiate on behalf of the Tamil people.
3. 2004 TNA election manifesto declared
A. “Accepting the LTTE’s leadership as the national leadership of ‘Tamil Eelam’ Tamils and the Liberation Tigers as the sole and authentic representative of the Tamil people, let us devote our full cooperation for the ideals of the Liberation Tigers’ struggle with honesty and steadfastness. Let us endeavor determinedly, collectively as one group, one nation, one country, transcending race and religious differences, under the leadership of the LTTE, for a life of liberty, honor and justice for the Tamil people.”
B. 2004 EU Election Observation Mission Chief John Cushnahan released the EU report on June 17, 2004 clearly establishing the LTTE-TNA alliance. “Firstly, the LTTE intended that no other rival Tamil party (or Tamil candidate from the mainstream political alliances) to the TNA would be able to claim to represent Tamil interests. A chilling message to this effect was sent early in the campaign when a UNP candidate and an EPDP activist were murdered. Incidents such as this seriously restricted the right of the parties other than the TNA to campaign freely in the Northern and Eastern Districts. During the 2004 elections, the major incidents of violence was perpetrated by the LTTE, whereas at the earlier elections; the primary source of the violence (although not all), were the two largest political parties.”
A letter by Anandasangaree to the Indian Prime Minister dated October 2, 2014 declares that LTTE made use of S. Senathirajah, the President of the ITAK, to strengthen their position. Anandasangaree also accuses Senathirajah of unfairly reviving ITAK “”TULF MP Mavai Senathirajah who is in the process of reviving the Federal Party visited Killinochchi and had meetings with the LTTE Deputy Political Commissar Thangan on 14-10-2003. The revival of the Federal Party is being undertaken at the behest of the LTTE”.
1. TNA is also associated with Rudrakumaran, the head of the TGTE both organizations and leader proscribed under UNSC 1373. Both TNA and GTF were invited by the African National Congress to its Centenary Celebrations. TNA MP Sumanthiran gave BBC a statement, “We are trying for a political solution that recognizes Tamils as a nation and South Africa’s help will be vital for both the TNA and the government in achieving that”. The European INGO that funded the TNA visit to South Africa needs to be investigated.
2. TNA MP Sridharan and his brother have organized a Youth Front in Switzerland to gain support of Tamil youth in Sri Lanka and to that end he formed a Youth Front in Vavuniya on December 13, 2012 with TNA MP and head of ITAK Mavai Senathirajah. The Youth Front is named as ‘Federal Party Youth Front’.
3. TNA MP Sridharan has links with Nediyavan, Rudrakumaran, and Vinayagam – all named and banned by the GOSL in order to raise financial support and Reggie has sent money to MP Sridharan to look after Mahaveer families, LTTE disabled cadres and to start orphanages in the North. These actions are a direct threat to the national security of Sri Lanka.
4. TNA holds meeting with Global Tamil Forum head Father Emmanuel in South Africa on January 8, 2012. Global Tamil Forum is proscribed by GOSL and its head is also declared a LTTE supporter under UNSC Resolution 1373.
Thus not only is the Government of Sri Lanka bound to investigate TNA ties to LTTE and LTTE Tamil Diaspora but the UNHRC Investigation needs to in the light of its mandate period investigate the links as well. If the previous elections had been rigged that brought TNA initially to Parliament, do we not have every reason to suspect mischief at play in every election that TNA has won? If so, should both the GOSL and UNHRC not insist that an investigation be launched into TNA to establish once and for all if TNA continues to have ties to the LTTE and the LTTE Tamil Diaspora which is very much active?
