While Sri Lankan armed forces are about to eradicate the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) terrorism from Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger supporters from the world over seem to be hell-bent on saving them from their predicament. With this in mind, they have started bombarding the UN organizations and its personnel with e-mails (even the High Commissioner for Human Rights had noted how she had been inundated with such messages) accusing the Sri Lankan Government of committing a ‘genocide’ against Sri Lankan Tamils.
Mr. Chandika Indikadahena, a UN employee, who has also received such propaganda e-mails both in his personal and official e-mail accounts, has, in his personal capacity, written to other recipients of these e-mails (of which one is given below) repudiating categorically the false allegations made therein. We reproduce Mr. Indikadahena’s responses to some of these allegations here on the Mission’s website so that other recipients of those false propaganda e-mails, who are less aware of what’s really going on in Sri Lanka, will get a better understanding of the true situation and will not be duped into believing such total fabrications.
Propaganda e-mail:
Subject: Please Stop The Genocide of Tamils in Srilanka!
….His / Her Excellency,
ThankYou for expressing your interest in human rights watch.
Tamils(minority) Bleed in srilanka. Srilankan Armed Forces(SLAF) attacks with Cluster bombs, Fire bombs(Chemical Weapons) and Artillery barrage with Cluster Fitted Shells have been systematically deployed by the Srilankan Armed Forces on Tamil civilians targets.
The Tamil people(minority) are a nation in the island of Srilanka. The contiguous North-East part of the island is the traditional Homeland of the Tamil people.This Genocide history that started in 1956 has expanded today.More than 2,00,000 Tamil people(minority) have already been killed in this Genocidal history since 1956. Srilankan Armed Forces(SLAF) attacks on Tamils Refugee camps, Hospitals, Convents, Church & "Safty Zones".
Impose sanction on the Evil Regime of Rajapakse. For past few weeks from 50 to 100 Tamil civilians are daily getting killed attacks by the srilankan armed forces(SLAF). Tamil civilians dead bodies on road side in Vanni.
The Srilankan defence ministry ordered the ICRC to leave the war operating areas immediately as a part of their ongoing Genocide of Tamils.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lay down the arms, without a permanent political solution, when the Tamil people(minority) are facing a Horrendous Genocide. Srilankan Armed Forces(SLAF) have killed 2018 people in January & February in Vanni - said "The US based Human Rights Watch".
Kindly show your attention and ask you must take action to stop the Genocide of Tamils in Srilanka. The Tamil Eelam is only solution to Srilanka's Genocide of Tamils. Tamils need The WHO help immediately.
ThankYou very much.
Tuesday,10.Mar.2009.
India, Chennai.Yours Sincerely,
……
(Please open the Eyes! Action for Human Rights! Save in Hope!)
Mr. Indikadahena’s reply to the allegations made in the previous email:
Dear Sir,
I refer to the letter dated march 10, 2009 on the subject “The Genocide of Tamils & Immediate Cease Fire in Sri Lanka”, which was received by one of the WHO websites.
While it is frustratingly difficult to deal with the relentless propaganda of agents of terror bent on achieving their goals at whatever cost, the liberal use of the word genocide demands a reply. The following responses have been limited to the points that have been raised but as you may appreciate a situation as complex as this requires a more in depth look at the facts.
Allegation 1
“Tamils (minority) bleed in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) attack with Cluster bombs, fire bombs (Chemical Weapons) and Artillery barrage with Cluster Fitted Shells have been systematically deployed by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces on Tamil civilians targets.
Response
The Tamils are bleeding and deserve all our sympathy. However, it is not the government that is responsible for this outrage. It is their self appointed protectors, the Tigers that are responsible for their misery. Documented eye witness reports indicate that Tamil civilians are being forcibly held as a human shield to stall the military advance. They are shot at and killed if they tried to escape. The tigers are locating their heavy weapons amongst these civilians and firing at the government forces begging for thousands of casualties. Thus, the army is compelled to move with caution, abandon their heavy weapons and fight man to man increasing the casualties on the government side. There have been repeated calls from the UN, the US and the EU asking them to release the civilians, lay down their arms and join the democratic process. That will bring an immediate end to the war and the suffering of the civilians.
As to cluster bombs Sri Lankan army does not have and does not use cluster bombs which are illegal in international law. The United Nations spokesman Gordon Weiss said that they accepted the Sri Lankan statement that it did not have any facility to fire cluster munitions.
Concerning chemical weapons : LTTE has already had built up stocks of Cyanide and Potassium during the ceasefire period and 3,600 litres of sulphuric acid were found in their territory as well as 728 litres of Thyonile Chloride was found hidden amongst a toy shipment. Thyonile Chloride can be converted to a chemical weapon substance that can create a choking effect. Sri Lankan army has no chemical weapons.
Allegation 2
The Tamil people (minority) are a nation in the island of Srilanka. The contiguous North-East part of the island is the traditional Homeland of the Tamil people. This Genocide history that started in 1956 has expanded today. More than 2,00,000 Tamil people (minority) have already been killed in this Genocidal history since 1956. Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) attacks on Tamils Refugee camps, Hospitals, Convents, Church & "Safety Zones".
Response
The Tamil people are a minority of around 2.5 m and constitute 12% of the population. Other minorities groups are Muslims, Malays, Chinese, Indians and burghers. The Sinhalese constitute almost 80% of the population. For this 12% they seek a separate state of 1/3 of the land and 2/3 of the coast.
As to the claim of genocide, more than half of this 2.5 million Tamils, are living amongst the Sinhala majority in the rest of the country enjoying equal status as all the citizens. In the commercial capital Colombo in particular nearly 1/3 of the population is Tamil.
Genocide on the contrary has been practiced by the Tigers systematically eliminating from “their regions” all other communities so that today there is not one Sinhalese, Muslim, Burgher, Malay or Indian in those areas. Today the president promises the Muslims living as refugees in the south to go back to their homes 20 years after having been chased out by the tigers. See http://www.defence.lk/news/Atro.xml for the more prominent attacks conducted by the Tigers, in particular, note the massacre in 1985 of 120 nuns and other devotees in meditation and prayer at the Sri Maha Bodhi, the most sacred of Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka. In 1998, an LTTE suicide bomber exploded a load of explosives to destroy the second most sacred site of Buddhists, Sacred temple of the tooth relic, killing many civilian devotees.
Allegation 3
The Sri Lankan defence ministry ordered the ICRC to leave the war operating areas immediately as a part of their ongoing Genocide of Tamils.
Response
ICRC is very much operating in the war zone and their ship was shelled by tigers on March 9, 2009 as they brought food and supplies provided by the government of Sri Lanka to the Tamil civilians sheltering in the safe zone.
Allegation/Statement 4
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [won’t] lay down the arms, without a permanent political solution, when the Tamil people (minority) are facing a Horrendous Genocide. Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) have killed 2018 people in January & February in Vanni - said "The US based Human Rights Watch".
Response
Every time there has been a ceasefire, the Tigers have used it to reorganize and rearm to become one of the most ruthless terror organizations in the world banned in several countries including the USA, the EU and India, for their use of suicide bombings, child recruitment, assassinations of Tamil and Sinhala leaders as well as Rajiv Gandhi, the former prime minister of India. With the support of the cease fires and the enormous amount of foreign funds from the diaspora as well as the Tsunami reconstruction funds, they built a huge arsenal of weapons comparable to any conventional army. They are the only terror group in the world with air, sea power and now even underwater capability. They had 7 runways and estimated to have 5 planes, two of which were used to bomb in 9/11 style, the city of Colombo (fortunately with little damage) recently on February 20th 2009.
During the last cease fire between 2002-2006, 6 rounds of peace talks were held including several in Geneva. Each time, their intransigence and the lack of willingness to accept anything short of a 'separate state' resulted in the failure of the peace talks. Between February 22, 2002 to 30.4.2007, the Sri Lanka monitoring mission reported that Tigers committed 3830 violations of the cease fire as compared to 351 violations by the government of Sri Lanka. The government was thus pushed into this latest war with even greater determination than ever to rid this cancer from its soil.
It has been clearly stated by many independent international observers (one such analysis is found at http://www.mackenzieinstitute.com/2009/genocide-talk020609.htm) that LTTE is NOT a representative of the Tamils in Sri Lanka
Statement 5
The Tamil Eelam is only solution to Sri Lanka's Genocide of Tamils.
Response
The government is very mindful that a military solution is not the answer and is very committed to implementing a political solution which it has not been able to do with a terror group that is committed to only one solution and one way of achieving it. The majority community also have their aspirations which cannot be forgotten while facing the barrel of a gun. They oppose overwhelmingly the carving out of a separate state but are comfortable with a greater devolution of power to all provinces.
Conclusion
The people of Sri Lanka, be they Tamil, Sinhalese or Muslim crave overwhelmingly for peace which is only possible if the Tigers are eliminated and they fully support the efforts of the government. We are an ancient multi ethnic, multi religious country and proud of it. This is not a war between the Tamil and Sinhalese people who have lived for a thousand years in relative harmony. This is a war against one of the most ruthless terror groups the world has ever known.
A concerned party