Trouble In Paradise

In the heart of tiger- controlled territory lies the village of Kilinochi- the heavily guarded headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

In an indepth interview, Leftenant Anbarasan, a Senior Intelligence official of the LTTE gives an insight into the elusive group and the way of life in their land.

What are the main goals of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam?	We are fighting for 3 principles 1.Safety of the language 2.Safety of homeland, place of residence, thats our land 3. Our nationality The sum total of these three aspects is our identity. This is what we are trying to preserve. We want to preserve our identity The Tamil identity should not be eroded neither should we be lost in time. No country, no people, no ethnic group or religion are willing to lose their identity and we are no different.
Essentially which do you value more- peace or achieving your goals?	We are committed to peace, but only if it peace can be gained on our requirements, Otherwise such peace without achieving our goals is meaningless. So peace, at our price.
Before the present hostilities, the Ceasefire Agreement was successful for a few years, how do you explain this?	It was successful because it was a respite. People were tired of the war, people wanted a breathing space, so they grabbed it with both hands. The peace, given by the 2 February 2002 peace accord was grabbed by the people with great glee because it gave them a break from the war which they suffered for so long. Any peace was good enough, that was the main belief of the people in the initial days of the ceasefire.
Why then the return to hostilities?	Because things went sour. The army refused to hand over people’s land which had been occupied by the army. Some of the best agricultural lands in the North, are now occupied being by the army. Some of best fisheries are in the north, but you can’t just get into the waters, people are not just allowed to fish. There is a security fence running around the entire Peninsula, barbed wires with gates. You have to go to the sea with permission of the army and the navy, get into the sea, fish for a few hours and get back in a stipulated time.
Presently as far as the LTTE are concerned is the country at peace or war?	Their is no war at present but their is a undeclared war now in process. Sporadic fights, sporadic attacks. People’s lives are being lost, properties are being destroyed and people are getting displaced one again. People are in flight. Particularly from the North to Tamil Nadu in South India. The people are risking their lives in doing so. They prefer to risk their lifes and cross the waters and go to India for the peace they seek rather then stay and lose their lives.
So what is the fundamental problem? Why is this war continuing?	The Sri Lankan government are not prepared to grant anything in the way of rights and concessions. Back in 1956 they said, ‘the Tamils have to take what we give’ Now even after the passage of half a century they’re not willing to change so we cant rely on the Sinhalese to peacefully render unto ourselves, the rights we seek So we have to pluck our rights from an unwilling giver.
The LTTE are known for using suicide bomb tactics and for the culture of martyrdom within the organization. Can you explain this pervasive logic?	Dying to win, that’s the logic behind martyrdom. Martyrdom is engrained in the Tamil psyche. Ancient Tamils believed in the martyr for a cause. I dont mean burning themselves, but they fought to the finish. In Ancient Tamil military theory, there was a band of people who were at the helm of affairs who were prepared to risk their lives for their king and their cause. Its part of the ancient tradition which had been lost for a time but had been revived by the Tigers.
Why use such violent means?	All peaceful means have been tried and found unsuccessful, this is our means of last to resort, their is no other way out for us. We have been decieved again and again. Everything had failed, we don’t call it violence, we are fighting for our rights.
How can you justify the civilian death toll?	Casualities are part of the struggle. It’s the price of war. Its a myth to say civilians don’t die in war. Indirectly they become participants, and they suffer. Its unavoidable.
How do you respond to the allegations that you extort money from Tamils overseas?	We dont indulge in extortion. How long could we really make money on extortion? The lady from Amnesty International who reported that was associating herself with the Sri Lankan government and ministry, the people who are opposed to us.We are not a mafia, or any such illegal organization who thrive on this extortion we are fighting for a cause and our people, the Diaspora mainly in fact.
If you are fighting for the Tamil identity albeit, mainly those in the disapora, what of the generations now who because of this war are being raised overseas and away from their ‘motherland’ and their culture. Surely that is the greatest threat to the Tamil identity?	We agree that a quite a large number of children are unaware of the struggle and at the same time unaware of the language of their mother tongue and all that. And their taking to the way of life of the countries that they're living in, is a regrettable thing but we are trying our best. Parents are making mistakes in the diaspora, for their own reasons they want children to learn the language of the country they reside in. . Some parents are not taking pains to make the children to learn the mother tongue and to live a tamil way of life. We are losing our cultural identity, the tamil life is lost, it is true, we admit that, but we are trying our best, the LTTE need to inculcate these people, the diaspora, the younger generation, a sense of cultural values and our identity. We are trying. Correlating, mixing and merging your native culture with the country in which you reside in, is a difficult choice but we have to bear it. We also have our own way of combating the loss of indentity among the younger generation. We opened tamil schools in places like germany, switzerland, canada. For children to go and study tamil. We have also tried a system of bringing these children together to the tamil motherland, that is the youth interchange program, that is sets of children are brought in rotation from the various countries of the world, they are allowed to mingle here and then they are sent back During the time they are here, they are given acquaintance with way of life. They learn the language and then they get back.
Would the independence you are fighting for be fully democratic or under a dictatorship under your current leader?	For a time until we get on our feet until er establish ourselves we will be ruled by one party. Perhaps totalitarian and the freedom of the people will be allowed under certain conditions. There will be no human rights abuses. Democracy will be an ultimately come after a length of time.
Can you tell me about some of the LTTE moral codes?	Law and Order is upheld by the Tamil Eelam police force where great emphasis is made on the rights of women. Women have the maximum protection under the law in Tamil Eelam. A woman can walk on the road safely without being intimidated or accosted. Female police officers work as equals with the males. The offence of rape is punishable with death that is why you don’t hear of such crimes in ltte controlled areas Caste difference is legally condemned and it is a crime to speak of caste. It is criminal offence in Tamil to differentiate on the basis of caste.
Could you explain the unusual LTTE salute?	We wanted to be different. We have this single arm gesture. The footwork is the same as any military organization. It’s a unique form of salutation that we ourselves have evolved. Instead of taking a palm to the forehead we take it the centre of the chest.
In such a religious country, and continent in fact, the LTTE is a particularly secular organization, can you explain that?.	We don’t want a society torn apart by religion. We have different religious denominations in our ranks but you don’t hear about it because we don’t wear out religion on our sleeve. It’s a personal matter and theres no need to make a fetish out of it. We can’t afford a religious disparity in our ranks. So our religion is our freedom. That is where we have subverted the religious urge.
Face to face with President Mahinda Rajapakse, what would you say?	Be sincere unto yourself. Think of the history that has passed over the last half century. Don’t make a futile attempt to once again subdue the people by force of arms , sit and talk. And mainly carry out the promises you make. Promises made in Geneva you broke immediately. The Tamil people have no confidence in you. Change that.