Rajiv Gandhi assassination:

LTTE's peak of ingratitude

Sukanya Ganapathy

ASSASSINATION: Internet edition of Daily News, Sri Lanka's leading English daily published in Colombo deserves to be merited as a document of key historical importance of the destructive features of political terrorism. Students of political history and sociology, for decades to come will consider this particular edition as an invaluable source of information reflecting the current time of deep crisis and the anarchy that threatens Sri Lanka.

There are two main stories, one of which has received editorial focus from the Daily News itself and two major Indian newspapers, The Hindu and The Indian Express (June 29, 2006). These deal with the apparent admission of the LTTE via its ideologue, Anton Balasingam, that the assassination of one of India's former prime ministers, was a monumental tragedy. He was seeking some kind of restitution, rather too late in time, for the LTTE that was proved beyond any doubt as being the culprits behind this act of terrible treachery.

The newspaper also quoted Justice M C Jain, who headed the commission of inquiry that went into the conspiracy aspects of the assassination, as saying that the LTTE's regret on the killing of the former prime minister was meaningless.

Quite appropriately the Daily News carried a feature by Meenakshi Iyer of the Hindustan Times of an interview with Dr Kaarthikeyan, former CBI director and head of the Special Investigation Team that probed the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. In this, Dr Kaarthikeyan pointedly stated that Balasingam's statement amounts to clear and definite confession on behalf of the LTTE, thus confirming his findings in the case were absolutely correct.

When he was asked for his reaction to Balasingam's latest statement, Dr Kaarthikeyan said: "I am not surprised at the confession of the LTTE. I knew from the beginning that was the truth and that was the only truth." He said further: "After the endorsement of the entire investigation by three eminent judges of the Supreme Court of India, the highest court of the largest democracy in the world, I was not waiting for any further endorsement from anyone, much less from the LTTE."

Referring to some of the self-seeking politicians in India who tried to derail and disrupt the investigation, he said that the admission of guilt by the unarguably deadliest terrorist group in the world gives him immense professional satisfaction.

Referring to the consequential impact of the assassination Dr Kaarthikeyan said: "It was Rajiv Gandhi who took an enormous interest and went out of the way to help solve the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis. To kill such a man brutally and treacherously is the peak of ingratitude and shortsightedness on the part of the LTTE."

"By killing Rajiv Gandhi," he emphasized, "they lost the best opportunity of achieving a homeland for Sri Lankan Tamils, with autonomy and with dignity within the united Sri Lankan nation. "Even today, more than ever before, implementation of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord conceived by Rajiv Gandhi is the only possible solution, to prevent further killings in a country which is in shambles after more than 65 thousand people have been killed in the ethnic violence since the last quarter of a century."

Dr Kaarthikeyan made it very clear that it is the failure of the Sri Lankan government to sincerely implement the Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987 that further precipitated the crisis. In a concluding remark, he said that it is well known to experts on terrorism and the LTTE, that this is a group that takes decision on its own and on the basis of its own judgment and perception of its interests.

When asked as to what the next step should be in respect of Balasingam's statement and whether the matter should be taken to the court of law, Dr Kaarthikeyan said: "The latest statement of Anton Balasingam does not in any way alter the legal situation. The charge-sheeted case against the absconding accused is still pending before the court of law."

The absconding accused are Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and another, a lady who has since deceased.

The Daily News also published a Hindustan Times news item in which Jaffna's pro-LTTE daily Sudar Oli challenged whether Balasingam indeed apologized for killing Rajiv Gandhi. Sudar Oli's position is typical of pro-LTTE tabloids not only in Jaffna but also among the Tamil Diaspora that take the position that the LTTE never kills, is never involved in any act of violence and is a law-abiding liberation movement.

These tabloid publishers and some radio and TV media groups in Canada, England, France and Australia have been taking the Tamil Diaspora for a ride far too long.

They merely cater to the revenge instincts of the Tamil Diaspora and also to serve the LTTE interests to raise funds. The LTTE is so deeply involved in the commercial activities of the Tamil Diaspora, it is in the best interests of the media groups to support the LTTE. This has nothing to do with the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka.

The second major item in this edition of the Daily News is a feature focus on the status of children in Sri Lanka, a hard-hitting exposure by the Subidcham editor, Satchi Sithananthan. on their exploitation as slaves, victims of paedophiles and soldiers. A popular website in English from Europe, Subidcham not only champions the cause of children in Sri Lanka but also is a relentless campaigner for a solution to the ethnic problem based on the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of 1987.

Subidcham has also stated in a number of its website features that the LTTE, a terror group, has no status whatsoever to be considered as the representative of the Tamils and should be outside any negotiating processes. The destiny of the Tamils should never be left to be decided by a band of brutal killers whose interests are only to set up a mafia state.

The writer is from Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu