• A life spent on perpetuating myths

• Plea to UN from Church in Vanni baseless

• Delay in pension payments

• Moratuwa clean up project

• Water supply to Panadura

A life spent on perpetuating myths

LTTE 'ideologue' Anton Stanislaus Balasingham alias 'Gobbels' Balasingham died a natural death. Nazi 'ideologue' Alfred Rosenberg was hanged. Rosenberg served a mass murderer (Hitler) who committed suicide before he was captured.

He called himself the Fuhrer (Leader). Balasingham served a mass murderer who is a fugitive from justice, having plotted the assassinations of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and many political and national figures in Sri Lanka.

If cancer had not claimed Balasingham's life his fate would never have been that of Rosenberg. In the latter's case even if he was not hanged, he would have without question ended up in prison like so many of the top German Nazis tried by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.

But Balasingham had no such fears. He would have never been and perhaps his 'Fuhrer' would never be tried by the International Criminal Court no matter the LTTE is banned in India, the USA, Canada, the European Union and now Australia and branded the world's most ruthless terrorist organisation.

In addition to the Norwegians and other foreign Tiger sympathizers, Sri Lanka's Tamil National Alliance and the 'peaceniks' there are many more Balasingham fans who would have definitely not liked the idea of him being hauled before the ICC.

There is also Rauff Hakeem, who calls himself a leader of Muslims - a community many of whose members the LTTE brutally murdered and drove the rest out of Jaffna.

Yet in conveying his condolences to Adele Balasingham, Hakeem says that she "had been an invaluable companion in Balasingham's illustrious and eventful passage to win autonomy for Tamils in Sri Lanka."

We must give the devil his due. The credit for perpetuating for over 20 years in international circles the myth that the LTTE was fighting to 'liberate' the so-called Tamil Homeland but was ready to accept a 'viable alternative' to separation goes to none other than Balasingham.

He effectively kept up the farce that the LTTE terrorists were amenable to peace at any time, thus driving successive Sri Lankan Governments repeatedly into internationally manipulated peace traps - from Thimpu to Geneva II.

His success in this area can be seen not only in the continuous international pressure applied on the Government to bend over backwards to accommodate the LTTE but also getting the foreign media to term every Sinhala political party and leader that opposed the LTTE a 'hardliner' or a 'hawk.'

The Western media's response to Mahinda Rajapaksa's victory in the last Presidential elections is a clear example. And imagine the unarmed JHU in Parliament being called a hawk while the LTTE which is armed to the teeth, engages in continuous violence and tolerates no opposition is termed a 'liberation' movement!

Balasingham successfully convinced the International Community that it is the Government that should be flexible rather than the LTTE in any peace negotiation.

His biggest achievement however was to make (especially in the early years of separatist terrorism in Sri Lanka) to make the LTTE look respectable in the eyes of foreign Governments while it resorted to mass murder in Sri Lanka.

At the same time, he made the world believe that every military action by the State against the terrorists was an act of genocide against the Tamils! (If this was the case there would not be a single Tamil left in Sri Lanka now).

This is the strategy that made the Tigers different from terrorist organisations like the Al Qaeda, which does not care a hoot for respectability among Westerners.

The IRA, the Basque separatists, the Red Brigades and the Al Qaeda have all very often publicly claimed responsibility for terrorist acts.

In contrast, the LTTE would never willingly admit any of its terrorist attacks on civilians anywhere - within or outside Sri Lanka - since their main source of funding is the Tamil Diaspora in the West.

To keep the LTTE in the good books of European and American Governments and international human rights organisations was Balasingham's primary objective although in recent years he miserably failed in the attempt because of the LTTE's own misdeeds.

This is something which greatly troubled him during his last years. Perhaps it is the reason for him to apologize to the Indian Government for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.

The Vanni Fuhrer is now without the brains that guided him in foreign relations. He is sad not only because Bala died but also because he cannot attend the funeral in London. Perhaps he is regretting that he did not help Ranil Wickremesinghe to win last year's Presidential election.

Had Ranil been President there is absolutely no doubt that he would have provided an aircraft to bring Balasingham's body from London to the Vanni to be buried there according to his last wishes.

Then Prabhakaran would pay his last respects to 'Bala Annai' and appeal to his cadres to continue the Tamil 'liberation struggle' drawing inspiration from 'Annai's life.

Perhaps Sri Lanka's National Television Service - the Rupavahini Corporation - would have telecast the entire proceedings of the funeral on 'President' Wickremesinghe's orders.

After all it was during Wickremesinghe's premiership that the Rupavahini had semi-documentary on Prabhakaran's love affair with Madivadini, who is now his wife.

Without question the funeral would have been an impressive ceremony. And the LTTE cadres would have given the fascist salute as they did in some Pongu Thamil ceremonies a couple of years ago. And the `peace brigade' from Colombo too would have perhaps attended the funeral.

JANAKA PERERA - Mount Lavinia - via email

Plea to UN from Church in Vanni baseless

THE Catholic Messenger in its issue of December 3 carried in its front page a news item under the heading 'Urgent plea to the UN from North'. I read this news item twice because of its importance and to understand the views of the Justice and Peace sub-Commission of the Church in the Vanni.

They have highlighted the closure of the A9 Road. They say the opening of the A9 road and all other roads leading to Tamil areas was a decision worked out in the Ceasefire Agreement signed between the Sri Lanka Government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

This is the only sentence in that news item where they mentioned 'Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam'. I may ask the Church in the Vanni whether the Ceasefire Agreement exists now.

This news item is full of allegations levelled at the Government and the Security Forces and not a single allegation against the LTTE.

Although they highlight the closure of the A9 Road, they have not indicated as to why the Government took this decision to close the A9 Road.

They say "It has prevented the free flow of food, medicine and other essential items to the North." But they have not uttered a word about who prevented the free flow of such items when the Government was sending hundreds of lorry loads of food, medicine and other items.

In fact 12 noon news release on ITN on December 3 Government said that they have sent lorry loads of food and other essential items to the North. This is in addition to what they sent by ship.

They also say people are abducted by the Security Forces and they are made to disappear or killed. But they do not speak about the killings of the LTTE. The LTTE killed a Parliamentarian who was attending the mid-night mass on Christmas Day.

The LTTE has also killed several innocent people who do not fall in line with their views or opinion. How many destructive, inhuman and barbaric murders have been committed by the LTTE in the past. No mention of the LTTE's such activities in this news item.

Their plea to the United Nations is completely distorted and unilateral. In short, it appears to me that the Justice and Peace Sub-Commission of the Church in the Vanni has made this plea to the United Nations on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in order to please Prabhakaran.

T. J. Victor Silva - Ja-ela

Delay in pension payments

I am a retired Local Government officer 94-years-old now residing in Australia.

I received my pension from July 1972 up to the end of November 2005.

I complied with all the requirements of the Local Government Pensions Dept. in Maligawatte, including the Live certificate from the Sri Lanka High Commission in Australia.

In addition to normal letters, I wrote three registered letters to the Director Local Government Pensions Dept. Maligawatte as my pensions have not been paid for 11 months up till now - with no replies from them.

As my letters were all in English, will it not be better to staff some of the Local Government Pensions Department with English speaking staff for correspondence overseas.

M. PIYASENA - Australia - via email

Moratuwa clean up project

I am so pleased to read about a clean up project, leave alone Moratuwa, anywhere in Sri Lanka. (Reference DN Dec. 16) A vigorous public education campaign is very important.

Utilize the media, have seminars at public and private organisations, and of course do not forget our schoolchildren. Changing the attitude of the public will be difficult.

Once the project is in operation, you may have to introduce a fine on people who drop garbage on the roadside. I wish your pilot project to be successful, and the rest of the country will follow suit. Good luck.

DAYAL PRAGNARATNE - via email

Water supply to Panadura

This is with reference to my letter under the caption 'Poor water supply in Panadura' published in the Daily News of 22.05.2006.

With the commissioning of the 1st phase of the Kaluganga Water Supply Project from October 13 the residents of Panadura are assured of an uninterrupted supply during day and night.

On behalf of the residents of Panadura I wish to thank the Government, Urban Development and Water Supply Minister, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and all concerned for having solved the water problem in Panadura which has existed for nearly a decade.

H. W. GOONESEKERA - Panadura