A battle of humanity Vs inhumanity

Ranil WIJAYAPALA

A woman being carried to the safe area

All the tales of misery, agony and horror they experienced are carved in their faces as they were leaving the hell they were living as the LTTE was drawing out their last breath when the valiant troops surrounded them in the last terrain in Karayanmullivaikkal in Mullaitivu.

Not that they were allowed to leave but they were rescued by the valiant troops of the Sri Lanka Army after fighting a battle which dragged on for months due to concerns of the lives of these innocent civilians trapped inside this so-called ‘safe zone’.

Not at all did I feel a need of an interpreter to learn their tales of horror, nor did I need any briefing from the troops operating there or from a Tiger cadre hiding deep inside the safe zone to understand what was going on there.

The atmosphere and the facial expressions of civilians described it all.

Last batch of civilians

But it was with great relief I observed the final hours of this 26 year-long conflict that engulfed the North and East. The banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon facing the Vadduvakkal causeway gave me a good view to observe the last batch of civilians arriving in the military controlled areas across this narrow causeway.

The old, maimed and injured were included in the last lot and were slowly moving through the Vadduvakkal bridge across the Nanthikadal lagoon as the huge influx of civilians thinned out into dozens as if they were stepping into a different country. The elderly without help were crawling whilst maimed and the injured were moving on crutches and wheel chairs.

It was so pathetic to observe the scene but heartening to see soldiers offering their bottled water to this hapless crowd seeking protection at the last leg of the battle and were carrying them on their shoulders for immediate treatment.

That was the paradox in this war. It was a humanity versus inhumanity battle.

At last, these Tamil civilians breathed the air of freedom and the Sri Lankan Nation has got only a few hours left to liberate the last inch of the land under the LTTE control on that eve, on May 17,2009.

Historic occasion

The occasion was so historic for me as a person who observed the way the LTTE made its first attempt to defeat Security Forces in Trincomalee South in the wee hours of August 2,2006 and take control of Trincomalee South in their bid to cut off vital links between the South and the Jaffna peninsula, while the Mavil Aru humanitarian operation was in progress.

The two years and 10 months brought disasters to the LTTE while the Security Forces fought this battle explicitly displaying humanity towards the Tamil community even at this very last moment.

It was horrific to learn that the international community, trying to charge Sri Lankan Government and the Security Forces over war crimes even at a time they were risking their lives to liberate the Tamil civilians.

As a journalist who followed the entire humanitarian mission from Mavil Aru to the last battle in Mullaitivu, I am aware that the Security Forces had more than enough opportunities if they wanted to get rid of the Tamil civilians as alleged by the so-called international community.

If they were not concerned about human rights, they could have won this war a long ago, bombing the entire area where LTTE cadres were taking cover of the civilians, without an iota of respect for civilians, like the way the Western nations fight wars ignoring the civilian factor. Even in their wildest dream they never wanted to eliminate the terrorists along with civilians and they trod the most difficult path towards their objective, picking off the target carefully among the civilians.

They never wanted to become nasty towards these people. It was with great respect to our valiant Security Forces I recall the way they assisted Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims displaced from the Trincomalee South areas when the LTTE launched its first offensive against the Security Forces in August 2006.

There was no difference in their treatment to the Tamils who were kept as a human shield by the LTTE in Vakarai in the last few months of 2006, when they were being liberated in December 2006 and the way they treated the Sinhalese from Somapura, Serunuwara, Mahindapura and other Sinhalese settlements.

Humane approach

As a Sri Lankan and a journalist, I was proud to feel the humanity hidden in their uniforms, as I was among the few journalists who could observe how those soldiers treated pregnant women and children arriving in military controlled areas amidst heavy downpour.

Just like I was watching civilians fleeing into Rideetenna, Welikanda, I was observing the last batch of civilians leaving the safe zone.

A fine example of their humane approach towards the Tamil civilians I snatched during my visits to the No Fire Zone soon after 58 Division troops liberated more than 117,000 people from Puthumattalan on April 20 and also my visit to Mullivaikkal Safe Zone on May 16, soon after the troops liberated thousands of trapped civilians.

I can still recall the way the troops were making a last minute attempt to save the lives of the old, maimed and the injured left behind by the fleeing civilians and offering their lunch packets to those starving for days.

It was on May 16 eve, during my visit to the Mullaivaikkal safe zone along with 58 Division GOC Brigadier Shavendra Silva a panic stricken soldier came towards us to inform that a number of injured civilians were still inside the safe zone. “Please, Sir, send a vehicle to transport them towards a medical facility”, that was his plea to Brigadier Silva.

It was amidst the flames of fire caused by the suicide attempts by the LTTE to stop the military from advancing, he had managed to find those injured civilians, among dozens of bodies of Tamil civilians who got caught in those suicide blasts.

His humane feelings emerged above all the horrible scenes that clearly depict the brutality of the LTTE and their disregard for their own community. But he made a lonely attempt to save the lives of those innocent civilians left behind by the fellow Tamils.

At last he saw the result of his humane attempt as those injured civilians were evacuated to a safer place.

And at the same moment an elderly woman with an injury in her hand emerged from the flames murmuring some words might be out of fear that she would get killed at the hands of the Security Forces. But I was highly moved when a soldier took her in his arms and took her out of the rubble towards a safer location.

She was immediately dispatched to a safe place as Brigadier Silva offered his vehicle to transport that elderly woman.

If the Tamil Diaspora and the international community blindly point fingers at them, I must mention here that our soldiers would have become demons and devils if they really reacted emotionally to the brutal acts of horror by the LTTE targeting dozens of civilians into their claymore mines exploded in the South. No need to explain the horror they created in Kebithigollewa, Piliyandala and at Fort railway station.

But even at the last moment of the fighting they did not run after emotions and were not ready to take revenge from the Tamil community though the outsiders tried to add an ethnic flavour to the last battle.

They strictly maintained it as a fight against terrorism but not against the Tamil community.

That was why they were able to take wounded Tiger cadres in stretches on their shoulders and airlift some of them to Colombo to treat them equally with the fellow soldiers while the Tigers were harassing our soldiers captured alive during military operations.

So those who tried to safeguard the LTTE terrorism may have been displeased with the way the Security Forces have acted during the past two years and 10 months in which the Security Forces were able to totally eliminate the LTTE terrorism.

Disappointed parties

If not for such stern action this country would not have reached this historic victory against the most ruthless terror outfit in the world while treating the Tamil community in the most humane manner.

The international media and even the so-called free media was worried as they were not given a free hand to report the battle and unimpeded access to the displaced. They were worried because the Sri Lankan Security Forces did not fight the battle the way they have dictated but continued the battle in the way they thought was right. Finally, the Sri Lankan Security Forces were proved right.

The so-called free media in the country were not aware that they have become puppets of the LTTE proxies who were funding their so-called organizations to scuttle the military efforts in defeating the LTTE . They might have not been aware that they were campaigning against their Motherland to drag it into a disaster.

It could have been a fair attempt if it was done to secure the lives of civilians at the initial stages but it cannot be justified at the last moment after they failed in all their endeavors.

The emerging factor was that the Sri Lankan community who had the tendency to believe in foreign reports were placing their confidence in the State media rather than the highly exaggerated reporting by so-called free media. It was after the Thoppigala operation they started believing in military victories, completely rejecting the utterances of the disgruntled politicians.

What those so-called international organizations could not understand was the Sri Lankan Security Forces’ humanistic approach to the problem. If they had to launch military operations taking any risks, in civilian populated area that was meant for the benefit of the entire Sri Lankan Nation especially, the Tamil community suppressed by the jackboot of Tiger terrorism.

What I was observing on May 17, 2009 on the banks of Nanthikadal lagoon was the final result of that two years and 10 month-long humanitarian operation to fully liberate the Tamil community from the clutches of the LTTE after the Security Forces saw its turning point on April 20, 2009 with the liberation of more than 117,000 population within four days.

Last battle

The three battle formations, the 58 Division commanded by Brigadier Shavendra Silva, the 53 Division commanded by Major General Kamal Gunaratne and the 59 Division by Brigadier Prasanna Silva had already encircled last terrain of the LTTE which has now been reduced to 300 to 400 square hundred meters.

They were aware that the international community was closely monitoring what they were doing. But they were not hesitating to do what they were doing as they were doing the correct thing at the appropriate time and were aware that the last civilian has been rescued from the clutches of the LTTE.

A soldier offering water to a tired civilian arriving in Mullaitivu. Pictures by Rukmal Gamage

Dusk fell on that fateful day and we still hear the sounds of small arms fire in Mullaivaikkal area as we visited the defences of the 59 Division along the Mullaitivu coast with Brigadier Prasanna Silva on the sandy beach and we retreated to our resting places hoping we will get a good news at the earliest possible. As we expected, we got the news in the early hours on Monday, May 18.

“The Tiger leaders have been surrounded in Vellamullivaikkal and their bodies were lying all over”, the message came from the 58 Division.

We rushed towards the 53 Division Headquarters in Puthukudiyiruppu and all the journalist reporting the final battle were gathered in groups. We waited until we got clearance from the military to visit the battle scene. But the area was not safe for us to visit but managed to visit the place where Charles Anthony’s body was lying, his face bruised in the gun fire.

Time was around 1 p.m. Firing was still going on and we were asked to take cover. Tractor loads of terrorist bodies collected by the troops were laid in lines and were being identified. Many were disfigured after getting caught in the massive fire.

Soldiers were telling us how they have thwarted the Tiger leaders last attempt to breach the Security Forces’ defences and the way they killed scores of Tiger cadres hiding inside bushes and firing upon them.

Final result

The search operations were going on throughout. They could not find the body of Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran as they were certain that he had been surrounded by them. The 53 Division and the 58 Division continued their search ops along with the Commando and Special Forces troops.

The final result of their two years and 10 months long operation came only around 10 am on Tuesday. The troops of the 4 Vijayaba Infantry Regiment attached to 681 Brigade had recovered the body of Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. Major General Kamal Gunaratne and Brigadier Shavendra Silva stood like lions keeping the Prabhakaran’s body below their feet. And the troops thronging in thousands paraded the Tiger leaders body along the streets in Vellamullivaikkal.

His decade long terror had come to an end. But the flames of fire still emanated from the Safe Zone as if his soul whisked into the air hours ago as the last batch of civilians left him in isolation in the last terrain as he was well aware that there was no survival for him without that human shield around him.