The truth at first hand

While there is no denying that sections of our Northern citizenry suffered shockingly in the closing stages of the conflict in 2009, the propaganda mill of the rump LTTE has over the past two years attempted to parade the falsehood that the Sri Lankan Army was responsible for these atrocities which were heaped on the people. But now, the public is learning the whole truth about this tragedy at first hand as it were, from former TNA MP S. Kanagaratnam. The interview given by him to the Asia Tribune, extracts of which we frontpage today, and the whole of which we serialize on the opposite page, puts the record straight on this score in the baldest terms.

On Kanagaratnam's testimony we learn that 'more than 600 innocent Tamil civilians were shot and killed like stray dogs from Oct. 1st to May 18th 2009 in the Vanni region, but not a single innocent civilian was killed by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces', in the latter's effort to neutralize the Tigers. Therefore, the world is now in a position to assess the reliability of the LTTE's propaganda to the effect that it was the security forces which were responsible for the evils suffered by the Northern civilian sections in question. From Sri Lanka's point of view, these revelations could not have been timelier because they amount to a firm and candid rebuttal of what are considered to be findings against Sri Lanka, by a panel of personnel appointed by the UN Secretary General to probe the closing stages of the humanitarian operation by Sri Lanka's security forces. Therefore, the separatist propagandists stand naked and exposed as never before.

What is more, Kanagaratnam makes no bones about the fact that the security forces were the veritable saviours of the civilian populace who were treated with the grossest inhumanity by the Tigers. The civilians who were escaping the savagery of the Tigers were taken to safety by the Army and accorded the most humane and kindly treatment. Besides, these hapless people were used as human shields by the LTTE and bore the brunt of the Tigers' shelling while trying to escape to the zones earmarked for their protection by the Army.

The revelatory disclosure is also made by Kanagaratnam that some of those Tiger bigwigs who attempted to surrender to the security forces with 'white flags', could very well have been butchered by the Tigers because it was the express wish of the LTTE leader that such persons should be eliminated. The Tiger leader was, we are told, highly intolerant of those who betrayed his 'cause'. Here, again, some current allegations against the state stand fully exposed as absolute canards.

All in all, this testimony by the former TNA MP is the most substantive eye witness account to date, that the Lankan state and its agencies have discharged their responsibilities in the former conflict hit areas, in an exceptionally exemplary fashion. Besides, the world is treated to the truth that it is the LTTE which has been the scourge of the people of the North-East right along.

Thus, the interview could be viewed as a statement which reflects very well on the Lankan state. The state has emerged in this expose as an objective entity which works indefatigably towards the common good and which invariably acts and thinks on the basis of the principle of impartiality. The state could rise above narrow and parochial considerations and these points need to be taken cognizance of by those sections which have subjected the state to vitriolic criticism, particularly in the context of issues which have relevance to our conflict. Thus, the state has emerged in a highly positive light and we have here the evidence that the state could hold Sri Lanka together, come what may. In particular, it needs to be noted that the state emerges here as a predominant upholder of what is just and good. And peace is built on justice. The Tigers, on the other hand, have been exposed as the curse of the Tamil public. It is all too obvious that the people have suffered in grim silence all these years as the LTTE had its way, in the misleading belief that it, and it alone, is the protector of the Tamil people. But all that the LTTE did was to cruelly oppress the people and keep them under its crushing jackboot. Nothing could be more telling and impactful than the observation that the people were shot dead by the LTTE like 'stray dogs'.

It is hoped that good use would be made of this expose by our state agencies, such as our foreign missions. This is ideal material to counter Tiger propaganda abroad to the effect that the Lankan state had acted in violation of the law during the humanitarian operation. Yet, Kanagaratnam's disclosures may be only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The state should not rest in its efforts to lay bare the truth about the security forces' exemplary role in the North-East.