| India should not
to make the mistake of riding on clay horses! According to press reports Douglas Devananda, Secretary General of the
EPDP is currently camping in New Delhi. His unholy mission is to meet politicians of the
ruling as well as the opposition parties and plead for the active intervention of India in
the current peace talks between the GoSL. and the LTTE. IANS news agency says,
“Devananda met National Security Advisor Brijesh Mishra today to ask
India to play a more direct role in finding a solution to the Tamil problem.” (IANS-June 29,2003) In an interview to the BBC Thamil
service today (July 01, 2003) Douglas Devananda said India’s active involvement in
the peace process is a must because of its close proximity to Sri Lanka and its status as
a regional super power. He also spoke about destabilization of India because of the
conflict, but did not elaborate. Douglas Devananda has been more
explicit in what he means by “destabilization” on other occasions. An
interim council for the Northeast dominated by LTTE will ignite the flames of nationalism
now dormant in Thamil Nadu. Thamil Nadu will then declare UDF severing ties from the
North Indian dominated Indian Union. So India should realise the danger posed by
LTTE, which can be eliminated only by Indian intervention. This is the type of fear mongering
that the mandarins of the South Block as well as the RAW like to hear so that they in turn
could feed the politicians about the bogey of an “independent Thamil Nadu.”
In fact they have gone several steps further. According to their fanciful theory
Prabhakaran after creating an independent state of Thamil Eelam will take the
next logical step of creating a “Greater Thamil Nadu” by joining Thamil Nadu
proper. This largely explains why the foreign
policy perspectives of India vis-à-vis the LTTE remains unchanged despite a change of
government at the centre. It also explains why the BJP government turned a
blind eye to the arrest and incarceration of Vaiko, leader of MDMK, a reliable ally of the
ruling National Democratic Alliance! Vaiko was arrested under POTA by Ms. Jayalalithaa, an
Ayankaar woman who migrated to Thamil Nadu to make a living by acting in films. Today she
has made no secret about her hatred of Thamil Nationalism. All those who voiced moral support to
the LTTE are behind bars because of a maverick chief minister who
unashamedly uses Anna’s name to install an anti- Thamil, anti-people and
anti-democratic regime in Thamil Nadu. Not surprisingly Ms. Jayalalithaa is
ideologically very close to the BJP, especially L.K.Advani, BJP ideologue and Deputy Prime
Minister of India. Even the Thamil Nadu based BJP has not cared to conceal its
admiration for Ms. Jayalalithaa. The theory that an independent Thamil
Eelam will have a domino effect in Thamil Nadu by fanning flames of separation leading to
an independent Thamil Nadu is preposterous. It is a ridiculous and far-fetched theory,
which has no basis at all. The Thamils of Thamil Eelam and Thamil Nadu speak the same
language and share a common culture, but not common history. Historically and
geographically the Thamils of Thamil Eelam have a distinct existence of their own spanning
several centuries. Under no circumstances will they like to lose that separate
distinctiveness. So all this talk about “Greater Thamil Nadu” is hogwash
calculated to discredit the liberation struggle of the Thamil people. Douglas Devananda’s Delhi visit
has other sinister objectives. He wants to exploit India’s animosity towards LTTE to
his own advantage. What better opportunity
than now when RAW’s hold on TULF is fast slipping and pro-Indian outfits like the
EPLRF (V) is fast reduced to a rump. For Douglas Devananda to endear himself to his Indian
masters, he has to portray himself as a democrat and raise the bogey of LTTE as a
“fascist” organization. Douglas Devananda knows well that whatever he says
will be sweet music to the ears of Indian politicians and officials! But what
restrains India to bite the bait is probably “the fear of repeating the 1987 experience all over
again.” Let us now examine the
“democratic” credentials of Douglas Devananda. Many are unaware of the fact that
Douglas Devananda is a fugitive from justice. In 1986 at Choolaimedu in Chennai, Douglas
Devananda, military commander of the EPLRF, had an altercation with a group of youths
close to his house. When the altercation turned nasty Douglas ran into his house, grabbed
an AK-47 rifle and fired at the youths from the top floor at close range. The bullets hit
one Aiyaavu, a Dalit graduate killing him on the spot. There was widespread revulsion, anger
and condemnation of the ghastly and cold-blooded murder in broad daylight. Douglas was
arrested and kept in prison. Later the court let him out on bail, but he gave the slip to
the authorities and surfaced in Colombo. A well-known columnist described his arrival in
Colombo thus “ He was wearing rubber
slippers and had only a knapsack carrying some clothes and documents. His political
fortunes were at low ebb. The offer to help the government was born through desperation.
The bold gamble worked and then bloomed successfully after war broke out with the tigers.
Devananda was criticised severely then for betraying the Tamil cause and openly
collaborating with the enemy.” (The Sunday Leader
– November 22, 2001) Thus Douglas Devananda cleverly
exploited the war between the LTTE and the Sinhala governments and literally manna started
falling from heaven. Both Premadasa and Chandrika rewarded him for betraying the struggle
and playing the role of a mercenary by handing over the islands off Jaffna peninsula to
him. From that time onwards there was no
looking back. It is the typical story of rags to riches. Douglas Devananda whose cadres
are on the payroll of the army is collecting close to 70 lakhs per month! Though Douglas Devananda is crying
hoarse about “democracy” his records shows he and his outfit are
“fascists” who carried out cold-blooded killings! On October 19,
2000 Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, Jaffna correspondent of the BBC Tamil and Sinhala Service,
was killed. The killing took place during
curfew hours in a high security zone in the heart of Jaffna town. There was an army check
post just a few metres close to Nimalarajan house. Devananda and /or his cadres were the
prime suspects in the murder. Later the police arrested and charged Visvan alias Visu and
Murali alias David Michael Collins and Napoleon all belonging to the EPDP
with murder. But the Vavuniya High Court released them on bail after furnishing a bond of
Rs. 100,000 on 11 September 2002. Since then the case is in a state of limbo, police
showing scant or no interest in prosecuting the case. Mr. Nimalrajan was very critical of widespread vote rigging by the EPDP during the general elections held in 2000 in Jaffna. Douglas Devananda has complained to the army chief Lionel Balagalla that Nimalarajan is a LTTE supporter. On November 09,
1999 Nadarajah Atputharajah alias Ramesh, editor of Thina Murasu, the semi-official organ
of the EPDP was gunned down in Colombo during broad daylight. He was travelling in his
jeep and persons in another vehicle, which followed him, opened fire and killed him. The assassins are still at large. It is
widely believed that Devananda was behind the shooting. Not surprisingly Devananda did not
attend Ramesh funeral though the latter was a fellow EPDP M.P. The motive for the murder was Ramesh’s
perceived support for the LTTE through the columns of Thina Murasu. On December 29,
1999 Mrs.Sarathambal Saravanbavananthakurukal, 29, of Punkudutivu, was gang-raped and
murdered by Navy personnel. Her body was
found the following day under the bushes near Kannaki Amman Temple close to her home. The
perpetrators of this ghastly crime were never arrested or brought to justice though
Punkudutivu was a fiefdom of the EPDP at the relevant time.
Obviously the EPDP was an accomplice to this murder. On November 28,
2001 an EPDP gang armed with T56 assault rifles, swords and knives attacked a group
of TNA candidates and supporters who went to Naaranthanai for election canvassing.
Two persons were killed. The Police arrested parliamentarian N. Mathanarajan, EPDP Kayts
organizer Sebastiampillai Ramesh and Napoleon all top rung leaders of EPDP on charge of murder. Napoleon absconded but later
surrendered to the court on a warrant. The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in court.
Therefore, how
the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo chose to give a visa to Douglas Devananda, a
fugitive from justice, is a mystery. The High Commissioner in all fairness owes an
explanation to the Thamil people. Right through
out EPDP’s stock in trade was murder, kidnapping, extortion, bank robberies,
smuggling etc. In fact one time Douglas
Devananda earned the dubious distinction of being dubbed as
“pillaipidikaaran” (kidnapper)!
Therefore
the tall claim that Douglas Devananda and his outfit are
‘democrats’ engaged in political activities in Northeast under gun
of the Army and Police is not borne out by cold facts. Such claim smacks of hypocrisy,
opportunism and even criminality. Mercenaries
on the payroll of the army cannot lay claim to political party status. They are what they
are- Quislings and fifth columnists! In terms of Section 1.8 of the
Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) "Tamil paramilitary groups shall be disarmed by the
government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) by D-day +30 at the latest. The GOSL shall offer to
integrate individuals in these units under the command and disciplinary structure of the
GOSL armed forces for service away from the Northern and Eastern Province." But D.B.S Jeyaraj, the Devil's
advocate defends the para-military groups thus “Soon the non-Tiger groups engaging in
politics were compelled to hand over arms to the authorities. They were thus unprotected
and helpless. Many expected these groups to quit the northeast physically after this. To
their credit, these organisations remained bravely. After all, the northeast was their
homeland and not the exclusive preserve of the Tigers. To the Tigers, this situation was
intolerable.“ DBS Jeyaraj uncanny propensity to
indulge in self-delusion, flight of fancy, hallucination and paranoia have now assumed
gigantic proportions! So if the EPDP choose to stay in
Northeast then it should not be heard to complain about its cadres being targeted by
unidentified persons. They perhaps are simply settling old scores. Everyone understands the geo-political
interests of India. But then the Indian government should not commit the mistake of riding on clay horses to cross
the river! Nor repose confidence on bogus
‘democrats’ who have slavishly sold their souls and soiled their hands with the blood of innocent people. More
importantly, India should see through the veil of deceit and not make the mistake of
repeating history. The decimation of TNA raised by the IPKF and RAW through forced
conscription to fight the LTTE is a lesson India should never ignore or forget. |