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Sathasivam Krishnakumar - Kittu
- the Struggle was his Life
Interview with Melbourne CR3 Radio, June 1991
[see also Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam]
Q. What is the role of expatriate Tamils in relation to the
struggle?
A. Wherever we may live in the world, we are Tamils... In
Tamil Eelam, our brothers and sisters are suffering great hardship. They are being killed
every day because they are standing up for that which is right. That which we should do
first is that we should let them know "we are with you, we support your struggle,
your struggle is our struggle". Five lakhs of our people living outside Tamil Eelam,
should be moved to say: "We will support you, we will give our hand, we will give our
voice." It is that which we expect from expatriate Eelam Tamils.
Joay Mahesh of Melbourne CR3 Radio interviewed Sathasivam Krishnakumar in
June 1991:
Q. Mr. Krishnakumar, despite your denials, allegations continue to be made
by the Sri Lankan and Indian authorities concerning LTTE involvement in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. Would you
care to comment?
A.In so far as the Liberation Tigers are concerned, I wish to state
categorically that there is no connection what so ever between the assassination of Rajiv
Gandhi and the LTTE. I have already stated this from London and Anton Balasingham has also
made a categorical and clear denial from Jaffna. May I say that it would appear to any
impartial observer that even before the investigation commenced it was decided that it was
the LTTE which was responsible. Everything was looked at from that perspective. It is also
a fact that this allegation was used as a weapon in the Indian election campaign, in
support of the Congress party as well as its allies in Tamil Nadu. Some Indian newspapers
are now saying that all this may have been a tactic to prevent a destabilising situation
arising within India if it should appear that the assassination was carried out by forces
within India.
It is wholly wrong to attribute blame to the LTTE without any concrete and acceptable
evidence. There is no evidence to show that any of the persons who have been arrested were
members of the LTTE. It may be that those who are continuing to make these allegations do
so with the intention of rousing the people of Tamil Nadu against the LTTE.
Q. Has all this been a set back for the Tamil Eelam Liberation struggle
and for the LTTE?
I do not believe that this will directly harm our struggle. However we are
concerned about the plight of about 200,000 of our people who have been living in Tamil
Nadu as refugees. We have noted that in a recent interview, Ms.Jayalaitha Jayaram has
declared that she will secure the future of these refugees and protect them.
Q. When Ms.Jayalaltha Jayaram assumes office as the new Chief Minister, do you believe
that the struggle will receive the same support that it had received from the late
Puratchi Thalavar, M.G.R. in the past?
A. It will be necessary to wait and see the direction which Indian
politics will take. One factor is that the Central government has become weak. Again there
are no indications as to how long it will last. We shall wait and see.
Q. The recent attack on the army headquarters in Colombo has been
attributed to the LTTE by the Premadasa government. Do you have any comments?
A. Many newspaper correspondents have asked us whether we were responsible
for this attack. We were also asked whether we condemn the attack. In so far as we are concerned, the attack in Colombo was
directed against a clear military target - the joint headquarters of the Sri Lankan army,
navy and airforce - and therefore it is not an action that we condemn. It is a matter
for regret that civilians have also been killed as a consequence of the bomb blast.
However, it was this headquarters which was used for planning the daily genocidal
onslaught on the Tamil people. Thousands of Tamils have been killed on the basis of orders
given from and decisions made at this headquarters. Again, it was from this headquarters
that orders were given and plans made for the attacks in the South - attacks which led to
the 'disappearance' of around 60,000 Sinhala people during the past two years.
Q. During the past one year, a harsh war has been waged by the Government
in the North-East. In this war although the LTTE has won significant victories, it is a
matter of pain and sadness that many Tamil civilians have suffered deaths and great
hardship. Are the objectives of the LTTE in accord with the feelings of the Tamil people?
A. Definitely, the Tigers have ranged themselves with the people. The LTTE
is taking the struggle forward with them. The full support of the people continues to be
with the LTTE. It is sometimes asked: how has the LTTE taken this struggle forward, how
has it made these tremendous sacrifices? Our only reply is that whatever success
we have achieved is because of the support of our people and the strength of our
leadership. Ours is a strong, capable and determined
leadership. It is a leadership which has won the confidence of the
people. The people know that it is a leadership which will not deceive them, which will
not sell them out. The people believe that this leadership will not betray them as some of
the leaders of the past, and that it will secure the fulfilment of their aspirations.
It is because of this, that our youth and our people have given solid
support and strengthened our struggle. It is true that criticisms have been made that as a
result of this struggle, many civilians have died and much hardship has been caused. But
we must examine this closely. In the name of communal disturbances, the Tamils have been
killed periodically, since 1956. In 1983 alone, before the commencement of this stage of the
armed struggle, 7000 Tamils were killed. In the 1977
disturbances, 8000 Tamils were killed. In between these two periods, 5000 Tamils were
killed. In sum we have lost 19,000 Tamil lives between 1977 and 1983. Since 1983, we have
not lost the same number of lives. The statistics support the view that the struggle has
protected our people.
We must understand that this struggle arose from the people and the
support the people give, is directly proportional to the commitment of the LTTE to the
struggle. Where any party has given up the demand for Tamil Eelam, the people have not
hesitated to throw them out. So that which ever way we may look at it, the LTTE cannot
give up the demand for Tamil Eelam. The Liberation Tigers have the duty to take the demand
forward in a determined fashion. We have to honour the confidence that the people have
placed in us.
Q. Though the Sri Lankan Government has sought a military solution, are
you ready for a political solution and if so what are the conditions that you have placed?
A. We must look at this carefully. We have at no time rejected any
attempts to seek a political solution or a peaceful settlement. We are aware of a 40 year record of being deceived by successive Sinhala
governments. Though the late leader Thanthai Chelvanayagam entered into several
agreements, we have seen that on each occasion, these agreements have been torn up. We
cannot forget that past. Our past experiences should teach us.
We must examine that historical experience properly and in depth. It was due to the failure of these negotiating processes that
the armed struggle was born. Even so, when President Premadasa requested that we
should seek a peaceful settlement, we afforded an opportunity in January this year by
declaring a unilateral cease-fire for 29 days. But the Sri Lanka government did not
respond. It rejected the offer for unconditional talks by imposing several pre conditions
to the negotiating process.
We are even today prepared to commence talks without pre conditions. Talks
cannot be taken forward if preconditions are imposed. We need open talks. But Sri Lanka
requires us to put down our arms. I say by arms what are you describing? If it is the
AK47, then that is no problem.
But what we mean by arms is not simply that but also the arms that
hold those arms, and the aspirations that are in the hearts of our people - these are also
arms so far as we are concerned.
To us arms is that mechanism which can protect our people.
At a time when our people are without protection, we cannot drop our arms
and then go in search of a peaceful settlement. People should not misconstrue that we are
lovers of weapons. We have made our fighters understand several times that we are not
lovers of violence. We are freedom fighters. It was because our people were oppressed, it
was because our people were being destroyed, that we took up arms in defence of our
people. We are very clear about this.
However, we have repeatedly told Sri Lanka that we are ready for
unconditional talks. Recently on the first anniversary of the resumption of hostilities -
June 10 - we called for unconditional talks. But Sri Lanka continues to seek a military
solution by carrying our aerial bombardments of civilians, by imposing an economic
blockade. In this situation, we have been compelled , we have been pushed to continue our
armed struggle.
Q. Given the previous deceitful record of the
Sri Lanka government can you trust them and engage in talks again?
A. Talks is one matter. Settlement is another matter. Because we go for
talks it does not follow that we will accept anything and everything. But, there is
nothing wrong in trying to reach a settlement. If by a settlement, peace can be achieved
for our people, we are prepared and ready to participate in that effort. We are not
persons who say: we have taken to arms, we shall continue to fight, we like to fight. We
can go for talks.
But, ofcourse, we should carefully examine the terms of any proposed
settlement. It is our wish that the talks should be conducted in a such a way that they
will fulfil the aspirations of our people. We have proposed that the talks should be
unconditional. At the same time we have our views as to the direction which the talks
should take. This is a national question.
The struggle that is going on in Tamil
Eelam is not terrorism. Sri Lanka keeps saying that it is taking action against
terrorism, that LTTE is a terrorist organisation, that its actions are terrorist. It has
failed to recognise that this is a national liberation struggle. Sri Lanka needs to
recognise that the Tamils are a nation, that we have
the right of self determination. On this basis it will be possible to resolve the
conflict. The Sri Lankan constitution is a unitary constitution. The conflict
between two peoples cannot be resolved within a unitary constitution. At the same
time, if we recognise that in Sri Lanka there are two nations, then we can talk about how these two nations may
live. I repeat this not a terrorist question.
Q. It is not only the Sri Lankan government, but there are some expatriate
Tamils who also take the view that LTTE is a terrorist organisation and that they are
responsible for the war that is going on in Sri Lanka. What is you response?
A. Some expatriate Tamils who have left their homelands for more than 20
years may find it difficult to understand the nature of the struggle in Tamil Eelam. They
may not fully understand the feelings of an oppressed people. They may believe that any
armed struggle is terrorism. But if they study our history, they will understand that the
Tamil people have been pushed into this struggle. The demand for Tamil Eelam was the demand of
Thanthai Chelvanayagam. Today, we cannot leave this struggle at a half way stage.
We need guarantees for the protection of our people. We cannot trust the
Sri Lankan government to carry out this duty. Neither can we take seriously those who
suggest that we should.
Nor can we
depend on India for our protection. In this situation we must secure in our own hands
our protection. Whilst President Premadasa talks peace he continues with his military
efforts. If we look at the past we can see why.
Sinhala
Buddhist chauvinism has been institutionalised in Sri Lanka and today it has become
more powerful than the politicians themselves.
Indeed even if the Sinhala politicians seek to settle the conflict,
Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism may try to prevent such a settlement. This is the political
reality that those who are aware of the Sri Lankan situation are well aware of. This is
the result of the grievous error committed by Sinhala politicians. In
1956 for the first time this 'communalism' was openly
put forward for electoral gain. This Sinhala chauvinism which was nurtured by Sinhala
politicians for their electoral advantage,
has grown into a
Frankenstein monster which now has the power to destroy and make politicians. This we
understand very well. [note by tamilnation.org:
see also From ethnic outbidding to ethnic conflict:
the institutional bases for Sri Lanka's separatist war - Neil Devotta,
January 2005]
Q. What is the role of expatriate Tamils in relation to the struggle?
A. Wherever we may live in the world, we are Tamils... In
Tamil Eelam, our brothers and sisters are suffering great hardship. They are being killed
every day because they are standing up for that which is right. That which we should do
first is that we should let them know "we are with you, we support your struggle,
your struggle is our struggle". Five lakhs of our people living outside Tamil Eelam,
should be moved to say: "We will support you, we will give our hand, we will give our
voice." It is that which we expect from expatriate Eelam Tamils.
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