The Tiger Vanquished: LTTE's Story

272 Pages·2010·1.283 MB·English

by  M.R. Narayan Swamy

THE TIGER VANQUISHED
ii The Tiger Vanquished
THE TIGER VANQUISHED
Ltte’s Story
M R Narayan Swamy
Copyright © M R Narayan Swamy, 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in 2010 by
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
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Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India
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Published by Vivek Mehra for SAge Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset in 10/13pt Agaramond
by Star Compugraphics Private Limited, Delhi and printed at Chaman enterprises, New Delhi.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Narayan Swamy, M. R.
the tiger vanquished : Ltte’s story/M. R. Narayan Swamy.
p. cm.
1. tami_li_la Vitutalaippulikal (Association) 2. Sri Lanka—History—Civil War, 1983–2009.
3. Sri Lanka—Politics and government—21st century. 4. tamil (Indic people)—Sri Lanka—Politics
and government. 5. ethnic conflict—Sri Lanka. I. title.
DS489.84.N37 954.9303'2—dc22 2010 2010011344
ISBN: 978-81-321-0459-9 (PB)
The SAGE Team: Rekha Natarajan, Sushmita Banerjee, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma
and trinankur Banerjee
Cover photo: Courtesy AFP
In memory of
M.A. Raman and T.S.L.V. Sarma
I miss them enormously
vi The Tiger Vanquished
Contents
Acknowledgements xi
Key years in LTTE history xiii
The final conversation: May 2009 xv
Introduction xvii
Testimonies of LTTE cadres lxxiii
testament I—Saroja’s story
testament II—Vani’s story
2003–2005
1. Why does Ltte make pro-India noises? 3
2. turmoil in tiger land 8
3. “Only a snake understands a snake” 14
4. Can tsunami bring peace to Sri Lanka? 16
5. the tsunami, and Prabhakaran 18
6. tribute: Shankar Rajee 20
7. Kadirgamar assassination will kill peace process 24
8. Norway has to recalibrate Sri Lanka peace process 26
2006
9. Switzerland taking deep interest in Sri Lanka 31
10. Solheim not to quit peace process 33
11. India clawing back to Sri Lanka’s northeast 35
12. A book is a window to knowledge 37
13. Indian PM urges Rajapaksa to save tamils in trincomalee 40
14. Suicide bomber blows up Sri Lanka’s peace process 42
15. Prabhakaran’s pride: Or why he refused to meet Akashi 44
16. Co-chairs’ forthright Sri Lanka edict will please India 46
vii
17. Indian trader brutally killed, two missing in Sri Lanka 48
18. Pro-Ltte website attacks Karunanidhi 51
19. Armed with parrots, tamil girl flees to India 53
20. In war torn Sri Lanka, a widow remembers 55
21. Be patient please, Sri Lanka to tell India 57
22. Faltering Sri Lankan peace process 59
23. Solheim calls Karuna allegations “complete lies” 62
24. experts suggest “genuine power sharing” in Sri Lanka 64
25. Balasingham epitomized Ltte’s love–hate ties with India 66
26. Sri Lanka needs new truce agreement 69
2007
27. Why george Bush cannot match Sonia gandhi? 75
28. Misery, epidemic go hand in hand in troubled Sri Lanka 77
29. Sri Lanka’s abduction industry has top academic in its grip 79
30. War material seizure signal Ltte bracing for guerrilla war 81
31. Ltte cannot be defeated militarily, US tells Sri Lanka 83
32. India concerned over Ltte explosives smuggling 86
33. Husband dead, tamil woman wants to return to Sri Lanka 88
34. A historic accord few remember today 90
35. On to tamil eelam: From bicycle to aircraft 92
36. Amid war, India’s emerging Sri Lanka tilt 94
37. How to tell tamils they don’t belong to Sri Lanka? 96
38. Action above ideology for Black Sea tigers 98
39. Use dignified language, Bhagwati tells Sri Lanka 100
40. two decades later, Ltte suicide bombers live on 102
41. “Why no memorial for the IPKF in India?” 104
42. India–Sri Lanka accord: Does it still flicker? 106
43. Britain favours “regime change” in Sri Lanka 110
44. tamilchelvan’s killing a disaster to Ltte—and Sri Lanka 112
45. Sri Lanka gained upper hand over Ltte in 2007 114
2008
46. Ltte man’s arrest for abduction plan first since 1991 119
47. India’s covert role in Sri Lanka’s ceasefire 121
48. India meddling in Sri Lanka affairs, says JVP 124
49. I want to bring peace to Sri Lanka: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 126
50. India’s Sri Lanka power project runs into tamil storm 128
viii The Tiger Vanquished
51. Sri Lanka cannot negotiate with Ltte, says diplomat 130
52. In Sri Lanka, Ltte territory shrinks and shrinks 132
53. We have failed to convince the world: Sri Lanka defence secretary 134
54. Norway–Ltte ties sour over theft of NgO vehicles 136
55. India under attack in pro-Ltte media 138
56. tamil Nadu ferment stuns Rajapaksa but war will go on 140
57. India to send 2,000 tonnes of relief goods to Sri Lanka 142
2009
58. Kilinochchi’s fall a major setback to Ltte 147
59. Prabhakaran cannot escape from Sri Lanka, says former aide 149
60. After 25 years, cornered Ltte faces deathly crisis 151
61. tamil man recounts tales of horror in Sri Lanka war 153
62. Vaiko has been an undisguised supporter of the Ltte 155
63. Has Ltte executed its military spokesman? 157
64. Ltte media targets Sonia over war debacle 159
65. Playing politics with tamil lives in Sri Lanka 161
66. Is Ltte in secret, indirect talks with US to surrender? 163
67. Prabhakaran: From catapult killer to ruthless insurgent 165
68. Prabhakaran was with 18 men when he was killed: Karuna 168
69. Displaced tamils to be resettled by 2009-end: Rajapaksa 170
70. Swat the fly, kill the foe 172
71. So, the tamil tigers were mortals after all... 175
72. How the tide turned 177
Postscript: A new dawn 181
About the author 189
Contents ix