SPOTLIGHT

The forgotten land

By Frederica Jansz 

The land that time forgot - is the first impression one gets when entering the Wanni. Harsh, arid expanses of land, fenced off extensively with warning signs of landmines and explosives, a road that is in dire need of repair and people physically and mentally pock marked with the ravages of a bitter war are some of the first impressions created in the Wanni.

This impression changes significantly when reaching the main town area of Kilinochchi. Previously a town which did not have more than three shops, today Kilinochchi is bustling with activity. Trade stalls line both sides of the main street while the LTTE's district and appeal court complex complete with a law faculty stands prominent.

All this however against a backdrop of extreme poverty. Desperate for water, proper sanitation, health facilities, food and clothing as well as educational and employment opportunities, the only hope for these people is peace. Over a year since the present peace process began, there have been changes which have undoubtedly improved the socio-economic situation of a race that believed it had been not only discriminated against, but at the receiving end of state sponsored genocide. Due to the work of UNICEF in the area, schools have since February 2002, recorded an increase in attendance by as much as 80 per cent.

Below the poverty line

Yet, despite these positive aspects, over 75 per cent of the population in the Wanni live below the poverty line. There are families who boil buffalo grass for their supper for want of nothing else to eat. Flimsy saris tied between four crude tree branches is sometimes the sole cover they have to shield their tired bodies from the scorching rays of the noon day sun in the Wanni.

Dirty and bedraggled, these people do not have the basic amenities of life as they swallow their own saliva instead of water to quench their thirst. Condemned to a life of basic survival, the people in the Wanni bear an enormous burden as they struggle with domestic and economic hardship, their only hope for a better tomorrow based solely on the stability of the peace process.

In stark contrast to this image is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its cadre. The Tiger cadres, both men and women are fed, clothed and even given a degree of education by the LTTE. They are not paid any remuneration package until they marry. They are clean and observe strict hygienic patterns while being trained now in administrative and political work. A few are computer literate and speak haltingly good English. The LTTE has already begun training courses to teach their cadres to speak, write and read English. The Tiger men and women are overloaded with newspapers, mostly LTTE propaganda material, as well as with radios broadcasting Hindi music and patriotic songs dedicated to the LTTE and its Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. In some instances, a television with a video system is provided for Tiger cadres to watch movies depicting heroic acts of the LTTE.

The white Tamil

After spending time with the LTTE female cadres, we learnt that even sanitary napkins are provided monthly for all women cadres on the strict instructions of Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE chief is known to have a fetish for cleanliness and insists that all his cadres observe stringent hygiene.

Adele Balasingham, wife of Anton Balasingham is to the Tamil people in the Wanni a mother figure and is lovingly referred to as "the white Tamil." Fluent in speaking the Tamil language, Adele has embraced sincerely the Tamil psyche with all its strengths and weaknesses, greatness and failings. To the Tamil people in the Wanni, she is their soul mate.

Driving through vast stretches of barren land, shell-shocked and battle-scarred, there is some evidence that the guns on the part of the LTTE, temporarily at least have been laid to rest. A few migratory birds, empty ammunition boxes recycled to be used as flower pots and barbed wire used earlier to mark the forward defence lines of the LTTE have been removed and instead encircle tree saplings. These are a few of the visible changes in the Wanni portraying an atmosphere of peace.

Beyond these surface images, is the LTTE which solely dominates and governs the Wanni. With a political head office and peace secretariat at Kilinochchi, the Tigers insist they are committed to the peace process.

The LTTE's Theoretician and Chief Negotiator, Anton Balasingham speaking to The Sunday Leader in Kilinochchi last week, complained bitterly, accusing President Chandrika Kumaratunga of deliberately attempting to destabilise the peace process. "She is the unseen hand behind all the recent provocations. She is hoping the LTTE will go back to war and her silly utterances regarding the peace process will then be justified," he said.

Radical constitution

"Ranil Wickremesinghe is a decent gentleman as is Milinda Moragoda and G. L. Peiris," he added, reiterating however that none of them have the power or the leverage to implement a negotiated settlement. "What we want is a new supreme, radical constitution - can they deliver?" Balasingham thundered in his speech at Kilinochchi during the opening ceremony of a new appeal court administered under the rule of the LTTE.

Referring to Tamil political prisoners, Balasingham said this is an issue "that is taken up every time at the negotiating table." He reiterated the LTTE is insisting that all Tamil political prisoners, irrespective of whatever their offences, be released on a special amnesty. This request he said requires the approval of President Kumaratunga, "while Milinda Moragoda has broached this subject on more than one occasion with Kumaratunga and I know he has visited these prisoners who are on a fast unto death, the President in not willing to comply."

Yet to be resolved

Balasingham pointed out that even if it is not possible for the government to release these prisoners just yet, "they must then be moved to Tamil areas. At least then they will abandon their fast..." he said, adding "this situation is indeed tragic and one that is yet to be resolved at the negotiating table."

Balasingham sneered when he said, "not even the defence minister in the south has any authority..." Referring derogatorily to Kumaratunga as "amma" he said, "It is amma who wields executive powers and amma is instructing the navy to destroy our boats and ships and kill our cadre..."

However, the incident off Mullaitivu last Monday precipitated an angry response from army officers manning the military checkpoint at Omanthai. Returning from the Wanni, the army insisted on checking every single bag in our vehicle including camera and television equipment. When asked what they were looking for, they barked angrily, "oyala hithenava meka samayak. Meka samayak nevai meka satanviramayak. Api muhude satan karanawa." (You think this is a time of peace. It is not, it is only a cessation of hostilities. We are fighting a war at sea).

The young army youths who articulated these sentiments did so with an excited glint in their eyes, as they eagerly rummaged through our luggage looking for something even they were not certain of. Telling us they were engaged on state service (rajakari wedak) they were clueless what the state expected of them or wanted them to detect at this checkpoint.

In contrast, despite the Mullaitivu incident, the situation in the Wanni remained calm. Other than putting up black flags together with the LTTE's symbolic red and yellow flags outside the LTTE political office and peace secretariat at Kilinochchi, the Tigers who had lost 11 of their colleagues in the incident remained calm and collected. Not even at the LTTE checkpoint at Omanthai were we accosted or hassled in any manner.

Committed

LTTE Women Political Wing Leader, Thamilini also spoke to The Sunday Leader and gave the impression they were seriously committed to the peace process. "Until this peace process, we fought hard for a state of Thamil Eelam," she said. Now however, she asserted the LTTE is concerned in working for the development of "our people. It is important that people live with freedom." She added that there are two power elements within the government. "One is Ranil Wickremesinghe, the other is Chandrika who is making a great effort to disturb the peace process." (See box for interview)

Archdeacon of the Wanni, Fr. A. P. Devasagayam is more circumspect in his view of the situation. "I feel that there is a great want for a negotiated settlement on the top ranks of both sides. But in view of the sporadic incidents which violate the peace process it is evident the lower ranks on both sides have got a taste for war. This is how the peace process will be rocked," he asserted.

The other most significant factor threatening the peace talks and any future development aid to the Wanni is the issue of child conscription. As a member of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) who requested anonymity said, if the LTTE fails to address this issue, "there is no way international donors will invest in the Wanni. They are waiting and watching. The Scandinavian countries in particular are very keen to invest in development and community aid for the Wanni. However, the biggest stumbling block is the LTTE's continuance in recruiting children to their cadre," he said.

Not a dollar invested

To date, though there have been many representatives from the international community committed and keen to invest in the development of the Wanni, not a single dollar has yet changed hands. The reality of this situation is not lost on the LTTE hierarchy. When questioned on the issue of child soldiers, Anton Balasingham admitted that while the LTTE hierarchy has given strict instructions to stop recruiting children "some of our cadres are continuing to do so and they have been punished and reprimanded," he said.

During our visit to the Wanni it was evident that a large part of the LTTE's cadre consist of children or cadres who joined the movement at the ages of 16 and are now 22 and 23 years old.

It is a common sight to see girls who do not look older than 15 or 16 dressed in a shirt, black trouser and military belt, (the standard uniform for Tiger women) carrying an AK 47 gun with ammunition in their front jacket pockets policing the streets of Wanni. Their hair cut very short, these girls are extremely young. When questioned however, they immediately claim they are either 19 or 21 years old.

According to Balasingham "a lot of the cadre look very young because they are malnourished." He reiterated also that many of the child soldiers have voluntarily joined the LTTE due to extreme poverty. "They come to us to be fed and clothed. Most of them do not even have a birth certificate and lie about their age when questioned by the movement," he asserted, adding, "this is definitely a huge problem for the LTTE, as we are finding it that much harder to feed and clothe our cadre."

Driven by poverty

Balasingham's comments doubtless hold some truth. When we visited the homes of two LTTE cadres who had died during the war, this assessment bore fruit. Fifty one year old Saraswathi lost her 18 year old daughter Kaushalya during the Elephant Pass battle at Nagarkovil. She died on April 7, 2000.

Speaking to Saraswathi in her mud hut at Jayanthinagar village in the Wanni, as she sadly recounted details of her daughter's short life span, two factors emerged which validated Balasingham's comments on this problem.

Kaushalya had also joined the LTTE at the age of 16. According to her mother, Kaushalya had been significantly influenced by LTTE propaganda material which made her make a voluntary decision to join the rebel movement. Kaushalya lost her father six months after she was born. Her three elder brothers and sisters were too young to assist their mother in bringing in any income for the family.

Sixteen years after her birth, Kaushalya and her family struggled to find one solid meal a day. As she became part of a straggle of school children who walked barefoot and hungry to a school constructed out of mud and cadjan, her belly empty from not having had a meal of rice and curry even twice a week, Kaushalya no doubt believed the LTTE would look after her daily needs.

Her mother's eyes watered as she spoke of Kaushalya, longingly looking at her dead daughter's photograph in Tiger uniform. Saraswathi found it hard to justify or find consolation in her daughter's death in aid of the cause of Tamil Eelam. (See box for interviews)

Thamil Aresan who works for S. P. Thamilchelvan in the LTTE political office at Kilinochchi explained that the LTTE now allows its women cadres to marry after the age of 24 and the men after the age of 28. Thamil Aresan hails from Jaffna. He joined the LTTE six years ago when he was 16 years old. He reiterated however that now the LTTE does not recruit cadres unless they are at least 18 years old and above.

The policy of the LTTE on the subject of love and marriage changed significantly after Tiger Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran himself fell deeply in love with his present wife, Mathivathani, and married her on October 1, 1984. An LTTE couple after marriage receive a monthly remuneration package from the Tigers. This amount rarely exceeds Rs. 4,000.

The ultimate decision

While a monthly remuneration package of Rs. 4,000 may appear paltry in our eyes, it is in fact a princely sum of money next to what the average civilian earns in the Wanni. Rukmani (22), a mother of three who lives at Paranthan in the Wanni said their total earnings for a month is only Rs. 500. She and her husband cultivate chillies, brinjals, red onions and kira. Living in a mud hut with a cadjan roof, Rukmani knows little better and figured their lives are "not too bad, but could be better if the peace process lasts."

Her friend and neighbour, Rani, (42) is a mother of four. Her husband had deserted her and she lives trying to earn Rs. 100 a day. Once a month, she crosses into government territory to collect a subsidy which would enable her to buy some dry rations and other food items for her family. Other than a government subsidy, these people do not receive any kind of compensation or subsidies from the LTTE.

Rani however said that in the event of a peaceful resolution to the conflict, she is confident a proper administrative system will be established that will look after people like herself and her children. The overwhelming hardship of living within a war-affected area has had an amazing effect on these people. Born to this harsh, arid land, the men and women who live in the Wanni carry an enormous burden. Their determination to survive, their will to live with dignity and freedom has made them resilient enough to still hope for peace in the backdrop of a seemingly mind and soul destroying situation.

The ultimate decision, for war or peace, according to the LTTE and also the civilians in the Wanni, is in the hands of Ranil Wickremesinghe and his government.

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