Former LTTE official recounts last stages of war: LTTE did not consider age for combat
The LTTE holed up in the ever-diminishing territory in northern Sri Lanka forcibly recruited children to take part in final defences against government troops, according to a former senior LTTE official, the British newspaper, The Independent reported.
Some of the youngsters were sent to fight with just one day’s basic training, The Independent reported quoting an unnamed official, ‘who held a non-military position with the LTTE’.
A number of civilians who tried to escape to the government side were shot.
The official, who held a non-military position with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said that in the spring of 2009, the Tigers found themselves in an ever-worsening situation that led them to step up their forced recruitment of civilians between the age of 14 and 55.
He said more than 300,000 civilians had intentionally been held to provide cover for the LTTE fighters.
“There was no age discrimination. One day’s training and then (they would) get sent to the war front,” said the former official, who said his own child had been forcibly recruited, but that he was able to escape towards government troops.
Asked if he believed the LTTE committed war crimes, the former official said: “There were many war crimes during that last time. The civilians knew (what was happening). They could not move out of LTTE control. Some people who tried to leave were shot.”
The testimony from the official, who asked that neither his identity nor the location of the interview be revealed, provides an important insight about the final stages of the war, which resulted in the crushing of the LTTE and the killing of most of its leaders.
The official also provided an insight into how the LTTE’s leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, seized on the ambitions of Tamil nationalists, including those who were opposed to violence.
“He was a good leader. In all things he was adamant, he was focused. There is no chance for another uprising now.
There is no leadership,” he said. “The Tamil diaspora can provide some political pressure, but anything else is not possible.”
Asked about the later tactic of the LTTE to target civilians and even schoolchildren, the official said not everyone within the movement supported the move and were aware of the international backlash it would bring. “That was why they denied it,” said the official.
As to why the tactic was adopted, he said: “They wanted to create a panic among the Sinhala people.”
He added: “We need a political solution, but without the support of the Sinhala people, the Tamil people cannot get a political solution.” Courtesy: The Independent
Courtesy: Daily News
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I am glad this Tamil man who has managed to escape to UK revealed the truth to the world through the UK daily, “The Independent”. His eye witness account is very valuable. It is an inside story. He was an official within the LTTE in Kilinochchi. His own child had been conscripted to the LTTE army with only a day’s weapons training. He and the child and probably his family also managed to escape to the safety of the SL army, who were their liberators. His eye witness evidence is very valuable, as it had been given freely to the Independent to set the record straight, against the stream of disinformation poured out daily by the Tamilnet and other diaspora Tamil/LTTE media. He lives in fear of his life from the diaspora Tamils/LTTE, for revealing the truth. Hence his identity can never be revealed. It was a very brave act. Other Tamils who dare to reveal the truth, in defiance of the LTTE, were tortured and killed in UK and in other countries in the West.
He revealed that it was the LTTE who committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, over several decades, till this evil terrorist regime was finally ended by the SL Defence Forces. He revealed that it was the LTTE cadres, under orders from VP, who brutally gun-downed Tamil civilians held hostage as a Human Shield, as they fled to the safety of the SL army side across Nandri Kadal Lagoon. He too adds his independent evidence to the mass of evidence available, that the Tamil civilians were killed not by the SL army but by the LTTE cadres, under orders from VP, who could not bare the shame and fury of his Tamil civilians held captive so long, finally escaping. The Tamil civilians responded with their feet to escape to the SL army side, their liberators. They truly recognised themselves as SL citizens and not some so-called ‘eelam citizen’. They were truly VP’s slaves, herded like cattle to breed children for him for his eelam ‘army’ from the age 10. These children could barely carry a T56 automatic weapon. But they were forced to do so and brutalised if they refused.
I hope in time, more such stories are revealed by the media who are unbiased, to reveal the truth that war crimes were committed on large scale by the LTTE and not by the SL Defence Forces. The imperial West however kept silent about it for vested interests. Now that LTTE had been completely wiped-off the face of the earth, against the will of Britain and USA, these countries are taking revenge on GOSL by trying to blacken the SL Hon President, the Hon Defence Sec and the army commanders as war criminals and calling for their blood.
The real terrorists and war criminals are the leaders of USA and Britain and France. They should be arrested and brought before the Hague. BUT WHO WOULD DARE TO BELL THE CATS. The UN is a toothless hag, a tool of the imperial West just as NATO is. Imperial West and NATO are trying to dominate the whole world through their military might and seize all the valuable resources of other countries for themselves as in colonial times. Let’s hope Russia and China grow in military might and form an alliance to withstand the evil imperial West and their attempted world domination.
Of course, the World classified LTT as a terrorist organisation. And such disastrous action gave licence to the LTT to commit crimes!!!
The difference though is GOSL is a democratically elected government of the people of Sri Lanka. And the democratically elected government committed war crimes under the guise “humanitarian” action!!!!
The common denominator amongst the two actors is “war crimes”. One is a terrorist organisation the other a democratically elected government.
Justice, we demand.
Well said Demala,
If someone can bring VP back from the “dead” (or extradite him from his flat overlooking Hyde Park in London) and try him for “war crimes” and hang him by the neck till the last of his breath is extinguished, the World will be a better place to live.
Hi Julian,
Thank you for your support. I do value your opinion.
I wouldn’t mind seeing that happen. It will be a great relief as well.
There are others masquerading as “humanitarian” saviours of the downtrodden; wouldn’t you like to see them hooded on the gallows next to “late” VP?
It will be a pretty parade to see these goons all lined up together hooded in black masks with the rope ring in front of their faces.
Mass graves have been sighted in the vicinity of the last battle by a visiting EU MP.
The noose is tightening.
DC is putting the cart before the horse. LTTE was rightly branded a ‘terrorist organisation’ by many countries in the world, including USA, Britain, France, India etc because they committed horrendous, most heinous, barbaric crimes against humanity, war crimes of terrorist nature.
Because TNA was the political face of LTTE, formed by the evil VP, and because they are complicit in the LTTE war crimes and crimes against humanity, TNA leaders should be tried in SL for war crimes and crimes against humanity. They deserve the death penalty.
DC to his utter shame, deceiving his conscience, is trying to cover-up for VP and the evil LTTE by claiming they became terrorists and committed crimes because they were branded terrorists. This is illogical. He has become an apologist for VP and the evil LTTE who are today suffering in hell for all eternity. Does DC wants to join them as well? Indeed as JS said, the world and SL are better places to live today without the evil terrorism of VP and the evil LTTE. VP and LTTE have already paid the price for their evil. They cannot be brought back. The diaspora Tamils/LTTE are ofcourse trying to re-organise the battered remanants of LTTE who have fled, under a new leadership, to launch a new militancy/terrorism to establish their so-called stupid eelam. Let them join Vaiko and Nedumaran and their ilk in Tamil Nadu who do, not have the guts to call for a Tamil Nation to be formed in Tamil Nadu for their 70 million Tamils. So they try to shift it to SL, for 4 million or less. All the kallathoni Tamils in SL and Malaysia with its 5 million Tamils and diaspora Tamils in other parts of the world can then join their ‘Tamil Nation’ in Tamil Nadu. This is most logical. But the Tamil kallathonis in SL, who cry for eelam, are cowards and no match for the heroic SL Defence Forces. If they try militant road again we’ll be glad to give them the coup d’grace again and again, till they are totally wiped off the face of SL.
Dear Nicholas,
Please re-read my Blog 4.
The Sinhala community has assumed that all tamils desire separation and that all tamils place VP as a leder.
You are wrong dear Nicholas.
What 99.99% of the tamils desire is security and dignity which has not been available since 1948.
Dear DC,
In Blog 4, as you suggested, there is no mention of ‘ separatism’, ‘security’ and ‘dignity’ of the Tamils.
But all that has been mentioned by you under a different ‘On Lanka’ news item, “JVP Presents 13-Point Plan for Reconciliation”, in Blog 6, dated 12/12/11. I have replied to it under Blog 7 and Blog 8 in the same news item. Please read my reply under this news item, as I do not wish to repeat myself. You can reach this by clicking on “Older Entries” at the bottom of this news column.
Anyway, I am heartened to learn that 99.99% Tamil community in SL do not want separatism, in your opinion.
Dear DC,
I am encouraged to know that 99.99% SL Tamils do not want ‘separatism’, and sovereign state of so-called ‘eelam’ therefore. I hope you are one of the 99.99%.
I hope you have re-visited my response to your Blog 6, dated 12/12/11 in ON Lanka news titled, ” JVP Presents 13-Point Reconcilliation”. I have replied under Blog 7 and 8. Please read my reply and respond. You can reach this by clicking on “Older Entries” at the bottom of the news column and then clicking on the news item I have mentioned above.