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The Rediff Interview/ R Umanath

'LTTE is interested only in itself'

Political parties in Tamil Nadu are divided. Some are for a separate Eelam, while the others are against it. Some are pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, while the others are anti-LTTE. Some call the LTTE a freedom movement, others call it a terrorist organisation. There are no 'in-between' positions for any party in Tamil Nadu. The Marxist party belongs to the anti-LTTE group.

In this interview to Shobha Warrier, the Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member R Umanath argues against the LTTE and a separate Eelam.

At a press conference, you described the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. For P Nedumaran, it is a freedom movement. Why are there different perceptions about the same organisation?

We are very clear about our perception. In 1983, when the genocide of Tamils was on in Sri Lanka, the LTTE resisted the security forces. It is no more a liberation movement. It is not serving the interests of Lankan Tamils.

Whose interest is it serving then?

It is only interested in itself. It has killed so many Lankan Tamils who had the confidence of various sections of Tamil society, like Amrithalingam and Padmanabha. The latest is the murder of the Jaffna mayor. The people of Jaffna elected a mayor but she was murdered. Four months later, the other person elected was also murdered.

The LTTE has no respect for elected representatives of Lankan Tamils. Which liberation movement kills its people? As a policy, it finishes off all who do not agree with it.

But there are no other strong organisations in Lanka which can speak for the Lankan Tamils.

You are presuming that the LTTE is talking for the Tamils. I don't agree. Our party does not identify the LTTE with the interests of ordinary Lankan Tamils. It is a terrorist group. This is our party's opinion. However, the notification of the Bharatiya Janata Party government, of which Vaiko and Ramdoss are a part, when the ban on the LTTE was extended, stated: 'The LTTE continues to be an extremely potent terrorist force in Sri Lanka and is presently one of the deadliest terrorist organisations the world over, with strong connections in Tamil Nadu.'

Who can talk for the Lankan Tamils now?

Neither the Lankan government's military action nor the LTTE's terrorist activities can solve the problem. This has been on for 17 years. At least 60,000 people lost their lives. They have to come to the negotiating table.

The Lankan government and the LTTE?

All Tamil groups, including the LTTE and the Lankan government should talk.

What role does the CPI-M expect India to play in this crisis?

We want the Indian government to utilise all resources, politically and diplomatically, to facilitate a peaceful settlement. If the Lankan government calls for mediation, our government can go. We don not want India to take the initiative. We do not want India to send troops to Lanka.

So you agree with the way the BJP government is handling the crisis?

We agree with what it said about the LTTE. The government notification also said, 'Continuing militant pursuits of the LTTE with the objective of a separate Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka for Tamils, its anti-India posture, and its violent activities threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India'.

Do you agree with its decision not to intervene militarily and extend only humanitarian help to Lanka?

We want the BJP government to stop vacillating. There are some pro-LTTE elements in the government, as cabinet ministers. Because of their pressure, the BJP government is vacillating. In May, it indirectly stated that it was an internal matter of Sri Lanka, and that India didn't want to interfere. Now, it has changed its stand.

Is the war between the Lankan government and LTTE an internal matter of Sri Lanka?

As the war will have an impact on our security and on Southeast Asian countries, it ceases to be an internal matter of Sri Lanka. We have to help them solve the problem. Sri Lanka is a small island and if it splits, in this unipolar world, it will have great repercussions. It will become a playground for imperialist forces. You know the American game of splitting countries. You saw that in Yugoslavia and many other countries. Its strategy is to split up countries so that it can have a better grip on such small countries.

Do you see the American hand in Sri Lanka too?

An Indo-Sri Lankan agreement was signed in 1984 and the prime ministers of India and Sri Lanka exchanged letters. The Lankan government committed to India that it would ensure that the Americans did not use the Voice of America station to gather information against India!

Is America involved in the war now?

Definitely. If Sri Lanka is split, it economy will collapse and it will be dependent on imperialist countries. Today, the imperialist is America. Even a big country like India, with such vast resources, is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, so you can imagine the condition of a small nation like Sri Lanka.

Almost all political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the Dravidra Munnetra Kazagham, are for a separate Tamil Eelam, but the CPI-M is against it.

Yes. We are for maximum autonomous powers for areas which Tamils largely inhabit, under a united Sri Lanka. That's the north and a portion in the east.

Even though experiences of the Tamils with the Lankan governments were not good, after Chandrika Kumaratunga came to power there was a breakthrough. She offered a devolution package in which powers of autonomy are more than we asked for. Before offering the package, it was agreed that Tamil would be recognised as the official language, along with Sinhalese and English. A day after the first round of negotiation, the LTTE backed out and sunk two Lankan boats. It resumed the battle too. The LTTE did that because it wanted separation. That is where we differ.

Do you agree with the Tamil Nadu government's observation that the LTTE no longer enjoys the sympathy of the people of Tamil Nadu?

When the Sinhalese were killing Lankan Tamils, there was sympathy for the LTTE. But after the LTTE assassinated Rajiv Gandhi on Tamil soil it got alienated from all Tamil people. Later Amruthalingam was murdered; then Padmanabha was murdered in Tamil Nadu. These murders further alienated the LTTE from the people.

The efforts of Vaiko and others have had no impact on the people. Even now, a substantial section of people is against the LTTE.

But the people of Tamil Nadu still have sympathy for the Lankan Tamils.

They have sympathy for the Lankan Tamils, not for the LTTE.

You stated at a press conference that India's intervention in the Bangladesh crisis could not be compared with the Lankan crisis. How are they different?

The formation of Pakistan, including Bangladesh, was unrealistic. The division of India was the price our leaders had to pay for freedom. Pakistan and Bangladesh had no geographic contiguity, which is essential. Even the language of the Bangladeshis is different; it is Bengali. Most importantly, there was a military dictatorship. The military, which Yahya Khan used against the people of Bangladesh, was from West Pakistan. America was supporting Pakistan then.

And it was not an organisation like the LTTE which took up the cause of the people of East Pakistan. It was a mass revolt by Bengalis. The impact on us was tremendous as lakhs of refugees poured into West Bengal and the situation was such that all knew the West Bengal economy would collapse soon. That was when we intervened. A sea divides Sri Lanka and India, but people just walked into India from Bangladesh.

There is nothing artificial about the existence of Sri Lanka as a nation. Tamils and Sinhalese have been living together for hundreds of years. The problem started with the passing of the 'Sinhala only' legislation. Even now there is no military dictatorship there. They have an elected government. So, you can't compare the Bangladesh and Sri Lankan crises.

Why do you agree with Rajiv Gandhi's decision to send the Indian Peace-Keeping Force to Sri Lanka?

Our party supported it then. The Lankan government, all Tamil parties and the LTTE signed the agreement. Prabhakaran was here at that time. Our army trained them! That was for the first time that the Lankan government agreed that it was a multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic country. That agreement put an end to the genocide.

There was a clause in the agreement that 'to oversee the implementation of the agreement, if the Sri Lankan government needs military help from India, the government must help'. That is how the IPKF was sent. If the agreement was implemented properly, the country would have progressed. But the LTTE went back on it.

Why are you against India sending troops now?

Because there is no such agreement now. India cannot unilaterally take a decision and send troops to another country.

Many in Tamil Nadu look at the Communists as an enemy of Sri Lankan Tamils.

That is not true. When the people of Tamil Nadu don't like the LTTE, how will they misunderstand us? We are against the LTTE and not Lankan Tamils. We are against separating Eelam from Sri Lanka. The people of Tamil Nadu were with the LTTE. Not anymore.

Long back, Dravidian parties in India raised the very idea of separation. Why did they give it up? Because not only the people of Tamil Nadu, but all Indians want to remain a nation. Separation will not click here. When we say that Kashmir cannot be separated from India, how can we ask for the separation of a small island like Sri Lanka?

The chief minister of Tamil Nadu does not support the LTTE but he favours a separate Tamil Eelam.

He changes his stand constantly. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, he changed his position and became anti-LTTE. I don't know why, but he suddenly stated in the Assembly that the LTTE, which killed its Tamil leaders, could not protect the interests of Tamils. We welcome the statement. But he still sticks to his stand on a separate Eelam, which we oppose. There also he vacillated.

Don't you think statements by Tamil Nadu politicians clamoring for a separate Tamil Eelam will have serious repercussions in Kashmir and the northeast?

Definitely. If you support a separate Eelam, you can never say what will happen to Kashmir. There are so many separatist groups in the northeast too. Our territory will go to the dogs. If we go to the dogs, in this unipolar world, the imperialists will dance.

From where is the LTTE getting arms?

The money comes from drug and arms trafficking. The geographical position is advantageous for such activities. Many Sri Lankan Tamils who have moved to Europe are successful businessmen. They contribute too. Imperialist agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency have huge funds to help these separatist forces.

The LTTE has contacts with Kashmiri militants too! So, if the LTTE succeeds in Jaffna, it is going to be very dangerous for India.

Do you see the emergence of new terrorist groups if the war continues and the sufferings of Lankan Tamils increase?

The war will continue and the ultimate sufferers will be the Tamils, as they become refugees every time war breaks out. The continuance of war means a heavy strain on the economy of Sri Lanka and it will affect the Sinhalese and Tamils. Then, new terrorist groups will raise their heads. As long as there is no settlement on the basis of autonomy within a united Sri Lanka, the war will continue. In the end, the Sinhalese and Tamilians will suffer.

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