Chapter 4: Tamil Eelam War II

LTTE negotiators on several occasions repeatedly brought to the notice of the Sri Lankan government the excesses committed by the Sinhalese police and the army. But the government remained cold to these excesses and this caused relationship between the LTTE and government to become contentious. On June 10,1990 an encounter took place between the Sinhalese police and the LTTE over an incident of violation of human rights committed against a Muslim resident by the Sinhalese police at Kalmunai. This encounter ended in a full-scale war between the police and the LTTE.

Although Tamil Eelam National Leader Pirabaharan took immediate steps to bring the war to an end, the LTTE committed to safeguard the Tamil people and their homeland was left with no alternative but to confront the war unleashed by chauvinistic Sri Lankan government and its Sinhala army. Both were hell-bent on a genocidal war against the Tamils to rob them of their traditional homeland.

On September 1, 1991, National Leader Pirabaharan met newspaper reporters of Tamil Eelam and explained to them about the prevailing political and military situation. He said,

“Many of the army camps which existed when Tamil Eelam war II started, have now ceased to exist. Because army camps at places like Kokkavil and Mankulam were destroyed by our LTTE forces, a greater part of Vanni region had come under our control. With the destruction of Jaffna Fort, Jaffna town too has been liberated.

During the fight at Elephant Pass, for the first time we engaged the Sinhala army face to face in a conventional warfare. We fought with a numerically superior army and checked its advance for a very long period. If we get panicky over heavy casualties suffered at Elephant Pass, we can never hope to continue this war.

We should consider our losses as steps for future growth. During the 43 days battle ( 10/7/1991 to 23/8/199 ) we lost 564 fighters. But on the enemy side large number of Sinhalese soldiers died during the prolonged fighting. When compared with enemy losses, ours cannot be described as excessive. People who are undergoing untold sufferings will naturally feel alarmed as to what next. However, they must rally around in large numbers. Losses suffered in battle must be replenised then and there. People must fully identify themselves with us and understand our hardships and sufferings.

We are always ready to hold talks with the Sri Lankan government without any preconditions. But the government should create the necessary environment for holding such talks. In the island of Ceylon, the LTTE is only fighting against the Sri Lankan government forces. As such I feel there is no necessity for the Indian government to get worried about the LTTE. The hill country Tamils should realize that all their woes are caused by the continued betrayal by their leaders. The liberation struggle of Tamil Eelam cannot be destroyed by any kind of weapons or by any bombings.”