Northern B’Caloa region gets rapidly de-populated
December 23rd, 2006
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The Northern region of Batticaloa district is being rapidly de – populated of people!
People living amid great hardship in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are moving out to the relatively safe areas controlled by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL).
There is a propaganda war on. The GOSL says the people are fleeing from LTTE oppression and seeking liberty in GOSL areas. The LTTE says the Government is driving out these people in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile the people are on the move seeking refuge and safety. They are neither for nor against any entity. All they want is to be safe and exercise that fundamental freedom – The right to life.
Theirs is a harrowing tale of sorrow and misery. These suffering humans are mere hapless mortals caught up in a cruel game of war waged by the state and the tigers. Both the GOSL and LTTE have treated them as mere pawns in their calculations. The media is full of stories about territory gained and territory lost while these flesh and blood humans have gained nothing and lost everything.
The displaced people are being de – humanised and reduced to mere statistics. Their suffering is being highlighted in both the pro – GOSL and pro – LTTE media. Their experiences and stories are being used for propaganda purposes. Both sides try to demonise the other . The people are human fodder for the propaganda guns. Both sides pointedly refrain from accepting any responsibility for the abject condition of these people and seek to blame only the enemy
The Koralaipattru North region has been impoverished and backward even during the best of times. Its economy is mainly based on fisheries, agriculture, forestry and livestock and dairy. The outbreak of war has affected it drastically. With the LTTE gaining control of the region it became systematically deprived and deliberately targeted. This northern region of Batticaloa district is separated from Southern region of Trincomalee district by the Verugal river.
The Koralaipattru North region had around 10 – 12,000 permanent residents in April this year. Then came the deliberate bombing and shelling of Tamil areas in the Muthur East region of Trincomalee district. This campaign was undertaken with the ostensible purpose of driving the people out of the strategic Sampoor area. The people fled Southwards moving from place to place in search of safety as aerial bombardment and artillery shelling intensified.
The bulk of these wretched of the North – Eastern earth – whose plight has been spotlighted in these columns earlier – reached the Koralaipattru north region and took up temporary residence as IDP’s. The number of people in Koralaipattru north swelled up to more than 50,000. Their troubles however were not over.
The GOSL began deliberately curtailing the movement of people and transport of medicine, building materials, food, essential goods etc to and from the Koralaipattru north division generally known as Vaakarai region. GOSL also conducted several aerial bombings of the area. Artillery was also used to fire into the area. The GOSL of course justified these attacks and stringent measures on the grounds of security.
In fairness to the GOSL there was some basis for security related concerns. The LTTE had relocated its Trincomalee district headquarters from Sampoor to Verugal on the Batticaloa border. Its main sea tiger base was now in Kathiraveli and Paalsenai. Moreover the formidable artillery battery stationed in Sampoor was also moved out to the Vaakarai – Verugal region.
The security forces accused the LTTE of firing artillery from this region towards Trincomalee district army camps in Maavillaaru, Mahindapura, Kallaru. Somapura etc and also towards Batticaloa district army camps in Mankerny. Cadjuwatte, Valaichenai etc.
While the LTTE oriented hostilities provided the security forces with a convenient excuse to target the Vaakarai – Verugal region there was also a larger objective. The Sinhala – supremacist regime of Mahinda Rajapakse has a major politico – military objective. It wants to de – link the North and East and then bring the Eastern province under its full control.These motives have been described in detail in these columns earlier.
In the process the regime also wants to de – populate Trincomalee district of Tamils and drive Tamils living in LTTE controlled areas in Batticaloa – Amparai into GOSL dominated regions. This is in effect a scorched earth policy where many Tamils will be deprived of dwellings and livelihood and reduced to a hand – out dependent life in refugee camps in their land of historic habitation.
The Eastern province at present has four zones under LTTE domination. The Eechilampattru – Verugal areas in Trincomalee district, The Kanchikudichaaru – Rufuskulam region in Amparai district, Large areas in the Paduvaankarai and Tharavai – Vadanunai region in Batticaloa west and the Vaakarai region in Batticaloa north. While the LTTE dominates most of Batticaloa hinterland the GOSL controls much of the littoral. The only coastal areas under LTTE control in Batticaloa district are in the Vaakarai region.This makes that zone a coveted prize as far as the state is concerned.
The security forces game plan seems to be that of a Southern push in Trincomalee and a North – Eastern push in Batticaloa to take the Vaakarai region. The para – military force being raised under the name of Karuna will be utilised to take on the LTTE in Paduvaankarai and Tharavai – Vadamunai. The STF and Karuna faction will jointly target the Amparai tigers. Already a force of 1200 – 1500 has been conscripted and recruited to fight as Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP).
The LTTE realises this fully. Hence its strenuous efforts to retain the Eastern regions under its control. Their attacks and counter – attacks in the East are aimed at retaining territorial control . The Vaakarai coastal area is of crucial importance in this respect. But given the manpower and military assets possessed by the LTTE in the East it seems a foregone conclusion that the tigers will have to give way at some point to a military juggernaut superior in air, sea and land power.
The situation may change if there is a significant LTTE influx of men and materials from the North to East but at present there seems no indication of that happening. The LTTE hierarchy in the Wanni is concerned more with defending the main rear base in the North with the idea perhaps of launching effective counter – offensives. Unless there is some strategic re- appraisal the LTTE leadership is not likely to provide increased input into the East. This means the Eastern tigers can only postpone the inevitable through their tenacity .
Against the backdrop of such an elaborate politico – military design the people of Vakarai region – both permanent and temporary – are regarded as being of no consequence. The deaths, destruction and displacement undergone by them will only be “collateral damage”. The stakes however are high and both sides have been fighting fiercely to win or more importantly not to lose. Inhuman methods have been employed.
The GOSL has restricted food and essential items being taken to the Vaakarai region. Quantities amounting to less than half of what is required have been taken irregularly. Movement to and from the area has been restricted for nearly ten weeks. Access by ICRC, UNHCR and SLMM are severely curtailed. Artillery attacks have been launched regularly.
In a display of callous disregard for civilised norms refugees housed in schools have been victimised on many occasions. Nearly a hundred civilians have been killed and more than two – hundred injured in these attacks. The LTTE request for a “safe haven” in Vaakarai was pointedly ignored.
A slow exodus in search of safety and relatively better conditions began. But the LTTE got worried about this slow exodus. Restrictions were imposed. People wanting to move out were threatened with dire consequences. Shots were fired in the air to disperse people on the move. Some were beaten. Roads were mined. Other routes were blocked or monitored
It was the “great helmsman” Mao Ze Dong who compared guerrillas to fish and the people to an ocean. If the ocean is drained then fish will flounder . Likewise a region bereft of people will render guerillas vulnerable. The LTTE did not want that to happen. So the LTTE enforced strict controls.
No people on earth can continue to suffer like the people of Vaakarai. There had to come a breaking point. The first signs came when the LTTE began moving out some cadres, artillery and military assets out of the region into Verugal area in Trincomalee and the Paduwaankarai – Tharavai – Vadamunai region in Batticaloa district. The people realised the LTTE was not going to hold out much longer.
Yet the people with long experience of war situations knew a bitter, bloody battle was likely before the final withdrawal. This meant a no holds barred onslaught by the armed forces. It also meant an unrestrained defence by the LTTE that would not pay much heed to the welfare of civilians. There was also the danger of drastic conscription to fight a last ditch battle. Adding to their woes was the weather that would make existence a tremendous burden. This fear of bad weather provided further impetus to the refugee outflow.
So the people began moving out. Initially it began as a trickle but soon became a flow. From hundreds a day the outflow increased to thousands per day. After some attempt to prevent the exodus the LTTE apparently gave up. The local tigers from the area did not have the “heart” to prevent the people from going out. There was some friction among the tigers on this matter. Ultimately the LTTE either turned a blind eye or was simply lax in preventing the people from going out.
The IDP figure of people taking refuge in Other areas of Batticaloa has reached 27,837 on December 21st evening. This amounts to more than half of the population in Koralaipattru North. Given the current rate of movement this figure is likely to exceed 35, 000 in a few days unless of course the LTTE enforces firm restrictions. Already the tigers have been accused of using civilians as human shields.
Whatever the propaganda on both sides the actuality on ground is that the people want “out”. They do not want to be caught up in a war they neither desire nor support. After four years of “peace” it seems a heartless crime to make these people suffer the agony and destruction of war.
The people living in Koralaipattru North are moving out primarily to eke out a life of relative safety. They have been pushed to this position by the series of harsh, inhuman measures adopted by the GOSL to drive them out.
The GOSL has reached the heights of hypocrisy when it says the people have escaped from tiger tyranny to seek liberty in Government areas. The GOSL has used brute force and inhuman methods to persecute a voiceless segment of its population and drive it away from its habitat for politico – military reasons. This is part of the genocidal war being waged by Colombo.
The people have no choice. What they want is safety. The would have come out sooner but for LTTE prevention. Life is the most important thing to humanity. Humans are prepared to risk death in order to seek life.
With Vaakarai region being rapidly de – populated GOSL security forces are likely to escalate military activity soon. Massive aerial bombardment and artillery attacks will be launched. The civilians remaining in Vaakarai will be regarded as “tigers” and treated as such. Such classification could be terribly wrong.
Crossing over from LTTE areas to GOSL areas amids at tiger hostility and adverse weather is not an easy task. There are many people in Koralaipattru who are old, sick and feeble. They cannot make the arduous journey so they stay where they are. Besides some of the original inhabitants do not want to leave their homes, livestock or poultry. Some could be prevented from moving by the LTTE too. Under these circumstances it would be a grave blunder to treat those remaining as tigers and unleash violent havoc on them.
The on going de – population of Koralaipattru indicates what lies in store for Eastern Tamils currently. Sampoor was ethnically cleansed of Tamils. A high security zone bereft of Tamils is being established. A similar re-play with slight modifications is likely in Vaakarai too. This pattern is likely to emerge in other theatres of conflict in the East. Later the North too will be afflicted in the same manner.
The Tamil homelands are being systematically ravaged and de – populated. A scorched earth policy is being implemented ruthlessly. Only the Western nations and India can curb the Rajapakse triad. The Tamil people are on the edge of disaster. The regime is all out to wreak havoc. The International Community can halt it if it wants to.
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