| by Robinhood
(Views expressed in this article are author own.)
( May 3, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The government announced that Gopi and three others were killed in a confrontation on 11th April. Before that the commanding officer of Jaffna, Major General Udaya Perera gave a statement to the Udayan Newspaper that three people including Gopi was taken in to custody. Up to now Major Udaya Perera has not withdrawn his statement given to Udayan was wrong.
We often hear lethal stories such as criminals and suspects taken in to custody handcuffed, jumped to the river to escape were drowned or criminals taken into custody handcuffed were taken to show the hidden haul of ammunitions were encountered in a confrontation when the latter tried to shoot the police, are part of the state sponsored criminal culture in Sri Lanka which is happening over a period in large scale. Although we know criminals taken into custody were shot by the police without legally prosecuting and enforcing the law but we don’t take any effort to know the actual crimes involved behind these killings. It is because the government justifies that those killed, are none other than criminals, if not we too have to handcuff ourselves and jump to the same river due to fear. Exploiting the ex LTTE detainees and prosecuted criminals for state sponsored crimes and encountering them in a shoot out to destroy evidence is part and partial of the heaping criminal culture in the Rajapaksa regime.
The deaths of these three suspects who were taken in to custody by General Udaya Perera is also an extension of these mortal stories. Gopi’s story is yet another horrible version than the stories we hear from southern underworld. The regime announced that until Gopi was killed the latter was the new military leader of the LTTE and was dealing with foreign Tamil extremist groups in disguise of reviving a new LTTE, so that there is no necessity to investigate about his death. The regime decided to include these three murders in the same way the regime wiped out the LTTE during the war to suppress this camouflaged version of this sponsored synthetic revival of the LTTE.
After the 1988 deadliest arms struggle and facing a great defeat despite killing thousands, the JVP was able to re-organize in a short period of four years and able to win a seat in the parliament. The leadership for such an arms struggle was given by the same 2nd in command group who gave leadership for the same struggle. In 1994 an environment was created and opportunities were given for the JVP to come to political mainstream.
Though five years has elapsed after the end of the war with the LTTE no opportunities were given nor space created for them to enter political. Why such as exercise should be considered as violence? The question is today, there isn’t a conducive environment as 1994. In 1994 the then UNP government did not create a false JVP, labeled them as violence and didn’t suppress their activities.
The importance to inquire into Gopi’s death is vital at this moment. Instead of creating an environment to bring the young Tamil people into the political mainstream today it is being suppressed and tempted to take arms again. According to the regimes fateful announcements Gopi including three others were killed during a confrontation and for this purpose 2500 soldiers and 18 armored vehicles were used. But according to Major Udaya Perera they were held in military custody. Citing security units on the following day the Island newspaper reported that during this clash a member of the military intelligence named Selvarajah on duty attached to the Kilinochchi Kokavil army base was severely wounded and admitted to the Padaviya hospital was later died. Meanwhile from the Nedunkerny areas in Vavuniya where this death reported, the Puliyankulam police OIC Mohamed Jamaldeen has recorded during this clash a soldier named Selvarajah was killed. But in the regimes mortal news announced a different story. That is while this operation was conducted, there was a separate military training and during the training an army soldier named Selvarajah Kamalarajah died. We have never heard, there are military trainings conducted amid military operations anywhere in the world.
According to the prevailing law in a war free environment the autopsy should be conducted under the observation of the judge of that area. But the body of the deceased was taken to Anuradapura and the autopsy was done by the Anuradapura magistrate. How many bullet wounds were in the body and the distance from where it was fired was still unknown. According to the national and international laws even during a war fare the body of the deceased should be handed over directly to the relatives. But no bodies were directly handed over to the relative but handed over to the security forces.
The statement of major Udaya Perera who said Gopi and others were in the army custody, Selvarajah Kamalarajah died during the clash, conducting the autopsy in Anuradapura and not handing over the dead bodies directly to the relatives, implies that there is something hidden.
The human rights activist Balendra Jeyakumari was taken into custody citing that Gopi was sheltered in her house. But her 13 year old daughter told the open courts in writing by her own handwriting that somebody ran and came inside the house therefore she ran out of the house with her mother. According to the letter, taking Jeyakumari in to custody is another episode of this story. The next chapter of that adventures drama is that Gopi has shot a police officer and fled the area. It is astonishing that the security forces surrounding the house were unable to catch Gopi. If Gopi was caught the adventure story would have ended from the first episode.
Amid these adventurous stories there are heroic stories that could be listened. Galaboda Gnanasara publicly threatened to kill Watareka Vijitha like a street hooligan. Though Watareka made a police complaint, no law was enforced against Gnanasara. Secretary of Bodu Bala wrote to president, that if something happens to us you should bear the responsibility. But Watarka Vijitha still lives via hiding.
The attack launched against the UNP MP’s who visited Hambantota to see the Mattala Airport and the sea port is another heroic incident. According to Rajapaksa this is another provocation by the villagers. The specialty in this heroic incident is that the main hero can possess a pistol in his waist during emergency. The hero can scare people by firing to the sky and tell that it is a dummy pistol. It is a pity that D. A Rajapaksa is not living to see these patriotic leaders, adventure stories and heroes.
Robinhood – Promoting the rights of ethnic and political minorities.
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