http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/11/06/international-community-duped-tiger-propaganda-lies-lies-and-more-lies

International Community Duped by Tiger Propaganda! Lies, lies and more lies!

Wed, 2012-11-07 03:28 — editor

 

By A Correspondent

The new face of the Tamil Tigers appear as human rights activists. Having committed the worst atrocities for three decades, they are now marching in the corridors of power in Geneva. The Tigers and their cubs are harnessing the vast network in the West and in Tamil Nadu to regroup and human rights lobby has fallen prey to them.

The Tamil tigers offered votes to Western politicians dependent on minority votes and money to corrupt Tamil Nadu politicians. Both M. Karunanidhi and MGR Ramachandran supported the LTTE and it was no suprise that M.K. Stalin was received by the controversial Navanethem "Navi" Pillai, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
The Tamil tigers demonize anything and everything in Sri Lanka, enlist the support of vociferous groups to campaign on their behalf on rights and for funds; resort to emotive techniques to sustain the diaspora sympathy but struggle to engage the community in Sri Lanka that has seen through their deception. The Tamil tigers continue to manipulate politicians, in their host country constituencies, who are keen to promote topical burning issues; they manipulate rights groups, aid agencies and feed the hungry press. No story is worth telling unless you can make it emotive. It is only a few courageous western journalists and writers concerned about global security go the extra mile to scratch beneath the surface of the propaganda to expose terrorist front cover and sympathetic agencies and their tactics.
The masses respond to stories of death, destruction, abuse, torture, corruption, women, children and tears. The Tamil tiger terrorists gripped their own community for 30 years in a blanket of deprivation and horror by cutting out media and contact with other communities, they gripped the Tamil diaspora through their agents that feed the diaspora with stories, video clips, drama, film, songs of fear and horror and in turn got their communities to campaign in the host countries. The Tamil tigers are notorious for showing images of the Hindu festival where men hang on hooks and go in procession – shown as torture, men rolling on the soil around the Hindu temple in prayer as being tortured, and images of terror gripped under developed areas as not being developed due to discrimination.
The height of deception comes when the Tamil tiger atrocities of massacres and impact of suicide bombings and assassinations conducted for 30 years targeting Buddhists, Muslims and Christians in cities and border villages - -- projected as Tamils being victimized. Members of the Tamil community often say “we have lost so much credibility with lies, lies and so much lies, that we feel ashamed to say we are Tamil”.
A community put to shame by the violence justifying Tamil tiger supporters overseas. The credit-card fraud, insurance-fraud, human smuggling, drug trafficking ---, the legacy of the infamous Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Members of the Tamil community often say in hushed tones that the LTTE destroyed their credibility and dignity as a community that lived and worked honestly. Why the hushed tones?
Due to the lingering fear that they will be contacted, a Tamil tigers overseas will get to know, though those receiving money from Canada, Germany or France and their support enlisted. While those who receive the calls and receive the money say that they wont be fooled anymore. But we need the money. We take the calls. We agree with them. But we know that they fund violence and we are their servants! They think we will continue to be their servants in violence. No more. We will not be duped. The diaspora and international community might be – but not us.
Some say that because they send the money people don’t want to work “what is the point in working everyday when we can get lumpsums from abroad?” – thereby preventing the ordinary man from returning to what was once known as a “honest day’s work” where one would work earn and spend one’s earnings to uplift one’s family. The Tamil tigers and the culture they spread was based on handouts from the Western diaspora and donor organizations.
It came in millions and billions of dollars as revealed in the investigation into the Tiger front Tamil Rehabilitation Organization and its supporter Raj Rajaratnam in the United States of America. The money flowed with every attack, with every assassination, the bounty! The diaspora Tamil tigers paid dollars for the blood spill. The price was greater the bigger the target. They sent pennies and the cents collected on the streets as well as the thousands from the wealthy to sponsor murder in another country.
The Tamil tiger agenda is exercised through NGOs and INGOs, Human rights groups, Peace groups and movements. Everyone wants to be somebody – therefore we will always find the odd Sinhalese that wants to be famous campaigning on behalf of the Tamil tigers, feeling good about themselves, helping to ease the guilt or justify an inadequacy.
Looking at images of those that died when held hostage by the Tamil tigers and attempting to interpret that the body count was a result of the government troops. Did anyone do a body count of those the Tigers assassinated for trying to escape? Those that died when the Tamil tiger artillery was aimed parallel to the ground to attack Sri Lankan troops? Or when Tamil tiger artillery coordinates were specifically given to hit their civilian hostages in an attempt to “sacrifice them” for the media. When these bodies were collected and laid out or discovered in piles by the Sri Lankan Forces the easy interpretation was – they are standing there – they must have done it. The question is would the troops have risked their lives to rescue the civilians amisdst Tamil tiger artillery and weapons fire? Does anyone question as to why there is “no war” from the day the terrorist leader was pronounced dead? Then one would conclude that no terrorism=no war.
Agencies and individuals breathing life into the world’s most ruthless terrorist organisation should be held accountable. Not a single apology to any of the massacred villagers, destroyed religious sites, bombings of civilians, maiming and disabling of civilians, from the terrorist support groups, funders, and rights groups that breathed life into terrorist group.
The Tamil tigers, chameleon like adjust quickly to new and different ways of achieving their agenda. The Tamil tigers to keep their funds coming in, must enlist Western support to campaign on their behalf, must keep the diaspora engaged for funds, must try to keep the local community on side to ensure their side jobs and that little extra income. How do they do this?
They market images of wailing women, crying children, terrorist held territory images, to project an image of injustice. Little does the unsuspecting viewer know that they were created by the terrorists. An attempt made to dupe an Australian magistrate into thinking a Tamil asylum seeker was tortured when he displayed images of a Hindu festival of himself hanging on hooks, and another man rolling in the sand. British Immigration officers duped into believing the cigarette burns are torture marks. These are well established preplanned methods that can be selected from a “menu” for those that wish to seek asylum. When a Tamil tiger supporter that facilitated human trafficking was asked why so many try to leave? Do they not like living here that much? He looked baffled and responded “Oh no, it is because those countries take them, so they go there. If they take them, then why not go?”
Deception was their forte and still is. Those that were entrapped into supporting terrorists, respond differently. Some speak out while others simply move away from providing the support. Still others continue to support as they just cannot bear to think they were sucked in, were naïve, got caught, cant bear to feel hood winked or got cheated and wants to justify and rationalize their stand trying not to see the horrors of terrorism.
Well why do the media overseas say that women are abused and harassed?
A senior member of the Tamil community says “the drama continues for a few rupees or promise of a boat ride to a western country with free accommodation, meals and allowance”. The Tamil tigers who were not rehabilitated and hid among the civilians or those that did not disclose their true identity and blended with the community are keen to work for Tamil tiger diaspora money. “They will talk the talk and walk the walk”.
The Tamil tigers used street theater and drama to recruit the young to their cadre. The Tamil tigers continue to use drama and theatre for their work even to date, says Jesudasan. They pay the families and money produces the actors and actresses. You can earn much from giving a clip or an interview. Besides they say it is what we must do to help our people. The Tamil tigers will use and abuse the system, the living and the dead to achieve their aims.
Sivaseelan is annoyed when he says “What you people don’t understand is every time there is some talks in Geneva the tigers people will get ready. They are milking the West well and all those reporters hungry for stories. They are not fools they make it like it is very secretive, very dangerous, and very secretive and exciting and give the story or interview. Lot of money in it.They thank the new tigers that they can still make money like this.
When I see what they say on these interviews, I think they are still making a bad name for us (Tamils). Also not their fault no? When there are so many in the West that like stories like these and they become famous when they put the story. So they think why not use them. They look-after with gifts those that put the stories also. Tigers people will always use other people’s foolishness. Everyone is happy the acting family is paid, the tigers people are happy, the person listening to the story is happy for a good story. So it is a business also.
Amudha who lived for one year in a rehabilitation center and subsequently in the community amongst civilians and other reintegrated former Tamil tiger families had this to say: last time also when there was something in Geneva they told stories about rapes and abuse on those in custody. I have lived in rehabilitation and I used to look after women in the female regiment. No one has been raped or I will hear of it. I keep in touch with these women who have been in centers and now in the community. If there was we will say.
But when they treated us with respect then we must not lie. Where I live now is outside the village on the edge of the forest area. I live with 6 families that were with the Tamil tigers. All the women live on their own with the children while the men go to work in other areas or some have died during terrorism. We are living safely and without problems. If there was so much problems how come we do not experience. Even if we don’t experience we hear from all areas everything that happens and no one has said about abuse or rape. We are not afraid to speak out. These stories are nice stories for the newspapers and overseas I think that is what they like to hear is happening. It is the police that come to make sure that we don’t have any problems and we are happy for that. We have had to ask for our police post not to be removed from our area. So if abroad there are stories that the police and army are doing abuses I think they make money from the stories.
Vijidaran said if there are so many abuses why are so many rehabilitees joining the Civil defense force? I see more women joining. If they were badly treated they won’t joint and be trained by the Sri Lanka Army? If someone says there were rapes how is it that most joining to the CDF is women? I think there is no anger or bitterness either because if that is the case they will not want to be trained by the Sri Lanka Army.
Jeyani smiles when she says if we were abused in rehabilitation we will be angry. If we heard others were abused we will be even more angry. You must ask people who speak of abuse whether they know that 30 of my friends went back to live inside the rehabilitation center after they were reintegrated into the community. Would they go back to follow the pre-school training course? Some of the rehabilitees were sent home before they finished rehabilitation period to see what life is like after we are reintegrated. Everyone came back.
All the men and the women. I think they should not try to tell more lies now - but be truthful.
They can never say lies about a program that we were all part of and we progressed through the rehabilitation. I was able to get a job after my rehabilitation period in a good company. I learnt all the skills when in the center – I learnt the value of being a woman, not have to be like a man to be respected in the LTTE. I learnt how to present myself as I want to be, to dress and even to smile. Those who know will know. Those who don’t want to know will try to destroy an experience we thought helped us to come back to society. We suffer the consequences of bad things we do and the lies we tell.
Bad things can’t continue forever, the Gods won’t allow it. See what happened? If the government did not stop this we will still be in the jungle hating people that we never knew.
Thinking that what we do is right. We have now moved on and left the bad past. We have moved into light. We have another chance in life to correct anything wrong we have done. We can all decide when we will make a change for good. Anyone can start today if they want.
The responsibility for promoting and facilitating terrorism lies with you. The responsibility extends to the families and loved ones who have suffered for 30 years as a result of Tamil tiger terrorism. If you have supported them in any way. You are responsible for the massacres, assassinations, deprivation of development and education gripped by terrorism. Think about your social responsibility. Think whether you have blood on your hands by speaking on behalf of terrorism or by putting a coin into the bucket carried by a Tamil tiger terrorist in the guise of a humanitarian aide worker.
Maybe the words of a 16 year old rehabilitated child soldier of the Tamil tigers may help people see through the deception of the Tamil tigers: “like vultures that feed on dead bodies…. terrorism destroys communities and destroyed our wellbeing…. They trapped us by giving false hopes, saying even death can become life, the tombstone an epic” referring to the Tamil tiger darlings - the suicide bombers.
- Asian Tribune -