Did we commit genocide in the Vanni?

INNOCENT until proven guilty is a fundamental of our judicial system, however no such standard has been applied to the events of the final stage of the war which ended at Nandikadal.

- By Pradip Jayewardene

The cry of genocide has become louder and louder with the City of Brampton, in Canada allowing the building of a Tamil Genocide memorial.

None of the international human rights organisations or international NGOs have accused the Sri Lanka government of genocide. It is only members of the Tamil diaspora, LTTE front organisations and politicians of their adopted homes that have raised the genocide cry.

The accusation of genocide is based on two main factors; the allegation that 40,000 civilians were killed in the last stage of the war and the allegation that the Sri Lankan army used artillery against civilians.

In the last few months of the war, the LTTE were in retreat, unable to halt the advancing army, they resorted to taking the civilian population hostage, moving them en masse, taking women, children, the old and sick with them in their retreat.

In a desperate attempt to separate the civilian population from the LTTE, on three occasions the army declared no-fire zones, The LTTE never respected these nofire zones and attacked the army from within them using heavy weapons. The LTTE were in possession of artillery pieces and mortars including 152mm long range guns, 130mm artillery guns, 122mm artillery guns, 120mm, 81mm, 60mm mortars and had highly trained artillery and mortar crews.

In reality

The international media and specifically Channel 4, in their documentaries, never once mentioned the possession and use of artillery by the LTTE, with the intention of creating a false narrative that the army was using artillery against civilians. In reality the army was attacked by the LTTE using artillery from within the no fire zones and lost hundreds of men and had to respond with artillery fire, an action fully within their right.