Can Yasmin Sooka & ITJP produce a CIVILIAN list of Missing/Dead instead of LTTE Terrorists!
In 2018, Yasmin Sooka representing International Truth & Justice Project administered through the EU funded Foundation for Human Rights South Africa submitted to The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) Sri Lanka, set up by an Act of Parliament, a list of 351 names of persons her entity claims are ‘enforced disappearances’ during the final phase of the conflict. The ITJP website however has a list of 425 names, none of whom are CIVILIANS but all of whom are either LTTE combatant or a member of a LTTE family (Mahaveer). This exposes Sooka based on her own report. The entire basis for claiming war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide was based on the allegation that the Sri Lankan Army indiscriminately killed UNARMED CIVILIANS NOT ENGAGED IN ANY FORM OF HOSTILITIES. Returning fire in an armed conflict is allowed by rule of war as is the proportionality of collateral damage, all of which absolves the Sri Lanka Armed Forces of committing willful killing given that they brought to safety close to 300,000 Tamils at the sacrifice of thousands soldiers and over 1000 soldiers still remain missing, while engaged in battle with an armed terrorist movement even banned internationally. We all expected Sooka & ITJP to produce lists of civilians that they alleged the Sri Lankan Armed Forces had killed or made to disappear. Instead she is presenting over 400 LTTE combatants & their families. The Sri Lanka Armed Forces saved close to 300,000 Tamils including 12,000 LTTE among whom were 594 child soldiers. This speaks volumes and exposes Sooka & ITJP as a voice for not Tamil civilians but LTTE.
https://imadr.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Sri-Lanka_OMP-Act-No.-14_2016.pdf
https://disappearance.itjpsl.com/#lang=english
Total list of names = 425 (not 428 as there are duplicates)
Total male LTTE combatants = 321
Total female LTTE combatants = 71
Which means out of 425 named by Sooka 392 are LTTE male or female ‘missing’
Some of the females are wives of LTTE while some wives are also LTTE combatants or working in some administrative position within the LTTE Inc.
There are unfortunately 32 children mentioned in this report as missing – all from Mahaveer families where either father, mother or both are LTTE combatants. It was highly unlikely that they would have attempted to cross over to Government side but would have remained till the end and probably had no choice given that they had to follow orders.
LTTE FEMALE COMBATANTS
Of the 71 female combatants in the ITJP “missing” list – all holding positions of importance
7 female combatants – Malathy Regiment holding rank of Lt. Col
1 female combatant – Commander of Malathy Regiment
1 female combatant – Commander of Women’s Lt. Col. Kutty Sri Motor Regiment.
1 female combatant – Deputy in charge of Women’s Development Organisation.
1 female combatant – Ex-Commander of Siruththai Regiment (married to a senior LTTE)
1 female combatant – Former Deputy 2nd Lt Malathy Regiment Commander
1 female combatant – Head of English college run by Father Francis.
1 female combatant – In Charge of the LTTE’s Women’s Head Office
1 female combatant – In charge of “Nithersanam” ( LTTE TV ) Women Unit
1 female combatant – In-charge of Women Development Organization.
1 female combatant – Lt Col Radha Anti Air Craft Regiment as a Map Section
1 female combatant – female helper of Father Francis (very interesting)
Can Yasmin Sooka/ITJP produce a list of CIVILIAN MISSING instead LTTE TERRORISTS
ITJP attached photos but only 2 female combatants were in LTTE uniform.
The rest were in casual clothing.
The oldest female combatant is born in 1963 – 36years
The youngest female combatant is 16years (3 such combatants)
All the disappeared are cited in 2009 except 1 where date is not mentioned. Location of disappearance is cited as
Mathalan – 1
Wadduwakkal –
Mullaiwakkal – 15
Nandikadal Lagoon – 4
PTK – 2
Omanthai – 1
Valayanmadam – 5
Vallipuram – 1
Another noteworthy feature that questions who these “WITNESSES” making allegations are gets exposed by Sooka’s report itself.
One of the female combatants from the Sothiya brigade (photo wearing a LTTE uniform) is claimed to be missing by HER SISTER. Is she a LTTE female combatant too?
All of these witnesses had to have been directly or indirectly part of LTTE to have been able to recognize the LTTE combatants.
Other witnesses cited by ITJP are
112 – on 3 LTTE female combatants
127 – cites 1 child of LTTE family
129 – on 2 LTTE female combatants
185 – claims to have seen this female combatant standing in a line to cross the Wadduwakkal Bridge on 17 May 2009. That the witness says the female combatant was not with her husband reveals the witness was known to the female combatant.
191 – has identified Father Francis helper
60 & 191 – identified the LTTE combatant heading Father Francis school
There are some unimagineable comments in the ITJP report where ITJP claims families ‘personally handed over LTTE combatants to the Army” while there are “letters” sent from one end of war zone to the other end as if some form of courier operation existed during the height of battle.
LTTE MALE COMBATANTS
ITJP reports cites 321 Male LTTE combatants
ITJP gives photos of 18 male combatants in LTTE uniform – the rest are identified as LTTE by their designations.
5 are personal body guards of Prabakaran / Col Ramesh
Head of Voice of Tiger
There are commanders of various LTTE regiments – ImranPandiyan, Radha, Col. Kitty Artillery unit, Charles Anthony Special regiment, Lt Col Kuttysri Mortar Regiment, Special Commander of the LTTE Sniper Regiment.
Top LTTE heading intelligence units, administrative units, LTTE engineering section, and financial units, LTTE student’s organisation. In-charge of vehicles, War Heroes’ Dept. In-charge of LTTE television services (TTN) In-charge of officers training college & in-charge of military science academy. Second in charge of Sea Tigers.
Internationally banned TRO representatives also
Tamil Eelam education dept, Tamil Eelam Jewellery business,
Deputy International Head of LTTE, military spokesperson for LTTE. Deputy Head of LTTE Police
You will be surprised at some of the other designations of these LTTE “missing” that Sooka is shedding crocodile tears for.
The oldest LTTE is 1944 born & in charge of external audits for LTTE Financial Wing (65 years)
The youngest LTTE are 2 born in 1992 (just 17 years)
W46 claims to have seen 3 LTTE with Father Francis
W51 claims he saw 2 LTTE taken away after surrendering
W67 claims he was 14 LTTE put into a bus in Wadduwakkal but he also sees 1 LTTE in Omanthai on the same day!
W99 saw 9 LTTE surrender with Father Francis. Now why would Father Francis need to surrender?
W112 has seen 28 LTTE surrender with Father Francis and obviously knows much about the persons surrendering. We have to presume these ‘witnesses’ are themselves LTTE to be able to give such details to ITJP.
THE LTTE CHILDREN
Daughters 19
Photos are available of all
One girl is mentioned as being a day old baby but the photo given against her name is of a girl well over 1year – ITJP claims “surrendered herself to the Army”
7 children’s birthdays are not given while the youngest is 2years and the eldest is 25years (Nadesan’s daughter)
ITJP claims all 19 disappeared on 18thMay 2009 from Wadduwakkal
Complaints have been filed for 5 of the 19.
Sons: 13
Photos are available of 12 sons except 1
ITJP claims one child disappeared on 21 April in Puthumathalan while all others are cited as 18 May from Wadduwakkal.
The oldest son is 14 years while the youngest is 3 years.
The OISL Case 2 (320) cites the son of a senior LTTE commander
There are in all 26 witnesses whose credibility has to be questioned while also wondering if they too were in Army custody, how they managed to escape. Are they actually real witnesses or are these stories being made up? How did they land up overseas & linked to Sooka?
Why is it that Sooka’s entity has not presented a single CIVILIAN ‘missing’? How can missing LTTE be accepted as ‘civilian’ missing for which OMP is being manipulated to give compensation to families.
Shouldn’t LTTE Inc that must be generating more than $500m annual profits be looking after the families of these fighters given that they fought for their bogus Eelam cause? Why should the Sri Lankan tax payers pay compensation to LTTE families when these LTTE women & men took up arms against the State. Compensating REAL civilians is a different issue but Sooka’s list of LTTE presented to the OMP cannot be accepted as civilian dead and the OMP cannot recommend any compensation to these LTTE families.
The Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission Report of November 2011 declared 22,247 LTTE dead of which 11,812 had been identified by name. However, 10,435 LTTE dead had not been identified by the time LLRC report was released in November 2011.
Is this 10,435 LTTE dead included as ‘civilians’ in the OMP list of 18,586 (of which 5000 are Missing Sri Lankan Soldiers)
It is the task of Sri Lanka Defense Ministry to see if Sooka’s 425 LTTE ‘Missing” are in the 10,435 LTTE dead who have yet to be identified.
The international entities who have fallen prey to SOOKA & her ITJP reports must seriously question her on why she is presenting LTTE COMBATANTS as CIVILIANS.
What took place was a non-international armed conflict. LTTE were no angels. They were an armed group, they had hierarchical power structure and was in fact the world’s only terrorist organization that had a sea wing – air attack plus ran police, courts, educational outlets, stores, pharmacies (all from medicines confiscated by the govt) and even forestry departments!
Sooka and ITJP have no right to present terrorists as civilians. This is completely negating and demeaning the status given to civilians in an armed conflict.
All the tamashas regarding civilian dead is in reality tamashas for LTTE dead. What is taking place is revenge by LTTE remnants against vanquishing their terrorist colleagues.
Genocide of LTTE – YES
Genocide of CIVILIANS – NO
Shenali D Waduge
