December 23 1987 was a warm, clear day, and I was hiding under a lantana bush with eight of my comrades in a village north of Jaffna. With our rifles cocked and our cyanide capsules clenched between our teeth, we awaited the soldiers who had been scouring the area for us for several hours. Our orders were to empty our magazines into them before biting into the glass capsules we called ‘kuppies’ that hung on a thread around our necks. As a Tamil Tiger guerrilla, there was no honour in being caught alive.
Life of a female LTTE militant in the late 80’s described in a touching article. While the author admits she shot at people with a gun – is relieved that she doesn’t know if the bullets hit anyone or not. There aren’t too many armed militants who get a second lease of life – after being on the run, and living in primitive conditions as a guerrilla, she moved out from Sri Lanka to India, and then to Sydney where she is now a parent herself.What does she think of the LTTE being crushed by the Sri Lankan army right now -
Although the Tigers have staged many comebacks in history, the latest government offensive may prove fatal. But the scars of this war will remain and until a political solution that recognises and respects the rights of the Tamil people is reached, I am certain that the Tamil fight will continue in one form or another.
And therein lies the problem, the Sri Lankan government, if under the euphoria of victory forgets the cause of the rebellion that turned into a terror orgy, does not make good use of the opportunity to clean up and integration of Tamils as equals, all hope is lost, again.
The author of the article above talks about her comrade at arms who had been an LTTE militant at 17 years of age, who continued her life as an LTTE militant driven by the organizations terrorist agenda and, consumed a cyanide pill when she was 24 and was awarded the highest post in LTTE rankings posthumously – Lieutenant Colonel.
The most shocking detail was that she had been wanted for masterminding, along with Prabhakaran, the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. The suicide bomber and her collaborators had been members of Akila’s unit, as I might have been if I had not walked away from the Tigers.
…
There’s more in the article than just words from a former terrorist, who had a second opportunity. Something to learn – how often do normal people get to hear why someone becomes a terrorist? An ideology that confuses me with our categorization in the animal kingdom. We do behave like wild animals killing each other – but animals fight for food, water, shelter, self or offspring protection. Do animals ever fight for a cause, or for an imaginary god, does that make them more advanced or civilized or less?
I tell people that the only reason I joined the war was to defend my people, because I felt there was no other choice. I was not coerced to join the insurgency. As an idealistic 17-year-old, I believed in the power of the individual to make a difference.
Therein lies another problem, a mind is a terrible thing to waste, so is youth – the idealism, the energy, the confidence about changing the world – all going into destruction and violence.
An important story for all of us in many ways…
