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To those whose memories of the armed forces are associated with the massacres and disappearances of 1990 and before, the tidal wave brought new revelations. The story was the same everywhere along the government-controlled seaboard along the East. It was spontaneous, un-coordinated and not part of conventional military training. When disaster struck on 26th December, the Army had its camps along the Vadamaratchy coast, and itself suffered much loss. Yet many people testified to the courage and unselfishness shown by the Army in helping and rescuing people. A fisherman from Katkovalam east of Pt. Pedro who was himself rescued by the Army, testified that the Army helped all those it could and was uniformly kind to everyone. As with many soldiers, this man had been hurt when thrown against barbed wire fencing along the coast by the force of the wave. Along the seaboard of Trincomalee town and north of it, the Navy was the only body at hand to help the civilians (mainly Tamil and Muslim). Around 8th Mile Post (Kuchchaveli Road), in the wake of the turbulence the Navy asked the civilians to run inland to Agampodai Hill, and later in the afternoon brought food and water for them. Kamaraj, a toddy tapper who shinnied up a coconut tree in Gopalapuram had a clear view of the mischief wrought by the tidal wave. He saw a navy man braving the flood and going in to clutch at two children. Then he saw another wave, which swept all three away. In Veloor, the corpse of a naval man clutching that of a child whom he tried to save was recovered, with his shoelace caught in a fence. These are actions, which, surely, cast a new ray of hope after decades of communal strife and should be the cornerstone of a new beginning. Similar reports came from coastal areas close to Batticaloa Town, Kallady, Amirthakali and Navalady. Testimonies were of the Army going into the water, pulling out people and getting them to safety. Strangely, what the media largely ignored was not lost on Batticaloa people abroad. A Batticaloa man said that he received telephone calls from several of his friends in Australia and New Zealand, asking him to convey their gratitude to the Army Brigadier in Batticaloa for the good work done by his men. In the Kalmunai and Thirukkovil areas of the Amparai District, people experienced 3 waves, and when the sea was seen to be wild, warnings were shouted and people ran. A number of old people succumbed. The STF in these areas has been commended for leaving their arms behind, going out into the water, pulling people out and getting them to safety. They worked hard also at providing transport and basic relief, and the people are very grateful for it. Food came from neighbouring Muslims and Sinhalese. Even more remarkable was the LTTE’s behaviour. In all these areas where the LTTE had been unremarkable in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, started asserting itself subsequently, trying to take over the refugee camps and demanding that all relief material and work should be controlled by them. It launched a virulent campaign against the armed forces attacking them with blatant falsehoods. The LTTE accused the Army through its media monopoly of burning a refugee camp in Kudathanai, Vadamaratchy, supplying bad rice to refugees and of obstructing relief. The Army cleared the road from Valvettithurai to Pt Pedro and made it usable to traffic. The LTTE claimed through its media that the Sea Tigers and the people had cleared the road. Where the needs of the people who had suffered a grave tragedy were concerned, the LTTE’s compulsions worked to the detriment of the people. At the refugee camp in Varani in the North, the LTTE turned down clean drinking water supplied by the Army. Everywhere people, especially foreigners, bringing relief were turned away, unless they were prepared to give everything to the LTTE. Among the organisations that did relief work in Batticaloa in the immediate aftermath were EHED, World Vision, Oxfam, ZOA and UNICEF. On 7th January 2005, a rehabilitation meeting was held in Batticaloa, with the GA as chairman and various NGOs, foreign relief representatives anxious to help, religious leaders and the university vice chancellor in attendance. The meeting started with a discussion of division of labour – one organisation to supply tents, one in charge of sanitation and so on. The TRO suddenly ruled that in Manmunai Division (Batticaloa Town and environs), it alone would be in charge of relief work and the others should keep out. Similarly for Kiran and Vaharai. Though deeply upset no one dared to protest. One organisation, which brought relief for refugees in Batticaloa Central College, had to take it back when the LTTE-TRO demanded that everything be handed over to them. The donors instead distributed the materials to the needy in villages in the area. The victims were being victimised again. Why was the LTTE behaving so? Again roughly the same answer came from residents all the way from Vadamaratchy to Komary and Pottuvil: The LTTE is afraid that the people had rejected the LTTE and turned to the Army (Navy, STF). It wanted to assert its power through taking over the refugee camps and establishing lines of patronage. The LTTE had been thrown off balance. It all started with the LTTE’s visions of grandeur in creating intense war hysteria, until the very last day when the tidal wave struck. Source:
University
Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) Sri Lanka UTHR(J)
Information Bulletin No. 37 ‘A
Tale of two Disasters and the Fickleness of Terror Politics’ Date of Release: 10th January 2005
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