SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY Chapter 59: Queries over Premadasa's slaying

On May 1, 1993, President Ranasinghe Premadasa was near Sulaiman Hospital, in Messenger Street, Colombo, mixing with the crowds, busy organizing the ruling United National Party's (UNP) May Day procession, which was proceeding towards Galle Face Green, where the president was expected to deliver a keynote address later in the day. 

Premadasa urged the slogan-shouting UNP supporters and his party men to march four abreast in an orderly fashion. The time was about midday, when suddenly there was an explosion and in a second, the scene was transformed into a battlefield. Shattered body parts were hurled into the air. The road was splattered with blood and parts of flesh and broken limbs. There was screaming and shouting everywhere, and where moments earlier there had been an orderly procession, now there was chaos and mayhem. 

The area was like a battlefield, with police cars and ambulances running round. Police and presidential security guards were scrambling to find the President, but he was missing. The blast was so violent that police did not realize that Premadasa was dead until several hours later, when his ring and watch were identified on a torso in the hospital morgue. The news spread like wildfire that a suicide bomber had assassinated Premadasa. 

His death was the latest in a long history of assassinations among the nation's most powerful political and military figures. Gradually, the country learnt that a suicide bomber had pedaled a bicycle through the parade, and five feet from the president he had detonated the explosives strapped to his body. 

The police announced the next day that they believed that the assassination was the work of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Tamil militant organization that had been fighting a bloody civil war with government forces on the northern end of the island for the past decade. 

The government-controlled television compared the demise of the 68-year-old Premadasa to that of Abraham Lincoln, but there was a mixed reaction to the sudden death. Many Sri Lankans said that they found it difficult to grieve for a man who had led one of the world's most repressive and brutal regimes. "He was a dictator," said Vijitha Yapa, a former newspaper editor, who said that he had to quit the news business, as a result of Premadasa's suppression of the press. 

"The response to Premadasa's death was very disturbing," said Neelan Tiruchelvam, a constitutional lawyer and head of a private Colombo think tank, and also one of the leaders of the Tamil United Liberation Front, who too later succumbed to a bomb explosion by suicide killer. He added, "Instead of reacting in grief and anguish, some people were actually celebrating. It shows how deeply we're divided." 

This reaction was indicative of the general mood in the country, and the turnout at his funeral procession was embarrassingly thin. As the entourage wound through the neighborhood's of the city, where he had been born and raised, there was little sign that the nation's leader had died, aside from places in Colombo Central where white mourning flags fluttered from government offices and business places. 

Meanwhile, most rural villages were decorated with traditional religious decorations made out of tender coconut palm leaves and paper lanterns and streamers proceeded to Buddhist temples to mark a Buddhist holiday that fell on the day before the funeral. 

Premadasa was accused of violent actions against his political enemies. At one point in his four-year tenure, Sri Lanka had a higher percentage of abductions, deaths and disappearances per capita than any other nation in the world, according to international human rights organizations. A European parliamentary delegation estimated that between 1988 and 1990, as many as 60,000 Singhalese boys and men "disappeared" at the hands of the national security forces during Premadasa's efforts to crush a revolutionary group called the People's Liberation Front, and also known by its Sinhalese acronym JVP - Janata Vimukthi Perumuna. 
"The government's brutal counter-insurgency campaign was ... characterized by death squad killings, burning bodies left [on] roads as a warning to insurgents, dropping bodies into the sea from helicopters and cremating bodies with no investigation," according to a report by Asia Watch, a human rights group. 

However, the insurgent JVP also frequently resorted to terrorism: One tactic it adopted was to storm the homes of policemen and slaughter their wives and children. 

Premadasa applied the same fervor and dictatorial tactics that he employed against the insurgents to economic reform and aid to the poor. Sri Lanka's economy surged ahead of every other country in South Asia under Premadasa's privatization and liberalization programs. 

Premadasa tore down tenement slums in the heart of Colombo and built modern brick and glass apartment buildings for the city's poorest residents. He mandated free uniforms and lunches for all schoolchildren and began an ambitious program to provide jobs for the rural poor in the new garment factories. 

"Although this is a terrible tragedy," said Tiruchelvam, "it might give the country a chance to reassess. It is a chance for greater accountability and more collegial decision-making." Once it was confirmed that Premadasa had succumbed, the UNP selected as a compromise candidate Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunge to serve out the remaining two years of Premadasa's term as the acting president. 

Wijetunga was sworn in before the Chief Justice on the evening of May 1, the same day that Premadasa was killed. 

Subsequently, on May 7, parliament unanimously elected Wijetunge as the third executive president of the country to serve the balance period left in Premadasa's tenure. Ranil Wickremasinghe took oath as prime minister on that day too. 

At the second Provincial Council elections held on May 17, 1993, the ruling UNP won six of the seven councils. Chandrika Kumaratunga of the Podujana Eksath Perumuna - People's Alliance, won the Chief Ministership of Western Province and was sworn in on May 21. This victory rode against the sympathy wave of Premadasa's demise, and stood in good stead for her to win the premiership in the 1994 parliamentary general elections, and in the subsequent presidential election that was too held in the same year. 

Premadasa was born in Colombo at Dias Place, Keselwatte, in the San Sebastian municipal ward of the Colombo Municipality, on June 23, 1924. Both his father Richard Ranasinghe and his mother Battuwita Jayasinghe Arachchigge Ensina Hamine, who came from Horana in the Kalutura district, were devout Buddhists. 

Premadasa had his early religious education at the Purwarama Buddhist temple and later he joined Lorenz College at Skinners Road, Maradana, and finally he studied at St Joseph's College, also located in Maradana. 

At the age of 17 he organized the Suchitra Society. In 1949, Premadasa joined the Labor Party led by A E Goonasinghe and as a young man of 25 years he was soon drawn into municipal politics. He contested and won in the election as a Colombo municipal councilor, at the San Sebastian ward. There, he made a name for himself as an able debater, and by 1955 he served as the deputy mayor of Colombo. 

His first attempt to enter parliament was in 1956, when he contested against Dr N M Perera, the leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), as a UNP candidate. He was defeated and his next attempt was in March 1960, when he was returned as the third MP for Colombo Central - a three-member constituency, but he was beaten to fourth place at the July 1960 general elections to parliament at Colombo Central. 

In the 1965 parliamentary general elections Premadasa contested as the UNP candidate and was elected as second MP for Colombo Central. After the 1965 parliamentary elections the UNP formed a National Government by collaborating with the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (Federal Party) led by S J V Chelvanayakam. He was appointed as the parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Local Government. The minister of Local Government was the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi nominee, Murugesu Tiruchelvam, a former solicitor-general who was the father of Neelan Tiruchelvam, the renowned constitutional lawyer. 

Premadasa's first appointment to ministerial office was in 1968 when he was promoted as the minister of Local Government in succession to M Tiruchelvam, after the breakaway of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi from Dudley Senanayake's National Government. 

At the 1970 parliamentary general elections, Premadasa was elected as the first MP in the three-member Colombo Central electorate, and he retained his seat also as the first MP in the 1977 elections. 

In 1970, when Srimavo Bandaranaike had been in power for seven long years, Premadasa functioned as the Chief Opposition whip. On the floor of parliament, Premadasa proved that he was one of the most able speakers and debaters in the country. 

In 1977, with the return of the UNP to power, while J R Jayewardene was Prime Minister, Premadasa served as the Leader of the House and minister of Local Government and Housing, until his elevation as prime minister. 

When Jayawardene effected changes in the constitution and became the first executive president of the country, the mantle of the office of the prime minister fell to Premadasa. He was then 54 years old, one of the youngest premiers among British Commonwealth countries, and indeed in the world. There is no doubt that Premadasa rose to the top through his brilliance and hard work. He toiled unceasingly to reach his goal. Everyone, even his worst political rivals, accepted that he was a workaholic and worked systematically. He told at a meeting at his alma mater - St Josephs College, which he visited shortly after his appointment as prime minister - "There are no short cuts for success. There is no substitute for hard work." 

In 1978, Premadasa launched the village re-awakening movement - Gam Udawa - and also brought about a revolution in finding homes for the homeless. These two were his major contributions, which stood him in good stead when he successfully contested the presidential elections in 1989, against the formidable Srimavo Bandaranaike. 

But unfortunately the march of Ranasinghe Premadasa was cut short by the suicide bomber, and it was unfortunate that the body parts placed in the coffin were never positively identified as his. One person who never dreamt of becoming president and head of state was D B Wijetunga. Premadasa considered him a loyal servant who did not outwardly display any ambition of furthering his position as the prime minister. After the assassination of Premadasa he was chosen as a compromise candidate to become president, and he soon began to distance himself from Premadasa's family, his loyalists and his policies. 

Subsequent election meetings were held without picture of Premadasa on the stage, instead pictures of D S Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake and J R Jayewardene were colorfully displayed. On the day Premadasa's statue was unveiled at the place of the explosion, Wijetunge fell ill and was not present, but the very next day he was up and about again. 

It was said that Wijetunga did not attend the ceremony because some politicians in the Democratic United Front of Lalith Athulathmudali had allegedly planted a story with the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) that Wijetunga was to be assassinated by a section of the UNP who were faithful to Premadasa. Wijetunga removed B Sirisena Cooray from his position as general-secretary of the UNP - he was the closest lieutenant and confidant of the late president. 

There was no attempt on Wijetunge's life, but it was alleged that he very successfully assassinated the political futures of the then leaders of the UNP. His statement that there was no ethnic problem, but only a terrorist problem, and that minorities were creepers, effectively destroyed the relationship that the UNP had built over the years with the minorities. 

When Premadasa was killed, his family, especially his daughter Dulanjalie Jayakody, who had always stoutly defended her father's services to the country, requested a commission to be appointed to probe the death. 

She firmly believed that a commission would reveal the mystery that surrounded her father's death, as there were rumors that it was in fact a suicide. A well-orchestrated anti-Premadasa campaign spearheaded by the opposition left no stone unturned to create various theories about the death. These were not based on any substantive evidence or material unearthed by investigative journalism, but was based on the hatred the elite of the country had against Premadasa. They could not accept the fact that a person like Premadasa, from the grassroots, would become the head of a country divided by petty caste and class differences. 

Wijetunga replied to Jayakody, stating that no commission could be appointed, as the investigations were not over. Later, the thorough investigation that was done by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), after recording statements from hundreds of witnesses, showed the involvement of the LTTE. 

Though no publicity was given to these investigations and what the officers found out, it was believed that the Premadasa family would have known who was, without any doubt, responsible for the murder of R Premadasa. 

The CID recorded statements from a large number of people who gave minute and detailed descriptions of how the Tamil Tiger Spremo Velupillai Prabhakaran ordered the assassination of Premadasa, soon after the abortive peace talks of 1989 and 1991. 

During these talks the LTTE had won the confidence of Premadasa, who believed that the LTTE would not harm him. The Tigers were successful in making Premadasa's supporters and bodyguards believe that the real threat to the president's security came from the Research and Analysis Wing of India (RAW), the Indian counter terrorists' intelligence agency. Premadasa was so naive as to believe this. The intelligence agencies of Sri Lanka were fed up with false information constantly fed by the LTTE about RAW to install Gamini Dissanayake as president by assassinating Premadasa. 

Premadasa apparently believed those lies. Though the intelligence agencies advised him that a LTTE hit squad was around, he discounted the possibility. He was a friend of the Tamils and sincerely believed in settling the ethnic issue. When the class-conscious elite brought their abortive impeachment motion, the pro-LTTEers parliamentary group supported him. He thought, like most politicians of yesterday, and even today, that the LTTE would dare not kill anyone who was friendly with it. 

If you go by their track record, they would never kill a politician who was a racist. They wanted politicians in the South to be anti-Tamil and anti-settlement. Wijetunga alienated the Tamils, but insured himself against a possible assassination bid from the LTTE. But Premadasa had complete faith in the LTTE and discounted the possibility of the LTTE having an agenda of killing Sinhala leaders, who were a threat to the Tamil nation. 

When Lalith Athulathmudali was killed, Premadasa thought that RAW was responsible for it, which prompted him to invite experts from Scotland Yard to Sri Lanka to assist the Sri Lankan investigators. Premadasa, according to some reports, was convinced that Scotland Yard would prove his theory about RAW, and the person who would most benefit from such a killing was Gamini Dissanayake. When Jayakody appealed to the Wijetunga government and Chandrika Kumaratunga's government to appoint a commission to investigate the assassination of her father, she would not have imagined that the Chandrika Banadranaike government would take a clue from this appeal and appoint other commissions, which defamed and degraded the name of Ranasinghe Premadasa. 

Ranasinghe Premadasa, according to these commissions, was indirectly responsible for the murder of Vijaya Kumaratunga, and most of the evidence that was led at other commissions was to paint a picture of a megalomaniac that ruled Sri Lanka. 

Some members of the family are still appealing to the government to appoint a commission to probe the assassination of Premadasa, with special emphasis on the washing of the scene of the murder by the fire brigade, on the instructions, according to them, of a senior cabinet minister. The government was pleased with this attitude of the Premadasa family. It gave full publicity to this appeal. As far as the government was concerned, this appeal was sufficient to have a media blitz on a certain section of the UNP. And if it did appoint a commission, the net result would be the defamation not only of Premadasa, but his family and his policies. 

When a similar request was made by the Gamini Dissanayake family, the government pretended to show some interest, and when the family reiterated that the appointment of the commission should be made on certain conditions stipulated by them, the government quietly left the matter to be forgotten. Fact-finding commissions have become a vogue of governments, which have failed to deliver goods and not kept their promises. Then they appoint some commissions, and the Premadasa family has got into the act by giving the government food for thought to appoint a commission on the assassination of Premadasa, which may tarnish his character, his services to the country and then finally the entire family will be defamed. 

Now that again a government led by the United National Party is back in power, since the end of 2001, it is not clear whether Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe will arrange for the appointment of a commission on the Premadasa killing. 

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SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY Chapter 58: Premadasa indicted

When President Chandrika Kumaratunga came to power, after putting an end to the UNP's 17 years of rule in 1994, she launched a Special Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of Lalith Athulathmudali, which had been an election promise. 

On December 7, 1994, Kumaratunga, in a warrant of appointment issued to the commissioners, stated: Whereas Lalith William Athulathmudali, the late leader of the Democratic United National Front was assassinated on April 23, 1993. And whereas numerous allegations have been made that the investigation into the above-mentioned assassination was not conducted in a proper and impartial manner. And whereas it appears to me to be necessary to establish a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the matters hereinafter mentioned, being matters in respect of which an inquiry will, in my opinion, be in the public interest. 

Now, therefore, I Chandrika Banadranaike Kumaratunga, President reposing great trust and confidence in your prudence, ability and fidelity, do, in pursuance of the provisions of Section 2 of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Law No. 7 of 1978 (as mentioned by the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry (Special Provisions) Act No. 4 of 1978) by these presents appoint you, the said 
1. Justice George Randloph Tissa Bandaranayake
2. Justice Dassanayake Padmasiri Swarnajith Gunasekera and
3. Rajasuriya Appuhamilage Nimal Gamini Amaratunge (Judge of the High Court.) 
To be my commissioners to inquire into an obtain information in respect of the following matters: 
(a) The circumstances relating to the assassination of the late Lalith William Athulathmudali at a meeting held at Kirulapone, on April 23, 1993 and the person or persons directly or indirectly responsible for such assassination and whether any persons conspired to assassinate, or aided and abetted in assassinating the said Lalith William Athulathmudali at Kirulapone on April 23, 1993. (b) The circumstances relating to the physical attack on Late Lalith William Athulathmudali 
(i) At Pannala on November 2, 1991; 
(ii) At Madapatha, Piliyandala on April 23, 1992; 
(iii) At the Fort Railway Station on August 7, 1992, and
(iv) At Dehiwala on August 29, 1992. 

And whether the persons involved in, or connected with, any or all of these attacks were directly or indirectly connected with or involved in the aforesaid assassination.
(c) Whether there was a failure or omission on the part of any public officer to perform any duty required of him by law, in relation to investigations into the incidents referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(d) Whether there was a failure to provide, or intentional withdrawal of security by the authorities at the meeting held at Kirulapone on April 23, 1993, at which the late Lalith William Athulathmudali was assassinated and if so, the person or persons responsible for such failure or intentional withdrawal; 

(e) Whether there was failure by the authorities concerned to provide adequate personal security to late Lalith William Athulathmudali despite repeated requests by him, for such security;
And to make such recommendations with reference to any of the matters that have been inquired into under the terms of this Warrant. And I do hereby appoint you, the said Hon Justice George Randloph Tissa Dias Bandaranayake to be the Chairman of the said Commission. And I do hereby authorize and empower you, the said Commissioners, to hold all such inquiries and make all other investigations, into the aforesaid matters as may appear to you to be necessary, and require you to transmit to me within three months from the date hereof, a report or interim reports thereon under your hands, setting out the findings of your inquiries, and your recommendations. 

And I do hereby direct that such part of any inquiry relating to the aforesaid matters, as you may in your discretion determine, shall not be held in public; And I do hereby require and direct all State Officers, and other persons to whom you may apply for assistance or information for the purpose of your inquiries and investigations to render all such assistance and furnish all such information as may be properly rendered and furnished in that behalf. And I do hereby declare that the provisions of section 14 of the aforesaid Law No: 7 of 1978 shall apply to this Commission. 

These three were the same Commissioners appointed to probe into the assassination of Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and nine others and causing serious injury to another, at Araly, Kayts, on August 8, 1992. 

We have already covered the commonality in the inquiry, such as the transfer of weapons to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by President Ranatunga Premadsa, the motion for the vote of no confidence on the President by Athulathmudali and others, and also of the dismissal of Lalith Athulathmudali and others from the ruling party by the President, Ranatuna Premadasa. 

At the commencement of the inquiry, the Commission advertised in local newspapers in all three languages, calling for information regarding the matters set out in the warrant. It should be remembered that, Lalith Athulathmudali was shot dead on April 23, 1993. Since then, President Premadasa had died on May 1, 1993 in a bomb blast. Prime Minister Wijetunga assumed the presidency of the country. 

Premadasa and Wijetunga's governments informed the public through the media that, Lalith Athulathmudali was the victim of assassination by the LTTE. It was reported that, Athulathmudali had taken action against the LTTE while he was the Minister of National Security, since March 1984, and as Deputy Minister of Defense thereafter, until 1989. According to the government's version, therefore, the LTTE sent its suicide cadres to shoot and kill Athulathmudali. Accordingly, a gunman killed Athulathmudali and then committed suicide by biting into a cyanide capsule. 

This position was supported by seeking to connect the death of a Tamil youth found dead in Mugalan Road, Kirulapone on April 24, 1993, a few hundred meters from the scene of the shooting of Athulathmudali. The police determined that, the youth known as Ragunathan, was a LTTE activist. The findings of the Judicial Magistrate Officer in Colombo that the youth had died of cyanide poisoning were presented, as confirming the government version of the killing. It was therefore suggested that the two deaths were connected, that having shot Athulathmudali the youth found that he could not escape as he had himself received a gunshot. His cause of death as given by the Magistrate in Colombo, was sought to be supported by a visiting team of foreign detectives (including from Britain's New Scotland Yard) and pathologists, who arrived in Sri Lanka on April 26, 1993. They reported to Wijetunga's government that they had found a minute trace of cyanide in a blood sample they had taken at a second post-mortem of the youth. 

This was done by Dr R T Shepherd, but Magistrate M A de Silva told the investigative Commission that no application had been made to the court for permission, and neither had he given any. According to the Commission Report, the fact that Dr Shepherd was permitted to do a second post-mortem without informing or obtaining permission from the magistrate, who had already commenced inquest proceedings, shows the high handed manner in which the local police conducted themselves. 

In the meantime, Detective Superintendent Alec Edwards of the Investigation and Crime Branch of New Scotland Yard forwarded an undated report. According to his conclusion:
(i) That the person now known to be Ragunathan alias Appaiah Balakrishnan shot and killed Mr. Athulathmudali and was later found dead at scene 2.
(ii) Seriously injured and fearing imminent capture, he undoubtedly took his life by way of cyanide poisoning;
(iii) There is no evidence, direct or circumstantial, to support the allegation that this tragedy was orchestrated by or in any way linked to the Sri Lankan Government, UNP members or other official agencies including the police;
(iv) An analytical study of LTTE modus operandi showed that this act was in total concert with their current subversive activities. 

The Presidential Commission concluded in its investigation as follows: 
The Commission has come to a finding that the firearm wound on Ragunathan was caused by a shot fired at a very close range with a doctored and tampered 9 mm cartridge. To do this, Ragunathan had to be in someone's captivity and it is nobody's case, and there is not an iota of evidence that the wound was caused at very close range, maybe from two feet away at the playground. No one says the assassin was shot in his back from two feet away. No bodyguard would want to shoot at an assassin with a reduced-charge cartridge. 

As it manifest from all of the evidence considered collectively, that Ragunathan was in captivity at the time he was shot, then it must follow that the poison, which caused his death, was administered to him. This alone absolves the LTTE from any involvement in these crimes. We accordingly reject totally and unreservedly all four conclusions stated by Detective Superintendent Alec Edwards of Scotland Yard. According to the Presidential Commission Report, Ragunathan was a Tamil. He had come to Colombo to go abroad. He was really alone. His few associates were Tamils. Thus there were people who could confirm that he was a Tamil, but who would not be searching for him. This is an important connection as being classified as an LTTEer. 

The deaths of Lalith Athulathmudali and of Ragunathan are closely linked. The police investigation of 1993 into these deaths suggested the assassination of Athulathmudali by the LTTE and a suicide by its agent when confronted with arrest. 

The evidence now available proves beyond any doubt that Ragunathan was murdered by those who killed Athulathmudali, by an administration of poison, to wit; potassium cyanide. In conclusion, the Presidential Commission served notices under section 16 of the Law No: 7 of 1978: Cap 9: LEC who in the opinion of the Commission were implicated or concerned in the matters under inquiry and subsequently implicated were:
1. Arambawalage Don Ranjith Upali de Silva alias Sothi Upali. There is satisfactory evidence that suspect Sothi Upali was directly concerned in the murder of deceased victim 2 - Ragunathan earlier named Appaiah Balakrishnan. The acceptable evidence implicates Sothi Upali as conspiring with others to abduct Ragunathan, receive him as a prisoner, keep him in secret wrongful confinement, starve him of food and water and have him killed by probably secret administration of poison, to wit, cyanide and then make up false scene as if he committed suicide by biting on a cyanide capsule, when he faces imminent capture. All this was done to suggest that Ragunathan was a member of the LTTE, who assassinated Athulathmudali. 

The Commission recommended that Arambawalage Don Ranjith Upali de Silva alias Sothi Upali be made subject to civic disability. Apart from the above the Commission recommended that the evidence was sufficient to consider indicting him with conspiracy and abetment with others of the murder of Ragunathan and in the same transaction, conspiring and abetting Janaka P Jayamanna alias Sudumahattaya to assassinate Lalith W Athulathmudali, offences punishable under Penal Code. 

2. Uswatte Liyanage Senivaratne. A Provincial Councilor of the UNP for the Western Province. The Commission while recommending the subjection of the civic disability, also reported that there was sufficient evidence to indict U L Senivaratne with having conspired and abetted the commission of the offences of unlawful assault, voluntarily causing hurt while being armed with deadly weapons to wit; pistol, iron rods, clubs etc and wrongful restraint, criminal intimidation, offences punishable under the Penal Code in respect of the Fort Railway Station incident on 07.08.1992 and conspiracy with Janaka Priyanka Jayamanna and others to assassinate Athulathmudali on 23.04.93 and conspiracy with others to abduct and murder Ragunathan between 23 and 24 April 1993, all offences punishable under the Penal Code. 

Also with the same charges against (3) Janaka Priyanka Jayamanna alias Wellapittye Sudumahattaya, (4) Wanadula Bandulage Somaratne alias Konda Some (5) K Nandasiri Karunatilake alias Nandana, (6) Bulathsinhalage Srisena Coorey - the former minister of Housing and Construction in the Premadasa government, and earlier the Colombo mayor and subsequently after becoming the minister was also inducted as the general secretary of the United National Party by President Premadasa The last indicted person was Bulathsinhala Ajith Coorey, the son of Srisena Coorey. 

The Commission report said that, it had dealt at length with the conduct of public officials, mainly police officers with regard to the several incidents of physical attacks on Athulathmudali at Pannala, Madapatha, Colombo Fort and Dehiwala. It was no different at Kirulapone. 

Reports further add that, before the assassination, the conduct of the police officers in shifting the venue of the meeting and withdrawing police strength from the meeting is evident. It says that after the assassination there was the recording of the false statements submitting incomplete report to the Magistrate's Courts and avoiding questioning witnesses on relevant matters. Further it shows the falsification and tampering suppression of evidence and fraudulent conduct. Those involved were, according to the Commission report, A S P Lugoda, I P Dharmawardene, S I Sunil Shantha and I P Ekhanayake. 

The investigation regarding the death of Ragunathan was most unsatisfactory. Those involved were, as pointed out in the Commission report, Senivaratne, Gunaratne, Dharmawardene, Basil, Jayasinghe, Devasundara, Aabdeen, Nilaabdeen, Deepthi Wijewickrema and other CDB officers. Galgamuwa of the Wellawatte police is seen showing weapons to underworld gagsters at the police station. Adhikari of the Borella police had given protection to criminals, particularly to Sothi Upali, whom he addressed as "Chief". Devasundara and Ilabdeen visited Ragunathan, who was held in captivity in Gothami Road. According to the Commissioners, the IGP should have had their conduct investigated through the entries they made in police books, the omissions and failures to perform their duty as seen in those entries and statements recorded by them, and meaningful disciplinary action taken against them. The report was replete with criticism of their conduct. 

The Commission report in it concluding paragraphs reported that it remained to say something about President Premadasa in relation to the terms of reference. It was he who had the strongest possible motive to eliminate Athulathmudali. He was badly insulted by the contents of the so-called impeachment motion, his place as head of state publicly ridiculed and undermined, a political force headed by Athulathmudali was developing against his continuance as president. Ministers who were supporters of him were from the Colombo district and were grouping in the political firmament. They all had connections with the underworld, the world of gunmen, smugglers, drug dealers and outlaws. He also had the support of corrupt policemen. 

Underworld gunmen and thugs did these killings. Before that, Athulathmudali was hunted, assaulted and humiliated during his election campaign. The killings were elaborately planned, the need for deception being of paramount importance. Who could enlist the support of so many policemen all over the country to interfere with, fabricate and tamper with evidence after the numerous physical attacks on him by assorted thugs and politicians. 

The Commission expressed that it was of the view that President Premadasa was himself directly involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Athulathmudali and that others did his bidding. He has preferred deception to debate. 

The Commission, after deliberating for two years, submitted its final report to the Sri Lankan President on October 7, 1997. The findings pointed the finger at former President Ranasinghe Premadasa (1988-93) and security force personnel who were close to him as directly responsible for the killing of Athulathmudali. 

Earlier in an interview with the Sunday Times of May 4, 1997, the former UNP kingmaker Sirisena Coorey, looking relaxed and confident despite uncertainty over his position, insisted that he had retired from the UNP and from politics and had no intention of making a comeback. Cooray suddenly re-appeared in Sri Lanka (he had been in Australia) and said that he had nothing to hide or fear, especially relating to the Athulathmudali assassination, on which the Presidential Commission was finalizing a report. 

Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Wasn't it bad for your image to be considered a sort of fugitive from justice with a warrant out for you? 

A. It is all nonsense, there is a Sinhala saying rata wate vetak bandath kata wate bandinda be. You can fence the country but you can never fence the tongue. I was by no means a fugitive from justice for the eight months I was away. I was never accused or convicted to be a fugitive. Like any ordinary person I was out of the country, and that does not mean I was in hiding. 

Q. But there were aspersions that you, one time strongman of the UNP, was keeping away from the country. What were you doing? 

A. I traveled in America. My sons live in Australia and there got involved in retirement villages, not homes for the elderly as such. Another son met with an accident and he was in a hospital in Bangalore for two weeks, and he is still in Madras undergoing treatment. So you see I spent my time profitably. 

Q. Why did you not appear before the Special Presidential Commission inquiring into the assassination of Lalith Athulathmudali? 

A. As I said before, people talk a lot of nonsense, not knowing the full story. I requested the Commission to allow me to appear before it and believe it or not I did not even get a letter of acknowledgment from it for three months. Therefore, is it wrong for me to presume that I was not required by the SPC and so I legally left the country like any citizen and did not go stealthily. 

Q. When did you get to know the Commission wanted you? 

A. I first read about it in the papers three months after I had left. So I took the obvious step of asking my lawyers to get a date for me to come in time. I never showed reluctance to appear before the Commission. I don't think there was any concrete evidence against me. It was largely loose talk and hearsay. Would I have offered to go before the Commission if I was guilty? Even when I wrote to the Commission it never asked me to stay on in the country. 

Q. It is alleged that you were associated with men like Sothi Upali who were linked with the Athulathmudali killing. Would you comment? 

A. You cannot just indulge in drawing room and cocktail party gossip and assassinate people's character. There must be acceptable evidence and it was conclusive that the LTTE had planned the killing. 

Q. Then why all these allegations and innuendo? 

A. Ask those who talk. It may be to tarnish my political image. What can I do about it? 

Q. Will you remain in Sri Lanka or are you planning another long trip? 

A. Why should I leave my country unless it is for a holiday? I am too old to start a new life. I will definitely not leave. Charges were earlier made against President Premadasa and Minister Ranjan Wijeratne. Now people are pointing a finger at me over various killings. Such people either don't have anything worth doing, or they are afraid I will get back to active politics. 

On September 8, 1988 one Devasundara, Inspector of Police in charge of the local unit of the newly formed Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) was arrested in Anuradhapura in connection with the murder of Athulathmudali. 

The other accused arrested in the case were W Bandulalage Somaratne alias Malwatte Some, U L Seneviratne, B G Devasurendra and A Abdeen. They were all charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting to commit the murder of Lalith Athulathmudali and unlawful detention of Ragunathan. Subsequently two of the accused were killed. 

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SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY Chapter 57: Kittu, the LTTE legend

The modern history of Sri Lanka is not complete without a chapter on Satahasivam Krishnakumar, who was popularly called "Kittu". He is considered a hero and more than a legend by Tamils all over the world. He was a rebel, a freedom fighter and he commanded the forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Jaffna, and later became a political activist of the organization. The LTTE and the Tamils consider him as a beloved martyr in the struggle for Tamil Eelam. 
Krishnakumar was born on January 2, 1960, the second the son of the Sathasivam-Rajaluxmy couple of Valvetiturai, an historically popular costal town in the Vadamaradchy region. His father had a small printing press, at Nelliady, Karaveddy, doing jobbing works. 

But Rajaluxmy, his mother had always been involved in politics. She had been a strong supporter of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (Federal Party) led S J V Chelvanayakam and participated in the Satyagraha of 1961, in Jaffna, when Kittu was a toddler. She is a great women, a matriarchal figure, and even today she can be seen working to uplift downtrodden women in the Jaffna region and those participating in the struggle for a Tamil homeland. 

Krishnakumar had his early education at Chithampara College, Valvetiturai, where the leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran, as well as Mahendrarajah, alias Mahattaya, also had their education. Kirishnakumar is a close relation of Prabhakaran and also one his good friends, hailing from the same village. In 1978, Krishnakumar was inducted into the LTTE by Prabhakaran and he went with him to Madras, Tamil Nadu, in India. 

Once Krishnakumar joined the LTTE, he was christened as - Kittu, a familiar name in the midst of nearly 80 million Tamils, scattered all over the world. On July 20, 1983, the Sri Lankan government issued a ban on press reporting about the LTTE. By that time the LTTE had started functioning on its own. They were upset when they were called an organization of some misguided youths, and a shadow organization of the Tamil United Liberation Front of Tamil Eelam (TULF), led by A Amrithalingham. To prove to the government, as well as to the people that, TULF could no longer control Tamil youths, the LTTE chalked out an elaborate plan. Also, it planned to avenge the of death of Seelan, alias Charles Anthony, at Meesalai on July 15, 1983. 

Accordingly, Kittu and Sellakili were involved in the planning of an attack on a military convoy at Tirinnalveli, located close to the University of Jaffna. They chose a narrow road to ambush the army convoy. Prabhakaran, Chellakili, Iyer, Victor, Pulendran, Santos, Appaiah and Kittu participated on the operation, which was successfully completed on the night of July 23, 1983, with the death of 13 Sri Lankan soldiers - the biggest loss for the Sri Lankan army during that time, at the hands of the Tamil militants. 

When the bodies of the 13 soldiers were taken to Colombo, rioting erupted on the night of July 24 - which was called the "Holocaust of 1983". After the riots, India came forward to train the Tamil militants and while this program was on in India, Kittu became the Jaffna regional commander of the LTTE. Unlike other commanders, he personally led attacks against the Sri Lankan armed forces. 

Whatever is said and done, due credit should go to Kittu for disciplining the LTTE cadres. It was reported that, he would lose his temper if anyone questioned him. Kittu took stern action against cadres who were reported to have violated the code ethics of the militant movement. Violators were mercilessly punished, and thus the message of discipline was instilled in the minds if each and every cadre. Kittu reportedly used foul language, both in public and even with the cadres. He was said to be a megalomaniac. Even when commanders under him in various towns called for instructions regarding captured civilians who were alleged to have committed simple offences, he would shout at the commanders to dump them. He ran kangaroo courts to instill fear into the minds of the general public of the Jaffna peninsula. 

During the fratricidal clashes with the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), Kittu and the LTTE were bent on annihilating the TELO from Sri Lanka. The LTTE announced that TELO had been banned and warned anyone sheltering its leader, Sri Sabaratnam, popularly called Sri, and other members of the organization, as inviting death. 

Sri was on the run. He fled from his main camp at Kalviyankadu and hid in Neerveli, later at Kopay and finally at Kondavil, seven kilometers from Jaffna city. The LTTE learned that Sri was hiding in Kondavil, and immediately they cordoned off the area and launched a house-to-house search. Kittu warned people over loudhailers that, the fugitive Sri should not sheltered. 

Ultimately, Sri was located behind the tobacco heap and Kittu shot him in the leg. Sri toppled, but managed to get up and begged Kittu to spare him. He told him, "Kittu, let us talk with Prabhakaran, please don't shoot me." These were his last words, as Kittu opened up his machine gun. The battered body of Sri with 28 bullet wounds, was displayed at the Kondavil bus stand, before being handed over to his father for cremation. 

This incident clearly displayed the brutal and ruthless side of Kittu, but he had another side which showed that he respected his able enemies. Kittu recognized Captain Jayanath Kotelawala of the Sri Lanka army as a brave soldier. In 1986, when Kotelawala sent words to Kittu for a meeting, through Gamini Navaratne, the editor of the "Saturday Review" the English weekly published from Jaffna, he said, "Kotelawala was a brave soldier and a gentleman. I would like to meet him." Subsequently, the brave Sri Lankan soldier walked out of Jaffna Fort armed with only the LTTE guarantee for his safe return. Following the first meeting, both began to meet regularly and the relationship blossomed so much that, Kittu arranged to send firewood and mangoes to the soldiers in the fort, whenever they made the request. 

In October, 1986, Kittu also met in Jaffna Vijaya Kumaratunga, the matinee idol of the Sinhalese in the south of Sri Lanka and the husband of Chandrika Kumaratunga, the present president of the country. On December 27, 1986, Kittu received the first Sri Lankan government delegation for talks in Jaffna. It was the first time such direct talks had been initiated between the Tamil militants and the government. A three-hour meeting in camera was held between the Kittu-led LTTE delegation and government representatives. But subsequently Kittu felt that the talks were a ploy by the government to isolate the LTTE from India so there were no more. 

Though Kittu was not politically trained, his exposure to politics molded him into a political wizard. On the night of March 13, 1997, an unidentified man fired at and lobbed a powerful grenade on the Mitsubishi Lancer carrying Kittu on Jaffna's Second Cross Street, while he was on his way to meet his girlfriend, a medical student at the Jaffna University. Two of his bodyguards died instantly, while another was seriously injured. Kittu's right leg was virtually severed and he eventually lost it. The injury marked the end of long and colorful military career and Kittu moved to Madras, to take charge of the Tiger's propaganda office. 

During the LTTE-Indian Army's war, Kittu was in Madras and senior officials of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) held talks with him and the LTTE representatives in an attempt to reach an understanding with the LTTE to take the peace process forward, according to the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord entered between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President J R Jayewardene. At these parleys it was decided by Kittu to send Johny as the LTTE's emissary to meet Prabhakaran, who was operating from jungle hideouts in the Vanni region. Accordingly, Johnny was brought from Madras on the Indian Air Force aircraft, by the RAW officials and left him in Vavuniya, for him to proceed his journey in the jungles, in search of Prabhakaran, to brief him of the negotiation Kittu had with the senior Raw officials, on behalf of the Indian Government and to bring back Prabhakaran's instruction to Kittu. 

Unfortunately, while Johnny was riding a bicycle along a jungle track, Indian Peacekeeping Forces (IPKF) soldiers lying in ambush, shot and killed him. Johnny's death put an end to the Indian government for a successful negotiation with the LTTE. As expected, the LTTE-RAW talks collapsed. Ultimately, the Tamil Nadu police sealed the 12 LTTE offices in Tamil Nadu in August 1988 and arrested 154 LTTE activists, including Kittu. 

As no charges were filed against the arrested LTTE activists, Kittu and the others threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike for their unlawful detention. But in October 1988 Kittu was set free and deported to Jaffna, which at that time was under the control of the Indian forces. Kittu subsequently reached Vanni. 

When the LTTE started its negotiations with the government led by President R Premadasa after April 1989, Adele Balasingham writes in her book The Will to Freedom that they saw Kittu in the camp at Vanni when they went there after the second round of talks with Premadasa. 

She writes, "In early October we made our second visit to the Mullaithievu jungles to meet and consult with Mr. Pirabakaran. During the course of the visit Mr. Pirabakaran conveyed to Bala his wish to send Kittu to London for treatment to his amputated leg. On hearing the decision to send him abroad, Kittu was obviously of two minds. Undeniably he aspired for a suitable prosthesis to be fitted, which would help him with his walking and mobility. But he was a man emotionally attached to his cadres and his homeland and the prospect of separating from them was an obvious source of distress to him. Kittu flourished in the environment where he could teach his cadres and encourage them with their interests and he often initiated new projects for them to engage in. And so as the day for his departure grew nearer he became quieter; as did many of his cadres. And I think that one of the most pitiful sights I can remember seeing is the legendary guerrilla fighter crying on Mr. Pirabakaran's shoulder, the day we were to take him out of the Alampil jungle. His cadres carried him in a chair on their shoulders - to the waiting helicopter. In a classic Kittu style, he put a brave face for his cadres during the trek out of the jungle, expressing his affection for them in the jokes he was cracking. 

"Soon after his arrival in Colombo, we escorted Kittu to the British High Commission. After discussion with the British Ambassador, Kittu's entry visa to the United Kingdom was authorized. But Kittu had one serious matter to attend before his departure to London. When Kittu went to Mullaithievu jungles after being released from the IPKF custody, he became separated from his medical student girlfriend, Cynthia. Now he was anxious to be reunited with her. On his request, she traveled from Jaffna to Colombo to meet him. Shortly afterwards they decided to marry. Kittu's mother rushed from Valvetiturai to Colombo to attend the ceremony. Cynthia's parents were already in Colombo. And so, on October 25, in one of the rooms of the hotel where the LTTE team was accommodated during the talks, the registration of the marriage of Kittu and Cynthia took place. A few days later, Kittu flew to London and Cynthia joined him after travel arrangements were made." - Pages 250-251. 

There are no medical reports of Kittu attending hospitals in London for treatment and it was never made available to the media. Even whether he went to any hospitals for medication is not known. But he was in London and was in charge of the international secretariat of the LTTE, at that time located at 54 Tavistock Place, London WC1. 

While in London, he won the enmity of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who had sought asylum in England. It was reported that, he harassed Sri Lankan Tamils and even threatened them and demanded payment of money to the LTTE defense fund. As his harassment became intolerable, the refugees began to send petitions to the immigration and police authorities in London, complaining about Kittu and of his intolerable harassment. 

At one stage, it was told that, there were more than 2,000 petitions against Kittu in at the immigration office alone. After a thorough investigation, the immigration authorities sent in notice of deportation to Kittu. On the receipt of this, Kittu left London for Paris and later to Switzerland, where he sought asylum. But according to reports, Kittu left Switzerland and went to Sweden and from there he went to Vienna in Austria. While there, he received instructions from Prabhakaran to return to Vanni, so he flew to Singapore. 

There are conflicting reports of what happened after that. According to one report, Kittu traveled from Singapore to Thailand, and from there he boarded a ship named MV Yahata. This account states that the Yahata left the Thai island of Phuket with a huge weapons cargo loaded by the Pakistan navy, under its Inter-Services Intelligence supervision for Karachi in January 1993. 

In the Bay of Bengal the boat changed its name to be Ahat by painting over the first and last letters in the original name. On Wednesday, January 13, 1993, when the Indian navy patrolling the sea southeast of Madras, they came across the 400-hundred tonne ship, Yahata alias Ahat, without navigation lights, en route to Madras. 

But according to another report, the 280 tonne (there was confusion even on the tonnage of the ship) MV Ahat, owned by the LTTE, was intercepted by Indian naval and coastguard authorities in the Indian Ocean on January 13, 1993. It was alleged by LTTE sources that the vessel was intercepted by the Indian navy when it was 440 miles from the Indian coast. 

It seems that an Indian Coast Guard Donier aircraft was on a routine surveillance flight between Point Calimere on the Tamil Nadu coast and Pont Pedro in Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka when it first sighted the vessel on January 6, and it was kept under watch from then on. Two days later, an Indian naval aircraft on a reconnaissance flight reportedly noted that the vessel had entered Indian waters and was proceeding towards the coast in a suspicious manner, frequently changing course. 

It was at this point 200 kilometers off the coast of Tamil Nadu, on January 12, that Indian naval intelligence reportedly had confirmation that the Ahat indeed belonged to the LTTE and that it passengers included key LTTE figures. Thereafter "Operation Zabardast" was launched by the Indian navy on January 13. On the following day, two coast guard vessels, CGS Vivek and the missile corvette INS Kirpan, approached the LTTE vessel, which was escorted towards the Indian coast and navy commandos made preparations to board to capture the crew and passengers and seize all the arms and ammunition on board. 

According to another version, the Yahata left Phuket in January 1993. By then, the Thai port had become a focus of Indian intelligence interest. (One submarine understood to be Indian had been sighted from the air near the harbor, apparently spying on shipping activity.) On board the Yahata - along with a shipment of arms and explosives - was Kittu. In the Bay of Bengal, the Yahata became the Ahat by the simple expedient of painting over the first and last letters in the ship's name. But on January 13 it was intercepted by the Indian navy and three days later, at a point 700 kilometers southeast of Madras, the final act was played out. Kittu and other Tigers aboard permitted the crew to swim for safety, then they detonated explosives on board and went down with the ship. 

It was generally stated that, according to another account which was supportive of the LTTE version, on Wednesday, January 13, 1993, the ship Ahat was unlawfully intercepted by the Indian navy in international waters in the Indian Ocean. The ship was intercepted about 290 miles east of Hambantota in the south of the island of Sri Lanka and about 440 miles southeast of south India (Latitude 6 degrees North, Longitude 85 degrees East). 

According to an Indian Defense Ministry statement dated January 16, 1993, Indian Coast Guards and naval vessels were monitoring India's exclusive economic zone. While on patrol they detected the Ahat on January 6 and were shadowing it as it was acting suspiciously and frequently changing course. Considering the activities of the LTTE and the smuggling of arms and ammunition into India and Sri Lanka, the movement of the ship was monitored. On inquiry by radio contact, it was found that the vessel was carrying arms and ammunition and explosives for the LTTE. Naval reinforcement were rushed immediately. 

The Defense Ministry statement added that, the crew set the ship on fire after it had been surrounded by navy boats, when it was about 12 nautical miles off the southern Indian city of Madras. Some individuals were seen throwing articles into the sea and jumping overboard after setting the ship on fire, and nine persons were rescued from the water. According to the Indian version, the crew and the LTTE cadres on board were given every opportunity to surrender. Efforts to put out the fire and save the ship from sinking were hampered by large quantities of high explosive on board the ship and the knowledge that there could still be nine persons on board. The statement also confirmed that Kittu was on board the ill- fated ship and that he had threatened to blow up the ship, if Indian marines tried to board it and take him prisoner. 

According to an LTTE radio broadcast on January 16, 1993, Kittu, along with eight other senior military cadres, committed suicide in true Tiger fashion and died a martyr's death. The voice of the Tigers' radio identified the victims as:
1.Sathasivam Krishnakumar, alias Colonel Kittu of Valvetiturai.
2. Sri Ganeshan, alias Lt-Col Kuttisri of Suthumalai North, Manipay
3. Suntheralingham Suntharavel, alias Mlarvannan alias Major Velan of Viyaparimoolai, Point Pedro.
4. Nadarajah, alias Jeyarajah, alias Sea Tiger Captain Jeeva of Pasaiyoor
5. Gunarajah, alias Segaram Michael Jeeva, alias Sea Tiger Captain Gunaseelan, Second Cross Street, Jaffna.
6. Ratnasingham Arunarajah, alias Sea Tiger Captain Roshan of Nallur, Jaffna.
7. Sivalingham Kesavan, alias Sea Tiger captain Nayakan of Polikandy, Valvetiturai. 
8. Mahalingham Jayalingham, alias Sea Tiger Lt Nallavan of Maniamthottam, Jaffna. 
9. Aloysius Jayanathan, alias Sea Tiger Lt Amuthan of Navanthurai, Jaffna. 

The Tiger leadership announced three days of mourning for the martyred heroes of the LTTE, commencing on January 18. 

The LTTE accused the Indian government of joining hands with the Sri Lankan government to crush the Tamil people's struggle for independence, a statement issued by the LTTE in Jaffna stated, "The former Jaffna Commander of the LTTE was on his way to meet the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to brief him on the latest peace proposal arranged with the assistance of certain European countries to find a solution to the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka. 

"Kittu had explained to the navy officials, who surrounded him, but they had rejected his explanation and had taken the LTTE ship by force to the shores. Following this action by the Indian navy Kittu and eight of his comrades committed suicide to prevent themselves from becoming prisoners of the Indian government. Thileepan, Kumarappah, Pulendran and Johnny were the earlier victims of the treachery of the Indian government and now Kittu has been added to this list. 

"India is out to crush the independence struggle of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. It did not want the Western countries showing interest in solving the ethnic question. Weakening the LTTE and strengthening the Sinhala chauvinist government were the major intentions of the government of India." Meanwhile, it was announced in Madras that, the dead body of a Tiger cadre and two injured cadres from the burnt out ship had been retrieved and taken to Visakapattanam naval base by the Indian naval commandos. The two injured men were being treated aboard a navy hospital ship under strict security. Although the Ahat had been badly burnt and damaged, reports and photographs in the Indian newspapers indicated that the ship as afloat. According to General Officer Commanding the Indian Navy's Southern Sector, Vice Admiral Kailasha Kumar Kohili, the Indian Navy Frigate Vivek and another vessel had first attempted to bring the fire under control. When difficulties were encountered they had to bring in the better equipped navy frigate, Feroze Gandhi. It not only brought the fire under control, but navy commandos boarded the LTTE ship. 

The captain of the ill-fated ship, Jayachandran, and eight other members of the crew who were rescued by the Indian navy were charged on January 18 under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) before the magistrate of Visakapatinam, M Ramakrishnan. Jayachandran was placed in police custody for three days for interrogation and the other eight members were remanded for 14 days and were identified as Satkunalingham, V Krishnamoorthy, K Nayakam, S Sivarasa, S Indralingham, S Balakrishnan and T Mohan. 

The International Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers presented, on Friday, February 5, 1993, a petition to the United Nations calling for the formation of a special committee to hear and investigate alleged violations committed by India, which caused the death of its Central Committee member, Sathasivam Krishnakumar and eight other LTTE members in the Indian Ocean, in January 1993. The petition pointed out that the General Assembly is empowered to act under Chapter IV, Article 22 of the United Nations Charter to establish an ad hoc special committee to function as a tribunal to investigate and report on the gross violations of international law, committed by the Indian government and its agents and servants against the people of Tamil Eelam and its leaders, as set out in the petition. The petition declared that under the Law of the Sea Convention, which constitutes customary international law and to which India is a party, therefore India has no right to exercise a police jurisdiction on the high seas. 

No action was taken by the United Nations on the petition submitted by the Liberation Tigers on behalf of the people of Tamil Eelam as claimed by the Tamil Tigers. However, nine survivors from the MV Ahat were arrested by the Indian navy and lodged in solitary cells in a special wing of Vishakapatnam jail with maximum security. They were charged with criminal conspiracy, shipment of explosives and threatening navy officials. 

The case was heard for 37 days, and dragged on for three years. Thirty-four witnesses for the prosecution, mostly navy personnel, were interrogated. On the court's directive, the navy salvaged the remains of the ship and claimed to have retrieved rocket-propelling guns and other arms, but the navy did not submit the gunnery records or communication tapes of the ship to the court, even during in camera sessions. 

Fearing that the case against the accused was not proceeding in favor of the prosecution, the Additional Solicitor General of India, T S Tulsi, was specially requisitioned to marshal additional points in "defense" of the prosecution in the case. The Indian government, having itself instituted proceedings under the TADA and invoked the jurisdiction of the court, now contended that the court had no jurisdiction to inquire into what happened on the high seas. 

UNI reported on June 20, 1996 as follows: "Additional Solicitor General of India, T S Tulsi told the designated court here today that the trial court had no jurisdiction to go into what happened on the high seas off Madras coast, where the LTTE vessel MV Ahat alleged to be carrying arms and ammunition was intercepted and nine militants were captured. 

"Tulsi ... contended before the designated Judge P Lakshmana Reddy, that as per the 1952 convention with regard to the laws of the seas, whatever happened on the high seas was a matter between two independent states. The two states in this case were India, whose navy captured the vessel and Honduras to which the vessel was said to belong to. Hence the matter could be tried only in the international court of justice, if Honduras raised any objection. But Honduras had not made any complaint so far and had even disowned any control or supervision over the crew that operated the LTTE vessel, which was originally registered in that country, he submitted. 

"He contended that the designated court had jurisdiction to try the arrested men for offences committed on the territorial waters of India. Quoting relevant provisions from the Territorial waters, continental shelf act 1976, Tulsi said the territorial waters of India extended up to a distance of 12 nautical miles from the coast, the contiguous zone to 24 nautical miles and the continental shelf and the economic zone to 200 nautical miles. 

"Tulsi argued that under the provisions of TADA to prove the theory of conspiracy each of the accused need not be involved or in the know of the real purpose for which the arms and ammunition they had carried in the vessel would be used. It was sufficient if they had lent substantial assistance in the illegal act of transporting explosives, arms and petrochemicals which were carried clandestinely, he said and asserted that there was no legitimate use for which these were carried. They were deemed to have shared the intention to carry out terrorist acts, he said. 

"Tulsi submitted that though the vessel was registered under the name MV Yahata, it was changed in the high seas, because the vessel was engaged in clandestine activities. He contended that the moment the vessel changed its name, it had lost its nationality. Also the crew, did not hoist the flag of its nationality and did not have necessary papers. When the Indian navy wanted to know its call-sign, the crew gave a wrong call-signal and it was clear that the vessel was stateless, he said. Such a vessel had no right under the international law he contended. 

"Quoting international law on piracy, Tulsi said the master of the vessel was not in control of the vessel, but it was Krishnakumar [alias Kittu] and he was communicating with the other vessels in the vicinity. A pirate ship could be seized and we had the right to seize this vessel, and contended that, if hostile boarding was resisted, the Indian navy had the right to capture the vessel. But the Indian navy personnel did not board the vessel, because of humanitarian considerations and they feared that the men on board might consume cyanide capsules. But later, we had no alternative but to resort to hostile boarding as a logical conclusion, he submitted. 

"Quoting from a Privy Council decision, Tulsi contended that since the vessel lost its nationality, the Indian Navy had the right to board the vessel and bring it to the territorial waters of India. Once the vessel entered the territorial waters, it committed an offence and was liable to be punished. However, the TADA court judge, P Lakshman Reddy, rejected the submissions of the Prosecution as well as the charge of carrying explosives against the crew, and held that the Navy and the investigating agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Special Investigating Team, had failed to prove their charges against the crew of the MV Ahat." 

The Hindu International News reported on June 29, 1996 from Visakhapatinam: "All the nine Sri Lankan Tamil, suspected to be members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), were acquitted by the Designated Court by P. Lakshmana Reddy, Designated Judge and District and Sessions Judge, here on Friday. He directed the Commissioner of Police of Visakhapatnam to hand them over to the Government of Honduras immediately, since MV Ahat, the vessel they were sailing in, was registered in Honduras. 

"The prosecution's case was that the nine accused along with Kittu, a top-ranking LTTE leader, and nine militants were sailing on MV Ahat carrying arms, ammunition and petrochemicals. The vessel was intercepted by an Indian Coast Guard ship, 440 nautical miles off the Indian coast on Jan. 13, 1993, when it was observed that it was not flying a flag and those aboard the vessel also threatened to blow up the vessel, if it was approached." 

"The naval ships which joined the Coast Guard ship, later persuaded MV Ahat to come near to Madras. When it was near the shores of Madras, it had allegedly fired at the naval ships on Jan. 16 and later the cargo aboard the ship was set ablaze. While Kittu and nine others committed suicide, the nine accused in the case jumped into the sea and were picked up by the naval ships." 

"The Judge said there was no case under the TADA Act against the accused, as they were brought forcibly into the Indian waters and also there was no evidence of any offence. He agreed with the defence argument that the Coast Guard ship was not justified in intercepting MV Ahat, when it was in the international waters and when the accused had revealed that the ship belonged to Honduras. Dissatisfied with the judgment of the Trial Court, the Prosecution appealed to the Indian Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court upheld the Trial Court's finding and ordered the release of the accused." 

Reuters reported on 18 March 1997: "India's Supreme Court has ordered the release of nine Sri Lankan Tamil guerrillas, four years after they were arrested from an explosives-laden ship off India's southern coast, court officials said on Tuesday. The officials said the Monday verdict upheld a lower court's ruling that had criticized the Indian navy for intercepting the ship. ... The rebels, who were not identified, were arrested under India's tough Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA), after they were accused of opening fire on Indian security forces. The prosecution has failed to establish any offence punishable under the TADA act or the rules framed there under, the court order said. .... 'none of the accused can be said to have committed any offence under the Indian Explosive Substances Act and the Indian Arms Act', it said. 

"If the nine LTTE men are freed, India will not want to keep them here as free citizens of the world," one Western diplomat said. "Would they extradite them? That's another very sensitive prospect." The Indian authorities, faced with the decision of the Indian Supreme Court, adopted a more interesting approach. They re-arrested all the freed accused on charges of entering India without valid travel documents. 

Agencies France Presse reported on March 28, 1997 from New Delhi: "Eight Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger guerrillas were freed by an Indian court after spending four years in jail only to be immediately re-arrested on fresh charges, United News of India (UNI) reported Friday. A court in the southern town of Visakhapatnam released the eight late Thursday. They had been arrested off the Indian coast in 1993 for allegedly trying to smuggle plastic explosives and weapons into India. But police re-arrested them for entering India without valid travel documents. UNI said they would be produced before a court later Friday." 

The facts as found by the Indian courts establish that the MV Ahat was intercepted in the high seas and forced (persuaded) to travel into Indian territorial waters by the Indian navy. It was a proven act of piracy and Sathasivam Krishnakumar and eight others lost their lives. Today, eight other Tamils languish in India's jails on trumped up charges of having entered India without valid travel documents. 

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