Gotabhaya created and sustains the Tamil Diaspora – Military officers

Friday, 29 March 2013

The shooting and killing of innocent civilians in the Jaffna peninsula about 30 years in a disgraceful act of the Sri Lanka Army was carried out by the Rajarata Rifle Force and current Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Nandasena Rajapaksa was also involved in the incident since he was a Captain of the said Force, a military officer told us. It is this incident that created a Tamil Diaspora.

He made this statement in response to a comment by Minister Dullas Alahapperuma at a press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute following adoption of the resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC that the UNP had to also take the blame for the formation of the Tamil Diaspora after the killing of innocent Tamil civilians in July 1983.

“It is the Rajarata Rifle Force that first shot and killed Tamil civilians in 1983. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who was a Captain at the time allowed those deployed under him to kill the civilians. After the then UNP government came to an end, the Rajarata Rifle Force was disbanded by sending off military personnel attached to it. However, Captain Gotabhaya Rajapaksa managed to escape any punishment due to his political connections. Dullas Alahpperuma is speaking without knowing this past,” the officer said.

The officer explained that it was the pressure from Tamil Nadu that pushed the Indian government to vote in favour of the resolution and that the growing dissention in Tamil Nadu against Sri Lanka is the killing of Prabhakaran’s youngest son.

“Captain Rajapaksa who allowed the killing of innocent Tamil civilians in 1983, in 2009 ordered Brigadier Kamal Gunaratne to kill Prabhakaran’s 12 year old son when he surrendered to the army. Brigadier Kamal Gunaratne served as a second lieutenant under Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the Rajarata Rifle Force in 1983. It is the past experiences that made Gotabhaya Rajapaksa order Brigadier Kamal Gunaratne to kill the Tigers who surrendered to the army in 2009,” the military officer said.

Therefore, the officer said that it is Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who should take the responsibility for creating a Tamil Diaspora and feeding them with slogans and not any other political party.