Pirapaharan’s statements between 1984 and 1993 reproduced in book form in Europe

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 August 2019, 23:55 GMT]
A Switzerland-based Eezham Tamil youth group, ‘Phoenix - the Next Generation’, has photostatically reproduced the rare 314-page compilation officially published by the Headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in September 1993 in Jaffna. The book contains selected letters, interviews and statements of LTTE Leader Velupillai Pirapaharan starting from his first media interview in March 1984. The compilation consists, amongst others, of a letter that declines LTTE representation at a meeting held in New York in May 1985, appeals to the leaders of India and Tamil Nadu during the LTTE-IPKF war in 1987, and a letter of solidarity addressed to South African (ANC) leader, the late Oliver Tambo, in July 1988. The reproduction has been made from a book obtained at the public library of Jaffna in the past. The book, with ID 9907, is no longer accessible at the library.



The compilation is titled Eṉatu Makkaḷiṉ Viṭutalaikkāka (எனது மக்களின் விடுதலைக்காக, For the Liberation of My People).

Nitharsan, the coordinator of Puradsi Media of the youth group, led the launch event in Bern on Sunday, where the first copy of the publication was dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives for Tamil Eelam.

The event also featured a speech by a former LTTE member, who had closely witnessed the cultural and upbringing projects of the LTTE in the two decades that followed the period covered by the book in the de-facto state of Tamil Eelam.



The former LTTE member appreciated the publication work being carried out by the youth group. Only by knowing the contemporary politics and the struggle of the preceding decades the future generations could evolve the future discourse, the ex-LTTE member said.

The book also reflects the significance of political renditions in Tamil by the late Anton Balasingham before, during and immediately after the Indian intervention.

Nitharshan, in his speech, said that the book was a prime source enlightening the readers how the LTTE leader evolved a genuinely independent movement without getting into the agenda of any outside power seeking to influence or exploit the armed liberation movement of Eezham Tamils.

“We [the Tamil diaspora youth] should not allow us to get waylaid by the talk of unitary and federal forms of the constitution in the island. As far as we are concerned, our source of inspiration should always be the de-facto state of Tamil Eelam that existed before the SL State waged the genocidal onslaught in 2009 with the backing of all the outside powers.”

He observed how the British allowed the Sinhala nationalist leaders in the South to evolve the unitary state system in Ceylon into unitary and genocidal Sri Lanka in the post-Second World War context. Furthermore, the Cold War era had emboldened the unitary state system, which under the rule of JR Jayawardene introduced the executive presidential system following the US model in 1978.

The USA was toeing the same geopolitical line of the British, giving significance to Trincomalee-oriented naval access in the [then the overwhelmingly Tamil] East and air access in the West [of the Sinhala South].

It was in 1996, after the period covered in the book up to 1993, the elite US ‘Green Beret’ corps provided training to the SL military, he recalled.

However, the LTTE-led armed struggle continued achieving military and diplomatic parity of status in 2001.

During the peace process, the powers openly recognised that it was not possible to militarily defeat the LTTE. However, they contributed significantly to the ‘One State One Military in the island’ paradigm by tilting the power of balance and allowing the SL State to complete the genocidal onslaught, he said.



Following is an English translation of the contents featured in the book, as provided by the Puradsi Media:

1	Foreword I – IV
2	History is my guide	1
3	State oppression & armed resistance	13
4	The national force of Tamil Eelam: Leader Prabhakaran’s letter	21
5	Ceasefire & peace talks	25
6	Why did the Thimbu Talks end in failure?	31
7	A liberated sovereign Tamil Eelam state is our struggle’s goal	35
8	The Sinhalese government prefers a military solution	41
9	Traitors are more dangerous than enemies	51
10	Why was the organisation of the Liberation Tigers formed?	55
11	Struggling for freedom is our historic duty	65
12	The interference of the Indian military in Tamil Eelam is unnecessary	73
13	My life’s background, goals and priciples	77
14	The Tamil homeland is the foundation of our nationalism	95
15	Hunger strike unto death: the national leader’s explanation	101
16	The Tamil Nadu government bends to the national leader’s demands	103
17	Webs spun to destruct the tamil nation	105
18	Ahimsa ideology & the armed struggle	111
19	Prosperity of the proletariat	119
20	The historically significant Suthumalai Declaration	123
21	The Indian government is upholding its national interests	127
22	Thiyagi Thileepan is an idealistic flame	133
23	Arresting commanders contradicts the agreement	137
24	The unforgivable crime committed against our people	139
25	The war given by India: a letter to M.G.R. from the national leader	143
26	Letters written by the national leader to India’s Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi	149
27	The Indian military’s atrocities: a letter to the U.N. by the national leader	155
28	Indo – LTTE war: the national leader’s explanation	161
29	Send the UNHRC to Tamil Eelam	169
30	The national leader’s 3rd letter to Rajiv Gandhi	173
31	The national leader’s declaration to the World Tamil Conference	177
32	The national leader’s request to the African & United Nations	181
33	The oppressed will eventually succeed	185
34	The UN must attempt to expel the Indian forces	189
35	The national leader’s request to a conference held by Non-Aligned Movement	193
36	The most significant historic mistake committed by the Indian government	197
37	A dark chapter in our liberation struggle	201
38	Our excessive self-confidence is our strength and weakness	207
39	Annai Poopathi’s sacrifice is unmatched in global history	213
40	The event which gave us the spiritual strength to resist the Indian superpower	215
41	Our history is written by our martyrs’ blood	217
42	The women have risen as a revolutionary force	219
43	A self – sufficient economy is the foundation of a separate state	223
44	Revolutionary creations are necessary to cultivate the liberation struggle	225
45	All of the people who contributed to the revolutionary struggle are māmaṉitar	229
46	A war cannot be conducted if there is a fear for losses	233
47	The path to a political solution: The national leader’s explanation	239
48	Sencholai children’s home: the national leader’s congratulatory remarks	245
49	May it sound as the war drums for a war of truth	247
50	For those yearning for heroic liberation, determination is the strongest weapon	249
51	What is the liberation of the women? The national leader’s explanation	253
52	Dharma will prevail in a war of truth	257
53	People are facing the torrents of oppression like a mountain	261
54	Our arts and culture are the soul of our nation	265
55	Politics is the service provided to suffering people	269
56	I have a dream which must become a reality	273
57	The martyrs who stand as the pillars of our liberation organisation	275
58	Honesty, virtue and discipline are essential for the implementation of justice	281
59	The struggle is the shield of education; education is the struggle’s fort	285
60	Kittu is an individual legacy: a stunning idealist	289
61	What is the path to a peaceful solution? Thalaivar’s explanation to BBC	293
62	Women’s liberation struggle: The LTTE’s spark	301
63	When life is incomplete, knowledge is essential	305
64	Iron men in their goals: the national leader’s dedication for the Black Tigers	307
65	The poet who renewed wartime literature	311
66	Social justice must blossom upon the basis of truth	313

Chronology: