Captain Lingam

Captain Lingam

Major Basir and Lieutenant Murali were abducted by a TELO treacherous gang in the district. Captain Lingam was sent to the Jaffna Faculty to rescue the LTTE members. Captain Lingam, a senior member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was shot dead by the TELO gang on 29.04.1986 at the headquarters of the district of Kaliyangadu. It is the 34th Memorial Day of Lingam.

Lingam was born on 16.12.1960 in Valvettithurai. His real name was Selvakumar. He became a supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam movement while he was studying at Hindu College. In 1980, when he was studying in the 12th standard, he started working as an assistant of the movement. He did work such as pasting posters about our liberation and writing slogans on walls. At a time when people were not very involved in the liberation struggle and the secret police were sniffing out the LTTE, he did even work such as pasting posters despite great difficulties and the risk of being arrested. In 1981, Lingam became a full-time member and received training at the Ariyalai Sanasamukha Centre in Jaffna. In his desire to become a better fighter, he practiced karate and qualified for the Brown Belt.

After meeting leader Prabhakaran in 1982, Lingam became immersed in Prabhakaran’s charm. He felt that it was his duty to be loyal to him and the movement and actively participated in the movement. In the latter part of 1982 and the first part of 1983, he was given military training in a forest in the Vanni region. There he practiced shooting. He did the rigorous training with great enthusiasm. He showed skill in shooting without missing a target. The A.K. Surikujal rifle is his favorite weapon. He would compete with national leader Prabhakaran in shooting. His fierce skill is evidenced by the fact that he shot down a falcon flying at an altitude of 300 meters with his A.K. Surikujal rifle.

He participated in many battles with the Sri Lankan army. He would fight at the forefront during attacks. Lingam’s role is notable in the attack in Tirunelveli in July 1983 in which the LTTE killed 13 army soldiers.

In 1984, he served as the in-charge of the LTTE in Madurai. During that time, he effectively conducted political propaganda and developed great relationship with the people of Tamil Nadu. In 1985, he served as the in-charge of a training camp in the forests of Tamil Nadu. During that time, he received special training and became a captain of the LTTE’s special forces unit. He served as one of the closest associates, assistant, and bodyguard of national leader Prabhakaran.

When Tamil Nadu Kamaraj Congress leader Nedumaran and later a French journalist went to Tamileelam to learn about the suffering of the Tamils and the government’s terror, their travel responsibility was given to Lingam. Lingam fulfilled his duty perfectly.

Lingam was friendly with every member of the movement, and everyone loved him. When it came to duty, he would become strict. Although he tried to show off by keeping a tight face and speaking strictly, his true nature was visible. When he finally left Tamil Nadu last March, he said goodbye to his comrades with tears in his eyes.

His friends would make fun of his stoic appearance, stern eyes; thick moustache; slow, firm gait; his short stature.

On 27.04.1986, Major Aruna and the LTTE fighters who accompanied him did not return to their base after engaging in a battle with the Sri Lankan Navy. The people of Tamileelam thought they were all dead and paid tribute to them on 28.04.1986. Pillars were raised all over Tamileelam. Black flags were flown. Stages were set up and people paid tribute to Aruna by placing her picture on stages. Loudspeakers blared her heroic story. The TELO members were irritated to see that the people had risen without any instigation and expressed their unanimous support for the LTTE fighters.

On 24.04.1986, the people did not express any sympathy for the TELO members who died at sea. On 29.04.1986, TELO forced the people to pay tribute to their comrades. The people did not accept this forced action. The TELO´s were furious to see no support from the people. Enraged to see the overwhelming support of the people for the Liberation Tigers, the TELO´s attacked the people violently.

TELO´s broke the memorial platforms with Aruna’s picture. They tore down the posters that had Aruna’s and the fighters’ pictures. Major Basir and Lieutenant Murali, who had gone to prevent the people from being attacked by anarchists, were abducted by the TELO. Former Tamil United Liberation Front MPs Alalasundaram and Dharmalingam were abducted and shot dead by the TELO. Three refugees were abducted and killed from the Trichy refugee camp. The TELO’s are experts at calling them for talks and killing them. They took the military commander Das and his three comrades to the Jaffna hospital for talks and shot them dead. Attacking hospitals is against international law. It is a disgrace to human civilization. Several patients, including a nurse standing by, were injured, and a judge was also killed.

The next day, the TELO opened fire on the public protesting against this atrocity and killed three. Lingam was sent to negotiate the release of Major Basir and Lieutenant Murali. Lingam went unarmed to the TELO headquarters in Kalviyanga, where Siri Sabaratnam and his men were staying. Lingam, who had gone as a peace envoy, was shot in the eye and killed in a brutal manner. Lingam’s heroic death marked a turning point in the history of the liberation struggle. It became necessary to take action against TELO, who was backstabbing the LTTE fighters. The LTTE was forced to wage a defensive war against TELO, who was trying to destroy the LTTE.

The TELO acted as a puppet of the destructive forces, a counter-revolutionary organization, and an obstacle to the liberation war. They engaged in anti-people activities such as temple looting and vehicle hijackings to make the people hate the liberation struggle. They were the ones who persecuted the Muslim people and incited religious conflicts among the Tamil people. The unfortunate situation arose and we had to shed our own blood during the action taken against the unprincipled and irresponsible TELO leaders who had grown and led the anti-social gang. When the TELO leadership, who were the cause of this situation, were punished, the people supported, praised, and cooperated with our action.

With the destruction of TELO, the Tamileelam struggle had become many times stronger under a strong leadership. The fact that the LTTE emerged as a unique force and defeated the three-armed attacks of Sri Lanka and achieved victory is a direct result of this. The whole world, including the enemies, agrees with this.

Lingam was cowardly killed by traitors. Lingam who was yesterday’s reason for the Tamileelam struggle is no longer today. Lingam will live with our history tomorrow and in the times to come.