LTTE sends 100 lorries of rice to flood-hit Ratnapura
LTTE sends 100 lorries of rice to flood-hit Ratnapura On 22 February 2002
Tamil National Politics Honor
On 22 February 2002, when the National Leader and Prime Minister Ranil signed a ceasefire agreement, the international community recognized that there were two separate de facto governments operating on the island of Sri Lanka. The way the LTTE movement responded to two natural disasters during this last ceasefire period will go down in history as a mark of honor for Tamil national politics.
On 17 May 2003, heavy rains caused flash floods and landslides in Sri Lanka. Many rivers overflowed their banks, inundating many villages. The Matara and Ratnapuram districts were the worst affected. 250 people died in the worst floods.
The LTTE, which had waged an armed struggle against the Sri Lankan government demanding a separate state, sent ten lorries full of rice grown in areas under its control, which had been under economic embargo for over a decade, to the flood-hit Ratnapuram district.
When the tsunami hit the island of Sri Lanka on 26 December 2004, the coastal areas of Sri Lanka were devastated. More than 30,000 people were killed in the north and east. The north and east of the country were completely under the control of the LTTE at the time.
In the days following the tsunami, BBC reporters who visited areas under LTTE control described how the LTTE’s response to the tsunami was exemplary and highly coordinated. The BBC news report pointed out that the LTTE’s civil administration and the Tamil Rehabilitation Association had effectively distributed food, water and temporary tents.
The BBC also observed that the LTTE was rapidly repairing roads to allow international aid agencies to reach several coastal villages that had been cut off by the tsunami. Locals told the BBC that the LTTE’s swift action within minutes of the tsunami had saved many lives.
Reuters reporters reporting from the north-east said that LTTE rescue teams were working tirelessly, using tractors, lorries and manpower to clear debris and search for people trapped in collapsed buildings. Reuters also noted that LTTE medical units had set up makeshift treatment camps within hours of the disaster, providing first aid, drinking water and emergency food supplies.
The Interim Administration Mission (SIHRN), which was the starting point of the negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE in September 2002, was dissolved due to its unconstitutionality, and the LTTE agreed to a new Interim Administration Mission (P-TOMS) to recover from the unprecedented tsunami disaster.
The Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure, a joint management structure, was necessary because international donor countries insisted that tsunami relief should reach areas not under government control but under LTTE control.
The P-TOMS was a three-tiered structure:
- A high-level committee consisting of government, LTTE, and Muslim representatives
- A regional committee operating in the North and East
- District-level project implementation committees
The main objectives of this structure are:
The ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE, which ensured that relief aid was shared fairly and transparently, was met with fierce opposition from Sri Lanka’s Sinhala nationalist parties and the JVP, who viewed the P-TOMS as a mere administrative structure, an attempt to grant political and administrative recognition to the LTTE at a critical time.
In July 2005, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspended key aspects of the agreement, rendering P-TOMS unable to function properly. The P-TOMS system collapsed within a few months before it was fully operational.
Honor is very important in politics. Especially in organizations that provide leadership to ethnic groups fighting for independence, maintaining political honor is very important. Even if there are a thousand conflicts, it is moral to maintain our political honor when we inflict natural disasters on the enemy.
The purpose of this post is to pass on the history of the LTTE maintaining the honor of Tamil national politics by extending a helping hand to Ratnapuram during the ceasefire and by signing the P-TOMS agreement to future generations and generations.
Jude Prakash
Melbourne
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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