Premadasa and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during 1989-1990.
Premadasa and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during 1989-1990.
This report confirms the facts about the complex relationship and arms supply between Premadasa and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during 1989-1990.
Premadasa – LTTE talks: Bradman Weerakoon’s report (summary)
Bradman Weerakoon, who was Premadasa’s advisor, has recorded the events at that time in detail. The answers to your questions are contained in these historical records:
1. Was it true that arms were provided?
Yes. Weerakoon confirms that the Sri Lankan government provided arms to the LTTE to fight against the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF).
• Purpose: To pressure the Indian army to leave Sri Lanka and to use the LTTE as a tool for this.
• Implicit plan: Since this was a ‘high-risk’ operation, it was not discussed in official negotiations. It was planned in secret only at the level of President Premadasa, Ranjan Wijeratne and the Defense Secretary.
2. Premadasa’s “Machiavelli” strategy
According to Weerakoon, Premadasa’s plan was very strategic. He divides it into four options. The final and most important option:
Once the Indian peacekeeping force had left, the revitalized Sri Lankan army would attack the weakened LTTE, eliminate Prabhakaran, and restore government control over the whole of Sri Lanka.
That is, Weerakoon points out that he planned to expel one enemy (India) and arm another enemy (the LTTE), ultimately destroying them.
3. Political Disappointments
Premadasa promised to fulfill two key demands made by the LTTE but ultimately did not:
• Repeal of the Sixth Amendment: Only if this was repealed could the LTTE come into the democratic mainstream. But this was delayed, citing opposition from the Sinhalese people and the lack of a parliamentary majority.
• Dissolution of the North-Eastern Provincial Council: The LTTE demanded that the EPRLF-led council be dissolved, and elections be held. However, the delay in enacting the law led to a lack of confidence among the LTTE.
4. “He who sows millet reaps millet” (His own actions will be rewarded)
As you have mentioned, this strategic relationship ultimately brought great destruction to both sides.
• June 1990: War broke out again within a few months of the peacekeeping force’s departure.
• Result: “I have no room for half-hearted work, we will completely destroy the LTTE,” Ranjan Wijeratne shouted in Parliament.
Buried facts and testimonies
Your claim that people were buried in “forests of bones” across Eelam points to the brutal face of that war. It is a bitter history that thousands of people had disappeared and killed on both sides, JVP rebels in the south and Tamil people in the north, during Premadasa’s rule.
The records of officials like Weerakoon show how political leaders trade weapons and lives to maintain their power. Today, they are declaring to the world that they used it.
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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