The voice of the Pulikalin Kural Radio that with us until the night of May 16,.2009

The voice of the Pulikalin Kural Radio that with us until the night of May 16, 2009

May 18 is a tragic day that cannot be forgotten in the life of the Tamils. It would be appropriate to look back at the historical records that occurred before that day. A brief look at the emergence of the Pulikalin Kural Radio, which had a special place in the history of the Vanni media, the challenges it faced, and its final journey.

On November 21, 1990, the Pulikalin Kural Radio was launched by the National Leader of Tamileelam. The activities of the LTTE were seen during that period, primarily in the Yarlpanam peninsula. The Tigers’ Voice Radio was operating on the 98th frequency on the FM band, near the Yarlpanam Fort, when people were concentrated in Yarlpanam.

Despite the opposition and sabotage of some evil forces aimed at disrupting the liberation of Tamileelam, the Pulikalin Kural Radio continued its activities among the people. The Pulikalin Kural Radio continued to perform its service with excellence as a media outlet that was operating in accordance with the wishes of the National Leader of Tamileelam to be the voice of rights of the oppressed Tamil people and the voice of truth against the lies of the enemy.

The Sinhalese government has made many attempts to run the liberation struggle of Tamileelam and has met with failure. With the aim of clarifying the liberation of the Tamil people to the people, the opinions of the people are being conveyed through various programs on the Pulikalin Kural Radio. In that way, various programs were held on the radio that described the art, culture, antiquity, history and history of the Tamil people, and the history of other countries.

The Sri Lankan troops who surrounded Yarlpanam in 1994 through military operations in Suriyakathir evacuated more than two million people there in one night.

At this time, the Pulikalin Kural Radio was serving the people as a media for the people. While the broadcasting station was being relocated and operating as a media for the people, it did not stop even for a day, carrying out its tower activities in palm trees and large, tall trees, while all the activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from Yarlpanam were being transferred to the Vanni. Currently, the organizational activities of the Pulikalin Kural Radio are being transferred to the Kilinochchi area.

The Pulikalin Kural Radio, which was operating from the Kilinochchi area, has been operating for a while in the Mangulam area due to the displacement of the people and the radio due to the insurgency of the Sri Lankan forces. In this way, the Pulikalin Kural Radio has been continuously operating as a media outlet for the people, amidst the loss of many items and electronic equipment for the media. In this way, the base of the radio’s broadcasting service has been changed several times, and currently it has been operating from a high place in the Koola mountain range. However, the Pulikalin Kura Radio has been continuously operating in the face of losses and in the activities of giving opinions to the people.

Various attacks have been carried out against the Pulikalin Kural Radio during the peace period. Despite more than ten air strikes, its work has continued uninterrupted. During the peace period, the Pulikalin Kural Radio reaches the next stage in its development. In this, with various degrees of development, the Pulikalin Kural Radio is being broadcast on FM radio in all parts of the homeland. A repeater station has been set up at Verugal Kallady in Thiriconamalai and the radio is operating from there to the east. However, due to the terrorist activities of the Sri Lankan government, the work has been suspended, and it is operating from the Vanni with expanded broadcasting technical facilities.

Since the beginning of 2005, the Pulikalin Kural Radio should also be heard by the Tamil diaspora. In line with the growing technological development, the Pulikalin Kural Radio has also developed itself and has been broadcast on the Internet all over the world, and has been uploading programs and news instantly.

In this situation, while the official radio of the LTTE, including the announcements of the LTTE, was providing the public with information on the attacks on the enemy in the battlefield, the heroic deaths of the fighters, etc., and while it was operating from the Vanni with the aim of expanding its service, it was operating in the Kokkavil area. On September 18, 2006, the Kokkavil broadcasting tower of the Pulikalin Kural Radio was demolished and destroyed. This attack was the eleventh direct attack on the Pulikalin Kural Radio.

On the 27th of November, 2007, Maveerar Naal broadcast was being broadcast. In an attempt to prevent the leader from delivering the Maveerar Naal speech in the evening, the Kibir aircraft carried out a very serious attack on the radio’s central office located in the 115th block of Kilinochchi.

In this air attack, the announcer Isavili Sempiyan, Suresh Limbio of the engineering section, and the driver Tharmalingam, the staff of the Pulikalin Kura Radio, were killed. (The three children of Isavili Sempiyan surrendered to the army with their father on May 18, and no information about them has been revealed to this day.) Despite the Kibir attack, the broadcast was not interrupted. The Maveerar Naal speech was broadcast on time. Later, while engaged in the task of dismantling the broadcasting tower in the Kokkavil area and transporting it to another area on 12.09.2008, the Pulikalin Kural Radio fighter Lt. Isaiarasan and patriot Vigineswaran became maveerar.

During various crises and casualties, the broadcasting work was carried out by moving it to various places in Kilinochchi. The Pulikalin Kural Radio broadcasts in two areas near the Karadipokku junction and two in the Paranthan area. Despite the threats of the Sri Lankan Army, there were no obstacles in its broadcasting. Due to threats from the Sri Lankan government, the Pulikalin Kural Radio was transferred back to the Vishvamadu tank area and continued its 2008 Maveerar Naal broadcast from there.

In the meantime, in 2008, the Sri Lankan Air Force attacked the Pulikalin Kural broadcasting station in Paranthan to prevent the Maveerar Naal speech from reaching the people. The Pulikalin Kural Radion escaped the attacks based on the planning of the person in charge of the radio station. During the period when the Sri Lankan army was carrying out a series of airstrikes due to the war in Vanni, the Pulikalin Kural Radio was the only source of comfort to the people.

The radio station that had been relocated from Vishvamadu was functioning as a bridge of communication for the people who were constantly moving to Udayarkattu, Suttathanapuram, Thevipuram and Iranaipalai.

The Pulikalin Kural Radio faced a situation where tents were built on trees, and the place where the announcements were made, and the news was compiled in one place. While songs were being broadcast on the radio, news information was received, and even though efforts were made to maintain peace at the place when the announcements were made, the sound of war could not be avoided. There was an incident where small vehicles were used as the broadcasting center of the Pulikalin Kural Radio.

Some of the seats of the vehicle were removed and the Pulikalin Kural Radio used some of the vehicles as small broadcasting and recording studios with recording computers and microphones. In this situation, the Pulikalin Kural Radio, which had been continuously informing the people and the international community about the opinions of the people, the attacks of the LTTE and the details of the relatives of the victims of the attacks by the Sri Lankan soldiers, eventually moved to the Valignar Mata area and then to more than three places in Mullivaikkal and provided its services.

During the shelling that took place in the western part of Mullivaikkal while the Pulikalin Kural Radio was operating, the LTTE’s military spokesman Ilanthiran, Thiagarajah from the political department, and the radio announcer Anthanan, who were standing nearby, were injured.

On May 15, 2009, the broadcast was still not possible. The sounds of military gunfire could be heard on the radios through the microphones. The gunshots pierced the broadcast equipment. In the continuing crisis of not being able to work, all the radio equipment and documents were set on fire, and an empire called the Pulikalin Kural Radio came to an end.

The leader of the Pulikalin Kural Radio, N. Thamilanban, who joined the struggle in the late eighties, is well known by the name of Javan. He is a versatile media personality who grew up in the company of senior commander Colonel Kittu. He was adept at handling cameras, all the nuances of journalism, from radio broadcasting technology to the rhythm of poetry.

It is very difficult to compensate for his rapid action. He had lost a leg in the war. But many of the media people he created and nurtured are still in different places. There is no doubt that the conversion of the Pulikalin Kural Radio, which was broadcast on analog technology to digital technology and the launch of the website on satellite is a manifestation of his personal work.

Thamilanban who worked for the radio until the end, and T. Thavabalan (Iraivan) who also worked for the Pulikalin Kural Radio until the end, disappeared in the last days. The search for them is still in everyone.

(Translation by Tamilpriya)