Why do they blow themselves up ?

By Frederica Jansz

Suicide Killers, Suicide Warri ors, and the Devil Incarnate are some of the names attributed to the Tamil rebels' deadly Black Tiger squad. How many more body parts strewn across the city of Colombo and in other areas of the country will Sri Lanka continue to be a witness to? This is the question many in the South ask as one suicide attack follows almost hot on the heels of another, causing always maximum carnage and damage to wherever the bomber may choose to explode him or herself.

This article does not aim to clarify the mentality of a suicide bomber or glorify the dead. Instead it is merely to focus on what the possible motivations could be for a human being to choose to kill him or herself.

A film called '"Suicide Warriors" produced by Dr. Sathananthan attempts to find an answer to this burning question. Filmed in Batticaloa, in Tiger held territory, Sathananthan has interviewed some of those women belonging to the Black Tiger suicide squad.

Dr. Sathananthan, Secretary of AGOTIC (Action Group of Tamils in Colombo) is an academic who obtained his PhD from Cambridge University. He is now living in Pakistan with his wife and daughter and has made several films and documentaries on social and political issues.

What is thought provoking is the fact that it is more often Tamil women rather than Tamil men who vie to enter the Black Tiger suicide squad which among the LTTE, is considered to be the elite fighting group within the movement. The Tigers may be the only fighting force in the world today who use women in the forefront of battle. Young Tamil women between the ages of 16 to 32 fight as equals alongside their male counterparts mainly in the northern and eastern districts of Sri Lanka.

Hidden among the LTTE cadre, is the deadly Black Tigers -the suicide bombers. While the women form close friendships within the movement with each other, and perform daily rituals together as a family would, only some of them are privy to this deadly secret. These are the chosen few who will be called to perform a suicide mission. Each day they wait, and yes, maybe even hope, for the final call from their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Their secret is not shared even with their closest companion. Only the leadership is aware of who belongs to the elite Black Tiger squad.

Brigadier Sarath Munasinghe who has been interviewed for the film says, "these people are not normal. They cannot be performing this deed purely for a commitment to the cause of Eelam. They are obviously under duress, and must also be under the influence of drugs."

Normal they may not be, but the film 'Suicide Warriors' certainly does not portray the Black Tiger as being under the influence of any drug.

What makes them do it? One female Black Tiger interviewed, states the following reasons: That they may have experienced an unforgettable incident, or been witness to a tragic event possibly involving close family members, and so may wish to kill as many enemies as quickly as possible.

What seems clear from this response of a Black Tiger is that committing suicide is more for personal revenge rather than a commitment to the cause of Eelam. Psychiatrists assert that suicide in any form is absolutely and completely a personalized decision.

The film 'Suicide Warriors' carrying interviews with Tamil Tigers indicates that what induces young Tamil men and women to join the LTTE are reasons adduced to a personal experience rather than for the cause of political argument. This point in the film is debatable as the cause for Eelam is more a fanatical ideology rather than a mere political argument.

One female Tiger says she joined the LTTE after facing terrific harassment from the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) when they were in the northern peninsula from 1987 to 1989. She says her father was positive at the time about her joining the LTTE, but when pressed by reporters, refused to discuss the reaction of her mother.

Dhanu, the female Black Tiger who killed Rajiv Gandhi in India, was another who reportedly had been raped by soldiers from the IPKF. It is interesting to note here that what is seemingly obvious is that Prabhakaran being the master tactician he is, could possibly be using each of these killers from the suicide squad, for a particular mission that would compensate in some way as revenge for the Black Tiger concerned. This would not only ensure one hundred percent commitment to the operation but would also serve to desist from detraction of the mission at the last moment.

There have been two films made so far on the Black Tiger squad. 'The Suicide Killers', and 'The Suicide Warriors'. The BBC was instrumental in producing the former. Both films do not portray the Black Tigers as being drugged fanatics. Instead, what is shown is a close knit and disciplined group of men and women. A Black Tiger would receive training different from the rest of the LTTE cadre. They say they are not forced to join the LTTE, and never experience fear since becoming Tamil Tigers.

What is clear from these two documentaries is that for the Black Tiger there is no turning back. the thought of a suicide mission is ever present.

They say their fight is not against the Sinhala people but against the Sinhala state. Ganga, a female Tiger portrayed in the film 'Suicide Warriors' says of the enemy, "If they are there to destroy us, why should we not destroy them?"

The fact that the Black Tigers have repeatedly killed civilians seems to have escaped this young woman.

The fact that a suicide killer is merely contributing to a deadly cult also, has seemingly escaped these Tamil men and women of the LTTE. How can an individual who has no respect for his or her own life claim to liberate the lives of fellow human beings?

In view of the fact that a negotiated settlement has been offered to the minorities it does seem the LTTE is today engaged in a senseless and suicidal war.

Tragedy of Ms Ching

By Arshad M.Hadjirin

The Maradana bomb blast claimed the life of many innocents, bringing home the horror and pain of the senseless suicide bomb attacks.

Ms.K.A.Ching, an elderly lady, was on her way home from church when she was caught up in the blast on Thursday March 5. "She had just bought some Mandarin oranges, and was trying to return home, when the bomb exploded," said her son, Chan Ching, recollecting her last moments as reported by eyewitnesses.

Ching 49, a Dental Mechanic wearily accepted the tragedy as the cost of war.

Mrs.Ching who was a permanent resident of Australia, would usually attend the mass at St.Judeís Church at Gampaha, on the first Thursday of every month and she had done so, last week. "Mother left home on Wednesday despite a warning from my wife who reminded her of bomb explosions happening at congested areas of Colombo. But she was adamant, that she join some of her friends at Gampaha the next day," he said.

It was understood from family sources that Mrs.Ching would usually get off at Borella on her way back from Gampaha, but on this day she had travelled up to Maradana, to buy some oranges.

"My mother was very fond of them, as they are freely available in Australia; so she had stopped over to get some, along with one of her other friends," Ching said.

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