On the Spot

Massacre at one end, marooned at the other

Kokilai's fisher refugees caught between killer and unwelcome Negombo

By Frederica Jansz

Marie and Sebastian were sweating. Cramped and not able to even stretch their legs they lay squeezed between forty other people in the back of a fish lorry.

The couple and their four children however did not mind the discomfort.

The journey from Kokilai to Negombo would take nearly seven hours. Their only consolation was they were on the road to safety away from the heavy gunfire of the LTTE.

On June 3, the fishing village at Kokilai, east of Trincomalee was alive with activity. As the first rays of dawn broke the fishermen got ready with their tackle to leave for the day's haul. Pointing their bows East the first seven boats pushed out to sea.

Out at sea the fishermen made ready their nets to make the first catch of prawns and sea crab.

With the sea spraying into their eyes, they could not see properly the oncoming boats. Then they saw women in combat suits, fully armed standing at the helm.

Soon they realised that they were the dreaded Sea Tiger cadres and they ducked for cover.

Moving quickly the women Sea Tigers began shouting orders in Tamil as well as a smattering of Sinhalese, while other Tiger cadres jumped into the fishing boats and removed the five boat engines.

They then shouted at the fishermen to leave. As the fishermen watched with horror like live bait waiting to be used, some of the Tigers jumped into two boats the 'Dilini Duwa' and the 'Pathum Putha' and together with four fishermen and the five engines they left as swiftly as they had come, mission accomplished.

The terrifying saga did not end there. Fishing abandoned for the day the other fishermen had to row their way back to Kokilai.

No sooner had they begun drawing their boats to shore than they heard the thunderous sound of heavy artillery fire.

Screams rent the air as the startled fisher families ran clutching little children to nearby Army bunkers burrowed like rabbits beneath the ground.

The guns did not stop and the attack on the village continued for nearly two hours. The LTTE had achieved its ends, prompting the villagers to flee to nearby Sripura where a Sarvodaya Centre provided them temporary shelter. Within five hours, their fate was changed.

Since there is no roadway to the fishing hamlet at Kokilai the families had to travel by boat nearly five miles across the Thenamarasu lagoon to reach Sripura. Clutching a few belongings and carrying babies, many of whom were just a few months old, the fisher families fled Kokilai, fearing they would be massacred by the Tigers if they stayed on.

At Sripura frantic appeals were being made to the drivers of lorries leaving for Colombo to help carry the refugees back home. Usually carrying fish to Colombo this time the lorries were packed with human cargo. Negotiating a deal for Rs. 7,000 to carry some forty families and nearly Rs. 10,000 to carry a boat as well, the lorries were loaded with hungry and tired refugees.

The spectacle was extraordinary. Tying a fishing boat on the hood of the lorry and its inside packed with humans, the convoys began to leave for Negombo. Some of the boats were riddled with bullet holes as a result of Tiger fire.

Mary Malani and her husband gathered their three children and clutching a few of their belongings which had hurriedly been rolled into bags, they nervously watched as the first two lorries departed to Colombo.

Anxiously they waited yet another day at the Sarvodaya Centre in Sripura hoping that this time they would be lucky enough to board. At 3pm the next day they squeezed themselves into a corner of a lorry holding their children close while more refugees were loaded in like gunny bags. Scarcely able to breathe, Malani however heaved a sigh of relief as the lorry began to pull away from the danger zone.

Some 241 families made their way to Negombo in this manner. When we visited these families we were told they were originally from Negombo and some of them even had houses there. They said they had migrated to Kokilai to earn a better living.

They were used to the deep sea fishing at Kokilai where the sea was smoother unlike the waters off Negombo and their nets were not suitable for fishing in the rough sea.

Yet those who have brought down their boats and begun fishing off the waters at Negombo were in for a rude shock. The fishermen at Negombo are not too happy with their arrival at a time when the price of fish is low and supplies are abundant.

Naturally, a conflict situation has been created. With the fall of dusk liquor is consumed, daggers are drawn and the brawls begin.

Basil described how in trying to ply their trade off Negombo he has been attacked.

Using even the bones of dead cattle the fisherfolk battle for their rights.

Basil said he had received more than one blow from a 'harak cutta.' They have little choice when the fights got fierce but to stay away from fishing.

The fisher families living at Pitipana Road, Negombo said the refugees from Kokilai had no right to infringe on their waters.

All this has resulted in no money and no food.

Running from the Tigers their situation has hardly improved as Lalitha described how they go to bed many nights hungry and worried of a future, which holds little promise.

A few of the fisher families already had their own houses at Negombo and have accommodated three to four families.

Short of food and money, tempers are frayed and even when we visited the destitute families, some of the fishermen turned aggressive, fed-up and angry that their entire livelihood was almost destroyed.

Father Sherad Jayawardena, Parish Priest of Duwa, explaining the situation said the government had stepped in when the families first reached Sripura, and Rs. 350 was given to a family of five to survive for a week.

Apart from the lorries arranged by the refugees, the government also organized three buses to bring down the fisher families while in addition the church at Duwa paid for three lorries to transport them.

Busy trying to gather food and water for the benefit of families, Fr. Jayawardena said he could not understand why the fishing village at Kokilai has suddenly become a target for the LTTE.

"One thing is clear. This was a warning from the Tigers that if they had stayed they would be massacred."

Negombo's Acting Mayor John Fernando had assured the priest that bowsers of water would be sent to areas where the refugee families lived.

Fr. Jayawardena said another 45 families were still at Sripura awaiting transport to Negombo.

Asked what the way out to this problem was, the priest said "If they go back they will be killed and if they remain in Negombo too there will be trouble as they cannot encroach on these fishing waters."

The fishing families at Kokilai were not strangers to attacks, tragedies and injustices.

On November 30 last year seven fishermen from the village were shot dead by the Sri Lanka Navy. In March this year, the Navy officially admitted that it was a case of mistaken identity.

The Sunday Times learns that uptodate the families of these dead men have yet not received any compensation.

Deputy Fisheries Minister Milroy Fernando said the refugees could not live in Negombo though they might originally have been from the area.

He said he believed the attack on the village was linked to the evacuation of refugees from the Madhu area.

But Mannar's Bishop Rayappu Joseph dismissed the claim that the attack on Kokilai was a result of refugees being moved from Madhu. "We are perturbed that innocent people are being pushed here and there and used as cannon fodder," he said.

"In a war, so many things are happening. We cannot provide answers and the whole situation is upside down. This is the misery and curse of war, " the Bishop said.

He said the LTTE had been asked to refrain from harming civilians.

CWC wants to march again, but NMAT cool

The Ceylon Workers Congress has sought permission again to hold a protest march in Colombo on Friday, with its rival National Movement Against Terrorism saying it is not concerned about such marches.

The earlier request by the CWC had been turned down by the police on the grounds that 6,000 police personnel had gone to the south for election work and adequate security could not be provided here.

CWC Parliamentarian R. Yogarajan told The Sunday Times they hoped to hold the procession starting off from their headquarters at Greenpath and heading to Pettah across Kompannaveediya and Galle Face.

He said they had written to Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte seeking permission for the procession, assuring it would be non-violent.

The procession is billed as a counter protest against the march held by the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) in Colombo on June 2. The NMAT protest was against the alleged intervention of CWC boss S. Thondaman in the transfer of SSP Pujitha Jayasundara from Nuwara Eliya to Colombo.

Responding to reports about the CWC protest march, Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera said they would not make an issue of it.

Dr. Nath Amarakoon, another NMAT activist, said they were not concerned about the protest.

Meanwhile, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) leader, Kumar Ponnambalam, who also was to take part in the abortive protest march, has written to President Kumaratunga, protesting against the police action.

"If I am not allowed to live on the basis of absolute equality with anybody else in this country, whether he belongs to the 76 per cent sector or to any other sector, I want to live in a state where I would be ensured self-respect, dignity, equality and safety.

"Therefore, this and other matters, far too many for elaboration in a letter such as this, have prompted me to decide and disclose publicly that I can have the quality of life I desire only in the separate state of Tamil Eelam," he said.

CMC ponders seizure to recover Rs. 1.4 billion

By Faraza Farook

Ratepayers in Colombo who often demand from their council improved water, electricity and other services, are being reminded that they owe Rs. 1.4 billion to the council.

If they fail to pay the amount owed to the Colombo Municipal Council, their properties would be seized, warned a top CMC official.

Seizure notices would be issued to defaulting ratepayers next week, he said.

The official from the Municipal treasury said: "There are 75,000 ratepayers of whom 50% have not paid their dues". These rates and taxes have been due for periods of five to ten years, he said. "Though the Municipality has been sending 'demand notices', there has not been much response," he said. The CMC has advertised in the papers this week requesting all ratepayers to settle their bills as the council cannot carry out its work due to lack of funds.

The advertisement said, "If the ratepayers fail to pay their taxes on time, the council will not be able to raise the necessary funds to maintain its services efficiently and without interruption."

He said if the ratepayers fail to respond even after seeing the advertisement, the council would be forced to take action after sending seizure notices . If they failed to settle the arrears within seven days of receiving the seizure notice, properties would be seized to redeem the arrears, he said.

He pointed out that the majority of these ratepayers were businessmen. With around 40,000 ratepayers having defaulted, the Council will have to delay carrying out its plans. The maintenance of roads, drainage, municipal dispensaries, maternity homes and providing poor relief assistance etc. were being hampered without adequate funds, he said.

Another virus here, computer users warned

Computer users are warned to be on the lookout for the latest computer virus, identified as 'Worm Explore Virus' which enters the system through e-mail.

The latest worm virus is said to be very dangerous and is capable of destroying data, a statement from Dynaweb Services said.

The virus targets those who use Microsoft Windows 95, 98 or NT, MAPI-based e-mail systems such as Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange.

Dynaweb cautioned the users to be careful with e-mail that has attachments unless they are certain that the sender is safe and after downloading protective software.

Bishop calls on Army-LTTE to help hold Madhu feast

By Shelani de Silva

The Mannar Bishop has called on the Army and the LTTE to extend their fullest co-operation to ensure the security of the pilgrims scheduled to visit Madhu for the annual church feast next month.

Mannar Bishop Rayap-pu Joseph told The Sunday Times he had written to the Army and the LTTE, seeking their assurance that they would stay away from the church premises.

The Bishop has requested that no soldier be allowed to the church premises armed, as their presence could jeopardise the safety of the pilgrims.

PARLIAMENT

Clashing dates in a House of clashes

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti, Our lobby correspondent

There are perhaps only two things our people are passionate about- elections and politics, both currently taking a beating in the popularity stakes.

So the PA romped home with a comfortable provincial victory in the South, adding another feather to its political cap of many hues. While that would be of political significance and an indicator of things to come, the pertinent issue here perhaps is not picking winners and losers in the eternal cut- throat game but finding out what ails our legislature.

Yes, Standing Order Number 7 (1) is specific when it states that Parliament shall sit on two alternative weeks of the month and this on four days of the week. Yet here in the banana republic of the perennial lotus eaters, the 8 days -a month- theory holds no water-specially if there's any kind of election in the horizon which immediately pales everything else including matters of national importance into insignificance.

June like May has all signs of breaching the stipulated rules regarding parliamentary sittings. And this political malady has been constant during the past few months owing to a series of provincial elections, and is still persisting.

And the drama indeed was demeaning when the government inadvertently decided to hold the debate on the emergency on the 8th -and realizing the political implications rushed to the House on the appointed date, and had it postponed to the following week.

Why dates are fixed which clash with poll requirements and why a political agenda should override the legislative agenda of a country are questions that should be answered not only by the government which sought a postponement, but also by the Opposition which supported such a move at a contingency party leader's meeting.

So it was just another ritualistic meeting with a view to postpone the vital emergency debate when parliament sat last Tuesday. But the day had its own significance despite lacking debating time.

Surprisingly, many of the government politicians did show up for the 30- minute session as opposed to the Opposition legislators when several important announcements were made.

There was a slight error of protocol when J.M.M.C.L.B. Jayasundara, the new PA member for Badulla who replaced Samaraweera Weerawanni was sworn-in before deputy minister Weerawanni's letter of resignation was read out along with deputy transport minister Athauda Seneviratne's.

M.H. Mohamed, made a little noise about the impropriety of swearing-in a member while the resignation had not yet been announced, but the Speaker shot down the protest in mid air saying the House must first meet in order to inform of resignations on time.- the very thing the House is expected to do eight times a week but rarely does so.

The new legislator was sworn-in amidst applause and a gallery filled with well- wishers. Moments before the momentous occasion, it was UNP's W.J.M. Lokubandara, who held the silver haired national clad new legislator's hands in a warm welcome. And the applause signified a moment of togetherness overriding the perennial pettiness that usually goes on in the House.

And this followed two significant announcements- the Supreme Court determination declaring the university amendment Bill as arbitrary and inconsistent with the Constitution and the deletion of the motion to impose civic disabilities on former UNP Chief Whip Wijeyapala Mendis.

Just before the conclusion a discordant note was heard from fire- breathing Vasudeva Nanayakkara, seated among Opposition benchers, who opposed the move to postpone the emergency debate to the following week.

"I don't come under the Opposition Leader's whip" he said with his customary fire. But the MP had a real grievance when he pointed out he was not bound by the decision to support such postponements claiming there should be a mechanism which seeks the views of maverick members like him- for these decisions did not reflect their will.

Vavuniya chairman out and in

By S.S. Selvanayagam

Point Pedro Urban Council Chairman Vadivel Vijeyaratnam who reportedly disappeared in Vavuniya after his resignation, surfaced in Colombo on Friday saying his letter of resignation was given under duress and that he was now withdrawing it.

Mr Vijeyaratnam who contested on the PLOTE ticket told The Sunday Times she had been waylaid by some militants who forced him to sign a letter of resignation.

He said he would be writing to the Commissioner of Elections informing him that the letter of resignation was being withdrawn. Mr Vijeyaratnam was due to meet Justice Minister G.L. Peiris in Colombo over the weekend but no further details were available about the mysterious happenings which are believed to be connected to rivalry within the PLOTE.

Earlier this month Mr. Vijeyaratnam had come to Colombo on the invitation of the North East Governor Asoka Jayawardene. Thereafter he proceeded to Sinnaputhukulam, Vavuniya to visit his family during which he was waylaid and allegedly detained by a rival faction PLOTE, according to a complaint made to the police.

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