A difference of 3 days: V. Anandasangaree on the killing of Tamil civilians in the Vanni

Vikalpa Video recorded on Thursday 7th May 2009, as part of its current series on the LTTE and the end to the war in Sri Lanka, an interview with prominent Tamil politician, leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and vocal critic of the LTTE Mr. Veerasingham Anandasangaree. Mr. Anandasangaree in these two interviews clearly points to the LTTE’s tactic of embedding itself amongst civilians, so as to draw Army fire and then claim the State is attacking innocent civilians. He also goes on to affirm the importance of an amnesty not to top LTTE leadership, but to young cadres forced to join its ranks.

Scheduling conflicts kept Vikalpa Video from uploading this video to YouTube till today (Monday). The long-weekend on account of Vesak was ironically one of the bloodiest in the Vanni. Reports indicate hundreds of civilians dead from artillery fire, with some estimates ranging in the thousands. The numbers most quoted at the time of writing are 378 dead and 1,122 wounded. Horrifically, these numbers include over 100 children dead.

Contrast Mr. Anandasangaree’s statements in the following videos with his statements published in the National Post today, where he notes that,

“Firing should stop,” Mr. Anandasangaree, a former MP and the leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front party, said in an interview. “The government has no business to kill people like this.” He said he believed the latest casualty figures because he had heard them directly from a doctor at the hospital that received the dead and injured. “These are 100 per cent true,” he said. “We can’t trust the LTTE’s version, but this is from the horse’s mouth.”

Emphasis added.

Mr. Anandasangaree in English:

Mr. Anandasangaree in Tamil:

View other videos in this series below or click here.