Though the fight for
Independent nation was based on Tamil nationalism, I also questioned
him about necessity for expulsion of nearly 72,000 Tamil speaking
Muslims (Srilankan Moors) from Northern province in Early 90’s.He
replied me back saying the Sinhalese government cleverly used the
“Divide and rule policy” to separate the both. They confused their
minds with belief that they can’t live as minority within minority
state through their spy network. With Moors succumbing to their
cunning policy, Sinhalese government complimented them by creating
“Muslim Home Guard”, arming them to teeth. Feeling betrayed, Tamil
Tigers started arbitrarily killing of the moors. One of the worst
massacre happened on Aug 1990, ie Kattankudi massacre, nearly 165 moors
were lynched in cold blood allegedly by LTTE. But LTTE still dispute
the killings.
In Jaffna, Moors were living in an isolated land from LTTE areas. With Kattankudi massacre and other killings fresh in their mind, Jaffna Moors also felt alienated and started to support Srilankan Govt forces more vigorously. Government forces planned a covert operation using moors for wiping out LTTE from Jaffna town. Every moor house rooftop were found containing rifles, ammunitions, grenades to start Srilankan’s Govt proxy war against LTTE by using moors as trump card. Sensing the imminent danger inside their own bastion, LTTE on October 30 1990, asked all the moors to be exit the town within 2 hours, allowing to take with them only the clothes they were wearing and no more than 50 rupees in cash. After this within few months, nearly 72,000 moors were expulsed from Northern province and they resettled in nearby Puttalam district.
Later in 2002, LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran formally apologized for the expulsion of Muslims from the North. But as per ramaswamy, even now moors feel that there was no healing for the wound caused.They can forget not Forgive!! He too felt for the incidents like Kattankudi, because same Northern(Vavuniya) Muslims were making weapons for LTTE in the early LTTE formation days.
In Jaffna, Moors were living in an isolated land from LTTE areas. With Kattankudi massacre and other killings fresh in their mind, Jaffna Moors also felt alienated and started to support Srilankan Govt forces more vigorously. Government forces planned a covert operation using moors for wiping out LTTE from Jaffna town. Every moor house rooftop were found containing rifles, ammunitions, grenades to start Srilankan’s Govt proxy war against LTTE by using moors as trump card. Sensing the imminent danger inside their own bastion, LTTE on October 30 1990, asked all the moors to be exit the town within 2 hours, allowing to take with them only the clothes they were wearing and no more than 50 rupees in cash. After this within few months, nearly 72,000 moors were expulsed from Northern province and they resettled in nearby Puttalam district.
Later in 2002, LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran formally apologized for the expulsion of Muslims from the North. But as per ramaswamy, even now moors feel that there was no healing for the wound caused.They can forget not Forgive!! He too felt for the incidents like Kattankudi, because same Northern(Vavuniya) Muslims were making weapons for LTTE in the early LTTE formation days.
Worth read. Thanks for the article. New information to me
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