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Home > Tamils - a Nation without a State > Struggle for Tamil Eelam > Tamil Eelam - a De Facto State > The Civil Administration in Thamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam - a De Facto State
The Civil Administration in Thamil Eelam
Nagalingam Ethirveerasingham
A US Academic, who spent several months in Thamil Eelam
during a three year
period (1994 - 1996), on his return to the US in 1996
sent this special report to the Tamil Voice. In this report he outlines his
observations
on the LTTE administration of the north (March 1990 to November
1995)
10 May 1996
|
I spent a total of 18 months in the northern province of Sri
Lanka since early 1994, as a volunteer working with farmers and
educators. During this period I came to know the LTTE administrators
and their administration of the Northern Province areas under their
control. My observations below are based on that experience. There are no planes, cargo ships, trains, large buses, trucks or
new cars in the north, for a population of over 1.2 million. There
are approximately 200 pre-1956 Morris minor and Austin cars, 300
trishaws, 400 vans used as buses, and a few hundred motorcycles. In
all there are less than 2000 vehicles in operation. This is less
than 10% of the vehicles that were in the North prior to 1956.
Vehicle population in the north is less than 1% of the total vehicle
population of Sri Lanka. This state of affairs was brought about not
only by the economic blockade and embargo, but also due to the
confiscation and destruction of vehicles by the invading Sri Lankan
and Indian armies. The north has no telecommunications link with the rest of the
island or world. In total about 100 computers were in use before the
October 95 offensive. The Sri Lankan radio and television programs
are received in certain parts of the north with a tall antenna.
International radio stations are the main source of reliable news.
The LTTE operates an FM station for a few hours each day. Electricity was cut off to the north in 1990. The power lines and
the transformers are now in disrepair. Electricity is produced in
small amounts by tiny generators, solar panels and windmills. Biogas
is also produced. Kerosene lamps are used at night to study and for
housework. Remarkably, research and development is carried out,
despite the army embargo and blockade, to produce large scale cheap
energy from sources such as wind, waves, solar power and methanol
gas. Firewood or kerosene is used for cooking. In the absence of a public sewage system, there are only
individual septic tanks. This is now encouraged and regulated by the
LTTE to protect the environment and control water pollution. Since
the 1990 embargo on chlorine and cement, the latrines and wells are
not repaired adequately and, the wells are not disinfected properly.
This has lead to dangerous levels of coliforms in the drinking
water. There are no pipe water systems for households. Water is
drawn from the well by kerosene pumps or humans. Water pumps are a
banned item and what is available now are those brought in before
the war started. During the past four years some of the reservoirs,
ponds and canals which the Sri Lankan government failed to repair,
are being repaired. Cement is a banned item and repairs to
reservoirs last only an year or two. Schools were functioning normally (with a Thamil curriculum,
sports, music, dancing and prayers) before the invasion by the Sri
Lankan army in October �95. University admissions are on a point
system. Private tutories were flourishing. University faculties were
operating with limited resources and facilities. Repairs to
buildings and equipment are not done due to the embargo. The Faculty
of Agriculture conducts lectures in wall-less, thatch-roof
buildings. Computer education is only at the theoretical level due
to the embargo on computers and lack of electricity. Except for the
Faculty of Agriculture at Kilinochchi, no other faculties of the
University are functioning since the October �95 army offensive. The
university administration is now in Kilinochchi and Chavakachcheri.
The staff and students are scattered in Vadamaratchchi,
Thenmarachchi and the Vanni. The schools in the North were also
disrupted in October. All schools in the North were closed to
accommodate the refugees from Valigamam. In 1990-92 the schools in
the islands and the northern coast were closed due to army operation
that resulted in displacement of the people from these areas. In
March the LTTE administration reopened the schools at the request of
the parents and teachers. This is a success story for the LTTE administrators. In 1994 I
reviewed the agriculture policy manual of Thamil Eelam. It is a
superb modern document which addressed all environmental concerns
and the sustainability of agriculture production. I could not make
any improvements on it. Despite the war agricultural production
reached a point that, if not for the war, and the embargo on
Ammonium sulphate, the north would have been in a position to export
rice. This is something the Sinhalese government has tried to do
since independence and has failed. LTTE achieved this within four
years despite the war and the army embargo and blockade. Various
cash crops like potatoes, tobacco, and fruit trees, are being
cultivated very successfully. Agricultural research stations and
garden centres have been set up by LTTE to ensure that the
agricultural revolution is complete and the north can be
self-sufficient, once peace returns. Due to the embargo and economic blockade the fuel supply is
limited. Fuel is received by the GA for the Multipurpose
Co-operative Societies (MPCS). The distribution is monitored and
controlled by the LTTE administration. There are no petrol stations.
Instead, road-side stalls sell kerosene in bottles. Most small spare
parts for the cars are made in local workshops. Diesel is rationed
and is used only to operate the few generators still left in the
north. Since April, 1995 diesel is not available, but locally made
diesel is available in small quantities. Tractors and other
machinery operate on kerosene, and the local craftsmen have
developed a unit which is attached to the exhaust manifold of cars
that allows kerosene to be used instead of petrol. The University
operates their generators for about two hours at night and
thereafter the students use the kerosene lamps. During kerosene
shortage or when kerosene was required for the boats and lorries to
transport displaced persons in November last year, kerosene sale was
restricted to one litre per family per week. The trade of kerosene
is monitored by the LTTE administration. No one is exempt from the
rule. I have studied the industrial development policy manual of Thamil
Eelam. It is a modern plan of a free-enterprise system, with
environmental protection and human safeguards built in. The
Industrial Development Organization (IDO) of the EDD is responsible
for promoting industrial development with loans and technical
assistance. IDO also monitors the quality of the products and their
environmental impact, and makes recommendations to the
manufacturers. Very few new houses were built during the past 12 years. This is
mainly due to the current war. The economic embargo and the blockade
have made it difficult to build or repair homes especially those
which were damaged by bombings and shelling by the Sri Lankan and
Indian occupation forces. Most homes are over 30 years old. Those
houses that were abandoned by the fleeing refugees are now
maintained by the LTTE civil administration and given back to the
owners who returned. House prices have appreciated significantly
during the past 5 years. This is due to the shortage of housing
created by the Sri Lankan and Indian armies who not only took over
some of the residences, but also destroyed over half the residences,
offices, shops, factories, cinemas, and warehouses. The government
has not replaced them or paid compensation or given permits to
purchase building materials for reconstruction. Property rights are
now protected by the LTTE. The largest hospital in the north, the Jaffna Teaching Hospital,
is not functioning. Other hospitals and clinics outside Jaffna city
are operating with limited facilities despite the current invasion.
This was possible only because of financial aid and human resources
assistance to supplement the local doctors and nurses from the
Christian missionaries, Red Cross, Care and other international
charities. There are still a number of Thamil doctors and nurses
working and practicing in the north on the strength of protection
given by the LTTE. No new hospitals have been built during the past
twenty years and the limited facilities and medicines available are
reminiscent of pre World War II conditions in the north, or 19th
century Europe. All aid and donations from foreign government and
aid bodies have been diverted to the South in an attempt to force
the northern residents to poverty and ill health, to pave the way
for military, social, political and economic domination from the
south. Licenses and taxes are collected to operate various services
including a police force and a justice system. All motor vehicles
and bicycles have to take a license and carry number or license
plates issued by the LTTE administration. To protect the palmyrah
and coconut trees an annual duty is levied. Cutting down these and
other trees is by special permission only. There is also a tax on
the sale of goods and services, and a duty on property transactions. Banks from the south are still operating in the north, mostly for
taking deposits from the thrifty residents and to lend for business,
speculation and development in the south. This is at the expense of
the northern residents who need financing for agriculture, fishing.
business vehicles, machinery, trade, housing and education. Banks
from the south continue to earn commissions from foreign remittances
by overseas Tamils, which amount to over US$300 million per year. In
addition, the banks are charging a tax on these remittances to
finance the war. The banks also use very old currency bank notes
which are put together with cello-tape or gum. The above were some
of the points brought up by the north with the banks and the
government, but to date it appears no steps have been taken to
rectify the problems faced by the Tamils. The LTTE administration has been successful in virtually wiping
out the caste system, bribery, corruption and begging. The age old
dowry system is under review. The LTTE, with the assistance of
progressive Thamils, is conducting an education campaign to abolish
the dowry system. These social evils have not only hampered economic
and social progress, but created dishonest politicians,
administrators, businessmen and civilians in the whole of Sri Lanka. Another great achievement of the LTTE administration is the
successful reduction in unemployment and the substantial increase in
the employment opportunities for women. Following the world trend, a
high proportion of women are employed in the medical, judicial,
security, police, professional and administrative services. Their
performance in terms of professionalism, attitude and politeness
gives Tamils hope for greater achievement in economic and social
progress in the future. Practically every person who is willing to
work and perform well is offered employment at reasonable wages,
similar to wages paid by the Sri Lanka government or related
businesses. In fact, there were vacancies for skilled workers,
teachers and professionals before the current invasion by the Sri
Lanka armed forces. Discipline is another area in which the LTTE administration has
made progress. In waiting for a bus or a boat, people stand in
queues in an orderly fashion. Hire vehicles take their turn. The LTTE administration has set up police stations all over the
North. Violent crimes have dropped drastically. In Kilinochchi
during the two years I was there, there was one rape and two
murders. The cases were tried, appeals heard and judgments
delivered. Public drunkenness is under control. Citizen groups are,
however, calling for a total ban on liquor. LTTE members do not
drink or serve drinks to anyone at any functions. Most of the
complaints at the police stations were family quarrels, drunkenness
or property disputes. Robberies are rare. It is safe for a single
woman to move about without fear of robbery, molestation or rape - a
matter for which people are grateful, especially after what they
suffered at the hands of some of the Sri Lankan and Indian soldiers
in the past. Police are unarmed, helpful and free of corruption or
favoritism. Law courts set up by the LTTE administration are in operation in
the main districts of the north. Judgments are handled usually
within a month. Legal costs are one of the lowest in the world.
Lawyers who have left the North do complain. The citizens prefer the
present judicial system because of the lower cost and quicker
resolution. Legal precedents are based on existing laws in the
north, updated for current social values (E.g. spousal abuse). Most
of the disputes that would have gone to courts twenty years ago are
solved by mediation outside the courts. By noon the courts are empty
in Kilinochchi. The absence of large scale factories, fewer vehicles, scarcity of
petrol, diesel and other industrial pollutants has made the
north-east pollution free. The embargo on Nitrogen fertilizers has
also reduced the Nitrogen level in wells and waterways. Previously,
the N-level was twice the VMO recommended limit. The LTTE administration in 1990 formed a committee of specialists
from the University, Government departments, private sector and
citizens to plan and rebuild the Jaffna city. The committee
completed its work under the chairmanship of the then Vice
Chancellor, Prof. A. Thurairajah, a civil engineer. The plan and
architect drawing were presented by the LTTE infrastructure team at
a meeting of the DAC in Kilinochchi in 1994 where I was present. It
is a modern plan for a destroyed ancient city. During my stay, a
committee was elected to plan the Kilinochchi and Mankulam towns,
which completed the draft in April 1995. The committee had full
freedom and all assistance to hold meetings for people to present
their views and recommendations. In May 1994, the LTTE administration undertook to estimate the
cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation. The EDD secretariat
coordinated the exercise. Subcommittees for each of the sectors were
formed who, in consultation with the public, from records and direct
inspection, assessed the reconstruction need and prepared the
policies, plans and estimation of cost. Preliminary documents were
then sent by the GA to the Ministry of Reconstruction and
Rehabilitation. A private consultation team headed by a Dr.
Gunasingam was appointed by the Ministry to coordinate this
activity. These documents were then discussed in a three day
Seminar/Workshop in July 1994 at the conference hall of the
University of Jaffna in Thinnevely, under the patronage of Mr.
Thamilchelvam, Mr. Karikalan and the organization of Mr. Ravi
Champion. A final document was produced and a summary of this was
submitted at the 1995 Peace talks. |
