Bombers To Martyrs

By Camelia Nathaniel

Terrorism cannot be sustained without an above ground and underground support infrastructure. One of the world’s most notorious terrorist groups, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sustained itself because of the support it received and the bystanders that watched the spread of hatred and the conduct of violence. Father Sleemanpillai Joseph Emmanuel, a key supporter of the LTTE and an admirer of its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, embraced the mantle of leadership after his death. One of the four LTTE front groups designated under the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1373, the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is led by Father Emmanuel.

Father Emmanuel was a respected member of the clergy and community until he became a follower of the LTTE in the 1990s. The clergy, meant to create harmony, distanced themselves from Father Emmanuel when he equated Prabhakaran to Jesus Christ and suicide bombers to martyrs. Father Emmanuel not only supported the LTTE during its phase of assassinations, bombings, massacres, and ethnic cleansing, but, even today, is working towards the breakup of Sri Lanka. After relocating to the West, he works closely with the LTTE fronts and remnants, threatening the security and stability of Sri Lanka. To prevent support and a revival of violence, the UK headquartered GTF and its constituent groups were designated as terrorist entities on March 20, 2014.

The GTF is a conglomerate of organizations and individuals that has supported and continues to support the LTTE. The GTF President Father Sleemanpillai Joseph Emmanuel (IN/CA/2013/372) has been designated for his role in supporting the LTTE. In addition to presiding over GTF, Father Emmanuel supported the late Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader and the LTTE organization, actions for which he is now accountable. In addition to the Global Tamil Forum designated on March 20, 2014, three of its constituents designated are the British Tamil Forum (EN/CA/2013/04), Canadian Tamil Congress (EN/CA/2013/06), and the Australian Tamil Congress (EN/CA/2013/07) who are committed to the LTTE aims and objectives.

History

Father Emmanuel was born in Jaffna in 1934, had his early education in Jaffna and later graduated in Physical Sciences from the University of Ceylon, Colombo in 1958. After a short period as a teacher and journalist, he continued his studies in Rome, graduating in Philosophy and Theology at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome and was ordained a priest in December 1966. He served as the Vicar General of the Diocese of Jaffna. He moved to the Vanni mainland from the Peninsula after the Sri Lankan Security Forces recovered Jaffna from the grip of the LTTE in an operation code named “Riviresa” in 1995. He is described by his followers as a strong spiritual and religious leader who motivated Tamil intellectuals on the liberation path.

Father Emmanuel was closely associated with Velupillai Prabakaran. He visited him in the Vanni jungles in order to coordinate LTTE international activities. One of the TV documentaries released by the National Dooradarshan Television (NDTV) in India in early 2000 describes Father Emmanuel as “a close associate of Prabakaran”. He was quoted as describing Velupillai Prabakaran as “a freedom fighter who has given leadership to a movement committed to setting up the homeland to Tamil Eelam so that oppressed Tamil people could be saved from the chauvinist Sinhala regime”. It is seen that Father Emmanuel visited LTTE training schools in Vanni and conducted lectures on fundraising and other activities for selected youth and young Tamils within the Diaspora, to operate in Europe, organized by Castro, the former head of the LTTE International Wing.

Relocation

After Father Emmanuel left Sri Lanka in 1996, he relocated to Europe. Based in Germany since 1997, he operated from Horneburg, Germany. Father Emmanuel worked with several LTTE branches and fronts that supported the LTTE in the Vanni. Attending an annual dinner of Tamil Sangam in the US in 1996, he asked people to “pool your resources at the service of your liberation”. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia boycotted the two day conference where he was to attend which was organized by Australia based Tamil Tiger sympathizers. Father Emmanuel addressed the gathering in June 1996. He participated in the opening of Eelam House (LTTE House in UK) and made a speech on August 25, 1996.

From overseas, Father Emmanuel helped the LTTE’s tyrannical regime in Jaffna and Vanni by justifying and legitimizing the violence. He never spoke ill of Prabhakaran or the LTTE. In a conflict where everyone suffered, he highlighted only the sufferings of Tamil people with his “Liberation Theology”. He travels the world, using his cassock and status as a Catholic priest to convince the world of his brand of “liberation theology” and the organization to be “saviour” and “liberator” is the LTTE, a terrorist organization, so designated by the US State Department, with a catalogue of human rights abuses against the Tamil people and the people of Sri Lanka.

He crafted an ideology that politicized, radicalized and mobilized youth to advocate, support and participate in terrorist-crimes. With the LTTE blacklisted as a terrorist group, when the LTTE had little support, its international network’s public face became Father Emmanuel. Any terrorist group is able to emerge, develop and survive not because of the strength, power and influence of its supporters, but because of the resources of the patrons, supporters and sympathizers. Father Emmanuel remained committed to the LTTE ideal.

Activity

Father Emmanuel appeared in Conference for Peace in Italy, July, 1997, and stated that “as a Catholic priest with responsibility of a Vicar General for the Diocese of Jaffna, the heart of the war zone, I have lived through 50 years of the post-colonial history of Sri Lanka. This period has seen the gradual deterioration of a multi ethnic reality into of an ethnic conflict and later, on account of the failure of successive governments as well as political social and religious leaders of the country, descending into a spiral of a violent land war”. In his hours long speech, he had talked about the Sinhala Only Act in 1956 followed by various developments which caused ethnic disharmony.

In 1997, he visited South Africa where he met Bishop Desmond Tutu. In South Africa he was trying to convince the ANC that the LTTE is similar to a “liberation movement” of South Africa. Some were convinced that there was structural and institutionalized discrimination in Sri Lanka. He also advocated this opinion to the South African government. He blamed the international community for double standards on a separate country in Sri Lanka for the Tamils. On July 8, 2009, he made an appeal to the Diaspora and stated, “let us not betray the struggle or its goals as evolved, formulated and consolidated by the sacrifice of many thousand combatants and civilians under the leadership of the LTTE” and “let us change the phase in the struggle from the earlier militant cum political phase to a political and international phase. Our leader Prabakaran spoke convincingly of the aspiration, the goal and direction of the Tamil struggle.”

Agenda

In the book “Viduthalaipperoli” published in November 2004 by the Eelamurusu editorial board in France to commemorate the 50th birthday of Velupillai Prabakaran, an article “Saluting the Leader and Architect of a New Tamil Nation” written by Father Emmanuel appears. In the said article, the following comments are made by him describing the LTTE leader as, “The liberation that he leads and the leadership that he wields are unique in many ways and write new chapters in the history of liberation and leadership in the world: His eyes, ears and heart were wide open to the agonizing cries of his people.

He grew with a passion for freedom and a determined will to lead his people: Sinhala Governments have changed and their leaders have adopted varying tactics and offers, but the LTTE leadership has stood firm on its ground for its ideals and commitments: Malicious propaganda never weakened the Tamil Leadership nor lessened their commitment struggle: Prabakaran is not only the present national leader standing up for his people against oppressors and challengers, but also the unforgettable architect of a leadership”.

In a LTTE meeting held in Essen in Germany on October 10, 2010, action was taken by Father Emmanuel to establish another front organisation under GTF named House of Eelam Tamils Forum in Germany. It is a most significant aspect to be considered, that the new organization was formed by Father Emmanuel with the intention of rallying the LTTE activists and cadres living around world. It is believed that this strategy was formulated by Nediyawan, who is, at present, residing in Oslo. As Father Emmanuel could speak well and was respected, the LTTE leaders overseas who hardly spoke English relied on him to convince political leaders, government bureaucracies and human rights organizations. To make a comeback after LTTE’s defeat in May 2009, Father Emmanuel played the most crucial role.

As a terrorist front, GTF developed excellent access to politicians and even officials. Father Emmanuel, with few other representatives of the GTF, met Robert O’ Blake, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, on March 28, 2011 at the US State Department in order to highlight ways of addressing the grievances of Tamil people in the North and East and to share the opinions of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The Indian government prevented Father Emmanuel taking part in a seminar organized by the Chennai University and from meeting with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jeyaram on October 12, 2011 due to his pro LTTE attitudes and activities carried out in Western countries.

Father Emmanuel released a statement on Martyrs Day (Mahaweera Day) in Germany on November 26, 2011 and stated that he will achieve the LTTE’s goal by using INGOs, front organizations and young Tamil generations residing in Western countries. When LTTE leaders fought among each other for funds and power, Father Emmanuel also brought unity between different factions of the LTTE. As far as some kind of understanding between the LTTE factions is concerned, a joint statement released on the event by Rudrakumaran from the TGTE (Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam) and Father Emmanuel from GTF (Global Tamil Forum) in May 2012 is significant, as this is the first occasion that these two persons have joined in their common cause, at the function held to commemorate the third anniversary of the so called Mullaivaikkal genocide.

As Lord Nesby of the UK remarked, if there was ever genocide in Sri Lanka, it was perpetrated by the LTTE. Genocide is an emotive term used by the separatists to discredit Sri Lanka’s defeat of the LTTE.

Father Emmamuel met representatives of the government of South Africa on September 28, 2012. During the meeting the latter had indicated the stance of the Indian Prime Minister on the Sri Lankan issue and the urgency of achieving a lasting political solution to the Tamil question which could be achieved through an international investigation to secure accountability recommended by the UN panel of experts. This statement was issued with the expectation of international involvement in the Sri Lankan issue which had been aimed at through their false allegations.

He organized a skype conference between the representatives of the GTF members operating in UK, Canada and USA on December 31, 2012 including the Bishop of Mannar Rev Rayappu Joseph who gave his support to the LTTE organization in order to discuss the matters concerning the creating of false allegations against the Sri Lankan Government in the area of human rights violations, disappearances, political prisoners and civil land occupation by the Security Forces.

Father Emmanuel played a central role in convincing bishops and other religious dignitaries from Malaysia to Australia and the West to contribute funds for his humanitarian projects in Sri Lanka. However, according to well informed sources, neither GTF nor Father Emmanuel provided funds to the suffering Vanni Tamils.

Many LTTE cadres who underwent rehabilitation were furious when they were informed that the Father raised millions of dollars to help Tamils affected by the conflict. Father Emmanuel maintains close contact with several pro LTTE intellectuals. Among those Father Emmanuel contacted to raise funds were Professor Mallikadevi Sabanayagam, MP in the Canadian Parliament for the New Democratic Party (NDP) representing Scarborough – Rouge River, who engaged in fund raising activities for Amnesty International.

Today, Father Emmanuel is not only playing a key role in promoting the LTTE’s interests but also persuading the next generation of Tamils to continue the separatist struggle. Father Emmanuel continues to radicalize the younger generation especially those in Tamil schools in Europe particularly in Germany where he has become a regular speaker and an advisor on the functioning of these schools.

Prabhakaran to Jesus Christ

Working with its constituent organizations, GTF mischaracterized the Sri Lankan security forces campaign against the LTTE as genocide. For instance, GTF constituent, the British Tamil Forum (BTF) and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT), organized an exhibition at Westminster in February 2002.

The largest distributor of LTTE propaganda, TamilNet reported on the exhibition on 05 February 2012 that “MPs, peers from the House of Lords and a cross-party group of politicians endorsed the call for an independent, international investigation into allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka, at an exhibition organized by the BTF and APPGT held at Portcullis House, a parliamentary building in Westminster.” TamilNet added: “The exhibition highlighted the protracted nature of the genocide of the Eezham Tamils through a creative use of artwork, paintings, newspaper clippings, slides and documentaries.

The event was widely welcomed by those who attended, including the shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South-East, Pat McFadden, Lord Quirk, Father Emmanuel of Global Tamil Forum (GTF), and Lord Kennedy.” Through GTF and its constituents notably the BTF, Father Emmanuel was successful in getting British parliamentarians dependent on Tamil votes to make statements critical of Sri Lanka.

“We must stop the genocide of the Tamils. The world must stop the barbarism of the Sri Lankan regimen,” said, Robert Halfon, Conservative MP from Harlow said at the venue. Another politician said, “The need for international independent investigation into the crimes and atrocities that have taken place in Sri Lanka is clear from your exhibition and the UK has a responsibility to act to make this happen,” said Heidi Alexander, Labour MP Lewisham East. The exhibition was organized by LTTE fronts but they deceived the British politicians into believing that it was organized by Tamil civil society organizations.

The LTTE fronts that organized the event were BTF, Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO UK), and Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC). By operating through such fronts, the LTTE overseas network generated support for its terror campaign in Sri Lanka before May 2009 and today presents a distorted view of the final phase of the conflict. Masquerading as a human rights activist and a man of god, Father Emmanuel is very much behind this art form.

Father Emmanuel is considered the mastermind of the “new look” of the LTTE. After its defeat in Sri Lanka, LTTE activists overseas masquerade as human rights activists calling for international investigations and accountability. Those who never spoke of human rights violations by the LTTE now wear three piece suits and attend all meetings in Geneva. Father Emmanuel hardly misses any opportunity to attend the human rights events in Geneva.

Today, GTF, and its leader Fr Emmanuel, is designated under UNSCR 1373. The designation brings to notice of others the true face of Fr Emmanuel. It is time for him to be held accountable for his words and actions. His assets and funds should be frozen and an international investigation should be launched into what he did with the money he raised in several countries. As one of the most educated Sri Lankans, he used his position to create discord and disharmony.

Rather than unite communities divided by conflict, Fr Emmanuel spread hatred and polarized the communities. Rather than dissuading those who conducted killings, maiming and injuries upon innocent civilians to abandon violence, he encouraged and empowered them.

Furthermore, Fr Emmanuel abused his position and appointment in a religious organization to subvert the minds of old and young, especially children. Fr Emmanuel glorified suicide bombers when he labelled them martyrs and committed a grave sin when he compared Prabhakaran to Jesus Christ.