In Saris and Sandals, Sri Lankan Villagers Prepare For 'Bombardment'

Agence France Presse

Thursday, May 25, 2006

By Ian Timberlake

With tension increasing on the island, the Tamil Tiger guerrillas say they have reintroduced the programme to help villagers protect themselves in the event of wider hostilities

WHEN the whistle blows at 6:00 am sharp, village women in saris and men in sandals line up in military formation. Another morning’s “self-defence training” is about to begin in rebel-controlled Sri Lanka.

With tension increasing on the island, the Tamil Tiger guerrillas say they have reintroduced the programme to help villagers protect themselves in the event of wider hostilities.

In Uthayanagar East village just outside Kilinochchi, the “capital” of territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), roosters crow as the group snap to attention on a scrubby football field.

A rebel fighter in striped camouflage raises the Tigers’ red flag before the villagers bow their heads in tribute to those who have died in action, and shout a pledge for the “homeland”.

Then they break off, the women in one direction, the men in another, for a jog past a cow and several grazing goats.

The rest of this morning’s hour-long training is taken up with gymnastic exercises, and sometimes accompanied by laughter.

“This is good for the body,” said Sivakamaran Sutharsini, 26, one of 17 women stretching and twisting to the commands of a short-haired female rebel as the morning sun creeps over the trees.

“We like it,” said Chanthirarajah Sujivan, 28, a textiles retailer and one of about 50 men who turned up. “If a war broke out, we should prepare.”

Their comments were translated by a rebel who identified himself only by the nickname Naresh and who escorted AFP around the site.

“The situation is getting worse. We must train our people how to protect their lives during bombardment,” Naresh said.

Training is done in four phases of 15 days each and includes segments on air raid survival, first aid, treatment of unexploded ordnance, and bunker building, he said.

“We have a syllabus.”

Naresh showed AFP several large colour photographs of mutilated corpses and bombed buildings to make his point that civilians are at risk.

“So we emphasize you must make a bunker, a safety bunker,” he said, and pointed out a “model bunker” cleanly cut into the earth beside the football field.

Violence between the Tigers and government forces has escalated since December and left a 2002 ceasefire in force only on paper. April was the bloodiest month in four years, with more than 200 deaths.

As a result, the Tigers reintroduced the civilian self-defence programme which had last been employed during fighting in 1997-98, Naresh said. Asked whether the training is mandatory, Naresh said, “we emphasize” that people attend either the morning or afternoon session.

When the day’s instruction ends, everybody sits on the ground and the three uniformed supervising cadres mark the participants’ yellow attendance cards. At the end of the programme they will receive certificates, Naresh said.

The whistle blows. Everyone lines up in formation again and stands at attention while a guerrilla lowers the roaring tiger flag and puts it into a red case.

Another morning’s training is over.