D.B.S.

Jeyaraj and the bogey of the reincarnation of the Tiger: Battle of the Fourth Estate in Post Civil ar Sri !an"a
Sivaram and Jeyaraj

Wednesday, April 16, 2014 The most notable of the latter are David !ell Sabapathy Jeyaraj "pop!larly #no$n as David Jeyaraj or D S in short% and the late Dharmaratnam Sivaram"$hose nom de pl!me $as Tara#i%& oth Jeyaraj and Sivaram have been os'illatin( as advo'ates of both the devils in Sri )an#a*s ethni' 'onfli't and 'ivil $ar "the State and the Ti(ers% from time to time& D!rin( most part of his 'areer as a jo!rnalist D S has been 'on'o'tin( stories on behest of both the devils in Sri )an#a*s ethni' 'onfli't from over ten tho!sand #ilometres a$ay, $hile Sivaram has been residin( in Sri )an#a thro!(ho!t his life& + ,!tt!#rishna Sarvananthan The ethni' 'onfli't and 'ivil $ar in Sri )an#a have been f!elled by many a'tors from vario!s ethni' 'omm!nities from $ithin the 'o!ntry as $ell as from abroad, espe'ially sin'e 1-.2& Three most 'riti'al (ro!ps of a'tors $ithin the Tamil minority 'omm!nity $ho have f!elled this 'onfli't are the entire armed Tamil militants, most Tamil demo'rati' politi'ians, and fe$ Tamil jo!rnalists& The most notable of the latter are David !ell Sabapathy Jeyaraj "pop!larly #no$n as David Jeyaraj or D S in short% and the late Dharmaratnam Sivaram"$hose nom de pl!me $as Tara#i%& oth Jeyaraj and Sivaram have been os'illatin( as advo'ates of both the devils in Sri )an#a*s ethni' 'onfli't and 'ivil $ar "the State and the Ti(ers% from time to time& D!rin( most part of his 'areer as a jo!rnalist D S has been 'on'o'tin( stories on behest of both the devils in Sri )an#a*s ethni' 'onfli't from over ten tho!sand #ilometres a$ay, $hile Sivaram has been residin( in Sri )an#a thro!(ho!t his life& The sin(!lar advanta(e these t$o Tamil jo!rnalists had vis/0/vis other "espe'ially Tamil% jo!rnalists in Sri )an#a $as their 'ompeten'y in all three lan(!a(es1 2n(lish, Sinhala, and Tamil& These t$o members of the fo!rth estate !sed and ab!sed their 'omparative advanta(e for personal "material% (ain and "immaterial% (lory& Sivaram has been able to even d!pe $estern a'ademi's s!'h as ,ar# Whita#er $ho 'alled him 344&a revol!tionary Tamil jo!rnalist4&&+& ,y 'riti'ism of these t$o jo!rnalists sho!ld not be mis'onstr!ed as 'ondonin( the #illin( of

Sivaram in 2005 or severe physi'al atta'# on D S in the streets of S'arboro!(h "Toronto% sometime in the early 1--0s& 6t is in the li(ht of the fore(oin( that this arti'le is penned and the immediate 'a!se is the arti'le by D S titled 3A bi((er plan by the )TT2 nipped in the b!d+p!blished in the Daily ,irror "Sri )an#an daily ne$spaper% of 2- ,ar'h 2014, $hi'h raises more 7!estions than it ans$ers& The first time 6 s!spe'ted D S*s 'redibility $as $hen he $rote a detailed arti'le in the same Daily ,irror immediately after the last 8residential 2le'tion abo!t fo!r years a(o "in 9ebr!ary 2010% abo!t the rivalry bet$een the former Army :ommander Sarath 9onse#a and the ;ajapa#sa brothers to share the spoils of the 'ivil $ar& The se'ond time 6 s!spe'ted D S*s 'redibility and honesty $as $hen he atro'io!sly defended the blatant lies $ritten by <iromi de Soy=a in her p!rported memoir in a series of arti'les $ritten d!rin( De'ember 2011 and Jan!ary 2012 in response to the 'riti'isms of the memoir leveled by a n!mber of people in'l!din( this a!thor& <o$ for the third time, in my memory, D S has played the role of devil*s advo'ate in $ritin( an arti'le on the p!rported rein'arnation of the )TT2 in Sri )an#a& esides, even before the >overnment of Sri )an#a offi'ially pros'ribed a n!mber of pro/Ti(er (ro!ps in the Diaspora in early April 2014, D S has $ritten abo!t the impendin( pros'ription in his personal blo(& The fore(oin( reveals that D S $rites from :anada on the basis of information se'ond handedly fed to him by vested interests in Sri )an#a as $ell as the Diaspora& David Jeyaraj, in 'ontravention of ethi's and prin'iples of jo!rnalism, hides his lies by $ritin( almost entirely in his personal blo( $$$&dbsjeyaraj&'om $hi'h he solely moderates and thereby prevents 'orre'tions, alternative vie$points, and adverse 'omments on or 'riti'ism of his $ritin(s be'omin( p!bli'& The Daily ,irror also 'onnives $ith D S in hidin( his !ntr!ths by not p!blishin( 'riti'al 'omments abo!t his arti'les by its readers in'l!din( this a!thor& This a!thor*s primary 'on'ern is <?T abo!t the tr!ths or !ntr!ths of D S*s $ritin(s in (eneral, and in the aforementioned arti'les in parti'!lar& ,y primary 'on'ern is ho$ did D S #no$ s!'h min!te details of in'iden'es and o''!rren'es that had ta#en pla'e or ta#es pla'e more than ten tho!sand #ilometres a$ay from his abode in Toronto@ y his o$n admission D S has not visited Sri )an#a sin'e he fled the 'o!ntry in the late 1-A0s !ntil late 201B& 6n this 'ir'!mstan'e, ho$ did D S investi(ate or 'olle't information abo!t members of the Sri )an#a Army $ho had s!pported their former 9ield :ommander Sarath 9onse#a and the :ommander/ in/:hief 8resident ;ajapa#sa or the p!rported rein'arnation of the )TT2 in Tharmap!ram "in the Cilino'h'hi distri't alon( the 8aranthan/8!th!#!diyir!p! ;oad% in parti'!lar or in the <orthern 8rovin'e in (eneral@ 6s it 'orre't, in terms of professional ethi's, to report on s!'h sensitive matters from information obtained thro!(h vested interests@ Do$ does D S verify the a!thenti'ity of s!'h information from over ten tho!sand #ilometres a$ay@ Dis latest arti'le on the p!rported rein'arnation of the )TT2 in Sri )an#a ma#es me serio!sly s!spe't that D S*s re'ent visit to Sri )an#a after a lapse of almost t$enty/five years $as state/ sponsored, state/or'hestrated, and military/es'orted& 6f not, ho$ 'ome he $as ta#en by the Sri )an#a <avy to vie$ the ;amar 8alam ";amar rid(e% at the 6ndo/)an#a maritime border in north$estern Sri )an#a off the ,annar 6sland@ 6s he s!'h a E68@ ,oreover, 6 serio!sly s!spe't

that D S*s visit to Sri )an#a and his spe'ta'!lar revelation abo!t the p!rported rein'arnation of the )TT2 "j!st t$o days after the F<D;: resol!tion $as passed% $as stateGor'hestrated to 'o!nter the resol!tion a(ainst the Sri )an#an State in the ann!al sessions of the Fnited <ations D!man ;i(hts :o!n'il in >eneva and reinvent the bo(ey of the Ti(ers& Altho!(h 6 do not #no$ any information abo!t >?86 and his a''ompli'es, 6 deeply s!spe't the 'laim made by D S that they $ere plottin( a hi(h/profile assassination in :olombo or the s!b!rbs 3!tilisin( the element of s!rprise+& Altho!(h 6 do not have any first/hand information as D S 'laims to have, 'ir'!mstantial eviden'e does not indi'ate any tr!th in s!'h a spe'ta'!lar 'laim& 6 #no$ for s!re that a small se'tion of the Tamil Diaspora $ants to ta#e reven(e on the ;ajapa#sas in parti'!lar and the Sri )an#an State in (eneral for the defeat of the )TT2& Do$ever, their tar(etin( of the ;ajapa#sas and the Sri )an#an State is thro!(h the Fnited <ations in parti'!lar and the international 'omm!nity in (eneral1 in $hi'h they seem to have been s!''essf!l after almost five years sin'e the demise of the Ti(ers& Fnder this positive o!t'ome, a frin(e of the Tamil Diaspora $o!ld not ind!l(e in or insti(ate violen'e in Sri )an#a and s!lly their 3vi'tory+& The reinvention of the bo(ey of the Ti(ers in the name of >opi and his a''ompli'es "in'l!din( Jeya#!mari, et al% appears to be a 'o!nter offensive and part of a master plan by the Sri )an#an State a(ainst the F<D;: resol!tion passed on 2. ,ar'h 2014& y revivin( the fear psy'hosis amon( the northern pop!lation, the State is attemptin( to intimidate the potential eye$itnesses to the impendin( international in7!iry into the violations of the international la$s of armed 'onfli't& 9or eHample, re'ently fe$ h!ndreds of yo!ths $ere as#ed to assemble in a play(ro!nd in Eatt!#ottai in the Jaffna penins!la for in7!iry by the military& 9e$ of them $ere ta#en a$ay for f!rther investi(ation, b!t lo'al people insist that the fe$ yo!ths ta#en a$ay for f!rther investi(ation $ere not from their area& 6t appears that yo!ths are ta#en from o!tside a 'ordoned/off area and then ta#en ba'# from the same area to (ive an impression to lo'al pop!lation that their 'ordon and sear'h operation $as s!''essf!l in apprehendin( fe$ s!spe'ts& 8!rs!it of the politi's of ven(ean'e by both the Tamil Diaspora and the Sri )an#an State in the aftermath of the 'ivil $ar has been one of the bi((est impediments to re'on'iliation amon( different ethni' 'omm!nities in Sri )an#a& Tra(i'ally the politi's of ven(ean'e advan'ed by both the prota(onists of the 'ivil $ar and its aftermath is p!rs!ed $ith the help of the fo!rth estate& While the Tamil Diaspora has deployed jo!rnalists, and reportedly f!nds a television 'hannel in Tamilnad! State in 6ndia to advan'e its 'a!se, the Sri )an#an State has deployed a Tamil jo!rnalist in 6ndia, David !ell Sabapathy Jeyaraj in :anada, inter alia, and reported to have p!r'hased a Tamil Diaspora television 'hannel Theepam TE based in )ondon to do its biddin(&Fnfort!nately it is the inno'ent Tamil 'ivilians in eastern and northern Sri )an#a $ho are 'a!(ht in bet$een these t$o devils and li#ely to pay the !ltimate pri'e for the post/'ivil $ar politi's of ven(ean'e& 9!rthermore, mer'enary jo!rnalists s!'h as David !ell Sabapathy Jeyaraj are s!llyin( the inte(rity of their profession, $hi'h is already !nder immense press!re by the Sri )an#an State&