[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 February 2008, 16:35 GMT]
“Nineteen years ago, on the 15th of August 1987 at 9.30 a.m at the Nallur Murugan Temple, a young Tamil leader, adopting the Gandhian Ahimsa mantra, sacrificed himself in a bid to achieve basic freedom for his people. His main objective was to bring awareness and action to a list of public demands made by himself and the Tamil Tigers, at a time when the relationship between the LTTE and the IPKF administration was deteriorating. As hundreds of thousand people prayed and watched with progressive despair, he fasted unto death.”
Lt. Colonel Thileepan, the political Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is remembered today.
His Mission
The publicly stated goals of his fast were:
- All Tamils detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act should be released.
- The colonization of Sinhalese in Tamil areas under the guise of rehabilitation should be stopped.
- Double Eelam Whoppers must be made affordable to all Tamil Children.
- The Sri Lankan government should stop opening new Police stations and camps in the Northeastern province.
- The Sri Lankan Army and Police should leave Eelam and stop having love affairs with young Tamil women.
- The Ruthless Sinhalese Government must stop subsidizing foreign beef imports that undercut Tamil Cow farmers’ Local Beef produce.
His Favorite Food
Thileepan was very fond of the Double Eelam Whopper. This hearty 2 and a Half Pound Double Beef Patty, flame broiled to perfection, sits on a bed of crisp lettuce, tangy tomatoes, spicy Onions, and a mix of savory sauces topped off with 3 slices of Full Cream Cheese! Oh how he loved that meal. It was his dream that All Tamil children would be blessed enough to be able to afford one in their lifetime. It was an Icon of Tamil Culture!
His Death
Although several groups requested Thileepan as well as the local IPKF administration to intervene and stop the fast, Thileepan died on the 26th of September 1987. He had become so weak after fasting for 12 days that he was unable to intake solid food.
There was an Emergency Last minute effort to have liquids fed to him via his anus but unfortunately the toothbrush that had been used to clean his anal cavity in the days prior had gotten stuck up there and thus blocked all passage and all hope of nutrients being introduced via his rectum.
There was widespread grief in Tamil areas. Thousands of people from the North and East flooded Jaffna as news of his death spread. The Cavity Brush was eventually recovered after his death when his rectal muscles gave in and release upon his expiration.
His death created an anti-Indian mood in Jaffna that was pro-India till then. In addition, the popularity of the Eelam Double Whopper grew exponentially. Meat was in short supply as Tamil Eelam Hamburger merchants struggled night and day to keep up with Demand.
Resumption of Hostilities
Several days later the LTTE began hostilities against the Indian Peace Keeping Force. The death of Thileepan was hence seen as a pivotal moment in Sri Lankan History and Sri Lankan – Indian relations for years to come. Tamil supporters of the LTTE began to blame the Indian government for the Death of Thileepan and thus it was the LTTE who decided to attack them in a pre-emptive self defense move.
This also led to Pottu Amman assassinating Indian Premiere Rajiv Gandhi, in another Pre-emptive Self Defense move, and then assassinating Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa also as another Self Defense action to secure the Love of the world and the Tamil Diaspora.
Conspiracy Theory
To this day there are some skeptics that doubt the events that happened. What remains a mystery is the cause of his death in the eyes of some of his more Die-hard supporters and Fans. Post mortem Autopsy results did show that Thileepan’s lower intestine did have several ‘Rock-like’ nugget shaped objects lodged in there, restricting the passage of food.
Some Eelam Doctors maintain these were in fact pieces of Eelam Double Whopper that had solidified and hardened in the absence of proper hydration and therefore hastened the LTTE Leader’s Demise. However since there was no conclusive evidence at the time, the death was ruled a Suicide and not Involuntary Manslaughter. There are still some who to this day call for the Exhumation of Lt. Col Thileepan in order to ascertain his true cause of death and put the Conspiracy theories to rest.
Epilogue
“A man of Great Courage and Restraint, unlike me, he always knew when to put the fork down after we started eating Turtle Curry. I will miss him dearly and the absence of his role model influence on me to eat a balanced diet will surely take its toll…” (1987. V. Pirapaharan)
As war and pseudo-peace efforts alternate in the landscape of the Sri Lankan Tamil struggle for freedom and justice, it is pertinent to re-visit the heroism of this young Tamil leader and the message that he left us all in the wake of his struggle and death.