The Tamils & Official History
By Rajan Hoole –May 21, 2016
Dr. Rajan Hoole
In the preceding section we found it necessary to place clearly some of the basic facts concerning the final day of the IATR (International Association for Tamil Research) conference in Jaffna. This is because among Tamils their partial knowledge of events has over time become overlaid by biases and wrong information derived from others. The question whether Janarthanan was in Jaffna legally or illegally would elicit several contradictory answers. Writing about the incident by talking to contemporary witnesses soon becomes a nightmare. In contrast, there are the police records and magistrate’s inquest records, which were largely influenced by police versions, as will be seen below. Too often, these tend to become authentic history. The State that is anti-Tamil in its ideology and articulation continually uses its apparatus to record a history in service of its ideology.
Then there is also the Tamil nationalist version of history that is also very powerful in a destructive way, although the academic historian will readily have problems with its authenticity. The LTTE bears ample testimony to this power. To the Tamil nationalists, the police action at the IATR conference which resulted in 7 deaths became the ultimate expression of the malignancy of the State which led to the adoption in May 1976 of the goal of separation as the only viable option for the Tamil speaking People. It resulted in Sansoni writing the official history of the incident.
Fortunately, however, upon the government of Mrs. Bandaranaike rejecting the request for a commission of inquiry, some in Jaffna had the presence of mind to appoint an unofficial citizens’ commission comprising retired supreme court judges O.L. de Kretzer and V. Manickavasagar, along with Bishop Kulandran. Several copies of the report were printed and circulated, but are indeed rare documents today. Many valuable historical materials pertaining to the Tamils were destroyed with the burning of the Jaffna Public Library by the Police in 1981, the communal violence of July 1983, the civil war and during the forced exodus from Valikamam in 1995.
We were fortunate to receive a copy of the de Kretzer Commission Report from Mr. George Gnanamuttu, a former deputy commissioner of labour, who is now aged 90. Comparing its findings with Sansoni’s throws some light on judicial mores in Sri Lanka and how political power influences even sound persons, when it comes to making official history.
Mr. O.L. de Kretzer, a member of the Burgher community, was a notably independent judge. Mr. M. C. Sansoni, also a Burgher, rose to the highest judicial position of chief justice. Following the communal violence of August/ September 1977, Jayewardene (then prime minister) appointed Sansoni to a one-man commission of inquiry on 9th November 1977 to go into the violence.
The Commission commenced sittings on 8 Feb.1978 and wound up on 10 Dec.1979, having heard witnesses in Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Colombo, Kandy and Trincomalee. The evidence on record is quite exhaustive. The final report was submitted to President Jayewardene on 22 July1980 and published as a sessional paper on 4 Nov.1980.
