An human rights activist in a leftwing political group said that he with others from the group had gone to Kent and Dollar Farms just after the November 1984. The survivors had told them that the settlement of prisoners was being used to further harass Tamils into leaving the area. They were told that young Tamil women were abducted, brought there and gang-raped, first by the forces, next by prison gaurds and finally by prisoners.

In December 1984, at the Security Council meeting where a report apparently on the security of border village settlements was discussed. The report had been prepared by the lawyer S.L. Gunasekera and Davinda Senanayake and submitted to Brigadier Dennis Hapugalle, Chief of Srilankan  Defence. Lawyer S.L.Gunasekara blames the authorities for settling Sinhalese there without weapons training which his group had planned to do at Maduru Oya. There was of course an Army presence.

He exonerates Ravi Jayewardene from blame for the fiasco at Kent and Dollar Farms by suggesting that he ‘happened to be present’. On the contrary, there is good reason to believe that he was regularly attending Security Council sessions as the President’s security advisor. He had already set up the Presidential Security Division (PSD) and the Special Task Force (STF) – the latter with the help of ex-British SAS mercenaries provided by the Channel Islands- based Keeny Meeny Services. The deployment of the STF commenced in late 1984. It was clear that President Jayewardene had given his son a big role in security matters.

by arming Sinhalese villagers in border areas, a situation was being created where they were bound to get sucked into the conflict.

On 15.12.1984, Sri Lankan military entered the villages of Kokkilai, Kokkuthoduvai, Karunaddukerni, Nayaru, Kumulamunai, and Alampil in the Mullaithivu district. The military killed many Eelamtamils and destroyed their property. 131 Eelamtamils were killed including 31 women and 21 children. More than 2000 families were displaced following this operation.

Eventually a total of about 2,700 Tamil families in that area came to be displaced, including those from Thennamaravady, the northern-most village in the Thirukonamalai District. The latter stands empty now. Their former MP, Mr. R. Sampanthan reflected, ‘A beautiful village and such wonderful people’. All of them were rendered refugees.

Later; The life of Tamils was completely militarised. An old man put it, “even to piss, we have to get permission from the Army.” Children who go to school, it is said, do not look at the black board, but look at the jungle for signs of danger – as children in Yaalppanam used to look at the sky for bombers. This much is just the surface.