As the Sri Lankan civil war reached its peak in 2009, political leaders of the LTTE intended to surrender to the military. At that critical juncture, they sought to surrender to the Sri Lankan Army through international mediation and guarantees. However, a recently surfaced video has sent shockwaves across the region, allegedly showing Gotabaya Rajapaksa—who was reportedly intent on eliminating them—communicating directly with Commander Shavendra Silva via telephone to dictate the terms of their engagement.
The footage, dating back to May 2009, captures Commander Shavendra Silva discussing surrender protocols and consulting with his troops on how the LTTE political leaders should be received. During this discussion, he receives a phone call from Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In the exchange, Gotabaya is heard stating that if the leaders come to surrender alone, it is acceptable. However, he explicitly instructs that if they attempt to surrender under international mediation, the military should do nothing but continue the assault and move forward.
Unaware that a Sinhalese soldier on-site was filming the entire interaction, Commander Shavendra Silva casually relayed Gotabaya’s specific instructions to his subordinates. This previously unreleased video was presented to journalists on February 18 by former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka. Interestingly, Fonseka attempted to spin the narrative by claiming the video proved the Rajapaksas were trying to save the LTTE leaders—a claim that appears completely contradictory to the actual content of the footage.
The video highlights what appears to be a calculated strategy by Gotabaya Rajapaksa: the elimination of LTTE leaders was only possible if they surrendered in isolation, without witnesses or international oversight. By insisting they surrender alone, he ensured there would be no global representatives to prevent a summary execution. While Sarath Fonseka is using this footage to settle political scores with his rivals, the Rajapaksas, the underlying reality revealed in the video remains a chilling testament to the final days of the war.