LTTE Rift May Be Light At The End Of Tunnel Towards Resolving Many Sri Lankan Issues!

Looking at the split within the LTTE where Supremo Pirapaharan and his trusted Colonel Karuna are now at loggerheads and baring fangs at each other, it has to be interpreted in an administrative sense as an advantageous development which could have far reaching beneficial consequences for the Sinhala Nation as well as its minority communities who have for a painfully long period since the inception of the ethnic insurrection lived under threat and duress from the LTTE as here then seems to be a situation where the ruthless autocrat Pirapaharan appears to be on the verge of having some teeth removed which may literally weaken his resources.His credibility is also being challenged by someone from his own community albeit separated by caste and of no real consequence!

The teeth apparently have already been removed in the form of some 6000 Karuna supportives who have pledged loyalties to him and have vowed to defend their stand with full military capabilities if the need ever arose although Karuna has downplayed any suggestion of confrontation! as has the LTTE who have insisted that their commitment to the Peace Process stands.There are indications as reported by many reliable sources that as a result of the present LTTE crisis Sri Lanka's mixed population in the East may finally get a fair share in a settlement of the ethnic conflict as a result of the head-on clash between Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his former ally and main eastern commander, a tussle that has resulted in a split in the rebels' ranks and Karuna looking very capable of withstanding anything the LTTE proper might throw at him in an attempt to discredit him!

There is some speculation in many discerning circles that Karuna has not taken this bold step to confront his inveterately megalomaniacal former leader of his own volition and spontaneity but that he has had the support of far stronger powers backing him, among them allegedly the USA and India which has strengthened his resolve to maintain his bold stance but while all of this is speculation at present, it might be a very fortuitous move by the Powers that be within the Sri Lankan staus quo to utilise this situation to the extent where Pirapaharan's incapatitation even to a degree would be a smart move while presenting some recognition to Karuna's move which may be opportunistic towards driving an all important wedge into a previously thought impossible area. Many Analysts now believe that the rift has also destroyed the myth that the LTTE are invincible, ruthlessly disciplined and unbreakable.

Needless to say while being watchful over Karuna's posturing just in case it turns out to be a Helennic Trick employed by the Troy Invasions of Greek Mythology / History perhaps to catch a condescendingly Independent Sri Lanka off guard, he should be palavered to as being a more rational and negotiable representative of the Tamil Community where barring conflict and a return to infighting Karuna's move should be interpreted as advantageous provided his bonafides are established.!

Karuna appears also to have the backing of many ordinary Tamil citizens who were previously afraid to speak out against Pirapaharan for fear of reprisals who have now come forward to refute LTTE claims that they are the sole representatives of the Tamil people which nevertheless has been dispelled as pompous bragging yet cause enough to assert the fact of the matter beyond any doubt.

There is also additional good news for the populace in the North and North East of Sri Lanka that as a direct result of the Pirapaharan / Karuna split the LTTE quasi administrations, police and court systems and financial institutions are in disarray and have become defunct which is good news for the Administration in Colombo as these operations were fast becoming an embarrassment not only within the nation but in the eyes of the international community where a precedent seems to have been set towards permitting a terrorist entity to continue such operations unabated and with impunity while a strait jacketed Administration looked on!.

The President has declared in her manifesto for the forthcoming April 2nd Election that the rights of all minorities will be addressed as a great priority and that the devolution of power as demanded by the LTTE will not be acceded to as per their demands vis a vis the ISGA while the now token Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe goes about pontificating that the only peace feasible for Sri Lanka is the peace envisioned by him and no other but at what price ask the Masses?At the price of subjugating the Sinhala Nation to the rebels and capitulating to their ill visioned demands ? and the coffers being pillaged further by some of his unscrupulously crooked consorts who have virtually lined their pockets to the point of overflowing while in office? Something which unquestionably is an absurdity as the path ahead still remains a rough one for Sri Lanka.
It appears that the internal rift within the LTTE could possiblty be the light at the end of the tunnel where many issues could be addressed including the apprehension of LTTE's much sought after terrorist leader together with the coming together of all Sri Lankans regardless of ethnicity provided the parameters incorporate the democratic statutes and rights of Sovereign Independent Sri Lanka.