Asada M Erpinni

A media report on 22 May mentions the leader of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as saying that the military presence in the North should be reduced. Apparently it is his response to President Mahinda RajapakseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s announcement at the May 19 Anniversary Celebrations of the victory over the LTTE.

The TNA leader should not treat the rest of Sri Lanka as fools. All non-LTTE Sri Lankans know and accept that the North of Sri Lanka was the birthplace of terrorism that devastated the country for almost three decades. Buttressed by the Vadukkodai Resolution of 1976 that was hatched by the forefathers of the terrorists, a gang of street thugs metamorphosed into the most feared terrorist group in the world. The money to buy the arsenal to fight the legally constituted armed forces of the sovereign nation of Sri Lanka was provided by the Tamils who emigrated to the affluent countries ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” not to Tamil Nadu, a mere 20 miles across the ocean where over 60 million of their brethren lived ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” using all ruses available.

It was only two days ago that the UK-based Global Tamil Forum and the so-called Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam led by a person who claims to be a member of the clergy and Rudrakumaran respectively announced that they will go on fighting for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. The President of Sri Lanka has quite correctly said that there was no case of reducing the military from the North as long as the threat from overseas Tamils exists, and those who have been following the events that have been going on in the rich West since the annihilation of the armed wing of the LTTE know quite well that, instead of the clamour for the mono-ethnic Eelam dying a natural and the logical death, the LTTE activists and its financial backers are more aggressive and vociferous today than ever before.

The decision on the location of armed personnel and the strengths of the various troop deployments is a matter for the President of Sri Lanka, the Secretary Defence and the military chiefs. If the TNA leader wishes to have the army presence in the North reduced, the only option available to him is to go full steam ahead to change the mindset of his colleagues and the LTTE backers abroad to take concrete measures to ensure that the political and military leadership of Sri Lanka become convinced that no Tamils living in the North or anywhere else desire to revert to armed confrontation with the Sri Lanka government in pursuit of their mythical homeland.