A Slight Contradiction To US Ambassador's Statement That "The LTTE Cannot Be Defeated Militarily Without Political Strategy! "

© Sunil Kumara ~ Popular Front Against Terrorism In Sri Lanka (PFATISL) For LankaWeb

February 27, 2007

There is some clarification needed about United States (US) Ambassador in Colombo, Robert Blake's recent statement to a foreign news agency on February 25 that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cannot be defeated militarily without a parallel political strategy, as reported on Colombo Page.

The quote reads “We respectfully disagree.The LTTE cannot be defeated militarily without a parallel political strategy to address the grievances of the Tamil community, I don't think a military solution is possible without a parallel political strategy. The LTTE has significant capability to attack, using terrorist means.

We should not underestimate that. I think there would be costs (to pay) to a military strategy. The most important thing in our view is to come up with a credible (political) process,” Mr.Blake said.

The organization Popular Front Against Terrorism In Sri Lanka (PFATISL) conversely begs to disagree with the US ambassador's euphemisms where a degree of duplicity seems also to be involved as he represents a country avowed to defeat terrorism by every means available and here he is sermonising the situation in Sri Lanka where it almost seems a discouragement to the armed forces presently engaged in a very succesful campaign against the terrorists which has them ( the LTTE terrorists) on the run!

Now, how in heaven's name does the Hon.Ambassador know the relativities currently involved regarding the decimatings the LTTE are being subjected to in the North and East of Sri Lanka or is this also a little bit of Norwegian style pro LTTE rhetorical word play at a time when he really should be spurring the Sri Lankan Armed Forces on inasmuch as his President back in Washington is doing to the coalition Forces in Iraq? So What is this double standard Mr Blake? It sure does not sound like a Freudian Slip does it?

Since when did Mr Blake fully envision that "the LTTE has significant capability to attack, using terrorist means"? On what grounds does he evaluate this conclusion to any degree of accuracy? Or could this be old hat hearsay not taking into consideration the current formidable firepower of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, LTTE propaganda or an erratic, figmented imagination where all the accurate reports coming in from the North and East indicate that the retreating 'tigers' are not only dropping their weapons as they run but also their pants ( more appropriately tails)in hysterical ignominious desperation!

There is no rocket science involved in calculating the likelihood of high costs (to pay) to a military strategy which is a fact of life of any military campaign undertaken by any nation and in the essence of what is required in Sri Lanka perhaps unenviable and unsurmountable but a seemingly necessary anomaly required to fight evil!

Perhaps it may have been a trifle misleading that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse with his usual pragmatism and nonchalance has stated that "the much talked about truce agreement with the LTTE was not a problem in governing the island" considering its dubious origins where he is in all probabilities saying "so who gives a fig anymore to a worthless terrorist outfit condemned both globally as well as back home and asserts the confidences of the Sri Lankan administration in how they intend to deal with the terrorists in conjunction with the deployment of the Security Forces!

The Government which once believed in a negotiated settlement in the false and vain hope of convincing the LTTE towards this which would have entailed the de-commissioning of weapons and renouncing secessionist idealogies to come to the negotiating table has now in all probabilities realised that the effort was a wasted one and that future talks would not be responded to in anyway by the LTTE.

The precedence would be set towards setting up negotiations with the Tamil community of Sri Lanka who are by no means represented by the LTTE in entirety anymore although they might have been marginally in decades gone by where the LTTE have all but jettisoned their credibilities through their criminalities and proved to the world as well as the Tamil Community that they are a worthless outfit of common terrorists of the same type that Washington is trying to eliminate globally.

Perhaps the Hon US Ambassador should ask around a little bit and view the true perspective of what the LTTE represent in Sri Lanka at the present which is no more than themselves with their criminal identity , social outcasts led by SriLlanka's and perhaps India's most wanted with a smattering of diaspora support from overseas which is also on the way out and dwindling and declining before a new upsurge of non terrorist supportive Tamils within Sri Lanka.

It is their cause and courage that the Hon. Ambassador should endorse rather than appraising through some incongruent calculation that the The LTTE cannot be overrun by force of arms! Perhaps if he opens his eyes a bit wider and listens with intent! with all due respect to his diplomatic status! he might envision that~this is unfording at this very moment in the North, East and the coastal areas in the Bay of Bengal, the territorial waters between India and Sri Lanka where India too have joined in the fray to thwart off, search and destroy the LTTE terrorists!

A military solution which seems inevitable where Sri Lanka's hand has been forced by the unrelenting terrorists, will certainly have to coincide with a parallel political policy with the Tamil communiry of rational, non terrorist supportive representation where any overtures to the likes of Velupillai Prabhakaran as a leader representing the Tamils would be a no no! and short of a joke by Tamil definition and requisition alone a stupidity!

The latest polls to this effect has confirmed the privilege of negotiations towards power sharing as being far removed from any LTTE involvement where they need to be wiped off the face of the earth (there are exhortations from international sources towards this but lets begin with Sri Lanka for starters!) and a true representative of the Tamil Community sought after for good measure( and there are many!) where the posterity of the Sri Lankan Tamils will then pervade into the well being of the entire Nation!

Think again Mr Ambassador!