{"id":55127,"date":"2016-05-29T21:40:09","date_gmt":"2016-05-30T03:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=55127"},"modified":"2016-05-29T14:15:38","modified_gmt":"2016-05-29T21:15:38","slug":"president-rajapake-and-the-eelam-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/05\/29\/president-rajapake-and-the-eelam-war\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESIDENT RAJAPAKE AND THE EELAM WAR"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

In Eelam War IV, President Mahinda Rajapakse started off like his predecessor, clinging to the Ceasefire agreement. He sent three delegations abroad for discussions with LTTE. \u00a0Lalith Weeratunge, Presidential secretary had made a secret visit to the LTTE in March, 2006 and met Poovannan, a senior LTTE member. Then LTTE closed Mavil Aru anicut and asked the government to negotiate the reopening of the sluice. That would have given LTTE the status of a self governing entity, entitled to water rights. Instead of negotiating, the President went to war.<\/p>\n

He was encouraged to do so by his brother Gotabhaya, Secretary of Defence, who knew the capabilities of the army and was sure that LTTE could be defeated. Gotabhaya was an experienced and decorated soldier. He had voluntarily transferred to the Sinha regiment, from s safe position in Signals Corporation, and thereafter joined the Gajaba regiment.\u00a0 He led his regiment at Vadamarachchi . Those who served under him say he was a good leader. He was senior in rank to Sarath Fonseka.<\/p>\n

The government prepared carefully for Eelam War IV.\u00a0 Large numbers were needed to capture and hold territory, therefore more soldiers were recruited. A dozen fighting formations were created so that the army could conduct large scale operations on multiple fronts. The media portrayed the soldiers as national heroes and defenders of the motherland.\u00a0 Soldiers felt, for the first time, that the country was behind them. This made a huge difference. There was very high motivation in the army.<\/p>\n

In the previous Eelam wars, the soldiers had felt neglected. They expressed their anger thorugh verses written in bunkers, bathing points and other places.\u00a0 They complained that that they did not have even basic facilities. There was just one well for a hundred of them, while the officers lived in luxury. In Eelam War IV, the soldiers were given salary increments, allowances and loans. Defence secretary ordered that the soldiers be well looked after on the battle front.<\/p>\n

A new generation of capable front line commanders were created. 2000 corporals and sergeants were promoted to second lieutenant rank, since more officers were needed. The best corporals and sergeants were selected. They were trained very quickly and given responsibility. They went to the battle front with the soldiers. Their morale was high and they went for targets, risking their lives.\u00a0 \u2018They were the people who caused the victory\u2019 said Commander Sarath Fonseka.<\/p>\n

Before 2009, the government\u00a0\u00a0 ordered weapons only after LTTE acquired them. After 2009,\u00a0\u00a0 weapons became available at the right time, in the right place and the ammunition fired efficiently. Approvals came back sooner than expected.\u00a0 This encouraged the troops. A mechanized infantry brigade was created. MiG 27 s and C-130 jet planes were bought. A 3D radar station was set up.\u00a0 The Defence website, which indicated the progress of the war, captured the attention of the public and ensured support for the war.<\/p>\n

President Premadasa had refused to take over the Defence portfolio, saying he disliked getting involved in wars. Prime Minister D.B. Wijetunge had to chair National Security Council meetings. President Rajapakse, on the other hand, never missed a meeting of the National Security Council during the war. He closely followed battle field progress and visited Kilinochchi when the war was ending. That was a first by a head of state. A section of the SLFP tried to obstruct the war. President Rajapakse refused to tolerate any challenge to his authority, told them they could leave the party, and withdrew the cabinet positions given to Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Bandaranaike<\/p>\n

Eelam War IV finished in 3 years. Unlike earlier operations, this time, the armed forces fought according to a plan, using military strategy. Defying accepted military strategies, they attacked\u00a0\u00a0 the LTTE where it was strongest. They used intelligence. They sent small groups to conduct covert operations behind LTTE lines. They sprang surprises on the LTTE. They kept LTTE on the run.<\/p>\n

The army attacked on multiple fronts. It had the strength to sustain several offensives simultaneously.. A series of task forces and new fighting divisions were set up, with specific targets for each. The army first took the LTTE territory in the eastern province, using the strongest fighting force ever deployed against the LTTE. Even before the army had completed taking the east a second front was opened in Vavuniya. While fighting was going on there, army was ordered to take Silavaturai and Mannar. LTTE found itself facing three fighting formations in 2007. In 2008 it faced four in Vanni alone. LTTE had no reserves to meet these troops advancing on multiple fronts.<\/p>\n

Soldiers were encouraged to participate in battle decisions. \u2018In this division we are not told to do this or that. We are asked what we can do and how we can do it. We took two bunds today without losing a single man.\u2019 said a soldier. The fact that the government and the top officers of the forces believed that the LTTE could be defeated made a huge difference to the fighting units. Morale was high and it continued high until the war ended.<\/p>\n

Unlike previous offensives, this time, the army held on to the territory they captured. Once the western territory was secured, the forces turned and went towards the east, pushing LTTE before it towards the Mullaitivu sea. LTTE was encircled and driven into one square kilometer in Anandapuram. The operation was meticulously planned. The ground commanders knew it was the last battle before the LTTE collapsed.\u00a0 Anticipating that the top LTTE leaders would try to escape by sea, the military set up a naval blockade, with a 24 hour watch.\u00a0 They put over 80 vessels in the sea so that they could swing into action at any time.<\/p>\n

Battle strategies suitable for the east were not suitable for the north since the terrains were different. In the east, the army fought on sand, in beaches and lagoons. In Kilinochchi, it was jungle. In Jaffna it was semi desert conditions, scarce water, limited shade and temperatures of 40C. The monsoon added to the difficulties. Soldiers fell ill. In Mannar trenches got water logged and several soldiers drowned. The LTTE were eventually defeated, and on 18. May 2009 television showed that magnificent shot of two lines of soldiers, coming triumphantly forward from opposite sides, national flags held proudly aloft and embracing on the Mullaitivu seashore, to indicate that victory was complete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS In Eelam War IV, President Mahinda Rajapakse started off like his predecessor, clinging to the Ceasefire agreement. He sent three delegations abroad for discussions with LTTE. \u00a0Lalith Weeratunge, Presidential secretary had made a secret visit to the LTTE in March, 2006 and met Poovannan, a senior LTTE member. Then LTTE closed Mavil Aru […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}