A
question Prabhakaran must be asked
Courtesy
The Island Editorial
The LTTE owes its existence to naivety of successive governments which
sought to make war and peace according to its agenda. Whenever Prabhakaran
landed himself in trouble, he managed to gain a breather simply by waving
a white flag. He used the time so gained to regroup, rearm, infiltrate
the southern areas and expand and step up its extortion operations. Every
ceasefire meant a new lease of life for the outfit since Operation Liberation
(1987), which would have accounted for him, if not for India's intervention
and the subsequent 'peace process' which resulted in humiliation for India
and disaster for Sri Lanka, thanks to blunders committed on both sides
of the Palk Straits.
A sure sign of the LTTE being in difficulty is its call for a ceasefire.
When the roaring Tigers receive a thorough beating, they coo like doves
and their minders go running to the international community seeking
its intervention. One sees that happening at present. Their campaign
to secure a breather for the Tigers trapped in the Wanni has got into
the Over Drive mode. They have suddenly realized the value of life and
begun weeping buckets for civilians dying in terror attacks. It is a
pity that they did nothing to prevent the LTTE from resuming war three
years ago!
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremenayake has told a newly accredited
foreign envoy that talks are not possible unless and until the LTTE
eschews violence and lays down arms. This will never happen. For, the
LTTE has crossed the Rubicon in its terrorist war and its survival hinges
upon remaining armed and unleashing violence. It may have done as the
Prime Minister says within the first few years of its armed struggle
but now it has become a prisoner of its own violence. Or, it may be
able to wean itself away from terrorism under a different leadership.
With Prabhakaran and his cohorts at the helm, the LTTE will never be
able to give up arms and violence. The LTTE cannot exist in a democratic
environment.
The LTTE has no way of escape now. It desperately needs a ceasefire
which will cause the freezing of the troop positions and an MoU which
will permit it to engage in 'political work' (read consolidation of
its power) in the Eastern Province again. It is also in need of some
kind of talks to be held overseas at a time when its fronts are being
targeted by foreign governments as in Canada and Italy. Such crackdowns
wouldn't have come at a worse time for the LTTE, whose morale is at
a low ebb. A ceasefire will enable its fronts abroad to have a breather.
A ceasefire is a worrisome proposition for the government, as it will
militate against the implementation of the Indian remedy which the LTTE
has rejected lock, stock and barrel. The government cannot afford to
offer anything more to the LTTE as its breakaway group the TMVP led
by Chief Minister S. Chandrakanthan has agreed to the 13th Amendment
and is trying to make it work in the East.
If anyone is desirous of a ceasefire, it is not the government that
should be pressured to stop war but the LTTE. For, it was Prabhakaran
who resumed the present phase of war in Nov. 2005, even before President
Mahinda Rajapaksa had been properly ensconced in power. Barely two weeks
after President Rajapaksa's induction, Prabhakaran in his heroes' day
speech promised war and began claymore mine attacks on military and
police personnel soon afterwards. Then he captured the Mavil Aru reservoir
in 2006 depriving thousands of people of access to water thus causing
a dilly-dallying President Rajapaksa to take up a stand. Hadn't the
government decided to take on the LTTE, Prabhakaran, true to form, would
have captured other irrigations works in the East as well. And, that
was the time when the Trincomalee harbor was well within the range of
heavy weapons of the LTTE, which after the resumption of war successfully
shelled parts thereof.
Prabhakaran is said to be a good strategist but he blundered badly
by resuming war in 2005. He may have wanted to unsettle President Rajapaksa
from the word go so that he would not be able to counter the LTTE effectively.
But, that proved to be a disastrous military miscalculation as its consequences
have demonstrated. He must be regretting having ever done so!
There is a limit to Prabhakaran's resistance. He cannot hold out for
ever in the Wanni as he has no way of replenishing supplies and the
morale of his cadres is sagging due to being encircled. They cannot
fight on several fronts at the same time to ward off the military juggernaut
their boss has set in motion. On the LTTE's own admission, the army
is also active deep inside its territory, which it once claimed to be
impregnable and isn't this ample proof that Prabhakaran is getting beaten
at his own game?
Prabhakaran has been targeting civilians at a rate and will continue
to do so in a bid to pressure the government to abandon the war. Wounded,
the Tigers are more ferocious. And they are likely to step up its killing
spree in time to come. But, nothing is going to work for Prabhakaran
this time round as the country has over the years learnt to remain resilient.
Those who are campaigning for a ceasefire must ask Prabhakaran a very
simple question: "Are you willing to give up Eelam and settle for
anything less?"
If his answer is in the negative, then the question is whether there
is any point in trying to talk peace with him under the delusion that
he might change his mind someday.
The LTTE owes its existence to naivete of successive governments which
mistakenly sought to make war and peace according to its agenda. Whenever
Prabhakaran landed himself in trouble, he managed to gain a breather
simply by waving a white flag. He used the time so gained to regroup,
rearm, infiltrate the southern areas and expand and step up its extortion
operations. Every ceasefire meant a new lease of life for the outfit
since Operation Liberation (1987), which would have accounted for him,
if not for India's intervention and the subsequent 'peace process' which
resulted in humiliation for India and disaster for Sri Lanka, thanks
to blunders committed on both sides of the Palk Straits.
A sure sign of the LTTE being in difficulty is its call for a ceasefire.
When the roaring Tigers receive a thorough beating, they coo like doves
and their minders go running to the international community seeking
its intervention. One sees that happening at present. Their campaign
to secure a breather for the Tigers trapped in the Wanni has got into
the Over Drive mode. They have suddenly realised the value of life and
begun weeping buckets for civilians dying in terror attacks. It is a
pity that they did nothing to prevent the LTTE from resuming war three
years ago!
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremenayake has told a newly accredited
foreign envoy that talks are not possible unless and until the LTTE
eschews violence and lays down arms. This will never happen. For, the
LTTE has crossed the Rubicon in its terrorist war and its survival hinges
upon being armed and unleashing violence. It may have been able to do
as the Prime Minister says within the first few years of its armed struggle
but now it has become a prisoner of its own violence. Or, it may be
able to wean itself away from terrorism under a different leadership.
With Prabhakaran and his cohorts at the helm, the LTTE will never be
able to give up arms and violence. It cannot exist in a democratic environment.
The LTTE has no way of escape now. It desperately needs a ceasefire
which will cause the freezing of the troop positions and an MoU which
will permit it to engage in 'political work' (read consolidation of
its power) in the Eastern Province again. It is also in need of some
kind of talks to be held overseas at a time when its fronts are being
targeted by foreign governments as in Canada and Italy. Such crackdowns
couldn’t have come at a worse time for the LTTE, whose morale is
at a low ebb. A ceasefire will enable its international fronts to have
a breather.
A ceasefire is a worrisome proposition for the government, as it will
militate against the implementation of the Indian remedy which the LTTE
has rejected lock, stock and barrel. The government cannot afford to
offer anything more to the LTTE as its breakaway group the TMVP led
by Chief Minister S. Chandrakanthan has agreed to the 13th Amendment
and is trying to make it work in the East. On the other hand, it is
highly unlikely that India will endorse a devolution package that goes
beyond her quasi federalism.
If anyone is desirous of a ceasefire, it is not the government that
should be pressured to stop war but the LTTE. For, it was Prabhakaran
who resumed the present phase of war in Nov. 2005, even before President
Mahinda Rajapaksa had been properly ensconced in power. Barely two weeks
after President Rajapaksa's induction, Prabhakaran in his heroes' day
speech promised war and began claymore mine attacks on military and
police personnel soon afterwards. Then he captured the Mavil Aru reservoir
in 2006 depriving thousands of people of access to water thus causing
a dilly-dallying President Rajapaksa to take a stand. Hadn't the government
decided to take on the LTTE, Prabhakaran, true to form, would have captured
other irrigation works in the East as well. And, that was the time when
the Trincomalee harbour was well within the range of heavy weapons of
the LTTE, which after the resumption of war successfully shelled parts
thereof.
Prabhakaran is said to be a good strategist but he blundered badly
by resuming war in 2005. He may have wanted to unsettle President Rajapaksa
from the word go so that the latter would not be able to counter the
LTTE effectively. But, that proved to be a disastrous military miscalculation
as its consequences have demonstrated. He must be regretting having
ever done so!
There is a limit to Prabhakaran's resistance. He cannot hold out for
ever in the Wanni as he has no way of replenishing supplies and the
morale of his cadres is sagging due to being encircled. They cannot
fight on several fronts at the same time to ward off the military juggernaut
their boss has set in motion. On the LTTE's own admission, the army
is also active deep inside its territory, which it once claimed to be
impregnable and isn't this ample proof that Prabhakaran is getting beaten
at his own game?
Prabhakaran has been targeting civilians at a rate and will continue
to do so in a bid to pressure the government to abandon its war effort.
Wounded, the Tigers are more ferocious. And they are likely to step
up its killing spree in time to come. But, nothing is going to work
for Prabhakaran this time round as the country has over the years learnt
to remain resilient.
Those who are campaigning for a ceasefire must ask Prabhakaran a very
simple question: "Are you willing to give up Eelam and settle for
anything less?"
If his answer is in the negative, then the question is whether there
is any point in trying to talk peace with him under the delusion that
he might change his mind someday.
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