Crush Rejuvenated Tamil Armed Resistance Militarily without Denying It

The writing is on the wall. Tamil armed groups are back. There is no denying that. However, for political reasons government and the Ministry of Defence refuse to admit it. Living in denial is very dangerous. Four months ago three Sinhala traders were stabbed and seriously wounded in Jaffna. Just a few weeks ago a Hindu priest and his sons were shot in Jaffna and now the deputy zonal education director of Jaffna has been shot dead. It is the same clear pattern of violence that was seen in the 1970s. For political reasons the then Sirima Bandaranaike government refused to take action after her government was blamed for excesses in putting down the 1971 insurrection. Delay costed the country dearly. When open war started it was far too late.

What are the real reasons behind these incidents?

Attacking Sinhala traders was part of a big plan to keep Sinhalese out of Jaffna. It’s the same thing that happened in the 1970s. There were more than 25,000 Sinhalese in Jaffna in 1971 but by 1981 more than 20,000 of them were chased away bringing their number down to a mere 4,000.

Shooting a Hindu priest and his sons just a few weeks ago is a definite eye opener. Pro-LTTE elements prepared to celebrate what they call Maveerar Nal. They instructed all Hindu temples in the Jaffna peninsular to toll the bells on November 27 at a given time. However, Sri Lanka Army took timely action to cripple this plan. The particular Hindu priest, like others, refrained from following instructions of pro-LTTE groups earning their wrath. He and his sons were attacked which was seen as a warning against anyone not obeying orders of pro-LTTE groups.

Tsunami remembrance was held in Jaffna on December 26. Tamil students in the north were required to sing the National Anthem in Sinhala. Education department personnel were under pressure from pro-LTTE elements not to comply with this requirement. However, they refused to take up the matter and complied with the instructions from the government. The result was revenge from pro-LTTE groups killing the deputy zonal education director.

Blaming the government while achieving their goal

The other part of their actions is to blame the government for their crimes. It is totally absurd to blame the security forces for these heinous crimes. Old records show this was how they did things in the 1970s when violent incidents including the assassination of Alfred Duraiappa were blamed on the government. Blame for LTTE leader’s first victim was laid on SLFP internal politics in Jaffna. While these rubbish claims are used to fool the unsuspecting public, terrorists achieve their goal of terrorising the people in the north to submission. Terrorising and getting the people in the north to take instructions from the LTTE is the ultimate goal. Once people stop resisting the LTTE, its cadres are going to use them as a cover to attack security forces.

It is worthwhile to note that there were no direct attacks on security forces in the north during 1970s. First it was Tamils associated with the government who became victims of LTTE terror. Once people were subjugated, Tigers moved to harass and attack the army.

We are back to the days when Tigers were growing. Unless they are stopped in their tracks using military means, there will be no end to this.

The third ingredient - extortionists at work

Terrorists don’t aim to engage in an all out war. What they want is to exert enough pressure on the government so that separatists and pro-Tamil racist politicians can extort various favours from the government. It took less than a day for this to happen after the latest attack in the north. Tamil United Liberation Front (the party that took up the creation of Tamil Elam at the 1977 election) leader - V Anandasangaree - making good use of the attack started making race based demands. Clearly the pattern of pressure, terror and extortion is established.

Soon TNA and other Tamil racist political groups will jump in the bandwagon and make many Tamil-only demands making good use of the pressure created by pro-LTTE murderers. If the government yields to pressure, it becomes a habit for these groups to secretly collude and openly criticise each other while benefiting both ways. Soon people in the north too will be convinced that ‘a little bit of pressure using violence’ is the way to win demands. When things deteriorate to that level, it is far too late.

The trap the government is in   

Unlike during the war, the government cannot go all out and destroy these terror elements. Firstly, because they function stealthily from within the people. Secondly because it is embarrassing and humiliating to accept that the LTTE threat is still there. Thirdly, the propaganda effect is pushing the government for a less aggressive response. LTTE groups around the world made a huge noise against the humanitarian operation that ended in remarkable success in 2009. Due to international pressure, the government is reluctant to use force against remaining LTTE elements in the north for the fear of further arousing the LTTE Diaspora. All these reasons combined have created a very dangerous atmosphere which is exploited by the LTTE.

Counter Insurgency (CI) strategy as specified in textbooks clearly indicate what needs to be done under these circumstances. Though unpleasant and unpopular in the areas they are applied, these tried and tested CI strategies must be applied to contain LTTE terror. In all fairness General Sarath Fonseka when serving in the army was quite good at CI strategy and the absence of his expertise is also going to cost the nation badly. The absence of his CI expertise must be overcome by tapping into the expertise of many other competent CI strategists in the army. Appropriate retaliatory measures must be taken without delay. Failing to do so will convince the northerners that LTTE is gaining control. Once these splinter groups show they can ‘deliver the goods’, the LTTE Diaspora is going to reward them with millions of dollars of money.

Sadly Sri Lankan leaders rarely recognize threats in time. By the time they decide to take action it is far too late costing lives, money and public support. If the guarding lights of the nation are awake 24/7 as it is believed, they must not keep silent on current developments; nor should they deny the resurgence of the LTTE threat. It is important to eliminate it using whatever means that work before the LTTE cancer spreads again. Tough cancers call for hard medicine and tough therapy. The duty of patriots is not to immerse in victory celebrations but to keep eyes and ears open to emerging threats all the time and force national leaders to take timely action.

A Poem of I, My and Me Repeating 102 Times by Sarath Fonseka

Exactly one year after that infamous interview where Fonseka alleged that “Gota ordered them to be shot” published in the Sunday Leader, (http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2009/12/13/%E2%80%9Cgota-ordered-them-to-be-shot%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-general-sarath-fonseka/), he has come up with another tall tale of lies and self pity.    http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/12/sri_lankan_president_is_behavi.html

This masterpiece of self elevation consisting of 102 times the words “I”, “my” and “me”, contains hilarious contradictions. Very unlikely conduct of a leader of the people. Instead of identifying real enemies, his limitless anger is aimed at the President and the Defence Secretary. Though no right thinking person takes what he talks seriously, looking into what he has to say further reveals him.

The following statements from the appeal indicate how misled he is and how far he would go to make a mockery of himself.

1. “The Rajapaksa regime probably feels victorious after illegally removing my General rank, gallantry medals and retirement benefits. This is to be expected, especially from an ungrateful man suffering from an inferiority complex.”

Inferiority complex! Nice phrase not to describe the President but the person who is making it. Unable to be satisfied with the position he held following the war, he thought he could do better than the political leader who led the nation to victory. Unfortunately for Fonseka, people thought otherwise. If he needs proof, he only needs to read the next sentence made by him.

2. “He got junior officers previously cashiered from the army, to sit in a court martial jury. This contravenes all norms, ethics and traditions of any military. A shameful act that has insulted both the military and the country it serves.”

Can distinguished persons from the Sri Lanka Army be cashiered as such? May be some who got rich with hundreds of thousands of US Dollars in their safes, but not the others. Is it not an insult to the very army he served?

3. “Having said that, I must point out that I never served the country expecting promotions or medals.”

Although Fonseka was a brilliant infantryman, the above statement is factually incorrect. Despite decades of service, Sarath Fonseka failed to win the Vishishta Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV) medal even after he reached 55. When he became the army commander, he proposed his name (and only his name) for the VSV and got it!

However, for contradictions, look no further than his very own statement!

4. “He cannot take away my rank and medals, as he cannot give back what I have given for the nation.”

There you go.

5.  “If he wanted to erase what I did, then he has to give life to Prabhakaran too. Our ungrateful leader will never do any good for the country.”

Now this is very interesting. If so, why did Fonseka give this credit to the Defence Secretary one year ago? If the credit for taking the life of Prabhakaran (who surrendered according to some reports) belongs to Fonseka, why didn’t he claim so when he said, “Gota ordered them to be shot”?

6. “This government does not consider the youth of Sri Lanka as future rulers. Only Namal Rajapaksa is deemed the single worthwhile youth in this country.”

President’s love and fondness of the youth and children is well known and documented. On the other hand none other than his own party (former) MP for Trincomalee Jayantha Wijesekara stated that he wouldn’t support Fonseka at the election because “90% of the JVP youth of the district were killed in 1987-89 era as Sarath Fonseka was the commander of the Army Sinha regiment camp in Trincomalee”.  

7. “The Secretary of Defense wanted to get one of his supporters to build a house for me while I was Commander, but I refused, saying accepting such gifts was not my way of life and was against my conscience and principles. Then they tried to cajole my wife into accepting the house, that didn't work either. This would no doubt give you an idea of why the case cooked up against my son-in-law, saying I was involved in corrupt arms deals is entirely untrue.”

The Defence Secretary was driven by noble intentions to build a house for Fonseka not knowing he had plans to settle down in USA. Anyway the answer to this is provided by Fonseka himself in the statement! “When I left the army, I only had a three bedroom house. Even my soldiers had much larger houses than me.” The brilliant serviceman Sarath Fonseka very much deserved it. That’s not all the Defence Secretary through legitimate means ensured that Fonseka’s daughters are assisted with their studies. Only an insane person could see such generosity as an evil act.

8. “My son-in-law's company has only worked with another company in Sri Lanka that supplied some non-weapons items to the military. Even the court martial and prosecuting councils agreed on July 28 that these were not weapons and that I had never favored or given any support to this company. Apparently the only allegation they put against me was the position I held as the President of the Tender Board. Now everyone can clearly see that I am not guilty or even accused of any corrupt deals.”

Does it matter the materials were weapons or not? Various military branches purchase millions of dollars of goods and services every year and not everything is weapons. Corruption can happen in any purchase unless honest persons handle it within a robust environment of internal controls. The first area of internal control is segregation of duties. If the President of the Tender Board is the father-in-law of the supplier, there is no segregation of duties in the proper sense. However, that was not the only reason for the judgement and Fonseka knows it. 

Many heroes, close to 27,000 to be precise sacrificed their lives and over 15,000 lost limbs serving the country. Fonseka is not alone. However, they never alleged security forces or its officers of any illegal or immoral act to please the anti-Sri Lankan sections of the international community. Of course they never came to agreements with the separatist Vadukodai crowd either, just to win an election.

Channel 4 video exposed- Prabakaran or Isaippiriya?

Channel 4 network has released another alleged "Sri Lanka war crimes video" This new video is an extended version of the infamous first video. The LTTE lobby has identified one female"victim" in the video as "journalist Isaippiriya". A still photo of this video footage showing the exact same "victim" was identified in Lankanewsweb and many other web sites as LTTE supremo's daughter, Miss Dwarka Prabakaran, in the December of 2009. It is apparent that two images show exactly the same person, at one particular time, no description is even necessary. The dresses wounds and even the environment matches faultlessly.

This image first appeared in Lankanewsweb, an anonymous site supposedly maintained by a Sri Lankan opposition supporter with alleged LTTE ties. When it first appeared it gained a wide publicity, as the web site alleged that the photo might be of Prabakarans daughter.
Tamilnet.com reports the current image was identified as Miss Isaippiriya by a Tamilnet "Vanni correspondant" now living in a western country. If the photos are indeed of LTTE "journalist" Miss Isaippiriya it is puzzling why the first and much clearer photo, was not identified correctly, given the wide publicity the photos attracted and Miss Isaippiriya being a widely known "media" personnel.

Therefor it is clear that the channel 4 video is a fabrication, formulated to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka and generate an undue agitation around the Sri Lankan presidents recent visit to the Oxford University.

It was reported the LTTE lobby in Britain was inquiring about the possibility of arresting the Sri Lankan President during his current visit. Infuriated by their own failure, it is plausible that they would have manufactured a new war crimes video to disrupt the visit. In their haste they might have forgotten that they already released some of the "new" content of the video in 2009 December.

It is the responsibility of the channel 4 networks journalists to assure the authenticity of the material, they present as evidence of a serious crime. As professional journalists, reporting on Sri Lankan conflict, they are sure to have encountered the first photographs of this alleged victim, and would have questioned the authenticity of the video. Therefor it is clear that the "journalists" in channel 4 network are aiding the LTTE lobby in their dishonest agenda ,and have a deep rooted hatred towards Sri Lanka and its people