3.1.2008
By Walter Jayawardhana
New
Delhi’s Asian Age commented editorially that in
the 25 year old sepratist war in Sri Lanka , for the first
ime the hunter has become hunted and Tamil Tiger supremo
Velupillai Prabhakaran is on the run.
The
December 26 editorial said, “the situation has dramatically
changed in recent months and for the first time in all
these years, the troops appear pretty upbeat after pushing
the Tigers out of the east.”
The
editorial furter pointed out, “the truth is still
pretty scary from the Lankan Tamil point of view: real
danger is knocking at the heavily fortified walls of the
Big Tiger’s bunkers in Eelam’s Kilinochchi.”
The
following is the full editorial:
“Sri
Lanka watchers, these days, are busy analysing what would
happen to the Tamil Tigers and their Eelam war should
thalaivar Velupillai Prabhakaran fall victim to the stepped-up
hunt by government forces. There is a lot of excitement
in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and concern amid the
huge Tamil Diaspora that the hunter has now become the
hunted. Till now, it seemed that Prabhakaran was calling
the shots in the 25-year-long armed insurgency that consumed
more than 70,000 lives in pursuit of an independent state
that the Tamils called Eelam. His Black Tigers have been
the deadliest among the suicide squads in the terror units
across the world and the LTTE armoury was most often superior
to what Colombo could procure for its demoralised forces.
But
the situation has dramatically changed in recent months
and for the first time in all these years, the troops
appear pretty upbeat after pushing the Tigers out of the
east. The Navy followed that up by sinking several Tiger
ships carrying weapons to its northern bases and now the
Air Force has been picking out targets that had been hitherto
considered invincible, like the best marksman’s
lame pigeons.
The
LTTE political wing leader S.P. Tamilchelvan was killed
in one such precision bombing and even after discounting
most of the Colombo-inspired media spills, such as the
one that said the air-raid on November 26 killed 116 of
the 200 bodyguards of Prabhakaran while breaking his own
limbs, the truth is still pretty scary from the Lankan
Tamil point of view: real danger is knocking at the heavily
fortified walls of the Big Tiger’s bunkers in Eelam’s
Kilinochchi. It is said that Colombo has managed to convince
India that the best way to hammer out a permanent solution
is to weaken the Tigers militarily. Delhi has been supplying
some critical battle gear to Rajapaksa’s forces,
including radars against the LTTE’s newly acquired
"air force."
It
is also rumored that the Americans are providing satellite
imagery to locate high-profile Tiger targets. And most
important, the government is claiming it is getting intelligence
inputs from the locals within the LTTE territory —
this has not been substantiated by independent sources,
though. Amid all this "happy tidings" for the
government, there is the reality, tested time and again
in this bloody Eelam war, which is that the entire scene
can change dramatically by just a couple of big hits by
Black Tigers in the Lankan capital. In fact, the Tamil
Diaspora has been talking about this the last few weeks.
Victories in this war can only be temporary. Only a comprehensive
political package guaranteeing equal opportunities for
the Tamils can defeat Prabhakaran.”
Courtesy - Asian
Tribune