Not to be out done by her arch rival M.Karunanidhi, the chief minister, Jayalaitha, demanded the other day that a separate country must be created for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Karunanidhi had earlier said that Prabhakaran was his friend and that as he is not a terrorist Prabhakaran cannot not be a terrorist. Jayalalitha’s earlier stand was that devolution of power could solve the problems of the Tamils.
Meanwhile the LTTE has declared a ceasefire in Lanka. According to the outfit, it declared the ceasefire in deference to the request of the countries such as the U.S.A, the U.K, the E.U and others including India. It has also taken note of the “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, says the tigers. However, the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakssa rejected the truce offer by the LTTE saying that “It is an attempt by the LTTE to deceive the world and get time for them to regroup .There is no meaning for a ceasefire at this time with a losing like the LTTE”. He termed the peace offer a “joke”.
Indeed the plight of the people trapped in the war zone is pitiable and calls for urgent steps to get them out. There must be many people over there. But to trust the LTTE’S claim that about 1.65 lakhs Tamil civilians are still in the area would be sheer foolishness. Moreover, since when did the Tigers begin to respect the humanitarian crisis and the human rights? Those who have been following the Lankan crisis know that withdrawing and declaring cease fire is a ploy of the Tigers. Whenever they needed time to replenish their supply of arms and ammunition, they used to declare ceasefire. And once they acquired the weapons, they would themselves break the cease fire and launch an attack killing innocent civilians. When they killed the people by millions they did not pause to ponder over their right to live.
Prabhakaran always wanted to be the sole spokesman of the Tamils in the island. He claimed that only the LTTE can find a solution the problem. And the only solution, according to him, was the creation of a separate country for the Tamils. And in the 1970’s he embarked on a murderous journey to achieve his goal. Prabhakaran never accepted a view that was different from his own. He never tolerated someone who dared to differ. Thus he did away with the organizations that fought for the rights of the Tamils one by one. Look at how he did away with Arunachalam Thangadurai who was the Tamil United Liberation Front Member of Parliament from Trincomalee district in 1997. Tangadurain was returning after a function at Sri Shanmugananda Ladies College. As he was getting into his vehicle, a grenade was hurled at him and opened fire. Five people were killed and fifteen were injured. Besides Thangadurai, the principal of Sri Shanmugananda, Rajeswary Thanabalasingham; the president of the school development society; Joseph, the head of another school in the area; and Jeevaratnam, the vice-principal of the Vivekananda College in Colombo, were also killed. Thandurai’s body guards, five engineers working in the building projects and four school girls were also killed.
Reporting the incident, the Frontline, said that “Although there is no definite evidence about the assassins, the police, the press and most politicians in Sri Lanka point at the LTTE”.The fact that the attack was carried out near an educational institution speaks volumes about the LTTE’s concern for the human rights.
This time things are different. The Lankan army has made the LTTE bite the dust. And they know that they have been defeated completely, though not wiped out. So they find an opportunity in the concerns expressed by the people around the world. And on the pretext of heeding to the requests of the international community they are trying to wriggle of complete humiliation that is awaiting them.
Meanwhile the LTTE has declared a ceasefire in Lanka. According to the outfit, it declared the ceasefire in deference to the request of the countries such as the U.S.A, the U.K, the E.U and others including India. It has also taken note of the “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, says the tigers. However, the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakssa rejected the truce offer by the LTTE saying that “It is an attempt by the LTTE to deceive the world and get time for them to regroup .There is no meaning for a ceasefire at this time with a losing like the LTTE”. He termed the peace offer a “joke”.
Indeed the plight of the people trapped in the war zone is pitiable and calls for urgent steps to get them out. There must be many people over there. But to trust the LTTE’S claim that about 1.65 lakhs Tamil civilians are still in the area would be sheer foolishness. Moreover, since when did the Tigers begin to respect the humanitarian crisis and the human rights? Those who have been following the Lankan crisis know that withdrawing and declaring cease fire is a ploy of the Tigers. Whenever they needed time to replenish their supply of arms and ammunition, they used to declare ceasefire. And once they acquired the weapons, they would themselves break the cease fire and launch an attack killing innocent civilians. When they killed the people by millions they did not pause to ponder over their right to live.
Prabhakaran always wanted to be the sole spokesman of the Tamils in the island. He claimed that only the LTTE can find a solution the problem. And the only solution, according to him, was the creation of a separate country for the Tamils. And in the 1970’s he embarked on a murderous journey to achieve his goal. Prabhakaran never accepted a view that was different from his own. He never tolerated someone who dared to differ. Thus he did away with the organizations that fought for the rights of the Tamils one by one. Look at how he did away with Arunachalam Thangadurai who was the Tamil United Liberation Front Member of Parliament from Trincomalee district in 1997. Tangadurain was returning after a function at Sri Shanmugananda Ladies College. As he was getting into his vehicle, a grenade was hurled at him and opened fire. Five people were killed and fifteen were injured. Besides Thangadurai, the principal of Sri Shanmugananda, Rajeswary Thanabalasingham; the president of the school development society; Joseph, the head of another school in the area; and Jeevaratnam, the vice-principal of the Vivekananda College in Colombo, were also killed. Thandurai’s body guards, five engineers working in the building projects and four school girls were also killed.
Reporting the incident, the Frontline, said that “Although there is no definite evidence about the assassins, the police, the press and most politicians in Sri Lanka point at the LTTE”.The fact that the attack was carried out near an educational institution speaks volumes about the LTTE’s concern for the human rights.
This time things are different. The Lankan army has made the LTTE bite the dust. And they know that they have been defeated completely, though not wiped out. So they find an opportunity in the concerns expressed by the people around the world. And on the pretext of heeding to the requests of the international community they are trying to wriggle of complete humiliation that is awaiting them.
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