Tamil politics and Tiger strategy in perspective
by Dayan Jayatilleka
KP’s story continues to provide insights into the history of the LTTE, Tamil politics and the contemporary history of Sri Lanka. One disclosure stands out.
"The then TULF leader A. Amirthalingham introduced me to Prabhakaran in mid 70s, most probably in 1976 and since then we worked together". (‘KP Speaks Out: An Interview with T.Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP’,)Shamindra Ferdinando
An exegetical attempt is subsequently made to downgrade its significance and render it ‘innocuous’. "KP was introduced to Prabhakaran – both 20 + years, by Amirthalingam when he was out of parliament (1970-77) and in with the grassroots as well as the violent upstarts." (‘Tamil politics post-LTTE: serious business or serial stories?’ Rajan Philips, Sunday Island, Aug 15, 2010).
Let us unpack the meaning of KP’s disclosure. The leader of the moderate secessionist Tamil party the TULF, Mr Amirthalingam, introduced KP to a young man known to be heading a terrorist organisation. For what purpose could he have done this? If he wanted to recruit KP he could have done so to the TULF or its youth/students wing. Instead he pretty much acted as a recruiter for a terrorist nucleus. There again, if Mr Amirthalingam wished to introduce KP to a militant leader, even one of an armed organisation, and especially the Tigers, he could have introduced him to Uma Maheswaran, chairman of the LTTE in 1976, and known to be an educated, politically minded man. Instead he chose to introduce KP precisely to the ‘pure terrorist’ or ‘pure militarist’, the shadowy youth, Prabhakaran who had already assassinated Alfred Duraiyappah. What is as remarkable is that he did this prior to July ’83, when it might have been understandable, if not exactly excusable. He also did this when General elections were scheduled for 1977, i.e. when chances of peaceful, democratic negotiated change or a peaceful platform for Tamil Eelam were still possible.
Mr Amirthalingam, who was a university friend of my father, a contributor to the Lanka Guardian, a compelling speaker in the English language (though not in the Sivasithamparam league) with whom I had only the most cordial encounters, was killed by gunmen sent by the very man he chose to introduce KP to: Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Moderates are known to consort with extremists, and radicals known to ally with the state, but not without a dramatic marker event which throws them together, as the Accord of 1987 brought together the SLFP and JVP, just as it did the UNP governed State and the SLMP (as well as groups such as the one I belonged to). By 1976 there were plenty of reasons ( such as the IATR tragedy of 1974) to provoke restive youth to take up the gun, but insufficient cause for a n avowedly moderate, responsible , parliamentary nationalist to have passed on contacts to a terrorist group. Sadly Mr Amirthalingam is depicted here as having done so prior to such a seismic shock (1979, 1981, Black July ’83) and with a General election a distinct probability. No moderate behaves that way, and one who does so can be classified as a moderate.
This brings us to Prof Urmila Phadnis’ observation that a distinct feature of Sri Lankan Tamil (sub) nationalism, in contrast to sub-nationalisms in India, is the "autonomist-secessionist continuum". The question arises as to whether mainline Tamil nationalism, even of the parliamentary variety, could be defined as moderate in it aims and affiliations, by any international standard.
Does this mean that there are no Tamil moderates, and/or that there are no moderate Tamil negotiating partners as the Sinhala extremists claim? I disagree. The Tamil moderates do exist, and they are those who have passed the existential test with flying colours, dissenting from and resisting the LTTE, albeit at various times. These are the EPDP, PLOT, EPRLF (Nabha wing), TMVP and personalities like Anandasanagree and SC Chandrahasan, currently grouped within the Tamil Political Parties Forum (though that forum does have former fellow travellers of the Tigers bringing up the rear). This is not to say that the TNA should not be seriously negotiated with. It must be, as it contains the bulk of the elected representatives of the Tamil people of the North and East. However, insofar as it hasn’t recanted on its support of the Tigers nor undertaken a criticism of the LTTE, the TNA cannot yet be strictly classified as a wholly moderate party by comparative international standards.
The third part of DBS Jeyaraj’s exciting interview with KP deals with Prabhakaran’s last days. KP makes much of the valour of the last ditch stand of Prabhakaran and his fellow Tigers but that begs two questions: why didn’t he bite on his famous cyanide capsule, and more basically, what does the fact that he was (out) manoeuvred into and trapped in that ‘killing box’ say about Prabhakaran as a commander and strategist?
The point is all the more valid when set against a recent publication; a large volume of 896 pages by Fidel Castro entitled The Strategic Victory. Being the first volume of his autobiography he deals with the decisive turning point of the Cuban revolutionary war, when a ten thousand strong force of US trained (for possible deployment in the Korean War) and equipped army of dictator Fulgencio Batista, supported by air force planes firing US supplied rockets, surrounded a mere three hundred strong force of equipped" guerrilla fighters led by Fidel and his fellow commanders Che Guevara, Raul Castro and Camilo Cienfuegos. Fidel’s guerrillas had already suffered a huge setback when the General strike of1957, led by their urban network the July 26th Movement, failed. The state decided to capitalise on this failure and press home the advantage, launching a decisive operation to surround and crush the Cuban revolutionaries. That was in 1958. By New Year’s Eve that very year, the Cuban army was in disarray and dictator Batista fled the country. Such was the magnitude of the turnaround in strategic fortunes that Fidel and his 300 guerrillas were able to effect.
True, a far great number of Sri Lankan soldiers besieged Prabhakaran, but the ability to raise that number was also a success of the political and military leadership on the Sri Lankan side. Far more significantly, Prabhakaran had a force under his command that was superior to Fidel’s 300 by a multiple of a hundred — not to mention a sea and air arm! Again, true, the Cuban revolutionaries had the advantage of a mountainous terrain, the Sierra Maestra, but Prabhakaran was supposed to be undefeatable in the Mullaitivu jungles with its impenetrable natural canopy. This was attested to in print by many an IPKF officer, including commanding General Kalkat who, even towards the end of the war was rather doubtful of the Sri Lankan army’s capacity to beat Prabhakaran in that terrain. The Tigers had another advantage that Fidel did not: he was fighting on his home turf.
It was reported that just before the last war, Prabhakaran made his fighters watch a movie called ‘300’, which was of course the movie version of an illustrated novella of one of the most famous battles ever, recorded by Herodotus in his Histories. That was the battle of Thermopylae in which 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas held off a Persian invading force of several hundred thousand before being betrayed and succumbing, but not before buying enough time for the Greek federation to rally and defeat the Persians decisively. Prabhakaran, with a starting force that was far greater, proved that he was no Leonidas, while Fidel in 1958, with a force of 300, proved that he was greater than Leonidas because he not only held off the vastly superior army that invaded his redoubt, but smashed the offensive, achieving a ‘strategic victory’ as he entitles his reminiscences of it, and going onto to win the war within a year.
The contrast between the Prabhakaran outcome and Fidel outcome proves not only the superiority of the Sri Lankan military’s strategy, tactics and performance, but also the qualitative superiority, almost to the point of incomparability, between the strategic leadership of Fidel Castro (and the Fidel-Raul-Che-Camilo combine) on the one hand, Velupillai Prabhakaran a.k.a the Sun God, on the other.
If I may anticipate readers who would think, not without reason, that this an unfair comparison (and at one level, comparing Prabhakaran with Fidel is like comparing a Hobbit with an Olympean) let me say that Prabhakaran and the Tigers compare badly in the realm of asymmetric warfare, with contemporaries such as the Eritrean EPLF (which prevailed in its aim), the Nepali Maoists (who combined guerrilla war, negotiations and electoral politics to emerge the top contenders for state power) and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which caused the Israeli army to pull out of Southern Lebanon and then in 2006, fought it to a standstill.
Prabhakaran led a movement which was the world’s top terrorist organisation but not the world’s best guerrilla formation. He was terrorist maestro but not a master strategist of guerrilla and insurrectionary warfare, still less a virtuoso of warfare in general, unlike Fidel, Ho Chi Minh, Giap, and (Sandinista chief and now Nicaraguan President) Daniel Ortega.
If Prabhakaran had been a first class strategist he would have done as Mao did when after a decade, he abandoned the ‘Red base’ in Yenan in 1945, and made the timely shift (back) to mobile and guerrilla warfare. By 1949 Mao was in power. Prabhakaran failed to realise that the civilian populace he held onto as a human shield, with which he sought to deter Sri Lankan attacks and secure a ceasefire plus international intervention, had in fact become a liability which was slowing him down. He should have let the civilians go and dismantled his force early enough, into mobile guerrilla columns, and dispersed. The Tigers and their supporters (including the much vaunted and possibly imaginary ‘brains trust’ in the Diaspora) just weren’t brainy enough for that and were outsmarted by the Sri Lankan state, its armed forces and its friends.
As for those readers who may query as to why it then took the Sri Lankan military thirty years to defeat the LTTE, the answer is that it was about to or well might have, a decade into the war, in 1987, when it was brusquely interrupted by an ‘external shock’.
44 Comments
The Sinhalese existential theorist, pretentional messiah who preaches all the time to Tamils that they are to be blamed for their plight since Ceylon got independnece from the British Colonialist in 1948 and what they should do. He together with other Professors who defend the Mahinda regime and or previous Sinhalese regimes who have been ruling Srilanka since 1948 from platforms within and out of Srilanka never writes about the man or quote him (late Mr. Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, who was one the founder members of Singapor ruling party ) in their writings or speeches. Even recently the SL media or Professor Rohan Gunatilleke himself did not give the full details of the School ( Rajaratnams School for International Studies or something like that ) he is attached to under the NTU ( Nanayang Technical University ) when he made his speech in Colombo which was reported in Daily Mirror. At least Professors like Dr.Imtiyaz Mohamed speaks the truth and have commonalities with Rajaratnam in his thought and writings.
As a reply or comment to his above ( Tamil politics and Tiger strategy in perspective), I believe it is more appropriate if I dedicate the following speech of S.Rajaratnam that I read on a souvernier magazine sent to me by a friend of mine. I hope DJ will share this with co defenders and Professors Rohan Gunatilleke and Rajiva Wijeyasinghe to reflect before they do their propoganda against the Tamils :
-------------------------------------
This what I read :
Some 25 years ago, on the 75th anniversary of the Singapore Ceylon Tamils Association celebrated on Sunday 10th Febraury 1985 the guest of honour was none other than Mr. S. Rajaratnam Singapore's Senior Minister ( Prime Ministers Office ). he made a tremendous impact on the guests with speech that gave the message of doom with all that was going in Ceylon. IN HIS PRAGMATIC ADDRESS HE SAID :
"This is therefore an appropriate occasion as any to discuss a subject that must be in the forefront in the minds of the Singapore Ceylon Tamils. WHAT IS OUR FUTURE in the next 75 years ?
There was a time not so long ago when a Singapore Ceylon Tamil would comfort himself with the thought should the life prove to be intolrable for him in Singapore he could , as his forefathers once did pack his bag and return to his anscestral land to reclaim his birth right.
That option is no longer available. His birth- right is today in jeopardy. While the future of Singapore Ceylon Tamils who migrated to Singapore in the middle of last century ( 1850s ) is promising that of the Tamils that chose to remain behind in the land of their forefathers is trageic and uncertain. It is not my purpose tonight to go into the rights and wrongs of a bitter conflict now raging between the Singhalese and the Tamils.
All I want to do tonight is to highlight for Singapore Tamils the single most important lesson they must learn from the conflict in Ceylon.
It is that the racial, linguistic, cultural or religious conflicts and violence are the CONSEQUENCE OF CROOKED POLITICS AND COWARDLY LEADERSHIP. The tragedy becomes inevitable when avaricious , ignorant, totally unprincipled politicians play on stupid prejudices and primitive emotions of a PEOPLE WHO ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE LED TO PREDICTION BY SPURIOUS MESSIAHS . "
Here in Singapore he continues, "The only discrimination the Government recognises and encourages is discrimination which rewards talent and hard work. Unlike communally oriented society, in Singapore talent and merit are encouraged and rewarded regardless of whether these manifest themselves in a Chinese, Malay, Indian, Ceylonese or Euracian Singaporean ."
So my advice to Ceylon Tamils in Singapore is two fold. Make sure to the best of your ability that Singapore is ruled by a Government that is SINGLE - MINDEDLY NON COMMUNAL and secondly CULTIVATE AMONG THE COMMUNITY MEANIGFUL TALENT AND ZEST FOR HARD WORK.
If you bear these two objectives in mind then there will be a brighter future for Ceylon Tamils 75 years from now EVEN IF ....WHICH I FERVENTLY HOPE WILL NOT HAPPEN.... THEY WILL COME EXTINCT IN CEYLON "
PS : I strongly believe the two objectives Late Mr. Rajaratnam high lighted is very appropriate to the Tamil Diaspora all over the world.
Dr.Dayan Jayatilleke has exposed the Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde roles played by the Federal Party (FP) in Tamil politics, which ultimately led to the present plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The TNA and the new alliance being forged, came out of the same cauldron and the Witches brew prepared by the FP of old. By continuing to play ball with these 'pretenders to the throne' the government is alienating the Tamils further and sowing doubts about its intentions in the wider world.
A new leadership- completely unaffected by deceptive politics of old and attuned to the present problems and needs of Tamils living in Sri Lanka has to emerge. Only such a leadership can engage with the government and Sinhala polity in a meaningful and pragmatic manner. Tamils are thirsting for such a leadership.
What pathetic piffle!
Supporters of states that resort to the most vicious forms of terrorism against minorities and individuals, have no locus-standi to speak of the "extremism" of those seeking to counter state terrorism.
Hezbollah is a proxy of Syria and Iran, and continues to enjoy the unstinted support of fellow shiites. The Vietcong had the support of China.
A proper analysis would show that it was a near miracle for VP to have survived so long after having antagonized the only power that could have supported him.
The claim that Operation Liberation would have ended the LTTE is hogwash. VP was not in VVT at that time as claimed by many, and the LTTE simply withdrew with minimal casualties.
VP's strength was in keeping his cadres motivated and in maintaining a strong support base locally and in the Diaspora. Just as several trends favored him in his early years, many trends in recent years favored the GoSL. Neither side was known for great strategies; it was always a matter of who would get lucky. A state simply has the wherewithal to wait it out, something a non-state actor cannot afford.
Dayan,
Do you think that there still exists the chances of " brusquely being interrupted by an ‘external shock’. "
Bavan...
Dayan,
Baffles me when you refer to EPDP & TMVP as moderate Tamil parties. I have constantly noticed your articles showing a benign attitude towards such groups that have caused much despair towards the Tamil community. If these articles carry some political weight with purpose then shame on you. But if you genuinely believe that these are moderate movements working for integration and greater good of society, then I pity your knowledge. Extrajudicial killings, Thuggery, Kidnappings, vote rigging have been the way of life for these party officials.
Reading politics & war whilst having high tea at decorated places with influential people is not going to help you understand the Northern commoners’ perception.
Let’s admit it, the best of Tamil politics is diseased or murdered.
.
DJ, you started off with something and ended up somewhere else!!!!
The only reason, Prabakaran is called a poor strategist is because he lost the war. Suppose if he had succeeded in killing Gota or Sarath, the outcome would have changed and analysts would have called him a master strategist.
In my opinion, if Prabakaran is a terrorist then Gota and Sarath are worse terrorist than him. If Prabakaran is a liberation leader then Gota is a better liberation leader.
As far as EPDP, PLOTE, etc goes, they were not moderates....they were forced to giveup armed struggle by LTTE and therefore they had no choice but to join ruling party and became 'moderates'. It's simple as that. Same as what KP doing today.
:-)
Thoughtful analysis. Agree to all the points raised above.
Unlike the strategies of Fidel, Ho Chi Minh, Giap, and Daniel Ortega, Prabhakaran also used Human Tragedy (and external pressure that creates a respite to regroup and rearm) as part of his arsenal and war strategy. The above four did not count on the Human Tragedy and Ceasefire due to humanitarian concerns as part of their war strategy. Their times were Cold War era and the word Human Security was not UH Agenda. Prabhakaran lost when his trump card Human Tragedy tool did not work this time. If it was allowed to work, the outcome of this war would have been different.
The other issue is as the last sentence described, in 1987, elimination of LTTE was within reach and it is no surprise the architects of the current war were front line commanders of Operation Liberation who saw the possibilities - if there were unity of effort and freedom to execute their strategy.
Dr, it seems that you have forgotten about BC and DC agreements. Why these two agreements were given up by the then Prime Ministers? Why the Vadukoddai resolution was brought up. If Chelvanayagam was respected and the agreements were implemented, at least one of the Prime Ministers, arguably, Tamil youths might not have taken arms and Amirthalingan might not have thought of Pirabaharan.
At least, now understand that Sri Lanka is a multi ethnic, multi religious, multi lingual and multi cultural country.
Dayan has the habit of extrapolating and let his imagination to flow free when coming up with fascinating conclusions. Again, in this article he hasn’t done any analysis or come up with concrete proposals, but, he tries to find evidence and justification for his well enriched position and believes like;
• Arm forces are squeakily clean and they did (and doing) a humanitarian work, except its former commander ( SF) – violation of Human rights or killing of non-combatant etc
• Current political leadership is the single most reason for the defeat of LTTE, militarily
• VP and his leaders are all terrorist; in this article, he tries to proof VP is not only a failed leader but a poor strategist. Not like Castro etc
• Tamil Leaders have made all the mistakes (past and present) and Sinhala leaders haven’t made any; if they did those are due to stupid demands of the Tamil leaders.
• Advice and “red line” areas which Tamils should not even think of discussing and agitating. (While no such advise or “red line” areas are provided to MR or to his clans)
• And so on
Sadly, he venture into areas boarding “hearsay” like KP’s interview and make many observations and conclusions without concrete evidence.
I am neither an academic nor an investigative journalist, but here is my take on the fall of LTTE. We all know the political side ( or the non existence of it) which made the organisation unable to evolve from military base to a political base as in many other countries and organisations. In those struggles, these organisations were able to transform from a military base to a political base movement at the appropriate time.
But this doesn’t explain why the military side folded as it did without any recourse (plan B C or D ). In my humble opinion, this is due two significant events in the early 2000 years;
1) The capture of Elephant Pass garrison by LTTE ( and the airport attack)
2) CFA
The first event gave the military of the organisation a false believe that they are invincible and they could carry on to become a conventional force holding territory. The 2nd event considerably weakened the military capability of LTTE. Not in terms of Physical (equipment, arms etc), but, physiologically, the organisation lost its desire to fight ( militarily), This may sound very strange. If you look back, that 2 years many of its leaders ( Tamilchelvan, karuna, etc ) were exposed to “ real world” for the very first time and started to understand what a normal life is all about. In the same time, with civil administration in the LTTE control areas expanded, many of the lower ranked cadres were assigned to admin jobs. In these Jobs, they started to meet ordinary people and people from outside ( Diaspora) regularly. This made them think. It will be very hard to motivate a highly trained force to stay in the barracks without fully understanding the bigger picture. All these factors compounded for the movement to loose the “will to fight”; one group thought that they are “invincible”, others are exhausted and have seen life outside, this combination resulted in the way it ended in May 2009.
I don’t believe we can make the conclusion made by Dayan about VP’s ability as he did. Only conclusion you can make is he is not a political or charismatic leader who can articulate and persuade people around him based on the information he has to fulfil the objectives of the organisation.
It is true that Pirapakaran is not at all a stategic gorrilla leader but he knows how to make the people beleive that he was born to achive Eelam. While the other movements were trying to remove the army and navy camps until 1986 Feb Pirapakaran was keeping land mines only. Even after 1986, 99% of the attack he did was land mines,sea mines ans suside bombs but he made the people beleive that they are the best gorrillas in the world.
He never lived in the jungle and that is why he didn't sneek into the jungle. He always wanted to live among the people and prised by them. All the bunkers of him was found in villages not in Jungle. When he retreated to Vanni after got defeated in Jaffna he brought the people to live sorrounded him. When the people moved to Colombo from North and East he started keeping bombs in Colombo in order to stop them going. Because of the bombs the army harresment started in colombo and the people started going abroad for safety.
For the Sinhalese the Tamils should not ask any kind of self rule, if asked even if they are elected people, they will be named as terrorists. As long as the Sinhalese don't change their mentality Sri Lanka will always be a cursed island.
Mr Dayan
"300 Spartans led by King Leonidas held off a Persian invading force of several hundred thousand"
Persian King forces were called Immortals always numbered Ten thousand not hundreds of thousands. Don't deceive Tamils as you and your cohorts deceive Sinhala masses day in day out. Invading forces may be hundred thousands but forces led Lionidas fought with immortals only at Thermopyle.
Dr Jayathillaka's reasoning the 87 external shock was the reason for the prolongation of VP's hold is too simplistic.
It is the susequent intereference by the Foreign powers on behalf of the LTTE,such as
the Foreign powers pathetic indifference to the money raising activities of the Diaspora both legally and illegally to be repatriated to fund the killing machine.
heir indifference to the arms procurement and smuggling by the LTTE
their outright rejection of helping the Military of the Srilankan Forces with sophisticated equipment,
their unnecessary influence through corruption of the Leaders like Ranil Wickremasinghe to go soft on the Terrorists are the main reasons that contributed to the longevity of this Terrorist Leader..
It is nonsense to comapare this megalomaniac with true Guerilla leaders of the world who liberated their countries from real suffering.
Read Aratai's comments many times, Dayan .... learn from it ... It's not at all too late to learn Dr Dayan ..
This is very very simple ... You do not have to write with hair splitting arguments about "tamil moderates and extreme sinhala nationlists" if you REALLY understand the simple fact Aratai mentioned at the end ..
Aratai ends his comments ....
"As far as EPDP, PLOTE, etc goes, they were not moderates....they were forced to giveup armed struggle by LTTE and therefore they had no choice but to join ruling party and became 'moderates'. It's simple as that. Same as what KP doing today"
Why do you need Northern and Eastern province to be under Tamil Rule for people to exist as Tamils ?
The Sinhala people were ruled nearly 600 years by NON-SINHALESE but we survived somehow...
What we have to achieve as SRI LANKANS (inhabitants of Lanka) is that we give absolutely equal opportunities for EVERYBODY irrespective of CASTE, LANGUAGE, WORLD VIEW , ETHNICITY to live a life with basic human needs .
What are these basic needs:
Food
Medicine
Shelter
Clothes
Education/Vocation
If we can work towards that then Sri Lanka can go somewhere.
Those who are in need of these above MUST be provides with these before we embark on other grest adventures. Or must be undertaken simultaneously.
Can anyone explain WHY Tamils need a special territory to be Tamil ?
The Tigers did fail but this failure must be analyzed through the Sri Lankan context. The fact that they were able to fend off the Sri lankan state for decades with a mere few thousand cadres is testament to their competence. Ultimately, the CFA, an extended period of peace, killed the LTTE. The LTTE was a war machine, it was not ready to operate efficiently during lengthened periods of peace.
The tigers are gone, but the diaspora Tamils have a moral obligation to rebuild the NE province. Past is past, only the present and future remain.
Comparative analysis is entirley wrong. He failed to understand the geography of Sri Lanka. LTTE is not a people force or gurrella force. They are pure millitary organization. They were in transition stage Gurella-conventional army. Activity of IPKF in SL was not purely based on Millitary strategy. They didn't have the intention to wipe out LTTE. Apart from the millitary strategy, fire power, man power, technolgy development of SL govt ....... Govt never worried about the death of innocent civilians as like LTTE. Their only vision was eradiacte LTTE at any cost as you did in UN..... not worried about the HR violations of SL govt
Some one made the good argument.
At the end, Pabakakran had no choice and had to make his army a conventional army and he lost with a conventional army using both guerilla -type tactics mostly.
lack of broad strategy failed.
Dayan, your mind is playing tricks on you. you need Self-realization.
In you writing its evident you have superiority complex,
with that you try to judge Tamils and LTTE, As inferior.
After all you are singalese who spent most of you life trying to stop the LTTE from achieving the Eelam. So we do not expect anything better.
We Tamils know who the heroes are and who the moderates are. And who villains are. Last thing we want is Singalese who helped slaughter innocent people to come and preach us on who is who.
Dayan, the comparison of Batista's forces to those of the Persians at Thermopylae or to the SL Army IS unfair -- but not for the reasons you suggest. Batista's forces were badly trained and utterly corrupt, as incompetent as the Spanish Army at the start of the Spanish Civil War. "American-trained and armed" meant nothing in the '50s and '60s -- don't forget that the ARVN were American-trained and armed too, as were the Bay of Pigs exile troops. In contrast, the SL armed forces WERE well-trained and motivated.
The LTTE's great weakness was that they were transiting from being a guerrilla force into a conventional armed forces -- but hadn't quite managed it. They'd got complacent or lazy, overconfident, and so were stuck with the structure of a conventional army -- forced to hold territory and protect assets -- without having the heavy artillery, aircraft, and logistics that a conventional force needs. So they were fighting as a conventional army against a vastly superior force, and bound to lose; but there was too much at stake to be able to abandon their gains and melt into the jungle. In the late '90s, when they halted and then drove back the SL Army in the Wanni, the Tigers fought as pure guerrillas, enveloping the attackers. In 2008, when the SL Army marched up the Mannar coast and fought through the East, it looked the same, that the Tigers would flow back and then attack. But they didn't, 'cos they had to hold territory and frontlines (such as the National Front on the Muhamalai-Nagarkovil line). It has to be all or nothing.
Also, to call Castro and Ortega great generals is a bit of a stretch. Neither of them ever commanded numbers large enough to warrant that title. Even Patton, who really was a fantastic general, has been accused of actually being just a "great colonel" in comparison to Rommel, Guderian, Giap, and the Soviet generals who commanded upto a million men, and used hundreds of thousands of troops in maneuvers.
to answer the following question as i see it
'Can anyone explain WHY Tamils need a special territory to be Tamil ?'
Because we do not want our land's be to taken a way 'forcefully' and given to singalese for free. we do not want to be 'forced' to speak another language. we do not want to be 2nd class people in our own land.
With in Sri Lanka there institutionalised racism, thats allows even the rapist and murderer of Tamil to a get way
with it they are Singalese. Singlase are treating the Tamils like they some kind of slaves.
If we have Tamil territory then we can look after our self and protect our self from discrimination, marginalisation and suppression.
If there is one person who wishes to glorify himself and wears a Humpty Dumpy’s head without realising this it must be the author of this article. The diarrhoea of diction and constipation of thought is so evident in the volumes he produces as though he is inventing something new every day and a messiah whom the country has waited for a long time.
Look at the names dished out - “The Tamil moderates do exist, and they are those who have passed the existential test with flying colours, dissenting from and resisting the LTTE, albeit at various times. These are the EPDP, PLOT, EPRLF (Nabha wing), TMVP and personalities like Anandasanagree and SC Chandrahasan, currently grouped within the Tamil Political Parties Forum “
Does this author know anything about contemporary political history of the island? Whom is he addressing, to the ordinary citizens or to the decision makers of Sri Lanka like His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksha? All mentioned had been aligned to the same ideology like the LTTE. Those mentioned were needed during the time of war not any more. The Tamil People are a realistic lot; they know their strengths and weaknesses. We need to solidify and work to recognise the great many commonalities that bind the Sinhalese and Tamil communities rather than the scare mongering of a shallow and superficial analyst.
This analyst will never learn because he is so sure of himself, ill informed and loves to quote and apart the remaining ruin of a colonial past.
Dr. N. Satchi
While we may not totally agree with the extended arguments of Dayan, his questioning of the 'moderate' Tamil leadership is very pertinent. It is also not a new revelation to alert Sinhalese either. You only need to compare what these guys uttered while in Colombo against what they said to the Tamils when they went to North to understand the pure duplicity of these 'moderates'. Their only dream was recreation of the old Chola empire.
The stronger centre in India dashed any hopes of achieving a separate Tamil state there. The 'Bhumiputras' prevented it happening in Malaysia & the Chinese dominance (& discrimination in Singapore's early evolution) prevented any sort of Tamil terrorism in Singapore too. The only opportunity came from more liberal and politically weaker Sri Lanka & the Tamil strategists thought Eelam in Sri Lanka could be the corner stone in re-building the Chola glory.
Fortunately, India recognised just in time, the strategic relevance of SL govt's struggle against Tamil terrorism for the territorial integrity of India, and Sri Lanka found a leadership team with the right motivation and strategic skill to defeat the spear head of the Tamil sessionist movement.
While the tentacles of this terrorist movement that is spread in the Western hemisphere requires surgical removal, the debacle appear to have prompted many Tamils of reason to stop in their tracks and question the validity of the path they were taking for so many decades. It has forced them to look for a partnership with the Sinhalese like what they ultimately settled down to in the other countries of the region mentioned above, accepting the dominance of the major cultures in those respective countries, allowing Tamil to develop as a powerful sub-culture.
Never mind tamil politics - please see the overall human rights and political rights picture by eminent lawyer Gomin Dayasiri....................
president
Can tamils, let alone sinhalese prosper in this regime.
Dear Dr. DJ, when there is a rain from the hell (cluster bombs, chemical bombs etc. ) with the blessings of the Gods (China, India, Pakistan & the rest) what a Military Strategist or Master Strategist could do? It is like fighting against Tsunami, you can expect only disaster. Strategies won’t work, no matter what a genius you are. When the vultures (China. India etc.) are waiting to pounce on you, artilleries, and other weapons are discharging firecrackers on you from all the nooks and corners by SLA, while there is rain from the hell, what a strategist could do? Just remember what happened when VP sent his toy planes to Colombo, not only the lights went off in Colombo, MR & Group ran to the Temple Trees Safety Bunkers, imagine if VP had, and willing to use cluster bombs, chemical bombs etc. and created a rain of hell in Colombo, do you think Commander in Chief’s brain, Great General’s Brain, and Defense Strategist brain would have worked? Wouldn’t it have gone frozen? So, don’t talk about this crap about Strategy.
I noted your interest in connecting Mr. Amirthalingam to VP, so that to give a picture that TULF is also somewhat a terrorist movement in a different garb. What a politician will do when it comes to vote bank, he will try to woo anyone who could be used for his own victory. First he wanted to create contact, then he wanted to develop trust, and then only Friendship. He identified VP as man of conviction and very strong, and to develop friendship with such a man he has to become trust worthy, and by introducing people he could gain VP’s trust, and that would go a long way in time of election. He did what he had to do as a politician, and later when VP realized the true motive of the man, Mr. Amir had to pay the supreme price.
Another quick point, when VP was introduced to KP, VP was not a terrorist, he was just militant. Terrorist label was the latest development promoted by Mr. Luxman K and attached to VP because of LK's efficient presentation.
By the way, do Karuna, Pillayan and Douglas really look like moderates? They never killed innocent Sinhalese people? If they are not sitting on the lap of MR they too will be now in the category of terrorists. At least VP was sincere and had a vision and mission and not self-serving, but, these guys are bunch of low grade terrorists. ( I am not a VP or LTTE supporter, I hated them for killing innocent Sinhalese, as I really like Sinhalese people and my love for them is very deep, but the truth is truth, and we have to accept it ) VP is 100000 times better than this bunch of craps.
Re the death of VP I still have my doubt (the only reason I had to believe was it was confirmed by DBSJ, because he is impartial and a true journalist). VP didn’t have his popular cyanide chain around his neck, and according to some analysis done by some experts in Tamil Nadu on TVs, during the time SLG showed his body or his said to be his body on TV, experts very positively said it was not VP’s. Then whose body it could be, may be he had a double, it is still very possible that VP and Pottu Amman are alive, I understand that even some in the SLG are confused about this now, but, unfortunately they have cremated the body, and there is no way they can get a second opinion. It is possible in the glee of winning the war, and thought of capturing the body of VP they overlooked many small differences in the body. Few people who identified the body couldn’t be credible witnesses and even if they were, it is possible they too missed something.
If VP is really alive and comes out now that is the end of MR Government, the victory euphoria will evaporate in the thin air, but again if VP is alive he would want MR to continue in power. As such I don’t think he will come out, besides if they are alive, and are coming out at this time, it would be only foolishness. Because, they too will have to face WAR CRIME TRIBUNALS. It is very important justice should be served and if they are alive they too should face the WAR CRIMES charges. But again only time will tell if they are alive.
I believe. VP wanted to lose this war for a strategic purpose. He lost all his strongholds one by one with a plan. He wanted to create a situation where international involvement becomes inevitable, so that Tamil Eelam could be born, and he successfully created the situation, and the Diaspora according to his previous year Heroes Day Message and request was in full swing. By showing his military strategy and strength he could only go up to another peace talk, just wastage of time, but if he showed his weakness and the danger waiting to happen to his people the impact would be different. I guess that was his strategy, but what he never imagined was that India will stop the international involvement, and SLG will go to any extent just to kill him even at a cost of eliminating entire Tamil race, no matter International opinion or war crime. I think that is where his strategy failed, I also believe some of or one of his advisors gave him false hopes and kept him in the dark to still believe international involvement is just a matter of time. My beliefs or your analysis are only assumptions, only few people know the truth and I don’t think they will disclose the truth, may be in their death bed they will come out with what really happened out of conscience, that is if they have conscience. But, I am sure time will tell what happened, and we have to patiently wait until such time comes.
Dr DJ, just a concluding line, you are a man of confusion no wonder why your boss fired you from your job. I have read, and still love to read all your articles, what I like in your writings is your confusion, a confusion into confusion, a big confusion. Isn’t it thrilling to read this kind of article? Surely I do. It is like reading Harry Potter! Thank you Sir.
If that "not so smart Indian General" had obeyed the orders of the" smart High Commissioner", imagine how many thousands of lives could have been saved including the 2000 Indian soldiers?
Hello Dayan,
If you want to write anything sensible regarding srilankan affairs, please advice your Mahinda and his brothers...ltte is no more, reduce sinhala barbaric army from tamil areas. reduce sinhala terrorist army camps from tamil areas. let tamils enjoy their culture in their own areas and employ brainy tamils run their own affairs. Stop sinhala thugs roaming tamil areas and let civilized sinhalease mingle with brilliant tamils. sorry to say you must control mad sinhala bikkus, most of them not educated as you know that. Do not worry about Rich Diaspora tamils, If your boss rectify your former sinhala leaders mistakes, we tamil diaspora rebuild not only our beloved land and your sinhala veerayas land.
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR BELEIVERS.
Dayan, dear chap, you have hit the bull's-eye when it comes to this nasty terrorist fellow masquerading as military 'strategist'. To paraphrase the famous quote of General Schwarzkopf, "as far as Prabhakaran being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational art, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier; Other than that he's a great military man-I want you to know that".
Cheers!
Quoting Greek and Roman history and Mao has no relevance here. If you have spoken to the people who worked in the so called IDP camps you will realize that the "human Shield" concept was rubbish.
Those were no hostages ( at least the majority ) they were simply volunteers providing cover for their leader because they wanted to and they believed in the cause !
Remember most of them are now free and we must find a way of convincing them that peaceful co-existence is acceptable.
Here we go round the mulberry bush (again)
When you are a doctor of political-science... there is no limit to your fantasies, imaginations and free flowing thoughts. Which is further garnished by fictitious mythology (Oh my god 300) and fairy tales (by KP).
There are no strategist in this world, you are just lucky and when your time comes, you are gone. This is not a game of chess where you can feed the moves to "Deep Blue" or ask Visvanathan Anand to device a strategy; multitude of controllable and uncontrollable factors play a part.
It will be a great shame to write in Mahavansa, that tax payer funded, well established successful governments, supported by the ever loving Chinese and of course by Dayan Jayathilaka.......Failed to take out a bunch of school dropouts in a jungle. I think what happened in Sri Lanka is the norm than the exception; no strategy needed just bomb, nuke or napalm.
The Chinese following Mao is not a surprise. They are a nation of followers up until now; if they have not been following, the following battle tanks will go over them. I hope Google will shed a light of democracy and independence into their lives. The point is Sri Lankans will not follow, why? because it's 10% democratic unlike their Chinese brothers.
Dayan, I like to read your articles though. It rekindles my imagination and fantasies.. which may not be your objective in writing these articles.
Posted by: Sakthi | August 26, 2010 10:16 AM
This is in reply to the first paragraph about the use of cluster bombs, artillery and VP not using chemical bombs in Colombo.
If VP had the chance to use chemical and cluster bombs, he would have used it anywhere, not just Colombo. The only occasion chemical bombs were used in the Eelam war was by the LTTE (phosgene in 1990). The SL defense forces never used cluster bombs! This is just false propaganda. Please prove me incorrect with facts. VP had no problems killing in cold blood children and unarmed priets ('moderate' Karuna)and women, so why do you think he would not have used cluster or chemical bombs against Colombo?
As for MBRL and artillery, the LTTE had artillery and used it very well. At one point they had more artillery and mortar fire power than the army. The MBRL fire was effective was only as a deterrent to hold land. Whenever MBRL fire was used the LTTE retreated only to come back to original positions once the fire has ceased. Therefore, to say that there was a massive advantage due to artillery and MBRL capability or to say that VP was a humanist not to use cluster cluster/chemical bombs in colombo is just bull s**t! VP was not skillful enough to fight a real war on the ground with the resources he had! He took on a war and pushed it till it backfired on him and the Sri Lankan tamil population. It will take decades for the Sri Lankan tamil community to recover from the war and for Sri Lanka to find peace and prosperity for all.
Dear David,
1. Under the umbrella of hemispheric security, the US trained the Cuban forces for possible deployment, as their allies, in Korea. The US training and arming -- and , might I add, advisers-- might have been far inferior to their training packages of today, and certainly their own current standards, but my comparison was with Castro's three hundred guerrillas, who had been trained in Mexico by Spanish civil war veteran Alberto bayo, and after that, were self-trained. Their equipment was vastly inferior to the firepower of the Batista forces, which included planes using napalm and rockets.
2. If for Prabhakaran "there was too much at stake to be able to abandon their gains and melt into the jungle...it had to be all or nothing", while Mao was able to abandon the extensive Red base of Yenan after a decade of control and 28 years of warfare, there was something wrong with Prabhakaran's entire strategic project. Which is precisely my point.
3. You write "to call Castro and Ortega great generals is a bit of a stretch. Neither of them ever commanded numbers large enough to warrant that title". Firstly you've set up a straw man. Where did I call Fidel or Daniel 'a great general'? The phrase that comes closest is " in general". I referred to Fidel's ' strategic leadership' and as a "virtuoso of warfare in general" , apart from "guerrilla and insurrectional war". He is " Commander-in Chief", not " General", and no one has called him that. As for your judgement of Fidel's military achievements, I'm afraid I have to echo Che, who told interviewer Maurice Zeitlin in a debate over Trotsky, "you've read a different version". May I quote from ' AFTER FIDEL' ( Palgrave macmillan, 2002) by Brian Latell, the CIA's topmost Cuba analyst for decades, and hardly a Fidel fan or consumer of Cuban propaganda.
"WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ISRAEL, NO OTHER SMALL COUNTRY HAS TALLIED AS MANY STUNNING BATTLEFIELD VICTORIES AS CUBA HAS. NOT EVEN THE ISRAELI MILITARY HAS EVER EXHIBITED THE LONG-RANNGE FORCE PROJECTION CAPABILITIES THAT CUBA'S DID IN THE 1970S WHEN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TROOPS WERE DISPATCHED FIRST TO ANGOLA AND LATER TO ETHIOPIA, BOTH MANY THOUSANDS OF MILES FROM CUBAN SHORES. IT WAS FIDEL TO BE SURE, WHO WAS THE GRAND STRTAEGIST OF THOSE INTERVENTIONS ...HE WAS SHARP AND IN COMMAND DURING THE BAY OF PIGS , MOVING CUBAN FORCES AROUND THE ISLAND LIKE CHESS PIECES. HE MADE ALL THE STRTAEGIC DECISONS DURING CUBA'S MILITARY INTERVENTIONS OVERSEAS."
Let us recall that in Angola at the crucial battle of Cuito Cuenevale in 1988, Fidel and his forces, with a vulnerable supply line acrioss the Atlantic, were taking on the first rate conventional forces of South Africa, coming over the border. The Cuban victory which included the use of air power, opened the negotiations for nambian independence. According to Mandela, it led to his release and the fall of apartheid, because the myth of invincibility of the South African army had been smashed.
For an extensive study of the Cuban military achievement ( and Fidel's role) in Africa, I refer you to Johns Hopkins' Prof Piero Gleijeses book, which won US scholarly awards, " Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington and Africa" ( 2003, Chapel Hillm Univ of Carolina Press). His second volume is due soon. I might add that he was one of the examiners of my Phd thesis ( which turned into my Fidel book, Univ of Michigan Press and Pluto Press).
Dear Ellalan 1,
The Immortals were only the elite detachment of the Persians. Leonidas beat them at Thermoplylae, BUT that was not the full extent of the forces he faced. In fact he started with over a thousand but his allies peeled off and he was down to a hardcore of his 300 Spartans at the decisive moments. Readers must know that I took the lower estimate of Persian forces faced by Leonidas as cited by Herodotus in his Histories. The upper figure is almost half a million. So, whom should I accept as the authority on Thermopylae: Herodotus or...Ellalan 1?
CORRECTION:
Dear Ellalan 1,
The upper figure for the Persian force converging on and blocked at Thermopylae was ONE AND A HALF MILLION....
What is the ulterior motive of this author now that GoSL claims LTTE has been wiped out, then what is the necessity of this article, is it to show the sinhala superiority and keep the racial hatred alive? Up untill 2001 July LTTE had an upperhand due to VP'S military strategy, many foriegn military writers did praise him as the best. There were many reasons for this final end.
2002 CFA brought fatigue among the combatants, as one of the commentator pointed out, 'they have seen the outside world'. secondly 9/11 created a paranoia in the West. They then saw any liberation struggle as terrorism. GoSL created an "illusion" to the West and its neighbours India and China. Heavy demonisation and discrditing propaganda was set by Srilanka on the liberation organisation and VP, as well as on the diaspora. This helped many western governments to support GoSL to fight the terrorism.
GoSL was given all the Intelligence it needed and modern sophisticated weapons.GoSL recruited many on to its armed forces, many of them who could hardly afford a single healthy meal, or had a proper job to look after their family joined willingly for the handsome pay it offerred. The sob story by the GoSL that they were being ruined by terrorism for three decades, made many countries including the Co-Chairs of CFA to swallow this story. Many other countries also joined. India,Pakistan ,China,Isreal, Ukarain,Russia to supply intelligent surveillance, weapons,and mercenaries. So Dayan SLSF had lot of help from others to win over VP'S forces. SL could not win this war on its own right.
Use of Banned weapons, Bombing and shelling with multi-barrel rockets. help from Karuna the moderate or the Tamil quisling. please don't boast about your victory world knows these facts. The Crime against humanity committed by SL would make Buddha spinning in his grave even after 2500 years.
What we saw 'In the post independence period' the Sinhala politicians without building the nation and stregthing, it was bent on dismantling. The sinhala politicians were to blame themselves for starting to discreminate and marginalise the Tamils. Tamils did not ask for separate state then, they only wanted their basic fundamental rights as equal citizens to be recognised.They wanted their political freedom to speak freely was this too much to ask? as time went on, more and more discreminatory regulations were passed with physical abuse. One would presume that there was a hidden agenda to get rid of the Tamils. So as to all genocidal acts to continue. You Dayan should be ashamed also few of the commentators on this article of yours. They must be with blinkers on or who are not aware of the true Srilankan history.
I always knew there are no 'Indian Tamils', 'Jaffna Tamils', 'Malaysian Tamils', 'South African Tamils' or any other Tamils but 'We Tamils'. I do not blame Tamils for their stand. In fact, I appreciate their stand. Only, I pity others for not seeing it as it is.
All along, Tamil mentality has been like that of the Jews before creation of Israel; they wanted a country of their own. By far, all 'We Tamils' supported the 'home land' theory meaning a separate country. Ideal pray for it had been Sri Lanka for colonialists had congregated very many 'We Tamils' in to it.
Now, take Dayan's call of so-called moderate parties like EPRLF and EPDP. The first letter of them stands for Eelam. What more proof than that for their motive. If the aim is to Divide a country, it is by no means a moderate affair. So, I do not know on what basis Dayan calls the guys that back those 'E' parties moderates. I say they can be moderates only on how to achieve their target, Eelam.
In spite of police, land and many other powers being devolved to Madras state in India, Tamils there had voted and demanded separation in 1962. When all the wily approaches for secession was banned by an amendment to the Indian constitution, Tamils have pooled all their energies and resources to uplift a separatist campaign in Sri Lanka. And Tamils of different description from all over the world gave their unequivocal support to it. In that, they have aided and abated the terrorists and murderers that render violence as a serene means to reach their Eelam. So-called Gandhian have disappeared from the seen.
Piripaharan pursued Tamil Eelam by killings and maiming on a fast track. And, Sangaree followed it on a slow track by tactic of eat the ear while dwelling on the horn. Other than the methods and the speeds, I do not see a difference of the goal of the hard-core and the so-called moderate.
To me, a true moderate would not demand a 'home land' 13A, 13A plus, Federal or a homogeneous Tamil province not only because it is already there in Tamil Nadu but also because most Tamils live among Sinhalese.
Those that recognized this fact and oppose tactical separation of Sri Lanka are castigated as Sinhala extremists. This has been the essence of all Dayan's write-ups.
Sakthi; I always knew there are no 'Indian Tamils', 'Jaffna Tamils', 'Malaysian Tamils', 'South African Tamils' or any other Tamils but 'We Tamils'. I do not blame Tamils for their stand. In fact, I appreciate their stand. Only, I pity others for not seeing it as it is.
All along, Tamil mentality has been like that of the Jews before creation of Israel; they wanted a country of their own. By far, all 'We Tamils' supported the 'home land' theory meaning a separate country. Ideal pray for it had been Sri Lanka for colonialists had congregated very many 'We Tamils' in to it.
Now, take Dayan's call of so-called moderate parties like EPRLF and EPDP. The first letter of them stands for Eelam. What more proof than that for their motive. If the aim is to Divide a country, it is by no means a moderate affair. So, I do not know on what basis Dayan calls the guys that back those 'E' parties moderates. I say they can be moderates only on how to achieve their target, Eelam.
In spite of police, land and many other powers being devolved to Madras state in India, Tamils there had voted and demanded separation in 1962. When all the wily approaches for secession was banned by an amendment to the Indian constitution, Tamils have pooled all their energies and resources to uplift a separatist campaign in Sri Lanka. And Tamils of different description from all over the world gave their unequivocal support to it. In that, they have aided and abated the terrorists and murderers that render violence as a serene means to reach their Eelam. So-called Gandhian have disappeared from the seen.
Piripaharan pursued Tamil Eelam by killings and maiming on a fast track. And, Sangaree followed it on a slow track by tactic of eat the ear while dwelling on the horn. Other than the methods and the speeds, I do not see a difference of the goal of the hard-core and the so-called moderate.
To me, a true moderate would not demand a 'home land' 13A, 13A plus, Federal or a homogeneous Tamil province not only because it is already there in Tamil Nadu but also because most Tamils live among Sinhalese.
Those that recognized this fact and oppose tactical separation of Sri Lanka are castigated as Sinhala extremists. This has been the essence of all Dayan's write-ups
"All along, Tamil mentality ....wanted a country of their own" says regular blogger Leela whose passion for her people - no diffrent to mine - is admirable. This is a common mistaken condition in most initited Sinhalese of the post-1956 generation. If she will please speak to someone with greater depth in the political history of the Island of the 1950s-1980s, she will learn even SJVC opposed a Separate State idea as late as the 1970s and, in fact, climbed many political stages at that time against a Mr Navaratnam - a die-hard Separatist - and even contested and beat the latter on this specific issue. In other words, THE LANKAN TAMIL PEOPLE WERE OPPOSED TO SEPARATISM. So do be assured, my dear, old Chelva and others were forced to fall on the SS idea only because Sinhala obstinacy was continuing to deny Tamil demands for right of language parity - the issue then - since settled (1987)They denied all other available space for them.
Your views on Madras State issues of 1962 need repair, I am afraid. DMK of that time only formed a marginally minority content in the State and the DMKs call for separation at a time - when the Indian Union was trying to consolidate itself as a single country and nation - was neutralised. Men like Rajaji, Bhagtavatsalam, C. Subramaniam, TTK, Kamaraj were all opposed to the separate state call then. Combined, they had a much larger following in the State than the fledgling DMK. At the sametime, similar feelings were raised in most of the Madras Presidency Constituent Southern States as well as many in the North, Western and Central India. That was the post-colonial era when the winds of change in many Afro-Asian countries were for the romanticism of separate states. So pleae be assured again, the thoughts of separating from the main unit anywhere arises only if the main unit remains insensitive, obstinate and hostile to reasonable demands from her own minorities. Many examples of judicial pronouncements from respected Supreme Courts in the world prove a people (satisfying established UN criteria to be called as such) whose rights are ignored for a long time, resulting in the decline of the quality and standards of life for its people comparing to others around, are entitled to seek available peaceful and lawful alternatives. Lankan Tamils have a strong case here - as generally feared but kept away from the majority. But it is still upto majority in the Lankan State to re-establish unity and reconciliation on a platform of peace and mutual respect.
ISS
Dear Leela, I would like to comment on your comment; but, as I am going on holidays have no time right now, and when I am back I will do it. Visit again after a few days to read my comment. In the mean time I would like to share this prayer with you and other Sinhalese and Tamil speaking people.
I got this beautiful and touching prayer a few days ago. I am not a Christian, I am a strong Hindu and I am proud of my Hindu background. But I am not a religious fanatic; I respect Buddhist, Christian and Islam religions. I have been to Buddhist temples with the families of my Close Sinhelese friends, likewise to Churches and Mosques. Like Hindu religion is great for me, for others their religion is great. In fact all the religions are GREAT becasue they all teach understanding and tolerance.
I know this has nothing to do with my comment or yours. However, felt I should share this with all. Please bear with me.
----------------------------------
Father, make me an instrument of your Peace---
Where there is hatred, let me show love.
Where there is injury, let me give pardon.
Where there is doubt, let me have faith.
Where there is darkness, let me spread light.
Where there is sadness, help me find joy!
Allow me everyday to see the truth through all illusion
Give me the strength to follow your guidance
Give me the wisdom to understand the signs
Give me the courage to do what is needed
Lead me my Father to my personal destiny
Make me an instrument of change
Show me the way.
Open my eyes so I may see your face in every man and woman
Open my heart so I may feel the love for everyone and every thing
Open my ears so I may hear your voice in every song and noise
Allow me Father to understand the deeper mysteries of life
To use what I have learnt to bring light into darkness
To bring compassion into cruelty
To bring wisdom into confusion
Give me the strength to follow my heart
In the face of all conflict and adversity
To love above all else.
To go beyond my mortal mind.
Grant that I may not so much seek To be understood,
as to understand, To be loved, as to love.
Then, miracle shall follow miracle
And wonders shall never cease!
I begin this day by remembering
the sound and feeling of the One Being
The wellspring of love
And I affirm that the next thing I experience
Shimmers with the light of the whole universe...
Thank you Father for this day
Thank you, thank you, thank you...
~Shafin de Zane
So "Tamil demands for Language parity" is why they turned into SS?
I thought Tamil people speak Tamil, send their children to Tamil schools listen to Tamil songs watch Tamil movies and do University education even in Tamil.--- Right,
So where does it lack parity.?
I think all what is needed is Translators for Tamil speakers if the need be like in all Western countries where Tamil and Sinhalese and many others live as minorities.
Are these minorities and others like the ever increasing numbers of Iraqis, Asians and Africans going to ask for
language parity in those countries.?
Are they going to seek separation if they are not granted their wishes.?
dear dayan,
i guess you are a sophosticated sinhalese racist only difference is that you drag poor fidel castro to buttress your arguements.the confrontation between batistas army and castros army happened during the cold war and environment was different.if we take your logic further why is it that soviets could not rule the whole of afghanisthan they had to withdraw from afghanisthan with heavy casualties they had fidel castro master strategist as an ally he could have dispensed fine strategies since he was getting cash for the sugar he grew in cuba.praba was fighting in a totally different environment after 1991 he lost the support of india and sympathy of tamils in tamilnadu hence he had to rely on faraway land for supplies.secondly he wanted a conventional army which was a difficult proposition given the fact maintaining it would have been a herculean tast if he had not done so he would have given srilankan army a run for money.as dr.eswaran said it cant be called just a victory of srilankan army rather it should be called as a victory of collective efforts of china,india,pakistan armies.surprising thing is it took so long for the great srilankan army to do so that illustrates how poor was srilankan army .it has to be kept in mind that sinhalese politician premadasa remarked that if praba had been a sinhalese he would have been made a srilankan army chief.dayan can you write about the democracy that is thriving in venezuela,china,cuba pls enlighten us is it similar to what is prevailing in srilanka?
Prabakaran vowed to destroy sinhalese and create a pure tamil Eahlam. 30 years later, over 75000 tamils killed, entire north and east destroyed (so called state), servivers limping and looking worse than colombo begers, he had his brain or what left of it wide open with military men poking at it.
So much for Tamil politicians /leaders. With savious/ heros like this who need enemies.
Gayan, at the risk of wrongly being accused a VP supporter, which I certainly am not/have never been, please allow me to correct you. "Prabakaran vowed to destroy Sinhalese" is the nadir of exaggeration and diluted dis-information calculated to create hatred.
He, nor any other Tamil on the extreme side, if you like, ever said that. His goal was Tamil Eelam is well known. What you have in mind as "pure" I don't know. But in his misplaced misadventure he harmed, destroyed - to use your phrase - Tamils more than any other ever in history. In today's enlightened world, even warfare is conducted according to established norms and civility is something we must always keep in mind when we engage in contentious issues. Do let me be clear, I certainly am not trying to play teacher here.
ISS
Researchershave shown time and time again that Tamil racist policies emerged in the 1920s when the Tamil Congress leaders realisedthe position they will face when the whitemasters leave the country, a certainty with the rise of Swaraj Movement in India.
Who sent telegrams to Britain demanding a halt to any nonsense of awarding Independence before 1948?.
Despite the GOlden years of 50s and 60s when welfare Services, Education rose to new heights did the FP speakof any contentment, desire to joined up thinking. While the Sinhala young men were filling the bottom grade jobs Professional classeswere having a good time; fraud in the government sector was atrecord levels. Did the FP find the condition of minority treatment in the home country to Tamil Nadu an inspiration to follow ? WEre the conditions really better for non Tamil minorities in Tamil Nadu ?
In the 70s Jaffna added new sourcesof wealth, Agriculture was bringing vastrevenues in contrast to Anuradhapura or Polonnaruwa folks. SJVC etal started encouraging thhe youngsters to wear the cyanide pill and rob banks.
I have seen better material from Anonymous (Aug 29)in this blog than this drivel. The classic Sinhala saying "koide yanne malle pol" is the best retort here. My man, as my brief comments here says "the Parity question" was settled in 1987. The division came in because it was not given in the 1950/60s when it was high on the Agenda. Get real - for starters.
ISS
C'mon, Dayan, we can argue about whether "virtuoso of warfare" means "great general" or not, but let's leave it there. Cuba isn't and has never been seen as one of the great guerrilla campaigns of the 20th Century, unlike Vietnam or Afghanistan, for instance. It was relatively tiny from a military viewpoint. It was Cuba's political impact on the US that brought it so much attention. Saying Batista had planes with bombs doesn't mean anything -- the South Viets had far better an air force and were still rubbish; the SLAF had aircraft for 25 years too, and were far superior to the Tigers in firepower, but VP continued his fight.
I know you're a Castro fan and all, but quoting Che on Fidel is hardly objective. Sort of like quoting Gota on SF at the end of the war. Also, Fidel never commanded troops on the ground in Angola -- they were led by generals such as Ochoa Sanchez and Cintras Frias -- and while according to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he was thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the operation, it's not the same as commanding. It's like Mahinda claiming to be a great military commander. Also, Che's fanciful claim that Cuba had surpassed even Israel in military successes is patently absurd at best -- do you think Cuba could have carried out the Entebbe raid, or destroyed the combined Arab air forces in six days? The Bay of Pigs battle was tiny in comparison, and no more than 1,300 exiles landed. A competent brigadier could have handled it, especially given the fact that Castro had "planes with napalm and rockets" this time himself. In spite of this the Cuban Army lost more troops killed than the exiles (176 to 118), and while all the other 1,200 exiles were captured, Fidel's troops lost an estimated 4,000-5,000 WIA and MIA
Also, the Cuban forces never deployed to Angola as combat units -- they trickled in using commercial flights, some Cuban cargo ships, and overland -- so it wasn't some great logistical operation like, for instance, the Chindits in Burma, or Bulbasket in occupied France. And even as late as 1988, when FAPLA asked Castro for help, the Cuban forces were being resupplied by the USSR -- so they weren't relying on some long transatlantic supply chain.
If you asked me for my pick of great guerrilla leaders of the 20th Century, it would be Mao & Giap, Orde Wingate, TE Lawrence, and perhaps Ahmed Shah Masoud.
Mao was able to abandon Yenan, because he was fighting in the vast territories of China, not in the tiny area of the Wanni. Mao knew he had ample room to retreat, regain his momentum and fight another day. VP didn't have that luxury -- to go back into the jungle, meant going back to '87 and starting all over again. VP's failing wasn't as a military leader, but as a head of "state" -- he was an excellent guerrilla commander, even if not on par with those I've mentioned above.
Your theories are sound in general, Dayan, and I have much respect for you, but I must say that you're often hobbled by your references to Castro and Cuba. He may be your hero, but its affecting the credibility of your writing. VP, Leonidas, and Castro certainly have no place in the same sentence, or even the same thesis!
But anyway, give me a buzz when you're next in Colombo. I still owe you that drink :)