Tigers strike again: Threat not only to Sri Lanka

(October, 24, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) There appears to be no stopping the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from carrying out their military strikes on the ground and from the air at a time of their choosing. So it appears, given the fact that after three air attacks, the LTTE has now carried out its first simultaneous air and ground attack. Despite the minimum damage, the LTTE’s bombing of Sri Lankan Air Force’s base at Anuradhapura, 210 km north of Colombo, is a reminder of the rebel outfit’s awesome military power; and, that it endangers not only Sri Lanka but is fraught with implications for the whole of South Asia, particularly India. It is time the international community woke up to the terrorist threat that the LTTE represents and took a stand in keeping with the new reality.

The world needs no reminder that since the collapse of the peace talks, the LTTE has mobilised its forces, finances and firepower. It is, perhaps, the only designated terrorist organisation in the world that runs a de facto state with an army, navy and air force. The first evidence of this came in March this year, followed by a second one less than a month later. The third show of the LTTE’s air power was seen during the August attack on Colombo. The Sri Lankan armed forces appear to be no match for this hit-and-run guerrilla force, preoccupied as Colombo is with taking forward the military campaign, which has succeeded in the eastern part of the island. In fact, the achievements of the military offensive deluded Colombo into believing that the LTTE was on the run and defensive.

The latest air-cum-ground attack, the fourth major raid this year, proves the fallacy of this assumption. It reinforces the view that the LTTE remains as potent a threat as ever and not only to Sri Lanka. It is time New Delhi made other interested capitals realise the enormity of what a terrorist army across its border implies. While Washington has been more appreciative of this reality, the European Union and Japan tend to gloss over the depredations of the LTTE and prefer to focus on the failure of the Sri Lankan state. This has given rise to a feeling that the LTTE is encouraged, if not emboldened, by this ambivalence towards its terrorist acts. This is an area of concern for India and, for all it’s avowed refusal to intervene in the Tamil-Sinhala conflict, interests of national security demand more visible diplomatic activism on this score.

(Tribune India)