“One needs to recall the past military operations of the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE. Military experts argue that the LTTE leader withdrew strategically from Jaffna peninsula in 1995 to avoid heavy casualties to Tamil civilians and the LTTE fighters. The government at that time was led by Chandrika Kumaratunga who gave the ultimatum to the armed forces to take control of the region for political gains. She appointed her uncle, Anuruddha Ratwatte, as deputy defense minister because she wanted to keep the armed forces under her control.”_________________________________
by Satheesan Kumaaran
(March 16, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sri Lankan government in its undue haste to win the support of the Sinhalese people and the coalition partners, has taken President Rajapaksa’s manipulations and maneuvers since coming to power in 2005 not very far despite all the fanfare and talk. If he continues to misguide and misdirect the armed forces in the manner he does he will go nowhere. His armed forces have gained minor victories since he came to power, but past Eelam wars have proven that there is no winner or loser and there will be no winner or loser. Although the government forces have been working to be liberate eastern Sri Lanka, it is not an easy task for Sri Lanka to maintain peace because LTTE is a strong presence in the region. The northern fronts opened last July began to collapse as the LTTE fighters fighting for a cause do so with determination and courage under the leadership of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Pirapaharan.
When Rajapaksa came to power in 2005, he appeared to gather some momentum with the armed forces and ordered the armed forces to capture eastern Sri Lanka within a year. As per his orders, the armed forces commenced military operations in July 2006. In July 2007, the armed forces “completed” their task. In the same month, the government celebrated the military victories with the declaration that the armed forces had liberated the east from the LTTE. Although the Sri Lankan government’s statement is somewhat true, the LTTE still has intelligence and fighters deployed throughout the region. The LTTE’s presence can be clearly observed in the east with the guerrillas in the east targeting the Sri Lankan armed forces and the paramilitary. The LTTE used guerilla warfare tactics in its earlier military campaigns, but have since moved to conventional methods. Being essentially a guerilla movement, returning to guerilla warfare is not difficult for the LTTE. They resort to this style of conflict from time to time. Enemies who fail to recognize LTTE strategies lose. Politicians do not have military experience and the acumen particularly against the LTTE, and senior men of the armed forces fall victims to the politicians’ whims. When Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed office, he was wary of the higher military echelons supporting him and so appointed one of his brothers as the defense secretary and another as military advisor.
By taking control of the senior decision-making positions in the government and the military units, the President gave the command to the military to capture the areas controlled by the LTTE in the northern province. One of those areas, Vanni, is ten times larger in land than Jaffna peninsula located north of Vanni in the same province, which is controlled by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Vanni is located strategically in the centre connecting the Jaffna peninsula and the rest of the island. This allows the LTTE to keep the armed forces in the Jaffna peninsula in check by land, air and sea. This distressed the Sri Lankan government because they feared that, should the LTTE begin military operations to capture the Jaffna peninsula or take control of the south or venture deeper into the west and east, the LTTE could easily overrun their enemies, as the LTTE did in 2000 to capture Elephant Pass and, subsequently, Vanni from the Sri Lankan armed forces. Also, Mahinda realized that if his armed forces captured Vanni before February 4, 2008, he could celebrate the victory of liberating the north from the LTTE on the 60th Independence Anniversary on February 4. This did not materialize.
One needs to recall the past military operations of the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE. Military experts argue that the LTTE leader withdrew strategically from Jaffna peninsula in 1995 to avoid heavy casualties to Tamil civilians and the LTTE fighters. The government at that time was led by Chandrika Kumaratunga who gave the ultimatum to the armed forces to take control of the region for political gains. She appointed her uncle, Anuruddha Ratwatte, as deputy defense minister because she wanted to keep the armed forces under her control.
It is worth noting that during an interview on Tamil radio last week, LTTE’s senior editor of official media organ, Viduthalaipuligal, Mr. Ravi, claimed that the Sri Lankan armed forces had been misguided by past experiences, especially the experience of capturing Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE with minimum casualties. He warned that the Sri Lankan armed forces are in danger and will fall prey to the LTTE fighters deployed strategically at all four fronts. The four-fronts are namely -- Mannar in the west, Vavuniya in the south, Manalaru (Welioya) in the east and Muhamalai in the north. He further stated that LTTE leader Pirapaharan was guiding all the deployed units of the LTTE to meet all the battalions of the Sri Lankan armed forces. The Sri Lankan armed forces have also added new brigades to launch surprise attacks against the LTTE fighters. However, on the ground things are happening otherwise.
The Sri Lankan commanders of the armed forces visit the fronts frequently to observe the conditions and the ground situation. Senior officials have even viewed videos filmed by the commanders in charge of the battalions deployed in the fronts. They realized that the fighting against the LTTE in the northern fronts was not as easy as they had speculated. The LTTE leader has handpicked senior LTTE commanders and, under their leadership, thousands of LTTE fighters have been deployed on all four fronts. The LTTE leader himself monitors the situation from all fronts issuing orders to the commanders. The massive retaliatory operations by the LTTE are ferocious and seen as a great challenge to overcome if the armed forces are to move forward. Sri Lankan military spokesman and army commander, Sarath Fonseka’s, recent statements clearly indicate that the Sri Lankan armed forces are facing great military setbacks in the northern fronts.
Mannar operations started in July 2007 and the army announced that they captured some small villages from the LTTE in the region. But, the LTTE, after days of losing the villages, announced that they recaptured many of those small villages from the armed forces by causing them heavy damages. The LTTE showcased the weapons and ammunition captured from the Sri Lankan armed forces in the battles in the region to the general public in Vanni. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan armed forces have been battling hard to control Mannar because they wanted to cut off LTTE’s sea activities.
International media organizations such as the BBC, AFP, Reuters and PTI publish the “official” casualty numbers as provided by the Sri Lankan government. But, these reports exaggerate the casualties of LTTE while maintaining that Sri Lankan forces casualties are minor in comparison. For example, the Sri Lankan defense ministry put the number of LTTE deaths since the beginning of 2008 at least at 1,816 while only 105 Sri Lankan soldiers were said to be killed.
Viduthalaipuligal’s editor, Ravi, said that Sri Lankan armed forces are trying to create dissention between the LTTE and the Tamils. By releasing high casualty rates for the LTTE fighters, the Tamils would lose confidence in the LTTE and could even become antagonistic. But, he also said that the LTTE leader has instructed all his commanders to release the death details immediately to their families. He said, “We are releasing information on our deaths of our martyrs on a daily basis as we receive them. We do not need to hide the truth because LTTE cadres joined the LTTE to liberate their homeland and they are not working for any benefit, but in comparison, Sri Lankan armed forces join the armed forces to make a living.”
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan air force commander and other military leaders have given interviews and released press statements to the media that the LTTE leader was injured in the aerial attack of Sri Lankan air force. This is nothing but an attempt to create moral weakness among the LTTE cadres and the Tamils. The Sri Lankan sides give many reasons to justify their claims that the LTTE leader is suffering from various ailments and undergoing medical treatment by specialists from India and Britain. But, the fact is that the LTTE leader is in the battleground guiding his fighters in the war forced upon them by the Sri Lankan government for political reasons. The LTTE say that they are always prepared for peace talks in order to find a meaningful solution to the end the ethnic conflict, but they also say that they are all out for war if the government is driving them into war.
Political circles in Colombo reveal that the Sri Lankan military is under pressure from President Rajapaksa to achieve a “quick fix” instant victory. Mahinda’s government, an unstable coalition of 13 parties, has encountered increasing popular discontent over the economic impact of the war, which is helping to fuel inflation and undermine living standards. Rajapaksa needs success stories to boost his appeal to please the extremist elements in the island and to dispel fears in ruling circles of an inconclusive and protracted war that will inevitably further fuel an economic and political crisis.
Speaking at a rally in Ratnapura on March 1, 2008, organised by his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Rajapaksa said his government would continue the military action in the same vein until the last terrorist is destroyed. He said further, “My government is steering the country in the direction of building a free sovereign state and development, which was confined to Colombo, has been expanded to the village level. I would never move away from Mahinda Chinthanaya and will even risk my life to safeguard it.” He also said he would never kneel down before the foreign countries with a begging bowl. He further said his armed forces would take the areas controlled by the LTTE completely and eventually destroy them.
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan army commander, Sarath Fonseka, has been playing different notes from time to time. Earlier this year, after visiting the front lines, he said his soldiers would capture the areas within months. Later, after paying a visit in February to the fronts, he said his forces would wipe out the LTTE completely and capture the remaining areas controlled by the LTTE by end of his tenure at the end of 2008. He also said one should not undermine the power of the LTTE because they have war experience as they fought with Sri Lankan and Indian armed forces in the 30-year military struggle. It is in this context that the Sri Lankan army commander’s weeklong visit to India this month is considered important. The Sri Lankan defense ministry hailed the meeting between the heads of Indian and Sri Lankan armies on March 5, 2008, as of greater importance in the Sri Lanka’s military history because they had the opportunity to study the gains and losses in the ongoing military operation with the LTTE. After meeting Indian army head, Deepak Kapoor, the visiting head of Sri Lankan army said that the political relations between the two countries were on right track and it was time for the armed forces to strengthen ties.
The political parties in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu protested against New Delhi, including the Dravida Kazhagam (DK) for inviting and escorting the Sri Lankan army commander to Indian army bases in Kashmir. The DK said it was as if New Delhi gave the red carpet welcome to the butcher of Tamils, and that the central government will pay a high price if they do not stop all cooperation with Sri Lanka. The DK also posed a question, “How could the central government provide electricity to Sri Lanka from Tamil Nadu when Sri Lanka is unleashing violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka?”
In any event, the Sri Lankan military is under pressure from the Sri Lankan government to succeed in its fight against the LTTE. However, the impact will endanger the life of every single man fighting on the ground. The recent military operations carried out by the Sri Lankan armed forces to take control of the LTTE-controlled areas show that the Sri Lankan armed forces cannot win the war with the LTTE. However, they will keep going to please the politicians in Colombo. Although the Sri Lankan armed forces usually give military code for their operations, they have not given any name for the operations taking place on the four fronts, apparently because they know that they cannot win the war in the region.
The fighting taking place in the northern fronts will turn into another man-made disaster causing heavy damages and casualties. Politicians continue to lie to the world by not releasing the actual death tolls on its side for their own survival. It is time to end the conflict through peaceful means because the Tamils have grievances, and indeed international governments are urging Sri Lanka to address the Tamils’ grievances through peaceful means. Peace is the only way out of this deep-rooted conflict. The government must come forward and extend goodwill to the LTTE by keeping the extremists on both sides in check and thereby saving the island from the man-made catastrophe the country is doomed to see in the future if peace fails.
(The author can be reached at e-mail: satheessan_kumaaran@yahoo.com)
by Satheesan Kumaaran
(March 16, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sri Lankan government in its undue haste to win the support of the Sinhalese people and the coalition partners, has taken President Rajapaksa’s manipulations and maneuvers since coming to power in 2005 not very far despite all the fanfare and talk. If he continues to misguide and misdirect the armed forces in the manner he does he will go nowhere. His armed forces have gained minor victories since he came to power, but past Eelam wars have proven that there is no winner or loser and there will be no winner or loser. Although the government forces have been working to be liberate eastern Sri Lanka, it is not an easy task for Sri Lanka to maintain peace because LTTE is a strong presence in the region. The northern fronts opened last July began to collapse as the LTTE fighters fighting for a cause do so with determination and courage under the leadership of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Pirapaharan.
When Rajapaksa came to power in 2005, he appeared to gather some momentum with the armed forces and ordered the armed forces to capture eastern Sri Lanka within a year. As per his orders, the armed forces commenced military operations in July 2006. In July 2007, the armed forces “completed” their task. In the same month, the government celebrated the military victories with the declaration that the armed forces had liberated the east from the LTTE. Although the Sri Lankan government’s statement is somewhat true, the LTTE still has intelligence and fighters deployed throughout the region. The LTTE’s presence can be clearly observed in the east with the guerrillas in the east targeting the Sri Lankan armed forces and the paramilitary. The LTTE used guerilla warfare tactics in its earlier military campaigns, but have since moved to conventional methods. Being essentially a guerilla movement, returning to guerilla warfare is not difficult for the LTTE. They resort to this style of conflict from time to time. Enemies who fail to recognize LTTE strategies lose. Politicians do not have military experience and the acumen particularly against the LTTE, and senior men of the armed forces fall victims to the politicians’ whims. When Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed office, he was wary of the higher military echelons supporting him and so appointed one of his brothers as the defense secretary and another as military advisor.
By taking control of the senior decision-making positions in the government and the military units, the President gave the command to the military to capture the areas controlled by the LTTE in the northern province. One of those areas, Vanni, is ten times larger in land than Jaffna peninsula located north of Vanni in the same province, which is controlled by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Vanni is located strategically in the centre connecting the Jaffna peninsula and the rest of the island. This allows the LTTE to keep the armed forces in the Jaffna peninsula in check by land, air and sea. This distressed the Sri Lankan government because they feared that, should the LTTE begin military operations to capture the Jaffna peninsula or take control of the south or venture deeper into the west and east, the LTTE could easily overrun their enemies, as the LTTE did in 2000 to capture Elephant Pass and, subsequently, Vanni from the Sri Lankan armed forces. Also, Mahinda realized that if his armed forces captured Vanni before February 4, 2008, he could celebrate the victory of liberating the north from the LTTE on the 60th Independence Anniversary on February 4. This did not materialize.
One needs to recall the past military operations of the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE. Military experts argue that the LTTE leader withdrew strategically from Jaffna peninsula in 1995 to avoid heavy casualties to Tamil civilians and the LTTE fighters. The government at that time was led by Chandrika Kumaratunga who gave the ultimatum to the armed forces to take control of the region for political gains. She appointed her uncle, Anuruddha Ratwatte, as deputy defense minister because she wanted to keep the armed forces under her control.
It is worth noting that during an interview on Tamil radio last week, LTTE’s senior editor of official media organ, Viduthalaipuligal, Mr. Ravi, claimed that the Sri Lankan armed forces had been misguided by past experiences, especially the experience of capturing Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE with minimum casualties. He warned that the Sri Lankan armed forces are in danger and will fall prey to the LTTE fighters deployed strategically at all four fronts. The four-fronts are namely -- Mannar in the west, Vavuniya in the south, Manalaru (Welioya) in the east and Muhamalai in the north. He further stated that LTTE leader Pirapaharan was guiding all the deployed units of the LTTE to meet all the battalions of the Sri Lankan armed forces. The Sri Lankan armed forces have also added new brigades to launch surprise attacks against the LTTE fighters. However, on the ground things are happening otherwise.
The Sri Lankan commanders of the armed forces visit the fronts frequently to observe the conditions and the ground situation. Senior officials have even viewed videos filmed by the commanders in charge of the battalions deployed in the fronts. They realized that the fighting against the LTTE in the northern fronts was not as easy as they had speculated. The LTTE leader has handpicked senior LTTE commanders and, under their leadership, thousands of LTTE fighters have been deployed on all four fronts. The LTTE leader himself monitors the situation from all fronts issuing orders to the commanders. The massive retaliatory operations by the LTTE are ferocious and seen as a great challenge to overcome if the armed forces are to move forward. Sri Lankan military spokesman and army commander, Sarath Fonseka’s, recent statements clearly indicate that the Sri Lankan armed forces are facing great military setbacks in the northern fronts.
Mannar operations started in July 2007 and the army announced that they captured some small villages from the LTTE in the region. But, the LTTE, after days of losing the villages, announced that they recaptured many of those small villages from the armed forces by causing them heavy damages. The LTTE showcased the weapons and ammunition captured from the Sri Lankan armed forces in the battles in the region to the general public in Vanni. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan armed forces have been battling hard to control Mannar because they wanted to cut off LTTE’s sea activities.
International media organizations such as the BBC, AFP, Reuters and PTI publish the “official” casualty numbers as provided by the Sri Lankan government. But, these reports exaggerate the casualties of LTTE while maintaining that Sri Lankan forces casualties are minor in comparison. For example, the Sri Lankan defense ministry put the number of LTTE deaths since the beginning of 2008 at least at 1,816 while only 105 Sri Lankan soldiers were said to be killed.
Viduthalaipuligal’s editor, Ravi, said that Sri Lankan armed forces are trying to create dissention between the LTTE and the Tamils. By releasing high casualty rates for the LTTE fighters, the Tamils would lose confidence in the LTTE and could even become antagonistic. But, he also said that the LTTE leader has instructed all his commanders to release the death details immediately to their families. He said, “We are releasing information on our deaths of our martyrs on a daily basis as we receive them. We do not need to hide the truth because LTTE cadres joined the LTTE to liberate their homeland and they are not working for any benefit, but in comparison, Sri Lankan armed forces join the armed forces to make a living.”
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan air force commander and other military leaders have given interviews and released press statements to the media that the LTTE leader was injured in the aerial attack of Sri Lankan air force. This is nothing but an attempt to create moral weakness among the LTTE cadres and the Tamils. The Sri Lankan sides give many reasons to justify their claims that the LTTE leader is suffering from various ailments and undergoing medical treatment by specialists from India and Britain. But, the fact is that the LTTE leader is in the battleground guiding his fighters in the war forced upon them by the Sri Lankan government for political reasons. The LTTE say that they are always prepared for peace talks in order to find a meaningful solution to the end the ethnic conflict, but they also say that they are all out for war if the government is driving them into war.
Political circles in Colombo reveal that the Sri Lankan military is under pressure from President Rajapaksa to achieve a “quick fix” instant victory. Mahinda’s government, an unstable coalition of 13 parties, has encountered increasing popular discontent over the economic impact of the war, which is helping to fuel inflation and undermine living standards. Rajapaksa needs success stories to boost his appeal to please the extremist elements in the island and to dispel fears in ruling circles of an inconclusive and protracted war that will inevitably further fuel an economic and political crisis.
Speaking at a rally in Ratnapura on March 1, 2008, organised by his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Rajapaksa said his government would continue the military action in the same vein until the last terrorist is destroyed. He said further, “My government is steering the country in the direction of building a free sovereign state and development, which was confined to Colombo, has been expanded to the village level. I would never move away from Mahinda Chinthanaya and will even risk my life to safeguard it.” He also said he would never kneel down before the foreign countries with a begging bowl. He further said his armed forces would take the areas controlled by the LTTE completely and eventually destroy them.
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan army commander, Sarath Fonseka, has been playing different notes from time to time. Earlier this year, after visiting the front lines, he said his soldiers would capture the areas within months. Later, after paying a visit in February to the fronts, he said his forces would wipe out the LTTE completely and capture the remaining areas controlled by the LTTE by end of his tenure at the end of 2008. He also said one should not undermine the power of the LTTE because they have war experience as they fought with Sri Lankan and Indian armed forces in the 30-year military struggle. It is in this context that the Sri Lankan army commander’s weeklong visit to India this month is considered important. The Sri Lankan defense ministry hailed the meeting between the heads of Indian and Sri Lankan armies on March 5, 2008, as of greater importance in the Sri Lanka’s military history because they had the opportunity to study the gains and losses in the ongoing military operation with the LTTE. After meeting Indian army head, Deepak Kapoor, the visiting head of Sri Lankan army said that the political relations between the two countries were on right track and it was time for the armed forces to strengthen ties.
The political parties in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu protested against New Delhi, including the Dravida Kazhagam (DK) for inviting and escorting the Sri Lankan army commander to Indian army bases in Kashmir. The DK said it was as if New Delhi gave the red carpet welcome to the butcher of Tamils, and that the central government will pay a high price if they do not stop all cooperation with Sri Lanka. The DK also posed a question, “How could the central government provide electricity to Sri Lanka from Tamil Nadu when Sri Lanka is unleashing violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka?”
In any event, the Sri Lankan military is under pressure from the Sri Lankan government to succeed in its fight against the LTTE. However, the impact will endanger the life of every single man fighting on the ground. The recent military operations carried out by the Sri Lankan armed forces to take control of the LTTE-controlled areas show that the Sri Lankan armed forces cannot win the war with the LTTE. However, they will keep going to please the politicians in Colombo. Although the Sri Lankan armed forces usually give military code for their operations, they have not given any name for the operations taking place on the four fronts, apparently because they know that they cannot win the war in the region.
The fighting taking place in the northern fronts will turn into another man-made disaster causing heavy damages and casualties. Politicians continue to lie to the world by not releasing the actual death tolls on its side for their own survival. It is time to end the conflict through peaceful means because the Tamils have grievances, and indeed international governments are urging Sri Lanka to address the Tamils’ grievances through peaceful means. Peace is the only way out of this deep-rooted conflict. The government must come forward and extend goodwill to the LTTE by keeping the extremists on both sides in check and thereby saving the island from the man-made catastrophe the country is doomed to see in the future if peace fails.
(The author can be reached at e-mail: satheessan_kumaaran@yahoo.com)
- Sri Lanka Guardian
Satheessan, you are a hard core LTTE propagandinist, please read the reply given to you by S.Ramalingam on Lanka Web 28.02.08 as "Tamils should ask for what is reasonable".
Also your e mail address is bogus. it is inoperative
You have wrote a good artical on tring to cover up the huge set backs as tactical move!I dont know how 9,10 year old children became commondos in four fronts that you are talking about and how willing they join to do that! Whos dying is children of sri lanka as prabakarans children are abroad learing!Be ashamed of your self!
Dont blame the guy who did the article instead SriLanka Gaurdian should know better of what responsible journalism is? The Gaurdain publishes many such articles and conveniently says the views are that of the the authors..etc.
We the readers need to know the facts and we will decide the problem always is that the journalists and publishers think its their duty to shove down our throats what they want irrespective of facts.
I think its the media that exaggerates more than the government. Some how or the other I find it amusing that the media can not come to terms that the the people voted for this government even with the slimmest of margins.
So when authors/writers/journalists of such articles are published dont go blaming the government when you are taken in for questioning and cry media freedom. The thing here is the misuse of such freedom...
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