by Nacholibre
(October 17, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) If any pro-LTTE supporter was disillusioned that Prabhakaran can win Eelam War IV, those wishful hopes must have faded away now with the latest gimmick of Karunanidhi demanding from Delhi that it should pressure the Sri Lankan Government to declare an immediate ceasefire with the LTTE terrorists. The proof is, if Prabhakaran, who was once referred to as Lord Krishna by a Tamil weekly in Colombo,could win the war against the Sri Lankan armed forces all by himself, Karunanidhi would not have had to make this hasty demand on behalf of the LTTE in the first place.
More importantly, the LTTE, too, has not made a divergent statement to the effect that it does not need any ceasefire from the GOSL. Instead, it has promptly published Karunanidhi’s call on its mouthpiece, the Tamilnet and hopes that Karunanidhi will be able to stall Sri Lanka’s military thrust into the Eelam heartland.
Earlier on, LTTE itself tried to cajole the GOSL to reciprocate by declaring a unilateral ceasefire during the SAARC Summit in Colombo, when they knew that they would not be able to withstand the military pressure exerted by the Sri Lankan armed forces. After the brief UCF was over with no positive response from the GOSL, the LTTE tried to extend the UCF to see if the GOSL would fall for that trap. However, having failed to lure Sri Lanka back again into the LTTE’s time-tested trap of bogus ceasefires, the LTTE’s Nadesan wrote to the UN pleading to pressure GOSL into declaring a ceasefire, which, too, did not bring about what the LTTE was desperately looking for. Hence, with each day passing without being able to hoodwink the Sri Lankan public and its administration into stopping the military assault, the LTTE was left watching losing all its vital assets, territory and cadres at the hands of the SL forces. As of today, the LTTE is on the brink of losing Killinochchi, too.
Hence, it is clear that the inability of the so-called ‘Lord Krishna Prabhakaran’ to single-handedly reverse the string of defeats the LTTE has suffered since the closing of Mavil Aru sluice gates, has compelled Karunanidhi to demand from the Indian centre that the LTTE be given a lifeline through a ceasefire, while hiding behind a veil of humanitarian concerns. The LTTE, too, does not have any other option now than to wait until somebody else like Karunanidhi works out a miracle for them and bails them out of the certain death they are facing.
It is among these developments that Karunanidhi has threatened to walk away from the ruling coalition if India does not stop supplying military assistance and order Sri Lanka to declare a ceasefire. However much Karunanidhi thinks it is possible that his attempt to revive the dying LTTE by crying for the so-called genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, it is evident that India sees through his bluff.
The recent remarks by Dr. Subramaniyam Swami and the Hindu editorial that criticised the TN politics of abetting LTTE terrorism and warned Delhi against meddling with the legitimate right of Sri Lanka to battle terrorism, show the fact that India is not totally blind to the truth behind Karunanidhi’s political gimmicks.
When it is an open secret what Karunanidhi is trying achieve by threatening a walkout on the centre, India should be mindful of few things.
To begin with, India created the LTTE menace and planted it in Sri Lanka for its own political goals, which had seen millions of innocent Sri Lankan civilians being killed by the LTTE during the past 25 years. India herself has suffered, too, for its underhand tactics, ironically at the hands of the same LTTE it helped create. Now that after 25 years, when Sri Lanka has emerged successful in dealing with the LTTE terrorism effectively on its own, and has come a long way towards crushing it for good, can India play the role of the same underhand negotiator that she once played decades ago? Can India afford to repeat the same mistake (of creating the LTTE) for a second time, which is to revive the dying LTTE monster, thereby enhancing more violence in the island nation through Karunanidhi’s sleight-of-hand tactics?
India has the responsibility to be fair by Sri Lanka, who has suffered much death, destruction and damage to its infrastructure. India has, even at this late stage, to be conscious of the price Sri Lanka is paying for the loss of peace brought about by India’s amoral involvement with the LTTE.
India today is well on course to becoming an economic powerhouse in the South Asian region. As such, with its growing stature socio- economically, it should also display a new moral trend as the largest entity in SAARC to hold the scales even. That is the bounden duty of an emerging economic giant. - safeguarding its not so strong partners in the South Asian region. Hence, it must first quell terrorism as its top priority within the region as pares inter pares. Karunanidhi’s political prevarications are a threat to the region as a whole. If India fails to do that and think of its own short-term political interests, it forfeits the confidence not only regionally, but also internationally.
As much as India wants to free itself of campaigns for separation and terrorism that plague her, Sri Lanka too wants to see the end of LTTE terrorism.
India may heed Karunanidhi’s demand that the centre should stop military assistance to Sri Lanka. However, if India does so, it should be prepared to accept that Sri Lanka has the moral right to seek assistance elsewhere. Sri Lanka can do so metaphorically and literally.
As for the second demand of Karunanidhi that Delhi should put pressure on the GOSL to call for a ceasefire, India should not give in to that. As the Hindu editorial by Ms Malini Parthasarathi had eloquently pointed out, SL is obliged to protect its sovereignty from the LTTE terrorists and saying no to that right is just like saying that India too has no right to fight against the separatists and terrorists operating on her soil.
The GOSL, too, should not surrender to outside forces that are flocking to undermine its military successes against the LTTE at this crucial moment. The importance of this moment is amply reflected by the fact that Karunanidhi wants India to halt military operations against the LTTE. This is a time that the LTTE, the world’s most brutal terrorist organisation, is pinned to the wall with no escape routes. This is the time that we have to push through no matter what odds are stacked against us. We are on the brink of a decisive victory which can end terrorism and usher in peace. The stakes are high and favourably placed in Sri Lanka’ s direction right now.
Not pursuing that course and giving into subtle pressures will only serve the nation’s downfall.
Let it be said that Sri Lanka has every right to decide for itself what it will do for itself without giving into eveybody’s whims and fancies. Small though we may be, we have a moral right to chose our own destiny. We are a sovereign, independent nation which shall not be cowed by bullies. We need sustainable peace for sustainable development.
It is high time our leaders told not only Big Brother India, but also the world that Sri Lanka has the inalienable right to think and act independently in its own interests. - Sri Lanka Guardian
(October 17, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) If any pro-LTTE supporter was disillusioned that Prabhakaran can win Eelam War IV, those wishful hopes must have faded away now with the latest gimmick of Karunanidhi demanding from Delhi that it should pressure the Sri Lankan Government to declare an immediate ceasefire with the LTTE terrorists. The proof is, if Prabhakaran, who was once referred to as Lord Krishna by a Tamil weekly in Colombo,could win the war against the Sri Lankan armed forces all by himself, Karunanidhi would not have had to make this hasty demand on behalf of the LTTE in the first place.
More importantly, the LTTE, too, has not made a divergent statement to the effect that it does not need any ceasefire from the GOSL. Instead, it has promptly published Karunanidhi’s call on its mouthpiece, the Tamilnet and hopes that Karunanidhi will be able to stall Sri Lanka’s military thrust into the Eelam heartland.
Earlier on, LTTE itself tried to cajole the GOSL to reciprocate by declaring a unilateral ceasefire during the SAARC Summit in Colombo, when they knew that they would not be able to withstand the military pressure exerted by the Sri Lankan armed forces. After the brief UCF was over with no positive response from the GOSL, the LTTE tried to extend the UCF to see if the GOSL would fall for that trap. However, having failed to lure Sri Lanka back again into the LTTE’s time-tested trap of bogus ceasefires, the LTTE’s Nadesan wrote to the UN pleading to pressure GOSL into declaring a ceasefire, which, too, did not bring about what the LTTE was desperately looking for. Hence, with each day passing without being able to hoodwink the Sri Lankan public and its administration into stopping the military assault, the LTTE was left watching losing all its vital assets, territory and cadres at the hands of the SL forces. As of today, the LTTE is on the brink of losing Killinochchi, too.
Hence, it is clear that the inability of the so-called ‘Lord Krishna Prabhakaran’ to single-handedly reverse the string of defeats the LTTE has suffered since the closing of Mavil Aru sluice gates, has compelled Karunanidhi to demand from the Indian centre that the LTTE be given a lifeline through a ceasefire, while hiding behind a veil of humanitarian concerns. The LTTE, too, does not have any other option now than to wait until somebody else like Karunanidhi works out a miracle for them and bails them out of the certain death they are facing.
It is among these developments that Karunanidhi has threatened to walk away from the ruling coalition if India does not stop supplying military assistance and order Sri Lanka to declare a ceasefire. However much Karunanidhi thinks it is possible that his attempt to revive the dying LTTE by crying for the so-called genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, it is evident that India sees through his bluff.
The recent remarks by Dr. Subramaniyam Swami and the Hindu editorial that criticised the TN politics of abetting LTTE terrorism and warned Delhi against meddling with the legitimate right of Sri Lanka to battle terrorism, show the fact that India is not totally blind to the truth behind Karunanidhi’s political gimmicks.
When it is an open secret what Karunanidhi is trying achieve by threatening a walkout on the centre, India should be mindful of few things.
To begin with, India created the LTTE menace and planted it in Sri Lanka for its own political goals, which had seen millions of innocent Sri Lankan civilians being killed by the LTTE during the past 25 years. India herself has suffered, too, for its underhand tactics, ironically at the hands of the same LTTE it helped create. Now that after 25 years, when Sri Lanka has emerged successful in dealing with the LTTE terrorism effectively on its own, and has come a long way towards crushing it for good, can India play the role of the same underhand negotiator that she once played decades ago? Can India afford to repeat the same mistake (of creating the LTTE) for a second time, which is to revive the dying LTTE monster, thereby enhancing more violence in the island nation through Karunanidhi’s sleight-of-hand tactics?
India has the responsibility to be fair by Sri Lanka, who has suffered much death, destruction and damage to its infrastructure. India has, even at this late stage, to be conscious of the price Sri Lanka is paying for the loss of peace brought about by India’s amoral involvement with the LTTE.
India today is well on course to becoming an economic powerhouse in the South Asian region. As such, with its growing stature socio- economically, it should also display a new moral trend as the largest entity in SAARC to hold the scales even. That is the bounden duty of an emerging economic giant. - safeguarding its not so strong partners in the South Asian region. Hence, it must first quell terrorism as its top priority within the region as pares inter pares. Karunanidhi’s political prevarications are a threat to the region as a whole. If India fails to do that and think of its own short-term political interests, it forfeits the confidence not only regionally, but also internationally.
As much as India wants to free itself of campaigns for separation and terrorism that plague her, Sri Lanka too wants to see the end of LTTE terrorism.
India may heed Karunanidhi’s demand that the centre should stop military assistance to Sri Lanka. However, if India does so, it should be prepared to accept that Sri Lanka has the moral right to seek assistance elsewhere. Sri Lanka can do so metaphorically and literally.
As for the second demand of Karunanidhi that Delhi should put pressure on the GOSL to call for a ceasefire, India should not give in to that. As the Hindu editorial by Ms Malini Parthasarathi had eloquently pointed out, SL is obliged to protect its sovereignty from the LTTE terrorists and saying no to that right is just like saying that India too has no right to fight against the separatists and terrorists operating on her soil.
The GOSL, too, should not surrender to outside forces that are flocking to undermine its military successes against the LTTE at this crucial moment. The importance of this moment is amply reflected by the fact that Karunanidhi wants India to halt military operations against the LTTE. This is a time that the LTTE, the world’s most brutal terrorist organisation, is pinned to the wall with no escape routes. This is the time that we have to push through no matter what odds are stacked against us. We are on the brink of a decisive victory which can end terrorism and usher in peace. The stakes are high and favourably placed in Sri Lanka’ s direction right now.
Not pursuing that course and giving into subtle pressures will only serve the nation’s downfall.
Let it be said that Sri Lanka has every right to decide for itself what it will do for itself without giving into eveybody’s whims and fancies. Small though we may be, we have a moral right to chose our own destiny. We are a sovereign, independent nation which shall not be cowed by bullies. We need sustainable peace for sustainable development.
It is high time our leaders told not only Big Brother India, but also the world that Sri Lanka has the inalienable right to think and act independently in its own interests. - Sri Lanka Guardian
 If any pro-LTTE supporter was disillusioned that Prabhakaran can win Eelam War IV, ...){kind=link}
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