MULLAITIVU, CLOSING TIME - by Dayan Jayatilleke

January 28, Geneva, Sri Lanka Guardian) The trick is to grasp the main needs of the present while being able to see into the future, with its problems and prospects, while being aware that the choices we make today, in the here and now, will determine the shape of tomorrow.

First things first: the Tigers have been almost completely overthrown and almost totally defeated, but not yet and not quite. The task is to stay focused and finish the job, resisting all external pressures from whichever quarter however exalted or powerful. If the foot-soldiers of an army survive but not its General staff, it is almost impossible for it to continue to fight, but as long as a leader and his General staff survive, they can raise an army. Antonio Gramsci reminded us of this, with Napoleon Bonaparte as the classic example.

Velupillai Prabhakaran and his commanders are still alive, and as long as they remain so, they pose a deadly threat to the Sri Lankan state. The war can be said to have been won only when they are eliminated. That remains the task at hand.

More..http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/01/mullativu-closing-time.html

ASSOCIATED PRESS RETRACTS CANARD ABOUT SRI LANKA

AP kills Sri Lanka-Civil War story
By Associated Press
7:53 AM EST, January 28, 2009
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Kill the Sri Lanka-Civil War story, V5414. The source denies he wrote the letter that said more than 300 civilians had been killed and 1,000 wounded in fighting in northern Sri Lanka.

The weirdos at AP always find ways to mis-represent Sri Lanka's struggle against LTTE terrorism and have even found innovative ways of becoming a proxy propaganda platform for the tamil terror group. Often they boldly publish tidbits of their own fertile imaginations and then retract them inconspicuosuly, in the inner pages where no one in their right minds read or look for news. Shown above is one of those bitchy little things.

The " 300 civillians killed " canard was prominantly carried to possibly instigate a smear campaign against Sri Lanka internationally., and was ostensibly 'sourced' from someone who later denied responsibility. As a leader of the news world, such irresponsibility on the part of the publisher reflects their own credibility since they carry the news to the world. AP perhaps considers itself above the law, and beyond the reach of small nations such as Sri Lanka.

Ap also carries a standardised statement about discrimination over decades against Tamils being the alleged reason for terrorism, presented in legalese which absolves them from responsibility for the unsubstantiated, yet detrimental image it projects against the majority Sri Lankans.

PICTURES FROM MULLAITIVU

SAME OL' CRAP, DIFFERENT DAY

SRI Lanka cannot win militarily against the Tamil tigers, was what they used to tell us. Not only the NGO's, the slimy Norwegians, but even some of the half baked armchair military pundits used to dish out this manthra on a regular basis, until most of us were either believed them outright or were prepared to do so.

I was one of those who used to breathlessly read Iqbal Athas' proclamations of imminent doom for a long time until the continued failure of such dire forecasts to materialize began to shade his credibility in my mind. And that made me start wondering why some of these people act as they do.

For a long time, Sri Lanka's English literate 'elites' effectively influenced the government's attitudes and its approach to the increasingly destructive terrorism problem. Even while it was quite evident that there was no real 'ethnic problem' as the NGOs and the Norwegians always termed it, being able to demoralize and browbeat the opinion leading group in Colombo made it possible for these shadowy groups with links to the LTTE to manipulate facts and force their own deliberate misinterpretations on the entire population of Sri Lanka. Gradually we came to accept whatever the Norwegians trotted out, even when the gut-feel was that it was all wrong, but was the only way out of a situation which they had convinced us was definitely going to end in Sri Lanka's complete defeat by the LTTE.

Never was this situation completely true, while the Norwegians were behind many obstacles thrown against arms and intelligence procurement by the Sri Lankan government. Today we know that the Norwegians wanted to see a powerful LTTE negotiating from strength and browbeating the Sri Lankan government into submission. No wonder the Indians started getting uncomfortable with this process.

Terror attacks in September of 2001 in New York brought about a change of world perception of terrorism, and a definite change to Sri Lanka's fortunes as the US entered the fray. The rest is history.

Now that the LTTE is about to recieve the coupe de grace from the Sri Lankan defence forces, the very same maggots and anti-Sri Lankan covert forces are coming out of the wood work. The new theory is that the LTTE will turn magical guerilla, assumably superior to anything the SL can muster against them and unconquerable as they were touted before being conclusively routed by our boys. The modus operandi is the same; half truths, deliberate misinterpretations, unsubstantiated, unsupported and unverifiable, mostly imaginary capabilities attributed to the magical guerillas who will be able to attack with impunity and continue to wage an unending war against us. This, I presume is supposed to worry or even scare us.

There are many reasons why re-birth of the 'magical LTTE guerilla' is only a figment of a maggot's imagination.

LTTE leadership is destined for extinction. That's guaranteed, given the fact that the present mood in Sri Lanka is overwhelmingly slanted that way. With the lunatic fringe leadership out of the way, most of the youger generation tamil youth will be open to seeing ground reality for what it is; the only outcome from a confrontation with the Sri Lankan military is a speedy death.

The tamil youth will also get a taste of democracy, and the freedom of the wild ass that reigns everywhere in Sri Lanka. Perhaps they may even learn to appreciate thetrue sense of human freedom for once in their lives without a sense of destiny entrenched in self-destruction.

The real possibility of having the good life; relationships without approval from a beauracratic apparatus, a right to enjoy a beer with friends, and the national past time - cricket or even fornicate at will.

There'll of course be those who will want to turn the clock back. Sri Lankan military intelligence can be depended on to deal with them using our own tested and proven, inimicable counter-terrorism techniques.

Those who are attempting to give us a sense of new foreboding are the same carion birds. The faces may be different, but there should be no mistaking who they are and what their agenda is.

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

PREZ Rajapakse is one helluva smart cookie. Now that he's managed to keep Tamilnadu's top politicians off his back until major military ops are over, he has thrown them a bone that cannot be ignored, nor taken lightly. The Sri Lankan president has invited both Chief Minister of TN, Muthuvel Karunanidhi and his opponent Jayalalitha Jeyaram to visit northern Sri Lanka and also to intervene in obtaining the release of civillians held as a human shield by the LTTE. How this interesting situation pans out will need to be closely watched.

In other news, the Brits switched their tone, condemned the beaten LTTE again as terrorists and praised Sri Lanka's military gains against the terrorists. Similarly, the Danes are suddenly ready to ban the LTTE's fund raising organ, the TRO while always welcome Akashi of Japan is fully behind the military solution to Tamil Tiger terrorism and promised further support for development of the liberated areas.

Other unverified sources claim that the Sea-tiger chief Soosai has surrendered to the SLA.

THE LAST TERROR BASTION FALLS

ENDGAME IS HERE

MULLAITIVU has been taken by the Sri Lankan Defence Forces, routing the final desperate attempts of the world's most notorious terorrist organization, the LTTE.

Many were the pundits who predicted the efforts of the Sri Lankan government to deliver a decisive military response to Sri Lanka's festering terrorism problem would fail. Many were the nay-sayers and fashionable liberals who dismissed the efforts of the Sri Lankan military as inadequate or incapable of delivering the goals set by the government to decimate the LTTE.

The historic military win, was a combination of fearless and decisive leadership, vision and flawless execution at every level in the chain of command. Many of those who made life altering sacrifices would go unknown and unsung, but their deeds would be immortalized by what they've contributed towards achieving; a nation in which its people can live in dignity and self-respect, with the knowledge that we've faced a level of evil unknown in any other part of the world and beaten it conclusively all by ourselves.

CONGRATULATIONS SRI LANKA AND HER ARMED FORCES
A new future dawns tommorrow.

LIBERATION DAM BUSTERS OF TAMIL EELAM

UNDER a determined and multi-pronged assault by the Sri Lankan Defence Forces, the LTTE resorted to further terrorism by blowing up a reservoir which caused a two feet tall tidal wave to wash through and damage much of the civillian property in the area.

In much the same way as they did in Killinochchi, the LTTE's intent appears to be to destroy as much of the infra-structure in the area and make it uninhabitable so that the civillians held as a human shield are compelled to stay under the terror group's control.

The destruction caused to the tamil civillian population did not prevent the take over of the Mullaitivu town by the SLDF, now effectively confining the LTTE to a stretch of jungle, approx 200km in area. Unlike in previous combat, the SLDF wields specialized forces who will wage an effective war of attrition in the jungle, even though the presence of the civillians held hostage by the LTTE limits the use of air power and deployment of heavy weapons.

Capture of the Mullaitivu town completes 95% of fighting and opens doors for the government to enter into a permanent political solution with the participation of all parties. Sri Lanka's military victory proves that terrorism can and must be beaten militarily.

LTTE KILLING ITS OWN

LTTE leadership has ordered the battle field execution of all injured cadre who are immobile. Anti-LTTE tamil sources report over 400 LTTE recruits have been executed on these orders over the past week alone.

In the meanwhile air ops in support of advancing SLDF are hitting concentrated LTTE target with increasing intensity. SL military planners did get their game right and placed their bets where they should be. Cornering an illusive enemy into a small territoty has now enabled the SL forces to have real time intel both through aerial surveillance as well as human agents.

There is also signs that the Tigers are losing their grip on the civillians as well as their own recruits. As the news filters into the LTTE rank and file that those who surrendered are treated well and given a chance to return to civillian life by the government, more are starting to abandon ranks and surrender to the SLDF.

Though the pro-LTTE media rushed to blame the SL forces for a wanton shooting incident committed by the tigers against a group of civillians attempting to flee into government territories, more news of this attrocity is also now filtering out through those who still dare escape.

The count down to the grand finale is on and End-game is nigh.

DIFFICULT TIMES AND HARD DECISIONS

SRI Lankan Defence Forces are on a roll. Six divisions of highly trained and motivated troops are fighting battles that are the stuff of legend and stories told someday to grand kids yet to be born. Unprecedented in Sri Lankan history, over 150,000 troops are now engaged in the on going humanitarian operations.

In the face of the determined SLDF juggernaut the LTTE hyenas are scattering and taking shelter behind the civillian human shield. The UNESCO is demanding safe passage for the Tamil civillians held by the LTTE, while the UN is furious over a group of its employees being detained by the terrorist group.

In the meanwhile a naval engagement sank four sea-Tiger craft and the SLN lost a Dvora fast attack craft to a suicide boat explosion. Nineteen saiors have reportedly died in this attack. The navy's divers recovered sections of the craft and its advanced armaments.

Speculation was rife over the past few days that the top tigers are attempting to flee by air, possibly to Malaysia or Indonesia and the SLN was said to have fired on an unidentified aircraft in the Wanni skies. There's some confusion about the accuracy of this report, which has been denied by the SLAF which supposedly had a sophisticated surveillance craft airborne at the same time. Hon. minister of Parliament Karuna, the ostensibly reformed former mass murderer of the east claims that the LTTE leader is still in the uncleared areas. Most well known Tiger leaders are also said to be engaged in the combat zone.

At the same time, attacks against dissenting media is continuing with yet another day light assault against a well known news reporter and his spouse. These happenings led to six former US ambassadors to Sri Lanka write to Prez. Rajapakse seeking a restoration of true democratic values in the country even while having to deal with the scourge of terrorism.

LTTE STARTING TO LOSE CONTROL OVER ITS HUMAN SHIELD

NEWS filtering in from various sources indicate that the LTTE is fast losing control over the civillians held forcibly in the Wanni.

A crowd of over 70,000 had attempted to move into the government controlled areas yesterday and the LTTE had opened fire to stop them. Over 10 have been killed in this incident while a large number injured. Some of the civillians somehow had managed to escape the LTTE cordon and reached government areas.

As news of the shooting spread in the refugee camps, an LTTE child soldier recruiter who was masquerading as a civillian had been identified by the Tamil civillians and severely assaulted. This person has now been transfered into a different location.

In the meanwhile pro-LTTE media is on a whirlwind campaign to blame the deaths caused by the LTTE shooting as having been caused by an artillery attack by the SLA.

VIGILANTEISM ON THE RISE IN THE RECENTLY LIBERATED AREAS

VIGILANTEISM is said to be on the rise in the recently liberated areas in the North as it has started to take root in the eastern province. Over two decades of unparalleled blood letting would undoubtedy leave behind a badly scarred and deranged social system incapable of taking care of itself. The spate of killings in the eastern province blamed on a power struggle within the TVMP could be the tip of an ice berg of unfathomed size and depth.

Expat Tamil sources opposed to the brutalisty of the LTTE appear to be humored by the prospect of seeing its decimation at the hands of the Sri Lankan Defence Forces, to be followed by acts of revenge by local lynch mobs who have waited their turn for over two decades. The LTTE rank and file may have bigger problems than they envisage currently, if any of this information is based on fact. With the SLDF, they could surrender and go thru rehab and return to civillain life. What awaits them there is yet unknown.

Add to its problems the thousands who are going to be left to their own devices once disarmed, with no markettable skills to find gainful employment in an increasingly competitive world. These men and women are trained predators for whom killing comes naturally, let loose in a world where relatively defenceless civillians are enjoying soft skills acquired by sheer circumstance of their individual birth. This is an expplosive mix, one to which rehabilitation and power sharing itself may not necessarily provide lasting solutions.

The end of fighting and annihilating the LTTE will not end Sri Lanka's social problems. Instead it will be the start of a process when our leaders need to show equal resolve in dealing with a pandora's box of evil yet to descend on the landscape.

FATE UNCERTAIN FOR INJURED LTTE CADRES

OVER 2,000 LTTE cadres are currently being treated at the Thevipuram hospital in Pudukuduirippu, and these will face an uncertain fate when the SLDF decieds to take the area.

Local sources have infomed that the LTTE lacks the means to transport the injured, as it involved a drain in its already diminished resources. The civillians have expressed the fear that the seriously injured who are unable to move with the LTTE may be executed, as per the terrorist leader's standing instructions in similar earlier instances.

Reports also claim that severe disagreements have risen among the LTTE leadership regarding the treatment of injured cadre, leading to growing factionalism and hostility within the ranks of the organization.

RE-SETTLEMENT IN LIBERATED AREAS

NOW that terrorism is on the verge of being wiped out, SL needs to look beyond the military means of eradicating terror, to a final settlement of everyone's long standing grievences. It is important that the military gains do not get diluted in the political process, since a just solution will necessarily have to come from a reversal of injustices to all.

This means addressing the reasonable political aspirations of all people in Sri Lanka for representative power sharing in ways that lead our nation as a whole towards a visionary future. It also means providing security to all, so that anyone can live in any part of the nation, irrespective of linguistic, religious or any other differences. In addition, it would also entail removal of barriers, legal or otherwise, to ownership of property in any part of the country for anyone who is a Sri Lankan citizen.

Property rights form the basis of electoral rights for anyone in any part of the democratic world. Local government level voter registration requires domicle and denial of property rights to anyone is a denial of legitimate democratic rights to the individual who is thus denied the right of political representation. Any and all such laws or practices need to be abolished as a starter for all Sri Lankans to possess equal rights within the constitution.

It is for this purpose that the denial of property rights under Jaffna Tamil Thesavalami Laws are unacceptable. Thesavalami, obviously a concoction of racist nationalistic ferver of times gone by states that no one who is not of Jaffna Tamil origin is allowed to own property within the territories administered under its rule. Such racist, tribalist laws do not belong in the present day world and belong in the same grave with all the tribal, racist tamil goons.

Sri Lanka deserves a fresh start. Some seem to think that the fresh start needs to be essentially one in which the Sinhalese majority needs to be apologetic to the Tamils or anyone else who feels aggrieved for reasons real or imaginary. Without a single doubt, that would be the wrong foot to start on and will only lead to further problems in the future as well. Instead, it is the right time to abolish all systems of discrimination along the lines of race, religion or sex by the use of all means at the disposal of the government. Discriminatory laws such as Thesawalami must be abolished and their practitioners given severe punishment.

There are thousands of muslims and Sinhalese who lost their property in the northern areas when the LTTE began its ethnic cleansing activities. A large number of these people still live in the Mannar-Puttalam areas in camps that are unfit for human habitation. Justice must be done by these people and they must be relocated to their lands and any opposition by the neighborhood tribalists must be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly. A bullet in the face would effectively settle most such problems.

WEB SITE ON LT.COL LALITH JAYASINGHE

FOLLOWING is a web site honoring the late Lt.Col. Lalith Jayasinghe who gave his life braving the odds against the enemy, while leading a number of deep battle space attacks.

His life and death is the stuff of military legend.

http://www.lalithjayasinghe.org/

SLDF SAYS LTTE BOXED IN..

Boxed in - El Presidente of the glorious state of iLam, eLam, eeeeLam, Peelam, eeeZam and other names of convenience waits in his luxury bunker for the next crop of suicide bomber tamils to be born.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gVoaDFmbCYS-Usz9ACDRIengj21QD95PM3MO0

RETURN FROM THE COLD

THE LTTE promises its 'volunteers' who are recruited at gun-point that those who die in fighting the SL Defence Forces lie buried in silence to rise as majestic trees would, when Eelam is won.

This one could not wait another 6,000,000 years for that day to come and came back for a ride on his bike.

[Jaffna, Sri Lanka]

RELATIONS WITH INDIA AT AN ALL TIME HIGH

TAMILNADU politicial circus and the LTTE heirarchy must be devastated. The Indians have delivered the final nail in the coffin for tribal racist tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka in no uncertain terms.

The visit of the Indian Foreign Minister was demanded by the South Indian political bloc with the expectation that such a visit would be one in which India will feel compelled to support the LTTE by demanding a cessation of military action in Sri Lanka against the terrorist outfit. But what happened was completely the opposite, a deliberate policy declaration by India in which they provided their complete and resolute support for anti-terrorism operations not only in Sri Lanka, but in the whole region.

In the meanwhile, rumors about Pottu's capture continue unabated. While it was initiated by the pro-LTTE lobby itself when the government denied it openly, recent precision strikes causing massive casualties to the tigers and also other gains in intelligence operations seem to indicate the military having unrestricted access to ground information on the reapidly shrinking terrorist controlled region. This could be due either to holding top Tiger sources or simply having the ability to effectively gather intelligence from a number of sources, including SLDF, TVMP and other groups, electronic surveillance etc.

In any case, India's commitment to providing rehabilitation assistance to the Killinochchi district while US aid develops the eastern province holds promise of a better future for the battered people of those areas.

From war must come peace and peace must lead to prosperity. The next challenge before Sri Lanka's leadership would be to ensure all necessary steps toward prosperity are implemented without delay.

NATIONAL SECURITY IS THE FIRST PRIORITY

MEDIA freedom is under attack, or so it seems. In a series of events which included intimidation and attacks on the self-appointed defence analyst Iqbal Athas, to a severe beating on Keith Noyr, shutting down of a number of media and internet forums, the last week saw two more blatant attacks on MTV and the editor of the Sunday Leader.

Intimidation and attacks on the media are nothing new in Sri Lanka. In any case, they are a historical factor in any nation facing existentialist threats, going a long way back. In Britain, during WWII, Sir Winston Churchill even threatened to consider any media reports on anything that can be advantageous to the Nazis to be an act of espionage and to have the responsible reporters executed as spies. The world looks back on such events with a mixture of feelings, predominant of them being admiration.

Sri Lanka's story is no different. Even though spectacular and completely unpredicted success has been achieved by our armed forces in the battle field, the oft disproven pundits still want to convince us that the war is far from over. The LTTE has been severely routed in every confrontation, and faces imminent death in the hands of a determined and overwhelming force of Sri Lankan military and they want us to believe that the Tigers have been there before and always bounced back. The facts and the dynamics of the present situation say it is a new story this time. Those who want us to believe the same old baseless bullshit are gradually becoming more desperate by the day.

In this conflict, the Sri Lankans established a new military doctrine for the world to follow. Terrorism can no longer be considered an unconquerable threat. It can and must be beaten militarily before anything else need to be done to address the 'grievences' which led to terrorism, if any exist in reality.

It is ineveitable that the process of dealing with terrorism is not a pleasant experience at a national level. It is an experience in which sometimes the innocent get caught in the cross fire. It is a time of death and a time for patience and understanding. It is also a time to look to the distant horizon for a better future, while dealing with the immediate problems so that the future aspirations can be realized soon. It is a time when the future ambitions need to be patiently waited, rather than demanded now.

It is indeed regrettable that the likes of Lasantha Wickramatunge get killed in a crusade to uphold individual rights in a time of conflict and extreme danger to our beloved nation. Their sacrifices will not be in vain, for they have seen the distant future and decided to stake their lives on the promise of a better tommorrow for the majority of the people. At the same time, the nation needs to understand the grave and urgent need to prioritize the efforts to eradicate terrorism from the Sri Lankan shores, so that the bright future in which individual freedoms can take wing can truly dawn in Sri Lanka.

In the pursuit of that goal, our national security concerns need to override all else. Those who get in the way need to understand and accept the consequences.

THE IMMINENT END OF EELAM

A map is worth a thousand words..

POTTU ARRESTED? BY WHO?

THE rumor mill has it that the LTTE's much feared intelligence leader has either surrendered or been arrested by the SLA Special Forces and is held in an unknown location. Surprisingly it was the pro-LTTE blogs which broke the news first and have been supporting it, even while the government has denied holding him.

There are a number of possibilities here; it could be true that Pottu is in government custody and if so, military intelligence can be expected to work on him for information purposes. Interrogation would focus not only on current activity in the Wanni, but go a long way back to include information on the overseas diaspora and their financing activities. Given the fact that making the enemy aware of this information source would give them forewarning of potential government strategies the SLG would logically deny holding him. However the absence of any visible activity such as arrest of potential suicide bombers lurking in the suburbs, throws this story into doubt. It was known that Pottu was operating with an group of about 30 black Tiger suicide cadres a few weeks ago.

There is a greater likelihood that Pottu has been either arrested or liquidated by the LTTE leadership. This could be due to a combination of factors, including a feeble attempt to make a rift between India and Sri Lanka based on Pottu being on the wanted liest for the Gandhi assasination. Another is to avoid a backlash from Pottu's own following of seasoned cadres who could pose a threat to the life of the LTTE leader, if he is killed. Similar conflicts have happened within the organization when previous secondary level leaders were eliminated by the LTTE leader Velupillai. It is also well known that following a similar attempt on his life, the Sea-Tiger leader Soosai retains a group of body guards for his personal protection. Soosai lost his own son in the attempt on his life, blamed on Pottu Amman.

A third and a more deadly possibility is that leaking the news of Pottu's arrest could be the first step in a double deception by the LTTE. Letting the news cause a denial by the government would in turn cause thinking along the lines as above; that the LTTE is in the process of liquidating him. This could potentially lead his pursuers to lose any sense of urgency, opening the doors for Pottu to possibly carry out multiple suicide attacks targetting high value individuals, military installations or even civillians.

Whether Pottu was arrested or not will come to the surface later, in the event it carries news value. Given the momentum of action in the war zone, the impoartance of such news may be fading fast, thus providing the ideal opportunity to his abductors, to liquidate Pottu without anyone's awareness. The deadly silence from both sides could be telling a story that few are able to read and understand.

THE SILENT FORCE WILL STILL HAVE A BIG JOB TO DO

THE fighting on land may come to a close quicker than most anticipate. Already there are many rumors and suggestions that the LTTE heirarchy may start making deals with the SLDF and bail out. A recent rumor claiming the surrender or capture of Pottu, the vicious assasin involved in a multitude of terrorist attacks including the killing of India's former Premier Rajiv Gandhi, has been declared to be without merit by the SLG.

However, the chances of many of the lesser criminals and those who faught a valiant fight without committing war crimes may surrender and return to civillian life seems plausible, even though such surrendees will necessarily have to be monitored closely, to prevent their participation in future criminal activity will require the Sri Lankan state to deploy a sizeable force in the Wanni and elsewhere.

Whether the fighting draws to a close sooner or later, Sri Lanka will need to maintain a high level of readiness at sea, given the likelihood of tamil seperatism taking root in Tamilnadu, with a view to make a return to Sri Lanka at a later stage.

Sri Lanka cannot afford to lose the edge it has gained over her territories whether on land or sea, and the Sri Lankan Navy will have to bear the burden of being prepared to defend our seas on short notice.

ELEPHANT PASS FALLS AND THE FIGHT SHIFTS TO MULLAITIVU

WHEN it rains, it pours. Within a couple of weeks in spectacular succession Paranthan, Killinochchi and now Elephant Pass [EPS] have fallen. Though the assault on EPS was expected to cost hefty numbers in lives on both sides, the tigers managed to pull back systematically and with most of their heavy weapons intact, into the jungles of Mullaitivu. A remnent of defenders who were left behind to delay the military onslaught were overwhelmed easily by the combined might of the 55 and 53 divisions.

In the meanwhile, the assault on Mullaitivu has already commenced. Today's reports from Sri Lanka indicate early successes achieved by the spear head groups and commando forces in penetrating through an LTTE defensive earth bund and quick ingress into the areas in which the Tigers are struggling to hold ground. These successes have been achieved at brigade level, while the actual combat force has not arrived on the scene yet. Once they do, progress would be swift, since a force of upto 50,000 troops are expected to be deployed in the assault. Joining them would be the undivided attantion of the SLAF and the yet to be tested Mechanized division. Against these, the LTTE's days are numbered and the seconds are already counting down. It is truly the right time for the Tiger podiyens and thangachchis either to lay down weapons and surrender, or bend over and kiss their ugly asses goodbye.

Other yet to be conformed sources claim Pottu amman, the terrorist mastermind behind LTTE intelligence operations, has surrendered to the SL Special Forces. If this is factually correct, that opens the door to a treasure trove of information on not only the strategic, tactical and operational aspects of the LTTE, but also information on their intel operations, and overseas supporters. Sri Lanka will now have the valuable opportunity to harvest information that can be used to prosecute overseas Tamils who have provided services, finance and support to the terrorist group. SLG needs to implement the infrastructure and preparations to process such information for appropriate follow up and legal action against those individuals. At least making the right noises to that effect would be a great start, by giving nightmares to those who've for long thought they cannot be touched for supporting terrorism in SL.

I also found the following great article in the New Indian Express, which is worth reading;

...The initial public reaction in Sri Lanka to the proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been one of indifference. It is seen to be of little significance on the grounds that it will not materially change the ground situation in which the government and the LTTE are already fighting an all-out war.

But a closer look at the events leading to the ban would indicate that the move is an essential part of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government’s broad politico-military strategy to deal with the LTTE and its virulent brand of Tamil nationalism. If successive Sri Lankan governments had not reimposed the ban (lifted in 2002) despite relentless and grave provocations by the LTTE, it was because they believed that the Tamil Tigers would one day agree to a ceasefire, and come to the negotiating table to thrash out a political solution to the 60-year-old ethnic conflict, that would be acceptable to all the communities in the island.

It is only now, under President Rajapaksa, that the Sri Lankan government and the majority Sinhalese community are convinced that hankering for a peaceful settlement with the LTTE is like chasing a mirage. Right through the Norway brokered and internationallybacked peace process between 2002 and 2004, and also in the years that followed, the LTTE had shown scant regard for the ceasefire agreement; basic political norms, and the international community which was bending over backwards to bring peace, stability and justice to Sri Lanka.

The LTTE had feared that an internationallybacked peace process might result in its being made to abandon the goal of securing an independent Tamil Eelam which it would rule exclusively.
It therefore opted out of the peace talks in 2003; killed foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and came up with ludicrous excuses to scuttle the Norway-arranged talks in 2006, after Rajapaksa took over the Presidency. The outfit brazenly killed scores of unarmed civilians and services personnel, and made an attempt on the life of the army chief Lt Gen Fonseka, only to provoke the then peace loving President to go to war. Once Rajapaksa realised the true intentions of the LTTE, he stopped talking of negotiations, and asked his armed forces to decimate the LTTE. The re-imposition of the ban formally forecloses any possibility of talks with the LTTE, so long as it remains an armed, terrorist group. The ban also corrects an anomalous situation in which Sri Lanka had refrained from banning the LTTE, while vigorously campaigning for a worldwide ban...

PICTURES OF MODERN HISTORY

53 AND 58 DIVISIONS LINK IN ELEPHANT PASS

TODAY the southbound 53 and northbound 58 divisions linked somewhere in Elephant Pass. Final remnants of LTTE resistance is gradually fading away as the tigers pull out of the area, in preparation for a final show down in the jungles of Mullaitivu.

So far, every gamble of the LTTE has failed in the political and military fronts. The US and India have been steadfast in their support of the SL military campaign and that has effectively isolated and made their best laid plans go awry.

Soon Elephant Pass is expected to fall into the hands of SL Forces and that would unleash the combat potential of at least two more divisions to enter the Mullaitivu campaign. News from the area suggests untold sufferings of the civillians held hostage by the LTTE, including torture and random public executions to compel obedience to the Tigers' dictates. At least 35 civillians who protested against the LTTE have been abducted and their whereabouts unknown, while another 3 were executed and their bodies hung on lamp posts as an example to others.

The LTTE will soon run out of all options. The population under their control cannot and will not silently go into their graves as is the apparent design of their self-appointed savior, the LTTE leadership. Instead they are more likely to surrender to the advancing SLDF and also become an invaluable source of information to flush out remaining pockets of resistance.

THE BRAVE WHO DARED

ELEPHANT PASS ON TARGET

THE LTTE is on the run. They are vacating the Elephant Pass garrison and are concentrating on defending the final bastion of Mullaitivu.

Mullaitivu has historical significance and advantages to the LTTE's own style of warfare. Here like in Thoppigala, they have successfully defended against repeated attacks by the SL as well as Indian forces, often defeating the attackers with massive casualties. Mullaitivu provides the LTTE the final chance to lure in its historic opponent into its best laid battle ground, to fight a war of its own choosing. The LTTE also appears to have retained some of its best trained fighters, long and short range weaponry in adequate quantities. What remains to be seen is whether its fractured leadership will stay and fight or flee, leaving the rank and file to fight to the finish against a determined enemy.

Unlike in earlier episodes however, the LTTE faces a daunting task in this fight to the finish. The SLDF entering the fray are superior in terms of both men, material, leadership and commitment. The Sri Lankan forces also are inducting specilized forcs who've been trained for the purpose of fighting a jungle war in Mullaitivu. These Special Forces have trained with some of the world's leading warfare teams such as the US seals and have proven their capabilities to be second to none.

In addition, the geo-political realities are stacked completely against the LTTE, even though they do not overtly or willingly support the Sri Lankan government. By default however, most nations near and far wish to see the defeat of Tamil Tiger terrorism.

Unlike earlier times also, the LTTE is incapable of carrying out diversionary attacks elsewhere, to ease pressure on its final frontier. Though the eastern areas may possibly see some LTTE activity, their chances of success in that theatre in conducting protracted guerilla warfare has diminished significantly as a result of often extra-judicial strikes by the ex-LTTE forces now turned SLG complicit. The combination of Karuna's TVMP and SL military intelligence can be depended upon to speedily deal with any upheavals in that area. Nevertheless, the one off suicide bomber may strike soft targets, being the only way for the LTTE to draw the world's attantion to its continued existance. However, that attention has very little chance of being advantageous to the terror group, while providing excuses for the government to use military means to deal harshly with its perpetrators.

Elephant Pass is expected to fall within two days as the SL military juggernaut strikes upwards from cleared territories of the south, and unleashes the 53 and 55 divisions waiting to enter the fray. The combined fire power of one of the world's most experienced and well led, totally committed armies now has the LTTE in its sights, within a small territory that is easily monitored in real time with technology in its possession. Unlike in earlier conflicts, the LTTE leadership now has to demand commitment and a will to fight to the finish from a group of conscripted followers who are well aware of the decidedly losing nature of their game. The argument for statehood loses its shine even with its most ardent followers when their is no prospects to defend or hold the boundaries claimed by such theory. After fighting for over 3 decades, the argument for seperatism has won nothing, if a horrendous death toll is to be ignored in the count.

The LTTE 's leadership is expected to attempt to flee when confronted with the prospect of capture or death. The Sri Lankan forces can be expected to do their utmost to prevent the escape of the LTTE leaders, with the intention of cutting off the serpent's head and bestowing on the aspirations of Eelam, the realities of Khalistan and Chechnyan seperatism.

Sri Lanka has the ability to wipe off Tamil terrorism from its soil, and must necessarily continue with its current initiative to eliminate the LTTE. The truth of the matter is, irrespective of how it is achieved, the world would not remember it for very long. Sri Lanka has little or no significance in the collective memory of the outside world. At most, if this campaign proves to be more brutal than is necessary, Sri Lanka may need to hang its head in shame for a week. To expect that the world would remember something about Sri Lanka for more than a week, is to over-estimate our importance and to indulge in fantasies of granduer.

Let's get this done and over with.

PICTURES OF HISTORICAL EVENTS

ENDGAME

THE world has seen nothing like it for a very long time. Sri Lankan forces have taken on a group of better armed, better trained and even better supported group of terrorists than Al Quida and have beaten them conclusively and convincingly. All that is left for the terror sympathizers is to whine and complain of human rights violations and the sufferings of displaced people. Those who opt for or support terrorism forfeit their right to human rights, and those who run and hide with terrorists tend to get shot at.

The military accomplishments of the past few days are nothing less than the stuff that legends are made of. The upward thrust bypassing Killinochchi caused the speedy disintegration of LTTE defences around Paranthan, which in a single stroke made a number of terrorist hot spots increasingly vulnerable to the SLDF juggernaut. That has made the tamil tigers run for their lives abandoning Killinochchi and also from Elephant Pass. Further camps on the route to Mullaitivu are expected to come under attack and fall to the SLDF in coming days and weeks.

The loss of Elephant Pass poses a huge strategic disadvantage to the LTTE since that opens the way for two more brigades hungry for action come south, gunning for them. As much as the concentration of LTTE forces within a small territory makes it possible for them to direct assault in any direction of their choice, it also allows the consolidated massive fire power of the SLDF to annihilate the LTTE forces mercilessly like cornered rats.

There are those who used to always claim that terrorism cannot be militarily defeated. Recent historic events such as Russian success in Chechnya prove that military conquest and elimination of terrorist leaders can result in the elimination of terrorist activity. Sri Lanka stands on the threshold of accomplishing a lasting peace for all of her people. The commitment with which this excercise was conducted so far must necessarily continue further, for to stop now would be suicidal for our nation.