MEXICO - A CAUSE FOR SERIOUS CONCERN

MEXICO was on the fore front attempting to paint a picture of extreme anxiety over Sri Lanka sometime ago. The land from which the most number of illegal aliens invade the continetal United States was making a strenous effort to drag Sri Lanka's anti terrorist operations before the U.N Security Council but met with no success as a result of the island nation's friendly heavies Russia and China weighing in against it.

The reason for Mexico's attempts were suspected by most to be an effort to divert attention from itself, after being labelled one of the most vulnerable nations on the verge of a complete law and order collapse. In this respect Mexico was listed along with Pakistan, which is currently facing a wave of Taliban and Islamic extremism revival. THough different to Pakistan, Mexico's problems have a long history; instituionalized corruption fed by lucrative and violent nacro-trafficking. The depth of the problem can be seen from the fact that an entirely new religion which worships "Saint Death" has sprung up recently to cater to the land's violent criminals generally shunned by the church and now caters to thousands of such social lepers.

The latest distressing news to originate from Mexico comes in the form of a potential pandemic. The swine-flu which is now rapidly spreading all over the United States and a number of other nations have been traced back to Mexico. The swine-flu is a variant of the asian originated avian-flu (bird-flu) which was watched carefully by the scientific community as having the potential to cross the barrier from bird to human. In this case it appears as if the bird-flu virus mutated enough to infect pigs and then cross over to humans. Already over 100 people are dead in Mexico and hundreds infected are being discovered in the US and elsewhere.

The US and some of the other nations may be easily capable of dealing with the medical emergency, but Mexico's vulnerability to the virus will leave the world open to greater danger in the future. As the virus mutates within the human hosts, it is also likely to become more and more resistant to treatment and could potentially become a mass scale cause of death in months to come. Thus Mexico is already becoming a much bigger security threat than an Iranian nuke, to the US and other nations.

Now it looks like just a matter of time before Mexico becomes a Security council agenda item.

CANADIAN LAW MAKERS START TO SEE THE LIGHT

Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenny lost his cool yesterday when 5,000 Tamil protestors blocked all roads to Canada's parliament in Ottawa, carrying flags with the LTTE Logo.

When the media requested him to speak to the protesters, he replied " I have nothing to say to them. They are terrorists , if not they would not be carrying flags with the Tiger logo. They should be carrying black flags if they are mourning for their kith and kin ! They should be asking the Tamil Tigers to surrender and save the lives of the tamil civilians, instead of asking us to request the Srilankan government to stop the war . I indeed, have nothing to say to them..."

TIGERS AT BAY - THE WASHINGTON TIMES EDITORIAL

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, one of the world's most violent terrorist outfits, are surrounded in northern Sri Lanka and about to be destroyed - but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and European self-styled peacemakers are getting in the way of victory. The meddlers should let Colombo finish off this menace.

In desperation, the Tamil Tigers are using tens of thousands of locals as human shields. The Sri Lankan government declared a cease-fire and called on the Tigers to release their hostages, but unmanned-aerial-vehicle video footage shows the terrorists holding masses of innocents at gunpoint, refusing them freedom. Last week, Mrs. Clinton played into the hands of the terrorists by blaming the Sri Lankan government for the crisis. "The entire world is very disappointed" that they were "causing such untold suffering," she said.

Foreign governments and aid organizations are calling on Colombo to cease operations, fearing that further action will lead to a humanitarian calamity. Norwegian Environment Minister Eric Solheim has been the point man in trying to negotiate a new truce, but he has been denounced by both sides. In response to his unwelcome efforts, the Nation, a Sri Lankan newspaper, editorialized that "the caravan of military operations has to move on. The time has come to tell the salmon-eating international busybodies to mind their own business."

The Sri Lankan government is justifiably confused and angry at the international response to their progress. Sri Lanka has been fighting the Tamil Tigers for over 30 years. The Tigers pioneered the modern use of suicide bombing and have killed thousands of civilians. A U.S. government expert on the group tells us that the Tigers are "one of the most odious insurgent groups around, and for a long stretch of time had more suicide attacks than the rest of the world combined. It has made a cult of martyrdom and violated every single previous cease-fire." During the most recent truce, the Tigers took the opportunity to assassinate about 200 moderate Tamil politicians and the Sri Lankan foreign minister.

Last year, Colombo decided enough was enough and withdrew from the cease-fire agreement. Using innovative counterinsurgency tactics, the Sri Lankan defense forces dismantled the guerrilla network on land and at sea. They drove the Tigers from their safe havens and bottled them up in a four-square-mile patch of beachfront swampland. Tiger leaders are hunkered down in underground bunkers trying desperately to stave off their looming demise.

We can only imagine American satisfaction if we had al Qaeda in this position. It is unconscionable for the United States to castigate its Sri Lankan ally for prevailing in its war against terrorism. The Tamil Tigers have purposefully created the conditions for a humanitarian crisis and deserve neither amnesty nor mercy. There are ways to help resolve this standoff that will not allow the Tigers to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, such as providing military and intelligence support for pinpoint strikes against the terrorist leadership. Failing that, the Obama administration should mind its own business. The Sri Lankans are winning; we should let them finish the job.

FOREIGN INTERFERENCE AND SRI LANKA'S OPTIONS

AS the final stage of the humanitarian operations are reaching a climax, international pressure on the Sri Lankan government is also reaching its own crescendo. And interesting other activities are taking place, which disturb the geo-political pecking order and leading potentially to chaos of a higher intensity.

Sri Lankan Defence Forces have decisively decimated the tamil tigers' fighting prowess. What is left is a brief series of skirmishes to liberate the remaining few thousands of civillians still held hostage by the LTTE. The Sri Lankan military commanders are determined to annihilate the LTTE this time and have recieved reliable intel that the leadership is trapped within the approx 5 kilometers of land mass now completely surrounded. Special forces and commando units are infilterating the remaining area and are being guided to specific targets based on real time intel from both air-borne surveillance systems and operatives on the ground. Attacks carried out based on such intel have completely wiped out all of the tamil tigers' heavy weapons arsenal.

Sensing the imminent endgame, overseas LTTE supporters are in over-drive attempting to halt the military operations by whatever means possible. They were successful to some extent to obtain a brief declaration of condemnation of Sri Lankan military action by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is suspected by most Sri Lankans as sympathetic towards the tamil tigers' cause. Clinton's remarks are more of an embarrassment to herself than to anyone else, due to the absence of a factual basis for them. Well organized Sri Lankan groups can be depended on to challenge her views openly in coming days.

Other nations too have entered the frey, in some cases potentially disturbing the military status quo in the region, which may not be to the liking of nations aspiring to regional super power status.

A French helicopter carrier [probably the Jeanne d'Arc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_d'Arc_(R_97)] which was recently on a port call in South India is reportedly in close proximity to Sri Lanka in international waters, and so is an Indian frigate. These vessels possess the ability to launch helicopters which can easily reach Sri Lankan shores within 15 minutes. The US Navy is also said to be on alert but are stationed further afar.

The French have also offered to assist with evacuation of civillians and their senior diplomats have made veiled threats of military action against Sri Lanka as well. It would be in Sri Lanka's interest to take these threats seriously and prepare her defence forces to take all necessary action to defend our nation's soveriegnty and her territorial integrity. It is a well established fact that the French can't piss straight if the Americans aren't there to hold their dick for them, so dealing with any Frenchy adventures should not be too much of an issue for Sri Lanka's veteran armed forces. To back down in the face of these threats would definitely amount to inviting further interference from the pansies of the Western world.

These developments involving western naval operations in their own back yard must make the Indians predictably uneasy and unhappy over the percieved lack of control in a pond that they have struggled to assert dominance for decades. And that creates opportunity for Sri Lanka to play a balance of power game to neutralize the entire circus.

The Sri Lankans have the option of calling the Chinese to send in a sophisticated missile frigate capable of decommisioning the old Frenchie, on a friendly visit to Trincomalee. That is guarateed to piss everybody off even more, but will estalish one solid rule; when it comes to our business, we make the rules.

When a status quo breaks, chaos happens. And there's always profit in it for those who know how to play the game. It definitely looks like the right time to ratchet up the rhetoric on our side.

RANSOMED IN THE LAST REDOUBT -

A veteran Sri Lankan monitor, Lord Naseby sees an end in sight to the country’s bitter ethnic strife – even if a worrying number of civilians remain trapped in the northern conflict zone ...

I have known Sri Lanka since 1963 when I worked there. The purpose of my visit in January was to assess the political situation and to do some private touring to revisit places I had not seen for 45 years.

One has to remember that tension between the minority Tamil community (18 per cent) and the other ethnic groups goes back to British rule when the civil service was purposely recruited from the minority on a sort of divide-and-rule strategy. One could go back to the first century AD and right through the centuries as the people of South India invaded, destroying what are now World Heritage sites at Anuradhapura and Polannaruwa. I visited them both and what a wonderful job of restoration has been done by the Sri Lanka Department of Culture and Unesco.Post-independence, the tension increased under the two Bandaranaike governments in the ’50s and ’60s, when Sinhalese was made the only official language. Gradually it eased until today when both Sinhalese and Tamil are official; indeed I noted many road and other government signs in both languages. Moreover, it is now a requirement of people entering the civil service to be able to write and speak both languages. The language issue has now virtually been solved, but it caused today’s problems.

In 2005 President Rajapaksa was elected. He is astute and clear-headed: either the Tigers come back into the democratic fold of a united Sri Lanka or they have to be wiped out. Prabhakaran, the leader who is believed to have murdered, amongst hundreds, Rajiv Gandhi, the Indian president, played for time but foolishly fell out with his lieutenant, Karuna, who controlled the Eastern Province. When Karuna saw there was no future in Eelam (the native Tamil homeland) and came over with his fighters to the government side, the Tigers were effectively finished in the East.In 2008 when I saw the president he said the army was now well trained and it would slowly engage the Tigers to weaken them until territory fell into their hands.

This year I arrived just as the Tiger capital of Kilinochichi was taken. Remarkably, this advance was achieved without a single reported death of a civilian. Each day more and more ground is taken; the A9 road to Jaffna was reopened after 10 years. The only sinister element is that the Tigers have forced the Tamil civilians to go with them to provide a human shield. The UN estimates the numbers at 250,000 but others state 100,000, however nearly 50,000 have got out, despite the Tigers shooting some. Appeals have been made by the UN, the four Co-Chairs, the Red Cross and the Sri Lankan government to allow civilians to leave as the area of jungle held by the Tigers gets smaller and smaller – but to no avail.

People ask why there can’t be a ceasefire: the answer is that this terrorist group has held Sri Lanka to ransom for 25 years. They can surrender or be wiped out. The Tigers do not represent anyone – certainly not the Tamil people.

What will happen when the Tigers are defeated? The Tamil people are extremely industrious. They will rebuild the north, providing the international community really does respond with the aid that has been talked about for years. Tony Blair’s government promised to me that, once there was peace, Britain would be generous. I remain totally confident that elections will be held as soon as humanely possible and Tamils will be democratically elected to Parliament. I also believe that the sticking points of devolution to all the provinces will be overcome.

I confess I do not understand why the prime minister and foreign secretary have decided to appoint a special envoy when we have a highly competent High Commissioner. It’s about as sensitive as the foreign secretary telling the Indian government that the Mumbai terrorist attacks were due to the Kashmir issue.

THE LARGEST HOSTAGE RESCUE IN THE WORLD'S HISTORY

By: Professor Sunil J. Wimalawansa

Hostage takings have been reported sporadically, throughout the world. However, none was even closer to the recent captivity of approximate of 250,000 of civilians by the Tamil Tiger terrorists (LTTE) in the north eastern jungles. Over the past three days 60,000 hostages were rescued by the Sri Lankan Forces; the largest number of hostages rescued in such a short period, anywhere in the world.

LTTE is banned world-wide as a terror outfit for their work on suicide bombings, child soldiering, organized crime, and unlimited human rights violations. In addition to the billions of rupees in property damage, LTTE violence has consumed over 140,000 lives; the majority had been women and children. Three decades of government-initiated and third party mediated negotiations as well as peace discussions were failed. Terrorists have constantly violated all ceasefire agreements. The final turning point towards defeating terrorism in Sri Lanka was attained in mid-2008, after three years of careful and strategic planning by the current Sri Lankan government. LTTE terrorists never anticipated such a rapid advance of the military, which has now completely encircled them.

It is important to note that in spite of the military disadvantages of it, to-date, the Sri Lankan government continues to supply food, water and medicine to the terrorist held areas. Up to now, about 180,000 civilians have been fled safely from the terrorist's captivity. To safe guard these civilians and to establish a safe route for them to escape LTTE prison, in concurrence with the UN, a no-fire zone (a safe haven) was established by the Sri Lankan government. Many who attempted to escape were shot or maimed. UN and other agencies, and those civilians who survived from the captivity confirmed that terrorists used them as human shields, forced them to fight with them and to participate in suicidal missions.

In addition to the strategic ground and navel blockade of weapons supply, destruction of its naval hardware, the fall of LTTE is also in part due to sheer exhaustion and the lack of confidence in its leadership. Nevertheless, some of these terrorists have managed to escape by intermingling with civilians, and are currently engaged in sporadic attacks on civilian targets in the rest of the country, to divert attention from the battle front in the North. Meanwhile, the government has initiated a massive US $150 million humanitarian programme to care for the IDPs with the assistance from the UN and others.

Under the direct supervision of the Sri Lankan Army Commander and the Defense Secretary, three major army divisions surrounded LTTE terrorists in an area of about 200 sq. kms. Due to successful army advances, this area has now been reduced to less than 18 sq. kms; a relatively thin strip of land consisting of the no-fire zone. Battle hardened ground troops have been supported by Special Forces and the Air Mobile Brigade, as well as an increasingly sophisticated Navy who have developed the skills to carry out targeted, small group operations minimizing collateral damage. Meanwhile, terrorists keep on resorting to the inhuman practice of suicide bombing and use of civilian, human shields.

Sri Lankan government had repeatedly requested the terrorists to surrender, to end this siege. However, LTTE leadership has opted not to do so, and have ordered them to fight to death. This decision had already led to the demise of most of the LTTE terrorist's leaders. Those remaining few hundred fighters, half have been assigned to protect its leader; another example of the self-centered leadership style of the LTTE.

It is only a matter of days, before the Tamil Tiger Terrorists are completely eliminated. Hence, there is no reason for the continual suffering inflicted upon these hostages by the Tamil Tiger terrorists. Many governments and leading agencies including the UN have repeatedly requested the Tamil Tigers to release their captives unharmed; but these terrorists have refused to do so. All key players including the four Co-chairs, India, the UN as well as independent groups like the Crisis Group, and envoys like Lakdar Brahimi and Load Neseby, etc., have said that the quickest and most humane way to end conflict now is to release the hostage, for LTTE to disarm and surrender its cadres and for the GOSL to consider fair trial for cadres. Recent interviews by the Chair of the UK-all party MPs, Lord Naseby (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZtl4t7LJXs) on 16/4/09, and the UN under-secretary, Sir John Holmes, also confirmed this.

The UN Secretary General has refused to call for a ceasefire. He welcomed the Government's recent approach of two no-hostility periods, further facilitating the safe rescue of trapped civilians. Yet, LTTE has unequivocally stated that they will not release civilians from their hostage. Therefore, a ceasefire would make no difference to detained civilians. Ceasefire would only allow terrorist an opportunity to re-arm and re-group, which can lead to further hostage taking, and causing chaos, death, and misery. If anyone currently suggesting a ceasefire, they must be reacting to misguided information provided by the LTTE-related paid lobbyists.

The majority of Tamils in Sri Lanka lives happily and successfully, outside North and the North-Eastern areas, and do not want a separate state (so-called Elam). It is ironic that there is a recent worldwide sudden rush of destructive behavior by small groups of Tamils who are pleading with their governments to impose a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Who are these suddenly emerging protestors, and why are they protesting now? Accumulating evidence suggest that they have little interest towards the trapped hostages or their safety. Moreover, there does not seem to be any sincerity of these self-serving, sporadic protests by a handful of Tamils in various countries. The main interest appears to be to save the LTTE leadership. Many of expatriate Tamils protesting abroad seem to be the ones who have been donating significant amounts of money to this terrorist group. They suddenly realized that their long-term investment will soon disappear without any chance of return for their investments.

Currently, the Sri Lankan government is rightly proceeding with the help of its armed forces to free thousands of Tamils held in captivity by the LTTE. Sovereign Sri Lanka can handle its internal affairs, and it is unwarranted and unwise to interfere with its national security issues by outside entities. Recent liberation of over 30,000 captives in a single day, from the world's largest hostage taking, further demonstrates its capabilities to handle the situation.

Terrorism and the violence will never succeed. The Sri Lankan government will soon effectively eradicate the LTTE terrorism. In spite of the carnage they created over a three decades, LTTE has miserably failed both domestically and internationally, wasting hundreds of lives and infrastructure worth billions of rupees. LTTE has also disappointed its worldwide; thousands of financial donors who fueled this misery. Those who funded this war with selfish expectations for major favors in the future from the LTTE regime must now be deeply disappointed. This has now led to the recent sporadic protests by Tamil expatriates. The civilized world will never condone nor reward terrorism, child soldiering, or hostage taking.

"HOSTAGE ZONE" EMPTYING FAST

FOR the second consecutive day thousands of civillians previously held hostage by the LTTE terrorists have been escaping and pouring into Sri Lanka government controlled areas. Consequent to the dissection of the hostage zone by the Sri Lankan Defence Forces, the LTTE hardcore is now holed up in a very small area of less than 4sq.miles with a fairly large group of civillians held hostage. In opening the escape routes, Special Forces snipers eliminated a over a dozen tamil tigers who were guarding these areas within a very short time. With over 100,000 rescued, Sri Lankan forces have already created a world record of unprecedented size and complexity in a single massive hostage rescue operation.

SL Military sources estimate the number of persons still held by the LTTE terrorists to amount to around 40,000 civillians, some of who may be residing willingly with the terror group due to their past allegiances and criminal activities against the Sri Lankan state.

In the meanwhile the SL government pulled an effective diplomatic coup against nations led by Norway and to some extent the US, who were demanding an immediate cease fire. A group of diplomats from US, UK, France, Russia, China and India were allowed to view live UAV footage of the unfolding rescue drama during which LTTE artillery and tank attacks on the columns of escaping civillians were witnessed by them. While in some instances civillians being shot by the LTTE could be seen dropping by the wayside, Sri Lankan soldiers were seen rushing in and carrying the injured to safety.

In another area covered by the airborne surveillance platform, thousands of civillians herded like animals by the LTTE could be seen forced to the sea shore and being made to stand on the very edge of the beach with waves washing around their feet. Intermittantly the LTTE goons were seen firing at or beating persons attempting escape while several immobile bodies were lying where they fell.

In response to live hostage scenes witnessed by foreign diplomats, France has suggested a joint mission along with Britain to rescue the remaining civillians held by the LTTE in close proximity to the sea beach. However no military action is envisaged by either force, which raises the question as to how it is to be accomplished. Sri Lanka would do well to be cautious of meddling foreigners with bleeding hearts.

In yet another development two top ranking tamil tigers who have the added title of 'master' to their name surrendered to the security forces. This is the first such instance of such a high level surrender which will allow the SLDF to use their testimony as evidence. This is also proof that while expecting subordinates to commit suicide rather than surrender, the top rung tiger cowards are not prepared to do so themselves.

Civillians who agreed to be interviewed also spoke of the Tamil Tigers executing at least 20 of their seriously injured cadres to prevent their surrender to the Sri Lankan forces. Some civillians are currently attempting to cut deals for their associates and relatives within the LTTE ranks to facilitate their surrender and safety.

The end of the despotic terror empire is coming fast and in strange ways resembles witness accounts of similar historic events elsewhere in the world. Endgame could be within hours, or at most a few days from now.

EXODUS AND ENDGAME

THE long awaited day is coming. Sri Lankan Special Forces broke through LTTE defences holding thousands of civillians in a human shield late last night. The well rehearsed assault which was led by elements of the Special forces, division 58 units and commandos smashed through the enemy earth defences and destroyed a number of bunkers and reinforced defences. The assault which was launched around midnight is said to have had the undivided attention of the President, and all three forces commanders until late morning.

The attacking troops have established a broad open front somewhere in the middle of the long strip held by the LTTE through which over 35,000 civillians have streamed out into government controlled areas. All LTTE attempts to prevent the exodus have failed completely, though a large number of civillians have been injured and approximately 200 killed when the tamil tiger terrorists carried out multiple suicide attacks and fired with a tank at the escaping civillian mass.

Meanwhile the United States government is reported to have attempted to force a cease-fire on the SLDF by threatening criminal action against the island nation and by vetoing an economic package sought by Sri Lanka from the IMF. President Rajapaksa has refused to bow to international pressure which appears to be aimed at providing a life line to the beleagured LTTE and has given the terrorist group a final ultimatum of 24 hours to surrender. In the meanwhile Special Forces operations are targetting cornered LTTE cadres in the area.

The exodus predicted by military analysts has begun. Endgame is next.

SRI LANKA DEPORTS BRITISH STINKER

"...Jeremy Page, reporter for the British paper The Times was escorted to the detention room on arrival at the Katunayake International Airport last week, locked up for the night, and deported to the UK the next day, says Page in an article in Timesonline.

He was denied a journalist's visa for Sri Lanka since August despite multiple applications, and he was identified and deported when he tried to enter Sri Lanka on a tourist visa. "I know why I'm blacklisted: the Government [of Sri Lanka] thinks, or pretends to think, that I support the Tigers... " So says the Tamil tiger website the Tamilnut.

"Mr. Page somehow doesn't seem to get it. We in Sri Lanka don't think much of his writing skills. Deporting him had nothing to do with it either. It was just that we didn't like his ugly face, or his horrible smell"...says a Sri Lankan Immigration Official.

LTTE ATTACK IN BUTTALA

SL sources say Buttala is being attacked by LTTE terrorists right now, around 10:00pm Sri Lankan time.

No further information is available yet.

SUICIDE CADRES DEPOLYED IN LONDON

There is a so called death fast going on in London by two 'students'. It is now well established that the LTTE has for years used student visas to get thier operatives abroad and into places where they can be useful as propaganda tools and also as spies keeping an eye on the expatriate tamil diaspora. The visa status and their own individual status allows such Tamil Tiger operatives to move freely and be replaced with ease in the event of exposure to law enforcement or becoming ineffective.

One of the young tamil guys on death fast who goes by the name Subramaniyan is yet another student who arrived in Britain three weeks ago. Subramaniyan told The Times on Wednesday 36 hours after beginning his fast that five members of his family had been killed in the past few days as the Sri Lankan Army closed in on the rebel fighters’ stronghold. “I heard yesterday that my mother, my sisters, my brother and his son are dead,” he said. “One of my sisters and my brother were members of the LTTE. They are not terrorists — they are freedom fighters. I want answers for my family’s death, otherwise I will not leave here.” His story raises interesting and troubling questions; how could someone leave abroad for educaiton at a time when his own family is facing imminent annihilation? Given the seriousness of situation the LTTE members in his family were facing, it is hard to believe Subramaniyan is just another innocent. My bet is that he is a trained terrorist, or someone who is now very willing to become such an entity.

The Tamil Tigers are considered the world's most dangerous terrorists by the FBI and have been banned in most nations across the world. They are currently under military pressure in Sri Lanka following a decisive campaign by the island nation to eradicate terrorism from its shores. Cornered into a thin strip of land facing the dark blue sea, the tamil tigers have been given an ultimatum by the Sri Lankan government to surrender or perish. Thousands of tamil civillians held hostage by the tigers are starting to escape, leaving the LTTE leadership to face the brunt of the SL government's long arm of the law. Caught between a hard place and the deep blue sea, the Tigers are desperately in need of outside assistance to bail them out.

Having failed its achieve its objectives by using suicide bombers on the streets of Colombo in Sri Lanka, the tamil Tigers have now deployed one to the streets of London. Quite obviously for Mr.Subramaniyan to arrive in London just in time to go on hunger strike is no coincidence. His motives and whether he is a genuine student pursuing an educational agenda or not needs to be assessed. The very sense one gets of this individual is that he too is a tamil tiger and his hunger strike is a much milder form of protest than what he could easily be capable of. If he too is a tamil tiger like the rest of his family, strapping on a claymore mine and walking into a crowd on a busy London street could easily be the next thing he does to draw attention to his cause.

London now has its own potential resident Tamil tiger suicide bomber. This could be the wild card that London's best may need special training to deal with. Ask any one familiar with the a situation involving Tamil Tigers; Mr Subramaniyan will never go quietly. His type always take a few others, usually innocent bystanders, along with them in a loud flash and bang. When that happens the pieces will need to be shovelled and the ground washed clean. But the sense of terror they leave behind will incapacitate London's innocent for years.

London's nightmare could be much bigger than Subramaniyan. He's probably the only one they now know about, who is willing to die readily and waiting patiently for the orders to do so.

ALLOWING TERRORIST LEADERS ESCAPE WILL DEFEAT THE PEACE

THE news from the western side of the hemisphere is that a lot of our friends would like to see a negotiated end to the fighting. There are many reasons for the requests and not all of them are going to be practical in Sri Lanka's own unique situation. Worse, a negotiated escape or exile of the terror leadership would without a doubt be only the starting point of the next round of hostilities.

Sri Lanka has shown the world that it can carry a military campaign to a successful conclusion with absolute commitment. There's no doubt that a convergence of many advantageous situations contributed to the SLG's victory over the world's deadliest terrorist organization. The US's own war against terror was certainly one of the most significant among those contributory factors. Even though the US did assist SL upto a point and then seemed to back off -especially since the new administration came into power- training and other assistance provided to SLG and her armed forces did help Sri Lanka continue the humanitarian operations targetting the LTTE until now. This does put Sri Lanka in a situation where she needs to consider opinions and requests of nations such as the US.

Even then it would behoove the Sri Lankan leadrship to be cautious of deals that offer a way out for the tamil tiger leadership. Every criminal must face justice, and the LTTE's leaders are guilty of horrendous attrocities. To allow them escape would be a denial of justice for the thousands of innocents who died in vain. To bring in a lasting peace breaking the LTTE's military capabilities are not enough. The job isn't over until its leadership is brought to justice as well. In the end what matters is self interest. Diplomats learn this on day 1 in the business.

SLDF BIDS ITS TIME WHILE LTTE LEADERS NEGOTIATE

There's conflicting information from the civillian zone where the LTTE terrorists continue to hold a large number of civillians as a human shield. While some sources indicate limited contact between the SLDF and LTTE front line, other deny any engagements.

The truth seems to be a mix of both since SLDF certainly has snipers deployed who have so far taken out a number of LTTE targets from those deployed near an earth bund built by the tigers as well as from the cadre attempting to stop the civillian exodus. The SL forces also seem to have not only eyes in the sky but also feet on the ground, either long range surveillance teams or infliterators from pro-govt tamil militant groups.

In the meanwhile the US and a number of other nations have come forward to negotiate a successful conclusion to the humanitarian war. The UN has requested a careful military campaign to limit civillian casualties if the SLDF goes in after the LTTE leadership, while the US seems more intent upon the live capture of the terrorist leaders by negotiating through the Norwegians. The LTTE leaders are said to be leaning more towards getting a reprieve by offering to release the remaining civillians unharmed.

The civilized world watches with interest as these events unfold. Whether the LTTE leaders die or live makes very little difference for Sri Lanka militarily. The LTTE has been only considered for its military prowess and its decimation conclusively resets the clock to a point far back in history where a certain segment of tamils made a decision to attack and destroy all minorities in search of an ethnic-pure tamil home land. For the past twenty years the mantha was that there could never be a viable solution with anything less. Now it will be interesting to watch whether or how the rhetoric will change.

Sri Lankans are in a unique position in history. They've single handedly destoyed a terrorist outfit more capable than the Al Quieda, while nations such as the US have been incapable of defeating the Islamic terror group even with plenty of assistance and participation by a number of other global powers. There is plenty of admiration in many of these nations for the little island nation and its firce fighting spirit which its friends are hopeful will evolve into fearlessly visionary leadership that will lead the nation out of years of darkness and chaos into a more prosperous future.

THE HIDDEN DEATH COUNT OF THE LTTE

SLDF has so far counted approximately 525 heads of LTTE cadre killed over the week end. In military operations the number of dead are counted by the number of heads found while any bodies missing the head are not added. Hence the term 'head count' which is often used in everyday parlance.

While limiting the counting to the heads of the dead helps keep the numbers accurate and prevents double counting, high intensity confrontations which result in missing heads often leads to under-reporting. The last confrontation in which the SLDF broke the LTTE's backbone may well be one such instance.

It is now known that the LTTE leader and his entourage managed to penetrate through the military cordon and escape with a contingent of body guards and others who managed tp escape with them. As intense barrages of attacks followed as they fled, a large number is said to have perished while equal numbers are mortally wounded. The remaining tigers have somehow managed to drag the dead and the injured away with them into the no-fire zone, which the government had instructed its forces not to attack. In the overall count, at least 750 bodies of slain LTTE cadre have been found in various states of decay while only 525 have been taken into the official count.

Though the military sources refrain from commenting on the potential death count, tamil sources in UK and elsewhere are whispering the LTTE head count may be anywhere between 1000 -1200. These may include the numbers killed while attempting to evade the SLDF and escape into the civillian zone and those who died since then.

In the meanwhile unconfirmed reports from SL indicate a large number of friendly fire injuries to SLDF, and a sizeable number of deaths as well. However these numbers are not in anyway comparable to the numbers suffered by the LTTE.

Sometimes it takes a picture to tell a thousand words. In this case the numbers themselves are conclusive.

A SALUTE TO THESE GUYS AND ALL OTHERS IN MELBORNE

WINNING THE WAR, PEACE AND THE WORLD

CAN the Sri Lankan government with its hardline approach to dealing with the LTTE not only win the war, but long lasting peace and more importantly the favorable opinion of the outside world? The answer most probably would be in the negative, if one is to go by what the popular media says.

Most of the media appear to portray a negative perception of any peaceful outcome in the aftermath of the military operations, even though none offer valid reasons or facts other than their own concocted behavioral forecasts to base those predictions on. Some quite obviously are media that have long been supportive of the tamil tiger cause such as AP and BBC, while some who are supporters of Sri Lanka's opposition party who attempt to paint all possible outcomes in bleak terms for obvious reasons.

Since the LTTE deprived water to 30,000 civillians by shutting off the sluice gates in Mavil Aru, these media have been consistently drumming in a 'no win possible' message targetting Sri Lankans home and abroad. For many years such media was successful in maintaining a conviciton in the minds of most Sri Lankans that the Tigers cannot be defeated militarily and demotivated successive governments from making a concerted effort. Thus the media by design or default performed a valuable psy-ops function for the tamil tiger terrorists who thrived unchallenged. That was until it decided to take the war to the present government, either severely under-estimating its decisiveness to prevail in a war to the finish, or over-estimating its own ability to surviev all out war against the Sri Lankan state. A post mortum would probably indicate both.

Last weekend's confrontation in which over 525 including high ranking LTTE cadre were killed or surrendered to the Sri Lankan Defence Forces broke the terror group's back decisively. Losses in men and material, organizational and operational capabilities in this one episode has now effectively finished the LTTE as a fighting force when compared to the SLDF units staring them in the face, simply waiting to be unleashed.

The government appears to have temporarily stayed the hand of the executioner, and very rightly so. There is increased pressure on the SLG to prevent civillian casualties from many nations and from the UN. While some of these obviously are from those who wish to find some way to save the LTTE leadership from capture yet again, most are well intended and are requests from nations which seek a civilized way of doing things. By acceeding to such requests at least for a short while, the SLG wins the goodwill of our friends at the marginal risk that the friends of our enemies may use the window of opportunity to attempt to rescue the LTTE leadership. Or they may seek international intervention under the guise of humanitarian action. These risks seem well worth the goodwill we will earn by treating the international community's wishes with adequate respect as far as they can be practically accomodated.

Providing a reasonable time frame in which the LTTE is pressured into letting the civillians go would be more than enough for the SLG to do as a responsible government. As a responsible government the SLG's primary obligation is national security and thus eliminating the tamil tigers cannot become secondary to any other consideration. That is why the SLG needs to put counter-pressure on the UN and other friendly nations to understand that we will not be idle in such status quo for long and will take action to eradicate terrorism within a short time. While not engaging the enemy directly, the army must be allowed to conduct operations to facilitate the movement of civillians away from the LTTE controlled area, which can no longer be considered a no-fire zone due to the attacks emanating from therein. The right to shoot in self-defence must always remain unchallenged.

There is a bottom line to this situaion, as is for any other. It is only as long as we insist our security to be a non-negotiable prime concern that other nations will recognize our right to exist. It is only to the extent we are willing to go to defend our territory that others will allow us our soveriegnty. It is only to the extent that we stand firm on our convictions and are prepared to fight for them that the world will respect us.

If the LTTE refuses to let go of the civillian human shield, it becomes the government's responsibility to go in and bring them out. How we do that, we can discuss to some extent with concerned friends. But it must be held to a firm time line, enforceable unilaterally on our side.

Destroying the LTTE over-rides anything else. The continued existance of this virulent terrorist group's leadership is a threat to the very existance of our nation and its elimination is a priority which must be achieved without delay. We owe no obligation to discuss our means or methodology with anyone. In a worst case scenario, SLG should be prepared to go in and finish the LTTE irrespective of international community concerns. Good will can be earned again later if necessary. In two years from now, no one will give a rat's ass as to how many died in the process but will only remember how we defeated terrorism.

LARGEST EVER HOSTAGE RESCUE OPERATION IN HISTORY BEGINS

A day after they dealt a debilitating blow which killed over 400 and injured many more tamil tigers, Sri Lankan Defence Forces have launched the largest ever hostage rescue operation in military history to save thousands of tamil civillians held forcibly by the LTTE in the 'no fire' zone.

The unconventional attack which killed hundreds of tamil tigers was a classic case of how real time information can be a decisive factor in military operations. The military and the tigers both appear to have planned heavy attacks on each other, but it was the SLDF's eyes-in-the-sky UAVs that made the difference. As the UAV footage began to provide a detailed battle ground scenario in which the tigers were amassing for a major assault, urgent preparations were made under the direct supervision of the Army Commander to induct at least 3 divisions of battle hardened troops, Special Forces and the Air Mobile brigade as well.

The LTTE appear to have been unaware of the military's move to completely circle them until almost too late, by when only its leader and a few of the top rungers managed to escape the dragnet. The remaining tamil tigers were offered a chance to surrender by the Army, but were ordered by the LTTE laeders to continue with their attack which ended in the annihilation of the entire force and the death of over 20 high ranking 'commanders'.

While the LTTE still has at least 100 well trained and heavily armed terrorists providing cover for the LTTE leader, his son and a few of the remaining high rankers, their ability to defend themselves as well as preventing civillian movement is very unlikely, given the speed and clout of the Sri Lankan forces.

As the LTTE's brutal second in command Pottu has been heard apologetically telling the remaining cadre, the game is over. Surrendering is still a short lived option while in the alternate, death looms certain.

UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE PRE-EMPTS LTTE COUNTER-STRIKE

Information from the last heavy fight which pushed the LTTE remnants into the safe zone to hide among civillians indicates that the Tigers were preparing for a heavy counter strike against the SLDF also.

By some estimates the LTTE plan may have coincided with the SLDF's own plan and apparently was pre-empted disasterously for the tigers when outflanked by 3 divisions who made a pincer movement from the north and south.

Captured along with documents of military significance is one which should cause a stir in the tabloid media; the horoscope of the LTTE leader.

UPDATE:

MULLAITTIVU: Five more LTTE leaders were among the senior terrorists killed during confrontations in Puthukudiyiruppu north area Sunday (5).Leader of LTTE’s Radha Regiment Seelambarasan, his deputy Anbu, the terrorist in charge of mortar section Gopal, the terrorist in charge of mines section Asmi and a leader of Sodia Regiment Mohana were also confirmed killed in the gun battles.

UPDATE

Fighting for PTK and surrounding areas has ground to an end. Over 420 Tamil tiger dead bodies have been recovered so far, with many of their iconic leaders among them. Most of these individuals who were known by one name, as is the case with most terrorist groups but did raise adequate fear among the civillian population they controlled with an iron fist and creative brutality. These front line LTTE cadres were probably left behind by their leadership with the intention of carving out a beach head for a counter-strike into the area. However they proved no match for the forces arrayed against them.

The LTTE leader and his intelligence leader Pottu are said to have escaped from the liberated area and are currently hiding among civillians in the 'no fire' zone. A few skirmishes on the lagoon seperating the SLDF occupied area has resulted in the sea-tigers being annihilated.

The SLDF is currently inventorizing the massive arsenal of captured weapons, some of which had not been known to be in the tigers' possession. Also found abandoned by the LTTE leadership are many of their personal documents and other items of significant intelligence value. Also over 110 cadres surrendered to the SLDF and they are talking. Unlike in previous occasions, the LTTE leaders were unable to prevent this from happening due to the speed of the military assault and for the siginificantly high numbers willing to surrender.

BREAKING NEWS

ALL of Puthukudirippu area has been cleared of LTTE by Sri Lankan Defence Forces.

The remaining LTTE cadres and the leadership are now inside the 'No-fire' zone and taking cover behind civillians. LTTE artillery is continuing to fire from among civillian settlements.

The government is expected to induct special forces into the zone shortly, with a view to capture or kill the remaining tamil tiger terrorists to bring lasting peace to the country.

Meanwhile the Secretary General of the UN has issued an ultimatum to the LTTE to release the civillians held in a human shield, but the tigers are continuing to attack those who attempt to flee to government controlled areas.

Peace seeking Sri Lankans all over the world wish the nation's security forces all success.

SOME BAD GUYS ARE STILL OUT THERE..

THOUGH the govt media won't tell us much about them, there appear to be a few pockets of resistance in places that are supposed to have been over-run by the SL Defence Forces. For instance there is still intermittant fighting going on in and around Killinochchi and Mullaitivu, even though the main thrust of the two forces are locked in mortal combat in the area of Puthukudiruppu [PTK].

A force of approx 200 LTTE cadre had been operating in Mullaitivu and have now been cornered with their leaders in a large coconut plantation area, where they were 'softened up' with artillery and mortar fire yesterday. Though such places offer cover from horizontal fire, vertical fire causes extraordinary damage from 'tree bursts'. A tree burst happens when ordnance hits a tree and explodes spewing not only shrapnel, but pieces of the tree trunk also. The wooden shrapnel from such bursting trees is said to travel at such massive speeds and can cut clean thru a human body at close range. Approx 75 of the LTTE cadre have perished in the fighting so far and the remainder are being requested by the SL forces to surrender. They will be disarmed one way or another.

CHARLIE THE PUSSY TO BE SENT TO SAFETY

Confirming our yesterday's report, government intel has learnt that the LTTE leader has determined that his son Charlie the coward should recieve treatment abroad for the so called 'serious injuries' recieved while valiantly leading an attack against Sri Lankan forces.

The truth is that the hyena and his pussy son never faced Sri Lankan soldiers. With the likelihood of a complete rout happening anytime now, Charlie wants to get out of the way and live a luxury life somewhere else with his dad's loot stashed abroad. Other people's anducted kids will be forced to face the determined Sri Lankan forces and die in vain, to facilitate Charlie and his dad's escape.

DID THE HEIR APPARENT GET INJURED, OR GO INTO HIDING?

THE media reports that the son of the LTTE's chief has been injured. Some say he is critically injured, while others quoting unverified intelligence sources claim the injuries to be superficial.

It is no secret that the LTTE leader's modus operandi had always been to look after his own family very well, while committing all others to fight for his now defunct day dream of an ethnic pure Tamil homeland. Thousands of kids were abducted from schools while his kids attended foreign schools and univesities. Given the above scenario and the fact that there is ample opportunity for his family to live to a ripe old age in luxury from wealth stashed abroad, it is highly unlikely that Velupillai would risk his own son's life in a fight to the death. Especially into one in which the outcome is now a foregone conclusion.

Thus the reason to create a valid excuse to get Charlie the pussy, Velu's heir apparent out of the battle field and into a safe location. Charlie is the smart type who can even think for himself. So it is quite possible that he even shot himself in the arm, to make it look very real.

The bottom line is the LTTE top honchos are getting set to make thier escape, while the rank and file who were denied basic human dignity for almost all their lives by these barbarians, will be made to die in a futile effort to stall the Sri Lankan military juggernaut.

The grand finale of the crazy eelam dream will not be any different to what it has been all along. When the smoke clears, what will remain of the relentless racist tribal tamil terrorism will be a collection of destroyed lives and dead bodies. In the long term, the vast number of cemetaries dotted across the landscape will be the lasting evidence of the thousands who died to deliver the day dreams of an illiterate criminal turned mass murderer.