WHY THE LTTE HATES SONIA GANDHI - by B.Raman

Angered by the reluctance of the international community, including the government of India, to exercise pressure on the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to observe a ceasefire to protect the 150,000 Sri Lankan Tamils caught up in the conflict zone in the Wanni area, pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam web sites have kept up their attacks on the government of India and the Congress party. These attacks are in the form of unsigned or pseudonymous articles and letters to web site editors.

The attacks on Congress President Sonia Gandhi tend to be vicious. The Congress is projected as the 'Sonia Congress' and the 'Dynasty Congress' and the government of India as the 'Sonia Establishment'. She has also been projected as not nationalistic. On February 3, criticism of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi appeared for the first time. Pro-LTTE elements abroad seem to be unhappy with him for not exercising pressure on the government of India to stop the fighting in the Wanni area.

While there is no evidence to show that these attacks are emanating from the LTTE leadership, the fact that they are being disseminated through pro-LTTE web sites would show a silent nod of approval of the LTTE leadership for these orchestrated criticisms. Keeping in view the dangers of a negative impact of such attacks on the minds of irrational elements in the Tamil community, it would be prudent to strengthen the security for Sonia Gandhi.

The LTTE leadership and those sections of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora supporting it are increasingly desperate and bitter over the reluctance of the international community to exercise pressure on the Sri Lankan government to suspend the military operations in Wanni. The LTTE's calculations that just as the international community exercised pressure on Israel to suspend its military operations in Lebanon in 2006 and in Gaza recently before Israel had achieved its military objectives, it would exercise pressure on the Rajapaksa government to suspend the military operations against the LTTE have proved wrong.

LTTE chief V Prabhakaran's cynical use of the civilians to intimidate the international community into intervening is one more disastrous blunder committed by him and has lost him even the little sympathy which he might have had in the past. He is apparently in such a state of illusion that he does not seem to realise that whereas almost the entire Islamic world supported the Hezbollah and Hamas and exercised pressure on Israel to discontinue its operations, the LTTE has no friends left in the international community except possibly the African National Congress of South Africa.

He and his irrational supporters do not seem to realise that the world's attitude to terrorism changed after 9/11 and that India's attitude to terrorism became stronger after the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai. How can India demand strong action against the jihadi terrorists by Pakistan and come in the way of strong action by the Sri Lankan government against LTTE's terrorism?

The anger of many of the Sri Lankan Tamils should be a cause for concern. While India cannot but support or at least refrain from criticising the counter-terrorism operations of the Sri Lankan government, it should remove the impression widely prevalent in the Sri Lankan Tamil community that but for its military assistance the Sri Lankan Army could not have succeeded. Large sections of the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Sri Lanka as well as abroad have convinced themselves that India has been playing a double game making a pretense of supporting the human rights of the Tamils and, at the same time, quietly assisting the Rajapaksa government in crushing the Tamils.

In the absence of strong statements or denials from Delhi, the Sri Lankan government and its officials such as Gothbaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary, who is the brother of the President, and Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, the army chief, have been mischievously creating an impression that whatever they are doing against the Tamils has the tacit support of India,
It is not advisable for India to be seen by large sections of the Sri Lankan Tamils as not only anti-LTTE -- rightly so -- but also as anti-Tamil. Indira Gandhi was the most popular Indian leader among the Sri Lankan Tamils. They felt that her heart genuinely beat for the rights and sufferings of the Sri Lankan Tamils. Large sections of the Tamil community are bitter that the present Congress leadership does not share her empathy for them.

How to have this impression corrected without giving an impression of encouraging terrorism? That is the question, which should engage the attention of the Indian political leadership and diplomats.

[Source: http://www.rediff.com/ ]

LIONS DECIMATE TIGERS AND THE COYOTES MOVE IN

AS the LTTE faces imminent and irreversible defeat, the usual predators have begun to lurk in the background. It is no secret that Sri Lanka's troubles had their beginning, and reached its maturity with the covert assistance of some individuals, non-governmental organizations, and even nations who at all times exploited our tolerance and democratic values to hurt us.

To the average Sri Lankan, Eric Solheim is no stranger. The Norwegian who has been a shadowy presence in and around places where Sri Lanka's destiny was decided, has had a hand in most of her misfortunes. Though it may be difficult to prove, this man would be considered by most to be guilty of providing opportunities for the Tamil Tigers over the past couple of decades which helped build the terror group into a formidable force and caused death and immense destruction in Sri Lanka. During all those years, Solheim and his Norwegian entourage have been very adept at portraying themselves essentially as peace-makers and earned a level of recognition in the world that is essentially meant for the likes of Mahatma Gandhi. Solheim may have fooled the world, but the Sri Lankan on the street knows he is no friend to us or our country.

Solheim was instrumental in formulating the illegal and fundamentally flawed cease-fire agreement [CFA] between the democratically elected Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, bestowing on the terror group powers of a separate state. At the time of signing the CFA, they moved fast and managed to push the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike to sign the document, contents of which were not known to her. The Norwegians had their lap dog Ranil Wickramasinghe, who has since brought down the opposition UNP to the level of non-existence agree to carry out the functions of a pawn to achieve this goal. The CFA was surreptiously intended to be essentially a starting point of a more vigourous and better prepared launching ground for seperation of Sri Lanka and creation of a Tamil only Eelam. Sentiments expressed by Solheim and his group at the time which are now surfacing, indicate that they believed a stronger and militarily better placed LTTE would be a suitable situation for any discussion for the settlement of the ethnic issue. Solheim also has been one of the loudest proclaimers of the existance of an 'ethnic' issue in Sri Lanka, and pushing world powers to accept the LTTE as the sole representatives of all Tamils on the island.

As our street-wise Sri Lankan would already know by gut instinct, Eric Solheim is no friend and in fact is worse than most enemies. It is his kind that gets close and then knives the unsuspecting victim. He does suit the LTTE lobby's own game plan, since he also operates by the same rules. If there is a difference between the average tamil tiger suicide bomber and Solheim, it is that the former is braver and is willing to die for his/her cause. The Solheims of this world are truly the coyotes and carrion birds who rejoice and fatten themselves in the death of others.

Currently Solheim is making the usual noises in India. He has told Indian media that the failure of the CFA was unfortunate. It is believable, since it was intended to form the basis for a much bigger game and that game didn't materialize since the LTTE chief was too impatient and mistimed his attack on the Sri Lankan security forces. Had he waitied until a more pliable and demoralized Ranil Wickramasinghe, who implicitly believed the Norwegians' theory that the LTTE cannot be defeated came into power, eelam could even have been a ground reality today.

Sri Lanka and her leaders cannot afford to continue to make the same mistakes yet again. Not only is Solheim the friend of our enemies, but is also the enemy of our friends, since they deny the rights of democratically elected tamil leaders such as Devananda to be representative of tamil aspirations to exist within a unified Sri Lanka. The likes of Eric Solheim need to be treated with utmost suspicion at all times and their minions monitored when on our soil. In the aftermath of the fighting these carcass feeders will descend on our shores yet again under the guise of re-construction. That is when the next game of subversion against the Sri Lankan state could begin. It would be wise for Sri Lanka to prepare now for these possibilities.

FOLLOW-ON AIR STRIKES DECIMATE SEA TIGERS

THE SLAF took the game to a new level. Follow on air strikes on the location where leading sea-tigers were targetted in Puthukudiruppu destroyed at least 3 back hoe machines and killed a large number of LTTE cadres summoned to cordon off the area.

The SLA has also launched a sustained artillery attack on this location.

Reports in from the battle front indicate the death of 2 LTTE leaders speculated to be Soosai and Ramesh and at least another 15 tamil tiger terrorists.

TROOP TRANSPORT OVER MULLAITIVU

A Russian built Mil17 flies over a troop carrier in Mullaitivu.

DE-CAPITATION STRIKES ARE A SOLUTION

SRI Lankan Defence Forces are closing in on multiple fronts and the news is that the LTTE leader Velupillai has hightailed it out of the war zone, leaving the rank and file to defend his 'Suriya devan' (God of the Sun) title and self-proclaimed 'sole-representative of the Tamil people' status with their lives. Quick to decamp when cornered, this guy has always been good at getting conscripts to take the heat and die so that he can get away safely.

Meanwhile the SLAF was given a tip off by 'Wanni sources', typically moles within the LTTE about a gathering of Tiger top rungers at a house owned by Soosai, the sea-tiger leader. Jet fighters struck the house while a surveillance aircraft kept vigil overhead to ensure that no one escaped. Soon afterwards, a back-hoe was seen desperately attempting to dig through the demolished house to access an under-ground bunker. A second air strike by the SLAF destroyed the earth moving equipment as well as causing more casualties to the terrorists.

OPERATION SRI LANKA REBUILD - VIEW FROM NEW DELHI

INDIA seems to be getting it right finally.

After years of being a malefic regional presence in the eyes of many of her neighbors, India is starting to see things in a new perspective where her smaller neighbor is concerned. In a region where she is flanked by nuclear armed rivals China and Pakistan, India is now starting to realize how vital it is to build a strong and dependable relationship with Sri Lanka, so that the smaller neighbor's very strong ties with the regional nuclear powers do not become a potential future source of threat.

It is with this view that India seems to have embraced a policy of differentiating Tamil terrorism from Sri Lankan tamils and deal with each seperately. Sri Lanka could not have asked for more, especially from the very nation which created the terrorist monster the Sri Lankans now have to eliminate by themselves.

India also sees a prminant role for herself in re-building Sri Lanka. Such a policy would provide India a foothold where she has slipped considerably in the past and an opportunity to earn the trust and gratitude of her smaller neighbor, a solid foundation for a long lasting relationship.

Here's a great article on India's apparent perspective, potential short and long term strateges in Sri lanka http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sunday_TOI/Sri_Lanka_rebuild_View_from_Delhi/articleshow/4058287.cms

THE TARGET IS CLEAR

Under increasing pressure and imminent death, the LTTE supremo is said to have found a hobby; pocket-billiards.