Tamil community losing faith in LTTE:

Desertions hit Eastern flank

MANPOWER: The existence of any organisation, whether it is democratic or terrorist, depends on its manpower. Any organisation sans manpower stands to die out. The destiny of a terrorist organisation also does not change from this.

If one forgets its terror inclinations, the LTTE claims to be an organisation representing the Tamil community in the North and East. Though the Tamil community kept their faith in the LTTE at the initial stage, they are now fast losing their faith.

It seems they no longer can deceive or harass their own community in the name of liberation. The Tamil community has really understood the fact that suffering is the only achievement under the Tigers' leadership.

This grim reality is now bitterly striking the LTTE specially in the East in the event of the LTTE's efforts to cover up its true picture to the international community becoming unrealistic with the large number of forcibly recruited youths deserting the LTTE.

The realisation by the Tamil youth that LTTE was not their saviour but the angel of death has dealt a severe blow to its grassroots level recruitment drive. This was not the first time the LTTE's recruitment was hit so severely.

The new development with regard to LTTE desertions can be considered as a direct consequence the Tamil youth had to undergo in August in the weapons training school in the jungles of Mullaitivu.

Despite the LTTE's attempt to cover up the Chencholai incident that occurred on August 14, by pointing an accusing finger at the Government, it is still suffering from the consequences of their human rights violation of forcibly recruiting schoolchildren as combatants.

Having forcibly taken schoolgirls for their camps for weapons training the LTTE mercilessly used the dead bodies of the slain girls to cover up its nakedness and tarnish the image of the Government in the face of international community.

The Human Rights Commission in its report compiled on the Chencholai camp, clearly indicated that the LTTE has miserably failed in its efforts to convince the international community that it was a camp used to provide First Aid training for school girls.

The Human Right Commission report also states that it will be very difficult to prevent such incidents as long as child recruitment and training of children and youth as combatants goes on.

However the most alarming and unfortunate aspect behind the forcible recruitment of youth and other civilians is that LTTE combatants were exposed in recent battles in Kattaparichchan, Muhamalai and Kilaly areas during the past three months.

The LTTE seems to be using those youth who were given weapons training at their camps as the first wave of attackers in their battles against Security Forces.

The first such occasion was reported during the LTTE's pre-dawn attack on the Kattaparichchan Army detachment on August 2. According to Army officers who were at the Kattaparichchan Army detachment most of the attackers who were killed in their retaliation were young LTTE cadres.

According to Security Forces they were not able to hold their guns properly and were forced to come to the frontlines by senior LTTE cadres who had pointed guns on their heads.

They had been used by the LTTE as one way fighters in their first wave of attacks and had to die either at the hand of the Security Forces or at the hand of the senior LTTE cadres if they turned back from the battlefront.

The Security Forces also revealed that the LTTE had forcibly used other Tamil civilians provided with two weeks weapons training as the first wave of attackers against the Security Forces.

This is yet another example of LTTE brutality of using innocent civilians and youth as their tools in their so-called liberation fight without an iota of concern about humanity.

These sentiments were echoed this week when more than 25 youth forcibly recruited to the LTTE surrendered to the Security Forces in Selvanagar, Mahindapura and Kallar in fear of losing their precious lives.

In fact, these youth were a clear indication that LTTE was fast losing the support of the Tamil people in the Batticaloa district and the LTTE Wanni faction was facing a serious situation in the East adding to the threats posed by the Karuna faction.

Their decision to escape from the Kathirveli LTTE training also comes due to their constant fear that the training camp where they were forcibly given weapons training would also subjected to air raids in the event of a major offensive by the LTTE towards Security Forces defences.

Despite LTTE Wanni faction's diminishing strength in Batticaloa the LTTE Wanni faction leadership represented by Bhanu and Jeyam according to information given by the surrendered LTTE recruits are now preparing for a major offensive against the Security Forces in Batticaloa.

They are now under pressure by the LTTE leadership to show off their capabilities to launch a major offensive against Security Forces despite losing the support of the renegade leader Karuna.

Having moved their heavy weaponry to Vakarai the LTTE commenced this process on October 30, even before the LTTE delegation led by Thamilselvan thought of leaving Geneva, directing artillery and mortar fire towards the Security Forces defences at Kajuwatta and Mankerni.

The LTTE is now in full preparation for a major offensive either on the Kajuwatta, Mankerni or Vavunathivu FDLs in Batticaloa to show off their strength and blow up their fast losing military strength in the East.

LTTE mortar fire was also directed towards the Mahindapura camp, the last Security Forces checkpoint on the A-15 Trincomalee - Batticaloa road on Wednesday injuring one soldier.

These attacks by the LTTE compelled the Security Forces to neutralise their artillery gun positions in Kathirveli area by engaging them with aerial attacks and retaliating these attacks with artillery and mortar.

However, the preparations by the LTTE to launch a major offensive towards Security Forces defences in Batticaloa has prompted the civilian population trapped in the land stretch between Kajuwatta and Mahindapura on the A-15 road to leave the uncleared area and reach the cleared area in Valachchenai on Wednesday.

Under these circumstances, the LTTE seems to be losing not only their cadres but also the support of the Tamil community due to their inhumane acts perpetrated against their own community.

A-9: LTTE's road to extortion

The Tiger leaders went to Geneva with high hopes, mainly with the hope of pressurising the Government to open the A-9 road which turned out to be a 'cash cow' for their coffers.

Having given the assurance to the international community that they will agree to unconditional talks, the LTTE followed their usual pattern of preventing the discussion of real issues affecting the Tamil community by submitting the A-9 road condition before the Government.

It was patently clear that the LTTE was having sinister motives behind their demand for the opening of the A-9 road at Muhamalai.

The events that unfolded within the past three months clearly indicate that it was not the Government but the LTTE that should be made responsible for the closure of the A-9 road from Muhamalai.

The LTTE was the first to launch a artillery attack on the Muhamalai Forward Defence Line on August 11. Now, having failed in all their bids to take control over Jaffna peninsula they are pressurising the Government to open the road.

By any chance if the LTTE succeeded in capturing the Jaffna peninsula the question of opening the A-9 road will never be raised by the LTTE at peace talks.

It should be reminded that it was the LTTE which violated the Ceasefire Agreement at the very beginning by not allowing public transport services to be operated on the A-9 road after it was opened after the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement.

Therefore the LTTE has no moral right to pressurise the Government to use A-9 road to transport essential items and other items to the Jaffna peninsula clearly knowing the fact that the opening of the road does not solve the problem at once due to the damages caused to the road by confrontations.

The real motive behind the LTTE's quest for the opening of Muhamalai checkpoint was readjusting their FDL which is now in disarray due to Security Forces defensive attacks on their FDL.

The insistence on the opening of the road is also aimed at keeping ground contact between the Jaffna peninsula and Kilinochchi as they cannot continue their clandestine operations which have already come to an end in the Jaffna peninsula.

The LTTE also wants to destroy the cordial relationship between the Security Forces and the civilian population in the Jaffna peninsula by pressurising the Government o open the road.

However, the decision by the Government not to open the A-9 road will be a great relief for the parents in the peninsula as their young children will no longer become victims of the LTTE, as the closure of the road debarred them from taking these children to Kilinochchi for their compulsory military training.