End of LTTE tyranny
At the time of
writing the Security Forces were poised to capture Kilinochchi,
the so-called administrative capital of the LTTE. It was the
proud boast of Velupillai Prabhakaran that his outfit would
fight to the last man to defend the Tiger citadel.
He even went as far in a recent interview to dare President
Rajapaksa to capture Kilinochchi saying it was only a day dream
of the latter. The coming hours will show who really has been
dreaming with the Forces reported to have encircled the
Kilinochchi town once deemed impregnable.
Much is at stake in retaining Kilinochchi for the Tiger
leader who has converted it into an administrative enclave.
Kilinochchi was also showcased to the outside world as the
fountainhead of Tiger power and invincibility.
More than anything retaining Kilinochchi had turned into a
prestige battle for Prabhakaran due to the bombast and rhetoric
spouted by Tiger sympathisers and their NGO bandwagon.
Prabhakaran may be wondering if he shot off his mouth
prematurely because with the fall of Kilinochchi he will have a
lot of explaining to do to the Tamil diaspora. For, it is the
rhetoric surrounding Kilinochchi giving it an aura of
invincibility that kept the hopes and enlivened the spirits of
some sections of the diaspora and provided a boost to LTTE
funding activities.
Prabhakaran knows the fall of Kilinochchi will be fatal
vis-a-vis the Tamil diaspora who have been enamoured by the
Tigers' tenacious hold on this strategic base.
It is not wrong to say that the LTTE leader staked his
'reputation' by holding onto Kilinochchi, as evidenced by his
recent rhetoric. Now the bubble of invincibility has burst and
Prabhakaran will be made to eat humble pie with bastions of
Tigers falling to the Government Forces.
The imminent capture of Kilinochchi no doubt would signal the
countdown for the final annihilation of the outfit. The
magnitude of the Forces' victory cannot be gauged only in terms
of capture of territory.
It has inflicted a massive dent in the ego of the Eelam
lobby. Overall it is going to deal a death blow to the morale of
the LTTE fighting cadres.
This is seen by the serial defections from the outfit
following the string of reversals it has suffered in recent
times. The entire nation to a man must salute our valiant
soldiers who braved severe odds and casualties in their single
minded mission to conquer the bastions of the Tigers.
They proved themselves proud sons of Mother Lanka who deserve
our accolades. We commented the other day that the fall of
Pooneryn after 20 years was a prominent landmark in the Security
Forces' journey towards the total liberation of the North from
the clutches of LTTE terrorism.
That dealt a body blow to the outfit's fighting capability.
Kilinochchi will be the piece de resistance in a string of
hitherto 'impregnable' Tiger defences to fall into the hands of
the troops, underscoring the valour and resourcefulness of the
Security Forces.
As mentioned its capture no doubt would make a severe dent on
LTTE pride. Kilinochchi like Pooneryn was believed to one of the
Tiger strongholds considered impenetrable. That it could not
defend this vital fortress from the Security Forces' onslaught
is a sure sign of the decay and disintegration of the LTTE as a
fighting outfit.
The eventual capture of Kilinochchi no doubt is a tremendous
morale booster to the Forces who now seem poised to go for the
kill.
It is this guidance that was woefully lacking in past
military operations when our soldiers were infused with a
defeatist mentality by the then powers that be with constant
claims of the war being unwinnable.
Even military leaders who were supposed to give inspiration
to soldiers were of this mindset which impacted negatively on
the troops. Earlier no wilful effort was made to go the whole
hog following the capture of territory and the Forces were
content to fighting a defensive war.
It is to the eternal credit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa
that he dismantled this negative mindset of the soldiers and
infused them with courage and vigour by his positive guidance
and leadership to take the battle to the enemy.
In this effort he was ably assisted by Defence Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Army Commander Lt.Gen. Sarath Fonseka
who did not flinch from the challenge and steered the war on the
right course. To them the nation owes a debt of gratitude. |