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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.

‘Fight against LTTE and move towards political solution’

The demand for a truce is a bogey raised every time the LTTE is militarily weakened, says Sri Lanka’s Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda.

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No easy exit for Tigers

There was scarcely any surprise when the pro-LTTE Tamilnet website of Sri Lanka accorded the pride of place in its news items on November 12 to the unanimous resolution adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly earlier, calling for a ceasefire in the island nation.

Full Story

Commemorating the 72nd birth anniversary of Late Minister Lalith Athulathmudali:

Time to revisit Athulathmudali approach

November 26 marked the birth anniversary of Late Minister Lalith Athulathmudali, a great personality whose absence is greatly felt on a day like today.

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