Greatest victory in our country

Uditha Kumarasinghe

Major General Lalin Fernando (Retired) in an interview with the Daily News expressed his views on the most significant military victory accomplished by the Armed Forces freeing the nation from three decades of LTTE terror.

He said he considers the soldiers who waged this war against terrorism as the greatest treasure while the Leaders who boosted the morale and gave the leadership as the greatest Leaders we have had in our history.

Q: How do you view the military victory achieved by the Armed Forces?

A:This is the greatest victory in the history of our country, because we have got rid of a terrorist who destroyed our country during the past three decades. I look at the soldiers who fought this war as the greatest treasure we have and the Leaders who gave the morale and the leadership as the greatest Leaders we have had in our history.

We should also extend our special gratitude to Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka. He had the courage and military power to successfully face the threat of the LTTE. At the same time, there was a President who had decided what he wanted to do and he never wavered.

He knew this task had to be done and nothing was going to stop him. There was an excellent combination to fulfill this task. We have a Defence Secretary who is trusted by the President one hundred percent. We never had this combination before. The Navy and the Air Force also greatly supported.

Therefore, we have to salute all these people who made a lot of sacrifices to rescue the country from the clutches of the LTTE. This is a very emotional thing for me because so many of my regimental friends have died in this battle.

A long time ago, in an article I said the Army Commander should be made a Four Star General. Now he is a Four Star General. But one day when he retires he should be promoted to Field Marshal. Then he doesn’t retire. According to the Army rules, a Field Marshal does not retire and holds that position as long as he lives. We all are now retired people. But General Fonseka should not retire.

Q: What do you think of the political leadership given by the President to the Three Armed Forces to defeat terrorism?

A:There couldn’t have been any better political leadership because from the moment the President came to power he made it very clear what he wanted. The President gave the Three Armed Forces all the things they wanted. At one time, there was an Army where soldiers didn’t have boots or uniforms.

Those days soldiers looked like urchins. Those days there was no morale within the Army.

After President Rajapaksa assumed office, our Army got the best equipment and they had superb commanding officers and soldiers.

Therefore, special recognition should be made of all these sectors of the Army.

Q:The humanitarian mission launched by the Armed Forces to rescue the people could set an example to the entire world. What are your comments?

A: Our soldiers always obey their orders and most are Buddhists. They will never kill people deliberately. This rescue mission was very close to their hearts. They did it very well.

This is an example to the entire world. Because I don’t think in our history we never faced a cruel and homicidal man like Prabhakaran and his cadres. When the time came to sort it out, our Forces could make a difference between the people who were held hostage by Prabhakaran and some of them who could have been considered his supporters and his cadres. Definitely this was an example to the entire world.

Q: As a senior military official,what do you think is the key reason helped the Armed Forces to achieve this victory?

A: One of the most important things is that people of this country wanted to defeat the LTTE. This patriotic feeling infected the soldiers. The leadership given by the President and past experience helped to boost the morale of our Armed Forces.

Sri Lankan soldiers are very gutty. Our soldiers have got the ability to take any risk and face challenges. The courage and morale of our soldiers directly helped achieve this victory. All these soldiers were guided by young Army Officers.

As a result, our Army never went back or faced defeat. Our Army understood one thing, if the Army can’t fight for us, nobody is going to fight.

People are still ready to join the Army and fight. We had plenty of people who were willing to fight. Finally, the mobilization of all assets by President Mahinda Rajapaksa also facilitated the Armed Forces to achieve this great victory.

Q: What do you think of the mission carried out by the Army to defeat terrorism on the direction of the Army Commander?

A: He gave superb leadership to the Army. In fact, I don’t think upto now there was anybody who thought that the LTTE can be defeated militarily. Many former Army Commanders said the LTTE cannot be defeated militarily.

But the present Army Commander went through all the challenges and fought the LTTE. He knew he can win the war as he will be given all the required things.

He gave a tremendous leadership to the Army. Even the senior Army officials knew they won the war because of General Sarath Fonseka.

Nobody else could have given that leadership to the Army. Despite so many challenges, he never forgot his objectives. He did every possible thing to achieve this objective. For the first time, Prabhakaran came against a man who is much stronger than him. The Army Commander also had the will power to face the LTTE terrorism.

You can have Air Force, Navy, soldiers and everything else. But if you don’t have the will power, you can’t wage a war. This war was forced on us by the LTTE, but we had a leader who could successfully wage this war.

Q: Terrorism has been completely eradicated from the country. According to you what kind of political solution should be introduced to address the needs of the Tamil community?

A: Terrorism may come up again in different forms in the future as well. Don’t forget there are Sinhala terrorists as well.

Terrorism can come up in any community in any country in the world. In today’s world, there are terrorist organisations in every country. Tamils are our own people.

I don’t think this is a political issue. There are politicians saying that power should be devolved. But the Tamil people want their dignity.

Because of some Tamil terrorists, there was a feeling that any Tamil could help these terrorist activities. But we have forgotten that some Sinhalese are also helping the LTTE.

We should not create in our minds as well as the minds of the Tamil people that we think of them as terrorists. Then we may drive them into that path. So if we give the Tamil community what the Sinhalese and Muslims enjoy,there won’t be a problem.

First of all, these people need decent housing, water, electricity and other facilities. Except a few in Vanni, most Tamil people were happy and they had what they wanted. All these things were stopped due to acts of terrorism.

Mainly Tamils should have their dignity and self respect. Tamils are very dignified and a cultured community. Even within these temporary camps, we can see how the Tamil IDPs are behaving in the most dignified manner.

Q: As one of the active members of the World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka, what are the steps taken to counter the false propaganda campaign launched by the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora throughout the world?

A: We have been mobilising the Sri Lankan Diaspora who are for Sri Lanka.

This Sinhala Diaspora is giving their fullest support to create the best possible image of Sri Lanka. These attempts of the patriotic Sinhala Diaspora have greatly helped to defeat the false propaganda campaign launched by the LTTE throughout the world.

Amidst this false propaganda campaign, our valiant Armed Forces could win the war due to their great courage and military strategies.

In future too,we need the support of the Sri Lankan Diaspora to defeat the false propaganda campaign launched by the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora.

Q: Finally, what do you think of the great support extended by the people to the Government and the Armed Forces to defeat terrorism?

A: That was obviously manifesting itself. The most important fact is mothers and fathers gave their children to the Army to fight terrorism. Most youth who joined the Army are from villages.

The poor people of Colombo are hundred percent for Sri Lanka. I am sorry to say that I don’t know about the rich people of Colombo,where their support was.

That is the support of the population. Other significant feature is our religious dignitaries always invoked their blessings for the safety and security of our valiant soldiers. A lot of Tamils wanted Prabhakaran to be defeated. But they couldn’t open their mouths due to LTTE threats.

We should not forget several genuine Tamil politicians like Douglas Devananda, Anandasangaree ,Vinayagamoorthi Muralidaran and late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadiragarmar who spoke for us.