Showing posts with label LTTE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LTTE. Show all posts

Friday, February 8, 2013

ONE YEAR AFTER LTTE

One year after the Tigers were silenced, the victorious Mahinda Rajapakse is stronger than ever. But as the Tamil Diaspora nurtures the dream of a Tamil Eelam, N. Asokan finds that only a meaningful political solution can bring permanent peace

The Fourth Eelam War in Sri Lanka finally came to an end on May 17, 2009, with the LTTE international relations head, K.P. alias Selvarajha Padmanathan, announcing that “The LTTE have decided to silence the guns.” Over 25,000 Tamils died in the final three months of the Fourth Eelam War which started in 2006. LTTE had waged armed struggle against marginalisation of minority Tamils in the island nation for almost three decades. From a position of controlling over 15,000 square kilometer, they were pushed to 2 square kilometer at the end of the War, with scores of Tamil civilians moving along with them. The end of LTTE came when its supremo Veluppilai Prabhakaran’s body was identified from the Nandhikadal lagoon.

Selevaraja Padmanathan, who was trying to revive the struggle with support from the Tamil Diaspora, was also arrested in Malaysia and brought to Colombo. As the first anniversary of the end of the war passes, the island nation has witnessed a series of important events in the last one year. In the political front, riding over the euphoria of triumph, Mahinda Rajapakse secured a massive victory in the presidential elections, he arrested war hero-turned political opponent Sarath Fonseka. Rajapakse’s party also secured a massive victory in the parliamentary elections. Rajapakse and his brothers have brilliantly strengthened their individual positions in no time.

But what has happened to the Tamils battered by the war? As the war progressed, LTTE was continuously on the run in the northern areas. It had already withdrawn from the east as their renegade ‘Col Karuna’ teamed up with Colombo. As a strategic move, it took three lakh Tamils along with it when it withdrew from its operational headquarters at Kilinochi. For three months, all these men, women and children were continuously on the run. These civilians became sitting ducks for the Lankan forces’ heavy artillery and planes. Everyday, scores of people died. When it was all but obvious that the LTTE would be defeated, they escaped the clutches of the Tigers and came to the side of the Lankan army. The strategy of the Tigers had been to get international involvement to force a ceasefire and simultaneously trying to bring about a possible turnaround in the fate of the war. It did not follow the script. Even the emotions whipped up in the state of Tamil Nadu in the run-up to the parliamentary elections did not yield the desired results. The octogenerian leader, M. Karunanidhi, addressed Tamil sentiments by taking part in a three-hour fast.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Unpolitically incorrect, Sir!

Most terrorist movements eventually wither away for they fail to replace an armed struggle with a political one

First, a Big Moose question. Who defeated the LTTE? Answer: The LTTE did! Even before the Sri Lankan Army!! Lest you start blaming the Big Moose thought process [Well, who defeated the British? The British. Who defeated Napolean? Napolean... Duh], read on to understand our take on Orwellian avatars that need not necessarily have Brad Pitt’s river running through it.

Guerilla warfare is not a new phenomenon and is not essentially another gift of the 20th century. For ages, those fighting a potent enemy have used subversive tactics to preempt and ambush erstwhile uneven contests to obtain a more even keel in which the seemingly weaker eventually turned out victor. If David proved it in fables against Goliath, then the kiddy king Robin Hood vindicated it successfully against King John. Yet, it was essentially the 20th century when guerrilla warfare, freedom struggles, armed resistance and political activism, all started getting enmeshed into one. The flowchart logic was pretty simple when faced with adversaries who weren’t necessarily Presbyterian ministers. When your ‘demands’ are not being met [and have no hopes of being met through dialogue – well, not every ruling government is British], then throw a few bombs, burn a few trains, kill a few security personnel/ruling politicians, and to add special effects, showcase a few suicide bombers. There; once you’ve got the attention of the powers that be, enter into a negotiation dialogue, grab whatever best political power you can out of the deal, and live life happily ever after as a part of the matrix. In case the ruling party reneges on the deal, go to the start of this paragraph and follow sequence to the tee.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)