Quest for international Sympathy- Religious susceptibilities, the latest ploy of the LTTE By Kalayani Diyasena
LTTE’s big brain Mr. P. Amman is apparently toying with another method to win international sympathy for his terrorist organization. Having miserably failed in his numerous shameful and bloody strategies thus far, the LTTE has found religious susceptibilities a very effective means with which they can win sympathy they badly need from of the world community, especially the western world. This attempt is to show how and why LTTE is getting with this highly sensitive and dangerous strategy of misleading the entire international community.
Let us analyze firstly, the behavior of the terror organization since the signing of CFA in the year 2002:
* The lopsided CFA agreement let lose the rattle snake in the room, but since the governments insisted on preserving the “animal rights”, the rattle snake happily started stinging all it desired with its venom. LTTE eliminated the military intelligence wing and started killing all Tamil politicians with opposing ideas to that of the terror organization. The government held strongly on the “animal rights” issue until the rattle snake killed one of Sri Lanka’s most respected national assets, Hon. Lakshman Kadiragamar.
* LTTE gradually increased it’s violence against the security forces initially with Small arms, then firing with small arms plus hand grenade attacks and finally with the now famous frequent claymore mine attacks that killed 10-20 servicemen almost daily. Sri Lankan security forces are today known in the word over particularly for maintaining and exercising an enormous patience and tolerance. It is ironic that in the meanwhile the Sri Lankan military had to escort and transport LTTE leaders ever so safely between the Wanni and the East, knowing all the while that the terrorists were planning many an attack against the military.
* Having failed to instill fear in the government on the possible break out of a war, the LTTE started targeting Sinhalese civilians in the North and Eastern provinces to instigate a communal backlash. However, the government was able to control the situation and not let it get out of hand there by disappointing many a LTTE leader whose intention was to get the much needed sympathy of the international community on the blood shed of those belonging in the Tamil community.
* The LTTE then came up with the “Para military issues” as a reaction to its ever worsening internal disputes. The terrorist leadership was now desperately seeking the assistance of the government to save his own life from the very organization he created. Unfortunately, the government could not support the LTTE due to the restrictions already laid down in the CFA itself. Ultimate result was the stubborn refusal to participate any further in any peace talks.
* Now the LTTE’s violence was focused on the very the Tamil community to eliminate some of the innocent Tamil civilians by themselves. Thus abandoning it’s now famous label “sole representative of the Tamils”. The LTTE later came up with their next ploy- “extra judicial killings”, where by the total responsibility of any massacre of innocent civilian was put on the security forces. Many instances of such attempts in staging such comical dramas failed miserably to achieve its goal.
* The LTTE’s next reaction was to commit further massacres of innocent Sinhalese villagers, which acts were effectively stalled by the government in instigating a communal backlash. Despite these massacres however, the LTTE sympathizes try to bring forth the argument that these were the end results of the ban on the LTTE.
Now, what else is the LTTE left to save its last breath? The attack on Naval vessels at Pesalai in Mannar ,and the failed suicide attack in the Colombo Seas, despite the security forces considering to be separate incidents, the defense analysts see a clear link between the two incidents. The Soosai’s “sea tiger naval force” comprising of a few dinghy boats intercepted the Sri Lankan naval dinghy patrol around 6.30a.m on Saturday the 17th of June followed by a heavy shelling of mortars in the Mannar Island. Whenever the Mannar Island is under any attack the Sri Lankan Navy is compelled to reinforce its troops in the Island with its fire power from the Colombo harbor. The aim of the LTTE was definitely to divert the intention of the Navy to the Mannar Island and cunningly target the Sri Lankan naval and other vessels right there, around the Colombo harbor; especially, when such vessels come out to reinforce troops who are already stationed in Colombo.
Somehow, it is apparent that the news of the arrest of the three suicide cadres had delayed to reach the LTTE belatedly. The arrest had been made at around 6.15 a.m. the same day, when the LTTE attack on the boats were already underway. Thus, luckily averted catastrophe to the Navy was barely saved, thanks to the vigilance of civilians who strongly prevented another Soosai’s victory. Thus Soosai’s list of failures continues.
Naval sources confirmed that it was a sea battle and not battle on the beach though the LTTE fired at the sentry points on the beach. The navy also retaliated aiming their guns at the targets in the sea, but not on the beach. It is doubtful as to how and why the naval troops would attack the civilians once the Island was facing and eminent threat of a possible enemy landing.
Nevertheless, the LTTE accidentally or purposely targeted the Catholic Church in Mannar, killing a civilian and injuring many others through their indiscriminate shelling. Despite the Soosai’s string of failures, in his naval operations, Pottu Amman seemed to have found a golden opportunity in drawing international sympathy for the terror organization by rousing religious sentiments. Knowing very well the western world could be miss lead by this sinister move the Pro LTTE media are all out on there propaganda to convince the world the Christians and Catholics in Sri Lanaka are being specifically. It is now apparent that the LTTE has suddenly switched roles from that of “sole representative” to “saviors of Tamils and Christians”.
A terrorist sympathizer lady journalist, who works for a foreign media agency, helped the LTTE to evade responsibility of the Kebethigollawa massacre, by highlighting that the LTTE had not claimed any responsibility for the crime. Minutes after her news was published in the Internet, the LTTE’s political wing denied the responsibility and condemned the very brutal that they themselves committed.
Now, the same “lady journalist” is once again in the limelight highlighting an incident of shooting at a sentry point near the Somavathi Chaitya; a religious place in Buddhist in Polonnaruwa to subtlety introduce a religious aspects. This is a new dimension in the decade old conflict of Sri Lanka supporting Pottu Amman latest strategy.
The main aim of this article is to urge the international community to be aware of the danger of this new ploy of the LTTE. The new LTTE’s strategy is rousing religious susceptibilities in order to gain more advantage. The LTTE has already proven these facts by massacring two families in Kayts and Marrar.
Should the rattle snake be let lose any longer?
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better persons than himself.” – John Stuart Mill.