Uthayan Editorial: Government makes airy announcements on capturing Kilinochi and nabbing Prabhakaran, Mythical illusions of the Sri Lankan Government


(Tamilinsight, 01 01 2009) - “Colombo government is in deep illusions and makes empty announcements on capturing Kilinochi and nabbing Prabhakaran. That is only a myth. The government’s hope that it can put an end to the Tamil problem by eliminating the Tigers is not just ridiculous but eminently laughable too”, said Uthayan newspaper in an editorial on 31 12 2008. Continuing the traditions, the present Sri Lanka government leaders also “play with words in the cricket field of warfare”, the paper said.

English translation of the Editorial in Uthayan, a Tamil daily based in Jaffna is as follows:

Gotabaya Rajapakse, Defence Secretary and second only to the President in influencing defence policies in Sri Lanka, had ostensibly declared in November 2007 that they would not leave LTTE Chief Prabhakaran to celebrate his birthday next year. “This would be his last birthday” he had then vowed. But Prabhakaran celebrated his ‘next birthday’ last November.

Whether Prabhakaran can be nabbed alive is an altogether different issue. Yet Defence spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella has now set a deadline for that. He has predicted that Kilinochchi will be captured and Prabhakaran nabbed by the army in the next forty days. Forty days is not a long time. It is less than a month and half. Like an astrologer, he has openly declared that this would happen before the forthcoming elections in Central and North Provinces.

But even before the ink dried on the reports of his speech, his vow seems to be shaking. The reports in the Defence Ministry website say the forces which were aiming to capture Kilinochchi in Vanni are now completely concentrated in Mullaitheevu. If that is the ground situation in Vanni, it is evident that the ostensible declarations of Keheliya Rambukwella will simply vanish into thin air.

The island nation has seen several Sinhala leaders who had thus set deadlines to eliminate the LTTE and annihilate the liberation struggle of Tamils. Continuing the tradition of couples like President Jayawardhana - Lalit Athulath Muthali and President chandrika Kumaratunga - General Ratawatta, the present couple President Mahinda Rajapakse - his brother Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse also play with words in the cricket field of warfare. The announcements of deadlines can only be seen as the expressions of such word games.

The government which has no scruples to set deadlines for bringing to an end the 60 year old sufferings of minority Tamils in Sri Lanka; which cannot bring to an end the ethnic problem of the island nation is making announcements to eliminate the Tigers and take control of the Tamil areas held by the LTTE.

The only aim and approach of the present Buddhist Sinhala hegemonial government is to make the numerically weak, minority Tamils lose their bargaining power by fighting them and make them accept the ’solution offered as a charity’ by the government. Hence the Colombo government is in deep illusions and makes empty announcements on capturing Kilinochchi and nabbing Prabhakaran. That is only a myth. The government’s hope that it can put an end to the Tamil problem by eliminating the Tigers is not just ridiculous but eminently laughable too.

The ethnic problem will not come to an end in this way.

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