Category Archives: LTTE

September 30, 2016 · 9:23 am

Some Reflections on Eelam War IV

 nadkarni  Major-General Ranjit Nadkarni (Retd)**…… with highlighting emphasis and photographs being the additions by The Editor, Thuppahi.

Introduction: Having read and digested afresh, the article entitled ” How Sri Lanka won the unwinnable war” written by Serge de Silva ­Ranasinghe and then the lucid thoughts penned by Michael Roberts on this article, I got thinking on what were the issues other than those pertaining to Sri Lanka, which contributed to the defeat of the LTTE and a win for the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. Some of my reflections cover the International Environment prevailing during E War 4; the role played by India, Pakistan and China; the internal environment which dictated success; and the Strategic Blunders of LTTE leading to its defeat. These issues surely and certainly contributed to the winning of the so called unwinnable war’, notwithstanding the kudos heaped on the Sri Lankan Government and Armed Forces by both authors.

 

67-thamililam-in-late-2007 Thamililam in late 2007

The International Environment: ­ It is unthinkable that Sri Lanka would have won the E War 4 had the international community especially India not made soft bleating sounds asking for the hostilities to stop. This is so because 32 countries had banned the LTTE and declared it a terrorist group inhibiting a more potent reaction from the Western Countries and the EU. This coupled with a very lukewarm reaction from Asian countries, enabled Sri Lanka to withstand pressure and carry the offensive to its logical conclusion. Continue reading →

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September 29, 2016 · 10:50 am

Defeating the LTTE: VK Shashikumar on The Basic Principles behind Sri Lanka’s Success

sashikumar VK Shashikumar. This article was first published in Indian Defence Review with the title “Lessons from Sri Lanka’s War” . Read the original article at http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/lessons-from-the-war-in-sri-lanka/. I am indebted to Jitender  Kalra of the Editorial board for permission granted by email on 29th September 2016. Highlighting emphases has been inserted by the Editor, Thuppahi and some spelling corrections also made.

aa-shashi-kumar-map Continue reading →

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September 29, 2016 · 1:49 am

Ban Ki-Moon’s Confusions: Kashmir, the Burmese Hill-Peoples and Northern SL Tamils in One Pot

Dayan Jayatilleka, courtesy of the Daily Mirror, 28 September 2016, where the title reads “Ban Ki-moon’s “New Union” for Sri Lanka”

ms-and-ban You’ve heard of the “We Tamils” (who beat up High Commissioner Ansar). Now we have the “E-Tamils”–the “Eluga/Ezhuga Tamils” (or simply Eelam Tamils?). They shut down Jaffna, took over its streets, raucously demanding federalism, an international investigation and cleansing of the army and Sinhala Buddhist symbolism/presence from the North (thereby turning it into a mono-ethnic enclave). Meanwhile the smooth operators Suma-Sam-Sara-Suren canvass federalism and an internationalized ‘war crimes’ investigation in the corridors of Colombo and Western capitals.

   aa-gp-map-ethnic-dsitribution-1981

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September 28, 2016 · 4:22 pm

Moving to War: Critical Events that hardened Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Resolve in 2006

 Michael Roberts, courtesy of Colombo Telegraph, 27 September 2016, where the title is “From Hesitant Compromise to Resolve: Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2006”

 fig-2-keb-bus The carnage caused by the LTTE’s claymore mine attack on a civilian bus at Kebithigollewa was a major factor in hardening Prsident Rajapaksa’s resolve …keb-22-archives-dailynews-lk

Delineating the fault lines and events that generated the ethnic conflict between Tamils and Sinhalese Sri Lanka since 1948 will demand careful historical work that builds upon the many studies by a battery of scholars thus far — referring here to a whole line of intellectual work extending from Howard Wriggins through Robert Kearney, KM de Silva, SJ Tambiah and AJ Wilson to Nira Wickremasinghe. Historical causation is usually multi-factorial not singular. It is also marked by critical episodes and temporal moments. Each episode and/or phase is likely as not to be generated by several causes involving a multiplicity of factors. Continue reading →

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September 28, 2016 · 1:02 pm

Placing Sri Lanka’s Woes in the International Context: Critical Comments on the Marga Readings

Jean Pierre-Page, an original essay in a friendly critique of the Marga Think Tank’s Review of the UNPoE and International Order’s Interventions over Sri Lanka — specifically the booklet entitled Issues of Truth and Accountability. The Last Stages of the War in Sri Lanka (2014) …. with the title of this presentation and the highlighting in blue being liberties imposed by the Editor, Thuppahi.

jean-pierre-page    aamarga

I would like to share with you a few ideas in relation to the 3rd narrative of the last stage of the war in Sri Lanka. I will try to make myself as clear as possible! I don’t believe in this notion that it is the influence of the Tamil Diaspora that determines Washington’s foreign policy and that of its Western allies! And I think it is very wrong and dangerous to put all the Tamil Diaspora in one basket. Most Tamils I know outside this country do not support a separate State. They are not separatists, and they are not Terrorists.[i] If Sri Lanka is to formulate an offensive strategy rather than a defensive one, it should take my reflections here  into consideration!

Of course, the Tamil separatist forces outside do have relations with Washington and its allies, but these relations are determined by the national and geostrategic objectives of the US and its allies, as we have seen in Afghanistan, or now in Iraq, Syria and the Ukraine. For the West, when it suits their objectives, they are good Tamil Tigers and when it doesn’t, they are bad Tamil Tigers, like the good jihadists and bad jihadists. It all depends on the circumstances. Today, the LTTE has been defeated, but tomorrow it can become useful again![ii] Continue reading →

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September 27, 2016 · 11:35 am

Sri Lanka’s Success in the Eelam War IV: Some Insights

1 .jpg  Colonel Hariharan … This article was written on 28th February 2009 before the war ended and was published  in  Agni–Studies in International Strategic Studies, XII, No. 1, Jan-March 2009. It has been sent to me by the author for inclusion in Thuppahi. Emphasis via highlighting in BLUE is my imposition.

 

Sri Lanka appears to be the only success story in the dismal scene everywhere in the war against terror. It has been extremely successful in the Eelam War IV, going on since 2006 against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) insurgents. Collectively known as the Eelam Wars, these wars have been going on from 1983. Sri Lanka security forces (SLSF) were not able to achieve decisive results in their three earlier outings. The Tamil insurgent group fighting for an independent Tamil Eelam state to be created for minority Tamils has been rated by According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), “the Tamil Tigers are among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world.” The FBI said the LTTE’s “ruthless tactics have inspired terrorist networks worldwide, including Al Qaeda in Iraq.”

49a-balraj-and-troops Colonel Balraj  and Tiger  troops advancing during Eelam War III

The LTTE has also the dubious credit of refining the use of suicide terrorism as a force multiplier in its terrorist operations. The LTTE is perhaps the only insurgent and terrorist group in the world with proven capability to wage both conventional as well as non conventional war on land, in air, and on sea. It has used suicide terrorism to change the course of events irreversibly both in India and Sri Lanka. Continue reading →

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September 24, 2016 · 11:37 am

The Rajasingams and Their Profound Legacies

Rajan Hoole, being the text of speech delivered at Trimmer Hall, Jaffna, 22 September 2016… and reproduced in the Daily News with the title “The Rajasingam Legacy: A Quest for Quality”

  rajasinghamsin1990parentsofdrrajani aaa-rajasingambavinck-rajasingham

After nightfall on 21st September 1989, Rajasingam Master called on his bicycle at my mother’s home quite unexpectedly and delivered his pithy message, “Rajini has been shot.” His voice showed no evident emotion. After a brief exchange of words, he turned back. He was stoic, incorruptible, who lived by his strong sense of duty. Master, his wife MahilaAcca, and their daughters, Nirmala, Rajini, Sumathy and Vasuki were familiar to us from childhood days in the St. James’ Church choir. Had Master been more ambitious during his university days, he would have left his mark as an outstanding mathematician in our university. What he did as a school master at Hartley and Jaffna College was no less important. His zeal for catching hold of students who seemed to be in need of inspiration and getting them to work Mathematics problems remained a passion with him to the end of his life.  rajani-t Rajani Thiranagama nee Rajasingam

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September 22, 2016 · 6:35 am

Discontent and Confrontational Violence in Sri Lanka, 1948-2009

Gerald Peiris, being Chapter 7 from his book Political Conflict in South Asia (2013, University of Peradeniya)  — a chapter based on his previous writings  [1]

 The survival of the principle of representative government based upon universal adult franchise since its introduction to the constitution more than eighty years ago while ‘Ceylon’ was still a colony of the British Empire is a feature often accorded prominence in scholarly discourses on the political history of Sri Lanka. Over the first three decades after independence (1948) the regularity of peaceful transfers of power from one regime to another, based upon the will of the people as expressed at national elections, was also widely acclaimed as a feature that made Sri Lanka unique among the emergent nation-states of the post-colonial era. The radiance of that achievement has, of course, dimmed considerably in the more recent past, due mainly to the violation of democratic norms in affairs of governance, and the intense rivalry that features the sub-national disputes which often find expression in confrontational violence.

1958-riots-22  Scenes in Colombo from 1958 riots after OEG led crackdown1958-getty

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September 18, 2016 · 3:19 am

Reading “Road to Nandikadal” –- Lalin Fernando

Retd Major-General Lalin Fernando, in The Island and Asian Tribune … with emphasis ivia highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

“Great Commanders have mostly been dull writers. Rommel was a born writer as well as a born fighter. The impact that he made on the world with the sword will be deepened by his power with the pen”. (The Rommel Papers- Capt Liddell Hart)….. Major General Kamal Gunaratne ‘s ‘Road to Nandikadal’ is the most comprehensive, credible, incisive, riveting and objective book in English on the entire 26 year old conflict in SL. (It is also available thankfully in Sinhalese and a copy in Tamil would be welcome too). It is the inside story of one who fought the war from its inception to the end and gives an impeccable account of the conflict that took 100,000 lives. While the actions are fast moving and his blunt opinions of various people are delightful, it is the thinking side that is the book’s real value. Frank, with no false modesty but with compelling confidence, what impresses is its highly personal tone. It also describes the many lessons learned which almost all SL political leaders have yet to understand or concede. It is a trail blazing contribution to SL’s Military History.

lalin-www-gemunuesra-lkl Lalin—Pic from www.gemunuesra.lk aaa-kgKamal Gunaratna Continue reading →

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September 15, 2016 · 3:06 am

Thoughts on de Silva-Ranasinghe’s Concise Delineation of the LTTE Defeat in Eelam War IV

Michael Roberts … with highlighting in blue being that imposed in 2016 wheraas THAT in red has been done today 17th March 2023

This month of September 2016 I stumbled across an essay from 2009 that I had not seen before. I was puzzled because it is a splendid summary of the political and military factors that enabled the Government of Sri Lanka to overwhelm the LTTE in the course of Eelam War IV (2006-09), a force considered invincible by so many – including the Norwegian diplomatic ‘whiz-kid’ Eric Solhiem who told President Mahinda Rajapaksa in late March 2006 that Pirapaharan was “a military genius” (my interview with Lalith Weeratunga,14 June 2016). The puzzle arose from the absence of authorship in the version I came across – seemingly a foreign Australian agency and author.

serge-111Since few foreign reports had revealed any discerning understandings of the war,[1] I was stunned because this summary was as thorough a job as anyone could produce in a short essay. On reflection I decided that it must be Sergei de Silva Ranasinghe’s work because he had produced detailed accounts of the ongoing war while it was in progress (see incomplete list in separate Thuppahi item). He confirmed this by sending me the source, the Asia Pacific Defence Reporter issue dated September 2009 – a journal where he had also presented articles as the war unfolded. Continue reading →

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