(Continued from Simoundou Chronicles - 3)
"Rajith!" Gota barked into the phone. "Listen! Now Don't ask me any questions. Do what I say. Don't let my brother leave the place OK. Tell him there is a security risk. Tell him not to answer any phone calls. ANY PHONE CALLS YES! Tell him there is a plot to murder him ... SHUT UP AND LISTEN YOU IDIOT!... I don't care!.. I SAID I DON'T CARE!... What? DAMN! Then where is that idiot Kelum? Get Kelum to talk to the head of the presidential security team NOW and tell him they must return now. Of course with the president you idiot. If the president isn't back in his residence within the next 20 minutes then you will be sorry... And then don't let him go anywhere..... I don't give a damn... I DON'T GIVE A DAMN RAJITH!"
Gota slammed the phone down and looked at Basil. " This has to happen just when we are about the finish this war!" sighed Gota, as picked up a glass of water and gulped it down within seconds. Basil didn't say a word. He was still too shocked to speak. Gota continued.
"This is the problem with the LTTE. Every time when we are about to finish them off some idiot comes along and tries to stop the war and spoils the whole thing. That's why this has continued for this long. At first India saved them by forcing us to stop the war, Then when the Indians were about to finish them off President Premadasa saved them. Now when I am about to finish them my own brother is trying to save them. I just can't believe it. This foolishness has to stop someday. And that day has come"
And then the door flung open. Two men entered the room. A tall well built man probably in his twenties and a much older man with gray hair and a matching gray beard. The younger man wore blue denim jeans and a plain black T shirt. The older man wore a white shirt and white trousers. He looked like an academic type. He was carrying a briefcase with him. He could be a college professor or a teacher. As soon as they entered the younger man turned around and shut the door behind them.
"Sorry I am not seeing anybody today! Please leave Now" said Gota. The older man looked up at Gota. He remained silent for about two seconds and then he spoke.
"We won't take long sir." Before he finished the sentence the younger man took a step towards Gota.
It was then that Gota sensed something was wrong. Who are these guys? How did they enter his room so easily? Why didn't Palitha ask him before letting these guys in. Palitha never lets anyone in without asking him first. Has the security been breached? All the layers of security has been breached so easily? Then how come he didn't even hear a single shot? Has his entire personal security team decided to betray him and made a deal with the LTTE? The entire team? Every member? That just doesn't make sense! How do you explain this? The thoughts sent his heart pumping like mad. But there was no time for such thoughts now. The man was within about ten steps of Gota's desk now. Gota's brain switched into soldier mode. Now it is all about survival.
There is a pistol in the drawer on the left. He remembered. He always liked to keep weapons with him even after he left the army. He never imagined he would need to use it again. But he just liked the idea of having them with him, fully loaded. He felt it was part of him being a soldier at heart. Now he has to use it. It is ages since he last fired a gun. His mind was still racing as his hand slowly reached for the gun in the drawer while he was still looking straight at man who is now about five steps away from his desk. Is he carrying a weapon? Is he a.. shit!.. is he a suicide bomber? Then what is this old professor type man doing with an LTTE suicide bomber? Forget it! there is no time for that. Shooting the man might hit the explosives under his clothes and blow up the whole place. But wait a minute! he is wearing a T-shirt. A tight one. A stupid thing to wear if you are a suicide bomber. May be the explosives are in his trousers. They say that was how they did it when they blew up minister Jeyaraj! In any case it should be safer to hit his head. There can't be any explosives there. He has to be careful. He can't afford to miss. Must hit him the first time. Gota felt the cold metal of the Kel-Tec P-32 in his right hand. He tried hard to look relaxed as grabbed the handle firmly. He was still looking straight at the man. "Yes what can I do for you?" He asked, trying hard to sound casual as he prepared to lift the gun up and fire.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Simoundou Chronicles - 3
(Continued from Simoundou Chronicles - 2)
Prabha smiled at Pottu's suggestion as he watched another explosion on the big, high-definition screen. "It is one thing to blow him up in Colombo. But to take him out here when he is our guest - that doesn't sound right Pottu. We can even justify blowing up bus loads of civilians as revenge for their clymore attacks and air attacks on our civilians. But killing someone when they come to our place for talks is different. We have never done anything like that before have we? "
"No sir. I don't think so" Agreed Pottu.
"And then there is international opinion. Our image is already badly damaged. But if we do anything like this it will destroy it"
"But sir, already we are listed as terrorists by many countries and we are banned almost everywhere. So can it really get any worse?"
"Yes Pottu. It can get worse. We would get banned in the few remaining countries where we can still operate legally - like Norway and Switzerland. And worse still, those countries that have already banned us could put more effort into crippling our front groups there. We are already having a bit of a problem these days. The money isn't flowing that smoothly anymore. We can't afford to make things any worse"
"But sir if our image abroad is that important, then how come we have always ignored those foreign idiots all the time?"
"Of course we can't please those white guys. If we send all those under aged kids back to their homes or refugee camps or wherever they came from then you and I will be minced meat in minutes!" Prabha said as he picked up the remote. "We can't do everything they want us to do. But we can't ignore them either. That's one of the reasons why I selected Mahinda during the last elections"
"What has Mahinda got to do with those foreign guys and what they think of us sir?"
"Well, we can't turn into nice guys to please those western countries. And those white skinned do-gooders don't like bad boys like us. so what do we do?" Prabha paused the movie and continued. "We simply make our enemy look just as bad as us, if not worse. That way things are a bit safer for us. Although we are evil so is our enemy. That way those western countries won't be so enthusiastic about helping our enemy defeat us. So all we needed to do was to make the Sri Lankan government look just as bad as us. And Mahinda was the right man for the job! So far he has not disappointed us"
"Hmm... yes." Pottu agreed " The US has stopped military assistance. They got kicked out of the UN Human Rights Council and the EU is applying more pressure as well. They are being compared to notorious 'rogue' states and some are even talking about economic sanctions."
"That's the idea Pottu. When they look that bad, those white guys won't be so enthusiastic about helping them defeat us. That's why even in some of those countries where we are banned now, we still have front groups and they don't seem to be too bothered"
"I knew Mahinda was ideal for this job because he was seen as a hard liner from the start. He was very close to people like JHU and JVP even before the elections. These guys hate the western governments. I was sure from the start that he won't get along with the international crowd very well. But if we kill him when he is our guest things would change. We become worse than terrorists but more importantly he becomes a hero! And that, Pottu, is really bad for us!
It will hit the international headlines 'The president who died for peace!' And what would they call us? The whole world would get behind Mahida's successor to help him defeat us!"
"Yes sir, And the successor will be our old friend Ranil! He is quite good at dealing with those foreigners. He doesn't have any of Mahinda's bad baggage like Human rights violations so it would be easy for him to get the western countries to back him. And he would be ready to consider some form of power sharing so it would be harder for us to stay relevant"
"Exactly, So the question is do we want to see Ranil in power now? With the whole world behind him?"
"OK sir, So what do we do now then. We can't kill Mahinda when he gets here! So are we really going to talk peace with him?" Potto asked.
"Ah! peace!" Prabha smiled sarcastically "I love peace! when there is peace everyone seems happy except me! Even our own boys and girls seem so happy. They want to have fun, They want holidays,they want to visit their families and then they never come back!"
"Yes sir, And then we learn they are in some western country! That's the pattern."
"And the people forget what we have done for them. They forget we have been fighting for their rights all this time. They start arguing with us!"
"Yes sir, during peace they quickly forget about all the killing and raping the Sinhalese have done in our country. They don't even feel angry anymore"
"Yes, peace would destroy our struggle Pottu. That was the game Ranil was playing."
"So what do we do if Mahinda starts playing the same game?"
"I don't think we need to worry about that Pottu. Because I don't think he is serious. If I know Mahinda he won't come here! He would be damned scared about risking his life! A Sinhalese can never be that brave!"
"Yes sir! That's why they don't have suicide bombers. Only a Tamil will have the guts to blow himself up for what he believes in! It is in the Tamil blood! I don't think a Sinhalese can ever have that kind of courage"
Just them they hear a faint ringing noise. Prabha puts his hand in his pocket , digs our a satellite phone and says "Yes"
His expression turns serious as he listens. After a few seconds he says "OK" and puts the phone down.
"I was wrong!" said Prabha "He is coming! The Norwegians have just contacted Nadesan about this! This is getting complicated now"
Prabha looked worried.
****************************************************************************************
It is Sri Lanka's defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse's office. The place looks neat . Gota is sitting at his desk talking on the phone. A huge potrait of Mahinda hangs on the wall behind him. He is doodling as talks.
"Another protest march?... JVP?........Right....."
The door opens and Basil rushes into the room. Gota looks up and waves his hand towards the chair in front of him as he continues " Yes some Engine oil should be fine ....... What?....You don't have any? What happened to all that engine oil?......."
Basil looks impatient. He picks up a 'post-it' note from the desks and writes 'URGENT' and holds it up for Gota to see.
Gota looked at it and nodded. 'Just a minute Basil!' he said. Then he continued on the phone "...Yes about that Engine oil... You used it up yesterday?... Why? was there any protest marches yesterday?......You idiot! It was our guys! You threw burnt engine oil at our guys? You crazy fool! Yesterdays protest was organized by us! It was a protest march organized to protest against the protest march by JVP the day before! .... Yes I did tell you to 'throw engine oil if you come across any protest marches' but I didn't say you should do it to our own people you fool! "
Basil was getting annoyed. "Gota" he interrupted. "I need to talk to you now. I have some.."
Gota took the phone away and stared at Basil angrily. "Can't you see I am on the phone? I am dealing with issues of national security! Can't you wait for a few minutes? " Then he continued on the phone. "Oh where was I? Oh that engine oil stuff. OK you stupid don't do this again! Check whose protest march it is before you throw anything on them OK! If you do that again I will throw something much worse than burnt engine oil on you. By the way have you got that journalist I told you about the other day?... OK... Make sure there are some fractures... No.. don't kill him this time... "
Basil stands up "Our Aiya's(Brother's) life is in danger! Can you put that damned phone down Gota?" He shouts.
Gota looked startled. He slams the phone down immediately. "His life is in danger? Have they exploded a bomb near him? Is he hurt?"
"No No Nothing like that!. But he wants to go to Kilinochi and meet those murderers there!"
"What?.... Has he gone mad?"
"I don't know. I couldn't even get him on the phone for a long time after I heard this news. But when I did he didn't say much. He sounded very strange. He refused to even listen to me"
"What exactly did he say?"
"He said something like 'I have always listened to your advice Basil, but right now I need to do what I believe to be right. So don't bother me know' and he slammed the phone.
"It must be the stress Basil. I know Aiya is under a lot of stress these days. He really needs some rest. Then he will be fine. What what do we do now"
"He seemed to be hell bent on going there. And I have a feeling that he won't come back alive if he goes there'
"Of course he won't. You think those murderers would let him come back in one piece?"
"I really don't know what is in his mind now. He never starts anything without talking to me. I am really worried about his safety more than anything"
"Me too" said Gota. There was silence for a few seconds. Then Gota broke it.
"He is not going there" Gota uttered each syllable slowly and clearly. "He will not leave the Temple Trees for the next few weeks."
"How are you going to stop him?"
"I am the defense secretary remember? The armed forces of the state fall under my command. And that includes the presidential security devision"
"Are you crazy Gota? Are you going to place Aiya under house arrest at temple trees?"
"I hate to do this Basil. But if that is the only way to save Aiya from those blood thirsty killers, I will have to do it." With those words, Gota reached for the phone.
"Listen Gota, I don't think this is the best thing to do..."
"Hold it Basil!" Gota interrupted. " You may be aiya's advisor, but I don't need your advice now. No body is going to know about this except you,me,aiya and a handful of security personal. Everyone else will be informed that the president is busy and he has canceled all appointments for the next few weeks to focus on matters related to national security."
"You are crazy!" Shouted Basil
"Aiya has gone crazy!" Gota shouted back "I am just trying to save him" He picked up the phone
(continued)
Prabha smiled at Pottu's suggestion as he watched another explosion on the big, high-definition screen. "It is one thing to blow him up in Colombo. But to take him out here when he is our guest - that doesn't sound right Pottu. We can even justify blowing up bus loads of civilians as revenge for their clymore attacks and air attacks on our civilians. But killing someone when they come to our place for talks is different. We have never done anything like that before have we? "
"No sir. I don't think so" Agreed Pottu.
"And then there is international opinion. Our image is already badly damaged. But if we do anything like this it will destroy it"
"But sir, already we are listed as terrorists by many countries and we are banned almost everywhere. So can it really get any worse?"
"Yes Pottu. It can get worse. We would get banned in the few remaining countries where we can still operate legally - like Norway and Switzerland. And worse still, those countries that have already banned us could put more effort into crippling our front groups there. We are already having a bit of a problem these days. The money isn't flowing that smoothly anymore. We can't afford to make things any worse"
"But sir if our image abroad is that important, then how come we have always ignored those foreign idiots all the time?"
"Of course we can't please those white guys. If we send all those under aged kids back to their homes or refugee camps or wherever they came from then you and I will be minced meat in minutes!" Prabha said as he picked up the remote. "We can't do everything they want us to do. But we can't ignore them either. That's one of the reasons why I selected Mahinda during the last elections"
"What has Mahinda got to do with those foreign guys and what they think of us sir?"
"Well, we can't turn into nice guys to please those western countries. And those white skinned do-gooders don't like bad boys like us. so what do we do?" Prabha paused the movie and continued. "We simply make our enemy look just as bad as us, if not worse. That way things are a bit safer for us. Although we are evil so is our enemy. That way those western countries won't be so enthusiastic about helping our enemy defeat us. So all we needed to do was to make the Sri Lankan government look just as bad as us. And Mahinda was the right man for the job! So far he has not disappointed us"
"Hmm... yes." Pottu agreed " The US has stopped military assistance. They got kicked out of the UN Human Rights Council and the EU is applying more pressure as well. They are being compared to notorious 'rogue' states and some are even talking about economic sanctions."
"That's the idea Pottu. When they look that bad, those white guys won't be so enthusiastic about helping them defeat us. That's why even in some of those countries where we are banned now, we still have front groups and they don't seem to be too bothered"
"I knew Mahinda was ideal for this job because he was seen as a hard liner from the start. He was very close to people like JHU and JVP even before the elections. These guys hate the western governments. I was sure from the start that he won't get along with the international crowd very well. But if we kill him when he is our guest things would change. We become worse than terrorists but more importantly he becomes a hero! And that, Pottu, is really bad for us!
It will hit the international headlines 'The president who died for peace!' And what would they call us? The whole world would get behind Mahida's successor to help him defeat us!"
"Yes sir, And the successor will be our old friend Ranil! He is quite good at dealing with those foreigners. He doesn't have any of Mahinda's bad baggage like Human rights violations so it would be easy for him to get the western countries to back him. And he would be ready to consider some form of power sharing so it would be harder for us to stay relevant"
"Exactly, So the question is do we want to see Ranil in power now? With the whole world behind him?"
"OK sir, So what do we do now then. We can't kill Mahinda when he gets here! So are we really going to talk peace with him?" Potto asked.
"Ah! peace!" Prabha smiled sarcastically "I love peace! when there is peace everyone seems happy except me! Even our own boys and girls seem so happy. They want to have fun, They want holidays,they want to visit their families and then they never come back!"
"Yes sir, And then we learn they are in some western country! That's the pattern."
"And the people forget what we have done for them. They forget we have been fighting for their rights all this time. They start arguing with us!"
"Yes sir, during peace they quickly forget about all the killing and raping the Sinhalese have done in our country. They don't even feel angry anymore"
"Yes, peace would destroy our struggle Pottu. That was the game Ranil was playing."
"So what do we do if Mahinda starts playing the same game?"
"I don't think we need to worry about that Pottu. Because I don't think he is serious. If I know Mahinda he won't come here! He would be damned scared about risking his life! A Sinhalese can never be that brave!"
"Yes sir! That's why they don't have suicide bombers. Only a Tamil will have the guts to blow himself up for what he believes in! It is in the Tamil blood! I don't think a Sinhalese can ever have that kind of courage"
Just them they hear a faint ringing noise. Prabha puts his hand in his pocket , digs our a satellite phone and says "Yes"
His expression turns serious as he listens. After a few seconds he says "OK" and puts the phone down.
"I was wrong!" said Prabha "He is coming! The Norwegians have just contacted Nadesan about this! This is getting complicated now"
Prabha looked worried.
****************************************************************************************
It is Sri Lanka's defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse's office. The place looks neat . Gota is sitting at his desk talking on the phone. A huge potrait of Mahinda hangs on the wall behind him. He is doodling as talks.
"Another protest march?... JVP?........Right....."
The door opens and Basil rushes into the room. Gota looks up and waves his hand towards the chair in front of him as he continues " Yes some Engine oil should be fine ....... What?....You don't have any? What happened to all that engine oil?......."
Basil looks impatient. He picks up a 'post-it' note from the desks and writes 'URGENT' and holds it up for Gota to see.
Gota looked at it and nodded. 'Just a minute Basil!' he said. Then he continued on the phone "...Yes about that Engine oil... You used it up yesterday?... Why? was there any protest marches yesterday?......You idiot! It was our guys! You threw burnt engine oil at our guys? You crazy fool! Yesterdays protest was organized by us! It was a protest march organized to protest against the protest march by JVP the day before! .... Yes I did tell you to 'throw engine oil if you come across any protest marches' but I didn't say you should do it to our own people you fool! "
Basil was getting annoyed. "Gota" he interrupted. "I need to talk to you now. I have some.."
Gota took the phone away and stared at Basil angrily. "Can't you see I am on the phone? I am dealing with issues of national security! Can't you wait for a few minutes? " Then he continued on the phone. "Oh where was I? Oh that engine oil stuff. OK you stupid don't do this again! Check whose protest march it is before you throw anything on them OK! If you do that again I will throw something much worse than burnt engine oil on you. By the way have you got that journalist I told you about the other day?... OK... Make sure there are some fractures... No.. don't kill him this time... "
Basil stands up "Our Aiya's(Brother's) life is in danger! Can you put that damned phone down Gota?" He shouts.
Gota looked startled. He slams the phone down immediately. "His life is in danger? Have they exploded a bomb near him? Is he hurt?"
"No No Nothing like that!. But he wants to go to Kilinochi and meet those murderers there!"
"What?.... Has he gone mad?"
"I don't know. I couldn't even get him on the phone for a long time after I heard this news. But when I did he didn't say much. He sounded very strange. He refused to even listen to me"
"What exactly did he say?"
"He said something like 'I have always listened to your advice Basil, but right now I need to do what I believe to be right. So don't bother me know' and he slammed the phone.
"It must be the stress Basil. I know Aiya is under a lot of stress these days. He really needs some rest. Then he will be fine. What what do we do now"
"He seemed to be hell bent on going there. And I have a feeling that he won't come back alive if he goes there'
"Of course he won't. You think those murderers would let him come back in one piece?"
"I really don't know what is in his mind now. He never starts anything without talking to me. I am really worried about his safety more than anything"
"Me too" said Gota. There was silence for a few seconds. Then Gota broke it.
"He is not going there" Gota uttered each syllable slowly and clearly. "He will not leave the Temple Trees for the next few weeks."
"How are you going to stop him?"
"I am the defense secretary remember? The armed forces of the state fall under my command. And that includes the presidential security devision"
"Are you crazy Gota? Are you going to place Aiya under house arrest at temple trees?"
"I hate to do this Basil. But if that is the only way to save Aiya from those blood thirsty killers, I will have to do it." With those words, Gota reached for the phone.
"Listen Gota, I don't think this is the best thing to do..."
"Hold it Basil!" Gota interrupted. " You may be aiya's advisor, but I don't need your advice now. No body is going to know about this except you,me,aiya and a handful of security personal. Everyone else will be informed that the president is busy and he has canceled all appointments for the next few weeks to focus on matters related to national security."
"You are crazy!" Shouted Basil
"Aiya has gone crazy!" Gota shouted back "I am just trying to save him" He picked up the phone
(continued)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Simoundou Chronicles - Part 2
(continued from Simoundou Chronicles - Part 1)
"I know they may want to kill me" said the President. "I have taken certain steps to minimize the risk, I can't tell you about them now. But in the unlikely even that I don't come back alive, there is this dependable leader who will look after the country until the next election. And here he comes!"
With that he turned to to right. Just then Ranil wickremasinghe walked in from the right hand side of the stage smiling and waving to the dumbstruck journalists.
"But Ranil is not even part of the government! He is your sworn enemy! And more importantly he is a born loser!"
"I have made an agreement with the Ranil. He is perfect for this job. Besides, how can we expect to make peace with Prabha if we can't even make peace with the leader of the opposition? But most importantly, as you all know, Ranil is the real leader of this country my dear friends! I am only a fake! So he is not a loser. He actually won the last presidential election."
With that the president paused, smiling. There was not a word from the journalists. The president continued.
"You all know how I "won" the last election. The LTTE cheated. They helped me by preventing millions of Tamils from voting. The results of the election did not really reflect the will of the people. It only reflected the will of the LTTE. Ranil would be the president now had the election been free and fair. So he IS the real leader of the country. The one chosen by the people."
"But will the parliament support this?"
"Of course it will! . Ranil's men will agree to this. And my men, who are a bunch of corrupt fools, will agree to anything as long as they continue to be minsters."
"But if you want to do something unconstitutional, you will need a 2/3 majority in parliament. Can you get that many mps to back you Mr president?"
"If I don't get enough backing then I will buy a few more mps from the opposition. All I need to do is to make them ministers!"
"But there aren't any vacancies for ministers Mr President! We already have too many ministers don't we? In fact we have the world record for the highest number of ministries! much higher than even India and China who have huge populations! "
"Well I will create a few by moving some existing ministers to some new ministries, the ministry of Hair Dressing and Cosmetic Affairs for Wimal, The ministry of Waste ,Corruption and inefficiency for a number of others. I will move Mervin to The Ministry of Thugs and Violent Affairs and Rohitha to the "Ministry of Oral disaster creation and mismanagement". Then there is "the ministry of Spineless LTTE Lap Dogs" for the TNA mps and "the ministry of double crossing" for GL peiris. That will free up a lot of existing ministries for new comers. you see?" Then there is also this "Ministry of Imagination and Fairy Tales" for Kehaliya.
"But Mr President, The whole idea seems ridiculous, I mean we are in the middle of a war, And we are making progress, and all of a sudden you want to go to Kilinochi to talk to the leader of the LTTE! They are exploding bombs in Colombo and killing civilians but you are willing to negotiate with terrorists! You said we should wipe out terrorism and..."
"Sorry to interrupt! The press conference is over! I wish I could spend more time with you but I just don't have enough time. So good bye!"
"But Mr President, Just one more question...."
But the president just walked away.
Meanwhile far away from all this, in Prabha's air conditioned bunker in an unknown location in the North, Prabha is eating 'Thosai' while watching "Iron Man" in a 42 inch plasma screen as Pottu walks in.
"Come Pottu! This looks damned good! If we could get one of those high tech suits, we can knock the hell out of those stupid Sinhalese Suckers!"
"Yes sir, But we'd need a smaller size as now we have mostly kids"
"Is that true Pottu? Do you think he is serious about coming here? I mean that fool Rajapakse?"
"I don't know yet, But I am quite surprised by this move sir!"
"Me too Pottu! I think this is another gimmick by that dog Rajapakse! May be just to appease those stupid foreign idiots!"
"May be sir, But if he is serious, he won't go back alive. will he?" Pottu asked with an evil smile.
(to be continued)
"I know they may want to kill me" said the President. "I have taken certain steps to minimize the risk, I can't tell you about them now. But in the unlikely even that I don't come back alive, there is this dependable leader who will look after the country until the next election. And here he comes!"
With that he turned to to right. Just then Ranil wickremasinghe walked in from the right hand side of the stage smiling and waving to the dumbstruck journalists.
"But Ranil is not even part of the government! He is your sworn enemy! And more importantly he is a born loser!"
"I have made an agreement with the Ranil. He is perfect for this job. Besides, how can we expect to make peace with Prabha if we can't even make peace with the leader of the opposition? But most importantly, as you all know, Ranil is the real leader of this country my dear friends! I am only a fake! So he is not a loser. He actually won the last presidential election."
With that the president paused, smiling. There was not a word from the journalists. The president continued.
"You all know how I "won" the last election. The LTTE cheated. They helped me by preventing millions of Tamils from voting. The results of the election did not really reflect the will of the people. It only reflected the will of the LTTE. Ranil would be the president now had the election been free and fair. So he IS the real leader of the country. The one chosen by the people."
"But will the parliament support this?"
"Of course it will! . Ranil's men will agree to this. And my men, who are a bunch of corrupt fools, will agree to anything as long as they continue to be minsters."
"But if you want to do something unconstitutional, you will need a 2/3 majority in parliament. Can you get that many mps to back you Mr president?"
"If I don't get enough backing then I will buy a few more mps from the opposition. All I need to do is to make them ministers!"
"But there aren't any vacancies for ministers Mr President! We already have too many ministers don't we? In fact we have the world record for the highest number of ministries! much higher than even India and China who have huge populations! "
"Well I will create a few by moving some existing ministers to some new ministries, the ministry of Hair Dressing and Cosmetic Affairs for Wimal, The ministry of Waste ,Corruption and inefficiency for a number of others. I will move Mervin to The Ministry of Thugs and Violent Affairs and Rohitha to the "Ministry of Oral disaster creation and mismanagement". Then there is "the ministry of Spineless LTTE Lap Dogs" for the TNA mps and "the ministry of double crossing" for GL peiris. That will free up a lot of existing ministries for new comers. you see?" Then there is also this "Ministry of Imagination and Fairy Tales" for Kehaliya.
"But Mr President, The whole idea seems ridiculous, I mean we are in the middle of a war, And we are making progress, and all of a sudden you want to go to Kilinochi to talk to the leader of the LTTE! They are exploding bombs in Colombo and killing civilians but you are willing to negotiate with terrorists! You said we should wipe out terrorism and..."
"Sorry to interrupt! The press conference is over! I wish I could spend more time with you but I just don't have enough time. So good bye!"
"But Mr President, Just one more question...."
But the president just walked away.
Meanwhile far away from all this, in Prabha's air conditioned bunker in an unknown location in the North, Prabha is eating 'Thosai' while watching "Iron Man" in a 42 inch plasma screen as Pottu walks in.
"Come Pottu! This looks damned good! If we could get one of those high tech suits, we can knock the hell out of those stupid Sinhalese Suckers!"
"Yes sir, But we'd need a smaller size as now we have mostly kids"
"Is that true Pottu? Do you think he is serious about coming here? I mean that fool Rajapakse?"
"I don't know yet, But I am quite surprised by this move sir!"
"Me too Pottu! I think this is another gimmick by that dog Rajapakse! May be just to appease those stupid foreign idiots!"
"May be sir, But if he is serious, he won't go back alive. will he?" Pottu asked with an evil smile.
(to be continued)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Simoundou Chronicles - Part 1
It was a dimly lit bedroom. The only sound was the sound of a clock ticking. Suddenly there was a loud ringing noise.
An arm stretched out from under the expensive blanket and stopped the alarm clock. The man on the bed slowly gets up,walks into the toilet and switches on the light. Suddenly he could see everything clearly. Including his face in the mirror. The face of president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The president looked tired. He couldn't sleep very well on the night before. He had so many things to worry about. War,poverty, debt , increasing prices of food and oil. The war was supposed to finish this year but now it looks like it is going to take longer. How much longer can the struggling economy cope with a costly war?
"There has to be a better way" he thought. As he stood there staring at his face in the mirror, something struck him. "Yes! There IS a better way"
The press conference was arranged in a hurry. "I am going to Killinochi. I am going to talk to Prabha directly. I am going to ask him if he thinks there is another way to end this conflict. Without fighting, without dividing the country into two."
"Mr President. Why did you take this decision all of a sudden?"
"I took this decision a long time ago. Remember my manifesto? I promised this years ago?"
"But why do we need to do this now? Aren't we winning the war?"
"Yes we are winning the war. And we will continue to win the ware. But as we continue to win this war for many many years,people all over our country are losing sons,daughters,fathers,brothers. Winning the war won't repair this damage."
"So are you going to surrender to the terrorists?"
"I am not going there to surrender. I am going to there to negotiate"
"But we have tried negotiating with them before! It never worked out!"
"It never worked out because we never trusted each other. We are always scared they will use the peace to trick us. And they are scared we would do the same"
"So how is it going to change this time?"
"Someone has to start trusting. And someone has to take the risks. I am going to travel to their place. It will send them a message about trust."
"How do you know they won't just kill you as soon as you get there?"
"Good point!" said the president. "I thought about that too." he continued.
(to be continued)
An arm stretched out from under the expensive blanket and stopped the alarm clock. The man on the bed slowly gets up,walks into the toilet and switches on the light. Suddenly he could see everything clearly. Including his face in the mirror. The face of president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The president looked tired. He couldn't sleep very well on the night before. He had so many things to worry about. War,poverty, debt , increasing prices of food and oil. The war was supposed to finish this year but now it looks like it is going to take longer. How much longer can the struggling economy cope with a costly war?
"There has to be a better way" he thought. As he stood there staring at his face in the mirror, something struck him. "Yes! There IS a better way"
The press conference was arranged in a hurry. "I am going to Killinochi. I am going to talk to Prabha directly. I am going to ask him if he thinks there is another way to end this conflict. Without fighting, without dividing the country into two."
"Mr President. Why did you take this decision all of a sudden?"
"I took this decision a long time ago. Remember my manifesto? I promised this years ago?"
"But why do we need to do this now? Aren't we winning the war?"
"Yes we are winning the war. And we will continue to win the ware. But as we continue to win this war for many many years,people all over our country are losing sons,daughters,fathers,brothers. Winning the war won't repair this damage."
"So are you going to surrender to the terrorists?"
"I am not going there to surrender. I am going to there to negotiate"
"But we have tried negotiating with them before! It never worked out!"
"It never worked out because we never trusted each other. We are always scared they will use the peace to trick us. And they are scared we would do the same"
"So how is it going to change this time?"
"Someone has to start trusting. And someone has to take the risks. I am going to travel to their place. It will send them a message about trust."
"How do you know they won't just kill you as soon as you get there?"
"Good point!" said the president. "I thought about that too." he continued.
(to be continued)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Myth of Tamil Political Leaders
Every time I come across the phrase "Tamil Political Leaders" I laugh. They just don't exists!. If you are Tamil and if you want to survive in Sri Lankan politics there are certain requirements. Let me list them.
The first one is that you should be a crook with no sense of principles. But then this one is a generic requirement that applies to almost everyone in Sri Lankan politics irrespective of their ethnicity. But there are a few others that are specific to Tamil politicians. So let's skip this one and go to the next.
To put it simply they have a choice to make. They can suck up to the LTTE or Suck up to the government.
LTTE really feels it knows what is good for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. So it doesn't want other Tamils to bother thinking for themselves. The LTTE has done all the thinking and taken all the decisions. So all the Tamil people need to do is just support it. If you are a Tamil and if you want to think for yourself LTTE doesn't stop you. But you better keep your thoughts to yourself.Even if you start talking about it still it is fine with the LTTE as long as your views match 100% with those of the LTTE. If that is not the case, then talking about your views would shorten your lifespan dramatically. This has happened to lots of Tamil people who committed the crime of daring to disagree with the views of the LTTE while refusing to suck up to the government. That will be a long list that includes great people like Rajini Thiranagama (I have to write a seperate post on her someday)
So if you speak out against the LTTE they will kill you. If you are Tamil and if you want to get into Sri Lankan politics and if you prefer to get old before you die there are two options.
a) Be an LTTE supporter. I mean not just a supporter. Your definition of Right and Wrong has to change a bit. Right is what the LTTE does. And Wrong is what their enemies do. If you can stick to this simple principle then you can be sure the LTTE won't kill you. If you can't support the LTTE at least refrain from opposing them. That is the golden rule. Just keeping your mouth shut when it comes to LTTE will be enough to save you. But you will still face the risk of getting killed by the government. That risk used to be low in the good old days but now it is increased significantly. Some of people who chose this option and got killed recently include people like MP Maheshwaran,MP Joseph Pararajasingham ,MP MP Sivanesan , MP Raviraj etc Raviraj) So this is no longer a good option. But all the TNA members are sticking with this option now. No wonder they are getting killed every now and then.
b) Be a government supporter. Just stick to the definition of what is right and wrong that I gave you above. But this time you have to replace the word "LTTE" with "government". That's it. But now the LTTE will try to kill you. But the government will protect you as long as you suck up to them and turn a blind eye to all the gruesome murders they commit. So many are sticking to this option. (Ananda Sangari,Douglas Devananda etc)
So where are the independent Tamils who are not afraid to voice their views? Ha Ha Ha! Naturally they are all dead my dear friend! they are all dead!.
No not all of them are dead yet. There are a still a few that are alive. They are damned brave! They try to tell the truth all the time. No wonder they are pissing off both the Government and LTTE.
And then there's me of course! I know I don't have to be that brave because it is just a blog without my real name on it. But still... :)
The first one is that you should be a crook with no sense of principles. But then this one is a generic requirement that applies to almost everyone in Sri Lankan politics irrespective of their ethnicity. But there are a few others that are specific to Tamil politicians. So let's skip this one and go to the next.
To put it simply they have a choice to make. They can suck up to the LTTE or Suck up to the government.
LTTE really feels it knows what is good for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. So it doesn't want other Tamils to bother thinking for themselves. The LTTE has done all the thinking and taken all the decisions. So all the Tamil people need to do is just support it. If you are a Tamil and if you want to think for yourself LTTE doesn't stop you. But you better keep your thoughts to yourself.Even if you start talking about it still it is fine with the LTTE as long as your views match 100% with those of the LTTE. If that is not the case, then talking about your views would shorten your lifespan dramatically. This has happened to lots of Tamil people who committed the crime of daring to disagree with the views of the LTTE while refusing to suck up to the government. That will be a long list that includes great people like Rajini Thiranagama (I have to write a seperate post on her someday)
So if you speak out against the LTTE they will kill you. If you are Tamil and if you want to get into Sri Lankan politics and if you prefer to get old before you die there are two options.
a) Be an LTTE supporter. I mean not just a supporter. Your definition of Right and Wrong has to change a bit. Right is what the LTTE does. And Wrong is what their enemies do. If you can stick to this simple principle then you can be sure the LTTE won't kill you. If you can't support the LTTE at least refrain from opposing them. That is the golden rule. Just keeping your mouth shut when it comes to LTTE will be enough to save you. But you will still face the risk of getting killed by the government. That risk used to be low in the good old days but now it is increased significantly. Some of people who chose this option and got killed recently include people like MP Maheshwaran,MP Joseph Pararajasingham ,MP MP Sivanesan , MP Raviraj etc Raviraj) So this is no longer a good option. But all the TNA members are sticking with this option now. No wonder they are getting killed every now and then.
b) Be a government supporter. Just stick to the definition of what is right and wrong that I gave you above. But this time you have to replace the word "LTTE" with "government". That's it. But now the LTTE will try to kill you. But the government will protect you as long as you suck up to them and turn a blind eye to all the gruesome murders they commit. So many are sticking to this option. (Ananda Sangari,Douglas Devananda etc)
So where are the independent Tamils who are not afraid to voice their views? Ha Ha Ha! Naturally they are all dead my dear friend! they are all dead!.
No not all of them are dead yet. There are a still a few that are alive. They are damned brave! They try to tell the truth all the time. No wonder they are pissing off both the Government and LTTE.
And then there's me of course! I know I don't have to be that brave because it is just a blog without my real name on it. But still... :)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Liberated East!
It is a tiny mud house in Kalmunai. It is night time. Men armed with pistols knock on the door. A woman answers. They force their way in. Walk in to a bedroom.Take turns to rape two young girls aged 18 and 16. The terrified girls cry but there is no one to protect them. Their mother watches helplessly as her daughters get tortured by thugs sponsored by the government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,tears pouring down her eyes. Later that night the armed men returned to this house and after assaulting the father and mother they abducted the 18 year old girl. They forced her into their white van and drove off while the rest of the family watched helplessly.
Sometimes I feel so depressed. I feel this mixture of anger, frustration and sheer helplessness. It is not a nice feeling. But that's how I feel after I read this story in the daily mirror.
Of course the mother tried reporting this to the police. You would expect them to take the details,put it in a file and forget about it right? Surprise! They are even more advanced now. They even refused to lodge her complaint.
This happened on the 10th of May the day of the Eastern Provincial Council Elections which President Mahinda Rajapakse's party won.
Pillayan and his gang know they can do whatever they want in the Tamil areas in the East. The government has given them a free hand there. They just have to stuff the ballot boxes whenever there is an election as they have done this time.
"..The results of the elections to the first Eastern Provincial Council show the people’s endorsement of the government’s policies of restoring democracy and normalcy to areas hitherto controlled by terrorists and the overall development programme already initiated in the Eastern Province..", said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a statement following the successful conclusion of elections to the EPC.
Sometimes I feel so depressed. I feel this mixture of anger, frustration and sheer helplessness. It is not a nice feeling. But that's how I feel after I read this story in the daily mirror.
Of course the mother tried reporting this to the police. You would expect them to take the details,put it in a file and forget about it right? Surprise! They are even more advanced now. They even refused to lodge her complaint.
This happened on the 10th of May the day of the Eastern Provincial Council Elections which President Mahinda Rajapakse's party won.
Pillayan and his gang know they can do whatever they want in the Tamil areas in the East. The government has given them a free hand there. They just have to stuff the ballot boxes whenever there is an election as they have done this time.
"..The results of the elections to the first Eastern Provincial Council show the people’s endorsement of the government’s policies of restoring democracy and normalcy to areas hitherto controlled by terrorists and the overall development programme already initiated in the Eastern Province..", said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a statement following the successful conclusion of elections to the EPC.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
How to beat the living crap out of the Tigers - Essential reading for every patriot
So you want to wipe out the LTTE as fast as possible? You support our forces,You support our president. And even if the prices hit the sky you will grin and bear it as long as we are winning the war. You are ready to do your part to achieve victory and protect mother Lanka.
Welcome patriot! You have come to the right place. I am going to give you valuable inside information about the enemy. The LTTE. You can take it seriously or you can dismiss as utter nonsense but just don't tell anyone that I told you all this OK? because if Prabha hears that I am outing his secrets he will send a suicide bomber right to my place! I can really do without a suicide bomber!
Let's get straight to the point. How to beat them. Bomb them like crazy! Kill the buggers! Sink their ships! Shoot! Kill! Is that it? But wait! Aren't we doing this already? In fact we have been doing this for decades. You thought I was going to give you some new information. Of course that is exactly what I am going to do.
Know Your Enemy
Sun Tzu wasn't joking when he said "Know Your Enemy".Whether you are fighting one of the most ruthless terrorist group or just arguing with the 'Auto' driver who insists it is your fault after he has just hit the back of your parked car,this is a rule you should never forget. (In the case of the Auto driver he could be having connections with Mervin Silva in which case arguing with him could seriously damage your health and wellbeing.)
So to fight the LTTE effectively we should first know them. Of course you know them. They are a bunch of blood thirsty killers aren't they? No I didn't mean that. You should know their inner workings. What makes them strong and what their weaknesses are. In fact I am going to introduce you to the most powerful weapon that can be used against the LTTE. The one that makes Prabha nervous. In fact it is the only thing that Prabha can't handle. He can even handle the cyanide capsule that's hanging on his chest if it comes down to it. But he can't handle this thing. This thing will just destroy him and his whole group once and for all. And then there is no chance for a come back. They would be just gone.
Before I tell you what the weapon is , let me give you a hint. This weapon has actually been used against the LTTE recently and it almost destroyed them completely. But unfortunately, just before LTTE was about to collapse something funny happened and we stopped using this weapon. We just threw it away. So the LTTE is still alive although badly weakened by this secret weapon. Now we are fighting LTTE the hard way with old fashioned weapons. So I have to tell you what this secret weapon is.
Before I break the secret I will have to give you some background. First we need to understand some basic things about LTTE.
Three things that make the tigers tick
What is the primary difference between the LTTE and the Government forces? Of course Sri Lankan forces are much bigger in terms of men and materials. But there is a more fundamental difference that almost everyone seems to forget. For a young man joining the Sri Lankan forces it is a job. Of course you get a chance to 'protect your motherland' but still it is a job. He gets paid. It helps him support his family. And he has a life.
The LTTE is an army made up of volunteers. They are not paid. They are not allowed to have a life of their own.They are not usually allowed to visit their families.Their working conditions are much worse than that of Sri Lankan forces. So what makes them join? And what prevents them from leaving? Of course there is forced conscription of kids but it would be ridiculous to suggest that LTTE is just a bunch of under aged kids who are forced to join.
There are three things that drive young people towards LTTE and keeps them there. Anger,Frustration and a complete lack of alternatives!
All three of these are in good supply in the North and East only when there is war. You have to be very very angry and frustrated before you decide to blow yourself up just to kill a few 'enemies'. And life as an LTTE cadre is certainly not fun. Few people would trade in a normal peaceful life to become an LTTE cadre. But what if you don't have a life in the first place? No food,no education, no economy, no jobs so what do you do? You have nothing to lose by joining the LTTE. During the war young people in the North and East have very few options. Joining the LTTE is one of them.
During war brutal violence is unleashed against the whole civilian population. Sometimes it is 'collateral damage' as they call it. At other times it is soldiers angered by LTTE taking 'revenge' by killing civilians. Sometimes it is systematic state-sponsored hit squads walking into villages , taking all young men at gun point and kill them - execution style.(This is similar to the 'black cat' operations carried out in rural areas of Sri Lanka during the JVP time when many young men were kidnapped and murdered by hit squads) Of course you don't see any of these in your newspapers. That's why I am telling you these things!
So one way or the other a lot of innocent civilians get killed. And that annoys a lot of young people. Lots of angry young people coupled with the lack of normalcy in the North and East provide the ideal environment for the LTTE to survive and thrive.
If anyone takes away this anger and frustration from these men and women then they will start thinking about their lives and their future. Now suppose they are given some alternatives to joining the LTTE - A decent job, family friends and a life worth living - a life without fear of getting killed every minute. When that happens, it is the end of the LTTE.
Hitting the Tigers Hard
It almost happened during the ceasefire. Yes the destruction of the LTTE almost happened although none of you patriots were informed. In fact nobody outside the inner circles of LTTE were informed. But it is hard for the LTTE to hide certain things from the people living in LTTE controlled areas. Many of them were smart enough to see the near death experience that LTTE went through.
Before the ceasefire, there was only one thing that was happening in those regions. War. In other part of Sri Lanka war is just a part of your life. You hear about it in the news. You do get a few bombs every now and then but life goes on. But in the North and east war is your life. It is war, the whole war and nothing but the war. The economy grinds to a halt. Prices of food and other essential stuff go through the roof. The prices in other parts of Sri Lanka would seem pathetically low when you see how high prices get in the North and East during war. Of course you would hear about Tons of food being sent to the north every other day. But what they don't tell you is that most of it is actually supplies sent to the military camps in the area. Civilians always face shortage of food and medicine during war. And you have to live with the fact that your life can end any minute! Even if you don't join or support the LTTE or the armed forces.
But during the ceasefire things changed. As the bombing , shelling and other forms of killings stopped people got a taste of what normal life is like. Suddenly the North and East were a different place. People were happy. Nobody was worried about the next bomb falling on their head. Prices were getting unbelievably low. Almost as low as in other parts of the country. New businesses sprang up all over the place. Many displaced people came back to their houses they have abandoned many years ago and started clearing up the 'jungles' that have grown up around their houses. Businesses were doing much better. People were getting better jobs as more and more businesses were opening up during the peaceful period. Lots of 'tourists' (mostly Sri Lankan Tamils from abroad) were coming back in flocks boosting the local economy. Even the Sri Lankan soldiers who manned check points seemed happier. With their friendly smiling faces people started to forget that they used to be their worst nightmare during the war. Soldiers massacreing civilions had become a distant memory then. Even cinemas,which were closed for decades , opened again. The war was over. So people were ready for some fun and entertainment.
A large number of LTTE cadres wanted to go home and visit their families during the ceasefire. Under pressure, the LTTE had to relax it's rules. For the first time, they were allowed to have fun and visit their families.Although LTTE was controlling big portions of North and East, their fighters who were supposed to defend these territories had lost their will to fight. They had just had a taste of peace. As they got up from their bunkers and visited their friends enjoyed the peace they have never had before, they were seeing a different world. For many of those cadres (Those in their teens and early twenties) it was their first taste of what a normal life would look like, for they had never seen what life is like when there is no war.(There were other brief periods without fighting before, but after the eighties, they never lasted long enough to change life in the North and east.)
When life becomes worth living in the North and east it becomes a serious alternative to joining the LTTE. A large number of those cadres suddenly came across a radical idea - living a normal life! A record number of LTTE cadres left LTTE during this period. Initially the LTTE relaxed it's rules and let a number of it's cadres (especially those who have completed 10 years of 'service') leave. Large numbers of men and women left the group, got married and went abroad. And even younger cadres who hadn't completed their 10 years just 'ran away'. Many of those who went home to see their families never came back. They didn't want to go back to those bunkers again. Prabha and his top leaders then had to tighten the rules again. They suddenly stopped all cadres from leaving. "War could start any time, so we can't afford to let you go" they said. But already a large number of experienced cadres (including a large number of highly skilled sea tigers) had already left. And LTTE had to depend on kids recruited by force and men too old to leave the group and get a life.
When I hear people say 'LTTE uses the ceasefire to strengthen themselves' I laugh my head off. To anyone who understands the way LTTE works this is a joke. They are a war machine. They need war to survive. Peace is LTTE's worst enemy. When you look at it from outside it might seem like LTTE was doing well during the ceasefire. They made lots of money as 'tax' when people crossed their 'border'. They made millions of rupees each day. But it is nothing compared to what they got from their supporters abroad. But these supporters need a war before they send money to LTTE. They have to hear about Tamil people getting butchered by the Sri Lankan state. When there is peace, 'contributions from abroad' hit a record low. To the point that LTTE for the first time had to use some rather heavy handed tactics to collect money from Tamils living abroad. The strategy backfired as this angered a lot of Tamils and further eroded their support base oversees.
So the cadres are deserting, recruitment meant kidnapping under aged kids as nobody wanted to join, and money from abroad , which used to be a flood was reduced to a trickle. What more do you need to destroy the tigers? They were almost done!
Worse than the tigers
So LTTE was desperate to start the war. They tried their best to provoke the forces. And with Presidential elections around the corner they realized only Mahindha can save them. Imagine. patriots like yourself were lamenting that LTTE was using the ceasefire to strengthen themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. They badly wanted Mahidha to come to power that they prevented Tamils from voting. And finally they got what they wanted. We had a chance to beat them without suffering any casualties. Without firing a single bullet. If we had used the weapon of peace we would have wiped LTTE out almost effortlessly. So many people who are now dead would have been alive. We could have prevented the deaths of so many soldiers and so many others included those students from DS who died in recent blasts.
It is still not too late to strike them down with peace. But ignorance is our biggest enemy. It is even worse than the tigers. There are a few people out there who know the truth. But most of us still believe Ranil is the traitor and Mahindha is our savior. Most of us still believe war is the only way.
There is a much better way. But are we ready for it? How many have to die before we choose peace - the ultimate weapon - to finish terrorism?
Welcome patriot! You have come to the right place. I am going to give you valuable inside information about the enemy. The LTTE. You can take it seriously or you can dismiss as utter nonsense but just don't tell anyone that I told you all this OK? because if Prabha hears that I am outing his secrets he will send a suicide bomber right to my place! I can really do without a suicide bomber!
Let's get straight to the point. How to beat them. Bomb them like crazy! Kill the buggers! Sink their ships! Shoot! Kill! Is that it? But wait! Aren't we doing this already? In fact we have been doing this for decades. You thought I was going to give you some new information. Of course that is exactly what I am going to do.
Know Your Enemy
Sun Tzu wasn't joking when he said "Know Your Enemy".Whether you are fighting one of the most ruthless terrorist group or just arguing with the 'Auto' driver who insists it is your fault after he has just hit the back of your parked car,this is a rule you should never forget. (In the case of the Auto driver he could be having connections with Mervin Silva in which case arguing with him could seriously damage your health and wellbeing.)
So to fight the LTTE effectively we should first know them. Of course you know them. They are a bunch of blood thirsty killers aren't they? No I didn't mean that. You should know their inner workings. What makes them strong and what their weaknesses are. In fact I am going to introduce you to the most powerful weapon that can be used against the LTTE. The one that makes Prabha nervous. In fact it is the only thing that Prabha can't handle. He can even handle the cyanide capsule that's hanging on his chest if it comes down to it. But he can't handle this thing. This thing will just destroy him and his whole group once and for all. And then there is no chance for a come back. They would be just gone.
Before I tell you what the weapon is , let me give you a hint. This weapon has actually been used against the LTTE recently and it almost destroyed them completely. But unfortunately, just before LTTE was about to collapse something funny happened and we stopped using this weapon. We just threw it away. So the LTTE is still alive although badly weakened by this secret weapon. Now we are fighting LTTE the hard way with old fashioned weapons. So I have to tell you what this secret weapon is.
Before I break the secret I will have to give you some background. First we need to understand some basic things about LTTE.
Three things that make the tigers tick
What is the primary difference between the LTTE and the Government forces? Of course Sri Lankan forces are much bigger in terms of men and materials. But there is a more fundamental difference that almost everyone seems to forget. For a young man joining the Sri Lankan forces it is a job. Of course you get a chance to 'protect your motherland' but still it is a job. He gets paid. It helps him support his family. And he has a life.
The LTTE is an army made up of volunteers. They are not paid. They are not allowed to have a life of their own.They are not usually allowed to visit their families.Their working conditions are much worse than that of Sri Lankan forces. So what makes them join? And what prevents them from leaving? Of course there is forced conscription of kids but it would be ridiculous to suggest that LTTE is just a bunch of under aged kids who are forced to join.
There are three things that drive young people towards LTTE and keeps them there. Anger,Frustration and a complete lack of alternatives!
All three of these are in good supply in the North and East only when there is war. You have to be very very angry and frustrated before you decide to blow yourself up just to kill a few 'enemies'. And life as an LTTE cadre is certainly not fun. Few people would trade in a normal peaceful life to become an LTTE cadre. But what if you don't have a life in the first place? No food,no education, no economy, no jobs so what do you do? You have nothing to lose by joining the LTTE. During the war young people in the North and East have very few options. Joining the LTTE is one of them.
During war brutal violence is unleashed against the whole civilian population. Sometimes it is 'collateral damage' as they call it. At other times it is soldiers angered by LTTE taking 'revenge' by killing civilians. Sometimes it is systematic state-sponsored hit squads walking into villages , taking all young men at gun point and kill them - execution style.(This is similar to the 'black cat' operations carried out in rural areas of Sri Lanka during the JVP time when many young men were kidnapped and murdered by hit squads) Of course you don't see any of these in your newspapers. That's why I am telling you these things!
So one way or the other a lot of innocent civilians get killed. And that annoys a lot of young people. Lots of angry young people coupled with the lack of normalcy in the North and East provide the ideal environment for the LTTE to survive and thrive.
If anyone takes away this anger and frustration from these men and women then they will start thinking about their lives and their future. Now suppose they are given some alternatives to joining the LTTE - A decent job, family friends and a life worth living - a life without fear of getting killed every minute. When that happens, it is the end of the LTTE.
Hitting the Tigers Hard
It almost happened during the ceasefire. Yes the destruction of the LTTE almost happened although none of you patriots were informed. In fact nobody outside the inner circles of LTTE were informed. But it is hard for the LTTE to hide certain things from the people living in LTTE controlled areas. Many of them were smart enough to see the near death experience that LTTE went through.
Before the ceasefire, there was only one thing that was happening in those regions. War. In other part of Sri Lanka war is just a part of your life. You hear about it in the news. You do get a few bombs every now and then but life goes on. But in the North and east war is your life. It is war, the whole war and nothing but the war. The economy grinds to a halt. Prices of food and other essential stuff go through the roof. The prices in other parts of Sri Lanka would seem pathetically low when you see how high prices get in the North and East during war. Of course you would hear about Tons of food being sent to the north every other day. But what they don't tell you is that most of it is actually supplies sent to the military camps in the area. Civilians always face shortage of food and medicine during war. And you have to live with the fact that your life can end any minute! Even if you don't join or support the LTTE or the armed forces.
But during the ceasefire things changed. As the bombing , shelling and other forms of killings stopped people got a taste of what normal life is like. Suddenly the North and East were a different place. People were happy. Nobody was worried about the next bomb falling on their head. Prices were getting unbelievably low. Almost as low as in other parts of the country. New businesses sprang up all over the place. Many displaced people came back to their houses they have abandoned many years ago and started clearing up the 'jungles' that have grown up around their houses. Businesses were doing much better. People were getting better jobs as more and more businesses were opening up during the peaceful period. Lots of 'tourists' (mostly Sri Lankan Tamils from abroad) were coming back in flocks boosting the local economy. Even the Sri Lankan soldiers who manned check points seemed happier. With their friendly smiling faces people started to forget that they used to be their worst nightmare during the war. Soldiers massacreing civilions had become a distant memory then. Even cinemas,which were closed for decades , opened again. The war was over. So people were ready for some fun and entertainment.
A large number of LTTE cadres wanted to go home and visit their families during the ceasefire. Under pressure, the LTTE had to relax it's rules. For the first time, they were allowed to have fun and visit their families.Although LTTE was controlling big portions of North and East, their fighters who were supposed to defend these territories had lost their will to fight. They had just had a taste of peace. As they got up from their bunkers and visited their friends enjoyed the peace they have never had before, they were seeing a different world. For many of those cadres (Those in their teens and early twenties) it was their first taste of what a normal life would look like, for they had never seen what life is like when there is no war.(There were other brief periods without fighting before, but after the eighties, they never lasted long enough to change life in the North and east.)
When life becomes worth living in the North and east it becomes a serious alternative to joining the LTTE. A large number of those cadres suddenly came across a radical idea - living a normal life! A record number of LTTE cadres left LTTE during this period. Initially the LTTE relaxed it's rules and let a number of it's cadres (especially those who have completed 10 years of 'service') leave. Large numbers of men and women left the group, got married and went abroad. And even younger cadres who hadn't completed their 10 years just 'ran away'. Many of those who went home to see their families never came back. They didn't want to go back to those bunkers again. Prabha and his top leaders then had to tighten the rules again. They suddenly stopped all cadres from leaving. "War could start any time, so we can't afford to let you go" they said. But already a large number of experienced cadres (including a large number of highly skilled sea tigers) had already left. And LTTE had to depend on kids recruited by force and men too old to leave the group and get a life.
When I hear people say 'LTTE uses the ceasefire to strengthen themselves' I laugh my head off. To anyone who understands the way LTTE works this is a joke. They are a war machine. They need war to survive. Peace is LTTE's worst enemy. When you look at it from outside it might seem like LTTE was doing well during the ceasefire. They made lots of money as 'tax' when people crossed their 'border'. They made millions of rupees each day. But it is nothing compared to what they got from their supporters abroad. But these supporters need a war before they send money to LTTE. They have to hear about Tamil people getting butchered by the Sri Lankan state. When there is peace, 'contributions from abroad' hit a record low. To the point that LTTE for the first time had to use some rather heavy handed tactics to collect money from Tamils living abroad. The strategy backfired as this angered a lot of Tamils and further eroded their support base oversees.
So the cadres are deserting, recruitment meant kidnapping under aged kids as nobody wanted to join, and money from abroad , which used to be a flood was reduced to a trickle. What more do you need to destroy the tigers? They were almost done!
Worse than the tigers
So LTTE was desperate to start the war. They tried their best to provoke the forces. And with Presidential elections around the corner they realized only Mahindha can save them. Imagine. patriots like yourself were lamenting that LTTE was using the ceasefire to strengthen themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. They badly wanted Mahidha to come to power that they prevented Tamils from voting. And finally they got what they wanted. We had a chance to beat them without suffering any casualties. Without firing a single bullet. If we had used the weapon of peace we would have wiped LTTE out almost effortlessly. So many people who are now dead would have been alive. We could have prevented the deaths of so many soldiers and so many others included those students from DS who died in recent blasts.
It is still not too late to strike them down with peace. But ignorance is our biggest enemy. It is even worse than the tigers. There are a few people out there who know the truth. But most of us still believe Ranil is the traitor and Mahindha is our savior. Most of us still believe war is the only way.
There is a much better way. But are we ready for it? How many have to die before we choose peace - the ultimate weapon - to finish terrorism?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The formula of Love - Finally a solution to the ultimate problem
It's valentines day tomorrow guys! So don't forget to buy expensive jewellery and bouquets for your women. If you are one of those not so rich guys like me then at least buy a card and her favorite chocolate. Forgetting Valentines day or dismissing it as 'commercial rubbish' can seriously damage the health of your relationship.
But what about those poor guys who don't have any girl friends? Those poor chaps who remind me what I was like a few years ago? This post is for those guys. So if you are not one of them them could you please leave now?
Now! Go and find your woman and ask her out! What the heck are you waiting for? If it is Valentines day then your wait is over. Now time for action.
I know that's not easy.How do you say it? How would she react? What would she say? What if she says no! If you starts sweating like crazy when you think about those monstrous, life-or-death matters then you are my kind. That's what I was like. I would think about it. And think about all the scary consequences and get nervous. And finally I end up doing nothing. The enormity of the matter (Will she or won't she) just scares the hell of me and leaves me paralyzed.
I have always been the studious kind. I liked math at school. Once you understand the basics you can work out almost anything. You can prove or disprove anything. Math helps you when you want to find out if two triangles are similar. But sadly when it comes to more important things like girls and stuff, all your math skills are useless! You don't have any formula you can use to work out if she would say yes or no to you.
I just lied. There is a formula just for this! Go ahead and learn it guys! This is by far the most useful formula in the history of mankind! It is here!
But you really don't need that formula. You should be brave enough to go and ask her the question. For god's sake you are not going to die if she says no! The sooner you realize this the better! Just look at how confident I am these days! I am going to ask a woman if she would like to have dinner with me tomorrow! I am not the same nervous guy I used to be those days guys. Now I am brave! So follow my example! But before I finish I must admit that the woman in question happens to be my wife.
Happy valentines day!
But what about those poor guys who don't have any girl friends? Those poor chaps who remind me what I was like a few years ago? This post is for those guys. So if you are not one of them them could you please leave now?
Now! Go and find your woman and ask her out! What the heck are you waiting for? If it is Valentines day then your wait is over. Now time for action.
I know that's not easy.How do you say it? How would she react? What would she say? What if she says no! If you starts sweating like crazy when you think about those monstrous, life-or-death matters then you are my kind. That's what I was like. I would think about it. And think about all the scary consequences and get nervous. And finally I end up doing nothing. The enormity of the matter (Will she or won't she) just scares the hell of me and leaves me paralyzed.
I have always been the studious kind. I liked math at school. Once you understand the basics you can work out almost anything. You can prove or disprove anything. Math helps you when you want to find out if two triangles are similar. But sadly when it comes to more important things like girls and stuff, all your math skills are useless! You don't have any formula you can use to work out if she would say yes or no to you.
I just lied. There is a formula just for this! Go ahead and learn it guys! This is by far the most useful formula in the history of mankind! It is here!
But you really don't need that formula. You should be brave enough to go and ask her the question. For god's sake you are not going to die if she says no! The sooner you realize this the better! Just look at how confident I am these days! I am going to ask a woman if she would like to have dinner with me tomorrow! I am not the same nervous guy I used to be those days guys. Now I am brave! So follow my example! But before I finish I must admit that the woman in question happens to be my wife.
Happy valentines day!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
These violent Tamil bastards!
I saw an interesting blog post about a woman and her husband getting harassed and insulted at a check point in Colombo. Being a Tamil myself, the incident itself is no news to me. But the shock and disgust of the author reminded me humanity is still alive.
After I replied to one of the comments I had to face an interesting question - what makes those little Tamil boys and girls so violent? Is it something that is built into our DNA? Or is it our culture that somehow encourages violence? or was it those violent Tamil movies from South India?
To quote hilal who asked the question
"... It's documented in the West that Tamil culture, movies etc all have no ratings and they all glorify violence with continuous fight scenes ..."
Here is my answer to him.
OK hilal, So it looks like we have an easy explanation right? It is all because of Tamil culture and the violent movies?
We are talking about two things here - culture and movies. First about the culture, I don't know where it is "..documented in the West.." that Tamil culture glorifies violence. Can you give me some more details on this?
As for the movies, you are absolutely right! Tamil movies are becoming so violent that it makes me sick. I am against violent movies and video games. And the lack of ratings is something I have been complaining about for the last few years. So I just can't agree with you more on that!
But can this explain the whole ethnic conflict? Tamil youth watched violent movies. So they became so violent they ended up creating one of the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world! Judging from just how violent some recent Tamil movies are, it doesn't sound that far fetched. But I would like to discuss a few facts here hilal.
Tamil movies are produced in "Tamil Nadu" which is in South India.It is the only Tamil state in India ,which has the biggest Tamil population in the world and is naturally the biggest market for these movies. But despite all these violent movies, There are no terrorist outfit in Tamil Nadu fighting for a separate state although Tamils are a minority and Tamil is not an official language in India. There are various rebel groups in other states in India but not in Tamil Nadu. So if it is Tamil culture and Tamil movies that are causing the problem, and if just 1.8 million of those 'culturally challenged' Tamils are enough to commit all this mayhem in Sri Lanka, then why are the 60.7 million in India leading such a boringly quiet life? What are they waiting for? And what about Singapore?
And talking about violent movies and video games, we do get quite a lot from America don't we? I agree these things encourage violence and I feel they are at least partly responsible for the 'school shootings' in the states. But we are yet to see anything like LTTE over there right? America is one of those few places on earth where you can just walk into a shop and buy a good gun. So why didn't they start the mother of all terrorists groups there then?
Obviously we are missing something here are't we hilal?
We can't easily dismiss all the violence in Sri Lanka as the result of Tamil movies and Tamil culture. The reasons are much deeper than that. I don't want to go into them now, but I will get back this a bit later.
Now I just wanted to let you know that this is not just because Tamils as a people are a violent bunch. In fact it is the Tamil people who have been at the receiving end of the ethnic violence more than any other Community in Sri Lanka. Ever since independence large numbers of Tamil civilians got tortured and murdered during anti Tamils riots that happened again and again(1956, 1958, 1961, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983)
Dramaqueen is understandably shocked and angry when she heard of what her friend had to go through. But I think her friend has been lucky. In the North and East there are times when young girls stopped at checkpoints never returned home. They were raped ,killed and buried in mass graves. Of course you would rarely hear about them unless you live in those areas.
See the anger and shock Dramaqueen feels when she hears about how her friend was harassed? Now imagine how she would have reacted if one of her friends was raped by many men and then killed?
Now imagine how an 18 year old boy in Jaffna would react when his 16 years sister goes missing only to be found as a dead body?
Now you will get a rough idea of what makes an LTTE cadre. Violence always breeds violence. Whenever there is an ethnic divide, It is easy to say 'there is something wrong' with a particular ethnic group. As far as culture is concerned I don't see a huge difference between us and the Sinhalese. (Although I must admit we Tamils have to learn a few things from the Sinhalese. They seem like a friendlier bunch than us. They seem to be smiling much more frequently than us Tamils - even when they are among Strangers. And their 'parrippu' dish and their crispy 'Aappa' are a whole lot tastier than the respective Tamil versions of those dishes I think.)
I have heard similar arguments against Islam as a religion. I have heard people say "Islam glorifies violent jihad! That's why we have Al Quida,Hizbulla , Hamas etc."
But we have to take a careful look at the facts before we start blaming religions and cultures that have existed for centuries as the reason for wars and terrorist groups that started just a few years ago.
A little Palestinian boy grows up in a refugee camp. Why doesn't he have a proper home? His Mom would explain that their land is occupied by Israel. He hides behind his mom and dad as the Monster Battle tanks from Israel roll through their camp. Smashing everything on the way. And one day he sees his baby sister bleed to death by Israeli fire. The next Jihadi is in the making now! And when he grows up to learn that it is the USA (which has given $91 Billion and counting so far to Isreal) which supports the Israeli state and it's military machine by funding it, is it any wonder that he would become more than a bit anti American? An Israeli child goes through similar experiences. They come across bus bombings and rocket attacks. But there aren't many suicide attacks by Israelis yet. It is because they have the upper hand now. They have more protection and less civilian deaths thanks to their superior fire power. So they haven't experienced the sheer sense of desperation and anger that turns an innocent young man or woman into a suicide bomber. It is not because Israelis have a better culture than the Arabs or Judaism is a better religion than Islam.
But we hear 'experts' talking about Islam and it's tendency to encourage violence. For god's sake Islam has existed long before Al Qaeda! And these very same Muslims have lived peacefully for so many centuries. Even now there are large Muslim populations in many parts of the worlds where there is not even a hint of violence! Muslims are living peacefully even in Tamil Nadu! Imagine? With those Tamils! Those violent bastards! And they don't even have a riot! - Not even when there were widespread Hindu-Muslim riots going in other parts of India!
So if it is not the culture and the movies then what is it that started this whole Tamil problem? I am looking for answers as well.
That seems like a long Story and one of the best kept secrets in Sri Lanka. Different people seems to know different bits of this long Story. But it is not easy to get the full picture of a conflict of this scale and complexity so easily. I am going to try to share what I know and I want to learn from what other have to share.
But for now you can take a look at this excellent post by vindi here
and this one from daily mirror here
Here is one more thing you have said.
"..as a responsible Tamil you should do everything in your power to eliminate such mentality within Tamil youth.."
To this my answer is "Of course! I will!"
After I replied to one of the comments I had to face an interesting question - what makes those little Tamil boys and girls so violent? Is it something that is built into our DNA? Or is it our culture that somehow encourages violence? or was it those violent Tamil movies from South India?
To quote hilal who asked the question
"... It's documented in the West that Tamil culture, movies etc all have no ratings and they all glorify violence with continuous fight scenes ..."
Here is my answer to him.
OK hilal, So it looks like we have an easy explanation right? It is all because of Tamil culture and the violent movies?
We are talking about two things here - culture and movies. First about the culture, I don't know where it is "..documented in the West.." that Tamil culture glorifies violence. Can you give me some more details on this?
As for the movies, you are absolutely right! Tamil movies are becoming so violent that it makes me sick. I am against violent movies and video games. And the lack of ratings is something I have been complaining about for the last few years. So I just can't agree with you more on that!
But can this explain the whole ethnic conflict? Tamil youth watched violent movies. So they became so violent they ended up creating one of the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world! Judging from just how violent some recent Tamil movies are, it doesn't sound that far fetched. But I would like to discuss a few facts here hilal.
Tamil movies are produced in "Tamil Nadu" which is in South India.It is the only Tamil state in India ,which has the biggest Tamil population in the world and is naturally the biggest market for these movies. But despite all these violent movies, There are no terrorist outfit in Tamil Nadu fighting for a separate state although Tamils are a minority and Tamil is not an official language in India. There are various rebel groups in other states in India but not in Tamil Nadu. So if it is Tamil culture and Tamil movies that are causing the problem, and if just 1.8 million of those 'culturally challenged' Tamils are enough to commit all this mayhem in Sri Lanka, then why are the 60.7 million in India leading such a boringly quiet life? What are they waiting for? And what about Singapore?
And talking about violent movies and video games, we do get quite a lot from America don't we? I agree these things encourage violence and I feel they are at least partly responsible for the 'school shootings' in the states. But we are yet to see anything like LTTE over there right? America is one of those few places on earth where you can just walk into a shop and buy a good gun. So why didn't they start the mother of all terrorists groups there then?
Obviously we are missing something here are't we hilal?
We can't easily dismiss all the violence in Sri Lanka as the result of Tamil movies and Tamil culture. The reasons are much deeper than that. I don't want to go into them now, but I will get back this a bit later.
Now I just wanted to let you know that this is not just because Tamils as a people are a violent bunch. In fact it is the Tamil people who have been at the receiving end of the ethnic violence more than any other Community in Sri Lanka. Ever since independence large numbers of Tamil civilians got tortured and murdered during anti Tamils riots that happened again and again(1956, 1958, 1961, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983)
Dramaqueen is understandably shocked and angry when she heard of what her friend had to go through. But I think her friend has been lucky. In the North and East there are times when young girls stopped at checkpoints never returned home. They were raped ,killed and buried in mass graves. Of course you would rarely hear about them unless you live in those areas.
See the anger and shock Dramaqueen feels when she hears about how her friend was harassed? Now imagine how she would have reacted if one of her friends was raped by many men and then killed?
Now imagine how an 18 year old boy in Jaffna would react when his 16 years sister goes missing only to be found as a dead body?
Now you will get a rough idea of what makes an LTTE cadre. Violence always breeds violence. Whenever there is an ethnic divide, It is easy to say 'there is something wrong' with a particular ethnic group. As far as culture is concerned I don't see a huge difference between us and the Sinhalese. (Although I must admit we Tamils have to learn a few things from the Sinhalese. They seem like a friendlier bunch than us. They seem to be smiling much more frequently than us Tamils - even when they are among Strangers. And their 'parrippu' dish and their crispy 'Aappa' are a whole lot tastier than the respective Tamil versions of those dishes I think.)
I have heard similar arguments against Islam as a religion. I have heard people say "Islam glorifies violent jihad! That's why we have Al Quida,Hizbulla , Hamas etc."
But we have to take a careful look at the facts before we start blaming religions and cultures that have existed for centuries as the reason for wars and terrorist groups that started just a few years ago.
A little Palestinian boy grows up in a refugee camp. Why doesn't he have a proper home? His Mom would explain that their land is occupied by Israel. He hides behind his mom and dad as the Monster Battle tanks from Israel roll through their camp. Smashing everything on the way. And one day he sees his baby sister bleed to death by Israeli fire. The next Jihadi is in the making now! And when he grows up to learn that it is the USA (which has given $91 Billion and counting so far to Isreal) which supports the Israeli state and it's military machine by funding it, is it any wonder that he would become more than a bit anti American? An Israeli child goes through similar experiences. They come across bus bombings and rocket attacks. But there aren't many suicide attacks by Israelis yet. It is because they have the upper hand now. They have more protection and less civilian deaths thanks to their superior fire power. So they haven't experienced the sheer sense of desperation and anger that turns an innocent young man or woman into a suicide bomber. It is not because Israelis have a better culture than the Arabs or Judaism is a better religion than Islam.
But we hear 'experts' talking about Islam and it's tendency to encourage violence. For god's sake Islam has existed long before Al Qaeda! And these very same Muslims have lived peacefully for so many centuries. Even now there are large Muslim populations in many parts of the worlds where there is not even a hint of violence! Muslims are living peacefully even in Tamil Nadu! Imagine? With those Tamils! Those violent bastards! And they don't even have a riot! - Not even when there were widespread Hindu-Muslim riots going in other parts of India!
So if it is not the culture and the movies then what is it that started this whole Tamil problem? I am looking for answers as well.
That seems like a long Story and one of the best kept secrets in Sri Lanka. Different people seems to know different bits of this long Story. But it is not easy to get the full picture of a conflict of this scale and complexity so easily. I am going to try to share what I know and I want to learn from what other have to share.
But for now you can take a look at this excellent post by vindi here
and this one from daily mirror here
Here is one more thing you have said.
"..as a responsible Tamil you should do everything in your power to eliminate such mentality within Tamil youth.."
To this my answer is "Of course! I will!"
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