OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE STRATEGY

Army must firmly put down a proper offensive and a defensive strategy in fighting LTTE. Army's strategy should be to have well trained and well equipped three divisions to carry out offensive operations, which are designed to root out LTTE, armed cadres and separate them from the population, while carrying out limited defensive operations. At least one division should be held back in reserve for eventualities. Other troops should be formed in to defensive divisions. These divisions should carry out defensive operations designed to prevent LTTE from interrupting Governments development programmes, defeating the political subversion of LTTE, while carrying out limited operations to ensure that LTTE is kept separated from the LTTE.

INTELLIGENCE

An effective intelligence organisation is at the core of counter-terrorist operations. Sri Lanka's intelligence organisations are independent and diversified. Their efforts should be united in achieving the National objectives. Our intelligence setup requires re-organization and should establish a central intelligence organisation, which could carry out a coordinated intelligence gathering activities against LTTE and to protect national interest and neutralizing LTTE. Further an arm of this central intelligence organization (counter intelligence) should target the activities of the LTTE intelligence national & international network and render it ineffective. This network should be interfered with/neutralized and every endeavour must be made with friendly nations to obtain assistance in this area. We recommend establishing a dedicated counter intelligence organization working with the central intelligence organisation.

DEFENCE EXPENDITURE

The allocation for defence expenditure in the budget for the year 2000 is Rs. 53.24 billion which is only 4.8% of the GDP. This is less than the defence expenditure for the last year which was Rs. 54 billion - 4.9% of the GDP. The government collects most of this expenditure by way of the Defence levy, Save the Nation Fund and now National Security Levy. Therefore, the government spends hardly anything out of the total national budget on defence. More over, the percentage of GDP spent on the budget is ridiculously low, considering that we are in a war situation and countries at peace time spend 10 -1 5% of their GDP on their security forces in South Asia, Far East and even in Europe.

It is therefore absurd to say that our defence expenditure is heavy and all the development work in the country is affected by the war expenditure - probably it is more a politicians excuse to cover up other mis-deeds. Unfortunately, such negative propaganda to the effect that our country's ills are caused due to high defence expenditure is having a serious impact on the war effect itself and is removing the focus that a nation should have on carrying out a positive military campaign.

IS THE LTTE REALLY LIBERATING THE TAMILS?

It is well documented that the LTTE is an organization formed by the " Harijan" tamils who were oppressed by the Vellala community. In addition to liberating the tamils in general, they had a primary objective of liberating the Harijans and bringing them on par with the Vellala community in the North which is a goal the LTTE seems to have achieved very early in their struggle.

An article written by well known tamil journalist D.B.S. Jeyaraj, after the LTTE killed moderate tamil leader and constitutional expert Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam revealing

The Daily Mirror of 27th April 2000 quoting influential French newsmagazine " Le Point" said as follows;

Quote
Mariana, said the Tiger hospitals are fully equipped by the ' diaspora' of Sri Lanka tamils living abroad, and boasted that the Tigers' supplies of medicines were so large that they could afford to sell them to the enemy. The interviewed LTTE cadres described a totalitarian system of social justice prevailing in the LTTE controlled areas, which few dare to challenge.

No-one escapes the law of the Tigers. For traitors, there is a bullet in the head," one LTTE cadre said. According to the LEPoint" report, traitors in Tiger-held areas are executed before an assembly of local villagers, their bodies decapitated and their heads exhibited by the side of public roads. Political indoctrination of tamils begins in early youth. Propaganda posters promoting a virtual " Cult of Prabhakaran" festoon the walls of schools. Boys and girls as young as 11 are being recruited in clear violation of international law. Independent accounts by Sri Lanka-based non-government organizations have confirmed that these young recruits are often taken against their wall. Female tigers, or tigresses, are predominantly low-caste tamil women who join between the ages of 11 and 13. The presumably " expendable" low-caste Tamil women recruited for suicide bombings come from this group. Before embarking on a suicide mission, they are " honoured" by having their suicide kit bestowed upon them by the terrorists' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran himself. The female tigers, like their male counterparts, accept without question the harsh discipline needed to carry out the LTTE's brutal strategies, including suicide attacks. " If we are needed to explode, we'll explode" said Marina.
Unquote

From the foregoing it is clear that the community which has suffered most because of the LTTE activities is singularly the Tamils.

The economic activities in the North and the East of Sri Lanka has come to a complete stand still for almost two decades and the first generation of tamils living in the north and east of Sri Lanka has had their future destroyed without proper education or career prospects. The writer recently interviewed a tamil applicant from Jaffna who has done his degree at the Jaffna University by studying for three years with lights from kerosene lamps lit by kerosene purchased at Rs. 350/- per bottle.

Therefore, any anti-tamil racist needs to do only one thing, to further destroy the future of the Tamils in Sri Lanka - that is to join India and to give support to the LTTE. It is believed that the Sri Lankan government between 1993 and 1994 followed a similar strategy when they cleared the Eastern Province of the LTTE and allowed the LTTE to destroy the tamil populations economy in the Northern Peninsular. If LTTE continues this war, for another ten years, the percentage of Tamils in Sri Lanka will fall below 5%, they will be poorer, literacy will reduce and their life expectancy will also decline.

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