LTTE IS READY TO DESTROY ENEMIES
OF THEIR INCREASINGLY LONELY AND DESPERATE CAUSE SAYS EDITORIAL
By Walter Jayawardhana
Terrorists have never attacked athletes of the country before but the
attack on the New Year marathon that killed Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle
along with leading athletes demonstrated the willingness of the Tamil
Tigers to go any extent to eliminate anybody considered to be an enemy
of their increasingly lonely and desperate cause said an editorial of
the Gulf Times of Qatar.
Despite internal clashes within their ranks the strike indicated their
ability to strike anybody with impunity still exists, the editorial
said.
The March 7 editorial of the newspaper said, “Among the 13 others
killed were Sri Lanka ’s leading athletics coach Lakshman de Silva
and some local sportsmen, thus frighteningly broadening the canvas of
the nearly four-decade old conflict which has clamed tens of thousands
of lives so far.”
The following is the full text of the editorial:
The gruesome assassination of Sri Lanka ’s highways minister Jeyaraj
Fernandopulle at a sports event yesterday demonstrates the LTTE’s
willingness to go to any extent to eliminate whoever they consider to
be the enemies of their increasingly lonely and desperate cause.
That the suspected suicide bomber came in the guise of an athlete at
a marathon competition which Fernandopulle was to inaugurate also sends
out a chilling signal because terrorists have never before struck at
sports gatherings in the country, a fact that has been highlighted several
times in the past especially when international teams talked about cancelling
their tours to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan cricket officials have always talked about the presence
of Tamil players in the national team – most notably Muthiah Muralitharan
– as an insurance policy against violent rebel attacks, but after
yesterday’s incident on the outskirts of Colombo , they are definitely
bound to view things a bit differently.
Despite all the reports about personality clashes and infighting within
the LTTE set-up and the Sri Lankan forces’ ascendancy over them
in recent times, the fact remains that they still maintain the ability
to strike with impunity.
It would have come as a blow to the morale of the security forces that
the LTTE managed to pull off the assassination despite Fernandopulle
being one of the most tightly guarded politicians in the country who
was protected by the elite Special Task Force.
Among the 13 others killed were Sri Lanka ’s leading athletics
coach Lakshman de Silva and some local sportsmen, thus frighteningly
broadening the canvas of the nearly four-decade old conflict which has
clamed tens of thousands of lives so far.
With Sri Lanka preparing for a busy season ahead – which includes
a Test tour by India in July – the cricket board would be extremely
wary of any escalation in the crisis that would hurt the game, not to
speak of their finances.
For all practical purposes cricket is the only sport that matters in
Sri Lanka and it would be a tragedy for the island nation if future
trips are cancelled over terrorism fears.
The Sri Lankan cricket board is already reeling under a financial crisis
and has asked their cash-rich Indian counterparts for help. Against
this background any cancellation could deal the sport in the country
a deathly blow.
Sri Lankan security agencies undoubtedly have a big task on hand, but
pitted against a ruthless and committed outfit such as the LTTE, it
would be difficult for them to guarantee a 100% success.
It’s stating the obvious, but suicide bombers, after all, are
a totally different proposition.
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