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Lankan report on Prabhakaran’s death |
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Sri Lanka has said the lives of at least 500 LTTE cadre would have been saved had Prabhakaran surrendered during the last phase of the battle after the Army encircle the top LTTE leaders in the Nadhikadal lagoon in Mullaittivu. A Defence Ministry report issued on June 24 said after the special forces encircled Prabhakaran, LTTE Intelligence chief Pottu Aman and Sea Tigers chief Soosai who were boxed into a 100m x 100 area, the LTTE chief could have avoided the battle that would have saved the lives of the LTTE fighters. “But, it is quite clear that Prabhakaran kept his last hope on the strength that he was believed to be abroad with pro-LTTE Tamils”, it said.
As anticipated, Prabhakaran opted to escape using the route that the Army so eagerly wanted him to take. His plan was to escape with a small group of his personal bodyguards while all other cadre died in fighting with the Army as a deception to cover his movement, the Defence Ministry said. It said the first whiff of possible presence of the top LTTE leadership came when the Army faced quick retaliatory attacks in the Nadhikadal lagoon. Five militants were killed in the fighting. One of the bodies was identified as that of Vinodan, one of the most senior bodyguards of the inner protection team of the LTTE leader. This strengthened the belief that the LTTE leader was around the area. A force was sent and after an hour of heavy fighting, guns from the LTTE side fell silent. A message came from the team leaders that there was a body bearing resemblance to Prabhakaran among 18 other dead LTTE cadre. It was identified to be of the person who haunted the nation for 30 years.
Since the final defeat of the LTTE, the Rajapaksa Government has held national victory parades and the President has made at least three speeches to celebrate the achievement. For most Sri Lankans, it is the victory of the Sinhalese over the Tamils. Rajapaksa issued a statement about being magnanimous in victory and announced friendship for all. Yet, two clear strands of opinion are emerging; the first and the dominant is that with the LTTE eliminated and its leadership blanked out, the problem of terrorism is finished. The corollary? There is no ethnic conflict either. The second and more liberal view advocates settling the national question and the root causes that led to the birth of the LTTE. Its votaries recommend some measures of power-sharing without diluting the unitary character of the State. President Rajapaksa has several times reiterated his commitment to implement the 13th Amendment plus – that is more than what was envisaged in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. But, in all probability, political observers say, the Tamils will get the 13th Amendment minus. Sinhala chauvinism and military triumphalism are bound to constrain Rajapakse from meeting the commitment. Rajapaksa has not only eradicated the LTTE menace but also divided all the political parties – the CWC, the SLMC, the UNP, the JVP and now even the TNA. His party will soon have won all the Provincial Council elections. Parliamentary elections, likely in November this year, would also be won with an overwhelming majority. He is bound to be re-elected President for another six years in 2011. The Rajapaksa wave is unstoppable. The All-Party Representative Committee, formed by Rajapakse to address the national question, consists of only the ruling party as other parties have boycotted it though the UNP has said it will support the 13th Amendment.
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