Tigers totter with depleted cadre

by Shanika Sriyananda

The LTTE is now a 'lame duck' with twenty five senior cadres in their so-called rank of Lt.Colonels killed by the Security Forces in the recent battles, according to the Army Commander Lt.Gen Sarath Fonseka, who opined that the days of the outfit are numbered.

Lt.Gen. Sarath Fonseka told the Sunday Observer that the LTTE has lost a vast area which they were controlling at one time and now struggling to hold on to the remaining two districts - Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu in the Wanni.

The Army chief describing on the current strength of the LTTE said that the power of the terrorist organisation has now been reduced to a great extent with a large number of cadres been killed in the recent battles in the East.

"Their military power has been reduced by 50 percent. More than thousand cadres have been disabled. The LTTE has also lost a huge quantity of weapons to the Security Forces and now they are totally disoriented with several of their cadres surrendering to the armed forces", he said.

He said that the LTTE was currently losing the support of the Tamil diaspora abroad and were in a helpless situation with a large number of senior military and political members of the organisation becoming dissidents.

Elaborating further, the Army Commander said that according to the intelligence reports that there was no truth in that Prabakaran tries to bring his son to the leadership. " Prabakaran has been made a hero by those who are in Colombo and the time has come for them to make Prabakarans' son a hero. According to information, his son is not a very talented figure. He is a child who was overfed, avoided friends and turned lazy. I do not know about his educational background and it is certain that he won't be a suitable successor to his father", he said.

According to him, there are lots of internal problems within the LTTE including the poor health condition of Prabhakaran. "He is terribly sick with his kidney and liver ailments. He is a diabetic too. Soosai is badly injured in a recent Naval attack. Balaraj has been injured twice. Those who have retreated from the East are now not in a right frame of mind to face the Security Forces in the future. The veterans Banu and Sornam do not have the due recognition within the outfit any more. The 40-year-old Deepan who is not a good fighter is currently leading the outfit's military wing.