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| Sunday, 20 June 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Mini battles in the East Eastern Corridor by Rashomi Silva The recent lull in the East turned out to be a lull before a storm last week, when a series of 'mini battles' sparked off in the uncleared East, killing at least eight cadres. The Karuna faction was able to minimise its casualties and hold on to its stronghold west of Batticaloa, despite the increasing attacks by Vanni cadres. Apparently, Karuna's cadres who were operating in relatively small groups have mastered the art of 'hit and run' better than the Prabha loyalists. This was more apparent in the recent fighting in Thalawakulam and Thoppigala, areas considered as Karuna's domain. According to sources from the East, Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, now finds it increasingly difficult to keep the uncleared East under his control due to lack of man power and weakening civilian support. Civilian support may have weakened, due to their disappointment over the recent commissioning of Vanni cadres in the LTTE Eastern hierarchy or they may be simply following the trend, military sources said. "The support of the civilians in the North-East is ever so vacillating. For the sake of survival, they have to take the side of the winning or the more powerful party," sources said. The 'mini battles' will continue with ups and downs for both parties till one group gained complete victory over the other, sources predicted. With the continuing internal struggle, desertion reached unprecedented heights and recruitment an unequalled low. The LTTE, by appealing to its deserting cadres to return to the fold, emulated what the State Armed Forces do under similar circumstances. They made an appeal to cadres who have deserted to rejoin the organisation to avoid punishment through discovery. But as in the South, the response was not encouraging. In this backdrop, the LTTE launched a house-to-house search operation for deserted LTTE members. Early last week, the LTTE abandoned its plan of sea movement from the uncleared North to the East. Initially, they asked permission for a 96-hour sea passage, the Navy turned down the request claiming that it could have disastrous consequences. Later with SLMM mediation, the Navy consented to a 24-hour journey. Commenting on this development, a senior military official said that unless the LTTE has some ulterior motive, they do not need as much as 96 hours for passage, and said they were probably trying to sound out the Navy stance. "They have alternate land routes which they have been using during the past two years. The problem is why they cannot use these routes now and why they need four days," he said. Despite the LTTE's continuing allegations on the lackadaisical attitude of the Armed Forces over the violence in the East, at the onset of the LTTE internal crisis, the international community commended the security forces and the Nordic facilitators for their stance to steer clear of any internal clashes. The split within the LTTE is crucial for both the Government and the LTTE. For the first time since the LTTE embarked on the negotiating process, the strategic military balance on which the talks were based has changed to the disadvantage of the LTTE. What needs the Government's serious attention at this juncture is the real cause of the split. |
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