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| Sunday, 26 September 2004 |
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When the Tiger is impatient Light Refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake There is much noise being made today about the Tiger being coming to the end of its patience over the delay in negotiations.
How close this is to what I said last week about those who are also impatient to get back to the "Green, green grass of home" and all that corrupt grazing from the seats of power. "But should one really be worried about the Tiger being impatient?" I asked a member of "Jathika Saamakeliya" an organisation that has grown rich in the cause of peace, specialising in organising pilgrimages of homage by diverse groups of journalists to their Peace Shrine at Kilinochchi, to return elated by words of peace by the Poosali Thamilchelvam officiating at the media and diplomatic rituals there. "Of course; or else they will resort to war. We simply can't afford another war militarily or economically. The people want peace," said the spokesman for Jathika Saamakeliya. "Do the Tigers ever say that a delay in negotiations is a violation of the Ceasefire Agreement, especially if the delay is really caused by their pre-conditions?" "It's not said in such terms, but there is provision for either side to give two weeks notice to the other and abrogate the agreement." Not much later I met Prof. Yudha Mehevara, a specialist in military affairs who is at present gathering material titled "Koti Sangraamaya" (Tigers at war). I asked him how he saw these new reports of Tiger impatience. "What are they impatient about?" he asked me. "About the delay in resuming negotiations." "But has both sides been able to agree on an agenda for negotiations?" he asked. "Then why these much publicised threats about their patience being tested for too long?" "Look at it this way" said Prof. Yudha Mehevara. "What do they lose by the talks being delayed? That is where the answer to this lies. It is the other side that has to be concerned and impatient at the negotiations being delayed." "Why do you say so?" "It's very simple", he said. "Just look at what they can do when they are impatient and not at war? They can keep on killing their political rivals, one a week at least and no one else in the world, including those crusading against terrorism, cares a dime about it. Not that they didn't do it during the war. But the activity was more streamlined and more energised by the so-called peace." "Has the absence of talks done anything to stop them from recruiting child soldiers? They tell the whole world or the international community, to go and fly a kite or two, and carry on with the recruitment, and UNICEF is quite pleased to keep issuing statements about it." "But what about all those weapons they have even smuggled during the peace process. Won't they want to use them as early as possible?" "Nonsense, the longer talks are delayed it gives them more time to smuggle in even more such weapons, and make their armoury still more formidable. So what's their big grouse? "But there must be pressure from their fighting cadres that they have had enough of rest and recuperation and wish to go to battle? Is that not realistic?" I asked. "There may be a few like that" said Prof. Yudha Mehevara. "Don't forget the Tigers are a fascist outfit. They will do what the Sun God that leads them want them to do, like the Nazis in Germany or Pol Pot's cadres in Cambodia. Don't forget that the Sun God has a cloud coming from the East, shutting out his rays there. He has to get rid of that cloud first." "Then why do people here keep worrying that if the Tiger loses its patience, war will be inevitable?" "Haven't you observed that this is most said by the same people and the same media that said a new government will be the most certain path to resume hostilities? Have you thought why the Tigers want the government that is mainly a two party alliance, to get rid of one party and join with those who signed the MoU to proceed with negotiations?" "They are demanding a political divorce on one hand and on the other offering themselves as brokers for a new marriage of convenience for them to control government. They can do this only as long as talks are delayed. Why should they be impatient, unless it is to bring about this marriage of deceit?" That was when Acharya Artha Shastra, the well known economist, came to meet the Prof. with some new statistics. The Prof. made a quick study of the figures and turned to me. "Here is another answer to your concern about the impatience of the Tigers. Just look at these figures. The millions they continue to collect as taxes from the Tamil people. They are collecting taxes, with no war going on. All of this goes to their war chest, because the Government of this country continues to feed and provide the essentials of life for the Tigers. Who would be foolish as to possibly forego even half of this, or even have to spend it with an immediate or early return to war? They will continue to cry foul and talk of their ever growing impatience." "The Tigers have never shown patience. So it is best to turn a deaf ear to so-called howls of impatience, but get the act together on this side as not to leave room for them to talk of patience being tested or not." |
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Those who beat this drum of Tiger impatience are suggestions of how to
calm the Tiger. These advance drummer boys of the Tigers say the Tigers
want the Government to accept the offer of UNP support and begin talks
based on the Tiger's own threatening bait of the ISGA.
