Unbiased analysis of war against terrorism

Reviewed by D.K.de Zoysa

Like many others I used to closely follow the progress of the Eelam war IV through the newspapers. But that did not allow me to get the complete picture and left many questions unanswered. For instance why did President Mahinda Rajapaksa succeed when all the previous incumbents failed? Who should get the credit for the victory?

To what extent did Vellupillai Prabhakaran dig his own grave? What was the impact of the Rajiv Gandhi killing? Why did the western powers make such a fuss over a ceasefire? I was pleasantly surprised to find a recent publication that gave me answers to all these questions and more. It is ‘How LTTE lost the Eelam War’ written by Don Wijewardana and published by Stamford Lake.

Don is an economist who has applied his skills to provide an objective analysis of the war. It has excellent coverage of the key aspects of the war with an equally good presentation.

The publication of this book is also very timely since we celebrated the first anniversary of the defeat of terrorism on Ma 18.” Referring to the unprecedented outcome of the war the study concludes that it was the result of a well coordinated team effort led by the Commander-in-Chief Mahinda Rajapaksa, co-ordinated by the Secretary of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and fought by the security forces led by the army. I quote page 61 “Perhaps the most critical success factors for the armed forces were the combination of political and military leadership through Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s interface between the armed forces and the President.

In a recent publication the editor of the Indian Defence Review identified eight factors that contributed to the victory. Don found this analysis incomplete since it missed a number of key attributes of President Rajapaksa that contributed immensely to the success of the war.

The winning strategy, according to Wijewardana, included ten key elements: among them were President Rajapaksa’s ability to delegate and allow professionals to fight the war without interference, ensure necessary supplies to the security forces, developing close relationships with key countries such as China and Russia who are permanent members of the UN Security Council, to offset western pressure.

The most critical among them was his steadfast refusal to allow any intervention or listen to the persistent calls for a ceasefire by western powers and INGOs.

The study also highlights a series of monumental blunders by Prabhakaran that played into President Rajapaksa’s hands.

They included, among other things, underestimating President Rajapaksa, assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and resorting to killing as the way to achieve Eelam.

The study also gives a damning account of the Ceasefire Agreement signed with the LTTE in 2002 which created formidable obstacles to the war effort. The study notes that while tying the hands of the government it allowed the LTTE to rest and rearm in preparation for the war.

During this period the terrorists also had considerable help from foreign governments to acquire arms and get advanced training for their cadres.

At the same time the government faced an internationally orchestrated effort to pressure it to stop the Unwinnable War and call for a ceasefire without wasting public funds to defeat the LTTE.

Looking at the future the study calls for efforts to build bridges with both the international community and the Tamil diaspora since the end of the war offers tremendous opportunities to recover the damage caused by the 30 year war.

In his foreward to the book, Prof. Rohan Gunaratna notes that in many ways, future peace in Sri Lanka will depend on the ability and willingness of the Sri Lankan government to enhance its coverage of threats in Sri Lanka, dismantle the LTTE network overseas and to rebuild broken bridges to the Tamil community both at home and overseas. He also underlines that in a globalized world, Sri Lanka cannot survive without the goodwill of the international community, the group of most powerful countries in the West. For this Sri Lanka will need to conceive craft and implement a post-Prabhakaran strategy.

The author’s attempt to keep each chapter self-contained has resulted in some inevitable repetition. But in spite of that the story and the analysis flows very well and I found compelling reading right through to the end.

The book is critical of some political leaders of the country to whom the interest of the nation is of no significance compared to gaining power.

I conclude with the last paragraph of the book, page 288 “Every indication is for a bright future for post war Sri Lanka. It is the leadership that will determine whether we realize it. It is left to the younger generation to produce leaders who can rise above sectarian politics to promote national interest.”

‘How LTTE Lost the Eelam War’ is an excellent analysis which any reader interested in an objective apolitical analysis of the Eelam war will find interesting reading.

Directions to the path of emancipation

Reviewed by Stephen de Silva

This is a time where the contemplative mind is making greater efforts in inquiring into the deeper areas of ‘Dhamma.’ To them Dr. Basil de Silva provides a stimulating treatise with his insights blending with the Buddha’s teachings.

He outlines the development of the human mind almost from the very inception, taking good care to highlight the driving forces behind such moves.

Special note has been made of their repercussions in the positive and negative developments tracing them in multitudes of directions.

The book provides very useful information for the present ‘busy bodied’ society which is beginning to forget the past very soon.

Thereafter, he talks of the ‘pros and cons’ of materialism, along with the importance of ‘spiritualism,’ reminding us that this short span of life comes to an end soon, and that we should bear in mind where we are bound to head next.

After having spoken of renowned great leaders and enlightened philosophers who tried to understand and interpret spiritualism while attempting to guide mankind in making a meaningful existence he has summarised the teachings of most of their philosophies. He has drawn such information from the probings made into the civilizations of the ‘Four Great River Valleys’ and that of the Americas.

Thereafter, he comes down to the Buddha and shows how He understood the predicament of man and attempted to fill in the then existing gaps of their thinking. ‘Buddha dhamma’ is explained in very simple terms. A summary of the key area

s touched upon are set out in a comprehensive diagram on page 207.

From there he gets down to ‘Mind Cultivation’ highlighting the most important aspects of meditation methodology taking one on to the ‘Path of Purification’ and outlining it very briefly. The attainment of Jhanas and ‘Supernormal Powers’ have been touched upon.

He ends up by referring to the path of ‘Stream Entry’ and thereafter touches on ‘Vimokkha Mukka’ (Gates of Nibbanic Entry). He does not stop there, but keeps questioning as to why we have lost the ‘Arahat’ and envisages the possibility of the Arahat’s coming back and calls upon the ‘Stuarts of Buddha Dhamma’ to work towards the goal tirelessly with dedication, and confidence for the attainment of the goal.

Finally, he asserts that absence of the Buddha is no barrier for the attainment of Nibbana and claims that the ‘Living Buddha Dhamma is there in the universe’ only to be picked through ‘Bhavanamay Panna’ by the aspirant having got attuned to it.

Basil has walked many paths in life and having travelled widely working in many parts of the world. He carries with him a wealth of experience and knowledge in the material as well as spiritual sides.

He stepped into the world arena with a degree in Economics from the London School of Economics of the University of London.

Having got into the shoes of being an Accountant he has performed in the business world as an accountant in the UK, as a principal accountant to several ministries in a Provincial State in Nigeria, as a Business Administrator in a province of Papua New Guinea and ending up in Sri Lanka as an Assistant General Manager in a State Bank. While on the spiritual side he holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the Post Graduate Institute of Pali & Buddhist Studies of the University of Kelaniya.

He has also associated practically all the meditation master who have been and who are presently living in Sri Lanka. He has also been on meditation retreats for his credit.

With all this the book Our Mentality Through the Ages & then to Nibbana (the Path of Evolution) is very readable, simple, motivating and carries with it the necessary basic material to get into the ‘Path of Emancipation’ and reap the desired benefits. It is a very handy book reasonably priced and distributed by the Buddhist Cultural Centre.

The writer is a Consultant Industrial Psychologist.

Scientists forecast decades of ash clouds

The Icelandic eruption that has caused misery for air travellers could be part of a surge in volcanic activity that will affect the whole of Europe for decades, scientists have warned.

They have reconstructed a timeline of 205 eruptions in Iceland, spanning the past 1,100 years, and found that they occur in regular cycles - with the relatively quiet phase that dominated the past five decades now coming to an end.

At least three other big Icelandic volcanoes are building towards an eruption, according to Thor Thordarson, a volcanologist at Edinburgh University.

“The frequency of Icelandic eruptions seems to rise and fall in a cycle lasting around 140 years,” he said. “In the latter part of the 20th century we were in a low period, but now there is evidence that we could be approaching a peak.”

His findings coincide with new warnings that the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, which has disrupted air traffic across Europe for several weeks, could carry on for many months - and possibly years.

Some geologists have also warned of a serious threat from a fourth volcano, Katla, which lies 15 miles to the east of Eyjafjallajokull.

Two of its past three eruptions seemed to be triggered by those of its smaller neighbour and a report issued just before Eyjafjallajokull blew suggested Katla was “close to failure [eruption]”.

The three other volcanoes cited by Thordarson as being potentially close to a large eruption are Grimsvotn, Hekla and Askja - all of which are bigger than Eyjafjallajokull.

In the past, they have proved devastating. Hekla alone has erupted about 20 times since AD874, pouring out a total of two cubic miles of lava from a line of fissures that stretches 3Å miles across the mountain.

There was a minor eruption in 2000 and geologists have reported that snow is again melting on Hekla’s summit, suggesting that magma is rising.

Grimsvotn, another highly active volcano, lies under the huge Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland’s southeast. An eruption in 1996 saw much of this glacial ice melt, causing a flood that washed away the country’s main ring road.

It is linked to the massive Laki fissure volcano whose 1783 eruption ejected so much ash into the atmosphere that it cooled the entire northern hemisphere for nearly three years. The resulting low temperatures caused crop failures and famines that killed 2m people and helped trigger the French Revolution.

Thordarson believes that the behaviour of the volcanoes is linked to movements in the earth’s crust which create massive subterranean stresses over wide areas.

As these stresses build , more volcanoes erupt and as the stress disappears, the volcanoes subside again.The theory is a controversial one. Gillian Foulger, professor of geophysics at Durham University, suggests that historic clusters of eruptions could well have occurred by chance. She said: “This needs rigorous statistical support.”

However, both she and Thordarson agree that Europe needs to take the threat of further Icelandic eruptions more seriously, including improving the monitoring of active volcanoes. Foulger is writing to David Willetts, the new science minister, suggesting Britain could support Iceland in such a project.

She said: “There are about 35 active [big] volcanoes in Iceland and if we put a high quality seismograph and some global positioning equipment on each one we would often be able to tell in advance if an eruption was coming. The cost is tiny compared with the potential economic damage from an unexpected eruption.”

The most pressing question for Britain and the rest of Europe is how long the current eruption will continue.

Professor Stephen Sparks, from the earth sciences department at Bristol University, said: “Every volcano has its own personality. This particular volcano has erupted before in 1612 and 1821. When it erupted in 1821 it continued erupting for 15 months so there is no reason why it could not last a similar period of time.”

The new rules in place for aviation mean Iceland and Europe can probably cope with Eyjafjallajokull, but an eruption by Katla could cause far bigger problems.

Dr. Richard Waller, senior lecturer in physical geography at Keele University, believes the ash cloud could be immense, but for Iceland the biggest problem would be massive flooding.

“Katla has a crater filled with ice more than 2,000ft thick, which will all melt,” he said

-Timesonline

Book launch

Bauddha Manovidyava

Rajakeeya Panditha Ven. Surakkulame Pemarathana Thera’s latest book ‘Bauddha Manovidyava’ will be launched at Dayawansa Jayakody Book Exhibition Hall, Ven. S. Mahinda Mawatha, Colombo 10 on May 25 at 10 am.

The book while introducing Buddhist Psychology as a subject discusses other areas such the nature of the mind, personality and clinical psychology.

“Bauddha Manovidyava” is a Dayawansa Jayakody publication.

New Arrivals

Mulava Saha Vimukthiya

‘Mulava Saha Vimukthiya” is a novel based on the experiences of its author Ellagava M. D. Sirisena Aswatte. In fact, the whole story is a confession made to the author about 45 years ago.

It is a Sooriya publication.