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Ravaya editor Victor Ivan sees the end of historical role played by Prabhakaran Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 2:34 PM SL Time |  | |
(Let me attempt a rough English translation for those the benefit who do not understand Sinhala. Please correct me if there are any misinterpretations)
Prabhakaran may be a good warrior, but in politics he is nobody. He never had any board vision. He does not know when to stop (the war) and that would be the reason for his end.
The biggest weakness of his and his key followers is that they think the best way to talk to Sinhalese is the language of the gun.
Sinhalese abhor Prabhakaran not purely on racial lines. Their hatred is a response to his unsympathetic (violent) activities. In any justifiable struggle, the leaders of the oppressed win at least some respect from the oppressors. We see that in many instances like South Africa and Ireland. Prabhakaran has failed to win such respect, not just from Sinhalese but also from his own people. What many Tamils have for him is a respect mixed with fear (not a pure respect). I see him as an unsuccessful leader who tried to build his dominance by terrorizing people.
I can present two examples to show the contradictions and weaknesses in his decision making. The first one was the decision to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi. He might have got a mometarily emotional kick from doing it but that closed many doors. The second example was his decision to support current regime to win. It was a stupid decision. His logic (for not supporting Ranil Wickremasinghe) was that Ranil Wickremasinghe was building an international net to corner him. Anyone who goes for peace talks does that. They want to buildup international support, sometimes in terms of military means. Even Prabhakaran wanted to build an international support for his movement. That is natural. If somebody acts on such reasons (to mess up peace talks) that only shows his political immaturity.
I think this is the tail end of Prabhakaran`s historical role. I believe that would be better for the oppressed Tamils. Prabhakaran has not given anything for Tamil people other than a sort of self respect originated from fear. Given the hardships that Tamil people undergo what and when he provided anything for them? His role is ending. Within the political or military framework there would not be anything now he can do.
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Robins
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 30 Jan 2008 09:32:55 GMT Report for Abuse
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This man is talking typical Sinhalese crap from a pure Sinhalese point of view.
I can see his desperation in his thinking how the hell Prabaharan manages to be what he is today, he has built up a formidable organisation to counter the Sinhala racists for years to come.
I dont agree with Rajiv's murder, but we all have to wait and see what happenes to Mahinda Chinthanaya!! Its crocodile tears coming from the Ravaya man about prabas decision to bring MR into power? Time will tell if his decision was right or wrong.
Mahinda has teamed up with all the racists elements like the JVP & JHU, and the military establishment through Gottabaya. If any solution has to be reached with the Sinhalese, this is the lot, they can go on marches to stop any settlements or solutions, like whart happened for the last 60 years. I think praba has decided enough is enough, the problems need to be faced and sorted out.
Whilst Praba has provided a decisive leadership to Tamils Sinhala wishy washy racist leaders are who have been at the helm of the 'kingdom' for the last 60 years have FAILED miserably the whole country and its people.
Edited By - Robins - 30 Jan 2008 09:41:17 GMT |
Sinthaka
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 30 Jan 2008 10:29:27 GMT Report for Abuse
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Good article Shakthi.
Finally Victor Ivan mumbles some sense.
Velu had the best chance for peace during Ranil. Ppl were dead tired of the war and were willing to make radical compromises to accommodate Tamil demands. Velu just simply threw it away.
Now no point complaining when MR speak in the only language Velu understand. South has smelt the victory now, and I guess ppl are just not willing to compromise at this stage. Besides once bitten, twice shy.
So its just PC in your plate now.
Tamils would have bargained a much better solution if Velu went ahead with the peace talks with Ranil.
Edited By - Sinthaka - 30 Jan 2008 10:29:59 GMT |
Robins
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30 Jan 2008 10:33:17 GMT Report for Abuse
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Oh the PIECE TALK? Ha Ha Ha
You guys are real jokers!! |
ajan
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30 Jan 2008 12:55:34 GMT Report for Abuse
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Shakthi , Indian high commisioner Dixit said ' he cannot help but admit prabaharan is a best military and political strategist'
Dixit rose to foreign minister of india. some years ago
now tell me whos comment is have weight behind?
LTTE dont knwo when to stop thewar?
i thought you agreed after lots of military success LTTE announced Ceasefire that brought the CFA broked by norway.
was it not a best political strategy? |
ajan
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30 Jan 2008 13:00:38 GMT Report for Abuse
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What this so called analyst didnt say LTTE political maturity , when they want the IPKF send out prabaharan shake hands with premadasa.
assasination of Rajev had in oneway a setback for tamils.
ipkf killed many thousands tamils Rajev need to have faced international criminal court. but the justice was done at short route. even though it was not the way forward.
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ajan
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30 Jan 2008 13:02:41 GMT Report for Abuse
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I think you did not read any articles why mahinda brought to power?
Pre Election Article(year 2005) alternative to war.
Wednesday, 6 December 2006 - 8:23 PM SL Time
I would strongly suggest that the TNA should go out and inform the Tamils to 'Boycott' the Presidential election. Our refraining from voting will be an indirect support to Mahinda.
I beg my readers not to misunderstand me. I am no war monger. If so, I would have stayed safely in the UK and made these comments from that safe haven. I am in Vanni and I am fully aware that my suggestion may lead to war. But I am sorry to say that the Talks are never going to bring a solution to the ethnic problems. Even if one of the two major parties from the south is sincere enough to bring peace, yet its hands are tied as it will never get that absolute majority it needs and it will never get the support of the opposition to make amendments to the constitution, even for federalism, leave alone a separate state ? Tamil Eelam.
Who will win?
Some say that this is the million dollar question. But, for us Tamils, it is not worth even a cent. Because we know history ? 'History is our Guide.' It has taught us that changing the bulls of a cart is not going to affect the direction of the cart. The SLFP and the UNP, as far as the Tamils are concerned, are two bulls on the same cart. Both the bulls have gone in the same direction since 1948, one after the other. We are nearing six decades seeing the same old story repeated over and over again.
It was some years ago that we got fooled by the promises given and extended our support to one party or the other. When we got cheated by one, we jumped to the other party that promised us the moon. Now we have come to a stage where we cannot be fooled any longer. First we begged for fifty-fifty, then we asked for Federalism and now we demand a separate state. Now both the bulls are advocating peace. The two major parties have been playing 'Panthu' with us. Between the two they say 'I ball, you bat' and 'you ball, I bat.' And we, the 'Ball,' get hit by both of them. Now we have had enough ? enough is enough.
This reminds me of a street drama (Theru Koothu) I saw recently round the corner of the road I now live in - Kilinochchi. It was election time. The one in Green says I will kill 1000 Tamils. The crowd in sarong and Kondai with a comb stuck on it shouts 'Jeyaweva' and the one in green is placed on a chair and he is crowned. He sends his troops and the Dhoti-clad people get beaten up. The next election comes up. A lady in blue says I will kill 2000 Tamils. The 'sarongs' shout 'Jeyaweva' and the lady get seated in the chair and the crown is placed on her head. The troops were sent in and the Dhotis get beaten up again. But suddenly something interesting happens. Some of the young ones in Dhoti pull off their dhotis to see that they were wearing striped uniforms inside their dhotis. They set upon the troops and give them a severe beating and chase them away. The next election comes and both the blues and the greens say, 'We are for 'Peace'.'
This is where things stand now. Both parties are crying their guts out to bring peace to the island in their own ways. The P.M. says no to P-TOMS, no to the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) and no to Federalism. He is for a unitary state. Still, for all that, he has the audacity to state publicly that he would talk to Mr.V. Pirapakaran. This reminds me what the Tamil National Leader said once when he was asked whether he would at the peace talks give up the demand for a separate state if a federal solution is offered. He said 'If it is a separate state, then there is nothing to talk about. When we said that we are prepared for talks, the obvious inference is that we would consider an alternative solution put forward by the SL government, provided it fulfills the aspirations of the Tamil people.' The same applies to the P.M. If it is a unitary state that he is talking about then, there is nothing to talk about. At the moment we have - already - a unitary state. There is nothing new about that, so what is there to talk about? There can be no federal state in a 'Unitary State.' But it is possible in a 'united state.'
As to who will win entirely depends on what the President is up to. If she were to take a tough role and dump the P.M., then it is an easy walk-through for Ranil. But there are so many things happening behind the scenes. Mahinda may convince the JVP & JHU duo that he will accept the SLFP manifesto for the moment, but will adhere to the agreement after he is elected as the President. Or he may tell the President that he will go by the two agreements reached with the two parties now, but will follow the SLFP principles after the elections are over. But who is going to buy his story? The latter is most doubtful, as the President has stated very clearly that the election manifesto shall carry the SLFP principles.
Should Mahinda manage to win over the President, the JVP and the JHU, I will put my money in his till. He stands a very good chance of winning. The left block, except Wickamabahu Karunaratne, is with him. Even some of the minority parties are sure to support him for some bread crumbs thrown at them.
On the other hand, Ranil has his own unchanging UNP vote bank. The business group is behind him. Because of the Anti-Religious Conversion Bill a large number of the Christian votes will go to him. Since the government is delaying the relief to the tsunami victims and the P.M. is promising the JVP & the JHU that he would do away with the P-TOMS, their votes too will go to Ranil. The probabilities are that the Hakeem and Thondaman may also agree to support him. If the Tamils were to follow this trend, then Ranil will have a slight edge over Mahinda.
Who would or should the Tamils vote for?
A large majority of the Tamils, quite understandably of course, dislike Mahinda because of his deal with the anti-Tamil elements. Their votes are mostly going to be cast for Ranil, unless someone tells them not to do so. Who is the right party to tell them this? We have to look into the political implications of such an open utterance.
There are only two parties to whom the Tamils will listen. One is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the other is the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Personally, I think it is wise for the LTTE not to take sides and, from what I gather, they will not. Hence it is up to the TNA to do the job. It appears that the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), the Upcountry Tamils Munnani lead by Chandrasekaran and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) may go with the UNP. If so a block support by the Tamils may seal the deal in favour of Ranil.
I beg to differ from the views of the majority of the Tamils that they should support Ranil as he is the 'better' of the two evils. We have to understand one thing very clearly. Neither the UNP nor the SLFP can deliver the goods to us as they are individually incapable of doing so. Under the present system of preferential voting, no party can obtain an absolute majority with over 150 members to support them in the parliament. Even if the government proposes a suitable settlement, the opposition is sure to oppose it. We have seen this over the past half a century. A two-thirds majority is absolutely impossible. Hence, a government that is anti-Tamil and extremely Buddhist chauvinistic will be ideal for us to win our goal ? in our own way. This is the TRUE situation. In Tamil it is called 'Ithuthan Yathartham.'
Hence, I would strongly suggest that the TNA should go out and inform the Tamils to 'Boycott' the Presidential election. Our refraining from voting will be an indirect support to Mahinda.
I beg my readers not to misunderstand me. I am no war monger. If so, I would have stayed safely in the UK and made these comments from that safe haven. I am in Vanni and I am fully aware that my suggestion may lead to war. But I am sorry to say that the Talks are never going to bring a solution to the ethnic problems. Even if one of the two major parties from the south is sincere enough to bring peace, yet its hands are tied as it will never get that absolute majority it needs and it will never get the support of the opposition to make amendments to the constitution, even for federalism, leave alone a separate state ? Tamil Eelam.
[[Is there an alternative to war?
Yes, I think so. But, unfortunately, it is in the hands of the two major Sinhalese parties, viz the UNP and the SLFP. I do not envisage the possibility of a so called 'National Government' comprising both of these parties. They are terribly incompatible in many ways and they are utterly selfish. Each one of them wants to take the credit for solving the ethnic problem. They will never pull together.
Instead I would strongly suggest that a 'NATIONAL PEACE COMMITTEE' can deliver the desired results. By this I mean that a high-powered committee comprising of very moderate elements from both parties in equal numbers and a person of the calibre of Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne from the United Left Front (ULF) should be formed to hold Peace Talks with the LTTE. This Committee must be empowered to take decisions at the Peace Talks, accept or deny the suggestions made by the LTTE and put forward suggestions to the LTTE on behalf of the SL Government. The parties involved in the peace talks may take breaks for introspection and consultation with their superiors and experts. The decision so reached between this committee and the LTTE should be final and be presented to Parliament for formal approval. Parliament should endorse it in toto without amendments. This should be made obligatory both to the LTTE and the Government. Otherwise, there will not be an end to the talks. Of course some communal elements may raise objections vehemently, but the motto should be, 'Let the Dogs Bark, but the Caravan Shall Move On.' The time has come for one to take the Bull by the Horns, if we are to avoid deaths, bloodshed, mi...
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Shankaran
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30 Jan 2008 13:40:14 GMT Report for Abuse
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Victor ivan is no racist.
He is a good journalist.
He is looking at LTTE and VP from third person's perspective. He doesn't have any inside info regarding the factors those influence LTTE's decision making mechanism both external and internal. to know these you have to be an inside person. or atleast should be able to think from LTTE's perspective.
his reasons for VP's demise are not strong.
* VP has no love from sinhalese - any other tamil has ?
* Tamils fear VP - for what ?
* Rajive death - The MAX india can do against LTTE is sending in tropps. which they did prior to rajive death.
rajive was trying to damage LTTE badly. and VP prevented it by eliminating him. of course there is cost for this.
which is much less than the damage LTTE may incur.
* Not supporting RW -
its clear RW did not have sinhala ppl's majority mandade.
(other wise he would have won the elcetions).
on one hand he doesn't have the mandade so he can't implement any thing. on the other hand he made steps to weaken the LTTE, similar to what kathirkamar did.
this shows one thing. ivan beleives RW will solve the
problem. he is wrong. he doesn't know his ppl.
Where ivan made the big mistake is like any other sinhalese, he built a mental picture based on the GOSL
military news. what he is missing is the realization that there is an other side to the story.
the bottom line is the LTTE and VP know their problem better than ivan. bcos its their problem.
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laliths
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30 Jan 2008 15:59:19 GMT Report for Abuse
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Ajan
Shakthi , Indian high commisioner Dixit said ' he cannot help but admit prabaharan is a best military and political strategist'
Velupillai Prhabakaran, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational art, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man.
I think Dixit was smoking the green stuff when he said that. |
nale
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31 Jan 2008 23:07:30 GMT Report for Abuse
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Both his reasons, only shows that he hasn't got any understanding of the ethnic problem of the island and has no clue, what so ever, about the oppressed people's struggle to get rid of oppression.
As for the support VP has amonng the Tamils, is not out of fear or respect but that he is fighting for what the Tamils BELIEVE and WANT.
The Tamils,except a few, wants to be free from the tyranny of sinhala state terrorism.And VP is the ONLY leader who is HONESTLY striving for it.
NAtional LEader/ELLALAN |
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30 Jan 2008 10:33:12 GMT