Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Not alone

But the Prime Minister wasn't alone in his proclamations his was simply the most outlandish. The Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, was not far behind with his pledge that Kilinochchi will be captured by the army within the next few months.

His was a follow up to a statement by the military that the army had already entered the Kilinochchi District from an undisclosed location. Yet the Army Commander himself admitted, the military' strategy is one that might allow the LTTE insurgency to 'last forever.'

As many analysts have been saying since the military campaign in the Wanni started, it is one that lacks clarity or direction. At various times officials have made statements so self-contradictory that they lead to fears that - despite the ruthless professionalism emanating from the soldiers on the ground - the top brass do not know whether they are coming or going.

It also begs the question whether overall military strategy is being compromised at the altar of political expediency as was evident with Prime Minister Wickramanayake's desperate claim that Kilinochchi will be captured by election day, August 23.

Propaganda war

Thus the Ministry is winning its war, but a propaganda war. Around Colombo the Presidential Secretariat has gotten in on the act by replacing the contents of nearly every single Colombo Municipal Council hoarding to advertise President Rajapakse and his Nelum Mal logo.

The government has set yet another target for capturing Kilinochchi, Pirapaharan's headquarters. It is well known that as the military advances, the Tigers will have nowhere to run, as the army is in place north of Elephant Pass along the Muhamalai - Nagarkovil defence line.

Thus, as the President promised, once 'every inch' of land has been captured, the government would be hard pressed to explain themselves should the senior LTTE leadership manage to escape and disappear, as did Bin Laden in Afghanistan, or 900 Tigers who simply 'vanished' from a 'surrounded' Thoppigala last year.

If the military is unable to capture Pirapaharan or his top rankers, and the government proceeds to appoint another 'Karuna' out of nowhere to run shop in the Northern Province, the sinister back room dealings that took place between the President's confidants and the LTTE during and just after his presidential election may finally begin to make sense.

The government would thereforeat least now do well to fight the good fight and give the valiant soldiers their due credit and respect by recognising their achievements and sacrificeswithout overplaying the propaganda card since before long they would have wiped out not just the LTTE but the entire Tamil population twice over if it is to simply be a numbers

Thalaivar is happy at least Kilinochchi could not be captured by election day! What a triumph!