bloomberg,  Mon Jan 15 21:07:15 EST 2007

    Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lankan security forces captured 12 camps from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during an 11-day offensive in the eastern district of Ampara, the government said.

The posts were overrun in the Kanchikudichchiaru forest reserve by a police special task force, the Media Center for National Security said on its Web site.

Security forces are ``consolidating their positions under heavy resistance from the LTTE,'' the Center said. Several rebel fighters have surrendered, it said, without giving any details. The LTTE hasn't commented on the offensive.

Fighting in Sri Lanka intensified last May in the eastern region and spread to the northern Jaffna peninsula, halting the peace process aimed at ending a two-decade civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people. Talks in Geneva in October collapsed without any progress between the government and the Tamil Tigers who are fighting for a separate homeland in areas they control in the north and east of the country.
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- The Academic

All these are pathetic propaganda from the SL Government under the PTA and emmergency news blackout.

True that they have seisezed all the camps. But the truth is all these are abandon or running merely a skeleten operation at the time of elite STF forces. Either all these camps were being tipped off on potential attacks so the terroist are avoiding or Sun-Goat has given withdrawal orders from the east as they are now re-grouping in vanni.

The government should go with better propaganda locally their recue work on IDP, speciall on Vakarei and internatinally for human sheilds and other canards.

The SL Army commander is boasting mainly than the work. While all efforts of the forces are concentrated towards Vakarei, armaments for Terrorist had not stopped via sea routes as they are planning a major offencive towards Jaffna. Who knows, may be another muhamalei could be on the cards if all the false talk continue and ignore the other facts of regrouped attack.

Nothing matters if GOSL fails to deliver a decent political solution. There is no total military solution to this problem. The military actions must be complementary extensions to a feasible political solution acceptable to democratic Tamils outside Tiger clutches and must be perceived as fair.  

STF has NEVER been defeated in battle by the Tigers.  So the Tigers knew it was better for them to turn tail and leave behind equipment. But what does it mean?  They are still alive and will return to fight another day.  

It was a good strategy to slowly clear Eastern areas instead of trying to hold onto indefensible jungle terroritory. Tigers have all tactically withdrawn after a few small battles and token resistance. Their manpower and firepower are still intact.  Thus it will be foolish for the government to fall victim to its own propaganda about small camps being overrun after small battles. Tigers have used land mines extensively to slow down the progress of the STF.  They are very mobile and will come back to attack later.  We must not gloat but also should credit the STF.  The Tigers are afraid of them and avoid face to face combat because the STF have kicked their butts every time.

However, the Tigers are devils at launching attacks and overrunning far bigger Army camps with impunity in the North. (examples: Elephant Pass, Mullaitivu, Pooneryn where they captured tons of weapons, including long range guns despite lies by some crooked commanders, and then recently, the Muhamalai debacle saw us losing 4 MBTS including 2 that may now be used by tigers later on as 125 mm gun platforms!).  They will resist to the last man when they deem it necessary.  So how far are we prepared to go and how many are willing to die on our side in suicidal trench warfare?

Hence it will be foolish for the GOSL to trumpet these as big victories.

Kudos to the STF and SLA For bravely doing their job, but they must be vigilant and not fall prey to their own propaganda.  

The GOSL and military leaders should be wary of any move by the tigers to tactically withdraw in the East. They have always done that when they realized they could not hold off against a superior force backed by Air and Artillery.

However, tigers have their sea tiger wing almost at full strength despite claims by the SL forces and their real battle ground is in the Tamil areas in their heartland.  They will resist at all costs in the Northern Theater and may launch diversionary attacks and try to destabilise the south as well if this march moves north from the eastern theater. They never were that strong in the east.  

BEWARE or these might be Pyrrhic victories like what happened after we successfully won in Jaffna. There was debacle after debacle in the poorly planned, poorly executed and too widely announced set piece battles in Jayasikurui launched by political generals despite advice to the contrary by professionals.

MR should stop wasting time and playing games. He must offer (very SOON) a political solution be it Federal or otherwise to devolve power.  All military actions are futile without that significant viable solution to the main problems of equitable development and access to resources.

The International community will not support anything less; and we are beggars with a begging bowl going to EU and the west for aid and JVP might shout their foolish xenophobic heads from the rooftops, but reality says we MUST compromise politically while winning militarily.  Surely we cannot be that paranoid and insist that we cannot share power? That hysteric firebrand with designer hairdos and expensive cell phones Comrade Wimal Weerawansa might shout his hysterical anti West rhetoric while his wife and kids holiday at Disneyland in LA(strictly quoting Sunday Leader only)  Amazing how sanctimonious these JVP types are.  Afterall Comrade Somawansa Amarey did not go to N.Korea or Cuba but to London and Paris after his murderous period in the 1980s!  These guys are a hindrance to progress as much as the intransigent Tigers; And SunGod VP's kids are now in  the West in EU locations while he forces innocent tamils to blow themselves up.  Amazing how he has sent his kids to safety.

MR should not be deceived like CBK was deceived by some corrupt military leaders who claimed they destroyed material before the camps were overrun.  No one was punished.  MR should not allow that to happen to him.



Last edited by RogerThis on Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:44 am; edited 3 times in total

Did WW's wife and kids visit Disneyland in LA?

If so, that beats Prabha's kid sending abroad for studies.


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