LTTE, now sea pirates of the worst kind

The LTTE has added a new dimension to its degenerate, terroristic identity by engaging in naked acts of sea piracy in the seas off Mullaitivu. No less a person than the Captain of the Jordanian ship, 'Farha III', which was seized by the LTTE, Ramaz Abdullah, brings to light this seemingly new side to Tiger terror, through his account of the ordeal he and his fellow sailors suffered at the hands of the LTTE.

Clearly, this was no humanitarian mission on the part of the Tigers. The Jordanian vessel, it is clear, was stormed and seized by the LTTE who exercised their customary brute force for the purpose. The sailors were seized and forced off the ship at the point of firearms wielded by the Tigers.

The captives were rowed across choppy seas by the LTTE and held incommunicado, severely injuring a captive in the process.

All this the country and the world has already heard of. The emotional trauma suffered by the ship's crew at the hands of the LTTE is proof enough of the Tigers' real intentions. They were clearly intent on terrorising their victims and not on lending them any succour.

The world should not be taken aback that sea piracy too comes naturally to the Tigers. For, sea piracy is also a form of terror and is perpetrated by degenerate hearts and minds which operate outside the bounds of the law. So, the Tigers would have no difficulty in operating as pirates of the high seas.

For, piracy is a mere extension of terror and a species of criminal activity which the Tigers would easily fit into.

The macabre drama in the seas off Mullaitivu is further proof that the Tigers are no "liberators" by any stretch of the imagination.

They regard it as one of their essential functions to perpetrate murderous violence for the furtherance of their aims and the seizure of the Jordanian vessel should not be regarded in any other light, except that of a naked act of terror.

We hope the sinister episode would prove an eye-opener for the rest of the world. In it they could see revealed the true nature of the LTTE. What more proof would they need that the LTTE must be named, shamed and hunted down like common criminals ?

Here is another opportunity which the State and its agencies must seize to apprise the world of the real identity of the Tigers, their aims and modes of operation. This task of keeping the world informed needs to be conducted very dynamically and resourcefully.

As we have often said before, our missions abroad in particular cannot afford to drift off into a slumber. They need to raise awareness about the LTTE globally, "25 hours" a day.

We need hardly say that as a result of some of our missions abroad taking their duties lightly, the Tigers have stolen a march on the State in regard to awareness - raising.

A good measure of the Tigers' success is the number of Western allies they could count on to help propagate their cause to farthest reaches of the globe. Somehow, successes of these proportions seem to be eluding the State. The reason is not far to find: the enemy does not fall asleep on the job.

So, let us exploit this opportunity provided by the LTTE's sea piracy episode to the fullest. The simple truth is that LTTE terror could mutate into the most fiendish forms and guises. Accordingly, such multi-dimensional terror needs to be fully and consistently exposed.

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