A maniacal mindset
"You will not change his mind... You can
only stop his mind". These are not the words of a communalist who would
tend to see our conflict in stark black and white terms and who would
bay for Prabhakaran's blood. On the contrary, this is Fr. Henry Miller
speaking; an 81 year old American Catholic priest who has been resident
in Eastern Sri Lanka since 1948.
In other words, Fr. Miller has witnessed Sri Lanka's post
independence political history at first hand and is well versed in the
country's public affairs. A household name in the East, Fr. Miller
should be knowing what he is talking about.
Besides, Fr. Miller could be counted on to view things
dispassionately, being, who may be called, a complete outsider to the
country's conflict. Being a foreigner and a keen observer of the
country's politics, his pronouncements could be considered to be
clinically impartial and objective. Not being a member of any of our
communities, Fr. Miller's judgments would be untainted by racial
prejudice and hatred.
Therefore, Fr. Miller's views on Prabhakaran need to be considered
with the utmost seriousness. Not surprisingly, they correspond perfectly
with the most studied judgments of those who have been scrutinizing
Prabhakaran's conduct over the decades. Fr. Miller "hit the nail on the
head" when he said that Prabhakaran needed to have more and more
violence. If not he risked being irrelevant.
The accuracy of this pronouncement cannot be questioned.
Prabhakaran's handling of the LTTE over the past two years alone bears
this out.
He has not only spurned every effort by the State to involve the LTTE
in negotiations but continuously replenished his military machine and
relentlessly and blood-thirstily attacked the Security Forces.
Such bloody obstinacy came to a head recently when he attacked the
air base in Katunayake, using an aircraft, which he assembled
disregarding all prohibitive norms. On being battered and bloodied by
the Security forces over the past few months, Prabhakaran has resorted
to the cowardly and abominable tactic of unleashing his deadly venom on
civilians.
The current killing spree by the Tigers is keenly targetting mostly
civilians because they know for certain that they would be annihilated
by the Security Forces if they meet the latter head on.
Is this the conduct of a man who is seeking peace or a negotiated
settlement? The answer is a clear 'no'. The ruthless LTTE leader knows
fully well that if he opts for a negotiated settlement he would be
choosing irrelevance and oblivion.
For, a political settlement would make him and his terror outfit
completely unnecessary. The majority of the Tamil people would prefer to
live peacefully with the rest of the communities, within an united Sri
Lanka, and would wholeheartedly welcome a political settlement. They
have no need for terror outfits and violence.
Prabhakaran and his killer outfit know this only too well. This is
the reason why they are constantly seeking to keep Sri Lanka on the
boil. Violence and violence alone keeps them going.
We call on the world, then, to open their eyes and minds to what is
going on in Sri Lanka.
They have Fr. Miller's insight into the Tiger leader's maniacal
mindset, which cannot be doubted for a second. It is plain to see that
Prabhakaran and the LTTE must be defeated if Sri Lankans are to live in
peace. |
Realising the uniqueness of SAARC
Since more than one billion citizens of SAARC
countries live in villages, there is an urgency for all of us to
improve the conditions of rural life through better physical
connectivity, electronic connectivity, knowledge connectivity, which
together will lead to comprehensive economic connectivity.
 Full Story
Buddhism and Science
Mahathera's use of simplistic language to state
the law of gravity by saying 'what goes up must come down' does not
do any justice. The law of gravitation does not say so and
attempting to twist the words and confuse the non-scientific
community is rather appalling.
Full Story
'Show no mercy to anyone who helps terrorists'
Each and every Sri Lankan should join this
endeavour, in whatever capacity they could as participants
performing their national obligation for liberation of the
motherland.
Full Story
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