What Prabhakaran’s Death Means to Sri Lanka

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead. May his soul rest in peace though he never let anybody live in peace when he was alive. But, I go by the maxim bear no grudge against a dead man.

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Prabhakaran’s struggle for Eelam or a separate Tamil nation began with the formation of Tamil New Tigers (TNT) in 1972 which was renamed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1976. The LTTE is a cadre-based militant organization which fought against the persecution of Tamils in Sri Lanka by successive governments and pressed for a separate Tamil land in Sri Lanka.

But, LTTE was not the only organization fighting for the Tamil cause. People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), People's Liberation Organization of Tamil (PLOTE), Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), Eelam Revolutionary Organisers (EROS), Indo Ceylon Merger Movement (ICMM), Tamil Liberation Organization (TLO) and TMVP which was a splinter group of LTTE, were also fighting for the Tamil cause. But, the LTTE liquidated the other Tamil groups to emerge as the only armed Tamil nationalist group.

This raises a very important question: How committed was the LTTE for the Tamil cause? If the LTTE was really committed to the Tamil cause, it would have worked in tandem with other organisations which were fighting for the same cause. Why it liquidated other organisations and why it needs to be the only organisations is not clear.

Some organisation liquidated by the LTTE had a more moderate approach to the problems of the Tamil and could have helped find an amicable solution to their problems without being adamant about a separate Tamil nation.

There is no denying the fact that the Tamils had suffered a step-motherly treatment at the hands of successive Sri Lankan governments and not all of those problems were the making of the Tamils.

The Britishers had taken Tamils from Madras presidency to help them administer Ceylon (which is what Sri Lanka was known as) and also local Tamils which placed them at a higher pedestal than the Sinhalese with whom the Britishers encountered some communication problems. The Sinhalese got back at the Tamils for this after Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948 and even wanted to turn Sri Lanka into a Sinhalese nation.

With that began the Tamil strife and a struggle for equality in Sri Lanka. The LTTE decided that there can be no equality unless there is a separate Tamil land. But, the LTTE not only liquidated other groups working for the Tamil cause but also drove away Muslims from Tamil dominated areas of Sri Lanka.

The LTTE not only waged a war against the state but also assassinated many top Sri Lankan leaders. They also assassinated the former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. After that it was illogical to expect sympathy from India. Because, we have a sizable Tamil population many of whom are related to Tamils in Sri Lanka one way or the other, we have sympathy for the civilian Tamil population in Sri Lanka. But, that cannot be translated to mean sympathy for the LTTE.

The Sri Lankan president Rajapaksha declared a determined and sustained war against the LTTE which culminated in the end of LTTE geography in Sri Lanka and also the death of their legendary leader Prabhakaran. This is not the first time the news of Prabhakaran’s death has gone around the world.

The media around the world carried the news of his death after the Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka. But, he surfaced after a couple of years lending credence to the saying: “A cat has nine lives.” As we all know, the tiger belongs to the cat family.

Now that the LTTE has been neutralized, it is time for the Sri Lankan government to review the excesses committed on the civilians and the media as part of the government offensive against the LTTE. It is time to investigate the persecution of Sri Lankan journalists which led to an exodus and iron fisted clampdown on media coverage. It is time to open the doors for independent media once again.

Prabhakaran’s death may not spell automatic solution of the Tamil problem. But, one thing it is likely to do is to reduce the bargaining power of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. And, it would be important for the Sri Lankan government to address the aspirations of the Tamil people with an open mind. That is the only sensible way to consolidate the gains of Sri Lanka’s military offensive.

Otherwise, another struggle by the Tamil people in some other form will surface sooner or later and the gains of this offensive might melt away. Contrary to what the world believes, this may usher in a new era of 'live and let live in Sri Lanka.'