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A new, perilous dimension

The first-ever air raid by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam targeting the main Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) base near the Colombo International Airport is a dangerous development for the strife-torn country. It not only worsens the prevailing volatile security environment but also poses a new challenge in the fight against terrorism. Clearly, with the daring midnight attack, the ongoing undeclared war between the Sri Lanka military and the LTTE seems to have entered a perilous phase. At one level, the mission by the nascent air wing of the Tigers can be seen as no more than a spectacular psy-ops to bolster the sagging morale of the cadres in the face of a string of military setbacks in the East, notably the fall of Sampur in September and Vaharai in January. The more alarming dimension is that the dramatic raid by the Tigers speaks poorly of the defence preparedness of Colombo particularly at a juncture when it is engaged in an intensive campaign against the conventional and guerrilla strike capabilities of the LTTE. The fact that an aircraft or two — their make and capabilities would remain a matter of conjecture pending the outcome of the investigation ordered by the government — could take off from the jungles of Vanni in the North, travel 400 kilometres, drop bombs on the SLAF main base and, after being in the air for at least two hours, return unchallenged to the so-called Tiger Air Force base is disturbing to say the least. It is in this context that the world needs to pay attention to the changing military dynamics of the conflict in Sri Lanka.

The international community has repeatedly affirmed and demonstrated its full support to the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in its battle to defang the Tigers and no one has questioned the sovereign right of the regime to defend itself against any threat to its territorial integrity and unity. However, the government can ill-afford to delay addressing the root causes of the ethnic conflict, which has provided oxygen to the Tigers. Besides, it cannot be oblivious to the plight of the innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. The ground situation in Batticaloa, theatre of war for nearly three months now, best illustrates the point. Barely weeks after the assertion by the President that 95 per cent of people of the East had been liberated from the clutches of the Tigers, over 1.30 lakh people have been displaced in the eastern part of Batticaloa district alone. The tasks for the government are cut out. The challenges of taming the Tigers, tackling the humanitarian crisis and speeding up efforts to end the ethnic conflict call for military resolve, sensitivity, and creative statesmanship.

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