They think that his boss in the Wanni has given up the idea of Eelam too.

Deccan Herald writer Murali says that the LTTE has not had an alternative but to ditch the Eelam demand. But the Deccan Herald is using threadbare rationalizations. "It's a peace trap,'' says Murali.

But back in Colombo, while another Murali quietens down a rambunctious Australian cricket side - they are all in apoplexy deciding what 'His Excellency' Balasingham uttered at Sattahip. For different reasons, they seem to believe Balasingham lied. In the South of Sri Lanka they howled "no way Prabhakaran will give up Eelam'' and across the seas in the Diaspora they seemed to think it's an insult to think Prabhakaran will scale down his demands so drastically.

But the logic of it all seemed to be baffling. There are two things here, which are (a) what did Balasingham say? (b) Did he lie? If Sri Lankans were confusing these two things last week, it seemed His Excellency had them really in a state of apoplexy.

What Balasingham said was that the LTTE 'does not operate within the structures of Eelam or a separate state' - and that the LTTE 'does operate within the structures of self- government and autonomy for the Tamil homelands.'

There is only one message that this statement can carry - irrespective of whether he lied or not. That is, that according to Balasingham, the LTTE has given up the cry for a separate state of Eelam.

But, he went onto throw in that wee bit of mystery into a rather straightforward assertion by saying that the "LTTE operates within the categories of self-determination,'' and by adding also that self-determination has several meanings.

But considering that it was Balasingham who talked of internal self-determination at the Wanii press conference in April - it seems to be clear that Balasingham is saying "we have given up the demand for a separate state.''

But it is amusing how this has been confused with the issue of whether (a) Balasingham is lying? And (b) whether what Balasingham says is consistent with what Prabhakaran says?

The fact is that Balasingham said in Thailand a week ago, that the Tigers have given up the demand for a separate state.

Whether he was lying through his teeth is a matter of opinion - any analysis on that can take into consideration the track record of His Excellency Bala, or several other factors such as Prabhakaran's willingness, or Tiger casuistry, or Tiger persistence. But one thing is sure - Balasingham said that the LTTE is willing to give up the demand for a separate state, and the international media seems to have got that one absolutely right.

Why the Sinhala polity has to interpret Balasingham's statements so assiduously is curious. It is as if Balasingham will sneeze and Sri Lanka will catch pneumonia. Balasingham may have said what he said ("we have given up Eelam') for his own reasons, and it is upto people to decide whether he was lying or not, without trying to give his statement the fine-tooth-comb semantic altogether. Even His Excellency will feel embarrassed, being flattered in such fashion.

"This week the desperate hopes for peace of the vast majority of the Sri Lanka's exhausted Sinhalese and Tamil communities suddenly became a tangible reality. In a historic about-face the Tigers abandoned their long standing demand for a breakaway state, and said that they are ready to settle for an autonomous regional government within the Sri Lankan republic'', writes Mark Baker, for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Baker writes this after describing a LTTE attack in the village of Allmillewa, where 450 LTTE attackers swept in shooting and hacking their victims with machetes.

Fast forward, he says, by seven years. "On a podium decked with tropical flowers at a hotel in the Thai resort city of Pattaya, Dr Anton Balasingham the chief ideologue of the Tamil Tigers and the powerful deputy of the rebels reclusive commander Velupillai Prabhakaran is sitting in suit and tie beside a team of Sri Lankan government Ministers. He is introduced by the hosts as 'his Excellency' a statesman committed to peace.''

Hmm, seems like the international press has a small credibility problem with H.E Balasingham, even though they report that he has given up his Eelam demand. The Sydney Morning Herald writer Baker also writes that Balasingham said "we do not use those concepts of suicide attacks,'' when a journalist asked him about Tiger suicide squads. He goes on: "Try telling that to the estimated 1500 young Tamil Tigers who have gone to their deaths in the past 20 years with their bodies strapped with explosives, to the thousands of civilians killed in waves of bombings in Sri Lanka…….''

It seems the international press has a big credibility problem with Balasingham, come to think of it - a huge one. But yet, they report accurately what he said, which is that the LTTE has given up its demand for Eelam. What did Anton say? Are we reminded of the Bard, a la Mark Anthony?

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears/ I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him/ The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones/ So let it be with Caesar/ The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious/ If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it/ Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest- For Brutus is an honourable man/ So are they all, all honourable men/ Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral/ He was my friend, faithful and just to me/ But Brutus says he was ambitious/ And Brutus is an honourable man.

You can accuse me of committing the cardinal sin for columnists - being cryptic. But they were all honourable men, in Thailand. The Norwegians, His Excellency, the Sri Lankan team, the international media, the local media, the lot. So can Honourable men be lying when they say they have given up the demand for Eelam?

They maybe, suggest some other honourable men - even men from the Sydney Morning Herald. With apologies to the Bard then I quote: Second Citizen: "Peace! let us hear what Anton can say.'' (Julius Ceaser Act 3, Scene 5.)

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