5th Column

Colombo calling Wanni with new proposals
From the jungles of the Wanni, the Tiger was talking to Bala, the man in London. They had both received the latest set of proposals from Colombo…

"Thambi, what shall I do with these?"
"Of course, Bala, you would have to read them and draft a suitable reply…"
"But do I have to really study them?"

"Well, you would have to look at what they have offered…"
"Can't we do what we did to the last proposals?"
"Dismiss them without even reading them properly?"
"Yes, Thambi, couldn't we do that again?"

"Maybe not, Bala. After all, GL has been really burning the midnight oil on this one…"
"But what is our strategy, then?"
"Initially of course we ask for time to study these proposals, Bala"
"So we continue the same trend then, Thambi?"

"Yes, Bala, what they don't realize is that they are well and truly in the Peace Trap now even though they think we are in the trap…"
"What do you mean by that, Thambi?"

"Why, Bala, they have now committed themselves to the peace process much more than we have so they will find it more difficult to return to war…"
"And what do we do in the meantime?"

"Of course we play for time and you will have to continue responding to their letters and proposals…"
"But what do we gain by all this, Thambi?"
"Why, Bala, haven't we gained significant advantages so far?"

"But, Thambi, aren't we ourselves complaining that our areas have not been rehabilitated by Colombo and that our people are still suffering…"
"That, Bala, is not very significant considering what we have achieved…"
"And what is that, Thambi?'

"Why, we have confined them to their camps while we are building our own about which they cannot do much except complain to the monitors who in turn do nothing except issue a statement…"
"That is certainly true, Thambi…"

"And our pistol boys are eliminating all their informants one by one…"
"Ah, yes. The advantage of all this peace euphoria is that it is not even called a ceasefire violation and we can continue to deny it…"

"And then, we can continue to buy weapons and recruit more men…"
"I am not saying the ceasefire was totally unproductive, Thambi…"
"And that is exactly why it must continue, Bala…"

"But what is our long term goal, Thambi?"
"Don't you see, Bala, the longer we drag this on, the more they tolerate…"
"So, Thambi, the more we drag this on, the more acceptable our various demands become…"

"That is the idea…"
"But what do I say about these latest proposals?"
"The usual, Bala…"
"So, do I say that they do not meet our aspirations and dismiss them outright?"
"We have done that twice now, haven't we?"

"And what has happened?"
"They have come back to us offering more…"
"So, do you think we can do it again, Bala?"

"I am sure they have limits to their patience, Thambi. Besides, we must give a reason that sounds good enough to reject these proposals…"
"Well then, Bala, maybe you could say that the proposals are not good enough but could form the basis for future talks…"

"Do you think they will buy that, Thambi?"
"I can picture the Professor holding a press conference and saying how delighted he is, Bala…"
Bala didn't disagree.

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