The Army’s sustained military thrust has pushed Prabhakaran’s men deeper into the rural areas and jungles in the North. The townships which were the backbone of Prabhakaran’s defacto regime, have fallen one by one to the advancing troops. Today, the LTTE’s command structure is in tatters and its military display is a crude mixture of guerrilla drills and conventional warfare.
Velupillai Prabhakaran is staring at an uncertain future. He seems to have lost his most important insurance certificate - the support of Tamil civilians. To predict total annihilation of a military organisation like the LTTE would be amateurish by any standards. But the LTTE has certainly lost the initiative it enjoyed for years. The Army is waging a new war to win the hearts and minds of a battered people. The course of the Eelam war depends largely on the success of this mind-boggling exercise.
The Army got off to a promising start - Riviresa raised the hopes for a new sunrise in Jaffna. The government’s civil administration machinery was working overtime offering hundreds of thousands of civilians a fresh beginning and a new lease of life.
The civilians were first suspicious. For well over a decade they had only heard of hair-raising stories of barbarism perpetrated by the men in green. But now it was time to give peace another chance.
For the sun-toting soldiers the thought of being ambassadors for peace brought nightmares. They were strangers on unfriendly terrain. Trained only to shoot, now these men were confronted with the more difficult task of making peace with men and women who looked up different to the kind looking for their heads.
The arrival of soldiers in Jaffna adumbrated the coming of peace as civilians, for once, became the central-focus of all activity. Government officials sent to Jaffna took over the efforts to establish a proper civil administration system. But the uneasy mood resulted from the suspicion the soldiers and civilians had for each other, made the task of restoring normalcy extremely difficult.
Ground commanders received strict instructions to educate the soldiers on the government’s new campaign to win over the Tamils. But the bad elements in the army haunted the peace-mongers.
Incidents of rape and harassment are on the increase as the army takes control of more areas. Tamil civil rights groups complain that the incidents of violence allegedly perpetrated by some elements in the army, are being covered up or result in inaction. This is a disturbing trend. If the government is to have even a glimmer of hope in defeating the LTTE in the northern province, this unsavoury situation should be brought to an end.
The Army as a whole is doing a commendable job with soldiers now equipped with the knowledge and know-how of dealing with the civilians. At the ever-increasing military check-points, the young soldiers are even apologetic to the Tamils for the inconvenience caused.
This friendly gesture has paid great dividends. The people make no complaints as they go through frustrating checkings. The soldiers have done well to impress upon them that these strict security measures are in force for their own good.
However, since August indiscipline has crept back into some soldiers manning security check-points. Incidents of harassment and petty thefts have been reported to authorities. According to human rights groups, these incidents of crime and violence still remain isolated, but can assume dangerous proportions if not weeded out immediately.
All the hard work by the soldiers can be undone by a few rebellious elements within the army. This can amount to a national disaster. That’s if the civilians turn against the army. There’s no guarantee that this will not happen. The government would do well to draw its immediate attention to indiscipline among soldiers.
A few incidents of rape and murder brings to light yet another alarming development. That a few incidents were reported from areas still not cleared by the army. The evidence support that some soldiers take the liberty to sneak into these areas where its easy to commit a crime than in liberated areas.
The question needed to be asked is how long the good relations between the soldiers and civilians last, especially in view of continuing attempts by the LTTE to provoke the army against the civilians.
The LTTE’s top priority at present is not to take on the advancing troops. Prabhakaran has focussed his attention on disrupting the governments efforts to provide relief measures to displaced people. The human suffering in Kilinochchi and Wanni has reached alarming proportions. There’s no respite for hundreds of thousands of refugees.
The food supply in these areas has dwindled with the LTTE still in control of the stocks received by the GA. According to Tamil rights groups, food stores remain full in most areas with little or no distribution. While controlling the food distribution, the LTTE has intensified its international propaganda accusing the government of starving the Tamil refugees.
If food was hard to come by, medicine is non-existant to the people with allegations that up to 40% of medicine sent to the areas had been last - probably fallen into the hands of the LTTE. Disease is widespread, mostly as a result of the non-availability of drinking water. The Kilinochchi GA has expressed fears that The on coming monsoonal rains will make thigns worse and mass epidemic would be realistic
Tamil leaders who have defied the LTTE warns that unless the government instil discipline among the security forces, prevent indiscriminate bombing and expedite relief measures, the people may turn against the soldiers. The ground situation is that the people are stick and tired of the war, the LTTE and unless remedial action is taken without delay- the security forces may be added to their list of enemies.
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