Of victories and defeats...

Whatever the final military analysis of the outcome of the battles at Kilinochchi and Mankulam may be, it is apparent that both the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE have suffered heavy casualties. The Director of Information, Mr. Ariya Rubasinghe has admitted that the International Red Cross had handed over 400 bodies of soldiers killed in the Paranthan- Kilinochchi area. The LTTE had admitted it has lost 250 of their cadres. Till the dust settles on the battlefield, exact casualty figures will not be known and the tendency will be to inflate the Kill Ratio to the advantage of each side.

Propagandists of both sides, it appears, are attempting to portray victories and defeats to their advantage. The LTTE keeps harping on Kilinochchi keeping mum on Mankulam while government propagandists were quick to drum up the capture of Mankulam and say their troops ‘vacated positions in Kilinochchi.’ Censorship of military news prevents us from probing further.

Reports of the capture of Mankulam is indeed heartening. The Sri Lankan armed forces which started its march from Vavuniya have been stuck at Mankulam for the past several months. But whether entire Mankulam is under control of the government forces is not clear because a state controlled paper while saying in banner headlines that ‘Mankulam falls’ also quotes Northern Command sources saying that ‘ the battle is raging in the west of Mankulam and troops are advancing with superior fire power.

In military conflicts those on the sidelines tend to be emotional and lose their rationality. But if disasters are not to repeat themselves in the near future, lessons have to be learnt from what happened in the past. The Island report yesterday said that the military had admitted the LTTE deploying the same ‘ human waves’ tactic (Oyatha Alaigal) as they did at Mulaithivu. This begs the question whether lessons have not been learnt from previous debacles.

It will be futile to ask whether any person or persons should be held accountable for the loss of so many lives. In recent times we have seen the fall of the Mullaithivu base and before that of Pooneryn during the UNP administration. In certain instances high ranking officials were found wanting in their duties by military courts of inquiry but we doubt whether action was taken on the findings.

Not only are the military to blame. What of political responsibility ?

What responsibility should the Deputy Defence Minister Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte as well as the President Kumaratunga as the supreme commander of armed forces and police bear ? Accepting political responsibility for disasters has not been a known characteristic of our political life for a long time. In dim distant memory,there is the instance of former Prime Minister, Mr Dudley Senanayake, resigning from office when a few demonstrators were shot dead by the police. On the other hand claiming political kudos for the deeds of others is quite common place. This is not only seen in military affairs but even in the field of sports. When sportspersons come home after their heroic feats abroad there are the beaming political comedians waiting at the airport to bask in reflected glory.

The hundreds of poor boys who fell at Kilinochchi and Mankulam call for a day of national mourning.

Diplomatic appointments
Mr. Nihal Rodrigo,Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one of this country’s most accomplished diplomats, has been appointed as Secretary General of SAARC. Mr. Rodrigo certainly is qualified and the best available to take up this post. But questions are being asked whether this appointment would be a waste of the best diplomat now in our service,considering the fact that the post of Secretary General of SAARC — high sounding as it may be — is one where the holder becomes a mere appendage of the foreign ministries of the seven member countries. There is very little room given to a holder of this post to make his initiatives and experienced diplomats say that it is a post for a diplomatic robot.

There have been instances where the Foreign Ministry made strong attempts to prevent such rare talent from being dissipated. When Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala the then Sri Lankan Ambassador in Washington, sought Sri Lankan government’s support for being appointed as the head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Authority, the government took the stand that his expertise was required more by the Sri Lankan government than the UN and refused to grant his request. Thus, the diplomatic sagacity of making Mr. Rodrigo hibernate in Katmandu SAARC Secretariat at the foothills of the Himalayas, rather than use his much needed talents in our diplomatic service, is indeed questionable.

Perhaps Mr. Rodrigo deserves a good holiday and we wish him pleasant times.