The people of this country must not be taken in by the hype of flag hoisting and heroic speeches and assume that the brutal war in which so many lives and limbs have been lost is nearing its end. Although Mankulam has been taken, it has been taken at the cost of losing Kilinochchi and at the expense of the lives of several hundred brave troops. The final figures have yet not been disclosed, but there is every indication that the number is formidable.

There is no doubt that ceremonial is not entirely without value. The men on the front who have been fighting a formidable foe need to have their morale boosted and feel that the country values the services they have rendered and the sacrifices they have made. They must be made to feel that their comrades have not died in vain and that the crippling injuries they have suffered are all to no purpose. Their families too need similar comfort and the nation no less. Who but the most callous and unfeeling does not feel for the fallen and the wounded when they hear the unceasing wail of ambulance sirens whenever a major battle takes its inevitable toll.

But those in office must beware of the overkill. Let us not forget what happened when the LTTE was ejected from the Jaffna peninsula. Then too there was a flag hoisting and stirring speeches followed by countrywide banner and poster displays and glorification more of a politician than the brave servicemen who made it possible. It was the bad luck of a state official that he was persuaded to join in the raising of the lion flag over Jaffna. He became the victim of the Tigers who decided to execute him for that "crime". Most people who saw the picture of that flag raising knew that the poor man was done for. But those who made him participate in that occasion seem to have been blind to the obvious.

The peninsula was taken but at the cost of the East where the LTTE was able to gain much more than a toehold. Even though the Tigers were ejected from their northern heartland, they retained a terrorist capability in military controlled areas that they have demonstrated time and again by the daring killings of several senior military officers and two mayors of Jaffna. The boast that the holding of local government elections in the north was a restoration of the democratic process in areas once controlled by the Tigers has proved to be shallow. The number of people who exercised their franchise was small in the first place. Thereafter, the Tigers have succeeded in preventing those local bodies from functioning by assassinating two mayors of Jaffna and coercing many elected representatives from taking their oaths.

The loss of the Lion Air flight from Jaffna to Colombo is another blow. A lot of problems will result following the breaking of the civilian air-bridge. Quite apart from the personal difficulties caused to ordinary people having families there and needing to commute to and fro, a great deal of official business that must necessarily be undertaken if the normalisation process is to be taken forward will be stalled. How long the flight restrictions now in force will have to remain is anybody's guess. In the first instance the exact cause of the loss of the Lion Air Antonov 24 must be established. Was it brought down by Tiger action or not is the crucial question to which an answer has to be found. It is now fairly clear that the LTTE possesses an anti-aircraft capability. The fact that they are killing the very people they claim to represent will not trouble them at all if the objective is to halt air traffic to Jaffna.

These then are some of the reasons why it would be foolish to assume that the long march is about to end. Given the unwillingness of the politicians to sink their differences and present a common front to a deadly enemy, there will always be suspicions that many vital decisions relating to the war are taken for reasons that are not military. With speculation mounting that an election is imminent early next year, the people cannot be blamed for taking the cynical view that politicians are trying to use the war to gain mileage for themselves. That is why we have always advocated a national approach to the most vital challenge that faces Sri Lanka today. A national government makes good sense in the current context.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that parliament approved a supplementary estimate of some Rs. 12 billion to add to the already formidable defence budget for this year which now exceeds Rs. 50 billion. The best will in the world has not enabled the government to hold down defence spending despite the assurances that major acquisitions like ships and aircraft have already been made. The president herself recently went on record saying that defence is costing as much as 30 percent of the national budget. With public service emoluments and pensions swallowing half the government's revenue, there is very little left for anything else.

Thankfully, timeframes for ending the war are no longer being given. Holding territory taken from the enemy remains a formidable task. The forces are stretched and it is well known that the rate of enlistment does not match actual needs. The war is far from over and the people must not be taken in by self-serving propaganda. A long march is still ahead.